Book Review: SLIP

SLIP
by Marika McCoola, Illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya

SLIP is a YA Graphic Novel, that deals with themes of mental health, and trying to find your place in the world.

Content Warning: The novel mentions suicide/suicide attempts. If that could be triggering for you please take care when reading this book.

Jade and Phoebe did everything together, until Phoebe attempted suicide. While Phoebe is recovering, Jade has to figure out how to navigate young adulthood without her best friend. Jade realizes she doesn’t really know who she is and has to discover what things bring her joy on her own.

At an art intensive camp, Jade starts making these figurines that end up coming to life. How does she deal with all life’s changes during this summer?  And can Jade stop making her art come to life?

Find out when you read SLIP.

Overall,  SLIP is a fantastic YA Graphic Novel that deals with growing up, mental health, and learning how to be yourself and move on when things are scary.  It’s a quick read, but you’ll want to take your time looking back at the graphics and just thinking back to that time in your life when things were changing at a pace you couldn’t really grasp.

SLIP is published by Algonquin Young Readers, and was released on June 7th, 2022.

*Algonquin Young Readers reached out to me and asked if I would be a part of a blog tour, I accepted and received a copy of the book via NetGalley in order to make my post. Receiving this book in no way made me post a positive review.*

Review: The Minutes

 

---

It’s now nearly a week later, and I’m still thinking about this show, and how I definitely need to see it again.

Now let’s be real, the main reason, I wanted to see this play is because Noah Reid joined the cast as Mr. Peel. When I say that man has talent, he’s got talent. Watching him in TV shows/Movies, you see his skill, but seeing it in real time is just next level. The subtleness of his facial expressions take you on the journey his character goes through.

Basically, the audience is watching Big Cherry’s town council meeting through Mr. Peels eyes. He’s a newer member to the town council, and has missed the previous weeks meeting due to a family emergency.

The council meeting goes along in real time. The play is one act, no intermission. (Not that you’d want to miss anything). And as council issues start to pop up, you realize not is all as it seems.

I want to say so much more, but I will not because *spoilers*

I will say the entire cast is phenomenal everyone giving 110% to their performances. You will laugh, you will be shocked, and it will sit with you for a while.

---

Watch this video of the cast telling you about their reactions to the show.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Minutes on Broadway (@minutesbway)

2021: Year In Review

Well, well, well. 2021 you sucked even more than 2020 but yet I got to do more normalish things? I think I’m just so exhausted of being in this fight or flight mode for now entering 2022.

So this is just a basic recap of what I did in 2021. A Book list post maybe coming. And if I get motivated maybe recap posts of 2021 stuff will come too.

January

• Tried to start my daily writing stuff did not accomplish.
• Went to American Dream and Nickelodeon Universe with my friend Gary. Great way to start off my 2021 coaster season.

February

• Had a couple snow days.
• Enjoyed that Dan Levy hosted SNL (#TeamThoby)
• Got a Christmas Card 2 months after Christmas!
• Got some really good pictures of some foxes in our yard.

March

• First haircut in 13 months.
• Middle storage room at 2nd job was remodeled.
• Shot number 1!

April

• April the Giraffe from Animal Adventure Park passed away 😦
• Shot number 2!
• Redid my bathroom cabinet with new contact paper.

May

• Beekman Baby Goat Tour
• New iPhone

June

• My Dad got an awesome picture of a racoon eating out of our bird feeder with a deer behind the racoon looking like he was wanting the racoon to share.
• Six Flags Great Adventure to ride Jersey Devil Coaster.
• Hersheypark with friends.
• 2021 Coaster trip
  • Started in Pittsburgh with Fun Fore All and a trip to the mecca of libraries for me Carnegie Library.  Also stopped in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History as well.
  • Drove from there to Kings Island, to meet my friends to help one friend celebrate their 30th birthday.  Was excited to to be back at Kings Island and ride some new coasters and old favorites. Also excited that a Tim Horton’s was near the hotel.
  • Columbus Zoo with it’s coaster and just overall massiveness. (Needs a revisit)
  • Indianapolis Zoo a quick pit stop for their kiddie coaster but it was a nice spot. Again need to revisit Indy.
  • Indy Motor Speedway TV does not do the place justice. It’s massive.
  • Indiana Beach Amusement Park. It’s different, that’s for sure.  But somewhere I’d like to visit with friends and not just myself.
  • Drove up to Grand Haven, Michigan (If your counting that is now State number 33/50) Went to Anna’s House restaurant on a recommendation of a co-worker. It was amazing.  Went over to Lake Michigan to say I stepped foot in Lake Michigan. Was very cold and windy. Went to Michigan’s Adventure. Started to rain. They never opened any rides. Missed out on an entire park. Thus began my scrounging for coasters to make 400 this year.  Ended with eating Little Ceasar’s Pizza.
  • So much rain driving out of MI.
  • Pitstop addon to Waldameer to get a new coaster.
  • Back to Pittsburgh to meet up with friends and go to Kennywood for their Bites and Pints Festival (Heard that was coming back, can’t wait for next year!)

