THE UNLIKELY SPY by Daniel Silva is a book I just QUIT. I'm just a few chapters in and it was pretty interesting. However, when I hit the chapter where a woman is having sex with an older adult man and his adult daughter with some detail, they are all aware of the relationships and okay with it, I'm done.

DRAGONBOY by Fabio Napoleoni DRAGONBOY is the story of a little boy (with a sweet imagination) and his group of stuffed animals who go adventuring together. As they go about their way discovering, they encounter a unicorn named Karley who is sad. The sadness comes from not being exactly who the unicorn is supposed to be. Karley is neither magical nor flies. Each stuffed animal and DRAGONBOY take a turn sharing how they are different, but that's okay, because it's who they're supposed to be. The happy group continues on their way, eventually returning home for bed. All snuggle down in Dragonboy's room except for Karley. She creeps down the hall to Dragonboy's little sister's room and cuddles in with her for the night content that she is who she is supposed to be. HEADS UP- In Dragonboy's sister's room rainbows are very evident and a sign hangs above the bed, "One Love, Love All."

HALF BAKED HARVEST: QUICK & COZY by Tieghan Gerard What am I curled up reading today? A wonderful new cookbook my sister sent me to enjoy. I love recipes that are hearty with lots of freshness to them, and Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest fits that bill!Filled with comfort food recipes that stick to your ribs for winter delight but topped with lots of fresh herbs that make you think of your garden at the peak of summer harvest, Half Baked Harvest cookbooks are a delight to pore over!

FRAMED: ASTONISHING TRUE STORIES OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey John Grisham deviates from his normal path of lawyer fiction writing and steps into the world of nonfiction in Framed. This is not an easy book to read for two reasons.  First, Framed is a book composed of 10 short stories about people who were wrongfully accused and convicted in horrendous crimes. Not accidentally convicted, but purposefully. Coming from a family that has a strong history in law enforcement and having worked in it myself for a short time, it is a tough pill to swallow. We all know it happens, but the job of a police officer is to pursue justice for the wronged, and Lady Justice's eyes are blinded for a reason. The second is the crimes themselves. These are not your run-of-the-mill robbery, abuse, drug, neglect, etc crimes. These are heinous murders often coupled with rape. One involves children. If you have a weak stomach, this book is not for you. Details are handled in a factual manner, but they are present. Many of those convicted are sentenced to life in prison or death row. One of the convicted dies from lethal injection. HEADS UP- Some of the stories contain multiple f-bombs. The book does share details regarding murders and rapes. This is one that would be difficult to listen to as an audiobook if you have children and even teens in the house.

PROMISE (DAUGHTER OF ARDEN BOOK 3) by Loren G. Warnemuende Loren Warnemuende's continuation of the retelling of Grimm's Fairy Tale "Maid Maleen" doesn't disappoint. Of the three books in the series, Promise was hands down my favorite! After exiting the tower she was placed in for safekeeping, Maid Maleen has found her beloved country, Arden, destroyed by war. Forced to grow up and think about her kingdom and not herself, Maleen journeys to Chryssion where she hopes to gather her people that settled there after fleeing from the destructive armies of Pandor. Somehow she must do this without Pandor realizing who she is as the Prince of Pandor, Melanor, is hunting her down. There was a time when Maleen only had eyes for the Pandorian Prince, but now his true intentions have been revealed. What a shock it is to Maleen when she realizes her heart belongs to Prince Jared, the very Prince she shunned years ago, who has proven himself over and over as a trustworthy and honorable prince. The only problem? He's now betrothed to someone else. Despite all the overwhelming problems, Maleen's eyes are focused on The Mighty One, and she knows that in the middle of the confusion and turmoil, He alone has the perfect plan! The Daughter of Arden is a well-told, squeaky clean coming of age story. It is a beautiful story, but not for the faint of heart as Book 3 alone has 680 pages.

EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS by Joanna Ho. Illustrated by Dung Ho. Eyes That Kiss in the Corners is Joanna Ho's tribute to the beauty and strength of the Asian girl. Her eyes may not be framed with lots of lashes and sparkling "lagoon" colored irises, but they are brown like "warm tea." Her eyes mirror her mother's and her grandmother's eyes. Both are people who love her and who are strong individuals. Her eyes rise to challenges when others give up and her lashes "curve like the swords of warriors." This picture book is filled with delightful imagery portraying vocabulary that is a joy to read! It showcases the strength of the bond between women in a family. HEADS UP- There is a nod to Asian religion on one page.

LOVE IS by Diane Adams. Illustrated by Claire Keane Love Is is a darling picture box about a young girl and her duckling. Dedicated to caring for the little duckling, the girl gives up her time and sleep. As the days pass, the duckling grows and the girl finds out that loving the duck ultimately means letting it go. This picture book is so super sweet! Mommas try and not tear up as you read it aloud and draw the connection from the girl and her duck to you and your child!

