Alis by Naomi Rich, a book review

Alis by Naomi Rich is an interesting book. I'm definitely not giving permission to any of my children to read this book until they are significantly older. I do and have spoken with them about most, if not all of, the situations presented in this book, but reading about it from a character's perspective is a significantly heavier thing than having a very removed conversation with one's mother about the same.

Alis is told she must marry a man who could easily be her father, by age. She is horrified by this direction and seeks a way to escape this outcome. This story is the result of her choices. It is really interesting and quite a good story. I do like it and do recommend it to readers who are either much older teens or very mature. I consider my eldest daughter mature… even very mature, yet I will have her wait to read a book like this. Just as so you know.

One reason for my decision is the presentation of an near rape scene. Also, the idea of running away as a resolution to problems is tremendously problematic to me as a Mama of 4 daughters. I would rather not encourage such thinking!

I found the resolution of the story interesting and satisfying.

Have you read Alis by Naomi Rich? What did you think of it?

Beyonders, A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull, a book review

Beyoners, A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull is a good youth fantasy. My eldest two daughters were 10 and 13 when they read and loved it. They super highly recommend it! I liked it, but wasn't as head over heels in love with it as they were as quickly as they were. It took me a little longer to really enjoy it. I definitely do recommend it for younger readers. Guys would probably love it as well as my girls because it is action packed.

The main character is a guy, Jason. He is joined by a girl, Rachel, but it really is more his story than hers. And he does go through some good changes, wherein he improves and grows.

By the end of this first book in the series, something unexpected happens which is a really great cliff hanger. I'm totally curious how the characters and author are going to bring things back around with the way the first book ended!!

I enjoyed the variety of experiences and characters in this book and look forward to getting to know the characters better and see how resolution of the problems presented come about.

Have you read Beyonders, A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull? What did you think of it?

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, a book review

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill is a good one. My two eldest daughters enjoyed it thoroughly as well. Definitely appropriate for readers from 10 (possibly younger if they read and comprehend well) and up.

Basically, this story is about a witch who saves babies because of a city that believes they must sacrifice them in order to stay safe as a result of lies they've been told by another powerful person who desires to maintain power. Normally, she saves them and feeds them magically as she brings them to their new home. Inadvertently, though, she feeds the main character with the light of the moon instead of the stars and the result is a magical little girl that the witch decides to raise since she, herself, knows that it's like to be magical and can teach the girl how to use the power she has. I want to share more, but it would be a bit of a spoiler to do so as far as the premise is concerned.

I appreciate how the main character is basically kept from self-knowledge until she's a teen and then begins to learn in a very fast and uncomfortable way who she really is. All set in a fantastic sort of reality with magic and dragons and other fantastic sorts of things.

This was an enjoyable read for me as well as my daughters. I do highly recommend it for any reader. Very good conversation starters herein as well.

Have you read The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill? What did you think?

Lyonesse, Dark Solstice by Sam Llewelllyn, a book review

Lyonesse, Dark Solstice by Sam Llewellyn is the continuation and conclusion of Idris Limpet's story, which is also loosely based on the King Arthur legend. In this book Idris gathers his knights of the table round. It's interesting to see a way that this iconic table may have come to be among the Arthurian knights.

Idris travels with his companions, his knights, to find and rescue his sister Morgan and bring her back to prove to other kings that they should help him reclaim his throne. He accomplishes his goal. His reclamation isn't quite what he had in mind, though. Saying more would really give away too much. It's a good enough story that you really should just read it yourself!

So, obviously, I recommend this book. My two eldest daughters read (at least once) it and love it!

Have you read Lyonesse, Dark Solstice by Sam Llewellyn? What did you think of it?

Lyonesse, Well Between The Worlds by Sam Llewellyn, a book review

Lyonesse, Well Between The Worlds by Sam Llewellyn is not what you may go in expecting if you knew this is loosely based on the King Arthur story. In fact, though, it is!

