Ice Dogs By Terry Lynn Johnson

Amber Smoke: The Escaped

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Advanced Readers Copy Review

I'm not sure if I've ever started a review with OMG, but OMG! What a great book! The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier is a Maryland Black-Eyed Susan nominee this year which is why I read it AND it's also an advanced readers copy that I had. The story begins with Molly and Kip who are two orphans from Ireland who are on their way to the Windsor home to work as servants. They lost their parents at sea after they fled Ireland during the Great Famine. Now Molly, 14, and Kip, 10, need a place to live. There was something strange about the house and the family from the very beginning, but things soon became more strange with the first visit from who the Windsor daughter, Penny, calls the night man. Things got stranger still when Molly borrowed the key to the green door at the top of the stairs. Inside the door Molly found letters from her parents hidden in the knot hole of the old tree that grew too close to the house. Molly wasn't alone. Everyone was getting something from the tree and tree was getting something in return.

I found The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier to be a classic thriller. There were parts that had me physically cringing and afraid to read on and then there were parts that had me crying which was weird since I was sitting in a gym waiting for my daughter. The story line was intricate and well thought out and as twisted as the tree itself. There were several poignant moments of wisdom and reality especially between Hestor Kettle and the kids. The characters in The Night Gardener were rich and developed. I really felt for Molly who spent so much energy protecting Kip from the truth through her stories that she forgot her own insecurities. It was amazing to see Kip grow from a naive kid to a young man able to handle the truths around him. Mr. Windsor reeked of desperation as much as Mrs. Windsor reeked of longing. The characters were believable which helped to create a rich story.

I highly recommend The Nigh Gardener by Jonathan Auxier to 12 years of age and older. Adults...you too! It's a thrilling story you're going to love!!!

View all my reviews

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!! May your day be filled with family and friends!!

The Elf Cow!

Hanging with the Chik-fil-a cow at Small Business Saturday!

Crenshaw By Katherine Applegate

Crenshaw

By Katherine Applegate

Goodreads:

In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience.

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

Beloved author Katherine Applegate proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary.

From Descendants to Disney

Has your tween girl watched the Disney movie Descendants? It's about a group kids whose parents were all of the evil people in fairy tales like Maleficent. They were all taken to an Island and locked there under a protective spell to keep them there forever. The upcoming Prince charming though thinks that it's not fair for the kids, who are innocent, to be punished for their parents evil deeds so he invites a group to where all of the kids from the heroes and heroines in the same stories live. It's Disney so it's a feel-good story. 

The book however is much different. I haven't read the book, but my daughter, after seeing that the movie was based off a book, decided to read the book. She says that the book is completely different than the movie. She even stated that she can't even see how the movie came from the book and that tells ya how different it is! She did say the book was okay. I asked her, if she had not seen the movie, then would the book be a good book. She said sure (without much gusto). She said the book wasn't too exciting. 

So there ya have it! Maybe in this case, the movie is better than the book!!