My reading habit tends to ebb and flow. February wasn’t quite as book-heavy and relaxed as January, but I did manage to read four books (and abandon another not worth mentioning) this month. Pour a cup of coffee and get some new book recommendations for you and your elementary school readers! Welcome to my bookshelf!
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The Final Summit by Andy Andrews
This is humanity s last chance. Centuries of greed, pride, and hate have sent mankind hurtling toward disaster, and farfrom its original purpose. There is only one solution that canreset the compass and right the ship and that answer is onlytwo words. With time running out, it is up to David Ponder and acast of history s best and brightest minds to uncover this solutionbefore it is too late. The catch? They are allowed only fivetries to solve the ominous challenge.
About 10 years ago, I read The Traveler’s Gift and LOVED it. Since then, I’ve read the other books Andy Andrews has written, but none of them have lived up to The Traveler’s Gift for me. This book was okay, but I find myself wishing that he’d “pick a lane” and either write fully from a secular perspective or fully from a more Christian worldview. I feel that he rides the fence in his writing, weakening it a bit. If you daydream about conversing with greats from the past, you’ll enjoy this. (The gem was learning the story of a true WW2 hero that is highly unknown!)
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)
When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.
With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…
I cannot get enough of these Cormoran Strike books! I am so eager for the next book to come out. This book was just as terrific as the first two with even more tension and plot surrounding Cormoran and Robin’s relationship. Loved it!
This Is Your Life Harriet Chance by Jonathan Evison
With her husband Bernard two years in the grave, seventy-nine-year-old Harriet Chance sets sail on an ill-conceived Alaskan cruise only to discover through a series of revelations that she’s been living the past sixty years of her life under entirely false pretenses. There, amid the buffets and lounge singers, between the imagined appearance of her late husband and the very real arrival of her estranged daughter midway through the cruise, Harriet is forced to take a long look back, confronting the truth about pivotal events that changed the course of her life.
I found this book to be quite depressing and anti-climactic. Harriet leads a fairly disappointing life (some by atrocities committed against her and some by her own doing) and finds out the rabbit hole went that much further right before her death. Nothing changes. Nothing gets fixed. No one was likable.
Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden. Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service. When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…
I ALMOST put this book down after the third chapter, but made myself keep going. I’m glad I did. Now I’m actually eager to read the next book (coming out this summer.) I loved that this book sort of opens up a whole new lane of dystopian fiction.
What the Kids are Reading:
We are a little bit Charlotte Mason in our homeschooling approach, meaning that we read A LOT of “living” books (books that bring information/stories/history to life.) This month the kids read 3 chapter books for school – 2 for social studies and 1 for science. We all LOVED The War That Saved My Life. If you are at all interested in World War 2, you need to read this book! We also just love the Who Was….series. (You’ve probably seen them…They feature the person of interest on the cover with an over-sized head!) They are fantastic!
Hannah chose to use her free reading time this month to read things other than chapter books – which is totally fine. She spent a lot of time reading cookbooks, comic books, and favorite picture books.
The 9 Year Old’s/4th Grader’s Books
- A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
- The War That Saved My Life
- Who Was Anne Frank?
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Henry is a fantastic reader, but he really likes beginning chapter books, as they are easy to finish. If we’re being honest, when we pick up a giant chapter book, our heart sinks a little too. Sometimes giving your child a good quick read is what they need to keep their reading spirits up!
The 7 Year Old’s/2nd Grader’s Books
- The War That Saved My Life
- Monkey Me and the Golden Monkey
- Who Was Anne Frank?
- Horrid Henry Wakes the Dead
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
