Book Review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

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Mad Mabel  by Sally Hepworth  is a domestic thriller about the youngest person convicted of murder in Australia, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick. Now 81 years old, Elsie is living on Kenny Lane and has been for the past sixty years. When a mother named Roxanne moves into Mabel's neighborhood with her seven year old daughter, an unlikely friendship forms between Elsie and the seven year old child named Persephone. As Elsie's secrets come to light, her world comes crashing down.  Having read quite a few novels by Sally Hepworth, I requested an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Mad Mabel  without reading the synopsis of the story. I was thrilled when NetGalley and St. Martin's Press approved my request. The expected publication date of the book is April 21, 2026. Not knowing anything about the storyline before I started reading Mad Mabel  made the story much more interesting to me as I had no preconceived ideas. The tale was told from Mabel's perspective in alternating timeli...
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Book Review: Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2) by L.E. Blair

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middle grade book review face off girl talk 2 by le blair

Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2) by L.E. Blair opens with Katie Campbell skating with her friends at the ice skating rink and thinking about how her father taught her how to skate and play hockey . . . and realizing how much she misses it. Tired of being the perfect daughter, Katie quits the flag team and tries out for the boys hockey team.

This particular book took me back to my childhood. There were so many situations that were realistic such as the girl's talking about bras in the locker room after flag practice. I remember overhearing conversations about bras in the locker room when I was in middle school, so I could totally relate to this particular scene in Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2). Other realistic examples were how the girls acted around the boys they liked and how the kids acted at the restaurant & cafeteria. I loved the fact that the game Girl Talk was played during the sleepover. I had completely forgotten about those little red stickers that the players had to put on their face to represent zits.

When I was a kid, there weren't too many times that a girl attended a try out for an all male sports team, let alone made the team. Nowadays, you see more females on a sports team dominated by males like football. I enjoyed the fact that Allison stood up to the hockey coach on Katie's behalf and mentioned Title IX. As a kid, I had no idea what this was, much less that it was a law, and was glad that the author included an explanation of it as I'm sure that other young children don't know about it. The only complaint I have about Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2) is that I felt like the pacing was a bit off.

Four out of five stars is the rating I gave Face-Off (Girl Talk, #2) by L.E. Blair. If you enjoyed this book, I recommend Wild Hearts (Wild Hearts, #1) by Cherie Bennett.

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