The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady

By: Sharon Mondragón

Libby ebook 26 chapters plus acknowledgements

Published: 2021

Genre: Christian realistic fiction

I so enjoyed our book club book by this author that I got this book. Initially, I wasn't a huge fan. Mrs. Benson seemed to be that stereotypically nasty church lady. Also, I'm not a knitter. However, I'm so glad I read this book! I loved it! I have a third book by her on hold at the library . . . 

I made SO many highlights that I think I will need to skip some of them. Dude. I seriously enjoyed this book!

Chapter 1: "Margaret's stomach clenched. 'You mean knit together in public? You mean talk to strangers about church?'"

This is part of what I meant about stereotyping. It honestly isn't that crazy, though. A lot of Christians like to keep their faith separate from life "out there" in the world . . . which is completely opposite of what Jesus teaches. We are to go and proclaim the Good News.

Chapter 1: "His voice was disconcertingly steady, just like his eyes. 'People aren't coming. They don't know they can find peace and love and hope here. They want those things, but many of them think there's mostly judgment and hypocrisy inside church walls. Sadly, in some cases, they're right. The point is they're not coming to us. We have to go to them.'"

This pastor is talking the truth, but Margaret Benson doesn't want to hear it. 

Chapter 2: "Rosalie, confident that she knew what was best for everybody, tended to steamroll her way through life and the lives of those she loved."

Ouch! Rose was my absolutely favorite character, but I think I'm more like her daughter Rosalie than I'd like to admit. I know a lot of people like Rosalie, thinking they knew best for everyone. God's grace - I need it and I appreciate it!

Chapter 2: "Laura chuckled. 'Believe me. Where there are tests there will always be prayer.'"

In Rose's nursing home, her "friends" are more like irritating acquaintances. I love how she shares about knitting at the mall and they are drawn in by her stories of interacting with people they meet and praying for them. Prayer matters!

Chapter 2: "What upsets me, she thought, is how those people downstairs think there's nothing they can do anymore about the state of the world. I may not be able to live alone now or drive a car - safely, anyway - but I can pray. I can pray and knit those prayers into a shawl."

I love Rose! I love her determination to make the best of her situation and make a difference. I love how the next paragraph delves into her prayers and the way she thinks of others and turns her concerns to the Lord.

Chapter 3: "Fran dug around in her purse for the packet of tissues widows learn to keep handy."

This made me stop. I almost always have tissues handy, but I thought it was a mom thing / allergy sufferer thing. I'm so thankful I'm not a widow!

Chapter 5: "'Or maybe some of them are starting to wonder if there's something to this prayer business,' Rose told her. 'And realizing they need God's help.'"

Rose is constantly acting as a counterpoint to Margaret's negativity. Later in this chapter, she interrupts Margaret when Kineasha asks to learn how to knit. "Rose was getting good at heading Margaret off at the pass." Go, Rose!

Chapter 7: "'Oh, you know we're knitting and not crocheting?' Margaret looked at him over her reading glasses. 'Most people don't.'"

I've never understood the passion that people feel about distinguishing between the two . . . but I guess that's because I neither knit nor crochet!

Chapter 7: "'A lot of knitters call this tinking,' Rose told them. 'Tink is the word knit spelled backward. When we tink, we're undoing the stitches, going backward. Tinking is good for when you do the wrong stitch and need to get back to that point to do it over or when you've dropped a stitch and need to pick it up.'"

I love learning new things! I've never heard this term before. Rose explains it beautifully.

Chapter 12: "'Luck is random. Blessing is from God.' Someone had to correct the man."

Margaret is so self-righteous, rigid, and critical that it's embarrassing to think that some people view ALL Christians like this. She's believable as a character, but so darn dislikeable. . . until the end of the story. She is so awful to Howard, but I like how he and Fran (both widowed) connected and became friends.

Chapter 13: "Mishaps like these made the pageant memorable from year to year."

Oh my! One of the things I love best about the children's Christmas pageant every year is seeing what goes "wrong" - it's usually the best part of the show! Fran is remembering the year that the girl playing Mary sneezed so violently that the baby Jesus doll went flying into the air, "caught handily by a surprised but quick-thinking shepherd." I love how her son Eddy asked about her well-being. He missed his dad and knew that his mom missed him, too.

Chapter 13: "But what if we didn't blow out our candles? Jane wondered. What if we took them out of the church with us, carried them home, carried them wherever we went? In her mind's eye, she saw the lights dispersing, spreading wide throughout the darkened city. She saw them shining on the dashboards of cars, in the windows of homes, flickering pinpoints of light in the darkness."

