It's Monday! What Are You Reading? April 15, 2019

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

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Well, we had another blizzard this past week. Some places north of us got up to 24 inches of the white stuff. I think we only got about 8-10. It's hard to tell with all the wind! The university actually closed for 2½ days, which they have never done before. So I got an unexpected 4 day weekend!! 

I did get some reading in but for some reason (maybe because I'm hoping spring will actually be coming) I did some closet cleaning. It's kind of nice having that under control again. Oh, and I got our taxes filed. I'm not sure why I procrastinate doing those since we usually get a refund but they are done! 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

The Alice Network
by Kate Quinn
This is our book club pick for later this month and since it's over 500 pages, I figure I better get started.


When Never Comes
by Barbara Davis
Narrated by Shannon McManus
(audio-book)

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
Narrated by Sissy Spacek
(audio-book)

What I recently finished

The Way of Lessons

by Michelle Schlicher
I love this author! Read my thoughts here.

Before She Was Found
by Heather Gudenkauf

Pub date 4/16
My thoughts will be posted tomorrow.

What I am going to read next


The Summer Cottage
by Viola Shipman
Pub date 4/23
I love this author's stories!

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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The Way of Lessons by Michelle Schlicher ~ My Thoughts #TheWayOfLessons

The Way of Lessons

The Way of Lessons by Michelle Schlicher
Print and e-book, 278 pages
Published March 2019 by Michelle Schlicher

Luca Marin is a third grader and the son of an addict. He doesn’t have much. There’s no one he relies on. Until he meets Xander Davis. Xander is a fourth grader at Easton Elementary and soon earns Luca’s trust to become his friend. As Luca’s mother, Leslie, deals with her addiction, Luca and Xander’s school community is struggling with a hard truth—that Easton is in danger of closing.

Thomas Marshall and Sophia Snow must navigate the halls of Easton along with their fellow teachers as best as they can in the wake of this possibility. While others connected to Easton also become affected by the potential loss, they each face unique challenges of their own.

For many, Easton will become a symbol of hope. For others, it will represent a great loss.

The Way of Lessons reaches into the heart of a community and shows the power of small moments that can make all the difference in a complicated time..

My thoughts about The Way of Lessons ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)

First lines—"It's here. The first day of school. Anticipation fills the air. Children approach. These old bones of a building will once again hold the good souls of the world. The innocent minds of a new generation are ready."

The Way of Lessons is full of interesting characters—one actually being a school building—with interwoven lives. The author introduces the reader to all of these characters and we become a involved in their lives, not realizing at first how they are connected. There are so many different relationships and connections but soon it all comes together.

Each character has their own issues and problems, some bigger than others, but love, friendship, and acceptance bolsters those who need support. I especially loved the relationship between Luca and Xander. They connected from the very beginning and their lives touched so many other people.

The Way of Lessons is a beautiful, heart-breaking—while at the same time—heart-warming story about how people can come together to help one another through the tough times. It also serves as a reminder of how connected we all are and how everything we do has a consequence.

'Everything that happened in the world was touched by something else. Whether directly or indirectly, every decision had some sort of fallout, a result of the choice.' 

I received a copy of The Way of Lessons from the author. 

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I have loved all of Michelle's books.

Click on the covers to find them on Goodreads.

Click on the links below to read my thoughts.

  

The Blue Jay

Gracie's Song

Come This Way

Me & Milo the Great

About the author

Michelle Schlicher grew up in the Midwest. She attended the Greenlee School of Journalism at Iowa State University, but her love of writing came much earlier than that. Michelle wrote her first novel in fifth grade at recess. That story was lost and never been published. From there, she wrote short stories about vampires, babysitters and summer trips. 

After the birth of her second child, she decided to write her first grown-up novel and published her debut, The Blue Jay, in 2015. Gracie’s Song, Come This Way and Me & Milo the Great followed. Michelle lives with her family in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa.

Connect with Michelle

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!