It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join them!

Last week I finished reading:

My review is coming up this week for the book.

I decided that for my next book that I would dip into my own bookcase and for some reason I picked up this:

Wow it was a really good read and finished it on the weekend so I picked out the second book from my bookcase:
I am almost done this and will probably make a chapters run this week to grab the third book to read in this series.

So that is what I have read and will be reading, what about you?

If We Were Having Tea….#16

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If we were having tea… I would tell you that we play our 2nd to last game yesterday and sadly we lost 3-2. We have one more to go and that is next Sunday.

If we were having tea… I would tell you our team has made it to regionals. This is the first time in about two years that Michael’s team has made it that far. Hopefully we can advance farther then two games in that.

If we were having tea… I would tell you we are currently in the process of getting Michael’s room completely set up to a teenager room. Its hard to believe in two months he will be 13.

If we were having tea... I would tell you its starting to warm up a little bit as its been really cold this month. Its almost a month till spring if I am correct.

If we were having tea… I would tell you I just discovered Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments on Netflix and I am really enjoying it and I think I need to dig out my books and read them.

If we were having tea… I would tell you we are looking forward to spring break at the end of the month although it will be busy because we plan on getting the basement finished during that time. Fingers crossed!

If we were having tea… I would tell you that it was great seeing you again this week and that I can’t wait until next week. I hope you have a good week.

Review/ Lately Lily

Review/ Lately LilyLately Lily Format: Hardcover
Published by Chronicle Books on March 25th 2014
Pages: 32
Goodreads
Genres: General, People & Places, Young Adult

Where has Lily been lately? Everywhere! In this heartfelt picture book from illustrator Micah Player, Lily—a worldtravelling girl with boundless curiosity—goes on enviable adventures with her best friend Zeborah, travelling by plane, train, boat, and even by camel. Whether venturing far away or staying close to home, Lily knows that the joy of discovery is the best way to travel each and every day. Readers and fans of the apparel line Lately Lily will appreciate this chance to join Lily on a world tour and experience the many delights of travel through her eyes. Plus, this is the fixed format version, which will look almost identical to the print version. Additionally for devices that support audio, this ebook includes a read-along setting.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I have to start off by saying the illustrations are bright and colorful.

Lily and her best friend Zeborah (her stuffie) travel all over the world together with her parents. They explore new and exciting things in each place they visit. If you name it Lily probably has used it to travel with. If you name a place Lily has probably been there.

Its a super cute picture book that I think everyone will like.  I love how Lily documents all her trips so that she can remember them all.

 

Review/ At The Same Moment Around The World

At The Same Moment Around The World Format: Hardcover
Goodreads

When I first picked this up to read I have to say it was unique. It felt like a different kind of picture book. Which I think is always nice to encounter.

The book takes us around the world. The illustrations went perfectly with the story it was telling and I really liked that each picture works and flows with the following pages. Sometimes that never happens but this one did and I loved the book for that. I loved that the first illustrations was the same as the last with just a different text.

This is a great book that will teach kids about the different times zones we have in the world and what other people can be doing at that same exact time of day. We are all different but yet the same.

Another thing I loved about this book is that it comes with a map something you don’t see very often in a picture book and you can actually follow the story line with the map as it shows where the places are on the map.

Review/Those Girls

Review/Those GirlsThose Girls by Lauren Saft
Format: ARC
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on May 3rd 2016
Pages: 336
Goodreads
Genres: Adolescence, Dating & Sex, Friendship, Girls & Women, Love & Romance, Social Issues, Young Adult

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

Some girls will always have your back, and some girls can't help but stab you in it. Junior year, the suburbs of Philadelphia. Alex, Mollie and Veronica are those girls: They're the best of friends and the party girls of the school. But how well does everybody know them--and really, how well do they know one another? Alex is secretly in love with the boy next door and has joined a band--without telling anyone. Mollie suffers from a popular (and possibly sociopathic) boyfriend and a serious mean streak. And Veronica just wants to be loved--literally, figuratively, physically...she's not particular. Will this be the year that bonds them forever or tears them apart for good?In a debut novel that is raw, honest, hilarious, and thought-provoking, Lauren Saft masterfully conveys what goes on in the mind of a teenage girl and how often even the closest of friends walk the thin line between love and hate.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

As I was reading Those Girls it made me wonder if this is what girls are really like in a private school setting? Granted school is so much different from when I was in high school some 20+ years ago and I don’t recall if it was like that when I was there.

