Wanted: Perfect Partner by Debbie Macomber

 Romance. I rarely finish a book and extremely dislike it. Normally if I am finding I don't like it I simply stop reading. At my job yesterday, I was peeling off old stickers from the spine of some books that were faded and putting on new ones. Many of these books were Debbie Macomber's. She's a prolific author, but I have never read any of her books. I chose a short one and took it home to read. The only reason I finished it was because it was short. In this romance the main character's daughter wants her divorced mother to remarry and so puts an ad in the paper for her to find the perfect husband. At the same time a sister of a man that has never been married does the same thing. This seems like a fine premise for a romance plot, but the interaction between the sister and her brother and the mother and her daughter was nothing less than irritatingly ridiculous. I cannot imagine anyone having a family dynamics that mirrored these two families. The characters were completely unrelatable and as a result my calm evening curled up with a book just made me cranky. 

Recommend: Definitely not.

Sorcery & Cecelia OR The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer

 Teen Fantasy Fiction. This is among my favorite books and each time I read it is a delight. The two authors of this story are successful in their own right, and when they team up the results are wonderful! They wrote this story in an unique way by playing what they call "The Letter Game". Each author writes a chapter as a character and mails it to the other. When they are together they do not discuss the plot at all. The result is a wonderful story with great character development. 

Kate and Cecelia are cousins living in England in the mid 1800s where magic is commonplace. Kate is sent to London for her "season" and Cecelia is stuck at home in the country. They write to each other and tell of their adventures and of rescuing and being rescued by magicians both sinister and exemplary. 

Recommend: Yes. 

Spring Break in St. Louis

 Spring break for my kids here in the Liberty School District was 11 days long!  Wow!  I asked the kids where they wanted to explore and they unanimously said St. Louis. It's about a 4 hour drive east of us and we spent 4 days there experiencing the food and some of the many things to do, nearly all were free to attend which was a bonus! 

St. Louis Zoo: Capybara, Peter's favorite animal

The Zoo was free to attend, although we had to pay $15 to park. 

The St. Louis Science Center was also free with a $7 parking free. It was too big to explore in one day, but we did pay a small fee to go to the planetarium and see a show about the planets. The seats were very comfy and it was hard not to doze off, but the show was awesome. 

The art work in downtown St. Louis

Eric up close and personal 

The Gateway Arch

Our "official" photo at the arch. All the rides to the top were sold out so we spent our time at the free museum on site, which was impressive. (Certain children were not disappointed that it was sold out!)

Turtle Park was a favorite

Fitz's was a great place with good food and awesome flavors of soda

Iconic St. Louis with cracker thin crust. Very good. 

Brian grew up with this fast food restaurant, but the kids weren't too impressed. 

YUMMMMMY

On our way home we stopped here and it did not disappoint!

Dragon's Bait by Vivian Vande Velde

 Teen Fantasy Fiction. Fulfills Re-Read an Old Favorite category in the Pioneer Book Challenge. 

There were so many books I could have chosen for this particular category, but I settled on one from a favorite fantasy author, Vivian Vande Velde (I love her alliterative name!) The main theme of this book is revenge - how to get it specifically. Our heroine, Alys, has been wrongly accused of being a witch which sets off a series of events that leaves her chained to a post outside of town for the local dragon to devour. The dragon decides not to eat her, but to help her get revenge since he is an expert in that department. Throughout their adventures to accomplish this task Alys learns that revenge doesn't taste as sweet as she thinks it should. 

I read this aloud to my children a number of years ago and we discussed the unfairness of life and what the results of revenge really are and if they are worth the cost. 

Recommend: Yes. 

The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt

 Junior Historical Fiction. Fulfills History category in the Pioneer Book Challenge.

Water divining or "water dowsing" is a pseudoscience, but many people have relied on it to find water, especially during the homesteading era of our country. Even though this story is about a family with this gift, it's more about the pioneer spirit that existed in the mid 1800s. These stories which always include loss of some sort, whether it's possessions, health, courage, or life itself, still never fail to fill me with respect for those people who did what I have not. They left all they knew to pursue a life filled with uncertainties and risk. Filled with a sense of adventure and hope for a beautiful life they pushed onward against unbelievable odds. Amos Kincaid's life is filled with loss, but it's also beautiful at the same time. It really depends on how you look at it. 

This story left me with an inner smile that help is always there for those who need it and people can surprise me with their determination and strength. 

Recommend: yes

Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan

 Young adult romance. Josie is a genius, the youngest in her family, hates change, and loves formulas. If life were a math problem she would solve it and solve it perfectly. She is very close with her family - parents and two sisters, whom she loves with all her being, and her best friends who live across the street. So when her sister brings Geoff home and announces they are engaged Josie doesn't react well at all!  Thankfully her friends and family patiently guide her to solid ground and help her to embrace the changes that life will always bring. 

I very much enjoyed reading this clean teen romance. I felt many times that Josie overreacted to her circumstances, but was impressed she could move past those reactions and still show her love to those around her. 

Recommend: Yes.