"Forever Neverland" by Susan Adrian

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is definitely going to the top of my list of favorite read-alouds for 2019! Packed with page-turning action and adventure and sprinkled with a generous helping of Greek mythology, you don't want to miss this one. My 8 and 11 year old loved it so much they frequently chose reading over screen time and bed times got pushed a little later because I couldn't say no to "one more chapter" since I wanted to see what would happen next just as much as they did!. 

Fergus and Clover are the great grandchildren of Wendy Darling which they only discover after traveling to England to spend a few weeks with their grandparents while their mom studies for the bar exam. The two are quickly swept off to Neverland by the ageless Peter Pan for an amazing adventure that will challenge them on many levels. Fergus especially enjoys Neverland because he can be himself there. He's autistic and is frequently looked at strangely and ridiculed back home in California. In Neverland though, the Lost Boys (and girls) take his quirks in stride and he is treated as one of them. 

Great themes of friendship, compassion and kindness without any questionable language or violence. I highly recommend this story for ages 6 and beyond.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read an advance copy of this delightful story in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own (well...and those of my children).

 

"The First Mistake" by Sandie Jones

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Alice's first husband and soul mate died tragically leaving her and her young daughter to fend for themselves. But now Alice has a second daughter with Nathan who helped her pick up the pieces and put her life back together. They are running a successful business and are on the cusp of hitting the big time with a new deal. When Alice begins to suspect that Nathan might be cheating on her she turns to her best friend Beth for support. As secrets start to be revealed Alice struggles with knowing who to trust and which parts of her life have been a lie. While Part One of this novel was a bit slow for me the rest of the book picked up pace very quickly and I couldn't put it down until all of its secrets had been revealed.Great beach read!

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unputdownable-ness: High
Ugly Cry Potential: Low
LOL:  Low
Character Development: Fair
Originality: Low
Quality of Writing: Fair
Intellectual Depth: Low
Emotionally Trying/Hard to Read: Low

"The Favorite Daughter" by Patti Callahan Henry

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Colleen (Lena) Donahue ran from Watersend, South Carolina 10 years ago after a bitter betrayal. Now she has learned that her beloved father is showing signs of Alzheimer's and her brother needs her help. While she would do anything for her father and brother, returning home means facing the sister that she hasn't spoken to since she left. While the siblings struggle to come to grips with their father's diagnosis and preserve the pieces of his past in a memory book, long-hidden family secrets are revealed. 

I enjoyed reading this book and I loved the theme of the family coming together and working past prior issues for the greater good. The father, Gavin Donahue, was definitely my favorite and I enjoyed his parts in the book the most. The pace was good and I was curious to see how it all unraveled. Overall though, I don't know that this book was for me. I had a hard time relating to Colleen who I felt was a bit self-absorbed and cowardly and while the book did take a few bends, I found myself hoping for a bigger twist. 

Thank you to #NetGalley, the Tall Poppy Writers, Tandem Literary and Berkley Publishing Group for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Ugly cry potential: Medium-Low
LOL:  LowCharacter development: OKUnputdownable-ness: MediumOriginality: MediumQuality of Writing: GoodIntellectual Depth: Medium-LowEmotionally Trying/Hard to Read: Low

"A Woman Is No Man" by Etaf Rum

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✩

A hauntingly beautiful look at what it feels like to be an Arabic Muslim woman coming of age. The story of Isra takes place in the 1990’s. She is a young Palestinian woman who moves to America with her new husband and his family to start a family of their own in New York. Isra loves books but reading is frowned on so she reads in secret. She dreams of being loved by her new husband and his family and of finally being treated like she has value. The story of Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, is set in 2008 and she is just starting to entertain potential suitors. Both story lines are woven together from a third perspective, that of Fareeda, Isra's mother-in-law and Deya's grandmother. A Woman Is No Man takes an inside look at what it’s like on the inside of an Arab-American Muslim family through three generations and how challenging it is to be a woman coming of age and finding your voice in a patriarchal culture. Ugly cry potential: Medium LOL:  Low Character development: Good Unputdownable-ness: Medium-High Originality: High Quality of Writing: Good Intellectual Depth: High Emotionally Trying: Medium