Being of mixed cultural heritage has made me curious about other’s experiences growing up. Did they feel too much one thing, not enough another? How does a person reconcile two very distinct sides? To that end I picked up Margarita Engle’s poetry book. Poetry is a VERY tricky thing as a reader, particularly this kind of poetry that also doubles as a memoir. Read More »
I Read a Lot of Books
I read a lot of books. Sometimes I review them.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
My friend/neighbor both a book reader and elementary teacher highly recommended this one. She teaches 5th grade and swears by this book so I felt I had to read it. It is a sweet story that involved lots of tears and can see why she requires her class to read it together. Read More »
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
Sometimes it is hard to know if I’ve judged a book harshly or not… Midwinterblood falls into that category. Read More »
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Warning, I listened to this one via audiobook, and it may have tainted my perception of the book in its entirety. I typically enjoy Neil Gaiman, so I went into this book prepared to really enjoy it, which also might color my view. Do not misunderstand, I didn’t hate this book, I just found it disappointing. Read More »
The Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicles of Kazam Book One by Jasper Fforde
I have a love/love less relationship with Jasper Fforde. One of my favorite books ever Shades of Grey (not to be confused with 50 Shades of Grey) was written by Jasper Fforde. I started out strong with the Thursday Next series, and loved the Nursery Crime series and was fully expecting to read all the books in the Shades of Grey series, only there have been no more books. Read More »
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Okay, I am warning you right now this is the first book in what looks to be a YA fantasy series so it could go on forever. I didn’t know that when I bought this book. I was hoping for a quick little one off. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) this book was good enough that now I am going to have to continue reading the series. The problems of a person that reads a lot of books… Read More »
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai
So, I am not Vietnamese, but I am multi cultural. My mom is Chilean, so I understand what it is to float between two cultures, to be American and something else. I’ve rarely read a book, fiction/non-fiction/YA/Adult that captures so well what it means to embrace the beauty of two different cultures to understand what it means to be a person. Read More »
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Guys, this book was good. Also, let me put it out there THIS IS A STAND ALONE BOOK!!! Hallelujah! Finally! Read More »
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente
I’ve been vocal about my support for Valente and her work but I can not lie to you, this last book took me way too long to get into. I just didn’t find the story as compelling no matter how prettily it was written. Read More »
Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
You may have noticed that I’m reading a few more YA books than usual. Guilty. Now that #1 is in pre-school he comes home with all these book orders and I can’t resist. I’ve also noticed that when I graduated from University (Go Cougs!) I shortsightedly got rid of my ‘frivolous’ reads and now that my kids are getting ready for real books I am sad that I gave away all my hardcover Harry Potters… So I’ve been trying to get current on what good middle grade or YA books are out there. Read More »
The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence by Stan Lee and Stuart Moore art by Andie Tong
I have been looking for books that might interest my son when he gets a bit older. As his interests right now include super heroes, I thought this might be one to check out. I am pleased I did. Read More »
W.A.R.P The Reluctant Assassin: Book 1 Eoin Colfer
YA sci/fi fantasy isn’t always my go to fiction choice. Lately, though, I’ve started reading a bit in order to find things that I’d like to read with my kids once they get bigger, or things that they’ll be able to read when they want to. I am a book buyer. Some say hoarder, but hey, I like books. Read More »
Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
This isn’t the sort of book that I usually pick up, or at least, supernatural YA books don’t always appeal to me, but I was pleased to find that Paper Valentine is no mere YA book.
