Sondra Eklund

@sonderbooks

Librarian. Writer. Book Reviewer. Math geek. Knitter. Progressive Christian. She/her. No DMs from strangers. More at

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Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· 26d

Read more here: sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes...

A white rose with a bud next to it on a black background. Quotation: "When your enchantment causes you to embrace people you have treated as unclean, that looks a whole lot like the work of the Holy Spirit." -- Richard Beck

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· 26d

Notre-Dame: The World's Cathedral, by Lynn Curlee, gives the long history of the beloved cathedral with beautiful illustrations, including its burning and restoration. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_No...

Cover of Notre-Dame: The World's Cathedral, by Lynn Curlee. The picture is of the famous cathedral.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· 27d

Read more here: sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes...

Bright orange poppies in a sunny field. Quotation: "To argue with God is to belong to God; it is to embrace a love that surpasses all understanding - and be transformed by it." -- Kat Armas

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· 27d

A feminist retelling of Cinderella for adults, I thought Lady Tremaine, by Rachel Hochhauser, read by Bessie Carter, had a much happier Ever After than the original fairy tale. At least for the ladies. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/lady...

Cover of Lady Tremaine, by Rachel Hochhauser, read by Bessie Carter. Title features an elaborate gold L wreathed by flowers, with a bird perched on it.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· 28d

An Old Favorite, Spindle's End, by Robin McKinley, read by Justine Eyre, is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty - with some notable, but always wonderful, twists. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/spindl...

Cover of Spindle's End, by Robin McKinley, read by Justine Eyre. Picture shows a many-turreted mansion, shown through a hole in a thick hedge, with flowers and various small animals peeking between the leaves.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· 29d

Read more here: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/h...

Photo of Mont Saint Michel with the sun low in the sky. The mountain is a silhouette and the sun is reflecting off the water. Clouds criss-cross the sky in lines. Quotation: "At the very heart of God is unfailing love." -- Brian Recker

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· 29d

A beautiful riff on the Exodus, Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes, by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Joani Rothenberg, is a picture book about Miriam leading her people through the Sea of Reeds with dancing. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Book...

Cover of Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes, by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Joani Rothenberg. Picture shows the biblical character Miriam dancing in sparkly sandals holding a tambourine above her head. There are swirling colors behind her.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 11

Read more here: sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes...

Photo of the silhouette of Mont Saint-Michel with the sun low in the sky and a line of grasses in the foreground. Quotation: "Lament is the bridge between dark clouds and deep mercy." -- Mark Vroegop

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 11

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, by Sangu Mandanna, features a girl whose fantasy world based on Indian mythology becomes real when a demon tries to use it to get back to our world. Can Kiki stop him? Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fi...

Cover of Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, by Sangu Mandanna. Picture shows a brown-skinned girl with a red cape, ponytail, and wielding a long, curved sword, having leapt in the air about a large red-eyed demon. There's a palace behind them.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 9

Burn the Haystack: Decode Dating, Torch the Duds, and Make Room for Men Who Matter, by Jennie Young, PhD, is an absolutely brilliant approach to dating. Do you want to find a needle in haystack? Burn the haystack! Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/b...

Cover of Burn the Haystack: Decode Dating, Torch the Duds, and Make Room for Men Who Matter, by Jennie Young, PhD. Cover has a background full of orange cartoon flames.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 8

Young World, by Soman Chainani, is a high-energy tale about a 17-year-old who gets elected president of the United States and starts a Young Revolution of young leaders across the world. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/young_...

Cover of Young World, by Soman Chainani. Neon orange cover features the Capitol building upside down and at an angle

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 7

Perfect for the 250th birthday of the United States, What Emma Wrote: The Woman Behind the Words on the Statue of Liberty, by Ann Diament Koffsky, illustrated by N. Tarcan, is a picture book biography of writer and activist for immigrants, Emma Lazarus. www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_No...

Cover of What Emma Wrote: The Woman Behind the Words on the Statue of Liberty, by Ann Diament Koffsky, illustrated by N. Tarcan. Picture shows New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty, with a woman featured in the foreground, wearing clothes from 1876, with a determined look on her face, holding parchment and an old-fashioned pen.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 4

Here's my blog post about Day 2 of my Epic France Trip - including the most amazing part of it, the High Tides Tour at Mont Saint-Michel. sonderbooks.com/sonderjourne...

Silhouette of Mont Saint Michel, with the evening sun above it and reflecting off swirling mud and water in the bay.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 3

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Photo of the white rock formations at Étretat, France, with blue water behind them. Quotation: "Please remember that certainty - not doubt - is the opposite of faith." -- Richard Rohr

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 3

Whistler, by Ann Patchett, read by the Author, is another rich, warm tapestry of a novel, this one about reconnecting with a beloved father figure while making new sense of the past. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/whis...

Cover of Whistler, by Ann Patchett, read by the Author. Picture shows a saddled horse standing in a field looking at the viewer.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 3

Heir, by Sabaa Tahir, read by Vidish Athavale, Esme Lonsdale, Joe Pitts, Marco Young, and Rachel Petladwala, is the start of an epic fantasy duology about politics, power, magic, and deciding what you'll do to help your people. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/heir.h...