Idris Limpet is just a poor boy from a poor family in a city near the shore. He has grown up the son of a fisherwoman and a soldier. Nothing spectacular. Until you realize he has a pet seagull. And then you learn that he can see what the gull can see. Cool, right?

But completely unacceptable, in general, in his culture. Thankfully, right before he was killed for being different, he was saved and rushed away from everything and everyone he knew to begin a new life among complete strangers and learn new skills… to become a monstergroom.

Monsters are the fuel of the day and monstergrooms tend the monsters which move the gears of this world's machines. That's just the way it is.

Idris learns to question the way things are and begins to imagine a better way.

Thankfully, by nature of his true parentage, he may just be in a position to do something about it!

I enjoyed and recommend Lyonesse, Well Between the Worlds. It caught my attention and held it, even though at times it felt very much like I was in a dream world while reading. I enjoyed it. My two eldest daughters really love it, too. My second daughter said she liked it as much as another series that has been her favorite for a while now.

Have you read Lyonesse, Well Between the Worlds by Sam Llewellyn? What did you think of it?

The Thirteenth Reality, The Void of Mist and Thunder by James Dashner, a book review

The Thirteenth Reality, The Void of Mist and Thunder by James Dashner is the final book the Tick's saga, to the best of my knowledge (though no the end of his story).

Tick must escape the nowhere land he has found himself in with Mistress Jane and Chu. It's really up to him. They can't get themselves out.

He manages it somehow. In the doing, though, a part of the fourth dimension squeaks into their own multiverse and begins to wreak havoc. Again, though there are many forces working to assist, it falls to Tick to fix everything. He sorta manages to…

I do recommend this book and series for middle grade readers. Since the main character is a guy, young guys may especially enjoy it. My daughters love it and they are the reason I read the whole series even though it was a bit of a chore to push through each day. It's got lots of fodder for conversation with my daughters, so definitely not wasted time!

Have you read The Thirteenth Reality, The Void of Mist and Thunder by James Dashner? What did you think of it?

The Thirteenth Reality, The Blade of Shattered Hope by James Dashner, a book review

The Thirteenth Reality, The Blade of Shattered Hope by James Dashner is the third book in the saga of Tick and his friends striving to save the world from the evil geniuses in the realities. This series rests on the premise that there are many realities, with 13 of them being prime. Each reality has some of the same people, but not all do the same things. One's alterant might be very tall or very fat, depending on which reality s/he was from..

In this step in Tick's journey as a realitant, he is pitted against Mistress Jane who has pretty much completely lost all her sense. She's batty as a result of her interactions and experiences with Tick in the first book. She has set out to fulfill her goal of a utopia for all the realities… by doing evil. What's a little sacrifice of 6 billion lives if it saves more than 18 billion? This is how she thinks.

My daughters love this series. I read it because they wanted me to read it. It is good. It definitely did not have me in thrall. I had to push myself to finish it, quite frankly. I'm glad I did because I'm able to talk to my daughters about it. There are lots of great conversation starters, both of the fluff kind as well as many of deeper nature. I think this series is solidly written for middle grade readers. Boys in that age group, often considered the most difficult to hook on books, would probably love it! I definitely recommend it for those age readers.

Have you read The Thirteenth Reality, The Blade of Shattered Hope by James Dashner? What did you think of it?

The Thirteenth Reality, The Hunt For Dark Infinity by James Dashner, a book review

The Thirteenth Reality, The Hunt for Dark Infinity, by James Dashner, is the second book in Tick's saga. I shared my thoughts about the beginning of Tick's adventures HERE, so if you're trying to decide if this series is a go, make sure to check there first!

In this book, Tick continues to grow in new power through the tests Chu puts him through, unbeknownst to him.

Mistress Jane, in this book, seems to be turning over a new leaf. No longer the evil villain, she is trying to behave differently and be kinder, it seems.

She eventually learns that she is meant to do something that would have been easy for her to do in the first book, but she questions whether she should do it at all in this one. By the end, she makes her decision.

