I have been tagged by the lovely to fill out the Interview tag challenge! :D

You can find her at Irreversibly, Ava and at alwaysava.com.

Irreversibly, Ava ✨

writing (mostly poetry) to try and make sense of this crazy beautiful world.

By Ava ✨🪻

Rules

• Tag 1-3 bloggers you’re subscribed to

• Share the link to your nominator’s blog (done! 😉)

• Be as detailed as you want!

What made you want to start a blog and how did it come about?

Oooh, good question! Let’s see… a couple of summer vacations ago, I was researching one of my favorite series, the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. I stumbled across this lovely article by Belle, over at An Old-Fashioned Girl. I started following her, and stumbled across ’s blog as well. I really loved everything they were doing and after following a couple people on Substack ( , , and ), I decided to start my own blog!

What is your blog about?

My blog is dedicated to finding good, clean, wholesome reads for teenagers. I know I would have loved reading something like this as a young teen, and I hope that I am encouraging other teens to read good literature!

I also sometimes review movies or write a faith-based post.

How long have you been blogging (or how old is your blog)?

My blog is almost one year old! August 24th will mark my one-year anniversary. (Which reminds me … I have to write an anniversary post!)

What was your first blog post about?

My first post was basically an introduction post, talking about what kind of content you might see on my blog.

My first “real” blog post was a review of The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin (I’ve linked it below :D)

What kind of posts might we be seeing on your page in the near future?

Ooooh I love this question! As I said, I’m planning an anniversary post, but aside from that, I’m hoping to do more “Top 10” posts. I have two posts planned all about some of my favorite childhood books, and one all about friendship in books. 😊

Aside from blogging, what are some of your other writing aspirations, if you have any?

I would love to publish a young adult book that helps people grow closer to their Catholic faith!

Why do you blog?

I blog to let teens know that they are not alone, and they absolutely DO NOT have to read all of that garbage that is popular right now! There are so many more options than the modern novel.

What are some interesting/fun facts about you?

• I’m banned from drinking coffee by my family because I will get so over-hyper from it. 😂

• I read 108 books last year and 78 (so far) this year!

• I love doing arts & crafts and handwritting letters.

• I love talking about books, reading books, shopping for bookish-themed presents… in general, I just adore books!

• My all-time top reading record is that I read two books from cover to cover in one day.

If you could tell the world anything, what would it be?

You are more than you think you could be! God loves you so, so much and that will never ever change. Before the universe was created, God loved you.

Always remember that you are a cherished son or daughter of God. ✨

If you were to start another blog, what would it be about?

Okay… I actually do have another blog. 🫣

On Substack.

I started it with two of my friends. 🤭😁

It’s fictional letters from the characters of Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde. ✨

Some of you may be subscribed to it already, but if you’re not… here’s the official shout-out for Earnestly Yours! :)

Earnestly Yours

Letters from the characters of Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde

By The Bunbury Society

Who is your favorite author?

Oh, without a doubt, it’s D.E. Stevenson.

She’s a lesser-known Scottish author who was the second cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson.

She wrote books mostly about England before, during, and after World War II.

Her books are all 100% clean reads and very delightful period fiction.

I’m actually planning a top 10 post all about her books so I’m not going to spoil any of them right now… but if you would like to check out some of her books, here are 5 recommendations:

• Miss Buncle’s Book

• The English Air

• The Young Clementina

• Young Mrs. Savage

• Bel Lammington

Summer or winter? (And why!)

Hmmmm…. winter. I just love Christmastime! Everything is so festive and there’s those super nostalgic songs playing, all the relatives come to visit… just everything about it is so magical. 😁✨

Tags:

(I know I tagged a bunch of you a couple of weeks ago…. but I couldn’t resist tagging you again ;)

Happy Reading! 📖

-Mia Grace ✨

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You may remember the note I published a few weeks ago:

I am so so excited to announce that MiaGraceReads has officially become a VidAngel affiliate!!! 🥳🥳🥳

As I’ve said before, I would never have been able to watch some of my favorite shows and movies without this amazing service, and I am so blessed to be able to partner with them!

Much like I read only clean reads, I only watch clean movies, and VidAngel has helped make some of the more popular ones clean!

If you don’t know, VidAngel is a filtering service that is customizable and user-controlled, so that you can decide what you do and do not want to hear or see.

It’s designed to work with your favorite streaming services, such as Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Peacock, and so many more!

How VidAngel works:

1. Sign up for a subscription on vidangel.com

2. Connect your streaming services through their browser

3. Choose your filter preferences (you can change these from movie to movie!)

4. Pick a show and start watching without the content you chose to skip or mute.

It is so easy to use, and it gives you such peace of mind! When my brothers wanted to start watching Marvel movies, my parents filtered everything through here and it did a phenomenal job. No cussing, no explicit content, nothing that they would have to worry about explaining away or anything like that.

VidAngel also just announced on Wednesday that their parental controls are live!

Locked Filters
Parents set the filters once per profile (profanity, violence, nudity, whatever they want dialed down) and kids can't touch them. Not on the tablet, not on the TV, not on any device in the house. Once it's locked, it's locked on everything that profile watches from here on out.

Profile PINs
A simple 4-digit PIN keeps kids in their own profile and out of the parent's. No more "how did they get into my account and turn everything off."

And for the parents who like to know a little more:
- Watch history by profile, so they can see exactly what's been watched
- Content guides, so you know exactly what you're getting before even hitting play

-VidAngel

Take a look at some of these stats they’ve provided:

Movies and TV shows today contain three times as much offensive content as they did twenty years ago!

Isn’t this awful?

However…

You can be part of helping our generation turn into a better society!

I am excited to announce that I have a custom code you can use today to get one free month of VidAngel!!

You can either click the link provided below or enter the code on the poster on the VidAngel website!

MIAGRACEREADS

You will love it. I promise.

Watch more. Worry less.

-Mia Grace ✨

Many many thanks to Mia Grace for allowing me to guest post on her blog!! I’ve recently been searching for excuses to write a book review but never found any because as some of you may know, I review movies and ONLY movies. And for some reason that can get kinda boring, oddly enough (who knew that constantly watching movies could be exhausting? wow it’s weird).

Anyway, this book was on the very top of my Books I Want To Review But Can’t Because I’m Stuck With My Movie Blog list for several reasons, the most important of which being that I re-read this book at least twice every single year without fail. It simply had to be reviewed. It’s a tradition, after all.

Synopsis:

Through her journals, seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain tells the story of her eccentric family who lives in a run-down castle in the early 1930's.

All the Things I Love About This Book:

• Typically, I don’t really like books written in first-person (so in essence every single book written in the past twenty years), but Dodie Smith pulls it off really well in this book. Cassandra is quirky and kind of annoying but in a realistic way.

• The setting is cozy cozy cozy. It’s literally the perfect book to read on a miserable rainy day when you’re depressed and you feel unloved and sad and just want to drink tea in a dark gloomy corner with a candle and an old scratchy blanket (the viiibessss) You have to entirely immerse yourself in it, however.

• The dialogue is amazing. I know that sounds random, but I think engaging dialogue in a book is a must and I Capture the Castle definitely has it.

• All the characters are very weird and unusual. And that’s a good thing.

• The ending is not at all what you would expect. Most books in this genre tend to have predictable endings but in all honesty, nothing could have prepared me for the end of this book (do I like the ending? that question I cannot answer because of my disturbing indecision).

• The general vibe and mood of the book is very interesting. It has a certain feel if you know what I mean - kind of velvety but also wooden and floral. With tingly undertones.

• The whole book serves as a kind of study into love which is cool.

The Best Quotes (these were verry hard to choose):

“Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression.”

“Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?”

“It is rather exciting to write by moonlight.”

Thanks for reading!!

Also, once again, many thanks to Mia for letting me post on her blog!! Subscribe to her if you haven’t already and love to read!

-🌹Jane Therese🦋

I really enjoyed reading ’s post (you can access it here). Especially reading as she freaked out over certain characters’ placements. (Sorry, Ava!)

Before we begin, I must agree 100% with what she stated:

I don’t believe in zombies but anyway I really thought this tag looked hilarious so that’s why I’m participating.

So, let’s get right into it:

The Rules:

• Acknowledge and link back to whomever tagged you. (again, it was ! Go subscribe to her, she’s awesome!!)

• Choose 5 books (there are two strategies: choose your favorite books, or choose ones that should give you a fighting chance)

• Randomly set up your books in order.

