One the Pocket Change Collective Series, Imaginary Borders examines how climate change impacts us all, regardless of city limits and borders.  The author uses his art and music to express his distress about our current climate crisis.  One of the aspects that I enjoyed about this book is that while it is short, it provides big ideas from which to build a movement.  "We all have a responsibility to be a part o this redefinition of movement culture," Martinez writes.  Martinez uses anecdotes to show how climate change has impacted his own life, constantly reminding readers that "if we wait for the floodwater to  reach our doorstep, it will be too late."  

This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew is a part of the Pocket Change Collective Series.  This tiny book is packed with anecdotes and lessons on how to take a passion, like art, and turn it into activism.  Drew reminds her readers that "art and protest will forever be bound together.  And the beautiful thing about art, like activism, is that it allows us space to be curious and learn."  She is humble in her explanation, reiterating that one person can contribute, but it takes a collective to truly start change.

Mary Oliver once asked, "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"  After reading Your Perfect Year, I found myself asking the same question.  While I originally thought this was going to be a lighter contemporary fiction read, there were several moments that left me thinking about what I'm doing to hold myself back from my "perfect" life.  Am I spending my time doing what I enjoy?  If I could create my perfect calendar, what would I put in it?  Your Perfect Year explores just that with a hint of romance and a roller coaster of emotions.   

I literally devoured this book in one setting as I did yard work this afternoon. I was hesitant about if I would like this book narrated in a 10 year old’s voice, but once I got into the story I loved it.  It's full of heart and great talking points for any middle grader going through a transition time in his or her life.

What Does a Princess Really Look Like? It’s not at all what Chloe imagines.  In this adventure with her dads, Chloe learns that a princess is more than a crown and pretty dresses.  A princess is kind, observant, and stands up for what is right. Throughout the story, Chloe represents all of the ways to be a strong woman (or even a strong human) with the different aspects of a princess that she draws.  

​Friends, I like to think of myself as crafty, but after reading The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater, I think Alanna Okun shares a whole new level of crafty.  What Dear Fahrenheit 451 did for our favorite books, Okun does for our favorite creative expressions.  She uses the common thread (ha!) of crafting in each of her essays to share her anecdotes of love, loss, relationships, grief, triumph, and tribulation. To me, she is the Cheryl Strayed of crafting because she is able to blend her wit and sage advice into a story about knitting on the subway and still find a way for it to relate to me, the random reader.  No matter what kind of crafts you are into, she finds a way to compare the experience of creating, abandoning, revising, and (maybe) finishing a project to life events. It’s a great read to pick up and put down at your leisure (which I would recommend) or even to binge in a couple of sittings. 

I think we all can agree that book people are the best people, and you should definitely date one if you get the chance.  Lucky for me, I snagged someone who is almost as much as a bookworm as I am.  A few weeks ago he finished a series he has been reading for the better part of my knowing him.  In today's guest review, he covers that series and a genre I have been neglecting lately: science-fiction.  I'm very excited to share his thoughts on this series (especially since it was my library card that was used to check out many of these titles).  

​Without further ado, please welcome my first guest reviewer, Rayce, with his review of Ben Bova's The Grand Tour!

A book that explores the many forms of grief that comes with unexpected loss, The Beauty That Remains follows three teens at they learn that life can still be beautiful in the midst of the hard.  The book flips between the three narrators, and a little over half-way through you see the threads that connects their stories. This book examines more than just grief, though. Targeting the YA audience, it tackles coming-of-age, LGBTQ themes, love, guilt, anger, and passion.  This would be a great story to pass along to a young person that may be struggling with a major loss, just so they can see their thoughts reflected on the page. I know I would have loved to read this one after I lost several loved ones in high school. This one does have trigger warnings for suicide, biphobia, drug use, grief, death, car accidents, leukaemia, and physical and mental abuse, which made the book seem pretty heavy at times.  Overall, a solid three star read to pass along.