*Book Blogger Hop* Reading Series in Order

We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is: 

Do you prefer to read series one book after another, or can you read other books in between? (submitted by Idea-ist @ Get Lost in Literature)

In my 41 years of life, I've learned that it's actually better for me to not read series one book right after the other. I really typically get to a point where the story starts to bore me if I'm reading back to back because it typically feels like just more of the same story, and then it just feels like it's dragging on. So I pretty much always read other books in between, and give myself at least a month between books. The only exception to that is if I'm doing audiobooks. I have better luck binging a series in audio than I do if I'm reading with my eyeballs. 

What about you? Do you prefer to read series one book right after another or do you read books in between? 

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can be sure to stop by and check out your full answer. - Katie 

*Review* Otis and Peanut Forever and Ever by Naseem Hrab

Genre: Children's 6-8 years

Published: April 15, 2024

Pages: 80

The Frog and Toad-style duo returns in a new series of stories about celebrating loved ones, past and present

Otis and Peanut are back! Grounded in the tender, supportive friendship between a long-haired guinea pig and a naked mole rat, the second book in this junior graphic novel series explores themes of celebrating life's simple pleasures, grief, and making new memories with sensitivity, humor, and optimism.

The three stories in this book reveal how the pair feel the loss of Pearl, Peanut’s sister and Otis’s friend. In “The Cake,” Peanut bakes a sweet treat for Otis using Pearl’s recipe and teaches him that there’s always a good reason to eat cake―even if it’s for no reason at all! In “The Dream,” Peanut is missing his sister, but finds a way to keep her memory close. And in “The Collection,” the two friends celebrate old memories, and make some new ones.

Author Naseem Hrab brings wit and lightness to challenging subject matter. The profound lessons she shares about missing someone you love while holding them in your heart will resonate with young readers. Poignant, funny, and sweeter than a slice of Pearl’s Strawberry Layer Cake, Otis & Peanut Forever and Ever is a treat to be enjoyed at any time.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is a collection of three stories about Otis and Peanut. One of the stories centered around eating cake, another was about planting seeds, sort of. And the final story was about keeping memories safe. In all three stories, Otis and Peanut were together, as best friends should be. 

I think I'd be okay reading this book a few times if I could convince the child that they only get one of the three stories with each reading. The stories themselves were somewhat simplistic, and they'd get boring real quick as an adult (as most children's books do). The illustrations were very bright but also incredibly yellow. 

Overall I give Otis and Peanut Forever and Ever 3.8945 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

NASEEM HRAB is a writer and storyteller, and the author of the Ira Crumb series, How to Party Like a Snail, Weekend Dad, and The Sour Cherry Tree, which was a Governor General’s Literary Awards winner. Her comedy writing has appeared on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and The Rumpus. She loves improv and coffee ice cream. Naseem lives in Toronto, Ontario.

KELLY COLLIER was born in Ottawa and grew up in Toronto, Ontario, where she still lives with her husband and daughter. She has an identical twin sister and an older brother. As kids, Kelly and her sister drew all the time, mostly in an effort to "outdraw" their brother. Kelly studied illustration in college and is both the author and illustrator of the Steve the Horse series.

*Review* Flood and Fury by Matthew J. Lynch

 Genre: Religion

Published: February 28, 2023

Pages: 256

What do we do with a God who sanctions violence?

Old Testament violence proves one of the most troubling topics in the Bible. Too often, the explanations for the brutality in Scripture fail to adequately illustrate why God would sanction such horrors on humanity. These unanswered questions leave readers frustrated and confused, leading some to even walk away from their faith.

In Flood and Fury, Old Testament scholar Matthew Lynch approaches two of the most violent passages in the Old Testament – the Flood and the Canaanite conquest – and offers a way forward that doesn't require softening or ignoring the most troubling aspects of these stories. While acknowledging the persistent challenge of violence in Scripture, Flood and Fury contends that reading with the grain of the text yields surprising insights into the goodness and the mercy of God. Through his exploration of themes related to violence including misogyny, racism, and nationalism, Lynch shows that these violent stories illuminate significant theological insights that we might miss with a surface reading.

