Jan 31, 2021

Building the Book Pile #335



Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Hi Again, How was your week? Mine was pretty meh. Nothing exciting nothing too boring so I guess that is a win or sorts. I am excited for today though, I am going to have a Zoom girls day/ planner party (because we all love our planners and want to get together to plan the next few weeks). I am also excited for Book Club which is Monday evening  - we are reading The Liar's Dictionary and I am swooning over it. If you are a lover of words, I already Highly Recommend it and I am only on chapter 3.

Here are some weekly highlights: I got my new planner and some cute new Valentine's Gnome earrings. I received a beautiful painting of Rolo.


 Cooper decided I needed a laugh and got a piece of paper stuck to his nose. I have plant babies growing - all veggies for the garden we are putting together (yay FL warmth) and I did my nails for Valentines already.



What are you reading this week? How are you holding up/ or not (that is ok too)?

If you enjoy the blog and want to share some love and caffeine, you can buy me a coffee via Ko-fi
 



Coming up on the Blog


Recent Reads: Caraval by Stephanie Garber (YA)

Early Reader Review: Flash Facts by Mayim Bialik (MG, GN)

Early Reader Review: Anonymouse by Vicki VanSickle (Youth)

Books Received Recently...
 
 

         Flash Facts by Mayim Bialik - For review consideration from DC Comics


Have you missed anything lately?

Comment or leave me a link and I will see you online again soon.
Happy Reading!

Jan 30, 2021

Monthly Re-Cap: January 2021


Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 


~~Books I Read in January 2021~~




~~Links to Some Reviews~~

January Reviews



Reviews Coming Soon

  • Caraval by Stephanie Garber (YA)
  • Anonymouse by Vicki VanSicle (Youth)
  • The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest by Heather Lang (Youth) 
  • Aster and the Mixed up Magic by Thom Pico (MG/GN)
  • When Sharks Attack With Kindness by Andres Colmenares (GN)
  • Delicates (Sheets #2) by Brenna Thummler (YA, GN)

Thanks so much for reading!
Support late night reading by sending caffeine 😴

Jan 29, 2021

Early Reader Review: Candy Hearts by Tommy Siegel

Source: From Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.


Candy Hearts by Tommy Siegel
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing 
Publication Date: February 2, 2021  



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27405327-pop-manga-coloring-book?from_search=true  https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Manga-Coloring-Book-Beautiful/dp/0399578471?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0399578471&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=x_gr_w_bb&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20

Format: Ebook


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Tommy Siegel's Candy Hearts comics offer a hysterical window into the many ways romantic couples are not at all on the same page.
 
From the awkwardness of flirting during a pandemic to scrolling through disastrous dating profiles, Candy Hearts hilariously captures the secrets, lies, and misunderstandings behind every relationship. With dozens of never-before-seen comics and a special Candy Hearts sticker set, this book is the perfect Valentine’s Day (or Anti-Valentine’s Day) gift for your friends, lovers, or even yourself.

Review: 
I came across this book on Netgalley while looking for books to read and it looked just enough funny and dark for my humor and it did not disappoint. I have a strong love for Candy Hearts in general both eating them (nom) but my husband also proposed using one, so they hold a special place in my heart.

Candy Hearts is all about internal dialogues and what you are thinking in different situations, but all the situations Siegel puts the hearts into turn out to be funny and awkward.

This book is for adult audiences due to its crass-ness and concepts. It is a series of comics where some are only one page and others go on for a few. They cover concepts of dating, online dating, being along, being with the right/wrong person, parenting, and just relationships overall. 

The collection was fun, it was nothing amazing, but the jokes were funny. Some were laughable, others a bit too awkward for my liking (but that probably says something about me more than the book). This would be a fun one to read around Valentine's Day, I think it works for those in relationships and probably those not as well.

