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#SurvivalStory
review
Melismatic
Be Not Far From Me | Mindy McGinnis
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Pickpick

This book was way darker than I was expecting so enjoy the lovely Italian pastries above instead. 😅

I def recommend this one - gritty & unflinching for YA but definitely not for the faint at heart. If you‘re at all squeamish with body horror, animal attacks, or language, this isn‘t for you. Despite minor grievances, I‘d rank this a solid Pick.

Johanna414 I just had an 11th grader return this book and ask "do you have any other books just like this?! Its the first book I've ever liked!" 1w
Melismatic @Johanna414 wow! That‘s great!! Definitely dark for YA but in an overall uplifting way. Felt more relatable than say Hatchet which I read in school much younger. 1w
23 likes2 comments
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Deblovestoread
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Maus is the second of the two graphic novels I‘ve read. The first was They Called Us Enemy. While they may not be my go to, both books were excellent and important. Maus was on my #AuldLangSpine list from @Amiable and I‘m glad to have had the incentive to pick it up. 5🌟 And now I need to read Part II of this story. Thanks for the great recommendation Amy! #52Books #SurvivalStory

squirrelbrain I really need to read this one - it sounds so good. 2w
Amiable I'm not a big reader of graphic novels, either -- I picked this one up because of the school board in Tennessee banning it last year. I'm so glad I read it, too! 2w
Librarybelle Such a good book! 2w
Cinfhen I don‘t read too many GN either but this one is really powerful 2w
Cinfhen As is this one 2w
60 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
magyklyXdelish
Be Not Far From Me | Mindy McGinnis
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Pickpick

This was better than I was expecting. I loved how fast paced this was. At first I wasn‘t sure how I felt about Ashley but she grew on me and by the end I loved her. There were definitely some unrealistic bits that kept it from being a 5 but over all this was enjoyable.

review
ravenlee
Dance Upon the Air | Nora Roberts
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Pickpick

Forgot a picture, so here‘s #DannyBoy being a goof. Enjoyed this reread, with a battered woman finding her place and purpose in a new home, new love, and discovering her inner witch. #52Books23 #survivalstory #catsofLitsy

Clwojick #dannyboy is so cute! 🖤😍 2mo
Liatrek So cute😻😻 I loved this trilogy by Nora❤️ 2mo
batsy Adorable 😻 Although this challenge sounds fun my Litsy plate is full 😁 Please feel free to untag me! 2mo
See All 11 Comments
Librarybelle Cute photo! 2mo
ravenlee @batsy apologies! I won‘t tag you for this again. 2mo
batsy @ravenlee No worries! 🙂 2mo
WorldsOkayestStepMom 😻😻😻 so cute!!! 2mo
dabbe Sweetest face and paws ever! ❣️🐾❣️ 2mo
squirrelbrain Such a cutie! ❤️ 2mo
Cathythoughts Cuddly 2mo
Bluebird 🥰 so cute! 2mo
59 likes11 comments
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Cinfhen
House Is on Fire | Rachel Beanland
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Pickpick

Such a wonderful #HF story about the 1811 Richmond Theatre Fire that killed 72 people mostly women. The story begins with the fire and then the aftermath following a handful of survivors. Ripe for bookclub discussion, I couldn‘t turn the pages quick enough. I appreciated the addition of the Author‘s Note which gave more context. This book touches on the cruelty of slavery, society struggles between men & women and preconceived idea of heroism.

99 likes9 stack adds8 comments
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KarenUK
Yes, Daddy | Jonathan Parks-Ramage
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Pickpick

Ooh this was dark, and with too many content warnings to mention! Writing is razor sharp and fast paced, and this take on a fairytale romance gone very bad is compelling. The LGBTQ+ #metoo tale includes a human trafficking element, rape, conversion therapy and a look at telling our own stories, in our own time vs the responsibility to share to help/save others. Didn‘t care for the ending, but so worth a read if the content doesn‘t scare you off!

