Book review-Secrets Of Sable Island by Marcia Pierce Harding
Happy Holidays everyone! Today I have another book review to share with you. My latest book Secrets Of Sable Islands by Marcia Pierce Harding was given to me for free for being a youth ambassador with Digitally Lit. A huge thank you to Nimbus Publishing for supplying the book!

The book follows our main character Caleb as he falls into the Atlantic Ocean after a boating accident, leaving him stranded on Sable Island for a while. When he befriends a little ghost girl, Marin, everything changes. The genre of this book is adventure.

Sable Island is a small, isolated sandbar located about 150 off the coast of Nova Scotia. It seems like a quaint little spot that would be great to live on. It is known for its shipwrecks and horses which I absolutely love! Horses are my favourite animal so this was a great addition to the book. I also loved all of the little pictures that were in the book!

In conclusion, I fell in love with this book and did not want it to end, I thought that the setting was vivid and exciting and the characters intrigued me! My favourite part was when Caleb and Marin meet for the first time!
I rate this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 stars

(P.S. this is a picture of my horse Stetson!)

Sugar Kids is a very special kind of book. It’s not the kind of book that I would usually go for, but this book was striking enough for me to pick it up. Both visually striking, and in the title. In choosing this book, I didn’t really pay a whole lot of attention to the synopsis, I knew it was about a girl living in Vancouver during the 90s, during a very prominent rave era. So I didn’t really know what to expect because this is about a time period that I didn’t grow up in, a city that I don’t live in, and a lifestyle that I’ve never experienced. Looking back, maybe I should have paid a bit more attention to what the book contained.

Let’s get into it. Because I have a lot of thoughts! Some context for the book is that our main character’s name is Baby, she’s a skater and an avid lover of Victorian gothic fiction, she’s also a former twin until her twin brother died when they were young. Her mom died as well, so now she’s living with her father who hates her. One day she meets Delilah, Delilah introduces her to drugs like ecstacy and rave parties, soon enough Baby falls in love with this new lifestyle she’s found.

Here’s what I do understand. This is a story of transformation. Showing someone like Baby at her lowest, going lower, and then eventually making her way up to the top. Grieving the loss of her mother, and by default the loss of her twin brother, she is at a very low point in her life. Then she finds Delilah, they go party and do drugs, and suddenly Baby is swept up in this new rave culture. As Baby goes through these lifestyle changes, there are multiple voices of reason in her life, like her friends and her guidance counsellor. But she doesn’t quite feel whole because her twin brother is gone. Let me explain this one, because it’s a lot more complex than you might think.

Baby’s twin brother Ravi died, but he didn’t quite die. With them being twins, Baby explains that she’s got a sort of split personality now. It’s like parts of Ravi have been absorbed within her, but he also comes to visit her in ghost form… It’s interesting how her relationship to Ravi was explored in this book, I didn’t really understand it. On the back of the book it says Baby is prone to hallucinations (only once she takes drugs, I believe), but it’s also said that Ravi isn’t really a hallucination because she’s absorbed him and they’ve both moulded into one person now. Very strange. Maybe I don’t understand because I’m not a twin and I’ve never hallucinated before.

Some things that I really didn’t like about this book was the sex scene between a minor and adult, and how lifestyle choices like these were portrayed. Although Baby eventually quits drugs, I didn’t feel that she was 100% a changed person. I also didn’t love how this book is not supposed to be a warning against this kind of lifestyle, but an homage to it. However, it doesn’t really promote rave culture or anything like that either, going off of all of Baby’s terrible experiences and multiple friends warning her against it.

Do I think that I’m the target audience for this book? In a way, yes, I do. As I mentioned, it’s a story of how a teen turned her life around. In the midst of questioning her identity and trying to put on an entirely new persona, to trying to erase a part of her that once meant the world to her, she slowly comes back to the things she once loved and valued. I think that’s a valuable lesson for anyone to learn. That being said, is this book 100% moral? No. A good majority of it was stuff that I didn’t enjoy reading about. I find that this book doesn’t exist for the purpose of entertainment, but to teach a lesson. So yeah, I think it’s safe to say that my favourite part of this story was the ending. The journey to get there was messy, but that’s what it’s supposed to be like.