Jan 27, 2021

Spotlight: Love in English by Maria Andreu


Hello Book Lovers, 

It is a Spotlight Day!! Today I bring you Love in English by Maria Andreu, available on February 2. The story is a "fresh, breakout YA novel that is layered with themes of immigration, cultural identity, and finding your voice in any language. "

Interested, keep reading to learn more...

XOXO, 
Steph



Love in English by Maria Andreu
Hardback $18.99 | Ebook $10.99| Also available in audio
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
336 Pages



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27405327-pop-manga-coloring-book?from_search=true  https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Manga-Coloring-Book-Beautiful/dp/0399578471?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0399578471&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=x_gr_w_bb&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20


Synopsis:
The world may have many languages but the one that remains the same is love.
For Ana, a sixteen-year-old girl from Argentina, it’s the only way that she is able to be understood when she moves to New Jersey. Being unhappy in her new life, she struggles to find her place. From a new class schedule to new friends, she doesn’t feel like she fits in to a world that doesn’t “get” her. But as she tries to adjust to her new life, she finds herself falling in love with Harrison from her math class and Neo from ESL and realizes that the language of love is universal. When words seem to escape her and she can’t transcribe her thoughts, her heart and her love are what speak louder than she can. Love in English is a fresh, breakout YA novel that is layered with themes of immigration, cultural identity, and finding your voice in any language. Get a sneak peek inside of the book here!
Andreu has appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post, NJ.com, and the Newark Star Ledger and her debut YA novel, The Secret Side of Empty (July 2015) is a Junior Library Guild Selection and a National Indie Excellence Book Award winner. 

 

Click the Excerpt Button for a Sneak Peek!

 Excerpted from LOVE IN ENGLISH by Maria E. Andreu, on sale February 2, 2021. Copyright © 2021 Maria E. Andreu. Reprinted with permission of HarperCollins Children’s Books.

About the Author 

Maria E. Andreu is a writer and author of the forthcoming Love in English (Balzer + Bray, 2021) as well as an as-yet untitled book (B+B, 2022) . Her work has appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post, NJ.com, and the Newark Star Ledger. Her debut young adult novel, The Secret Side of Empty is a Junior Library Guild Selection, a National Indie Excellence Book Award winner, an International Latino Book Awards Finalist and has been called “captivating” by School Library Journal. Maria is Latinx and Argentinian-American and currently lives in New Jersey with her two children.

Maria’s interest in the immigration rights movement stems from her own childhood and adolescence experiences with being undocumented in the United States.  She obtained her U.S. citizenship thanks to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Jan 26, 2021

Early Reader Review: In Love and Pajamas by Catana Comics

Source: From Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

In Love & Pajamas: A collection of comics about being yourself together by Catana Comics

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing  
Publication Date: February 2, 2021



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27405327-pop-manga-coloring-book?from_search=true  https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Manga-Coloring-Book-Beautiful/dp/0399578471?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0399578471&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=x_gr_w_bb&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20

Format: Ebook


Rating: 

Goodreads Synopsis: 
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Snug and the bestselling Little Moments of Love comes an all-new collection, In Love & Pajamas by Catana Chetwynd of Catana Comics! 

When you've reached that sweatpants-wearing cozy place in your relationship, it's all In Love & Pajamas!  This brand-new collection of Catana Comics presents some fan favorites and half of the book features never-before-seen comics that delight and amuse readers of all ages.  Wholesome, sweet, feel-good humor!

Review: 
Catana Comics makes me laugh out loud at all her perfectly accurate, realistic portrayals of life in a relationship. I love these so much because there are so many instances of "oh wow that is us" in it for me and on at least 5 occasions I shared the tiles with my husband as I LOLed about how true they were. 

This collection is all about being together through the silly weird things that make you - you. It is almost overly cutesy, but it is because you feel the love and trust through the characters and it is a warm and fuzzy that I am loving from books at the moment. I found this book to be everything I needed and more, to both read but also to remind me of the love that I have and really appreciate it for all its weirdness. 