• Flip to a random page in the book and write down the first two names you see

• Put the names in the categories listed below in the order you saw them.

• Cry at how doomed you are

My Five Books:

I chose books that I thought would give me a fighting chance

• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

Zombies? Nah. How about an evil green enchantress? I feel like I’d at least get some good tips from this book.

• The Odyssey by Homer

Come on, you have to admit: Odysseus would be an amazing person to have on your side in a zombie battle.

• That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

Am I being a total copout for choosing two Lewis books? Maybe.

Will I change this book for another one? Nope.

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t included zombies in at least one of her books… she’s included quite literally everything else.

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Why The Hobbit instead of LOTR?

Mainly because my brother owns the only copy of LOTR in our house, and I really did not want to go on a scavenger hunt in his room to find them.

Now, without further ado…

let the apocalypse begin! 🌩️

First Person to Die:

Jill Pole from The Silver Chair.

This one feels like it would be true. Especially when you consider how absolutely unskilled Jill is in the first chapters of The Silver Chair.

Sorry, Jill!

The First Person You Trip to Escape:

Puddleglum, also from The Silver Chair

Bahaha 😂😂😂

This one is very accurate.

Puddleglum can be so negative, and although I’m not sure I would get fed up with him enough to trip him… I would definitely come close to it.

The Person Who Trips You to Escape:

Kalypso from The Odyssey

Oh, 100%. She’s such a schemer and really only cares about herself. She’s looking out for #1 all the time.

The First Person to Turn to the Dark Side:

NoOOoooOOOoooo not Telemachus! (also from The Odyssey)

He’s so sweet. I’m sure he would make a horrible zombie.

This is the first one that hurts a bit.

The Team Idiot:

Miss Hardcastle from That Hideous Strength

Woah, I would not peg her as an out-and-out idiot, but sure! I despise her character anyway.

But this makes her the fumbling character who basically gives our location away to the zombies.

… or maybe not so fumbling.

The Brains of the Group:

Jane Studdock also from That Hideous Strength

You’ve got to be kidding me.

We’re so dead.

JANE?! The woman who is so so SO absolutely indecisive???

I wouldn’t trust her to make a grocery list, let alone save the human race from zombies.

If she’s our “brains”, you may as well walk directly into open gunfire.

The Team Medic:

Rue from The Hunger Games

Aweee I can totally see this. Remember that scene where she teaches Katniss how to treat her leg wound by making a poultice of leaves?

(This is before the Capitol medicine shows up.)

The Brawler:

Cinna, also from The Hunger Games

Ummmm???

What???

Have you seen Cinna?

Maybe he’ll have something crafty up his sleeve, like the mockingjay outfit, but I definitely do not think that he would win in a fight against … anyone.

Except maybe Ceaser Flickerman.

But that’s a big maybe.

The Weapons Expert:

Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit

Okay, okay. This one is believable.

At least we’ll be well-skilled even if Jane leads us into a trap.

The Team Leader:

Balin from The Hobbit

Oh gosh.

We’re even more dead.

Not that I have anything against him… he’s just … Balin.

If he led the journey in The Hobbit, I doubt they would have even started.

I’m Tagging:

(Apologies to anyone who was already tagged!)

and YOU! 🫵

If you’re reading this right now and want to participate, consider yourself tagged.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

-Mia Grace ✨

Subscribe now

I have hit 130 subscribers, and, as promised, here is the post:

Enjoy! :)

1. I really, really, REALLY love books. Like REALLY. (It’s not like I have a blog about them or anything…)

2. I am a sucker for any cute-looking bookstore, and I will probably spend all the money I have on me once I get sucked in. (RIP my wallet😭)

3. I am on a mission to collect all of my favorite author’s (D.E. Stevenson’s) books! I only have 14 to go! 🥳

4. I am an amateur (very amateur) photographer!

5. My favorite photos I’ve taken have been of my baby cousin, flowers, and the sunset. 📸

6. I do not have any sisters, only 4 crazy fun brothers.

7. I have very … eclectic … music tastes. 🎶

8. I listen to songs from Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Myles Smith, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Colbie Caillat, for KING + COUNTRY, Switchfoot, TobyMac, Francesca Battistelli… (see what I mean about eclectic?)

9. I know in real life!

10. My current reads are: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

11. I love to bake. 🍰

12. I have made dinner entirely off of a recipe I got from Pinterest, and it actually was really good!

13. I have played a song more that 5 times in a row before (it was Fallin’ For You by Colbie Caillat🎼)

14. I set a goal to read 100 books this year and I’ve already read 84.

15. Tobey Maguire is my favorite Spider-Man and always will be. 🕸️

16. I love quilling, which is “an art form that involves using strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.” (thanks, Google!)

17. I also love hand writing letters! 📝

18. I really only got into the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom last year, but it’s been so fun!

19. My favorite MCU movies are Captain America: Winter Solider and the Black Widow movie.

20. The 1995 Pride & Prejudice is my absolute favorite show ever! 🎩💐

21. My longest Spotify playlist is my country playlist, which has 89 songs and is 4 hours and 45 minutes long.

22. I’ve read all of Jane Austen’s books except Persuasion. 🫣

23. I own all of Maud Hart Lovelace’s books, and my favorite one is Betsy and Joe.

24. My whole family loves PBS Masterpiece’s version of Around the World in 80 Days (the 2021 version). It’s the best version that I’ve seen. (I’m not sure if it’s true to the book because I haven’t read it… but it was extremely well directed, and the cinematography is gorgeous🤩).

25. My (current) favorite color is green teal. Basically all of this:

    

26. I love musicals!! Especially La La Land. But…

27. Newsies (the Christian Bale version, of course) is the only musical that my brothers will willingly watch with me. 😢

28. I love road trips!

29. I love reading aloud! My cousins and I are reading the Betsy-Tacy series aloud, and I’m reading the Narnia series to my youngest brother currently. 📚

30. Perhaps it comes as no surprise, but I would really love to open a bookstore someday (something like The Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail)

31. (YAY! You got a bonus one) You’ve Got Mail is my favorite movie hands-down. 🌼

Well, that turned more into book and music recommendations than I thought it would…

Thanks for reading!

-Mia Grace ✨

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I hope you are all having a wonderful day so far. ✨

I am so, so, SO excited to share this post with you!

I’ve been waiting for to release their first magazine, and I was so delighted that I got the chance to be able to help promote it!

Doesn’t this cover look delightful?! 😍😍😍

A little bit about :

Crown of Beauty Magazine is a quarterly print and digital publication created for Christian teens and young women (ages 13–30) who desire a life rooted in faith, beauty, and purpose.

Through a blend of Biblical encouragement and soft, whimsical storytelling, we explore:

~Biblical womanhood
~Joyful, intentional living
~The whimsy of girlhood
~Wholesome adventure and creativity

Each issue is designed to feel like a breath of fresh air, uplifting the heart, inspiring the imagination, and reminding every reader of her God-given worth.

We’re a collective of voices releasing beauty, joy, and whimsy into the world.

Join our community! There’s always a seat at the table. You can sit with us!

This magazine is exactly what our world needs right now.

Part of the reason I started Mia Grace Reads was so that teens my age could find in my blog what I could not find in so many others - clean, wholesome reads where they didn’t need to worry about content issues.

I love this magazine’s idea especially because it’s so closely aligned with my own goals. I could not recommend them more highly and if you’re not already following them, I earnestly recommend that you do so! (I’ll be sharing their socials a bit later in this post so stay tuned 😊)

Now, let’s hear about their first issue!

The Awakening Issue:

Sleeping Beauty, it’s time to awaken.

In this stunning, 72-page debut issue, you’ll find articles highlighting young women who are walking with God and have wisdom to share from their unique season of life. Take back your Sword of Truth and demolish the enemy’s lies with our Bible Study and reflective journaling questions. Plan a fabulous summer strawberry party with your girlies, slow down and find the whimsy in a Little Women summer and get tips for spending less time scrolling and more time living!

Filled with gorgeous photography, uplifting articles and whimsical summer clipart, The Awakening Issue is more than a magazine—it’s an invitation to step into the life God created you to live as His Royal Princess Daughter.

Some sneak peeks of The Awakening Issue 👀✨

If you weren’t already excited about this magazine, I hope that you are now!

I even have a link to a form you can fill out to try and win a free issue of Crown of Beauty Magazine! 🥳😊

Win a free issue!

