LOVE IN ENGLISH by Maria E. Andreu Love in English is a super engaging YA read that is very easy to get caught up in, but unfortunately it comes with a lot of baggage. We have had the privilege of knowing several exchange students in our local school district. With that being said, it is easy to fully appreciate this story about a teen from another country desperately trying to get a handle on the English language and culture while trying to live through teenage drama, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Ana is from Argentina. Her father moved the family to the US hoping that they could all experience the American dream. The truth is, the family just wants to go home. He expects them to leave their language and culture behind, and fully immerse themselves in their new home. To completely remove that part from their lives is to deny a huge part of who the family is, and they suffer as a result. As a poet, Ana desperately tries to make sense of words and grammatical structures in English sentences, especially in school. She catches bits and pieces and tries to glue them together in her mind. It takes a lot of effort to make it make sense, and at times she longs to slip back into her comfortable Spanish language. Then there's love. That's just as confusing as the English she's trying to master. Falling for Harrison, who's American, and also for Neo, who's Greek and understands the daily struggles Ana faces, the question is which one really speaks the language of her heart? She'll have to figure that out quickly before she loses them both. HEADS UP- There is quite a bit of language in this one including some f bombs. Ana's best friend is a lesbian, so there's periodic updates as to how her relationship is going as she pursues and dates another girl. Ana lies to her parents about where she is at one point.

THE BOOKSHOP: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BOOKSTORE by Evan Friss Have you ever wondered how bookshops/bookstores came about? If so, this book may be perfect for you. Author Evan Friss lays The Bookshop out in a very reader friendly format. Starting with how bookshops came to be in existence and then dedicating chapters to famous bookstores, bookstores designed with certain clientele in mind, big box stores, and, of course, Amazon, it is very possible to pick and choose the topics that are of interest to you and skip parts that may not be. Tracing the historical line from start to current preferences when it comes to bookstores is fascinating.The ebb and flow of interest in brick and mortar bookstores is thought provoking - having the availability to walk into a shop, flip through physical books, and receive a personal recommendation versus the ease of a click and delivery on the front porch. There is no doubt that despite all the modernization a treasured place still remains for the ambiance of an independently owned bookstore. HEADS UP- This book does have a spattering of profanity through it. There is a chapter dedicated to The Aryan Book Store (Nazi) and also a chapter about the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop (gay).

OENING MOVES (BOOK 1 OF THE BLACKGAARD CHRONICLES) by Phil Lollar Our family LOVES Adventures in Odyssey. If you are familiar with the origin of this fantastic drama series, then you know that it began as a 12 episode pilot program called Family Portraits on the radio show Focus on the Family. I was in 5th grade that year. My dad had a job transfer that took us away from the community and life we loved and plunked us down in the middle of a mess all of us desperately wanted to escape. That year, my dad read aloud the classic Heidi, and we listened to Family Portraits (later named Adventures in Odyssey). We longed for a Mr. Whittaker who had a solution for everything and the homey town of Odyssey where everybody knew each other. Fast Forward a few years and a few hundred episodes later! The BLACKGAARD CHRONICLES is a book series based on the episodes of Odyssey that began with Nemesis. Opening Moves introduces the reader to Dr. Regis Blackgaard, a villain who desperately wants control of Whit's End, a center hub hangout for kids in the town of Odyssey run by John Avery Whittaker. Mr. Whittaker or "Whit" is the owner of Whit's End and known for his wisdom, ice cream, and amazing ability to create inventions that bring the Bible and history to life but also spill over into programs that include national security applications, especially a program by the name of "Applesauce." It is a desperate race to keep Applesauce and Whit's End protected from Blackgaard's schemes. Opening Moves highlights the important principles of honesty and responsibility. There is a serious price to pay when both of these come into question. Be prepared. The book ends on a cliffhanger!

THE JOURNEY OF LITTLE CHARLIE by Christopher Paul Curtis The Journey of Little Charlie is the moving story of Little Charlie Bobo whose father, a white sharecropper, passes away leaving his family in a pile of debt. When Cap'n Buck, the most notorious slave master from the local plantation, comes to collect the debt, Charlie and his mother know the consequences to this debt could be death if they can't pay. Instead, the Cap'n strikes a deal with them. If Little Charlie comes with him north to catch some runaway slaves, the debt will be erased. There's something I've got to interject here. Little Charlie is twelve-years old, but his body is the size of a grown man. Caught between the dilemma of rounding up a family to bring them back to a horrible slave existence or the death of his own family, Little Charlie is forced to leave the last remnants of his childhood behind. A National Book Finalist, The Journey of Little Charlie, is a well written story. It doesn't shy away from the gruesome details of slavery including some of the torture techniques used on slaves. Because of this, I have pushed the recommended age to the upper end of Middle Grade. HEADS UP- There are two profanities, and the word "arse" is used twice. There are a couple of places where we encounter nakedness. Charlie walks in on his mom once, Cap'n Buck comes up out of the river once, and Little Charlie loses his clothes escaping a crowd.