 

I love the Christmas Eve service when we do the candle thing, but I really love Jane's thoughts about the significance of the moment. Shine for Jesus!

 

Chapter  16: "With a sense of subversive glee, she settled into praying, asking God to help Margaret Benson work through whatever was making her miserable."

This is a good reminder! "Pray for those who persecute you." I'm not persecuted, but I definitely have people I don't like to be around. I need to pray for them! God's got this. Jane remembers how much she valued and needed compassion when her son Kenny went to jail. She wants to treat Margaret with God's love.

Chapter 17: "'I remember those days.' Jane watched Amy and Kineasha disappear from view. 'When I was young and every setback seemed like a disaster.'"

One of the best things about aging is gaining perspective! 

Chapter 17: "'We've attracted people at the mall who need our prayers, need us to be there praying. Some of them have never asked for prayer before in their lives. Being out there among all those people has opened my eyes.'"

Jane is having a conversation with Father Pete about continuing to knit and pray in the mall rather than returning to the Prayer Chapel. It can be hard to move out of our comfort zones / routines, but God's way is always better than our own way!

Chapter 17: "That's what she'd do and not even go to church. Let's see how he likes that! She thought with a lift of her chin."

I loved the confrontation between God and Margaret. I've never actually heard God speak to me, but when I'm truly focused on Him in prayer, He definitely guides my thoughts. Margaret trying to "show" God how upset she was and then having Him "talk" to her was fun to read.

Chapter 18 finally shows us why Margaret is the way she is. Her mom had cancer and Margaret refused to have the hard conversations and accept the severity of her illness. Her mom died when Margaret was only twenty-five years old. That loss affected her entire life and the way she parented her children. "Phrases like stage mother and smother mother drifted back to her on the winds of gossip." I love how the author shows us Margaret's heart in these reminiscences, her knitting, and her personal prayer time with God.

Chapter 19: "She smiled and sent up a silent prayer. Radical knitter here, at your service. Any other surprises?"

Rose is a rock star! The other gals at the nursing home are asking her for help with knitting prayer shawls!

Chapter 20: "How could she keep bad things from happening if she wasn't in charge? She gave herself a mental shake. She was getting off track. She was supposed to be praying for Celeste and her mother."

This author doesn't just have Margaret make a 180. She struggles, realizes, grows, changes. I really, really liked how she wrote this. Wanting to be in control is very relatable. Later in the chapter, ". . . she took solace in the whisper and click of her bamboo needles and the way one stitch followed another, row after orderly row. At least she had control of something."

Chapter 21 has Jane realizing that her unresolved anger toward Kenny is preventing her from healing. "Life is short and fragile, she reflected." Yes! And her cleaning frenzy is likened to a child adding more and more people to "bless you" bedtime prayers to stall going to sleep. This is really well-written!

Chapter 21: "Much as she would like to batter him with words so he might feel even an inkling of the pain he'd caused her, she knew these should not be the last words he ever heard from her. If what she was about to write were truly the last words he might ever have from her, what did she truly want them to be?"

I am too good at procrastinating and thinking there will always be time later to deal with relationships, conversations, etc. I'm trying to be better about appreciating each day and the people in my life, but life IS short and precious.

Chapter 21: "Kenny's childhood was over. No amount of hope or regret would bring it back. She couldn't tink his life back to where it went wrong and then knit it back with no mistakes."

We can't go back in time and change our past! As parents, we make mistakes that impact our children. We can't go back and change that, either.

Chapter 23: "Celeste sat back in her chair. 'I'm amazed. You're a . . . You're a dragon whisperer!'"

I loved that the title seemed to imply Margaret as the dragon from the get-go. But to find that Barbara Wentworth was known by her bookstore employees as the "Dragon lady" was very interesting! The expression "it takes one to know one" came to mind.

Chapter 23: "This seems like a strange way to make things better. But please, whatever you do, make things better." 

Margaret's prayers help her to relax and turn both her knitting and praying over to God. 

Chapter 26: "For a brief moment, she wondered if what she'd been doing there all those years had been praying at all. Compared to what had been going on in her craft room lately, it seemed like she'd been mostly laying down the law inside her own head."

Yes! God got through to Margaret! Perhaps I should examine my prayer life . . . 

I actually did skip some of my highlights . . . I really like this author. I hope she keeps writing!

