Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly discussion hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books where a bookish topic is discussed each week. This week’s topic is: Is there a time limit on spoilers? (suggested by Megan @ Megabunny Reads)
No. There should never be a time limit on spoilers. Whether or not the book was published last week or in the 17th century, there is always going to be someone who hasn’t read it.
I actually haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books except for the first one! Someday, I’ll probably read the series, but until then, I don’t want to know what happens! Obviously, I have read a few ( a lot) of spoilers of the books, but I still would like to keep the number of spoilers I read as little as possible.
Once, someone spoiled a big part of the 3rd Anne of Green Gables book, and I was only like halfway through the first on, and I was so sad, and even though I was I think 9 when it happened, I still remember it. It’s important to keep in mind that if you spoil a part of a book, the persons going to remember it.
I’m going to keep todays LTB fairly short so, here’s my overall opinion:
There should not be a time limit on spoilers, and that applies to books, movies, and anything else with a plot and characters. If someone hasn’t read a book, then you should not spoil any part of the story, even if it’s a tiny little detail that you think won’t matter UNLESS YOU ASK THEM.
Do you think there should be a time limit on spoilers? What’s your opinion? Chat with me in the comments below!
Hey readers. I’m really happy right now, because I finally figured out how to change the color of the headings and links, which means that now there is no more bright orange text! Anyways, WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. How it works is I answer 3 questions:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
What are you currently reading?
I am currently rereading It Ain’t so Awful, Falafel, by Firoozeh Dumas. I’ve read this book maybe 6 times now, and it is so amazing!
I am still reading The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak. I am making painfully slow progress through this book, but I have heard so many good things about it this will not be one of the few books I do not finish.
What did you recently finish reading?
I recently finished reading Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana DeRosnay. My review of this incredible novel is coming (relatively) soon.
What do you think you’ll read next?
Next, I want to read Orange for the Sunsets, by Tina Athaide. This book looks really good, and I’ve put off reading it for way to long.
Have you read any of these books? What’s on your WWW Wednesday? Chat with me in the comments below!
Hello! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s topic is winter TBR (to be read), so today I’m going to make a list of 10 of the books I want to read this winter.
1 Girl on a Wire, by Gwenda Bond
2 The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing 1: The Pox Party, by M. T. Anderson
3 Black Radishes, by Susan Lynn Meyer
4 The Wolf Wilder, by Katherine Rundell
5 Orange for the Sunsets, by Tina Athaide
6 Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer L. Holm
7 The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelo
8 Before We Were Free, by Julia Alvarez
Books I want to reread:
9 The Girl who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill
10:
The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani
What books are on your winter TBR? Have you read any of the books on mine? Chat with me in the comments below!
This book is so good! Mariama J. Lockington does an incredible job of writing about how Makeda takes on everything in her life with courage and creativity. If you’ve read the book, and are okay with spoilers, you can read my spoiler review here.
Goodreads Summary:
Makeda June Kirkland is eleven years old, adopted, and black. Her parents and big sister are white, and even though she loves her family very much, Makeda often feels left out. When Makeda’s family moves from Maryland to New Mexico, she leaves behind her best friend, Lena―the only other adopted black girl she knows―for a new life. In New Mexico, everything is different. At home, Makeda’s sister is too cool to hang out with her anymore and at school, she can’t seem to find one real friend.
Through it all, Makeda can’t help but wonder: What would it feel like to grow up with a family that looks like me?
Through singing, dreaming, and writing secret messages back and forth with Lena, Makeda might just carve a small place for herself in the world.
My Rating: 5 stars!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters:
Mariama J. Lockington gives the characters in this story such interesting and diverse personalities! Here are a few of them:
Makeda:
Makeda is such an interesting character, with such a great personality! She is treated very unfairly a lot because she is black, but most of the time, she handles it well, and also in funny ways. On her first day, on of her teachers asks her where she’s from, she responds with here, because she is from the United States. Her teachers like I mean what country, and she’s like; I’m from America, y’all. She’s awesome.
Eve:
Eve is Makeda’s older sister, and they sometimes fight, but she really cares about Makeda, and stands up for her. At the end of their first day of school a boy asks if Eve babysits Makeda, and Eve’s like; she’s my sister, we live in the same house; ever heard of that?
Lena:
Lena is also is adopted, is black and has white parents, and she and Makeda are best friends. When Makeda moves away, they still send each other letters and communicate, which is awesome because Lena is so kind and supportive to Makeda.
By the way, none of those are direct quotes from the book, just my representations of the sisters snarkyness, if that’s even a word!