The book is told through each girl so you get to know the girls a little better.

Alex, Mollie and Veronica basically claim that they are all best friends but in reality I think they were more like frenemies then anything else. They are all nice to each others face but as soon as their backs are turned it basically any man for himself. There is jealousy amongst them.

I think the only one I liked in the book was Alex. She is starting to see the drama between them and you can see she doesn’t want to be a part of it so she starts doing things on her own like join a band which I think was good for her because it caused her to come out of her shell even though she was comfortable who is was. The one little thing that got to me was that she was in love with her best friend but he has no clue because she keeps it hidden (and we discover that is mutal) and then when she pushes Veronica to him and they connect she gets jealous.

Veronica is that party girl and she drinks, partyies and sleeps with guys to get the one thing that she truly longs for and that is unconditional love and she doesn’t realize she is going about it all wrong. Then when she has it she ruins it. Her parents aren’t there and always seem to be away so she is basically raising herself and doing what she thinks is best but its not.

Mollie is a whole other character. She is jealous, she is mean (and I don’t think I would ever cross her and get in her bad books) and she knows on some level that her boyfriend cheats on her but she puts up with it because it seems like that is all she knows.

I feel bad that I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I was hoping that I would. When I first heard about the book I was excited to read it and as I was reading it I was making my way through it because I wanted to know what was going to happen with all three girls.

All I can say is thank god I am no  longer in school especially if this is what is going on now amoung the girls.

This is a debut novel and I have to say that I would give Lauren another chance because I did like her writing.

 

Brookside® Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bar Review

IMG_5129Today I am doing something a little different and reviewing the Brookside® Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bars that I received from ChickAdvisor. Please note that I received this product for free as part of the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club  and this is my honest and sincere thoughts.

IMG_5105The first bar I am going to talk about Cherry with Pomegranate. Its made with real fruit, its gluten free and contains non GMO plus its a source of fibre. The bars are 39g and retail for about $1.99 and its 180 calories.

I really like the taste of the bar. Its soft and chewy. They were full of flavor and I think if you like cherry and pomegranate you will like this. I think the almonds add a nice little crunch to them. I love the added flavor of the pumpkin seeds, the oats, and the rice.

I have to say that I am usually not a fan of dark chocolate but its was really good and I think it was the perfect amount for the bar.

Its a nice little healthy  snack to tie you over between meals. I ended up throwing it in my purse and eating it during a hockey practice. I would definitely purchase this to have on hand when I needed a little something sweet. This would also be perfect for when your traveling and you want that snack on hand.

The next bar I am going to talk about is Cranberry with Blackberry. Just like the one I mentioned above its made with real fruit, its gluten free and contains non GMO plus its a source of fibre.  Its39g and retails for about $1.99 and its has 180 calories as well.

I have to admit that I wasn’t so sure about this at first but once I had a few bites and I think this is my second favorite bar of the bunch. I have never really eaten blackberries so I wasn’t sure how I would like it but I really think it added to the bar. I didn’t really get the cranberry taste and that is alright. I think the added chocolate added to the flavor.I really enjoyed the taste of them and hard to believe that they are actually good for you.

I would definitely purchase this when I am out shopping to have on hand for a quick and easy snack.

Finally the last bar is Blueberry with Acai. I had to be a little cautious of this one because of the Blueberry as sometimes I tend to have an allergic reaction to some things made with blueberry. This is also like the previous bars being made with real fruit, its gluten free and contains non GMO and its a source of fibre.

I have to say that this really wasn’t a favorite of mine and I probably won’t purchase this one. I didn’t like the taste of it and not sure if its due to the blueberries or the acai. Sadly this won’t be something I would purchase.

Have you tried these? What do you think?