Review: Speed of Life

speed of lifeReview:

Speed of Life

Author: Carol Weston

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2017

Source: Personal Purchase

Since her mother’s sudden death in April, Sofia has been grieving. There’s so much she still needs to talk to her mom about, things like boys, dating, going to parties, personal issues. She’s got her dad and plenty of friends, but no one really understands.

Fortunately Dear Kate, advice columnist for Fifteen Magazine, makes a public appearance at Sofia’s school. It gives Sofia an idea. There is someone she can ask about all her most private and confusing issues.

However, having someone to talk to doesn’t stop Sofia’s life from becoming more complicated. It’s one thing to worry about her own dating problems. It’s another to have to worry about her dad starting to date. Although he hasn’t talked with her, she is sure there is a MW (Mystery Woman) in his life. Is it one of her closest friends’ mom or possibly someone else?

Speed of Life has a complicated, twisted plot and is so true to real-life that you will forget you are reading and think you’re talking with a close friend. The warning at the beginning of the book says this is a sad story. I’ll be honest. It’s not a tear-jerker. It’s sometimes poignant, sometimes juicy (think Judy Blume’s Forever) and always keeping the reader wondering what is going to happen next.

 

Review: Tough Boris

Hi everyone,

 

We’re going to be celebrating Mem Fox’s birthday later this week, so I thought I would share one of her picture books today.

tough boris

Tough Boris

By Mem Fox, Illustrated by Kathryn Brown

Publisher: Voyager Books, 1998

Format: Hardcover, Picture Book

Source: Personal Collection

 

Boris von der Borch is the perfect pirate. He’s big, scary, and fearless. But what will he do when his beloved pet parrot dies?

 

This book is told with surprisingly sparse text. There are only a few words on a page, and there are many pages without words throughout the book. Therefore a lot of information is revealed through the illustrations, which actually tell their own separate story, too. There is no mention of the little boy and his violin in the text, but he becomes the mysterious narrator who’s been telling the story all along. Young readers will love following the little boy’s adventures as he causes trouble on Tough Boris’ ship! With a bittersweet ending, this is a nice, short book to share one-on-one so each illustration can be explored to the fullest.

 

For more information:

 

http://memfox.com/

Author Mem Fox’s official website

 

http://www.kathrynbrownart.com/

Illustrator Kathryn Brown’s official website

 

Julia