Candy Bunny Reader

  This book was a part of the 12 books 12 friends challenge.  Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man about the Natural World by Christian Cooper is a memoir about various parts of the author's life: growing up in New York, his family, finding out he was gay, his time working at Marvel, traveling the world, and many more. Everything is tied together through his love of bird watching. As he tells us stories about parts of his life, he also drops facts on different kinds of birds and how you can be a good birdwatcher, too. It's a cool memoir! I especially liked the parts where he talked about working at Marvel, and how it was like growing up as a gay black man in the second half of the 20th century. I also have a mild interest in bird watching, and I had no idea so many things went into trying to find birds.  I do have to give it 4 stars though, because the book did feel a little disjointed at times. There were some chapters I felt that the author was trying ...

  Oh, this one was just lovely! A French Girl in New York by Anna Adams is about Maude, a 16 year old who lives in Carvin, a small town in the north of France with her foster family, who act coldly towards her and refuse to talk to her about her birth parents. Maude also loves to sing and play piano, but unlike most people her age, she prefers opera and classical music. One day during a school field trip in Paris, she comes across an American social media influencer named Chad, and he invites her to perform inside. Maude sings a cover of a popular pop song, and to her surprise, Chad records the whole thing, and it ends up going viral. The next thing Maude knows, a record label president named Terence and his adult daughter Cynthia show up at her house and want to turn her into a pop star! Maude then finds herself in New York City learning the ins and outs of the music business. She also starts falling in love with two guys at once. One named Matt who is her music partner, and anot...