Reveals only! 
Moderator:Marlene
Cheesy's reveal:
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
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Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
dancing-dog's reveal:
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The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Book Description
Cast aside by his family at an early age, abandoned and left to fend for himself in the woods of Washington State, young Joe Rantz turns to rowing as a way of escaping his past.
What follows is an extraordinary journey, as Joe and eight other working-class boys exchange the sweat and dust of life in 1930s America for the promise of glory at the heart of Hitler's Berlin. Stroke by stroke, a remarkable young man strives to regain his shattered self-regard, to dare again to trust in others - and to find his way back home.
Told against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat is narrative non-fiction of the first order; a personal story full of lyricism and unexpected beauty that rises above the grand sweep of history, and captures instead the purest essence of what it means to be alive.
Dancing-dog’s note: I often find a lot of non-fiction dry and unengaging but I was definitely pulled in by this story. My husband and I heard this as an audio book in bits and pieces over a long road trip. I loved all the background detail and biographical and historical information about all the boys and those involved which set the stage for what was to come. In contrast, my husband wanted the author to just get to the race right away! A fascinating story I had no idea about, this kind of book refreshes my ideas about reading (or listening to) non-fiction.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Book Description
Cast aside by his family at an early age, abandoned and left to fend for himself in the woods of Washington State, young Joe Rantz turns to rowing as a way of escaping his past.
What follows is an extraordinary journey, as Joe and eight other working-class boys exchange the sweat and dust of life in 1930s America for the promise of glory at the heart of Hitler's Berlin. Stroke by stroke, a remarkable young man strives to regain his shattered self-regard, to dare again to trust in others - and to find his way back home.
Told against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat is narrative non-fiction of the first order; a personal story full of lyricism and unexpected beauty that rises above the grand sweep of history, and captures instead the purest essence of what it means to be alive.
Dancing-dog’s note: I often find a lot of non-fiction dry and unengaging but I was definitely pulled in by this story. My husband and I heard this as an audio book in bits and pieces over a long road trip. I loved all the background detail and biographical and historical information about all the boys and those involved which set the stage for what was to come. In contrast, my husband wanted the author to just get to the race right away! A fascinating story I had no idea about, this kind of book refreshes my ideas about reading (or listening to) non-fiction.
Shaunie's Reveal:
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Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1) by Jessica Townsend (Goodreads Author) 4.40 · Rating details · 13,165 ratings · 2,915 reviews A cursed girl escapes death and finds herself in a magical world - but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart - an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1) by Jessica Townsend (Goodreads Author) 4.40 · Rating details · 13,165 ratings · 2,915 reviews A cursed girl escapes death and finds herself in a magical world - but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart - an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.PepperVL's reveal:
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Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older
The stunning sequel to the New York Times bestseller Shadowshaper is daring, dazzling, defiant. "A magical revolution on the page." -- Leigh Bardugo "[Older] leaves us openmouthed and speechless, asking "What just happened to me?!" -- Jacqueline Woodson Sierra and her friends love their new lives as shadowshapers, making art and creating change with the spirits of Brooklyn. Then Sierra receives a strange card depicting a beast called the Hound of Light -- an image from the enigmatic, influential Deck of Worlds. The shadowshapers know their next battle has arrived. Thrust into an ancient struggle with enemies old and new, Sierra and Shadowhouse are determined to win. Revolution is brewing in the real world as well, as the shadowshapers lead the fight against systems that oppress their community. To protect her family and friends in every sphere, Sierra must take down the Hound and master the Deck of Worlds . . . or risk losing them all.
Pepper's review: OMG. Shadowshaper was my Best Of pick a couple years ago, and even though I didn't think it was possible, I'm even more in love with Shadowhouse Fall. The characters, the mythology, the cultural relevance... everything is just stunning. This is one of those books you just want more and more of, and I was sad when it ended because I have to wait for the next book in the series.
And... since this is a sequel, if whoever picks it hasn't read the first book, I will also include:
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Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
The joyful, bold New York Times bestseller. Look for the sequel, Shadowhouse Fall, out 9/12! "Magnificent." --Holly Black, New York Times Book Review "A must." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Exceptional." --Publishers Weekly, starred review Sierra Santiago planned an easy summer of making art and hanging with her friends. But then a corpse crashes their first party. Her stroke-ridden grandfather starts apologizing non-stop. And when the murals in her neighborhood start to weep tears... Well, something more sinister than the usual Brooklyn ruckus is going on. With the help of a fellow artist named Robbie, Sierra discovers shadowshaping, a magic that infuses ancestral spirits into paintings, music, and stories. But someone is killing the shadowshapers one by one. Now Sierra must unravel her family's past, take down the killer in the present, and save the future of shadowshaping for generations to come.
Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older
The stunning sequel to the New York Times bestseller Shadowshaper is daring, dazzling, defiant. "A magical revolution on the page." -- Leigh Bardugo "[Older] leaves us openmouthed and speechless, asking "What just happened to me?!" -- Jacqueline Woodson Sierra and her friends love their new lives as shadowshapers, making art and creating change with the spirits of Brooklyn. Then Sierra receives a strange card depicting a beast called the Hound of Light -- an image from the enigmatic, influential Deck of Worlds. The shadowshapers know their next battle has arrived. Thrust into an ancient struggle with enemies old and new, Sierra and Shadowhouse are determined to win. Revolution is brewing in the real world as well, as the shadowshapers lead the fight against systems that oppress their community. To protect her family and friends in every sphere, Sierra must take down the Hound and master the Deck of Worlds . . . or risk losing them all.
Pepper's review: OMG. Shadowshaper was my Best Of pick a couple years ago, and even though I didn't think it was possible, I'm even more in love with Shadowhouse Fall. The characters, the mythology, the cultural relevance... everything is just stunning. This is one of those books you just want more and more of, and I was sad when it ended because I have to wait for the next book in the series.
And... since this is a sequel, if whoever picks it hasn't read the first book, I will also include:
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
The joyful, bold New York Times bestseller. Look for the sequel, Shadowhouse Fall, out 9/12! "Magnificent." --Holly Black, New York Times Book Review "A must." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Exceptional." --Publishers Weekly, starred review Sierra Santiago planned an easy summer of making art and hanging with her friends. But then a corpse crashes their first party. Her stroke-ridden grandfather starts apologizing non-stop. And when the murals in her neighborhood start to weep tears... Well, something more sinister than the usual Brooklyn ruckus is going on. With the help of a fellow artist named Robbie, Sierra discovers shadowshaping, a magic that infuses ancestral spirits into paintings, music, and stories. But someone is killing the shadowshapers one by one. Now Sierra must unravel her family's past, take down the killer in the present, and save the future of shadowshaping for generations to come.
Lemmy's Best of 2018 Reveal
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When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?
Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.
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This was my favourite book of 2018. I read it and I listened to it on audio, and liked it even more after listening to it.
The winner can choose a paper copy, ebook, or audible version![]()
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?
Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.
---
This was my favourite book of 2018. I read it and I listened to it on audio, and liked it even more after listening to it.
The winner can choose a paper copy, ebook, or audible version
Nimrodiel's Best of 2018 Reveal:
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Fall in love with The Simplicity of Cider, the charming new novel about a prickly but gifted cider-maker whose quiet life is interrupted by the arrival of a handsome man and his young son at her family’s careworn orchard by the author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and Luck, Love & Lemon Pie.
Focused and unassuming fifth generation cider-maker Sanna Lund has one desire: to live a simple, quiet life on her family’s apple orchard in Door County, Wisconsin. Although her business is struggling, Sanna remains fiercely devoted to the orchard, despite her brother’s attempts to convince their aging father to sell the land.
Single dad Isaac Banks has spent years trying to shield his son Sebastian from his troubled mother. Fleeing heartbreak at home, Isaac packed up their lives and the two headed out on an adventure, driving across the country. Chance—or fate—led them straight to Sanna’s orchard.
Isaac’s helping hands are much appreciated at the apple farm, even more when Sanna’s father is injured in an accident. As Sanna’s formerly simple life becomes increasingly complicated, she finds solace in unexpected places—friendship with young Sebastian and something more deliciously complex with Isaac—until an outside threat infiltrates the farm.
From the warm and funny Amy E. Reichert, The Simplicity of Cider is a charming love story with a touch of magic, perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen and Gayle Forman.
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I had several five star books read last year, including another book by this author. I picked this one because I adored its story, and still find myself thinking about it. It is set in contemporary Wisconsin, but the story brings in an unexpected and sweet magic, along with a touch of a complex romance. Amy E. Reichert is one of my favorite authors and this story firmly cemented her in my list of people whose books I have to buy when they come out.
Fall in love with The Simplicity of Cider, the charming new novel about a prickly but gifted cider-maker whose quiet life is interrupted by the arrival of a handsome man and his young son at her family’s careworn orchard by the author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and Luck, Love & Lemon Pie.
Focused and unassuming fifth generation cider-maker Sanna Lund has one desire: to live a simple, quiet life on her family’s apple orchard in Door County, Wisconsin. Although her business is struggling, Sanna remains fiercely devoted to the orchard, despite her brother’s attempts to convince their aging father to sell the land.
