Book Review - Nemesis and the Swan by Lindsay K. Bandy

 

Photo Credit - Amazon

 

Helene d'Aubign is accused of being a spy and is thrown in jail in revolutionary Paris. The nineteen-year-old aristocrat recalls the events that led to her predicament. She must decide if she will follow the path of her parents or will she abandon the man she loves.

While Helene grew up in a world of privilege and surplus, her progressive governess has instilled radical ideas of a revolution in her early years. Her family tries to prevent her to follow the dangerous path of the revolution but, she has her own ideas. This includes falling in love with a young apprentice. Helene is determined to be with him even though the revolution threatens to tear their family apart.

When violence erupts in Paris, Helene is forced into hiding with her family. She discovers that her family is keeping a deadly secret from her. As Helene tries to find the truth behind the murder, she travels back to Paris to find her beloved. In Paris, she realizes that everything has changed and she can no longer trust anyone. Helene must choose between her family's past or betraying her heart.

I enjoyed reading the book even though it was very slow and predictable. I liked that Helene followed her heart and followed the path of forgiveness of her accuser. There were some parts of the story that wasn't resolved but, the ending was satisfying. Helene is portrayed as wanting the revolution to happen but, she doesn't really express any ideas about it or question her family's priviledge. Instead, she gets annoyed when the artist follows certain progranada of the revolution because the citizens are after her blood. I feel like at times she was pretending to be in favor of the revolution. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I look forward to reading other books by the author.

 **Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

 

Nemesis and the Swan

by Lindsay K. Bandy
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: October 27th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fiction, France

 

Synopsis:

 

From her prison cell in revolutionary Paris, nineteen-year-old aristocrat Hélène d'Aubign recalls the events that led her to choose between following in her parents' unforgivable footsteps or abandoning the man she loves.

 

Despite her world of privilege, Hélène is inspired early on by the radical ideas of her progressive governess. Though her family tries to intervene, the seeds of revolution have already been planted in Hélène's heart, as are the seeds of love from an unlikely friendship with a young jeweler's apprentice. Hélène's determination to find true love is as revolutionary as her attempt to unravel the truth behind a chilling set of eye-shaped brooches and the concealed murder that tore her family apart.

 

As violence erupts in Paris, Hélène is forced into hiding with her estranged family, where the tangled secrets of their past become entwined with her own. When she finally returns to the blood-stained streets of Paris, she finds everything-and everyone-very much changed. In a city where alliances shift overnight, no one knows who to trust.

 

Faced with looming war, the mystery of her family's past, and the man she loves near death, Hélène will soon will find out if doing one wrong thing will make everything right, or if it will simply push her closer to the guillotine.

 

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository | Kobo | Google Books

 

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Lindsay Bandy writes historical and contemporary young adult fiction as well as poetry. She lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with her husband, two daughters, and two cats, and currently serves as the co–regional advisor of the Eastern Pennsylvania region of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

 

TOUR SCHEDULE

https://favouritepagesbookclub.blogspot.com/2020/09/tour-schedule-nemesis-and-swan-by.html

 

 

Book Review - The Alphabet's Alphabet by Chris Harris + Giveaway

 

 

The illustrated book is a cute take on how the letters in the alphabet look like each other. An A is really an H that is slouching and doesn't stand up straight. A B is a D who is wearing a belt on too tight. I found the cute children's book to be a fun read. It illustrates that we are more alike to each other than we may think. The book provided a new fun way at looking at the alphabet.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

 

 

About The Book:

Title: THE ALPHABET'S ALPHABET

Author: Chris Harris & Dan Santat (Illustrator)

Pub. Date: September 29, 2020

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 48

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

 

For fans of P is for Pterodactyl comes this groundbreaking spin on the ABC's from an acclaimed, bestselling author and artist pairing!

Here's a totally twisted take on the alphabet that invites readers to look at it in a whole new way: An A is an H that just won't stand up right, a B is a D with its belt on too tight, and a Z is an L in a tug-of-war fight! Twenty-six letters, unique from each other -- and yet, every letter looks just like one another! Kind of like...one big family.

From two bestselling masters of wordplay and visual high jinks comes a mind-bending riddle of delightful doppelgängers and surprising disguises that reveal we're more alike than we may think. You'll never look at the alphabet the same way again!

 

About Chris:

Chris Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of I'm Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups, illustrated by Lane Smith. He has been an executive producer for comedies including How I Met Your Mother, and a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman. His pieces have appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and on NPR. He lives in Los Angeles.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

 

 

About Dan:

Dan Santat is a #1 New York Times Best Selling Author author/illustrator of over one hundred titles which include “The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend” which won the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal in 2015. Other titles include, Are We There Yet? and After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again)  He is also the creator of the Disney animated hit, The Replacements. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a Finished Copy of THE ALPHABET'S ALPHABET, US Only.

Rafflecopter Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21154/?

