Dune by Frank Herbert

 

Goodreads synopsis: Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Some death and blood, as well as implied homosexual rape.

Thoughts: The world is very clearly heavily thought out and developed, and I appreciate that very much. There is so much detail to the world, but it's not over explained, in fact some of it I wish was a bit more explained, but it worked within the world and the story, and I couldn't really complain that it under explained instead of over. It made the world seem so real to the author.

I am very curious about his inspirations, and the cultures and ideas he drew from in writing this. It's something I would like to read more about, as I found it very interesting, and neat in that it seemed very non-Western whereas most other sci-fi that I've read is mostly white Western inspired.

The one complaint I had is that the third division of the book seems almost unconnected to the rest of the story. It's such a whiplash-y change in the timeline, and a rapid skip of years without any warning or indication did strike me as hard to follow at first, and somewhat confusing. I would have liked to see Paul and Jessica adapting to their desert life a bit slower, and perhaps the third section have been its own sequel book.

But that may be a personal complaint, and this book has more than enough positives to outweigh that annoyance. 

I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells

 

Goodreads synopsis: John Cleaver has called a demon—literally called it, on the phone, and challenged it to a fight. He’s faced two of the monsters already, barely escaping with his life, and now he’s done running; he’s taking the fight to them. But as he wades through his town’s darkest secrets, searching for any sign of who the demon might be, one thing becomes all too clear: in a game of cat and mouse with a supernatural killer, the human is always the mouse.

In I Am Not a Serial Killer we watched a budding sociopath break every rule he had to save his town from evil. In Mr. Monster we held our breath as he fought madly with himself, struggling to stay in control. Now John Cleaver has mastered his twisted talents and embraced his role as a killer of killers. I Don’t Want to Kill You brings his story to a thundering climax of suspicion, mayhem, and death.

It’s time to punish the guilty.

And in a town full of secrets, everyone is guilty of something.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: R. Violence and mild sexual content. Trigger warning for suicide and self harm.

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: I'm a little disappointed in this story, and especially the ultimate culmination of John's story. The world of monsters still feels like something of an afterthought, and wasn't really tied in to the unfolding of the story very well, in my opinion. It could have been integrated a lot better.

And the ending both in terms of stakes, and in what happened for the characters, seemed to fall flat in a lot of ways. I'm disappointed that there had to be a death to kill the demon, and not finding another way around it seemed like a massive oversight on the part of the author. I get how he tried to redeem that fact, but in the end it didn't really work.

Plus, the theme of suicide that was being woven into the story, was completely undermined by the monster. I'm not saying that idea couldn't have been done well. But it needed much more capable writing, and a longer period of time to deal with the impacts and what that meant for the story and the theme, rather than it just being a thing that happened.

I know I would have been very curious if I hadn't read the second and third books of this trilogy, but I do hold that the first one is really the only one worth taking the time to read, unless you have absolutely nothing else to read. 

Seven Brief Lessons in Physics by Carlo Rovelli

 

Goodreads synopsis: All the beauty of modern physics in fewer than a hundred pages.
This is a book about the joy of discovery. A playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics, it's already a major bestseller in Italy and the United Kingdom. Carlo Rovelli offers surprising—and surprisingly easy to grasp—explanations of general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, back to the origins of the cosmos, and into the workings of our minds. “Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world,” Rovelli writes. “And it’s breathtaking.”

My rating: 4 stars.

Thoughts: It's a complicated and confusing book to read sometimes, I felt like my brain was melting, but maybe that just proves I'm not a science-y person. But there is a beauty and a wonder to the world that the author is trying to share with the reader, and that alone makes it a lovely book, and it certainly has a lot of reread potential, at least for me, in trying to glean even more information from the short and simply written pages of the book.

Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner

Goodreads synopsis: Whether your favorite holiday story is A Christmas Carol, The Story of Hanukkah, or 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, you'll find it transformed to reflect current sensibilities in Politically Correct Holiday Stories. Injecting our popular holiday fables with a modern perspective is no easy task, but someone had to do it -- and who better than the proven master of cultural sensitivity? James Finn Garner joyfully frees these holiday tales from sexism, ageism, religious imperialism, and every other sorry vestige of our flawed, low-consciousness past. So gather the family (whether traditional, dysfunctional, co-dependent, or otherwise) around the hearth, and read aloud these tales as they should have been told the first time.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some mild off color jokes.

Thoughts: It's funny how this book isn't even that old, relatively, but half the stuff in it probably wouldn't even be considered politically correct anymore. Either way, it's a quick, funny read and I enjoyed the ride.

The Republic of Imagination by Azar Nafisi

Goodreads synopsis: Ten years ago, Azar Nafisi electrified readers with her million-copy bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran, which told the story of how, against the backdrop of morality squads and executions, she taught The Great Gatsby and other classics to her eager students in Iran. In this exhilarating followup, Nafisi has written the book her fans have been waiting for: an impassioned, beguiling and utterly original tribute to the vital importance of fiction in a democratic society. What Reading Lolita in Tehran was for Iran, The Republic of Imagination is for America.

Taking her cue from a challenge thrown to her in Seattle, where a skeptical reader told her that Americans don’t care about books the way they did back in Iran, she challenges those who say fiction has nothing to teach us. Blending memoir and polemic with close readings of her favorite American novels—from Huckleberry Finn to The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter—she invites us to join her as citizens of her "Republic of Imagination," a country where the villains are conformity and orthodoxy, and the only passport to entry is a free mind and a willingness to dream.

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some mentions of violence.

Thoughts: If Reading Lolita in Tehran was important for further understanding life in Iran, this book was at times painful to read, because of how much it calls out about our way of living, and what we take for granted. Nafisi uses literature accepted as "classics" but that modern readers may not really think about deeply, and uses her down to earth writing and sharp observations to touch deeply to the heart of the reader. It can be rough to read sometimes, but definitely very worth it, and I would suggest it to almost everyone.

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Goodreads synopsis: Dostoyevsky's passionate concern for people and his intense desire to grasp the meaning of life led him to explore the secret depths of humanity's struggles and sins. No action or thought was ever too corrupt or too inhuman for his understanding. The Brothers Karamazov was his last and greatest work. This extraordinary novel tells the dramatic story of four brothers-Dmitri, pleasure-seeking, impatient, unruly...Ivan, brilliant and morose ...Alyosha, gentle, loving, honest...and the illegitimate Smerdyakov, sly, silent, cruel. Driven by intense passion, they become involved in the brutal murder of their own father, one of the most loathsome characters in all literature.

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Some violence, descriptions of violence, and sexual content.