Plot:
The plot of this book is all about Makeda. It follows how she deals with being treated differently because she is black in an almost entirely white and latino school. Even one of her teachers asks her where she is from on her first day, assuming she’s from another country, just because she’s black. Kids at her new school are so mean to her, and make so many assumptions about her just because she’s black. I have a lot more to say about this book, but that’s kind of impossible to do without a bunch of spoilers, so if you’re fine with that you can check out my spoiler review here.
Where I got this book/ How I found out about it:
A few months ago I saw an amazing review about it on another blog, Bookish Girl Magic, but I didn’t read it until my mom checked it out from the library, and I am so glad she did, because For Black Girls Like Me is now one of my favorite books!
Conclusion:
Overall, this book is an incredible book that brings attention to what it can be like for a black girl growing up in a white family and mostly white community. Makeda is an incredible girl, and is so lucky to have a friend like Lena and a sister like Eve. Middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults alike with enjoy and benefit from reading For Black Girls Like Me.
What do you think about this book? Have you read For Black Girls Like Me? Do you agree with any of the points I’ve made? Chat with me in the comments below!
This book is so good! Mariama J. Lockington does an incredible job of writing about how Makeda takes on everything in her life with courage and creativity. This review is full of spoilers, so if you don’t want to know about the book’s final outcome, you can read my spoiler free reviewhere.
Goodreads Summary:
Makeda June Kirkland is eleven years old, adopted, and black. Her parents and big sister are white, and even though she loves her family very much, Makeda often feels left out. When Makeda’s family moves from Maryland to New Mexico, she leaves behind her best friend, Lena―the only other adopted black girl she knows―for a new life. In New Mexico, everything is different. At home, Makeda’s sister is too cool to hang out with her anymore and at school, she can’t seem to find one real friend.
Through it all, Makeda can’t help but wonder: What would it feel like to grow up with a family that looks like me?
Through singing, dreaming, and writing secret messages back and forth with Lena, Makeda might just carve a small place for herself in the world.
My Rating: 5 stars!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters:
Mariama J. Lockington gives the characters in this story such interesting and diverse personalities! Here are a few of them:
Makeda:
Makeda is such an interesting character, with such a great personality! She is treated very unfairly a lot because she is black, but most of the time, she handles it well, and also in funny ways. On her first day, on of her teachers asks her where she’s from, she responds with here, because she is from the United States. Her teacher says, I mean what country, and she’s like, I’m from America, y’all.
She also goes through a lot! She is bullied at school for being black, so much so that her mom decides to homeschool her and her sister! She is 11 years old, and has been through so much. Makeda is so strong, and so brave!
Eve:
Eve is Makeda’s older sister, and they sometimes fight, but she really cares about Makeda, and stands up for her. At the end of their first day of school a boy asks if Eve babysits Makeda, and Eve’s like; she’s my sister, we live in the same house; ever heard of that?
When their mom tries to kill herself, and Eve and Lena are alone, Eve handles it very well in the moment. She stays calm, and helps Makeda stay calm. Even though she does have a bit of a temper, and sometimes gets mad, she is overall a really good sister and a really good friend.
(By the way, none of the above references are direct quotes from the book, just my representations of the sisters’ snark)
Lena:
Lena is also is adopted, is black and has white parents, and she and Makeda are best friends. When Makeda moves away, they still send each other letters and communicate first through the notebook and then through the private blog (I didn’t exactly get how that all worked) which is awesome because its a really cool way to stay in touch with your friend. The whole thing with the notebook was really interesting, and a great addition to the plot. Lena and Makeda are such good friends that they confide in each other about everything, so it actually turns out to be a good thing when her mom reads the notebook that was 100% not intended for her. Lena is such a kind and supportive friend to Makeda, and it makes Makeda’s life so much easier!
Plot:
This book tells the story of Makeda; how she is bullied because she is black, how she is overall treated differently because she’s black, and how she deals with her mom’s mental illness. There are so many interesting and well thought out aspects of this book’s plot. Mariama J. Lockington tells the story of an adopted black girl in a white family, of a black girl in a mostly white school and community, and of a girl who’s mother tries to commit suicide, and who struggles with mental illness. One of those topics alone would be enough to drive the plot of an amazing novel and story, and together, they are woven into one of the best books I’ve read all year.
Where I got this book/ How I found out about it:
A few months ago I saw an amazing review about it on another blog, Bookish Girl Magic, but I didn’t read it until my mom checked it out from the library, and I am so glad she did, because For Black Girls Like Me is now one of my favorite books!