KIDNAPPED FROM UKRAINE: UNDER ATTACK by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch The Popkova family knows that their city will soon be under attack by the Russians. What they didn't expect, was the family separation that would happen as a result of it. On the day the Russians finally arrive and launch their bombs, twelve-year-old twins, Rada and Dariia, are each with one of their parents. (Dariia is with Mom and Rada is with Dad.) Rada and Dad are able to escape out of the city to a safer location, but Dariia and Mom are not. Holed up in a basement with several neighbors from February 24 until April 18, they are finally discovered and after a series of events, captured by the Russians. Trucked to a processing center and forced to go through an interrogation, Dariia's mother is ruled unfit, as are all other parents at the processing center. All the children are taken from them and bussed to Russia where they attend a "camp" to begin the process of Russian indoctrination before being adopted out to Russian families to be raised. While not everything in this book can end in a positive way, the book does end in a hopeful manner. Be sure to read the Author's Notes at the end of the book. With maps, facts, and a declaration that "while the book is a work of fiction, the events and experiences are based on day-by-day testimony, interviews, and documented accounts," it is well worth the read. I'll end this part by saying that Skrypuch also states in her notes that Russia brags about the taking of 700,000 Ukrainian children. I had no idea. HEADS UP- This is not an easy book to read which is why I bumped it up a bit on the age recommendation. (The book says 9-12.) It begins to invoke some of the same types of feelings that a person gets when reading about the Holocaust. While not horribly gory in its descriptions, people are dying and in awful ways. (An example would be a story one of the girls tells about how her mother died. After thinking they had escaped, her mother ends up being "blown to bits" by a bomb. The girl and her brother gather as many of their mother's parts up in a blanket to bury in their garden when a Russian truck arrives, grabs the blanket from them, and throws it on the top of the pile of corpses in the back.) -When Dariia and her mother are brought to the processing center, they are forced to succumb to a strip search alongside everyone else. Males and females are present. The guards take advantage of this, enjoying searching the female adults, like Dariia's mother, extra well. -Throughout the book, the guards constantly refer to Ukrainians as Nazis, pigs, or homosexuals.

WHERE IS JERUSALEM? by Ellen Morgan Have you ever wondered why Jerusalem is such a hotbed of activity in our world today? Why is it that 3 major religions (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) all have ties to this small dot on the map? Author Ellen Morgan dives into the history of Jerusalem and answers these questions and many more in her book Where is Jerusalem? This is a great foundational book to start from if you are interested in exploring the history of these three religions and how this city has played a significant role in each.

TO SEE AN OWL by Matthew Cordell Here at our house, we love watching the owls. I've told this story before, but accidentally, we stumbled on how to call them in. We can get them to come right up and land in the treeline off our front porch. It's something pretty wild to see. With that being said, when I saw a new picture book about to be released about owls, I ordered it! To See an Owl is one young girl's adventure to track down and see an owl in the wild. It is a beautiful story as she maps, journals, and ventures out with her mom in tow hunting for these mysterious birds. Obviously, this is something that takes time and patience. Rarely are owls keen on making themselves known. With all of this being said, if you are interested in "owling," this is the time to be doing it! I'll attach a link in the ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES section that has some info for the 3 most common eastern owls! Happy hunting! ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/.../the-hooting.../ ...

FAR BEYOND GOLD: RUNNING FROM FEAR TO FAITH by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Many of us became familiar with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone when she set a new record for the 400 at the 2024 Summer Olympics. What you might not be as familiar with is her story of crippling perfectionism and anxiety that shadowed every step of the way. Leaning too much on her own strength and not having a complete understanding of what a relationship with Christ really meant, Sydney was a captive to the pressure to perform always fearing losing. Then a turning point came that opened her eyes and set her free. In Far Beyond Gold, Sydney cracks open the door and invites people to hear how racing turned from an anxiety driven event to running for the joy of the Lord. This book is a fantastic read for anyone, but if you or your teen struggle with putting intense pressure on yourself to perform, Sydney knocks it out of the park in this autobiography! Highly recommend!

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald I am so excited to read The Great Gatsby with you over the next few weeks! Filled with relevant topics for us today, be prepared to tackle some deep issues! Today, I'm going to introduce you to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author. Try and keep some of his info tucked away in the back of your mind as we step into the pages of The Great Gatsby. We're going to see Fitzgerald's life's fingerprints all over this book. Frances Scott Fitzgerald, named after Frances Scott Key, was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to an unsuccessful, aristocratic father and highly energetic mother. From a young age he had a very romantic imagination. He attended Princeton University and was almost a brilliant success until love came on the scene. He fell in love with one of the "great beauties" of the time, Ginevra King. He ended up losing her and flunked out of Princeton. In 1917 he joined the army. While stationed in Alabama he met Zelda Sayve, the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court Judge. Love returned. Engaged, he headed to New York to try and make a success of himself so he could marry Zelda. He ended up making $90/month, and Zelda broke off the engagement. Fitzgerald returned to St. Paul and worked on a manuscript he had started at Princeton. This Side of Paradise was published, Zelda married Fitzgerald, and he became very famous! Zelda and Fitzgerald were called "the prince and princess" of their generation. They loved the attention, but it also frightened them. Fitzgerald wrote and published a second book, The Beautiful and the D***ed. The book told the story about a young man and his wife waiting to inherit a fortune that they don't receive until they are in their middle age. By then, they are worn and "there is nothing left preserving." The Fitzgeralds moved to the Riviera. While there, Fitzgerald penned The Great Gatsby. He also began to excessively drink and Zelda had a breakdown that she never recovered from. She was committed to a sanatorium. In 1937, Fitzgerald got his drinking under control enough to become a script writer and he fell in love with Shelia Graham, a Hollywood gossip columnist that he quietly lived with until he died at age 44 from a heart attack. Okay! The ball's in your court. It's time to read Chapter 1 over the next week. Next Thursday, the first discussion post will go up! See you then!