tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51726281142394322122023-11-16T09:16:44.813-07:00The Book KatKathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-37196214096637111652016-04-27T08:35:00.000-06:002016-04-28T11:19:15.164-06:00De Drácula a Madero: Viaje todo incluido a la Decena Trágica by M.B. Brozon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My rating:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Una noche de 2010, tres amigos se reúnen para invocar al espíritu del célebre creador de Drácula. Con velas encendidas y cierto escepticismo, aquello que parecía un ridículo ritual pronto se convierte en una experiencia insólita: dos de ellos son arrojados del presente para aterrizar en el año 1913, en el preámbulo de uno de los episodios más tristes y sanguinarios de la historia de México: la Decena Trágica. En medio de una ciudad en guerra, los protagonistas buscarán la forma de volver a su tiempo mientras se cruzan con los personajes que definieron el futuro del país. ¿Qué los llevó allá y qué los podrá regresar?, ¿hasta dónde sus acciones pueden alterar el curso de la historia? Estas sin algunas preguntas a las que se enfrentarán Juan Pablo y Marisol en esta sorprendente novela donde se conjugan el humor, la intriga, la historia y la ciencia ficción. (Goodreads).</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Leí esta novela en muy poco tiempo, pero me impresionó mucho. Brozon mezcla la historia mexicana con la ciencia ficción y, yo diría, la fantasía también. Aunque el libro se trata de un viaje en el tiempo, Brozon no pasa demasiado tiempo con la explicación técnica de este fenómeno. En la ciencia ficción dura sí quiero todos los detalles científicos pero en este caso creo que lo interesante son los personajes y los hechos históricos.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Cuando Juan Pablo y Marisol se encuentran en el año 1913, tienen la ventaja de poder comunicarse con su amigo Gonzálo, quien todavía está en 2010. A través de la máquina de escribir que los tres usaron en la sesión espiritista, Gonzálo les envía información sobre los sucesos de la Decena Trágica para ayudarlos a sobrevivir mientras buscan una manera de regresar a su tiempo. Además Juan Pablo y Marisol enfrentan el problema de tener toda esta información del futuro sin poder compartirla incluso para salvar vidas. Brozon trata la historia y la moralidad sin escribir algo demasiado pesado para los adolescentes. <i>De Drácula a Madero</i> es una novela divertida que recomiendo mucho. </span></span></div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-70466064571319383602016-04-25T08:46:00.000-06:002016-04-25T08:46:00.164-06:00Modern Romance - by Aziz Ansari<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41LaBpUJBHL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41LaBpUJBHL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
<h3>
My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
<div>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">For years, Aziz Ansari has been aiming his comic insight at modern romance, but for </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Modern Romance</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">, the book, he decided he needed to take things to another level. He teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg and designed a massive research project, including hundreds of interviews and focus groups conducted everywhere from Tokyo to Buenos Aires to Wichita. They analyzed behavioral data and surveys and created their own online research forum on Reddit, which drew thousands of messages. They enlisted the world’s leading social scientists, including Andrew Cherlin, Eli Finkel, Helen Fisher, Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, Sherry Turkle, and Robb Willer. The result is unlike any social science or humor book we’ve seen before.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">In </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Modern Romance</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">, Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world. (Goodreads)</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">This book was really enjoyable and the audio was great because it's read by Aziz Ansari. The only downside to the audio was not being able to look at the charts of data from the research. In this book, Ansari does a great job of combining his unique humor with actual research, both from studies conducted specifically for this book and from historical studies used to provide context.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Modern Romance, </i>as I expected, focuses heavily on how technology influences dating practices in the modern day. The statistics shared in this book were actually very enlightening and the anecdotal stories were perfectly chosen. Ansari shares stories from his own life but also chose some great gems to share from focus groups. If you want something that will make you laugh and educate you at the same time, I would highly recommend this book!</span></span></div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-87211731707781787772016-04-22T09:00:00.000-06:002016-04-22T09:00:00.152-06:00Talon - by Julie Kagawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3>
My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIvJgxqwFe_6UxEK-5BmDqElTpeWFbNU6lBtSUwvcSPG5a3OfUiIWNhCtLd_qv0jNgbO6RVFW7UxSz8SnWRM7hfJxjxcqylfQtOao7BlL_7sViazjzKXnRQ-5fOPLNqt0bw-LqrFlgzm8/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMxVcYaH3_43FUUeDhS3Tn05uJjrznleHpv56tgdvT9nAbL8biMcCGvINExr27adlmsLTJ4VZrYl59VoVjZ4VDg-SOERX8wwxc3HsjsCqHqEqE78R2ELkcmvZwm-haa5FIXNed9r-_7xH/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMxVcYaH3_43FUUeDhS3Tn05uJjrznleHpv56tgdvT9nAbL8biMcCGvINExr27adlmsLTJ4VZrYl59VoVjZ4VDg-SOERX8wwxc3HsjsCqHqEqE78R2ELkcmvZwm-haa5FIXNed9r-_7xH/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George. (Goodreads)</span></i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
The premise of this book is really interesting. Dragons can take human form and are using this skill to infiltrate human society. Unfortunately the plot is only mildly interesting and this book somehow managed to make dragons boring. It seems impossible, but I swear it's true.<br />
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The main character, Ember Hill is a stereotypical teenage girl. This is ironic because she's actually a dragon who is constantly complaining that she doesn't understand humans. Ember is rebellious and doesn't want to go to the training organized by Talon, the international dragon organization. Instead she would rather spend her summer hanging out at the beach with her friends. This book also starts setting up some romance which quickly evolves into a full blown love triangle.<br />
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Don't get me wrong, this book wasn't terrible. It also helped that I listened to the audio mostly while driving or doing dishes, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on an opportunity to read something better. There are some interesting plot points but overall the characters are pretty uninteresting and personally I'm not a fan of the love triangle cliche.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-26011054140207191562016-02-29T09:30:00.000-07:002016-02-29T09:30:00.770-07:00The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - by Holly Black<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The Coldest Girl in Coldtown</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black. (Goodreads)</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I love vampire books and admittedly my expectations aren't that high, but I really do think Holly Black wrote a great and fairly original vampire story here. <i>The Coldest Girl in Coldtown</i> takes place in the modern day in a world where vampirism has become an epidemic and so the infected are quarantined in Coldtowns. The vampires themselves aren't quite as groundbreaking, but I'm totally happy with classic vampires and I appreciate that Black pays homage to previous vampire stories in this book. I think what really sells this novel, though, is the great writing and the characters.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I've heard plenty of complaints about the characters in this book, but I loved them. Tana, our protagonist, is very well written as a normal, teenage girl. Sure, it's frustrating when she mak es stupid decisions but at the same time these decisions seem very believable for a hungover teenager who has just woken up surrounded by dead bodies. Her ex, Aiden, is even more stupid and admittedly obnoxious but again he comes across as a realistic teenage guy. We also have a brother / sister duo of goth Youtubers who are going to document their trip to Coldtown to become vampires. Again, horribly annoying but so well written. The only main character that didn't come across as extremely believable was Gavriel, Tana's vampire love interest. On the other hand, there's totally an Anne Rice-ish Louis/Lestat vibe around him so I was willing to ignore any shortcomings.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The characters fit really well into the plot Black sets up and I think the novel moves along at a great pace without sacrificing any character backstories or development. Holly Black is a great writer and I really love her take on the classic vampire novel. I would definitely recommend this book to vampire fans!</span></span></div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-61787041107676053402016-02-16T09:52:00.000-07:002016-02-15T22:41:35.849-07:00Honor Girl - by Maggie Thrash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3>
My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Maggie Thrash has spent basically every summer of her fifteen-year-old life at the one-hundred-year-old Camp Bellflower for Girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She’s from Atlanta, she’s never kissed a guy, she’s into Backstreet Boys in a really deep way, and her long summer days are full of a pleasant, peaceful nothing . . . until one confounding moment. A split-second of innocent physical contact pulls Maggie into a gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, and most surprising of all (at least to Maggie), female counselor named Erin. But Camp Bellflower is an impossible place for a girl to fall in love with another girl, and Maggie’s savant-like proficiency at the camp’s rifle range is the only thing keeping her heart from exploding. When it seems as if Erin maybe feels the same way about Maggie, it’s too much for both Maggie and Camp Bellflower to handle, let alone to understand. (Goodreads).</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Honor Girl </i> is a fantastic graphic memoir that I feel really captures all the various difficulties that teen girls go through. The characters and their interactions at summer camp seem spot on and really easy to identify with. This makes sense since <i>Honor Girl </i> is a memoir of Thrash's life, but I'm still impressed by how well she captures her past experiences. Aside from the excellent portrayal of a girl's summer camp, this book also shares the author's struggle as she attempts to come to terms with her sexuality as a lesbian. Even though this can be a pretty scary thing to think about, especially when Thrash isn't sure what others will think, it's great to see the support she gets from some of her friends.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I'll admit that I wasn't crazy about the artwork, but that's just a personal preference and <i>Honor Girl</i> is still a beautifully told memoir. This is also a quick read and I would recommend it to anyone, whether you identify as LGBT or not.</span></span></div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-58704776425884753902016-02-11T08:34:00.000-07:002016-02-11T08:34:01.204-07:00The Shadow Queen - by C.J. Redwine<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
<blockquote>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart. (Goodreads).</span></i></blockquote>
I was so excited to get an eARC of this book because I absolutely love fairy tale retellings, but <i>The Shadow Queen</i> just didn't live up to my expectations. This was actually kind of surprising because on the surface this novel has a lot of things going for it. There's a strong, female protagonist, betrayal, romance, magic, dragons, and nonstop action. I'll admit that I did enjoy the dragons and it gave a unique twist to the original Snow White story. In <i>The Shadow Queen</i>, the huntsman isn't just a dangerous hunter, he is the prince of a kingdom where everyone has two hearts - a human heart and a dragon heart. When they give control over to their dragon nature, they actually shapeshift into dragons. For the most part, though, I think Redwine tried to pack too much into one book.<br />