Tick and his friends move through various devious tests orchestrated by Chu, who is really just trying to find someone to help him rule the multiverse. He is an evil genius and Tick is determined to foil his plans and bring only actual good (not the twisted power-hungry version Chu has in mind) to the multiverse.

I had a tough time pushing through this book, to tell ya the truth. I did it, and will read the rest of the series, because my daughters want me to. It's good. But definitely didn't have me on the edge of my seat by any means. I definitely recommend it for middle grade readers, perhaps especially boys (though my daughters love it).

Have you read The Thirteenth Reality, the Hunt for Dark Infinity, by James Dashner? What did you think of it?

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski, a book review

The final book in the trilogy, The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski, is an easy and good read. Kestrel has played well in the previous books, yet finds herself in the fight of her life for her life, her identity, and what she believes is important. Will she win?

Again, there are a couple steamy scenes and I will allow my twelve year old to read the conclusion after the other two when she's sixteen at the earliest. More because of the mature subjects broached than the intimate scenes.

Kestrel faces new challenges.  Will she lose her mind?  Will she ever see Arin or her father again?  And what about her fiance?

I like this book and the story as a whole.

What do you think of this story? What about the whole trilogy?

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski, a book review

The Valorian Kestrel, in The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski, struggles in the heart of the empire: Valoria. She is a member of the emperor's house now, engaged to his despised son. Kestrel's soft heart finds good in the young man and the two become friends.

Intrigue surrounds her and follows her like a stench one cannot bathe away. She is working diligently to play the 'game' she has set in motion. Will she win?

I enjoyed this second book in the trilogy. I accidentally read it first.

Most authors include many, perhaps most, details from their preceding books in each subsequent book. Rutkoski did include many and the major ones, of course, but when I read the first book, I learned many details barely, if at all, alluded to in the second or third books. I like this because it shows a sort of confidence in the author. Confidence that each part of her story is worthwhile and if you want to know the whole story, you better read all of it.

This is young adult fiction. I might let my eldest daughter, currently twelve, read it when she's sixteen. There are only a couple steamy scenes which are not graphic. However, the whole book is riddled with inter-relational thoughts I'd rather my children not consider until they are a little older.

Have you read The Winner's Crime? What did you think?

The Winner's Curse, a book review

Kestrel a bird of prey and also our main character in The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski, is the daughter of the Valorian emperor's favorite general. She is wealthy and beautiful and has everything she could want. Yet still she has pain and difficulty.

Kestrel struggles within herself and with her father over the strictures of her culture. She purchases a slave, against her own moral compass.

Eventually, she struggles for her life in a storm.

Kestrel loves to play games. The question: will she always win in the most important plays?

I enjoyed this book maybe more than I would if I'd read it before the second and third parts of the trilogy. I enjoyed knowing how things brought up (loose ends, if you will) in this part reappear and/or tie up and conclude in the second and third parts. I didn't mean to do it that way. However, I think it's a testament to the good storytelling of Rutkoski that the story of this book is enjoyable even when the rest of the trilogy has already been enjoyed.

This is youth to young adult fiction. It is enjoyable to read and has only a few steamy scenes, though not graphic at all. I will wait to allow my now twelve year old to read this until she's at least sixteen more because the inter-relations of characters and the internal goings-on is of a mature nature and tone.

What do you think of The Winner's Curse? What did you like about it?

The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda, a book review

This is a good book. It's a good story. It is an adventure/action driven tale. The main characters are a boy and girl, so it can readily be attractive to both tween guys and girls.

By reading this book, I learned (or re-learned) that I tend to prefer relationship (particularly romantic relationship) driven stories. It was rather difficult for me to get “into” The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda because it isn't driven by a romantic relationship. I mention this in hopes of conveying how my review is skewed.

My two oldest children really enjoyed this story. My eldest urged me to read it. She is twelve at this writing, so I think she's a better gauge of whether children would enjoy it. I think they will because she adores it.

I like that there is obvious character development through the course of the story. I rather dislike that a good portion of that happens most obviously when the characters get new clothes.

Some of the lesser characters are silly but enjoyable with good character development.

