Heather SwainRezensionen

This is the first time that I have read anything from this author. I am a huge fan of culinary novels and loved the food interwoven with the family drama in this book. The characters are all well written and the story line was intriguing. I hope to read more books by this author in the future. I recommend this book.This review was originally posted on

A picture book with rhyming text about how hugs could be from creatures with all of their arms and legs. Such as, an arachnid has 8 legs. This story has cute illustrations with science and math sentences included. Children will enjoy learning how many legs each creature has.

Although it is a rhyming story there are a few of the rhymes that are awkward with the sentence. There is also another book in this series called All Kinds of Kisses.

Have you ever wondered how centipedes hug? What about octopodes? Well wonder no more, author Heather Swain is here to answer in this rhyming picture-book, which celebrates the embraces that multi-legged critters give their young...

Although I had every expectation of enjoying How Many Hugs? when I picked it up - I adore octopodes, and had the mistaken impression, due to the cover art, that the book was about these marvelous creatures - I found the reading experience somewhat disappointing. The rhymes often felt forced, and the lines didn't scan very well, leading to a number of stumbles, when attempting to read the text out loud. The artwork by Steven Henry was cute, but not enough to compensate for the awkward text. All in all, not a book I would recommend, despite the promising cover.

This book came out in 2009, and it feels like it with the cringe-y IMs and slang. As someone who was a teen on AIM in 2009, I can safely say that no one ever sounded like that.

Aside from the cringe worthy writing, it features a "fish out of water" main character in Zephyr who was terribly annoying and came off like a complete idiot before turning into a total b*tch. The love interest is the personification of a human trash bag (because he's full of garbage) and there was so much girl on girl hate, I just couldn't stand it!

Needless to say, I will NOT be reading the sequel.

The review will begin in a few short sentences, but first I wanted to take the time to appropriately appreciate this cover. It is an odd little thing in a sea of covers and I just look at it and laugh. It is absolutely awesome.

Onto the actual book. After reading the synopsis of Josie Griffin Is Not a Vampire and being lured in by the quirky cover I just had to buy the book. Josie is a character I could see myself being friends with. She was spurned by her boyfriend and reacts like many girls would love to do...bashing in his windshield with a bat, dumping her lying friends, and changing her look from cheerleader to bad ass. She is then sentenced to anger management group therapy. The kicker is that the kids in her group all believe they are supernatural creatures. Josie knows this is impossible, but she still feels something strange is going on.

I loved the attitudes/personalities of all of the characters. Readers are really able to feel as if they know the characters. I love when I'm able to read a book and enjoy the characters as people. Tarren and Johann are definitely the two who stand out the most. Tarren's spunk and attitude coupled with her word jumble are absolutely hilarious. Johann is the creepy and lovable vampire who never gives up his 80's swagger. Then there was Helios and Avis. Helios is the love interest in the book, but he is stuck up and selfish for 99% of the book. You really want to see some redemption in him, but it only "sort of" happens and the relationship just sort of splutters along. Then there is Avis. At first he has a pretty good role in the story, but as it goes on he seems to disappear and only shows up every now and then. This is a cute and short book on the surface, but for me something was a little off. In Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire readers are introduced to the supernatural world through Josie's point of view, which is that of a human. She knows absolutely nothing about this world. I am a huge fan of world building and this book just didn't do that for me. There was very little information about this world presented and the book could have used some fleshing out on this point. Several times I found myself feeling something didn't make sense because I didn't have enough background story. Secondly, there is one huge coincidence in the book that just never made sense to me. It was too odd and never really explained. ( I can't tell more without giving away who the "big bad" in the story is) I will say it has something to do with why Josie was placed in the group she was in the first place. Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire was a cute and quick read on the surface, but lacked enough information to be truly awesome. Hopefully there will be a sequel that will add more to it. I would be willing to give it a second try. This book gets a barely there 3 STAR rating.

