Review: The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z

The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z by Kate Atherley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Interweave, and Kate Atherley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Kate Atherley is well known in the knitter world. She has written several books and published lots of patterns, many of them found on Knitty, where she is the managing technical editor. As a mathematician, her patterns have lots of detail and are very well written.

This is a small but comprehensive book to help knitters understand patterns. If you find the language of patterns difficult, this would be a helpful reference. Some knitters love to design their own patterns, making it up as they go along. I, unfortunately, am not that kind of knitter. I have always relied on patterns. I was lucky that I never had a hard time understanding them. They always, sort of, made sense to me. Even the trickiest patterns I could decipher. For me, I didn’t find this collection outstanding. I think the you can find this information in other places. However, it is nice to have it one collection, for ease of use and reference for future projects. It is well written with lots of good tips.

A bit of a take it or leave it to me. If you think this would be useful for you, then I recommend. If it isn’t much of an issue for you, or you have other reference books (or don’t mind looking things up on the internet), I would pass on this one.

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Review: The Little Shop of Found Things

The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Paula Brackston for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Xanthe and her mother move to the small town of Marlborough to start life over and open up an antique shop. Both are running away from bad men. They are low on funds and there is pressure to open up the shop as soon as possible. Xanthe has a unique ability. She has a special, magical connections to old objects that have a story to tell. She comes across a chatelaine that has the strongest pull she has ever felt. While trying to get the shop ready to open, Xanthe also discovers that there is a sinister ghost haunting the place, who needs her help. The ghost needs Xanthe to save her daughter, four hundred years in the past. The chatelaine allows Xanthe to transport her back in time. Xanthe travels back, but saving the girl is not going to be so easy.

Yet again, I am sucked in by the premise of a book. I love books like “Outlander” and “Somewhere in Time” where the main character gets transported back in time. I love the setting of the book, a small town in England, with all the quaint shops and characters. Magical abilities, a ghost who needs the help of the living, are all things that I get excited about. Yes, I expected some sort of love story to happen, whether in current time or in the past. But all I have to say is Yuuuccchhhhhh!!! How can it all go wrong?

First there are the endless descriptions. On and on and on about stuff that not only I don’t care about, but doesn’t serve the story and isn’t gorgeous English-side scenery. Then we have the worst ghost - she is mean, nasty, bitter, and I don’t know why. What was the whole story with her and her daughter. I wasn’t even convinced she loved her daughter because we never got to see that. She was just super angry. So if you aren’t going to make the ghost a sympathetic character then make her scary, I mean really scary. I never understood why Xanthe would have done anything for her. I just didn’t buy that she would leave her sick mother and go risk her life for this women’s daughter, it was a shaky premise at best. Then, don’t make me wait 60% of the way through before I get a glimpse of the love story and then expect me to be invested in it. There was so too much preamble and not enough substance. The structure was just off for me. Overall, I wasn’t invested in the main characters. I didn’t care much for Xanthe. I liked the townspeople, both present and past, but why was so much time spent on them and nothing interesting happened with them. All the characters were really one dimensional, no depth. It was so slow I just wasn’t invested in the character’s outcomes. There wasn’t much magic and the time travel wasn’t captivating enough to hold my interest.

Honestly, I was bored, and really had to force myself to finish this one. I left it many times before finishing it. Disappointing and just glad to be done with it.

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Review: Listen to the Marriage

Listen to the Marriage by John Jay Osborn Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Netgalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and John Jay Osborn for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100& my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

How much power, emotion, honesty, and truth can be packed into 256 pages? Quite a bit, if you are talking about “Listen To The Marriage”. What an incredible experience it was to be a fly on the wall, while Gretchen and Steve pore their hearts out to Sandy, their marriage councillor. I was completely caught up in their struggle, reading it all in one afternoon. I had been having a hard time, of late, trying to find a book to latch onto. Flitting from horror to magic to mystery, but nope, it was this little tiny gem about betrayal, growth and change that grabbed me. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down.

Gretchen and Steve are broken. So much so, that they are afraid they are headed for divorce. They find themselves in the office of Sandy, an unconventional marriage therapist. Can they pick up the pieces and put themselves together again? When they do, who will they be? Will they stay together or forge life ahead, apart? Told mostly through the therapist’s voice, we get a rare glimpse into what a marriage looks like, how what starts with love and hopes and dreams can get derailed into something so unrecognizable that you are driving straight into an abyss. Sandy is wise, patient and surprisingly non-judgemental for someone who can clearly see into these people’s motives. Both Gretchen and Steve have to do the work of breaking down walls and opening up about their feelings, in order to see what, if anything, is left between them. If you have ever sat in a therapist’s office, a lot of this will ring true. For example, Sandy always remains impartial, but damned if Gretchen doesn’t accuse her of secretly being on Steve’s side. Very typical, especially if your therapist is not always agreeing with you and maybe challenging you to grow.

