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A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy
Inside A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy

Review: The Plantagenets

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The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones. Viking. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Vacation reads (aka, when I talk about books for grownups and post them before holidays.) It’s About: The designated heir of England dies in a shipwreck; England is plunged into civil war as descendants of [...]

Review: Project: Boy Next Door

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Project: Boy Next Door by L.K. Madigan. 2013. ARC provided for review. Available in ebook from ebook sellers. The Plot: Mel Pepper, sixteen, has worked up the courage to tell his dad, Dannie, two things: Mel has a part-time job at the local coffee place. Mel will be starting his junior year at the local [...]

Flashback May 2008

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What I was reviewing in May 2008: Supernatural Rubber Chicken: Fowl Language by D.L. Garfinkle, illustrated by Ethan Long. From my review: “The best thing about some books is the title says it all: Supernatural. Rubber. Chicken. I mean, c’mon, it doesn’t get better than that, does it? OK, twins Nate and Lisa, 10, are [...]

Review: The Chocolate War

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Random House. 1974. (over the years, many reprints and imprints!) Library copy. The Plot: Trinity is a school ruled by an elite clique, The Vigils, and the person who runs that clique is Archie Costello. Archie creates  “assignments” for his fellow students: various stunts and pranks. Jerry is a [...]

The Chocolate War: Read A Long Part 4

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Now, the next part of my readalong of The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Previously: Chapters One to Ten. Chapters Eleven to Twenty. Chapters Twenty One to Thirty. Chapter Thirty One Jerry recognizes the bullies and is confronted by Janza. And, wait, really? “You live in the closet.” This is the big insult? “He wanted [...]

Review: Hattie Ever After

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Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson. Delacorte Press. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Sequel to Hattie Big Sky. The Plot: June 1919. Hattie Inez Brooks has a dream: she wants to be a reporter. She’s seventeen years old. She doesn’t have a high school diploma. She’s an orphan. She doesn’t have any money. She’s [...]

Review: Doll Bones

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Doll Bones by Holly Black. McElderry Books. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Zach, Poppy, and Alice  get together nearly everyday to play an elaborate game with dolls, action figures, and stories that grow and twist and turn, all related to the “Great Queen” doll that Poppy’s mother keeps locked in a cabinet. [...]

BEA

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I’ll be attending BEA later this month! Part of the reason I’m excited about attending BEA is that I haven’t been able to attend for the last three years because of various work commitments. Part of the reason I’m excited is, well, BEA! BEA has a whole page explaining why librarians and educators would be [...]

Flashback May 2011

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Time to flashback to what I reviewed in May 2011! Real Live Boyfriends (Yes, boyfriends, plural. If my life weren’t complicated, I wouldn’t be Ruby Oliver) by E. Lockhart. From my review: “Ruby Oliver is now a senior and has a real! live! boyfriend! Everything is terrific, until Noel goes away to visit his brother [...]

Review: The Fifth Wave

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The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Book website. First in a trilogy. The Plot: It is months after the aliens first came, the Others, and sixteen year old Cassie Sullivan is huddled in a tent, alone with just her baby [...]