THE REEL WISH by Yamile Saied Mendez BOOK REVIEW 5 STARS!

 After a panic attack prevents Florencia from performing as Clara in The Nutcracker and her best friend takes the lead, a new dance style helps her face her anxiety as well as a troubled friendship.

Ballet is Florencia del Lago's entire world. After years of hard work, she is chosen as Clara in the winter production of The Nutcracker. Not only is she the youngest dancer to receive such an honor but also the first Latina. She's on track to be recruited by the best ballet companies.

Unfortunately, she suffers a panic attack on opening night--on stage, in front of everyone. And then Selena, Florencia's best friend, steps right into the role to replace her. Just like that, Florencia's whole world falls apart--the ballet studio expels her, and her best friend turns on her, tormenting her on social media and in real life.

But even though the one thing she was driven toward has come to an end, therapy and family support help Florencia open up to new experiences. She notices people at school she's never paid attention to before, and she even stumbles upon an Irish dance school and decides to give it a try. Can a new passion for Irish dance help Florencia find the joy of performing on the stage that she lost that fateful winter night?

5 STARS!

Straight up: this book hits like a splash of cold water on a hot day—because it dives into the real stuff behind sparkle and tutus.

Meet Florencia—she’s living the dream: first Latina Clara in her town’s Nutcracker ballet. But opening night? She has a panic attack on stage, and everything falls apart. She loses her role, her confidence, and even her best friend, who joins in on the online hate. Yikes.

But this story isn’t about staying stuck—it’s about healing. With the help of therapy, family, and some surprising new friends, Florencia starts to rebuild her sense of self. Her new crew doesn’t care about perfection—they care about her. And being around people who actually see and support her? That’s what helps her see herself more clearly too.

5 stars 
The Reel Wish is honest, heartfelt, and full of hope. It’s about letting go of who you thought you had to be, and discovering the people—and the version of you—that makes life actually feel good again.

I AM A LITTLE BIASED because my name is in the acknowledgments! We were in a lovely critique group known as the Sharks and Pebbles.  I could picture where we were while reading bits of this story. It turned out awesome!

BEYOND PEMBERLEY by Rebbeca Anderson, Samantha Hastings and Sarah L. McConkie REVIEW 5 STARS

Dear Reader, have you ever wondered what happened after Pemberley?

Playing Miss Bennet by Rebecca Anderson
Twenty-year-old Kitty Bennet, visiting London for a season as a companion to Mrs. Gordon, is simultaneously attracted and repelled by a flirty rake. How would a girl like Kitty respond to his roughish behavior? Impossible to tell when she doesn't even understand herself. She must use their time together to practice being someone else. She's sure when she decides which of her sisters' personalities is the best fit, she'll know both who she is and what she wants. Of course, what she wants couldn't possibly be Augustus Haverford. Not with that wicked smile and that tendency to say scandalous things. Can Kitty convince herself he's all wrong for her? Or does fate have something altogether more romantic in mind?

Sisters and Second Chances by Samantha Hastings
Sixteen years since her own elopement, widow Lydia Wickham saves a young woman from running away with a scoundrel. In gratitude the father, Viscount Kingston, offers Lydia a position as chaperone. Childless and estranged from her sisters, Lydia eagerly accepts. Little did Lord Kingston or his daughter the honorable Chloe know how Lydia would shake up their dull, scholarly existence and turn their trio into a family.

The Colonel's Conviction by Sarah L. McConkie
Shrouded by his military facade and careful in love as the younger son of an Earl, Colonel Fitzwilliam has yet to find his soul-mate. When he's tasked to watch over Georgiana Darcy and her new companion—a striking young widow named Clara—he's instantly drawn in, even if he did make a muck of their first meeting. But Clara has a difficult past and a complicated future, and it will be up to the Colonel to show her that no matter how insurmountable the obstacles, hearts can open...if she's willing to take a chance on him.

Dear Reader, have you ever wondered what happened after Pemberley?

Playing Miss Bennet by Rebecca Anderson
Twenty-year-old Kitty Bennet, visiting London for a season as a companion to Mrs. Gordon, is simultaneously attracted and repelled by a flirty rake. How would a girl like Kitty respond to his roughish behavior? Impossible to tell when she doesn't even understand herself. She must use their time together to practice being someone else. She's sure when she decides which of her sisters' personalities is the best fit, she'll know both who she is and what she wants. Of course, what she wants couldn't possibly be Augustus Haverford. Not with that wicked smile and that tendency to say scandalous things. Can Kitty convince herself he's all wrong for her? Or does fate have something altogether more romantic in mind?