I would recommend this book to anyone that is in love, still in love, needs a warm and fuzzy feeling, or as a gift for Valentine's Day. It is a precious and relatable collection that is perfect for Spring. 

Also by this Author

Jan 24, 2021

Building the Book Pile #334


Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 


Hi there! It has been a while. Sorry about that. You might have noticed that I started reviewing again at least...

I have been trying to pull myself out of reality a bit more lately because my dog Rolo passed away a few weeks ago and I feel so lost. It was such a sudden and unexpected onset that I was not prepared, not that I would have been either way. Th evet isn't even sure what happened. 😭😢
I am trying to get back into the things that bring me joy (while still working full time and in school). I have been reading more and trying to read more things that have been on my TBR or on my shelf for a while.  It seems to be helping a little. I am also building a scrapbook about him. He was my little shadow and I miss him so much. 

In less depressing news, I only have a few more weeks of the class I am in and then only 2 more after that! So close to being done! We bought a house in FL and are living here now. I am able to work remotely which is also a win and we are enjoying the sunshine daily. 

It has been such a long time, there is so much that I haven't shared, but I am happy to be back and will share fun stuff again (hopefully) weekly.

What are you reading this week? How are you holding up/ or not (that is ok too)?

If you enjoy the blog and want to share some love and caffeine, you can buy me a coffee via Ko-fi
 



Coming up on the Blog


Early Reader Review: In Love & Pajamas: by Catana Chetwynd (GN, Adult)
 
Spotlight: Love in English by Maria Andreu (MG)

Early Reader Review: Candy Hearts by Tommy Siegel (Comics, Adult)


Books Received Recently...

 

         A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - Audible Audio bought with credit





Have you missed anything lately?

Comment or leave me a link and I will see you online again soon.
Happy Reading!

Jan 22, 2021

Spotlight: BUMP by Matt Wallace with Excerpt!


Hello Book Lovers, 

It is a Spotlight Day!! Today I bring you BUMP by Matt Wallace, available on January 26th. This is Wallace's middle grade debut, and is the story of a tenacious young girl with an unconventional dream of becoming a professional wrestler. It explores "themes of self-discovery, community, racism, and processing grief."

Interested, keep reading to learn more...

XOXO, 
Steph





BUMP by Matt Wallace
Hardback $16.99 | Ebook $8.99| Also available in audio
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 26, 2021
Grade Level: 3 – 7 | Reading Level: 8-12 years |288 Pages



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27405327-pop-manga-coloring-book?from_search=true  https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Manga-Coloring-Book-Beautiful/dp/0399578471?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0399578471&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=x_gr_w_bb&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20


Synopsis:
A moving and triumphant middle grade contemporary debut from award-winning author Matt Wallace about a heroic young girl—who dreams of becoming a pro wrestler—learning to find courage and fight for what she loves. Perfect for fans of Kelly Yang, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds' Track series!

MJ knows what it means to hurt. Bruises from gymnastics heal, but big hurts—like her dad not being around anymore—don’t go away. Now her mom needs to work two jobs, and MJ doesn’t have friends at school to lean on.

There is only one thing MJ loves: the world of professional wrestling. She especially idolizes the luchadores and the stories they tell in the ring. When MJ learns that her neighbor, Mr. Arellano, runs a wrestling school, she has a new mission in life: join the school, train hard, and become a wrestler.

But trouble lies ahead. After wrestling in a showcase event, MJ attracts the attention of Mr. Arellano’s enemy at the State Athletic Commission. There are threats to shut the school down, putting MJ’s new home—and the community that welcomed her—at risk. What can MJ do to save her new family?

