Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Monthly Archives: October 2023


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‘Blanco and the Starry Night’ Shows Promise

Blanco and the Starry Night

By Calvin Clay

Indie author, 2023

Genre: Fiction – YA/Fantasy

Pages:  243

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blanco is a thirteen year-old graffiti artist in Los Angeles. He’s a ward of the state. In foster care. Blanco loves art. Paintings. Sculptures. And Van Gogh’s Starry Night, aka: Swirly Sky. All he’s ever really wanted, from as early as he can remember, is a family that wants him. Will a mysterious underground art community fill the bill? And what about the kids in this community who are “saving” art from the evil Master of Shadow? (Think Voldemort and Inkheart’s The Shadow.) Is the “forbidden wing” really haunted? By whom? Why? And what’s up with Smirk?

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OH YEAH! Adventure Abounds in YA ‘Mystery at Sea Edge’

Mystery at Sea Edge: A Monterey Adventure

By: J. Margaret Bell

Publisher: Indie

Genre: Children’s Historical Fiction/Mystery

Pages: 143

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Most of you already know how Mom loves the mountains. All that fresh air. Nature. Hiking. Peace and solitude. Good smells. But Mom also loves the beach and the ocean. Crashing breakers. Squabbling sea gulls. Salt air. And one of her most favorite-ish ocean-ish places in the whole wide world is California’s Monterey Peninsula. (I hear they serve a mighty good clam chowder thereabouts. Remind me to make a note of that, okay?)

Chillin’ at the beach!

So when Mom found this young adult novel that combines Monterey, the beach/ocean, mystery, history, and surfboard loads of adventure, it was like, Cowabunga Dudes and Dudettes! (Don’t tell her I said that, okay? Let’s just keep that our little secret.) I’ll let Mom fill you in. Like this:

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‘Emerging’ Offers Hope, Authenticity

Emerging: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic by Nancy ...EMERGING: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic

By Nancy Stordahl

Independently Published, 2023

Genre: Memoir/Breast Cancer/Grief & Bereavement

Pages: 120

 

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some books are meant to be sipped and savored slowly, like fine wine. NancyStordahl’s EMERGING: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic is one of them. Profound and powerful, Emerging takes readers on a deep dive into the lifelong process of healing and self-acceptance as learned by a self-described “average sort of worrier.” It’s a terrific read!

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