Flash Review: Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

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By Maureen Tai, 24 January 2021

The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and what I did mattered. So much, sometimes, that I wasn’t sure I wanted such a burden. But I took it anyway, and I carried it as best I could.

Annabelle

Set in rural Pennsylvania before the end of World War II, Wolf Hollow is a gripping and emotionally intense coming-of-age novel by Newbery Honor-winner Lauren Wolk. Twelve-year-old Annabelle’s idyllic, rustic life is upended by the arrival of the sadistic and duplicitous Betty Glengarry. To protect herself and a reclusive, war-scarred veteran from Betty’s escalating malice, Annabelle must trust her own instincts and act courageously – even by telling untruths – to fight for a justice that she alone believes in. Although the stark brutality is tempered by Wolk’s sparse, beautiful prose, Wolf Hollow is better suited to older middle graders. (100 words)

NOTE: Thank you for reading my reviews! I’ll never take this website down, but in the interests of streamlining, from 1 January 2025, I’ll be posting new reviews on my writer website, www.maureentai.com, where I post lots of other bookish extras. See you there!

Flash Review: Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pēna & illustrated by Christian Robinson

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By Maureen Tai, 17 January 2021

He wondered how his nana always found beautiful where he never even thought to look.

CJ muses in Last Stop on Market Street

Matt de la Peña’s Last Stop on Market Street is a beautifully written picture book about appreciating diversity, finding happiness and helping those in need. On one of their weekly bus rides to the soup kitchen, CJ asks his nana questions about what he sees around him. His patient grandmother’s wise, kind responses help CJ come to appreciate differences and see joy and beauty in the everyday. De la Peña’s lyrical prose is a delight to read aloud, and Christian Robinson’s bold and bright collage-like illustrations will make younger readers itch to create drawings of their own lives and families. (100 words)

NOTE: Thank you for reading my reviews! I’ll never take this website down, but in the interests of streamlining, from 1 January 2025, I’ll be posting new reviews on my writer website, www.maureentai.com, where I post lots of other bookish extras. See you there!

Flash Review: The Last Garden by Rachel Ip & illustrated by Anneli Bray

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By Maureen Tai, 10 January 2021

Is it possible to write a book review in 100 words or less? Absolutely!

For 2021, we’re challenging ourselves to publish every week, bite-sized reviews of big, heartfelt stories that stay with us and that we hope will stay with you too. Kicking off with The Last Garden, a charming debut picture book for both its author and illustrator.

The Last Garden is local author, Rachel Ip’s gently thought-provoking picture book about wartime gardens and the enduring power of nature. Younger readers will be charmed by Anneli Bray’s sumptuous illustrations and the story of a city’s last garden, lovingly tended to by a little girl even as blackened buildings and smoke-filled skies surround it. As the fighting intensifies, the city’s residents are forced to flee, and the garden is abandoned. When peace, and the girl, finally return to the garden, a delightful surprise awaits! This poignant, yet hopeful story will spark discussions about courage and resilience during challenging times. (100 words)

NOTE: Thank you for reading my reviews! I’ll never take this website down, but in the interests of streamlining, from 1 January 2025, I’ll be posting new reviews on my writer website, www.maureentai.com, where I post lots of other bookish extras. See you there!

New Year Resolutions

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January 2021

Call me old-fashioned, or a die-hard optimist, or a dreamer, but I believe in new year resolutions. The end of a year, the beginning of a new one, the stick-drawn line in the sand, the restart button, the brand new Hobonichi Techo, the newly inked pen, the endless possibilities, the hope, always, the hope.

So we begin 2021 with a resolve to write and share more regularly the book reviews of the more books that we will read. My own personal resolution, as I press ahead on my journey to become a writer, is to write and to publish, to finally earn that “writer” title for myself and to make stories that will stay with us, and with many others.

May 2021 herald new beginnings and brilliant hopes for all of you!

Anna, Ben & Maureen