REVIEW: Daisy Darker, by Alice Feeney

From MacMillan Publishers

Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart. Now after years of  avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in her crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. When the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

But at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide goes out and all is revealed.

Family reunions are always interesting. Always. There's the grandmother everyone adores, the cousin who is definitely the outsider, and the innocent ones wreaking havoc.

Couple this with Nana insisting they all come out to stay at her home on an island that can get cut off from civilization pretty quickly, and oh, by the way....she has big news for them.

This whole book is intricately crafted. From the detailed description of an eccentric grandmother to the flashbacks you almost don't realize are flashbacks, the story is enthralling. I'm only a week out from completeling this one and I cannot stop thinking about it and recommending it to everyone I see.

 

Think And Then There Were None, but with modern twists---and oh! What a twist!

As an aside, I both read a physical copy and listened to the audiobook.  The audiobook is very well done and Daisy's voice is perfection.

What do you think??

Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased this print copy from Book of the Month Club I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Life...life gets in the way

I'm embarrassed.

It's a tad embarrassing for me to see how long I've been "meaning to get back to this blog." I had a kid, had a change of household thing, and...well....life got in the way.

BUT, I read. And I read and I read. I read some amazing things. I read some things that were purely pleasure, and I read a lot of AP essays. 

And now that I'm ready to get back into writing reviews and sharing what I've been reading, the world is going more video with TikTok. That's great and all, but I'm not sure that's me. We'll see where this adventure takes me.

What do you think??

Google Educator Certification---I did it!

Today, I accomplished one of my goals for the school year. 

It's not a "lofty" goal, but it was one that required some time commitment on my part. And, well, if you've noticed from my relative quiet this year, I don't have a lot of time to spare.

Today, I completed Google Educator Certification Level One. After 12 hours worth of training, and thinking about how to use GSuite tools in the classroom and school in general, I signed up for a test. I had to block 3 hours of time (inconceivable!), in case I needed the full amount of time to test. It's not a hard test, but you do have to spend some time thinking. It's part "lab practical," part knowledge application.

Do I recommend it? Yep, sure do. There's a second level, and some things beyond. I waited a whole 20 minutes after confirming that I passed the level one exam to start level 2's coursework. 

For more information, visit the Google for Education Training Center

REVIEW: 2136: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel, by Matthew Thrush

Orphaned as a child and hidden from the world, 23-year-old Willow’s life is ordinary. Until a stranger comes into her life forcing her to recount past memories she thought she had suppressed and speaks of a destiny she cannot accept.

Fueled with regret and a looming fear of the unknown, Willow must make a choice. Save the world or save herself. There’s just one problem; she’s been infected.

As I read the abrupt ending of this book, I silently cursed Matthew Thrush. I know there's a second book, but geesh...it ended hard. 

Thrush is a vivid story-teller. He paints not just a picture of the story but of his characters. Descriptions of horrific scenes are balanced perfectly between appropriately cringe-worthy and cinematic "too much." (His descriptions alone make me want to see this in the movie theater.) His characters are beautifully developed. Willow is intense, still a teenager, but clearly functioning in a world we really can't imagine. She's sharp, witty, and honest---just what teenagers in any society should be. The people she encounters are vivid, but not overpowering, she's definitely the star of the show.

From line one, you're involved in the story. It's an apocalypse story that is plausible and frighteningly so. It's good and evil, coming of age, and dystopia all rolled into one. 
It's been a long time since I kept myself up late to read one more chapter...but I did with 2136. 

And I'm kinda ticked I'm stuck waiting for the next book!

What do you think??

REVIEW: Darktown, by Thomas Mullen

Responding to orders from on high, the Atlanta Police Department is forced to hire its first black officers, including war veterans Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith. The newly minted policemen are met with deep hostility by their white peers; they aren’t allowed to arrest white suspects, drive squad cars, or set foot in the police headquarters.
When a black woman who was last seen in a car driven by a white man turns up dead, Boggs and Smith suspect white cops are behind it. Their investigation sets them up against a brutal cop, Dunlow, who has long run the neighborhood as his own, and his partner, Rakestraw, a young progressive who may or may not be willing to make allies across color lines. Among shady moonshiners, duplicitous madams, crooked lawmen, and the constant restrictions of Jim Crow, Boggs and Smith will risk their new jobs, and their lives, while navigating a dangerous world—a world on the cusp of great change.

Pre-civil rights Atlanta, Georgia. Black officers, policeman almost in name only, as far as the department is concerned. It really didn't matter what you "said" they were, they dealt with discrimination and hate just like any other non-white person.

Really an amazing book. Detailed, graphic, and real. Real in ways I wish I knew a little more about now, and wish no one had ever had to know about. The racism, especially within the police department, was hard to stomach. I don't like the derogatory language (the "n" word), but I accept that it's part of the culture and times the story is set in. There's a lot to think about in just considering this aspect of Darktown. A lot.

The crime drama story line is a vehicle for all of the cultural/societal/historical dealings in this story. The mystery is well-crafted, thought out, but not too exacting. I really didn't know for sure what the answers were until the police did. I can't frequently say that, since I usually have it sorted out and only continue reading the book to see how long it takes the characters to figure out the story.

Challenging read if only because it makes you think quite a bit about the time period. Definitely Adult for YA, in terms of school library collections. It will engross many different readers.

What do you think??

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Atria Books through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.