Rules:
I’m really excited about Abbott Elementary season two. It’s one of the funniest shows I’ve watched this year, and I’m looking forward to what this season has to offer.
Another series I’m waiting on is The Midnight Club, which will be released on Netflix this October. I have my fingers crossed that it turns out good, because the trailer looks amazing.
I’m also looking forward to The School For Good and Evil film (also this October on Netflix). I never read any of the books, but I’m still excited for the movie. Again, the trailer for it seems really good, and I have high hopes for this one too.
Another Netflix movie that is on my list this October is Wendell & Wild. It’s stop-motion fantasy horror, and when I learned that Jordon Peele was involved with the project, well, I can’t wait for it to be released.There’s also Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio this December, and I’ve waited all year for it so far. So, December can’t get here soon enough.There's also the next Knives Out film to look forward to.
A gothic fantasy about monsters and magic, set on the banks of a cursed lake.
There are monsters in the world. When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem. There are monsters in the woods. As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn…There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name. Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.
Lyndall Clipstone writes about monsters and the girls who like to kiss them. A former youth librarian who grew up running wild in the Barossa Ranges of South Australia, she currently lives in Adelaide, where she tends her own indoor secret garden. She has a Bachelors in Creative Writing and a Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Management.
Rules:
The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE
A gothic fantasy about monsters and magic, set on the banks of a cursed lake.
There are monsters in the world. When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem. There are monsters in the woods. As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn…There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name. Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.
Three generations of witches must discover where their magic went wrong as secrets resurface that could solve a twenty-year-old mystery in this riveting debut, perfect for fans of Practical Magic and Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe.
There's something magical about Yarrow, Kentucky. The three empathic witches of the Haywood family are known for their shadow garden—from strawberries that taste like chocolate to cherry tomatoes with hints of basil and oregano. Their magic can cure any heartache, and the fruits of their garden bring a special quality to the local bourbon distillery. On one day every year, a shot of Bonner bourbon will make your worst memory disappear. But twenty years ago, the town gave up more than one memory for the year; they forgot an entire summer. One person died. One person disappeared. And no one has any idea why. As secrets from that fateful summer start to come to light, there must be a reckoning between the rival Haywood and Bonner families. But the only clue Irene Haywood has is in her tea leaves: a stranger’s arrival will bring either love or betrayal…
Liz Parker loves gardening, a good cup of tea, and the kind of story that sinks it hooks into you and refuses to let go. She grew up with her time split between Tennessee and northern Nevada, giving her a love of the kind of magic you can only find on a hot summer night when the fireflies float drunk on humidity or beneath a cloudless desert sky lit by stars and possibility. Today, Liz lives in California with her husband, dog, and too many houseplants to name (though she could if you asked).
Rules:
The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE
In The Paradiso, Dante explores the goal of human striving: the merging of individual destiny with universal order. One of the towering creations of world literature, this epic discovery of truth is a work of mystical intensity? an immortal hymn to God, Nature, Eternity, and Love.
Tori, Marvin, and Noah would rather be anywhere else than on the seventh-grade class field trip to Raven Island prison. Tori would rather be on the soccer field, but her bad grades have benched her until further notice; Marvin would rather be at the first day of a film festival with his best friend, Kevin; and Noah isn't looking forward to having to make small talk with his classmates at this new school.
But when the three of them stumble upon a dead body in the woods, miss the last ferry back home, and then have to spend the night on Raven Island, they find that they need each other now more than ever. They must work together to uncover a killer, outrun a motley ghosthunting crew, and expose the age-old secrets of the island all before daybreak.
Daybreak on Raven Island is Fleur Bradley’s new enjoyable, spooky middle grade novel. It follows a trio of kids, Tori, Noah, and Melvin, as they get stuck on Raven Island and its now defunct prison. It's basically as the synopsis lays it out.
I enjoyed the plot since it was deeply tied to the environment and characters. I also liked the many twist and turns with the ghost hunting and mystery, which I don’t think it was overly scary for young readers. The biggest thing I noticed was the budding friendship between Tori, Noah, and Melvin. We get to know a little of their background, history, and ambitions through the first few chapters. Here you kind of get the idea of how each of them fit into the story later on. Many things became clearer as the story unfolded while they roamed the island looking for clues and bumping into other characters. For instance, how each character realizes and comes to terms with their issues and emotions with the help of each other. Or like how the complex subject of prison is intertwined in the story. Although some of the story was predictable, that conclusion definitely wasn’t.
Overall, I personally loved Daybreak on Raven Island. If it sounds like it’s up your or your young reader’s alley, you'll want to check this one out.
Thanks for reading!
As I learned more of the terrible conditions of Alcatraz and how things are still not always fair today, I tried to shed some light on this through Tori’s character. I learned that one in 28 kids in America has had an incarcerated parent, which is something kids often keep a secret. And that must be really, really hard. I hope Daybreak on Raven Island sparks some thought or conversation, so those kids don’t feel alone in carrying this burden.
Find out more about me, my books and where to find me at www.fleurbradley.com
All best in reading,
Fleur
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