Single dad Isaac Banks has spent years trying to shield his son Sebastian from his troubled mother. Fleeing heartbreak at home, Isaac packed up their lives and the two headed out on an adventure, driving across the country. Chance—or fate—led them straight to Sanna’s orchard.
Isaac’s helping hands are much appreciated at the apple farm, even more when Sanna’s father is injured in an accident. As Sanna’s formerly simple life becomes increasingly complicated, she finds solace in unexpected places—friendship with young Sebastian and something more deliciously complex with Isaac—until an outside threat infiltrates the farm.
From the warm and funny Amy E. Reichert, The Simplicity of Cider is a charming love story with a touch of magic, perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen and Gayle Forman.
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I had several five star books read last year, including another book by this author. I picked this one because I adored its story, and still find myself thinking about it. It is set in contemporary Wisconsin, but the story brings in an unexpected and sweet magic, along with a touch of a complex romance. Amy E. Reichert is one of my favorite authors and this story firmly cemented her in my list of people whose books I have to buy when they come out.
Azuki's Reveal
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A brilliant collection of fantasy stories. In Factory, a young man who works as a crane operator befriends a ghost; In Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits, a girl climbs into a painting (and I did google up all the children from the paintings); in Instead of Three Wishes, the elf prince tries to fulfill his obligation of granting wishes to someone who is happy with what she has. The stories are original and truly magical!!
A brilliant collection of fantasy stories. In Factory, a young man who works as a crane operator befriends a ghost; In Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits, a girl climbs into a painting (and I did google up all the children from the paintings); in Instead of Three Wishes, the elf prince tries to fulfill his obligation of granting wishes to someone who is happy with what she has. The stories are original and truly magical!!
GateGypsy's reveal:
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Goodreads summary: Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer (he calls her Baby)--and now she's dead. Jared can't count on his mom to stay sober and stick around to take care of him. He can't rely on his dad to pay the bills and support his new wife and step-daughter. Jared is only sixteen but feels like he is the one who must stabilize his family's life, even look out for his elderly neighbours. But he struggles to keep everything afloat...and sometimes he blacks out. And he puzzles over why his maternal grandmother has never liked him, why she says he's the son of a trickster, that he isn't human. Mind you, ravens speak to him--even when he's not stoned. You think you know Jared, but you don't.
My thoughts (actually borrowed from reviewer Krista: Author Eden Robinson calls Son of a Trickster “a cognitive screwball gothic with working class people”, and that's too precisely perfect a description for me not to just quote her. As the coming-of-age story of a sixteen-year-old Native kid, Jared Martin, this book explores all the familiar anxieties faced by high school kids everywhere (social acceptance, family expectations, drug and sexual experimentation), layers on the less familiar anxieties particular to his situation (his mom's a violent hothead who exposes her son to a series of psycho boyfriends while denying Jared access to the substance-abusing father who desperately needs his son to help pay rent for him and his new family), and then further layers on the totally unfamiliar anxieties of a kid who is experiencing the thinning of the barriers between this world and that inhabited by his people's traditional bogeymen.
me now: read this book. fair warning: here there be magic realism. ps, this is not a YA book, even though the characters are mainly teenagers.
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
(full disclosure: this is the first of a trilogy. Book 2 came out this year.) Goodreads summary: Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer (he calls her Baby)--and now she's dead. Jared can't count on his mom to stay sober and stick around to take care of him. He can't rely on his dad to pay the bills and support his new wife and step-daughter. Jared is only sixteen but feels like he is the one who must stabilize his family's life, even look out for his elderly neighbours. But he struggles to keep everything afloat...and sometimes he blacks out. And he puzzles over why his maternal grandmother has never liked him, why she says he's the son of a trickster, that he isn't human. Mind you, ravens speak to him--even when he's not stoned. You think you know Jared, but you don't.
My thoughts (actually borrowed from reviewer Krista: Author Eden Robinson calls Son of a Trickster “a cognitive screwball gothic with working class people”, and that's too precisely perfect a description for me not to just quote her. As the coming-of-age story of a sixteen-year-old Native kid, Jared Martin, this book explores all the familiar anxieties faced by high school kids everywhere (social acceptance, family expectations, drug and sexual experimentation), layers on the less familiar anxieties particular to his situation (his mom's a violent hothead who exposes her son to a series of psycho boyfriends while denying Jared access to the substance-abusing father who desperately needs his son to help pay rent for him and his new family), and then further layers on the totally unfamiliar anxieties of a kid who is experiencing the thinning of the barriers between this world and that inhabited by his people's traditional bogeymen.
me now: read this book. fair warning: here there be magic realism. ps, this is not a YA book, even though the characters are mainly teenagers.
The Hate U Give
by
Angie Thomas (Goodreads Author)
4.55 · Rating details · 245,302 ratings · 37,196 reviews
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.