Crash Test Girl: An Unlikely Experiment in Using the Scientific Method to Answer Life's Toughest Questions by Kari Byron
If you get to know [people] a little better and work up a degree of human warmth toward them, you can judge them without the influence and control of unseen forces. — Kindle location 1081
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
Would have been my True Story bingo square if I’d gotten my act together to write this up Thursday night while distributing candy! It’s hard to say whether Mark Sanford did a disservice to the adventurous hikers braving the 2,200-mile trail that runs from Georgia to Maine or whether, perhaps, he inspired a few people to give it a go by raising awareness. At any rate, this book has nothing to do with political scandals, extramarital affairs, or clandestine trips to Argentina, so if that’s […]
The House of Broken Angels: A Novel by Luis Alberto Urrea
The House of Broken Angels is the story of two days and of a lifetime. It’s a beautiful novel about family; about pain, sorrow, and regret; about love, forgiveness, and perseverance. The de la Cruz family is gathering for two momentous events: the funeral of Mama America and the 70th birthday of Big Angel, Mama’s oldest son and patriarch of the extended de la Cruz clan. Yet, as everyone knows, this will be Big Angel’s last birthday; cancer has wracked his body and he has […]
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
#CBR11 Bingo: Two heads are better than one (would also work for Illustrated or Youths!) For two months of the year, all through high school, Deja and Josiah are best friends, while working at the local Pumpkin Patch extraordinaire. For four years, from the start of September until Halloween, they’ve been dutifully serving customers in the Succotash hut, and sharing pretty much everything with one another for those two months. Once they go back to school, they don’t really interact. This year is different. Deja and […]
Ghoulia and the Mysterious Visitor: Book #2 by Barbara Cantini
While not technically about Halloween, this second Ghoulia book fits the bill for a slightly spooky story for younger readers. My second grader loved the first book, Ghoulia: Making New Friends Can be Scary, which is about an undead girl wanting to make friends with the town children. So when I learned that the sequel was out, it was an automatic choice for an ‘All Hallows Read’ gift. In the first book Ghoulia learned about Halloween and made friends. This time there is a mystery […]
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
I had this on my Amazon wishlist after seeing it reviewed somewhere (maybe ElCicco’s review from 2016?) and promptly forgot about it. Then I went to visit the Dollar Tree (the best dollar store chain in NJ, and you can fight me on that) and what do I see but a very familiar cover. I was surprised to see an actual (hardcover) book in the dollar store that I actually had intended to buy at some point, so I snatched it up! This is a […]