July

• Visiting a friend in Maryland, went to Westminster’s Pride event.
• Hersheypark with friends.

August

• Saw some cool rainbows.

September

• Coasting for Kids at Kennywood.
• Hurricane Ida, and some flood cleanup at work.
• 39th birthday in Salem, MA. Met a fellow Schitt’s Creek friend for the day. Ate way too much food at the food truck festival, and really didn’t check out the town, haha. Had my cards read by an awesome person. Need to do that stuff more often. Also went up to New Hampshire to go to Storyland amusement park. Got my 400th coaster. Ended my new coasters for the year with 401.

October

• First big event attended since COVID hit was New York Comic Con. Felt pretty safe, masked the whole time, and loved that the expansion on the Javits was done.
• Saw Josh Gates live at the Keswick was great being back at an event venue.
• Saw The Hooters live at the Keswick. Mostly great people ignoring the mask thing and workers not enforcing their own rules.
• New York City for the Best Wishes, Warmest Regards Book launch at the Beacon Theatre.  It was an evening with Dan and Eugene Levy talking about the book. I finally got to meet so many great friends, I had been talking to for a year and a half in person. It was magical. Yes, I cried. So thank you Dan for creating something so special that has given a lot of us friendships we will carry throughout our lives.
• Booster Vax.

November

• NaNo “fail” tendonitis took my ability to type stuff up so I just didn’t write.
• Lines painted in work parking lot.
• Tried a new Music Monday thing on my IG, didn’t work so well. Guess Canadian Indie isn’t something everyone is into.  But maybe I can tweak that into something for here? Like a monthly thing? Something to think about.
• People setting off random fireworks.

December

• Found a Schitt’s Creek themed ugly sweater at Target. It was a hit.
• Holiday party at the carousel.
• Went to Tinseltown, a place where they set up a bunch of lights in themes and you walk around the Christmas lights.
• Binged all of Strange Days at Blake Holsey High in 3 days because it was leaving Amazon Prime. Teenage Noah Reid and Michael Seater were adorable. (And also 100% realized I did watch this show when it first came out back in the early 2000’s).
• Betty White died. Thought she was going to make it to 100.

So overall the year wasn’t horrible, I did a lot of things, but it still wasn’t great.  Here’s to 2022.

Reintroduction

Blog owner, Nicole, is standing outside smiling wearing red sunglasses.

Hello everyone, long time no blog. Man oh man this pandemic sure has tried to take my creativity away. But I’m slowly trying to get it back, so I figured I would ease my way back into blogging.

My name is Nicole and this blog is about all my adventures.  Whether it be book adventures, travel adventures, or life adventures. I plan on trying to be more active here.

Goal for the rest of the year is that I’m going to post about some materials I’ve been reading, and some adventures I went on in 2021. Hopefully I can get myself on a regular posting schedule!

Review: Skunk and Badger

Title: Skunk and Badger
Author: Amy Timberlake
Pictures: Jon Klassen
Publisher: Algonquin
Release Date: September 15th, 2020

Skunk and Badger is a new book from Amy Timberlake that is due out on September 15th. I received this book for free from Algonquin in turn for my honest review.

As soon as I started reading, I knew this book was going to be timely. Badger is staying in his Aunt’s Brownstone, when Skunk shows up on his doorstep. Badger is not happy about this. Throughout the story you see Badger making quick judgments of things he doesn’t understand or feel comfortable with. He also makes judgments of Skunk as well.

I’m not going to say more, but go read this book! It shows children that words matter, and to not be quick to judge people/animals who may not be like you. Lastly, you may find friendships in unexpected places.

Hersheypark 2005

I’m still in quarantine for who knows how long, so I’m going through random photos and I’ll be uploading stuff. Some will be less words more photos, others will be more words less photos. Something to do to pass the time.

First up is Hersheypark in 2005. I really don’t remember much of the trip but I know Storm Runner (roller coaster) was just about a year old. So enjoy from pictures from Hersheypark.

 

Full album:

Book Review: Don’t Check Out This Book

I was contacted about reviewing this book and received a copy of the book off of NetGalley.

