Sticks and Stones

Mandy, the heroine in this book, manages to work through an overwhelming burden of grief and guilt without that burden overwhelming the reader–or becoming trivialized. Granted, she’s got magical help, but still, it’s an impressive feat.I’ll definitely be picking up more of Shawn Mcguire’s books in the future.

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Trickster’s Girl

Trickster's Girl was another gift from the RMFW conference. This was well written and engaging. I enjoyed Ms. Bell’s Goblin War piece more, but I suspect that has less to do with the books themselves and more to do with my own preference for straight up fantasy than for Native-American-religion-tinged…

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An Acceptable Time

An Acceptable Time is a nice enough story about Polly, one of Meg and Calvin's kids. But, it doesn't have quite the magic of A Wrinkle in Time or the other books in that series.  I'm not entirely sure what makes the difference.  It might be that the science is…

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The Goblin War

As I’ve probably mentioned before, one of the great things about RMFW conferences is the number of books we get in the swag bag. I love, love, love going home with enough to keep me busy–for a bit anyway.The Goblin War is one of these.  I certainly never would have…

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Signs of You

I pre-ordered this book months ago when I first heard it was coming out in part because I’ve met Emily France, and she’s lovely, but mostly because I had seen or heard just a bit of the story at some RMFW event and was longing to read the rest. It…

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The Bad Beginning

This is the start of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I get why the series has become so popular.  This light hearted romp through some of life’s thornier problems has well-drawn characters; fast-moving and believable (if not quite realistic) adventure; and a personable (if patronizing) narrator of…

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2,000 to 10,000: How to write faster, write better, and write more of what you love

I read 2,000-10,000 after it was recommended by one of the other members of my critique group (Kendrick E. Knight, who writes delightful science fiction available on amazon).  I couldn’t claim to be writing anything like 2,000 words to start with and was interested in seeing how this woman increased…

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Moods

I wanted to love Moods since the work was obviously so important to Louisa May Alcott.  And I liked it.  It was a beautifully written, moody book, thought-provoking and entertaining by turns.I didn’t thrill to it the way I thrilled to some of Alcott’s others, though.  It didn’t involve me…

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Goal, Motivation, & Conflict and The Elements of Style

Lots of writing friends have recommended Goal, Motivation & Conflict, and I’ve finally read it.  I think it has some great content.It would have made an excellent brochure or conference workshop.  It could have been an enlightening series of blog posts.  As a book, it’s a bit fluffy.  Don’t get…

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Savvy

Savvy is a fun little book by Ingrid Law. I enjoyed every minute--from meeting Mibs Beaumont and her unusual family all the way through to the semi-sweet (my favorite kind) finish. In the middle, I also loved seeing the crisis that befalls them and the swashbuckling adventure Mibs undertakes to…

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Pride and Prejudice

I adore Pride and Prejudice. I'm sharing this one with my daughter, so it’s even more fun than usual.2021 Update--We never finished. So sad. Because I adore Elizabeth for her wit and her loyalty (especially to Jane), and for the way she stands up for herself in a time when…

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