Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! I'm back from a lovely visit with my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson where we saw Yo Yo Ma in concert! It was very special!
If you like thrillers, I've finished the third in Don Winslow's trilogy, a saga of the illusive and conflicted Danny Ryan, coming from the mob back east and settling in Las Vegas. The outcome will both dismay and thrill readers and those close to Winslow. It's been quite a journey Winslow took us on, from 2022 to 2024. I imagine he might be sad it's complete. Yet, as Dr. Seuss wrote, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."
It took a while for me to get into this. It felt rather repetitive and I was confused about the characters, who was who, etc. But as it kept going and becoming more intriguing, I started to like the attitude of Olive Cobin Zang, the main young one who's found herself dropped off at a new school, like no other, while her parents go on still another business trip. As the story deepens, Olive ends up in a small (secret) group set to solve some mysteries. Each group member has unique qualities, but they learn as a team and to "work" as a team, despite some who are a bit more negative than others. The story, and the mystery of "Who stole the jewels?" deepens and becomes more exciting, not too scary, but just intriguing enough for middle readers. Dan Santat adds just the right amount of illustration to heighten the excitement. Seeing kids do some dangerous things will entertain the readers! It's a satisfying and surprise ending I didn't imagine at all, too!
Thanks to Charlesbridge for the following two special picture books!
