In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

The story begins with an unavoidable car accident during the midst of a snow storm.  Richard is willing to accept fault but Evelyn needs more help than just repairing her bumper.  Evelyn is an illegal immigrant with not a friend in the world and a dead body in her trunk.  This is more than Richard can deal with so he enlists the help of his boarder Lucia.  The three lives soon become entwined as the navigate the winter storm together in search of a spot to hide a body.

In the Midst of Winter is a novel that easily moves between 1970 Chili and Brazil to present day Brooklyn.  The story explores what has brought each character to Brooklyn and the paths and obstacles it took before they got there.

In the Midst of Winter is a murder mystery, a love story under the most unusual circumstances and a tragic immigrant and refugee experience.

Zero Repeat Forever by G. S. Prendergast

Zero Repeat Forever is a 5 star book.  I don't say that too often.  I LOVED this book.  First of all the cover.  It's stunning.  Go ahead and judge this book by it's cover.  Beautiful.  I know I've recently wrote another book review on here where I claim that I dislike science fiction and here I am again reading science fiction and giving it top ratings.  Maybe I do actually like science fiction?!?!  This book is a few pages short of 500 and I didn't want it to end.

Zero Repeat Forever is about a group of kids away at a camp for the summer in Alberta when the world is taken over by another life form.  They can see big cities exploding in the distance.  They believe if they leave the camp they will be killed.  They've seen videos.  They are called Nahx.  They shoot you with a dart and that's the end.

Raven and her friends have been living at camp for a few months now but their food supply is dwindling, winter is coming and they need to make a move.  See if they can find other survivors and search for more supplies.  But it doesn't take long before they are face to face with their first Nahx.

Zero Repeat Forever is a dystopian Beauty and the Beast story.  I was constantly being drawn in for one more chapter.  The only negative thing I could say is that there are a handful of references to some drug use that just felt unnecessary to me.  Unfortunately, not a book I can buy for my school but perfect for grade 9 and up.

Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka

Lucinda Hayes is loved and adored by her family, friends and others but someone has brutally murdered her.  There are many suspects.  Ivan is the school custodian with a previous conviction and was the one who found Lucinda.  Cameron is the boy next door that has an obsession with Lucinda.  Jade has wished Lucinda dead for making her life miserable.  Who murdered Lucinda?

I enjoyed Girl in the Snow by Danya Kukafka.  The characters were well developed.  The story was very suspenseful and I wasn't able to predict the killer.

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Young Jane Young is the story of a young girl made some mistakes early on in life.  Some mistakes with a married, older, important man.  When her mistake is revealed she's the one that gets smeared in the media.  He comes out with a long successful career and marriage still intact.  With a bleak future Jane leaves town and builds a new life for herself where no one knows her name or recognizes her.  Fast forward 13 years later when she's got a new life built for herself and a curious daughter about to make it all coming crashing down again.

I really enjoyed all the characters in this story.  They were funny and just my kind of humor.  The book was very fast paced.  I always love a book that writes with different character's perspective.

This is the second book that I have read by Gabrielle Zevin.  Check out my review of her first novel  The Storied Life of A. J Fikry as well.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

Isa, Kate, Thea and Fatima meet when beginning a school year at a residential school in Salten.  They seemed to destined to be best friends when they bond over a lie.  This begins the lying game.  There are rules for the lying game and points rewarded.  It's all fun and games until the lies become life and death.

15 years late the girls are trying to move on with their lives but they are still lying.  When Kate sends a text message saying 'I need you.'  The girls grab trains and come running.

The Lying Game is a story that slowly unravels with details being revealed at a pace to keep readers intrigued.  I felt like I was clenching my jaw at the suspense and tension of this novel.  Ruth Ware is a talented suspenseful storyteller.  She is also the author of The Woman in Cabin 10.

The Ice-Cream Makers by Ernest van der Kwast

Making ice cream is hard work.  There are a lot of long days.  Churn churn churn the ice cream.  It takes a family to run a successful ice cream shop.  Giovanni comes from a long line of ice cream makers.  Imagine then the upset when Giovanni decides he doesn't want to be in the family business.  He wants to travel the world reading poetry.  When Giovanni pops home from is world travels his father makes constant jabs about his 'work'.  His brother won't even speak to him for 12 years until he needs a favour.  A big favour.  

