Month: July 2025
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Book Review: Maria von Trapp and Her Musical Family by Cheri Blomquist
Earlier this year, I read Maria by Michelle Moran and loved it so much. I felt starved for more of the Von Trapp Family. I particularly wanted to read more about their time in America. I’d purchased this book a couple of years ago and had forgotten about it until I read Maria. This book covered a lot of…
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Book Review: The Banned Books of Berlin by Daisy Wood
This is the third book I’ve read by Daisy Wood, so I was confident that I would enjoy it. Although in general, I’ve lost some of my taste for historical fiction with a past and present timeline, I’ve grown fond of the way this author writes it. I found the modern storyline stood out this…
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Book Review: Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks
I’m probably one of the few people who was introduced to this book as an adult rather than in school. I guess that means I missed out on the period where this was believed to be a real teenager’s diary. From what I understand, the author was Beatrice Sparks. I happened by this book/controversy on…
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Book Review: Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf since I read Chester Nez’s memoir Code Talker. Joseph Bruchac’s Code Talker is similar in the sense that the main character in this book lives a similar experience as Cheater Nez, however, this is a fictional account, and aside from the general Navajo experience during this time period, there is…
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Book Review: Conscription Reflections by Charles Palmer
I’ve been enjoying reading memoirs lately, especially ones that discuss events before my time. Conscription Reflections was a unique one. While the primary focus is rooted in the author’s experiences during the Vietnam War, he also discusses life in general leading up to and following the war…
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Book Review: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
I accidentally read this series out of order, beginning with Just for the Summer. Although the books can be read as standalones, I realized while reading Part of Your World that I was definitely missing some nuance and backstory/context…
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Book Review: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
In the early 1960s, a young Mi’kmaq girl goes missing while her family is in Maine working as berry pickers. Her brother Joe, the last person to see her and who had left her sitting alone on a rock, will feel the impact of this day for the rest of his life…
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Top 5: Favorite Nonfiction Reads of 2025 (so far)
I’ve read a fantastic assortment of fiction books this year, but I think my nonfiction reads have surpassed those. It was difficult to build this list…
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Book Review: A Physician’s Memoir: Growing up in Mao’s China by JianJun Chen
I knew from the title alone that this was going to be an incredible story. I haven’t done much research on Mao’s China, but I knew enough going in to know that the author likely had the odds against him…
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Book Review: Pieces of Me by Shaun Allan
Nothing hits quite like poetry, especially when it’s rooted in the human experience. Specifically, human emotions. Pieces of Me is a fantastic collection that explores themes of grief, loss, relationships, growth, and the search for peace and growth…