THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle Next week we'll wrap up Hound of the Baskervilles and cover chapters 13-15. Stay tuned for our next bookclub pick! I have really enjoyed some of the literary devices that Doyle has built into this fantastic tale to help promote imagery. This week I'm going to start off with a couple examples of those. The first is the metaphorical net of the unseen force drawn around Watson. I loved the claustrophobic feeling that gave me as I imagined being closed in on or trapped. The second is an example of juxtaposition. I love juxtaposition. It helps us understand the drastic difference between things sometimes. As Watson approaches the cave, determined to finally know who the unknown person is on the moor, Doyle shows the beauty of nature surrounding him, the peaceful picture of the smoke coming out of the chimney, etc. contrasted with how Watson feels inside. He can't appreciate the scene due to his nerves. We get that, don't we? I would guess that each of us has been in a situation where we are oblivious to the surroundings because of the intensity of the mission we are on! Oh my goodness, chapter 12 was packed with great action, wasn't it?! First off, our mysterious man is SHERLOCK! Of course it is! He couldn't leave Watson hanging. Can't you just physically feel the relaxation of Watson as he now knows he has someone to hear the burden of this case with? Second, Miss Stapleton is really MRS. STAPLETON! Did you see that one coming? Now we can relate to why Stapleton was angry with Sir Henry, but for goodness sake, the man put his wife out there to catch Sir Henry's attention. I'm feeling a whole Abraham, Sarah, and Pharaoh vibe here! Third, we think that Sir Henry dies. What? Just when we know that Sherlock is there, he dies? Then the body is rolled over and it's actually Selden. Oh the relief! Then Stapleton gets a look and we know a flash of shock passes over his face, but he buries it deep inside. Oh Stapleton, Stapleton! You bad, bad man. Fourth, Laura Lyons. I will just leave that for someone else to grab if they would like! Okay, it's your turn! Lots of great things to run with in these chapters!

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle Okay, it's time to wrap this baby up!! So the ultimate question is WHY? Why in the world would Stapleton go to these great lengths to try and get his hands on the Baskerville fortune and think he has a chance at securing it? The answer, HE IS A BASKERVILLE! Whose face does Sherlock cover partly up to show Watson the undeniable resemblance? Sir Hugo's. Stapleton is the son of the long-lost black sheep of the family, Rodger. I loved Holmes' metaphorical reference that "Stapleton will be a butterfly pinned to a card" added to Holmes' "Baker Street collection." What a fun tie in with regards to our murdering entomologist! Trust is a theme that comes into play in these last few chapters. Would you have trusted Holmes enough to cross the moor by yourself knowing that someone or something was trying to kill you? Sir Henry does, and it almost costs him his life. I love how Doyle does not leave us hanging on even the smallest details. He tells us the breed of the dog, lays out the secret to the glow the hound displays that gives it its spectral quality, thickens the plot with the fog that continues to build, and wraps up the mystery of the boots. So do you think Stapleton perished in Grimpen Mire? We are ultimately led to believe that he did, but could it be possible that he escaped? I do believe he did perish, because I want Sir Henry to have the chance of a normal, peaceful life once he recovers from this ordeal. However, the door is left open just a crack. The book comes to a close after going full circle. We are back at Baker Street with Holmes and Watson who are sitting together enjoying a good discussion. So just for fun what are some of the themes from the book? I'll skip a couple of spaces and throw a few on here. Ponder a moment and see what you come up with. Greed/Jealousy - the motive of the whole murder Friendship - the friendship of Watson and Holmes is very evident Supernatural/Curse- are these things real or as Holmes believes there is a physical explanation even when things seem spiritual The ball is in your court. What are your thoughts, questions, comments? Fire away! I can't wait to hear from you! Thank you for coming along on this literary journey with me! I hope you enjoyed this great classic!

