The Door of No Return

I saw The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander on a list of possible Newbery contenders and decided to give it a read. (I was in the middle of reading it when the children's book awards were announced, and it didn't win anything. But still a great book.) The book description says, "In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin. He’s warned though, to never go to the river at night. His brother tells him 'There are things about the water you do not know.' 'Like what?' Kofi asks. 'The beasts.' His brother answers. One fateful night, the unthinkable happens and in a flash, Kofi’s world turns upside down. Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life and what happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves."

This was a very heavy but important book. It was written in verse, which made it a fairly quick read, and the story definitely kept me engaged. The author made Kofi so real and really allowed me as the reader to feel the emotions of what the characters were going through. I liked that the book captured a culture and a part of history that I haven't really read about before. The book was quite sad but somehow written in a way that made it heavy and terrible and yet bearable. Like I didn't come away from the book depressed but did come away with it thinking about the horrific things people had to go through. One of the reviews on the back used the word "sober," which I think it a good description--the story was sobering.

* * (2/3 = Liked it)

2023 Picture Books

I decided to do a post here that I can regularly update throughout the year with particularly good picture books I read. I only have 2 right now, but I'll come back to this post throughout the year and add books as I come across them. This will be a list of picture books that I loved.

Sal Boat by Thyra Heder
I loved the story and the message and the beautiful illustrations.

Like by Annie Barrows and Leo Espinoza
I thought this was a creative, kid-friendly, well-written book about how we are all more alike than different.

The Last Mapmaker

I saw The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat on a list of newish books that could be possible 2022 Newbery winners and decided to give it a read since I enjoyed other books by the author. The book description reads, "As assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker, twelve-year-old Sai plays the part of a well-bred young lady with a glittering future. In reality, her father is a conman—and in a kingdom where the status of one’s ancestors dictates their social position, the truth could ruin her. Sai seizes the chance to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn’t the only one aboard with secrets. When Sai learns that the ship might be heading for the fabled Sunderlands—a land of dragons, dangers, and riches beyond imagining—she must weigh the cost of her dreams."

This was a great story. It was a little bit of a slow read for me, and it wasn't until the very end that I actually couldn't put the book down. The rest of the book, I wasn't especially engaged and so had to kinda encourage myself to keep reading. But I definitely loved the characters (Sai, Paiyoon, even Mud) and enjoyed the story, especially how things came together in the end and the lessons Sai learns about herself. The author created a whole new world, which made it a fun fantasy and adventure book.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Atomic Habits

My brother-in-law recommended Atomic Habits:An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear, so I listened to it on Audible. The author's description reads, "If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights."

This was a good read. I thought it gave some really practical tips (things like habit stacking). After I was partway through, I recommended it to Connor, and he started reading it too. I know the book is good because Connor was able to implement the strategies right away and start getting into some great new habits. It made me chuckle though because I haven't. The author said something about how not being able to get into good habits isn't a lack of motivation but a lack of a system. I really liked that but have no realized that I think lack of motivation is still a problem haha. I think this book may have been better for me if I had done a hard copy so I could make notes and such, but I still got a lot out of it.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Woman They Could Not Silence

After reading Radium Girls and loving it, I decided to read another book by the author, Kate Moore, so I got on audiobook The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear. This is a nonfiction book about Elizabeth Packard. The book description says, "1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of twenty-one years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened―by Elizabeth's intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. So he makes a plan to put his wife back in her place. One summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum. The horrific conditions inside the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, are overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who will prove to be even more dangerous to Elizabeth than her traitorous husband. But most disturbing is that Elizabeth is not the only sane woman confined to the institution. There are many rational women on her ward who tell the same story: they've been committed not because they need medical treatment, but to keep them in line―conveniently labeled 'crazy' so their voices are ignored. No one is willing to fight for their freedom and, disenfranchised both by gender and the stigma of their supposed madness, they cannot possibly fight for themselves. But Elizabeth is about to discover that the merit of losing everything is that you then have nothing to lose..."

Wow, what a read! Elizabeth Packard is a pretty amazing human being. I was amazed by her kindness, resilience, and dedication to fighting for the rights of both women and those who were in insane asylums. One of my favorite parts is when she got transferred to a ward with women with more mental health problems, and she took it upon herself to bathe them and care for them. I feel like she was such a go-getter! She had so many terrible things happen to her (being taken away from her children is one of the main ones), but she never just sat and moped or gave up--she always bounced back and got to work making a difference. It was really just unbelievable the condition of the world back in the 1860s and how limited rights women had. I mean, Elizabeth was basically put in the insane asylum because she had her own opinions and wasn't afraid to speak out about them. There are SO many women like that nowadays, and it's no problem, but things were really different back then. I thought the author did a wonderful job telling the story. I was engaged throughout, though sometimes held back by the limitations of reading via audiobook since I don't always have time alone to listen to a book. My only complaint was that sometimes at the beginning, I was under the impression that certain characters felt a certain way, only to find out otherwise later. I think it was purposeful of the author to introduce some surprises, but I guess the issue for me was I wasn't sure if I was reading an all-knowing narrator or a narrator from one point of view, and I think it wasn't always consistent. This made it kinda hard to know if certain parts of what I was reading were going to end up being accurate or if they would change if I later saw a different character's perspective. Anyway, I don't know if I'm even explaining this well, but it was only a small distraction and not a big deal. Overall it was a great read and really inspiring to learn about Elizabeth Packard and her determined fight to stand up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. Excellent book.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Remarkably Bright Creatures

I read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt for my book club with friends at church. The book description says, "After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late."

I feel like the description doesn't really capture the full story of this book, but what a great read! I was so engaged that I finished the book in just three days. I just couldn't stand the not-knowing and wanted to see how the characters figured things out and how things would come together. The author did an amazing job creating believable, lovable characters (including the octopus!), and I was just rooting for both Tova and Cameron. I also loved how the author seemed to care about tying up loose ends and making things end well. As I reflected on the book at the end, I saw a few plot gaps, but I feel like they were small and didn't hurt the story. I thought this was a great book with a clever plot. The only bad thing about the book was it had quite a bit of bad language. The book switched perspectives, and whenever Cameron was talking, there was a lot of bad words peppered throughout. Usually I put down books like this, but since I was doing it with a book club, I stuck with it and just kinda skimmed those parts. But I wanted to give this disclaimer for others who avoid bad language in books.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)