Thoughts: The story is so rich and deep it's hard to do it justice in a summary review of it. This book delves into the deepest parts of mankind, from depravity to holiness, and doesn't shy away from showing things as they really are. But it shows us hope in humanity too. Definitely worth a read, or a reread.

Merlin's Shadow by Robert Treskillard

 

Goodreads synopsis: Author Robert Treskillard continues his Merlin Spiral series with book two, Merlin's Shadow, another fresh take on the ancient Arthurian myths. After destroying the sinister Druid Stone and freeing his people from its dark control, Merlin finds himself a royal advisor without a king. Along with his friend Garth, and Natalenya, his betrothed, Merlin treks north with the orphaned Arthur in hopes of keeping the young king safe from soldiers misled by their turncoat captain. As the threat on all their lives increases, Merlin discovers their only hope is sailing to the lands of eternal darkness, and once again cleansing the world from an ancient and powerful evil.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Bloody battles and witchcraft.

Thoughts: It can be hard to follow sometimes, but it's a really solid high fantasy story, and very enjoyable to read. The characters are complex and the conflicts are realistic, and it's a fun, different kind of take on the King Arthur stories.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

 

Goodreads synopsis: A modern classic, Housekeeping is the story of Ruth and her younger sister, Lucille, who grow up haphazardly, first under the care of their competent grandmother, then of two comically bumbling great-aunts, and finally of Sylvie, the eccentric and remote sister of their dead mother. The family house is in the small town of Fingerbone on a glacial lake in the Far West, the same lake where their grandfather died in a spectacular train wreck and their mother drove off a cliff to her death. It is a town "chastened by an outsized landscape and extravagant weather, and chastened again by an awareness that the whole of human history had occurred elsewhere." Ruth and Lucille's struggle toward adulthood beautifully illuminates the price of loss and survival, and the dangerous and deep undertow of transcience.

My rating: 2 stars.

Content warnings: G. Nothing.

Thoughts: The story mainly just wasn't for me. I read it pretty quickly cause I was pretty disinterested in the story the whole time, and forgot most of what happened pretty quickly after finishing already. I'm sure it's a great story, just not something that grabbed my attention. 

The Blackbirder by Dorothy B. Hughes

 

Goodreads synopsis: A classic World War II-era noir with a page-turning plot, a cast of colorfully sinister characters and a protagonist who is thrust into the heart of political intrigue, this captivating 1943 novel parallels the spy novels of Grahame Greene, Eric Ambler, and the films of Hitchcock and Lang. But in -signature Hughes fashion, The Blackbirder has a genre-bending twist: its hardboiled protagonist is a woman.

Born of American expatriate parents, Julie Guilles was a pretty, sheltered rich girl growing up in Paris, a favorite of the “Ritz Bar” set. But everything changed when the Nazis rolled into the City of Lights. After three years of life underground, Julie is hiding out in New York; but she knows trouble is coming when the corpse of an acquaintance appears on her doorstep. With a host of possible dangers on her tail—the Gestapo, the FBI and the New York cops—she embarks on a desperate journey to Santa Fe in search of her last, best hope. The Blackbirder is a legend among refugees, a trafficker in human souls who flies under the radar to bring people to safety across the Mexican border—for a price.

With no resources at her disposal but a smuggled diamond necklace and her own razor-sharp wits, Julie must navigate a tangle of dangers—and take a stand in the worldwide struggle that has shattered the lives of millions. In contrast to the typical representations of wartime women as “Mrs. Minivers” guarding home and hearth, Dorothy B. Hughes gives her intrepid heroine a place at the heart of the action.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Some descriptions of a murder and the blood.

Thoughts: The story was a little hard to follow at times, but it was a fun historical spy novel set in America, which isn't something I normally see in WWII novels. I'd like to read it again sometime to try and catch a lot of the things I missed, and it's definitely worth a reread.

The Hessian by Howard Fast

 

Goodreads synopsis: The Hessian tells the story of the capture, trial, and execution of a Hessian drummer boy by Americans during the Revolution. At the heart of the story is a Quaker family, who hide the boy after his landing party has been killed in an ambush. Because the captain of the Hessians had ordered the hanging of a local whom he thought might be a spy, the town militia lay in wait, massacred the Hessians, and hunted down the only survivor, Hans Pohl.

His capture and trial provide an opportunity to explore the difficult moral position that war presents, complicated by the presence of the Quaker family. The story is told from the point of view of Evan Feversham, a doctor who has seen enough of death, and an outsider in the narrow world of Puritan New England. Based on a true event.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Descriptions of a hanging, and graphic descriptions of wounds and treating those wounds.

Thoughts: Stories of those on the fringes of war aren't told as often, but they hold an important place in society, and should be considered in any conversation about war. And this one was told well, from a sort of perspective that might not often be thought about when considering the Revolutionary War, and it can provide another open door for conversations and self reflection. Which is what I've been saying about a lot of these books, but I still feel it is an important thing.

And There Was Light by Jacques Lusseyran

Goodreads synopsis: Critically acclaimed and the winner of numerous awards — including USA Today’s 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century — And There Was Light is a vivid, inspiring account of an extraordinary man’s life without sight. Blinded at the age of eight by a freak accident, Jacques Lusseyran becomes a youth leader in the French Resistance during World War II. While still in his teens, he is arrested and sent to Buchenwald, where he serves his fellow prisoners as translator and disseminator of information, never giving in to despair. His refusal to let blindness cripple him shines through his writing as he describes the inner light that guides him. Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Martin Scorsese, And There Was Light appears here in a compelling audio version. Andre Gregory's thoughtful, unsentimental reading movingly conveys the author's indomitable strength in the face of impossible conditions.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some mention of a traumatic injury, and mild talk about the occupation of France in WWII.

My thoughts: This book is really beautiful, and it's definitely worth the read. Even when talking about terrible things that happened, or that someone else would write about as a horrible thing, Lusseyran's faith shines through everything he speaks about, and forces the reader to reconsider how they think about their own lives. I would highly suggest it.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

Goodreads synopsis: During a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror. As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her headphones to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when the reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her—the protector from an enemy who may or may not be imagined…one who is watching her, waiting for her in the dense, dark woods…

My rating: 2 stars.

Content warnings: R. Lots of cursing, and some violence toward an animal.

Thoughts: I really should have put this one down when I realized King is terrible at writing child narrators. But I felt obligated because of book club, so I kept reading. And mistakes were made...

There are some authors who should stay away from writing child narrators at all costs, and King is one of them. It becomes very creepy and uncomfortable, to the point that I genuinely hope that's not how these authors think that kids really are, because if they do... maybe I see a pedophile around every corner, but it still makes me nervous.

