Recently Read: Weave a Circle Around

Author: Kari Maaren
Genre: Young Adult- Science Fiction/Fantasy
Publication Date: 2017
Page Count: 336
Rating: 3/5

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Freddy lives with her younger sister, her deaf step-brother, her step-father, and her mother. She can't seem to get along with her step-brother Roland, who has bounded with her sister Mel over role-playing games, and her step-dad and mother are never around. Freddy feels out of place at home and at school. When new neighbors move into the often-vacant house next door, Freddy quickly discovers they are not who, or even what, they claim to be. 

I'm pretty sure I saw this book on a list of books recommended to fans of Stranger Things right after I finished season two. And since I, like the rest of the world, am a HUGE fan of Stranger Things I decided to check this one out. 

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and parts that I felt underwhelmed by. I really liked the concept, and the supernatural elements were really unique. The neighbors, Josiah and Cuerva Lachance were unlike any supernatural force I have encountered before, and I'm always interested by time travel in a plot. Even with these super cool individual elements, there was something missing. The characters fell a bit flat for me, and the time travel section of the novel was a bit too scattered and didn't add enough to the overall plot. The mystery of the novel was interesting enough to keep me reading in order to unravel it, but once it was unraveled it was a bit underwhelming. 

The end of the novel was also a little scattered and there was a couple of events that I didn't entirely understand how they were resolved. I know that the supernatural is not always meant to be understood, but I don't think that was what was going on here. 

One element of the novel that I really enjoyed was its connection to the Coleridge poem "Kubla Khan." I'm a sucker for contemporary fiction, particularly YA, that aligns itself with or references a classic work, and this one did it really well. "Kubla Khan" is a heck of a roller coaster ride, and it served its purpose very well in this novel. I thought that was a really clever addition. 

Overall, this was a super quick read and a pretty unique plot. I'm glad I picked this one up from the library, as it was entertaining and pretty light-hearted. I've really been in the mood for sci-fi and historical fiction lately, and this one kind of checked both boxes. If you like supernatural/sci-fi reads, I would give this one a try!  

Recently Read: The Rose and the Dagger

Author: Renee Ahdieh
Genre: Ya Retelling/Fantasy
Publication Date: 2016
Page Count: 416
Rating: 3/5

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I never got around to reviewing The Wrath and the Dawn when I read it last year because I listened to it on audiobook during a busy school semester, but I have pretty similar feelings about both novels. 

I think listening to these books on audio was a great choice, as the narrator has a beautiful voice and is a great reader. I'm not sure if I would have finished these otherwise- as they are a little slow at times and the writing is extremely detailed. This dualology is a loose retelling of A Thousand and One Nights, and Ahdieh does an amazing job of making these novels feel like legends through her writing style and the atmosphere she crafts. I think the beautiful and detailed writing really adds to this atmosphere, but it does make it a bit of a slower read at times. 

I know a lot of people love these books, but I felt pretty neutral about them. I thought the romance was a bit odd in book one, but the novel was entertaining enough so I stuck around and checked out book two. I didn't feel like there was a lot of substance to The Rose and the Dagger. I found myself about fifty percent of the way through the book before the plot really started. The last quarter of the book or so really picked up, and I was interested to see how it ended, but until that point, not a lot happened. There wasn't a lot of romance, and while I appreciated the lack of a love triangle, I found the romance scenes in book one to be the most entertaining, even if the romance was a bit odd. 

Overall, I enjoyed this dualology. but it's not my favorite YA out there. I loved Ahdieh's writing, as she has a beautiful and mythical voice, but everything else was just 'okay' for me. I still recommend checking this one out if it interests you, as a lot of people love it, and book one is a really interesting twist on A Thousand and One Nights. I really enjoy retellings, but it seems like the same classics keep getting covered over and over, so I love to read retellings that are based on new classics.

And of course, I can't mention A Thousand and One Nights and not mention the Scooby Doo movie that introduced me to the story. I was (and still am) a huge fan of Scooby, so this movie was all I could think about while reading these books. Does anyone else have any idea of what I'm talking about?? 

Recently Read: The Women Who Got Away (Mini-Review)

Author: John Updike
Genre: Classic Short Stories
Page Count: 108
Rating: 3/5
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The Women Who Got Away is a collection of short stories by John Updike complied into this Penguin Great Loves edition. I picked up quite a few of these on Book depository a year-or-so ago because I loved the concept and the beautiful pocket size designs and I thought it was about time I actually read them.

