The Fantastic Travels of William and the Monarch Butterfly by Christina Steiner
The Fantastic Travels of William and the Monarch Butterfly: Fly, Fly Away on the Wings of a Monarch Butterfly by Christina Steiner is about a young boy named William, a born explorer, who one day meets a talking butterfly named Anka and shrinks down to her size, then flies away with her as she makes her migration down south from North Dakota. Their journey mimics the real migration of the Monarch butterfly, so kids will learn fascinating facts about butterflies as readers follow William and Anka on their series of adventures.
Though the level of the prose is aimed at […]
Liberty and Means by Kristin Dow is about Shannon, who’s being stalked, or so she thinks, and finds instead that she’s come into a financial windfall from a sweepstakes company. Once her monetary needs are met, will this free her up to fully discover herself, or shine a brighter light on her problems? The answer is a little of both. And how will other people react to her good fortune? The novel is a thoughtful and engaging character study with the pace of a thriller, including a number of surprising plot twists along the way.
Nothando’s Journey is an exquisite children’s book about Nothando, who lives in Swaziland in Southern Africa. Nothando is getting ready for the Reed Festival, a right of passage of dancing and celebration in front of the King and Queen, and she’s worried about the performance and new responsibility. As she travels through the hills with her brother, she learns contentment and courage from all the wild animals, which prepares her to perform in the festival. Nothando’s Journey is a culturally-rich and artistically-mesmerizing story that kids will most certainly want to return to again and again.
Carousel and Other Stories by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold is a lyrical collection of stories about the small poetic moments in a marriage. Whether it’s a couple rekindling their passion on vacation, couples facing the daunting prospect of the draft, it’s a collection about fears and dreams unfulfilled, but each finding contentment among the difficulty. Verdino-Süllwold’s prose is eloquent and thoughtful. She has clear affection for her characters and sympathy for their troubles, which only evokes the same feeling in the reader.
Choosing Differently: A Memoir of a Software Entrepreneur’s Wife is the candid story of a divorce. It’s also a story of an internet startup, which ultimately failed, so the story is about heartache and poor decisions on two fronts. Choosing Differently is at once sober and heartfelt, as Joseph tackles the problems in her life with a deepening sense of self-respect and adventure, while giving an interesting front-row seat to the competitive, and oft-times disappointing, world of software development.
Hope by Taryn Feldmann is a novel about abuse and recovery. Emily and Sarah have had a horrible upbringing due to their abusive father. Emily moves to New York with dreams of being an actor, while Sarah succumbs to drug addiction. When Emily learns of the healing power of a horse named Hope, she brings her sister to Wyoming to help put her on the right course. However, Emily falls ill to Leukemia and finds she needs the healing power of Hope as much as her sister. An emotional novel about overcoming pain and a troubled past.