Beyond that, the book was pretty boring. I was expecting something frightful and fascinating, and instead only got 250 pages of a pre-teen girl tromping around the forest and fantasizing about an adult baseball player. There was sort of a monster at the end, but by that point I was so zoned out I didn't really notice or care about what was going on, because I knew how it would end anyway. So it was yawn inducingly predictable too.

Occasionally it seemed to switch POVs to someone else, and show how they were reacting to Trisha's disappearance. And that could have been interesting, if it had actually been done well rather than just making the book more confusion. The POV breaks were not clear, and only lasted a couple paragraphs, so by the time I realized this wasn't Trisha's POV, it was over again and I was forced back into Trisha's head.

All in all it was another disappointing let down from Stephen King, and I'm not sure how many more chances to give him before giving up on his fiction altogether. 

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Goodreads synopsis: In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fought for two conflicting dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty were also the casualties of war.

Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece is unique, sweeping, unforgettable - the dramatic story of the battleground for America’s destiny.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: R. Brief scenes of wartime violence.

Thoughts: Being forced to overanalyze this book for school, there are a few things in it that tend to fall flat, or don't quite accomplish the stated objective of the book as well as perhaps they could. But it is still a very good book, definitely worth reading and taking some time to digest.

Shaara doesn't tell the story from just one perspective, and he really doesn't seem to try and say who was right or wrong, but lets the reader draw those conclusions for themselves. There obviously are moral areas where lines are drawn, but the implication that not every person was fighting for the same thing is a very interesting thing to consider, especially in the context of more modern wars.

A solid read, and a war story that's written in a way that makes it highly readable, even if it gets confusing to differentiate characters sometimes. This was a reread, but it was worth it.

War Trash by Ha Jin

 

Goodreads synopsis: Ha Jin’s masterful new novel casts a searchlight into a forgotten corner of modern history, the experience of Chinese soldiers held in U.S. POW camps during the Korean War. In 1951 Yu Yuan, a scholarly and self-effacing clerical officer in Mao’s “volunteer” army, is taken prisoner south of the 38th Parallel. Because he speaks English, he soon becomes an intermediary between his compatriots and their American captors. With Yuan as guide, we are ushered into the secret world behind the barbed wire, a world where kindness alternates with blinding cruelty and one has infinitely more to fear from one’s fellow prisoners than from the guards. Vivid in its historical detail, profound in its imaginative empathy, War Trash is Ha Jin’s most ambitious book to date.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: R. Scenes of wartime violence and disturbing images.

Thoughts: The Korean War isn't one that I've read very much about, so it was really interesting to get a piece of literature written from the perspective of the "other side." And seeing perspectives like that I think are very important, even if fundamentally people don't agree. It's still important to see the man behind the enemy.

The story is at times, very rough and hard to get through. But it's an important issue to face, not only that "the enemy" are men too, but also what presumed good men are capable of stooping to in altered situations. If Ha Jin's novel is the beginning of a conversation about this, it is very much worth the read.

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

 

Goodreads synopsis: In one of Robert Heinlein's most controversial bestsellers, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe--and into battle with the Terran Mobile Infantry against mankind's most frightening enemy.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Many characters die in battle, but not many in detailed or even very bloody ways. 

Thoughts: Maybe it was because I was reading this combined with several other really fantastic stories for a class, or that I had expected more out of the name "Heinlein," or both, but while interesting and a decently fun sci-fi romp, it wasn't generally super interesting to me. I found some of the action, or what little there was of that, hard to follow and understand. I didn't even realize part of the crucial plot's setting until hearing someone else discuss the book. The parts of the book not dedicated to philosophical discussion was actually more boring. Which I find interesting, because it's usually the opposite. But I will say that Heinlein did that part of this book very well, and I would probably reread this book in several years just for those parts. But the rest of it was solidly just okay.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Goodreads synopsis: Arch-swindler Moist Van Lipwig never believed his confidence crimes were hanging offenses - until he found himself with a noose tightly around his neck, dropping through a trapdoor, and falling into...a government job?

By all rights, Moist should have met his maker. Instead, it's Lord Vetinari, supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork, who promptly offers him a job as Postmaster. Since his only other option is a nonliving one, Moist accepts the position - and the hulking golem watchdog who comes along with it, just in case Moist was considering abandoning his responsibilities prematurely.

Getting the moribund Postal Service up and running again, however, may be a near-impossible task, what with literally mountains of decades-old undelivered mail clogging every nook and cranny of the broken-down post office building; and with only a few creaky old postmen and one rather unstable, pin-obsessed youth available to deliver it. Worse still, Moist could swear the mail is talking to him. Worst of all, it means taking on the gargantuan, money-hungry Grand Trunk clacks communication monopoly and its bloodthirsty piratical head, Mr. Reacher Gilt.
But it says on the building Neither Rain Nor Snow Nor Glom of Nit...Inspiring words (admittedly, some of the bronze letters have been stolen), and for once in his wretched life Moist is going to fight. And if the bold and impossible are what's called for, he'll do it - in order to move the mail, continue breathing, get the girl, and specially deliver that invaluable commodity that every human being (not to mention troll, dwarf, and, yes, even golem) requires: hope.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some mild swearing, and kissing.

Thoughts: I experienced this book twice in an attempt to like it more than I did. The first time I read it, and ended up speed reading through a lot of parts, and the second time I got an audiobook, hoping that would help me focus on the story more. It didn't, and I had gotten the gist of the story from my speed reading anyway.

It's a decent book and a solid enough story. The general idea of the story is something I actually enjoyed very much. But I think it's just a bit too absurdist for me, and that didn't help in my enjoyment. While I do enjoy a good absurdist story, having a serious story played out in an absurdist world was an okay choice, but not something that struck a chord with me.

I can see why other people liked it, but I ended up being significantly underwhelmed for how much I had heard about this book before.

Mr. Monster by Dan Wells

 

Goodreads synopsis: In I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies.
But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve. But John has tasted death, and the dark nature he used as a weapon--the terrifying persona he calls Mr. Monster--might now be using him.

No one in Clayton is safe unless John can vanquish two nightmarish adversaries: the unknown demon he must hunt and the inner demon he can never escape.

In this sequel to his brilliant debut, Dan Wells ups the ante with a thriller that is just as gripping and even more intense. He apologizes in advance for the nightmares.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: R. Blood and gore, some animal abuse, and references to domestic abuse.

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: I was annoyed with the first book a little, for pulling a monster seemingly out of nowhere, and I was annoyed with this book, for not really seeming to know what it was doing with its monster. I'll probably read the third book just to finish the series out, but I don't expect to be very amazed by it.

