CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA by Yolanda Ridge, illustrations by Alex Boersma

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CRISPR stands for Clustered Regular Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Gene and genetics research are complicated and already have a history of positive and negative results. The decisions of choosing whether or not to modify or enhance genes vary by subject, disease, and creature. Controversial and also exciting, this research and what’s become of it is amazing. I’m not a science buff but I enjoyed reading this informational book because everything is broken down into understandable bits. The illustrations helped immensely also. The big questions of, should we or shouldn’t we? arise with every aspect of gene research. How far should it be taken and what effects will the research, and acting on it, have on the world. Fascinating and frightening all at the same time, 5 stars!

Thriving After Sexual Abuse by Denise Bossarte

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True help for the healing process!

The author bravely shares what happened to her. She then details her healing journey.
I appreciate the honesty of her past therapy experiences. It’s good to have permission to find a therapist that you’re personally comfortable with. The definition of incest from SIA (Survivors of Incest Group) was an eye-opener because it includes more than just blood relatives. It’s anyone who betrays the child’s innocence or trust. When she mentions that it was difficult for her to understand other kids growing up and how they felt and lived emotionally, that rang a bell with me. I remember thinking that what I was going through must be normal until my friends were complaining about their lives and I realized that I couldn’t relate to their experiences at all.
This book is chock-full of helpful resources, from meditation to art therapy. The explanation of forgiveness states to forgive yourself for any misplaced beliefs that you are to blame for any abuse that has happened to you. I appreciate this explanation which clarifies that you’re not forgiving the abuser. The resources shared in the book are listed at the end and include even more! True help for the healing! You don’t have to deal with it on your own. 5 stars!

The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier

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This all-encompassing cleaning book guides cleaners through home, yard, and vehicle cleaning how-to’s, recipes and tips! Ways to rid your space of pesky insects are also included. A truly essential cleaning guide, 5 stars!

Kaizen by Sarah Harvey

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Guide to making and keeping better habits!
Thanks to NetGalley And The Experiment for the opportunity to read and review Kaizen- The Japanese Secret to Lasting Change by Sarah Harvey!
The book’s contents include how to start Kaizen, health, work, money, home, relationships, habits and challenges, stumbling blocks, and change for good. “Kaizen isn’t about change for change’s sake, but about identifying particular goals-both short-term and long-term-and then making small, manageable steps to achieve those goals.” Taking small steps in making changes is the absolute key. Kaizen is meant to be tweaked to your individual needs and goals. Continuous improvement is the philosophy of Kaizen. This informative book is filled with helpful tips for every aspect of our lives that break everything into manageable pieces to make improvements easier! Educational, instructional, enlightening and inspiring! 5 stars!

Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds by Ian Wright

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Fascinating Facts!
Thanks to Granta Books, The Experiment and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World by Ian Wright.
Sections include people and populations, politics, power, and religion, culture and customs, friends and enemies, geography, history, national identity, crime and punishment, and nature. This book is full of maps, of course, but also trivia. The author has created maps for just about everything you can possibly think of, such as what countries drive on the wrong side of the road, generate nuclear power, population comparisons and some I’ve never thought of or known about, like which countries use a comma or point to separate decimals. I had no idea that anyone used commas as a decimal separator. The map of countries showing McDonald’s is jaw-dropping since McDonald’s restaurants are almost everywhere in the world! Longest place names fascinated me as well as the map showing Vikings’ raids and settlements. The weirdest map to me is of the world’s time zones which zig-zags everywhere. Brilliant Maps promises to be an interesting book and it delivers, 5 stars!

 

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett

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Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett addresses several difficult topics with boldness and knowledge.  Simone was born HIV positive and she lives with her loving, adoptive parents, Dave and Paul, who she calls Dad and Pops. Simone recently moved to the school she’s now attending, after being tormented and shunned at her previous school when her best friend told everyone that Simone has HIV.  She wants a fresh start and her junior year is going well, at first.  She’s been assigned as the high school musical director for the school production of “Rent” because Broadway is one of her passions and her teacher believes she has what it takes to follow her dreams and make a career out of directing.  Simone meets this amazing guy, Miles, and they form a healthy relationship and she shares her secret with him.  Miles handles it kindly and with empathy and treats Simone the same as before.  Someone starts leaving threatening notes for Simone, warning her to break up with Miles or else.  Everything escalates after that and blow up.  Simone finds out who her true friends are and she has to decide whether to hold her head up high and persevere or run away from the same problem all over again.

 Be aware that Full Disclosure freely talks about sexual issues and questions, so not for sexually squeamish readers.
Impressive and bold young adult debut!

Overcoming Opioid Addiction by Adam Bisaga, MD.

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Necessary and beneficial guide!
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Overcoming Opioid Addiction by Adam Bisaga, MD.
I wanted to read this book because, as a librarian, I was hopeful that it could be a helpful guide and voice of wisdom and information to those who may need it most, whether for personal, family or friend use. Overcoming Opioid Addiction was written to give general knowledge of Opioids, the epidemic and addiction, for health-care professionals, family members and for addicted individuals. The book is sectioned into four parts, each concentrating on one of these areas. This fascinating but informative and helpful book opened my eyes to Opioids and helped me to better understand how addiction became an epidemic and how patients can be treated and overcome addiction. 5 stars for this necessary and beneficial guide to Opioid Use Disorder!

Fake News: Separating Truth from Fiction

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Useful and necessary guide to sorting through what’s real and what isn’t!
Thanks to Lerner Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Fake News: Separating Truth From Fiction by Michael Miller!
This helpful guide to fake news and what to watch out for covers the basics and more! Explanations and descriptions of real news and fake news help us to see that fictional information can be harmful and how to tell what’s real from what isn’t real. Fake news isn’t a new idea created from social media; it dates back to Ancient Rome. Propaganda is a way to spread false information and fake news and it was well used by Hitler during World War II. To keep your intake of information on the real side, there are certain things you can watch out for, such as exaggerated claims, misspellings in URLs and only using a single source for information. Snopes is a great site for checking questionable news posts and PolitiFact is available to check political news for truthfulness. Everyone can help the spread of fake news by checking for reliability and trustworthiness of posts before sharing. 5 stars for this beneficial guide to fake news!