Can I Tell You about Anxiety?: A Guide for Friends, Family and Professionals by Lucy Willetts, Polly Waite, Kaiyee Tay

This is a very nice book about children's anxiety written in a way that will help children who have anxiety and those who have friends with it, teachers, parents and other adults understand and have tools with which to help children who have anxiety. Megan, a fictitious 10 year old girl who suffers from anxiety, explains the effects of anxiety on her life, how it feels to have anxiety problems, different types of anxiety, and ways that anxiety can be treated. She also explains a variety of ways that family, friends and teachers can help a child with anxiety. One suggestion is that when a child seems anxious, to ask them how they are feeling, what they are thinking and if they can think of a more realistic way of thinking about the issue rather than just assuring the child that everything is and will be ok. There is a brief section about related disorders and a list of recommended reading. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it.

Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness: One-Minute Tips for Decluttering and Refreshing Your Home and Your Life by Donna Smallin Kuper

This book contains a lot of short statements and tips about decluttering. Some of the statements are practical and others are more inspirational. It reminds me of the kind of things that would be printed on one of those page-a-day calendars. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Toad Weather Sandra Markle , Thomas Gonzalez

This book is toadally fantastic! Written in lovely, lyrical prose, accompanied by beautiful illustrations, this story tells the tale of all the adventures that Ally has when her mother coaxes her and her grandmother outside on a rainy, gloomy day. Together they appreciate the colorful umbrellas, the splashing rain and the earthworms on the sidewalk. But, the toads are the real treat. This book is a real treat also. It is toadally wonderful and I think it will make a welcome addition to children's libraries and bookshelves. The book will be released in March and would make a nice spring gift as well. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it!

How to Fall : A Novel (Jess Tennant Mysteries) by Jane Casey

When 16 year old Jess goes with her mother back to her mother's childhood home to stay with family members she had never met, she is thrust into a mystery. Her cousin Freya, whom Jess looks like almost exactly, had died under mysterious circumstances a year prior and everyone in town is shocked by how much Jess looks like Freya yet won't go into details about Freya's death. Was it suicide, or something more sinister? Jess makes it her mission to find out what happened as she falls for the same guy who Freya liked and is liked by another boy who had also liked Freya. Bring in the jealous ex-girlfriend and they stage is set for mystery. I did enjoy the story, but somehow, the characters seemed a bit shallow and wishy washy. I was not thrilled with the ending, although apparently it is a set up for another book in the series so that explains the unfinishedness of it. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

This is an excellent fantasy/sci.fi. YA romance. I would caution that it has some dark parts and is probably best for readers over the age of 13. Parental caution is advised. That being said, the book is a fun spin off of the Snow White story in which Princess Snow, aka Essie, is in hiding on a mining planet, repairing junk tech for the miners and fighting in cage fights to earn extra money. When she meets Dane, who crash lands near her town, and helps him to repair his ship, the story really begins with intrigue, romance, danger and action. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it.

Breeder by K.B. Hoyle

This is an excellent YA paranormal romantic story. In a post-apocalyptic world, Seventeen is a Breeder, chosen to carry "products" to further the human race which had been depleted due to wars and other troubles. Now, the UWO controls every aspect of everyone's lives, telling them that it is much better that way. When Seventeen encounters Pax, and remembers that her name is Pria, her life changes and soon she has to leave the Sanctuary where she has been living and flee into the wilderness as she learns the truth about what the government is really doing. Action, adventure and a bit of romance abound in this young adult thriller. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery by Abby Sher

This book tells the heartbreaking stories of three women who escaped sexual slavery and then went on to help others. It tells the stories of Somaly Mam, who was forced into prostitution in Cambodia, Minh Dang, whose parents sexually abused her as a child and then forced her into prostitution in the United States and Maria Suarez who was kidnapped and forced to be a slave to a man in California. There is a chapter at the end of the book that explains sex-trafficking and who it is happening to, where, why and how we can help to break the cycle. The stories are sad and tragic and show how the women involved in sex-trafficking are all victims. I like the Sweedish model of prosecution in which the people who buy sex are punished rather than the people who are being sold. I think that the US and the rest of the world should use this way of prosecuting the real criminals, who are the men, rather than the girls and women who are forced into having sex with men and who did not choose to do it and who usually do not receive any of the money that is paid for the abuse of their bodies.