The Pigeon Post

  While looking through my bookshelf for something to read, I found Such a Lovely Family by Aggie Blum Thompson and decided to reread it. In the book, the Calhouns are the picture-perfect, ideal American, upper-class family. Thom and Ginny Calhoun have everything anyone could possibly want: a beautiful house in Washington, D.C., a successful business, and plenty of money. Most importantly, they raised three beautiful children named Trey, Nate and Ellie Grace. The book starts off at the family's annual cherry blossom party held at the Calhoun house. Guests and family are enjoying food and one another’s company. However, the party is quickly cut short after a murder takes place. Thom is murdered and Ginny was left badly injured inside the house. The party turns into a crime scene while detectives search to find the murderer, questioning guests including Renée, Ginny’s closest friend. Every guest at the party is considered a suspect and everyone, even Ginny's children, are interr...

Near the end of winter break I started reading the Maze Runner series, which was recommended to me by my cousin (again, this is like the third time). And I think it was a pretty good recommendation, because I was able to read the three books in about two weeks while balancing a lot of schoolwork. Anyway, the Maze Runner is about a boy named Thomas who wakes up in the Glade, which is pretty much a big field with a stone maze around it. When he gets there, he has no memories except his name. There are about 50 other boys there, and Thomas learns that each month for the last three years a new boy has been coming up what they call “the box,” which seems like some sort of underground elevator that also sends up supplies.  In the Glade, everyone has a job. All of the boys arrived with no memories and by working together hope to escape the maze. Some of them are called “Runners” and they spend each day going through the maze, remembering patterns and copying them down, analyzing differe...

  When you first look at it, Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven sounds too basic, simple or even boring to be of any importance. Like you might be like, “A book about making your bed? Really?” But it's that simpleness that makes it impactful. This book is based on the author’s 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas and expands on 10 life lessons he learned during Navy SEAL training and decades of military service. The core idea is quite practical, refreshing even. The idea is that small actions which are taken consistently can create the momentum needed for big change. One of the 10 lessons that is repeated many times throughout the book, the title lesson (making your bed every morning), isn’t really just about neat sheets. It’s about discipline. A sense of accomplishment can be achieved by completing a small task first thing in the day. Say if your day goes terrible, at least you come home to something done right. That tiny win can matter more than you think...

      My grandma, Nancy Spejcher passed in December 2024, and I once found "The Amazing J" sitting on my bookshelf and decided to read it. My grandma was very dear to me and wrote this book about me in 2018.      The Amazing J is a children's book that teaches qualities like kindness, compassion, and integrity through a super hero named The Amazing J (inspired by me). The Amazing J stands up for others and always makes sure to be kind. Many of the aspects were based off of my personal experiences and hobbies around the time this book was being written. For example, it mentions that the Amazing J's favorite colors are purple and orange, and I remember her asking me what my favorite colors were and that being my answer. There are many bunnies seen throughout the book, which used to be my favorite animal.      I think this book is fantastic because it teaches important morals in life in a very easy and understandable formatting. The illustration...

  Snapdragon by Kat Leyh was one of the many books I was gifted by my elementary school in fourth grade following quarantine, and functioned as their desperate attempt to get their students to read literally anything. I actually didn’t get around to reading it until that summer, as most of the books in the pile I was given looked extremely boring (at the time I was a “I wanna move to Japan!” child and refused to read anything that wasn’t manga) thus I never really went through it. However, while I was cleaning my room that day and finally looked at the book, I remember thinking that the cover was pretty enough for the book to maybe be interesting. Out of boredom, I opened up the graphic novel, and it only took a dozen pages or so for me to be fully absorbed into the story.      Snapdragon , as the name suggests, follows a middle school girl named Snapdragon– labeled as the “weird” kid by all of her classmates except her best friend. She is often teased for not being ...

  The Kingdom of Back is a historical fantasy about the Mozart family, focusing on Maria Anna Mozart rather than her famous brother Wolfgang. Maria Anna or Nannerl is a talented young musician with the fear of being forgotten. From a young age, Nannerl is taught to play the clavier by her father and spends hours practicing each day. Nannerl is really passionate about music and works hard to earn her father’s approval. Nannerl has a strong fear of being forgotten so she uses a small glass pendant and wishes to always be remembered. This wish is what leads her to meet Hyacinth. Growing up, Nannerl and her brother Woferl are really close. When their father is away, Nannerl and her brother share stories. Together, they create a magical world called the Kingdom of Back based on a dream Nannerl once had. In this dream, Nannerl sees an enchanted world with two moons, upside down trees, and a magical boy who seemed to be a prince.  One day, while Nannerl and Woferl are playing the cla...