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Cascade

 
Cascade's Reviews


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Anna and the Swallow Man

by Gavriel Savit

As this book begins, Anna is a 7 year old Jewish girl living in Poland with her father in 1939. One day her father leaves her with a gentile pharmacist and never returns. When the pharmacist refuses to shelter her, Anna meets and follows the "Swallow Man” who allows her to accompany him as he wanders around Poland during World War II to avoid capture. He teaches her numerous survival lessons during the war. The writing was incredible.

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Elle and Coach
by Stefany Shaheen

This book will be of interest to both young adult and adult readers. It’s a fabulous book to read aloud as a family, especially if your life has been impacted by anyone with type 1 diabetes and/or you love dogs. This book chronicles Elle’s life during her diabetes diagnosis and subsequent lessons on how to manage her glucose levels. Ultimately she gets a service dog named Coach who makes a tremendous positive impact upon Elle, her family, and her dramatically improved glucose regulation.

 

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I Woke Up Dead at the Mall
by Judy Sheehan

Sarah wakes up dead at the Mall of America and soon learns that she has been murdered by poisoning! The Mall is portrayed somewhat like purgatory because the ghosts stuck there learn how to move on between life and whatever you believe as an afterlife. She develops feelings for another resident ghost named Nick, who ultimately helps Sarah save her father from her fate.

 

 

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Whisper to Me
by Nick Lake

Cass is a teenage girl living with her father after her mother’s sudden death which she witnessed, resulting in serious mental/emotional trauma. While taking a walk, Cass finds a severed foot on the beach. The police suspect that this foot belonged to a victim of the “Houdini Killer” who has killed many women over the years; the Houdini Killer targets females who are involved in the sex trade. Soon after finding this foot, she begins hearing a voice that tells her to do things and threatens her if she refuses. After she was institutionalized and drugged for hearing the voice and, a doctor who runs a therapy group helps her learn how to deal with the voice without meds.  Then her bipolar friend, whom she met at the institution, goes missing. With the help of her boyfriend, Cass tries to save Paris. This entire story is told from Cass’ point of view via e-mail format; it is an apology note to her summer boyfriend. Themes include human connection, grief, mental illness, and first love. 



Jen recommends

Jen

 


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Timmy Failure: Now Look What You've Done
Timmy Failure: We Meet Again

by Stephan Pastis

I read the first Timmy Failure book quite some time ago and have thoroughly enjoyed reading more Timmy! Timmy Failure is a boy detective who is long on confidence and short on skill. Timmy’s sidekick is a 1,500-pound polar bear named Total. Their detective agency is alternately named Failure, Inc. or Total Failure, Inc., depending on Timmy’s mood. The Timmy Failure books are classified as graphic novels although they contain much more text than graphics, similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. If the author’s name, Stephan Pastis, is familiar, it could be you’re familiar with Pastis’s daily cartoon, Pearls Before Swine.

In Now Look What You’ve Done, Timmy is sure he is going to win the school competition to find a stolen globe and take home the $500 prize, which is guaranteed to set him up for life. In this book, we’re introduced to Timmy’s new ally, Great-Aunt Colander.

In We Meet Again, Timmy is on academic probation, but can save his grades by taking on a case to recover the lost “Miracle Report”, a dangerous and dirty job, but of course, it could lead to Timmy’s agency becoming internationally known.

 


Sally recommends

Sally

 

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Touching Spirit Bear    
The Ghost of Spirit Bear

by Ben Mikaelsen

You know my type—I’m the grandma who gives her grandkids books for Christmas. (You, too?) Often, I get a “thank you” but not much feedback. However, the mother of my youngest grandson recently messaged me that he had read Touching Spirit Bear and loved it. He wanted to know if we had the next book, Ghost of Spirit Bear at the store, and if I’d read the books. Of course, I immediately ordered the book.  After I read it, I sent it on. I’m going to ask if he’ll let me read his copy of Touching Spirit Bear, and am looking forward to some book conversation with a sometimes hard to talk to grandchild.

The first book is about an angry young teen who brutally attacks a fellow student. Faced with a choice between a jail sentence or the alternative posed by a Native American Circle, he chooses the latter, a year-long banishment to a remote Alaskan island. The second book follows his return home and his experience going back to his school and attempting to re-establish relationships with his parents. I wish my grandchildren didn’t live in this kind of world, but I’m grateful for these books as an entrée into conversation with them.
 


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