I found The Ice-Cream Makers a bit hard to get into at first.  The book jumps around a bit which caused me to have to go back and re-read paragraphs feeling I had missed a detail.  Every night I read I was craving ice cream and I would love to travel to the village on the cover.  Ernest van der Kwast has left me dreaming of Italy and ice cream.  

The Ice-Cream Makers will be in store August 1st, 2017.

Edit - I've just come back from Italy and I thought of this book often.  There are so many ice cream makers around Italy and it's certainly true that they need to compete for new and competitive flavours.  So yummy!

Bubba Begonia You're Such a Lucky Guy by Gerry O'Brien

A few years ago I visited my local Chapters bookstore to find some books for my young son.  Gerry O'Brien was at the store doing a signing and his Bubba Begonia books looked exactly like what we were after.  Bubba Begonia books are the perfect length for a young reader and they are action packed with so many funny scenes.  

In Bubba Begonia You're Such a Lucky Guy, Bubba believes he's anything but lucky.  His parents have just sat him down for a talk to tell him they are moving his baby brother into his bedroom.  Then maybe he does get lucky when his parents agree to getting him the puppy he's asked for 5,000 times.  But Bubba quickly learns that puppies are a lot of work - and trouble! 

Bubba has a great group of friends that bring a lot of fun to the stories.  The books are also filled with funny little poems that children will love.  Bubba Begonia You're Such a Lucky Guy is book number five in the series and is in stores now.   

The author, Gerry O'Brien, enjoys doing school visits.  I had him out to my school a few years ago and the students loved him!  He really inspired them with his stories.  After Gerry's visit the students spent weeks acting out his books on the playground.

Lyttle Lies: The Pudding Problem by Joe Berger

Sam has been known to tell a tall tale.  He will admit that he has a reputation for telling the truth.  The truth is complicated.  Like an elephant.  It's just too big to deal with.  So Sam chooses not to deal with the truth.  Instead he tells these elaborate stories that mostly get him into trouble.  Mostly everyone knows he's lying but even when faced with the pressure of telling the truth Sam still stretches the tale.

Fortunately though Sam (and the author Joe Berger) are great storytellers.  The Pudding Problem is a fun and enjoyable twisted tale.  Even though Sam is a compulsive liar, he is a likable character.  Most of his lies are harmless except when dealing with big mean Feeney.

I really connected with this story.  When I was in grade 2 someone stole my sandwich at school.  I ate a summer sausage sandwich every day.  Mine was missing from my lunch bag.  But Katie had a summer sausage sandwich in her lunch bag that looked like one my Dad makes me.  I'm inclined to believe that the teacher and principal believed me as I'm not a compulsive liar like Sam - and maybe how little Katie was.  In the end my parents were called and said there was definitely a summer sausage sandwich in my bag.  Anybody else have to deal with a Sam or Katie when they were a kid?  

Lyttle Lies: The Pudding Problem is a nice clean fun story.  I love the lie detector that comes at the back of the book.  I think this would be a real hit with my students and I will definitely purchase this book for my school library.  I think this story has the makings of a great sequel and I'm sure we will see more of Sam.  

This book is in stores now and is recommended for children ages 8-12.

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

When All Our Wrong Todays popped up on my holds list I couldn't remember what had prompted me to put this book on hold at the library.  All Our Wrong Todays is science fiction and I don't read science fiction.  Then I had another thought - I don't even remember putting it on hold so it must be quite a popular books if I had to wait that long.  I thought I may as well try a few chapters.

Whew!  What a read it was!  This novel was a utopian and a dystopian and offered another life in between.  The novel begins in 2016 and Tom Barren is living the life the Jetson's had us envisioning for this year.  His father has been hard at work creating a time travel machine and has assembled the crew for the first trip.  With the mission seeming to be falling apart, Tom takes the time travel trip alone back to 1965.  It doesn't take Tom long to alter the path of the future.  Almost as quickly as he time travels, Tom also falls in love.  This novel has romance too!

