Crafty Crochet Books!

Earlier this year I learned to crochet. Now I read crochet pattern books like I used to read cookbooks. I'm sure I'll go back to cookbooks again soon, but for now I am obsessed with learning more about crochet and amigurumi and gathering patterns and ideas to make more treasures for friends, family and myself.  -Lynnie 

Crochet Iconic Women and More Crochet Iconic Women by Carla Mitrani 

Lynnie    

 

I love Mitrani’s patterns. They are gorgeous and easy to follow and, frankly, so much fun! Her blog- www.amourfoucrochet.com - also provides great information and I recommend you follow it if you’re a fan of her patterns.

Her work is beautiful and I’m grateful she’s willing to share it with the rest of us. I recently followed her pattern for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and it turned out even better than I expected considering my experience (or lack, thereof). The instructions are clear and easy to follow, so I can't wait to make more of her iconic women in the very near future. 

 

 Crochet Zodiac Dolls by Carla Mitrani

Lynnie     

 

Another fabulous book of patterns from Carla Mitrani. These are really fun & I’m eager to make my own astrological sign and a few for special friends and family.

I love the way Mitrani creates her patterns- they are gorgeous, easy to follow, and always sew out the way I expect. I’m a fan!

 

 

 

 

Kawaii Crochet Garden by Melissa Bradley

Lynnie      

 

These are really cute patterns if you want to make a plant for all seasons. I’m particularly looking forward to trying to make the Coleus pattern, but there are so many options in this book! It truly has something for everyone. The patterns look easy to follow with lots of pictures to guide you as you crochet.



I’m so thankful my library has a great collection of craft books! 

Poster Girl by Veronica Roth

 

Lynnie 

dystopian, sci-fi

 

It turns out, some authors transition away from YA writing more readily than others but Veronica Roth is not one of them. If I had not known that adults were supposed to be the target audience for her newest novel, Poster Girl, I would have thought it was another addition to her dystopian YA oeuvre. There really isn't anything in this novel that couldn't be in any of her other books- there is one somewhat chaste sex scene, but I don't think it would even make the current round of book banners blush. All that said, I really enjoyed Poster Girl. Roth did an impressive amount of world-building in a short amount of time and I found myself eager to come back and find out what was going to happen.

In an interesting twist on the standard dystopian plot, Poster Girl looks at what happens to society after the dystopian overlords - in this case, the Delegation - falls to the revolution. The Delegation's leaders and their families are imprisoned in a walled off section of Seattle known as the Aperture. Given an opportunity to earn her freedom from a life spent behind walls, Sonya was an interesting character to follow between the insular world she's been sentenced to spend the rest of her days in and has grown to accept, and her desire to be free and learn the truth about her family's past.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Amy   
Lynnie

 

romance

 

Harriet has had a difficult few months and can’t wait to be at her Happy Place—her best friend, Sabrina’s dad’s Maine beach house—along with her other best friend, Cleo, and Sabrina’s and Cleo’s partners.  She’s been dreading telling them about her breakup with her fiancé, Wyn, but knows that her friends will comfort her.  But, upon her arrival, Harriet is upset to find out Wyn is there too and the two of them have to keep up a charade of still being together for their friends' sakes.  So much for her happy weekend.

Amy's Review

This was a fun one.  The characters were quirky, their banter was witty, their situations matched their quirky personalities, and I wanted to keep listening to the audiobook to find out how things would turn out. I mean, I knew the broad strokes of how it would end but enjoyed the ride from author Emily Henry.

The cause of their breakup felt a bit contrived but the never-ending sexual tension, the memories where we got to learn about Harriet’s and Wyn’s pasts, their current silly situation at the beach house… it all made for a fun summer read.  Turns out that places aren’t necessarily what makes Harriet happy but, rather, the people in her life. And the moral of the story is about minding your own happiness instead of trying to earn happiness by pleasing others. That point hit home with me.

The audiobook narrator was Julia Whelan and she did a good job, as usual. This was a solid A performance. I particularly enjoyed her voice acting when Harriet was really upset near the end.

Lynnie's Review

This is the third book I've read by Emily Henry (after People We Meet on Vacation and Book Lovers) and it certainly met my expectations. I've read way too many romancy, chick lit books already this year. I have no idea how that happened, but as a library patron, sometimes the book queue is the book queue. This was a cute book though and I generally enjoy books about friends.

Harriet and Wyn have been dating since college. Wyn joined the friend group after Harriet went abroad for a semester and Wyn sublet her room from her best friends and roommates, Cleo and Sabrina, and the rest, as they say, is history. The four of them plus Sabrina's boyfriend (who is also Wyn's best friend) and Cleo's wife have been inseparable since college, even throughout life's challenges. When the group gathers at Sabrina's father's beach house in Maine, Harriet is dreading telling all of them that she and Wyn have broken up. Suddenly however, Wyn is there at the beach house, even though he said he wouldn't be joining them, and Harriet's relaxing week with her best friends at her "happy place" is ruined. Ruined!

