Sunday Post September 30, 2018/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday October 1, 2018

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date (at Wordpress).

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

We had a good drive home and I am thankful that my husband is willing to drive the whole way since I am not crazy about driving a large motorcoach. We allowed an extra day so we could relax and not stress his health. We have also been binging on Game of Thrones.

I didn't get to read as many TBR ebooks in September as I had hoped. I plan to pick up some in October for FraterFest.

I had a lot of travel time for reading and listening as you can see by completed books! I finished seven books: three ebooks and four audible titles. I managed to get two reviews posted as well as all of my usual memes (although Friday Pick is late).

I visited 22 blogs last week.
Shout Out this week to Ubiquitous Grace who shares reviews and other bookish blogs.
Thank you to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post September 23, 2018/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday September 24, 2018.

• ATBR- Audible Book Review: Nation by Terry Pratchett; Coming of Age, Fantasy, Sci Fi; my rating: Story 4.0 of 5.0; Audio: 4.5 of 5.0.

• eTour- Book Review: A Nanny For Christmas: A Harper's Corner Series Novella by Christina George; Contemporary Romance, Holidays, Small Town; my rating: 4.25 of 5.0.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway September 28, 2018. Open Worldwide. Ending 10/4/2018.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement September 30, 2018.

Finished Reading:

1. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

Shelved Under Murder: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery
by Victoria Gilbert
I enjoyed this easy, cozy mystery.
Source: NetGalley 2018.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible Smartphone (A2018)

The Lilac Bouquet
By: Carolyn Brown
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
This is a lovely story!
Source: Audible January 2018 Daily Deal $2.95.
Click on book title for full description.

3. eBook/Kindle (Tour)

Operation Earth
by Maria Hammarblad
My review of this sci fi Alien Invasion story
will post 10/3/18.
Source: Review book from Bewitching Book Tours.
Click on book title for full description.

4. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
By: April Henry
Narrated by: Cristina Panfilio
Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
This has great mystery and tension.
Source: Audible March, 2017 Daily Deal $1.95.
Publisher's Summary
"Take her out back and finish her off."
She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her.
And that she must run.
In her riveting style, April Henry crafts a nail-biting thriller involving murder, identity theft, and biological warfare. Follow Cady and Ty (her accidental savior turned companion), as they race against the clock to stay alive.
©2013 April Henry (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

5. Audiobooks.com Smartphone (A2018)

The Quest for Cosmic Justice
Written By: Thomas Sowell
Narrated By: Robertson Dean
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Duration: 5 hours 52 minutes
I was very impressed with this treatise which raises concerns about encroachments on American liberties. 
Fits with current issues!
Source: Audiobooks July 2018 credit purchase.
Click on book title for full description.

6. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

The Rancher's Gift: A Modern Day Parable
of Living a Life on Purpose
by Dennis Worden (Author), Jeff Dunn (Author)
This is a well written story presenting solid life lessons.
Source: NetGalley 2018.
We are not promised more than today.
Thus we need to live our legacy now,
with focus and integrity.
Ryan Westcott is ready to step into the family business, armed with a fresh MBA degree from a prestigious business school. Yet his father has other ideas. He feels Ryan needs more education—but not the kind one gets from a school. Ryan is sent to his uncle’s Montana ranch to learn, in short, how to be a man.
While Ryan helps his uncle build a barn, he learns life lessons about health, work, finances, education, selfessness, humility, and most important of all, love.
Ryan meets the richest man in the county, only to find riches are not always counted in dollars and cents. And then there is Kayla, the pretty country lass who awakens deep feelings in Ryan he never knew he had, and challenges him to live a life of true purpose. Along the trail, Ryan meets one more person, one who will upend all else and change his life forever.
There is more to life than just what we see in our limited view. Come travel the “Big Sky” country with Ryan, and find the purposeful life that awaits you.
Bonus: Also included is The Rancher’s Guide to Living Life on Purpose to help you reflect and discover your purpose in living.

7. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

The Emperor's Soul
By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Angela Lin
Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
This is wonderfully well written
and creative story telling.
Source: Audible March, 2017 Daily Deal $1.95.
Publisher's Summary
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos.
Shai is given an impossible task: to create—to Forge—a new soul for the emperor in less than one hundred days. But her soul-Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber, guarded by a man who hates her, spied upon by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's only possible ally is the emperor's most loyal counselor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent.
Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...
©2012 Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC (P)2012 Recorded Books

Currently Reading:
1. eBook/Kindle (Review)

To Thine Be the Glory
by Angela D. Martin
I am finding this interesting.
Source: Review Request from PublishingPush.
This is a book that outlines the testimony of the authors life and how she officially came to faith and realized that there was a call of God on her life.

2. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

The Extinction Cycle Boxed Set
Extinction Horizon, Extinction Edge, and Extinction Age (The Extinction Cycle, Books 1 - 3)
By: Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
Series: The Extinction Cycle, Book 1-3
I have been wanting to listen to a book over 24 hours and this is a TBR that fit the bill.
Source: Audible February, 2017 credit selection.
Publisher's Summary
Here are the first three books of the best-selling, award-winning, and top-rated Extinction Cycle series.
Extinction Horizon
The worst of nature and the worst of science will bring the human race to the brink of extinction.
Master Sergeant Reed Beckham has led his Delta Force team, code named Ghost, through every kind of hell imaginable and never lost a man. When a top secret medical corps research facility goes dark, Team Ghost is called in to face their deadliest enemy yet - a variant strain of Ebola that turns men into monsters.
After barely escaping with his life, Beckham returns to Fort Bragg in the midst of a new type of war. The virus is already spreading. As cities fall, Team Ghost is ordered to keep CDC virologist Dr. Kate Lovato alive long enough to find a cure. What she uncovers will change everything.
Total extinction is just on the horizon, but will the cure be worse than the virus?

Extinction Edge
A new threat that will bring humanity to the edge of extinction.
The dust from Dr. Kate Lovato's bioweapon has settled. Projections put death counts in the billions. Her weapon was supposed to be the endgame, but it turned a small percentage of those infected with the hemorrhage virus into something even worse.
Survivors call them Variants. Irreversible epigenetic changes have transformed them into predators unlike any the human race has ever seen. And they are evolving.
With the doomsday clock ticking, the fractured military plans Operation Liberty - a desperate mission designed to take back the cities and destroy the Variant threat. Master Sergeant Reed Beckham agrees to lead a strike team into New York City, but first he must return to Fort Bragg to search for the only family he has left.
At Plum Island, Kate discovers Central Command may have considerably underestimated the Variant population in New York. As Operation Liberty draws closer, Kate warns Beckham that Team Ghost won't just face their deadliest adversary yet, they may be heading into a trap.

Extinction Age
On the eve of extinction, all seems to be lost, but there is still one final hope.
Operation Liberty has failed. Humans are losing the war. With no other option, General Kennor decides to pull back the troops and give science a second chance.
Trapped in the extensive sewer system beneath New York, Master Sergeant Reed Beckham and the survivors of 1st Platoon must battle through the tunnels - where they make a grisly discovery in their attempt to escape.
At Plum Island, Dr. Kate Lovato is working on a new bioweapon to destroy the Variants. But when a derelict Navy destroyer crashes into the Connecticut shoreline, she is forced to deal with a nightmare she thought had ended.
As the doomsday clock ticks down and military bases fall across the country, the human race enters the age of extinction.
©2016 Nicholas Sansbury Smith (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

3. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

Once Upon a Heartbreak
by Cassie Rocca
This looks like a cute story.
Source: NetGalley 2018.
Is true love really out there? A hilarious, heartwarming romance: perfect for the fans of Jo Watson, Debbie Johnson and Holly Martin.
Liberty Allen used to be a hopeless romantic, that is, until Zack Sullivan unwittingly broke her teenage heart.
Fifteen years later, Liberty has her life together in New York City, running a successful business and engaged to be married in just a matter of months. But something just seems to be missing...
All of a sudden, Liberty runs into Zack out the blue, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew about her life, her happiness, and even her feelings on true love...

September 30, 2018 - I am still up to date and enjoying my Bible reading through You Version App.  I am on track with my morning reading the One Year Bible plan on my smartphone. You can check out audio of the One Year Bible Plan on the companion commentary online.

I completed 7 books and posted two reviews. That puts me at a whopping 11 reviews to post! Fortunately I have been working on drafts while I was without internet.
Obviously I have all of these reviews to add to Goodreads, Amazon and Audible. I still have  older ones to catch up on too.
My NetGalley shelf is now at 10. I still have one author title in queue . Still many through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
I have no new review titles.
I picked up two Audible Daily Deals and two Audible free titles.
I didn't pick up any Kindle paid titles.
I picked up  just a few free kindle titles this week. (Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

9/27/18 Audible Daily Deal $3.95

City of Endless Night 
by Douglas Preston , Lincoln Child
Narrator: Rene Auberjonois
Hachette Audio




9/29/18 Audible Daily Deal $2.95
Death in the English Countryside: Murder on Location Series, Book 1
by Sara Rosett
Narrator: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
Tantor Audio

Free

9/26/18 Original Free Pick
Emma: An Audible Original Drama
Jane Austen, Anna Lea - adaptation
Drama Narrators: Emma Thompson, Joanne Froggatt, Isabella Inchbald, Aisling Loftus, Joseph Millson, Morgana Robinson, Anna Lea
Audible Studios


9/29/18 Audible Editors
Audicted
The Books That Got Us Hooked





I added 9 free titles to my Kindle library this week. Another week of no time even to download free titles. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement September 30, 2018

We are home but rested in this morning. I am sharing a song and a verse.

I ask and pray the Lord will always Reign Over Me.

Verse for Today:
Nehemiah 9:6
6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

 

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway September 28, 2018 - posted September 30

Happy Friday and Happy Fall!
Sorry again to be late with this post. We left Illinois Wednesday morning and didn't have internet during our travels.

We were sorry to say goodbye to family, but we are happy to be back at home.

The temperatures had dropped right before we left Illinois and were pretty nice on the trip (high 70s during the day and 50s at night). I'm hoping our Florida temps will cool off as well.

TO ENTER FRIDAY PICK

US Entrants: Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.

INTERNATIONAL: Leave a comment indicating "Gift Card" (see further comments near the end of the post.)

CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 9:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up too late to do the winner post! I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.

Thank you to all who entered the September 21 (posted 9/30) Pick. There were two automatic wins this week. Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times without other people asking for that book during those weeks. One title was blocked; won through the block.
BN100 gets The Green Trap
and
CAROLL gets Secrets of Paris

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from September 21 Pick:
MARYP gets a GC and
BECKY gets a Bound for Murder (won through the block)

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

I love falling for books, don't you?
Image found at SmartTutor

New Book Group #81 August 17, 2018

There are three audios at the top:
No One Left to Tell is MP3
Kisscut is Cassettes
Dark Summer is CDs
Pairs: Kay Hooper and Carla Neggers Red Clover Inn
The rest are singles
Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers
Zombies of the Gene Pool 
Pretty Poison
Bound For Murder


New Book Group #80 August 17, 2018

Pairs: Fern Michaels and James Patterson
The rest are singles
Note:
The Final Judgment and
The Book of Fate are Audio Cassettes
The Green Trap
Secrets of Paris



New Book Group #79 July 13, 2018
I found this box of books buried under some other boxes.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lenox by Maggie O’Farrell
P.S. by Helen Schulman
Her Sexiest Surprise by Dawn Atkins (personally autographed)
The Maverick Preacher by Victoria Bylin (personally autographed)
The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver
The Doctor’s Forever Family by Marie Ferrarella
Dakota Child by Linda Ford
Branded by the Sheriff by Delores Fossen
The Italian’s Inexperienced Mistress
Calling the Shots by Ellen Hartman
Promises, Promises by Amber Miller
This Time for Keeps by Jenna Mills
Rhapsody in Time by Judith O’Brien
A Daughter’s Legacy by Virginia Smith
Another Man’s Baby by Kay Stockham
The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by RaeAnne Thayne


New Book Group #78 April 27, 2018

Midnight Rainbow
Betrayed
Indigo Blue
By a Spider's Thread 
Johanna Lindsey Pair 
Judith Krentz Pair
Breaking Point 
My Dark Prince
Fatal Defect

New Book Group #77 February 16, 2018- All gone

New Book Group #76 November 3, 2017
13 books remain of the original 37:

I finally Have them Listed!
Boots & Booties by Kristine Rolofson
Saucer the Conquest by Stephen Coonts
Echo Burning by Lee Child
The Scorpion Seducer by Bonnie Vanak
Hell On Earth by David L. Porter
Tempted All Night by Liz Carlyle
Day of the Dead by J.A. Jance
White Night by Jim Butcher
Five Gold Rings Anthology Constance O’Banyon and three others
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell
Crisscross by Harmon Henkin
Wizard’s Daughter by Catherine Coulter
Pearl Beyond Price by Claire Delacroix
Maelstrom by Anne McCaffrey
The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks
The Wicked Wyckerly by Patricia Rice
Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker
Night Whispers by Judith McNaught
101 Commonsense Rules for the Office by John R. Brinkerhoff

 THESE BOOKS CHOSEN/WON ARE THE ONES STRICKEN HERE:
Finger Licken' Fifteen
How to Tame a Highland Warrior
The Texan
Total Control
Atlantis Found
Stephanie Laurens Pair
Desperado 
Rebellious Desires 
Forget Me Not 
The Eighth Commandment
Ghost Riders
The Manning Brides by Debbie Macomber 
Shadow Music 
Corbin's Fancy 
Hawk's Lady

This shelf of 35 books are what is left from Groups #1 (11/27/09) through Group #75 September 29, 2017

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top - 14 titles.)
Rehabilitation
Secret Blessing
Named of the Dragon
Daring
Aunt Erma's Cope Book
JoAnn Ross: Confessions
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
The New Birth Order Book by Dr. Kevin Leman
A Kiss Before Dawn by Kimberly Logan
The Fireman’s Fair by Josephine Humphreys (Hardcover)
Bound by Destiny by Rayka Mennen
Rainbow Mars by Larry Niven
There Was A Little Girl by Ed McBain (Audio Cassettes)
Love's Brazen Fire by Betina Krahn 

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top - 21 titles.)
Plan of Attack by Dan Brown
(*Three more very old books from my Gothics box.)
*The Man in the Garden by Paule Mason (1969 - yellowed)
Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
*Four books are very old; pulled from a box of gothic novels I found.
*Maggie – Her Marriage by Taylor Caldwell (1953 very old, yellowed pages, some stain damage doesn't effect reading)
First Things First by Stephen R. Covey- Audio Cassette
Trilogy Of Mysteries Audio Book Shadow Prey, There Was A Little Girl, Smokescreen Audio Cassettes (NOT CDs)
Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones (spine creases)
The Shadowing by Joan Overfield
The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt
BOX 4 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 47-53)
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty by Vickie Kennedy
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)
BOX 3 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 39- 47)
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
BOX 2 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 24- 38)
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe
A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley -- NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov
BOX #1 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 1- 23)
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in almost EIGHT years I have posted 75 groups of 16 (1,200) books to find new homes! (as of November 2, 2017).

I am happy to say that so far about 1,190+books have found new homes through this feature! YAY. [A month or so ago I posted I had reached 2000 books given away. As I calculated the numbers 11/2/17 I realized that had to be an error. I realized I went from 1098 to 2001 instead of 1101. Guess I was tired; sorry for the error.] I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed. I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want!

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $7.00 and $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

Book Review: A Nanny For Christmas: A Harper's Corner Series Novella by Christina George

This a nice, light, easy read.

A Nanny For Christmas: A Harper's Corner Series Novella
by Christina George

File Size: 1134 KB
Print Length: 143 pages
Publication Date: August 20, 2018
ASIN: B07FB6WNDQ
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Holidays, Small Town
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Willa O’Rourke knows the true story, the story that doesn’t sell magazines.
In less than 8 hours Willa went from being a behind-the-scenes nanny for one of the hottest A-list celebrity couples, to having her picture splashed all over every magazine in the country.
Caught in the arms of her sexy employer, Johnny Blaze.
No one cares that Johnny hit on her, and she repeatedly told him no.
The world thinks Willa O’Rourke is more interesting as the slutty, home-wrecking, opportunistic nanny. She even has a hashtag trending on Twitter. #dirtynanny
Humiliated and desperate to get away from the harsh eyes of Hollywood, she decides to take a short break from her suddenly not so glamorous life and head home for the holidays.
But a quiet Christmas to recoup before heading back to LA wasn’t in the cards.
She immediately runs into Jack, her seriously hot, fireman ex-boyfriend.
Despite Willa’s attempts to keep a low profile, she and Jack are thrown together for a Christmas charity project -- making her wonder if she’s meant for a simpler life in Harper’s Corner after all.