I just finished a new book entitled Illness And The Art Of Creative Self-Expression by John Graham-Pole published by HARP and given to me for free for being a Our Stories Matter Youth Ambassador with Digitally Lit!

This book is a self-help book to encourage everyone to become an “artist”. As an adult, I do not use art nearly enough and I did a lot of the activities which helped me see the potential in myself!

I liked this book because I really broke the boundaries of I am an artist and I can do art! I really liked all of the personal stories that the author shared about patients and volunteers about the community of arts.

As Someone who has a physical disability I really connected with this book. I found all of what the author said was true especially the way to view art in the hospital? Most adult hospitals are very dark and dreary and I founding it interesting to look at how society views the arts in the healthcare system.

In conclusion, I think that this is a great book for everyone to read!
I rate it 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars

This book features fourteen of the Palestinian diaspora’s best voices in speculative fiction. From two girls trying to make their way to Jerusalem to men in Gaza swimming in the sea chasing freedom, this book covers many imaginative and heartfelt stories. Speculative fiction is a genre that invites a reconstruction of reality, and, in this book, each story is a portal into folklore and hopefulness for a better future.

Each person’s profile was unique in its own way and showcased different aspects of Palestinian culture. This book was well-written and put together well. I really liked the way it subtly touched on different aspects of Palestine’s history. The book also included many positive themes like resilience, trust, and optimism. I would warn that it also included some heavier themes as well. All the short stories were written by Palestinian authors which is great, but some of the stories did leave me a little confused content-wise since I expected all the stories to center Palestine heavily.

In one of the stories in the book, the protagonist’s grandmother was called Teta Hind. This made me stop reading for a moment and wonder if it was intentional given how recently this book was published. The name Hind reminded me of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl who rocked the whole world when she was horrifically shot at 355 times by the Israeli IOF after being trapped in a car with her family, killing them all. The solemn nature of this book made for a sad read but it’s definitely widened my appreciation for speculative fiction.

This read is perfect for those who want to learn about aspects of Palestine through fiction. I loved some stories a lot more than others, mostly because I’m more of a fan of realistic fiction rather than fantasy, but given I chose to read the book knowing this, it won’t affect my rating too much. Also, I imagine that the glossary at the end will help those unfamiliar with the Arabic language to understand some of the words used. I recommend this sombre yet enjoyable read.

“Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” by Michelle Hébert was written with a hint of magic in the atmosphere. It was captivating with a blend of romance, character development, a sense of grief, and self-discovery that pulls readers into an enchanting world of the author’s imagination.

The story follows Kitty, who bears a lifelong curse passed on throughout her family’s generation. She grew up young and naive, always protected and never allowed out of her mother’s sight. As she grows up, bad luck seems to follow her everywhere she goes, leaving her no choice but to believe that the curse is real. Throughout Kitty’s life, she never had to make a decision for herself, because she allowed her surroundings to decide for her. Her fear of making the wrong decision had kept her distant from the blessings that life had to offer. She experienced many tragedies of loss, grief, betrayal, suffering, and challenges throughout her life. All these times, she blamed the curse, not knowing that it was simply the way life was.

I loved Kitty’s character and how much I resonated and understood everything she was going through. I enjoyed learning from reading about her life and her experiences that changed her perception of her identity.

Hebert’s writing is evocative, filled with vivid descriptions that bring the settings and emotions to life. The dialogue is authentic, further enhancing the connection readers have with the characters. The way she weaved together the different narratives of Kitty and Nerida’s letters was both clever and engaging. The pacing is well-balanced, with moments of tension, charming humor, and emotional scenes in the novel.
I recommend this book to whoever lives in fear of what could go wrong, when it could bring joy and satisfaction. This book is definitely written for people who could use a little bit of magic.