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Hi everyone!
I hope you’re having a nice Wednesday morning, or whatever it is wherever you are. 🙂
I don’t normally do book posts on here, but I thought it’d be fun to do one for a change and give you some mini reviews and my thoughts on books I’ve been reading lately. And this post is part of the blog tour for my sister’s book, so that’s exciting!
Alright, let’s dive right in.
*splash*
S P A R K by Allison Beery
First up, of course, we have Spark! This is Allison’s second poem book and I was so excited to read it! Wait, backing up a bit, isn’t the cover AMAZING? 😀 It’s so pretty! And I really love the poem it was inspired by.
Anyway, I think these poems can be a bit harder to uncover than the ones in Unfurling, but that’s not a bad thing. You can read it several times and still get something new out of it.
I really love her style of poetry. It’s not rhyming, so it’s not too poetryy (how am I supposed to say/spell that?) which is fine by me because I’m not normally a huge fan of poetry! They’re sort of a mix between little snippets of pose and poems. Some of my favorites are “rooftop supper”, “hay day”, “spark”, and “looking back”.
So yeah! The link to buy it is right HERE so… GO READ IT! Although wait, keep reading to the end of this post because there’s more blog tour stuff down there and information about the giveaway.
Moving on… (the rest of these books are on amazon, you can find them by clicking on the title.)
M E M I O R S O F S H E R L O C K H O L M E S by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes! This was a school book, actually. But I really enjoyed it! I read stories from both this book and “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”. I did begin to get a little tired of them by the time I was done, but they’re definitely better than most other detective stories.
W O L F H O L L O W by Laura Wolk
This book was given to me by Clara. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure all of the books in this post are either from Clara or school reading. I haven’t really done much reading otherwise. But, as I was saying, Clara sent me this book a few months ago. We’ve been doing a monthly book swap this year where each month we send each other one of our favorite books. It’s been a wonderful way to find new books!
Wolf Hollow is actually one of the saddest books I’ve read. But I think that’s mostly because I had no idea that it would be sad and for some reason I was expecting a completely happy ending. SNIFF. I have never cried because of a book, but this made me gasp softly. (Be impressed. *nods*) I really liked the story line of this and the characters and everything! It also seems like a book that would be good for rereading so I plan to do that eventually.
Next up we have Fawkes. I now have two copies of this pretty book, thanks to Clara and someone who sent it to me for my birthday and I have no idea who they are. But thank you, Clara and Person! I was excited to read this because I’d been hearing about it for a long time and it sounded really interesting.
The genre is, I believe, historical-fantasy. Which is definitely a genre you don’t hear about very often. I love historical fiction, but I don’t really love fantasy. In this case though, the historical fiction part won me over and I did enjoy the book. But I personally think I would have preferred a Guy Fawkes retelling without the fantasy elements.
So yes, it is a Guy Fawkes retelling, which I was excited about! I had very little knowledge about who he was and what he did and it was interesting to learn a little more about him, through the perspective of his son. The light power stuff wasn’t terribly well explained in my opinion, but maybe I just needed to pay closer attention. And the Emma plot-twist was great!
That was a kind of conflicting review, but the bottom line is that this is a good book, especially if you like fantasy.
C I R C U S M I R A N D U S by Cassie Beasley
This is a Clara book too! Circus Mirandus was another book I’d heard about and was interested to read. I didn’t overly love the characters in it, but the story was good! I think there’s a sequel that has just recently been released so I’d love to read that too.

B E O W U L F translated by Seamus Heaney
Beowulf was definitely a school read. I didn’t love it, but it really wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I didn’t feel particularly drawn into the story but I could definitely understand what was happening, so that was nice! I wouldn’t recommend this book unless someone specifically asked for ancient book recommendations, but again, not bad for a school read. 🙂
T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F B E I N G E R N E S T by Oscar Wilde
The Importance of Being Ernest is hilarious! The characters in it are so funny and the plot is sort of Shakespeare-esque. Lots of tangles and mix-ups with plenty of witty quotes from all of the characters. I also read this for school and it has been one of my favorites so far. We’d watched the movie earlier so I knew what was going to happen, but it was still hilarious to read. I very much enjoyed the muffin part.
OOH! Yes, we can’t forget the fourth Mysterious Benedict Society! This is one that isn’t a Clara book or a school book.