And if you want to order your own copy, click the link below!!

Buy a copy!

Follow & Subscribe to Crown of Beauty!

On their website: crownofbeautymedia.com

On Substack:

On Instagram: @crownofbeautymagazine

On TikTok: @crownofbeautymagazine

Seriously girls, this magazine is one of the best ideas I’ve seen in a very long time. Please take the time to go and check them out!

Happy Reading!

-Mia Grace ✨

photo from pinterest

Hello hello my dear readers!

Today I want to try something new…

I want to try and give YOU a personalized book recommendation! :)

Simply answer the questions below in the “comments” section, and I’ll do my best to give you a new book to read!

1. What are 3-5 of your absolute favorite books?

2. What is the last book you remember enjoying the read?

3. Who is your favorite author (and what is the genre they normally write about)?

4. What is your favorite genre?

5. Preferred length?

I’ll see you in the comments!

Happy Reading! 📖

-Mia Grace ✨

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Also, I have only seen Tom Holland’s first and third movies (although apparently his third movie is the best one??).

I’m admitting up front that I am quite biased in Tobey’s favor.

However, I shall try to prove my point sensibly - but just remember that you’ve been warned! **

Okay, now that that is over with…

On to the review!!

Also, by the way, if you’re reading this in your email, it may cut it off part of the post! So please try reading on Substack. Thanks! :)

Warning— if you haven’t seen Captain America: Civil War, the Tobey Maguire trilogy, or the Tom Holland trilogy, this review may contain spoilers.

Read at your own risk!!

I couldn’t find a photo of just Tobey and Tom.

So, you Andrew Garfield fans get this one and only photo of Andrew Garfield in this review.

Also, the second photo which I just realized was pieced together from the earlier movies, but I still think it looks really cool so it’s going in the review. ;)

I’m going to try for a different angle in this review.

Instead of giving you the film synopsis and my notes, I’m going to attempt to compare the films point by point and character by character (well not every point, more like just the highlights, but you get the picture).

So, without further ado…

drumroll please…

let’s launch right into this review!

The Origin Story

Tobey:

• Got his powers by being bitten by radioactive spider while on a field trip with his classmates.

• Suddenly discovers his powers, tries to use said powers for good, especially after the tragic death of his uncle.

• His uncle’s last words to him “With great power comes great responsibility” haunt him through the rest of the series.

Tom:

• I believe his story started with Captain America: Civil War??

• It doesn’t specify where he got the powers.

• He’s recruited by Iron Man to go fight Captain America in some random airport on the other side of the world.

• Tries his best to be “just a friendly neighborhood spiderman” but he really wants bigger battles than NYC can offer him.

The Boss

Tobey:

• J. Jonah Jameson - one of the funniest and most underrated Marvel characters of all time!

• His one-liners are some of my favorite scenes.

Tom:

• Does Tom’s Peter have a job???

• I don’t really think so, or if he does, we don’t really see the boss, but we’ll consider Happy Hogan his “boss” for now.

• Also, a funny character, except he’s more funny-while-annoyed.

• He’s kind of a “meh” character in my opinion, like he’s just… there.

The Villains

It took forever to find these pictures.

I don’t really care that much about the villains (sue me 😂), so here’s just a brief overview.

Tobey:

He has Green Goblin (his best friend’s scientist-gone-crazy father), Doc Ock (scientist-controlled-by-evil-AI), Sandman (who turns good), and Venom (who stays evil).

Tom:

He has the Vulture (his… crush’s dad), Mysterio (I don’t know anything about him because I haven’t seen the movie he’s in…), and the original villains from Tobey and Andrew’s movies.

(Obviously, he’s also got Thanos, but I wanted to just do the villains from his actual movies.)

The Third Movie Controversy

I’ve heard from several people about how cringy and odd Tobey acts in his third movie — especially the sequences after he breaks up with MJ. I must agree that those scenes are really weird and kind of uncalled for.

However…

In Tom’s third movie, if you remove all the magic spells and weird magic stuff (*cough* Dr. Strange…), you don’t even have a movie. You have like 25 minutes of a movie.

At least Tobey’s movies can stand on their own two feet (weird analogy, I know), and they don’t have to rely on Dr. Strange or any weird magic stuff!

The Best Friend

Tobey:

• Harry Osborne is his best friend, who is closer than a brother to Peter (until he isn’t).

• He’s very over-privileged, spoiled, quite a show-off, and basically your average jerk rich kid who somehow becomes best friends with Peter Parker (until he tries to kill him).

• His death scene will always be one of the most tear-jerking Marvel scenes I’ve ever watched.

Tom:

• Ned Leeds (yeah, I had to google the last name).

• I do like the comedic character of Peter’s “man in the chair”, but that’s all he really is - a side character.

• His story really doesn’t have that much depth. He’s Peter Parker’s best friend and that’s it.

• Much different from Harry’s super angst-ridden storyline.

• Also, at no point (at least that I know of) did Ned try to date MJ (as Harry did - which, by the way, adds so much tension and awkwardness to Peter and Harry’s friendship that it makes a great side story).

The Uncle/Father Figure

Tobey:

• Uncle Ben Parker. Forever one of my favorite characters.

• “Just remember, Pete; with great power comes great responsibility”

• What. A. Quote.

• And the way it resurfaces in every movie!! What a great touch.

Tom:

• Tony Stark. I guess he’s the sort of surrogate uncle??

• Not really the greatest role model…

• (Don’t get me wrong, I really do love Tony Stark’s whole character arc, but you have to admit that a self-admitted “playboy” does not make the greatest role model to a maturing teenager.)

Aunt May

Tobey:

• Tobey’s Aunt May is the sweetest, most wholesome, kind person that I’ve ever seen in any Marvel movie.

• She’s surprisingly tough under that heart of gold however (as Doc Ock knows).

• She’s always there when Peter needs her the most - sometimes giving him a bit of tough love and making him grow up, but she is always, always there for him.

Tom:

• Tom’s Aunt May (whom he just calls “May” …) is sweet as well but a little on the immoral side (cough- um that whole dialogue with Happy at the starting of the third movie?)

• She believes that there is good in everyone and tries to impart this belief on her nephew as well. Sadly, this belief ultimately results in her death.

• It’s nice that they were able to work the with great power comes great responsibility quote into the Tom movies, but personally I still think that it sounds better coming from Uncle Ben.

The Girlfriend

Tobey:

• Mary Jane Watson.

• Vivacious MJ, with a heart for acting and a mind that is continually trying to figure out the mess that is Peter Parker, gets caught up in a lot of things during this trilogy.

• She’s one of the sources of tension between Peter and Harry, she’s alternately dangled off of the George Washington Bridge in NYC, trapped in a taxicab that is falling off of a building, and chained to a pole.

• It’s safe to say, her life isn’t very safe at all!

• I love Kirsten Dunst’s whole dynamic and character in this movie. She really rocks the role of MJ to perfection.

Tom:

• Michelle Jones-Watson.

• This MJ is a little less damsel-in-distress, and way more I’m-fine-let-me-do-it-myself.

• She’s so funny and super sarcastic which I love.

• I really do love Zendaya in this role!! She does such an amazing job at playing her MJ.

• I think that Tobey’s MJ and Tom’s would be BFFs in real life… what do you think? They would totally get together to talk about how crazy it is to date a Spider-Man.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

and now the grand finale!

Tobey:

• He’s dorky. (He’s SUPPOSED to look dorky, people!)

• In the first movie we see him struggle and grow through his uncle’s tragic death and the aftermath that surrounds it.

• In the second, he has to decide what he wants — the suit or the girl. He ultimately chooses the suit but gets the surprise of his life when the girl won’t allow him to reject her.

• In the third movie, his ego grows quite a lot, but he gets it all figured out by the end and is humbler and better because of it.

• I just love the voice-overs at the beginning and ending of each film and also the overall character growth.

Tom:

• The most unrealistic thing is that Tom Holland (who is in fact VERY good looking) is passed off as the nerdy, dorky kid. It just doesn’t work.

• In the first movie we see his frustration and wanting to do something “big” - behavior that culminates in lecture from Iron Man. He ends up fighting his girlfriend’s… (is she his girlfriend in this movie? I can’t remember) … anyway his friend-who-is-a-girl, he ends up fighting her dad, and winning, and rejecting a room at the Avengers compound (that’s literally all I remember about the first movie).

