Book Review: Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mysteries, #1) by Ellery Adams

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Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mysteries, #1) by Ellery Adams is the first book in the Book Retreat Mysteries series and is set in western Virginia at a charming resort called Storyton Hall. This unique resort is designed specifically for book lovers who want to escape, unwind, and immerse themselves in their favorite stories. The resort’s manager, Jane Steward, decides to host a themed “Murder and Mayhem Week” inviting mystery enthusiasts to gather, role-play, and solve fictional crimes. However, the event takes a dark turn when one of the guests is found dead in his suite and a valuable prize goes missing. Jane must uncover which guest is responsible for the murder before the retreat is ruined . Before picking up this novel, I had only read one other book in the series. I decided to start from the beginning as part of my New Year’s resolution to finally read books I purchased years ago. I’m so glad I did. Starting with the first installment allowed me to fully appreciat...
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Book Review: Ramona the Pest (Ramona Quimby, #2) by Beverly Cleary

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Ramona Quimby #2
Reading Ramona the Pest (Ramona Quimby, #2) by Beverly Cleary as an adult for the first time ever was a delight. How did I never read this book as a child? Maybe if this had been recommended to me by a teacher or librarian, I would have enjoyed reading in elementary school a lot earlier than I did.

Beverly Cleary did an amazing job of capturing how a five year old acts in kindergarten. I felt like I was back in school again. When I was in kindergarten, there was a morning class and an afternoon class. Unlike the book, we didn't have nap time because there wasn't enough time with such a short day. I enjoyed that the kids were in charge of certain things in the classroom like passing out the art supplies because that sort of thing was a huge deal when I was a kid.

I loved the fact that Ramona misunderstood a few things that her teacher said because kids of that age often misinterpret what is said by adults by no fault of their own, and they often do things that they think are no big deal but in actuality is a big deal like Ramona pulling Susan's hair, even though it was mostly innocent on her part. The one thing that bothered me in the book was that Susan was a tattle tale but never got in trouble by Miss Binney. The tattle tales rarely get in trouble in real life in my experience, so I guess Beverly Cleary was spot on with this, but why does this happen? 

The way the kids in the book teased each other and blew things out of proportion was spot on too. An example of this was when the other kids teased Ramona about being a kindergarten dropout. The teasing happens all too often in real life. How did Beverly Cleary capture kids so well in Ramona the Pest? This was a wonderfully written story for kids that adults can enjoy reading with their kids. I give this book five out of five stars.

Synopsis of Ramona the Pest (Ramona Quimby, #2):  Ramona Quimby is finally old enough to go to school, and she is super excited about starting kindergarten. The precocious five year never means to be a pest, but it just happens. What adventures does Ramona have in her first year of school?


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