Review

High Five

September 13, 2023 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Today we have another book that I recently finished an enjoyed so… here I am sharing it with you. 🙂 High Five is a murder mystery by Jane Evanovich. Reviewing just because I want to and yes, I’ll link to amazon so you can find it easily should you be so inclined.

This book showcases bounty hunter Stephanie Pluim and just takes in her life with her somewhat… unique family…and her love life (which doesn’t get overly personal), and the people that she interacts with in her daily life. Her family is odd…but what family isn’t a bit odd? They love each other dearly (at least her immediate family does) and at times have an interesting way of showing it. She’s a character who makes me laugh and sometimes… that’s just exactly what I need. 🙂

Talking about the Book

I can’t remember how long ago it was that I was introduced to the Stephanie Pluim series by Janet Evanovich. First you get a gal with all kinds of attitude and lots of get up and go but not a real financial whiz at all. Add in a quirky family and an interesting job as a bounty hunter… that often turns into a murder investigation… and you have a story that will intrigue and make you laugh.

High Five starts with Uncle Fred and a cancelled cheque. Shouldn’t be that hard to figure right? Well, before you know it, bodies are dropping in all sorts of unexpected places. The family gets involved and poor Stephanie has to deal with the fall-out.

Bad guys abound… and one bad guy really is a scary, mentally ill, sorta really bad. Didn’t much like him.

But the rest… just all murder mystery feel to it.

Recommendation

This is not the best Stephanie Pluim novel that I have read, but it made me laugh. Since I brought it to work with me… that laughter evoked conversations with co-workers, which made it all the better.

Is High Five worth reading? For sure. You’ll laugh, shake your head, and be glad that by the end, all the bad guys will have been stopped. And that my friend, is always a very good thing. 🙂

Cold Pursuit

August 16, 2023 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product for Cold Pursuit through Nuts About Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

The love of a well written mystery fills my bones, I hope it fills yours too. Cold Pursuit by Nancy Mehl walks into an interesting cold-case which turns out to be not so cold afterall. Can River and Tony solve this cold case and bring some answers to a grieving mother? I won’t tell you the result, but I will urge you to give it a go!

Basic Details for Cold Pursuit

The Basic Details for Cold Pursuit

Title: Cold Pursuit
Author: Nancy Mehl
Series: Ryland & St. Clair, book 1
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Pages: 336
Intended Audience: Adult fiction
Genre: thriller, murder mystery, cold case, FBI, serial killer, Christian mystery, Christian Suspense, Christian mystery romance
Reviewed for: Nuts About Books
Available formats: Hardcover, Kindle, softcover, Audio
Received: softcover

About the Author and book

The Author

Nancy Mehl is the author of more than fifty books, a Parable bestseller, and the winner of an ACFW Book of the Year Award, a Carol Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award. She has also been a finalist for two Carol Awards and the Christy Award. Nancy lives in Missouri, with her husband and their puggle.

Other books by this author that I have reviewed: Night Fall, Mind Games, and Fatal Frost.

The Book

Ex-FBI profiler River Ryland still suffers from PTSD after a case went horribly wrong. She’s start a PI business with her former colleague Tony. They’re soon approached by a grieving mother who wants them to find out what happened to her teenaged son, who disappeared four years ago.

But as they follow the boy’s trail, they find themselves in the path of a murderer. As River and Tony race to stop him before he kills again, a more dangerous threat emerges involving River’s past as well as her future.

Digging Deeper

Adult fiction with mystery and twists. Light suspense without being too intense. I enjoy a good murder mystery that makes me wonder what is really going on.

Cold Pursuit is a faith based murder mystery. Faith is an integral part of the lives of at least two of the characters, one a main character, the other a minor one. River is challenged in her thoughts about matters of faith. BUT faith issues are not central to the story…the story is predominately about the cold case and the need to solve it to bring closure to the mom.

The writing style is easy, probably written at a high school/first year college level. The trains of thought made sense with no odd leaps of logic. A nice and somewhat suspenseful read at the beach mystery. 🙂

My Recommendation

I have to admit, I wasn’t too surprised at what the end result of Cold Pursuit was… though the story in the shadows has me intrigued.

A secondary part of the story is the behind the scenes threat…. which draws me in to reading the next book in the series to see if River and Tony can solve it before something horrible happens. I want to know! I DO I DO! Nancy Mehl did an excellent job of drawing me in.

You may find the story draws you in a well. If you want an uncomplicated mystery with a suspenseful understory that makes you want the solution (ergo needing to get more in the series) read Cold Pursuit. You might find yourself intrigued by the matter of faith as well. Finding yourself asking deeper questions about forgiveness. That’s not a bad thing either eh? 🙂

Pinocchio

May 10, 2023 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product for Pinocchio through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated.