• I haven’t seen the second movie, but here’s a brief overview from my friend named Google:

my brother would like me to point out that both villains in the first two Tom Holland movies are “disgruntled employees,” as proved by the second screenshot below:

• In the third movie, he accidentally pulls other “multiverses” into his world and has to figure out how to deal with the problem with the help of his fellow Spider-Men.

When it comes down to it, Tobey will always be my Spider-Man.

His movies were the only Marvel movies that my siblings and I were allowed to watch for the longest time.

That being said, I would still want to see the Andrew Garfield movies, so that I can say that I’ve seen all the Spider-Men movies.

Also, in case you’re wondering, I would still want to see the new Tom Holland movie. Just not necessarily in the movie theater (unless someone else is paying 😏😂).

Please Comment!! :)

Who is your favorite Spider-Man? Why?

Happy Reading Watching! 🕸️🦸🏻

-Mia Grace ✨

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250 years of the United States of America… WOW!

This post is going to be all about some of my favorite books about American history and historical periods.

I hope y’all enjoy this post! :)

1. In My Father’s House by Ann Rinaldi

One of my favorite books about the Civil War, In My Father’s House follows the family who witnessed the war being started literally on their front lawn, to ending in their parlor (seriously!!).

As with all of Ann Rinaldi’s books, this one is very well-written and extremely well-researched.

“Love is like light and there are two kinds, the bursting fireworks of the moment and the solid, fixed stars that sometimes become obscured in the heavens, but are always there, year after year, for a lifetime.”

“He knows the most important language of all. Human compassion.”

~In My Father’s House by Ann Rinaldi

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

While I referenced Atticus Finch in my Father’s Day post (which you can read by clicking the button below), this book is about so much more than the Finch family.

It’s about the Deep South during one of the saddest parts of U.S. history.

A story that is ultimately about human dignity and values, it is masterfully written, and such a gripping tale!

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”

“People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for.”

“The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”

~To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Read my Fathers' Day post!

3. A Ride into Morning by Ann Rinaldi

This is a wonderful retelling of one of the lesser-known Revolutionary War stories - Tempe Wick, the girl who outsmarted mutineers in the winter of 1781, and saved her horse from being confiscated by them.

“My heart stopped beating, I know it did. Hearts do that sometimes, for just a beat or two. Then they start up again. But they never regain those missed beats, and nothing is ever the same afterwards. Life proceeds to a different cadence, and never again as harmonious as before”

~A Ride into Morning by Ann Rinaldi

4. Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

What an amazing picture of typical life in a large American family during the early 1920s!

This book is so hilarious, and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend that you do so!

The sequel, Belles on Their Toes is also quite good. :)

“Some simpleton with pimples in his voice wants to speak to Ernestine,” he grumbled to Mother when he answered the phone.

“Although a graduate of the University of California the bride is nonetheless an extremely attractive young woman.”

~Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

5. The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

This wonderful story about one of the most persevering and determined Americans ever is such an excellent read.

Helen Keller did not let being deaf and blind stop her from pursuing her dreams and becoming one of the most influential Americans of her time.

“Literature is my utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness.”

“I wonder what becomes of lost opportunities? Perhaps our guardian angel gathers them up as we drop them and will give them back to us in the beautiful sometime when we have grown wiser and learned how to use them rightly.”

“Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow.”

~The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

6. The Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

If this series isn’t the best portrait of the prairie settler mindset during the 1860s, then I don’t know what is.

It is such an excellent series that really captures this whole historical period so well.

“We start learning the minute we're born, Laura. And if we're wise, we don't stop until the Lord calls us home.”

Ma sighed gently and said, “A whole year gone, Charles.”

But Pa answered, cheerfully: “What's a year amount to? We have all the time there is.”

~Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

7. So Far from Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl by Barry Denenberg

One of my favorite series for 10–13-year-old girls who love history?

The Dear America series.

They’re fictional journals written from the perspective of girls living in different historical periods, from the landing of the Mayflower to stories of the Great Railroad Race, to World War II.

I picked Mary Driscoll’s diary to highlight because it shows so excellently the mindset of the early immigrants and also, sadly, the overwhelming prejudice against the Irish Catholics in the mostly Protestant New England.

We should never forget our immigrant roots, or the hardships that our ancestors endured to get us where we are today.

I am worn. Standing all day has caused my feet to ache terribly. Nothing relieves the pain. Weariness has crept into my bones. My eyes feel as if they will burst from my head thanks to the endless noise. The lint flies everywhere. Breathing itself is a burden.

-So Far from Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl by Barry Denenberg

8. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is one of the most famous works of American literature, showcasing the dripping wealth and material success that equated to “happiness” in the flapper era.

A somewhat confusing read but a very vivid portrait of the 1920s in New York.

“And so, with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

“Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.”

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

~The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

9. The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories by O. Henry

O. Henry has such a genius for catching the authentic spirit of the lower- and middle-class working Americans of the early 1900s.

Some of my favorite stories in this collection are “The Gift of the Magi”, “Springtime a la Carte”, “The Last Leaf”, and “A Retrieved Reformation”.

“Life is full of sniffles sobs and smiles. With sniffles predominating.”

~The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

10. Love Stories of World War II compiled by Larry King

I found this in a thrift store for $1 and it was such a good purchase!

A wonderful anthology that was especially interesting to me, as my great-grandparents met through the letters they exchanged throughout World War II.

This is quite an amazing snapshot of this time period in American history!

Please Comment!! :)

What is your favorite time period in American history?

Happy 4th of July & Happy Reading! 🎆🦅

-Mia Grace ✨

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Recently I had the opportunity to read this amazing book, Living your Strengths: Discover your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community.

I also took the CliftonStrengths assesment which goes along with the book.

Wow.

This was the most accurate “personality” test I’ve ever taken. The descriptions for each of my five top traits sounded so accurate and so exactly like me!

Of course, I immediately started to reccomend this book to everyone I know.

Synopsis:

Even in a country as religious as the U.S., many people feel disengaged from their faith communities. More than half report that they really don't get the opportunity in their congregation to do what they do best. People just feel disconnected.

Maybe it's because those faith communities make unwitting missteps: Pastors ask shy people to be greeters or recruit innately disorganized people to coordinate church events.

The problem is simply this: Too many people's talents are going unappreciated. But it doesn't have to be this way. Living Your Strengths Catholic Edition shows readers how to use their innate gifts to enrich their faith communities.

My Notes:

• I don’t typically go in for self-help books (which is what I’m categorizing this as), but this book really went above and beyond my expectations.

• It really helped me to understand the different traits I have and why I respond to circumstances a certain way.

• I especially liked the way that the authors broke down all 34 categories into simple, easy-to-read snippets, with those epic Bible verses for each category.

• Also, the checklists of the things you could do with your traits to deepen your faith was very clear and easy to follow.

• Overall, I’d say it was a really wonderful book that helped me quite a lot. If you decide to read it, I hope it does the same for you!

Happy Reading!

-Mia Grace ✨

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I hope y’all are having an amazing Saturday so far!

Tomorrow is Fathers’ Day, so I thought I’d celebrate by making a post about all of my favorite literary fathers. (And celebrating with my dad too, of course!)

(FYI the post mayyyy be too long for email. So you’ll have to read it on my substack 😅)

1. Atticus Finch

“Heck,” Atticus’s back was turned. “If this thing’s hushed up it’ll be a simple denial to Jem of the way I’ve tried to raise him. Sometimes I think I’m a total failure as a parent, but I’m all they’ve got. Before Jem looks at anyone else, he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him… if I connived at something like this, frankly I couldn’t meet his eye, and the day I can’t do that I’ll know I’ve lost him. I don’t want to lose him and Scout, because they’re all I’ve got.”

-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Atticus Finch is one of the most famous fathers in literary fiction. I really need to re-read this book - even just skimming through it before writing this post was enough to make me want to re-read it.

The movie (with Gregory Peck) is a wonderful adaptation of the book, and I highly reccomend it.

2. Jean-Valjean

When he saw Cosette, when he had taken her, carried her away, and rescued her, he felt his heart moved. All that he had of feeling and affection was aroused and vehemently attracted towards this child.

-Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

What other literary characters fo you know of who go in search of and later adopt an eight-year-old simply because the dying mother (whom he barely knew) asked him to?

I’ll wait.

The genuine love and care that Jean-Valjean showers upon Cosette is so beautiful and touching. He’s truly a masterfully drawn character.

