The Book Nerd Mom

Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni

I won a free copy of this book during BookCon thanks to Holiday House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This is a middle grade book set in 1898 New York City, a time when humans and ghosts co-exist. We’re following cousins Eleanor and Alice, who team up when they suspect sinister ghosts in their house who are not there for friendly reasons. Previously unable to get along, the girls set aside their differences in order to eradicate the ghost from the home of their Aunt Bye, each for different motives. Ghost hunting isn’t as easy as it may seem, and these girls are in for a frightening time. But with each other’s help, and their own unique skillsets, they may be able to fend off the ghost for good.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read and super interesting. The way Salerni combined history and supernatural elements in this book was such a good way to get younger readers interested in history. I know even myself, having my BA in history, wanted to keep reading up on the characters mentioned in this story because the way they came to life in the story was so fascinating. I just wanted to keep learning.

Some of the elements in this story seemed a bit heavy for middle school grade, although I’ve been out of middle school for quite some time, so I can’t remember what types of books I was into. But this book contains murder and attempted murder. I would just take that into consideration when deciding if this is right for you and/or your child.

Overall, however, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It was a fun spin on history and a quick read. It would be a good read for fall. Publication is set for September 1.

The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe

I won a free copy of This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf in a Goodreads giveaway. Special thanks to William Morrow for hosting the giveaway and the publisher Custom House. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this story we are following a woman named Rebecca Farwell, a small town girl from Pierson Illinois, who works at Town Hall when she starts buying and selling art. In a different city, a thousand miles away, Reba Farwell–as she’s known to those in the art business–has made a fortune by selling off her paintings. Rebecca/Reba’s art dealings have been fueled by money she’s taken from the town’s accounts. We follow her story over the course of thirty years, watching as she takes larger risks and gains bigger rewards. But all good things come with a price and we must ask: how long can she play this game?

This book ended up being a miss for me. It was a slow read and I had to force myself to pick it back up and continue it. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and everything was just very dull. I couldn’t tell if the author was trying to portray Rebecca/Reba as having antisocial personality disorder or what was going on with Rebecca/Reba. She knew that the town was going bankrupt from her stealing the money, but she continued to do it, sometimes even blaming others (the state, etc.). What’s more, she attempted to hold fundraisers to raise money for the town and was praised as a great citizen of the town who loved Pierson. She spent tons of money on her friend Ingrid and children, but when Ingrid wanted to do something specific for her children, Rebecca/Reba ignored her, thinking that her own way was the only correct way. The one time she was almost caught by her boss, she freaked out and put money back into the account, and then tried to equate his kissing her while he was married as the same as her embezzling money from the town accounts.

Rebecca/Reba had little regard for people. She used people and then threw them away when they were no longer of use to her. The book itself was not super engaging. There were only a few occasions where it seemed any action happened, and for a book that was over 300 pages, that is not nearly enough. I don’t mind slice of life, day-to-day books, but there needs to be something happening or at least have some interesting and well-rounded characters.

Also, this book is classified as a mystery. I’m sorry but that is incorrect. I’ve tagged it as such, but what’s the mystery? The question is can or can’t she continue to get away with embezzling money? No mystery there.

Book is set for Publication September 29.

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi

I won a free e-ARC of this book thanks to PenguinTeen in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this novel we are following Amir Azadi, who has recently come out to his Muslim family and forced to go through an interrogation at an airport after he and his family have an argument on an airplane. As told to the security men during the interrogation, we learn that he had decided to run away to Rome, and things in his new life started to feel natural, until his past came back to haunt him and everything he had come to know was in jeopardy.

The story is told in a sort of dual-timeline aspect. The present day is when they’re in the interrogation room and the past is through flashbacks. It’s mostly told in Amir’s narrative, except when we get to the interrogation aspect, which also includes perspectives from his family members. I’ll be honest, those aspects got confusing sometimes and it was hard to differentiate who was who, but I did like that they were included in the story.

I’m sad to say this didn’t live up to the high expectations that I put on it. It wasn’t *terrible* but it wasn’t the masterpiece that I had pictured it to be in my mind. There were things that I found somewhat problematic and overall it just wasn’t knock-your-socks-off amazing.

So what were some of the issues I had? Well, Amir seemed to have very unlimited resources for an 18 year old who decides to leave his home on a whim. Once he got to Rome, every friend he makes are attractive gay men who befriend Amir and takes him under their wing. Not only that, but they are all older than he is. This felt wrong, and it’s constantly being pointed out how much younger he is than them, by the pop culture references and lack of knowledge. This book also is marketed as focusing on how coming out relates to Amir’s Muslim family but when he talks about it it is more of a culture thing.

I didn’t have issues with everything in this book. I enjoyed reading the book for the most part and I read this pretty quickly. There was one disturbing scene and I don’t know why that was included. I liked Amir’s character, but most of the time I had trouble remembering that he was actually 18, as he seemed younger than that.

Despite the issues I had with this book, I did like it. Was it all that I had hyped it up to be? Unfortunately, no. That’s typically the case when I do that. Will I ever stop? Most likely not. Should you still read this book? I think so. Just maybe go into it knowing that the synopsis is a bit wrong or misleading, and you should be good. Publication is set for September 22.

White Fox by Sara Faring

As a member of the Faring Society, I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group-Imprint in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this novel we are following two sisters, Manon and Thais, as they work to uncover the truth behind their famous mother’s disappearance. They’ve returned to their home island, Viloxin, after being gone for years and living in America. They find their mother’s famous last work, White Fox, which holds the clue to truths about her. Now they can try to find out what really happened to her. But with knowledge comes cold, harsh reality. Are they ready to accept that everything they thought they knew about their lives may be lies?

Y’all, when I read the synopsis for this book, I just HAD to read it. Of course I joined the Faring Society when I had the opportunity because why wouldn’t I?! I love reading spooky stories and psychological thrillers. And let me tell you, parts of this book go there.

The atmosphere of this book really sets the tone. The girls venture back to this island that they haven’t been to since they were children. They haven’t lived in their childhood home in years, and it is described almost as a living entity. It’s creepy but adds to the story in such a necessary way. It almost taunts, but I loved the descriptions of it. Along with the fortress of the childhood home, there are the surrounding woods: Delirium Forest, as it’s called. They’re known for people going in and not coming back out. It was haunting but I was loving the way these areas were described. They were spooky but really created such a vibe that made me want to keep reading.

We’re introduced to so many people on Viloxin and most seem shady or like they’re hiding something. As we come to find out, things are not as they always appear and people are not always who they appear to be. One thing that was frustrating was that, as I said, we were introduced to so many characters and seemingly so many important plot points, and then these plot points would just never be mentioned again. I think we could have done away with so many characters and just focused on a few and really fleshed out their storylines. As it was, we have several characters who seemingly are significant but we never really explore why they’re significant or really go anywhere with them.

I would have liked the ending to have been different. Without going into any details I’ll just say that it wasn’t what I expected.

Overall I enjoyed this book. There were a few things I’d have liked to see changed or improved upon, but it was a good read. I recommend picking this one up. It’s a perfect spooky read for fall! Publication is set for September 22.

Advanced Reader

Yesterday while spending some time reading to my son, my mother asked him to pick out his next read. Keep in mind he is 9.5 months old. So, he crawled over to one of the bookcases and made his choice…

Yes, folks, that is a Rick Riordan book. The Lost Hero, actually. Glad to see he’s already caught the reading bug! This mama’s heart is bursting with love and pride! 💛