  © Matt Wallace

PROLOGUE: FÉNIX

Everything hurt.
That was what MJ quickly learned about professional wrestling.
It was always hot in Victory Academy, where she had spent most of her after-school hours and weekends for the past month, learning the secrets of pro wrestling. The walls were metal, and after a short while she began to think of the old warehouse like one giant oven in which she was slowly being cooked. The several large fans constantly turning their bladed heads did little to banish the heat. She’d almost gotten used to sweating buckets every day.
MJ stood in one of the wrestling ring’s four corners, holding the ropes where they connected to the top turnbuckle. The “ropes” were really steel cables covered by a garden hose slit up its middle and then wrapped in duct tape. MJ still wasn’t sure why everyone insisted on calling them ropes. She could barely see over the top of the corner. Even the youngest student in the academy was almost three years older than her, and she wasn’t big for her age besides.
MJ ran in place, her feet pumping as if she were sprinting around the track at school even though she stayed planted in the same spot.
On the cement floor beyond the ropes, Mr. Arellano stalked like some kind of predatory animal in a jungle, circling the ring. The skin around his eyes may’ve been wrinkled and sagging from age, but those eyes remained clear and sharp, and they seemed to see everything.
“Bump!” he barked at the students inside the ring.
MJ stopped running in place and let go of the ropes-that-weren’t-really-ropes. She let herself fall backwards, keeping her feet firmly planted where they were on the canvas. She tucked her chin tight against her chest as she landed on the upper part of her back between her shoulders. MJ extended her arms as she fell and slapped her hands against the mat at the same moment her back hit it. She was careful to keep her elbows turned out so they didn’t painfully smack the ring floor. It had taken her weeks to master that one small mechanic of taking a bump, and her elbows wore dark bruises that still served as her best reminders.
Landing hurt, just a little, far less than it was supposed to look like it hurt, but far more than people who dismissed wrestling as fake would ever know. Mr. Arellano had told MJ that bumping, especially taking bigger bumps than a simple fall backwards, would be harder on her because there was so little padding over her bones, and that it would get easier when she had more meat on her.
It hurt, but it also felt good in a strange way. It sent a rush through her body every time. The truth, as bananas as MJ knew it would sound to most other kids she knew, was that it all felt good. The oppressive heat, taking bumps, running drills, bouncing off the ring ropes until the skin under her right arm and across her back wore a red stripe.
After the brief shock of the bump passed, MJ stood up as fast as she could. She grabbed the ropes and began running in place again.
“You need to be back on your feet faster than that!” Mr. Arellano shouted at her from the floor.
Even his yelling at her and the rest of the students all the time felt good. In fact, it was one of the things MJ enjoyed the most. It was the first time in her life that someone yelling didn’t make her feel smaller, didn’t make her want to shrink away from the source of that yelling and hide. When Mr. Arellano shouted and cursed at them, there was no anger, but there was also nothing held back. He treated his students like adults, even her, and that was the part that felt good.
“Bump!”
MJ planted her feet and let herself fall again, welcoming it, gravity guiding her back to the warm mat that almost seemed to hug her, like a friend.
As she landed, MJ could barely remember her life before the ring, or maybe she just didn’t want to.

 Chapter One

A MONTH EARLIER

Everything hurt.

That was what MJ quickly learned about being twelve years old.

Even if the big hurts were fewer and far between, every day seemed to be filled with little hurts. When the rest of the team had a sleepover and didn’t invite you, it hurt. When they friended you on social media just to send you messages that kept you awake at night, it hurt. When a group of older girls shoved you into the lockers as they sprinted down the school hallway, it hurt. When you woke up in the morning and remembered what yesterday was like and you knew today would be more of the same, it hurt.

All those little hurts added up quickly, until they felt like carrying a big concrete block you couldn’t put down.

MJ always kept the blinds in her room shut tight, as tightly as she could pull their rough drawstring. It wasn’t that she didn’t like light; she didn’t like sunlight. More than that, she hated the way the world looked in the sunlight, and the way she looked. Sunlight was too bright. It was too honest. Everything showed in it, especially imperfections; dirt and dust and stains on furniture, and scratches and bruises and bumps on skin. The fake light from lamps was more forgiving. You could hide things in the soft, muted glow of fake light. Sunlight was like the harsh stare of the kids at her school, always looking for weaknesses in everything and everyone they saw.