15 likes2 stack adds10 comments
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rmaclean4
Salvage the Bones | Jesmyn Ward
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Pickpick

I know I am late to reading this book...but Wow. What a masterpiece. Loved how she used the story of Medea as a framework to tell about this family surviving hurricane Katrina and life. One of the best books I have ever read. Jesmyn Ward is a must read if you love Toni Morrison or Alice Walker. 5+ 🌟
#52bookclub23 #survivalstory @MicheleinPhilly @jlhammar @batsy @Deblovestoread @ravenlee @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @Bluebird @Read4life

squirrelbrain I haven‘t actually read this (yet!) - great choice for the prompt. 2mo
BarbaraBB I haven‘t read it either but your review encourages me to do so. What a glowing review! 2mo
See All 7 Comments
jlhammar I've been meaning to read this book seemingly forever. Must get to it! 2mo
Clwojick Great review! I‘ve saved to my TBR! 2mo
Librarybelle Great review! 2mo
Deblovestoread Ward is an amazing author. Loved this one and the others I‘ve read. 2mo
26 likes7 comments
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Deblovestoread
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Pickpick

I enjoyed the first part of the book before the disappearance quite a bit. After there were some jarring (for me) time line jumps and it felt a bit long, so a soft pick for me.

#Pantone23 #Titanite #52Weeks #SurvivalStory TOB23

@Librarybelle @rmaclean4 @Read4life @ravenlee @LaraReads @britt_brooke @triplem80 @AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB @jenniferw88 @squirrelbrain @KarenUK @LeeRHarry @Smarkies @Cinfhen @Bluebird @CarolynM @BookBelle84 @Clwojick

Librarybelle I‘m enjoying everyone‘s thoughts on this one. 3mo
Clwojick Great job! I‘m planning to read this one this week. (edited) 3mo
LaraReads Very nice job on these prompts! 3mo
See All 6 Comments
Cinfhen Seems to be the overall consensus!! I‘ll go in with tepid expectations 😔I can‘t borrow it on Scribd until February?!?? Sometimes that subscription service is SO FRUSTRATING!!!!! 3mo
squirrelbrain I can‘t even get this one on Scribd @Cinfhen (or anywhere else!) 🤷‍♀️ 3mo
Cinfhen So weird how that works @squirrelbrain 😩 3mo
61 likes6 comments
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BarbaraBB
Manhunt | Gretchen Felker-Martin
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Panpan

If there were no other books waiting for me I would have spend more time with this one but since there are a zillion books out there calling my name I read this one diagonally. I think I got the point anyhow. Revenge indeed and a lot of anger. And that repeating and repeating.

