Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review #12: Thomas Wildus and the Book Of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen Nerds can be cool, Knowledge can be power, and Puberty can even be magical.

Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows: An Introduction

Today’s book du jour, Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen.
Above image taken from http://jmbergen.com

Hi, folks! Glad to be back and blogging once again. Indeed, it has been a while! And boy, has my life has been excruciatingly busy as of late. Truly, I feel relieved that it finally seems as if things ova here are calming down. Somewhat.

Today’s post marks my 12th book review thus far to date! In this post, I will be discussing the brand-spanking new, coming-of-age middle-grade fantasy book Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows, written by new-on-the-scene author J.M. Bergen and released just this month! According to Bergen’s website, today’s spotlight read started out as a bedtime story for his oldest son, which eventually turned into a saga with one book eventually becoming a whopping five! 😮😀 The story itself, chock-full of mystery and adventure, is sure to please even the most selective YA fantasy literature connoisseurs!

Continue reading →

Front Cover

Book Review #11: The Day That A Ran Away by B.C.R. Fegan A Charming Tale From A to Z!

This week, I am reviewing children’s book The Day That A Ran Away, written by B.C.R. Fegan and illustrated by Lenny Wen.

Fegan and Wen, They Did It Again!

Title Page

The inside-the-book title page of The Day That A Ran Away

I really should have been a poet. Ha!

For book review #9 back in March, I reviewed the just-about-to-drop for the first time, super-cute children’s book Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32 written by B.C.R. Fegan and illustrated by Lenny Wen, which focuses on the numbers 1-32 in a cheerfully-spooky-but-not-scary hotel setting. And now next month, the duo will be releasing yet another children’s book, this one featuring letters and the alphabet, titled The Day That A Ran Away. This newest Fegan-Wen tale is set in both a school classroom as well as the wilds of a little boy’s imagination. Or is it?? 🤔😎 Continue reading →

Book cover

Book Review #10: 365 Days of Happiness by Jacqueline Pirtle A Passage A Day Causes Happiness To Stay!

For my tenth book review, I will be reviewing self-help book 365 Days of Happiness by Jacqueline Pirtle.

My Name is Jill, and I Am A Cynical Optimist

I was today years old when I heard a perfect two-word description of my personality, and I can’t wait to shout it from the rooftops (or write it in a blog post).
To all ye who read this, I hereby proclaim Jill V to forevermore be referred to as…
A Cynical Optimist.

What?
A cynical optimist. Or what Urban Dictionary says:

What is a cynical optimist?

Das me!!

Continue reading →

Book Review #9: Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32 by B.C.R. Fegan An adorable story with lots o' learning throughout!

I’m Back and Book Reviewin’ Once Again!

I am back with yet another book review,
for Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32!

Not bad, eh?

My brutally honest co-reviewer.

For book review #9, I received an adorable picture book that looked like a perfect read-aloud for my youngest daughter, S3. I decided to review the story organically, and read it to S3 as part of our nightly bedtime ritual one night last month. Titled Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32, the book is authored by B.C.R. Fegan, and illustrated by Lenny Wen.

Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32 is a picture book, written in verse, that contains a big-time focus on numbers and counting. Right away, the numeracy focus absolutely thrilled my inner elementary math AIS teacher, I have to say! Continue reading →

Book Cover

Book Review #8: Jorie and the Magic Stones by A.H. Richardson Who Run The World? JORIE!

Jorie and the Magic Stones: An Introduction

Book Cover

The cover of Jorie and The Magic Stones

Welcome to my first children’s chapter book review! For my eighth book review, I had the pleasure of reading the story of Jorie and the Magic Stones, an intermediate-elementary level adventure-fantasy chapter book. And what a great story it was! While I am pretty darn far from the book’s target childhood-age demographic, I am still certain young readers will enjoy the story as much as I did! Plus, I have elementary teacher cred. Us teachers know good children’s literature when we read it, trust me. And Jorie and the Magic Stones happens to be just that: good children’s literature. I recommend reading it without hesitation.

Jorie and the Magic Stones can be described as part fantasy, part adventure, and nonstop fun from start to finish! A page-turner from chapter 1 to 43, in two days’ time, I had finished the book in its entirety. And THAT is the mark of a engaging story in my world. The teacher, parent, blogger, writer, and reviewer in me unanimously recommends this book, especially to young adventure-fantasy loving readers, from the ages of 8 to around age 12. Continue reading →

Book Review #7: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading Move over, Nancy Drew, there's a new gal detective in town!