Conclusion:
Overall, this book is an incredible book that tells the story of a black girl in a white family, of a black girl in a mostly white community, and of a girl who’s mother struggles with mental illness. Makeda is an incredible girl, and is so lucky to have a friend like Lena and a sister like Eve. Middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults alike with enjoy and benefit from reading For Black Girls Like Me.
What do you think about this book? Have you read For Black Girls Like Me? Do you agree with any of the points I’ve made? Chat with me in the comments below!
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly discussion hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books where a bookish topic is discussed each week. This week’s topic is: How do you deal with problematic books?
I don’t really have a lot of experience with problematic books, but here’s how I’ve dealt with one in particular.
The Little House books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder are classics. So many people have read them, and they are considered to be really sweet stories. Until you look at them a little more closely…
For those of you who don’t know, the Little House books are the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family’s journey west. The books show what the journey west could be like for some people, and tells the story of a family of pioneers and homesteaders.
One problematic part: Ma is really racist! They all are, in some way. Laura realizes it, and through her writing shows that her family’s ideas on Native Americans were wrong and very racist, but it is still shown.
When I first read these books, I was really little and didn’t recognize this. I recently reread a few of the books, and was astonished at how awful some of their ideas of the time were.
I don’t hate these books now; they are still some of my all time favorites. However, now, I can see the problems, and move past them. Just because parts of them are seen as problematic, I’m not going to get rid of them, completely remove them from their place on my bookshelf!
Personally, I don’t have to agree with everything the author writes in a book to make it a good book, or even one of my favorites! I hope that you enjoyed reading about how I feel about problematic books, and I’d love to hear your opinions, so feel free to chat with me in the comments!
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. How it works is I answer 3 questions:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak, All the Answers, by Kate Messner, and rereading The Only Road, by Alexandria Diaz.
What did you recently finish reading?
I recently finished reading A World without Princes , by Soman Chainani. It was just as good as the first book in the series, and I can’t wait to read the third and last book in the trilogy!
What do you think you’ll read next?
Next, I want to reread The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill, and read For Black Girls Like Me, by Mariama J. Lockington!
Have you read any of these books? What’s your WWW Wednesday? Chat with me in the comments below!
Hello! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s topic is a freebie, so I decided to do miscellaneous books. What I mean by that is books that aren’t part of a series, and don’t really fit into a specific topic, or genre. Obviously, they’d fit into genres like fiction, or history, but more specific and common genres. Anyways, here’s my list!
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg
Nowhere on Earth, by Nick Lake
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, by Kate DiCamillo
Circus Galacticus, by Deva Fagan
Matilda, by Roald Dahl
I hope you are all having an amazing December so far! I didn’t actually think that this topic would be so hard to find books for, but it has actually turned out to be a little bit of a challenge, so I’m going to leave it at this!
Do you have any other ideas for miscellaneous books? What was your Top Ten Tuesday topic? Chat with me in the comments below!
Hello! I’ve been working on a story for a couple of months now, and I’m going to try to post one chapter every week or so, and I’ll see how that goes. I don’t even have a title for this story yet, but I’ll figure one out later… Anyways, I hope you enjoy the start of the story, and I’d love to hear your feedback!
Chapter One: Milo
Milo Gabel was mad. Why did his sister Wendy, who was only 4 years older than him get to do all the cool stuff, while he was stuck at some stupid camp. His best friend Samara would get back from her grandparents house later that day, and he couldn’t wait. When Wendy was off doing cool stuff, like rock climbing, bungee jumping, or backpacking, like she was now, there was nothing to do at home. Milo had begged his parents to go with her, but they said that he was too little and would hold her back, so that’s how Wendy ended up backpacking alone in the wilderness with only a tiny gps tracker as a clue for her location, and Milo was stuck at a nature camp, with a bunch of little kids who actually thought building fairy houses was fun. So when he kicked the branch off the mountain they’d hiked, he didn’t even think about it. f
Maria, a 6 year old girl who was all too obsessed with finding unicorns, whined at him “Eliza said unicorns don’t live here”. She looked about to burst into tears. “Just not at this time of year, he replied reassuringly. Eliza, the only other camper Milo’s age, glanced back at him. What was wrong with her, Milo thought. As if she could read his mind, she said to him “this isn’t some stupid fairy tale, real world here”. As if a 6 year old would get that.
The day hadn’t been fun, so when Milo’s mom came to pick him up, he was glad to get out of there. His week at the horrible camp was over. Being in nature isn’t fun when you have to do silly activities like that. Dealing with little kids sad about unicorns wasn’t very fun. What his sister Wendy did, now that was an adventure, so when he got in the car, nothing prepared him for what his mom was about to say.
Book Nook Bits 