3. Frank Gilbreth

Dad was a tall man with a large head, jowls, and a Herbert Hoover collar. He carried himself with the self-assurance of a successful gentleman who was proud of his wife, proud of his family, and proud of his business accomplishments.

-Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth, Jr; and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Featuring one of the funniest fathers in my book collection, I absolutely adore Cheaper by the Dozen! It’s one of the only books that makes me laugh every single time I read it.

4. Mr. Bennet

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character.

After listening one morning to their effusions on this subject, Mr. Bennet coolly observed, “From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time, but now I am convinced.”

-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Mr. Bennet has long been one of my absolute favorites of Jane Austen’s many characters.

You find yourself wondering how such a supremely sarcastic, intelligent man ever fell for the supremely silly Mrs. Bennet.

5. Matthew Cuthbert

“Well now, I’d rather have you than a dozen boys, Anne,” said Matthew, patting her hand. “Just mind you that — rather than a dozen boys. Well now, I guess it wasn’t a boy that took the Avery scholarship, was it? It was a girl — my girl — my girl that I’m proud of.”

-Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Matthew is always there as Anne’s silent supporter.

Who can forget that he bought Anne her first really pretty dress “with puffed sleeves”?! (Especially after that intensely awkward scene in the store? 🤣)

Matthew as a father figure will always have a special place in my heart.

Read my full review here

6. Carson Drew

“I believe you can,” her father replied, his eyes twinkling. “I’d say this is more your kind of mystery than mine, Nancy.”

He looked affectionately at the slim, blue-eyed girl. Mr. Drew was proud of his eighteen-year-old daughter, who had gained a reputation of her own by solving many mysteries.

-The Secret in the Old Attic by Carolyn Keene

The only complaint I have against Mr. Drew is the amount of life-threatening danger that he allows his daughter to get herself into.

To be fair… he never really knows about her near escapes until after they’re over… but you would think that after three or four “coincidences,” he would give her some practical life advice, like “don’t sneak into the shady-looking nursing home by yourself” or “stay away from shady Russian men,” but noooo he never gives advice of that type.

I suppose that’s why there are over 80 Nancy Drew Mysteries. 😂

7. Charles Ingalls

“Well!” he said to her. “You’re only a little half-pint of cider half drunk up, but by Jinks! you’re as strong as a little French horse!”

“You shouldn’t frighten the children so, Charles,” Ma said. “Look how big their eyes are.”

Pa looked, and then he took down his fiddle. He began to play and sing.

-Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

One of the most stubborn men in my book collection, Charles Ingalls moves his family almost every-other-year because he dislikes crowds.

So they end up “a hundred miles from civilization” more times than Ma can possibly count!

Michael Landon just personifies Pa in the Little House series. I absolutely love his character arc.

8. Alec Campbell

“I wonder people are in such haste to ‘bring out’ their daughters as it’s called. To me, there is something almost pathetic in the sight of a young girl standing on the threshold of the world, so innocent, and hopeful, so ignorant of all that lies before her, and usually so ill prepared to meet life. We do our duty better by the boys, but the poor little women are seldom provided with any armor worth having, and sooner or later they are sure to need it, for every one must fight her own battle, and only the brave and strong can win.”

-Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

Rose’s beloved uncle Alec, who becomes her father figure and guardian after her own father dies has some revolutionary ideas on how girls should be raised that makes all of his many sisters gasp in shock several times.

Rose profits by her unusual upbringing, however, and becomes quite the beautiful and experienced young lady.

9. Clark Davis

“I have a little ‘un, not much more’n a mite — and she be needin’ a mama. Now as I see it, if we marries, you an’ me —” he looked directly at her then, squatting down to put himself more on her level, “we could solve both of those problems. I would have waited but the preacher is only here fer today an’ won’t be back through agin ‘til next April or May, so’s it has to be today.”

-Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

How many fathers do you know who would remarry simply to provide a mother for their daughter, and nothing else (and be willing to send said daughter “back east” with the surrogate mother)?

The only thing I dislike about this book is the wording… like okay we get it; they talk like that.

Other than that, it’s quite the heartwarming read.

10. Bob Ray

“It won’t do Betsy any harm to learn about commas,” Mr. Ray said. “I’ve noticed myself that she scatters them like grass seed.”

-Heavens to Betsy & Betsy in Spite of Herself by Maud Hard Lovelace

Everyone in Betsy’s “Crowd” adores her easygoing father and heartily enjoys his special “Sunday Night Lunches”.

His character is so well drawn!! One of the best humorous father figures.

Please Comment!! :)

Who is your favorite father figure from a book?

Happy Reading and have a Happy Fathers’ Day!

-Mia Grace ✨

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I recently discovered that National Brothers’ Day is celebrated every May 24th.

Although May 24th has most certainly passed already… I still thought that a post on my favorite brother duos in books would be fun to do!

(Especially since I have four crazy brothers of my own…)

Peter and Edmund Pevensie

Edmund said to Peter, “if you’re not still too high and mighty to talk to me, I’ve something to say which you’d better listen to.”

“What is it?” asked Peter.

-The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

“I suppose you don’t believe we won the Battle of Beruna?” [Edmund said] “Well, you can say what you like about me, because I know—”

“There’s no good losing our tempers,” said Peter.

-Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Peter and Edmund are that classic big-brother, little-brother duo. They may bicker incessantly over the smallest trifles, but when it comes to the bigger issues - such as battle plans or protecting their sisters - they stand staunchly together.

Walter and Jem Blythe

“See — there is a great golden palace over there in the sunset,” said Walter, pointing. “Look at the shining towers — and the crimson banners streaming from them. Perhaps a conqueror is riding home from battle — and they are hanging them out to do honour to him.”

“Oh, I wish we had the old days back again,” exclaimed Jem. “I’d love to be a soldier — a great, triumphant general. I’d give everything to see a big battle.”

-Rainbow Valley, by L.M. Montgomery

Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe’s sons are about as different as two brothers could possibly be. Jem, the eldest, is a very practical boy who leads his merry band of siblings and their assorted friends into all sorts of escapades.

Walter, by contrast, is the imaginative, shy, poet of the family, often discovered daydreaming while the other children are playing.

You might say that Walter tells the story, and Jem wants it to actually come true.

Siegfried and Tristan Farnon

“Sorry about the way things turned out,” I said awkwardly.

“No, no, that’s all right.” [Tristan said] “It could have been a lot worse, you know.”

“Worse? Well, it’s bad enough, isn’t it? What are you going to do?”

“Do? What do you mean?”

“Well, you’ve been kicked out, haven’t you? Where are you going to sleep tonight?”

“I can see you don’t understand” Tristan said. He took his cigarette from his mouth, and I saw the gleam of very white teeth as he smiled. “You needn’t worry, I’m sleeping here and I’ll be down to breakfast in the morning.”

“But how about your brother?”

“Siegfried? Oh, he’ll have forgotten all about it by then.”

“Are you sure?”

“Dead sure. He’s always sacking me, and he always forgets.”

-All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

With Siegfried and Tristan, we still have the Edmund-and-Peter dynamic, but it’s Edmund-and-Peter with the added awkwardness of Edmund being financially dependent on Peter.

Siegfried and Tristan argue quite often, and quite loudly, but deep down (VERY deep down), they do actually like each other, crazy as it might seem.

Frank and Joe Hardy

“He’s probably halfway across the state by this time” Joe remarked.

“Unless he’s in jail or over a cliff,” Frank added.

-The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon

“That would be great!” said seventeen-year-old, blond-haired Joe, his blue eyes flashing in anticipation.

Frank, a year older than his brother, and less impetuous, asked in a serious tone of voice, “Dad, have you any ideas about the identity of the smugglers?”

-The House on the Cliff by Franklin W. Dixon

The most unrealistic thing about the Hardy Boys is that they barely ever argue. Sure, they tease each other, and their friends, but rare is the moment when they actually out-and-out disagree with each other.

Aside from that, they are certainly very accurate depictions of two very close brothers during the early 1920s (oh yes, I only read the older books. I’m sorry, but these new “updated” ones are so wishy-washy).

(Sidenote - you’ve got to love the “subtle” character descriptions that only appear in like EVERY SINGLE BOOK 🤣😆)

Dan Bell

On Monday morning Dan opened his sleepy eyes to see his sister standing beside his bedside with a tray in her hands.

“Great snakes!” he exclaimed. “What’s the time? I meant to get up and help you!”

“You were tired, so we let you sleep in” Dinah told him.