POPCORN by Rob Harrell Rob Harrell, author of Wink (a moving story about a boy dealing with eye cancer that parallels his own experiences - see review by putting Wink in the search bar) is back with a new book, POPCORN. POPCORN is a story about Andrew Yaeger who deals with intense anxiety. Why POPCORN? Andrew uses a kernel of popcorn along a sliding scale to indicate his level of anxiety. To the left, the popcorn remains in kernel form, chilling. The farther right the kernel slides, the closer it comes to exploding as the oil heats up. Honestly, it's really a clever symbol to indicate what's happening internally. Harrell shares in his notes at the end of the book, that he was a kid that dealt with anxiety. It is clear he is pouring experience into Andrew. I don't like to put words in authors' mouths, but I'm going to step out on a bit of a limb here and say this book was written with two purposes in mind. The first is to come alongside kids that experience panic attacks and let them know that they are not alone. The second is to help kids who don't experience anxiety to understand what is happening inside their friends and classmates who do deal with these very scary, intense feelings. I've got to be honest about something here, though. This book makes me sad. Andrew is a kid with a lot of weight on his young shoulders. His parents are divorced. Dad's not around. Mom's struggling to keep bills paid. Grandma, who has dementia, lives with them. He is picked on at school because of his clothes- his shoes are grass stained due to mowing lawns to make some extra money. The list goes on. While there are other reasons why panic/anxiety show up in our young people today, the stress that so many kids are carrying is more than they can handle, and this book shows us a prime example of that. More than once, I found myself desiring to reach through the pages and lift the burdens off this young man's back. I guess that's the mom coming out in me! HEADS UP- There is a swear word used one time - a**.

A FLICKER IN THE DARK by Stacy Willingham I'm going to start off this post by saying that A FLICKER IN THE DARK is definitely a king in plot twists. Once the story gets going, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, there are some parts to be aware of, and even a couple of parts I skipped over due to content. In a small, Louisiana town everyone knows each other. At least, they think they do. The summer Chloe Davis is on the brink of becoming a teenager, girls start disappearing. The whole town is in an uproar trying to find the missing girls and the person responsible for their disappearances. When Chloe finds jewelry belonging to them buried in a chest in her father's closet, it's no longer a secret. Her father is sentenced, and ultimately, the family is destroyed in the community. Fast forward twenty years. Chloe now lives in Baton Rouge and is a psychologist with her own practice. While the past still haunts her, she's made a new start in life and tried to move on. She's been relatively successful at it until girls start disappearing again, and these are girls she knows. Suddenly, she's back in her childhood home remembering the past, but this time her father's in prison, so this must be a copycat, right? Chloe's got to figure it out quickly, because every second that passes could mean the disappearance of another girl. HEADS UP- There is language in this book including some f-bombs. There are a couple of sex scenes. They are not explicit, but there was more there than I am comfortable with, so I skipped over them.

A MISCHIEF OF MICE by Christie Matheson A Mischief of Mice is a super, sweet autumn read focusing on hibernation and the names of groups of animal species. When a mischief of mice disappears one day, a scurry of squirrels becomes very concerned. They begin to hunt around and ask groups of animals such as a skulk of foxes, a clutter of spiders, a parliament of owls, a prickle of porcupines, and several more if they have seen them. No one is really sure where the little mice have gone, until a sleuth of bears suggests following their tracks. I was not familiar with several of the names of animal groups that are used in this book. There are some really great ones (like a prickle of porcupines) that are a perfect description, and some that are very interesting! Be sure and take a minute to check out the author's notes at the back of the book where she shared a couple of facts about each group. The illustrations in the book, also done by Christie Matheson, are are a perfect compliment to the text. Done primarily in black and white watercolor with orange and yellow leaf accents, this book really puts off a great air of fall. Note how the sky starts off gray in the pictures, but by the end of the book, it is black indicating that night has fallen.

THE SHELL COLLECTOR by Anthony Doerr It's the last day of summer vacation, and Haleigh Adams doesn't want the fun to end. When a unique opportunity presents itself and she's able to live the last day of summer over and over, she thinks she may have just stumbled on the best thing ever. It doesn't take long for her to start to realize that by not continuing on with life, she's missing out on a lot of great things. Can she find a way to make the never ending loop stop, or is she forever stuck on summer vacation? This is a moving read that helps kids understand consequences to decisions. It also reveals the truth that even though it may be our "best day ever," it's not a place that you want to relive over and over again. It takes the lows and the highs, the normal versus the special to help us appreciate what a lot of times becomes our "best day ever."