The title sure didn’t get any shorter than the other ones, but it was definitely different in a lot of other ways. Mostly because the characters are several years older than they are in the previous three books. It took a little getting used to, but in the end I was glad that they were older so it gave a satisfying end to the series. Well, I’m assuming it’s the end. And kind of hoping it is, too. I LOVE all of MBS, but I have a feeling four books + a prequel is about the max. I really hope Trenton Lee Stewart writes other books though! His writing style is amazing and you should definitely read his books.
R A Y M I E N I G H T I N G A L E by Kate DiCamillo
(This is another Clara book.) I love Kate DiCamillo’s writing style so I was excited to read this! And I really enjoyed it. I liked how the three main characters had such different personalities and how there was a certain thing for each character that motivated them. I’m hoping to read the Louisiana and Beatrice books eventually!
M O O N O V E R M A N I F E S T by Clare Vanderpool
We’ll end on one last Clara book. This one was amazing! It had historical fiction (yay!) from two different time periods tied in, and the way the author fit everything together was amazing. I also really love the characters in this book and how the main character sees them in her daily life and also hears about them in the stories from several years before. It’s just a great book, and I definitely recommend it to those of you who like historical fiction and/or middle grade fiction!
There you have it! My thoughts on ten books I’ve read (somewhat) recently. Now, as I promised, onto the rest of the Spark Blog Tour stuff.
I never properly introduced you to the author, so let me go ahead and do that!
Allison Beery is a Christian teen with a passion for creating and capturing beauty, whether it’s through writing, art, photography, or taking a walk in the woods. She lives on a big farm in Central Virginia with her parents, four siblings, and a multitude of pets. She strives to glorify God in everything and love people genuinely. Learn more about her at her blog, A Farm Girl’s Life, or stalk her art Instagram @thecolorboxstudio.
I am one of those four siblings, in case you didn’t catch that. And Eeyore is one of the multitude of pets! But anyway, about that giveaway.

Hopefully by now you all want to read the book, but there’s a very good possibility that you would rather not buy the book. *sigh* Such struggles. Never fear though, there’s a chance to win the book for free in Allison’s giveaway! If you aren’t so sure you’ll like the book, you should still enter for the fuzzy socks, chai tea, fairy lights, playlist, and art print. That way you can be all aesthetic and wear the fuzzy socks, curl up under your fairy lights with the little art print clipped to it, sip some tea, listen to music, and read the poem book! And then when you actually start reading it you’ll realize that it really is amazing and you’ll get a copy for everyone you know, and they’ll read it and get a copy for everyone they know, until there will be a lot of people with a great poem book! See, I have it all planned out. So, go enter that giveaway! The link is right HERE. And if you don’t win the giveaway, you can always spend a few dollars and buy the book for yourself. (The link to do so is HERE in case you didn’t catch it the first time.)
Now that I’ve gotten you all excited for reading Spark, you’ll want to hear more about it. You can do so by checking out the links in the full blog tour right down there.
October 25
Allison @ A Farm Girl’s Life – Blog Tour Kickoff, Author’s Intro, + Giveaway Begins
November 5 (Tuesday)
Allison @ A Farm Girl’s Life – Blog Tour Wrap-Up + Giveaway Winners!
Yup, I think that’s it! Thanks for reading this bookish post and GO READ SPARK! 😀
blank verse (non-rhyming) or rhyming poetry?
do you like drinking tea/coffee/hot cocoa while reading?
(unrelated but) are you excited for Christmas yet?? 😀
GO NATIONALS GO GO GO! BEAT THE ASTROS!
I like both kinds of poetry!
AND YES HOT COCOAAA
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Well good for you! 😀
YUMMINESS.
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I loved reading the reviews, and it also gives me an idea of some more good books to check out!
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I’m glad you did! Ooh, hooray! Happy reading, hehe!
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Rhyming poetry. Definitely. But I know some good blank verse poems. I don’t usually drink while I’m reading, but if I did, it would most likely be tea. (maybe cocoa, though.)
And YEEESSSSS!!!! CHRISTMASSS!!! I start getting excited for it in August! 🙂 It’s near my birthday, too!
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Yeah, I can definitely feel for the people who like rhyming poetry. It seems a lot more like poetry. Yum, I love cocoa! And tea is good on occasion. 🙂
HOORAY!! Haha wow, that’s early! I got excited for it waaay earlier than I usually do. Ooh, I bet that makes it even more exciting!