-Young Mrs. Savage by D.E. Stevenson

One of my favorite aspects of this book (Young Mrs. Savage) is that fun grown-up twin-brother-and-sister angle.

It’s also very funny seeing Dan try and figure out how to interact with his sister’s four children… and try and make out their characters at the same time.

The Campbell Cousins

“Don’t be frightened. This is the clan come to welcome you; and I’m the chief, Archie, at your service.”

[a few sentences later…]

“We came out in full rig, for we always turn out in style on grand occasions. Hope you like it. Now I’ll tell you who these chaps are, and then we shall be all right. This big one is Prince Charlie, Aunt Clara’s boy. She has but one, so he is an extra good one. This old fellow is Mac, the bookworm, called Worm for short. This sweet creature is Steve the Dandy. Look at his gloves and top-knot if you please. They are Aunt Jane’s lads, and a precious pair you’d better believe. These are the Brats, my brothers, Geordie and Will and Jamie the Baby.”

-Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

Although they are mostly cousins, and not all brothers, they behave as the most rambunctious pseudo-brothers to their extremely shy cousin, Rose.

The adventures and scrapes that they get into throughout this book are hilariously fun.

Jo’s Boys

Franz was with a merchant kinsman in Hamburg … Emil was the jolliest tar that ever “sailed the ocean blue” … Dan was a wanderer still … Nat was busy with music at the Conservatory … Tom was studying medicine and trying to like it … Jack was in business with his father, bent on getting rich. Dolly was in college with Stuffy and Ned reading law.

-Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott

The sequel to Little Men, this book follows the students from Jo Bhaer’s school as they navigate the waters of adulthood.

It’s a delightful conclusion to the series that began with Little Women.

Please Comment!! :)

What is your favorite book about brothers?

Happy Reading! 👦📖

-Mia Grace ✨

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Do you know which movie feels like it should be a book?

You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. *cue interior fangirling*

It’s got that enemies-to-lovers trope, that five-star style, and those delectable songs!!!

PLUS- it’s ALL about BOOKS!

What could be better??

one of the best scenes in the movie 😁

Synopsis:

The stars (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan) and director (Nora Ephron) of Sleepless in Seattle reteamed for this charming audience favorite. Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton and more great co-stars add note-perfect support to this cinematic love letter in which superstore book chain magnate Hanks and cozy children’s bookshop owner Ryan are anonymous e-mail cyberpals who fall head-over-laptops in love, unaware they are combative business rivals. You’ve got rare Hollywood magic when You’ve Got Mail.

My Notes:

• My favorite movie EVER!! It will never get old. There’s never a point when you’re watching this movie and you think “I wish I turned on something else.”

• Also, what a simply excellent picture of the early 90s when the “web” was just getting started.

• The clothing!!!! I don’t even have words so just take a look at these photos Pinterest so obligingly provided:

• Can we please, please bring back writing long and chatty emails - or better yet, letters- “more about nothing than something”? I am 100% in favor of that.

• Also, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan just have so much chemistry! No wonder they were cast first in Sleepless in Seattle and later in this cinematic masterpiece! (You’ve Got Mail is the better movie by the way…)

• This movie feels like the epitome of nostalgia to me… I’m not exactly sure why?

• Seriously though, if you like daisies, enemies-to-lovers, 90s rom-coms or books… just drop whatever you’re doing and go watch this movie immediately. You will not regret it.

Quotes I liked:

• The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings.

• Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void.

• When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.

• Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies.

Please Comment!! :)

What is your favorite movie about books?

Happy Reading Watching! 🌼📚

-Mia Grace ✨

Recently I was recommended the author Rosanna M. White by one of my friends, so I checked out a couple of her titles from my local library.

I immediately fell in love with this beautifully woven story, and I was so excited to learn it has sequels (which I immediately added to my TBR!)

A Name Unknown by Roseanna M. White

Synopsis:

Edwardian Romance and History Gains a Twist of Suspense

Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of former urchins that helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of London. Grown now, they concentrate on stealing high-value items and have learned how to blend into upper-class society. But when Rosemary must determine whether a certain wealthy gentleman is loyal to Britain or to Germany, she is in for the challenge of a lifetime. How does one steal a family's history, their very name?

Peter Holstein, given his family's German blood, writes his popular series of adventure novels under a pen name. With European politics boiling and his own neighbors suspicious of him, Peter debates whether it might be best to change his name for good. When Rosemary shows up at his door pretending to be a historian and offering to help him trace his family history, his question might be answered.

But as the two work together and Rosemary sees his gracious reaction to his neighbors' scornful attacks, she wonders if her assignment is going down the wrong path. Is it too late to help him prove that he's more than his name?

My Notes:

• I love that family matters more than anything. It’s a theme that I think is sadly left out in most modern literature.

• Rosemary’s character was probably my favorite. It was so delightful to follow her character growth throughout this novel.

• It was also cool to see the young King Edward VIII when he was still a prince… we get to see a bit of a hint of the man he will eventually turn into when he says that people should marry whomever they want, regardless of social status. (He would later abdicate the throne of England to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson.)

• Also, the character of the “villain” and later “good guy” was very masterfully drawn.

• Gryff’s character was one of my favorites. He was so gruff and sarcastic.

• The library description!! I wanted sooo badly to go into the library (and help organize it of course. *cue hair flip*)

• I did NOT know that during World War I the monarchy of England paid the popular novelists - especially those novelists who had a large readership in America - to put pro-patriotic, pro-war, pro-British “propaganda” into their novels, thus preparing the everyday citizens for the eventual alliance between the United States and England.

• All in all, this was an excellent, well-crafted book, and I would definitely recommend it!

Quotes I liked:

• “Fiction is a way to express mankind’s deepest heart. His fears. His hopes. His failings. His successes. Fiction is truth . . . in a pretty wrapping.”

• “And the best sort of villain is smart and subtle and so very tricky that you don't even know he's the villain, because he thinks himself the hero in his own story.”

• “Above all, Peter, we must be gentle. Self-controlled. This is how others see the love of Christ in us.”

Please Comment!! :)

Do you have a favorite time period to read about?

What is it?

Happy Reading! 📚💙

-Mia Grace

Last week I was FINALLY able to get some new library books!

The first one I read was The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill.

This book was such a completely and utterly amazing read. I started it in the late afternoon and ended up finishing it that same night close to midnight (I took breaks in between, obviously 😆). It was just that riveting.

Also, it was a mystery, and I hate going to bed and leaving a mystery unsolved.

Technically, as a rule, I never read mystery novels at night, because I have a tendency to freak myself out over them, and then I can’t sleep. (The first time I read a mystery at night I did not sleep at all for the rest of the night. I was also ten years old at the time. The book was Nancy Drew: The Mysterious Mannequin in case you’re wondering.)

Anyway, I just could not help myself- this book completely sucked me in (sidenote- I love it when that happens :). I don’t think I’ve been that deep into a mystery book since I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie two or three years ago (I also finished that one in the middle of the night… what is wrong with me?!)

So, without further ado, let’s dive right into this book. 😁🙌

The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill

featuring my super non-aesthetic blur on the library’s barcode 😆

Synopsis:

To most people, Piper Sail looks like a rich girl with little potential, but she surprises everyone, including herself, when she starts investigating her best friend’s disappearance. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Maureen Johnson, The Lost Girl of Astor Street combines the allure of Jazz Age Chicago with a twisting mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Lydia has vanished. Lydia, who’s never broken any rules, except falling in love with the wrong boy. Lydia, who’s been Piper’s best friend since they were children. Lydia, who never even said goodbye.

Convinced the police are looking in all the wrong places, eighteen-year-old Piper Sail begins her own investigation into Lydia’s disappearance. With the reluctant help of a handsome young detective, Piper searches for answers in the dark underbelly of 1924 Chicago. Did Lydia get abducted by one of the city’s most notorious gangsters? Or does the trail lead back to their own affluent neighborhood?

Piper must decide if she’s willing to risk her life to find out the truth.

My Notes:

• This story has a little bit of everything… a mystery, delightful 1920s style, the mafia, and even an annoying stepmother.

• Can I just say that I absolutely loved Piper’s character. She was very well-written and I really enjoyed the narrative style of writing.

• Aaaaand I just looked up the author on my library’s website and there’s a SEQUEL?! WHAT?! I guess I know what I’m reading next… 😆

• The overall mystery elements - they kept getting crazier and crazier. Every chapter more information would keep coming out, and just when you thought everything was getting back to normal (FINALLY), then YIKES! Four new developments would appear.

