By Golly, Ollie!

💾 a blog about books, tea, & geekery

Author: Jackie

  • Do I Have a New Favorite Author? | Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

    Do I Have a New Favorite Author? | Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

    It’s not often that I read two books by the same author in the same year (JK Rowling withstanding). And, it’s rarer than a blue moon that I read two books by the same author within 30 days. Yet, I recently devoured Peaches (in one day) by Jodi Lynn Anderson less than 30 days of  reading The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson (in one day).

    Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson Book coverPeaches (Peaches #1) by Jodi Lynn Anderson

    Released: June 2005
    Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★☆☆

    In a Ya-Ya Sisterhood for teens, Peaches combines three unforgettable heroines who have nothing in common but the troubles that have gotten them sentenced to a summer of peach picking at a Georgia orchard.

    Leeda is a debutante dating wrong-side-of-the-tracks Rex.

    Murphy, the wildest girl in Bridgewater, likes whichever side Rex is on.

    Birdie is a dreamer whose passion for Girl Scout cookies is matched only by her love for a boy named Enrico.

    When their worlds collide, The Breakfast Club meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in an entirely original and provocative story with a lush, captivating setting.

    Anderson writes about the most spectacularly flawed characters.

    Sometimes they’re downright unlikeable. Like Murphy and Leeda and Birdie, who are selfish and insecure and condescending and full of pride and sometimes just downright fools. I really wanted to hate them, but I couldn’t because beneath the walls they built, they just wanted to be loved and accepted. They want to be optimistic about their future even though Murphy is certain she’s doomed to endure failed relationship after failed relationship just like her mother. And Leeda is certain her existence is a regretful mistake and that her mother actually has a favorite child (spoiler: it’s not Leeda). And Birdie…well, her mother just ran out on her and her father, and the peach farm she calls home is failing, and she’s about to lose that too.

    I felt like I was on a peach farm in south Georgia.

    Just like in the Vanishing Season, Anderson made her setting come alive, and she made it seem effortless. I could smell the stinky-sweet scent of overripe peaches, and I could feel their sticky juice on my skin as it dried. I could feel the cool refreshing waters of the lake the girls would steal away to after curfew, and I could feel Georgia’s blazing, afternoon sun and suffocating humidity.

    The story seemed slow, however.

    Which I understand might seem weird because I praised the Vanishing Season for being an intentionally slow novel. In the Vanishing Season, it seemed to add to the atmosphere Anderson was creating. But, it seemed out-of-place in Peaches. I just wanted Murphy and Leeda and Birdie to get over themselves already so that I could read a book about friendship.

    A Contemporary YA novel would be incomplete without a little romance.

    But, I wasn’t a fan of the romantic relationships that developed in Peaches. Okay, Birdie and Enrico were awkwardly charming together, but Rex and Leeda… and Rex and Murphy? Actually, it was just Rex in general. He didn’t have much of a personality. Really, I just wanted Leeda and Murphy to realize they were better as independent women and lose interest in “wrong-side-of-the-tracks”-Rex (who was really just sort of benign).

    Overall, I enjoyed Peaches. I didn’t love it like the Vanishing Season though. Peaches is actually part of a series, which I didn’t realize when I checked the book out. I don’t know if I feel compelled to read on. At least, not this year. Perhaps I’ll revisit the idea of reading Peaches #2 next summer. Still… I did find it to be a satisfying summertime read about friendship and self-discovery. It made me want to read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or watch the movie Now and Then.

    What is one of your favorite summertime novels about friendship?

  • The Novel Had a Cat on the Cover, so Are We Even Surprised that I Loved this Book? | Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass

    The Novel Had a Cat on the Cover, so Are We Even Surprised that I Loved this Book? | Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass

    I recently went on a cozy book buying spree, which is when Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass was added to my e-library. I think I figured I was destined to enjoy this book for three reasons: 1. CATS!!! (obviously) 2. our sleuthing MC is a librarian, and 3. the series takes place in Michigan, my home state! Aaaaaand…basically I was right (but for more reasons than the three I just listed).

    Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass Book CoverLending a Paw by Laurie Cass

    Released: December 2013
    Publisher: NAL
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★★☆

    Eddie followed Minnie home one day, and now she can’t seem to shake the furry little shadow. But in spite of her efforts to contain her new pal, the tabby sneaks out and trails her all the way to the bookmobile on its maiden voyage. Before she knows it, her slinky stowaway becomes her cat co-pilot!

    Minnie and Eddie’s first day visiting readers around the county seems to pass without trouble—until Eddie darts outside at the last stop and leads her to the body of a local man who’s reached his final chapter.

    Initially, Minnie is ready to let the police handle this case, but Eddie seems to smell a rat. Together, they’ll work to find the killer—because a good librarian always knows when justice is overdue.

    Reading books that take place where you live is the coolest

    Granted, Lending a Paw takes place “up north” in a fictional town named Chilson, which is located somewhere north of Traverse City and south of Charlevoix– basically, where all the wineries, cherry trees, and ritzy vacation homes settled on Lake Michigan are located. It’s totally different from where I live, which is part of the “Rust Belt“, if that paints a charming picture in your head at all. Still, it’s always interesting to see how authors perceive your state. Especially Michigan because Michigan is the best ;)

    Eddie the cat is also the coolest

    Aside from helping Minnie solve a murder (without magic) and being her co-pilot in the bookmobile, I also have a bias towards cat named Eddie (or variations thereof). Throughout this novel, I could help but picture my late cat, Ed, even though he’s orange. He just seemed like the Eddie in Lending a Paw.

    His name had been the inspiration of a bemused coworker. “Sounds like and Eddie kind of cat,” Josh had said after I told the story.
    “What kind is that?” Holly, another coworker, had asked.
    “Just…Eddie.” Josh had shrugged. “You know what guys named Eddie are like.”
    And just like that, my cat had a name.

    What impressed me the most was the sleuthing

    While I’ve enjoyed every cozy mystery novel I’ve read and reviewed for Books & Tea, I’ve always felt the actual sleuthing was minimal. A lot of times, clues are revealed by chance and the main characters, while intent on finding the perp, don’t always piece the puzzle together very well throughout the story. Sometimes I’m totally surprised when the identity of the perp is revealed and I wonder if that’s a good thing; did I not see it coming because the author did not give me enough clues or did I not see it coming because I’m…CLUELESS (hahahahah!)

    In Lending a Paw, Minnie “interviews” suspects, pieces together a family tree, and follows tracks and clues before the trail goes cold. She also keeps means and motive in mind, and while her hunches are not always right, another piece of the piece of the puzzle is usually revealed. This novel presented one of the most satisfying mystery-solving experience I’ve read so far.

  • This Book Destroyed Me | The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

    This Book Destroyed Me | The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

    The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson is not what I expected. At first, I thought it was going to be a mystery/thriller because teenage girls are vanishing in Door County in Wisconsin and then turning up days later, dead in the water. Then I thought it was going to be a ghost story, and maybe in a really abstract way it is. But really, it was the most haunting and devastating YA contemporary I have ever read.

    The Vanishing SeasonThe Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

    Released: July 2014
    Publisher: HarperTeen
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★★★

    Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter’s come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I’ve watched the danger swell.

    The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I’m the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I’m tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

    I’m tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don’t know why. I think it’s because death is coming for one of them, or both.

    All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig. I am looking for the things that are buried.

    The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson is an atmospheric novel. It is a cold, quiet, and introspective novel. It’s a slow but intentional novel. It’s not something that will appeal to everyone. You need patience to read it, but at the same time, I read it in a single sitting. I couldn’t put the book down because it was one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read.