Aren’t we all familiar with the story of Pinocchio? A little wooden toy, a living puppet who wants to be a real boy. I don’t know about you, but I’m only familiar with the short storybook, not the original story. And wow, if you have not read the original text of Pinocchio… I urge you to do so! AND if you must read any copy, grab up Carlo Collodi’s version with illustrations by Gris Grimly. They fit the original text so well, you will be delighted. 🙂 Come, let me show you what you have been missing.

The Basic Details of Pinocchio

Title: Pinocchio
Author: Carlo Collodi
Illustrator: Gris Grimly
Introduction: Guillermo Del Toro
Pages: 224
Series: Tor Classics
Intended Audience: 10-12 years, grades 3-7
Genre: Classic Literature, Fantasy, Growing Up, Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult
Formats Available: Kindle, Paperback
Reviewed For: Raincoast Books.

About the Author and Illustration

Carlos Collodi is the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini who lived 1826 – 1890. The Adventures of Pinocchio was originally published as a series of weekly adventures. He was an author, humourist, and journalist. An Italian who was educated at a theological seminary, but he withdrew when he knew he didn’t want to become a priest. He started working in a book store where he was an assistant to a prominent Italian manuscript specialist.

About the Book

This edition has the full text of the original Pinocchio with a mixture of full-page and spot illustrations in black and white integrated in the text, in pen-and-ink style. The ink is sepia brown.

Pinocchio is the story of a wooden puppet, made by a lonely woodcarver looking for boy to call his own. When the puppet comes to life, he needs to learn how to be a boy, but he has so much to learn about being a good boy. This is his story. A tale of whimsy and magic, of mistakes and growth.

Looking Deeper

One of the biggest draws for me in reading the original text of Pinocchio, are the illustrations by Gris Grimly. They are SO true to the story! Check them out eh? You will find not only full page drawings…

but also illustrations that fit within the text. The quirkiness of the images suits the language and style of the original text. Like any good illustration, they help put a face to the characters found within.

You’ll find the text easy to read, but mind… it’s not all easy reading. Pinocchio is sometimes, really not a nice puppet. He has his moments of being good and right, but mostly… he’s just a self-centred little boog. (there’s really no nice way of putting it). 🙂 Throughout you can see how the Pinocchio story that we know and love came into being.

Recommendation

Read a classic! Enjoy illustrations that fit the story so very well. Pinocchio the classic, is much like the Pinocchio, the shortened version, but more intense, better suited to an older crowd. 🙂 I think many middle school students would enjoy this story.

As a homeschooling parent I could see asking my child to read it and then point out the differences and similarities between the modern and the classic versions.

Irving Berlin

December 14, 2022 By Annette1 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Irving Berlin) through Arcadia Publishing. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated.

Irving Berlin is a well-known composer that perhaps you might like to know better. This time of year we often sing I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. Wouldn’t it be great if you could introduce yourself and/or your children to who he is? Paul M. Kaplan walks us through this rags-to-riches story of America’s most popular commercial composer in Irving Berlin: from Penniless Immigrant to America’s songwriter.

The Basic Details

Title: Irving Berlin: from penniless immigrant to America’s songwriter
Author: Paul M. Kaplan
Publisher: Pelican Books
Pages: 144
Intended Audience: 11-17 years, writing level grade 6-8
Formats: Kindle, Paperback
Reviewed for: Arcadia Publishing
Format received: paperback

About the Author

I was actually unable to discover much about Paul M Kaplan. I did learn that this is his seventh published title and second biography for young people. You can catch a list of his books on GoodReads.

About the book

Irving Berlin and his family fled anti-Jewish Russia before he went on to become one of America’s most popular commercial composers. As a self-taught pianist, Berlin is responsible for many hit songs such as “God Bless America,” “White Christmas,” as well as the musical Annie Get Your Gun. Author Paul Kaplan traces the path of the man behind the songs through this rags-to-riches story and Berlin’s place in the music business in the early twentieth century, including the tragedies that befell him on this journey.

Digging Deeper into Irving Berlin

Fifteen chapters round out this 144 page biography of Irving Berlin. Written in an easy to read style with short chapters and loads of pictures.

Chapters are aptly named and stick to the topic and follow easily after each other. I like a biography that follows a life historically and doesn’t jump back and forth. Makes it easier for younger readers too! 🙂

At the close of the book you’ll find a glossary, notes, and references pages. Each of the 45 images clearly states where it came from and helped bring Berlin’s history to life.

