The 13 Clocks by James Thurber

 James Thurber was an accomplished author and humorist who published short stories and cartoons in The New Yorker magazine. This book was published in 1950 which he wrote while completing another novel. There is a princess under a spell, a disguised prince trying to rescue her, and an evil duke trying to thwart him and marry the princess himself. 

This book has many quirky characters and is written with a poetic like cadence. I think it would be best read aloud to children and enjoyed by adults as well. It's a short book, only 124 pages with large print in the edition I read. 

Children's fiction, fairy tale, prince, princess, good versus evil

Recommend: Yes

Nightbooks by J.A. White

 My three boys like to go to the library and then check out books for each other to read. Mostly these books sit around my house unread until it is time to return them. I picked this one up and unexpectedly really liked it. I realized halfway through that it is a retelling of the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. Alex and Yasmin are two children "trapped" in an apartment with the witch, Natacha. Alex finds out that the key to survival is to read aloud to her stories--scary stories, each night. Together Alex and Yasmin discover much more about the witch and uncover the final mystery around the magical apartment they can't seem to leave. It is a bit scary as they are trapped and as they find out the demise of other children. 

I also found that Netflix made this into a movie in 2021 and it received good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. 

**I have since watched the movie and I liked it. Of course as is the case with books made into movies there are changes to the plot, with an especially big one at the end. Still, not a bad watch. 

Young adult fiction, fantasy, fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, horror

Recommend: Yes

Miracle Creek Christmas by Krista Jensen

I have a slight weakness for cheesy Hallmarkesque Christmas movies. (I blame my daughter for getting me involved.)  Miracle Creek could have been a screen play for a Hallmark movie. It had all the ingredients including a cute young girl, niece of male character, and older friend of  female character that also has a small romance on the side with male character's father. There is the irritating, slightly dysfunctional family of female and supportive strong family of male character. Despite all the traditional tropes, the one thing that was very unHallmarkish was the up front honesty of both people. There was no misunderstanding of random conversations or misunderstood hugs. Both Riley and Mark are surprisingly forth right about their past and their expectations for the future.  There was, however, a lot of CHRISTMAS throughout, trees, carols, traditions, snow angels, snow, food, etc. Overall it was a really nice enjoyable adventure. 

 Fiction, romance, Christmas, fire fighters

Recommend: Yes

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede

 I had a lot of sitting at a desk/computer work to do last week and so found a quick audiobook to listen while I worked. This is the first in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles which I have previously read. I enjoy children's fantasy fiction because of the plucky characters that I find there. 

Princess Cimorene is not happy that she has to be a princess. She sees so much more to life than doing needlework and knowing which fork to use. Dragons are known to carry off princesses to work for them which then spurs knights and princes to rescue them. Cimorene decides to volunteer to be a dragon's princess and lets her rescuers know in no uncertain terms that she is happy in her new role and does not need to be rescued. Her bravery and intelligence help the dragons thwart the wizards and Cimorene finds something she is both good at and loves. 

Children's fiction, fantasy, dragons, independence

Recommend: Yes.

The Winter Companion by Mimi Matthews

 When I fly, which is not often, I like to have a regency romance book to read on the plane. It seems to distract me from the cramped quarters I'm forced to be in for the few hours I'm experiencing the miracle of flight. 

I've read other of Matthews' books and enjoyed all of them. This is the 4th book in the Parish Orphans of Devon series. You don't need to read these in order as each of them is about a different orphan boy as he matures and enters adulthood. This was a short enjoyable read. It had all the predictabilities of regency romances which is just what I needed to make the flight relaxing. 

Neville has had a traumatic brain injury that causes his speech to be a bit slower. Clara is trying to find a way to receive an education for which she feels is out of her reach. Together they are able to find peace and joy that they both felt would only be for others. 

Fiction, Regency romance, brain injury

Recommend: Yes.