The Remarried Empress

The Remarried Empress

By Alphatart

Ize Press, 2022. 249 pages. Graphic Novels.

Empress Navier and Emperor Sovieshu: a match made in heaven, they were the two pillars of the land whom everyone believed would stand by each other through thick and thin…until a chance encounter with a beautiful girl in the forest leaves the emperor smitten! Though hurt by the betrayal, Navier’s not one to waste time wallowing in despair. And when Sovieshu requests a divorce, she has but one condition in return—permission to remarry the man of her choosing!

Sometimes you want to feel the rage of a woman scorned, and if so, then this is a great romance comic to pick up!  The colors are vibrant throughout, Navier is a smart protagonist, there are court politics, and my favorite: magic.  Don't worry, outside of all the raging you will also find many moments of humor sprinkled throughout to lighten things up. 

 
If you liked Third Shift Society, you may also like:
 

My Happy Marriage
By Akumi Agitogi
Square Enix Manga, 2022. unpaged. Graphic Novels.
 
A browbeaten and mistreated daughter is cast out of her home and sent to audition as a bridal candidate for the heir to one of the most powerful families in the land…Whispers abound about the Kudo clan, but will the allegedly cold and cruel house into which Miyo aims to marry prove much warmer than the family she left behind?

Snow White with the Red Hair

By Sorata Akizuki
VIZ Media, 2019. 181 pages. YA Comics.
 
Unwilling to become the prince of Tanbaruns possession, beautiful red-haired herbalist Shirayuki seeks shelter in the woods of the neighboring kingdom, where she gains an unlikely ally--the prince of that kingdom.

RBL

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend 

by M. J. Wassmer 

Sourcebooks Landmark, 2024. 371 pages. Fiction 

Professional underachiever Dan Foster is finally taking a vacation. Sure, his life has been average at best and, yeah, he has never quite lived up to his potential. But after a few Miller Lites in paradise with his girlfriend Mara, things are starting to look up. 

 Then the sun explodes. 

With the island suddenly plunged in darkness (and Mara pestering him for not springing for the up-charged travel insurance), Dan's holiday takes a surprising turn when the elite guests install themselves as the new ruling class. As temperatures drop and tensions rise, revolution begins to brew on the island, and Dan accidentally becomes a beacon of hope for the surviving vacationers. But when one six-person plane is discovered that could send them back to the mainland, Dan realizes he has a choice to make. Does he find a way to escape the island with Mara? Or does he stay and fight to become the most unlikely hero of the end of the world? 

 A cursory glance at the cover might have you thinking Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is a romcom, but don’t miss those balls of flame flying from the sky. This satirical, dystopian story will have you chuckling from the first pages, even as it delivers clever social commentary. You’ll recognize elements of real-life personalities in the diverse cast of characters, even in their exaggerated form. In spite of a plot twist you’ll perhaps see coming, readers of many genres – humor, apocalyptic, survivalist, contemporary, and satire – are likely to enjoy M.J. Wassmer’s unique and entertaining debut. 

If you like Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend, you might also like: 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams 

Harmony Books, 1979. 215 pages. Science Fiction 

Chronicles the off-beat and occasionally extraterrestrial journeys, notions, and acquaintances of galactic traveler Arthur Dent.

Yellowface
by R.F. Kuang

William Morrow, 2023. 323 pages. Fiction

After the death of her literary rival in a freak accident, author June Hayward steals her just-finished masterpiece, sending it to her agent as her own work, but as emerging evidence threatens her success, she discovers just how far she'll go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

SGR

Where They Last Saw Her

Where They Last Saw Her
By Marcie R. Rendon
Bantam Books, 2024. 315 pages. Mystery.

All they heard was her scream. Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to people who look like her. Just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill realizes now that she hasn't ever stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a scream. When she investigates, she finds tire tracks and a lone, beaded earring. Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don't know what it means to quit; she has her loving husband, Crow, and two beautiful children who challenge her to be better every day. So when she realizes another woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something-and her first stop is the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes. As Quill closes in on the truth behind the missing woman in the woods, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them.

