It's only May and I've already found what this year is all about. And it's all thanks to books! Seriously, could it have been any other way? I've been a book lover since before I could read (according to my mom. I have no memory of "reading" to myself at a year old), so it … Continue reading That’s It, This Year Is All About Reclaiming My Childhood
So, as of last night, it looked like our district was really going ahead with shutting down for three days. Briefly, the union representing all of the support staff in schools has not had their demands (including basic respect from the district) met, so they'll be going on strike Tuesday-Thursday. The teachers' union will be … Continue reading Going On a Brief Hiatus
Exactly 3 years ago, our school district shut down because of COVID. What started with 2 weeks extended well, well, well past that. For health reasons, my kids didn't return to a district classroom until this past August even though they reopened, to some extent, about a year after the shut down. Now we're on … Continue reading Another Looming School Shutdown
Title: The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season Author: Molly Fader Publisher: Graydon House Publication Date: June 9, 2020 Genre: Women's Fiction In cherry season, anything is possible.... Everything Hope knows about the Orchard House is from the stories of her late mother. So when she arrives at the northern Michigan family estate late one … Continue reading Book Highlight: The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader
Title: A Tiny Upward Shove Author: Melissa Chadburn Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication Date: April 12, 2022 Genre: Literary Fiction A Tiny Upward Shove is inspired by Melissa Chadburn's Filipino heritage and its folklore, as it traces the too-short life of a young, cast-off woman transformed by death into an agent of justice—or mercy.Marina Salles’s … Continue reading Book Highlight: A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn
Title: Red Thread of Fate Author: Lyn Liao Butler Publisher: Berkley Publication Date: February 8, 2022 Genre: Multicultural Fiction In the wake of a tragedy and fueled by guilt from a secret she's kept for years, a woman discovers how delicate the thread that binds family is in this powerful novel by Lyn Liao Butler.Two … Continue reading Book Highlight: Red Thread of Fate by Lyn Liao Butler
Title: On a Blue Moon (The Daughters of Firth Tales #1) Author: Willow Publisher: Self-published Publication Date: February 3, 2022 Genre: Fantasy While Sam is canoeing on a wilderness lake in Canada he’s abducted and taken to a moon deep in space. Sam’s near death when a young girl, Willow, saves his life. Later, he … Continue reading Book Highlight: On a Blue Moon by Willow
Title: Esperanza Author: Tommy Tutalo Publisher: Self-published Publication Date: January 2, 2018 Genre: Multicultural Fiction Three journals left behind by Gabriela, after her untimely death, for her daughter, Sarita, a young adult, become windows into the past. The past then becomes alive, as Sarita reads through the journals, and learns more about the life of … Continue reading Book Highlight: Esperanza by Tommy Tutalo
Title: The Unfettered Child Author: Michael C. Sahd Publisher: Self-published Publication Date: August 28, 2019 Genre: Fantasy Her tribe is shattered. Her parents are gone. When eight-year-old Samara faces the capture of her tribe, an unimaginable power awakens within her. Even as this magic threatens to consume her, a disembodied voice intervenes, offering guidance and … Continue reading Book Highlight: The Unfettered Child by Michael C. Sahd
Title: Piano Zen Author: Thomas Rheingans Publisher: Self-published Publication Date: February 7, 2022 Genre: Fantasy, Children's Piano Zen is a fantasy story about an eleven-year-old boy named William Longfellow Emerson who takes piano lessons with a friendly but eccentric Piano Zen teacher named Rosa Carreño.Rosa lives and teaches Piano Zen lessons in the Gate Lodge … Continue reading Book Highlight: Piano Zen by Thomas Rheingans
The Lily Cafe 