Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Running a bit behind this Monday morning. I totally forgot to finish my post yesterday thanks to Mother's Day fun.  I picked up the recommendation for this one from J emima Pett's W pos t in the A to Z challenge. Title: What Stars Are Made Of Author: Sarah Allen Publication Info: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2020. 279 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: Twelve-year-old Libby Monroe is great at science, being optimistic, and talking to her famous, accomplished friends (okay, maybe that last one is only in her head). She’s not great at playing piano, sitting still, or figuring out how to say the right thing at the right time in real life. Libby was born with Turner Syndrome, and that makes some things hard. But she has lots of people who love her, and that makes her pretty lucky. When her big sister Nonny tells her she’s pregnant, Libby is thrilled—but worried. Nonny and her husband are in a financial black hole, and Libby knows that babies aren’t always born healt...

By the way, I love this cover: Title: The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate Author: Jacqueline Kelly Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, 2015. 315 pages (hardback) Publisher’s Blurb: Callie’s younger brother Travis keeps bringing home strays. And Callie has her hands full keeping the animals—Travis included—away from her mother’s critical eye. When a storm blows change into town in the form of a visiting veterinarian, Callie discovers a life and a vocation she desperately wants. But with societal expectations as they are, she will need all her wits and courage to realize her dreams. Whether it’s wrangling a rogue armadillo or stray dog, a guileless younger brother or standoffish cousin, the trials and tribulations of Callie Vee will have readers cheering for this most endearing heroine. My Review: As a sequel to a Newbery nominee and winner of multiple awards (see review) , this book had quite a bit to live up to. To my mind, it did it, though it left me looking for another sequel, which ...

  Title: The Voice of the Xenolith Author: Cynthia Pelman Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing, 2015. 214 pages (in paperback) Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: Thirteen-year-old Amethyst does not get on with her teachers. Her classmates think she is weird. She prefers to be on her own, and she wishes she did not have to go to school. Amethyst reads detective stories, collects fossils, loves archaeology, and is writing her own dictionary. She has trained herself to become an expert in tracking, searching and following clues, and she uses these detective skills to search for someone who was murdered seventy years ago. Amethyst reaches out across time and space and in doing so finds her own voice among the many meanings of silence. My Review:  I picked up this book because it seemed to fit a theme being explored on the Goodreads group Great Middle Grade Reads; i.e., girls in science. To some degree, that is true, as Amethyst is definitely interested...