toreadistovoyage's Reviews (1.58k)

This was an interesting blend of art history, history, and conjecture. The strongest sections, in my opinion, were the ones spent discussing the sack and its contents, as well as the significance of these items based on the time period.

This was really enjoyable. Solid character development, storytelling, and just the right amount of scandal. I will definitely be checking out future books by Regina Black. 

This was read as it is on the curriculum I am required to teach.

An accessible and vulnerable poetry collection. What I appreciated about this was that the author explained each poem giving context that made the poems more impactful. Interestingly, some of the poems were live recordings from real performances.

This was a beautiful poetry collection. And, man, did it make me feel. There were poems that made me laugh. There were a few that made me cry. There were some about parenting that were so beautiful and real and touching and relatable that all I could do was smile. 

Clint Smith has a way with words. I will reread this for sure.

Very generic book for young readers. The best part is the visual interest on the page, although I could see it being problematic for my son to read later on. He thought the cheese references were hilarious and giggled at them all. 

This is tough. The writing was overall beautiful. The plot was intriguing. The characters were interesting. HOWEVER... I was bored through most of the book. The secretive story of Indigo didn't pay out in an interesting way (I definitely predicted the secret). Largely nothing happened. The magical realism bordering on fantasy was too vague. 

An enjoyable (but leaning towards boring) college romance. What I especially liked is that the main characters called out their miscommunication rather than making it a trope. 

Part history. Part memoir. Part parenting advice. Surprisingly, there were also lots of takeaways for myself as a teacher. Lots of good information and lots of things to think about and reflect upon.

My son was both interested and bored with this book - maybe it was slightly too long… The illustrations were beautiful, the message was sweet and relevant to the season.