Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

4 Stars
Age: 12 and up

Jessica Day George writes extremely well for the young young adult group.  Her books are clean and full of intrigue.  This one fits right into that bill.

I will admit I have never read or honestly cared much about the 12 dancing princesses, so I had no base story to fall back on.

I enjoyed this book enough that I will read the rest of the series.  It was a much different approach to a fairytale than I am used to and because of that I'm not super sure what to say about it... There was a lot of magic and mystery and a plot that wasn't entirely predictable which was nice.  I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fast, interesting read.

Content: Squeaky clean. No foul language of any kind, only one kiss and it is very chaste  I would be perfectly fine letting my tweenagers read this.

Oh Henry Bars

Oh Henry Bars

These are a 4th of July tradition for me; I can't watch fireworks without them!  They are squares of chewy-peanut-buttery-chocolate goodness!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Corn Syrup
1 Cup Peanut Butter
4 Cups Rice Krispies (heaping cups)
1 bag Chocolate Chips (I like semi sweet)

Bring sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter to a boil in a large saucepan.  Stir constantly.  Once it starts to bubble remove from heat and add rice krispies. Mix together, it will be thick.  Pour into a sprayed or parchment lined 9x13 pan and press firmly until even and smooth.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and let sit for a few minutes until melted and then spread evenly with a spatula.  Let it cool completely and cut into squares.