Book Review: Irish Soda Bread Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland

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Irish Soda Bread Murder   by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland is a collection of three short stories that include Irish Soda Bread Murder by Carlene O'Connor, An Irish Recipe for Murder by Peggy Ehrhart, and Mrs. Claus and the Sinister Soda Bread Man by Liz Ireland. The expected publication date of this book is December 24, 2024, and my overall review of this book is four out of five stars. I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) that I received for free in exchange for my honest review. Irish Soda Bread Murder  by Carlene O'Connor opens with Tara Meehan helping her Uncle Johnny and Aunt Rose with a local bake sale and psychic convention with the proceeds going to charity. When Rose's biggest rival shows up and ends up dying from her soda bread, Tara knows she must step in to help clear her aunt and uncle from the suspect list. I enjoyed this story a lot better than the last one I read in the series. The only complaint I hav...
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Book Review: Are You There God? It's me, Margaret by Judy Blume

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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume is told from the perspective of Margaret, who has recently moved to New Jersey and is dealing with a lot of things a girl at this age typically deals with. Margaret has to deal with making new friends and is questioning religion. Additionally, she and her new friends are entering the sixth grade and are juggling the trials and tribulations of being a tween and going through puberty, including school dances, boy/girl parties, getting their first bra, etc.

Judy Blume does a great job of what a child might experience in these situations and additionally does a great job dealing with how a child might question religion. I thought the story was well written and was handled delicately. I do suggest that parents have a conversation with their child after they read the book to answer any questions they may have.

There were some situations that I could relate to, but there were others that I didn't relate to at all. I remember bras and such being a topic of discussion in the girls locker room, but none of my friends and I had a competition about getting our periods. I was a little dumfounded that the boys didn't have a sex education class like the girls did. At my school, students were split up, with boys in one or two classes and girls in separate classes to discuss the sensitive issues of puberty. Of course, parents could opt their child out of the class.

As a kid, I never really questioned different religions. I think that was largely because my dad would ask me what I learned at church, and my parents and I would have a discussion about it as a family. Additionally, I learned a bit about different religions in school as well. Between these two things, I guess I never really felt the need to question any type of religion.

This was my first time reading this book, and it's my understanding that parts of the book have been updated to align with modern times. I wish I had access to the original story so I could compare the two. 

All in all, I enjoyed reading Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. I gave it four out of five stars.

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