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Even though the dragons are awesome and the magic seemed interesting, we just don't get enough worldbuilding. There's not much information about the different races or the kingdoms so all these fantastical elements end up seeming like cheap additions to make this telling of Snow White seem special. If this book were several hundred pages longer I might have liked it better. As it is, I just couldn't get interested in an underdeveloped fantasy world.<br />
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The plot and characters felt pretty mediocre, which didn't help my enjoyment of the book. Kol was the only character who showed any growth at all. That is unless you want to count Lorelai going from totally lacking in self-confidence one minute to realizing she can do anything she wants the next. And while the plot has plenty of action, it feels like there's no suspense or point to it. All through the magical battles, earth-shattering magic (literally!), telekinesis, fires, and explosions, I was just kind of reading to get through the book. The romance and ending as a whole were totally predictable, so even when I did manage to finish the book it wasn't that exciting.<br />
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<i>The Snow Queen </i>certainly isn't a bad book, but it could have been so much better. I'd say it's still worth a look, though, if you like fairy tales and want a quick and easy read.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-34307972609122986662016-01-18T08:47:00.000-07:002016-01-18T08:47:04.074-07:00Carry On - by Rainbow Rowell<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429810397l/23734628.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429810397l/23734628.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<h3>
My rating:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xCy1Redm9wyWqOakVupdfmRIEMC00RMb2-6JKZIH3kbff8Fwgqp1gFKU6SzshE7BLLo2KBCjJX3sxH5A8w9i1PBG0lYRqBaFS2lrGzOSLhjz8P1GeNN-V7J_DxbMVKn6xFwR3AFv1zi/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xCy1Redm9wyWqOakVupdfmRIEMC00RMb2-6JKZIH3kbff8Fwgqp1gFKU6SzshE7BLLo2KBCjJX3sxH5A8w9i1PBG0lYRqBaFS2lrGzOSLhjz8P1GeNN-V7J_DxbMVKn6xFwR3AFv1zi/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
<blockquote>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Carry On</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters. (Goodreads)</span></i></blockquote>
Rainbow Rowell is a fantastic writer, and that's definitely clear in <i>Carry On.</i> Despite her talent, I still had mixed feelings about this book, but I think the writing is what really saved it for me. <i>Carry On</i> really does read as Harry Potter fan fiction, especially through the first half. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but combined with the slow pacing starting out, I struggled to stay interested until later on in the story.<br />
<br />
My main complaint about the fan fiction style of this book is that none of the characters felt very original at first. They all had, at least in my mind, clear counterparts from the Harry Potter series. <i>Carry On</i> also jumps in at would be the last book in an initially fictional series and I feel like it draws too much on the reader's knowledge of Harry Potter to make up for the fact that we haven't gotten any back story. The plot of these "missing" books didn't seem so important to me as the character development. Simon has presumably been growing from all his adventures in previous books, but we don't get to see any of that like we do with Harry Potter. The reliance on Harry Potter also means that there's very minimal world building. I can only imagine that if you read <i>Carry On</i> without being familiar with Harry Potter it would be extremely frustrating.<br />
<br />
Luckily the second half or so of the book took a turn for the best. The plot picks up and the characters finally begin to take shape as original creations. I felt like one minute I was questioning if I could finish this book and the next it was two in the morning and I was sad there wasn't more to read. I'll admit I still didn't think the plot was great, but Rowell's writing strength really shows in the interactions between characters. And since everyone seems to have something to say about it, I'd like to add that I am 110% on board with the Simon and Baz romance, which is absolutely adorable.<br />
<br />
I am hesitant to recommend <i>Carry On</i> to people because of how much I struggled to get into it at first. On the other hand, if you're okay with Harry Potter fanfic or a fan of Rainbow Rowell's writing style, it's definitely worth the read.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-70446724594715294752016-01-09T09:30:00.000-07:002016-01-09T09:30:17.450-07:00Roller Girl - by Victoria Jamieson<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1264874/25216486/1405788227083/RollerGirlCVR.jpg?token=3fekfnRLCsewRyvLtAKr2HWpfPY%3D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1264874/25216486/1405788227083/RollerGirlCVR.jpg?token=3fekfnRLCsewRyvLtAKr2HWpfPY%3D" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<h3>
My rating:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
<blockquote>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">For fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Twelve-year-old Astrid has always done everything with her best friend Nicole. So when Astrid signs up for roller derby camp, she assumes Nicole will too. But Nicole signs up for dance camp with a new friend instead, and so begins the toughest summer of Astrid's life. There are bumps and bruises as Astrid learns who she is without Nicole...and what it takes to be a strong, tough roller girl. (Goodreads)</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
I had no idea this book existed until someone handed it to me to check in at the library. I took it home just because of the cover. I mean, the girl has blue hair and tall, rainbow socks just like I used to have. I really didn't have a choice.<br />
<br />
Usually, I'm not that interested in heartwarming books about friendship and whatever other things heartwarming books talk about. <i>Roller Girl</i>, though, is a genuinely cute book. Astrid and her best friend Nicole are starting to drift apart, but Astrid is able to work through it with the help of her roller derby camp. She learns to work hard for a sport she enjoys and makes new friends along the way. With a few bumps along the way she even learns how to work out her differences with Nicole and can accept that they don't have to spend every minute together to be friends.<br />
<br />
Touching story aside, I love how realistic Astrid is as a character. Astrid takes up roller derby with dreams of being the best skater has ever seen. When she shows up at camp... she sucks. I've never had any natural talent for athletic activities, so I could really relate. Instead of giving up, though, Astrid works harder than anyone else and spends all her free time practicing. By the end of the book, she still kind of sucks, but has definitely improved. And really, after a few weeks of a junior roller derby camp, it would be ridiculous if Astrid became the best skater. Instead, by the end of the book, Astrid has learned that if she keeps working hard, her skating will keep improving.<br />
<br />
This is an amazingly cute graphic novel that I would not hesitate to recommend. The story is sweet and the illustrations are just as fun and colorful as the cover that grabbed my attention. Also, everyone needs more girls with blue hair in their lives, trust me.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-62904541302961168222015-12-31T09:00:00.000-07:002015-12-31T09:00:12.866-07:00The Glass Arrow - by Kristen Simmons<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403615883l/15750874.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403615883l/15750874.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<h3>
My rating:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
<blockquote>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The Handmaid’s Tale</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> meets </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Blood Red Road</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> in </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Glass Arrow</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning. (Goodreads)</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
I found <i>The Glass Arrow</i> when I was looking for standalone YA novels. I have nothing against series, but I've read so many lately and I'm getting really impatient waiting for sequels. A world where women are sold as property seemed like an interesting premise, and I think Simmons pulls it off fairly well. We don't get a lot of background on how this situation came about, but that didn't bother me too much. The worldbuilding is solid enough to paint a good picture of the current state of things, and this is accepted as the status quo. I think the lack of background is also less important than in many YA post-apocalyptic novels because of one key difference - there's no hero trying to change the world. Without any kind of revolution, it's easy to accept the situation that the protagonist, Aya, has been put as something that just happens in this world. This isn't to say that Aya isn't a great, strong character; she definitely is. In this novel, though, Aya isn't using her situation to spark a rebellion, she just wants to escape so her life can go back to normal.<br />
<br />
Another, very welcome, change from most YA books these days - no ridiculous love story / triangle!!! Yes, there is some romance, but it's introduced slowly and naturally. I'll admit the end result was somewhat predictable, but considering Aya's love interest, Kiran, is pretty much the only guy she interacts with who isn't physically beating her into submission or trying to buy her as property, there's not room for much suspense about who Aya will end up with.<br />
<br />
As far as the characters themselves, I thought they were pretty solid. Aya and Kiran are the only one's we really get to know well, but they're good protagonists. Aya is strong, smart, brave, and extremely stubborn. Even though she does come off as superior to many of the other girls waiting to be bought, we at least have the excuse that she's from the outlying mountains. Aya is strong and smart because that's the only way to survive, not because she's just special. Most of the other girls have grown up in the city, expecting to be sold someday and they're more or less resigned to their fate. Kiran is also from the mountains so his survival instincts pair well with Aya's personality. I also think Simmons did a great job of writing Kiran, who can't talk. He starts visiting Aya after she's been captured, and even with no dialogue on his side, we get a good idea of who he is.<br />
<br />
After all the great things I've said about this book, I feel like I have to justify why I gave it three stars. First of all, I would have liked some more information about the secondary characters. We don't really get to know any of them or get any back story so they ended up feeling like placeholders to facilitate or hinder Aya and Kiran's plans. On top of that, something about the writing style and pacing of the story didn't grab me like some books do. It wasn't so bad that I lost interest, but I wasn't desperate to keep reading either. <i>The Glass Arrow</i> is certainly still a good novel, and I would certainly recommend it for anyone who likes the post-Apocalyptic YA genre.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-26713527288978533602015-12-23T09:30:00.000-07:002015-12-23T09:30:01.972-07:00Crimson Bound - by Rosamund Hodge<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3>
My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.6px; line-height: 16.0364px;">When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 12.6px; line-height: 16.0364px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.6px; line-height: 16.0364px;">Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 12.6px; line-height: 16.0364px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.6px; line-height: 16.0364px;">Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption. (Goodreads)</span></i></blockquote>
