Tag Archives: 2016 books

Book Review: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

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Things Fall Apart CoverBook: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Published October 2010 (but originally published in 1958) by Anchor|224 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: The African Trilogy #1

Genre: Adult Fiction

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Things Fall Apart tells two intertwining stories, both centering on Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first, a powerful fable of the immemorial conflict between the individual and society, traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with the tribal world. The second, as modern as the first is ancient, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo’s world with the arrival of aggressive European missionaries. These perfectly harmonized twin dramas are informed by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

Things Fall Apart was a book I was required to read back in high school, and I randomly decided to pick it up and read it again.  Even though I didn’t love it, I liked it more than I thought I would- and I definitely liked it a lot more as an adult than I did as a high school student.

I really liked seeing Okonkwo’s fall from grace, and how it was so tied to the change of the world that he knew. What your family did was really important (especially to Okonkwo), and he worked really hard for the success he had.  He didn’t want to be like his father, and he didn’t want his father’s life for his children, which I think is something we can all relate to in some way.

The writing was really simple, but in a good way.  It was very straightforward, and I really liked that, because I felt like Achebe got right to the point.  You really see how much European missionaries changed things, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much we’ve lost because of colonization.

Part of why I didn’t love it was because it was depressing.  Which makes sense, given everything Okonkwo experienced and went through, and all of the change that happened.  Okonkwo does have a code that he lives by, and even though I understand why he acts the way he does…it doesn’t mean it’s okay, but I do get it.  At the same time, though, he really must have felt like he was out of options.  And when you think about it in the context of colonization, and how people must have felt, knowing they probably had to assimilate, or else…I really felt for them, because things were fine, until they weren’t.

I did like that you saw how some of the British who came took into account their traditions and customs, and how some didn’t.  You also saw that some of the people from Okonkwo’s village welcomed the missionaries, and how others didn’t.  It was very much shades of grey in this book, and I liked that it was fairly neutral.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

3 stars.  I’m not sure what else to say about Things Fall Apart.  I definitely recommend it, because I think it’s an important story.  And I definitely appreciate it a lot more as an adult than I ever did in high school.

Book Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

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Wonder CoverBook: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Published February 2012 by Knopf|320 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Wonder #1

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary

Blog Graphic-What It's About

I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

Wonder is one of those books I’ve heard a lot about, and knew that people really loved, but never got around to reading until now.  I liked Wonder, but not as much as I thought I would.

I really liked the family dynamic, and I really felt for his sister Via.  We don’t get a lot of her, but we see how the attention Auggie gets affects her, and I really liked seeing that.  I’m not sure if I could have handled an entire book from her perspective, but I did like the small bit that we do get in the book.

I also liked how real the characters felt.  How they acted- what with The Plague thing, and the stares and stuff, I can see that happening in real life.  How one of the moms acted was horrible- she photoshopped Auggie out of the class photo, and acted like he didn’t belong in school, just because of how he looks.  And it was really hard to read, because, theoretically, she should know better.  But clearly not, and it makes me wonder if her son acted the way he did because he learned it from her.  In the end, the other kids ended up being pretty okay, except for the one.

There is something I have mixed feelings about, though, and that’s Auggie himself.  I liked that he sees himself as a normal kid, and that he’s not special or extraordinary, just because of how he looks, even though people around him probably think he’s special because of how much he accomplished, and all of the surgeries he’s had to endure.  On the one hand, I liked that the book mentioned the fact that he was born with a cleft palate, which led to a lot of other health issues for Auggie, but didn’t focus too much on it.  But at the same time, I wanted a little more about it, because the book hardly goes into it.

Another issue I had was the fact that the characters seemed a lot older than 10.  The way they talked and acted…it didn’t mesh well with the fact that it’s middle grade.  It was really disorienting, and if 10 year-olds are, in real life, dating the way some of them seem to be dating in this book, I’m a little worried.

