Source: NetGalley

Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll by..

Posted 07/24/2019 by Charli in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

I don’t normally read middle grade fiction, but when a book is marketed as both middle grade and horror, I give it a read. I’m happy to say that Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll is a great example of both genres. Now you might be thinking “How scary can middle grade horror be?” and from an adult perspective, you’re quite right! To an adult, middle grade horror isn’t going to be scary. But to a child in the middle grade reading level, it could be quite scary. I actually found the book to be quite creepy. Were the things in it believable? Probably not. At least not if you’re someone who watches a lot of shows like A Haunting, Haunted Hospitals, or Paranormal 911. But not everything needs to be realistic to be scary. If it did, we wouldn’t have horror films, now would we? I found the story to […]

Single, Gay, Christian by Greg..

Posted 04/24/2019 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

This book wasn’t written for me. It probably wasn’t written for you either. Unless, of course, you happen to be LGBTQ, Christian, and single/celibate by choice. Gregory Coles did not write this book for straight Christians to teach them how to treat their LGBTQ sisters and brothers in Christ. He wrote this book to help those brothers and sisters in Christ who are LGBTQ understand they are not alone in their struggles. I’m not saying straight Christians can’t learn something from this book. I absolutely believe they can. They can learn what struggles a person who identifies with a sexual minority feels in the Church. How they cope. How scared, frustrated, and even how lonely they may feel. This book is a 5 star representation everyone should read, but any LGBTQ Christian needs to read.

The War Blog by Glen Sobey

Posted 03/28/2019 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

If there is one thing I can’t stand, it is a social justice warrior. Most of the ones I’ve run across never go farther than retweeting, reblogging, sharing and arguing with people who don’t share their world view, all while using hashtags like #staywoke or #justicefor(insert name here). I can’t stand them because they don’t get away from the keyboard and screen to do anything to affect change. But the social justice warriors in The War Blog by Glen Sobey aren’t like that. Kato doesn’t just blog about Native problems in Alaska, he speaks to classes about them. He tries to make his people see that they need to make changes. Crystal also makes it a point to affect change. Yes she has her blog and her songs. But she also comes up with ways to help make changes. She tells the stories that need to be told and tries […]

Cutter Boy by Cristy Watson

Posted 03/22/2019 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Cutter Boy by Cristy Watson should probably come with a trigger warning. The book deals with bullying, feelings of being ignored or unloved, and with cutting. The story is not necessarily a good read for someone who is triggered by any of these things. A teen boy cuts himself to feel better – to release angst or pain related to being bullied, being ignored by his parents, or anything else that makes him feel bad. Then a new girl moves into town who seems to like him. Between this new girl and a substitute teacher who shows him incredible art made from cut paper, he starts to wonder if there’s a better way. This book, as I said, should come with a trigger warning. While none of the subject matter of this book is triggering for me, I know plenty of teens who would be triggered by this book. Some […]

The Bomb Maker’s Daughte..

Posted 03/17/2019 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I love a good thriller and let me tell you, The Bomb Maker’s Daughter by Thomas Ryan was an excellent one. A pre-teen girl is being sought by men who want to use her for nefarious purposes. A man she doesn’t know becomes dedicated to saving her and her family. Add a possibly budding romance with a CIA agent and you have a damn good book. The constant danger, wondering who is behind it all, and why they want Arina – an eleven-year-old girl – makes this an edge-of-your-seat thriller. You won’t want to put it down. I know I didn’t. This book is well written and has interesting and likeable characters, excluding the villains of course. I might just worry about you, dear reader, if you happen to like the villains. Just saying. The action scenes keep you on your toes and it’s very hard to put down. You […]