The novel is written as a memoir by Tom.  I loved Tom's quote near the end of the novel "As I'm sure you're all too aware, trying to keep this time-travel crap straight in your head is a chore."  Although All Our Wrong Todays is science fiction I assure you that everyone can follow along and really enjoy this novel.

This was Canadian Elan Mastai's debut novel.  I really enjoyed the writing style.  The short chapters kept me moving through this novel quickly.  I still don't know what made me put this book on hold but I'm glad I did.  It was a nice change from my usual reads.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Evelyn Hugo is a self made success.  She suffered a tragic childhood and escaped her home town Hell's Kitchen as soon as she was able to successfully lie about her age.  Here begins husband number one.  Evelyn Hugo is determined to be a star and she will lie, cheat, get married and have sex with whoever she needs to in order to make it in Hollywood.  Fortunately, she is absolutely stunning and that helps her rise to fame.

Monique Grant is reeling from the recent separation from her first husband.  She's working as a journalist for Vivant Magazine.  She did one amazing article that got her a lot of recognition but since the undoing of her marriage she knows she hasn't written anything amazing.  That's why her and her boss are both shocked when after years of silence with the media, Evelyn Hugo agrees to an article, but only with Monique.

Evelyn reveals the untold story of her seven husbands to Monique over the course of several days.  Monique discovers the seven husbands aren't the real story at all.  It's not until the end that Monique uncovers why she's been summoned to write the story.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a beautiful story of love and loss.  The movie stars and glamour of Hollywood make the characters so real you will be checking Netflix for the films.  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo will be available in stores June 13, 2017.  It is published by Simon and Schuster Canada.

Bubble by Stewart Foster

11 year old Joe has never lived outside of the hospital.  He lives in a climate controlled bubble room in the hospital.  His life consists of electronics, the medical team that cares for him and visits from his sole surviving relative - his sister.  His life is consumed by monitoring the room temperature, air quality and his heart beat.

When a new nurse joins his medical team, Joe thinks he might be crazy.  He talks of alien visits.  Is he just being funny or does he believe aliens are coming?  Regardless, he's something new and exciting in his life.  But then the nurse constructs a plan to take Joe outside and he needs to decide if his new nurse is serious and if he can be trusted.  

I really enjoyed Bubble.  I loved all the characters.  It was fun and sad.  Bubble is being released May 2, 2017.  I will definitely be buying this book for our school library.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot has been my most favourite read aloud that I've done this year.  I found myself always looking forward to seeing my grade 4 class because I couldn't wait to read more about The Wild Robot.  I think the students enjoyed it as much as I did.  I can always tell because if no one moves the light sensors turn off in the library and every single week the light sensors went off.  No one wanted to miss it.

There is a boat full of robots that crashes and sends crates of robots crashing with the waves into an island.  Only one robot survives - Roz.  Roz starts making her way around the island and scaring all the animals.  What is this monster they all want to know.  Roz watches and observes the animals in their habitat.  She soon learns how to speak to each of the animals and survival instincts from watching the animals adaptations.

When Roz finds an egg one day she knows exactly what to do from watching the other birds.  Soon Roz is a mother to a baby gosling - Brightbill.  The two form a mother and son relationship like no other.

This is a fantastic read aloud for a grade 4 class.  There is a sequel coming this fall.  The Wild Robot has also been chosen as the global read aloud.  I've never participated in this before but I'm motivated to join in this October.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell

I Found You by Lisa Jewell is NOT another Girl on the Train.  Sure, it's a mystery.  The only similarity is going to be that everyone is going to be talking about it - it's that good.  

I Found You tells three separate stories in alternating chapters.  Readers will not want to put the book down so they can read how it all comes together.  In one story line we have a man sitting on the beach for hours not moving.  It begins to rain and still he doesn't flinch.  Alice watches from the window and finally ventures down to find out what's going on.  There she discovers a man with no memory.  

Then there is a newly married couple.  Lily's new to London.  She doesn't know anyone except her adoring husband, Mark.  When Mark suddenly goes missing one night after work she doesn't know who to turn to.