Originally reviewed at http://www.flyleafreview.com/2012/09/book-review-josie-griffin-is-not.html

Let's face it, many would agree that the vampire genre has been done to death (sorry, couldn't resist!) and I am sort of in agreement with them. But, if it's written well, and doesn't feature the same tired storyline but instead offers something new and inventive, then I am all about THAT kind of vampire book. The premise of Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire, a rebellious but totally human teenage girl who winds up in an anger management support group for paranormal teens ( i.e; vampires, shapeshifters, faeries, and Greek gods), really grabbed my attention. It's inventive and original and sounds awesome, right? I thought so, so I requested it with high hopes. Unfortunately, this book, which had so much potential, fell short for me.

I was looking for something that would read like the tag line above suggested:

"A hilarious take on the paranormal trend--Twilight meets The Breakfast Club!"

Hey, I'm not ashamed to admit that I loved the Twilight series. I credit that book for inspiring me to start reading again. And The Breakfast Club? Get out! LOVE John Hughes. LOVE. HIM. I'm pretty sure I know most of the lines in that movie and could kick any one's ass in John Hughes film trivia. And for me, any book that adds a healthy dose of humor scores major bonus points. But, other than the fact that there is a vampire in Josie Griffin, and that there is one scene of a circled up group therapy session, and there are a few witty one liners and amusing scenes written in, Josie Griffin has nothing in common with the above statement.

The beginning started strong. Teenage Josie is in court awaiting sentencing for bashing in her ex boyfriend's windshield with a baseball bat when she discovered he was screwing around with her best friend. Ordered to pay damages, court fees, and attend community service as well as an anger management group for teens, Josie knows that she has gotten off easy. She feels bad that she has upset her parents, she's worried how this will affect her chances to get into the University of Chicago where she hopes to study journalism, but she really doesn't feel too bad about what she did to her ex's car. And yeah, he does sound a like a total ass. She's not only lost her boyfriend, but her two best friends as well. As a result Josie has sort of "gone to the dark side." She's ditched her cheerleader look for a more edgy, emo appearance and started up a blog where she vents all her frustration to the world. Her only friends are a collection of angry, broken hearted online acquaintances who comment on her blog posts.

Josie attends her first group therapy session and it immediately becomes clear that this is not your average group of teenage misfits. There is something very strange about Tarren, Avis, Johann, Helios and their counselor. By the end of the session Josie is well and truly freaked out. The entire group thinks they are paranormal creatures and she promptly goes home to blog about about the bizarre encounter.

Up to this point I was really enjoying the book. I liked the character of Josie. I felt sorry for her because I've been burned by boyfriends and friends in the past (although I have never taken it to extremes like she did). Josie's a good girl, but she's hurt and she's pissed. However, as we begin to meet and learn more about the secondary characters in the book, the paranormals, my disappointment begin to grow. The characters were, for lack of a better word, cartoonish. They bordered from outright silly and farcical (Johann the vampire) to bland and blah (Helios the Greek god.) Tarren the faerie and Avis the shapeshifter were probably the most interesting of the bunch, but only because Tarren was a frightening little tyrant and Avis had dreads. In other words, I was not blown away by any of them.

Because of The Breakfast Club reference I was hoping to see more time in the therapy sessions. You know, time spent really getting to know the characters, watching some conflict evolve between them, and having some cool cathartic moments in between. Instead the story morphed into a weird Scooby Doo-ish mystery with a bunch of teen girl runaways going missing from the shelter where Josie has been assigned community service. It's not that the mystery was bad, but the plot line was unexpected (see any mention of it at all in the above synopsis?) and it took away from what I was hoping to read about which was a group of kids with paranormal abilities slapped in a group therapy session to discuss there issues with anger (aka feeding on humans, changing humans into animals, and shedding their skin to chase rabbits during a full moon,) all while spilling their secrets to a human teenage girl who knows nothing about that world.

In addition, I found the romance between Josie and one of the paranormals to be lacking. Instead of a rebound, un-romantic romance element, I think I would have rather read about Josie moving forward, making new friends, even solving mysteries, and discovering that she could do it without some guy in her life. Josie's a smart, cool chick, she doesn't have to have a boyfriend just for the sake of having a boyfriend.