I gave this book a chance because I read Hodge's other novel, <i>Cruel Beauty, </i>and thought it was pretty enjoyable. <i>Crimson Bound </i>has a ton of similarities to <i>Cruel Beauty</i>, to the point that it feels like the same overarching plot. The synopsis made the story seem promising, and I normally love a fairy tale retelling, but this book just fell flat.<br />
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Not even talking about the characters yet, the plot and the world as a whole were extremely under-developed. The introduction to the world started to build what seemed like an interesting mythology of sorts. The forestborn mark humans who are then forced to kill or die. Rachelle becomes a bloodbound this way and knows that, like all bloodbound, she is destined to eventually change into a forestborn herself. She's determined, though, that this won't stop her trying to defeat the Devourer - a dark creature determined to plunge the world into everlasting night. Unfortunately, this great set up leads to the middle of the novel where not much happens. The world, either of the humans or of the forestborn, is never explained any better. Worst of all, in my opinion, is that the end of the book turns into a ridiculously obvious Christian metaphor. I promise I'm not just biased or reading too much into this. For proof there's this quote about the name of one the mythical swords:<br />
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“Endurance. It is the sword that hopes all things, bears all things, believes all things, endures all things.”</blockquote>
At this point, the book literally transitioned from a YA fantasy novel to a bible quote... I don't know about you, but I don't read YA fantasy for its religious merits. I'll admit there were a few plot twists that caught me off guard, these were primarily characters revealed to be someone other than they seemed. Hodge never does anything with this information, though. There's the reveal, and then everyone goes back to their usual business.<br />
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Which brings me to the characters...They are pretty mediocre overall. The protagonist, Rachelle, spends the whole book feeling unworthy and her self-esteem never improves. The lack of character growth is pretty much a theme across the board. Our two main male characters are, more or less, opposites who only exist to create a predictable, and unrealistic, love triangle with Rachelle. On one side we have Erec d'Anjou, the typical pretty boy who spends the whole book showing off and also happens to be the ruthless captain of the bloodbound. On the other side, there's Armand, the boy who lost his hands to avoid killing and is literally worshipped as a saint by the general populace. Rachelle's interest in both characters alternates between hate and undeniable love / lust multiple times throughout the novel.<br />
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<i>Crimson Bound</i> certainly wasn't so terrible as to be unreadable, and if you just want something to take up time it can actually be enjoyable. In comparison with <i>Cruel Beauty</i>, though, this was a definite disappointment.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-9079303329576811492015-12-22T07:46:00.000-07:002015-12-22T07:46:04.352-07:00Top Ten Tuesday - ChristmasTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. With Christmas almost here this week's theme is...<br />
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Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree</h3>
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This is actually a tough one for me since I already own way too many books and work in a library. So this a list of books I haven't gotten around to reading yet for whatever reason or that I can get a hold of because they haven't been released yet.</div>
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<b>1. <i>Jackaby</i> - by William Ritter</b></div>
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This book was recommended to me months ago and the description of this book as “<i>Doctor Who </i>meets <i>Sherlock” </i>has me totally convinced I will love it. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet because 1. it's the start of an unfinished series and 2. it <i>still</i> has a long hold list at my library.<br />
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<b>2. <i>A Study in Charlotte</i> - by Brittany Cavallaro</b><br />
This is one of the book's I have my eye on that hasn't been released yet. After reading <i>Lock & Mori </i>I specifically went looking for more Sherlock inspired novels, and came across <i>A Study in Charlotte. </i>The synopsis on Goodreads sounding really promising and I was totally ready to start this book, when I noticed that it won't be published until March.<br />
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<b>3. <i>All the Bright Places</i> - by Jennifer Niven</b><br />
I've had my eye on this book for several months at least. I think it's really important to have books dealing with mental health issues, especially for teens, and I've heard nothing but good things from my friends who have read this. I've even wanted to start this book several times, but the hold list is still extremely long and anytime I do get the urge to read this, I was to start it immediately. Patience, especially when books are concerned, is not my strong point.<br />
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<b>4. <i>Asking For It </i>- by Louise O'Neill</b><br />
I'm pretty sure I heard about this from a friend's Facebook post, but I'm not 100% sure. In any case, I was totally sold after learning that this is feminist fiction for teens! Then I went to look for it at the library only to found that none of the libraries in the whole state of Colorado have this book. Actually, the closest library that owns a copy is in Illinois as far as I can tell.<br />
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<b>5. <i>Broderies</i> - by Marjane Satrapi</b><br />
This is a book that I actually had my hands on for a few weeks. After reading <i>Persepolis</i> I was looking into what else Satrapi had written. I put in a request for the original, French version of this book since I'm always trying to improve my French skills. Amazingly my library actually did get a copy for me, but I didn't finish it in time and since it was borrowed through an inter-library loan there was no option to renew. Sometime when I'm not so busy I'll probably request this again and try to actually finish the whole thing.<br />
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<b>6. <i>Six of Crows</i> - by Leigh Bardugo</b><br />
Yet another book with a long hold list at my library... I've had my eye on this book since I first saw the cover, but it's also the first book of an unfinished series. Since I'm already waiting on so many sequels I'm not sure I want to endure the lengthy hold list and then have to wait for a sequel on top of it.<br />
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<b>7. <i>Uprooted</i> - by Naomi Novik</b><br />
It's no secret that I'm completely obsessed with Novik's <i>Temeraire </i>series, so I was excited to see that she has a young adult book out. This also has a long hold list so, for now, I'm contenting myself by continuing to work through <i>Temeraire.</i><br />
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<b>8. <i>And I Darken</i> - by Kiersten White</b><br />I'm a big fan of all these YA retellings of classic stories, so I'm all for a reimagining of Dracula's history. To make this book even more intriguing, the author tells the story not of Vlad the Impaler, but of Lada the Impaler - a female version of the tyrant who would come to be known as Dracula. Sadly this book won't be published until summer 2106, so I would definitelly be excited if I could get hold of a copy earlier.<br />
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<b>9. <i>Temeraire</i> - by Naomi Novik</b><br />
I don't really need to own a copy of these books since I already have way too many. On top of that, I haven't even been reading physical copies, I've been borrowing the digital audiobooks from my library and I love them. But these British covers are so beautiful I'd be happy to own a copy just for the artwork.<br />
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<b>10. <i>The Raven King</i> - by Maggie Stiefvater</b><br />
I've mentioned this book previously on my blog, so it should come as no surprise that I'm bringing it up again. I've been waiting anxiously for this conclusion to <i>The Raven Cycle</i> and I would pretty much kill for a copy at this point, so it would be an absolute miracle if Santa could leave a copy by the tree for me.<br /><i><br /></i></div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-78371917864639146412015-12-20T15:30:00.000-07:002015-12-20T15:30:04.392-07:00Lock & Mori - by Heather W. Petty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOOHL_l4u8KrbGpL205kfz-u_TTl3GZace91gwDTyb-RqCmFHUfs-UtMygLlq7geOOOP1YV3ZeR_R-QbK4EP99xPklft02ADWqB6d4TXOB7rQ0x5mIS5kUnkibYBWBVp73ZB8s90kGsy/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xCy1Redm9wyWqOakVupdfmRIEMC00RMb2-6JKZIH3kbff8Fwgqp1gFKU6SzshE7BLLo2KBCjJX3sxH5A8w9i1PBG0lYRqBaFS2lrGzOSLhjz8P1GeNN-V7J_DxbMVKn6xFwR3AFv1zi/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xCy1Redm9wyWqOakVupdfmRIEMC00RMb2-6JKZIH3kbff8Fwgqp1gFKU6SzshE7BLLo2KBCjJX3sxH5A8w9i1PBG0lYRqBaFS2lrGzOSLhjz8P1GeNN-V7J_DxbMVKn6xFwR3AFv1zi/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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I'm a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories and love the BBC show, so I'm always interested in a new take on the character. <i>Lock & Mori</i> is a young adult novel with a couple of variations from the original. First of all, it's set in modern-day London and Sherlock and Moriarty are both in high school. The biggest change though is that in Petty's story Moriarty, or Mori as she's known, is a girl.<br />
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I thought this was a solid first novel, and I was totally on board with the developing romance between Sherlock and Mori. Petty did a good job of not only bringing these characters into the modern day but also imagining what they would be like as teenagers. Both the main characters are, fittingly, pretty brilliant, but definitely still in the awkward teenage phase and it totally works. I especially loved Mori's character because in this novel she is a well-developed, nuanced character with some really dark stuff going on her life. To start out, her mother recently died and now her father has become an alcoholic who beats her younger brothers and verbally abuses Mori when she tries to stand up for them. And that's just the beginning. While she's still extremely intelligent, Mori in this novel is much less predictable than Sherlock. With so many personal issues going on, she makes a lot of questionable decisions without stopping to logically think through how things will turn out. For me, this made her character a bit easier to relate to and sympathize with because there are times when she acts purely on emotion.</div>
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Now, onto the plot. As you would expect from a Sherlock retelling, the plot centers around a murder mystery. Sherlock and Mori team up to see if they can solve the case on their own, but Mori ends up keeping some secrets along the way. Petty's writing was really compelling and made me want to finish this book as quickly as possible. For me, this made up for the fact that parts of the mystery were a bit predictable. Also, like I mentioned, there's some romance to this story that you don't see in many Sherlock retellings. The romance between the two main characters developed quickly, but still felt natural to me. I also liked that, while this a decent amount of romance throughout, it doesn't take away from the murders as the main focus of the story.</div>
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<i>Lock & Mori </i>is the first book in what will eventually be a series, with two more books planned. From Petty's website it looks like we can expect about a year between each, with the next books planned for fall 2016 and fall 2017. Unlike most series I read, I actually went into this one knowing that it's not yet finished. I was somewhat hesitant, but <i>Lock & Mori</i> was definitely worth it. I also felt like the ending had just enough of cliffhanger to make me want more, but not so much that I was outraged about not being able to read the second book.</div>