Going into this book, I knew better than to not expect monsters, but once I was finished it seemed to me it would have been better not to have the killer be a monster at all. The monster's reasons, motivations and powers, all felt very bland and served to make it, as a monster, less impressive than a human killer would have been, operating in the same way. Even the supernatural abilities that should have given the monster an extreme edge over John, didn't seem to be more than a minor inconvenience.

Even the writing style that made me really enjoy the first book, despite its poor set up and marketing, felt more bland and "normal" than before. John didn't feel as unique as he had before, and I can't really figure out why that is.

Then again, the author had the main character driving himself to the police station, at fifteen years old, unaccompanied, with only a learner's permit, so that should have given me an indication of just how much thought was actually put into this book.

For what it ended up being, it was an interesting enough book. But it certainly did not live up to the expectations its predecessor built up for it.

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Goodreads synopsis: Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow, and longing, the stories in The Thing Around Your Neck map, with Adichie's signature emotional wisdom, the collision of two cultures and the deeply human struggle to reconcile them. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the literary scene with her remarkable debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, which critics hailed as "one of the best novels to come out of Africa in years" (Baltimore Sun), with "prose as lush as the Nigerian landscape that it powerfully evokes" (The Boston Globe); The Washington Post called her "the twenty-first-century daughter of Chinua Achebe." Her award-winning Half of a Yellow Sun became an instant classic upon its publication three years later, once again putting her tremendous gifts - graceful storytelling, knowing compassion, and fierce insight into her characters' hearts - on display. Now, in her most intimate and seamlessly crafted work to date, Adichie turns her penetrating eye on not only Nigeria but America, in twelve dazzling stories that explore the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Africa and the United States.

In "A Private Experience," a medical student hides from a violent riot with a poor Muslim woman whose dignity and faith force her to confront the realities and fears she's been pushing away. In "Tomorrow is Too Far," a woman unlocks the devastating secret that surrounds her brother's death. The young mother at the center of "Imitation" finds her comfortable life in Philadelphia threatened when she learns that her husband has moved his mistress into their Lagos home. And the title story depicts the choking loneliness of a Nigerian girl who moves to an America that turns out to be nothing like the country she expected; though falling in love brings her desires nearly within reach, a death in her homeland forces her to reexamine them.

Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow, and longing, these stories map, with Adichie's signature emotional wisdom, the collision of two cultures and the deeply human struggle to reconcile them. The Thing Around Your Neck is a resounding confirmation of the prodigious literary powers of one of our most essential writers.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: R. Sex and occasional violence.

Thoughts: It's hard to evaluate a collection of short stories, because there is an inevitable difference between each of them, but overall the stories were well written and enjoyable. Several did have me wondering what the point of that story was, but overall the collection was worth the read, and provides a glimpse into a life that many of us aren't exposed to and don't think about. There is a feeling of general lost-ness and lack of hope in these stories, but I'm not sure they were written to give any meaning. Rather, they feel like the confessions and struggles of someone, putting their own experiences behind a veil of fiction in order to explain them, rather than a search or presentation of meaning. But these glimpses into other's lives can be important in reminding us that there are other stories out there beyond our own.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Goodreads synopsis: Cry, the Beloved Country, the most famous and important novel in South Africa’s history, was an immediate worldwide bestseller in 1948. Alan Paton’s impassioned novel about a black man’s country under white man’s law is a work of searing beauty.

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

The eminent literary critic Lewis Gannett wrote, “We have had many novels from statesmen and reformers, almost all bad; many novels from poets, almost all thin. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country the statesman, the poet and the novelist meet in a unique harmony.”

Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Mild implications that a character was a prostitute, and brief talked about violence.

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: I will admit I had a hard time getting into this book, but when I started Part 2, there was no way I could put it down. The book is not one sided, but shows the impacts of one stupid action on both "sides" that it impacts, and the outward ripples that actions can and do have. The beauty of this book lies in its open honesty, not shying away from the pain that each character experiences, but gently showing it, while still presenting hope in the midst of the heartache.

While it can be difficult to get into at first, it's definitely worth the time it takes to read.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

 

Goodreads synopsis: Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a bold and inspired teacher named Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, fundamentalists seized hold of the universities, and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the girls in Azar Nafisi's living room risked removing their veils and immersed themselves in the worlds of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. In this extraordinary memoir, their stories become intertwined with the ones they are reading. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny and a celebration of the liberating power of literature.

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Frank discussions on sexuality, violence, and the sexual abuse of a child from a piece of literature. 

Thoughts: I'm not really sure what else to say that the last sentence of the synopsis doesn't already say. But I can confirm that it does not over hype this book. I could even say it might not do it enough justice.

This book was beautiful. And important enough I think most people should read it, for a lot of reasons.

It's well written, lovely, important, and can make the reader face ideas in their own life that they may need to. I'm already looking forward to rereading this one.

The Crown by Kiera Cass

 

(spoilers for The Selection series below)

Goodreads synopsis: When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

My rating: 1 star.

Content warnings: PG. Some kissing and a few mild swears.

(spoilers ahead)

Thoughts: I retract most of the good things I said about the book before this. It had issues, but I was banking on the fact that this book would fix those somehow.

Boy was I wrong.

Right away, it started feeling like a weird, knockoff Hunger Games, but without any of the understanding of what made that series popular, or well thought out. Or even, for that matter, what made the first three books of this series interesting. I think Cass' main problem in this one was focusing on a character born royal, without giving her any redeemable qualities. Focusing on another character, or working with the main character to make her more sympathetic and less stupidly annoying would have gone a long way toward helping.

The plot could have been interesting? I guess? At least the political aspect of it. Which, I hardly remember at all. So that fell very flat.

And then two of the guys as a part of the "contest" randomly turn out to be gay? With no warning, development, or flat out any reason other than plot convenience? Include that in your story if you want, fine, but don't use it for "diversity points" if you're not willing to actually have it make sense. The one guy I could live with, no one knew him anyway, so there was no development to work against. But two of them? Tell me that's not just plot convenience for the sake of getting two more guys out of the way.

But the biggest issues I had was who she finally ends up with. Supposedly. I doubt they would realistically even make it to the altar, or if so the union would be over in five years or less. She shared all of, what, give total scenes with the guy before deciding she's hopelessly in love and wants to marry that guy? How does that make any sense?

What can you do though. I'll accept it as a loss and move on. It was fun before it crashed and burned.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

 

Goodreads synopsis: What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: R. Graphic violence, discussion of rape, and a scattered obsession with sex.

Thoughts: It took me longer than I expected it to before I was really invested in this book, and that was slightly disappointing. For the first several chapters, it seemed like a standard, teen crime fare, and the truth of Jazz's upbringing didn't seem to affect him much, like it really should have. But eventually that did come around, and the rest of it was good enough I can forgive this book the slow start because it did get to somewhere worthwhile.

I did also keep opening this book up and expecting it to be in first person narration. The fact that it was in third was somewhat jarring most of the way through. And that comes from someone who usually doesn't notice if a book is in first or third, so I'm not sure why that is. But maybe because I originally accused the book of being an "I Am Not A Serial Killer" knockoff (I take that back (somewhat)) but for whatever reason, it felt odd to have this book be in third person and not first. But it doesn't really change much once you get past it.

The surrounding characters though were what made the book great. Connie, and especially Howie and his fantastic personality. I do have a lot of appreciation for how an aspect of Connie's character was handled in the book too. I noticed something about her from the beginning that stuck in the back of my mind, and made me wonder about it in relation to Jazz's upbringing. I didn't expect the book to be aware enough to realize or comment on it, but near the end there was a moment when Jazz admits to himself the thing that I had been wondering about for the entire book. And the book being that aware of its characters and what it was doing there really impressed me with how the writer knew and chose to handle it.

It wasn't entirely a surprising ending, but for what it was doing, I don't think it needed to be. The focus was more on Jazz and his coming to terms with himself and what his past was, as well as what his future could be, not necessarily the mystery itself. So the killer served their purpose and didn't detract from that, but at some times even played into those self discoveries too.

(spoilers below)

But in the end, I think the story worked against itself in a way I can't really get behind. The line between glorifying killers and having a killer in your story as a force of evil to be fought against should be pretty clear. Admittedly it gets murkier when a killer is the main character's father. But there still should be a line.

And there was. Jazz even went so far as to meet his father, and managed to out think the man in the meeting while searching for answers about the killer. But then. Oh dear, but then.

I think having Jazz's father escape went a little too far. The book tried to make it look dire, like eventually Jazz would have to face his own father outside of the safety of a prison, and bring the man down. I can truly understand why it might have been done, and how it could have been seen as raising the stakes for the sequel that would obviously happen. But it didn't feel right to me. In the end, that's not how it came across, and it was giving the book world's worst killer an out, and more or less a free pass to continue committing gristly crimes for the sake of "story." There are plenty of ways the stakes could have been raised, Jazz could have continued with his newfound purpose and he could continue to fight against what his father wanted and wanted him to be. Unfortunately, that's not how it came out, and it makes me uncomfortable to think about the sequels with that element now added.

All in all it was enjoyable to read. But it had enough flaws, especially in the way the ending theme was presented, that I'm not sure I feel like looking into the sequels just yet.

Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton

 

Goodreads synopsis: Fans of More Happy Than Not, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and It's Kind of a Funny Story will cheer for Adam in this uplifting and surprisingly funny story of a boy living with schizophrenia.

When you can't trust your mind, trust your heart.

Adam is a pretty regular teen--he's just navigating high school life while living with paranoid schizophrenia. His hallucinations include a cast of characters that range from the good (beautiful Rebecca) to the bad (angry Mob Boss) to the just plain weird (polite naked guy).

An experimental drug promises to help him hide his illness from the world. When Adam meets Maya, a fiercely intelligent girl, he desperately wants to be the normal, great guy that she thinks he is. But as the miracle drug begins to fail, how long can he keep this secret from the girl of his dreams?

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: R. A good amount of cursing, and a very sex heavy/sexually natured subplot.

(spoilers ahead)

Thoughts: I didn't expect this book to actually make me emotional, but here we are.

There were things I didn't like about the book. Especially the focus on sex right around the middle of the story, and the almost constant mentions of something related to sex for a bit. And before and after that it was still not an uncommon subject to be brought up, which didn't really add anything to the story, nor did it make it more enjoyable.

But what the book did do well, it seemed to do really well. I'm not going to comment on how accurately it portrayed schizophrenia. It's not my area of expertise, and there was nothing in the book that with my very basic knowledge of the disorder seemed to me to be blatantly wrong. And that being my biggest concern about the book, it was a relief that it seemed like any mistakes made were "good faith" mistakes, and the author did put a good amount of time and research into it before writing a character with it. It didn't seem that she romanticized the disorder, like I was also afraid she would, but presented it with all its pain and hurt, but not in a hopeless way either.

Though even with that, this story's strengths came in places I didn't expect them to. I found it odd that the book was first published in 2017, but the entry dates were back in 2012. Normally when a contemporary book is dated, unless it's expressly written around a certain event, the dates are very close to those of its publication. But then the story mentioned the Sandy Hook tragedy, and it started to make sense. It's not a book about Sandy Hook. It only mentions it for five chapters, if that even. But those chapters are powerful, in their challenging of how neurotypical people look at, and treat events like mass shootings. And how our reaction can make those suffering with mental illnesses feel even more unsafe than their mind already does. It's definitely something I felt deserved more thought, and it deserves to be reevaluated in our society as well.

And my favorite parts of the book were things I haven't exactly seen done very well before. Adam's family and therapist. The unnamed, mostly silent therapist is an ever present figure through the whole book (the format is written as letters to the therapist because Adam doesn't want to talk to him) and even if the POV character is silent and resentful about him, it was easy for me to tell that the therapist was actually very skilled, competent, and patient with his job. By the end, Adam accepts that he does need the man's help, and very slowly begins to open up and let himself receive more help than he had before. We don't see the ultimate conclusion to this, but we see the very beginning, and it's enough to know that it will happen, perhaps slowly but that's okay.

Adam's family is off the top of my head, my favorite YA family so far. Everyone struggles, just as Adam does, but they don't let it get in their way of being a loving, supportive, healthy family for the main character. What got me to tear up though was near the end, Adam's normally somewhat distant stepfather shows how he truly feels in a moment that's filled with love and care. Being used to seeing family presented as something to be gotten away from as much and as soon as possible in other YA books, the time and attention dedicated to Adam's family blew me away and made me a lot more forgiving toward some of the book's other flaws.

Overall I would call it a good book. But unfortunately not one I feel like I can suggest to most people, due to the graphic and repeated nature of the sexual subplot. However if you're willing to skip or look over that, and it's an area of interest for you, it probably would be worth reading.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

 

Goodreads synopsis: Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there’s still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly. This coming-of-age true story is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever been in middle school, and especially those who have ever had a bit of their own dental drama.

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some cartoon blood, brief mentions of kissing. Those sensitive to dental issues beware.

Thoughts: And I thought my tales of dental woe were bad.

This was my first actual graphic novel, but it was a really good one to start with. The story was equal parts funny, sweet, and relatable, especially as someone who has experienced some dental mishaps of my own. But the story isn't just about what's going on in Raina's mouth, there's the pain and confusion that comes with growing up, the difficulty of letting bad friends go, and the struggles of trying to fit in when you don't feel "good enough."

