Book post: MANATEE’S BEST FRIEND

Last year in May, I got a pleasant surprise: I won a book in a giveaway on Twitter. The downside was, I had to wait more than a year until it was published. I cancelled my preorder of the book (I usually never win anything) and started to wait impatiently.

Finally, a few weeks ago I got first a mail and then a book package. Just look at the cover, isn’t it a beautiful?

Cover art by Scott Dorman, design by Stephanie Yang

I’m a swimmer, and I’ve dreamed for a long time of swimming with some marine animals, whether they are dolphins or sea turtles. But to be honest, I hadn’t been aware of manatees, until one day I was told they are nicknamed sea cows – and if you know anything about me, you know how much I love cows.
This however is the closest I’ve ever come to a sea cow:

Becca, the human main character of Manatee’s best friend, is lucky enough to live in a part of the world where you can see manatees in the wild, namely Florida, and even better, she has wild manatees practically in her own backyard! (Jealous, me?)
However, as is so often the case, the local wildlife is endangered by human activity. Becca wants to speak up for her manatee friends, but she barely manages to speak to anyone outside her family, which unfortunately includes the girl who just moved in next door.
As it becomes clear the human activity in the river where the manatees feed is increasing, Becca needs to make a move – but when she does, things only get worse.

I loved this story of a girl befriending wild sea cows and finding the courage to take action to protect them.

More information about the author and the book on her website:

http://www.enjoyingplanetearth.com/

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Book post: A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN

Cover Design by Sarah Taplin

You know I’m a bit of a language nerd, right? I’m trilingual, live in Paris, raise my kid in German, and write in English (all the while learning Italian and listening to podcasts in Plattdüütsch, my granny’s mother tongue.) So show me a book where languages are involved, and I’ll make a grab for it without bothering to find out more.

Laura Rueckert’s YA fantasy novel A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN is one of those books, even though her protagonist Jiara is my opposite – where I would have thrown myself into learning a new language in full immersion mode, Jiara has given up on learning languages due to dyslexia and years of scholarly struggles. Still, her motivation is the life-and-death kind, not only for herself but for her loved ones as well. For if she doesn’t find her sister’s murderer in that foreign country where she doesn’t understand anyone, her sister’s ghost may well kill all of her family, starting with Jiara herself. If the killer doesn’t get Jiara first, that is.
As if that weren’t enough, Jiara doesn’t just have to travel to the faraway land where she doesn’t understand anyone to look for her sister’s murderer, she has to marry the king of that country. Can you imagine being married to someone you can’t communicate with on top of hunting down a murderer?
Add to that awesome world building, and you have A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN.

Curious? Here’s all the info you need to get your hands on the book which released on August 3, 2021.

To buy A Dragonbird in the Fern:
Schuler Books
Bookshop.org
Barnes & Noble
Indiebound
Amazon
Books-A-Million
Flux
Target
Blackwell’s
Book Depository
Genialokal
Bücher, Medien und Mehr

About the author
Laura Rueckert is a card-carrying bookworm who manages projects by day. At night, fueled by European chocolate, she transforms into a writer of young adult science fiction and fantasy novels. Laura grew up in Michigan, USA, but a whirlwind romance after college brought her to Europe. Today, she lives in Germany with her husband, two kids, and one fluffy dog.


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