    The Vanishing Season is a character-driven novel. It is a novel about friendship. It is a novel about betrayal. It is a novel about isolation and death and lost memories. It is a novel about unrequited love. It’s always the stories about unrequited love that make me cry. I knew it was coming, but I cried anyway.

    The Vanishing Season has one of the most upsetting endings I have ever read. I didn’t expect it, and it feels like the suffocating weight of melancholy. I wanted to love Maggie’s new friends, Pauline and Liam. But, I knew…I knew they were going to be toxic. I get so angry just thinking about them because it’s not fair. It’s not fair!

    The Vanishing Season is one of the best books I have read this year. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve read since launching Books & Tea five years ago. It’s so rare that a book moves me to tears or emotionally destroys me to the point where I’m fumbling to find words for a review. I need to read this book again. I think maybe that’s a bit masochistic, but I really do need to read this book again. I’ll wait for wintertime though. I think that’s when this book is meant to be read.

  • So, this is magical realism? | the Wrap-Up List by Steven Arntson

    So, this is magical realism? | the Wrap-Up List by Steven Arntson

    I find myself irritated by the goodreads shelf labels associated with the Wrap-up List by Steven Arntson. Which is stupid, I know. I’m not a genre snob, I swear. But… Paranormal Fantasy? Supernatural Fantasy? Really? Okay…sure, I can admit, that part of it is gag reflex; when I hear Paranormal Fantasy I think of Twilight and the million other vampire novels out there, which are not in the same league as the Wrap-up List. But part of it is that these genre labels seem to simplify this novel; the story takes place in reality but has fantastic elements and revolves around some really complex issues like grief and mortality. After finishing the novel, I found myself thinking, “So that’s magical realism?”

    the wrap up listThe Wrap-up List by Steven Arntson

    Released: January 2013
    Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★★☆

    In this modern-day suburban town, one percent of all fatalities come about in the most peculiar way. Deaths—eight-foot-tall, silver-gray creatures—send a letter (“Dear So-and-So, your days are numbered”) to whomever is chosen for a departure, telling them to wrap up their lives and do the things they always wanted to do before they have to “depart.” When sixteen-year-old Gabriela receives her notice, she is, of course devastated. Will she kiss her crush Sylvester before it’s too late?

    The synopsis seems to simplify the novel as well

    I’m glad I just skimmed the synopsis and flipped to the first page to read the first paragraph instead [your book has to “hook” me in the first paragraph, or it’s going back on the shelf!]. Had I continued the synopsis, I would have learned that Gabriela’s wrap-up list revolves around getting first kisses for herself and her friends. Sounds cheesy, right? Once I actually learned the contents of Gabriela’s wrap-up list, I was quite skeptical myself. It just seemed silly that a sixteen year old would become so preoccupied by first kisses when she had just one week to live. (Then again, maybe I’m the silly one; I would have been more preoccupied by trying to figure out how to see AFI in concert instead of getting my first kiss.) I think I was also a little concerned that the author’s treatment of the subject of death was going to be flippant, which it wasn’t.

    The world building is wonderful

    Which is kind of strange when you think about it– this book does takes place in a modern-day, suburban town after all. Except, these beings called Deaths, which children are taught about in school, roam our world to escort the chosen Departed to the place beyond the Fields. (The Fields is a very tangible place that the living can visit, but they cannot visit the place beyond the Fields.) People can also specialize in the study of Departure and work for the Departure Authority. Their reports may end up in the Municipal Archives, which contains all sorts of government records including record of all the Deaths, their Departed, and who was granted Pardons.

    Everything changes once Hercule is introduced

    Hercule is Gabriela’s Death, and she and her friends intend to kidnap him. What follows is a bit of chaos, some deep discussions about faith and mortality, and a second half of a novel that is so cleverly tinged with black comedy (sort of like when Percy Jackson met Charon and Hades in the Lightning Thief). While I enjoyed the entire novel, it was the second half of the novel that really affected me. The story became so much more complex and emotional and yes, sometimes even funny.

