I know I had mentioned trying the disability readathon but honestly with all my physical therapy and the two other readathons I’m working on needed something a bit more relaxed. Plus I see autism as one of my primary identities so I think it’s important that I focus on it rather than general disability. I’ll put up my TBR ASAP and I can’t wait to see what you guys think.
I know I haven’t offered you many New Releases throughout March, I plan to fix that in April, but here are some of my favorites releasing at the end of March.
![All You Knead Is Love by [Tanya Guerrero]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51YHWx9en4L.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
Twelve-year-old Alba isn’t happy in Barcelona with her estranged grandmother. But her mother needs her to her to be far far away from their home in New York City. This is finally the year that her mother is going to leave Alba’s abusive father, hopefully, she’s strong enough to finally finally do it. To Alba’s surprise she finds she finds she loves Barcelona
She starts to form some positive relationships, getting closer to her grandmother and meeting a supportive father figure plus making new friends. But most importantly she discovers her interest and talent for bread baking.When her beloved bakery is threaten with closing. Alba is determined to save it. And at the same time she may have come up with a plan to make her family whole again. A great book about finding your chosen family, healin g and of course baking.
This new release is out today.
Amazon: All You Knead is Love
![Breathing Underwater by [Sarah Allen]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51-iXjhab7L.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
Oliva is on the road trip of her dreams she has her trusty camera and her big sister Ruth by her side. Three years ago, before their family moved from California to Tennessee. Olivia and Ruth buried a time capsule on their favorite beach. Now they are taking the RV back across the country to uncover the memories they leftt behind.
However, her sister Ruth’s depression is getting worse and a road trip might not be enough to help her. so Olivia has created a plan to help her remember how life used to be: a makeshift scavenger hunt across the country, taking pictures, and making memories along the way.
All she wants is to take the picture that makes her sister smile. But what if things can never go back to the way they used to be. What if they never find the treasure they are seeking. Through all the questions, loving her sister, not changing her is all Oliva can do-and maybe that’s enough.
This New Releases is available today.
![The House That Wasn't There by [Elana K. Arnold]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51lQYA9sorL.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
Alder has always lived in his cozy little house in Southern California. And for as long as he can remember, the old, reliable, comforting walnut tree has stood between his house and the one next door. That is, until a new family—with a particularly annoying girl his age—moves into the neighboring house and, without warning, cuts it down.
Oak doesn’t understand why her family had to move to Southern California. She has to attend a new school, find new friends, and live in a new house that isn’t even ready—her mother had to cut down a tree on their property line in order to make room for a second floor. And now a strange boy next door won’t stop staring at her, like she did something wrong moving here in the first place.
As Oak and Alder start school together, they can’t imagine ever becoming friends. But the two of them soon discover a series of connections between them—mysterious, possibly even magical puzzles they can’t put together. At least not without each other’s help.
Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with an unforgettable story of the strange, wondrous threads that run between all of us, whether we know they’re there or not.
1 Try and enjoy reading and not be bound by a number for my April reading list
I think I’ve been worrying too much about how many books per month I’ve stopped reading for fun, so I’m going to just read next month, and if I come out with 5 good and if I come out with 15 good. Literally, everyone is telling me to slow down so I’m going to slow down.
And if that puts a stake in the heart of my reading goal so be it. I wasn’t trying to read as many books as I did last year, also a lot of unexpected stuff has happened this year so I’m going to try to stop worrying.
2. Don’t feel like you have to post every day in April
In my stop worrying agenda, I’m going to stop obessesing over blog numbers so much, this one is hard for me. Because I love hitting the higher vistor numbers.
3)Use Readathons as a guide for your reading.
Don’t feel like you have to do double the work. Just use your readathon books to count towards your book goals for the month of April
4) Try and get ahead on my ARCs early.
I’m reading my ARCs well before their due date so I don’t have to rush to read them near when their due, another measure to reduce stress
Photo by Anders Jildén on Unsplash
So I’m pretty sure there is no way I can finish four books in a long weekend. But I’m going to try anyway. I’m trying to meet the four Easter Readathon prompts so here is my attempt.
![Starfish by [Lisa Fipps]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BMt4aGhML.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
Ellie wore a whale bathing suit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party. Since then she’s been bullied about her weight, to get by she’s come up with the Fat Girl Rules which include “no making waves”, “avoid eating in public” and don’t move so fast that your body jiggles. Ellie has found her safe space, her swimming pool, a place where she feels weightless in a fat obessed world.