Flood and Fury challenges us to let go of the need to rescue the Old Testament from itself and listen afresh to its own critiques on violence.

I received the audiobook version of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I'm not sure what drew me to this book other than that it was available to listen now. I think I was expecting fiction for some reason, but it was really an examination of the Old Testament, and I found it fascinating. 

I am not a religious person now, but I was the Bible scholar on my school's quiz bowl team, because I am moderately familiar with the major Bible stories having been raised attending the Methodist church. Granted most Christians primarily learn the New Testament, but we definitely touched on the big events from the Old Testament as well. This book had me viewing some of the big stories in a new way, and also renewed my interest in reading the Bible cover to cover. 

While I don't think I would have read this book as quickly with my eyeballs as I did with my ears, I think I would have retained more information that way. But I'm not opposed to rereading this one with my eyeballs at a later date. 

Overall I give Flood and Fury 4.1145 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Matthew is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Regent College, Vancouver. He was previously Academic Dean and Lecturer in Old Testament at Westminster Theological Centre in the UK. He is the author of First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods (Eisenbrauns), Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible: A Literary and Cultural Study (Cambridge, 2020), Monotheism and Institutions in the Book of Chronicles: Temple, Priesthood, and Kingship in Post-Exilic Perspective (Mohr Siebeck, 2014), and Flood and Fury: Engaging Old Testament Violence (IVP Academic, 2023). Matthew is a founder and co-host of the OnScript and Biblical World podcasts.

*Review* Rumie Goes Rafting by Meghan Marentette

 

Genre: Children's 3-7 years

Published: April 15, 2024

Pages: 36

An ambitious yet impatient little critter seeks adventure outside their cozy forest home

Adventurous little Rumie longs to sail down the stream and find out where it leads, but the water is too low for Uncle Hawthorne’s boat. Suddenly, a ladybird floating on a leaf gives Rumie an idea―they should build a raft! With Uncle’s help, the raft is built and plans are made to take it out the following day.

When Rumie wakes up early the next morning, Uncle is still asleep. Impatient, Rumie decides to test out the raft on their own, but rain from the night before has made the current too strong, and they’re nearly swept over a waterfall! Luckily, just as the raft capsizes, Uncle comes to their rescue. Rumie admits that they should have waited for Uncle instead of going out alone, and the pair spend the afternoon on the lake instead.

Photographs of cuddly plush critters on a real-life forest backdrop bring Rumie’s woodland adventure to life. This visually stunning debut by author and illustrator Meghan Marentette is a nod to the boundless resourcefulness and creativity of children, and a gentle lesson in practicing patience.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is an adorable story about a young mouse and his uncle who want to go on a rafting adventure in their local stream. But Rumie, the young mouse, is way too excited to start the adventure and leaves early without his uncle. Things almost go really bad for Rumie because overnight rains made the stream current much more swift than he was expecting. But of course his uncle arrives and saves the day. 

The illustrations for this book were photos of stuffed animals in various situations, kind of reminding me of claymation style videos. I'm not sure how I feel about that approach for illustrating a children's book, but it is certainly unique. 

Overall I give Rumie Goes Rafting 3.6934 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Meghan Marentette has always loved tiny things. Nicknamed "Meghan Mouse" as a child, she spent hours collecting bits and pieces to build miniature worlds for her toys. As an adult she worked in the film industry, making costumes for the tiny puppets of stop-motion animation TV series, but eventually longed to create tiny worlds of her own again.

She began by conceiving a miniature world for mice in her debut novel, The Stowaways (finalist for the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award, the Ann Connor Brimer award, and the Monica Hughes Science Fiction and Fantasy Award), then decided to delve further into her passion by creating a miniature world in three dimensions.

Meghan is now working on a series of photo-illustrated picture books, starring two wire-framed plush animals named Rumie and Uncle Hawthorne. Set on an idyllic forest stream and on interior sets of their home inside a hollow tree, Rumie Goes Rafting is the first book in the series (2024).