The ending was so much better than I could have hoped, and the joy and hope it inspires is an important message for any young adult who feels like they don't belong or fit in.

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

 

Goodreads synopsis: The enchantment continues....

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

--
The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….
The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.
The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.
The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a game called The Princess
The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.
Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century...

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Some violence, and kissing.

Thoughts: For the most part it was decent if generally assumed and could have been left better unsaid, one was a neat addition to have, a couple seemed confusing and pointless. And of course, I hated every single mention of Thorne in any way. I could go on a rant, but a few lines in the last story really drove home how gross and possibly manipulative he really is, and how unhealthy his relationship with Cress is. But I won't do that here.

It can be an interesting, if mostly unnecessary addition to the Lunar Chronicles as a whole, but there are certainly worse reads out there, and a couple of them were pretty sweet to read.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Goodreads synopsis: A celebration of nonconformity; a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity--and the thrill and inspiration of first love. Ages 12+

Leo Borlock follows the unspoken rule at Mica Area High School: don't stand out--under any circumstances! Then Stargirl arrives at Mica High and everything changes--for Leo and for the entire school. After 15 years of home schooling, Stargirl bursts into tenth grade in an explosion of color and a clatter of ukulele music, enchanting the Mica student body.

But the delicate scales of popularity suddenly shift, and Stargirl is shunned for everything that makes her different. Somewhere in the midst of Stargirl's arrival and rise and fall, normal Leo Borlock has tumbled into love with her.

In a celebration of nonconformity, Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity--and the thrill and inspiration of first love.

My rating: 2 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some kissing, and brief danger to a beloved pet.

(spoilers ahead)

Thoughts: I think Spinelli meant well with this story. I'd like to think he did at least. But from the very  beginning, the story of Stargirl is wild, rather unbelievable, and sort of painful to read. And that's before I realized it turned into one of the worst examples of a manic pixie dream girl I've read yet.

The synopsis calls it a celebration of nonconformity, but the ending doesn't really justify that. Nothing changes when Stargirl becomes "normal" and she's even celebrated for changing herself that much. It just felt disingenuous to what should have been the message of the story, and the two main characters dating really did not help that point at all either.

It could have been good, but I spent the entire time thinking about how it could have actually been good, so that's the best I can give it. 

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

Goodreads synopsis: "I am confiding this manuscript to space, not with the intention of saving myself, but to help, perhaps, to avert the appalling scourge that is menacing the human race. Lord have pity on us!"

With these words, Pierre Boulle hurtles the reader onto the Planet of the Apes. In this simian world, civilization is turned upside down: apes are men and men are apes; apes rule and men run wild; apes think, speak, produce, wear clothes, and men are speechless, naked, exhibited at fairs, used for biological research. On the planet of the apes, man, having reached to apotheosis of his genius, has become inert.

To this planet come a journalist and a scientist. The scientist is put into a zoo, the journalist into a laboratory. Only the journalist retains the spiritual strength and creative intelligence to try to save himself, to fight the appalling scourge, to remain a man.

Out of this situation, Pierre Boulle has woven a tale as harrowing, bizarre, and meaningful as any in the brilliant roster of this master storyteller. With his cutomary wit, irony, and disciplined intellect and style, the author of The Bridge Over the River Kwai tells a swiftly moving story dealing with man's conflicts, and takes the reader into a suspenseful and strangely fascinating orbit.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Brief, bloody violence, nudity both sexual and non sexual, a possible rape undertone, thematic elements. 

Thoughts: I honestly would really have enjoyed this except for Nova. But I don't know if I've ever seen a female character so degraded in a story, where the intent was to play it off as a romantic thing. A friend of mine did posit the idea that perhaps Boulle was trying to make a statement by it, and if that was the case it would make it slightly less utterly disgusting. However, on a face value reading, I honestly doubt that was the point of that subplot, and I actually felt gross any time that subplot was brought up in any way.

Beyond that the story was interesting and entertaining. And definitely thought provoking about the use of test animals in science, even if I don't necessarily agree with the conclusion. The main character was an unlikable ass, and painfully arrogant, but it's telling of the genre and time it was written in. 

I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but it is a quick read and a cultural staple, so from that standpoint it was probably worth the read.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha

Goodreads synopsis: Based on the award-winning 10-million-plus-hit blog 1000awesomethings.com, The Book of Awesome is a high five for humanity and a big celebration of life's little moments:

• Popping Bubble Wrap
• Wearing underwear just out of the dryer
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding
• Watching The Price Is Right when you're home sick
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday

Sometimes it's easy to forget the things that make us smile. With a 24/7 news cycle reporting that the polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes are swirling in the seas, wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze, it's tempting to feel that the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us-sometimes we just need someone to point them out.

The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are free (yes, your grandma was right). With laugh-out-loud observations from award- winning comedy writer Neil Pasricha, The Book of Awesome is filled with smile-inducing moments on every page that make you feel like a kid looking at the world for the first time. Read it and you'll remember all the things there are to feel good about.

The Book of Awesome reminds us of all the little things that we often overlook but that make us smile. With touching, warm, and funny observations, each entry ends with the big booming feeling you'll get when you read through them: AWESOME!

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some crass language.

Thoughts: It's good to be reminded of what's good in life, especially of the little things. They're so easy to forget and pass by, but if we can become more aware of them, and grateful for them in the moments, I think we could all be a little bit happier.

Even in terrible circumstances. Pasricha himself wasn't in a fantastic place when he wrote this book, or began the blog that started it all. And yet, here we are.

His writing is bubbling with enthusiasm, and his excitement for life is infectious. It may even challenge readers to start their own "book of awesome." But even if not, it's well worth the read.

Or the reread. 

The Six by Mark Alpert

Goodreads synopsis: To save humanity, they must give up their own.

Adam's muscular dystrophy has stolen his mobility, his friends, and in a few short years, it will take his life. Virtual reality games are Adam's only escape from his wheelchair. In his alternate world, he can defeat anyone. Running, jumping, scoring touchdowns: Adam is always the hero.

Then an artificial intelligence program, Sigma, hacks into Adam's game. Created by Adam's computer-genius father, Sigma has gone rogue, threatening Adam's life-and world domination. Their one chance to stop Sigma is using technology Adam's dad developed to digitally preserve the mind of his dying son.

Along with a select group of other terminally ill teens, Adam becomes one of the Six who have forfeited their bodies to inhabit weaponized robots. But with time running short, the Six must learn to manipulate their new mechanical forms and work together to train for epic combat...before Sigma destroys humanity.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Threats of violence against robots and a robot/dream kiss thing. (It's hard to explain.)

(spoilers below)

Thoughts: I'm just really relieved it wasn't terrible.