This collection included five short stories by Updike that fit the theme of the title, women who got away. All five stories are told by a (usually) nameless male narrator lamenting on his mistress that has gotten away. I picked this up because A&P by Updike( you can read it here; it's very short) is one of my favorite short stories of all time, and one that I have studied and written papers on many times before, so I was looking to read more of his works. This was a quick read that I really enjoyed! I'm now interested in picking up some of Updike's longer fiction, but I'm not sure where to start. 

Despite these stories having very similar narrators and themes, the stories were not monotonous or boring. Updike is able to create such real and complex characters in such a short amount of words that even the shortest of his stories feel complete and complex. Updike writes about the mundane and the everyday, but he is able to capture humanity and emotion so well, that it feels like you are witness to intimate details and private moments in someone else's life. I would say that the title story was my favorite, but I enjoyed the other four stories as well. While I don't think these stories are Updike's best work, I do think this would serve as a good introduction to Updike's writing style if you are interested in jumping into his works. I would recommend starting with A&P before these stories though.  

Mystery Double Review: They Do it With Mirrors and The Body in the Library

Author: Agatha Christie
Genre:Classic/Mystery
Publication Date: 1952
Page Count: 202
Rating: 3/5

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Also by Agatha Christie:
And Then There Were None

In this Miss Marple mystery, our detective heads to the home (and juvenile delinquent rehab center) of her old schoolmate. Miss Marple is sent on the suspicion that something is not right, and of course, that suspicion is correct as murder ensues.

This was my third Christie novel and first Miss Marple. I picked this book up to take to work with me one day and ended up reading it in two days. I loved that this novel was so quick to read and easy to follow, which made for great work reading. I really enjoy reading (and watching) mysteries, so of course, I enjoy Christie. While I don't think this is the best mystery she has ever crafted, I was thoroughly entertained and suspicious of every character. The setting really made this novel, and I'm eager to pick up more by Christie. I have been scouring for her novels at every used bookstore and sale I've been to lately! 

If you've never read anything by Christie, I highly recommend picking her up. She's a great author to start with if you are new to mystery, and a must read for those who love mysteries.

Title: The Body in the Library 

Author: Agatha Christie 

Genre: Classic/Mystery 

Publication Date: 1942

Page Count: 207

Rating: 3/5

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In this novel, Christie tackles the 'body found in the library' trope of the mystery novel, and of course, she does it in a clever and entertaining way. Miss Marple is called when friends of hers awake to find the dead body of a young girl they have never seen before in their library. 

I have come to find that I really enjoy Miss Marple. I find her to be funny and smart in her observations and village parallels. She never seems to be the focus of her novels, which leaves room for Christie's eccentric and humorous characters to lead the show. This novel, like They Do it With Mirrors, was hard to put down and very entertaining.  I find myself turning to Christie when I need a quick and entertaining read to help me pass the time during trips or slow work days. 

Christie's works also make great beach reads as they are clever and entertaining, but not overly complicated. The plot and characters are easy to keep track off, and her clever detectives can always be counted on to add wit and humor to the very series topic of murder. 

What's your favorite Christie novel?

Recently Read: Belle Epoque

Author: Elizabeth Ross
Genre: Young Adult- Historical Fiction
Publication Date: 2013
Page Count: 336
Rating: 3/5

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Maude has run away from her home and father to avoid an arranged marriage to a man more than double her age, and she has landed in Paris. There she finds the city to be a difficult place to survive on her own, until she comes across an ad in the newspaper offering work to young women. Maude soon finds out that this work is acting as an average-looking foil to the society women who want to appear more beautiful. Maude must decide if this work, and a new-found friendship with her first client, is worth the sacrifice of her pride, or if the job even requires any sacrifice of her pride at all.

I ordered this book from Book Outlet quite a while ago and didn't know much about it, besides the basic idea of a foil and it taking place in historical Paris. I'm glad I ended up picking this one up, as it was an enjoyable read. 

The pacing of the book was spot on, and Maude was a likable character. I was intrigued by the idea of beauty foils and was not surprised to find out that this practice is rooted in fact. It is interesting to examine the lengths that women of the past and present go to in order to obtain 'beauty' and how that idea of beauty changes with time.  If you're a fan of historical fiction, this one is worth checking out. It was quick and enjoyable and the historic Paris setting is always amazing to visit.

One of my favorite elements of this novel was that it was set against the backdrop of the construction of the Eiffel Tower, which the majority of people detested at the time. This worked perfectly as a metaphor for the changing ideals of beauty, as the Eiffel Tower is now the most well-known symbol of Paris and one of the most recognized structures in the world. 