*Review* Baby Bank by Sarah Robinson

 

Genre: Romantic Comedy/LGBTQ+

Published: September 19, 2023

Pages: 324

Mila Torres is a successful divorce lawyer by day, stand-up comedian by night and by all accounts—except her mother’s—living a bisexual elder millennial’s dream life in Washington, DC. That is, until she realizes she’s only a year away from hitting the ripe old age of thirty-five and her doctor suggests at her annual pap smear that maybe she should consider freezing her eggs if she wants kids in the future. Except, she doesn’t want a child in the far future…she wants a child right now.

This poses a bit of a problem since she’s ten swipes past single and living Golden Girls style with two of her best friends who work on Capitol Hill and one ornery old cat. That is, until she hears a story from a friend about a free sperm bank online app called Baby Bank. A few margaritas later and Mila has swiped on over fifty sperm donors until she finds the perfect match—handsome, successful, brilliant, everything you’d want your sperm to be.

Now she’s meeting him at a hotel—along with two of her friends for backup—to complete the process. All should have gone smoothly, except when she learns that her sperm donor is the brother of the reporter that Mila has been dodging for months, and that while she originally only wanted this man’s baby, she actually wants his sister, too.

In a comedic story of LGBTQIA+ romance and millennial-specific drama, Mila finds that motherhood and dating are not compatible when you keep it all in the family and that the modern millennial woman might not actually be able to have it all.

The first in a series of standalone lesbian and queer themed romance novels coming to ebook, audiobook, and paperback.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

What do you do when you are a fairly high powered attorney, single, lesbian lady in the D.C. area and you want to have a baby? Hop on a sperm donor app of course. I have no clue if an app like that truly exists, but it wouldn't surprise me. I felt like this book demonstrated the possible pros and cons of using such an app pretty well. 

But this isn't just a book about a single woman wanting to have a baby. She is also wrestling with a serious moral dilemma. As an attorney in the D.C. are, she happens to be privy to some bombshell information that a local reporter is anxious to get her hands on based on some recent legislation she's covering. 

Mila's life gets real messy real fast after she pulls the trigger on the sperm exchange. It honestly felt like she just could not catch a break no matter what. But all of her problems highlighted the beauty of found family, which she has in spades. 

Overall I give Baby Bank 4.0736 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Contemporary Romances Across the Rainbow…

Sarah Robinson (also known as SC Nealy, pronouns: they/them) first started their writing career as a published poet in high school, and then continued in college, winning several poetry awards and being published in multiple local literary journals.

Never expecting to make a career of it, a freelance writing Craigslist job accidentally introduced them to the world of book publishing. Lengthening their writing from poetry to novels, Robinson published their first book through a small press publisher, before moving into self-publishing, and then finally accepting a contract from Penguin Random House two years later. They continued to publish both traditionally and indie with over 18+ novels to their name with publishers like Penguin, Waterhouse Press, Hachette, Forever, Grand Central Publishing, and more. They now also write under the name SC Nealy in non-fiction and children’s spaces.

In their personal life, Sarah Robinson identifies as a queer, non-binary mother of two little girls. They are happily living in Arlington, Virginia where Robinson also works full-time as a psychotherapist with queer individuals and couples.

*Review* The Blue Bowl by Flo Leung

 

Genre: Children's 4-7 years

Published: March 15, 2024

Pages: 32

A young boy realizes, thanks to his family, that he can enjoy both his Chinese and North American cultures through his favorite dishes

Max loves his family’s Cantonese meals, like steamed rice and gai lan greens with oyster sauce, homemade dumplings, and scallion bread. But sometimes he can’t help thinking about French fries, tacos, and ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

For his birthday dinner, Max is really hoping for spaghetti and meatballs, but instead he and his family are headed to Maa Maa and Ye Ye’s house for a celebration dinner―and Max is pretty sure that spaghetti won’t be served in the familiar blue bowls that came all the way from Hong Kong with his grandparents. But Max is delighted to discover that his understanding family has discovered a way to bring two cultures together with delicious dishes that are a combination of all the foods he loves.