In the pool she can strech out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants, she can also get away from her pushy mom who thinks crititizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet.
Thankfully Ellie’s Dad, therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina understand her and love her for who she is. With this support, Ellie might be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and be a Starfish in real life, by being her own fabulous self.
I picked this book for the readathon because swimming reminds me of spring and summer and I love seeing a fat-positive middle-grade book.
Lisa Fipps is an award-winning former journalist, current director of marketing for a public library, and an author of middle-grade books. Starfish is her debut novel.
![Sweet & Bitter Magic by [Adrienne Tooley]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41kHpQA2BVL.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generatation. But after she commits the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. She can feel love though, but only if she takes it from others.
Wren is a source, she’s a rare person who is made of magic. But she can’t access it herself. Sources are required to train in secret with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities but Wren is her ailing father’s only caretaker, so she’s spent her life hiding her secret so she can care for her father.
The two cross paths when a magical plague begins to ravage the queendom. Wren’s father falls victim, so to save him Wren proposes a bargin. if Tamsin will catch the dark witch responsible for creating, the Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.
But love bargins are tricky and the two have a long journey ahead, that is if they don’t kill each other first.
Adrienne Tooley grew up in Southern California, majored in musical theater in Pittsburgh, and now lives in Brooklyn with her wife, six guitars, and a banjo. In addition to writing novels, she is a singer/songwriter who has currently released three indie-folk EPs. Her debut novel, SWEET & BITTER MAGIC, is out now. Her second novel, SOFI AND THE BONE SONG, will release in 2022.
It took me awhile to find something this short for the readathon, what I was planning to use was 6 pages too long. So I went with the next volume of my favorite comic.
We find the ‘Janes again in this as Mal tries to prove her bravery…but ends up stranded in the Land of Lost Things!
DINOSAURS, DANGER & DIMENSION-HOPPING AND …OH MY!
Mal wants to try being braver, but when she recruits Ripley to help her face her fears, the project goes a little out of hand. As most things with Ripley do, and Mal ends up in a place she should really be afraid of, The Land of Lost Things. Stranded on her own in a pocket universe where dinosaur still roam the earth and time is a little wonky will Mal be able to find her way back to camp? On the other side of the portal Molly, April, Jo, and Ripley are worried about finding and saving Mal, but in their attempt they may get lost as well.
Writers Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (Super Cakes) and artist AnneMarie Rogers present the newest collection of stories from the New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner Award and GLAAD Award-winning series where you’re never lost as long as you hold onto the ones you love most!
Collects Lumberjanes #61-64
![The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre by [Robin Talley]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/5165S9pX8eL.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
I’d been wanting to include this in my readathon list. I love the colors and I just thought this sounded liked a fun concept.
Melody McIntyre, is a stage manager with a plan for everything.
What she doesn’t have is luck in love, everytime she falls for someone during a school drama performance the relationship and the show both go south. So Mel has sworn of any relationships until their production of Les Mis is over.
Of course the best laid plans, Mel didn’t count on Odile Rose, a rising star in the acting world autitoning for the spring performance. Or for Odile to be sweet and funny or care as much about the play success as Mel does.
Which means that Melody McIntyre’s only plan now is trying desperately not to fall in love
Robin Talley (she/her) is a queer author who grew up in southwest Virginia and now lives in Washington, D.C., with her wife and their rambunctious kiddos. She did digital communications work for LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, educational equity, and other progressive causes for fifteen years before she turned to writing full-time, and is now the New York Times-bestselling author of seven novels for teen readers, including The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre, Music From Another World, Pulp, and As I Descended.
So because apparently I can’t get enough of readathons I’m working on another one for the first part of April, during when Easter would be. The readathon is lead by Kate at Reading Through Infinity, so go check out her blog for all the details she makes it clear it’s more of a spring-y readathon if you don’t happen to celebrate.
This year’s readathon will run from 12.01am on Friday 2nd April to 11.59pm on Monday 5th April in your time zone. I’ve never done a short readathon before so I don’t know what to expect but it’s always something I’ve wanted to try so I’m excited to work on it. I plan to put up my TBR for it soon so keep an eye out for that.
While the creator makes it very clear you don’t have to stick to the prompts I’m going to try and at least hit a few of them.
There is also a cool giveaway involved so go check out this cool readathon and join in!
