Author: macjam47

I am an avid reader who loves to share my thoughts about the books I read. Other activities I enjoy are doing things with my grandchildren, baking and cooking, gardening, Pilates, and deep water exercise.

Tristan Wolf by Mariana Llanos

Published on by macjam477 Comments

Tristan WolfTristan Wolf is a delightful story of a young boy who believes he was raised by a wolf, and that he is indeed a wolf.  As you read about his life with the wolves, you almost believe the story. Tristan knows he is different from the other wolves, but he doesn’t know why. He decides to set out on his own to find out what humans are like, even after many warnings from his mother wolf about how dangerous they are. Tristan comes face-to-face with a human, and shows his bravery by standing up to her.  But who was she?

Like most children, Tristan has a good imagination. This is a fantastic tale for school-aged children to read or to have read to them.

Mariana Llanos has a distinct ability to capture a child’s inventive mind and weave a story that will keep his/her interest time after time.  This book would be a perfect gift for a young elementary age child. I recommend it to all parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends of young children. I give it five stars.

To buy the book click here.

To learn more about Mariana Llanos click here.

DARK FEY Book 1: The Reviled by Cynthia Morgan

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Dark Fey

DARK FEY will take you on a roller coaster ride into two separate worlds – the one of the Light Loving Fey (fairy) and the other of the Reviled Fey or the dark world.  Ayla of the Light Fey, who was prepped at the Temple to be a Guardian, is bestowed with a great gift of speaking and hearing with her mind and of taking others’ pain. She protects the childfey from the Dark Fey who steal them away from their families.  Marden, also of the Light Fey is a Celebrant with extraordinary powers, as well. Ayla and Marden become close, but Ayla’s powers sense a threat and she is unable to share it with Marden for fear he will think she’s strange.  Ayla feels the presence of another waiting in the shadows.  Who is this Dark One and what does he want of her?

DARK FEY is of the fantasy genre, which is not usually what I read, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It is a quick read, but you will want to go slowly so as not to miss any of this amazing fantasy of light and dark, good and evil, the loved and unloved.  It is a story of courage in the face of formidable peril.

Cynthia Morgan, in this debut novel, writes with vivid descriptions, engaging characters, and an intense storyline.  It is the first of three novels, and I am looking forward to reading part two.

I first met Cynthia, known as Morgan, on her blog booknvolume where most of her posts showcase her beautiful poetry. Her prose is every bit as lovely as her verse. Please stop by her blog and read more about this amazing author.

To buy DARK FEY click here.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, romance, and great storytelling. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Beach Plum Island by Holly Robinson

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81g1jE4SKKL._SL1500_Beach Plum Island by Holly Robinson is about family ties, blended families and the trials they go through to become one loving family, the loss of parents, and family secrets.

When Ava Barrett’s father dies, she convinces her sister Elaine to come to his funeral where they both will have to face his wife, their stepmother.  Elaine still resents her father leaving their mother to marry Katy and is not afraid to show it. She directs her anger at Ava for including Gigi, their half-sister, in the family. Their father told Ava and Gigi to find their brother and tell him the truth.  Ava was confused because she didn’t have a brother.  What truth was she to tell him? While trying to solve this mysterious directive of their father, Ava, Elaine, and Gigi have a Herculean task before them, made more difficult by guilt and secrets of Ava and Elaine. What will they find in the end? Can they become one happy family?

Holly Robinson’s vivid descriptions of Boston, Beach Plum Island, and surrounding areas transport you to the setting of the book. Her characters are complex and well developed, involving you deeply in their struggles, their lives, and their loves. I loved every single one of them.

This is perhaps one of the best novels I have ever read.  I could have finished it in one sitting, but as I neared the half-way mark, I was already starting to mourn the end of the story. I wanted it to go on. I started to read just a chapter at a sitting trying to stretch it out. I didn’t want it to come to the end.

This is an excellent read anytime and anywhere, but you will surely want to tuck it in your beach bag for a lazy summer day. I give Beach Plum Island and Holly Robinson five stars!

Find out more about Holly Robinson, or to purchase her books, please follow the links below.

Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Huffington Post

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

poem- Measuring

Published on by macjam473 Comments

Testing – what it doesn’t measure.

Shawn L. Bird's avatarShawn L. Bird

Video with my narration is in the previous post, but here’s the written version:

.

Measuring

Shawn L. Bird

This is me.

The standardized test says,

“She’s a C.”

 

But no standardized test

can measure my capacity.

 

The provincial exam or S A T

does not evaluate my reality.

 

A test does not see

    my creativity

       my audacity

          my tenacity

             my congeniality

No test can reveal

                  my totality.