So it was dark when she woke up that morning, and she liked it that way.

Her mother felt differently. She marched into MJ’s bedroom at 7:01 a.m. just as she did every morning, ignoring MJ stirring in her bed and walking right over to the window, snapping the blinds open and letting the sun invade every corner of the room.

MJ’s eyes only shut tighter. She turned away from the light, moaning and pulling her pillow around her head.

“Mom, come on!”

“You keep it too dark in here. It’s not healthy.”

“The sun gives you cancer, you know.”

“That’s not funny, Maya.”

“It’s true,” she grumbled.

“If you’re late again you’re going to find out I’m scarier than cancer.”

MJ sat up in bed indignantly. “How is that okay, but what I said isn’t?”

“Because I’m the mom,” her mother insisted.

Still grumbling, MJ crawled out of bed and stumbled across the floor to her dresser. Pulling open the drawer, she fished out a pair of jeans and a baseball-style shirt that had “MJ” printed on the front. Her parents named her Maya Jocelyn. Papi always called her MJ, he said because it reminded him of the character from the Spider-Man comics he read as a kid.

MJ didn’t like the old comics much, but she loved her father.

Jan 19, 2021

Recent Reads: The Rise of the Altereds by Marisa Noelle

Source:  From the Author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

The Rise of the Altereds by Marisa Noelle
Series: The Unadjusteds #2
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: December 2, 2020



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27405327-pop-manga-coloring-book?from_search=true  https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Manga-Coloring-Book-Beautiful/dp/0399578471?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0399578471&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=x_gr_w_bb&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20

Format: Ebook

Rating: 



Goodreads Synopsis: 
GENETIC MODIFICATION HAS BEEN OUTLAWED.

THE REMAINING ALTEREDS WANT REVENGE.

When Silver’s mother is abducted by a rogue scientist who releases a deadly new virus on the populace, she and her now unadjusted friends are faced with an impossible choice.

They can hide from the virus for as long as possible, or they can regain their abilities and take the battle to the mountains. But Silver doesn’t count on a new, rogue power growing within her. She can’t control it and soon all her friends are in danger. And there is something evil hiding in the snowy Sierras.

Can Silver learn to control her new, deadly power in time to rescue her mother as well as defeat the one who seeks to destroy them all?

Review: 
This is the 2nd book in the Unadjusted series, so if you have not read book 1 - STOP! This review may contain spoilers!!

In this installment, we follow Silver and her band of friends and survivors back into battle. This time they are looking for her mother who was taken after the last battle. This go around many altereds have been given  the cure for their DNA alterations and are becoming normal humans again, however there is now a virus sweeping the world. Animals and humans are getting sick and then in less than a day are ending up a puddle of goo. The futuristic world that Marisa Noelle created is an interesting one where there is a lot of drama and action and the world and its people are constantly vying for survival. 

Silver is still an altered but only because it is actually in her DNA and not from the pills her parents created. She is still able to gain others abilities through touch as well. Due to the situation, she and a team must get back there abilities in order to move across the country to take on the mad scientist that has captured her mother and created this virus that is destroying everything. 

Silver is just as emotional in book 2 as she was in book 1, but you can't really blame her. She has a lot of super powers and does not understand them all and her mother is still in danger. I would be a wreck too honestly. 

Like the first book, this book takes off right into the action. There is a threat, they must travel and hope not to die on the way to save the world. Within a few chapters you are off on an action-packed adventure. I don't want to spoil the ending, but it is crazy and so quick. The adventure lead up is so nerve wracking and you just feel so emotionally drained that by the time you get to the end you are almost relieved.

If you are looking for a futuristic book about people with super powers this is a great series to pick up. Be aware that there are mentions of COVID so it that is triggering please make note. There is also a lot of death and violence throughout. It is understandable as it is a book about war, but some can be very disturbing if you are not prepared for it.