Sisters and Second Chances by Samantha Hastings
Sixteen years since her own elopement, widow Lydia Wickham saves a young woman from running away with a scoundrel. In gratitude the father, Viscount Kingston, offers Lydia a position as chaperone. Childless and estranged from her sisters, Lydia eagerly accepts. Little did Lord Kingston or his daughter the honorable Chloe know how Lydia would shake up their dull, scholarly existence and turn their trio into a family.

The Colonel's Conviction by Sarah L. McConkie
Shrouded by his military facade and careful in love as the younger son of an Earl, Colonel Fitzwilliam has yet to find his soul-mate. When he's tasked to watch over Georgiana Darcy and her new companion—a striking young widow named Clara—he's instantly drawn in, even if he did make a muck of their first meeting. But Clara has a difficult past and a complicated future, and it will be up to the Colonel to show her that no matter how insurmountable the obstacles, hearts can open...if she's willing to take a chance on him.

FIVE STARS!

5 Stars – Totally Charming!

I didn’t expect to fall so hard for this book, but Beyond Pemberley completely won me over.

Written by three different authors, it gives some of the lesser-known characters from Pride and Prejudice their own love stories—and I loved every minute of it. These weren’t just background characters anymore. They had depth, heart, and real journeys that felt so satisfying. It was like someone took the “what ifs” I didn’t even realize I had and turned them into sweet, clever, and totally swoony stories.

Kitty

Lydia

Colonel Fitzwilliam

Each author brought their own flavor, but somehow the collection still felt cohesive and true to the world Austen created. I caught myself smiling through entire scenes, especially when a character I barely remembered from the original suddenly had me rooting for their happily ever after.

It was cute, smart, and full of heart—and I’ll definitely be re-reading it whenever I need a little extra joy. Five stars, hands down.

---

ATOMIC PILGRIM by James Patrick Thomas BOOK REVIEW

How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America's Darkest Nuclear Secrets

Jim Patrick Thomas is an Atomic Pilgrim. His memoir starts off on an astounding 6,700-mile pilgrimage in a bid to end the nuclear arms race. Much like a hunger strike or non violent sit-in, this singular and exceedingly difficult feat began at a nuclear submarine base in Washington state and spanned nine countries to get to Bethlehem. 

Atomic Pilgrim (Latah Books, 7/16/25), is a new memoir by author, peace activist, and longtime member of Pax Christi's nuclear disarmament group. Jim reveals a topical truth: sustained conviction can confront entrenched systems of violence. Here is a take away for all Americans who yearn to know, “what do I do?”

Jim’s decades-long effort to expose the toxic legacy—the environmental and human costs—of the Hanford plutonium site, a key Manhattan Project facility and the source of the plutonium used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki is particularly notable in that he created a great reckoning as a passionate citizen without a science degree.  

***

I've never understood how someone or some people, could go backpacking or running or hiking to bring attention to something not quite right in the world. Jim shows us how. 

Atomic Pilgrim is part memoir, part soul-searching road trip—both internal and external. It’s about what happens when the faith you were raised with doesn’t hold up anymore, and you're left trying to piece together something real from the fallout.

James Patrick Thomas grew up fully immersed in Christianity, but when the cracks started to show, he didn’t walk away with anger—he walked away with questions. Big ones. About God, science, history, meaning, and whether anything truly sacred can survive once certainty is gone.

Instead of offering neat answers, the book takes you along as he wanders through doubt, awe, grief, and wonder. He reflects on everything from atomic bombs to ancient mystics, from childhood memories to cosmic mysteries. It's quiet, poetic, and sometimes raw—but never preachy.

If you've ever gone through a spiritual shift, felt stuck between belief and disbelief, or just wanted to make peace with not having it all figured out, Atomic Pilgrim will feel like sitting with a friend who gets it.

***

While serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Jim began advocating for nuclear disarmament as a member of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage (1982-1983), a 6700-mile walk across the United States and nine other countries. 

He spent the next quarter-century investigating radioactive pollution from the production and testing of nuclear weapons, mostly focused on the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. 

Throughout his Hanford involvement, Jim advocated for the downwinders, people exposed to harmful radiation releases. He organized a national coalition that forced the federal government to close Hanford's plutonium operations in 1990, served on several federal advisory committees concerning radiation health effects, and worked for ten years as a paralegal for the plaintiffs in the Hanford downwinders litigation. 