Chapter

Murder on Milverton Square

By: GB Ralph

Libby audiobook 6 hours

Read by: Philip Battley

Published: 2022 (this version 2024)

Genre: murder mystery

 

From Google Books: "Addison Harper is abruptly summoned to Milverton at the behest of an abrasive lawyer. He plans to be in and out, back to the city lickety-split. Instead, he finds himself charmed by the small town with its delightful and eccentric residents, not to mention the rather easy-on-the-eye Sergeant Jake Murphy.

Despite the rocky start, Addison admits he's had a pleasant day out. That is, until returning to find the prickly old lawyer on the floor, and very much dead. Worse, it looks like murder, and Addison's fingerprints are all over the crime scene."

 

In some ways, this was a delightful murder mystery. There are lots of quirky characters (elderly Mabel was my favorite) and plenty of suspects. That said, Addison was not a protagonist that I connected with very well. He was awkward and kept choking on his food. The romance with Sergeant Murphy seemed a bit of a stretch.

 

The observation that a 3pm Friday meeting to "catch up" and make sure everyone's well-being is good . . . was such a blatant dig at bosses who pull that sort of thing just to check up and make sure people aren't starting their weekend early.

 

It was interesting that it took me a while to figure out that this was set in New Zealand! I mean, there IS a Wellington in England as well . . . I clearly need to study my geography more! 

The story was fine but not one that has me seeking out other titles by this author.

The Strongest Heart

By: Saadia Faruqi

Libby ebook 35 chapters plus epilogue, note from author, etc.

Published: 2025

Genre: YA realistic fiction

Mohammed is an eighth grader whose dad is schizophrenic and mom is working in Greece at a refugee center. He and his dad have relocated from NYC to Texas to live with his aunt and cousin.

Chapter 1: "Problem is, me and good behavior aren't really on speaking terms."

Mo, as he prefers to be called, resents the move and the fact that his mother is so distant. He is less than cordial when meeting his cousin Rayyan.

Chapter 2: "So now one more thing I know about my cousin is that he things Davy Crockett is a folktale worth reading. He needs to be educated about life outside Texas, is what I'm thinking."

Mo loves folktales from Pakistan, India, etc. The book is peppered with these tales (and the author does a beautiful job of connecting them with what is going on in Mo's life). One of my favorite things about this book was the relationship between Mo and Rayyan - very different kids.

Chapter 4: "There's even one from Ghost, by my favorite author, Jason Reynolds: 'You can't run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be.'"

I love Jason Reynolds' writing, too! It was so fun to see this quotation up on his homeroom teacher's wall. Cool that this author is giving props to another current author.

Chapter 9: "Oh, and he was desi. I should have led with that."

I had not seen that word before. I got the gist of it from the context clues, but had to look it up! Mo is referring to his neighbor in NYC, Patel Uncle. Dictionary.com says:

South Asian

adjective

adjective: desi; adjective: deshi

1.

of, from, or characteristic of India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh.

"Priyanka is a true desi girl at heart"

 

There was a LOT of language - usually around food - that was clearly ethnic and that I just understood from context. I imagine this book would really resonate with someone of Pakistani culture.

Chapter 10: "The imam looks satisfied. 'Well, I'll leave you to it, then. The class is two hours long, and you can break it up any way you want. Teaching, artwork, playtime. It's all up to you.'"

 

This was the part of the book I struggled with the most. It's Sunday school at the mosque . . . and you're leaving two eighth graders alone with a room full of preschool and elementary age kids for two hours with no direction, guidance, etc. ?! Just no. It was fun to see how Mo and Rayyan took to this volunteer work, but it was just too unrealistic for me.

 

Chapter 11: "I need some alone time. Two hours with the Energizer Bunny kids has drained me."

Amen, Mo. Little kids are exhausting!

Chapter 14: "Stories are powerful. They transport you to fantasyland."

Those of us who love stories can relate to this!

Chapter 14: ". . . someone save me from my own thoughts."

This was heartbreaking. Mo's fear is that he'll become like his dad and have a child who will hate him and continue the cycle. His coping mechanisms have caused him to hold his anger tightly.

Chapter 14: "Sometimes art is ugly and doesn't make sense." 

I love that Mo took to painting to express his feelings. It was so much better for him than getting into fights!

Chapter 15: " . . . let me tell you the brief version. You don't take your meds, so you start feeling bad. Really bad. Mentally, that is. All sorts of bad thoughts rush into your mind. You drink to get rid of your bad thoughts. But drinking is bad for you, right? It makes you stop thinking clearly. But schizophrenia also stops you from thinking clearly. So you drink more. And more. And more."