 

They say

a standardized test demands gravity,

but I say,

it is a depravity

to define our youth with such rationality!

 

This is me.

No standardized test can measure

who I will be.

 

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Cute Books for Little Ones

Published on by macjam478 Comments

Little BunnyLittle Bunny

by Giovanni Caviezel

Ages 1-4

A cute story about what a baby bunny does all day.

The size and shape of this board book is just right for little hands; however, I felt the story was better suited to older preschoolers.

 

Llama Llama wakey - wakeLlama llama wakey-wake

by Anna Dewdney

Best suited for ages 1-3

Llama llama has a lot to do to get ready for his brand new day.

Llama, Llama is perfect for little ones to sit and listen to the short sentences and admire the colorful pictures.

 

I’m not Sleepy!

by Jonathan AllenI'm Not Sleepy

Ages 1-3

Baby Owl stayed up all night and was very grumpy the next day when everyone told him he looked sleepy. “I’m not sleepy!”

This delightful story is sure to have the little ones laughing.

 

Duck & GooseDuck and Goose

Goose Needs a HUG

by Tad Hills

Ages 1-3

Goose needs a hug, but no one is listening. They offer to play games with him and splash in puddles, but that isn’t what he needs.

A really cute little story that will delight young children who are sure to memorize and read it back to you.

The Milk of Female Kindness

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THE MILK OF FEMALE KINDNESS is a collection of stories, artwork, and poems about mothers and motherhood by twenty-nine women of different nationalities.81IWszqC5eL._SL1500_

I felt the warmth and love of those who contributed to the book throughout. There were stories that made me chuckle, and some that made me cry. From the funny and honest Reasons to Breastfeed by Alison Bartlett to the wonderful The Welsh Shaw by Ceridwen Masiulanis to the honest Full of Abundance and Feeling Heavy by Jessica Kennedy to the heartfelt Something Like Survivor’s Guilt by Angélique Jamail, this is an earnest collection of personal experiences by women willing to share their thoughts and experiences to be read again and again.

Written about motherhood, everyone should read this. Do I have a favorite story? That is hard to say because each entry in this anthology stands on its own – its intensity, its honesty, and its diversity. It is a book I will go back to often.

This book was given to me by the editor in exchange for an honest review. I received no payment for providing this review.

A to Z Challenge 2014 Reflections

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A-to-Z Reflection [2014] (1)

First of all, I’d like to thank the A to Z Challenge Team for their encouragement and support throughout the challenge (I’ve listed their links below), everyone who stopped by my blog, and all who have followed my blog. It was wonderful to see so much activity and read the comments that were left.  I visited many blogs of other A to Z-ers and made some new blogging friends along the way.

When I first signed up, I was excited about the Challenge, but also unsure that I would be able to write something for each letter. Would life get in the way of seeing it to the end?  The night before the first posting, I almost backed out.  April was such a busy month for us.  I stayed with it, and I am so glad I did. I had a fantastic time writing my A to Z’s!  I can’t wait to do it again next year!

When I started my posts, I didn’t want them dispersed throughout my blog roll, so I set up a separate page for the A to Z Challenge. I love the way it turned out, and got a lot of compliments on it. I linked back to my home page. The page is static, so it didn’t update on my blog roll with each successive post to it. This I found to be a disadvantage. Also, since it was a static page, I could not schedule posts.  Because we were out of town for part of April, that meant I had to prepare those posts ahead of time and log on wherever I was to add the day’s post. In the future, I could work around using the static page by posting a notice on my home page, but the problem of not being able to schedule remains.

Next year I will unquestionably prepare my posts ahead of time to avoid last-minute panic. Even though I had planned what I was going to write about for each post, I still had to figure out what I wanted to write (which was not always what I thought it would be) and find the photos to go with the day’s post.

If you’d like to find out more about the A to Z Challenge, or read other’s reflections of their blog experiences, go to the A to Z Challenge.

Here is the A – Z Team with their links:

Arlee Bird: Tossing it Out
Alex J. Cavanaugh: Alex J. Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp: Author Stephen Tremp
Tina Downey: Life is Good
Damyanti Biswas: Amlokiblogs
Jeremy Hawkins: [Being Retro]
Nicole Ayers: The Madlab Post
M. J. Joachim: M. J. Joachim’s Writing Tips
Heather M. Gardner: The Waiting is the Hardest Part
AJ Lauer: Naturally Sweet
Pam Margolis: An Unconventional Librarian

A-Z Challenge Survivor

Published on by macjam4714 Comments

survivor-atoz [2014]I have done it! I have completed the A-Z Challenge 2014!! I’ve had so much fun doing it. Please visit my A-Z Challenge page to read my posts.