Recently Read: V for Vendetta

Author: Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Genre: Graphic Novel/Comic
Publication Date: Originally serialized in 1982-1985
Page Count: 296
Rating: 3/5

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This graphic novel takes place in a bleak London future. The government is fascist and all-controlling, but even worse, the people have lost their lust for revolution and justice. A mysterious, masked figure named V aims to restore that lust for revolution through any means possible.

I hadn't read anything by Alan Moore, but his graphic novels have become a staple to the genre, so I wanted to check them out, and I thought this would be a good place to start. I was also unfamiliar with the movie version of the novel, so I knew nothing about this story, and I think that added to my enjoyment of the novel. 

The art is traditional comic book art. It's dark and realistic; it's nothing mind-blowing, but it suits the story perfectly. I was really entertained by the first half of this novel. I lost myself in the first half and kept turning the page to find out exactly what was happening and what the motivations of each character were, and I even forgot I was at work while reading it. The second half, however, was a little slow for me. It was still entertaining, but I feel like it dragged out a little too long. 

Don't get me wrong, this story is quite over-the-top and self-indulgent, but it was entertaining. I found the masked figure of V to be compelling and was a big fan of the symbolism weaved into his character. I found some of the characters, particularly the government leaders, to be difficult to keep track off, but I was still able to follow the story just fine. 

This story was written in the 80s in serial form, so it was interesting to see the past's fears for the future. If you are a fan of dystopians or conspiracies, this novel is worth checking out. It's an interesting look at the function of government and revolution in the lives of humans. I'm really interested to watch the film adaptation, as I have a feeling it will be very different from the book, but I think it will be a good film as this is a story that will translate well to film. 

I'm glad to have my first Alan Moore under my belt, and I'm looking forward to moving on to his other works. Watchmen comes highly recommended to me by my brother, so that might be the next graphic novel I tackle. 

Recently Read: The Alchemist

Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Fiction/ Modern Classic
Publication Date: 1999
Page Count: 177
Rating: 3/5

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This novel is a modern classic, originally written in Portuguese. I decided to pick it up as part of my Short Reads February TBR, as I have been meaning to read it forever. It follows Santiago, a young Shepard, who has a reoccurring dream about a treasure at the base of the Egyptian Pyramids and sets out to find it and his destiny.

This novel reads like a combination of a fable and a religious tale. It's simple in its language and plot, but rich in theme and wonder. This novel deals with the ideas of fate and destiny and how these concepts work in tandem with the universe. It's heavy in life advice and wisdom, but it doesn't feel preachy. I can see why this novel has earned the title of modern classic, and I think it will continue to be read in the years to come by many readers. 

This is a novel I can see myself rereading in the future and is worth checking out if you haven't read it yet. I am always interested by works that deal with the ideas of fate and destiny and this is a great examination of those topics.

I rated this novel three stars because although it was pleasant and enjoyable, I find myself without a lot to say about it. I expected a tiny bit more from it because of its reputation, but overall, I did enjoy this work and its message. 

Recently Read: Men Explain Things to Me

Author: Rebecca Solnit
Genre: Nonfiction/ Essay Collection
Publication Date: 2014
Page Count: 130
Rating: 3/5

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This is a collection of essays that center around feminism written by Solnit. This collection has been buzzed about quite a bit, and you know I love gender and feminism, so I was super interested in this one. It came in to my library at exactly the right time, as this collection fit in perfectly with Short Reads February. I don't usually read essays, so I thought it would be best to start with a short collection on a topic that I am really interested in.

Overall, I liked this collection. As usual with collections, some essays were more interesting to me than others, but I didn't dislike any of them. Some of the essays began to feel a little repetitive as each essay seemed to have the same statistics or case studies, which wasn't too bad because they were important stats.

I liked the title essay. The idea of men explaining things to women that already understand is not new to any woman. I'm sure this has happened to the majority of women out there, as I know it has happened to me, even though I work in a field that is majority female. I thought the essay was the perfect balance of fact, personal antidote, and expression. Unfortunately, when women write/speak about sexist traditions or experiences, they are often dismissed as whiny or preachy when they make an emotional appeal, but Solnit is careful to avoid that and stick to the facts.

I enjoyed the few essays in this collection on rape and rape culture, and found they were treated with the same care as the title essay; rape statistics and figures are really stunning on their own, but Solnit's writing works to place them into context and offer reasons behind those numbers. I found her ideas about masculinity and violence interesting and agreed with them wholly. I think the way we view and define masculinity is harmful to everyone, both male and female.

I'll be picking up more essay collections in the future, particularly ones on feminism. Leave me your favorites!

Two Middle-Grade Mini Reviews: Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times and The Tell-Tale-Start

Author: Emma Trevayne
Genre: Middle Grade- Steam Punk
Publication Date: 20
Page Count: 306
Rating: 3/5

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Jack is bored with London. He is bored with his parents who don't pay attention to him and longs for an adventure, until he stumbles upon one in the form of a mysterious man who does parlor tricks to entertain his mother and her friends. The adventure comes after Jack steps through a doorway and finds himself in an unusual place named Londininum, where everyone is at least a little bit made of metal and The Lady rules all. 

This was a really fun middle grade read. It was the perfect mix of whimsical and dark, and the steam-punk elements worked perfectly to build the atmosphere. My favorite part about this book was the art! I loved the cover art and the illustrations inside and thoroughly wish there would have been more.

The world was enticing and is a setting I would have loved to read more about. Jack was nothing out of the ordinary, but the side characters from Londininum were very interesting and well developed. The atmosphere was thick and encompassing, but the plot was just alright for me.

I really enjoyed this book and found it a fun middle grade adventure. I am interested in checking out Emma Trevayne's other works. 

Author: Gordon McAlpine

Genre: Middle Grade

Publication Date: 2013

Page Count: 208

Rating: 3/5 

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Edgar and Allan Poe are the great-great-great-great grandnephews of the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe and they just so happen to be connected through some freaky physics. The twin brothers can hear each others' thoughts and that means they have the potential to be super useful for a not-so-good science professor...

This story was super cute. I loved the elements of classics literature that made an appearance and the humor is great. This was a super fast read, and I have since moved on to book two. Like the above book, this one has some really great art, but of a different style. I loved the sketch- type art in this one and thought it went perfectly with the story, I think this is one that can be enjoyed by both kids and older readers as it's a lot of fun. 

I have been gravitating towards middle-grade lately as I have been pressed for reading time. Both of these books were quick reads but I really enjoyed them and found them to be a lot of fun.   

Recently Read: All the Birds in the Sky

Author: Charlie Jane Anders
Genre: Science Fiction/Magical Realism
Publication Date: 2016
Page Count: 316
Rating: 3/5

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Patricia is a witch. Laurence is a science genius. They both are outcasts. Patricia and Laurence find each other and lose each other over their journeys of magic and science and change the world. This novel is genre-defying and thought provoking.

This novel was really hard for me to rate because I had such a strange reaction to the end. I finished this novel, which deals with the possible end of the world, the same day that the military coup in Turkey happened and felt really shaken. I think the timing of me reading this one really affected my thoughts about it. I thought the ending was good, it was pretty emotional on its own, but it was not without light and hope. I just felt so weird reading about the possible end of the world when I read about awful world-altering events everyday. Seeing such a clear reflection of violence and fear in the fiction I was reading and the real life news I was reading was an odd experience. Now, I know that we did not face a possible end of the world, but some days it doesn't feel too far off from it. And for those directly affected by that specific event, it could feel much more like the actual end of the world.

Anyways, that's enough of a glimpse of what my head-space is like at the moment. On to the book... 

Besides all that, I really liked the way that this novel played with the idea of magic vs. science and how they help and hinder each other. I really liked the characters and found the magical realism elements to be really well done and interesting. One word of caution: if you read this book, you must accept that you will be confused at some points. The story is not quite linear and some concepts that exist in this world and not in ours, must just be accepted as they are with no real explanation. I was never too confused and never felt like giving up because of it, but I did have to accept that I would not understand everything as it was presented to me and had to be patient in order to understand. 

I loved how the science fiction and magical realism elements blended together seamlessly in this novel and thought Anders did a great job of building a beautiful and fragile world that was all too real. I would definitely recommend checking this one out, especially if you are looking for something unique and out of the ordinary. There is so much depth and humanity in this small book, I just wish there was a bit more of the world. Some concepts could have been further explained or explored, but I also enjoyed figuring out the concepts on my own. 

If you have read this one, I would love to hear your thoughts on it!

Recently Read: Memoirs of a Beaknik (Or what happens when a woman writes about sex)

Author: Diane di Prima
Genre: Classic/Memoir (kinda)
Publication Date: 1968
Page Count: 194
Rating: 3/5

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More about the Beats:
Literary Look: The Beatnik Movement
On the Road by Jack Kerouac Review 
The Beats: Graphic Novel Review

Buckle you seat-belts, it's going to be a wild ride of sexism and bohemianism. 

If you are unaware, Diane di Prima is a poet who wrote during the Beatnik movement in America. For more information on the movement you can read my Literary Look linked above, but it took place during the late 50s to early 60s. The Beats are comparable to modern day hipsters, expect they did a lot of drugs and couch surfing. They were the ultimate bohemians and wrote about their real experiences, many were drug induced, and their real lives. Their works may be embellished or slightly changed, but most of them are based on true stories and true people. This movement was famously dominated by men and it was very hard for women to gain any popularity or critical respect in the movement. di Prima was one of the few women to do this, and is often recognized as the leading female poet of the Beat era. 

The Beats are pretty controversial; you either love them or hate them. I love them, but I can understand why people hate them.They do a lot of drugs and creating and not much else, but I find them endlessly fascinating because of their lack of care or worry. If you are not a fan of the Beat movement and all that rejection of society and responsibility, you will not enjoy this one. Just like most works from this movement, this book contains an ungodly amount of drugs, sex, and carelessness. 

First of all, it is important to understand that this is not di Prima's real memoir. That came in the form of recollections of My Life as a Woman: The New York Years published years later in 2001. This is the edition of her memoirs that her publisher thought would sell best. di Prima was asked to put as much sex as possible in the book and that's just what she did. In the afterword of the book di Prima states, 

"Gobs of words would go off to New York whenever the rent was due, and come back with “MORE SEX” scrawled across the top page in Maurice’s inimitable hand, and I would dream up odd angles of bodies or weird combinations of humans and cram them in and send it off again. Sometimes I’d wander the house looking for folks to check things out with: “Lie down,” I’d say, “I want to see if this is possible.”" 

 I know a lot of people are not aware of this, but as I was reading the reviews of this book on Goodreads I couldn't help but notice something strange that happens when women write about sex. If you know anything about the Beats, you will know that the "founders" (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Neal Cassidy) had sex with everyone, including each other. They write about this in all of their works, the number of women Kerouac has sex with in On the Road is over ten at the least, but no one bats an eye. Not many would label On the Road as pornographic but you bet your last dollar they labeled di Primas's novel pornographic and question its literary value.

Women write about fictional sex in numerous romance novels and make billions of dollars, but once it is suggested that the sex is not fictional but the real experience of the author (which the word memoir does in this case) forget about it, this isn't literature, it's obscene.

Did di Prima have sex with every human she met? No. Did her male editor disregard the value of her true experience of being a woman writer in an all-male literary scene and latch on to the suggestive scenes as a way to provide entertainment and make money off of a woman's story? Probably.  

I'm really glad that I read this before di Prima's real memoir, as this was such a thought provoking read. I'm really excited to read her real memoir to get a better sense of what her experience in the movement was like. Reading classics can be very frustrating at times because women were so often excluded or pushed under the rug, but it is so rewarding to experience and examine women's experiences through the angle of literature, and the story of this novel's publication says so much more about the experience of di Prima in the literary scene than the words inside her novel. The way that we view this novel and the frankness with which di Prima writes about her sexuality and sexual encounters continues to provide a lens through which we can view the double standards and expectations we place on women vs. men when it comes to sexuality.

Read some of di Prima's poetry here.

Recently Read: The Shadow Cabinet

Author: Maureen Johson
Genre: Young Adult/ Paranormal
Status: Third in series of four (?) books
Publication Date: 2015
Page Count: 3
Rating: 3/5

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Also by Maureen Johnson:
The Name of the Star (look how far my reviews have come!)
The Madness Underneath

The Shadow Cabinet is the third novel in Johnson's Shades of London series. Rory is left with the ability to see ghosts after a near-death-experience while studying abroad in London. She soon finds she is not the only one in London with this ability, and that "Shades" make up a secret police force that help fight crime caused by ghosts. 

If you have read the first two books in this series than you are familiar with the huge cliff-hanger that the second book left on, and the very, very long wait between the release of book two and three. I was really excited to get my hands on this book because I thought it was the conclusion to a trilogy. I waited a VERY long time for this conclusion, and come to find out, it's not even the conclusion! That was pretty annoying and disappointing, and may have affected my enjoyment of the novel slightly, but even without that factored in, this was my least favorite novel of the series. 

The tone of this novel is quite different from the first two, and I realize that that makes total sense because of the event at the end of book two, but my favorite thing about this series was Rory's hilarious narrative voice. That was missing during this book. I was also a little annoyed with some of the turns the plot took. I realize that this might sound weird because I am talking about a paranormal novel, but some things were just a little too far-fetched and maybe even a little random. 

This book was just okay for me. I will be picking up the next (and hopefully last) book in this series, because I do want to know how this series ends for all of these characters. I highly recommend the first book in this series, as it both creeped me out and made me laugh out loud. 

What did you think of this one? Do you have any information on the fourth book for me?  

Mini Reviews: Nimona, A Spy in the House, and Grimly & Poe

Title: Nimona
Author: Noelle Stevenson
Genre: Graphic Novel
Page Count: 400
Rating: 4/5

This graphic novel started out as a web comic and follows the adventures of Nimona- as shape-shifting side-kick to a super-villain. 

I loved the art style and humor in this graphic novel. Nimona and the other characters were interesting and funny, and the adventure was so fun. I loved that this was a fantasy graphic novel. That is something that I have never read before. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I will be looking forward to Stevenson's future works.  

Title: A Spy in the House
Author: Y.S. Lee
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction/Mystery
Page Count: 230
Rating: 3/5

Mary is an orphan in Victorian London who has been arrested and sentenced to death for stealing. She is suddenly rescued by the headmistress of an all-girl school. Mary discovers her headmistresses are part of a secret and undercover female spy organization, and Mary is sent on her first case.

This book had so much potential, but it just fell flat for me. The characters were just average and the mystery and plot were average as well. The synopsis gave me high hopes, but they just weren't met. The love interest was rather cute, and one of the best developed characters though. I'm unsure if I will be picking the next books in the series up or not. This was a quick read, that was enjoyable, but nothing spectacular.   

Title: Gris Grimly Illustrates Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories
Author: Edgar Allan Poe and Gris Grimly
Genre:Classic/ Illustrated Novel
Page Count: 136
Rating: 4/5

I read Frankenstein illustrated by Grimly last October and loved it! I love Grimly's art and how well it accompanies Gothic and creepy classics! This novel contains four stories by Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart, The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather, The Oblong Box, and The Facts in the Case of M. Vladmer.

I quite forgot just how creepy and messed up Poe's stories tend to be, and the Tell-Tale Heart was the only story I had read previously. Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather was quite weird. I really enjoyed this book and I really enjoy Grimly's art. I will be picking up as many of Grimly's works as possible. I highly recommend checking him out. 

Recently Read: Mosquitoland

Author: David Arnold
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Status: Stand-Alone
Publication Date: 2015
Page Count: 352
Rating: 3/5

Mim's father and his new wife and Mim have moved away from Mim's mother in Ohio to Mississippi. When Mim discovers her mother is sick, she leaves on a Grey Hound Bus with nothing but her goodwill shoes, a coffee can full of money, and her backpack to see her mom, but her trip is full of unexpected events and friends.

I was browsing the e-books that were available through my library, and I was pretty excited to see this one was available. As you may remember, one of my 2015 goals was to read more new releases, and this one had been getting some pre-release buzz, so I picked it up. I love the colors of the cover and how it wraps around the book, but I didn't love the book itself. This was just okay for me. 

It was hard for me to relate to Mim, I didn't agree with a lot of the decisions she made, and she was a little too quirky. I do love a good quirky character, but there was just too much going on here in the quirk department. 

This book attempts to tackle issues relating to mental illness, but I don't think any message or theme really develops relating to these issues. In fact, for most of the novel Mim refuses to take her medicine the doctor prescribed her, and while it is questionable if Mim needs it or not at some points in the novel, this is seems like a weird message to send about mental illness; that medication is unnecessary. While I'm sure that some people are unnecessarily put on medication for mental illnesses they have been misdiagnosed with, or that could be treated in a different fashion, I'm not sure that Mim was one of those people. Some of the events in the book seemed to just happen and not really serve the over-all plot in any productive manner, and they just left me like "huh, interesting" after they happened. I was also slightly unimpressed with the romance in the book. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it was just eh. 

I did find this book to be entertaining, and there were a few surprises along the way. Mim meets a great character named Walt, who really makes the novel in my opinion, and there is major development within Mim as she completes her journey. I would recommend checking this one out, especially if you are a contemporary lover or if you love quirky characters. 

If you read this, let me know what you thought! What is your favorite 2015 release so far this year? 

