A Teen Tome - Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold

The book I’m reviewing today is for an age group I don’t normally address on my blog.  However, I enjoyed it so much, I couldn’t not tell you about it. Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the first of 5 books in the Kitty Hawk series by Canadian author, Iain Reading. Despite a few curse words sprinkled occasionally through the book, it is a riveting read that’s hard to put down.

 

 

The main character, Kitty, has just graduated from high school, has been a pilot for several years, and is flying alone to Alaska to study humpback whale feeding habits in Alaska for seven weeks of her summer.  That’s pretty amazing so far, but it’s nothing compared to the adventure that awaits. She flies her pontooned De Haviland Beaver from her home in Tofino, Canada, to her base in Juneau, Alaska.  In daily flights along the waterways of southeast Alaska she observes, photographs, and documents the whales’ activities. This is where you begin to see the tremendous amount of background research the author had to have done to write this book.  He weaves the information and history skillfully through the fabric of the whole story so that it doesn’t at all feel didactic.  From flying the Beaver to grizzly bear behavior to the Yukon Gold Rush, the story keeps you turning those pages!

 

 

Another of the appealing factors of this book is the strong female protagonist.  She is smart, physically tough, and able to overcome her fears to do things she didn’t think she could.  These characteristics are clearly evident when her curiosity causes her to be captured by a band of brother and forced to trek up treacherous Chilkoot Pass carrying their stolen gold. 

 

 Just when they almost reach their destination and she’ll be free from them, a crazy, gun-wielding man shows up with the guys’ half-brother and steals the gold from them.  There were so many switchbacks in the action of the story, I almost had whiplash or maybe a heart attack!  If you have a teen who loves adventure stories, get this book in their hands.

 

I love the author's section near the end of the book where he gives more tidbits of information about the true details about the people (including authors), places, events and things he mentions in the story.

 

 

** Follow my blog and leave a comment and you'll be in the drawing for a copy of this  engrossing book.**

Tea Party Time

My friends and I held a tea party this week featuring teas flavored with Young Living Vitality essential oils. I also baked cookies with lemon and orange Vitality essential oils.  About 20 friends attended and everyone had a lot of fun. 

 

What in the world are Vitality oils?  They are the twin sisters of the Young Living essential oils.  The difference is the Vitality line is label specifically for ingestion. That means you can cook and bake with them, put a drop in your beverages (Use only glass or good quality stainless steel containers for this.), put them in capsules to swallow, and/or drip a drop under your tongue safely.  They are realllllly potent though, as they are pure oils.  A little goes a long way.  When using particularly strong oils for the first time, like basil or oregano, you may want to just dip the tip of a toothpick in the oil and stir that into your dish.  Add more as needed, but with care.  You can't take it out once you've overdone it!  

 

I didn't have time to make sugar cookies from scratch, so I cheated and used Pillsbury cookie dough.  I added 4 drops of lemon Vitality to one batch and 4 drop of orange to the other.  They were quite tasty!

We used an assortment of teacups that my friends had and four types of tea.  You can see the directions on the chalkboard.

While half the group dined, the other half went to another room where I had set up a couple of oily DIY projects.  The two groups switched activities as they finished their first one.  The first DIY was a bath bomb crumble.  The picture on the right below shows combos of Young Living Essential Oils they might choose to scent their bath bomb crumble.   

 

  

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other DIY was a chill-out roller.  They put a few drops of essential oil in the roller bottle and filled it with extra virgin olive oil.  Then they selected a goodie bag to hold their DIYs.

Everyone had such a good time, we're planning another one for the fall. 

 

 

 

 

#teaparty     #vitalityoils    #youngliving

#bathbombcrumble    #chilloutroller

Jackpot!!

This is my first full week of summer vacation, and I hit the jackpot.  In the mail today I received 3 books I can't wait to read and review.  I'll be in my happy place for a while!!

Look for reviews of these books by one of my fav authors, Clark Burbidge, and two new-to-me authors, Iain Reading and Carrie Morgridge. 

#clarkburbidge #iainreading #carriemorgridge 

#starpassagehonorandmercy #kittyhawk #curseoftheyukongold #thespiritofthetrail

What a cool way to beat Oklahoma's summer heat and humidity: reading under the AC!