My thoughts

So I initially thought this, I can write this review without reading this book. Looks like a decent book, the couple pages I read in the middle read well, ergo easy review. I had a cold though and needed something to read, so I started at the beginning. Lo and behold, I couldn’t put Irving Berlin down. It was so interesting. I love a well-done biography, don’t you?

I learned about immigration, pluggers, singing waiters and more. Learning how the music industry changed over the years was intriguing, and helped me understand a bit of where we are today. Irving Berlin (formally Israel Baline) has led a fascinating life that all started with loving to listen to his dad sing.

I can easily see Mr. Kaplan’s book being used as a biography for youth in grades 7-10. It would be good to have them read it and pick one theme from Berlin’s life to research. It’s good to know more about a country’s history don’t you find?

The Boy Behind The Door

November 19, 2022 By Annette1 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Boy Behind the Door) through Ascot Media Group. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated.

For those who don’t know, I love history (it’s not the only think I love, but it’s up there eh?). Anyways, books that tell a story, bringing history life… makes for a very good read you know? The Boy behind the Door is a tale sending us into the life of a short Jewish Lad. We take a front-row seat to his experiences as Germany swarmed over The Netherlands. We see his bewilderment as growing restrictions are placed upon the Jewish population. Learn how Salomon Kook escaped the Nazis in this short, historically-based, fiction read.

The Facts

Title: The Boy Behind the Door: How Saloman Kool Escapes the Nazis.
Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers
Reviewed For: Ascot Media Group
Pages: 194
Format Received: Softcover
Genre: History, WW2, Teen and Young Adult Survival, Jewish Literature, WW2 Fiction
Intended Audience: Teen, Young Adult

Author Information:

David Tabatsky is a writer, editor and performing artist based in New York City. David’s two passions have driven his career as a performer and writer. He has performed as an actor, clown and juggler around the world, in venues such as Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, throughout Europe and Japan, and most notably at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Story:

Inspired by a real boy and real events shares the story of a Dutch teenager who survived World War II by eluding the Nazis time and time again as German forces occupied the Netherlands. Learn the story of Salomon Kool and how through the kindness of others, and his own ingenuity, he survived in Nazi invasion of The Netherlands.

Looking More Closely at The Boy Behind the Door

Short chapters and careful character development fill the pages of this quick read. I won’t say the reading is always easy. But it was very much eye-opening. I had not considered the war from the perspective of a Jewish family, particularly that of a young man. Seeing through the eyes of a just past childhood all the limitations and dislike Jewish families faced. Seeing how the Nazis worked to destroy families. Not always easy. But then seeing, oh, seeing people willing to help. People willing to risk everything for people they didn’t even know. How careful they had to be, and yet, risks taken.

Written from the point of view of Salomon so you get to understand the ramifications of Nazi “enforcement policies” on the Jewish population. Imagine not being able to play in a park, or watch a movie, go to visit your favourite barber, or not being able to walk on the sunny side of the street. Things that affected real children in a dangerous time in history. So very hard.

Should you read it?

Despite the plethora of WW2 literature invading the bookshelves lately making it hard to choose what to read, The Boy Behind the Door shows a different perspective. Seeing the war through the eyes of a child-man is eye-opening. Well worth reading, particularly if you want to learn more about the war.

This would be a great addition to students learning about the war. I can see teens reading and then discussing or writing papers about various topics raised. It’s not always easy, but you know what? War and the brutalization of a people is NOT an easy topic. Learning about how hard it was perhaps might open eyes and ears so it never happens again! Wouldn’t it be good if we could prevent THIS history from happening again?

The Homescholar LLC – Total Transcript Solution

August 11, 2021 By Annette1 10 Comments

DISCLAIMER. I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Did you know that I have an finishing grade 10 student, soon to start grade 11? He really has no idea what he’d like to do yet as a working adult so we are continuing to offer a varied highschool education for him. But in the meantime keeping track of grades is vitally important. So imagine how pleased I have been to review Total Transcript Solution by The HomeScholar LLC. You will love this program with the sheer variety of transcript options. The solid training behind it all will delight you. 🙂

The Basics about Total Transcript Solution

The HomeScholar LLC is the designer of several products meant to help homeschool parents pull together details to help their children pursue higher education. Lee Binz’s speciality is in helping parents homeschooling highschool students. The goal: success both now and in future endeavors. The product that I am specifically looking at today is Total Transcript Solution. I have received 6 months access in exchange for my review. This is more than enough time since you get downloaded transcripts that you can use forever, or use as a template to create your own templates.

About Lee Binz

After homeschooling her children through highschool, and seeing them into their future endeavors, Ms. Binz decided to expand her consulting business by creating product to share. You can learn about her core beliefs and learn about her low-key method of providing help to others. Her husband Matt works alongside her, and her employees are also active homeschoolers.