A First Foray Into YA

Welcome to my first YA book review! I’m very excited to delve into this popular reading genre for my seventh book review thus far! As a teacher and mom of pre-adolescents, young adult (YA) fiction has definitely been a part of both my work and home life for some time. Additionally, I also choose to enjoy YA books for my own pleasure reading, even though I am obviously not a ‘YA’ any longer! I’m more of a MAA, I suppose. (That’s “Middle Aged Adult” to you. ?)

Therefore, when I was asked to read and review the book Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading, I was quite excited to do so! Upon finishing, the story did not disappoint, either! It was a real page-turner from beginning to end. In this book, adventure and mystery take center stage. A generous sprinkling of history lessons top off a plot full of exciting twists and turns, altogether resulting in an engaging read for middle-grade readers and up! Continue reading →

Book Review #6: With Ballet in My Soul by Eva Maze An Extraordinary Life, An Extraordinary Woman

Memoirs, I Love Em

The genre of memoir has always been a favorite of mine. Somewhat ‘nosey’ by nature, I tend to enjoy intimate glimpses into lives and experiences of different kinds of people. A few standout memoirs I have read to date include Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle, Carly’s Voice by Arthur and Carly Fleischmann, and of course, Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles 1974-2001 by Don Felder.

Don Felder’s slide guitar and Randy Meisner’s bass are SO on point here. Where is my time machine? 1974, please!

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed the book With Ballet in My Soul: Adventures of a Globetrotting Impresario by Eva Maze. This memoir is a chronicle of Maze’s amazing life as a 20th century theatrical impresario for the better part of four decades. Continue reading →

Book Review #5: The Conversations We Never Had by Jeffrey H. Konis A man's dream of a second chance, an author's tribute to a remarkable woman.

I’ve Been Waiting For This Conversation…

The book’s synopsis on the back cover.

Of all the books I’ve reviewed, none initially interested me to the degree of The Conversations We Never Had. Written by Jeffrey H. Konis, this ‘quasi-memoir’ is a unique hybrid of both historical fiction and autobiographical non-fiction. The storyline is told from Konis’ perspective as his younger self, a first generation Jewish-American law student living in Manhattan with his elderly Grandma Ola back in the mid-1980s.

This book is a fictional account of how a young Jeffrey Konis would have learned the details of his incredible family backstory, if he had asked his beloved Grandma Ola to tell him about it before she passed away. A descendant of Eastern European Jews, Konis has a thirst for as much knowledge of his family’s history as possible. But by the mid-1980s, Grandma Ola is the only relative left for him to ask. Why? I knew that answer right away. Us Jews always know why other Jewish families are quite often smaller than most. Continue reading →

The book Szen Zone

Book Review #4: Szen Zone by Gary Szenderski Enter Szen's Zone, and be the positive change you seek.

Now and Szen: A Synopsis

Szen Zone, the book.

When I first received the book Szen Zone: Reaching a State of Positive Change by Gary Szenderski, admittedly, I thought it was going to be all about meditation-type yoga stuff. I figured I’d basically be learning how to calm the F down in stressful situations, with the goal of freaking out less, and chillin’ out more. I perhaps expected to learn things like breathing exercises, oohmm-ing correctly, yoga poses, etc., with the end result a happier, healthier, less cray-cray Jill.

S2 and me, the perfect portrait of all things Zen, amirite?

However, to my surprise, that was not what Szen Zone was about, at least directly. Indirectly, reading this book did, in fact, lead me to a place of improved calm and increased happiness. However, the discovery of my own personal “happy place” was not due to any sort of “technique” or “exercise” learned in the book. Instead, as I read Szen Zone,  I found myself developing an increased understanding of how to look within myself, as well as out at the world in order to create the positive changes I desired in my life. Reaching said state of positive change is what would then lead me to become what I described above: a calmer, happier, more pleasant overall Jill! The thought is most definitely appealing. Continue reading →

Book Review #3: Organizing For Your Lifestyle by Jane Stoller Stoller is a true Organization Goddess. Read this book, efficiency shall follow.

What They See….

As an elementary school teacher, I have received a number of flattering compliments regarding my ability to create a visually appealing, organized classroom environment and/or an inviting support services office space each school year. Many times, after bestowing such a compliment, my colleague will then follow up with a variation of the following statement:

“Your house must be impeccably neat and organized, too.”

BWAHAHAHAHA.

Not quite.

Teachers indeed do work for the weekend, yet we also work ON the weekend. And HOLY RED LEATHER PANTS, Batman. Yikes. Continue reading →