The book was also super-positive, which I get, considering the target audience, but it made the book feel too perfect, like nothing gets to Auggie (even though it must), and that everything will work out just fine, no matter what.  It felt too simple, for something that could have had even a little more complexity to it.  It’s not for me to say that Auggie is too well-adjusted, because I’ve never experienced what Auggie has, and I have no idea what it’s like to be in his position.  But it was also something that was a little off-putting, just because I wanted something that seemed a little more realistic.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

3 stars.  I get why people loved this book so much, and I do like the message of not judging people because of how they look, and that you should be kind to people.  But it was too simple, and too perfect, and I wanted something a little more complex and something that was a little less perfect.

Book Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

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Hunger CoverBook: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Published October 2010 by Harcourt Graphia|177 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from the library

Series: Riders Of The Apocalypse #1

Genre: YA

Blog Graphic-What It's About

“Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

So…I really like the idea of an anorexic 17-year-old as Famine, but the actual book?  Not so much.  I wanted to like it a lot more than I did.

Let’s start with what I did like about Hunger.  I really liked the scenes where we see Lisa struggle with her weight and the hold that her Thin voice has on her.  I also found myself liking some of the scenes at the end, where Lisa is Famine, and what it’s like to be in other parts of the world.  With this book, you really are in the mindset of someone who is anorexic, and the book does a really great job at showing that.

But the Famine and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse elements?  Those didn’t work for me at all…mostly because they didn’t make a lot of sense.

So, it seems like Lisa had to become Famine in exchange for Death letting her live, but that just left me with so many questions.  Is that how it works for all of the Horsemen, or just Lisa?  And if that’s how one becomes one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, then how would it work if Death dies?  Lisa has trouble deciding if she wants to live or die, and kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really accepts the post of Famine, and then decides she doesn’t want it, and everything is magically okay because she’s seen how horrible it is that some people have to go without food, and so she decides she needs help with her eating disorder…it is an interesting idea, and it is a different way to show what it might be like to be anorexic.  But to just reject it and go back to her own life, like nothing’s happened?  I wanted from the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse thing.

Because, honestly?  I’m not completely sure what the point of that arc was.  Is it really bringing about the apocalypse, or is it just a tool to highlight different issues people struggle with?  I couldn’t get a sense of the overall purpose of the series with this book, and I really think the book needed more about it, because it definitely felt like something was missing as far as that goes.

And even though the scenes where we see Lisa struggle with anorexia were done really well, something about it felt really cold and clinical to me.  Only one person seemed to pick up on the fact that something was going on with Lisa, and it wasn’t until she said something about it that anything actually happened.  I wish we saw more of Lisa, and the story behind why she became anorexic.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

2 stars, just because I think the idea of Famine as a 17-year-old anorexic is a really interesting concept. I think the Horsemen Of The Apocalypse aspect could have been done better (and it was sort of confusing and not explained well), and Lisa as an anorexic could have been less cold.

Book Review: Parable Of The Sower by Octavia Butler

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Parable Of The Sower CoverBook: Parable Of The Sower by Octavia Butler

Published November 1993 by Four Walls Eight Windows|299 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Earthseed #1

Genre: Adult Dystopia/Apocalyptic

Blog Graphic-What It's About

When unattended environmental and economic crises lead to social chaos, not even gated communities are safe. In a night of fire and death Lauren Olamina, a minister’s young daughter, loses her family and home and ventures out into the unprotected American landscape. But what begins as a flight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny… and the birth of a new faith.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

Lately, I’ve been on an Octavia Butler kick, and while I have yet to read Kindred, I will get to it at some point.  I really liked Fledgling and Wild Seed but I didn’t like Parable Of The Sower as much as I thought I would.  I liked it, but not as much as I expected to.

Parable Of The Sower felt really dense, and I could only read it a few chapters at time before I had to put it down. It felt really slow, which does make sense, given it takes place over the span of several years.  And it’s in sort of a diary-format, which was fine, but I think that’s why it felt so slow to me.  Considering everything is falling apart, I was surprised that things moved so slow.

I did like seeing the community that Lauren wanted to build, especially in the world she’s living.  It’s only ten years from now, when the book takes place, so as far as time goes, it’s not too far off from where we are now. And I can picture a world where communities are nervous about new-comers or people passing through, and in some areas, being walled off.  And people stealing and starting fires because of a new drug out there (which I think was initially to cure Alzheimer’s that had some really bad effects), and water shortages….the water shortage is all too familiar to me, living in San Diego, so I can picture parts of the book really well.

