The Lady’s Slipper: A Melody Mystery

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Hello again! The book I will be blogging about today is an American Girl book. I might do another post on American Girl books in general, but today, I’m just going to talk about this book featuring Melody. Also, Melody is part of American Girls’ Beforever series, which take place in the past. This story takes place in the 1960s.

Melody goes to a picnic for the Fair Housing Committee with her cousin Val, excited to get to spend time with her. There, she meets Leah Roth, a sophisticated older girl who wants to be her friend. However, Val doesn’t seem to like Leah as much as Melody does. She starts being standoffish around Leah, and Melody doesn’t know what’s wrong. When Melody goes over to Leah’s house, she meets Leah’s grandfather, Dr. Roth. Dr. Roth is a botanist who loves orchids. He has a special lady’s slipper orchid that he brought to America when he escaped the Nazis. The orchid is the last object of his homeland that Dr. Roth still has. When Melody’s grandfather, Poppa, is questioned in the wake of a theft, Melody turns to her two best friends, Val and Leah, to clear his name. But Leah appears to have a secret -something to do with her grandfather?- that could put them all in danger.

I hope you like this book as much as I did. All the American Girl books are fun mysteries with twists and turns, but if you pay close attention, you might be able to guess the outcome. Do you have a favorite AG character? A favorite mystery? If so, reply in the comments.

The Lady's Slipper: A Melody Mystery (American Girl Beforever ...

Summer Reading Online

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Because of the quarantine, we can’t do traditional summer reading. However, that can’t stop us from continuing the tradition. Heights Libraries has moved summer reading online, and that program will be the subject of this post.

If you go to the summer reading section of the Heights Libraries website, you can get to Beanstack, the website where summer reading has gone online. You can log your reading time each day. You get a raffle ticket for each hour, as well as a badge, and 3 extra tickets when you get to the 10-hour mark (I’m already there, about a week into summer!). Some of the raffle prizes include an art bundle, with an 82-piece art kit with a wooden desk easel; a cooking bundle, with a $25 Walmart gift card, a mini waffle maker, and more; and also a reading bundle, with a $25 gift card to each Mac’s Backs and Appletree Book, a booklight, and a bookmark. There is also a beauty bundle, a music bundle, and a photography bundle. Besides reading, you can complete 8 of the 10 activities suggested activities or write a review of a book you read to get extra raffle tickets.

Do you have a different summer reading program? Do you do this, and have a specific bundle in mind? A great book for me to read and blog about? Comment below, and happy reading!

University Heights Public Library | Cleveland, OH | This Is Cleveland

Cape

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As we all know, summer is a time of reading. I have read quite a few books already, and it’s only been a week! This is one I just finished, about female superheroes during World War II, some wearing capes and some not.

In the paragraph above, I told you that the story is set in WWII. The main protagonist of the story, Josie is a girl who wants to do her part, like the superheros she loved, before they all disappeared. Her dad is off fighting in the war, and her mom works at the shipyard putting battleships together. Josie gets a chance to help in her own way when a puzzler tryout comes to town. She knows she did a great job on the exam, but the mean Mr. Hissler doesn’t consider her-just because she’s a girl! However, the strange Mrs. B and her dog Astra give Josie and two other outraged female puzzlers, Akiko and Mae, a chance to become something more than a puzzler. To become something…super.

There are currently two books in this series (The League of Secret Heroes) by Kate Hannigan. Mask is the second book. Anyone who likes superheroes, adventure, and girl power will enjoy this series.

Cape | Book by Kate Hannigan, Patrick Spaziante | Official ...

Side Porch

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Hello again, and happy summer vacation! I’ll be posting a lot more frequently now. This first post will be about my side porch, a place I read progressively more often when it gets warmer out.

I enjoy reading on the side porch because, well, first of all, I have a really cool porch swing. It’s wooden and can swing pretty high, or can just rock gently, depending on my mood and how hard I push. It can be uncomfortable at times, but if I bring out some pillows, the problem is solved. I also enjoy reading on my side porch because I can be outside, but not completely. It’s not screened in, but there is a roof over it, so it’s like I’m inside and outside at the same time. And, finally, it’s just really nice to read outside. I like to look at nature (or suburban yards, but at least they have grass and flowers!) when I read in the summer. I get that from the treehouse as well; yet another reason to read there.

Do you like reading outside? Do you have a porch swing, or a deck with chairs? Let me know in the comments below, and watch out for more posts coming soon!

Like my swing?
The pillows make it more comfortable!

Cracking the Cube: Going Slow to Go Fast and Other Unexpected Turns in the World of Competitive Rubik’s Cube Solving

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Being in quarantine, all of us have a lot of free time, so I decided to take up a new hobby. Some people might knit, or crochet, or do puzzles, but I decided to learn how to solve a Rubik’s cube. After I watched a video on how to solve a Rubik’s cube (it took me a few tries, but I eventually got it) I decided to read this book. It’s about the growing sport of speedcubing, or solving Rubik’s cube while timed, and trying to beat records and PBs (Personal Bests).

This book is written by journalist Ian Scheffler. It covers his journey into the world of speedcubing. He first discovers that it is actually possible to solve Rubik’s cube when he meets Toby Mao at the Center for Talented Youth (“a program at college campuses around the country run by Johns Hopkins University”). Mao taught all of the students at CTY how to solve a Rubik’s cube. In Sheffler’s yearbook at the end of the summer, Toby simply wrote “hit Sub-20 Ian.” This book covers Sheffler’s expeditions into the world of cubing, first to simply be able to solve it, then to solve it faster, faster, and eventually, to go Sub-20 (seconds).

