The Girls by Emma Cline

★★★★ 1/2

"Poor girls.  The world fattens them on the promise of love.  How badly they need it, and how little most of them will ever get.  The treacled pop songs, the dresses described in the catalogs with words like 'sunset' and 'Paris.'  Then the dreams are taken away with such violent force; the hand wrenching the buttons of the jeans, nobody looking at the man shouting at this girlfriend on the bus."

It seems like I have been waiting forever to read this book!!! The writer's portrayal of fourteen-year-old Evie is precise and the insight into her young mind is beyond solid and one of the most realistic I have read in a very long time.  The language was beautiful and horrifying and gut-wrenchingly real.  I felt like I was in Evie's head the entire time and the general feeling of the book kept bringing me back to my teenage years.  The novel could have easily been classified as Young Adult if it wasn't for the very mature subject matter.  And that bring me to Evie's ultimate involvement in unspeakable crimes that I couldn't stop thinking about from the very first page.  She seemed so young to be caught up in a world completely unknown and foreign to her.  There was a part of me that didn't want to keep reading, but I couldn't put the book down.  A brilliant work of fiction by an amazing new author.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

★★★★

A year after Arthur's wife dies, he finds a mysterious charm bracelet in her closet.  Having never seen the bracelet before, he begin a search to find out not only about the charms, but about his wife's life before their marriage.  This book was fun, easy to read, and just plain "charming."  I loved going on Arthur's journey with him and really enjoyed how much he developed and changed through out the story.  It was so neat seeing him deal with the things that he learned about his wife and seeing him reconnect with his children and others in his life.  A great reminder not to take life's simple moments for granted!

Thank you so netgalley, Harlequin, and Phaedra Patrick for an ACR of this book!

Herbie's Big Adventure by Jennie Poh

★★★★

Herbie is a little hedgehog who is more than fine just staying home, but one day his mother tells him he can go on his first forging trip by himself.  Herbie is a little worried, but soon finds himself liking the freedom of being able to explore the world outside of his home.  He travels farther and farther away, he suddenly finds himself in a snow covered area.  Will Herbie be able to make it home to him mom?

This is a great story about a very cute little hedgehog.  It teaches about the four season, exploring nature, and love between a mother and her baby.  The story was good, but my favorite aspect about this book was the beautifully colored illustrations and changed throughout the story.  I loved how Herbie and his surroundings really stood out on the page due to the color schemes that were used and the details were wonderful!!!

Thank you to netgally, Capstone, and Jennie Poh for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Storybook Knight by Helen Docherty

★★★★★

"Leo was a gentle knight in thought and word and deed.While other knights liked fighting, Leo liked to sit and read."

Leo is a young mouse from a family of knights - his parents expect him to grow up to fight dragons but Leo has other ideas.  He wants nothing more than to sit home and read book.  When a ferocious dragon is starts causing destruction to the town, Leo is sent off to save the day.  He meets a handful of creatures before finally facing the dragon.  He brings a sword and a shield, but his most helpful weapon is an arm-full of books! 

This is very cute story about a mouse who is a little different than everyone else.  Instead of knighthood, he wants to read books - and his reading ends up being what saves the town from the dragon.  'The Storybook Knight' has everything that makes a great picture books - bright illustrations, fun text, and a wonderful story.

Thank you to Netgalley. Jabberwocky, and Helen Docherty for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

★★★ 1/2

"Her favorite summer memories were not of events themselves, of picnics, sea bathing, tennis afternoons and cricket matches, but of watching Hugh and Daniel enjoying them and locking into memory the delight in their faces and their open hearts."

This historical novel is set in Rye, a small town in East Sussex of England, in the year 1914.  It is, essentially, the "summer before the war" and everything is going as usual: Hugh Grange has returned for the summer from his medical studies to live with his Aunt Agatha and Uncle John.  His cousin Daniel is trying to publish his poetry.  The town is in the process of hiring a new Latin master.  And in the mist of everything, the country may be going to war.

And then Beatrice Nash arrives with her bicycle and crate of books and her free-thinking spirit soon takes the town by surprise.

I loved the author's first book, 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' and was looking forward to this one as well.  Unfortunately, this one just didn't work they way I expected it to.  The beginning had the same wonderful small-town charm of 'Major Pettigrew' and I loved the character of Beatrice, but then the novel started to go off in all different directions.  There were too many new characters introduced and I felt that the focus drew further and further away from Beatrice and Hugh.  The book dragged on and on and then the ending felt far too rushed and I found myself not caring as much about the characters as I should have.  

That being said, I still enjoyed a lot of aspects of the book.  I really liked the description of Rye and the feeling of pre-war England.  The Belgian refugees also added a very unique aspect to the books and created a lot of comparisons to later periods of history.

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

★★★★★

This is the story of a little girl and her best friend, her dog.  They do everything together and one day, the girl decides that she is going to make “the most magnificent thing.”  Her dog becomes her assistant, plans are made, and everything seems to fall into place.  After a lot of hard work, she the “thing” is finally finished!  But there’s a problem.  It just doesn’t look right to her.  Or seem to work right.  And it certainly isn’t magnificent.  The girl and her dog go to work again and again, but nothing she makes works.  There is a lot of anger.  And frustration.  And a walk.  And then she realizes that maybe all of her hard work isn’t a disaster after all. 

This is a lovely book with a wonderful message.  It shows something that nearly all young children  - and adults - can relate to: trying and trying and never getting something right.  Things don’t always work out as planned.  But that’s ok.  And it’s ok not to be perfect all the time.  What’s important is the creativity and the process that goes into completing a project.  A concept that I can definitely relate to and a valuable lesson for children of all ages.

The girl’s emotions were realistically portrayed in the story - and her dog was adorable.  The writing was simple and had a perfect pace throughout the book.  I loved the unique illustrations and how the girl and her dog stood out on each black-and-white lined or blue page.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kids Can Press, and Ashley Spires.