Based on the author’s own experiences growing up, The Blue Bowl will speak to many children and adults alike with similar experiences and bring a new perspective to those who do not share in this experience. With deliciously eye-catching illustrations and descriptive, inviting text, readers will be reminded of all their favourite foods as they follow along with Max’s story.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a fun story about a young Chinese-American boy who thinks about all the foods his family makes on a regular basis that he loves, but he's also thinking about other foods he would like to have at his upcoming birthday party, and they aren't all Cantonese. In the end, his parents serve both traditional Cantonese food and the things like pizza that he also loves together, and that surprises him. 

I'm not sure how okay I'd be reading this book multiple times, because the first read made me want Chinese food like crazy (and even building this blog post thinking about it has me wanting Chinese food now). The food just sounds so delicious and it makes me hungry, and that's a bad recipe when I'm supposed to be watching what I eat better. The illustrations were very colorful, but somewhat blocky looking. 

Overall I give The Blue Bowl 4.0028 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

FLO LEUNG is a food-loving illustrator and author of The Tray of Togetherness. She has also been a pastry cook, a food stylist, a TV producer―and really wishes she had a green thumb. Flo believes that food has the power to tell us stories about who we are and hope to be. When she isn’t reading old cookbooks and listening to glam rock, Flo can probably be found enjoying mango cakes (with rainbow sprinkles) with her daughter and husband in their cozy home in Toronto, Ontario.

*Review* Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts

 Genre: Middle Grade/Urban Fantasy

Published: June 2, 2019

Pages: 405

Penelope Akk wants to be a superhero. She's got superhero parents. She's got the ultimate mad science power, filling her life with crazy gadgets even she doesn't understand. She has two super powered best friends. In middle school, the line between good and evil looks clear.

In real life, nothing is that clear. All it takes is one hero's sidekick picking a fight, and Penny and her friends are labeled supervillains. In the process, Penny learns a hard lesson about villainy: She's good at it.

Criminal masterminds, heroes in power armor, bottles of dragon blood, alien war drones, shape shifters and ghosts, no matter what the super powered world throws at her, Penny and her friends come out on top. They have to. If she can keep winning, maybe she can clear her name before her mom and dad find out.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story. This is my honest review. 

Middle grade books can be a bit of a gamble to read as an adult, especially with a child in that age range. Reading a more fantastical book like this one makes the gamble a little bit more of a sure thing. And this story definitely had elements of the fantastical. 

In a world where you can be born with super powers, it makes sense that they'd manifest around puberty, as if tweens don't have enough changes to deal with. It also makes sense that those powers would be determined, to an extent, by genetics. So Penelope becoming a mad scientist, basically, is just logical. And since her parents keep telling her it will take years for her powers to fully develop, it makes sense that she keeps most of her actions secret from them. Add in the best friend with a former supervillain mother, and it's a recipe for disaster. 

I appreciated how Penelope was trying so hard to not be viewed as a villain, and felt her frustration every time the adults talked about how she was obviously being manipulated and led by the professional villains. I can understand her desire to prove herself, even if I did find it foolish since she is still a literal child. 

The narration sounded a bit more mature than I expect from a middle grade book, but it was perfectly pleasant. 

Overall I give Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain 4.2736 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Richard Roberts is drawn to dark, strange fairy tales, which of course is why he got famous for his perky middle school supervillain stories instead.

That presents the two halves of his work, the fun and crazy, and the dark and weird. In both cases, he does his best to entertain, to look at old ideas to see how strange they are if you think them through, and to make a story where his characters earn their happy endings.

*Review* The Little Regent by Yewande Daniel-Ayode

 

Genre: Children's 4-8 years

Published: March 15, 2024

Pages: 44

A little girl is tasked with ruling her West African village in this empowering story about breaking from tradition and leading with your heart

After the king of a West African village dies, his eight-year-old daughter Abioye is made the temporary ruler, or regent, until a new king is chosen. The chiefs scoff at this decision―a little girl can’t be regent! Even Abioye herself doubts whether she’s up to the task. But her late father’s words of wisdom comfort and guide her: Those who will rule must first learn to serve.

