Completely Full Bookshelf

As I post this, I have returned from a weekend trip (not a vacation, per se, because my college semester isn't over!) with my family to accompany my younger brother to a conference! I brought three picture books along, and I decided I would read one per night and share each review along with a brief diary of how I spent each day on the trip! Thursday The day began with the, shall we say, intriguing  experience of trying to participate in a Zoom call while sitting in the backseat of a car—my hotspot worked surprisingly well, but unmuting to speak and then hurtling forward when someone slams on the brakes is not ideal for getting your point across. But I made it work—a victory, but whether it's my victory or the victory of college's eternal time suck is another question. But things improved! We arrived at our lovely hotel room and my mom and I unpacked and meandered while my father and brother went to day 1 of the conference. I helped my mom with virtual chores, worked on a s...

Well, unfortunately, I won't be able to get a post up this week for you all. I've been a productivity mess this week, and I couldn't quite get myself back on track enough to read anything. Which is a shame, because today for Easter, my wonderful mom gave me two delightful Easter picture books—and a plush bunny, which I have since named Cameron! I was hoping I'd get to post about these today, but it looks like I may have to do it later (when they're no longer timely—although I've reviewed books about Halloween in April , so it could be worse). Anyway, thank you all as always for being amazing, and I'll see you soon for an actual post! The picture books I got for Easter—and Cameron!

I've been so much of a mess lately that I totally forgot it's been 2 years since I first joined #IMWAYR! (And since the pandemic started—it reminds me of when I asked my parents in March 2020 if this might go on for a whole month . Uh...that was a slight underestimate.) But anyway, this is always a wonderful time to just say how much I appreciate the blogging communities I am in—I discover SO MANY  great books through all of you, I gain hope in this world through seeing your inclusive and caring demeanors, and I have people to rant about books with! What's not to love? I look forward to continuing to participate in these wonderful groups. And now, drumroll, please...the review! And what a review it is—today I'm looking at an absolutely FABULOUS  graphic novel, Go with the Flow  by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann! This book is about high schoolers, and I think younger YA readers will devour this book, but it's also completely appropriate (content-wise and complexi...

I hope you all are doing well! I've decided to just openly admit that sometimes, I will only have an adult book to review, and even though this version of #IMWAYR is primarily for kidlit, I don't think any of us will refuse a great new book to read! So today, I have an adult novel to briefly review for you all that I think is just delightful: The Story of Arthur Truluv  by Elizabeth Berg! (And I will say, this book has some mature content, but any YA reader who wants to read this too will find absolutely nothing objectionable—in fact, in some ways, it's almost aimed at teenage readers as much as it is at adults!) Arthur Moses is a compassionate old man who visits the grave of his wife Nola every day—and remembers all the others who have passed too. Maddy Harris is a teenage girl who finds refuge from school bullies and her difficult father at the local cemetery. And Lucille Howard is an older woman who "seems to think the world is her classroom" but has just found...