In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights. I love when I can see some kind of unifying theme in my Nutshell books, and this week, I think both tackle feeling like an outsider. Jess struggled with being a bigger girl in a family of beautiful people, and Ron struggled being a half-Indian, half-israeli Jewish kid in Nebraska. Both stories were told with tons of humor and both warmed my heart.

Rebel with a Cupcake
Anna Mainwaring
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: KCP Loft
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Jesobel Jones is bold and brash, the daughter of a hand model and a washed-up rock star. Jess sees no need to apologize for her rambling house, her imperfect family, her single status … or her weight. Jess is who she is. She makes her own cupcakes and she eats them, too. No regrets.

That is, until Own Clothes Day rolls around at school. Jess and her friends dedicate the requisite hours of planning to their outfits, their hair and their makeup for the one day they are free from school uniforms. But a wardrobe malfunction leaves Jess with a pair of leggings split open at the worst spot, and a mean girl calling her the one thing that’s never bothered her before: fat.

The encounter shakes Jess’s formerly iron-clad confidence, and she starts to wonder if she’s been just a little too comfortable in her own skin. When the boy of her dreams invites her to a party, she must decide whether to try to fit in for the first time in her life, or remain true to herself — whoever that really is.

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

This week was pretty much the same old same old, though I was very excited to NOT have to wear my winter coat the other day. Obviously, we went from winter to summer, but it was still a nice change from the frigid days. I really appreciated all the interaction on my discussions this week. I was shocked to see I was NOT alone as an infrequent fantasy reader.

I always joke, about how I may not be good at much, but I can sure read a lot. So, when the GoodReads quarterly challenge update email came, I put out this tongue-in-cheek tweet, that got A LOT more attention then I expected. Now, if all those people would just follow my blog....

I would like to thank @goodreads for reminding me that I am succeeding at one thing in my life. Killing my reading challenge. pic.twitter.com/KobKZZ9U0h

— Sam@WLABB (@kozbisa) April 12, 2018

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

I worked my first 5-day week in over a month, and though work went smoothly, my commute was even more of a struggle than normal. One day I had to go west to Trenton in order to switch to the eastbound side and get my train home, because the trains were bypassing my stop. NJ Transit is the gift that keeps on giving.

I was really overwhelmed with my discussion post this week. It's so awesome to have so many interactions. So, thanks to all of you, who stopped by and weighed in on the topic. ❤️🌸🦄