Title: Don’t Check Out This Book

Author: Kate Klise

Illustrator: M. Sarah Klise

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Release Date: March 10th 2020

 

Review: I’m a librarian and I have a soft spot for books about libraries and librarians. When they are geared towards middle grade, even better. This book was filled with puns, and laughs, and left you figuring out who the “baddie” was going to be.

I loved the layout of the book. It was in the format of letters, newspaper articles, emails, and text messages.

The one thing that was great is the school librarian Rita B. Danjerous was all about her green dot collection. I think this is a fantastic thing, and it’s great to have tough topics to talk about without having the fear of checking materials out or having to ask about them.

I also love that the love of reading and the library brought the town together as well.

Overall this is a fantastic quick read for younger readers. They’ll be laughing and enjoying figuring everything out.

2019: Year In Review

Nothing fancy except to say it’s been a crap year, honestly the whole decade was a bit of a shit show but onwards to 2020.

Let’s look back at 2019:

January:

• Started off the year bowling with co-workers from the gym
• 12 years since my friend from college passed away
• Root canal #1
• The first in a series of vet visits for our pup 😦

February:

• Visited former boss at the gym she was working at before she got promoted again (she kicked all sorts of professional ass this year)
• Visited Elmwood Park Zoo, and it was warm enough for the giraffes!

March:

• Root canal #2
• Piper had started hydrotherapy
• Saw Captain Marvel
• April the Giraffe had Azizi
• Sharon Springs trip for baby goat tour

April:

• Saw the movie The Public
• The Great Philadelphia Comic Con (Photo ops with Alice Cooper, Michael Dorn, and Noel MacNeal)
• Bowling with co-workers
• 16th birthday of a friend(s)/co-workers at The Carousel
• Seeing the news that Notre Dame was on fire
• Roller coaster trip with Gary and Wes (2 new states for me Texas and Arkansas), and ended up with 31 new roller coasters and passed my 350th different coaster on this trip. (Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Sea World San Antonio, Fair in San Antonio, ZDT, Alleycats, Yesterland Farm, Six Flags Over Texas, Magic Springs), also got to see some culture via the Riverwalk and the outside of The Alamo in San Antonio, and Downtown Little Rock with Little Rock Central School and the William Clinton Presidential Library. Also experienced Buc-ee’s.
• Random guy *riding* through my town on a horse
• Dutch Wonderland
• Saw Avengers: Endgame in the theater

May:

• Free comic book day
• Colorado for Memorial Day weekend (Lakeside amusement park, Elitch Gardens are my new amusement parks, and met up with a friend for the day. Drove to Colorado Springs to see Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, in love with all their giraffes, and had a panic attack on the ski lift type ride. Wanted to see the views. It was gorgeous by the way.

June:

• Pittsburgh to meet up with friends, and then head to CEDAR POINT for the Run, Ride & Race
• New office space at work
• Wizard World Philly (Kato Kaelin being insane and photo op with Mechad Brooks and Jeremy Jordan)- FYI, Jeremy Jordan out of all the cons I’ve been to over the past decade was the most disappointing person to me. He looked miserable the entire time, and the whole I’m tired b/c we have a newborn just doesn’t cut it. You are an actor, act happy, I’m pretty certain you got paid enough to be there to not complain.
• Animal Adventure Park on World Giraffe Day
• Hugh Jackman in concert

July:

• Piper got an outdoor bath
• Saw Spider-Man: Far from Home
• More dental work, lots more
• Insane flash flooding that caused lots of damage in the area
• Animal Adventure Park x2
• Sharon Springs Summer Garden tour
• Lily Park, mini golf and lots of ice cream

August:

• Queen + Adam Lambert in concert
• Sunflower field
• Piper had turned 17
• Became obsessed with a TV show Expedition Unknown
• Keystone Comic con (Photo Op: Tom Holland) better the second year but still has a ways to go
• 2 years since Frankie passed away

September:

• Labor Day weekend trip to Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Zoo and Coasting for Kids are the main highlights) 1 new coaster at Kennywood, and a pit stop at Idlewild yielded another new coaster.
• Flight 93 memorial
• Chile Pepper Festival in Bowers, PA
• New laptop
• New iPad
• Animal Adventure Park, where an animal had just given birth
• “10th” annual Harvest Fest. (It was really the 11th actual fest, but 10th year since the first Harvest Fest was in 2009 on the TV Show Fabulous Beekman Boys.
• Hamilton in Philly!
• 37th birthday
• First international trip in a while to Canada to visit my friend. (Completed my first haunt activity at Casa Loma, saw her horse Strider, and visited Canada’s Wonderland where I got two new coasters.)
• Pit stop at Darien Lake on the way home and got 1 new roller coaster