Faruqi did a beautiful job portraying Mo's struggle to understand his father's illness while also clearly depicting his legitimate anger and fear. In the author's note, we get a better understanding that a lot of this comes from her personal experience growing up with a similar father.

Chapter 17: "That's the thing with mental health, you know? It's easy to fake that you're doing well."

Again, she hits some hard truths.

Chapter 18: "I'm always alone. Always happy. Or at least, not unhappy. There's a difference. Think about it."

 

Later in the chapter, he talks about people wearing masks and his parents not loving him. There's a lot here that I think tween and teen readers could relate to, even without having the Muslim / Pakistani background.

 

Chapter 20: "When things are daunting, I feel the need to pray."

 

In the next breath, Mo says that God isn't listening. Interesting approach to prayer . . . and beliefs.

 

Chapter 20: "I don't want to be alone anymore. I want someone to help me. Being bad is no fun anymore. I'm ready to try something else."

 

Mo has adopted the persona of a tough "bad" kid. He decides to become Rayyan's protector and helper.

 

Chapter 23: "Let me tell you, lots of parents test their kids in different ways. Sometimes the tests are so difficult the kids fail."

 

 As a teacher, I've encountered many kinds of parents. The ones who set their kids up for failure (with good intentions) are the most heart breaking.

 

 Chapter 24: ". . . the strongest heart is the one that keeps beating."

I love seeing where the title comes from! The biology class body systems, the heart in Mo, etc. It all came together beautifully.

Chapter 24: "Giving water to kids across the world when her own offspring is thirsty for her affection."

Ouch! Poor Mo! I wonder if my kids felt that I was too busy for them twenty years ago . . . you can't go back in time and have a "do over," but at least I was a daily presence in their lives.

Chapter 25: "Life is too much, sometimes."

Again, sometimes I read a line like this and think it's just coming from the author's adult brain. Then I think about my worries and feelings as an eighth grader. Yes, I was still a kid. But I thought about the meaning of life, my identity, my relationships, etc. Kids do feel this way sometimes.

Chapter 26: "Listen, if I'm sounding miserable and pathetic right now, that's because I am. Nobody gets to judge me until they've walked in my shoes."

I definitely could be more compassionate toward people who are in a struggle. I don't want to be judgmental. But I also don't want to be a doormat or an enabler . . . it can be tricky.

Chapter 27: "there's no action in being sad. Nothing you can do to make it better. With anger, you can fight and punch and box and scream until everything is gone. Until not a drop of feeling is left. Until you're numb."

That's an interesting distinction between sadness and anger. I hadn't thought of it that way before.

Chapter 29: "In seventh grade, our technology teacher, Mrs. Crenshaw, taught us about this thing called media literacy, and how to choose good sources. I make sure I click on medical sites only. Hospitals and mental-health facilities."

I love this! As someone who used to teach media literacy (and sees such a need for it today), I love this mention! As Mo is trying to learn more about his dad's illness, he's using responsible research strategies. I also love the way the school librarian is a vital person in students' lives both Mo's and Frankie's. I also love the way that Mo and Frankie transform from enemies to almost friends.

Chapter 35: "Where there's hope, there's life. A positive attitude, hoping for the best, where there's a will, there's a way . . . all that stuff is real. It makes us reach inside ourselves, past the skin and bones, past the anatomy, to the soul."

What a great way to end the book! Well, the epilogue ends it, but this is good. Reading the author's notes and about the author was good, too. I've seen Faruqi's "Yasmin" series and I'm glad Muslim children have a wonderful author / role model. I can't believe I didn't mention his aunt! I loved her (Naila Phupo?) and her nurturing of Mo.

The (Super Secret) Octagon Valley Society

By: Melissa de la Cruz

Libby audiobook 7 hours

Read by: Marni Penning

Published: 2023

Genre: YA mystery, fantasy

Spoilers ahead, so stop now if you don't want the ending "ruined." . . . 

The vocal work is great. The target audience is the tween kids who are heading into or already into sixth grade. I should call it "kid lit" instead of YA, but I haven't been making that distinction in my blog so I'll leave it as is.

This started out with a premise similar to books like the Mysterious Benedict Society and so many others . . . an extraordinary group of sixth graders have tested well enough to be invited to a seminar weekend at Octagon Valley by the "uber famous multimillionaire, genius, recluse Onassander Octagon."

