HON - Loved

I am a HUGE House of Night Fan!! In fact...I'm such a big fan, I never finished reading the series. Yup. You heard it right. I do this and it is irritating. I didn't want the series to end so I didn't read the last book. But now I can!! Introducing...

New series with my favorite Nerd Herd!! Loved just came out on 11 July 2017! Can't wait to read it, but I'm thinking that maybe I should now finished the first series. 

Thanks Elle Cosimano!

So I entered The Suffering Tree #TweetATree contest.

First, Elle Cosimano is one of my favorite writers.
Second, the contest asked for a picture of a tree and I had the PERFECT tree.

I edited this a bit. I took out the houses and added tombstones, but the tree is untouched. Here's the original.

Yes, there is still some editing, but I can't find the true original. 😬

Third, I really like trees.

My computer

Fourth, I already read The Suffering Tree as an ARC from NetGalley and thought it was awesome.

And guess what?...

I WON!

This was the package I won ~ an autographed copy of The Suffering Tree, a bookmark, a sticker and a handcrafted journal. Too cool! 👍

I've never won anything except for 21 Jumpstreet shoelaces and that was some VERY exciting stuff...at the time.

Thank you Elle Cosimano!

AND

...if you haven't read The Suffering Tree, then get a copy. While you're at it, pick up Nearly Gone and Nearly Found. They are just incredible! I'm halfway through Nearly Found and it's just as good as Nearly Gone. AND...there's one more...Holding Smoke! 

Ya gotta have something to read on the beach!!

Free Little Library Find!

I love our community's Free Little Library! It was given to me by a local book store that was moving off our peninsula. He couldn't take it with him and so asked if we could put it at our community beach. SURE! It has become such an asset! People drop off books and pick some up. It's perfect! We generally don't have too many issues although some teens did vandalize it about a month ago. They pulled the books our and ripped them up. Disgusting behavior! 😠

I was down there yesterday changing the bulletin board and what should I find?

I LOVE Anne Rice!! I'm not sure if I have the The Witching Hour. I think I do. I know I don't have The Body Thief. Also, Who's Afraid of Virginai Woolf? Always up for a classic!

New Trailer!

Woo hoo! I FINALLY uploaded a new book trailer! It's been forever and I am truly sorry. I have a whole bunch sketched out in my notebook and I have to sit down and just get them out. BUT...in the meantime...enjoy!

This trailer is The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano which was the last ARC book that I reviewed. I decided to take a moment and read some books that I've been wanting to read. First and foremost is another Elle Cosimano book...Nearly Found. This is the sequel to Nearly Gone which I dearly loved! So far Nearly Found is just as good and it's so great to get back to Leigh and Reece although at the moment in the book they are not doing so well. Anyway, The Suffering Tree was a great end for ARC for the summer UNTIL I was handed another by a friend who owns a bookstore and was told I HAVE to read it...The Store by James Patterson. It's sounds a bit dystopian which is right up my alley and James Patterson is a madman! I do believe that he is chained up in someone's attic and forced to pump out book after book...adults, teens, childrens...it doesn't matter...JUST WRITE!! I have to get the book back to my friend so I don't want to keep too long, so I'll read it next.

Anyway, enjoy the trailer and hopefully I'll get caught up this summer!

The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano (book trailer)

Summer Reading!!

Yes! It's almost here! IT'S...

This is the time that I can read whatever I want! LOL During the school year, I try to read books that the kids in my school read. My school reads the Maryland Black-Eye Susan Books so I generally like to cover the graphic novels while the librarian reads the chapter books. She can't stand graphic novels. 🙊 I didn't like them either until I volunteered to read them and make up questions last school year for our Jeopardy with the BES books. I decided they weren't too bad after all! I didn't read them this year because we didn't play Jeopardy since the school year ended earlier than usual. There were a few I would like to read though. Also, I volunteered in middle school book club so I had to read a book a month for that and I am a HORRIBLY slow reader. AND I read advance reader copies (ARCs) when I can, but concentrate on them mainly during the school year. Anyway!...now I can read what I want!

My number one goal? To read...To Kill A Mockingbird. NO! I have not read it and please quiet your disdain! Everywhere I turn I see this book. I can't get away from it and I figure that it must be destiny. I bought it last summer to read and didn't get to it. I'll try again this summer. I have the rest of my summer reading list on a page on the above menu.

So what are you reading this summer? Do you like lists? 

The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano

The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.*

Tori’s dad passed away over a year ago and since then the family had lost their home. Thankfully and surprisingly, Tori’s mom was sent notice that the family was to receive property and a house on land in Chaptico, Maryland. With no other choices, the family moved to a very small town in southern Maryland. While out in the cemetery, by the giant dead oak, Tori cut herself and watched as the blood dripped from her arm and into the soil. As the ground shook, a hand reached out of the soil. Nathanial Bishop pulled himself out of the ground, reborn from a curse hundreds of years old. Tori lived on Slaughter land and the Slaughter’s history was long and wrought with secrets that both Tori and Nathaniel are twisted into. It is up to Tori to unravel that history and find out what brought Nathaniel back from the dead and who is trying to stop those secrets from coming back as well.

I am thankful that The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano was no disappointment and just as gripping as Nearly Gone. Written from multiple viewpoints, the reader gets dialog from Nathaniel and Emmeline’s time as the story unfolds in present time. Ms. Cosimano does a wonderful job at weaving a long family history involving a powerful land owner and two child indentured servants from England. I feel I must mention that the main character uses self-harm to maintain stress levels. I thought that this was pretty gutsy for a writer to have a main character involved in this, but it worked and it was fitting to the story. It was nice that, in the end, Tori felt like she didn’t have to do that anymore. I also have to mention that I thought it was really cool that the story took place not to far from where I live so seeing familiar cities and counties was pretty neat! Then there’s the end…the end. I truly loved the end and sat for a while afterwards and just let the tears flow. I’ll have this story in the back of mind for a while. I completely recommend The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano. Summer is coming and this book deserves to go vacation with you!!!

View all my reviews

2017-18 MD Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominees!

I have just added the 2017-18 MD Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominees on the above pages! Exciting stuff! The Black-Eyed Susan's are Maryland's student awards...read and voted on by students! The books are truly excellent and I HIGHLY recommend parents read them with their children and follow up with discussion from the picture books straight up to the high school.

This year there are 2 categories for graphic novels which I LOVE considering graphic novels can be slightly inappropriate for elementary school aged children. It's nice to see them split. I have read I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark and love it! It's not surprising it's nominated this year. Lately there have been quite a few historical picture books. Last year there was Mesmerized and Gingerbread for Liberty and Jackrabbit McCabe. I think that they are very educational as well as entertaining. I don't know any of the books for grades 4-6, but Full Cicada Moon has a gorgeous cover and Towers Falling looks really good. Oh! Seven and a Half Tons of Steel in the picture books...can't wait to read! It doesn't surprise me that Ghosts in the grades 4-6 graphics is on the list. Raina Telgemeier has written Smile, Sisters and Drama and Ghosts is almost certain to please. Mighty Jack looks good too. I believe it's a twisted fairy tale and I do love my fairy tales! Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard is by Jonathan Auxier who wrote The Night Gardener that was on last year's list and what a great book that was!! Very creepy! I have A Night Divided in my personal collection and haven't read it yet. This may be a good time!! I don't know any of the grades 6-9 graphic novels, but Gotham Academy looks interesting. I don't know any of the high school's either which will make for great reading!! I love to read books that I have never heard of, but I KNOW will be good.

Happy reading!!