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Running with Sherman
by Christopher McDougall

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Running with Sherman was about SO much more than teaching a rescue donkey to run in a challenging race. It covers everything from the animal human bond to the health benefits of living off the grid. It is weirdly inspiring and positive and made me feel refreshed and energized just reading it. Perhaps I enjoyed it because of my own love of all things furry, perhaps because burro racing was a topic about which I knew nothing but for whatever reason I loved every page. Highly recommended.

The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy

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I am intrigued by the idea of a person (rather than a disease) being able to steal memories. That’s what made me pick up this book and I’m so glad that I did. I loved it. I know that the background a person brings to a book impacts how they read it so perhaps events in my life made this book sing especially sweetly to me... I know it hasn’t received great reviews on Library thing but I thought it had a little bit of everything; adventure, romance, heartbreak, twists.... Granted, I do think the romance developed pretty quickly but who am I to say it couldn’t happens that fast?
There were lots of passages that stuck out for me but these two were my favourites:

“If I dwelled on my regrets, I wouldn’t have the strength to get out of bed every morning. We can’t forget what we’ve done, but it’s what we do with those regrets that mould us. We’re given a past to learn from and grow, but sometimes the greatest mistake can change your future for the better.”
and
“Hardly a minute goes by when I don't think of him, but in a way isn't that a lovely thing Julietta? To be so loved that you're always near one's thoughts? I see him every day through the memories we made together,...

Everything Sad is Untrue
by Daniel Nayeri

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The voice of middle school student Khosrou is beautiful and heartbreaking. The story jumps from his present day Oklahoma classroom to his past life in Isfahan and occasionally takes a detour into myths of demons and palaces and magic carpets. It took me a while to get invested in the story but it was well worth persisting. I only hope that the students who read this will also read enough to get themselves hooked. This is a memorable refugee story, one that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Contagion by Erin Bowman

9/8/2019

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Who is going to be the first to die?

Althea Sadik... a teenage lab intern to Lisbeth Tarlow
Doctor Lisbeth Tarlow, Hevertz Industries' microbiologist whose wisdom and experience kept her in a job in spite of a benign tumour which gave her hand the shakes
Dylan Lowe - 23 year old forewoman for the Northwood Point crew  
Nova Singh, wanna be military pilot hired temporarily by Hevertz Industries to pilot the Odyssey
Toby - tech administrator
Cleaver - security
Sullivan Hooper, Hevertz mechanic and Nova's cousin

When the story begins, a severe storm is approaching Soter's ice caps, where a team of Hevertz, (a multi-million dollar drilling company) employees are conducting an environmental assessment of Northwood Point. All of the workers get evacuated onto the Muriela, except the seven mentioned above who are given company orders to fly to Achlys, a planet located in the Fringe, where a crew known as Black Quarry have lost contact with Hevertz. In spite of many misgivings by the crew, they set out for Achlys knowing nothing except that there is no known reason for the lost contact. 
When they arrive, it is soon evident that there are problems - they find a few dead bodies with their throats cut but no evidence of the majority of the crew. The most disturbing discovery is a note, written in blood on the floor, near one of the dead bodies which reads:
<i>It got in us and most are dead. 
Decklan flew for help. 
Don't trust the kid. </i>
The captain, determined to make a name for herself, insists that they investigate the drilling site, arguing that the remainder of the crew might have sought refuge there. As if Contagion were a movie, I immediately started thinking, "No, don't go! Get back on your ship and fly away while you still can!" But of course, they don't. 

As I was reading, there were always enough unanswered questions to make me want to keep reading. I quite enjoyed Contagion but I can't tell you all the things I liked without spoiling it for you so I won't. What I didn't like, and will warn you about now is that it is NOT a stand alone and you are left with an extreme cliff hanger so if you're not up for that... don't read Contagion. At least book two, Immunity, is out already.

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    "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."— J.K. Rowling

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    Middle School former Teacher Librarian - then MYP math and science. Update... VERY recently retired! Still adjusting that I'm not just on summer vacation!!! 
    I believe there is no such thing as a non-reader; just people who haven't discovered what they want to read.
    If you read my reviews, please leave me a comment - I'd love to know that you're out there.

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    Janice's bookshelf: read

    Siege and Storm
    liked it
    Siege and Storm
    by Leigh Bardugo
    Just didn't enjoy it as much as Shadow and Bone. I just felt like the author was really trying a bit too hard to draw this story out. I was able to put it down several times and I couldn't put Shadow and Bone down so there's the differen...
    Ruin and Rising
    really liked it
    Ruin and Rising
    by Leigh Bardugo
    The Grisha triology is a fantasy series that I really enjoyed. I reread the last book because I thought I wasn't remembering something. I'm a bit confused because I've started King of Scars and Nikolai isn't as I remembered. Don't want...
    Don't Wake Up
    it was ok
    Don't Wake Up
    by Liz Lawler
    A Very Large Expanse of Sea
    it was amazing
    A Very Large Expanse of Sea
    by Tahereh Mafi
    I’m not usually someone who enjoys a story that is predominantly about the attraction between two people BUT I did like this one. The setting is one year after 9/11 and 16 year old Shirin, an American born Muslim whose family moves freq...
    Two Can Keep a Secret
    really liked it
    Two Can Keep a Secret
    by Karen M. McManus
    I love a good mystery, and although I correctly guessed the murderer in the first chapter, I still thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns.

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