But of course, this is chick lit, so it's not really ruined. Instead, Harriet and Wyn will try to maintain the illusion that they are still a couple - all for the benefit of the friends, of course - not because they still love each other. No, definitely not.

Don't get me wrong, this is a fun read. The characters are quirky, their friendships rings absolutely true and I give Henry credit for trying to create a healthy relationship with some boundaries even though I'm not sure she succeeds; there's still some serious codependence that made me want to shake some sense into the characters. Still, I found myself rooting for Wyn and Harriet and their friends throughout the novel despite the fact that they all need a good therapist or six.

Happy Place is a great book to tuck into your suitcase for your next vacation. It's a quick and easy read that will make you smile and want to call your best friends to tell them you love them. 

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

Amy  

fiction

Sam Hill was born with red eyes. Because of this, he was teased and bullied as a child.  Many kids at the Catholic private schools he attended called him Devil Boy and Sam Hell. But he was just a normal kid trying to get by who grew into a normal adult trying to figure out life.

Sam’s story was told from his point of view as an adult looking back to various periods and situations in his past and revealing his present. I couldn’t help but feel for Sam and sympathize with his difficulties. Thankfully, there were times along the way in which he was vindicated and supported so it felt like there was a little balance. He didn’t have many friends but he was close with a very few loyal friends who made all the difference. His Catholic upbringing was a constant factor in his life due to his mother's particularly strong faith.

While Sam was unique and faced some challenges specific to him, he wasn’t extraordinary, as the title (and Sam’s mother) suggested. Rather, despite the issues he faced, he grew up to be a normal human facing regular trials and tribulations.  He was a good person, always out to do the best he could, which made him a very likeable character.  It was an engaging story with no real mystery or pull other than to find out how he and his friends turned out.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni was unavailable in all three of my libraries which was odd. 

   

Go as a River by Shelley Read

Amy  

historical fiction

Victoria grew up on a small-town Colorado farm in the 1930s and 1940s. She lost her mother and aunt (the only women in her life) and the cousin who was her best friend when she was 11 years old and spent the next 6 years fulfilling all the stereotypical women’s duties around the house and farm without much affection or joy in her world. Her life experiences were extremely limited when she met Will, a young man about her age who was a drifter. And from that point on, her life changed forever.

Shelley Read did a great job drawing the reader into Victoria’s circumstances, feelings, and innermost thoughts. I couldn’t help but care for her and hope life would take a good turn for her. Managing her father, uncle, and brother on the farm, she was never particularly well-treated. She learned to do whatever must be done without much complaint. And she lived the rest of her life in that way, handling the curveballs as best she could and holding her truths inside. Hers was a compelling story despite a slower pace than I usually prefer. But, really, the pacing was perfect for Victoria’s story. I had to know how things would turn out for her.

I don’t remember how Go As a River made it onto my To Read list, but it is a story of despair, acceptance, determination, desperation, strength, resilience, and fortitude. I really enjoyed this excellent historical fiction that transported me to a different place and time. When it covered the purposeful flooding of a town in order to make a lake, it made me contemplate the emotions that must’ve plagued the people affected when this was done in my own part of the southeast as well.

The audiobook narrator, Cynthia Farrell, did a great job. She had a few different voices for the characters and was a good voice actor. Her tone was perfect for the story and authentically relayed Victoria’s story. I give her an A-. 

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

 

Lynnie

young adult

 

I was blown away by Angeline Boulley's debut novel, Firekeeper's Daughter. Taking place 10 years after the events in her first novel, Warrior Girl Unearthed takes the reader back to Sugar Island and, although Daunis, the protagonist from the first novel is a character along with other familiar names, the story focuses on the next generation of Firekeepers-  Daunis' twin nieces Perry and Pauline, as well as a few other tribe members who come together during a summer internship for the tribe.


Once again, Boulley has a lot to say in this novel and much of it is important. Unfortunately, this is where some of the problems also start. Juggling Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the sad reality of the many missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW), and trying to keep a young adult audience interested is a lot to ask of anyone. While Boulley handled all of the topics well and shared a TON of information with readers- many of whom no doubt learned a lot between the pages- the plot suffered at the hands of knowledge.

A murder mystery is solved in the blink of an eye. The romances are sub-sub-plots to the point that I never was invested in whether or not the couples would become couples at all. Because of all of this, while I wanted to find out what happened (particularly to supporting character Shense who turned out to be one of my favorites in the book), I ended up reading this book slooooooowly because I was never really invested. The times I really cared were when Daunis was on the page. I found myself craving information about who she had become in those 10 years since we last saw her. I also felt that neither the NAGPRA plot nor MMIW plot were explored quite as much as they could have been if they weren't competing with one another for pages and the attention of the teens. There was one point in the book where I had to stop and think about whether, as a reader, I was trying to figure out a murder mystery, a heist, or a kidnapping and trying to decide if any of them were related.

Would I read another book by Boulley and revisit Sugar Island? Absolutely. I would also love to hear her speak about Indigenous issues. I hope she writes a lot more books, though, so she doesn't feel that she has to fit all of the issues into one book.