    Overall, the Wrap-up List by Steven Arntson is a wonderful novel. Just like Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern, I finished it in one sitting, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this novel to other readers.

    Have you ever read the Wrap-up List? What would be on your list?

  • An Oolong that Embodies Springtime | Charcoal-baked Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea

    An Oolong that Embodies Springtime | Charcoal-baked Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea

    It’s hard to miss Springtime in Michigan. Part of me starts to rejoice because the temperatures are so sublime, and there is a brief period when windows and sliding glass doors can be drawn wide open. Part of me wishes for another blanket of snow because I realize just how many people litter in my hometown. The snow plows spend an entire season pushing trash-packed snow into gutters and tree lines, and it’s finally revealed in April. There is also, of course, all of the blossoming trees, but…I almost missed that this year.

    It is also the beginning of construction season, which is why I ended up taking a new route home on a sunny and particularly windy work day. I’d like to say it was something romantic that caught my attention and forced me to look up– like the sweet scent of clover wafting through my car windows or the gentle fluttering of white petals on the wind– but it wasn’t. A gust of wind caught the lid of a garbage can, whipping it open and almost tossing the can and its entire contents into the middle of the road and in front of my tiny Ford Fiesta. The garbage can also happened to be sitting right beside a tree with the sweetest, white blossoms. My eyes traveled down the length of the road, which I discovered was completely lined with trees with pink and white blossoms and shrubs with purple and yellow blossoms. My skin prickled as panic pulsed through me; this was partly a delayed reaction from the garbage can threatening to crash my car, but I also kept repeating out loud about the blossoms,

    When did this happen?

    When did this happen?

    When did this happen?

    This is what I thought of when I tucked into a mug of hot Charcoal-baked Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong tea from Tea Vivre. I thought about how I almost missed Springtime’s blossoms this year.

    The dried tea leaves are a dark, forest green color, and they are tightly rolled. They smell vegetal and slightly sweet; it almost reminds me of the seagrass that would grow and float in the Weeki Wachee River in Florida. They are quite unassuming tea leaves too because when I dumped them out on a plate to get a better glimpse of the leaves, they hardly filled up the plate (similar to Tie Guan Yin “Iron Goddess” Oolong Tea, which I tasted last spring.). They hardly filled up my tea strainer as well. But, after steeping for several minutes, they creep up the strainer and unfurl into full leaves.

    The liquor color, which is never demonstrated well in my photographs, reminded me of amber, and the flavor, which I didn’t expect based on the aroma of the dried leaves, was flowery. Perfumy even, though perhaps this is how my palate perceives the charcoal-baked aroma since I’ve never experienced it before. Regardless, it caught me off guard, like the sight of the street lined with blossoming trees.

    As usual, this Oolong Tea from Tea Vivre lends itself to multiple infusions. Based on reading about other peoples’ experiences, you can steep this four or five times to draw out more of the sweet floral flavor, though I only steeped it twice (the second infusion seemed more perfumy than the first, interestingly).

    Overall, Charcoal-baked Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea is another exceptional tea from Tea Vivre, and if you’re looking for a tea that embodies spring time, I would not hesitate to recommend this. If you’re interested in other spring teas, check out Tea Vivre’s 2016 Spring Tea Collection.

    Sample received for free from Tea Vivre in exchange for an honest review.
  • For the Loyal: a Harry Potter Fandom Tea

    For the Loyal: a Harry Potter Fandom Tea

    I believe I’ve never sipped a tea more tempting than the For the Loyal tea, a fandom blend by Aun-Juli Riddle, which can be purchased from Adagio Teas. And when I say “tempting”, I mean I could barely resist throwing aside all of my reading obligations just to re (re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re) read the Harry Potter series. I stayed strong though.

    I don’t care what the relaunch of the Pottermore Sorting Hat quiz suggests. I am not a Gryffindor (I’m afraid of the dark among most other things in this world); I am a Hufflepuff! So, without a doubt, I knew I had to have this tea. For the Loyal is a blend of black tea, white tea, apple pieces, natural apricot flavor, apricots, natural peach flavor, marigold flowers, natural vanilla flavor, and cinnamon.

    If For the Loyal could be turned into a candle, I would buy all of them just so I could make my apartment smell like the Hufflepuff Common Room. At least, I assume it smells sweet vanilla and fruit anyway. What I’m trying to say is, the scent of this tea is so warm and inviting (two characteristics of most Hufflepuffs, amiright?).

    For the Loyal is another tea that I prefer cool-to-cold instead of hot (like the coconut tea) because the flavor is more pronounced. The scent of the dried leaves was vibrant, so I expected layers of bold flavors, but when hot, the flavors just sort of run together– it’s not particularly fruit or creamy or spicy. When it cools down though, you can taste a hint of fruity apricot and apple. I also taste hints of something floral, but I think that might be the cinnamon playing tricks on my tastebuds.

    Have you tried any of the Harry Potter fandom teas? Which one is your favorite?

    Sample provided by Adagio Tea for free in exchange for an honest review.
  • On a scale of 1-10, this book is a d20|Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

    On a scale of 1-10, this book is a d20|Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

    Even though Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern is a young adult novel, I’m glad I read it as an adult instead of as a teenager. I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much as I do now because I wouldn’t have been able to get over the “labels”. I went to a big high school, you see; cliques were very prominent, and it was important to immerse yourself in one unless you wanted to be ostracized. My kin were the geeks– the band geeks, the gamer geeks, the Anime/Manga nerds, the AP kids (back when you had to be in the top 15% of the class to take Advance Placement classes [honors English ain’t got nothin’ on us!]). For some reason, this gave us a pass to eat lunch with the goth kids or the punk kids (or at least talk to them in the lunch line). Basically, we were an amalgamation of losers, and we were quite proud of that. So…needless to say, this book kind of resonated with me.

    Intothe Wild Nerd YonderInto the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

    Released: September 2009
    Publisher: Feiwal & Friends
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★★☆

    It’s Jessie’s sophomore year of high school. A self-professed “mathelete,” she isn’t sure where she belongs. Her two best friends have transformed themselves into punks and one of them is going after her longtime crush. Her beloved older brother will soon leave for college (and in the meantime has shaved his mohawk and started dating . . . the prom princess!) . . .

    Things are changing fast. Jessie needs new friends. And her quest is a hilarious tour through high-school clique-dom, with a surprising stop along the way—the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, who out-nerd everyone. Will hanging out with them make her a nerd, too? And could she really be crushing on a guy with too-short pants and too-white gym shoes?

    If you go into the wild nerd yonder, can you ever come back?

    Jessie’s voice was legit

    I don’t know how Halpern does it, but she seems to channel the voice of a fifteen year old girl with ease. It’s like she dug through all of my diaries and wrote what it was like to be me. Like, she hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to be infatuated with someone your parents would never approve of (for example, David J., the pale kid with the [stupid] devilock that Bianca and I would inconspicuously stare at from across the outdoor cafeteria during lunchtime…until he dropped out of school) or what it’s like to watch your friends transform into someone you barely recognize (like the first day of 11th grade when Crystal H. dyed her hair black, shaved off her eyebrows, and replaced her Hurley and Billabong clothing with a wardrobe exclusively from Hot Topic [back when they sold counter-culture clothing, not the pop culture clothing they sell now] and started listening only to HIM [Won’t you die tonight for love/Baby join me in death]).

    Best sibling relationship ever!

    Jessie and Barrett are amazing. There is no sibling rivalry. They just love each other and have a mutual respect for each other, and it shows. PLUS, THE KRISPY KREME DONUT SCENE IS THE BEST!!!

    This book almost feels like historical fiction

    Only because the smoking section at Denny’s doesn’t even exist in most states now.