What do you receive?

Upon opening Total Transcript Solution I was immediately able to see all the modules available in this course.

Not only that, I had access (via the sidebar) of all the available resources. And boy oh boy you will like these bonuses. From sample diplomas, to sample grading criteria, there is just so much here! You should be able to easily be done within a month, and if you need longer (cause face it, life happens) … join the silver training club. 🙂

You will be able to listen to Lee Binz, either by watching a video or downloading the audio, conduct various workshops. She has a simple, easy to listen style that immediately makes you feel at ease. She takes away the angst of making a transcript, while letting you know how important it is. Every course will come with a handout (varying in size from 2-109 pages), some with slides, and always with audio.

Did you know that courses can be labeled using a course code, a name that delineates exactly what you taught, or given a generic title? Higher learning institutions tend to prefer courses be as specific as possible. So not doing English 1, English 2, but rather something like Writing and Grammar grade 9. It’s the same thing, but the language is clearer (and therefore more desired) by the reader (the college acceptance people).

With the bonuses, some of them open into a webinar, others into a webpage. All these helps she provides in order to make our lives easier, and to enable us to complete all the steps that we need to. Isn’t it fantastic how Ms. Binz has created a homeschool transcript help site that is so complete?

What do I think?

Oh, I like and appreciate this course. I thought the logical layout and the diversity of material presentation. For instance….. I would much rather read a book then listen to audio as I can get it done so much faster. BUT I like listening to audio if I want to fine-tune my learning. The manner in which the material was presented was kind, at times funny, and with heart.

I was simply delighted by this particular bonus. Being able to see what I should be looking at for grade 11! Yes, it’s very USA centric, but that doesn’t mean I can’t extrapolate for Canadian needs/goals.

I adored how Ms. Binz thought about the different needs of families, providing her resources in a variety of formats. This makes it so easy to just edit materials right on your screen without having to print everything out (unless of course you like printing everything out). Everyone’s needs are different right?

The options for the different types of transcripts were great! I initially started out with one transcript but found it didn’t work well for me, so I switched to a different format which made more sense to me. I loved the ability to describe or state what product I used, or where the marks came from. I’ve been considering next year (in the spring) to sign my lad up for courses in London, so then I could use that course description as well as who taught it in the description area.

When should you get total transcript solution? Anytime after elementary school. You’ll find helps for middle school all the way through to the end of highschool.

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Products Reviewed by The Crew

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Dolphin Island

March 2, 2021 By Annette1 2 Comments

Many thanks to Entertainment Squad for providing Dolphin Island for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

A dolphin, an orphaned girl, a set of grandparents, a sleazy lawyer and a caring grandparent guardian. It’s the setting for conflict and drama. Thusly Dolphin Island came into being.

What I am Reviewing

Shaked Berenson produced the 91 minute long Dolphin Island, which has been approved by the Dove Foundation for children age 7-18. A family friendly production and will be released on March 2. View the trailer:

Dolphin Island, the fun details

Can one orphan girl find a way to stay on the island that she loves with her best dolphin friend? This 2021 best feature film winner of the Christian Film Festival seeks to answer that question.

Although this film professes to be a faith based film I found very little evidence of faith throughout the film. A prayer for help/thanksgiving was given close to the end, but overall it literally could have been any movie.

The acting was okay, not great. The storyline fairly predictable. I really WANT MORE when it comes to faith-based films. I really do. We should do better when it comes to feature films, particularly for ones that are meant for a broader range audience. This movie, for me as an adult, simply didn’t cut it for me.

I can totally though, see the appeal for families with children under 10 years old. It is family friendly, with the bad guy being predictably sleazy, and the good guys being good though a wee bit clueless about how to stand up for themselves. Kids will be able to empathize easily and cheer when the good guys win. That’s a good thing!

The story itself is nice. There is a happy ending. Mitzy is a very amazing dolphin. Super smart and pulls off these fantastic leaps through the air.

Should you get it?

You know what? While I found the story line and acting somewhat lacking as an adult, I can totally see families with young children thoroughly enjoying this movie. It has a dolphin and a girl in trouble. It has a happy ending. It’s all that a child needs to make for a good movie.

If you are looking for a movie that hits all the high notes of being safe for kids, has a non-demanding faith element, and a good ending… Dolphin Island hits all the high notes. 🙂

It is will available on various streaming services starting today. You can purchase a copy of Dolphin Island here.

For a chance to win a digital copy, enter below. North Americans only.

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Review

High Five

Talking about the Book

Recommendation

Cold Pursuit

Basic Details for Cold Pursuit

The Basic Details for Cold Pursuit