All Systems Red by Martha Wells

 

Goodreads synopsis: In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

My rating: 4 stars.

Content warnings: PG-13. Some violence and swearing.

Thoughts: I've heard a lot about Murderbot recently, and I was excited to give it a try. It definitely was a lot of fun, and Murderbot's internal monologue was a lot of fun to read. It was also very solid as a novella. It didn't feel stretched out, or too shortened. It was well paced, well written, and overall enjoyable. I didn't find it completely groundbreaking or anything, but I do look forward to reading the rest of the series at some point.

Stones in Water by Donna Jo Naopli

 

Goodreads synopsis: The day Roberto and his friend Samuele are rounded up by German soldiers and put on a train marks both a beginning and an end. The boys have now become part of the war, providing forced labor for the Nazis at various work camps deep inside German territory. And it's the ending to all they've known -- before their lives as children in Venice, their innocence. For Roberto, the present is unbearable -- backbreaking work, near starvation, and protecting Samuele's secret that, if discovered, would mean death for both boys. Escape is Roberto's only hope, but the Russian winter is upon the land -- and any hope seems remote. But compared to the horrors he has suffered, can freezing be worse? Using the shimmering language that has marked her books Zel and The Magic Circle, Donna Jo Napoli writes a wrenching novel of a boy caught up in a war he hates. As pure as the snow that covers the vast lands he must cross, and as hard as the gift stone he carries with him as a kind of talisman, this is both a war story and a survival story. It is not only the story of how Roberto lives to tell his tale of cruelty and terror, but also how dreams and hope can endure despite the harshest tests. Donna Jo Napoli based this novel loosely on fact.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: Heavy PG. Mild violence, and several focuses on genitalia.

Thoughts: This was definitely an odd book in some ways. For the most part it was a standard kid's book. I do appreciate a lot how it was written about a facet of the German occupation that isn't talked about much. I hadn't even been aware of it before this book. However, the way the author wrote the young boys was awkward at times, and I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. And it was obviously written with a sequel in mind. But overall it wasn't a bad read.

The Power Within by Kate Sinclair

 

Goodreads synopsis: The world is in ruins. After the Great war of 2046 the United States government has collapsed, leaving warring crime syndicates and gangs to run the country. But, something deeper and stronger lies underground waiting for it’s chance to strike. Georgia Puttman is just a shy fifteen year old girl who tends to keep to herself and only listens to the things going on around her. But when she is suddenly kidnapped and given supernatural powers, she must learn to overcome her fear in order to do what is right.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG. Some non-described violence.

Thoughts: I know the author, but was not asked to review this

It is evident that this is the author's first book, and there is room for improvement. My main comment was that it could have stood to be a much longer story, with a lot more world and character development. But it is clear that a lot of thought and work went into this book, and I enjoyed the heart behind it. Not for everyone, but nice to support a young, beginning author.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 

Goodreads synopsis: Having spent twenty-seven years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.

In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create an unforgettable story of friendship, art, and hope.

My rating: 2 stars.

Content warnings: Some poop jokes.

Thoughts: I honestly didn't expect to really like this book, but I didn't expect it to be this disappointing. For as thick as the book was, there was maybe 10 pages of actual story. To add to that, I couldn't stop thinking about Charlotte's Web the whole time (before I saw that in the synopsis), and the entire story felt like a retelling of that, much better story. Ivan was okay enough, but he's never going to be Charlotte, and I was just wishing I was reading that instead. If you like monkeys it might be nice, but otherwise, I'd suggest just reading Charlotte's Web instead.

All the Way Home by Patricia Reilly Giff

 

Goodreads synopsis: It’s August 1941, and Brick and Mariel both love the Brooklyn Dodgers. Brick listens to their games on the radio in Windy Hill, in upstate New York, where his family has an apple orchard; Mariel, once a polio patient in the hospital in Windy Hill, lives in Brooklyn near the Dodgers’ home, Ebbets Field. She was adopted by Loretta, a nurse at the hospital, and has never known what happened to her own mother. Someday, somehow, she plans to return to Windy Hill and find out. When a fire destroys their orchard, Brick’s parents must leave the farm to find work. They send him to live in Brooklyn with their friend Loretta, even though Brick knows that their elderly neighbors need his help to pick what’s left of the apples. The only good thing about Brooklyn is seeing the Dodgers play–that, and his friendship with Mariel. Maybe, together, they’ll find a way to return to Windy Hill, save the harvest, and learn the truth about Mariel’s past.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: PG.

My thoughts: I expected more baseball from this book, but overall it was sweet and a neat read. It didn't have the normal kid's book complaint where things just start to happen and then it ends. It definitely felt like a whole and complete story, and one with a bit more depth than normal at that. It was sweet and an enjoyable story, and my only complaint is that the baseball it mentioned on the back cover wasn't in the story as much as I thought it would be. But certainly worth the read.

Germ by Robert Liparulo

 

Goodreads synopsis: If you breathe...It will find you.

The list of 10,000 names was created for maximum devastation. Business leaders, housewives, politicians, celebrities, janitors, children. None of them is aware of what is about to happen--but all will be part of the most frightening brand of warfare the world has ever known.

The germ--an advanced form of the Ebola virus--has been genetically engineered to infect only those people whose DNA matches the codes embedded within it. Those whose DNA is not a match simply catch a cold. But those who are a match experience a far worse fate. Within days, their internal organs liquify.

Death is the only escape.

The release of the virus will usher in a new era of power where countries are left without defense. Where a single person--or millions--could be killed with perfect accuracy and zero collateral damage. Where your own DNA works against you.

The time isn't coming. It is now. Pray the assassins get you first.

My rating: 3 stars.

Content warnings: R. Graphic violence.

Thoughts: Virus thrillers aren't quite as much fun as they used to be.

That being said, it was still a fun ride, even if it did take me a while to read. The action was tense and exciting. And it was definitely nice to read a thriller without any sex scenes or constant profanity. And to have a religious character not to be the butt of constant jokes or ridicule.

I don't have much else to say about it, but I look forward to reading more of the author's work.