With all these issues there are some good things about Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire. I thought the fact that she wanted to go to college and become an investigative reporter (even if it was a bit Nancy Drew-like) to be very cool. I liked that she recognized her past mistakes and was smart and responsible enough to make amends so as not to muck up her future goals. That's a positive message.

I also liked that Josie was a blogger. Hey, why wouldn't I, being a blogger myself? She used her blog and her writing as a creative outlet to vent and work through some of her problems. That's cool.

I also appreciated that she branched out and put aside her preconceived notions about the paranormals and began to see them as true friends as the story progressed. Another good message: try not to be narrow minded or you may close yourself off to some really important and fun life experiences.

But I can't help but be disappointed by the lost potential of this book. The writing was good, the character of Josie was likable, and as I said, the premise sounded awesome, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me. But, I could see how other readers might feel differently and really love what Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire has to offer. I don't know for sure, but its possible that this is the start of a paranormal/mystery series. It felt episodic in nature and was left open-ended enough to accommodate a sequel or more. I encourage you to try the book out for yourself. And when you do, email me and let me know what your thoughts were. Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire releases on September 13.

Posted on Romancing the Book's blog
Reviewed by Sarah L.
Review Copy Provided by the Publisher

Play These Games is the perfect handbook for those looking for inexpensive, easy to play games for a variety of ages and number of players. This book would have been a lifesaver for me the summer I was the games instructor at my son’s day camp or even back when I had my own in-home daycare. Each game has good detailed instructions including how many players, a brief overview of the game, materials needed, prep work and how to play. While the illustrations are fairly basic, they are still easily understandable.

The games are broken down by categories such as balloons, hula hoops, paper, cardboard boxes, etc. Each category starts off with interesting tidbits about the main item. For example, did you know that “early balloons were made from dried animal bladders”? The book is filled with lots of fun, interesting facts. Most of it probably could be called useless trivia but the kids and I got a huge kick out of it.

The book kind of reminded me of the game show Minute to Win It. I like how basic everyday stuff around the house was used in fun and unique ways. One thing I would have liked to have seen included was alternate directions for some of the games involving lots of players so they could be adapted to smaller groups. Some categories like balloons seemed to have mostly games for 3+ players but buttons however were geared more for 1 or 2 players.

Finally, I like the variety of skill levels throughout. Some games such as balloon battle or house of books were pretty basic but some like the pinball machine and mini foosball were much more elaborate and will be tackled sometime in the future. My family’s favorite so far is indoor tennis.

There's 104 days of summer vacation, And school comes along just to end it, So the annual problem for our generation, Is finding a good way to spend it, Like maybe...." This is the beginning of the opening theme song to Phineas and Ferb on The Disney Chanel. If you have kids or work with kids there is a good chance you are familiar with this cartoon. If not, you should look it up. It's actually very entertaining for a kid's show. However you might be asking yourself what the cartoon and Play These Games have in common. Well, just like the cartoon you might be wondering what to do on your (kids) summer vacation. Heather Swain has some pretty good ideas in this book. "101 Delightful Diversions Using Everyday Items." This is one of the things I like best about this book. These games use everything from balloons, paper, buttons, books, and much much more. Even if you do need to go out and buy a few items, it won't be that expensive. Swain also introduces new variations to classic games such as tag and ping pong. Swain also gives facts about the materials mentioned in this book to go along with the games. You can play these games with just a few kids or a larger group. These games are easy to play with minimal preparations. This book would be great year round for rainy days or birthday parties. This is a great book to have to get the kids out from in front of the television/video games. The only danger in this book is having too much fun!

I can't wait to make these toys with my baby on a rainy day when she's a bit older! I learned about this book and saw that our library didn't have it. So after making an inter-library loan request the library went ahead and purchased the book. I had it for one cycle before someone else snagged it. I just bought the book and am itching to start playing. I love the concept behind the toys in this book.

I picked this up from my library and then had to go out and buy it: Yes, Luscious Lemon is chick-lit, but it is also a frank look into the life of successful women in today's society.