This was one of my favorite books this month, for a couple of reasons. One I love a good survival/dsytopia story. But two Alone dealt with it from a girl’s perspective which you don’t often see in survival stories. I not saying Jack London, Hatchet, and Sign of the Beaver don’t have their place. I just think the dynamic of the survival story can be more interesting if it’s not limited to white men and their dogs.
Twelve-year-old Maddie’s plans for a secret sleepover sound perfect, she’ll tell each of her divorced parents she is at the other’s house. Then watch old movies with her friends, it sounds perfect. But then her friends bail on her. Oh well, she may be alone but at least she’s watching cool old movies and getting some time to herself in her grandparents’ old winter cabin. But during the night some sort of disaster happens and she wakes up to find herself: alone. Her town has been left behind and mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.
With no one to rely on, all cell phones have been left behind. And the power stops working soon after the town is abandoned. Maddie slowly learns to survive alone. She does meet a dog named George who she comes to treasure as a dear friend, and she has all the books she could ever read.
Being alone at first is a rough start but Maddie slow comes to rely on her own creativity and ingenuity and comes to find new ways to survive in her abandoned town. She fights, nature, wild dog, and maraduers to name a few of her problems.
However, this isn’t her biggest issue she learns she can deal with most outside issues that are thrown at her. But can she truly deal with the crushing loneliness that comes from being alone for so long will her stubbornness keep her together or will her own loneliness be the thing that takes her out in the end?
Okay, so it’s a girl and her dog. Still not swaying too far from the genre but it does get some points. Plus I really love George and he saves Maddie several times throughout the book. I really liked the lyrical way the novel was written and how all of Maddie’s challenges were described. She definitely grows as a character but almost to the point where she blends with nature. She has to get out of one puzzle towards the end of the book it’s like she’s embraced herself as part of the natural world. She’s still human but the time she’s taken on by being on has made her not quite.
Megan Freeman writes middle grade and young adult fiction, and her debut middle grade novel, ALONE, is available from Simon & Schuster/Aladdin. Megan is also a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, and her poetry chapbook, Lessons on Sleeping Alone, was published by Liquid Light Press.
March was an interesting month. I’m finally walking thank goodness, however no one explained to me the fact that my muscles would be super angry. However I sstarting thearpy today hopefully fix that. I didn’t post a lot this month, nor read a lot but hopefully I’ll be making that up in April.
This one I feel short on again during March, just like I did in Feburuary I’m going to end up with four maybe 5 done books done . However I have to consider my injury. This simply means I really have to ramp it up in spring/summer.
I was just trying to do blog posts for the days I had. Not sure I had it here either hopefully I’ll be better about scheduling and maybe have a bit more energy to work on things now that I’m sorta off the couch.
I am currently doing the Trope-ical Readathon and will be doing the Disability Readathon next month. I’ve got readathons lined up for the next few months so I feel like I’ve got this covered.
I really need to start this back up. I was busy this month working on Top 5 Lists for another project so this got posponed.
Since I did this new site upgrade I really haven’t had time to get into all the little details that I want to work on I hope to improve that next month.
Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash
This is one of my favorite book covers because it most reflects the spirit of the book. On the cover of Amina’s Voice, Amina’s is curled uptight. Amina won’t open up to anyone about her talent. However, on this cover this one she’s thrown her arms open to the world. She is a happier and more confident person than she was in book one. This really helps shape the whole plotline of the book.
Also, I don’t know if Khan made this choice intentionally but I think the lighter coloring also reflects’ Amina’s growth. But that could just be me reading into color choices.
You can find my review here
2. Soulswift
Perhaps my favorite cover out of all these because it proves a plot point I’d spoil by telling you. Other than the fact that it is super important plot-wise, the bird is spiritually very important to the characters in the book and I think a perfect choice for the cover.
Honestly the cover made me pick this book up at first and I wasn’t disappointed. I also love all the stone work on the cover it give a hint of the role that religion will play in the book. Overall this one was just pretty message wise and visually.
You can find my review here
3) On The Edge of Gone
This is another cover where it matched the content so clearly it had to be included. The whole book is about who deserves to get to go to another planet on space ships after an asteroid hits the Earth. It also deals with things like disability, racism, homophobia and transphobia.
The image of our protagonist being stuck on the ground with all the ships leaving is very powerful, and the cover gives you an empty feeling like the book does at first, things may turn around but this cover shows the stakes at first.