There is also a flashback to 1993 where a family is vacationing.  They meet a man named Mark that begins obsessing over the family's young daughter.

The story has many likable characters and many twists and turns.  I Found You is very unpredictable.  You won't be able to sleep without one more chapter.  The book will be released in Canada on April 25th, 2017

Also, check out Lisa Jewell's The Girls in the Garden.

Phoebe Sounds It Out by Julie Zwillich

Phoebe thinks her mom made a mistake when she wrote her name on her backpack.  Phoebe obviously starts with the letter 'F' not a 'P'.  There is no 'O' sound in her name either.  At least Phoebe and her mom can agree on the 'B'.  But she's seen her friend Nicky spell his name and the ending sounds the same as Phoebe's so it seems her mom made another mistake.

Such a cute story about learning to sound out the letters and learning to write and spell.  It's so tricky!

The Secret Life of Squirrels - A Love Story by Nancy Rose

Have you ever had a chance to interact with an author?  Whether it be in person at a book signing/talk, a little back and forth on Twitter or maybe an email exchange?  I LOVE when I get to chat with an author about their work.  I have visited many book conventions and had some amazing interactions.  My youngest son was so fortunate to get a large drawing from Dav Pilkey of his signature toilet from Captain Underpants.  It's framed on his bedroom wall and he treasures it.  This week Veronica Roth was coming to our local Chapters.  I have no idea how the store pulled off getting such a big name - well done!!  I recommended to a few people that they should go and the feedback was amazing.  Their teenage children walked away in awe and inspired.

All this does relate to Nancy Rose and her The Secret Life of Squirrels series.  Nancy Rose is a talented author and photographer from Canada.  If you have a young person in your life - kids LOVE her books!!  Her books lead to great discussion on 'Do you think the squirrels are real?' and 'Do you think the squirrels can really talk?'  or 'Do you think the squirrels really sit at tables to eat?'  It's a great book for fiction vs. non-fiction talks.  Nancy Rose's latest book is The Secret Life of Squirrels - A Love Story.  I've been hiding this book from my students for a couple of weeks waiting for Valentine's Day.  As expected as soon as they saw the cover there were shouts of excitement.  Needless to say they were not disappointed with the latest Mr. Peanut's story.

When we were done one of her biggest fans asked if she might create a St. Patrick's Day story.  I thought this was highly unlikely.  St. Patrick's Day would be a bit tricky to write a whole story around.  But I took the time to message Nancy Rose the request anyway.  She very quickly responded with some personalized photos of Mr. Peanuts for my student.  I'm so excited to give them to her!!  This is exactly why I say don't hesitate to reach out to an author and tell them how much you enjoy their work.

Himself by Jess Kidd

This book had so much wrapped all into one book.  It was funny.  There was a murder mystery.  Himself has romance.  A child searching for answers to who his parents were.  There are ghosts.  It's so much all wrapped up into one.  I wasn't certain where it was going when I first began and the first few pages I wasn't sure it was a book for me.  But I'm so glad I stuck with it because it was definitely a book for me.  I really enjoyed Himself.  The quote on the cover indicates it's original and it certainly is.  Himself is a book that draws no comparisons.

Himself is available in Canada as of today - March 14, 2017.

Spurt by Chris Miles

Spurt by Chris Miles was a book written for a teenage boy that is eagerly waiting for puberty to arrive.  Spurt is definitely not written for a 40 year old woman who is the mother of a teenage boy waiting to grow like his friends.  After reading page one I knew this book belonged on a night stand down the hall from mine.

Spurt is the story of Jack Sprigley.  I grade 8 boy that is eagerly awaiting puberty to hit.  After avoiding his friends for two weeks at winter break he was really hoping that this might have been his chance to grow.  A quick glance down his pajama bottoms reveals nothing has grown.  Soon after a plan hatches to fake that puberty has hit.  His excuse for not seeing his friends over break - he spent the two weeks masturbating.

 Spurt is a funny book about the pangs of being a young teenage boy.  I'm sure with the right audience it could be a hit but the target audience is not a 40 year old mom.

Spurt is published by Simon and Schuster and will be in stores (and libraries!) early February 2017.