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I just finished The Line and it was not half bad. Of course, that means it was not half good either. Rachel and her mother live/work on the property of an older single woman. Much is made of the fact that Rachel's mom felt the need to stay hidden and out of the cities because of rumors that surrounded Rachel's father when she was a baby. I liked Hall's voice, but her writing style was very simplistic. Perfect for a reluctant reader, or a fan of Haddox's Hidden books, this is obviously a set up for a series as not much happens until the last twenty pages. Some issues I had with the book concern the world building which seemed generic and incomplete. Rachel uses items that have funky sounding names but that are clearly known items: a flashlight has some cutsey name and pictures are digims or something...but they are not at all different from real flashlights or photographs so why bother? Hall also throws out the rules of the government quickly with very ...

Here are some pix from my Alice in Wonderland Tea Party! This craft was open to 4 to 9 year- olds and it was a blast. The decor was red, white, and black with tissue paper flowers and playing cards spread between the settings. I borrowed six teapots and the plates were red and the napkins were black. I created a display of Alice books and served little cakes, brownie bites, and chocolate chip cookies. The teapots were filled with iced tea and lemonade. (We do apple juice all of the time and I thought they might need a break). My mom made the petits fours and I thought they were amazing. The program: I acted out the story of Alice in Wonderland, in costume, in under twelve minutes. I did this in stations and used props (a table with a bottle labelled "Drink me", a key, a box that said "Eat me", a fan, a small toy house, etc.) Then the kids designed their own Mad Hatter hats that I bought from Oriental Trading Company. Note: This is not something I usually d...