#pop23 #QueerLead #Booked2023 #TransPerson #52Booksclub23 #SurvivalStory #ToB23

sarahbarnes I do think I‘m going to skip this one… 3mo
Chelsea.Poole Agreed. Repetitive…and I was only 17% in when I bailed! 3mo
britt_brooke Skipping this one based one that hideous cover alone. 3mo
See All 39 Comments
BarbaraBB @Chelsea.Poole I reread your review and couldn‘t agree more! Life‘s too short! 3mo
BarbaraBB @britt_brooke I didn‘t realize what I was looking at until I started the book 🤣 3mo
BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes There are people who enjoyed it so I would surely read their reviews too! 3mo
batsy I'm both intrigued and wary by the mixed reviews. A most Marmite book, it seems like! 3mo
TrishB I have never been drawn to this one yet! 3mo
BarbaraBB @batsy definitely a marmite book. But if I don‘t automatically think it is your kind of book 3mo
BarbaraBB @TrishB I guess you won‘t ever be and never mind! 3mo
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I'm glad I didn't pick this up last week on my shopping trip. Perhaps I'll see if the library has it, just to give it a try. 3mo
Deblovestoread Everything I‘ve seen makes it a hard no for me. Too many books I‘d rather read. 3mo
Ruthiella I‘m super curious now to see what the TOB commentariat makes of this in March! It really does seem to be a marmite book. 3mo
squirrelbrain Oh dear…! 😬 I‘ll see how far I get when I eventually get round to listening to it. 3mo
Liz_M How do you read diagonally? 3mo
Suet624 @Liz_M I had the same question. Clearly not the same as reading horizontally. 🤪 3mo
Suet624 This was a no-go immediately but thanks for trying. 3mo
merelybookish Haha. It is definitely one note! And yet, maybe I appreciated just how unapologetic it was about that. Like a campy B movie. 3mo
Hooked_on_books This book disappoints me. I loved the beginning of it and feel like it could have been a nuanced exploration of gender vs biological sex and to stop defining people by their parts. But sadly it missed out on doing that. 3mo
BarbaraBB @Liz_M @Suet624 omg It is probably a Dutch expression that I translated literally into English. In college we needed to read many, many books and we read them “diagonally” which meant we read just enough to get the point and to know what was important to remember for an exam… does that make sense????? (edited) 3mo
BarbaraBB @merelybookish I hoped I would feel the same but unfortunately I didn‘t 3mo
BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Yes! I liked the start but it never got beyond that 3mo
RidgewayGirl Well, I am a ToB completist and I think the cover art is brilliant, but I can't say I'm looking forward to this one. 3mo
RidgewayGirl Well, I am a ToB completist and I think the cover art is brilliant, but I can't say I'm looking forward to this one. 3mo
merelybookish @BarbaraBB I will say it doesn't belong in the TOB! That is for sure. 3mo
BarbaraBB @RidgewayGirl I will definitely read your review! How are you doing with the shortlist? Any favorites? I read so many good ones that were longlisted but not shortlisted that I am a bit disappointed with the shortlist to be honest 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3mo
RidgewayGirl @BarbaraBB I really liked Sea of Tranquility, Mouth to Mouth and Dinosaurs. I'm listening to Babel now and I think I like it more as an audiobook than I would as a paper book - it's very straight-forward and the characters are almost YA in their simplicity. But there's interesting stuff about translations and the impact of colonialism. Also reading Rabbit Hutch now and it's ok but not great. 3mo
Librarybelle Yikes! The wine looks good, though! 😂 3mo
Liz_M @BarbaraBB ? I was wondering if it was an autocorrect error or a Google translate error. ? I think the expression is equivalent to "I skimmed the book" in American. (ie to read really fast, "skimming the surface"/ speed-read) 3mo
Megabooks I love that Dutch expression!! Agree with @Liz_M about the (American) English equivalent. I think you and @Hooked_on_books made good points about this being a revenge fantasy more than something more nuanced about gender, which is more what I‘d expect from a tob contender. It‘s still a pick for me though. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3mo
Suet624 The translation makes total sense and I kind of dig it. 3mo
BarbaraBB @RidgewayGirl your three favorites are mine as well along with The Rabbit Hutch, that I loved! But I still have 8 more to read, one of them being Babel. 3mo
BarbaraBB @Liz_M @Megabooks @Suet624 It is skimming indeed! When I tried to explain it to you I was looking for that word but it didn‘t came to mind! 3mo
BarbaraBB @Megabooks The revenge point came from @Hooked_on_books and I agreed completely. I had hoped for a bit more nuance too, it now was almost predictable in its absence of it. I am glad it is a pick for you and @merelybookish , it makes for a more interesting Litsy ToB! (edited) 3mo
Cinfhen I love that it knocked off so many prompts for you!! I was stuck on a transatlantic flight without too many options so I finished this one but it wasn‘t enjoyable. 3mo
RidgewayGirl @BarbaraBB I don't know if you do audiobooks, but Babel works very well on audio since it's a straightforward, chronologically told story with a strong, but not complex plot and the characters are sort of YA in their simplicity. 3mo
BarbaraBB @RidgewayGirl That is a good idea. I might just do that. 3mo
84 likes39 comments
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RedxoHearts
Be Not Far From Me | Mindy McGinnis
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I thought I'd read a bunch of festive reads this month but just haven't been in the mood for them. One is a pandemic story from the viewpoint of teenagers left behind. Next is a wilderness survival story. Then the last follows a lady who becomes an advice columnist during World War 2.

1. At The End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp
2. Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis
3. Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce