Review: A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved it even more the 2nd time as an adult. Power of love and all that.

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Review: Heart of the Matter

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So this is REALLY well written. Both points of view are distinct, all the characters are very believable if not relatable, and the story pulls you in. The subject matter is a hard one for me to say "I like," because I think I had the wrong expectation going in. I thought I was getting a light romance. This is drama. Struggling marriage drama. Which is hard for me to read without having a constant inner dialogue in my head with the characters that goes something like this: "How dare you look at a man who's married!" "Why on EARTH would you give that kind of attention to someone else? You're married!" "No, don't say those hurtful things to the one you love!" "No you don't. Don't blame your unfaithful behavior on somebody else!" "Why don't you just TALK to each other about what's happening?" And other such frustrated exclamations. Which I know is the point. I'm supposed to be thinking about those things and about how I want to do it differently in my own marriage. It's just not a very...enjoyable?...journey to take.

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Review: Beauty and the Clockwork Beast

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have had good experiences with steampunk books, even blending them with other genres. So I had no problem with the blatant admission, in even just the title, that we are blending steampunk and poopular fairytale and Victorian romance to try and create a wildly trendy new series. Turns out it also blends paranormal and mystery with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and messages from beyond that need to be deciphered in time. It just turned out to be a bit too much for one story or perhaps not done with the light touch that a "proper" Victorian romance should have.

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Review: United

United by Melissa Landers
My rating: 2 of 5 stars



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Review: Until Friday Night

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ick. I feel like I have to make an excuse for myself for reading this book. Cause it was available on my audiobook app and I was in the mood for a "light rom com." But this was not what it should have been. It was just teenagers dealing with family tragedies in immature ways. Which COULD HAVE been true to life if written better, but I expected the characters to sort of...grow up...through their trials and start to do things differently. Not turn to alcohol and parties and sex and cling in a very unhealthily, emotionally dependent way to his vulnerable girlfriend while passing it off to everyone around them, even the supposed adults who should have been protecting the girl, as "real love." THAT was just a cheap attempt at trying to make troubled teenagers look like characters in a Sparks novel. It made me wish that somebody would put that boy in therapy already.

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Review: The Left Hand of God

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a tricky one. It started out really dark and violent and intriguing. Almost like a more intense, contemporary dystopian remake of a Dickens novel Oliver Twist, maybe, or Nicholas Nickelby. It had the right idea of cruelly mistreated boys finding another path to a happier life. And the character, Cale, never lost his intrigue for me. But I felt like the story and the whole plot sort of just...died. It began with an air of mystery and thrill, and a cat-and-mouse chase, and then devolved into your typical kingdom-encompassing dystopian war against the self-righteous oppressors. It stopped being an interesting inner battle of Cale trying to figure out who he would be as a free man. And the story never addressed the original mystery of what Cale saw in his captivity that triggered him to finally make his escape. Hoffman sort of wrote the story like that incident didn't matter anymore. But it should have. So it all left me just sort of dissatisfied with what could have been a really cool story.

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Review: Before I Fall

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I don't know what the hype is about. The "Groundhog Day" premise is still an interesting draw to the story, but I was expecting the main character, Sammy, to eventually decide to turn around her whole attitude and life, like Bill Murray's character did. She did not. The conclusion fell totally flat and I didn't feel as if the character had learned anything or changed much at all.

The story starts with all the shock value of high school teens entrenched in issues of sexuality, alcohol, and disregard for laws and rules that would keep them safe, but the resolution did NOT involve a real "coming of age" theme in which Sammy or any of her friends realize the recklessness of their ways and decide to try and behave in a more mature manner.

She basically swapped one crush for another - who was admittedly more worthy of it but who still behaved as if he wasn't living the same day over and over again and instead acted as if his emotions were progressing at the same rate as the character who was living the same day again and again. It didn't feel right or genuine.

The worst part is that when Sammy figured out there was ONE MAJOR ISSUE that she could work to correct/fix/atone for, she didn't really fix the source of the issue. The source was her awful friend, Lindsay. If Samantha had TRULY come to care in a more mature and understanding way, she would have helped her friend Lindsay come to a state of repentance and emotional closure with her past issues. And they both would have a newfound courage to continue on a more responsible and less selfish past. But she didn't. THEY didn't.

When the "groundhog day" cycle ended, Sammy and all her friends started and continued the same day in almost the exact same way. Sammy's best change of heart was that she treated her family, especially her little sister, a lot better. And her inner dialogue sounded like she appreciated her friends more, but she didn't really DO anything to try and help them see a more selfless way to make it through high school. The conclusion just didn't cut it.


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Review: Half Wild

Half Wild by Sally Green
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Bummer. After the first one I was so excited, and then this just fell flat. It was boring. Hardly anything ever happened. So much of the book was just Nathan thinking. Trying to understand his gift, obsessing about being with Annalise again, feeling confused about his relationship with Gabriel, and wondering about his dad and joining the Alliance. Ok, ok, so there was some talking with other characters about these things. I hung in there, finally got closer to the end, and then some interesting things happened. It took too long to get there. And Nathan's inner monologuing has become boring.

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Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh wow. Guys. Should you read this book? Yes. If you like fantasty? Yes. If you like sad, real stories? Yes. If you like young adult fiction? If you like books that find tenderness and beauty and truth in exquisitely told stories? If you are a human? Ummm...YESSSSS!

I love how Ness taps into the teenage mind. The narrative is so utterly true to how a teenager that age would actually think and feel and act and experience real dilemmas. A lovely, understated read that finds closure with the simplest yet profoundest of truths.

I'm interested in seeing the movie just so I can relive those emotions with a different perspective, and it did get good reviews. Did anyone see the movie?