Still, we are put in this world, where jobs are hard to find (also sort of familiar, in a general sense) and people are in debt to the point that debt slavery is a thing.  And I wish we had more context for what happened to U.S.  I got the general idea, but I kind of wanted more specifics about how the world Lauren lives in got to that point.

And in a weird way, I was reminded of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.  Partly because of the fact that the book takes place over a long span of time, but also because things are unraveling/have unraveled, and that there are small pockets of people banding together, and the time spent on the open road.  Other than that, I’m not quite sure why I thought of Station Eleven, but it could be an interesting read-alike for Parable Of The Sower.

There is a lot about gender, class and race in the book, and what it’s like for a California that’s set in the near-distant future.  I think that’s pretty typical for Butler’s work, if the other books I’ve read by her are any indication.  But I like that she does that, because it doesn’t seem to happen a lot.  Then again, maybe I’m just not reading a lot of books where it comes up (but I am trying to make more of an effort to do that).

I’m not sure how I feel about Lauren having hyper empathy, or able to feel other people’s pain/pleasure.  It seemed a little confusing, and how it affected her seemed randomly put in, and sort of distracting.  Like, how can she bike around, and not be affected by other people?  Or, how can she kill, but not die herself?  And, why/how did she outgrow bleeding when other people did, but not outgrow pain?  It seemed a little out of place in this world, and the only explanation we get for why she is that way is because her mom was a drug user.  It was actually kind of disappointing, especially after reading both Fledgling and Wild Seed.

I think it’s time to talk Earthseed itself.  I get Lauren created it herself, and she didn’t share her father’s religious beliefs.  A lot of people don’t, and that’s fine.  But it seemed more like a philosophy than an actual religion, but maybe that’s because it’s not really set up as an actual religion with followers in this book.  The Earthseed stuff wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be, and I ended up skipping over all of Lauren’s Earthseed writings.  I get why she wanted a community, especially in the world she’s living in, but it didn’t really pay-off in this book.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

3 stars.  Parable Of The Sower felt really dense, and Earthseed itself was really uninteresting to me.  I just had a really hard time getting into it, but it could be an interesting read-alike for Station Eleven.

Book Talk: The BFG, A Movie And Book Review

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Book Talk is a sporadic feature where I talk about non-book review but bookish things…and today’s post is all about The BFG!

Book Talk

And as a warning, there are some spoilers for both the movie and the book!

The Movie:

I saw The BFG a few days ago, because it looked awesome in the trailers, and I remember reading Roald Dahl as a kid, so I knew I had to go see this movie adaptation.  Sadly, I couldn’t remember if this was one of the books I read by Dahl as a kid, because the movie didn’t jog any memories of reading the book.  So either I never read it or I read it but don’t remember reading it.  Either way, it was new to me.

I loved it as a movie, and even though I’m not a big fan of 3D, it was totally worth it in 3D.  I’m serious, guys, it worked really well in 3D.  Things weren’t jumping out at you, but there was a lot more scale and perspective and I felt a lot more like I was actually in the movie, and I don’t know that you would have had that experience in the non-3D version.  Maybe you would have but not to the same degree.  But I really felt like we were immersed in Giant Country.  And I’m not going to lie, I cried at the end.  I loved the movie, especially the scene where Sophie and the BFG go to catch dreams.  It looked really pretty, and I wish we saw the actual dreams just going around. But I also liked that they were balls of light.  And I really liked how his house looked!  It was just really pretty to watch.

With the BFG himself, you see how small everything is in comparison to him, and that’s partly why I liked it. You felt small, but in a good way.  And in comparison to the other giants, you see that he’s really not that big himself. Overall, it was just really pretty to see, and I definitely recommend seeing it theaters if you can.  As it is, I don’t know that it will be in theaters for very long, because it seems like there aren’t a lot of showings of it…

I also really liked it as an adaptation!  With any adaptation, there were some changes, but overall, it followed the book pretty closely.  I really wish we saw the dreams, especially since there are dreams described in the book.  I know I already kind of mentioned that, with when they go to catch the dreams, but seeing the dreams would have been really cool.

