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've been on a bit of a roll with audiobooks by Dusti Bowling ( see reviews)    and ended up listening to yet another last week.    Title: 24 Hours in Nowhere Author : Dusti Bowling; read by Aaron Shedlock Publication Info: 2019, Tantor Media. 5 hours. Original hardcover Sterling Children's Books, 2018, 260 pages Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere’s biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to his rescue—but in return she has to give Bo her p...

Thanks to Great Escapes for the chance to read and review the latest in the Accidental Detective series!   Something Prowling in Paradise Park: A Kate Tessler Amateur Sleuth Mystery (The Accidental Detective   Book ) by Kris Bock About Something Prowling in Paradise Park Something Prowling in Paradise Park: A Kate Tessler Amateur Sleuth Mystery (The Accidental Detective Book) Humorous Mystery 7th in Series Setting – Arizona Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tule Publishing Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 2, 2026 Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1969218965 ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0G32HDV59 Three cases. One body. Zero chance of staying out of trouble. Kate Tessler may have thought her days of chasing danger were over. But the former war correspondent’s “retirement” in sunny Paradise, Arizona, is anything but quiet. With her eccentric circle of friends and colleagues, Kate has built a new life—full of mysteries, mayhem, and the occasional stakeout—as she works ...

Another selection from my "random historical stuff nabbed from the library" collection.   Title: Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women who Travelled and Worked Aboard Them Author : Sian Evans Publication Info: Macmillan Audio, 2021, 11 hours. Original publication by Two Roads/Hachett UK, 2020, 355 pages hardback.  Source: Library Publisher's Blurb (via Goodreads): Migrants and millionairesses, refugees and aristocrats all looking for a way to improve their lives. After WW1 a world of opportunity was opening up for women ... Before convenient air travel, transatlantic travel was the province of the great ocean liners and never more so than in the glory days of the interwar years. It was an extraordinary undertaking made by many women. Some travelled for leisure, some for work; others to find a new life, marriage, to reinvent themselves or find new opportunities. Their stories have remained largely untold - until now. Maiden Voyages is a fascinating...

I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately. One of the areas I often read in is natural history or ecology. In this case, the ecological survival of the planet. Sometimes what I read gives me hope. Sometimes it reminds me that it may already be too late. This book did both.   Title: Guardians of the Trees: A Journey of Hope Through Healing the Planet Author: Kinari Webb, M.D. Publication info: Macmillan Audio, 2021, 11 hours. Original Flatiron Books 2021, 304 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb (Goodreads) : When Kinari Webb first traveled to Indonesian Borneo at 21 to study orangutans, she was both awestruck by the beauty of her surroundings and heartbroken by the rainforest destruction she witnessed. As she got to know the local communities, she realized that their need to pay for expensive healthcare led directly to the rampant logging, which in turn imperiled their health and safety even further. Webb realized her true calling was at the intersection of med...

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...

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...

After a long absence (on my part), I'm posting this morning with the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop, and a review of an enjoyable book I won in a giveaway. 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.   The beautiful cover of Three Blue Hearts Title: 
 Three Blue Hearts Author: Lynne Kelly 
Publication Info: Delacorte Press 2025. 279 pages 
Source: 

Won in a giveaway Publisher’s Blurb (from Goodreads): 
 Max can’t seem to escape the big, looming shadow of his politician dad. But for the next few months, Max and his mom are going away to a quiet Texas beach town where Max can be someone else. Someone who doesn’t make dumb mistakes that embarrass his father—someone who knows how to be strong. He stumbles on his fresh start right away, when he finds an injured octopus washed up onshore after a storm. With the help of a local wildlife center and a couple of new friend...

I am grateful to the author for my copy of this book, which I won in a giveaway.   Title: Fires Burning Underground Author: Nancy McCabe Publication Info: Regal House Publishing, 2025. 146 pages. Source: Won it in a giveaway Publisher's Blurb:  It's Anny's first day of middle school and, after years of being homeschooled, her first day of public school ever. In art, Larissa asks what kind of ESP is her telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, or telekinesis? Tracy asks how she gay, straight, bi, asexual, pan, trans, or confused? And thus kicks off a school year for Anny in which she' ll navigate a path between childhood and adolescence, imagination and identity. In a year of turmoil and transition, with a new awareness of loss after the death of a friend, Anny struggles to find meaning in tragedy, to come to terms with her questions about her sexuality, and to figure out how to negotiate her own ever-shifting new friendships. And when her oldest friend's lif...

Busy day today, with the monthly IWSG posting--and I am honored to be a co-host!--and a Great Escapes tour post for Mollie Hunt's latest Crazy Cat Lady Mystery,  Cold Case Cat !  Let's do the IWSG first. 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! 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 writer - 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 ...