Read More »
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Book 5: The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood
Okay, I’ma ’bout to get nit-picky. Between books four and five they changed the style and design of the cover art which is no surprised as they changed artists. They also went from the deckle edge paper to regular old straight edge paper… UGH. It appears from her website that future releases of the books will have different cover art most likely using the current artist. I am not a huge emoticon user, but let me describe my face right now. I am frowning. My eyebrows are furrowed. Basically, my face is the annoyed emoticon. Read More »
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
I try to limit my fantasy to the YA variety. Fantasy isn’t my favorite genre and all the adult fantasy writers seem to think that series containing 12 books are where it’s at. They also take several years between books. I am looking at you George RR Martin. Read More »
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
I find this sort of book a bit difficult to review. It wasn’t meant for an adult, and not meant for this century so as I read I am wondering what a modern day kid might think about this book. I can assure you, as a modern day adult, I found this book more than a little sappy and more than a little lame. Read More »
The Battle for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
The third and final book in the WondLa trilogy was a sweet little read. Though much was predictable, clearly Eva Nine is going to triumph, but it was an interesting journey. Read More »
The Shadow Thieves: The Cronus Chronicles Book One by Anne Ursu
When I first started this book I was unsure of whether I liked it, or not. The whimsical narrative style seemed a little too cutesy for my personal taste, but when I was young I had an interest in Greek and Roman mythology. Read More »
A Hero For WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
I almost feel like I should have re-read The Search for WondLa before reading this sequel as it takes up the action where the other book left off. Read More »
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
The third installment in The Mysterious Benedict Society is every bit as fun, action-packed, and refreshing as the previous books in the series. I feel like I gush when I write about these books, but they are genuinely wonderful. Stewart’s style is both light and captivating. I find myself cheering audibly for our heroes and cringing whenever the villains get a leg up. I assure you, it is quite amusing to watch. Read More »
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente
This is the second book in Valenti’s Fairyland series. I was looking forward to it for a LONG time, but with a bit of trepidation. How does one improve or add to a story that I personally enjoyed so much? Read More »
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I often re-read books that I love, but I rarely re-read them so quickly in succession. I finished this, and promptly started reading it the next week aloud, to my husband. I appreciated the opportunity for that second read. Read More »
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Gag. I feel like Brunt tried to create a modern day To Kill a Mockingbird. Sadly, it just came off as a bit weird. The book starts with June Elbus recounting sitting for a portrait with her sister. Her uncle is a famous painter who happens to be dying of Aids. So a barrel of laughs, right from the beginning. Read More »
Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
I have finally finished the series! I’ve had the book for a long time, and to be honest, the only reason I decided to read it at this particular moment is that the book takes up quite a bit of space, and I am trying to consolidate that shelf to make room for my anticipated Christmas books! That pretty much sums up my feelings of the entire Fablehaven series. Read More »
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood
I’d been looking forward to reading the second installment of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. It didn’t disappoint. Read More »
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
This book gets the highest grade possible because it was awesome. You should read it. The end… Read More »
The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low
You can ask anyone who knows me. I am easy to buy gifts for. Books and/or chocolate and you will get no complaints from me. My youngest brother got me this little gem for my last birthday. Apparently, he met the author somewhere and she chatted him up, and bam… off to Amazon.com he went. Read More »
Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull
This is my favorite book in the Fablehaven series thus far. In my experience the books tend to start out slow, and pick up speed towards the end of the first third, then they gain speed, and by the end is rolling so rapidly that it seems like Mull is rushing to get everything in that he had planned. The fourth book actually kept a nice pace throughout and it ended in a bit of a cliff hanger which makes you want to read the fifth book as soon as possible. Read More »
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow by Brandon Mull
I approached the third Fablehaven novel as a fully invested (less skeptical) reader, and as a result I enjoyed this installment. The third book begins right where the second book ended, I am not sure that I enjoy that irregular timing, but is serves to move the story along swiftly and there is nothing technically wrong with choosing to start a book then, it was just unexpected. Read More »
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull
I will admit after the first Fablehaven, I was a bit disappointed. I found a promising magical world, but characters that were slightly annoying. I was unsure if it was because Mull had a plan for the young characters to mature, develop, and grow on you. I decided to continue with the series on the hope (and hey, my brother lent me all the books so I had nothing to lose) and was glad that I did. The second Fablehaven book is much better than the first. Read More »