The BFG CoverThe Book: The BFG by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake

Originally published in 1982 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux|224 pages

Where I Got It: I own the e-book

Series: None

Genre: Children’s Fantasy

What It’s About: Captured by a giant! The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It’s lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants-rather than the BFG-she would have soon become breakfast.

When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off in England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

What I Thought: I really liked it!  It’s such a cute story, and even though it’s one of the Roald Dahl books I never read as kid, I’m glad I finally got to read it.  I remember liking some of his other books, and it’s such an imaginative one.  I will say that some of the gifts described at the end of the book were stereotypical, and that bothered me. And for some reason, the book didn’t seem as magical as the movie did, which makes me hesitant to re-read some of Dahl’s other books, because I feel like the magic and creativity of his books might not have the same effect on me as an adult as they did when I was a kid.  It makes me wonder if maybe I’m too old for Roald Dahl, which makes me a little sad, because generally, I don’t think you’re too old to read anything.  But in this case?  Maybe it’s possible.  I’d still recommend it as a book, because I really like the overall creativity and the conversation that the BFG has with Sophie about how giants don’t kill each other, and how kind the BFG is to Sophie.

My Rating: 4 stars.  I really like the story, but it wasn’t as magical as I thought it would be.

Book Review: Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Six Of Crows CoverBook: Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Published September 2015 by Henry Holt & Company|465 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Six Of Crows #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz’s crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I really liked Six Of Crows!  It was nice to visit the world we got to know in her Grisha trilogy, and revisit it in a completely different way.

I liked seeing a completely different part of Ravka, and how this group of people came together for one task.  It’s a random assortment of people, but they all brought something different to the group, and they all have such different skill sets.  It made everyone important, and I thought they worked really well as a group.

I also liked seeing everyone’s stories, and how they ended up in Ketterdam.  We all learn more about the different characters, and how they came to be involved in this really big heist.  And they all take turns narrating, which I really liked.  It was a little slow at first, and hard to get into, because it takes a little bit to figure out who is who, and what their story was, and their place in this world, but once you get past that, it was an interesting read.

It’s such a complex world, and it takes place after the Grisha trilogy ends (though how long after, I’m not sure). Like I said earlier, you get a different look at this world, because of the different setting, and it really expands on how people see the Grisha, and how things are in a different place.  With spin-off series, I get a little nervous, just because I never know if I’ll like it as much as the original.  More often than not, I do, but in this case, I think setting it in the same universe, but in a different setting, and at a later point on the timeline, was a really good idea, because you still get a sense of the world and it’s familiar but also different.

I think what I love the most was that the heist didn’t go as planned.  It definitely changed how Kaz went about trying to get them out of it, and I really am curious as to how the rest of the series is going to go.  There’s romance (which has a small part in things and totally threw me for a loop) and adventure and even though I didn’t love it, I still thought it was a really great book.  There’s more to this world than I ever thought was possible in the original series. And what’s nice is that you don’t need to read the Grisha trilogy to know what’s going on in this book, because even though they’re set in the same world, they’re also stand-alone series.  I don’t know if that makes sense, but I don’t know how else to explain it.  You can, of course, and some of the terminology and magic might make more sense, but it’s not necessary because Bardugo does a great job at explaining how this world is.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

4 stars.  It was a little slow at first, but it definitely lives up to the hype!

Book Review: A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J Maas

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A Court Of Thorns And Roses CoverBook Review: A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Published May 2015 by Bloomsbury USA|380 pages

Where I Got It: I own the e-book

Series: A Court Of Thorns And Roses #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Blog Graphic-What It's About

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Timesbestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it… or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

Since I really like her Throne Of Glass series, and since I’ve heard a lot of really good things about this book, I knew I had to read it.  I’ll admit, I was a little scared to read it, because what if it didn’t live up to the hype, and I hated it or something?  That seems to happen with me quite a bit, but I actually didn’t have anything to worry about, because I really liked it!