This is a really fun book that can be read at any time, or can be accompanied by learning how to cube. It is seriously super fun. Anyone that has patience can pretty much learn to solve Rubik’s Cube. Tell me in the comments below if you like the book, or if it encouraged you to solve a Rubik’s cube. Have fun!

Cracking the Cube: Going Slow to Go Fast and Other Unexpected ...

Hunger Games Trilogy

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Hi! I’m currently reading Hunger Games #0 (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), which came out pretty recently, so I thought that it would be a good idea to write a review of the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It’s rather popular, so a lot of people have probably read it, but some may not have, so bear with me.

The first book of the Hunger Games trilogy starts at the reaping of the 74th Hunger Games. When the district rebels lost the war to the Capitol, there were a number of consequences. The food that districts get is controlled by the Capitol, which means that in the poorer districts, starvation is not uncommon. Another consequence is the Hunger Games. Every year, two tributes from each district (one girl and one boy), get picked to take part. All 24 kids get thrown into an arena and are told to kill each other on live television for the entertainment of Capitol citizens. The last one alive is crowned the victor. In District 12, the lowliest district, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen hunts with her friend Gale. Even though it is illegal, it gives them something to trade and something to feed their families with. Even with the extra meat, they are constantly hungry. This is why they sign up for tessera, “a meager year’s supply of grain and oil for one person.” However, to get the tessera, you have to put your name in the reaping more times. Katniss is worried that if she is chosen, her family might go hungry. If her name gets drawn, she may never come back. Although Katniss’s name is in 20 times, her younger sister Prim’s name is only in once. Katniss signs up for tessera for her mother and Prim so Prim won’t have to. Yet, when girl tribute from District 12 is called up to the stage, the name on the slip is Primrose Everdeen. Katniss, barely able to think, comes forward and volunteers to take her sister’s place. This could be the last time she sees her mother and sister.

Sorry it’s so long, it’s just kind of hard to explain everything about this dystopian world and still get to the story in one paragraph. Thanks for reading it. Again, if you’ve already read and liked the Hunger Games trilogy, you should probably get The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes. All of the books in the Hunger Games world are great. Also, please feel free to give book recommendations in the comments below. Talk to you next time!

The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games / Catching Fire ...

Goodreads

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Hello! Today I am going to post on the subject of Goodreads. I have no doubt that many of you are familiar with it. Goodreads is a great place to find your next favorite book, recommended by readers like you.

I was first introduced to Goodreads in January of this year, and have been updating it constantly since. On Goodreads, you can keep track of the books you are reading, the books you have read, the books you want to read, and even books your friends are reading! Well-known authors such as Rick Riordan and Stephen King have accounts. You can get information about their new books, and see what they are reading.

Goodreads is a great way to keep track of your reading and to see what others recommend. I have an account as well, so you can see the books that I read that I don’t post reviews on. I hope that you decide to give Goodreads a chance. Maybe you’ll like it as much as I do.

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Legacy: KOTLC Book 8

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Hello again! This post will be about the 8th book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities. If you recall my preview post, I said that book 8 was scheduled to come out in November of 2019. The book is still on schedule to come out on November 5.

I always get my books the day they come out, although you can pre-order them as well. I am off school on the day Legacy comes out, so I will go to Barnes & Noble as soon as possible with some of my friends. We will then likely go back to my house and ignore each other while reading, preferably while eating KOTLC-themed treats. Mallowmelt, chocolate-mint ripplefluffs, butter-toffee ripplefluffs, and mallowmelt cupcake recipes are all available on Shannon Messenger’s website. I love to cook and bake, so making official Keeper of the Lost Cities recipes would be awesome!

I can’t wait for the book to come out! Once it does, I’ll probably read it obsessively and then post about how good it is. Until next time!

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Rutland Free Library

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This is going to be my last blog post of the summer, as school starts on Monday. I’ll post every once in a while during the spring, fall, and winter.

My Aunt Amy is an assistant director at the Rutland Free Library in Vermont. When we visited her in Vermont, she gave us a tour of the library she works at.

The Rutland Free Library is a really cool place. It has a lot of awesome little things, such as hand chairs, or jail cells. The building used to be a courthouse. The jail cells are in the basement, and used to house prisoners of the law. It was built in 1856-1858 as a federal building and post office. In the basement, there was the outline of a body in red paint, because of the murder mystery dinner parties that Rutland Free Library has hosted. There was also a book sale in the basement. I got 2 books, a book called Od Magic, and a cookbook of 100 mug cakes.

The Rutland Free Library is really cool. It’s so similar to my library, and yet so different. If you’re ever in Rutland, you should check it out.

Among the Hidden

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Among the Hidden is the required 6th grade book for CHUH middle schools. I had read it before, and liked it right up until the end, where there was a scary part. When I read it for the details, I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t as scary when I knew what was coming.

Luke Garner shouldn’t exist. And officially, he doesn’t. All third children like him, shadow children, were forced into hiding when the Government passed the Population Law. Luke thinks that maybe he’s the only third child. He wouldn’t know. He’s never been out of his backyard. When his parents sell the woods to the Government for house building, Luke spends his time looking out the vents in his room. When he sees a face in the window of a house whose residents are all at their daily activities, he starts planning a visit. Soon, he meets Jen, a third child who’s determined to bring all of the shadow children out of hiding.

Among the Hidden is written by Margret Haddix, and is the first book in a series of 7. Tell me your first reactions to the book in the comments below. Until next time!

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