Apparently I'm getting prude in my old age. Either that or there was a lot of unneccesary, overly descriptive sex in this one. I mean, fruit abuse? Really? And those of you who think that this sounds enticing can stop reading this review right now and hie yourself off to get the book. For the rest of you, well, I'll be honest and say this was not a favorite of mine.

Main character Junie is supposed to be a tad odd and slightly naive with commitment issues that date back to her brother's death when she was eight. How do I know this? We are told all of it. And I only believe it because I was told it to be true, not because that's actually how the character is drawn. She is unable to commit to a job, having worked as a temp since graduating from college with a degree in anthropology. As she says many times, she doesn't have a passion, nor does she have the motivation to find one. She has recently moved in with her drummer boyfriend, who frequently daydreams about quitting his struggling band and starting up a restaurant with Junie somewhere not in New York City.

When the novel opens, Junie is learning how to give a sub-cutaneous shot to Eliot's diabetic cat. She's met Eliot at the vet's office and is desperately attracted to him despite her new living situation with boyfriend Leon. Much flirting ensues, followed by soul-searching, and finally by a masturbatory pleasuring via banana on Eliot's bed. Yeah, that bit made me flinch too. Now I'm not a huge fan of adultery storylines so I was already a tad predisposed to be bothered by this one but the fact that Junie is such a whiny, annoying character didn't help any. When the overly perfect as written Leon leaves town for a gig and is convinced by his bandmates not to call home, Junie has already zipped off to the fairly unappealing Eliot's house to make hot monkey love. She rationalizes all of her misdeeds, and at least she does recognize the moral morass into which she's fallen, by suggesting that her brother's death and her parents' subsequent emotional frozenness has caused her to be a lifelong failure and cheater.

As if the storyline of a confused and irritating main character wasn't enough, there are two secondary storylines floating through this novel as well. The first is that of Eliot and his roman a clef. He's written an incredibly cheesy sci-fi book decades back that won him some acclaim but he has never been able to write anything since that time worth speaking of. And he's certain that Junie is going to be his next muse. Of course, once Junie drops Eliot, that storyline completely disappears. The other secondary storyline, and the one that raised my hackles the most though, was the one with Eliot's cat, Alfie, reincarnated after who knows how many lifetimes, thinking that Junie is his long lost soul mate. The first time Alfie started talking to Junie in his head I almost tossed the book aside. Being the anal retentive glutton for punishment that I am, I went back for more. And I wish I hadn't. I found that bit to be ridiculous and misplaced, which pitched a book, already teetering on the line, firmly into the camp of "I can't believe I spent my reading time on this."

Obviously I wouldn't recommend it although I seem to remember a reading friend who thought it was marvelous so perhaps I am just crotchety and prudish. Whatever the case, I didn't connect with the characters, didn't enjoy the storylines, and frankly felt the graphic sex was gratuitous. Not my cuppa all the way around.

Perfect Weather for Driving by Elise Juska

Losing California by Tara McCarthy

Sara King Goes Bad by Pamela Ribon

The Happiest Day of your Life by Heather Swain

Emily & Jules by Lisa Tucker

This story was by far my favourite in the anthology but pinpointing what made it work so well for me is a little difficult.

This is a story about a woman who believes she is agoraphobic because she has been completely unmotivated to leave her dwelling since her mother's death. An important component of the story is Emily's involvement in an on-line support group and, in turn, her involvement with Jules, initially also on-line. Despite this opportunity to reproduce message board posts and e-mails to tell the story, the author opts not to use this device. Given this is one of my favourite devices, it surprised me that I thought this was such a strong story without the use of these alternative story-telling methods.

This is a third-person narrative, describing the actions of both Emily and Jules. It is therefore not told entirely from the heroine's perspective. Getting the guy's point of view may be one of the important elements that made this story work. We learn what a caring, thoughtful man Jules is when he's on his own, not just when he's with the heroine, which would be the case if the story was told only from her perspective.

There is also all the initial longings of an early relationship. The story culminates in the characters' first meeting. It takes you back to those initial stages of a relationship that are so magical.

And there is so much growth in both the characters as they both progress in dealing with the outside world.