I definitely see the parallels between Beauty And The Beast (from what I know via Disney) and this re-telling of it through faeries.  Is it set in the same world as Throne Of Glass?  Because it feels very familiar, and I’m too lazy to go double-check.  Either way, I really liked how dark it was.  I’m not sure how much it draws from the original story (I am only vaguely aware that there is one, and again, I am too lazy to go look it up), but considering the original versions of fairy tales tend to be dark, and this story has its dark moments, it wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of the original tale made its way into this book.

I really liked Feyre and Rhysand, but in all honesty, Rhysand was my favorite character.  I’m glad we’ll be seeing more of him in the next book, what with certain deals and all.  I know it’s supposed to be Tamlin and Feyre, and not Rhysand and Feyre (and that Rhysand and Feyre might not be the best choice as far as romance goes) but part of me is kind of shipping Rhysand and Feyre.  I can’t tell you why I like them together, or why it wouldn’t be a good choice (because really, I’m going off of feelings for both things), but together, they intrigue me more than Tamlin and Feyre. The only thing I am sure of is that Feyre went through too much in order to save Tamlin, so maybe that’s why I’m not completely sold, and I’m hoping that it doesn’t turn into a love triangle, because, just once, it would be nice to see two people faeries just be together without a randomly thrown in person faery.

I do like Tamlin and Feyre together- a little bit more than Feyre and Rhysand, but not much more.  But with how things went in this book, it will be interesting to see how things are developed in the next book.  Because Rhysand certainly throws a wrench in things.  But I also really like Tamlin, and by the end of the book, I definitely saw why he acted the way he did.  I also loved how Feyre pieced things together in order to help him, and also how hard the last trial was for her.  And I loved all of the stuff with her family so much.

It makes me wonder how things are going to turn out and where things are headed, because right now, I have no idea what’s going to happen.  It’s actually really refreshing, because I like not knowing what’s going to happen to next. Probably something not good, and things may work out in the end, but maybe not?  Who knows?  There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to keep reading the series.

I think ACOTAR and Cruel Beauty are really good read alikes for each other.  There’s something mysterious about Feyre staying with Tamlin that you also see in Cruel Beauty.  It has a darker, slightly older feel than Cruel Beauty (although it’s been a while since I’ve read it, so I’m a little fuzzy on Cruel Beauty).  There’s more action than I expected, and I loved how everything was described.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

4 stars.  I really liked it, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

Book Review: The Siren by Kiera Cass

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The Siren CoverBook: The Siren by Kiera Cass

Published January 2016 by HarperTeen|327 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy/Re-Telling

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Love is a risk worth taking.

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can’t talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny…and Kahlen doesn’t want to.

Falling in love with a human breaks all the Ocean’s rules, and if the Ocean discovers Kahlen’s feelings, she’ll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

After reading (and loving) The Selection series, I knew I had to read The Siren.  Partly because I wanted to read something else by Cass, but also because I love a good re-telling, and I thought it would be cool to read something about Sirens, which don’t seem to come up very often.  And I liked The Siren, but not as much as I thought I would.

I thought it was a cool idea, and I liked that it wasn’t about re-telling the tale of Greek gods/goddesses, but instead focused on re-telling the story of Sirens.  We got such a good picture of how girls became Sirens, and what life was like as a Siren.  That actually really surprised me, because The Siren is a stand-alone and fantasy and just over 300 pages…and yet you get such a clear picture of the world and the hold that the Ocean has on these girls.  For me, that more often than not, spells disaster, and it never seems to work well, but it did with this book.

Could things have been explained more?  Of course, but all things considered, Cass did a better job with it than I expected.  It has its cute moments, and it goes by fast.  And it’s an interesting idea, so I definitely wanted to keep reading to see how things turned out.

I thought the Ocean was really confusing at times- She did seem motherly at times, and yes, She did tend to go about it a little weird, but there were also times where I thought She made sense.

I’m not sure how I feel about any of the girls.  There’s certainly a bond between them, but Kahlen seems so different from Elizabeth and Miaka, and even Padma.  She did seem depressed (which I understand why), and she did seem more traditional than the other girls, but that’s probably because she’s older than the other girls. By how much we’re not sure, at least in the case of Elizabeth and Miaka, but definitely a lot older than Padma.