October:

• Hugh Jackman with Keala Settle
• New York Comic Con!
  • NYPL (saw the original stuffed animals for Winnie the Pooh), Grand Central Station
  • Photo ops (Christopher Eccleston, Pee-Wee Herman, Clare Kramer, Tom Hiddleston, Angel Cast, met Burn Gorman)
  • Panels: Star Talk, Adam Savage, Angel, and The Orville

Haunted tour Fort Mifflin

Josh Gates Live!

Bowling for co-workers 21st birthday

November:

• NaNoWriMo
• The Hooters Concert (minus the drunk idiot I had to report)
• Author meet: Bill Haley, Jr.
• Watching The Mandalorian and a new favorite meme and character
• Target gift card fiasco
• Thanksgiving

December:

• After another big medical scare we had to put dear sweet Piper down. It still hurts and will hurt for a long while. Also put a damper on the holidays.
• Holiday party at work at The Carousel
• Saw Rise of Skywalker (it was good, could have been better, and could have been worse)
• Christmas Eve dinner with Family at The Capital Grille
• Wild Lights at Elmwood Park Zoo.

Overall:

Visited 2 new states, and ended up riding 45 new coasters.
State count is 33/50 (34 if you count a small layover where I didn’t leave the airport)
Roller Coaster count: 381 coasters
Got to see a bunch of friends I hadn’t seen in a while.
There were some good things and some bad, but really the year felt draining.

Josh Gates Live: Easton, Pa 10/23/2019

You may or may not know, but I found this TV show earlier this year called Expedition Unknown on the Discovery Channel. It’s such an interesting show and you learn things, and don’t realize you are learning. Josh Gates is the host, and every so often he does live presentations when he’s not wandering the world filming expeditions. I decided I had to go see him live and man he did not disappoint.

His way with words, the stories, the Q&A. He’s an amazing orator, and he knows how to keep you captivated. The 2 hours flew by, and by the end I still wanted more.

So if you ever see he’s doing a talk somewhere near you, go. You will not be disappointed.

The show starts off with some clips of Expedition Unknown, and some talk about ghost stories, and then some clips of Destination Truth (which I need to watch somewhere), and then more stories, and lastly a Q&A. Smart questions were asked and overall an enjoyable night.

Highlights from the night:

• Read Ray Bradury
• Every story has value (especially when traveling, learn to listen to someone’s story)
• We as people can’t leave a mystery be a mystery, we’re always trying to solve things
• Go away. Often.
• Vacation and travel are not the same thing.
• Easy vacations are the ones you don’t remember well, the ones where things went wrong are the stories you tell.
• On a trip leave a day open, to just do something out of your comfort zone.
• Don’t be afraid to talk to people.

Q&A Highlights:

• Books: appears to read a lot of horror at the moment,  (this was my question, I tend to ask questions of books because I’m a librarian and I’m genuinely curious as to what people read. Authors mentioned: Stephen King, and Dan Simmons
• He’s a history guy
• Antarctica made Josh Awestruck
• The first “The Secret” episode frustrated him to no end, and would qualify that as disappointing
• His free time is family time though by end of year he’ll have traveled 250 days
• His bucket list keeps getting longer
• New countries he wants to visit Serbia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives
• Adrenaline gets him through a lot, when watching stuff later he’s like what did I just do
• 9-12 crew members on any given expedition shoot
• El Mirador is his favorite archaeological site
• Josh’s Indiana Jones movie Ranking: 1,3,2,4
• Thought Egypt Live was aweome
• Likes doing live TV events

Pictures:
Outside the theatre.

Yes, I splurged for the meet & greet. Yes, he’s tall. Yes, I’m very short. Yes, it makes for a hilarious photo.

Quotes & fun comments before the show started.

Josh Gates on stage:

Book Review: You’ve Guac to be Joking

Book Review: You’ve Guac to be Joking
Author: Cat Faulkner
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Release Date: March 5, 2019

Review: If you love puns and guac, “You’ve Guac to be Joking” is for you. This book is a quick read full of wonderful punny illustrations of avocado being various things and people. The one that stuck out to me the most is Hugh Guacman and it was a picture of an avocado with Wolverine claws. If you’ve had a bad day than this book has guac to cheer you up.

Notes: I received this from NetGalley and in turn I’m to provide my honest opinion of the material I reviewed.