The content of the story is not what I would consider a "fun" mystery as it focuses on the very real and prevalent issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. As a member of the White Earth Nation, Rendon clearly understands this and wrote with an expected amount of solemnity. The writing was emotionally intense with fleshed out characters that were easy to connect to.  I appreciated that the mystery had aspects of reality mixed in, like a mother putting her investigation on hold to get her children to their appointments on time.  As sad, tired, and angry as this book made me I am glad that I read it. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a deeper understanding of the multi-faceted and intersectional challenges that Indigenous women face in their daily lives.  

If you like Where They Last Saw Her, you might also like: 

Sisters of the Lost Nation

By Nick Medina

Berkley, 2023. 338 pages. Fiction.

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation's casino . . . and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step -- an ancient tribal myth come to life, one that's intent on devouring her whole. With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she's sure lies in the legends of her tribe's past. When Anna's own little sister also disappears, she'll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation -- both old and new -- are strong, and sometimes, it's the stories that never get told that are the most important.

The Seed Keeper

By Diane Wilson

Milkweed Editions, 2021. eBook. Fiction.

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family's struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn't return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they've inherited. On a winter's day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband's farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools. Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.

Wandering Stars

By Tommy Orange
Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 315 pages. Fiction.

Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star's son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father's jailer. Under Pratt's harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

KJ

The Bog Wife

The Bog Wife
By Kay Chronister
Counterpoint, 2024. 319 pages. Gothic Fiction.

Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a "bog-wife." Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails--or refuses--to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future. Middle child Wenna, summoned back to the dilapidated family manor just as her marriage is collapsing, believes the Haddesleys must abandon their patrimony. Her siblings are not so easily persuaded. Eldest daughter Eda, de facto head of the household, seeks to salvage the compact by desecrating it. Younger son Percy retreats into the wilderness in a dangerous bid to summon his own bog-wife. And as youngest daughter Nora takes desperate measures to keep her warring siblings together, fledgling patriarch Charlie uncovers a disturbing secret that casts doubt over everything the family has ever believed about itself.

Told in the alternating voices of the Haddesley children, the true horror of this story is the fracturing of this family as their beliefs are challenged.  Although it was marketed as a gothic horror I would suggest this to anyone even if they don't usually like that genre.  It was more thought-provoking than scary with a gloomy Appalachian atmosphere. I do agree with the many reviews that called it "haunting" as the story seems to already be nestled firmly in my memory.  Definitely worth reading if you are interested in ecological reckonings or the complexity of siblings being mirrors that you both love and despise.

If you like The Bog Wife, you might also like: 

The Last Tale of The Flower Bride

By Roshani Chokshi

William Morrow, 2023. 292 pages. Science Fiction.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after--and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past. But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor's extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo's dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife's secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage or their lives.

The God of the Woods

By Liz Moore

Riverhead Books, 2024. 478 pages. Fiction.

When Barbara Van Laar is discovered missing from her summer camp bunk one morning in August 1975, it triggers a panicked, terrified search. Losing a camper is a horrific tragedy under any circumstances, but Barbara isn't just any camper, she's the daughter of the wealthy family who owns the camp--as well as the opulent nearby estate, and most of the land in sight. And this isn't the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared in this region: Barbara's older brother also went missing 14 years earlier, never to be found. How could this have happened yet again? Out of this gripping beginning, Liz Moore weaves a richly textured drama, both emotionally nuanced and propelled by a double-barreled mystery. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the community working in its shadow, Moore's multi-threaded drama brings readers into the hearts of characters whose lives are forever changed by this eventful summer.

The Hollow Kind

By Andy Davidson
MCD, 2022. 434 pages. Fiction.

Nellie Gardner is looking for a way out of an abusive marriage when she learns that her long-lost grandfather, August Redfern, has willed her his turpentine estate. She throws everything she can think of in a bag and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow. It turns out that the "estate" is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie is thrilled about the chance for a fresh start for her and Max, and a chance for the happy home she never had. So it takes her a while to notice the strange scratching in the walls, the faint whispering at night, how the forest is eerily quiet. But Max sees what his mother can't: They're no safer here than they had been in South Carolina. In fact, things might even be worse. There's something wrong with Redfern Hill. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. It is the true legacy of Redfern Hill: a kingdom of grief and death, to which Nellie's own blood has granted her the key.

