Wow! All I can say is wow! Butter Tart Island by Hope Dalvay was published by Acorn press packed a powerful punch that I could not put down. This book features Jane, a twelve year old girl who moves to a little place in PEI named Fare Thee Well after playing a small game of relocation darts. Jane experiences a lot of not so lucky things and finds friends in unexpected places but when the truth comes out, what happens next shocks her.

This book features a lot of “oldies things” such as Y2K and the music from the eighties which I think is cool. The setting is very unique because the name Fare Thee Well is named after a quote from Shakespeare. I absolutely loved the unique characters in the book like Prunella and Zarlie!

I went into this book expecting a lot and this book definitely did not disappoint. I fell in love with the characters and loved getting to understand the characters more.

This book reminded me about a time when we had a lot of snow. Five years ago, Newfoundland experienced snowmagon, one of the biggest snow storms in the world.

Overall, this book made me laugh and cry and while I am sad to have finished it I know the message will stick around for a long time! This was a perfect book and I would recommend it to anyone. The message is to be kind!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (stars)

“All is Clam” by Hilary MacLeod was one heck of a thriller! It wasn’t easy to fully engage with the book in the beginning, but finishing the book was totally worth it.

The story is set in The Shoes, a tiny coastal village where all the gossip begins and doesn’t take long to spread. Where everyone knows everyone, knows their houses by names, and where not a single secret is safe. More like not a single person is safe. The Wild Rose Cottage is the house where all murder incidents occur, and has never been lit up on Christmas day for years. It had been abandoned since who knows how long? Had the Sullivan’s family generation been cursed? Who were these new people living in the Wild Rose Cottage? Were they here to continue the murder legacy?

The novel takes you through different perspectives of the villagers, and a captivating journey of solving the murder mystery. Had it been an accident? Or a murder? Only God knew. I resonated with many of the characters and their ways of thinking and view of life.

Hilary MacLeod’s writing was very sentimental and captivating. It was unpredictable and when it shot bullets, it never missed. I love how throughout the novel, Hilary MacLeod would discuss very heavy topics within the storyline, which made my heart sink each time.

I recommend this book to whoever is looking for a good Christmas thriller, and is willing to bear the heaviness of thoughts in this book.

Authored by Sidura Ludwig and published by Nimbus Publishing in 2024, Anna Swan explores the story of Nova Scotia giantess Anna Swan by reimagining her childhood. With a brief biography of Anna Swan accompanying the actual story, Ludwig serves up a story written in verses through the lines of faith, family, and self-love. “A story as big and beautiful as Anna Swan’s own heart”—Kekla Magoon.

Twelve-year-old and seven-foot-tall Anna Swan, a young girl in the new city of New Annan facing bullies and snide remarks about her body, wonders when she will ever stop growing, most importantly when she will be in a world where she feels small. A new rip every day in the seams of her clothes or her father’s old boots, a customized desk at school, a family in debt, and a girl whose heart is filled with immense kindness. As the answer to her and her family’s problems, Anna decides to exhibit herself in the grand city of Halifax, hoping that her body size can be financial relief as well as support her plans to buy a medicine that will help stop her growing and perhaps self-acceptance in a world that sees her as anything but ordinary.

In a world where social media sets unbelievable beauty and body standards and creates a negative environment for some girls, this delightful book gives readers a heartfelt narrative on self-discovery and feeling comfortable in their bodies. I loved the way Ludwig was able to portray loving your body, self-care, and self-love through a reimagination of Anna Swan. The balance between Anna’s journey of self-discovery and the overall weight of being different was perfect. To have created an environment with such realism shows how much hard work and research must have gone into the creation of this narrative. I loved how the book wasn’t just about the “cover” of Anna Swan; rather, you got to truly experience the thoughts of a young girl, her devotion to her family, the external struggle of money, as well as dreams so bright they could light the whole world. To have written this novel through poetry is such a unique concept that introduces a new sort of literature—one that I am very intrigued by. The poems by themselves were beautiful and genuinely gripped my heart in a raw emotional way; however, once put together, it always felt like there was a disconnect in the story. Disclaimer: I am a very detail-oriented person, which is why I felt the disconnect; however, I felt it needed something to tie the book together. One of the aspects that was well crafted in the book were the characters themselves and their journeys. From Anna Swan’s chaotic siblings to her wicked grandmother, their dynamics made the whole novel come alive. Ludwig didn’t just make a book; no, she took a powerful story and curated it into a masterpiece as it breathes the life of Anna Swan’s childhood.

Overall, I give this book 4/5 for its profound storytelling, unique poetic format, and evocative characters, making it a four-star read. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a unique poetic read that explores self-discovery and resilience.

