Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine is set in the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Wuhan, China. It starts in January 2020.

One of our adventures involved book stores. There’s a severe shortage of bookstores in my area, so I specifically asked if we could go to one (thinking Barnes and Noble) and LeAnn found a whole list of places we could check out! We only stopped at two, but that just means that there’s more to explore next time!

I first read The Hobbit when I was in third grade, and it was like learning how to run before learning how to walk. I didn’t really like reading before I stepped into Middle Earth. My dad had a yellow copy with tattered corners that I always looked at on his bookshelf. His bookshelf was impressive. I used to stand and run my fingers over the spines. I wanted to like reading, but it was too hard for a long time. I would look at his books, and The Hobbit was one of my favorites.

Uninvited is definitely on my “to be re-read” list. I’ll be curious to see what things stood out to me the first time, and if they still ring true on the second and third readings.

Every time I read the book I notice something else about the illustrations—its like it’s full of Easter eggs, just waiting for you to see and find them all.

Reviewing a book this old, and one in a series that is so well known, almost seems silly. Of course it’s a good book.

This book. This book is just what I want in historical and biblical fiction. It takes the building blocks of a well-known Bible Story and builds around it without changing the original story. There wasn’t a moment where I felt like Mesu Andrews crossed a line. You can tell that she has great respect for the source material.

Everland came in my second Owl Crate and the theme was Steampunk. I’ve never thought about Steampunk as a genre … I thought of it as a wardrobe choice—more like cosplay than anything else. So I didn’t know what to think about a Steampunk book. But I really like Peter Pan, so was excited to jump into this one!

I’m late to this party. Like, really late. A lot of people have already read these books and fallen in love with them. I remember when Cinder first came out—and I don’t know why I didn’t jump all over it. It’s definitely the kind of book that I would be drawn to … but maybe it came out when I was in my phase of YA fiction apprehension? I think that’s it.

I think this book would be great in classroom libraries and for home use. It’s a great book, and I’m glad it’s part of my collection!

I read this book because a friend co-wrote it with his sister and his best friend. My friend, Nathan, was in my grad school program and offered (and still offers!) me a lot of advice and support in my own writing. I respect him and his craft. He is very good at what he does.

The integration of James Bond spy-thriller and fantasy was fascinating. I didn’t know how I would feel about it, but I think it really worked. Colfer writes a vivid world, the concept of mixing the two genres adds nuance to both sides of the world. It’s well written, and easy to get swept up in the story.