March 2022 Reading Wrap-up

 Hello Reader Friends! We are 1/4 of the way through the year so this wrap up will be a little different. I will like always go through the books I've read this month and the stars I gave them. I will also do a paragraph at the end with an update on my reading challenges.

This month I read 7 books. I completed the Mighty Jack series so I will not be putting a blurb for that one as it hasn't changed my opinion. If you'd like to know my thoughts on the series check out my February Wrap up. So now onto the rest of the books I've read this month.

First up this month is Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya. This was a sweet coming of age story about a girl trying to reconnect with her father after he cam back from deployment overseas and finding a way to navigate through her friendships old and new. It covers topics from ADHD, immigration and even touches on school censorship. It covers many diverse topics that will get students talking. Normally I don't like books that are more character driven then plot driven but surprisingly I really enjoyed this one. Emilia is such a sweet girl and knows what she wants in life and learns how to finally speak up and let her voice be heard and I loved that. 4/5 stars for this one.

Next I devoured The Wrath and The Dawn duology by Renee Ahdieh. These were a retelling of Arabian Nights. Shahrazad agrees to marry the Emir because her best friend was one of those he killed. She hatches a plot to gain his trust in order to kill him in revenge. Unfortunately or fortunately she ends up falling in love with him. BTW when I say devoured I mean I read them in two days and that's only because I didn't have the second book and I had to pretend to be an adult and actually go to work. If I had both books that day I would have finished them both in one sitting. And my sitting I meant all day and maybe even night. I hated putting it down. It was a wonderful love story with a dash of political intrigue and a heavy dose of magic to keep things lively. 5/5 stars.

Next I read El Deafo by Cece Bell. El Deafo is a graphic novel about a young girl who lost her hearing when she was younger and learns how to cope with her hearing lose and accept that just because she's different doesn't mean she cant be as awesome as anybody else. I really loved the message in this book and would recommend it to my students. 4/5 Stars

Finally I read Dead End in Norvelet by Jack Gantos. It is a semi autobiographical tale of one summer in the author's childhood. Jack is caught in the middle between his parents and ends up being grounded for the summer. His only saving grace is helping Miss Volker down the road with writing obituaries for the dying elders of Norvelt. The book is basically just a story of how Jack spent his summer vacation. It had a lot of funny anecdotes, but overall It didn't move me till about the end when a twist is added to what would otherwise be a slice of life book. That twist is why I'm giving it 3/5 stars instead of 2

Lastly I want to share an update on all the challenges I'm participating in. If you want to know more about this years challenges check out my 2022 Reading Goals post

January Page Challenge (StoryGraph) ✅

StoryGraph OnBoarding Reading Challenge 33%

Bad Bitch Book Club 35%

Round the Year in 52 books 40%

PopSugar Reading Challenge Regular 28% Bonus 60%