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Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-73357214758229466152015-12-18T17:06:00.000-07:002015-12-18T17:06:00.563-07:00His Majesty's Dragon - by Naomi Novik<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19.32px;"><i>Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire. (Goodreads)</i></span></blockquote>
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I am a huge fan of both fantasy and historical fiction and I think <i>His Majesty's Dragon</i> is the perfect combination of both. When I first heard about this book, mainly from library patrons wanting to find it, I was really excited about the idea of the Napoleonic Wars with dragons. Even with my high expectations, I can say that this book was so much better than I could have imagined. When I first starting reading <i>His Majesty's Dragon, </i>it reminded me a bit of the <i>Leviathan</i> series by Scott Westerfeld, which I read at the beginning of this year. What really made me love Novik's novels even more than Westerfeld's, though, is the representation of the dragons and their relationship with the humans.<br />
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The book begins Captain Laurence and his crew capturing a French ship that just happens to be carrying a dragon egg. From their initial discussion about dragons (how to harness them, making sure they are harnessed before allowing them to fly, the option of sending the dragon to the breeding grounds if he can't be harnessed) made me think that the dragons in this book would essentially be treated like property. Once Temeraire hatches, everything changes for Laurence and he forms a very real and loving bond with the dragon. I absolutely love the dragons Novik has created for this series. They are extremely intelligent and are characters in their own right, not just a means of transportation or war machines. It's no secret that I'm an animal lover, so Novik's representation and treatment of dragons in this novel played a huge part in winning me over.<br />
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As far as human protagonists, I didn't find Laurence to be quite as interesting as his dragon, but they make a good pair. Laurence is a very disciplined, upright gentleman who is overly concerned with doing his duty to the crown. Temeraire isn't very concerned with human laws and is constantly engaging Laurence in discussions that challenge his beliefs. Honestly, Laurence isn't the most compelling character, but I think he nicely represents some of the beliefs of the time period. What does work well, in my opinion, is they way Novik uses this overly traditional character to contrast the more relaxed and progressive life of the Aerial Corp. Not only are the other aviators much less concerned with the formalities and manners that Laurence is used to from his time in the navy, but they also employ women and young girls in the service. I think the addition of free thinking dragons and the Aerial Corp allows Novik to insert some more modern values into this book in a way that wouldn't feel natural if it were simply a historical fiction novel.<br />
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Overall, I think Novik's writing is what really makes this book so enjoyable to read. Her representation of the time period and the language used by the characters felt spot on, although I am by no means an expert on the time period. Her details of the navy, aerial corp, and general military actions were enough to set the mood and show that she did her research, but didn't feel overwhelming to me as someone who doesn't have a huge knowledge of or interest in military history. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy or historical fiction, and I think it is a must read for animal lovers.<br />
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Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-48864465776040555952015-12-15T11:25:00.000-07:002015-12-15T11:32:46.507-07:00Top Ten Books of 2015I'm trying to be more consistent in my blog posts, so I've decided to take part in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish.</a> This week's theme is...<br />
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Top Ten Books of 2015 - The best books I read this year</h3>
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<b>1. <i>Winter</i> - by Marissa Meyer</b></div>
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This is the latest book I've read to make the list, and it really was great. I only started reading the Lunar Chronicles earlier this year and didn't have as long of a wait for the final book, but it still felt like forever. <i>Winter</i> is a very fitting conclusion to a fantastic series and if you haven't read it yet, you really should!</div>
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<b>2. <i>None of the Above</i> - by I.W. Gregorio</b></div>
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I just reviewed this book, but I can't emphasize enough how important I think it is. I'm all for LGBT+ themes in novels and <i>None of the Above </i>is fairly unique in featuring an intersex protagonist. This book manages to merge contemporary, YA fiction (complete with high school drama) with a touching, but also very educational, story about what it's like to suddenly discover you are intersex.</div>
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<b>3. <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i> - by Becky Albertalli</b></div>
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Another LGBT+ book that I cannot say enough good things about. Simon is a great protagonist and so funny as a narrator. This book has an important message, but it manages to come across as a fun, light read at the same time. </div>
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<b>4. <i>His Majesty's Dragon</i> - by Naomi Novik</b></div>
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I haven't quite finished my review of this book, but I am seriously obsessed with the Temeraire series. Combining the Napoleonic Wars with dragons? It´s genius! On top of that, the dragons are extremely intelligent and have their own place as characters in the book. Novik's representation of dragons really sold this book for me.</div>
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<b>5. <i>Skellig</i> - by David Almond</b></div>
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I never actually reviewed this book, but I really did love it. I found this when I was making an effort to read more of the j-fiction section at my library. <i>Skellig</i> is the perfect example of magical realism for kids. I also highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by the author.</div>
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<b>6. <i>The Water Knife</i> - by Paolo Bacigalupi</b></div>
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I went into this book not even realizing that it was a science fiction novel and it really exceeded my expectations. The science in this book is rock solid, and that's one thing I really look for in science fiction. On top of that, the characters in this book are so well developed and the plot moves along at a great pace.</div>
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<b>7. <i>Monstrous Beauty</i> - by Elizabeth Fama</b></div>
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Another book that I really underestimated. I was expecting a fun, YA novel with mermaids and was impressed by how mature the story is. And really, this book tells two, interwoven stories - with one plotline taking place in the modern day and another set in the late 19th century. I was really impressed by Fama's beautiful writing and how well she transitions between the two time periods.</div>
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<b>8. <i>The Diviners</i> - by Libba Bray</b></div>
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This book has all the fun of 1920's New York and all the creepiness that comes with a supernatural serial killer. The language in this book really brings out the 1920's setting and the audio book is amazing. <i>The Diviners </i>is definitely not a horror novel but is plenty spooky nonetheless. Also an honorable mention to the sequel <i>Lair of Dreams.</i></div>
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<b>9. <i>The Raven Boys</i> - by Maggie Stiefvater</b></div>
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This book, and the whole series so far, is amazing! Great characters, plenty of mythology, and a romance that I can totally get behind. Would more could I want? Just the next book....</div>
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<b>10. <i>Because I Am Furniture</i> - Thalia Chaltas</b></div>
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I read this book for a young adult services class and never got around to a review, but it really stuck with me. The story of Anke and her family trying to deal with an abusive father is absolutely heartbreaking. This is a novel in verse, which I don't usually read, but there are some really beautiful sections in this book.</div>
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Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-85213104968153540252015-12-15T08:03:00.000-07:002015-12-15T08:03:00.151-07:00None of the Above - by I.W. Gregorio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByY_aqL5z1In-7g0KVG_41LWMLl5kvgAEIgpjt99BSOI5NwJYJF8QJlluNbakt5pTDjrvRSbbHqdpfbzrfhhr9x9-l2Vss2s1s9ouKQEZENnvgsQWtRPxmL8c-6AsIM46hOAYcy0dTqnE/s1600/22896551.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByY_aqL5z1In-7g0KVG_41LWMLl5kvgAEIgpjt99BSOI5NwJYJF8QJlluNbakt5pTDjrvRSbbHqdpfbzrfhhr9x9-l2Vss2s1s9ouKQEZENnvgsQWtRPxmL8c-6AsIM46hOAYcy0dTqnE/s320/22896551.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 17.5636px;">A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex... and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between. (Goodreads)</i></blockquote>
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I'm always keeping an eye out for new LGBT+ themed books that make it to my library and <i>None of the Above </i>caught my eye because I hadn't ever read a book with an intersex character before, much less a protagonist who is intersex. I had a hard time deciding how to rate this book and kept going back between four and five stars. On the one hand, this book is so important because it's one of a relatively small number of books that deal with the reality of being born intersex. On the other hand, it's not the type of book I normally read. In the end, I went with four stars, but I really do think everyone should read <i>None of the Above</i>.<br />
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The protagonist, Kristin, is your typical, popular teenage girl. She's got popular friends, a wonderful boyfriend, a track scholarship to college, and she's just been chosen as homecoming queen. Overall, life is pretty great. Krissy has also decided that she's ready to take things to next level with her boyfriend, but her first time doesn't go at all the way she planned. Just to be safe, she makes an appointment with the gynecologist and is shocked to be diagnosed as intersex.<br />
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Krissy's reaction to her diagnosis is what really sold this book for me. Krissy is just an average teenage girl and her response to her situation felt authentic. She really struggles to accept what's going on and at times she seems pretty immature, but for me, that made the book seem more realistic. I don't normally read contemporary YA about high school drama, which is partially why I gave the book four stars, but I also think the genre works really well in <i>None of the Above.</i> In this case, the high school drama helps remind you that Krissy is just a popular girl trying to get through her senior year. She wants to be thinking about gossip, boys, track practice, and college plans. Instead, she's forced to think about what it means to be intersex and if she can even consider herself to be a girl anymore.<br />
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This book is also great in that it's very educational. Even if you're not familiar with the term intersex you will learn what it means along with Krissy and her dad who deals with the situation by doing obsessive research online. Aside from being an author, Gregorio is also a surgeon so the actual medical diagnosis is explained very well. I.W. Gregorio is a founding member of <a href="http://weneeddiversebooks.org/">We Need Diverse Books</a> as well, and if you haven't checked out this group, you definitely should!<br />
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On a related note, there actually are several other YA books that deal with the intersex experience. I wasn't aware of any until I did some research after reading <i>None of the Above</i>, but they are out there! I haven't read any of these, but if you're interested these are some of the YA books I came across:<br />
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<i>Golden Boy: A Novel</i> - by Abigail Tarttelin<br />
<i>Double Exposure</i> - by Bridget Birdsall<br />
<i>Pantomime</i> and <i>Shadowplay</i> - by Laura Lam<br />
<i>Annabel: A Novel</i> - by Kathleen Winter<br />
<i>Alex as Well</i> - by Alyssa Brugman<br />
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Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-88507511985025636932015-12-13T09:21:00.000-07:002015-12-13T09:21:00.045-07:00Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own - by Kate Bolick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3>
My Rating:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span id="freeText15821931284732133698" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 17.5636px;"><strong>“Whom to marry, and when will it happen—these two questions define every woman’s existence.”</strong> </span></i><i><span id="freeText15821931284732133698" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 17.5636px;"><br /></span></i><i><span id="freeText15821931284732133698" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 17.5636px;">So begins Spinster, a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why she—along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing—remains unmarried. (Goodreads)</span></i></blockquote>
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I found <i>Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own</i>, without really looking for it. I wanted a new audio book to listen to and I was having a hard time finding anything from Overdrive that didn't have a long hold list. Goodreads had voting open for the Goodreads Choice Awards at the time so I decided to scroll through the lists of nominees. I was intrigued by <i>Spinster</i> and when I found the audiobook download with no hold list, I was sold.</div>
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Overall I really enjoyed this book, but I feel like the first half was much stronger than the second. What I liked best about Bolick's writing in this book is how well she mixes memoir with an academic introduction to her five "awakeners" - Neith Boyce, Maeve Brennan, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Edith Wharton. The narrative effortlessly switches between accounts of these women's lives and writing and more personal accounts of Bolick's own experiences. I hadn't even heard of most of these women and knew nothing about any of their writings, so I really enjoyed the well-researched information provided in <i>Spinster. </i>I did feel, though, that this information got repetitive as the book went on. I liked the first half of so of the book so much because Bolick was still in the process of introducing these women and I was constantly learning something new and interesting, but once they had been introduced I feel like a lot of the same arguments, quotes, life stories, etc. were reused later in the book. This was harder to verify with an audio book, but I know there were times where I could have sworn a phrase or quote was repeated word for word, with no new analysis to warrant the repetition.</div>
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As far as Bolick's exploration of spinsterhood, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, Bolick is not exactly a spinster and she freely admits that she can hardly walk down the street without arranging a date. Her spinster role models are, for the most part, not spinsters either. On the other hand, I liked Bolick's attempt to redefine the entire meaning of "spinster" and this made me somewhat more convinced about the inclusion of both the author and the women she writes about into the world of spinsterhood. Spinster does not necessarily have to mean a woman alone, instead, Bolick proposes spinster as a term for a woman who does not feel dependent upon or forced into relationships with men. In this sense, Bolick definitely seems to qualify as a spinster because I, at least, got the sense that while she enjoys relationships with men, she's not just waiting for someone to come along and marry her.<br />
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I think the title could be somewhat misleading if women are looking for a book about actually being single, but overall I think Bolick's premise still makes for an enjoyable read. What I took away from the book, though, was Bolick's courage to make her own life just how she wanted it to be. She wanted to be a writer, so she picked up her things, found an apartment, and became a writer. If she ended up in a job that wasn't right for her, she left. When she felt like she needed to spend some time back her hometown, she picked up her things again and moved back. I always spend too much time overthinking my life decisions and trying to determine what people will think of me if I make a certain decision. It was really refreshing and inspiring to read about someone who seems to be confident in her decisions and is leading a successful life.<br />
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If you're looking for a book about actually living as a spinster in the way most people would define the word, this book might not be for you. It's also not especially groundbreaking in terms bringing something new to feminism, which I wasn't expecting, but some people might be. I will admit I was a bit disappointed that in all her discussion of relationships and marriage, Bolick completely left out any commentary on what the societal pressures are for people who identify as LGBTQ. I still enjoyed this book, though, and if you do read <i>Spinster</i> I would definitely suggest taking a look at the "Spinster Kit" that you can download from Bolick's website<a href="http://www.katebolick.com/spinster/"> here</a>. This kit has some of the normal components you would expect from a book kit such as book club resources and reading lists, but also has the added fun of cocktail recipes and paper dolls. </div>
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Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-15313078319641188812015-12-08T09:48:00.000-07:002015-12-08T09:48:00.582-07:00The Black Hole: Series I Need to FinishAt long last I got my copy of <i>Winter</i>, by Marissa Meyer, from the library! Finishing The Lunar Chronicles, though, made me think of all the series I haven't finished mostly because not all of the books are available yet. These unfinished series make up what I like to call the black hole.<br />
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Admittedly, the black hole is mainly a result of my failure to research a book before reading with a little bad luck thrown in. The start of a black hole occurs when I pick up an excellent book, only to find out it the first of an as yet unfinished series. Once the initial disappointment wears off, I'll move on to a new book. This book will, unluckily, also be part of an unfinished series but because of the lack of research I mentioned, I won't realize this until I have finished the book. I will do this with anywhere between two to four more books, thus creating the black hole of series. So, here are some of the series that have recently sucked me into a black hole of anxiously waiting for the next book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt-FlxXvczzqrhByXU8l_M6nwqR4LF-5s5Y-ki6gJyXV8OlTxyfvW25Fv9H016ozzFgeNpl_Kh0Rp_wsCQJbPab4pP65vuYdW2_2nOYnPgnjRGGI6b5gZz35JRc78Tl-gie5cQBY-eQmi/s1600/SeriesCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt-FlxXvczzqrhByXU8l_M6nwqR4LF-5s5Y-ki6gJyXV8OlTxyfvW25Fv9H016ozzFgeNpl_Kh0Rp_wsCQJbPab4pP65vuYdW2_2nOYnPgnjRGGI6b5gZz35JRc78Tl-gie5cQBY-eQmi/s400/SeriesCollage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>1. The Raven Cycle - by Maggie Stiefvater</b><br />
When a friend recommended the first book of this series, I saw that three had already been published and assumed I was safely embarking upon the beginning of a trilogy. Even though I'm stuck waiting for <i>The Raven King</i>, I can at least hope that Goodreads is telling the truth when they promise this is the “fourth and final installment”.<br />
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<b>2. Shades of London - by Maureen Johnson</b><br />
I honestly thought the first book of this series was a standalone. When I realized it wasn't I was crushed, then ecstatic because the next two books were already available at the library, then crushed again when I realized nobody writes trilogies anymore and book four doesn't even have a title yet.<br />
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<b>3. The Fjällbacka Series - by Camilla Läckberg</b><br />
I actually could read the next book in this series, <i>The Drowning, </i>which is already at my library. I'm hesitant, though, because then I'll be right back to waiting for more books. There actually are more books already published in the original Swedish, so it might be faster for me to just learn the language instead of waiting for translations.<br />
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<b>4. The Diviners - by Libba Bray</b><br />
I definitely thought this was a standalone too. Then waited anxiously for the second book, read that in a day, and now I'm back to waiting. Like everyone else, Bray has at least two more books planned according to Goodreads. What is wrong with writing trilogies!?<br />
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<b>5. The Temeraire Series - by Naomi Novik</b><br />
This is the most recent series on my reading list and I've only read the first book. I'm listening to the audio books and waited too long to put the second book on hold. I'm trying to avoid the black hole by not checking any other audio books, but it's getting harder every day I'm kept waiting... I did actually research this series ahead of time and noticed that Novik hasn't finished writing it yet. Since it's so long though, I'm hoping that by the time I work through the first eight books the next one will be published.<br />
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<b>6. A Song of Fire and Ice - by George R.R. Martin</b><br />
I almost forgot this series because I've given up on seeing the next book anytime soon. Of course, with the huge jump in popularity who <i>isn't </i>waiting on Martin?<br />
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Also, as I was working on this post, one of my libraries shared <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/zakiyajamal/amazing-ya-series-well-miss-in-2016#.hvbBQLlJXD">this article</a> on Twitter. Lists like this are lifesavers for people like me who never think to research a series before diving in.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-67831712149046021422015-11-28T11:34:00.000-07:002015-11-28T11:34:00.160-07:00Jane, le renard et moi - by Isabelle Arsenault & Fanny Britt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://image4.archambault.ca/3/1/6/E/ACH003239544.1349795786.580x580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://image4.archambault.ca/3/1/6/E/ACH003239544.1349795786.580x580.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
<h4>
My rating: <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /> </h4>
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I originally found the English translation of this book (<i>Jane, the fox and me</i>) when I was requesting more teen graphic novels for the bookmobile at the library where I work. I was trying to get in some more recent works and the illustrations caught my eye when I first saw the cover in our library catalog.</div>
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After reading this graphic novel, I can definitely say that the illustrations are still my favorite part. The book tells the story of Hélène, a young girl who is made fun of at school for her weight. The girls laugh at her and write nasty messages in the bathroom stalls, while the boys mostly ignore her. Then the school announces that everyone has to go to camp and Hélène is ready for the bullying to get even worse.</div>
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At first it seems like her fears might come true. Hélène seeks refuge in Jane Eyre, and she reads the book all the way to camp. When she can't curl up with her book, though, she still has to deal with the taunts of the other girls. The illustrations are stunning, but also complement the story very well. Hélène's reality is portrayed in varying shades of black, white, and grey to reflect the shame and loneliness she feels.</div>
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<a href="http://www.pariscilaculture.fr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/fannyM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pariscilaculture.fr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/fannyM.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.theatredureve.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/70-jane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://www.theatredureve.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/70-jane.jpg" height="200" width="152" /></a>The scenes from <i>Jane Eyre</i>, on the other hand, are illustrated in color. This scheme stays consistent until Hélène meets a fox outside her cabin at camp, bringing color into her own life. Unfortunately one of the other girls comes outside and the fox runs off.<br />
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Hélène's life goes back to black and white as she becomes even more disenchanted with her life. The girls make fun of her, the boys run away from her, and she even scared away a fox. Eventually, though, Hélène finds a friend and realizes that some things are more important than the mean comments of her classmates. As she begins to spend more time with Geraldine and less time listening to the girls at school, the illustrations slowly incorporate more and more color, ending with this beautiful picture.</div>
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The story is nice, but felt overly simple. On the one hand, this book made for a beautiful, short read, but I still feel like it could have been even better if it were a bit longer. From the length and simplicity of the plot, I would almost be tempted to move this book to the children's area. In any case I think it's definitely right on the edge between children's and YA and I would probably recommend it to primarily middle grade readers if I were only judging the text. I would definitely give the illustrations 5 stars, though, and I think older readers and even adults (myself included) can enjoy this beautiful graphic novel.</div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-87000124742631183592015-11-25T08:06:00.000-07:002015-11-25T08:06:00.244-07:00The Water Knife - by Paolo Bacigalupi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Rating: <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" style="text-align: center;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xCy1Redm9wyWqOakVupdfmRIEMC00RMb2-6JKZIH3kbff8Fwgqp1gFKU6SzshE7BLLo2KBCjJX3sxH5A8w9i1PBG0lYRqBaFS2lrGzOSLhjz8P1GeNN-V7J_DxbMVKn6xFwR3AFv1zi/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 18.72px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1xCy1Redm9wyWqOakVupdfmRIEMC00RMb2-6JKZIH3kbff8Fwgqp1gFKU6SzshE7BLLo2KBCjJX3sxH5A8w9i1PBG0lYRqBaFS2lrGzOSLhjz8P1GeNN-V7J_DxbMVKn6xFwR3AFv1zi/s1600/Half+PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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Despite working in a library in the same state as the author, Paolo Bacigalupi, I had never heard about <i>The Water Knife. </i>Then a couple of friends suggested we read it for a book discussion. From their very brief description I went to pick it up from the library thinking it was some sort of realistic fiction novel about current water rights, which didn't sound especially exciting to me at the time. Instead, I ended up with one of the best sci-fi novels I've read in a long time.<br />
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While <i>The Water Knife </i>isn't contemporary, realistic fiction, references to the cultural and political situation make it clear that this takes place in the near future. The southwestern United States have essentially become a war zone because of water shortages. Catherine Case, queen of the Colorado, ruthlessly buys and cuts water rights from her offices in Las Vegas. These rights often put her totally in control of whether a city lives or dies, and she think Phoenix is about to die.<br />
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Bacigalupi brings the focus to Phoenix with narration by three separate characters. First we have Angel, originally from Mexico and later an immigrant to the US, he is pulled from prison by case to work as what the public refers to as a water knife. Basically, when Case decides it's time for a town to die so she can divert their water, water knives do the dirty work. Now she's sent Angel to Phoenix to see what the situation is.<br />
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Then we have Lucy, a journalist who always has an eye out for a story. Unlike most, Lucy moved to Phoenix by choice and is now writing what is known as "collapse porn"- stories covering the slow, but seemingly inevitable, collapse of the city. Her sister is constantly urging her to leave, but even as the bodies start piling up around her, Lucy is determined to stay put.<br />
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Finally we have Maria, a refugee from Texas. As the water dried up, the Texans were forced to pack up their lives and leave. Now that states are closing their borders, though, it looks like Maria's gotten herself stuck in Phoenix with nowhere to go.<br />
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The novel starts with each of these characters in seemingly unrelated plot lines, that slowly converge until, by the end, all three have come together. I feel like I've read a fair number of books where this process leaves all the characters in story lines that are too far fetched even for fiction, but Bacigalupi does a great job. The characters are wonderfully developed, and they never are never forced into doing something that doesn't seem natural just to bring the plots together. When all three characters finally end up in the same place, it feels not so much predictable, as inevitable.<br />
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I also love that the science part of this science fiction novel completely holds up. This might be because it's set in the very near future, but I know Bacigalupi has written other science fiction that isn't so close to our own time.While I haven't read his other works (yet), they seem very popular and I'm inclined to think that the believability of the science in this book also has a lot to do with Bacigalupi's skill as a writer. When I read science fiction, no matter how removed from the current reality, I want the author to convince me that the technology is sound and definitely possible. Otherwise I would read fantasy, which I love, but I don't expect the technical explanations that I do from sci-fi.<br />
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I also got a sense that Bacigalupi might be hinting towards a more drastic climate change situation worldwide, and not just the droughts in the Southwest, but not many people I've talked to about this book thought so. If it was on purpose, it was explicit, but there were plenty of mentions of huge increases in the number of hurricanes near New Orleans, weather problems in India, and the unceasing rain in the background every time Lucy would Skype with her sister. Regardless of whether or not there's some sort of statement about climate change, I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone. It's great sci-fi writing, but also current enough that I think even readers who aren't fans of the genre would really enjoy this novel. <i>The Water Knife </i>is a violent novel at times, but I felt it was done in a way that the depictions of violence contributed to setting the scene in a dystopian Phoenix. That said, if you can't handle some detailed descriptions of violence, I would stay away from this book.</div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-29829166921841018952015-11-21T17:37:00.000-07:002015-11-24T20:39:50.613-07:00How to Be a Woman - by Caitlin Moran<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Rating:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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I'd seen <i> How to Be a Woman </i>on my library shelves numerous times and thought about picking up, but I actually ended up reading <i>How to Build a Girl First</i>. I loved Moran's novel so much that it finally convinced to pick up this book. I listened to the audio book, which is read by Caitlin Moran herself and I'm really glad I finally got around to reading <i>How to Be a Woman.</i></div>
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What I like best about this book is the very informal tone. Especially with the audio, it feels like Moran is just chatting to you about her life and thoughts. While it doesn't come across as any sort of academic endeavor, I found this book to be much better organized than other memoirs or books of essays I've read. Moran starts each chapter with some of her childhood history, often including entries from her journal, and moves into how this shaped her idea of feminism and what it means to be a woman. In the second half or so of each chapter, she shares her thoughts on whatever topics her childhood reminiscing has brought her to whether that's something more serious like abortion, or less serious like her attempts to buy fashionable shoes. While I like a good, academic analysis of feminist issues as much as the next person (and probably more than a good number of people), I loved <i>How to Be a Woman </i>precisely because it is not that. If I want a serious book of essays on serious issues, I'll go pick up something else. This book, though, was absolutely hilarious.</div>
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I also noticed, when looking through reviews on Goodreads, that a lot of people took issue with this book for the reasons that I loved it. Many of Moran's comments are insensitive and not at all politically correct. I saw a lot of people calling her out for making racist comments or using the word "retard" and this definitely happened in the book. I disagree, though, that this book is, as some people claim, full of hate speech. I didn't get the sense that Moran wrote this book to preach hate for anyone. Maybe she has what some people consider to be poor taste in jokes, but I think a lot of the negative comments stem from the recent movement I've noticed towards not offending anyone ever. It's the same with all the negativity I've seen towards university professors who are offending students that seem to be getting progressively more sensitive. If these people are actually trying to kindle hatred towards others, that's one thing, but if they're making jokes that you don't like, that's entirely different in my opinion.</div>
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I was actually surprised to see these complaints that accuse Moran of ranting or claiming that this really a memoir masquerading as critical analysis. I have to ask myself if any of these people read the description of the book before picking it up, or at least before reviewing. The blurb from Moran's own website says:</div>
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"It's a good time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727.</div>
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However, a few nagging questions do remain...Why are we supposed to get Brazilians?</div>
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Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby?</div>
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Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking."</div>
