Wow – what a wonderful story, and beautiful recording.  This winter tale, could easily be used for Christmas, but does not have to be.  (Christmas is mentioned once).  It is the story of a girl, who meets her snow angle one night.  And after a long illness wants to see them once more.  She tries different things to make her snow angel appear, after all her snow angel is her guardian angel.  This is a perfect family story.  Not to long, not too short, and I can see some big name animation house, taking this story and making an Oscar winning short!  Five starts, perfect winter story. 

 Rosenfelt knows how to keep an audience entertained.  His lawyer Andy Carpenter, reminds me of Jack Lemon in Grumpy Old Men.  He wants to be left alone and semi-retire.  He wants to play with his dogs, and not get involved.  But when his beloved dog finds a body in the snow, he is pulled back into a case that is about political sabotage, murder, and explosions.  This was a fun holiday listen.  I love that even thought this is book 24 in the series, you can pick it up as a newbie and not feel left out.  This book would probably be considered an edgy cozy mystery.  It’s more than cozy, but not full blown Grisham or Sandford, making it an appropriate audiobook for all audiences on long holiday drives. 

 I loved getting new stories from all of the Rick Riordian Presents series.  I have read at least one book in most of the series, but not all.  Stories I knew were easy to jump back into the characters and action, like with Gum Baby, or Sal.  For stories I had not read yet like Storm Runner and Dragon Pearl, it was easy enough to grasp what was going on, and exciting enough to make you want to get back to those unread series.  Plus the new Irish story from Riordian himself.  Loved it.  Plus, since this is all short stories, it makes it great for long and short car rides this holiday season. 

Noor are giant red eyes in the sky on top of towering structures.  They are the energy producers for the people of the world.  This story take place in a futuristic Nigeria.  AO is our main character who is half human, half not.  Her legs, one harm and part of her head are all robotic due to birth defects and an accident at age 13.  She is a wanderer who is just living her life, but one day at the market, she ends up on the run, with a herder named DNA.  They are trying to escape the all-seeing and all-knowing eye, but that is pretty hard.  As the story of AO and DNA unfolds there are ethical questions on biotechnology, body autonomy, and even government oversite.  This book is part 1984, part I Robot and all Okorafor.  It is a fabulous read or listen, that you will want to revisit many times. 

 

This book is from 1990 during the heart of the “Satanic Panic”.  This book is how to talk to a child who was abused in satanic rituals at day care.  This book may have been considered fine at the time, but there is no way this would be reprinted today.  First off we deal with children’s trauma in different ways now than they did 30 years ago, plus, while there was a day care doing satanic rituals with their wards, it was nowhere enough to need a book. 

 

This book was so boring.  I can see some readers liking it, as it is a character study of a new witch coming into her powers and moving in with extended family.  But for this reader, the book spent way too much time telling you the main character had no sense of direction and would frequently get lost.  That was most of the story.  The Harbinger of Spring was the most exciting part of the story.  Overall this book was just blaaaahhhhh…………….. 

 

Beetle is a goblin. She wants to do more than magic, she wants to do sorcery, but as a goblin, that is not in the pages for her.  But still she must learn from her grandma the ways of the goblin.  Her best friend is Blob Ghost (BG) but they cannot leave the mall.  Yes the shopping mall, that is almost empty.  They have to find a way out.  Not only has Beetle’s old friend and crush Kat come back to town, her aunt is going to tear down the mall!.  The two friends have to find a way to save BG, come to terms with their feelings for each other, and figure out who really has all the power. After all, Aunt Hollowbones is out to get them.  This book was just adorable.  It has adventure, it has magic, it has heart, and all sorts of other feelings. The storytelling is spot on, and the art is amazing!.  This will be a book I will be telling others to read for years to come. 

 

I love a book that takes normal story tropes and spins them on their head.  This juvenile graphic novel does just that.  We have two princesses, one stuck in a tower, and one alone adventuring on a unicorn.  Amira wanted to be more than a cook and clean and rule by her husband’s side princess.  She wanted action, she wanted adventure, and she wanted a life of importance.  Sadie is trapped in her tower.  Her trap is one not just of location, but one of words.  With a vile sister that constantly reminders he she could never rule because she is fat and ugly, Sadie lacks confidence in herself.  Amira helps Sadie find that confidence, and together they help out a laddie in distress, learn to be themselves, and rule with a kind and loving heart.  They show that love is love, and that is all that matters.  This book was amazing.  It was a bit short and simple, but the heart screams loud and proud.  These princesses are destined to live happily ever after. 

 

Kami Garcia is back with her intro to the Teen Titans series.  First we got Raven, then Beast Boy, and now they come together.  This book mainly follows their meeting and also introduces Dewayne Wayne.  Most the book follows Raven and Gar finding and falling for each other.  They get kidnapped, and need to be rescued.  The book ends in the air, so more are definitely on their way. Overall I liked this book.  It has a bit too much “instalove” for my taste, and just felt like filler for bigger action that is on the way. 

 

This book was so much fun.  Crocodile is hungry, but he can’t go to the grocery store, he can’t eat a canned ham.  There is a plethora of reasons that his crocodile cannot get his meal.  It makes him sad and he cries big crocodile tears creating a lake and bringing flamingos.  Now he knows how he can have a meal.  The illustrations are great and the flow of the story is lovely.  This would be such a fun book to read at story time.