Cover of Heir, by Sabaa Tahir. Picture is a drawing of mountains and wisps of cloud, with a person standing on the tip top of one of them, facing away.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jul 2

Perfect for America's 250th birthday, We the People Is All the People, written by Howard W. Reeves, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, is a simple picture book about the wonderful multi-faceted diversity of the people of the United States. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Book...

Cover of We the People Is All the People, written by Howard W. Reeves, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. Title is written with the background of a faint American flag, and a wide variety of people circling the title, looking at the viewer.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 28

How to Survive the End of the World: A Graphic Exploration of How to (Maybe) Avoid Extinction, by Katy Doughty, is a surprisingly hopeful and deeply fascinating look at the threats humanity faces - and how we can hope to overcome them. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Teen_Nonfict...

Cover of How to Survive the End of the World: A Graphic Exploration of How to (Maybe) Avoid Extinction, by Katy Doughty. 8 comic panels show various disasters like a nuclear blast, a meteor falling, a drought-stricken landscape - and a dinosaur taking notes.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 14

Read more here: sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes...

Two pink trumpet-shaped dipladenia flowers. Quotation: "I thought God wanted to use me to show gay people how to be straight. Instead God used gay people to show me how to be Christian." -- Rachel Held Evans

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 13

Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith, by Rachel Held Evans, ed. by Sarah Bessey, is a perfect tribute to Rachel Held Evans - her blog posts plus essays from people whose lives and thinking were changed by her writing. www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/b...

Cover of Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith, by Rachel Held Evans, edited by Sarah Bessey. Picture shows a stack of books with a gift bow on top and an origami swan beside them.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 11

I Don't Wish You Well, by Jumata Emill, features a journalism major who digs into the football player murders at his hometown five years ago. The black gay teen blamed for them may have been framed. Can he change the narrative by uncovering the truth? www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/i_dont...

Cover of I Don't Wish You Well, by Jumata Emill. The title is red letters on a black background, and features a picture of a bonfire with three shadowy figures in front of it.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 10

Read more here: sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes...

A red rose with dark leaves behind it. Quotation: "This is the good news: God loves us and is here to rescue us, not to condemn us." -- Sarah Bessey

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 10

Airports: Behind the Scenes, by Anna Ridley, ill. by Maxim Usik, is a perfect book for older kids getting ready for a trip, with detailed pictures to pore over and answers to everything they might want to know, such as "Why can't I ride on the luggage carousel?" www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_No...

Cover of Behind the Scenes: Airports, illustrated by Maxim Usik. There's a busy picture of an airport hall with people coming and going, sitting with luggage, and a big window showing planes at gates and a control tower.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 9

Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree, read by the Author, is a delightful cozy fantasy about an orc woman who's decided to give up adventuring and start a coffee shop - in a city where no one's heard of coffee. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/lege...

Cover of Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree, read by the Author. Picture shows an Orc Woman with green skin smiling and holding a steaming cup of coffee, standing back to back with a succubus with pink skin and a pointed tail. Pastries and mugs are on a counter in front of them.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 7

Read more here: sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes...

A cluster of light purple bluebells, with several buds poking behind blooms. Quotation: "Dear God, please disabuse me of my calcified notions of how you work in this world. Surprise me, please. Please don't ever let me think that I am finished." -- Margaret Dulaney

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 6

Blood at the Root, by LaDarrion Williams, has a teen learning that he has magic in his veins and can go to a school where he'll learn to use his powers - but in this series, it's a historically black university in the American South. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/blood_...

Cover of Blood at the Root, by LaDarrion Williams. Picture is tinted in blue light of a Black teen boy with a giant mossy tree behind him. In front of him are candles with wispy flames that look like they might be coming from his outstretched fingers. There's a book in the middle of the six candles.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 6

Read more here: sonderbooks.com/sonderquotes...

A Tulip field stretching off into the distance with tulips of all shades, especially pink and red, but also yellow and white and purple and orange. Quotation: "The Spirit of God is a Spirit of disruption, making space for the multitude of stories that refuse to stay silent." -- Kat Armas

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 6

A book that makes my mathematical heart happy, Charts for Babies, by Michelle Rial, is a picture books with cheerful rhymes and a data visualization on each page. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Book...

Cover of Charts for Babies, by Michelle Rial. Illustration features a colorful donut chart with the heading What to do with this book. Slices say Read It Upside Down, Yogurt Handprint, Memorize It, Read It Together, Read It Again, Drool on It, Stare at It, Eat It?, Nap with It, Share It (Thank You).

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 4

A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides, by Gisèle Pelicot, read by Emma Thompson, tells the author's story in her own words of how her husband's crimes against her were discovered and how she decided to open the case to the world. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/h...

Cover of A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides, by Gisèle Pelicot. Photo of the author with a pleasant smile, hair dyed light red and a light blue blouse.

Sondra Eklund@sonderbooks· Jun 3

Love at Second Sight, by F. T. Lukens, read by Kevin R. Free, features a human teen in a world where magic is normal - who suddenly manifests visions of the future, starting with a disturbing one where a girl gets stabbed. Read my review: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/love_a...