The Goat Children

                Hello happy readers!  So nothing new to really discuss today accept the review.  I previously read Escape from Witchwood Hollow (review) and Cogling (review) by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek and enjoyed it so when her new story, The GoatChildren, came out I was pleased to receive a copy for an honest review.  This was a combination of contemporary and a tiny but of fantasy mixed in there with lots of realism.  It was also described as a story close to the authors heart which I always find interesting to the story so I was game.

Rating:  4.5 Stars

                The Goat Children is the story of Keziah and what happens when her grandmother, her Oma, is diagnosed with dementia.  She’s only seventeen and no longer lives in town with her Oma but when the only option is a home, Keziah leaves her homeschooled life with her younger sister to stay with Oma and take care of her.  The woman whom she has nothing but loving memories of spending time together dementia is making her resentful and her cherished time a chore.  She is faced with hardships she never imagined and through it all finds Oma’s ramblings about the Goat Children, the warriors who ride Pegasus a great escape.  But as things don’t always make sense and her Oma becomes more insistent she begins to question their existence.   

                This book really got to me emotionally.  While I had a different set of circumstances it is horrible to have someone you once had so many loving memories with become less than themselves.  My Ma was my best friend and most important person in the world and we have a long time together even when she got sick, cancer, I still had her and while that last week she started to forget it was a short time.  Still it was hard on me.  The Goat Children is much different and the same, focusing on a disease we are still working to understand fully and try to cure and watching someone you love change during a much longer period.  This is so real and powerful you will feel it.  Oma was my Ma when I read.  This is something I don’t think many of us really understand, I dealt with it but still I was much younger and while I remember it I can also sometimes forget. 

                Keziah has to deal with a lot and as a teenager it’s hard to give up your whole life to take care of someone.  Someone you love beyond measure but who isn’t the same anymore.  Mierek really captured the blender of emotions going on within Keziah in such an authentic way it’s impossible to ignore.  The trials that she goes through in her quest to help her Oma are serious but I also loved learning about these Goat Children.  I liked hearing Oma talk about her Goat Children just added to things for me.  Also I love how it plays on the story and her own imagination and how after hearing about certain things she begins to see them.  Then is it coincidence, your mind is just on them, or could they be real?  The concept was great. 

                I enjoyed the whole story and I look forward to reading more from not only Mierek but other books that deal with real and pressing issues.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and feels below.  Could you relate to Keziah and what she went through?  Share your stories below. 

                Until next time…

Outspoken by Lora Richardson

                Today I have a book that I was contacted by the author about her book.  She was looking to spread the word on it and asked if I would be interested in having a read.  I read the summary and was interested.  I do really enjoy a good contemporary book they can bring you back to earth when lost in tons of wonderful fantasy.  A copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.  So here are my thoughts on Outspoken by Lora Richardson.

Rating:  5 Stars

                Outspoken is a story of Penny, the girl who like many say yes when she really means no.  She keeps to herself, follows rules, and is a good girl.  After an eye opening experience she is determined to change her ways.  She wants to build a back bone and be the strong woman she dreams of and the best way to do that is to practice.  So moving cross-country to check on her grandpa she decides to try out her whole bolder and more outspoken attitude when she meets the strangers of the town.  Practice saying and doing what she wants without worrying what anyone else thinks.  That’s the plan.  Practice on practice people who don’t count because who cares what they think.  Until she does care.  Can she stick to her guns?

                I am much more outspoken now but even in middle school and high school I always spoke my mind even when I was beyond shy.  I might not jump right in but I never let anyone push me around.  Still I did like pleasing people, still do in some ways I do bake for my work people all the time after all, but there is a limit to it.  I have known people through life that remind me of Penny, who let others take advantage of them and their disinterest in any type of conflict.  Some do it by accident truly not knowing and others count on it to get what they want.  I was invested in Penny from the start and had hope for her after having the courage to move cross-country.  That’s a huge thing to leave your comfort zone. 

                 The story was a quick read and I enjoyed Penny and her little adventures.  It has a small town vibe also which was charming.  All the new characters, practice people, where fun and entertaining.  I could see the interactions and conversations playing out naturally before me.  Each one offered the story something different and helped Penny along on her journey.  Penny doesn’t instantly become a different person, she is still her but she is able to think things through.  I like that and she is still open to things even if her first thought is no she isn’t rigid in that. 

                I really enjoyed how Richardson handled the issues in the story.  Facing sick family and what it means for their life.  Making a bad decision that you regret, something you can’t take back, and living with it afterwards.  Finding your own place separate from that of what you came from. Family issues in several different aspects and how it effects you in different ways.  Confusion after school of knowing what you want to do with your life.  All of this was handled beautifully.  I just adored this story and would recommend it to everyone. 

                 This story has really made me think of things in my own life and how there are some things I just go along with just to keep things calm and not rock the boat, like work.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book and on the idea itself.  Are you more of a people pleaser or do you always speak your mind and do only what you want, or have you found the happy middle group?  Share in the comments below so we can discuss J

                Until next time…