• Mariano was also a great character. I loved the police/detective angle, and Ms. Morrill really wrote him as quite a real-life character, instead of some of those wishy-washy male leads we usually find in YA novels (cough cough - Peeta Mellark. Sue me, but I really dislike his character.)

• The romance wasn’t played up too much at all, which I really liked, because there’s nothing I hate more than a good detective story turning into “oh wait half a second, we need like three and a half chapters all about these characters falling in love”. I really liked how in this book it’s the mystery that’s in the foreground, with the romance bits just barely threaded throughout.

• This is also a 100% clean read by the way! There is one reference to a guy having an affair, but it’s just mentioned in passing. There are also one or two references to prostitutes, but after all they are in the worst parts of Chicago in the 1920s. There’s nothing mentioned outside of the word “prostitute.”

• Overall, it was quite an on-the-edge-of-your-seat type of read and I did stay up wayyyyyyyyyyyy past my bedtime to read it (mom if you’re still reading this… again, I’m sorry! lol) and I would (obviously) highly recommend it!

Quotes I liked:

• “To love anyone is to risk.”

• “What does a girl have, really, if her word cannot be trusted?”

• “Grief is not weakness”

• “I am many things, Detective Cassano, but safe isn't one of them.”

Please Comment!! :)

What is your favorite mystery novel and why?

Happy Reading! 🔎📝

-Mia Grace ✨

Today’s post is all about some of the books I read this April.

With the exceptions of Ella Enchanted which didn’t make it into the photo because I had already returned it to the library, and The Giver because I already wrote a post about it last week.

I hope y’all enjoy this post!

1. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

As I mentioned in my Magician’s Nephew post, I’ve been re-reading the Narnia series to my younger brother. We finished this book rather quickly (mostly because he wanted to watch the movie…) and we are now working our way through Prince Caspian (we skipped The Horse and His Boy because (and who else agrees with me) it is the “boringest” Narnia book.)

2. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

   

I’ve already reviewed this book in more detail in this post; but I will say, if you’re looking for a heartwarming and quite funny read, look no further! This book is simply delightful.

3. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

As you can see from the cover (or absence of one…) this is an older book. I picked this book up mostly because I remembered it being a funny read, but quite frankly I was pretty shocked at the amount of anti-Catholic sentiment in this book (I obviously forgot that Mark Twain was a die-hard Presbyterian.)

It is, however, a hilarious portrait of what might happen if the 19th Century collided with Medieval times.

4. Messenger by Lois Lowry

This was my first time reading this book and I really enjoyed it! I love that we get to see a glimpse of Jonas as a young adult.

It was funny reading the description of Jonas’ house… it sounded an awful lot like The Giver’s house from the movie, with all the books and swirly staircase.

Matty was a wonderful character and really felt real to me.

5. Heavens to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace

I’ve been re-reading the Betsy-Tacy series to my cousins and we all really enjoyed this book!

Seeing Betsy grow up a bit but also remain the same girl within was really a treat.

Joe Willard also appears for the first time in this book… 👀😁

6. Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

This modern re-telling of Daddy-Long-Legs is just chef’s kiss! 🤌🤩🙌

I adore this bittersweet story, with all the wonderfully flawed characters.

It’s also a beautiful redemption story.

7. Son by Lois Lowry

The fourth and final book in The Giver series, I started out by disliking it, but I grew to like it by the ending.

I love that Lowry pulled all the characters together - finally.

It’s lovely to see who Jonas ends up becoming and reading about Gabriel as a teenager is really quite something.

8. Just Patty by Jean Webster

The prequel to When Patty Went to College this book describes Patty’s escapades in boarding school with her closest friends.

I especially loved the ghost and burglar chapter - that scene had me in stiches.

9. When Patty Went to College by Jean Webster

This book follows Patty through her final year of college, describing her most crazy schemes and lovely dreams.

It also has a ‘moral of the story’ chapter in the final chapter when she meets the Bishop.

I really enjoyed this book! It was quite a breezy read.

10. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster

(Can you tell I’m in a bit of a Jean Webster phase right now?)

This book is the sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs. It describes Judy’s best friend, Sallie McBride, as she struggles to run the John Grier Orphanage.

How will Sallie survive the inefficient staff, her annoyed boyfriend, and the taciturn Scotch doctor whom she christens her “Enemy”?

Please Comment!! :)

What have you been reading this April?

Happy Reading! 📖🙌

-Mia Grace ✨

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Well, well, well, where have I been for the past two weeks?

Mostly studying for my Philosophy exam (eeek!)… some of my notes will come into play later on in this article.

Sidenote- did you know putting your study notes to music helps you memorize them? At least it helps me.

So I ended up singing “Plato thinks that matter and the material world is corruptible and not “ultimate reality”. For him, the “ultimate reality” is the immaterial world of the forms or ideals, which is changeless and incorruptible.” to the tune of Alex Warren’s “Carry You Home.” Now I’m never going to be able to hear that song again without remembering my study notes. 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

Anyway, on to the article…

Two weeks ago, my brother and I re-watched The Giver for the third or fourth time.

Last week, I finished reading The Giver for the second time.

There’s a reason that I have re-watched the movie more times than I have re-read the book.

Simply stated, this is the only movie that I will ever admit is better than the book.

Now, before you go up in arms against me, allow me to explain further. (And no, it’s not because Taylor Swift is in it. That is the only mistake that they made in the whole casting process. More about this later.)

My brother J.’s DVD copy of The Giver, and my brother C.’s book copy. I need my own copies of these. I should stop taking theirs. 😂

Book Synopsis:

Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas.

Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late?

Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.

My Notes:

• There was a lot that I forgot about in this book… like I get that the scene in the House of the Old is supposed to show that these people are completely indifferent to stuff that would horrify us… but still! Was that scene so necessary?!

• The scene where Jonas’ father kills the baby - awful, awful scene. It was difficult to read and even more difficult to watch (that’s one of the only scenes that I will skip when I watch the movie.)

• However, it is a really excellent depiction of what abortion really is… killing babies.

• I forgot that so much of the book is just Jonas thinking!

• That final line: “From the place he has come, he thought he heard music. But perhaps it was only an echo.” Ack! That makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Okay. Now on to the movie.

Movie Synopsis:

Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) lives in a seemingly idyllic world of conformity and contentment. When he begins to spend time with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), an old man who is the sole keeper of the community's memories, Jonas discovers the dangerous truths of his community's secret past. Armed with the power of knowledge, Jonas realizes that he must escape from their world to protect himself and those he loves -- a challenge no one has ever completed successfully.

My Notes:

• First off, amazing casting choices (aside from Taylor Swift 🙄). Brenton Thwaites just personifies Jonas so well! Jeff Bridges is so amazing in his role as well.

• I honestly don’t mind that they made him a little older in the movie than he is in the book… it honestly makes more sense.

• The video montages when Jonas is receiving memories from The Giver… they’re just chef’s kiss! 🤌🤩

• Especially as he starts to see in color… those scenes are just SO well done and so beautiful!

• Can I just say I absolutely hate the phrase “Precision of language,” and it’s all Katie Holmes’ fault.

• The only mistake (as stated before) is that they cast Taylor Swift in the movie. Why did they do that?!? Sorry to all the “Swifties” out there… the casting choice here just makes no sense to me. In the book Rosemary is simply talked about… you never get a flashback. I have no idea why they felt the need to do that in the movie, but I do not approve, sorry.

• The final scene - when it is cutting between prep for Fiona’s “release”, and Jonas passes the boundary of memory - and all the memories come rushing back- may be my all-time favorite movie scene. It was the first movie scene that made me cry and literally makes me cry every single time I watch it. It’s just that beautiful.

Some Philosophy Stuff:

• The philosopher Rousseau says that we must be “forced to be free,” which means that in order to break the corruption and habits of a restrained society, everyone must be educated and ultimately coerced into a common mold.

• Doesn’t this sound like the “Community” in The Giver? Where everyone is equal and there is no winners, no losers…

Quotes from the book that I liked:

• “The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”

• “Things could change, Gabe," Jonas went on. "Things could be different. I don't know how, but there must be some way for things to be different.”

  ---

Quotes from the movie I liked:

• “From the place behind me… I thought I heard singing. Perhaps it was only an echo. But it was enough. It would lead us all home.”

• “We are living a life of shadows! A life of echoes!”