Jim directed life, justice and peace ministry for the Diocese of Spokane (1984-1987), the Archdiocese of Seattle (2007-2015), and the Washington State Catholic Conference (2015-2020). 

He has a master's in religious studies from Gonzaga University. His thesis examined the immorality of nuclear deterrence. 

He has visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki twice - in 1993 he spoke at an international conference on plutonium processing and in 2023 he accompanied Archbishops Paul Etienne and John Wester on their Pilgrimage of Peace. 

Jim is the author of Atomic Pilgrim (forthcoming July 2025), a memoir of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage and his involvement on Hanford issues. He continues to work for peace and nuclear disarmament with local and national organizations. Jim and his wife Jan live in Seattle.

Jim Thomas is a peacemaking miracle. He walks a way of peace that can turn humanity from extinction to life. Read him and believe in miracles for us all." James Douglass, author of JFK and the Unspeakable

"A passionate memoir by an anti-nuclear activist and committed patriot." Gregg Herken, author of Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller

"Atomic Pilgrim tells the remarkable story of a life lived in the service of nuclear disarmament. Spanning thousands of miles and decades of research and advocacy, Jim Thomas's message is at once hopeful and haunting: Peace is more than a dream. It is a necessity." Shannon Cram, PhD, author of Unmaking the Bomb: Environmental Cleanup and the Politics of Impossibility

"During these chaotic times, when we so desperately need to identify our heroes, this book will give you new and important perspectives." Teri Hein, author of Atomic Farmgirl: Growing Up Right in the Wrong Place

"This is a wonderful hope-inspiring book! A tonic for sagging spirits in these dark days." Shelley Douglass, co-founder of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action

"Atomic Pilgrim is both a journey of public witness but also one of examination of the soul.... Inspiring - Informative - Impactful." Charlene Howard, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA

What are the odds that I'm reading these 3 books over Independence Day weekend?

 

There is much that brings these 3 books together for reading this week, though I had no idea it was happening. I glanced at my TBR to see what was on top to read, and it was these 3. 

They're set during wars, global upheaval and characters that find the strength to keep moving forward, even under extreme duress. Whether it's being a 'spy' who finds a love of cooking, or a man who walks thousands of miles to find answers or a whole nation trying to find a home, it all comes down to the strength of will and character. 

There is something we can learn from each book, each character, each era. Be strong. Keep moving forward. You will find where you belong. 

This Is Halloween (From Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas")

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry REVIEW

Opening: 

"George Meets A Lion"

December 1950

Worcestershire, England

George Henry Devonshire is only eight years old and he already knows the truth." 

This was a book from my bookclub. 

I loved this story. I loved learning more about C.S. Lewis and his brother, which was in paralleled the relationship of George and his sister, Megs.  It is a sweet story about relationships in families. 

“Where did Narnia come from?”

The answer will change everything.

Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of solving the greatest mysteries of physics.

She prefers the dependability of facts—except for one: the younger brother she loves with all her heart doesn’t have long to live. When George becomes captivated by a copy of a brand-new book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and begs her to find out where Narnia came from, there’s no way she can refuse.

Despite her timidity about approaching the famous author, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with the Oxford don and his own brother, imploring them for answers. What she receives instead are more stories . . . stories of Jack Lewis’s life, which she takes home to George.

Why won’t Mr. Lewis just tell her plainly what George wants to know? The answer will reveal to Meg many truths that science and math cannot, and the gift she thought she was giving to her brother—the story behind Narnia—turns out to be his gift to her, instead: hope.

A Seperate Peace by John Knowles

Opening:

"I went back to Devon School not long ago, and found it looking oddly newer than when I was a student there 15 years ago." 

I listened to this book after reading Once Upon a Wardrobe. The book was mentioned and since I enjoyed that book, I thought I'd give Separate Peace a go. 

A classic coming-of-age story about boys at a prep school. It's about the popular boy who instigates crazy shenanigans and pulls everyone into the whirlwind with him. 

The popular kid starts a club; pulls the newbie nerd along; it's fun and games before it's not; things go awry; lies are told; pride is hurt; friends are no longer friends.

WWII is on the horizon, but the boys at the school are sheltered and don't believe anything is actually happening, not until a few classmates don't come back to school. Reality of childhood mets reality of adulthood. It's hard to read about the end of a childhood. 

An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years, A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war.

Set at a boys boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.

A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic.