Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I'm posting this morning with the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop. The hop is sponsored by  Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.     I got my recommendation for this author from one of my fellow MMGM bloggers a few weeks ago. Today I'm reviewing  Holding On for Dear Life   and  Dust,  by Dusti Bowling.    Title : Holding on for Dear Life 
Author: Dusti Bowling. Read by Jay Reum 
Publication Info : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025. 5 hours. (Hardcover is 240 pages) 
Source: Library 

Publisher’s Blurb:  Thirteen-year-old Canyon loves bull riding, but the sport doesn't exactly love him back. His body is in constant pain and doctors have warned him about the dangers of his repeated concussions, but bull riding is the only thing he and his dad connect on ever since Canyon's mom died. Canyon is convinced winning the Junior World Bull Riding champion...

This is the 3rd and final post from my  backpacking trip into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness last August.  Here's the report on the  first two days   and here's the 2nd report, on days 3 and 4. Day 5: Oly Lake to Rough Lake This day started with another beautiful sunrise.  For those of you who wonder, this is a big part of why I haul a heavy load into the mountains and sleep on the ground--because it's darned hard to see sunrise at a remote lake on a dayhike. Early light reflected in Oly Lake. Sunrise reflections in Oly Lake. Our route leads up that cleft in the rocks across the lake. It was a relief to wake to calm winds and mostly clear skies, because we'd had a pretty impressive storm at bedtime the night before. Little did we know, that was just the warm-up.    We had a short hike before us, though we knew it wouldn't be fast, so we didn't leave camp until 8:15. We were heading up the creek and over the mountain (back across the divide anyway)...

 Today's the first Wednesday of the month and IWSG posting day.  Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds (and come on, we're all insecure in some way)! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, p...

I picked this book up at the library because my brother was reading it (we both sometimes share Mom's account for ebooks, so we see what everyone's reading--sometimes it's fun to guess who's reading what) and it looked interesting. I wasn't wrong.   Title :  And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II 
 Auth or: Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee 
Publication Info : e-book 2007 Anchor (Original hardback 2003 by Knopf, 514 pages). 
 Source : Library   

Publisher’s Blurb (from Amazon) :  In World War II, 59,000 women voluntarily risked their lives for their country as U.S. Army nurses. When the war began, some of them had so little idea of what to expect that they packed party dresses; but the reality of service quickly caught up with them, whether they waded through the water in the historic landings on North African and Normandy beaches, or worked around the clock in hospital tents on the Italian front as bombs fell all around the...

Last weekend I posted photos from the first two days of a backpack trip into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Today we're doing a couple more days, and next week I'll finish the trip. Day 3: Jordan Lake to Ouzel Lake It was a chilly morning--I was up before sunrise for photography, and the plants down by the lake (the coldest spot) were frosted. It was worth it. Sunrise reflected in Jordan Lake. Sunrise reflections at Jordan Lake. Despite the chill, we were on the trail before 8 a.m., for a day that would range from easy walking on excellent trail to tedious route-finding through a giant talus field.  The first part, over a small rise to Otter Lake, was easy, and we were still enjoying the early light. A mountain tarn with some fun clouds, just above Jordan Lake. At Otter Lake the trail is a bit hit-and-miss as you walk alongside the lake (I think the official trail ends at the east end of the lake, where we started). We had to pick our way around the lake, then around the s...