THE WAR ON WARRIORS by Pete Hegseth Many of you are probably familiar with the name Pete Hegseth. Currently, he is a co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend and hosts many of the Fox Nation documentaries. He is an army veteran who did multiple tours to areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Receiving distinguished awards such as two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantry Badge for actions during these tours, Hegseth lived and breathed the army, until recently. Enter The War on Warriors. Hegseth pulls no punches in addressing the major ideology changes that are infiltrating the military, specifically speaking, WOKEism. Basically, the Army's focus is in the wrong place. He covers extensively the issue of hiring/recruiting people based on diversity and not ability to perform a job. Also, addressing the replacement of critical training exercises and classes for DEI training, Hegseth repeatedly warns that we are not preparing our soldiers for what they will encounter in militaristic situations. The natural result is instead of living soldiers returning home to family, lives are and will be lost unnecessarily. There is zero question about who bears the responsibility for this in Hegseth's mind. He lays the blame squarely on the shoulders of the military. It is not "how did the military go woke," but "how did the military allow itself to go woke?" According to Hegseth, the military is "green" not black or white. The military exists for one reason and individualism is not that reason. HEADS UP- There is a decent amount of language in the book including f-bombs. Some of those are in quotes, some are from Hegseth himself. While clearly acknowledging Jesus as his Lord and Savior, Hegseth begs forgiveness in the end for the "foul language" saying that, " you can take the man out of the Army, but I'm still working on getting the Army out of the man "

THESE TANGLED THREADS by Sarah Loudin Thomas This is for all my historical fiction lovers! These Tangled Threads is a squeaky clean, delightful story with Biltmore at the heart of it. Before I progress into the synopsis, I want to tell you a bit about this fabulous author. Sarah Loudin Thomas worked in public relations for 6 years at Biltmore and now is the Jan Karon Mitford Museum director. In other words, this lady knows her "stuff!" Master weaver Lorna Blankenship is unparalleled in her ability to weave perfection on her loom. With the announcement of Cornelia Vanderbilt's engagement, wedding bells are in the air. Commissioned to create an original design for the upcoming nuptials, Lorna is in a heap of trouble. She harbors a secret that could be the end of her career and her reputation if it ever gets out. However, to complete the job, the secret must be revealed and a revisit to bridges she burned long ago is a must. This soul-satisfying story helps us all remember that it's never too late to seek forgiveness for the past.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle I'm going to fit as much info as I can on here about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There is a lot! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born into a wealthy family in 1859 in Scotland. He was the second of seven children. He attended a Jesuit school, but by the time he left in 1875, he rejected Christianity and became an agnostic. From there he attended the University of Edinburgh for medicine. Here he met Dr. Joseph Bell, Professor of Surgery, that used deduction on his patients and their illnesses. This would greatly influence his writing later when Doyle applied the same ideas to his Detective Sherlock Holmes. After graduation he worked as a doctor on a boat bound for Western Africa. In 1887 he wrote his first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet. His next Sherlock adventures were written for magazines. They were very popular, but Doyle didn't want to be known for Sherlock Holmes. He wanted to be known for greater literary works, so he told his mother he planned to kill Sherlock Holmes off. His mother began sending him plot ideas to keep the detective alive. Doyle married and had two children. His wife became ill with tuberculosis. The family moved to Switzerland for her health. While there he discovered the Reichenbach Falls where Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, eventually plunged to their deaths. In 1895 the family moved to Egypt for Doyle's wife's health. While there he became a war correspondent during the British and Dervishes troubles. In 1899 war broke out in South Africa and Doyle was put in charge of a hospital there. When he returned to England he was knighted for two books he wrote about The Boer War and The War in South Africa. In 1901-1902 Doyle wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles which was a serial in Stands Magazine. It was written as taking place right before Holmes' death. An American publisher then offered Doyle a significant amount of money to bring Holmes back, which he did. The result was 33 more Sherlock Holmes adventures. In 1906, Doyle's wife passed away, and he plunged into depression. In 1907 he married again and had 3 more children. Not long after, his two oldest sons, from his first marriage, passed away within months of each other. Both were wounded at the Battle of Somme and died later of pneumonia. In 1916, Doyle converted to spiritualism where he believed it was possible to communicate with the dead. He traveled and lectured extensively on this until 1929, when due to exhaustion, he died of a heart attack. There's some other bits and pieces that I left out, but I think it's pretty easy to see how Doyle was able to write the complex character of Sherlock Holmes! Over this next week read chapters 1 and 2. First post about the reading goes up next Thursday!