The next day, amid meetings about taxes and titles, Abioye keeps her eyes and ears open for ways to serve her people. When she hears about their dried-up well, their leaky boats, and their hungry children, she decides to devote herself to helping the villagers instead of attending stuffy meetings with the chiefs. With her ideas and support, the village flourishes. But as the villagers praise her leadership, the chiefs complain that she is abandoning her duties, and announce that it's time for a new king. When the time comes for the villagers to vote for their new ruler, they reject all the other candidates and crown Abioye instead, making her the first female king the village has ever had!

Author Yewande Daniel-Ayoade draws on Yoruba traditions and culture to craft a highly original, uplifting feminist fable. Abioye’s journey will inspire readers, regardless of age or gender, to discover their inner strength, wisdom, and capacity to lead.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is a story about a young girl from the Yoruba tribe in Africa. When her parents pass away, she became the regent because she is the only person of royal descent available at the time. She works hard to rule well while she has the position, as the elders try to figure out a solution to the problem. But then she is made king of the tribe, even though she's a girl, because she ruled so well. 

I love the girl power aspect of this story, and challenging patriarchal norms in general. I think this would be a great story to read multiple times to children, to make them really think about the way things operate now, and hopefully to help them learn that just because we've always done something one way doesn't mean we can't make positive changes. The illustrations were colorful and bold. 

Overall I give The Little Regent 4.4829 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

YEWANDE DANIEL-AYOADE is a Nigerian-Canadian author whose children’s love for princesses inspired her to write this book. When she is not working as a management consultant, Yewande can be found cooking, baking, singing, or playing board games. Yewande lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her husband and five children.

KEN DALEY is an award-winning artist/illustrator who lives in Tillsonburg, Ontario. His art and illustrations are inspired by his African-Caribbean heritage, and he has exhibited his work in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Ken has illustrated numerous children’s books and received an Américas Award Honor Book and a Kirkus Best Picture Book for Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings.

*Review* 25 Days by Per Jacobsen

 Genre: Holiday Thriller

Published: November 1, 2024

Pages: 360

25 days, 25 chapters. This December, the countdown to Christmas will chill you to the bone.

Hoping to bring his family closer together, Adam Gray arranges a vacation in a remote cabin on a snowy mountain. Things take a dark turn, however, when someone starts leaving gifts in the Christmas stocking mounted on the barn door.

Each morning brings something new, and with every passing day, the contents become more terrifying. Soon, the family makes a spine-chilling realization: they’ve been dragged into a deranged game of Secret Santa, and if they want to survive, they will have to fight.

I fell for the hype of this book designed to be read like an advent calendar. And even though I started a few days late, I soon caught up and read just a single chapter a day, all the way through Christmas. And while I always have multiple books started, making progress here and there, this was still a unique approach even for me. 

I liked the way this book cycled through character POVs with each day change. I felt that made the progression of events a little more believable because it was easy to see where the essential compartmentalization of knowledge caused problems overall. 

I struggled to suspend belief when the almost god-like killer started making big moves. He really seemed to be everywhere all at once and knew things he shouldn't have known. The miraculous resurrection of one of the family members was also hard to accept. 

It also bothered me that in the end, I have no clue what the villain's motivation was at all. And this seemed way too planned to not have some sort of motivation to it. 

Overall I give 25 Days 3.0548 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Per Jacobsen is a Danish author best known for writing thrillers with supernatural elements. He got his literary debut in 2018 when his novel, Spejlkabinettet (Mansion of Mirrors), got picked up by the publishing house Valeta in Denmark.

Per Jacobsen’s next three books (books 1-3 in the Strung series) were translated to English and gave him his international breakthrough as they quickly went to the top of bestseller lists in several countries, including the US and England. Since, he has written several popular novels, including Dry and the Advent horror hit 25 Days.

Since the release of his second book, Per Jacobsen has been a full-time writer, living permanently in southern Spain with his wife and two children.