I don’t know how I feel about Akinli, and I really wish we saw more of him.  I get why we didn’t, but the fact that we didn’t really see him is probably why I didn’t completely love him or their relationship.  It felt a little bit too insta-love for me, and I wish we saw it develop more.  I think I might have been able to believe in the whole soulmates thing if we saw more of them together.

I was surprised by the ending- I’m not sure how I expected things to end, but it was a surprise, even though I’m not sure how I feel about it.

It was more dull than I thought, and I had a hard time getting into it.  Ultimately, I liked it, and the idea of the book was enough that I’m willing to overlook everything else.  I wanted more action, and it was definitely a slow-paced book.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

3 stars, because the idea is a pretty cool, and more developed than I thought, considering it’s a stand-alone fantasy that’s on the shorter side.  But I also thought it could have been more developed in some areas, namely the romance.

Book Review: How It Ends by Catherine Lo

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How It Ends CoverBook: How It Ends by Catherine Lo

Published June 2016 by HMH Books For Young Readers|304 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

Blog Graphic-What It's About

There are two sides to every story.

It’s friends-at-first-sight for Jessie and Annie, proving the old adage that opposites attract. Shy, anxious Jessie would give anything to have Annie’s beauty and confidence. And Annie thinks Jessie has the perfect life, with her close-knit family and killer grades. They’re BFFs…until suddenly they’re not.

Told through alternating points of view, How It Ends is a wildly fast but deeply moving read about a friendship in crisis. Set against a tumultuous sophomore year of bullying, boys and backstabbing, the novel shows what can happen when friends choose assumptions and fear over each other.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I went into How It Ends with high hopes.  It seemed right up my alley, but I found the characters to be really frustrating, and unfortunately, that overshadowed the things I did like.

Let’s start with what I liked about the book.  I think it highlights really well how fast friendships can form and how quickly things can go downhill.  I do think it’s more about how friendships change than how friendships end, but still.  It’s a really good look at friendships.

I also really liked the dual narration.  Alternating points of view…they’re always hit or miss for me, but it worked really well in this book, because it shows how how both girls see what happened, and how differently two people go through something.

But because you see how both girls handle things, it also made the book really frustrating to read.  There was a little bit of a Mean Girls vibe to some of the characters, and they all came across as stereotypical.  It did feel true to life, but at the same time, I found myself getting really angry at most of the characters.

Jessie: I felt for Jessie, because I can relate to the anxiety she feels.  But she did seem really clingy.  As much as I understood how much it hurt that Annie hung out with Courtney and Larissa, and how Annie dismissed her feelings and anything she said about Courtney and Larissa, I also wonder if she would have reacted the same way if Annie had befriended girls who didn’t bully her.  It just frustrated me that she had such a hard time with letting Annie hang out with other people, particularly these two girls, and it makes me wonder if maybe she tried to hang on too hard to someone who kept moving further and further away from her.  I thought that Jessie really needed to learn some coping strategies.  Medication is helpful, but we don’t see her manage it in any other way, and I wanted more of that.

Annie: I had a harder time relating to Annie, but I also felt for her.  I can’t imagine losing her mom suddenly, and having to deal with a step-mom that doesn’t seem to care about her, a perfect step-sister, and everything that happened with Scott and Courtney.  I hated that she told Courtney about Jessie’s anxiety, because it’s not for Annie to tell, and I feel like she over-stepped by sharing something really personal about someone else.  I also hated that just completely dismissed everything Jessie said about Courtney and Larissa- until she found out about Jessie’s anxiety, and then, magically, how Jessie acted made sense to her.  I know she thought she was helping, but she wasn’t, and she seemed to have changed her mind so fast.  If she had taken the time to actually listen to Jessie…maybe things would have turned out differently.

