Hi, I’m Rebecca. I write books and I write here at This Joyful Mess to inspire everyone to find JOY in the everyday messes of life. Here you’ll find inspiration, educational resources, and so much more. Please explore and connect—I’d love to hear from you!
Un-Horror: The Devils You Know by MC Atwood
I don’t know that I’ve ever read YA horror before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I found in The Devils You Know by MC Atwood was rather odd—Scooby-Doo meets The Breakfast Club with a little funhouse thrown in for kicks.
Another Week, Another Book: Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster
I go through phases where I don’t want to read fantasy, no matter how well-reviewed it is. Unfortunately I was in one of those phases when I picked up Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster The opening I read reluctantly, my will rebelling. But it didn’t rebel long.
Amazing, Exotic sci-fi: The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is a truly fascinating sci-fi set in Africa. Talk about fabulous worldbuilding! It’s surprisingly accessible and gives us only a little “weirdness” at a time so we have time to acclimate.
With the BFG Movie Coming and All
In honor of a very special day, I thought I'd revive this old post about a book I found, um, intriguing, with some interesting asides...
Something on which to FEED (by MT Anderson)
In this futuristic novel by acclaimed M.T. Anderson, a stream of information virtually identical to the Internet (including banner ads) is accessed through a direct implant in the brain. This feed is integrated with the limbic system; it can read an individual’s desires, tastes and pleasures so suggested products will be sure to satisfy. Of course, nothing ever fully satisfies, since...
A Compass of Gold, off to a Good Start: Pullman's Golden Compass
The power of a great opening: Pullman’s The Golden Compass begins, “Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen.” We see a bit of each method of creating conflict. We know...
The Gift of Suffering: The Giver by Lois Lowry
Lowry opens The Giver with a description of fear and immediately cements the unusualness of the world she’s created as well as giving us insight into the young protagonist, Jonas. She also is so deliciously good at creating a Utopia that seems wonderful, at the start, and only slowly...
Secrets, Platforms, Bizarre Britishisms
Rich and fun fantasy. Ibbotson starts off with quaint Brittishisms, ghosts, and secret doors to other worlds. What’s not to love? Loads of fantastical invention and a heavy dose of political correctness. Atmospheric with a distant 3rd person narrator, similar in voice to others like...
Classics of Moles and Rats: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
So Pooh-like with that quaint voice and silly words and lots of happy adverbs (see, sometimes adverbs can be good!). Mole meanders aimlessly and is bewitched, entranced, fascinated by a bubbling, gurgling, chuckling river. What wonderful words! Never mind that...
Rats of NIMH and other Rodent Themed Books
There’s a certain sameness to rodent-themed books, I’ve noticed. Velveteen Rabbit (ok, not quite, but ...), Ralph and the Motorcycle, Borrowers. Most have a lot of “critter skittering about for food” along with lots of scurrying, scraping and scampering...