*Review* Maddie and Mabel Make a Plan by Kari Allen

 Genre: Children's 4-8 years

Published: October 31, 2023

Pages: 80

The fourth book in the Junior Library Guild Award Winning Series

Best sisters and big thinkers Maddie and Mabel have a new idea. A really wild idea. But can their idea become a reality? With their sweet charm and innocent curiosity, the sisters make lists, ask questions, and learn when to turn something broken into something new. Together they learn that every idea has opportunities and obstacles.

In this fourth foray, the sisters navigate tough questions and make compromises with sensitivity, acknowledging that an imperfect solution might be just the right plan. The occasional misstep and sisterly banter make this relatable and realistic for readers. The combination of Kari Allen’s gentle writing and playful illustrations from Tatiana Mai-Wyss make this a winning addition to this well-loved series.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a cute story about two sisters who also happen to be friends, which doesn't always happen with sisters, and they want a pet. They work together to develop a plan to convince their parents to let them get a pet, but part of that is deciding what kind of pet they should get, and they do not start out in agreement on that. But they talk about it and come to a compromise. 

This book does a really good job of teaching kids to interact with others with understanding, and listening to hear and not necessarily listening just to respond. I'd definitely be willing to read this book a few times because those are good lessons to everyone to learn. The illustrations were fairly simple, minimalistic, and kind of wispy looking. 

Overall I give Maddie and Mabel Make a Plan 4.2878 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Kari Allen is an elementary teacher at a local independent school where every day she gets to share stories with kids. She has an MA in the Teaching of Writing and one of her favorite things is to help kids fall in love with words. Kari feels happiest with her toes in the water and a book in her hand. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two book-loving boys.

Tatjana Mai-Wyss has always loved books, so bringing stories to life with her art is the best job she can imagine. She has been lucky enough to illustrate a number of books for children. She practiced for Maddie and Mabel by growing up with a little brother herself, and then having two girls of her own.

*Review* Starry Night by D.P. Conway

 

Genre: Christian Fantasy

Published: January 5, 2020

Pages: 49

This Christmas Eve, a mysterious journey will awaken the heart and restore the soul.

When a young man awakens in an unfamiliar land with no memory of who he is or how he got there, he embarks on an extraordinary journey alongside a group of shepherds. Guided by a wise and gentle leader named Jesse, the man learns the ways of the Shepherds of the Night and discovers truths about faith, love, and himself.

As the Great Star shines overhead, he confronts the mysteries of his past, revisits memories of family and loss, and finds his place in a world where hope still burns bright. Blending timeless Christmas magic with themes of redemption and self-discovery, Starry Night is a heartwarming tale that reminds us all of the beauty of second chances and the light that guides us home.

I listened to the audiobook version of this through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I listened to all the audiobooks in this series in very quick succession, because they were all fairly short and that helped me reach my reading goal in 2023. Of those five stories, this one was the most confusing for me, and I'm still not sure I fully understand what was going on in this book. But considering the fact that the main character started the story knowing nothing and lost, he and I are on the same page, and I really felt like I was in his shoes. 

Like the other books in this series, this book has heavy religious themes. Those typically aren't really my jam, and this book is no exception to that. 

The narration was sonorous and I could see it being a wonderful audiobook to fall asleep to, because I like having background noise to sleep. 

Overall I give Starry Night 3.0736 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

D.P. Conway believes in the power of storytelling to illuminate the human spirit and foster a deeper understanding of our shared journey through life. His works, steeped in faith and inspired by his Irish American heritage, provide a beacon of hope. A firm believer in the existence of life after death, D.P. Conway’s works explore the profound and often mysterious aspects of life and its connection to the Eternal World. His work points to the truth that our truest destiny lies in Heaven.

In D.P. Conway’s writings, the battle between darkness and light serves as a recurring theme. He firmly holds the conviction that even though dark forces may roam the world, the forces of goodness and light will ultimately prevail. This unwavering belief in the triumph of hope and virtue over despair infuses his work with a sense of optimism and resilience, encouraging readers to find solace and strength in the face of life's challenges.