Jessie’s Parents (but mostly Jessie’s mom): I absolutely hated how they handled her anxiety.  Her dad seems like the kind of guy who thinks Jessie doesn’t have a problem, and that’s it’s all made up, and not a real problem, and that she’s just shy or whatever. And then there’s her mom, who is the complete opposite, and keeps Jessie’s anxiety medication under lock and key so that Jessie has to ask for her medication every single time she has a panic attack.  She freaks out when Jessie goes to get more and I was glad that Jessie’s psychiatrist thought Jessie should have more access to her medication.  Her mom definitely made Jessie feel more anxiety/panic than she already did, and the impression I got from the mom was that she over-reacts and freaks about every little thing.  And her mom telling Annie about Jessie’s anxiety?  Not cool.  Again, sharing something like about someone else, especially when Jessie specifically said she didn’t want Annie to know.  Her mom doesn’t get to decide who should know, and even though she was trying to help…it’s no wonder Jessie doesn’t seem to want to go to her mom.

Annie’s Step-Mom: I do wonder if she’s as bad as Annie makes her seem.  She did seem to help Annie out, but given how much Annie dislikes her and says how horrible of a person she is, it makes me wonder about her motives, especially when she keeps bringing up Annie’s dad.  It seems like she’s making an effort that Annie never seems to, but no one seems to acknowledge the sudden death of Annie’s mother, and it makes me wonder if maybe Annie feels like her mom is being replaced.

Let’s see…I don’t think I have any other thoughts about the book, so onto my rating!

Blog Graphic- My Rating

3 stars.  The characters frustrated me a lot, but I did like how we see a friendship change over the course of a year…which is why it’s getting 3 stars, instead of the 2 that I originally thought about giving it.

Book Review: Solider by Julie Kagawa

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Soldier CoverBook: Soldier by Julie Kagawa

Published April 2016 by Harlequin Teen|380 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Talon #3

Genre: YA

Blog Graphic-What It's About

The price of freedom is everything.

When forced to choose between safety with the dragon organization Talon and being hunted forever as an outcast, Ember Hill chose to stand with Riley and his band of rogue dragons rather than become an assassin for Talon. She’s lost any contact with her twin brother, Dante, a Talon devotee, as well as Garret, the former-enemy soldier who challenged her beliefs about her human side.

As Ember and Riley hide and regroup to fight another day, Garret journeys alone to the United Kingdom, birthplace of the ancient and secret Order of St. George, to spy on his former brothers and uncover deadly and shocking secrets that will shake the foundations of dragons and dragonslayers alike and place them all in imminent danger as Talon’s new order rises.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I really liked Solider!  I definitely was not sure about this series at first, because the first book is okay, and I really liked the 2nd one…it’s definitely a pretty solid series by Kagawa, and I’m thinking about re-reading the first one to see if maybe I’ve changed my mind about it.

Back to Soldier, though.  I really liked the focus on Garrett in this book and we learn more about Talon and St. George…especially St. George, since the book does focus a lot on Garrett going back to the UK.  I was surprised by a few of the things we learn in the book, and with how the book ended…that was definitely a surprise.  It makes me wonder how much that will change things in the rest of the series.  It’s definitely a heart-breaking ending, and I don’t want it to be true…even though I’m sure it is, and there is no going back.

I loved learning more about Garrett’s background, and why Garrett is the way he is.  It was definitely overdue, and I’m glad we got more of his story and life in St. George.

I really liked Ember, and how much she is struggling with both her human side and her dragon side.  I really hope she holds on tight to her human side, I really do, because I feel like that is big part of who Ember is.

I was also intrigued by Dante’s story in this book.  We don’t see much of him, but what we do see…I’m curious to see how that plays out.  He does think quite a bit about what Ember what think or do, and I don’t know that he would have done that before.  What Talon is doing doesn’t seem to sit right with him- at least on a project he’s working on- but he doesn’t do anything about it.  I just hate that he’s willing to throw away his relationship with his sister.

I definitely don’t want to spoil anything, and I don’t know what else I can about Solider without giving anything away.  Let’s just say that I’m glad we’re getting at least a couple more books because this story is far from over…actually, I feel like it’s just starting, in some ways.  It’s definitely worth checking out.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

4 stars.  This is a really solid series, and Soldier is a great addition to the Talon series.  It’s really setting up a lot for the rest of the series.