Willa and the Whale by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown - Spotlight

Willa and the Whale

Authors: Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: March 3rd, 2020

ISBN13: 9781629727318

Hardcover/e-book: 256 pages

FTC FYI: I received an ARC from the publisher. All views and opinions expressed are my own.

Goodreads Summary

Can a whale talk to a human? Willa thinks so...

After losing her mom, Willa is grieving and having a hard time living with her dad and his new family on an island off the coast of Washington State. Her dad tries to cheer her up by taking her whale watching, something Willa's mom used to do.

While all the passengers are on one side of the boat, Willa encounters a humpback whale on the opposite side. Willa feels so lonely that she starts to talk to the whale—and the whale talks back!

The whale, named Meg, quickly becomes a trusted friend and confidante Willa can speak to whenever she's by the ocean.

Meg offers sound advice Willa needs about dealing with a nemesis at school and trying to figure out why her friend Marc is keeping secrets about his family life.

Before the story ends, it will take all of Willa's courage and connections to tackle a problem that's as big as a blue whale!

Author links

Amazon author page / Goodreads Chad / Goodreads Shelly

Purchase links

Hardcover / Kindle / Audible / Deseret Book

Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown -- blog tour

Squint

Authors: Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: October 2018

Hardcover/e-book: 256 pages

ISBN13: 9781629724850

FTC FYI: I received an ARC from the publisher, all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Goodreads Summary

My name is Flint, but everyone in middle school calls me Squint because I’m losing my vision. I used to play football, but not anymore. I haven’t had a friend in a long time. Thankfully, real friends can see the real you, even when you can’t clearly see.

Flint loves to draw. In fact, he’s furiously trying to finish his comic book so he can be the youngest winner of the “Find a Comic Star” contest. He’s also rushing to finish because he has keratoconus—an eye disease that could eventually make him blind.

McKell is the new girl at school and immediately hangs with the popular kids. Except McKell’s not a fan of the way her friends treat this boy named Squint. He seems nice and really talented. He draws awesome pictures of superheroes. McKell wants to get to know him, but is it worth the risk? What if her friends catch her hanging with the kid who squints all the time?

McKell has a hidden talent of her own but doesn’t share it for fear of being judged. Her terminally ill brother, Danny, challenges McKell to share her love of poetry and songwriting. Flint seems like someone she could trust. Someone who would never laugh at her. Someone who is as good and brave as the superhero in Flint’s comic book named Squint.

Squint is the inspiring story of two new friends dealing with their own challenges, who learn to trust each other, believe in themselves, and begin to truly see what matters most.

My review

Squint is another hit for this talented husband and wife author duo. I loved it! These authors really know how to tug at your heart strings, all while having you think, laugh, and smile at the same time. I loved how this book wasn't just Flint's story, but McKell's, Danny's, Grandma's, Grandpa's journey too. I appreciated and loved the lessons learned along the way. A great one was when Flint realized things about himself that he needed to change. No doubt he had been through some hard things with his keratoconus. He wasn't perfect either and tried his best to make changes and be brave himself, all while helping McKell with her challenges. McKell was a doll and Danny was a fun character too. His role was small, but he had a big impact on everyone. I absolutely loved Grandpa's football analogies. He was a hoot!

5 out of 5 stars. 

Author links

Goodreads (Chad) / Website / Goodreads (Shelly) / Website

Purchase links

Amazon hardcover / Amazon e-book / Barnes and Noble / Deseret Book

Mustaches for Maddie by Shelly Brown/Chad Morris -- Blog Tour

Mustaches for Maddie

Authors: Shelly Brown and Chad Morris

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: October 3rd, 2017

Paperback: 256 pages

ISBN13: 9781629723303

FTC FYI: I received a paperback ARC from the publisher, all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Goodreads Summary

Maddie is a normal twelve-year-old girl. Well, except for the fake mustaches she carries in her pocket. She likes to make people laugh and slapping on a mustache, especially a fuzzy pink or neon green one, always gets a smile. Maddie hopes that the class queen, Cassie, will find her mustaches as funny as she does and want to play with her at recess. She's been self-conscious lately because her right arm only feels normal when it's curled against her chest and she's constantly tripping over her feet. But that's probably just part of growing up and not something weird, right?

When Maddie's arm continues to bother her, her parents take her to a doctor who gives them a shocking diagnosis: the cause of the abnormal behavior of her limbs is a brain tumor and she must have surgery to remove it. She's understandably afraid as he describes the procedure, but knows she must find a way to be brave and must face her fears--all of them--at the hospital, at home and at school.

She will need all of her courage not only to face her illness, but also to face Cassie at school. Both Cassie and Maddie are auditioning for the same role in the school play, but when Cassie accuses Maddie of lying about her tumor in order to get attention, Cassie's bossiness turns into bullying.

And as Maddie's surgery approaches, she begins to worry more and more about the outcome. What if something goes wrong? What if the doctors don't get all the tumor out of her brain? What will happen to her family? What will happen to her?

It will take all of Maddie's vibrant imagination, a lot of kindness-both given and received-and of course, the perfect mustache to overcome the tough stuff ahead of her. 

My Review

I absolutely loved Mustaches for Maddie. Maddie is thoughtful, kind and so funny. I loved, loved, loved her imagination, which help carry her through her hard times. Maddie is so creative and caring.  Mustaches for Maddie is based on the real life story of authors Shelly Brown and Chad Morris's daughter Maddie and her experience with a brain tumor. I felt the story was heart-felt and truly wonderful. I loved how the kids (and adults) came together in the story, all to support a darling girl who loved mustaches. This book is so funny and at times brought tears to my eyes. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Author Links

Chad Website / Shelly Website / Chad Twitter / Shelly Twitter

Purchase Links

Amazon hardback / Amazon ebook / Amazon paperback / Deseret Book
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