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle I am giddy with excitement diving back into this classic "who done it" with you all! So before I share a few things take a minute and think about what stuck out to you in these first 2 chapters. What did you learn about Holmes and Watson initially, and then what did you learn about the case itself? The first thing that jumped right out to me is the statement that Holmes is usually late in the mornings. Now it has been a few years since I went through and read the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes' cases, but Holmes is a man of order, deduction, and of science, and frankly, that statement seemed a little out of character when I think of him. Next, Holmes loves to play this little game of figuring people out based on tiny clues (in this case a walking stick), and he's typically extraordinarily good at it. Watson has joined in on this game. Sherlock listens to Watson's thoughts on who the owner of the walking stick is and congratulates him in his deduction but later corrects him. However, we learn that HOLMES got some of his deductions WRONG. That is not typical, and I found myself asking if this was one of the times that the author, Doyle, was frustrated with his character. So we meet the client, Dr. Mortimer, and he has an extraordinary situation, an ancient curse that is supposedly placed on the Baskerville family, of which his patient, Sir Charles Baskerville, has just perished from. I immediately began to think about the scriptural passages in Exodus about the iniquity of the fathers being passed down generationally. Holmes dismisses the curse as fairytale fodder basically because curses have no place in the mind of a rational, systematic person. But Sir Charles wasn't like Sir Hugo (the original recipient of the curse) was he? Sir Charles was a widower known for his generosity. He was also very resourceful. The family estate of Baskerville Hall had fallen into hard times, but Sir Charles had gone out and made his fortune elsewhere and brought it back. His health was a little bit in question, his nerves were shot, and it's clear he believed the curse. He wouldn't leave the Yew path to go out on the moors at night until supposedly this night, and he ends up dead with gigantic hound prints close by. I think Holmes might be hooked. Now, it's your turn! What's got you curious? What did you notice? There's lots of directions you can take this conversation!

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle Missing boots and a found boot, the worth of Sir Henry's monetary inheritance $750,000 pounds ( 1 British pound in 1800s = $4.44 American dollars today) revealed, Holmes staying behind and Watson traveling to Baskerville Hall (what in the world is he thinking?). These chapters are full of points we can run with! Quotes (I loved Holmes' words to Watson, "I will not bias you..." ), foreshadowing (chapter 6 is full of it!), juxtaposition of Devonshire and the moor, the escaped murderer, and the crying woman. I think you would have to agree that our plot thickens! Take it away! What do you want to talk about this week from these chapters?

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle Baskerville Hall has a completely different look in the morning. Sir Henry and Watson's night nerves are set aside and the analyzing begins. Even though it's denied, the owner of the nighttime wailing is known. The question is why is Mrs. Barrymore crying? What are your thoughts on the neighbors? The meeting of Stapleton happens first. (Definitely a unique and mysterious fellow, don't you think?) He's certainly curious about Watson's reason for visiting. Together they watch the horror of the sinking of the moor pony into Grimpen Mire. Then we meet the lovely Miss Stapleton and hear her warnings. (It's clear our Sir Henry is smitten with her.) We can't leave out the sue happy neighbor, Mr. Frankland. (Ever know anyone like him?) What an annoying piece of work, but he is watching for Selden. Selden, we can't leave our escaped murderer out of the picture. But we can't ignore Barrymore's erratic behavior. Oh my, the telegram. Did he seriously think he could escape that? What's the deal with the night escapades? Are you suspicious of any one character over another? I have to say I really enjoy Watson's reporting back to Holmes. His descriptions are marvelous. I loved the simile surrounding the rocks in the middle of the grassy meadow. "In the middle of it rose two great stones, worn and sharpened at the upper end, until they looked like the huge, corroding fangs of some monstrous beast." It's clear this ferocious hound is imprinting itself in Watson's head. Alright- it's your turn. What are you noticing? Are you glad to be a spectator on the outside looking in or do you wish you were in the thick of things?

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle I'm going to start my thoughts with the forming relationship between Sir Henry and Miss Stapleton. I loved the foreshadowing statement," And yet the course of true love does not run quite as smoothly as one would under the circumstances expect." Sir Henry meets Miss Stapleton out on the moor against Watson's wishes, but Watson can't stop him. He's dealing with a grown man. Still, Watson is dedicated to the job Holmes gave him. He knows if Holmes raises a concern, it is worth following through with. Back to the meeting on the moor. Thoughts on how Stapleton flies off the handle when he finds Sir Henry and his sister together? What about Sir Henry's question to Watson later, "What's the matter with me?" Why wouldn't Stapleton be thrilled with the arrangement? Shifting gears now- the Barrymores. Were you surprised with the confession? Selden is Mrs. Barrymore's brother. Now we understand her tears. I have been struggling with the idea of sending him to South America to become someone else's problem. I have thought of my own siblings and even my kids and wrestled through what I would do in her situation. We all realize that at one time Adolf Hitler was probably a bright eyed child full of wonder about the world he was discovering around him. I think about these things. BUT he became a murderer, and there are consequences for those actions. I have really enjoyed reading through Watson's writings. His pride (gaining wisdom as a serpent), his determination to find the stranger on the moor, and his thoughts in general. Now it's your turn!