THE LAST FIRST DAY by Dorian Cirrone It's the last day of summer vacation, and Haleigh Adams doesn't want the fun to end. When a unique opportunity presents itself and she's able to live the last day of summer over and over, she thinks she may have just stumbled on the best thing ever. It doesn't take long for her to start to realize that by not continuing on with life, she's missing out on a lot of great things. Can she find a way to make the never ending loop stop, or is she forever stuck on summer vacation? This is a moving read that helps kids understand consequences to decisions. It also reveals the truth that even though it may be our "best day ever," it's not a place that you want to relive over and over again. It takes the lows and the highs, the normal versus the special to help us appreciate what a lot of times becomes our "best day ever."

ALL MY RAGE by Sabaa Tahir All My Rage is the complicated, but moving, story of Pakistani immigrants, Salahudin and Noor. Both desire to pursue dreams, but cultural issues and family difficulties seem to constantly derail them. Tragedy strikes each of them in different ways and future plans are altered to accommodate. Both must make difficult decisions that have heavy price tags that may be more than either of them can pay. Through it all their friendship will be tested in unexpected ways that could either cement them together permanently or completely destroy everything. HEADS UP- There is a fair amount of language including a few f-bombs. Drug and alcohol addiction are prevalent. Physical abuse is also present. A negative police encounter occurs.

DEAD SEA SQUIRRLS: A DUSTY DONKEY TOUR by Mike Nawrocki It's been a little while since I posted the next book in the DSS series. Dusty Donkey Tour is the continuation of our favorite squirrels' (Merle and Pearle) story who are currently kidnapped and held in Israel. As Merle and Pearle are imprisoned by Ruben, it's time to deliver them to the man who orchestrated this entire kidnapping. The problem is, after crashing the car, Ruben is a little short on wheels and money, so he decides to make the trip with the squirrels by donkey. As they travel, lots of well known Bible stories are told as Merle and Pearle journey the roads and see the locations firsthand.. Mike Nawrocki continues to rock this series with challenging character lessons, great historical places, and lots of fun for kids!

COMPARISON GIRL FOR TEENS by Shannon Popkin and Lee Nienhuis If you have teenage girls, you are probably very aware of the compare monster that creeps into life. (If speaking honestly, a lot of us are probably still aware of the compare monster in our own lives.) Authors Shannon Popkin and Lee Nienhuis do a fantastic job of tackling a variety of areas in life that are easy to line ourselves up against our peers and begin comparing away. The book consists of 8 chapters, each dealing with a topic such as possessions, sin, popularity, relationships, etc and spends 5 days in a daily devotional format of combating against these areas that are so easy to fall into. Filled to the brim with lots of examples, practical advice, and scripture that will help your teen battle against becoming part of the compare game, this book is a great read! I highly recommend it!

HOOPS by Matt Tavares You may recognize the name, Matt Tavares, if you are familiar with the fantastic, Christmas picture books Red and Lulu or Dasher. Tavares is back with another great story! This time it is set in Indiana and is based on the real 1976 Warsaw High School girls' basketball team. At Wilkins High everyone in the community is familiar with the boys basketball team, but very few people know about the girls' team. It probably wouldn't be fair to that team to consider them an afterthought. It would be more realistic to say they weren't a thought at all in the school and community's minds. In 1976, it was time to start the wheels rolling to bring about change. What that team accomplished in the course of the school year is actually almost unbelievable, but it's recorded in history, and you'll have to read the book to hear it! Hoops is a super fun read that will help you believe that needed change is possible, and great things can come from the least expected of places! HEADS UP- Oh my G** is used a handful of times in the book.

THE FRINDLE FILES by Andrew Clements For all of you that commented yesterday on Frindle or checked out the post, there is good news! There is a second book, and oh, is it a good read! In The Frindle Files we move a bit past the pen and are onto computers. Well, at least the students are! There's one teacher that is refusing to get on board, Mr. Nicholas. He requires that the students write in pen and read from the book version of The Elements of Style. Josh decides it's time for Mr. N to enter the modern world, and he's going to try and help him. Get ready for round 2 of whom is actually challenging whom in this book! Andrew Clements actually passed away in 2019. Before passing he had almost completed this follow up story to Frindle. Thankfully, the publisher chose to complete the manuscript, and we get to enjoy another episode in the world of Frindle.