KJ

One by One

One by One

By Ruth Ware

Scout Press, 2020. 372 pages. Fiction

Getting snowed in at a luxurious ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn't sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there's a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide. When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech start-up, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hasn't made it back from the slopes. As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further...one by one.

As the weather turns cold and snow begins to fall, this is a perfect read for a winter's day in. Ruth Ware earns her title as a modern-day Agatha Christie with this claustrophobic and isolating mystery. The POV alternated between Erin, a chalet employee, and Liz, a minor shareholder of Snoop. Telling the story through the perspective of two outsiders puts the reader in the same spot as our narrators. We could relate to their confusion and suspicions of the other characters. Ware also excelled at creating an ambience that matched these characters’ personalities, beautiful yet cold. As more and more Snoopers went missing, the tension grew until the surprising twist ending. Overall, if you want to snuggle up with a good mystery on a cold day, One by One is for you!

If you liked One by One, you might also like:

The Overnight Guest

By Heather Gudenkauf

Park Row Books, 2022. 332 pages. Fiction

True crime writer Wylie Lark, snowed in at an isolated farmhouse where she's retreated to write her new book, finds a small child in the snow outside and, bringing him inside for warmth and safety, learns that the farmhouse isn't as isolated as she thought.

The Night She Disappeared

By Lisa Jewell

Atria Books, 2021. 401 pages. Mystery

On a beautiful summer night in a charming English suburb, a young woman and her boyfriend disappear after partying at the massive country estate of a new college friend. One year later, a writer moves into a cottage on the edge of the woods that border the same estate. Known locally as the Dark Place, the dense forest is the writer's favorite area for long walks and it's on one such walk that she stumbles upon a mysterious note that simply reads, "DIG HERE." Could this be a clue towards what has happened to the missing young couple? And what exactly is buried in this haunted ground?

BW

A Sorceress Comes to Call

A Sorceress Comes to Call
by T. Kingfisher
Tor, 2024. 325 pages. Fantasy

Cordelia knows her mother Evangeline is overbearing. Their house doesn't have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don't force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren't evil sorcerers. When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. With Hester's help, Cordelia must figure out a way to thwart her mother's plans before things go terribly wrong.

T. Kingfisher has written a fascinating fantasy novel set in Regency England. Although the sorceress Evangeline is a formidable foe, Cordelia finds solid allies in Hester and her friends. This means that while the book contains some dark themes and menacing elements, the story is sprinkled with moments of lightness and camaraderie as well. This book takes some inspiration from Brothers Grimm fairy tale The Goose Girl, but you don't need to know the fairy tale in order to enjoy this book. I highly recommend this novel!

If you like A Sorceress Comes to Call you might also like: 

Spinning Silver
by Naomi Novik
Del Rey, 2018. 466 pages. Fantasy

This retelling of Rumpelstiltskin focuses on Miryem, whose father is a moneylender. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem intercedes. Hardening her heart, she sets out to retrieve what is owed, and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. But when an ill-advised boast brings her to the attention of the cold creatures who haunt the wood, nothing will be the same again.

The Familiar
by Leah Bardugo
Flatiron Books, 2024. 385 pages. Fantasy

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the servant in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain.

MB

Borrow My Heart

Borrow My Heart
by Kasie West
New York: Delacorte Press, 2023. 267 pages. YA Fiction

When Wren overhears Asher getting roasted by his friends for being catfished, she impulsively steps in to help by pretending to be his online crush. A self-proclaimed control freak who relies on strict rules to navigate life, Wren's world is upended when Asher, a charming guy, walks into her neighborhood coffee shop, and her rules go out the window. To save him from embarrassment, she agrees to fake-date Asher, even though they barely know each other, and finds herself unexpectedly thrilled by the situation. As Wren breaks more of her own rules, she starts wondering if she can keep up the lie—and when Asher eventually discovers the truth, she worries whether he’ll forgive her. After all, rules are meant to be followed… aren’t they?

