Category: adventure

Book Review: Diana and the Island of No Return

~ Kathryn Fletcher

If you like a fast-paced superhero stories about friendship, trust, and bravery, you’ll love this story. I teach kids age 11-13 and I see them struggling to navigate friendships. In middle school their friend circle expands as they meet new people and with that comes a prioritizing of time that they didn’t have to do as much before. With this sometimes comes a feeling of betrayal when their friends don’t make them a priority. Kids struggle with who they can trust with which secrets and dreams. Sometimes they trust the wrong friends and learn difficult lessons. There is a lot in this story about trust which will resonate with readers in this age group.

The Book of Dragons Book Review & 5 Qualities of a Good Short Story?

~ Kathryn Fletcher

I saw this anthology on Netgalley and hello…dragons…so I was all in! The release date on this book is July 7th 2020. As I read this book, I thought a lot about what I like and don’t like about short stories. This book contained a few that I didn’t care for and several that I loved. All were well written of course, but some stood out above the others. So I analyzed them and came up with 5 things I believe make a good short story. I’m sure these are not all the qualities of a good story though. You might like short stories for another reason. If so, let me know!

6 Ways You Can Begin a Story

~ Kathryn Fletcher

How do you begin a story? Not in the sense of create, but where do you start? I was always told to start in Media Res. Latin for in the middle of things. There are countless ways to start a story. I'm going to talk about a few ways to start, but this is by all means not exhaustive. When I'm wanting to strengthen a skill, I look to mentor texts. So let us take a look at some excellent stories and see how they begin.

Quintessence Book Review

~ Kathryn Fletcher ~ 1 Comment

I have however read several REALLY amazing books lately! Quintessence is one of them! I gave it a 5 star review on Good reads, which I rarely do. Alma moved 3 months ago and has had trouble adjusting. She's been having anxiety attacks and doesn't really feel like herself. She finds a telescope and through it sees a star fall. This is not a normal star though; it looks like a girl. Alma joins an astronomy club to learn more about this. She and her new friends begin a journey of self discovery and healing like none I've ever read.

Book Review: Spark and the League of Ursus

~ Kathryn Fletcher

So this month seems to be all about videos! I made a book trailer for this book. I found this book a delightful mix of childish fun and serious courage. The story was paced well. I read it in only a few days. The characters were interesting and relatable. The plot unexpected but not in a bad way. As an avid reader, I tend to be good at predicting where the story is headed. It did not always go where I expected, which is rather refreshing. (More on this below the spoiler image)

Book Review: Brightstorm

~ Kathryn Fletcher ~ 1 Comment

Maudie and Arthur were not only orphaned and sold to a cruel family, their father and their name was disgraced. The twins know their father didn't do what he was accused of doing and they are determined to become explorers like their father and clear his name. Maud is a brilliant engineer. Arthur loves to read and learn and discover. Of course, the children still hold hope that perhaps their father survived the expedition south. So when they get the opportunity to go on an expedition south, they jump at the chance to fulfill a life long dream and maybe even find their father, or at the very least, find out the truth of what happened on that trip.

Book Review: Storm Runner

~ Kathryn Fletcher

Book Review Storm Runner by JC Cervantes Zane Obispo is a pretty normal kid.except for the fact he has a birth defect of one leg shorter than the other which causes a limp. His mom works hard to provide for the family, but there are secrets she is keeping from Zane. He never knew his father. In his backyard is a New Mexico Volcano which he loves to explore. He even found a secret entrance that led inside the volcano. He witnessed a plane crash. Not something you see every day, but what made this even stranger...the pilot was NOT human! Maybe an alien? Maybe something else.