Review:
Willa left behind her high school and college boyfriend to follow her dream of becoming an actress. She ended up working as a nanny for a celebrity couple, having to fend off advances by her sexy boss. After being caught in a picture that looks bad, she has returned home in disgrace with the scandal of the #dirtynanny.

Willa can barely hold her head up but fortunately her brother and friends are willing to welcome her home. She doesn’t expect any warm welcome from her ex-boyfriend, Jack, a handsome firefighter.

Jack was devastated when Willa left although he loved her enough to let her go pursue her dream. He’s never really gotten over her but he doesn’t plan to get hurt again. Still, the attraction between them picks up immediately and he’ll have to decide if its worth sharing passion on a short basis even if she might leave again.

The characters are likeable and the chemistry is strong. I liked the Christmas elements that had Willa and Jack helping to put together Christmas decorations and activities, including a presentation of The Christmas Carol, for an orphanage. The other town characters are fun and add to the story. The second chance isn’t a slam dunk but is fraught with tension which is engaging. 

I enjoyed another book (The Publicist) by Ms. George which was a bit more intense. This is an easy read that sets the stage for a nice series. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy second chance romance and Christmas settings.

Source: Author Marketing Experts for review. This adds to my 2018 Alphabet Challenge.

Audible Book Review: Nation by Terry Pratchett

I found this unusual and interesting.
Nation
By: Terry Pratchett
Narrated by: Stephen Briggs


Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 09-30-08
Publisher: HarperAudio
Genre: Coming of Age, Fantasy, Sci Fi
My Rating: Story 4.0 of 5.0
Audio: 4.5 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
The sea has taken everything.
Thirteen-year-old Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle, Daphne - a girl from the other side of the globe - is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.
Together, the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. And slowly, other refugees arrive - children without parents, mothers without babies, husbands without wives - all of them hungry and all of them frightened. As Mau and Daphne struggle to keep the small band safe and fed, they defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down....
Internationally revered storyteller Terry Pratchett presents a breathtaking adventure of survival and discovery, and of the courage required to forge new beliefs.
©2008 Terry and Lyn Pratchett (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Review:
Mau is a young boy of The Nation, a tribe on a distant, island which rarely sees the white people from the main continents. Mau has just completed the canoe test which will move him into manhood when he returns to the main island. However, the island has just been stripped by a mighty tidal wave. When Mau returns he finds no other survivors and is faced with the terrible task of moving all of the dead to the waves for a proper burial.

Mau discovers a young white girl, a “ghost”, who is the sole survivor of a British ship wreck. The two are from totally different societies and initially cannot understand each other’s language. They begin with hand signals and drawings. After a few days more survivors drift ashore and one of the Nation has been exposed to the English so he helps breach the language difficulties.

Mau hears the voices of “the Grandfathers” in his head as he goes from questioning the Nation’s Gods to raging and fighting them. As the survivors slowly rebuild they must grapple with the concepts of nation, religion, culture, personal responsibilities and, of course, good and evil.

Daphne, the young girl, shows Mau attributes of bravery and kindness. She helps other survivors and is willing to learn ways of the Nation quickly. A surviving elder/priest objects to Mau challenging the Gods and tries to keep hidden old secrets of the anchor stones which represent the Gods. Mau and Daphne won’t let him stop them from searching and learning the history of the stones.

This is a fantasy which appears to be aimed at a younger audience. It deals with social and religious issues which I think would be difficult for young people to understand unless they read this with an adult. I believe it would be appropriate for education value to young adults.

There are many raving reviews for this book but I just didn’t have that strong response. Perhaps I was seeking simple entertainment and not a philosophical fantasy. I enjoyed the story as it develops although I found it slow moving at times. I did like how Mau and Daphne grew in their understandings of the worlds nearby and far away. I found it interesting how the author deftly handled their sweet friendship in light of the divides of their worlds.

I have had this on my Audible shelf for a long time and it is the first book by Prachett that I have read/listened to. The writing was strikingly beautiful and rich which added to my enjoyment. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy a philosophical discussion in a coming of age story.

Audio Notes: Stephen Briggs provides excellent narration for the story. He gives personality and fitting voices to each of the characters. His melodious voice enhanced the reading for me.

Source: Audible 2012 January Credit Purchase. This qualifies for 2018TBR, and Audiobook Challenges.