Borrow My Heart is a delightful contemporary romance that grabbed my attention from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters are rich, relatable, and authentically written, making it easy to connect with them on an emotional level. With a perfect blend of humor, heart, and tension, this story will appeal not only to young romance fans but also to animal lovers, who will especially appreciate the charming and heartwarming role animals play in the plot. It's a feel-good read that’s sure to leave you with a smile!

If you liked Borrow My Heart you might also like…

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You
By Ann Liang
New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. 309 pages. YA Fiction

Channeling her frustrations into email drafts--ones that she'd never send--seemingly perfect Sadie Wen finds her carefully crafted, conflict-free life turned upside down when the email is sent out accidentally, and the only person growing to appreciate the 'real' Sadie is the only boy she's sworn to hate.

The Upside of Falling
by Alex Light
New York: Harper Teen, 2020. 281 pages. YA Fiction

It's been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having had a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she's been secretly seeing someone. Brett Wells has it all. As captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in his school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he's always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca's lie, Brett decides to step in and be the mystery guy. It's the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not having a meaningful relationship and she can keep up the ruse that she's got a boyfriend. Acting like the perfect couple isn't easy, though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined.

BWW

Please Be My Star

Please Be My Star
By Victoria Grace Elliott
Graphix, 2024. 221 pages. Young Adult Comic.

Erika knows that people find her weird and off-putting. Instead of making friends, she finds solace in talking to herself and obsessing over handsome actors and pop stars. When she starts attending a new school, her loneliness takes on a life of its own and she develops a new obsession: the cutest boy in her theater class, Christian. For some reason, Christian is kind to her and even agrees to star in the play that she wrote for him, and Erika starts to find a creative voice that might lead to new friendship and romance. But the more time Erika spends with Christian, the more she wonders what he sees in a creep like her. Can Erika somehow write her way into the center of her own heartfelt love story? Or does Christian have an ending of his own in mind?

Please Be My Star is a well-written coming of age story with full-color panels that bring Erika's anxieties to life.  Literally.  Like, Erika's anxiety takes life as a shadowy version of herself that vocalizes all of her doubts and fears.  Erika's friend group is diverse in skin color, background, and personality, bringing their own stories with them without overwhelming the main storyline.  And Erika's love interest (Christian) has secrets of his own that the reader finds out along with Erika.  Overall, this is a good book for teens who like Phantom of the Opera (which this story is loosely based on), high school theater, and ones looking for ways to confront their own social anxiety.
 
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True Beauty
By Yaongyi
WEBTOON Unscrolled, 2022. 283 pages. Young Adult Comic.
 
Once bullied for being perceived as ugly, young Jugyeong Lim uses online tutorials to transform into a beautiful popular girl. Caught in a love triangle between a mystery man and a bad boy, Jugyeong navigates high school and her personal life while her self-esteem, romantic life, and school life are constantly in flux.

49 days
By Agnes Lee
Levine Querido, 2024. 341 pages. Young Adult Comic.
 
In Buddhist tradition, a person must travel for forty-nine days after they die, before they can fully cross over. Here in this book, readers travel with one Korean American girl, Kit, on her journey, while also spending time with her family and friends left behind.

Lunar New Year Love Story
By Gene Luen Yang
First Second, 2024. 343 pages. Young Adult Comic.
 
Val is ready to give up on love. It's led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she's pretty sure she's cursed—no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love. But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance to break the family curse? Or is she destined to live with a broken heart forever?

ERB

Here One Moment

Here One Moment

by Liane Moriarty

Crown, 2024. 501 Pages. Fiction.

 

An ordinary flight becomes extraordinary when passengers learn of their predicted deaths from a mysterious woman known as "The Death Lady," leading to a race against time for some and a chance to redefine their time left for others. How would you live your life if you thought you knew how it would end? Would you love who you love or try to love someone else? Would you stay married? Would you stop drinking? Would you call up your ex-best friend you haven’t spoken to in years? Would you quit your job? Here One Moment looks at friends, lovers, and family and how we manage to hold onto them in our harried modern lives. 

