 A Beautiful Poison Author Lydia Kang by Jarad Johnson I recently read the book, “A Beautiful Poison.” When I first picked it up, I thought it sounded like an antebellum novel. I kept picturing a woman in a large hoop skirt saying in an overwrought southern accent saying, “His love was a beautiful poison.” That didn’t happen, but it shows why you should be very careful what you name your novel. Especially around me.
This book is a lot of things – and not other things, like full of hoop-skirted women - but at its core it’s a murder mystery. It centers around a group of childhood friends, and someone is killing the people that are close to them.
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 The Lava Never Sleeps Author Loreen Lilyn Lee by Julie Carpenter A Note from the author: I love interacting with readers and would love to meet with book groups. Contact info is on my web site. And thirdly, since travel is restricted these days, I encourage destination-reading! Books are a great means to "getting away" safely.
It has taken me some time to write this review, because this is a book to savor. I’ve reread several chapters simply to enjoy the language, and several more to think about the spiritual connections the author makes. There is even a chapter devoted to food that feels more like poetry than prose. This is a story that begins in Hawai’i in the 1950s and 1960s and, though the story moves with the author as she travels throughout the world, it somehow never leaves Hawai’i behind. It’s a story of finding home by coming to terms with the past, a story both universal and grounded in the context of every place the author goes. At its heart is always the beauty and abundance of the islands.  Old Gods of Appalachia Created by Steve Shell and Cam Collins by Jarad Johnson I love a good podcast. I listen to them while I’m walking or gardening, and sometimes a podcast is so good that I spend an entire afternoon walking up and down my road. Old Gods of Appalachia enthralled me so much when I first listened to it that I walked fifteen miles in one day. Yes, I was sore, but I was also addicted to this podcast. It has witches, horror, supernatural goings on. It’s well written, performed, and genuinely creepy.
(Note: there is no real way for me to review this podcast justice without discussing spoilers. If that’s an issue for you, go and listen to it first! Once you learn of the things that sleep beneath and the power that dwells within the forests, then read this review).  Sabriel Garth Nix by Jarad Johnson I think as readers your tastes in books ebbs and flows, much like the way a river crests in spring and dries out in the summer drought. You can go through, “reading slumps,” where nothing is appealing at all, and you can go through what I refer to as, “Book Mania,” where every story grabs at your attention. I have been in somewhat of a reading slump for most of August (where did August go, by the way? Has time truly lost all meaning? I’m still stuck in July!). Every book I picked up I felt like I had read before. Sometimes, every plot feels redone, and every storyline too familiar to be entertaining. This is when I fall back on old favorites: Tolkien, Harry Potter, and all the other high Fantasy novels that helped tolerate the enormous imbecility that surrounded me in high school.
 The End of the Ocean Author, Maja Lunde Translated by Diane Oatley by Jarad Johnson A frightening, yet all too possible premise. The oceans becoming dry. People retreating north away from the droughts. Trees withering and dying. Global starvation. This is what the book means by the end of the ocean. Through two narratives, we see the impact of this disaster. One story tells of Signe, who loves to sail her boat on the ocean and is a climate activist. The other is the story of a father and daughter, set adrift in the new world of desert.
 Book Review, The Order of the Key Author Justine Manzano by Julie Carpenter Jacklyn Madison thinks she’s an ordinary teenager just trying to make it through school when she’s attacked by an interdimensional monster in an alley. Suddenly her life and family history come into question. Her future trajectory changes almost instantaneously. Jacklyn has discovered she is a Key, a gifted human who has been tasked with protecting humanity.
 Elysium Girls Author, Kate Pentecost by Jarad Johnson Before I even start this review, there’s something I need to get off my chest. In recent years, I’ve sort of drifted away from YA fiction. I found many books had the same repetitive (and frankly simplistic) themes. To be honest, I never would have classified myself as a YA fanatic. It was something I read, sure, but it wasn’t the only thing I read. I haven’t found many things in that genre that I found rave-worthy over the years; usually, I’m disappointed by it. I’m especially tired of high school-based books and coming of age novels. High school is not that exciting; get over it! And when it is exciting…it’s never a good thing. I wish some of these teenagers would quit finding themselves and go find a textbook and do their homework! Also…get off my lawn. Even worse are the times when I see reviews of a book that describe it as powerful or, “the voice of a generation” (side note: that one always gets me. How presumptuous!). Oftentimes I find myself wondering if I read the same book that they reviewer did. End grumpy old man rant. On with the review.
 The Witch Boy Author, Molly Knox Ostertag by Lane Mochow The graphic novel series "Witch Boy" by Molly Knox Ostertag, wife of the creator of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, tells the story of Aster, a thirteen year old boy in a magical family. All men in his family are supposed to become shape-shifters, and all women become witches. But Aster is different; he cannot shift, no matter how many nights he attempts to do so. He eavesdrops on the girls' spell training, gleaning anything he can before he is found and forced to leave. He is drawn to magic, but at what cost?
 Teeny Tiny Stories From the Marinated Jungle Author, Lee Widener By Julie Carpenter Friend of the Chickens, Lee Widener, has published another book! And, as you might suspect, it’s weird. Bizarro, even. If you’ve never read Bizarro literature before, your brain is in for a treat. Besides, your synapses were probably due for rewiring anyway.
Bizarro literature is much like nonsense. It exists to defy expectations and break your mind out of any boxes where you might comfortably store your imagination. In a word, it’s a trip. If you’ve never heard of it before, read Widener’s guest post, What is Bizarro Literature and Am I Weird Enough to Read It.  Book Review: The Distance From Four Points Author Margo Orlando Littell By Julie Carpenter Robin Besher’s goal for her adult life has been to bury her time in Four Points, a poverty-stricken coal town in Appalachia, but she finds that the past doesn’t always stay put in this riveting story of a mother who finds her worst nightmare coming true. Robin, who has been living in a posh Pittsburgh suburb, is forced to return to the small town where she once escaped an abusive family situation through teenage prostitution. Worse yet, her own teenage daughter, Haley, must return with her. The Distance From Four Points was not as far as Robin led herself to believe.
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