The story felt like it happened really fast, a little too fast for my preferences, and there wasn't a whole lot of time to really be able to get to know the characters or have much emotional depth from them. Even when characters died, it was a little hard to really feel anything for them, or the friends they left behind.

That being said, the story was pretty enjoyable. The plot was thought out, even if it did feel a little short, and the ideas were interesting. I did get lost somewhat in the technical jargon, but that's honestly to be expected with me. And it did bring up some interesting thoughts, mostly in Adam's mother's reaction to what was going on.

If the library has the next two books, it'd probably be something I'd pick up later, when I'm in the mood for something like this again. It was fun to read, and maybe that's all it needed to be.

City of Night by Dean Koontz and Ed Gorman

Goodreads synopsis: They are stronger, heal better, and think faster than any humans ever created–and they must be destroyed. But not even Victor Helios–once Frankenstein–can stop the engineered killers he’s set loose on a reign of terror through modern-day New Orleans. Now the only hope rests in a one-time “monster” and his all-too-human partners, Detectives Carson O’Connor and Michael Maddison. Deucalion’s centuries-old history began as Victor’s first and failed attempt to build the perfect human–and it is fated to end in the ultimate confrontation between a damned creature and his mad creator. But first Deucalion must destroy a monstrosity not even Victor’s malignant mind could have imagined–an indestructible entity that steps out of humankind’s collective nightmare with one purpose: to replace us.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: R. Violence and sexual references (sometimes as the same thing).

(major spoilers below)

Thoughts: Really, my only complaint is Randal Six. I don't understand why they killed him, or what that did for the story. The authors. I understand why the characters killed him. I'm just not sure why the authors escalated the situation to that point to kill Randal Six in the first place. Seriously wound, sure. Kill? The chapters of two books that were spent following him just feel pointless now, since there was no reason to include his story in the first place. I can hope maybe it'll make more sense in the next books, but I'm not sure it will. I guess we'll find out.

One thing I really appreciate about these books is how well the authors do the creepy/scary story, without relying on excessive gore and shock value for things. There is violence, and there is gore, but it's used with purpose, and never feels gratuitous. And I respect that a lot.

This book felt a little less packed than the first one. I think the action only took place over a day, maybe two, so even though it was 80 chapters, it was a very fast read, and it feels like not a whole lot actually happened between the beginning and the end. Which gives me hope that the series as a whole isn't going to drag, but makes me wonder if the individual books aren't drawn out a little more than necessary for "run time."

Either way, it's a fast read, and still definitely worth it. The ending on its own is a little less satisfying, and I'll probably read the third book sooner than I did between the first and second books, but I'm still really invested in the world and the story (even though my favorite POV is gone now), and I still want to see where this all goes.

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Goodreads synopsis: A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son, catapulted Henri Nouwen into a long spiritual adventure. In his highly-acclaimed book of the same title, he shares the deeply personal meditation that led him to discover the place within which God has chosen to dwell. This Lent course, which has been adapted from the book, helps us to reflect on the meaning of the parable for our own lives. Divided into five sessions, the course moves through the parable exploring our reaction to the story: the younger son's leaving and return, the father's restoration of sonship, the elder son's resentment and the father's compassion. All of us who have experienced loneliness, dejection, jealousy or anger will respond to the persistent themes of homecoming, affirmation and reconciliation.

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: G. None.

Thoughts: It's a lot shorter than I expected, but packed with powerful meditations, and well worth taking the time to read slowly.

Nouwen's thoughts on the Prodigal Son story, combined with his own experiences and reflections on the three main characters within it, are thought provoking and deeply touching. His words are gentle, but they can be convicting, and he speaks into many places in life a person might need to hear about the Prodigal Son story.

There were a few places I disagreed with what was said. Mostly I think in one place it wasn't worded as well as it could have been. But that happens with any theologically-oriented book I read.

Sometimes it does feel like it could be a little over-analytical. Like the common jab at English teachers for the "the curtains are blue because she's sad" thing. But at the same time, even if it was a bit over the top on the author's part, the observations about Christianity are still valid, and often times it is even supported in the painting he's analyzing.

I'm definitely going to reread this one. There's too much to be reminded of that I don't want to forget.

The Light Thief by David Webb

Goodreads synopsis: THE SUN IS DEAD.
Humanity has moved deep underground.
The Lightbringers have reinvented electricity.
Their presence offers reassurance.
But some believe it's safer in the shadows.

Aniya Lyons has never forgiven the Lightbringers for the abduction of her brother. She’s overjoyed when he escapes and returns three years later, but he comes bearing a dark secret. Before he can share it with her, the Lightbringers steal him away again and murder their parents. Aniya is devastated, and she knows that she’s next.

So Aniya plunges into the dark tunnels of the Web, where savages and mutated beasts lie in wait. She despairs that there is no safe place to hide, that she will be running for the rest of her life. But there is a glimmer of hope. If she can make it to the Lightbringers’ Hub before they hunt her down, she may be able to sneak in and rescue her brother.

But the closer Aniya gets to the Hub, the closer she gets to discovering the horrible truth that led to the destruction of her family. The dark secret the Lightbringers would do anything to protect. And if she chooses to use this secret against them, it may carry unimaginable consequences and a great cost that Aniya may never be ready to pay.

My rating: 2 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Some violence, making out, and a scene of foreplay.

(spoilers ahead)

Thoughts: I read this book in two days, but it was still hard to get through. If that makes any sense. The only thing that got me through it was ranting to a friend about it every chapter or so.

The world itself seemed like it could have been really neat. I wanted more understanding of that world itself, and more of that world being a part of the story than it seemed to be. But the basis of the world was cool enough.

But that was about the only thing I thought was good about the story. Giving the benefit of the doubt, I do think it started off as an interesting idea. But the book as a whole seems like it could have benefited a lot from a good, professional editor, and a rewrite of a chunk of the book.

There were several times through the story that different characters would hallucinate, or have flashbacks, and these instances were almost impossible to distinguish from the actual action of the book, to the point that I was convinced a few characters had died, several different times, when it was just another character panicking and envisioning what would happen if they died. It was uncomfortable and jarring, and it made the rest of the book hard to figure out, since it was difficult to be sure when was reality and when was just in someone's mind. And this started from the very first paragraph, when it was written in a way that made it seem like the main character was seeing something she actually wasn't.

The characters themselves were all pretty one dimensional. The only one I eventually found someone intriguing was the love interest, and that only because he was working for the bad guys, and still was by the end of the book even though he had appeared to change. Even so, all of the characters only seemed to do what the plot demanded, because it demanded, and not because it was internally motivated by them in any way.