 

The kids are interesting enough - Edwin (small for his age, photographic memory), Julie (quiet, violinist, NYC), Little Kimmy (LA, rapper), Anton (gamer), Dilip (Indian American, surfer), TingTing (Filipino, pushy mom), Harold Postman Jr. VIII (rich brat whose family included the "junior" and the number of which junior . . .), and Maureen (snotty girl from NYC with two dads who have a Tesla model X). 

Then we get Daphne the siren (she's really real), the multiverse, a destroyed reality, life-threatening situations, etc.

Sigh. It just gets worse and worse as it goes on. Turns out the kids are actually aliens with latent powers and they have been recruited to save "impossibilium," a new element that can save the world. One of the "octos" is actually on the side of YAK (an acronym? we don't know). This is clearly book one in a new series. I could easily "sell" this book to young readers with active imaginations, but I personally did not like it.

The Keeper

(A Murphy Shepherd novel)

By: Charles Martin

Dakota County Library hardcover 412 pages plus discussion questions

Published: 2025

Genre: Christian adventure fiction, realistic

This is the fourth book in the series and I think I've read enough of these now. I didn't get it done before book club six days ago. I kind of had to force myself to finish it. Martin is a talented author and there is plenty of action, but it just seemed to be so much of a rehash of the previous books and in need of some concise editing.

Page 2: "Not every prisoner wants to be rescued. Some prefer chains to freedom, darkness to light."

In thinking of Frank and Bones and their final encounter in the previous book, Shepherd recognizes that some people choose their bondage.

Page 35: "The question that had kept me awake all night was simple: What would happen now? In my experience, evil people with power usually want more power, and they are willing to commit whatever evil is needed to get more of it. Evil is the currency. Power the prize."

This reality makes me feel sick. I recognize the truth of it but I prefer to live in the light. I'm 100% okay with not being a powerful person. I'd rather experience the power of God working through my weakness. 

Page 64: "'One day soon, you're going to encounter people in prison. Often the bars that hold them will be of their own making. It's one thing to unlock someone's prison door; it's another thing entirely to loose the chains that bind their heart.'"

Bones' wisdom to Murphy Shepherd in the guise of "priesting."

Page 65: "'You do realize that the human body needs sleep.' He shook his head. 'Overrated.'"

This is the biggest disagreement I have with Bones' character. Sleep is important! And there are lots of Scriptures about God giving us rest. We need sleep for our physical and mental health. Sleep deprivation is NOT a good part of training and teaching.

Page 143: "Proving that love is and always has been the most powerful weapon in this universe or any other."

Yes! Love is powerful. And it makes life worth living.

Page 153 is where I finally just got sick of all the gun and bullet talk. Blah blah blah. This series definitely glorifies love of guns. I wonder if Martin has many male (or female) readers who appreciate this? I am not a gun lover and I got to the point where I skim-read these parts. (I hardly ever skim-read in novels!)

Page 161: "A name establishes a record. Drives a stake in the ground. Shouts across the stratosphere, 'I'm here! I matter! I'm not invisible!'"

I agree. Names are important. That's why I try really hard to learn people's names and use them properly. As a substitute teacher, I've definitely messed up plenty of times!

Page 178: "'Love is an amazing thing. It takes the brokenness, the scars, the pain, the darkness, everything, and makes it all new.'"

I love the emphasis on the importance of love. This is a flashback to Murphy's rescue of Casey. Her story, along with her marriage to Camp, are one of the main story strands in this book.

Page 244: "While my mind couldn't tell, my gut had no doubt."

Murph is reflecting on his conversations with Maynard and his gut feeling that something was very off. Sometimes you really do need to trust your gut!

Page 259: "But one name had not been etched into my back. It had been written deeper. Seared into my soul. Why? Because it was the most important. Because of his name, all the other names mattered; without his, none mattered. I loved and was able to love because he loved me. Period. I could take credit for nothing."

I fully expected him to reference Jesus! Silly me. Of course Murphy was referring to Bones. It took me awhile to realize that Bones is an allegory for Jesus.

Page 293: "I thought how it was easy to love someone who loved you back. But it was much tougher when they were evil."

So true. It's easy to love lovable people. I have a few folks in my life that I struggle to tolerate, much less love . . . I'm so glad God is still working on my heart.

I wasn't shocked by the ending because Martin had left more than enough clues. I actually did a little skim-reading through the wedding ceremony and scene after with Shepherd and Summer. I may or may not read book five in the series when it comes out.

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