It's been quite a while since I did one of these reading pile posts. I do have books on my pile of course but these days I very rarely have access to advance reader copies of new books and that was often the impetus to share titles in this form. I used to snaffle piles of ARCs from a wonderful local bookshop but sadly that business has now closed. I now get a few from Three Sparrows Bookstore (take a look at Freddie Spector) and also very occasionally from University of Queensland Press (UQP). Check out the one they just sent me.
One of our very large chain bookshops has been having a sale all through April. I have been there twice and picked up a few novels and a good pile of fifty percent discounted picture books. We also had our Lifeline Bookfair during the recent school holidays. And finally, I do still have few books left over from previous book list posts which have not yet made it to the top of my to-read pile (sigh).
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
This book won a Newbery award and a Coretta Scott King award and so of course it was on my book shopping list. I have been reading Freewater this week. It is SO good and I am taking my time rather than my usual style of racing through a book. Decades ago, I read another powerful book about slavery - Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen. This story has lingered with me for over thirty years. I also read the sequel - Sarny.
More recently I read Crossing Ebenezer Creek and the Chains trilogy. I live in Australia and the topic of slavery in the US was not covered in our school history curriculum but through these books (and others) I feel as though I have gained a small insight into these horrible events.
Freewater blurb: Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp. In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home. Deeply inspiring and loosely based on the history of maroon communities in the South, this is a striking tale of survival, adventure, friendship, and courage.
Fly me Home by Polly Ho-Yen
I previously read two books by Polly Ho-Yen - Two sides (which is a junior novel) and How I saved the World in a week. I saw Fly me home on the 50% off table and the cover looked appealing.
Blurb: Feeling lost and alone in a strange new city, Leelu wishes she could fly away back home - her real home where her dad is, thousands of miles away. London is cold and grey and the neighbours are noisy and there's concrete everywhere. But Leelu is not alone; someone is leaving her gifts outside her house - wonders which give her curious magical powers. Powers which might help her find her way home ...Fly Me Home is an incredibly moving portrait of one family's struggle to adjust to life in a new country.
The Travelling Bookshop - Mim and the Anxious artist by Katrina Nannestad
I did enjoy the first book in this series Mim and the Baffling Bully. I saw this third book from the series at the Lifeline sale for just $2. It is in mint condition so perhaps the child owner didn't read it which is a shame. These books have such appealing covers by Cheryl Orsini. Book three is set in Paris.
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
I have read this and it is a FIVE star book but before I talk about it here on this blog I have a plan to read it again - this is something I never do. Every tiny idea, phrase, word choice by Kate DiCamillo is liquid gold.
Blurb by Kate DiCamillo: It’s the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium: Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw. Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris’s mother’s chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris’s grandmother, has started seeing a ghost at the threshold of her room, which seems like an alarming omen given that she is also feeling unwell. But the ghost is not there to usher Charisse to the Great Beyond. Rather, she has other plans — wild, impractical, illuminating plans. How can Ferris satisfy a specter with Pinky terrorizing the town, Uncle Ted sending Ferris to spy on her aunt, and her father battling an invasion of raccoons?
The Upside Down River: Hannah's Journey by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
The first book from this series - Tomek's story was a revelation to me. I gave it five stars and I said: "This book is an absolute page turner. It is such a wild ride. You will never guess what will appear around the next corner. It's all a little like The Phantom Toll Booth but without the silliness. There is a forest where you forget everything and everyone forgets you, giant bears who are desperate for meat and who have outstanding hearing, flowers that cause hallucinations, a village of tiny people who make perfume, a dangerous rainbow and even a friendly panda-like creature who offers warmth and comfort."
I picked this up for 20% off today. I might need to re-read the first book but that's okay these are quite short.
The Shelterlings by Sarah Beth Durst
The name Sarah Beth Durst has been mentioned on blogs and review sites. I have a couple of her books on my bookshop wish list including this one which is now in paperback.
Publisher blurb: Holly, a grey squirrel, and her animal friends have accepted that they will never be wizards’ familiars. Though they are each magical, their powers are so offbeat—Holly herself can conjure pastries (and only pastries)—that no professional magic-worker would choose any of them as a companion for noble quests. So instead of going on adventures, they languish at the Shelter for Rejected Familiars, where they are known as “shelterlings.” When an old friend appears with a plan for curing the shelterlings’ defective magic, everyone is on board to help him locate and retrieve the ingredients for a powerful spell. But when they learn that his offer is not what it seems, Holly and the shelterlings must fight to defend their magic, discovering in the process that their unorthodox skills may just be what is needed to save the day.
The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny
Bookseller blurb: Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world. But as something far more sinister comes to threaten them all, it quickly becomes clear that the true monsters aren't necessarily the ones you can see.
This book has a sequel - The Shadows of Rookhaven. I have also read Pog and Tin by Pádraig Kenny. My friend Dr Robin Morrow is currently reviewing another new book by Padraig Kenny - Stitch. It is due out in a few months.
The Pickpocket and the Gargoyle has been on my pile for a whole year! I first listed it here in May, 2023. I did start to read it but I think this is the kind of book that needs to suit my mood. Hopefully I will read this before another whole year passes.
When secrets set sail has been on my pile since October last year. I did start this one a couple of times but I just couldn't settle into the complex storyline. I did deeply love a previous book by Sita Brahmachari - Where the River runs gold - so I will get back to this one soon.
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