The end of the story does leave room for continuation, but not in a cliff-hanger sort of way. I'm sure my two eldest daughters will look for more by Emily Rodda when we return to the library.

Michael Vey, The Prisoner of Cell 25, a book review

 Michael Vey is mentioned in at least the Cap'N Hugh "Strongback" Golly YouTube in which he reads When I Was a Chef, I Had a Pirate Crew.  If you've seen that and hadn't already read Michael Vey, maybe you followed the link included there and have already read the book which is the subject of this review.  If you found it through that YouTube, let me know!  If this is the first time you've heard of it, let me know that, too.  I love to know when I'm able to direct folks toward new and enjoyable reads!

This is an enjoyable read, for sure.  Michael Vey, The Prinsoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans.  I believe the author had youth around 15 or 16 years old and older in mind as his target audience when he wrote this book.  I did allow my eldest daughter to read it a few years ago when she was nine and didn't regret it.  Though the intended audience may be teenagers, I did enjoy it.

A story about youth who are burdened with extra-ordinary abilities, this first book in the series follows Michael Vey as he works to manage his powers while also figuring out how to free some people he loves.

It is well written and an easy read.  The chapters are often very short, which lends to the feeling of moving quickly through the story.  It is the first in a series.  The sixth of which will be available Fall of 2016.  My two eldest and I await the release of the sixth in the series with great anticipation.

Nightmares, a book review

Nightmares, by Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller, is a pretty good book.

Before I share about the book specifically, I have to tell you about my experience of reading it.  I'm telling the absolute honest-to-goodness truth with absolutely no exaggeration, so... there's that.

So, I started reading Nightmares.  I was able to make myself put it down when I felt tired.  So, under normal circumstances I might not have resumed reading it right away.  However, that night, I had a nightmare.  I don't remember really anything about it as far as the dream itself goes.  I only remember waking in the dream and realizing I was dreaming and that it wasn't real, it was only a nightmare.  Then, instead of the thing ending, I felt like I was rerunning horrible parts over and over in my mind.

I literally had to stop myself and decide another subject on which to focus.  Even so, the nightmare kept trying to continue to play.  I had to almost completely wake up to get out of the loop.

Also, my two eldest girls had already either just started or finished it started to have bad dreams right around the time they started to read it.  Strangely, my husband and oldest son, who didn't start reading it, had some pretty bad dreams as well.  The bad dreams spread...  and if you've read the story, you know!

Call it a coinkydink if you want.  I won't.  I believe there are no coincidences.

So, Nightmares...is geared toward tweens and possibly young teens.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed it quite well.  The beginning was pretty scary to me.  Yes, I'm a woosey when it comes to scary stuff.

This story, as with my very favorite reads, points the reader to some strong and even profound truth... or maybe more than one.

Check it out and let me know what you think!  If you've already read it, without giving the story away, what did you think of it?

The Selection, a book review

Hey yall! 

Another book review to share.  I heard about this one from a guy who was a really new missionary in my neck of the woods back in July (2016).  I'd just met him and asked if he was a reader.  He was!  Yeay!  When asked, he told me his fave genres.  Among them was romance.  Surprise! Right?  Well, I was a bit surprised.  Some girl will be very lucky in a couple.... maybe a few years.  And he's pretty cute... in a little boy sorta way.

Anyway... I asked if he had a favorite author and/or book.  He told me his favorite author was Kiera Cass and his fave book (series, really): The Selection.  So, I felt compelled to read it because of his recommendation.

I love it!  We just returned it to the library.  I was able to force myself to put it down after starting it.  The second time I picked it up, though, coincided with one of my hormone induced sleepless nights.  So, I read the rest of the book.  It's an easy read!

Imagine a cross between "The Bachelor" and Hunger Games, heavy on the former, and you've got the premise of this very cool read.  I'm excited to find out if the focus on the latter increases as the series progresses.

Let me know what you think if you check it out!  I'd love to tell this missionary that he's helped others find an awesome series and author.  Thank you, in advance.