“From that moment on, Mia's mom was the captain. Her dad became the first mate. It didnt matter that he has spent years lovingly refurbishing the boat or that he had actual sailing experience. Now he was crew on his wifes boat. In fact, they were all crew on her boat.“.
This book would MAYBE be okay for 5th grade, however online it says it is recommended for 7th grade and up. So, I would recommend it for a very advanced elementary school reader, as it is a good book!
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Publication year: 2025
After a public breakdown, seventeen-year-old Mia‘s parents move their family onto a sailboat in the Caribbean. Cut off from her old life, Mia turns to science and new friends, Alby and Nisha, to navigate her emotions. Amid storms and self-discovery, she learns to embrace uncertainty and find strength in change.
#BookHaul
While I was in Chester, I popped into Waterstones and got the top two books, then found a lovely little indie, Books on the Walls, where I got the bottom two.
On Agoraphobia: the author's bibliotherapy led him to discover that the literary world is full of agoraphobics, and this book is about them 😰
Medusa: A 1920s weird novel set at sea 🦑
Alien Gods: Only 97 pages, but they are translations of Korean reimaginings of H.P. Lovecraft ⬇️
pickWhen Lorna‘s job makes her take a sabbatical to work on her anger, she‘s forced to slow down &start reconciling her childhood &her work on forgiveness.
I loved so much about this book. Lorna was so relatable &real. She‘s flawed & broken yet as she works through healing, you see her strength shine through too. The side characters were well-developed & the perfect complement to Lorna. The story is a perfect blend of emotions, humor, & depth.
#arc
🌞Ｂｏｏｋ░Ｍａｉｌ📬
I'm 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 up for an engrossing story about second chance(s) & forgiveness. 𝐒𝐨 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞 by 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧, pub. Aug. 12, 2025, piqued my interest even before I learned the main character is a professional woman who had a complicated relationship with an older sister -- themes I can 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 relate to. Thanks, Bibliolifestyle & Harper Muse Books for a copy!🌴🌺
pickThis was SUCH a good read. Wonderful, practical advice with research to back it up.
For a bit of self-care, I decided to go out for brunch & then check out this little bookstore, Birdie Books. Unfortunately, I forgot what happens to my stomach when I've been stressed. Brunch was a little too rich, though 100% delicious, & I was about halfway through this very cute & eclectic bookstore when I had to quickly pay for my books (including the tagged book) & leave 🤢 Maybe I'll go back next weekend.
"What I'm really saying is
in the end, we all turned to each other,
carried and held and helped each other,
gave what comfort we could to each other,
thrown over and over back to each other.
What I'm really saying is -
our ability to care for each other,
to stand with each other,
it's all that we have
in the end"
❤️?❤️
#Poetry
I thought Shaw's 2022 poetry collection, "Towards a General Theory of Love" was fantastic, so I've high hopes for their 2006 debut collection.
It appears they work with some similar themes: mental health, neurodivergence, gender and trauma, woven with imagery drawing on the landscape of Northern England. I'm up for this!