    I didn’t really understand Jessie’s aversion to Nerdom though

    Maybe it’s just a weird timing issue here, but…I thought Nerd was the new black. Like, being a Nerd back in 2004 wasn’t social suicide (or maybe it was, and that’s why I didn’t have very many friends?), so I can’t imagine it was social suicide in 2009. And nowadays, Nerdom is embraced. Praised. Promoted. Or maybe it’s just me. Like…why didn’t anyone ever invite me to play D&D when I was in high school?!

    Overall, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder was an excellent read. So excellent I finished it in one sitting, which rarely happens. So basically, I think you need to read this book ASAP!

    What high school clique did you belong to back in the day? And, obviously it’s been a while since I was a high schooler myself, so do cliques even exists anymore?

  • Summer Mornings with Pique Tea

    Summer Mornings with Pique Tea

    This morning was a get-up-and-go kind of morning. A who-has-time-to-let-the-coffee-brew kind of morning. A it’s-too-hot-for-coffee-anyway kind of morning. So I grabbed my Harry Potter travel mug, brewed myself some iced English Breakfast tea from Pique Tea (in a matter of seconds, mind you), selected a summertime read, and set out to find the perfect reading spot.

    One of the best things about living next to a school (aside from getting to hear the marching band practice when Autumn falls upon us, which makes my heart swell with nostalgia) is the abundance of perfect summertime reading spots. Especially the school I live next to since it’s a cluster of schools– an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school– with a sprawling campus with walking paths, athletic fields, and benches galore.

    Also, it has swing sets, which admittedly was my first stop.

    After meandering past locked-up baseball diamonds, the running track with early morning ramblers, and the tennis courts with old men hollering after renegade, fluorescent yellow tennis balls, I finally found my perfect summer reading spot– a yellow bench near a mostly abandoned soccer field, save for a few fat, bumbling bees in a sea of sweet, red clovers.

    I unfortunately grossly underestimated the intensity of the 8:00 morning sun though. I knew today was going to be a scorcher by Michigan standards (90 degrees with just a few cotton ball clouds in the sky), but I didn’t expect a blazing sun so early. Needless to say, my tea didn’t even last until the end of the first short story in Summer Days and Summer Nights. Next time I’ll be more prepared; I’ll bring along an extra bottle of water and extra sachets of Pique Tea crystals (and then, with a few shakes of my travel mug, I can pretty much brew myself refreshing tea anywhere).

  • How Does a Flying Goat Dance? | Little is Left to Tell by Steven Hendricks

    How Does a Flying Goat Dance? | Little is Left to Tell by Steven Hendricks

    I sense that reviews for Little is Left to Tell by Steven Hendricks are going to be…quite polar. There will be readers who grant this novel copious amounts of stars for its beautifully written prose. For being challenging and complex. For being a masterful blend of reality and the surreal. Then, there will be readers who just leave the stars on the table as they stare at a blank screen thinking, “What the hell did I just read?” and “I don’t have any words to express what I’ve just experienced because the rabbit named Hart Crane ate them all.” Folks…I am the latter.

    (more…)

  • Five Reasons Why You Should Read Ms Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why

    Five Reasons Why You Should Read Ms Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why

    Ms Marvel and Bat GirlA few years ago, I was invited to volunteer at Trunk or Treat with an old high school buddy of mine. The theme was “Superheroes”, so the gymnasium of her church was crawling with DC and Marvel characters. She was Batgirl, I was Ms Marvel, and there was even a special appearance by Superbaby. But, I have to admit, I felt like a fraud because I hadn’t actually read a Ms Marvel comic. Ever.

    I ended up purchasing and reading a copy of Ms Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson, and I was in total awe. She was this nerdy, Pakistani-American teenager grappling not only with her identity as an American and a person of color but also with her newly discovered super power. It was a more powerful story than I could have expected, and I so terribly wanted to read on in this comic series.

    (more…)