• “Memories are not just about the past. You can change things. You can make things better.”

• “Tomorrow, the only thing that changes is what we do. It doesn’t change who we are.”

  ---

Please Comment!! :)

Are there any movies that you think are better than the books?

What are they?

Happy Reading! 🍎📖

-Mia Grace ✨

Recently I’ve been reading The Betsy-Tacy Treasury out loud to my younger cousins and we finally have finished it! It was an absolute blast to re-read.

I hope you enjoy this short synopsis of the first four books!

The Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Maud Hart Lovelace

Synopsis:

The first four books in the beloved Betsy-Tacy series, together in one volume, are ready to delight a new generation with these wholesome books for girls—and to bring a grownup generation of readers back to the engrossing stories of their youth. Following the unforgettable childhood friendship of Betsy Ray and her friends in the late 1800s and early 1900s, this handsome anthology collects the original Betsy-Tacy as well as Betsy, Tacy and Tib, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown.

My Notes:

• This is such a good and wholesome children’s series! It’s on par with Little House on the Prairie and Little Women

• It’s nice that some issues that children face every day - such as a daunting first day of school, being displaced as the family “baby”, sibling rivalry, making new friends, and dealing with bullies, to name a few - are addressed in such an easy-to-understand manner.

• Betsy gets her friends into the most delightful of scrapes, from pretending to be beggars, to acting in the town play, their escapades will leave you in stiches.

• I love how each of the girls has such a clear personality:

  • Betsy- the poet and obvious ringleader.

  • Tacy- the shy and loyal friend.

  • Tib- the practical one.

• Honestly, Betsy is my favorite. She’s just so spunky and funny!

Who Was Maud Hart Lovelace?

Maud Hart Lovelace, author of The Betsy-Tacy Treasury

She was an American writer who lived during the late 1890s to 1980.

She started to write the Betsy-Tacy series based off of her own childhood after using stories from her childhood as bedtime stories for her daughter, Merian.

Everything and everyone in her books are based off of real places and real people that she knew:

• Deep Valley, Minnesota; is Mankato, Minnesota.

• The Ray Family is based on Maud’s family, the Hart Family:

  • Betsy Ray is Maud herself; Julia Ray is her older sister, Kathleen; and Margaret Ray is their younger sister, Helen.

• Tacy Kelly is really Frances “Bick” Kenney, Maud’s real-life best friend.

The series covers the period from when Betsy is five years old (late 1890s), to the beginning of the First World War, shortly after Betsy is married.

Quotes I liked:

• “When Betsy is happy, she is happier than anyone else in the world.”

• “She thought of the library, so shining white and new; the rows and rows of unread books; the bliss of unhurried sojourns there and of going out to a restaurant, alone, to eat.”

• “It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”

• “They soon stopped being ten years old. But whatever age they were seemed to be exactly the right age for having fun.”

  ---

Please Comment!! :)

What is your favorite children’s series? Why is it your favorite?

Happy Reading! 👒🪻

-Mia Grace ✨

I’ve just finished the latest Hunger Games novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, and that’s all I can think to say…

just…

wow.

The range of emotions that I went through while reading this book were crazy. I was alternatly on-the-edge-of-my-seat, shocked, suspenseful, and saddened by the time I closed the book.

After making my way through about 90% of the book, I was like “okay, phew, things should be calming down…” and then BAM! The craziest, most shocking thing happens literally less than twenty pages from the ending.

What is this shocking thing you ask?

Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Synopsis:

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

My Notes:

• Okay, I loved that we got to see Haymitch’s backstory. This book really made him so much more relatable than the often-drunk boorish man that we see in the original trilogy.

• There’s that little bit of mysteriousness around Lenore Dove’s parantage… is it at all possible that she might just be Lucy Grey Baird’s daughter?

• I loved that there were all those “easter eggs” from Lucy Grey’s songs, to a glimpse of Katniss’ parents, to finally understanding the significance behind the mockingjay pin and the “sweetheart” nickname.

• Also, seeing some of the former-victors-turned-tributes in the second book (Catching Fire), such as Mags, Wiress, and Beatee, was interesting. It’s nice that we got a bit of their backstory as well.

• Effie Trinket managed to make it into the book! LOL

• I actually really liked the haunting vibes from Edgar Allen Poe’s poem. That was quite nicely done.

• Now I finally get it why Haymitch is the way he is. This book made him such a 3-D character!

Quotes I Liked:

• “I love you like all-fire.”

• “The snow may fall, but the sun also rises.”

• “And that’s part of our trouble. Thinking things are inevitable. Not believing change is possible.”

• “But she was smarter than me, or luckier. She's the one who finally kept that sun from rising.”

• “Sometimes she cries because things are so beautiful and we keep messing them up. Because the world doesn’t have to be so terrifying. That’s on people, not the world.”

Please Comment!! :)

Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? Which book is your favorite?

Happy Reading! 🏹☀️

-Mia Grace ✨

Today is the first day of Spring!!! 🥳🥳🥳

I hope you all enjoy these carefully selected books that reminded me of Spring! :)

1. The Enchanted Isle by D.E. Stevenson

This book is more popularly known as Charlotte Fairlie (the name of the main character). An extremely witty book with everything from schoolmistresses to a Scottish lord to some rather complicated children, this book is bound to delight.

A Quote:

“Life was like a piece of tapestry . . . or perhaps one should say a piece of tapestry was like life . . . for there was the background, which was rather dull, and the coloured bits, which were fun. And it was not until you had got to the end and the whole thing was complete that you could see the pattern properly.”

2. Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi

I absolutely adore historical fiction and Ann Rinaldi is one of the best authors in the genre. Time Enough For Drums takes place shortly before and then during the American Revolution, where we follow the somewhat stubborn Jemima Emerson as she tackles whatever life throws at her — including her rather snobbish Tory tutor, John Reid.

A Quote:

“Because I had already resolved that if you're afraid of love, your heart will break anyway, only in not half so nice a fashion as it does when you let somebody love you.”

3. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

This is such a delightful book and one I have reread very often (as you can tell from the cover 😂). The first in a large series of books about a veterinarian working in the English countryside shortly before World War II. The adventures and mishaps that befall poor Dr. Herriot are sure to keep you smiling long after you finish the book. All Creatures Great and Small has also been adapted into a pheneomenal TV show on PBS.

A Quote:

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. You’ve nothing to worry about there.”

4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Doesn’t this book always make you think of spring? I know it does for me. A feisty heroine, saucy boy, and some loyal kindred spirits, what could be better?

If you want to read my longer review of this book, click here! :)

A Quote:

“I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does.”

5. Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson

This is one of my newer book purchases, and I very highly reccomend it! It’s an excellent portrait of a small island off the coast of England during World War II. This book follows how the locals and the not-so-locals are coping during the Second World War.

A Quote:

“She had begun to realise that these people used the English language in a way of their own. They did not ask a question in a straightforward manner but merely made an observation with a questioning inflection in their voices; they never answered a question with a plain yes or no but preferred to answer it with another question.”

6. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower

This delightful book is the perfect quick spring read! A heroine who knows her own mind and a cast of very quirky characters promise to make it a delightfully entertaining read.

A Quote:

“Keep your answers brief, tidy, and without too many loose strings she can pull at.”

7. Spring’s Gentle Promise by Janette Oke

The fourth and final book in Janette Oke’s Seasons of the Heart series, we follow Josh Jones as he tries to take over the management of his grandfather’s farm and tries to figure out which of two girls he’s actually in love with.

A Quote:

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"

8. When Comes the Spring by Janette Oke

The sequel to When Calls the Heart, this book follows Elizabeth and Wynn as they plan their wedding and later move to the outskirts of civilization, far into the Canadian North.

A Quote:

“Might there always be harmony and commitment, love and happiness. Might there be strength for the hard times, humor to ease the tense times, and shoulders always available for the times of tears.”

9. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

This beautiful story of a little girl who tries to find the silver lining in every cloud- even the most difficult ones- will touch your heart and change your whole perspective on life, helping you to find the “glad” in every moment.

A Quote:

“When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good—you will get that...”

10. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

The sequel to Little Women, this book follows Jo’s adventures with her rather rowdy school for orphaned boys. I’ve always thought that this book is just perfectly suited for springtime!

A Quote:

“Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.”

Please Comment!! :)

Do you have a favorite book to read in the Spring? What is it?

Happy Reading!📚

-Mia Grace ✨