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Maybe I just haven’t found the right poetry, but there’s something about free verse that impacts me deeper than structured poetry. Or maybe because I’ve done two literature classes and had to write a bunch of structured poems XD
also NOOOOOO no Christmas until after Thanksgiving!!
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Yup. Same here! Ehehehe yeah… that definitely could be why. As Allison always says, poetry doesn’t work when you’re forced to write it. 😛
Siiiigh. Well, maybe not Christmas music from October to after Thanksgiving. (Before that it’s okay, but in between that time I give it a break. *nods*) But I’m extra excited for it this year! Yay Christmas!
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Definitely, lol! Haha that’s fair. My family hums Christmas music just to make me mad XD
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Haha, such struggles. I like whistling/singing/humming Christmas music to see how long it takes my siblings to notice and yell at me. 😀
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That is so cool that your sister self publishes! Have you done anything similar? Btw, your blog is beautiful!
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Yeah, it is!! Nope, I haven’t. And thank you so much!
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I like blank verse because I feel like it gives the author more room to express themselves creatively, but I do like some rhyming poetry. What’s your favorite poem?
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Yes, I agree! Let me think… Maybe one of the poems in Allison’s other book. I can’t remember what it’s called, but I think it’s “Home Again”. 🙂
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Rhyming, no, I’m too afraid it will spill, and no, I don’t like skipping Thanksgiving
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Yeah, spilling is definitely an issue when it comes to that. I see what you mean! Thanksgiving does often get looked over by everyone’s excitement for Christmas.
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Ooooh, now I feel like doing some reading and drinking a mug of tea! 😀 Oh my gosh, the next MBS book finally came out!! I’ve been waiting for it to come out! I want to read it so badly, but I need to finish reading the other ones first (I’ve had book 1 in my hands many times, but never finished it before it had to go back to the libray). 😉 I prefer rhyming poems, I enjoy drinking tea while reading, and I’m super duper excited for Christmas!
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I know, right? Even if I don’t love tea, sometime I just do it because it seems so nice. Hehe.
Yes it’s WONDERFUL! You should definitely read it! Trenton Lee Stewart is an amazing author. 🙂
Sounds lovely! MERRY almost CHRISTMAS! XD
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I forgot to answer the blog tour questions, too, lol.
Personally, I prefer blank verse to rhyming, but it also depends on the way it is written *shrugs*
I think hot chocolate is best with books…but I’d be scared of spilling it haha.
Yep, I’m already excited for Christmas!
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Haha no worries!
Yep, same here!
And same here again! It does seem a little risky.
YAY for Christmas!
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I’d say I like both rhyming and non-rhyming poetry. The only poetry I can write ends up rhyming, but I feel like non-rhyming can capture abstract ideas better 🙂 Yes, I do enjoy drinking tea, coffee (if it’s my mom’s special kind!) or hot cocoa while reading a good book! Very aesthetic, cozy and wintry feel 😉 And oh boy YES am I ready for Christmas!! Especially now that it’s starting to get cold and the time has changed so it’s dark way earlier in the evening!
Thanks for sharing this post 🙂
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I’m so excited for Spark! I love free verse, but rhyming poetry is so beautiful if done well. I love a lot of the books you reviewed, especially “Fawkes.” It’s awesome! Thanks for the post!
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Like you, Megan, I’m not an avid reader of poetry, but I do appreciate poetry that makes sense and is pretty. I don’t necessarily care if it rhymes or not, but I probably prefer rhyming as long as it isn’t cheesy and shallow. I suppose I do like poetry, in a sense, because isn’t that what song lyrics are?
Anyway, I rarely drink anything while reading, though it might be nice to have hot cocoa. As for your last question, I am already looking forward to listening to some different Christmas music this year, but I think it’s a bit too early to be thinking a lot about Christmas. 😉
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These are all amazing classics especially the important of being earnest …I’m new here and already loving your blog
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Yes, they’re wonderful books. 🙂 Hooray! I’m so glad you’re here! Thanks for the comment!
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. These recommendations are great! I just read Beowulf for school too as well as Fawkes. Fawkes left me wondering as well if I really enjoyed historical fantasy. 🙂 I just found your blog through a friend and I love it already!
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Yay, glad you think so! Oh, fun! Yeah, it’s a neat genre.
Well yay, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. 😀
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I squealed wildly when you mentioned Moon Over Manifest! It’s one of my all-time favorite historical fiction books. XD
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