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So Moran is not, as many of the reviews I read claimed, trying to present this book as critical analysis. It is literally described as "part memoir, part rant", which is fine if that's not what you want to read, but then there's really no reason to complain about the book <i>actually </i>being a memoir or rant, because that's exactly what it claims to be. So congratulations to the reviewers who seemed very proud of themselves for discovering the true identity of this book, but I think they could have saved some time if they'd only read the description first. In any case, I loved <i>How to Be a Woman</i>, inappropriate jokes and all, and would highly recommend this book. It's a refreshing break from the more academic books on the subject and, if you have any sense of humor, pretty much guaranteed to make you laugh.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-90070230268554085562015-11-20T09:12:00.000-07:002015-11-20T09:12:00.067-07:00What did I do all quarter?As usual, despite my optimistic plans to keep posting here once classes started, I instead disappeared for about ten weeks. Between class and work I didn't have much free time and when I did I was either trying (and usually failing) to keep my house somewhat in order or focusing on being as unproductive as possible. I didn't do a whole lot of pleasure reading during the quarter, but I did read about 75 children's books as an assignment for one of my library courses. Instead of reviewing all of these books, I've decided to share the highlights of my reading. So here are the best and worst, in my opinion, of what I read for my children's literature class.<br />
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<b>Books I loved!</b></h3>
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<i>Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!</i> - by Mo Willems</div>
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I never got caught up in the popularity of these books when they were new, so I thought this class would be a great chance to meet the pigeon. I'm actually not a huge fan of picture books, since I don't currently read to kids and they don't make great reading for adults. The illustrations in this book are what really won me over - they're simple, but also adorable!</div>
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<i>Stella by Starlight</i> - by Sharon M. Draper</div>
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This book is a historical fiction novel about what it's like to be a young, black girl in the southern US during the 1930's. I actually read several books about similar topics, and this was definitely my favorite. The narration is very colloquial and we also see Stella working to overcoming her struggle with writing and spelling in the way the book is written. I like that this book is not overly optimistic about the reality of issues like the Ku Klux Klan, but doesn't feel dark and hopeless either.</div>
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<i>Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats</i> - by Alicia Potter, illustrated by Birgitta Sif</div>
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This is another picture book that managed to intrigue me. While the illustrations are, again, adorable, the story line of this book really spoke to me. The plot is inspired by the author's own experience fostering feral cats and I love the message that love and patience can help these cats grow into confident individuals. If you're an animal lover or have fostered pets of your own, I would highly recommend this book.</div>
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<i>Harry Potter</i> - by J.K. Rowling</div>
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I hardly need to review these books again, but rereading the entire series over the course of my class reminded me of how much I love them. </div>
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<i>Human Body Theater</i> - by Maris Wicks</div>
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I found this book when it came in as a new order at the library where I work. It's a graphic novel that goes over each system of the human body. The information is great, but the presentation is even better. Maris Wicks has managed to illustrate the insides of the human body in a way that makes just about everything seem cute. Each body system has its own "act" at the theater, all of which are introduced by our joke-making, skeleton host.</div>
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Books I hated!</h3>
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<i>Dark Day in the Deep Sea - </i>by Mary Pope Osborne</div>
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This is one of the more recent books in the Magic Tree House series and I picked it up because I loved the series as a child. I was totally prepared to reminisce, when my dreams of nostalgia were ruined by the addition of a magic wand. While it may not seem like much, I loved reading about Jack and Annie because they are (or were...) two normal kids who had to rely on their own smarts, with some great books, to get out of trouble. Now they're battling sea monsters, who they realize aren't monstrous because of some weird telepathic communication, and fixing all of their problems with, literally, the wave of a wand.</div>
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<i>Rain, Reign</i> - by Ann M. Martin</div>
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After reading several other books that have autistic children as the protagonist (e.g., <i>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</i>), our protagonist here, a young girl named Rose, reads like a stereotype. Martin drills into the reader's head that Rose is obsessed with homonyms. The rules of homonyms are the most important thing in the world! Except, the author can't follow the rules she lays down for her character. Supposedly Rose would likes to write out all the homonyms she thinks of in a sentence, so the author did this too... sort of. Martin sort of randomly drops some homonyms in parentheses throughout the book, which doesn't follow Rose's rules and is also quite annoying. I can only imagine listening to the audiobook narration. My biggest problem though, is the title itself. In the book you learn that Rose named her dog Rain - a name that is extra special because it has not only one, but two homonyms! This is extremely important, so I have to wonder why the title isn't <i>Rain, Reign, Rein. </i></div>
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<i>39 Clues: The Maze of Bones</i> - by Rick Riordan</div>
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Don't tell my professor, but I actually couldn't bring myself to finish this book and I still included it in my reading log. Another confession, I generally can't stand action movies. This is relevant because this book feels like a stereotypical action and they both drive me crazy for the following reasons.</div>
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1. The 'plot' is barely existent and so predictable you might as well have written the thing yourself.</div>
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2. Both are full of 'exciting', 'action-packed' events, which are really just catastrophes likes explosions or crumbling buildings. These events conveniently remove or slow down the bad guys, leave the good guys totally unscathed, and the question of collateral damage never comes up because this is no place for deep thoughts!</div>
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3. The characters are literally walking stereotypes, with no attempt to disguise this fact. The generally have no unique characteristics or personality traits and can only speak in action-y sounding clichés.</div>
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4. They are both ridiculously popular! Really people, do you not see that you're just consuming recycled stereotypes while the producers, authors, etc. get rich even though they're too lazy to come up with an actual story?</div>
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On that note, I will officially end my rant about the books I hated. Overall though, I think I made it out pretty well as far the assignment goes. There were plenty of books I enjoyed very much, and I really had to think hard about which ones I should include in the list of books I loved. On the other hand, the three books on my hate list are the only three I could come up with that I truly despised.</div>
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Also, now that it's just about winter break, I will hopefully be updating this blog more frequently for at least the next month or so. I've already set a goal to stay on top of posts during the coming quarter as well so fingers crossed that I actually stick with it for once!</div>
Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-5713894399222218652015-08-14T13:15:00.002-06:002015-11-24T20:59:33.648-07:00Shades of London Series - by Maureen Johnson<h3>
My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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Since I'm behind on writing reviews, I'm going to cheat a bit and review this series as a whole. I actually checked out the first book, <i>The Name of the Star</i>, without realizing it was part of a series. I had just heard that it was a young adult book about Jack the Ripper, and put it on my to-read list.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknjOXkkoACpSRiaufy_xXcuQ9K5uUzqe6wBh-bw-z-97Em21VkT6FndB2eSuZ4mT3YPP8BfehYBNoNwr815wz-ra7T8uGHjpvXuda9hb5LbmqExL22j8ZADitqpHHIMLpttxK_ovfvTwu/s1600/13595639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknjOXkkoACpSRiaufy_xXcuQ9K5uUzqe6wBh-bw-z-97Em21VkT6FndB2eSuZ4mT3YPP8BfehYBNoNwr815wz-ra7T8uGHjpvXuda9hb5LbmqExL22j8ZADitqpHHIMLpttxK_ovfvTwu/s200/13595639.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<i>The Name of the Star</i> was actually a lot different than I was expecting. Without really knowing anything about the book other than it featured Jack the Ripper I was thinking historical fiction. The modern day setting was a surprise, but a pleasant one. I really enjoyed Rory Deveaux as the main character because she comes across as a very normal teen and very believable as a realistic character. Even when she becomes involved the mystery surrounding the Ripper murders, she still worries about the boy she might like and trying to pass her classes. The supernatural aspect also made this book a lot of fun and was a twist on the copycat killer plot line that I haven't read before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPgclwVfqj63_pfK3C00whi50JnzIa3nXcRCN-9wBP0h6Z51Rejm0e4vXZ6u4JbRCTHber5k1x0I9Hjp_waQaWZj98HdPAmg88g2feqdzKAGMDFbuQr1mlzr-nMJ9BtYi9qRkk0IyQt8b/s1600/15721638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPgclwVfqj63_pfK3C00whi50JnzIa3nXcRCN-9wBP0h6Z51Rejm0e4vXZ6u4JbRCTHber5k1x0I9Hjp_waQaWZj98HdPAmg88g2feqdzKAGMDFbuQr1mlzr-nMJ9BtYi9qRkk0IyQt8b/s200/15721638.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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The second book, <i>The Madness Underneath</i>, picks up as Rory is recovering from the attack by the Jack the Ripper copycat. She's forced to see a therapist even though she can't actually tell them that she can see ghosts, or that it was actually a ghost that attacked her. Eventually though, the Shades (the group of ghost hunters Rory's friends belong to) are able to pull some strings and get her back to school in London. My only complaint about this book is that not much happened in terms of the plot. All the characters were still great, but once Rory got back to Wexford I was expecting more to happen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4L3t2shPm8aWfQ_C6Sc3YVQ9hEZ60TQl_GIukHr-_hxYVoUs21YkA3JcsPvkbQXZhxpesrXaqYxEEqNF7jL7NncOqz7n-KUIMVHdWjmh3n7xLPOa86Dxhw5ISlFxOViK4BwIBNfKisTa-/s1600/17412895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4L3t2shPm8aWfQ_C6Sc3YVQ9hEZ60TQl_GIukHr-_hxYVoUs21YkA3JcsPvkbQXZhxpesrXaqYxEEqNF7jL7NncOqz7n-KUIMVHdWjmh3n7xLPOa86Dxhw5ISlFxOViK4BwIBNfKisTa-/s200/17412895.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
Even though the second book wasn't as great as I expected, I feel like <i>The Shadow Cabinet</i> more than makes up for it. After the cliffhanger ending of the previous book, we jump straight into the action as Rory tries to figure out how to find the ghost of one of her friends. Nobody even knows if Rory's theory worked, and maybe the ghost they're all looking for doesn't exist. Rory's school nemesis, Charlotte, is still missing after being kidnapped by Jane and her cult of followers. It also seems like they might be covering up the mass murder of ten people over forty years earlier. This book is just one surprise after another and the ending is no exception. Unfortunately for me, I read the first book thinking it was a standalone, then moved onto the second thinking I was getting into a trilogy. Now I have to endure the long wait for a fourth book.<br />