No Girls Allowed
By Natalie Corbett Sampson
The year is 1977 and a you girl named Tina Forbes is moving from Toronto to Yarmouth NS due to her Dads work. Normally she would be upset but she is 10 years old and she is allowed to play hockey this year and what better place to play than in the province where hockey was born! Finally registration day is here so off she went with her Dad and brothers and the unthinkable happened! Tina was told that girls are not allowed to play hockey in NS. Tina and her Dad couldn’t believe this. Girls were allowed to play in Ontario! Lucky Tina’s Dad is a lawyer and he begins to send letters to the Yarmouth Minor Hockey Association, NS Minor Hockey Council and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association petitioning for her right to play. When all of the associations said they are not willing to change this rule Tina’s Dad brings up the new Human Rights Act. This new law states that you cannot discriminate against people due to their age, gender or race! Together Tina and her Dad decided to take this case to the Humans Rights Commission so that ALL girls can play hockey not just her. The association allows Tina to temporarily play but she is faced with countless bullying from kids and adults. Will Tina be able to stick this out and make her dream a reality?
This book was great! I recently just started playing girls hockey for my high school and I am loving it! I liked how the author used actual court case notes for the trial scenes and I could feel Tina’s emotions throughout this book. I owe my ability to play hockey to Tina and 48 years later there are about 2000 females registered to play hockey in NS. I give this book a 5/5.

I have a lot to say about this book!

What really kind of stuck with me when I read this book was the difference between this book and Swan by Sidura Ludwig. (You can read my book review for Swan by clicking here!) These are two very different books, but they both follow the same sort of formula, in a way. After reading Swan, I had a certain lasting impression from that book. When I read Jumbo, I found a lot of comparisons between these two books. I found Anna Swan from Swan, and Little Eyes Nell Kelly from Jumbo to be a lot alike. For some context, Little Eyes Nell (but we just call her Nell) is a performer in P. T. Barnum’s show. To be exact, she’s his star performer, and the most famous person in the world at this time. Nell is also the shortest woman in the world. That’s her special trait, and she performs in P. T. Barnum’s shows riding horses, elephants, and jumping through rings of fire, and more. While Nell is the shortest woman in the world, Anna is the tallest. Although they might seem like polar opposites of each other I found a lot of similarities.

When Nell is a child, she desires one thing; to be taller. To grow, to not be so small as a child. Since Anna Swan is a child through the course of her book, her main character motivation is to shrink, to be smaller or average height. Both girls are out of the ordinary and just want to be ordinary. While Nell’s character motivations change as she grows older, I find it interesting how, as little girls, they both want to change their heights. Anna goes so far as travelling to Halifax in search of a shrinking potion, and Nell is convinced to leave her mother to go off to the circus because she is promised a growing potion. Although they are opposites, they are alike.

Another compare and contrast point that I will discuss is that Jumbo portrays P. T. Barnum in a more negative light than Swan does. In Swan, P. T. Barnum comes across as more of an opportunity, a chance to really showcase Anna Swan to the world. Anna is much older than Nell was when Nell was taken to be a part of the circus, but Anna was granted the freedom of choice to tour with Barnum. Swan portrays him in a more positive light because he is seen as a good thing for Anna. Reading Jumbo really offers a different perspective on the character of P. T. Barnum. I also think that it’s really worthwhile to read Swan and Jumbo back to back. One is an origin story of how one girl became a worldwide sensation it’s very sweet overall, and Jumbo is a more mature, heavy-handed story of the ins and outs of a life in the circus.

Okay, enough comparisons, I did this last time also with Swan and Tall Girl lol. Jumbo by itself plays out very well, very cinematically. I could really imagine this book as a movie, the character descriptions, and emotions and the tone of this book, and the visuals. I think the author really wrote this book to appeal to the reader’s senses, and I really loved how he handled that. Nell is also a very good character, I loved seeing her relationship with Jumbo and how she grew as a person. Jumbo himself doesn’t do a whole lot though, as an elephant he can’t do a whole lot except for be a character motivation to the characters, the two main characters being Nell and Scotty, Jumbo’s handler.

This book is such a roller coaster, and I love how it was all inspired by true events. I didn’t know much about Jumbo’s story before, so this book really helped me learn. This book tells a compelling story of what life would be like living in a circus, and I would definitely recommend it for more mature audiences, there’s quite a bit of swearing and mentions and references to things that aren’t really for younger audiences.

I hope you consider checking out Jumbo by Stephen Gerhard Malone, and I’ll see you in the next book review! Goodbye!