River Otters at Bearizona

 Okay, so this isn't wildlife.  I saw these adorable guys at Bearizona, in Williams, Arizona.  But I just had to post:

The Bridge Home, by Padma Venkatraman

This was a sad but lovely middle-grade novel about sisterhood and friendship and poverty and hope. 

I found a few things unrealistic, and the whole setup with the book being written by a character in the book to a character in the book was a little clunky at times, but overall the writing was good.

The setting and situations were interesting and eye-opening—especially about the trash collecting.  The main characters were lovable. 

I would read more by Padma Venkatraman. 

Warning:  abuse and death.  Parents might want to read along with kids. 

Any Sign of Life, by Rae Carson

I LOVED the first part of this book.  Waking up to a world where everyone is dead.  Post-apocalyptic survival.  So many things prompting me to ask, "What would I do?" 

SPOILER ALERT:  Then we found out the reason for the apocalypse and I was a little disappointed that it wasn't just going to be a man-against-nature survival story.  But…I ended up liking the second part too.  END SPOILERS

The writing was good, the stakes high, the pacing fast, the characters interesting.  Things just kept going wrong.  Great storytelling from a great writer.

I've only read one other book by Rae Carson, but I also liked it a lot.  I'll have to read more.

More accurate rating:  4.5.  But a high 4.5 

World of Wonders, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

I really enjoyed this.  The fascinating animal facts are woven in beautifully with the autobiographical essays.  Some parts get a little too poetic for my personal tastes, but some people will especially love those parts.

Many of the chapters were originally written as standalone essays, so there's a bit of choppiness regarding the differing styles, the timeline of her life, etc., and a bit of repetitiveness here and there, but it worked for me.  A few of the connections between the natural world and the author's life felt like a bit of a stretch, but I enjoyed the book so much I just went with it.      

The drawings are beautiful.

Overall, a delightful surprise that I found on the library shelf, knowing nothing about the book or the author.  I'm glad I picked it up.

More accurate rating:  4.5