The Week in Review: 01.31.2020

Between the Covers

Finished last week:

I was lucky enough to hear Julie Murphy speak at last year’s SIBA Trade Show and pick up a copy of her first middle grade book, DEAR SWEET PEA.  Patricia “Sweet Pea” has a lot going on.  Her parents are getting a divorce (because her dad is gay) and have decided having two houses close together is best way to handle things.  In fact, there’s only one house between the two of them – that of Miss Flora Mae, who writes an advice column called Miss Flora Mae I?.  Now that they’re in middle school, Sweet Pea’s best friend has ditched her for a more popular crowd.

When Miss Flora Mae goes out of town she asks Sweet Pea to look out for her house and mail the letters for her advice column to her.  When Sweet Pea recognizes the handwriting on one of the envelopes she decides to take matters into her own hands.

This is another winner from Murphy!  Once again, she writes fabulous characters and a fun (even if it is implausible) plot.  I loved Sweet Pea, her parents, and her friends, even when Sweet Pea made poor decisions.  I rooted for her to figure things out, though, and she didn’t let me down.  Middle grade readers will relate to the complications of friendships at that age and Sweet Pea’s frustrations with them.  I think readers from middle school on up will enjoy this terrific book.  (Review copy provided by Balzer + Bray.)

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When the database at Aldrich University is hacked, everyone’s – faculty, staff, and students – emails are posted on the internet for the whole world to see.  Many of them reveal things the senders would rather not be public.  Well regarded heart surgeon, Dr. Greg Strasser, is one of those affected and things really heat up when he’s murdered.  His wife’s sister is an investigative reporter and, when she comes home for the funeral, she decides to take matters into her own hands to solve the case.

There wasn’t a single likable character in REPUTATION by Sara Shepard but I still enjoyed the book.  The point of view shifts to five different characters but they were easy to tell apart.  Everyone had something to hide and many of the secrets were tangled up with each other.  There were lots of characters with motives which kept me guessing and I was satisfied with the solution.  I listened to the audio version which was narrated by Lisa Flanagan, Allyson Ryan, Phoebe Strole, Brittany Pressley, and Karissa Vacker and I thought they all did a great job.  (Review copy provided by Penguin Random House.)

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A VOICE NAMED ARETHA by Katheryn Russell-Brown is a biography of Aretha Franklin for the picture book set.  It starts during her childhood when Aretha sang in the choir of her father’s church.  Her parents divorced and Aretha and her siblings lived with their father in Detroit, visiting their mother in Buffalo during the summer.  When Aretha was ten, her mother passed away and Aretha learned how to draw strength from her sadness.  She realized music was her passion and by the age of eighteen, she moved to New York to make it her career.  It wasn’t easy, though, but she stuck it out and eventually became very successful.

Youngsters will not only learn about Aretha Franklin and her music, they’ll learn about the 1960s and some of the difficulties African Americans faced then.  Russell-Brown gives more details in the back that parents and caregivers can share depending on a child’s maturity.  There’s also a list of some of her more popular songs as well as a list of sources.  Laura Freeman‘s vibrant illustrations bring the story alive.  You’ll find yourself listening to the Queen of Soul after you read this terrific book.  (Review copy provided by Bloomsbury.)

Currently reading:

• THE QUEENS OF ANIMATION by Nathalia Holt
• MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON by Elizabeth Strout

On the Screen

Not much of anything.

Off the blog

• I spent most of the week visiting my mom and celebrating her 93rd birthday!  (As you can see, I’m not very good at taking selfies.)

• I started the all black puzzle Carl gave me for Christmas.  This is going to be a tough one.
• I averaged almost 8,400 Fitbit steps a day.

What’s going on in your corner of the world?