Although I enjoyed this book, it is not my favorite title by author Liane Moriarty. Despite that, the book has charms and appeals and I recommend giving this book a chance. The chapters alternate perspectives between the large cast of likeable characters. Story lines weave together throughout the book but its clear and easy to keep track of who's who. At first glance, its a dark plot summary, a woman predicting deaths and her predictions beginning to come true. The tone of the book is not heavy though, and tends towards positivity. In the end, the novel wraps up in a neat, safe bow. It almost feels like this book was written for a TV miniseries. And as someone who enjoyed the other TV miniseries made from books by Moriarty, Big Little Lies and Apples Never Fall, this book is worth a read.

If you like Here One Moment you might also like:

After Annie

by Anna Quindlen

Random House, 2024. 273 Pages. Fiction

When Annie Brown, a fun-loving woman, suddenly dies, her husband, best friend, and her children all struggle to find ways to go on after the loss of the woman who was the center of their lives, and who made life happy, fun, and secure. Her husband is overwhelmed with four children to raise, and turns to his teenage daughter for help, and to an old girlfriend for solace. Annie's best friend struggles again with opioid addiction, having depended on Annie for support through addiction and recovery. Annie's daughter discovers disturbing truths about life in a small town, including at her new best friend's house, where she stumbles upon a dangerous secret. These and other characters reconfigure their lives and learn how to go on, after Annie. 

The Collected Regrets of Clover

by Mikki Brammer 

St. Martin's Press, 2023. 314 Pages. Fiction.

Feeling a stronger connection with the dying than to the living, Clover, a death doula in NYC, has no life of her own until the final wishes of a feisty old woman sends her across the country to uncover a forgotten love story--and perhaps, her own happy ending. 

 

 

 

JK

Nothing to See Here

Nothing to See Here 

By Kevin Wilson

Ecco, 2019. 254 pages. Fiction. 

Lillian and Madison were the unlikeliest of roommates at their elite boarding school: Madison, the daughter of a prominent Atlanta family, being groomed for greatness; Lillian, a scholarship student, plucked out of nowhere based solely on her intellect and athletic prowess. The two were as tight as could be, reveling in their unique weirdnesses, until Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly. Years later, the two have lost touch, but Madison writes and begs Lillian for help. Her husband's twin stepkids are moving in with them and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there's a catch: the twins can spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a disturbing but beautiful way. Disbelieving at first but ultimately too intrigued by these strange children, Lillian agrees. And as they hunker down in the pool house, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other--and stay cool ... It all seems impossible to manage, but Lillian soon accepts that she and the children need each other, urgently and fiercely. 

This was a delightful little story about misfit, wild children who really just need some love and care in their lives. I rarely say this, but I wish this book was like 50 pages longer - it was short and sweet, but the day-to-day experiences with the children were so entertaining, I wish I could read more and more. I loved the dynamic between Lillian and Bessie and Roland. I tend to love stories of weird, magical, and misunderstood children and Kevin Wilson did a great job of incorporating the unexplained (i.e. children spontaneously combusting into flames) with the mundane (i.e. distant fathers in politics). This, for me, is my favorite kind of magical realism. 

If you like Nothing to See Here, you might also like: 

The House in the Cerulean Sea 

By T.J. Klune 

Tor, Tom Doherty Associates. 398 pages. Science Fiction. 

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret. Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they're likely to bring about the end of days. But the children aren't the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn. An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place--and realizing that family is yours. 

Spoonbenders 

By Daryl Gregory 

Alfred A. Knopf, 2017. 399 pages. Fiction. 

The Telemachus family is known for performing inexplicable feats on talk shows and late-night television. Teddy, a master conman, heads up a clan who possess gifts he only fakes: there's Maureen, who can astral project; Irene, the human lie detector; Frankie, gifted with telekinesis; and Buddy, the clairvoyant. But when, one night, the magic fails to materialize, the family withdraws to Chicago where they live in shame for years. Until: As they find themselves facing a troika of threats (CIA, mafia, unrelenting skeptic), Matty, grandson of the family patriarch, discovers a bit of the old Telemachus magic in himself. Now, they must put past obstacles behind them and unite like never before. But will it be enough to bring The Amazing Telemachus Family back to its amazing life?