You can find my review here
4) Once Upon an Eid
I picked the book because the cover was simply beautiful and also it reflected the joy of the stories inside. On the cover, you could see the spirit of celebration that was present inside the book.
You can find my review here.
5) A Home for Goddesses and Dogs
I picked this one because it made me think of family. It’s a sweet book about a girl and a dog learning to fit into a family. I think the cover reflects that. I just love the color scheme. My favorite detail is the moon going through its phases on the cover. It’s very important to the plot and it looks beautiful on the cover.
You can find my review here.
1)Awkward
![Awkward (Berrybrook Middle School Book 1) by [Svetlana Chmakova]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510gwpaBkyL.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
Peppi and Jamie are able to team up despite their differences and not only become friends but save both of their clubs from being disbanded. While they had their ups and downs which was realistic for the age group. Eventually they find that both art and science really aren’t that different all along.
The reason I chose this book is because Peppi and Jamie are able to see through the artifical divides of middle school cliques and and make a true friendships.
You can find my review here.
You can purchase it on Amazon here.
2) A Thousand Questions
![A Thousand Questions by [Saadia Faruqi]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41-vXTpUcOL._SY346_.jpg?resize=338%2C509&ssl=1)
These two are an unsual team up considering Sakina thinks Mimi is stuck up at first but eventually the two bond over Mimi teaching Sakina English and Mimi learning about her home culture, they don’t realize they are the answer to each others problems but they slowly become friends and help change as problems come up throughout the book.
The reason I chose this book is because while they may be different eventually they push each other to solve each other’s biggest issues which is what makes them a good team.
You can find my review here
You can purchase this book on Amazon here.
3) To Nightowl From Dogfish
Avery and Bett are another pair that hate each other at first, the only reason they come together is to keep their dads apart. But they start working together and realize they make a great team, even if they don’t want to admit it for like a good half of the book.
The reason I chose this book is I also love how their relationship forms natrally, they go from hating each other to being best friends but not in a way that feels forced.
My review can be found here
You can purchase the book on Amazon here.
4) Séance Tea Party
When her circle of friends suddenly shrinks as growing up happens Lora is determined to have fun on her own and not bow to the social pressures and be like everyone else. So one day Lora has a tea party with a supernatural twist that leads to her rediscovering Alexa, the ghost that haunts her house and her old imaginary friend!
I picked this book to show that a team up can’t (and maybe shouldn’t) last forever. These two make a wonderful pair but their goodbye is as poienient as their hello.
You can find my review here.
You can purchase the book on Amazon here.
5) Stargazing
Even though Moon and Christine are nothing alike when Moon moves in next door the girls become fast friends. Christine appricates Moons confident and impulsive personality, she’s unlike any person Christine has ever known. The two have fun sharing their favorite music videos and painting their toenails: something Christine’s strict parents don’t allow.
But Moon shares a secret with Christine , she has visions sometimes, of the the celestial beings who speak to her from who reassure her that earth isn’t where where she really belongs.
Can Christine be the Moon needs when her visions turn out to have an all to earthly root and Moon is soon in the hospital fighting for her life?
You can find my review here
You can purchase the book on Amazon here
Image by Dev Ashish from Pixabay
Update for you guys! Sorry for the late hour guys. I got to walk independently on Wednesday and walking since has been one of the most tiring things I’ve ever done. No one told me my muscles would be very angry with me after my bones healed. So now I’m hobbling around. But at least I’m up, all the muscles that atrophied while I was stuck laying down are PISSSED. But I’m up.
Therefore I haven’t been posting weekly like I would like. I still working on book and blog stuff. I’m planning on getting new art for the blog and am sprucing up the blog for the spring. I got Photoshop with some of my stimulus money so Ican start working on my on grapjics for the blog
As for readathons I’m still working on the Trope-tropical Readathon and just completed a challenge, I only completed 3 but I feel like that’s pretty good considering everything I’ve been working with this month, The thing is I’m so frustated by being tired the blog posts may end up being three times a week for awhile just due to my fatigue. I’d love to update every day. But I may end up napping, so much napping.
I’m also doing the Disability Readation in which is Readthon for the month of April focused on #OwnVoices disability author and their books. I’m really excited about this as mental health and disability is one of my favorite focuses in reading.
I just started Falcon and the Winter Solider because I have feelings, and I need to discuss them I might blog about them maybe do a weekly thing as each episode comes out.
Anyway this week was an adventure. I plan to try to do plenty with the blog but we will see how my recovery goes.