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Even though these weren't the necessarily the best books I've ever read, I'm still going to give the series a 5 paw rating just because of how invested in them I became. All three books had me staying up all night just so I could get to the end without having to take a break and it's been awhile since I've stayed up all night to finish one book, much less three in a row.Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-87045694266992423372015-07-31T14:26:00.000-06:002015-11-24T21:01:25.403-07:00Simon vs.the Homo Sapiens Agenda - by Becky Albertalli<h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSPR169xYYNMhLT9z77EKhweNDLAUbu7OgGNnw4fVXnUMLKffyE3JKTkCBpz0eLI-6YIMUyzIHy_ps2aSwFGkANlc6BD9U40krgryPXJLf26hXmq-FSdQV55_0W_h4JFYO3Pnn3kJM-xw/s1600/19547856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSPR169xYYNMhLT9z77EKhweNDLAUbu7OgGNnw4fVXnUMLKffyE3JKTkCBpz0eLI-6YIMUyzIHy_ps2aSwFGkANlc6BD9U40krgryPXJLf26hXmq-FSdQV55_0W_h4JFYO3Pnn3kJM-xw/s320/19547856.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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Somehow I hadn't heard anything about <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i> until all of my Goodreads friends starting reading it. Everyone had such great things to say that I finally decided to hop on the bandwagon.</div>
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The book starts when some of Simon's private emails fall into the hands of his classmate Martin. Simon has been emailing another boy at the school, known only as Blue, and neither of them are quite ready to come out as gay. Martin is hoping he has a chance with Simon's friend Abby, and so he blackmails Simon into introducing them. Simon agrees not only to keep his sexual identity private, but also to protect Blue's privacy.</div>
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Even after making a deal with Martin, Simon worries about his secret getting out. He realizes that he would rather come out to his friends and family on his own terms before they hear the news from someone else. Simon soon learns that coming out isn't one-time event either, but something he will have to keep repeating. I also love how Simon realizes that all the small changes in his life will effect how people see him, not just his sexual orientation. <em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"But I'm tired of coming out. All I ever do is come out. I try not to change, but I keep changing, in all these tiny ways. I get a girlfriend. I have a beer. And every freaking time, I have to reintroduce myself to the universe all over again." </em></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">With <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i>, Albertalli takes a very relevant issue and comes up with a book that is a great balance of serious and fun. Simon is an adorably geeky boy without falling into the trap of that being his only personality trait as a character. He has a supportive family and friends, but the relationships aren't so idyllic that we never see them fight. This is an extremely enjoyable book and the writing is realistic and keeps you reading. Finally, the sentiment of this book can be summed up by Simon's wonderful quote: <i>"</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>White shouldn't be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn't even be a default."</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">That is probably my favorite quote from the book and it also makes me think of this wonderful picture I found recently.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTROsaLnvaki59nsXkj-7CIIs8a5IIVJ3IUyhlj3gweLX7K9Vqw56mqs2M7XmqFPW0mJbpKzwp7gWaH7WivzbgjR4C6FqXKauOIx9ISS_NwILpgZRD5Nlfd3pODYXbOnXOLjR6CzgNCCR2/s1600/3e6ca73606c7f5aaf78e0282726d267f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTROsaLnvaki59nsXkj-7CIIs8a5IIVJ3IUyhlj3gweLX7K9Vqw56mqs2M7XmqFPW0mJbpKzwp7gWaH7WivzbgjR4C6FqXKauOIx9ISS_NwILpgZRD5Nlfd3pODYXbOnXOLjR6CzgNCCR2/s320/3e6ca73606c7f5aaf78e0282726d267f.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo & other great ones from minus18.org.au</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Also, a summer reading update for the program I'm taking part in from summerreadingonline.blogspot.com. This is my ninth book for the summer and I am, very fittingly, using it for the book about coming out challenge.<br />
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Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-42917136129929096252015-07-12T23:47:00.000-06:002015-07-13T09:03:21.100-06:00Bad Feminist - by Roxane Gay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoM1FL9QVvbljZaUx0dX4qlgIO5fpln5jHXJGYl5nX_uXe-P54YEU_W7sSjovnSYyhM7bEPtigmi2Jpiz7j-IVA5RlzgdnG2gwWJpKX_biaHDbRTda1hIoynuMb5yJcgRaP6YDN-FONeq/s1600/18813642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoM1FL9QVvbljZaUx0dX4qlgIO5fpln5jHXJGYl5nX_uXe-P54YEU_W7sSjovnSYyhM7bEPtigmi2Jpiz7j-IVA5RlzgdnG2gwWJpKX_biaHDbRTda1hIoynuMb5yJcgRaP6YDN-FONeq/s320/18813642.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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My rating: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<i>Bad Feminist, </i>by Roxane Gay, is another book that I had mixed feelings about. I find this much easier to accept with a book of essays, though, because I can look at each essay as it's own work. Some of them, I absolutely loved, some I didn't enjoy at all. I can say, that there weren't any essays I hated, and I enjoyed this book as a whole. I also think some of my disappointment in certain essays was amplified by how well I thought this book started off. The comparison to the parts I loved really made the aspects I didn't like so much stand out more.<br />
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Gay starts off with a wonderful introduction explaining her whole concept of a bad feminist. When women are held to such high standards by society in general, even trying to be a feminist seems like a burden. Some people view you as a crazy man-hater and others expect you to be the paragon of the feminist movement, or what Gay calls 'Capital-F Feminism'. Roxane Gay also admits that she was one of those women who looked down on feminists and didn't want to be labeled as such. Until she realized that being a bad feminist is a completely valid option and, as she puts it, better than being no feminist at all. As a bad feminist, Gay admits that she is imperfect and lives a life full of contradictions, but she is still a feminist. This is something I can really relate to, and I think anyone who is interested in gender equality can as well.</div>
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The first few essays after the introduction were very solid in my opinion. Gay writes in a very colloquial way that makes this book seem much more personal than a more academic look at feminism. She does a great job of dealing with tough topics like abortion, rape, or her experiences as a woman of color and then turns right around and makes you laugh with a story about competitive Scrabble tournaments. For me, Gay's weakness is in her essays that come off as an analysis of pop culture, either books, movies, TV shows, or anything else. In almost all of the essays of this type, the pacing seemed extremely awkward. I felt like the essay would trudge along with an overly detailed recap of the book / movie / other in question, then rush to some actual analysis at the very end before ending abruptly. I'll admit that my distaste for these essays might also be somewhat personal, as they remind me of some of my own poorly written essays. You know, the kind where you forget you had a paper to write until the night before and don't have time to do much research or reread the work you're critiquing to actually analyze it. Then you hastily write what little analysis you can think of, which is rushed and lacking in detail, and try to make up for it by filling in the rest of the page limit with an extremely repetitive retelling of the basic plot. Or maybe that's just me...</div>
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Overall though, Roxane Gay has put together a very enjoyable collection of essays. <i>Bad Feminist </i>is a book of essays, but is also an equal mix of memoir, humor, social commentary, and critical analysis. While I, personally, could do without the critical analysis, I loved everything else about this book. <i>Bad Feminist</i> is a great read for anyone who has any interest in feminism, especially if they don't want to be called a feminist.</div>
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This is also my eighth book for the summer reading challenge from <a href="http://summerreadingonline.blogspot.com/">summerreadingonline.blogspot.com</a> and I will be using it for the challenge to read a book by an author of color.</div>
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Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172628114239432212.post-16188581920144171192015-07-08T11:51:00.000-06:002015-11-24T20:55:20.085-07:00Parrotfish - by Ellen Wittlinger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThRZSMmfes0tFyk0KNvkdBvsNGVegP1-bLV93AOCJbG4bXCgLPE3Q-EaxQMINWcSSK7mBAQS8hMFCnoGmO0QZbSVhKINLqtTL_z6uLt_7Q6vfTeTrvy3iFw6oVUSYKnwRy3XFm1Z3u66U/s1600/7841463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThRZSMmfes0tFyk0KNvkdBvsNGVegP1-bLV93AOCJbG4bXCgLPE3Q-EaxQMINWcSSK7mBAQS8hMFCnoGmO0QZbSVhKINLqtTL_z6uLt_7Q6vfTeTrvy3iFw6oVUSYKnwRy3XFm1Z3u66U/s320/7841463.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">My rating: </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAf8YWHI05-ugIJEAWAMzHMUyUm_kGDierTYFG_fR0ZGBdv2hKomnsisZb1mpkZGKN4CUjCfrAQB4mbhgcGc9IbENAMHxAEJoBQmHaGo5ttphTJtnpLp3Derkl5CoZqmEDZN_RYaMUYrX/s1600/PawIcon.gif" /></a></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> had a hard time decided how to rate this book. On the one hand, I really like that Wittlinger chose to write about a FTM transgender teen who is proud of his identity and open about it. On the other hand, the writing was mediocre and some of the characters were pretty shallow. In the end I decided to settle for two paws.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Grady, formerly Angela, feels that coming out is the right decision. Overall he's glad he did, but he didn't expect how his friends and family would react. Especially his best friend Eve, who completely ignores him at school and when she does talk to him, keeps calling him Angela.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Life at school also becomes harder. Other students stare at Grady in the hallway, he doesn't have any friends since Eve stopped talking to him, and most of his teachers are not supportive at all. Grady starts to feel overwhelmed until he finds an unexpected ally in the P.E. coach Ms. Unger and a new friend, Sebastian. These two characters really made the book for me because they are supportive, but also actually have some personality.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Grady also realizes he has feelings for Kita, but I think this is one of the weaker plot lines. All we know about Kita is that she is half African American, half Japanese, and apparently awesome. Oh, and she has a boyfriend, but because they are fighting Sebastian encourages Grady to make a move. This was one of the few times I really didn't like Sebastian or Grady for going along with him. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Even with some of the troubles Grady faces, this doesn't seem like a very realistic portrayal of what transgender teens have to face when they come out. But despite this, as well as some lackluster characters and some truly cheesy dialogue, <i>Parrotfish</i> was still an enjoyable book. Especially for a younger audience, this is a nice, light read that also happens to have a transgender teen as the protagonist.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I will be using <i>Parrotfish </i>for the young adult category in the reading challenge from summerreadingonline.blogspot.com and this is my seventh book of the summer.</span>Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14717671189491600189noreply@blogger.com0