LA

Cómo Tocar el Ukulele

Para prestar un ukelele o tocar un piano ¡haz clic aquí!

Cómo Tocar el Ukulele

por Jason Randall
Lightbulb Publishing, 2020. 55 páginas. Música

 

"Dilo con un ukulele..." "... se queja un gramófono; Cristo, dime qué decirle a ella ¿Ahora que estoy acostumbrado a mi soledad?"

Este verso del poema "Niebla" de George Seferis, poeta griego ganador del Premio Nobel, refleja perfectamente la naturaleza del instrumento y las emociones que puede evocar. Introducido por primera vez por los inmigrantes portugueses de Madeira a Hawái, este instrumento musical tradicional tiene uno de los sonidos más distintivos e inmediatamente sumerge a todo el mundo en su fascinante melodía. El nombre ukulele significa "pulga saltarina" en dialecto hawaiano y se inspiró en la forma en que los dedos tienen que moverse para interpretar una canción.Así es como puedes aprender a tocar el ukulele, ¡incluso si no tienes nada de experiencia!

Con esta guía completa del ukulele hecha por Jason Randall podrás conocer a fondo la historia, los acordes y las melodías del ukulele e iniciar tu propio viaje musical. Al final de esta completa guía de ukulele, serás capaz de aprender los acordes, comprender las melodías y combinar ambos para tocar canciones. ¡Esta guía del ukulele para principiantes es todo lo que necesitas para tocar!

Bueno... casi todo, ¡porque definitivamente también necesitas un ukulele! ¡Eso es todo! Con tu instrumento musical y esta guía completa, podrás aprender a tocar el ukulele desde cero, tocar melodías famosas y embarcarte en una aventura musical a través de la tradición hawaiana y la música moderna.

Si le gusta «Cómo Tocar el Ukulele» le recomendamos:

Manual de Piano Para Principiantes

por Miguel García Fajer

Miguel García Fajer, 2024 . 105 páginas. Música

Se dice que la música es el lenguaje perfecto! Gracias a los métodos más refinados de la actualidad, con este libro a mano, ¡tú también te convertirás en un nuevo artista musical del futuro! ¡Déjate guiar por el Maestro García Fajer y la música empezará a fluir con fluidez entre tus dedos! No solo partituras, sino también una muy amena lectura e introducción al instrumento.

La verdadera cara de la música: Tonos y semitonos, Bemol, Agudo y Rayo, Escalas, Tono menor y mayor, Círculo de quintas, Claves. La división del pentagrama: marcas de inicio, ruptura de compás, estribillo y final. Ejercicios de primera aproximación y calentamiento. Guía de postura, tacto y dinámica. ¡El enfoque correcto para verificar fácilmente la corona y la "falta o punto de valor"!

¡Cuanto más grande sea tu pasión, más música saldrá de las melodías que este libro te enseñará! ¡Feliz lectura y... feliz escucha!

Buen Inicio de Guitarra Para Principiantes
por Andrew Schneider

Seeing Music Books, 2023. 74 páginas. Música

Este libro te enseña los fundamentos musicales y las habilidades con la guitarra para que comiences de manera correcta. Aprende la forma correcta de rasguear, formar acordes y encontrar ritmos diferentes e interesantes. Te guiará paso a paso desde tu primera nota hasta tus primeros acordes y tus primeras canciones. Y a lo largo del camino, aprenderás la valiosa base de la música y los términos musicales que acelerarán tu aprendizaje mucho después de que hayas terminado el libro.

Aprende los fundamentos de la música: acordes, escalas, nombres de notas y canciones básicas. Y aprenderás:

• Cómo Leer Diagramas de Diapasón
• Anotar los Nombres a Través de los Primeros 5 Trastes
• Firmas de Tiempo y Valores de Nota (Corchea, Negra, Blanca)
• Acordes Mayores y Menores
• Muchos Ritmos de Rasgueo de Uso Común
• Escalas de C Mayor y G Mayor
• Canciones tradicionales, Blues y Rock and Roll

MEB

Etiquetas: Español, MEB, No Ficción, Música