 

Tour Schedule

Week One:

9/21/2020	Little Red Reads	Spotlight
9/22/2020	Two Chicks on Books	Spotlight
9/23/2020	YA Book Nerd	Review
9/24/2020	Word Spelunking	Review
9/25/2020	Jazzy Book Reviews	Review

 

Week Two:

9/28/2020	Novel Novice	Review
9/29/2020	onemused	Review
9/30/2020	The Phantom Paragrapher	Review
10/1/2020	Bookroomreviews	Review
10/2/2020	YA Books Central	Spotlight

 

Week Three:

10/5/2020	Rajiv's Reviews	Review
10/6/2020	She Just Loves Books	Review
10/7/2020	Gimme The Scoop Reviews	Review
10/8/2020	Do You Dog-ear?	Review
10/9/2020	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review

 

Week Four:

10/12/2020	Reese's Reviews	Review
10/13/2020	The Pages In-Between	Review
10/14/2020	Fictitiouswonderland	Review
10/15/2020	Oh Hey! Books	Review
10/16/2020	Jotted by Jena	Review

 

Week Five:

10/19/2020	fictitious.fox	Review
10/20/2020	Jaime's World	Spotlight
10/21/2020	Twirling Book Princess	Spotlight
10/22/2020	Lifestyle of Me	Review
10/23/2020	BookHounds Ya	Review

 

Week Six:

10/26/2020

two points of interest

Review

 

 

Book Review - Rural Voices: 15 Authors Assumptions About Small-Town America by Nora Shalaway Carpenter + Giveaway

 

Gracie receives a scholarship for her hard work to attend a private school in South Carolina. When she is invited to a Halloween party, she feels like she can finally fit in with the rich kids until she discovers the theme of the party. Samuel's family stood up against oppression for generations but, now they are the source of oppression. A young Puerto Rican teen realizes that becoming a rodeo queen doesn't mean she needs to shed her heritage.

The collection contains 15 short stories portraying different points of view of people living in rural America. Many of the writers have faced demeaning comments or have been stereotyped based because of their culture and/or where they live. The book contains an assortment of different stories in the form of short stories, poetry, and graphic short stories from all over America. I enjoyed most of the stories but, a few didn't really engage in my interest. Some I thought was "interesting" and illustrated an important key listen, such as, judging people without knowing them. The collection had quite varied stories that there will be something for every reader.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

 

Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1536212105
ISBN-13 : 978-1536212105
Publisher : Candlewick (October 13, 2020)
Language: : English

Praise for RURAL VOICES

The writers bring authentic voices to their work in addition to their biographies, shared at the back of the book. This collection will be a high-interest read for middle and high school students...This book is a must-purchase for libraries serving middle and high school readers. —School Library Connection

The compilation successfully meets the challenge of serving as a cohesive whole while providing readers with enough variety of tone, pace, and voice to keep the reading experience interesting. A fresh and highly accessible contribution. —Kirkus Reviews

From laughing out loud to holding back tears, readers who enjoy emotionally resonant books will not be disappointed. Those from similar geographic areas will be nodding their heads while every reader, regardless of location, will connect to the universal triumphs and tribulations of teen life. Fans of Rainbow Rowell will dive headfirst into this collection. A great addition that explores an often misrepresented portion of readers. —School Library Journal

Think you know what rural America is like? Discover a plurality of perspectives in this enlightening anthology of stories that turns preconceptions on their head.

Gracie sees a chance of fitting in at her South Carolina private school, until a "white trash"-themed Halloween party has her steering clear of the rich kids. Samuel's Tejano family has both stood up to oppression and been a source of it, but now he's ready to own his true sexual identity. A Puerto Rican teen in Utah discovers that being a rodeo queen means embracing her heritage, not shedding it. . . .

For most of America's history, rural people and culture have been casually mocked, stereotyped, and, in general, deeply misunderstood. Now an array of short stories, poetry, graphic short stories, and personal essays, along with anecdotes from the authors' real lives, dives deep into the complexity and diversity of rural America and the people who call it home. Fifteen extraordinary authors - diverse in ethnic background, sexual orientation, geographic location, and socioeconomic status - explore the challenges, beauty, and nuances of growing up in rural America. From a mountain town in New Mexico to the gorges of New York to the arctic tundra of Alaska, you'll find yourself visiting parts of this country you might not know existed - and meet characters whose lives might be surprisingly similar to your own.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

Nora Shalaway Carpenter, David Bowles, Joseph Bruchac, Veeda Bybee, Shae Carys, S.A. Cosby, Rob Costello, Randy DuBurke, David Macinnis Gill, Nasugraq Rainey Hopson, Estelle Laure, Yamile Saied Méndez, Ashley Hope Pérez, Tirzah Price and Monica Roe 

You can purchase Rural Voices at the following Retailers:

        

Photo Credit: Chip Bryan

Nora Shalaway Carpenter grew up on a mountain ridge deep in the West Virginia wilderness. A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program, she is the author of the YA novel The Edge of Anything and the picture book Yoga Frog. Before she wrote books, she worked as associate editor of Wonderful West Virginia magazine, and she has been a certified yoga teacher since 2012. She currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, three young children, and world’s most patient dog and cat.

        

WEEK ONE - EXCLUSIVE EXCERPTS

OCTOBER 12th MONDAY JeanBookNerd GUEST POST

OCTOBER 13th TUESDAY A Dream Within A Dream GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 13th TUESDAY Movies, Shows, & Books GUEST POST

OCTOBER 14th WEDNESDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW 

OCTOBER 15th THURSDAY BookHounds GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 15th THURSDAY Books and Zebras REVIEW & GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 16th FRIDAY Kait Plus Books GUEST POST

WEEK TWO - EXCLUSIVE EXCERPTS

OCTOBER 19th MONDAY Ya It's Lit REVIEW & GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 20th TUESDAY Reading Adventures of a Book Dragon REVIEW & GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 21st WEDNESDAY TTC Books and More GUEST POST

OCTOBER 21st WEDNESDAY A Bronx Latina Reads REVIEW & GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 22nd THURSDAY The Phantom Paragrapher REVIEW 

OCTOBER 22nd THURSDAY Two Points of Interest REVIEW 

OCTOBER 23rd FRIDAY Insane About Books REVIEW & GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 23rd FRIDAY My Fictional Oasis REVIEW

*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*

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