If you are married, or have been married for a while, you will find something to relate to in Gretchen and Steve’s marriage. It takes you through all the mess that marriage can be. How you start out on a team and after some time goes by, without quite knowing how, you end up pitted against each other, just trying to keep your head above water and stop from losing yourself altogether. If you are lucky, you have healthy ways to communicate and respect each other’s boundaries. Sometimes, there is betrayal. Steve has an affair and Gretchen has to find a way to forgive him, regardless if they get back together. Once children are part of the picture, you are forever tied to one another.

I am still married. I related so much to this novel, it was a bit of a sob-fest for me. I completely understood Gretchen’s rage at how unfair it was that now that Steve had changed and became this self-aware, great father, someone else was going to get the benefit of all her hard work. I also recognized the pattern of speak that a couple can sometimes get into. You have the same conversation, over and over again, it almost writes itself. It is hard to break out of that without the help of someone from the outside. I thought the choice Osborn made to have the voice of the therapist narrate the novel brilliant, because how else can the reader stay impartial. It was a bit unrealistic how omnipotent she was with her clients. I doubt therapists are so in tune with their patients. If they were, no one would divorce. I recognized the desire to be “right” over the desire to try and fix things. How about saying something you don’t really mean because you are trying to cover up for how hurt you are.

There were a few unrealistic issues that did crop up other than Sandy being omnipotent. The couple never argued about money. Both were successful. I understood why the author made that choice. I’m going to assume it was because he could focus more on feelings but it rang a little false. Everyone argues about money, even people that have it. It also meant that it was easy for Gretchen to move out and find a place. Steve could jump from an apartment to this beautiful house without missing a beat. Finances bring a whole other dimension and host of problems to a divorce or separation and Osborn chose to ignore those in this situation. I think I understand why, but again, it was a little bell going off in the back of my head.

I was a little surprised that this was written by a man. I had no idea that a man could have so much insight into how a woman feels. The writing was really good. The pace of the novel moved quickly and, like I said, I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what happened. I was really rooting for them, even though I couldn’t see how that could happen after everything that had gone on up to this point. The cover is perfect and I love the symbolism of the green chair. At the end I was spent and completely satisfied. Don’t go looking for romantic gestures and fantasy dialogue in this novel. Only hard truths and raw emotion - the best that real life has to offer. But in the best way possible.

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Review: What They Don't Know

What They Don't Know by Nicole Maggi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Nicole Maggi for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.


Boy, this is going to be a tough one. First, this is very sensitive subject matter. The book brings up several issues that will hopefully open the door to many worthwhile conversations, but its main focus is on abortion. I find that it will be really hard to keep my personal feelings on the subject separate from reviewing the book. I will be very interested in reading what everyone has to say on this because of the subject matter it is dealing with. Also, this is a rough one to recommend to students. Because of people’s religious affiliations, I don’t believe it is appropriate for a teacher to introduce material that might go against a family’s belief system. On the other hand, open and honest discussion of the right to choose can be the only source of information some teenagers will have access to. I think it should be made available for students to be able to come to on their own, because I think that it is an amazing read.

So I’m going to tell you where I stand on this issue. I believe it is the only honest way, for me, to discuss this because how I feel influences how I read the book. I believe that it is a woman’s right to choose - no matter what the circumstances. Younger or older, through violence or consensual sex, no one should have to bear a child if that is not what the woman wants. And she deserves to have a safe, sterile, supported place to be able to abort the fetus, if that is what she chooses to do. Because my views lined up with the book’s, that allowed for me to enjoy it. I’m not sure if I was on the other side, or if the book was purporting the same ideology as Mellie’s parents, I would enjoy it in the same way.

Let me recap the story in order to offer some context. This is a book that deals with, among other things, rape and abortion. The style is done in the format of journal entries, alternating between the two main characters, Mellie and Lise. A teacher has assigned them a project of keeping a journal for the school year. This is a brilliant choice on the author’s part because we are privy not only to the events of that time, but to both girls’ deepest thoughts and feelings as they go through something very traumatic. Life changing, for both of them, although Mellie is the one who is pregnant and must decide what her options are. By using the teenagers’ voices, it allows an entry point for kids reading this book to engage in this subject in an open and honest way. Obviously, it is a little unbelievable to think these girls would be this forthcoming in a school assignment, but I was happy to suspend my disbelief because it worked so well. Also, for those that kids that are not the strongest of readers, or people who are just short on time, these small bites of daily entries are doable and will allow access for a larger reading audience. Interestingly enough, we never get to know who this teacher is. I was completely engaged, from beginning to end and found it truthful, honest, emotional, very powerful and even gut-wenching at times.

Mellie comes from a strong religious family, with a father who is running for Mayor on a pro-life platform, with a campaign promise to get rid of the last few legal abortion clinics in his town. He works hand in hand with the pastor. The pastor’s son Brandon happens to be engaged to Mellie’s sister Hannah. Brandon also happens to be Mellie’s rapist. Mellie is now pregnant and feels like she has nowhere to turn. She doesn’t feel like her family will believe her and knows that they will force her to have the baby. Although friends when they were younger, Lise and Mellie are not close anymore. But Lise knows enough to know that something is very wrong with Mellie and she wants to help.

