Friday Fun- April 15th, 2022

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

I finally finished Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green.

And even though Dust by Kara Swanson wasn't one I needed to read for April's challenges, I needed to read it as it is way overdue at the library. I zinged right through it. Such a great book. 

Book two of the Heirs of Neverland duology is titled Shadow

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green.

"Meg's father was gone. Again. 

She stood in his empty room for only a moment, summoning her wits."

Okay, so this sounded like it was a common occurrence, perhaps Alzheimer's or something. I wasn't sure. But where was he and what could have happened. I know from the description on the back of the book that he was accused of murder at some point in the book, so I was curious about what was happening this early in the book.

Here is my book beginnings for Dust by Kara Swanson

"When did this fairy tale become a nightmare?
I slide my fingers over the worn little book, and the question surfaces again. Each textured hollow in the cover is as familiar as my own lightly freckled skin and chipped nail polish. How many times have I searched this storybook for answers?"

At this point I was assuming that the answers Claire was looking for had to do with her missing brother, Conner. What did she know about the story Peter Pan? Which is what I assumed was the book she was referring to. 

And here is my book beginnings for Shadow, also by Kara Swanson

"Falling out of the sky is far less fun than it sounds. 
One minute I'm soaring past the stars, barreling through a veil of color and magic and snatches of children's voices and whispered dreams-and then there it is. It spreads out below me in familiar rugged rugged curves that I know better than my own shadow."

I sort of chuckled at the simple truth of that first sentence.

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here is my Friday 56 selection.

Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green

"Perhaps she only imagined it, but it seemed to her that her words brought a grounding to his restless spirit and a softening to the hard edges of his face. He looked directly into her eyes as if seeing her in truth for the first time in years. 'I'm here for you, daughter. I'm here for both of you.'"

Dust by Kara Swanson

"The pixie's wings beat feverishly, her body coiled to flee-and then her eyes flit up to my face and her tiny lips pinch to the side in recognition. She waggles her tiny finger at me, the soft tinkling sound filling the underbrush as she tells me off."

Shadow by Kara Swanson

"I take his hand and close my eyes and reach deep into the swell of light and air and hum of magic that beats deep in my chest like a second heart. The tether that I instinctively know how to find. The same pulse that tells me just how sick this island is. How exhausted and twisted and broken it is."