Ladies by the Lake

 Thanksgiving (if you celebrate) and the holidays are coming up- and with it, baking. Whether you want to get a book for yourself or someone else, or if you just want new recipes to try out in the upcoming months, I've put together a 3 reviews of my top recommendations for baking recipe books.  Mary Berry's Baking Bible Mary Berry is a famous British baker, probably most known for her judging on the popular baking show The Great British Bake Off. Personally, I have a huge sweet tooth, and have always loved to bake- with my grandma, relatives or just by myself. The Great British Bake Off was the first baking show I watched, and Mary's detailed desserts always looked so pretty and tasty. Her book includes seemingly everything from different kinds of cakes, to cookies, breads- although that was always more Paul's scene-, to pies, souffles, cheesecakes and much, much more. It covers easy to make desserts and more challenging ones, allowing you to pick one that is at your sk...

TW: This discussion mentions suicide, self harm, rape, abuse, and in the book itself there is metions of drug/ alcohol , and other similar topics. Hi! My name is Lily Rowell andiIn this week's blog I will be discussing the themes and topics in the melodramatic book, Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glascow.   Girl in Pieces follows the story of a suicidal teen named Charlotte Davis. The book is set in a mental hospital in Minnesota  just when we are starting to get to know Charlotte as a character herself and then she ends up being released and ends up moving to a town in Arizona (where one of her friends from high school lives).Throughout her life she has gone through so much, which is one of the main causes of her self harm. Some of the many traumatic experiences she’s had include, neglect from her mother caused by her fathers passing, her ending up on the streets and being raped by strangers in practically a sex house, her friend (who she liked at the time) falling in love...

     Just Beyond: The Scare School was a book I admittedly picked up at the Scholastic Book Fair because of the R.L. Stine name. I had been a long-time fan of R.L. Stine, loving the 'Slappy' character he had created and following his works either through reading his novels or watching the adapted movies and TV shows. So when I found out he began making graphic novels, I was ecstatic. It didn't take me long to confirm mentally this was what I wanted to spend my money on.     The book follows the three main characters: twins Jess and Josh, as well as their friend and neighbor, Marco. They're middle schoolers who attend The Scare School, named after their principal George P. Scare. After discovering an unusual-looking robot, they decide to investigate, only to find out it's alive! They follow the robot animal to a portal in their school's basement boiler room. The portal takes them to a school in an alternate universe, led by their principal Dr. Scare, and their dr...

A good (not as in happy) ending is an essential component of a good story. While the beginning of a book might be how I get invested in a story, the ending ultimately contributes the most to how I feel about a book after reading it. And that is why bad endings can (and have) ruined stories for me. To dig into this further I will look at how Akata Witch ’s ending turned a decent story into a hot mess. Everyone in our class read Akata Witch last year so I will keep the summary brief. Akata Witch has a fairly standard beginning in low fantasy stories of a girl living a (somewhat) normal life who discovers magic and gets to learn about it. When I started this book I thought it was actually pretty good. It had an interesting magic system where one’s proficiency in the different areas of magic is dictated by the identity of that character (the main character is albino so she has abilities relating to that), along with a bit of mystery on how this world works and I was sufficiently hooked (I’...

  In this week's article I will be discussing the book and movie adaptation of Bones and All by Camille DeAneglis.   TRIGGER WARNING!! THIS REVIEW IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC GOING INTO THE DETAILS OF THIS BOOK IN DEPTH, IF YOU ARE DISTURBED BY CANNIBALISM, DEATH, AND OVERALL GORY CONTENT PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW :) Bones and All while being the most graphic book I’ve ever read, taught me life lessons that no other book has. The book mentions a sense of community and love, stating over and over again that no matter how much of a monster you think you are there's always going to be someone else like you out there. The main premise of both of these stories plots is of a girl named Maren, she grew up “differently” with her mom/dad*. Maren is a cannibal. The story digs deep into this, showing what she feels and thinks and articulating an experience no normal teen would have. The book and movie are two very different plots considering the difference between which parental figure sh...

         Charles Manson: Conversations With a Killer , is an amazing book that deserves more than a little warning to read. It covers life in prison, cults, drugs, murder, rape and lots of foul language. However! It is a very detailed book that goes deep into the mind of one of the worst (best?) serial killers of American history.      Before reading this book, I had no clue who Charles Manson was, or what he did, beyond 'he's a murderer'.  Charles Manson: Conversations With a Killer is about the story of Edward George, who ended up being Manson's prison warden throughout his life- and death- behind bars.      The book talks about George's experiences dealing with Manson- and with him, his cult followers, known as The Manson Family. It talks about how he became the leader of a cult of mostly young women, who threw away their lives for the devotion they hold for him.  It tells the story of Manson's journey behind bars, how ...