Blue Mountain by Martine Leavitt

Martine Leavitt wrote one of my most favorite books, Keturah and Lord Death. I've read other books by her as well and they are all very different from each other. This one was a gift from my sister because she knows that we like big horn sheep. This is a short story from the viewpoint of Tuk, a big horn sheep. He is born on the mountain and then as he grows he becomes obsessed with finding new grazing land free from predators of all kinds. 

I really enjoyed his point of view and the interactions within the herd. A great little story!

Recommend: Yes!

Sunkissed by Kasie West

 Teen fiction. I have a wonderful sister who surprises me by sending me books.  I recently moved states and states away and one day as I came home found a package on my doorstep with three books inside. I love coming home to packages! 

Kasie West writes teen romance novels. I acknowledge that these can be trite and formulaic, but they still have an appeal to many a teen girl. I've read several of West's books and they are entertaining, clean, and cute. I liked this one, but if you'd like a better one by her try By Your Side.

Avery and her family spend their summers camping, this year they are at a camp that has many amenities but Wi-Fi is not among them. Avery and her sister are not amused, but as they meet the camp employees and find some cute boys among them that changes. This book isn't just about flirting, although there is plenty of that, Avery finds out how to step out of her comfort zone and try things that have scared her in the past. She finds her voice (literally and figuratively) and by the end of the summer the lack of Wi-Fi is not among her least favorite things. 

Recommend: yes

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 Teen Fiction. This book had an interesting beginning and an engaging middle. Avery is a teen who has lost her mother and lives with her half sister and her sometimes boyfriend. Her father has been MIA since she was small. Her life is less than ideal. She soon discovers that a billionaire has left her all his fortune and she has no idea why a man she never remembers meeting would disinherit his own family in favor of her. Thus begins an intriguing discovery of clues to solve this mystery. I enjoyed listening to it, but was extremely disappointed in how everything was wrapped up. So much so that I really can't recommend it, which is sad because it had some really good plot points. 

Recommend: No

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

 Non-Fiction. The Olympics have been a favorite of mine since I was a child. I like watching sports I would never have exposure to and to cheer for the underdog and marvel at the skill and talent of the athletes. The Boys in the Boat is a wonderful true Olympic story of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany and a rowing team of boys whose world view began and ended with the farms they grew up on. They all had hard lives trying to survive in the middle of the Great Depression and found strength and support in each other as teammates. I listened to this audio book and felt myself being inspired by the grit and determination faced by the boys. 

Highly recommend!

The Romantics by Leah Konen

 Teen fiction. I drove to Utah and back twice in the past week or so and to prepare for these trips I downloaded about 10 audio books to listen to during the drive. I normally listen to one for about an hour and then grow tired of it and choose another one. This one held my interest and I finished listening to it after the drive was over. 

It seems at first that it will be a typical teen romance novel, but there is one thing that keeps it from being cliche and predictable and that is it's narrator. It is written from the point of view of LOVE, meaning that love is an entity that influences all relationships. LOVE understands what people are thinking and feeling and what relationships will work and which ones won't. Of course the people involved don't know any of these things and often make poor choices. This story focuses on one family, specifically the 18 yr. old son, and his attempts at having good relationships with his friends, girlfriend and his family. 

Recommend: Yes. 

The Hundred Dressed by Eleanor Estes

 Junior Fiction. This is a wonderful very short book with an enduring message. I've read it several times and decided to listen to the audio version on a drive back home this past week. It won a Newbery Honor Medal in 1944 and was inspired by a true story from the author's childhood. Wanda Petronski is a poor girl who only has one dress she wears every day to school. One day she tells the other girls she has one hundred dresses in her closet. The girls know she is lying and start to make fun of her for constantly affirming that she has one hundred dresses. Wanda is missing from school one day and the class finds out her father pulled his children out of the school and moved to another town because his family was being bullied. Two of the girls in Wanda's class feel miserable about it and attempt to make things right. A wonderful story about how we treat others. 

Recommend: Yes. 

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

 Junior Fantasy Fiction. Emily lives on a boat and has many questions about her life. She has never known her father, in fact her mother can't even speak about him. Her mother also refuses to let her take swimming lessons or even get into the water and there is this slightly creepy man who has coffee with her mother every Sunday. She finally convinces her mom to let her take swimming lessons and gets the shock of her life when she gets into the water, and yep you probably guessed it, turns into a mermaid!  

This is the first in a long series of adventures that Emily has. It's a pretty simple story with simple characters, but a nice mermaid read for younger kids. 

Recommend: If under 14 yes.