The Friday 56 (162) & Book Beginnings: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

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

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

Beginning: "I wore a black suit and a white shirt, a black tie and black shoes, all polished and shiny: clothes that normally would make me uncomfortable, as if I were in a stolen uniform, or pretending to be an adult."

56: "My laboratory--that was what I called it--was a green-painted shed as far away from the house as you could get, built up against the side of the house's huge old garage."

Comments: I finally read The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I liked the story. What are you reading this week?

Pencil #2

The next picture I worked on was a flytrap in a flowerpot shaped like a skull. I couldnt think of a good name for it, so I guess it'll just be Flytrap In A Flowerpot Shaped Like A Skull. So it is what it is. As for the process for this one, it was pretty straight forward. My inspiration was mainly this air plant I have. It sits on the side of a faux skull. I had the thought “Well, I want a flowerpot shaped like this,” and the idea sort of developed from there. The final artwork doesn’t deviate much from the sketches I did for it. I’m happy with how it looks.

Review: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Title: Dead Voices
Series: Small Spaces #2
Author: Katherine Arden
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
More Details: Fantasy; Middle Grade
Publisher/Publication Date: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers; August 27, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Bestselling author Katherine Arden returns with another creepy, spine-tingling adventure in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Small Spaces. 

Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire. Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE. With Mr. Voland's help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help--or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted.
Dead Voices is a terrifying follow-up to Small Spaces with thrills and chills galore and the captive foreboding of a classic ghost story.

Earlier this year, I read Small Spaces, Katherine Arden’s first middle grade novel. I was overjoyed when the atmospheric writing that I liked about the Winternight Trilogy was also present in Small Spaces. So I was excited when I first learned that Small Spaces was getting a sequel, and oh man, Dead Voice did not disappoint. With a story full of twists and turns, Dead Voices was delightfully spooky and just as atmospheric as the first book in the series. But it wasn’t so scary that a younger audience wouldn’t be able to enjoy the story.

Dead Voices picks up sometime after Small Spaces. Its winter, and Ollie, her friends, father, and Coco’s mother were on their way to a lodge. After the events of Small Spaces, it was a much needed vacation. However, it wasn’t long before trouble started, and the ghosts did, well, what ghosts do at isolated lodges in the middle of a snowstorm: they haunted. It’s one of the aspects about the story that stood out the most. The ghosts and the lore surrounding Hemlock Lodge reminded me of the story-within-the-story in the first book, also called Small Spaces. It revealed some of the backstory, and how the history influenced the current situations the characters faced as well, all without slowing down the story. It was excellent.

Another thing I liked was the tone of the story. The atmospheric writing, combined with the story, antagonist, and the setting, made for a great ghost story.

It was also great getting to read another story from the perspective of these characters. I liked all of them. In fact, I liked Ollie more in Dead Voices than I initially did in Small Spaces. Her circumstances were different, and this time she had her friends. I liked the dynamics between Ollie, Coco, and Brian. I also liked the development Arden did with their friendship, as well as their personal character arcs. They each had moments to shine, where their skills took center stage.

Overall, Dead Voices was an excellent follow-up to Small Spaces. If you read and enjoyed the first book in the series, then this one is a must read.

Music Monday (93): Doja Cat, and Naomi Scott

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: This week, I’m listening to music by Doja Cat. One of my favorite songs from her album, Amala, is Candy.

 Andrea: This week I'm listening to Speechless by Naomi Scott. It's my favorite song from the Aladdin (2019) soundtrack. I hope you enjoy. Have a great week!

What are some of your favorite movie soundtracks? Let us know in the comments down below.  

The Friday 56 (161) & Book Beginnings: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

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

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Bestselling author Katherine Arden returns with another creepy, spine-tingling adventure in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Small Spaces. 

Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire. Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE. With Mr. Voland's help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help--or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted. 

Dead Voices is a terrifying follow-up to Small Spaces with thrills and chills galore and the captive foreboding of a classic ghost story.

Beginning: "Winter in East Evansburg, and just after dusk, five people in a beat-up old Subaru peeled out of town in a snowstorm."

56: "Coco's mom sat back on her heels, a smudge of ash on one cheek. "As a matter of fact, I do," she said."

Comments: I finally read the sequel to Katherine Arden's Small Spaces. Dead Voices was such a delightfully spooky story. I loved it. What are you reading this week?