And the dialogue. Oh sweet mercy, the dialogue. I don't care what the fancy future setting is, real people do not talk like that, and especially not in situations like those the characters were in. That was almost worse than anything else.

Most of the time the flow and pacing of the story felt like the first draft of one of my stories, and that's not a comparison I had ever thought I'd make with a published story. The issue is it seems like just a bunch of stringing together bad things to happen, because they're bad things that can happen and it would "up the story tension," but without any real reason, or furtherance of the story other than things keep happening and characters keep moving. But in the end it's pretty directionless, and feels like a bunch of scenes just strung together for no reason other than they can be.

But all that being said, on some level I did kind of have fun reading it. I think it's right on the cusp of being so bad it's good, and that made some of it amusing to read.

I don't plan to read further. But if it wasn't self published and I could get a copy from the library, I would probably take a few hours to read the next books, just because on some level it was very amusing.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Goodreads synopsis: Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories—they're dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Fantasy swearing, some bloodless fantasy violence, references to alcohol use and drugs to knock someone out.

Thoughts: I think the story is probably pretty fun, and it's an interesting world with some characters who could be developed into pretty neat people, probably as the series progresses.

But the narration made me want to give up so many times. A personal pet peeve of mine is when narration talks down to the reader, like when things such as "and little did he know that this thing was never going to happen again" are said. I'm not an idiot. I'll be able to realize that for myself. You don't need to tell me. And it's not a factor of it being for a younger audience. I've hated that narration technique for as long as I can remember and its always made me roll my eyes.

And in this book, the narration like that is rather constant. There would be times without it, but the narration would take that tone more often than not and that really drew my enjoyment away from the rest of the story.

I have heard that the narration gets better in the next books, and I may be curious enough to read them at some point. The story is fun, and seems like there's a lot of cool stuff that can be done with it, as long as the narration does improve. 

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads synopsis: In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

My rating: 2 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Brief mention of nudity, dialogue about lovers, implied sex, and brief scenes of violence.

Thoughts: I thought I'd appreciate this story. I really did. But I was just so, so bored the whole time I couldn't make myself like anything about it.

If there had been any new information in the story, I think it could have held some more interest for me. But all it was seemed to be drawn out scenes of information we already knew from the other books, and some fan service by mentioning almost every main character from the main series, but they were babies here.

Levana wasn't even very clever, or even honestly that evil. I kept expecting to watch her descend into madness or something, but she was entirely bland, and it felt like she only did the things she did because the plot demanded it, not because she was very well developed or expounded on as a character with real personality. Which is disappointing, based on how well Meyer wrote Winter.

I can see why people may enjoy it, and I can understand why people hate it. But for me, it was just so boring and uninteresting it wasn't worth my time or energy to put forth an opinion either way, and I just settled on "meh." 

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

Goodreads synopsis: Set in the Soviet Union in 1953, this stellar debut from British author Smith offers appealing characters, a strong plot and authentic period detail. When war hero Leo Stepanovich Demidov, a rising star in the MGB, the State Security force, is assigned to look into the death of a child, Leo is annoyed, first because this takes him away from a more important case, but, more importantly, because the parents insist the child was murdered. In Stalinist Russia, there's no such thing as murder; the only criminals are those who are enemies of the state. After attempting to curb the violent excesses of his second-in-command, Leo is forced to investigate his own wife, the beautiful Raisa, who's suspected of being an Anglo-American sympathizer. Demoted and exiled from Moscow, Leo stumbles onto more evidence of the child killer. The evocation of the deadly cloud-cuckoo-land of Russia during Stalin's final days will remind many of Gorky Park and Darkness at Noon, but the novel remains Smith's alone, completely original and absolutely satisfying.

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: R. Violence, sometimes gruesome, some swearing, one sex scene (not graphic).

Thoughts: I was excited and nervous to reread this story when it came up. Excited because I remembered it being really good, but I also know my memory has lied about a lot of things I read a while ago, so there was no telling.

That was unfounded. The story was still incredible.

The plot does take a while to get going, and it can be a little dense before things start actually happening. That could make it difficult to get into. But the information is interesting, and it sets the stage very well for what kind of world Soviet Russia was, especially for those less familiar with the setting.

But once the story does get going, it doesn't let up until it's over. The foreshadowing is so clever, and there's enough that the twists make sense, but not too many that it's annoyingly easy to figure everything out before it's revealed. It's one of the few books that genuinely surprised me with something, and on a second read it was very interesting to be able to analyze how story elements were used for the build up.

It was a book that was maybe even better reading a second time through. Definitely worthy of the reread, and it kept its spot firmly as an amazing mystery/thriller and solid work altogether.

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Goodreads synopsis: John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.

He's spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.

He's obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn't want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he's written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.

Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don't demand or expect the empathy he's unable to offer. Perhaps that's what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there's something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat---and to appreciate what that difference means.

Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can't control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

Dan Wells' debut novel is the first volume of a trilogy that will keep you awake and then haunt your dreams.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: R. Many people die in gristly ways, and their injuries are described at length.

(possible spoilers below)

Thoughts: To start off with, John was a pretty fantastic character, narrator and POV character*. He was pretty much everything I had hoped he would be.

That being said, the rest of the story wasn't that interesting to me. After the monster was revealed pretty early on, things just weren't as complex or psychological anymore. And the sudden addition of supernatural monsters seemed to deflate a lot of the personal stakes where John was concerned. It would have been much more interesting to me with a real, human killer who mirrored John in his mindset and mental framework, instead of an inhuman monster who didn't really mirror him. Then again, that did bring around some interesting thematic elements as well. It just wasn't the same.

Even so, the supernatural elements came out of nowhere, and who the monster was was revealed so early it wasn't really that intense after that. Sure there were moments, especially when it seemed the monster was about to strike again, but only once was someone the reader cared about threatened, and then you didn't even know until it was too late. What could have been an intense mystery and chase was instead turned into a boring bloodbath while the protagonist waited on a time to make a move and more people died.

I did find interesting though, how in the series' progression, John is most likely going to be able to bypass his rules to protect humans by... killing demons. Which is both an interesting way to handle it, and a little disappointing.

And I did love John's therapist. Dr. Neblin was the real MVP here. Plus just showing therapy as something good and helpful and supportive, rather than showing Neblin as dumb or harmful or that it's weakness to seek therapy like a lot of stories tend to do.

Overall it had great characters with little interest to the plot. I'm tempted to look into reading the next books just because I love John as a character so much, but the rest of the story did very little for my tastes.

*As a side note, I do have a problem with the notion that anyone with APD/sociopathy is more destined to become a killer than other people. Although the link between that and serial killing is much stronger than a lot of other trends people may point to about various crimes. But for this character and this story, I think it worked and was done well.