Remake by Ilima Todd

Rate: 3 or 4 Stars.  I honestly can't decide.
Age:  16 and up (with a discussion)

This book was not what I was expecting.  Especially considering who the publisher is.  I enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to book two, however, if you are going to let your teenagers read this I would read it first and talk with them about the purposes of being male and of being female.  They sort of hit on it towards the last half, but...

The author hits on what happens with being ignorant of your world and the naivety of being told nothing about gender roles and what happens when they are suddenly thrust upon you.  I think this would be a good read for someone who is struggling with accepting their gender.

Content:  There is a lot of talking about the differences of male and female, a slight explanation of the purpose of sex and some details of female maturation, some graphic depictions of child birth and a bit of kissing.

As you can tell I am on the fence on this book.  The content surprised me only because it comes from an LDS publisher that usually has strict content guidlines.  As far as if I would let my own daughter read this...I think it depends on where she is at in her life when she is starting to become a women.

Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage

Rate: 4 Stars
Age: 9 and up 


This is book one of Mysteries of Cove.  This book is perfect for young readers who want to dip their feet into post apocalyptic steampunk.  It follows a boy stuck in the confines of a society that decides everything for you and outlaws creativity.

Sometimes it's nice to buck the system and come out on top.  I am excited for book two to come out.

Content: Squeaky clean, again, perfect for late grade school, early middle school readers.  I would absolutely let my children read this!

The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Rate: 4 Stars
Age: 16 and up

This is another retelling of Snow White.  True to Redwine's style this was full of action and blood.  There is a lot of magic and fighting and figuring out who your true self really is.

Content:  Bits of kissing.  A lot of fighting and a lot of blood.  I still recommend it.

Stiching Snow by R. C. Lewis

Rate: 4 stars
Age: 14 and up

This is the first retelling of Snow White that I have ever read.  I'll be honest, it took me a minute to figure out that the droids she uses are the equivalent of the seven dwarfs.  Sometimes I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

This is set in a very sci-fi, interplanetary setting with a lot of robotics and computer coding.  I'm not a techie, but it was written well enough that not much went over my head.  The characters are believable enough and the plot is strong.  It was a read that was not what I was expecting and that is a good thing!

Content: Some kissing, cage fighting, blood and 1 scene with a scuzzball that gets stopped before going too far.  A clean enough read,  I would let my daughter read this.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Rate: 3 Stars
Age:  14 and up

I will honestly admit I struggled with this book for a few hundred pages.  The author very cleverly leaves you guessing at what man is playing what role.  I finally got really sucked into the book around the last hundred pages and then it ended.  Abruptly.  Now I need book two!

This takes place in kingdoms of another world where many different languages are spoken.  Some of the languages are spoken but not translated.  It's oddly not confusing though.  Like it or not, you will find yourself rooting for the wrong man at least once.

The background of the characters is fairly shallow, but the love story is sweet.  If you start it, take heart, the beginning is slow, but the last is well done.  I am excited to read book two especially if it takes up right where this one leaves off.

Content:  A few kisses, a few innuendo's and a few swear words.  There is some light gore and fighting.  Overall, a fairly clean read. 

Banana - Zucchini Bread

 

 

Banana Zucchini Bread

 

 

Wait, What?  A combination of my two favorite breads?  Yeah buddy!  I tried this last fall when I had too few bananas and a few extra zucchinis.  The result was awesome!  It has the denseness of banana bread and the moistness of zucchini bread.  You can't go wrong!

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

1/2 cup Butter, soft

3 Large Eggs

2 Bananas, Mashed 

1 Cup Shredded Zucchini*

1/2 Cup Buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar)

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

 

Preheat oven to 325.  Combine all the wet ingredients in a mixer, slowly add dry ingredients until combined.  Pour into Two greased 8" Loaf pans and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15  minutes.

 

* Zucchini seeps out liquid when it is shredded and allowed to sit for a few minutes.  Don't drain off the liquid unless it is really soupy.  I use small zucchinis that are only around 1 1/2" in diameter, the seeds are super small and you get more of the good stuff rather than gobs of liquid.

 

 

 



The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

Rate: 4 Stars
Age: 15 and up

I finished this book last night and honestly I would have given it only 2 stars, but after thinking about it for a day I changed my mind.

This book isn't my typical genre, I have never really read anything with Native folklore and my only experience with shape shifting is honestly the Twilight series (sad I know...)  There were many plot twists at the very end that I am curious about.  The rest of the book kind of moved slow for me, but still I think curiosity is going to win out.

There is a bit of swearing, and a few make out scenes.  I'm not sure if I would hand this to my child, but I wouldn't stop her if she picked it up.

The Winners Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Rate: 3 stars
Age range: High School and up

I'll be honest, I am glad that this trilogy is over.  It is entertaining and I am glad that the main characters have reconciled, but it lacked the charisma that book 1 had,

Content: There is a lot of gore and war in this one, and several allusions to sex.