There is so much more to the story. It’s complex and multi layered. It is really well written. I did find some of the characters nuanced and multi dimensional, however, there were some that were one-dimensional. Characters that were flat - either all bad or all good. The book has a clear slant and I think that it needs to be acknowledged. I’m not sure if students reading it will be able to tell, because although both ideologies are presented, it is clear one is bad and one is right. I also think that by having Mellie get pregnant through rape, it is a much easier way to create sympathy for Mellie to have the abortion. There are many pro-lifers who believe that rape is the exception to their rule.

The rape really isn’t explored in detail, it takes a much gentler approach. It is a great story about friendship, reaching out to help someone, and what happens when the beliefs that you have grown up with are challenged. It also touches on issues of bullying and losing your virginity. There is only one positive male in the whole story, Lise’s boyfriend, I wish there had been more. Even the minor male characters were rotten. It also did a great job of showing how difficult a decision to have an abortion is and no matter what anyone decides, no one comes to this conclusion easily or light-heartedly. It also highlights the positive role that Planned Parenthood has in society. It is not just for abortions, but provides much needed health care to women who can’t otherwise afford it. I did think it did an excellent job in portraying how alone Mellie felt. Teenagers often feel alone and that no one will understand what they are going through. On a side note, I was sad that there wasn’t one adult that Mellie felt she could turn to, or came to Mellie’s rescue.

I highly recommend this book, both for young adults and for adults. It is sad and beautiful but at its core it is heart-warming, having people who care and help in extraordinary ways and that you can survive something traumatic and come out the other side stronger.

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Review: The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Alyssa Palombo for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

A crispness in the air lets you know October is here and the time for some spooky reads is upon us. This is my first one for this month and a retelling of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” from Katrina’s perspective sounded right up my alley. I was really excited for this one. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations and it was more sleepy and hollow than I wanted.

Palombo has given us, in her words, a feminist retelling of the classic tale. She has taken some liberties, as often is the case in a retell and I was fine with her choices. For myself, I don’t care if jack-o-lanterns weren’t around in the 1700, or the type of tarot cards she used was historically inaccurate -they served the story. I’m not convinced of the feminist claim, other than the fact that Katrina is a fully flushed out character and the story is told from her perspective. I guess giving her more agency in the events might be enough for a case to be made. I appreciated the fact that she made Sleepy Hollow, an actual place, “otherwordly” as to allow for superstitions to breed and magical events to take place.

Katrina is an only child of a wealthy farming family when Ichabod Crane come to town. He is to replace the schoolteacher and he supplements his meagre income by conducting music lessons for those in town. The two begin an illicit affair and eventually fall in love and want to get married. But not if Brom Bones has anything to say about it. He has threatened Crane more than once, warning him to stay away from Katrina. Once childhood friends, he is obsessive about making Katrina his wife. However, Katrina will have nothing to do with him after he ruined her best friend Charlotte’s life by spreading a rumour that she is a witch. Charlotte and her mother are healers and know the of the special properties of different herbs. But only those close to Charlotte know that she has a special intuition because if people in the town knew, they would turn against them. Brom knows better than to label her a witch but he has turned cruel since becoming a man. Katrina’s father has been putting a lot of pressure on Katrina to accept Brom as he believes this to be a good match. Her father has high hopes of joining their two farms together knowing that this will provide for his daughter long after he is gone. But Katrina knows her heart and it is set on Crane. She is crushed when her father declines Crane’s proposal to court his daughter. And now Ichabod has gone missing. Everyone in town has heard the tale of the Headless Horseman. Could Ichabod have fallen as one of his victims? Or did he really just abandon Katrina after being denied by her father. Was he just after her fortune after all? Or did something fouler take place. Katrina must have answers and she is not above using magic to find out.

So I loved the premise of the story and the outline sounded so exciting. Once I started to read, however, it fell rather flat for me. I did not relate to Katrina at all, finding her rather unlikable. She was self-centred, a rotten friend to Charlotte, and rather spoiled. Also, I needed Ichabod to be stronger and sexier. I don’t really know what his appeal was. He deferred to Katrina a lot, well she was bossy, but he never took matters into his own hands. He was supposed to be of high moral character, but the first thing he did after coming to town was to bed the teenage daughter of the man whose house he was staying at and food he was eating. Then snuck around for months, sleeping with her. Uhmm, yeah - not so moral after all. There was something about the writing style that bothered me. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was off-putting. Plus, the story really dragged on. I wanted to stop a couple of times and if I had put it down, there wasn’t enough of a draw to make me pick it up again. I would have loved more magic, and one spell would have been nice. Given that this was a Headless Horseman tale, there should have been a stronger connection to the tale. It was weak at best.
There was a lot of potential for a rich story. I didn’t enjoy this one. It really was more of a sleepy (a really yawn) and hollow (with no substance) tale.

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