Recently Read: The Sin Eater's Daughter

Author: Melinda Salisbury
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publication Date: 2015
Page Count: 238
Rating: 3/5

Twylla was destined to be the next Sin Eater. After the death of someone a Sin Eater must eat the sins of the deceased before their soul can peacefully pass into the next world, but then fate had a different idea for Twylla. Her touch is deadly and she works as the queen's executioner. 

I'm not sure what I think about this one. The characters were likeable and the story was entertaining, but the ending was a little oddly done. The plot moved at a slower pace for the first 3/4 of the novel and then all of the sudden in the last fifty or so pages a ton of plot happened and then the book ended. This is the first in a trilogy (?) and I know that the end was a set up for the rest of the series, but it just seemed like all we needed was the last fifty pages to set us up for book two. Because all of that plot development happened so fast I found myself feeling a little confused about what exactly was going on. I do like this book enough to be interested in picking up the others in the series when they are released though. 

I liked the world and I thought the concept of Sin Eating was so cool- I would have loved to have more information about this idea and I'm hoping it will play a huge role in the next books. There was a few interesting plot twists in here that I really enjoyed and I read this rather quickly because it was so entertaining and quick. 

So I guess I enjoyed this, but it didn't blow my mind. I just can't decide how I feel about this one. I'm curious to know what you thought of this one if you read it so let me know!  

And how gorgeous is that cover?!

Recently Read: Love in the Time of Global Warming

Author: Francesca Lia Block
Genre: Young Adult: Classic Retelling
Publication Date: 2013
Status: Has a sequel novel entitled The Island of Excess Love 
Page Count: 154
Rating: 3/5

I finally found a few free evenings this past week and decided to pick up something quick. I've had this one on my Nook for quite a while, so I just decided to pick it up, and I'm glad that I did.

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesa Lia Block is a loose retelling of Homer's The Odyssey. The world has ended in a natural disaster, and Penelope's family is missing. On her journey to find her family, she finds a group of unlikely kids who have survived the disaster as well, and they must ban together for survival.

I really enjoyed this read. I really enjoyed the connections with The Odyssey and thought this story was just the right amount of retelling and unique story. This novel has a mythological feel to it, which fits perfectly with the retelling elements, and makes for a fun and whimsical read. This novel has a darker tone and a number of dark elements, which Block juxtapositions with a number of famous art pieces that Pen calls to mind while wandering the newly ended world. This overlay of art and the end of the world is really interesting. 

I loved the inclusion of these art pieces, and I actually discovered a few new artists while reading this, and I loved looking up the artists and pictures as they were mentioned in the book. Another positive about this book is that in true Francesca Lia Block style, it deals heavily with LGBTQ issues. But this element of the story seemed natural and unforced and blended in with the story nicely. 

This novel does have a sequel entitled The Island of Excess Love which is a loose retelling of Virgil's Aeneid, which I have not read, and takes place right after the events of this novel. I'm not planning on picking that one up right away, but I might pick it up sometime soon. I recommend giving this one a go, especially if you enjoy Young Adult retellings of Classics or mythological stories.    

Recently Read: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Author: Mark Twain
Genre: Classic
Publication Date: 1884
Status: Sequel to Tom Sawyer but can be read as a standalone
Page Count: 307
Rating:  3/5 but how does one even rate a classic on a scale of one to five??

This was the first novel that I read for my American Literature class this semester. I had never read this, or anything by Mark Twain before. I bought myself the Penguin Deluxe Classic Edition because I want to start a little collection of them, and it is a very beautiful book (and it always helps if required reading looks pretty)

As mentioned above, this is technically a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but it can be read as a standalone. It summarizes the events of the first novel for you in the beginning, and it really is a completely separate story. This book tells the story of Huck Finn's adventures while traveling on the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. 

I liked a lot of things about this book, and I didn't like a lot of things about this book. I liked that the book was narrated by Huck himself, as that gave a really interesting layer of depth and meaning to the themes in the book and it added some humor to the story, since Huck is a young boy of about twelve years old.Huck doesn't use Standard English spelling all the time, and he mixes his words up, but he is genuine, thoughtful, and quick on his feet. This book made me laugh a few times, and has some very powerful themes about loyalty, equality, and freedom.

It was a bit of a slow read though, for a few reasons. Huck Finn is well known for its very close to true use of Southern dialects, and that can make the reading go slow if you are not used to the dialects. You do get into a groove with Huck's manor of speaking because he is the narrator, but it can be difficult to understand some of the other characters dialogue in the novel. I also felt that this book dragged on in the middle. The middle of the book didn't really seem to contribute to the over-all plot very much and was a little bit boring, which also made the book a slower read, and then it picked up again until the end where there was five or six chapters that just drug out the ending of the novel.

Overall, I respect this classic's place in history, and it is a great piece that sparks debate over censoring and banning books. I enjoyed this read more than I thought I would, but I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites or anything. 

If you have read this, let me know what you thought about it? Have you read Tom Sawyer? 

Recently Read: The Gigantic Beard That was Evil

Author: Stephen Collins
Genre: Graphic Novel
Status: Standalone
Publication Date: 2013
Page Count: 240
Rating: 3/5

Dave lives on the island of Here. Where everything is perfect and orderly, and the only thing to fear is the Sea and what lays on the other side of the Sea: There. Everyone in Here sports the same orderly, and beard-less look, until one day Dave's single facial hair grows into a gigantic beard that just won't stop growing and the orderly and beard-free Here is never the same. 

This book was a super quick read, perfect for reading in one sitting. The art is all done in black and white and is visually stunning.

I must admit I'm not the biggest fan of graphic novels. I love the idea of them and I love them as an art form, but I usually feel that I would love whatever graphic novel I'm reading more if the story were told in regular novel form. But that's not the case with this one; this story was perfect for a graphic novel format. I really liked the message behind this story; the fear of the unknown and what people can't understand, and I thought the art was perfect for the story. The words have an almost Dr. Seuss feel to them sometimes and the pictures were often incorporated right into the text- meaning the words on items in the pictures were part of the sentence. 

I really recommend checking this book out. It's very unique and is a great experience to read. It's a very beautiful book that is truly thought provoking. 

Recently Read: A Little Something Different

Author: Sandy Hall
Genre: Young Adult- Contemporary Romance
Status: Stand-alone
Publication Date: 2014
Page Count: 247
Rating: 3/5
 

A Little Something Different is a love story told through fourteen different onlookers. None of the narrators are directly involved in the romance, but are friends of Lea and Gabe (who are the couple), teachers, barristas , and even the park bench and squirrel on their college campus, who observe the two love-birds and  narrate the romance.

This book definitely was different than your run-of-the-mill cutesy romance. Never directly hearing the thoughts of either of the main characters was a very interesting experience that really added to the suspenseful wait for these two to just get together already. This book was cute and heartwarming and full of smile and giggle worthy moments.

This was a great book to pick up right after finals and to start off my winter break. It was such a quick read, and near the middle of the book I really got sucked in and found myself laughing out loud a few times. I thought the characters and situations were very real, and although you don't get to know any single character inside and out, that doesn't seem to hinder the story or the entertainment value of this novel.

This would be a great Valentine's Day read or gift, or something to pick up mid-semester when you're swamped with required heavy reading.

So tell me, what's your favorite cutesy all full romance?     

Recently Read: The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Author:  Edgar Allan Poe
Genre: Classic/ Mystery
Publication Date: 1841
Rating: 3/5

I listened to this short story while driving from my parents house to my apartment. I often find myself so bored of the drive after about forty minutes, but lately I have been listening to classics on my free audio book app on my phone and it has been making the drive go much faster.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue is widely regarded as the first detective story, and Arthur Conan Doyle as cited it as inspiration for his Sherlock Holmes stories. The detective in this story reminded me a lot of Holmes actually. 

Our unnamed narrator describes the time that his roommate and bff solved the murder of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter Mademoiselle Camille. This story starts out a little slow, the first ten minutes or so is an ode to analytical thinking and talks about chess a lot, but then the story picks up. For a Poe story this is rather tame, although now that I think of it the descriptions of the bodies of the two women is a little disturbing. The solution to the mystery was unexpected and rather unique and perhaps a little over-the-top. 

This story is worth the read if you like the detective fiction genre and would like to see where it started, or if you would like to read the inspiration behind Holmes. My audio book was two hours in length so it is a quick read. If you have never read Poe before, I wouldn't start with this one. Start with one of his more popular works like The Tell-Tale Heart or The Black Cat. Poe's Poetry is also quite good, and if you have only read his short stories you should try his poetry. Annabelle Lee is one of my favorite poems of his and one of my all time favorite poems in general.  

I find that I don't have too much to say about this story, it has left me a little underwhelmed, but I'm glad I read it for its place in literary history and its place in the history of detective fiction.