Still, I'll probably keep this book in its own place in my heart, a separate thing from any movie remake of the story or any other book with similar themes. It's that special.

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Review: Everything, Everything

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yes, it was good. The characters felt authentic and there was only really one circumstance that I felt was too predictable and contrived for how tender and understated the story had been up to that point. I'm in the camp of people who think that when she decides to throw chance to the wind and live life to the fullest by (ahem, *spoiler*) experiencing teenage sex that it really just cheapened the story instead of sweetening it. But it still wasn't written in a crude or offensive way, so there is that. The twist at the end I thought was clever and added a dimension of humanity to the whole circumstance. Because it reminds us to find vulnerability and tenderness in everybody, instead of overlooking those qualities in the ones we don't expect to have them.

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Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh wow. Guys. Should you read it? Yes. If you like fantasty? Yes. If you like sad, real stories? Yes. If you like young adult fiction? Yes. If you like books that find tenderness and beauty and truth in exquisitely told stories? Ummm...YESSSSS!

I love how Ness taps into the teenage mind. The narrative is so utterly true to how a teenager that age would actually think and feel and act and experience real dilemmas. A lovely, understated read that finds closure with the simplest yet profoundest of truths.

I'm interested in seeing the movie just so I can relive those emotions with a different perspective, and it did get good reviews. Did anyone see the movie?

Still, I'll probably keep this book in its own place in my heart, a separate thing from any movie remake of the story or any other book with similar themes. It's that special.

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Review: Love and Other Theories

Love and Other Theories by Alexis Bass
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Blech. 0 stars. Do not read. Here is found all the WORST things about teen romance. I think Bass was trying to make the point that it's a bad idea for teenagers to be sexually promiscuous in high school, but she failed grossly. What I could stand to read of the book was vulgar and underdeveloped. I decided it was not worth it to read the whole thing, though I did read the ending just to confirm to myself that whatever conflicts were resolved at the end were not worth the tasteless journey. I was right.

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Review: Half Bad

Half Bad by Sally Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the most interesting and original ideas from a male witch's perspective since Harry Potter! This first book set up some interesting questions about white vs. black magic, family allegiances, choosing friends from foes, and coming of age. Characters were clever and believable, and I especially appreicate a first-person perspective when the main character is pleasant company with interesting and honest thoughts. You'll also find some new takes on hidden magical elements existing in the real world that make it fun. I'm definitely continuing with the series.

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Review: After You

After You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Against several recommendations I received to NOT read this sequel...I did. Mostly because it was the only audiobook immediately available on my app's wishlist so I listened to it to pass the time. And it was a capital B Bummer. It wasn't terribly written, but it didn't have the same tenderness or depth or authenticity or provocative message as the first. It was a bit (okay, a lot) more crass and it couldn't decide what its message was. It couldn't decide whether to focus on Louisa's recovery from grief, her career and love life and a new sensual relationship in her life, her tenuous bond with her family, or her new teenage friend's various scandals due to her salacious lifestyle. I felt sort of yanked around and plunged into an uncharacteristically obscene world compared to this story's predecessor. Okay, so mostly the teenage friend put everything over the edge. Way WAY over the edge. It was like a contrived, campy, soap opera subplot. Darn it.

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Review: The Sixty-Eight Rooms

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Cute, somewhat charming tale about 2 young besties who encounter magic in a museum, go on a magical learning journey, and gain some tools of knowledge they end up using in their "real" lives. I get that this book is intended for a much younger audience. But some books, like, (ahem) Harry Potter, make the crossover. This didn't. I was bored by it. Maybe I have to re-review this after my own kids read it and I can see what they think?

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Review: The Sixty-Eight Rooms

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Cute, somewhat charming tale about 2 young besties who encounter magic in a museum, go on a magical learning journey, and gain some tools of knowledge they end up using in their "real" lives. I get that this book is intended for a much younger audience. But some books, like, (ahem) Harry Potter, make the crossover. This didn't. I was bored by it.

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Review: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As someone who has thought something was "wrong with me" all my life because I have so many "shy" tendencies, this book is very reaffirming. I'd recommend this to other introverts, but it's maybe even more important to extroverts or anyone who doesn't recognize the introverts around them. Lots of great insights, research, and even advice. It's about what it means to be introverted and how these personality types can actually be an asset in cultures and businesses (and families)) that seem so extrovert-driven. I wish this was a required textbook for business students, actually, because i'm sure it could solve a lot of workplace tension.

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Review: Sisters Red

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yeah, I did actually like the somewhat "horror-story" spinoff of the Little Red Riding Hood tale. What can I say, I'm into fairytales. But I like that there's 2 sisters, both telling their sides of the story, and that there's some conflict and dysfunction. Also plenty of action. The supernatural world living alongside the mundane world could have been even MORE original. And even though I like that Pearce exercised some self control and confined his story to ONE novel, thereby not forcing it to compete with other trilogies of its genre, this story could have been fleshed out even more into a series. At the end, I felt like there could be...more.

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Review: Born at Midnight

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Eh, I'm not sure I'm intrigued enough to finish it. Another formulaic story of a girl discovering a supernatural community and that she might be one of them. Falling for one teenage guy after another, or several at once, or at least just getting excited about kissing all of them. She's kind of a hussy, actually. And I'm kind of over it.

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Review: Scarlet

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yep, this series is fun. I like that the 2nd book isn't just a continuation of the "Cinderella" story. It actually introduces a new fairytale spinoff character: Scarlet, aka Little Red Riding Hood, and combines their 2 stories. There's magic, machines, dystopia, and even outer space. Sometimes the characters even reminded me of a group aboard the Millennium Falcon, evading enemies and recovering from skirmishes and bantering. It's good stuff.

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