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: Kristy and the Walking Disaster (The Baby-Sitters Club, #20) by Ann M. Martin

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kristy and the walking disaster the babysitters club #20 ann m martin

Kristy and the Walking Disaster (The Baby-Sitters Club, #20) by Ann M. Martin is told from the point of view of Kristy Thomas, president of The Baby-Sitters Club. Seeing how much her little brother and step siblings enjoy playing softball, she decides to create a softball team of kids, who normally wouldn't be good enough to join a little league team, and names the team Kristy's Krushers. Things get competitive when another team called Bart's Bashers challenges them to a game.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Kristy and the Walking Disaster (The Baby-Sitters Club, #20) is the fact that the character of Kristy is being developed a little more and starting to mature. In this book, Kristy actually starts to like boys and has a crush on a guy named Bart Taylor, who is the coach of a softball team called Bart's Bashers. It's nice to see characters that aren't kept in the same box throughout the series.

Additionally, it was great that the book addressed bullying because it's still a thing that happens with kids today. Hopefully, readers will be able to empathize and learn the lesson put forth in the story. Another lesson to be learned by readers was to include others on your team regardless of whether they're good or bad and that if you work hard, you can become a better player.

This is a great book for kids who enjoy sports, especially softball and baseball. I thoroughly enjoyed this book even as an adult. The only downfall is that it hardly mentions any of the other girls in the baby-sitters club, which is why I gave it four stars out of five stars.

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