Monthly Archives: February 2022

Cat & Mouse

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Book: Cat & Mouse by Britta Teckentrup

I saw this book at a cute little store on a trip to Texas last month, and I could not resist. I did show a little self control though, and only bought two copies to give as gifts. After the taking of this photo, the book has moved on to its new home with my nephew.

This is a story that will be loved by kids, but also carrying some elements that can be enjoyed by their adults. The story follows a cat and mouse chase around the house and into the woods, with little peek-through spaces on each of the pages built in to the illustrations. The illustrations are mostly geometric figures arranged to give the idea of the spaces, without a ton of details. The story is told through a catchy rhythm of rhyming verse, and I liked the way that text blocking was used to keep things visually interesting.

I think this would be great as a read aloud, with one or with a group of younger children. There are good opportunities for predictions or questions, and kids will enjoy following the chase through the illustrations on each page. And don’t worry—despite the set up of the sneaky mouse and the clever hunter cat, there is an ending that will satisfy lovers of both!

Minka’s Thoughts: “Finally, a cat and mouse book where we don’t have to be the villain! 4 paws!”

In a Dark Dark Wood

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img_2601Book: In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Date Read: December 19 to 22, 2021

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

This book was one of my last picks of the year to finish up the bonus challenges included for the Unread Shelf Project 2021—a book from a Little Free Library. Before I talk about the book, I need to talk about how I love the idea of Little Free Libraries, but I am not so great at using them. I love having books, and being around books. When I have really enjoyed a book, I have a hard time letting go of it—partially because I am a re-reader, and partially because I love to have it on hand to lend out to someone who might be interested. I do try to collect rather than hoard though, so sometimes it does become necessary to pass a book on to its next life.

There is a Little Free Library along one of the routes that I like to walk through my neighborhood. Throughout the warmer months, I like to stop to browse the titles there at least once a week, and have picked up a few over time. Given my lengthy to read list, I am not always great about getting to those books right away to return, so I use a “take a book, leave a book” approach (as I believe many others do as well). Over the last few years, I have gradually dropped off any book donations that I have there, hoping that I will keep things balanced.

This is actually one of the first books that I picked up from that Little Free Library. The title was familiar and the cover intriguing. Although I was slightly confused with the disjointed storyline early on, I thought it was brought together nicely throughout the book. Although I would say that this is primarily a mystery, there were some elements of horror woven into the story, and these pieces were very well done. The skin crawling eeriness sprinkled throughout made the mystery aspect richer, while also serving to distract a bit from the clues dropped along the way. I was expecting some kind of twist, but the one here had nuances that were way beyond what I had anticipated.

There were some elements here that I think could qualify this as a 5 star read, but overall I put it just a little below that. While I appreciate that there was a mix of genres intertwined here, there were some elements that just did not seem to fit. Occasionally when reading, I found myself doing a mental double take— wondering if I had accidentally picked up a romantic comedy rather than horror mystery. That’s not to say, of course, that those genres could never mesh, but it did not feel right for the story here.

Boris’s Thoughts: “Horror, mystery, comedy… too many things to think about, really. I think I’ll nap on this one. 2 paws.”

Orphan Island

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Book: Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

Date Read: December 15 to 18, 2021

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

I found this book while shopping with a friend. I must have picked it up and set it down a dozen times—I was supposed to be shopping for gifts, not for myself. Of course there is the matter of the giant stack to read at home. I somehow summoned the self-control to leave without it. Lucky for me, my friend was paying attention and picked it up to give to me later. Bookish friends are the best.

This one has been a little tricky to write about, as there were some aspects of this book that I loved and others that I’m still not sure about. The concept is definitely intriguing, and for the most part the story was as well, although the plot meandered a bit. The world of the island is constructed slowly, both answering questions and generating new ones along the way.

After finishing this book, I saw it described somewhere as “a children’s book that adults like more than children” and this makes sense to me. There are so many aspects are relatable in terms of the uncertainty of growing up, but that’s much easier to appreciate in retrospect than when you’re going through it. While I felt that the ending was in some ways fitting with the overall theme of the story, it left me a little unsatisfied. Sure, it works well as a metaphor, but sometimes the story is more desirable than finding a deeper meaning.

Minka’s Thoughts: “I think there’s something about children’s novels that can bring us all together. 4 paws.”

Boris’s Thoughts: “Sure. But don’t push it, little girl. 3 paws.”

Burned

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img_1873Book: Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Date Read: December 10 to 15, 2021

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

I used a very loose and vague interpretation of the December prompt from the Unread Shelf Project to choose this book: a book the reminds you of childhood. This book is generally categorized as young adult, and it has one that has been on my to read shelf for a very long time… maybe since high school? Unlike many of the books on my shelf, I cannot exactly place this one, but it seems like it would fit with that general time period.

To start, I feel like I should start by saying that the connection to my childhood ends there. This is a coming of age type story, based on a girl growing up in an extremely conservative religious family. She rebels, but begins to come in to her own after being sent away to live with an estranged relative. There is, of course, a love story tied in, but I thought there was at least some effort made to make this more than just a teenage love story.

For the most part, the story was compelling and the style of the book was definitely unique and interesting. The story is a narrative told mostly through poetry, with a few more traditional passages sprinkled throughout. It was a surprisingly quick read for being 500+ pages. Although I generally liked the story, things did get a little wild toward the end, leaving me not completely satisfied. While not exactly a cliffhanger, the ending feels incomplete. I was both excited and disappointed to discover that there is a sequel out there—although it is proven to be a little difficult to locate.

Boris’s Thoughts: “I think fast paced quick reads are the perfect nap on the lap books. 4 paws.”