The Goose Girl

Ani is forced to travel to a place she's never been before. She is forced to travel with suspicious company. And when she gets to her destination, it's nothing like she thought it would be. 

Who is Ani? A goose girl? A wandering Kildenrean lost in a different country? A princess?

She's a girl who doesn't know how much she can do. What she's capable of. What languages she can speak. This is not your average goose girl story. Imagine bloodshed, treason, dangerous risks, trustworthy friends, disbelieved languages. 

Shannon Hale, the author of The Goose Girl, has crafted her own version of the story, and she will definitely pull you in. Her words and characters are real, they make you cheer Ani on, crying when she cries, laughing when she laughs. The magic they posses compels me to say; This is a book I want to read again.

Full of Beans

Beans lives in Key West, an island off the coast of Florida, at the end of a long chain of islands (a real place!). The town looks horrible, tons of piles of rotting seaweed and ownerless dogs, dull and broken houses, kids running barefoot. Life is hard, and Beans is the only man - well, the oldest boy - in the house. Beans cares about his family, and wants the best for his mom, so what jobs can he get to earn some extra money?
What happens when a bunch of men in their underwear - ahem, excuse me, Bermuda shorts - and start cleaning up the city? Why are they doing that?
It sounds a little boring, I know, but it was actually quite a fun book. If you want to find it: Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm.