The Pop-up Book of Phobias by Gary Greensburg

I saw this book at Barnes and Noble the other day and thought it was hilarious. I just had to share...

Arachnophobia: The fear of spiders. (this is one of my personal fears)

Glossophobia: The fear of public speaking (also one of my personal fears)

Acrophobia: The fear of heights

Mysophobia: The fear of germs

Thanatophobia: The fear of death

Coulrophobia: The fear of clowns.

Dentophobia: The fear of dentists.

There was another page on claustrophobia, the fear of closed spaces, and it made you feel like you were in a crowded elevator. Even the page wouldn't open all the way to increase the sensation of being closed in. It was a pretty brilliant page and I'm sad I couldn't find a picture of it. Pretty awesome book!

I feel funny giving this a rating, seeing as how it's so different from the books I usually write about on this blog. But still, this was pretty amazing and it gave me a good laugh. As far as pop-up books go, I think this one takes the cake.

5 out of 5 stars

The Hunger Games; Catching Fire; Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Wow. I just finished the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy this afternoon and I'm not entirely sure how to blog about it. I was recommended these books months ago and told that I HAD to read them because they were amazing. I put off reading them primarily because they were never available at the library and I always had something else to read. My mom was the first person to recommend them to me, she heard about them from her book club. Then my sister Teresa read them and advised that I have all three books on hand when I started because the story is continuous and we all know how frustrating it is to finish a cliffhanger ending and not have the sequel available. So when I visited my family for Thanksgiving I was able to borrow all three books at once since my dad had recently purchased them. I read the first 2 chapters of The Hunger Games on Sunday night after coming home from Thanksgiving with the family and knew right away that these books were going to be a dangerous read with my upcoming full-time work week. I finished book 1 Tuesday evening, Catching Fire on Thursday evening, and Mockingjay on Saturday afternoon (today). I read for a few minutes in the morning before going in to work, during my hour lunch break, my evening work out at the gym, and for about an hour or so after dinner before bed. These were some intensely difficult books to put down.

I don't want to tell much about the plot because I don't think I could do it justice and I also don't want to give anything away for those who are currently reading them or will soon do so in the future. If you'd like a plot synopsis you can read about it here for The Hunger Games, and just do a little snooping on Google and you can easily find reviews for Catching Fire and Mockingjay. But just as a warning, I probably will end up giving things away unintentionally, so if you really don't want any spoilers whatsoever you should probably stop reading now.

There are a few things that I've been thinking about since I finished reading. For one, I am impressed by how much I care about the characters Collins created in her story. I felt genuine anxiety when Peeta was captured, sorrow when Finnick was killed, amusement with Haymitch, inspired by Katniss' courage, fear when I could see no way out for the heroes. Katniss, who is the voice of the story, became an especially real character, almost like a best friend or a sister, or perhaps myself in some strange, alternate reality. I often became frustrated by her inability to see her relationships with others clearly and her ineptitude in communicating her feelings to those she cares most about. I really, really love Peeta. Collins did a beautiful job in developing his character and relationship with Katniss. I think I was somewhere toward the end of book 1 when I decided that I really wanted Katniss to fall in love with Peeta, even though we had been briefly introduced to her best friend Gale (who I was initially rooting for as the love interest) before the hunger games started. There were also several minor characters who were introduced briefly in the beginning and after making multiple brief appearances throughout took on a great significance toward the overall story. Particularly Darius, the redheaded Avox girl, Madge, Greasy Sae, Rue... I loved Collins' use of her characters to tell the story.

Upon my completion of Mockingjay I felt like I had read a story of deep significance, though I can't really put in to words what it is. Sort of making me want to take more interest in politics, but while also making me think about all the good things I have in life. It reminded me a bit of the gladiator games in ancient Rome, how people took entertainment in forcing people to fight to the death. Collins was inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus, where the city of Athens was forced to provide boys and girls to be killed by the minotaur. The idea of taking pleasure in watching children kill each other was a horrible one to deal with. In fact, there were a lot of horrific things that Katniss and the others had to experience. I can't imagine having to live the kind of life that was common in Panem.

I really loved how Collins would quote or allude to things throughout all of the books; it really made the story stronger and made you pay attention to every detail. It was kind of fun to find obscure references to previous events and remember where they came from and what had happened. Her use of symbols was also fabulous; I particularly loved the theme of the mockingjay.

I think that everyone should read these books. They are moving, exciting, inspirational, sad, humorous, disturbing, and beautiful. They were all I could think about for the 5 days it took me to read them. They fully captivated me and left me happy I had chosen to take the ride.

5 stars

Jane by April Lindner

Jane, by April Lindner, is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. I kind of expected to swear off reading Jane Eyre spin offs after reading this book, but actually it was really good! It was a surprisingly believable modern telling of possibly my favorite story of all time.

In this telling, Jane is a girl whose parents die in a car accident during her first year of college and their will left the family house and money to her brother and sister. Jane is left with nothing and is forced to quit school and take up a nanny job for the famous Nico Rathburn, a legendary rock star who has a 5 year old daughter named Maddy. Jane and Nico fall in love and almost get married, until Jane learns the truth about Nico's first wife, a schizophrenic living in his attic. Jane runs away without any money or resources and finds Diana, who offers to let her sleep on her couch. Jane stays with Diana along with her sister and brother and works at the local soup kitchen. In this version Diana, Maria, and River are not her long-lost cousins, they just turn out to be nice people who take her in.

I like how the story was told; since it was modernized I felt like I could relate to Jane in a different way from before. Like when she left Rathburn/Rochester, I started to think about what I would do in that situation: no money, no friends, no place to sleep at night, no family, no support whatsoever. And I was reminded of how incredibly lucky I am and how blessed I have been in my life to have had a wonderful, loving, and supportive family, to have gotten an education that enabled me to get a job, and to always have had a roof over my head and food to eat. I can't imagine going through life the way Jane did without any love or support.

Anyway, fun book, not entirely original but definitely an enjoyable read, especially for any Jane Eyre fans!

3.5 out of 5 stars

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

Well it's been almost a month since my last post, which tells you that this book was a little intense because I have definitely been working on it since I finished my last book. I was recommended this book by my lovely sister in law Allison! This was definitely not a book that I could read in a couple of days, evidenced by my taking nearly 4 weeks to complete it.

A general summary: Daughter of Fortune is about a girl named Eliza who grows up in Valparaiso, Chile and falls in love with a poor boy named Joaquin Andieta, who goes off to California during the Gold Rush. Eliza leaves her family and follows her lover to California with the help of a Chinese doctor friend Tao Chi'en.

I began this story with the knowledge that it was a love story about a girl who follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush. While it does follow this girl's story eventually, there are many other characters who are thoroughly developed that, at first, I had difficulty getting interested in. I kept expecting to jump right in to Eliza's story and had a hard time adjusting to Allende's slow and thorough style. Once I figured out that I needed to be patient and just take the book one chapter at a time I grew to really enjoy her methodical storytelling. I remember mentioning to Chris when I first started reading that I thought this had the potential to be a great book because it was taking the time to develop characters and weave a complex and beautiful story. Upon completion I think I can say that this is a mostly great book; it's definitely very good. I had a couple minor issues with the ending, but I'm rarely completely satisfied when good books end.

I gained some interesting and somewhat difficult insights into my home state of California, particularly San Francisco. San Francisco was founded during the Gold Rush, which consisted of people immigrating from all over the world with the primary purpose of getting rich quick. Once in CA, greed, violence, and racial hatred prevailed. It became a state of people looking for a new beginning, which is all fine and good, but I think that the new beginnings based off a frenzy to find gold negatively impacted the state as a whole for generations to come. The kind of people attracted to what California had to offer during the Gold Rush were under the illusion that they could become rich without working hard. They were obsessed with money and traditional humanity was lost. I think that the Gold Rush set the stage for modern California, which I love because it was my home, but it has some serious problems. It was interesting for me to read about my home state and gain a greater understanding of it's history, giving me insight into it's present.

I definitely would recommend this story to all, with the advice to be patient because all of the characters and side stories throughout the book connect wonderfully and beautifully in the end.

4 out of 5 stars

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale. Can I just say that Shannon Hale is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors?? I LOVED her Books of Bayern series, and this story was just as fabulous!

Loosely based off the Brother's Grimm tale "Maid Maleen" (which I've never actually heard before...) and set in medieval Mongolia. It's written in diary format from the point of view of Dashti, the maid to Lady Saren. Dashti agrees to stay with her lady who is to be locked in a tower for 7 years as punishment for refusing to marry the man her father chose for her. Conflict, adventure, humor, and a love story ensue.

I was surprised by how much adventure there was in a story involving 2 girls locked in a tower! The writing was gripping and magical and I got lost in the words each time I read. I typically read during my hour lunch break at work, and I had a particularly hard time putting this book down at the end of my hour. Beautiful and heartwarming and satisfying read. Recommended to all!

4.5 out of 5 stars

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

This book was recommended to me per my ward's book club list. When I started reading I realized that I have read this book before, once upon a time in my youth. I used to love Jerry Spinelli's books growing up, especially Maniac McGee. I thought his books were fun. So rereading this book was a pretty interesting experience since it's been so many years I'd forgotten most of what happened.

Stargirl is a beautiful story about a girl who, after being home schooled all her life, starts 10th grade at Mica High School in Arizona, a school where conformity is the way of life. She is unlike anyone the school has ever seen; she sings to people on her ukulele, wears pioneer dresses, and performs random acts of kindness everywhere she goes. She messes up the delicate social balance of the school and her fellow students come to hate her for who she is. The story is being told from the viewpoint of Leo, who finds himself head over heels in love with Stargirl, though he isn't always brave enough to be her boyfriend.

This was a tender story that celebrates non-conformity and I think everyone should read it. At the end Stargirl's family moves and Leo never sees her again, at least not within the 15 years of him telling the story. I like to think that Leo does meet up with her again and that he is strong enough to be proud of who she is and love her unconditionally.

Great book, especially for those who are in the insecure growing up stage of life. Every middle schooler particularly should read this book.

4 out of 5 stars

Gone by Lisa McMann

The final installment of the "Wake" trilogy. Was horrible.

And then.

It sucked some more. I wanted to die.

Dead.

Gone.

Ok, enough imitation of Lisa McMann's writing style. If the above made you want to cry and rip your hair out, that's how I felt while reading this book. We continue on Janie's story of being a dreamcatcher (see my reviews of "Wake" and "Fade" for more info) and in this book she meets her biological dad, who turns out to be a dreamcatcher too. Surprise! There was nothing new or very interesting added to this book; it was written in the same, annoying style as the first two in the series, but by this time my patience was wearing quite thin. Sentence fragments really irritate me, especially when I think the author is writing that way just to try and sound cool and fit in with all them hip teenagers out there. I enjoyed the first book of the series, Wake, even though the broken sentences were annoying; and even Fade was interesting enough to balance out my annoyance. But there wasn't a whole lot to look forward to in Gone, and I was truly happy that it was a short and fast read and that I finished it quickly. I definitely would NOT recommend this series finale.

1.5 out of 5 stars

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This book came to me as a recommendation from my mother who read it in her book club. Turns out this is a highly popular book club choice, and after reading it, I can see why. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is set in the 1960's in Mississippi and is told from the perspective of 2 black maids (Aibileen and Minny) and 1 white lady (Skeeter), all of whom are tired of the rigid rules and lines that define their lives. Skeeter wants to be a writer and starts the project of writing a book from the point of view of the maids working in white families. She interviews a dozen or so maids in Jackson who tell their experiences working in a white world, even though it's very dangerous to be telling stories, good or bad, about your past and present employers. Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny work hard to see this project come to fruition and eventually influence the way the people in their town view each other.

It took me a couple tries to really get into this book, but once used to the tone and language the story is written in I really, really enjoyed it. There wasn't much of a love story to it, which is usually something I look forward to in a good book, but I didn't feel like the story needed any romance. It had a good amount of suspense and humor and dealt with real life issues. It made me think about what it might have been like to grow up in the south and deal with issues of race. Having grown up in California where diversity was celebrated, I have never really experienced or understood racism. Now living in Virginia, where I think scars of racism still exist, I have been thinking more about how silly it all is. People are people, and that's that. I really love the character of Aibileen in the story. She's this sage grandmotherly/motherly woman who is strong and kind. She takes care of a little white girl, Mae Mobley, and tells her "secret stories" about Rosa Parkes, Green Martian Luther King, and other examples to teach her tolerance and love for everyone, that they are all the same. She tells Mae that she is smart, kind, and good, hoping that she will see these things in herself and be a good person for it.

I didn't particularly care for the ending; I was expecting everyone to live happily ever after, but it didn't end that way. I won't say what happened, but I was hoping for more. But even still, I was left feeling full of love for people, especially the kids I work with. They frustrate me, tire me out, give me bad dreams, make me want to rip my hair out, but I really do love them. Each one is special and it breaks my heart to know that many of them do not get the love they need from home. The take home message for me from this book was about love, and I think that's a pretty fabulous feeling to get from a book. I definitely recommend this one.

5 out of 5 stars

Jane Slayre by Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin

Ok so I've been a little excited to blog about this book since I checked it out from the library last week. I remember hearing about the book "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and feeling slightly horrified at the thought of someone taking such a classic and adding zombies. Distasteful, right? So while browsing the Henrico County public library catalog I ran into Jane Slayre. A rewrite of Jane Eyre??? GASP! For any of you who don't know, I am a HUGE Jane Eyre fan, so when I discovered Jane Slayre I was a little shocked but also intrigued. At least, my curiosity was piqued enough to get me to check out the book, which I did, and soon enough finished.

For any unfamiliar with this new genre, Jane Slayre was sort of written like a giant Mad Lib where the author substitutes new words to change the story around according to the theme (in this case vampyres with the occasional zombie attack), which is why they still have to give credit to the original author (Charlotte Bronte). I'd say more than half of the book is composed of direct quotes from the original work and follows the original storyline almost exactly.

I won't go into storyline specifics on this post since it's just like the original except for the fact that Jane is a born vampyre slayer. I had pretty low expectations going into this book so maybe it's not too surprising that I enjoyed it more than I had anticipated. I thought the language and editing were pretty good, and the vampyre slaying and zombie attacks were funny. In this version Jane was a stronger character with more backbone, which I suppose is to be expected if she is fighting vampyres and zombies, and it made her interactions with Mr. Rochester a little more interesting. It's almost like Sherri Erwin tried to improve upon the original Jane by giving her more courage to make a more satisfying romantic relationship with Rochester. It sort of worked but I mainly feel like the changes were overindulgent, tailoring to what she thinks a modern society would expect out of our heroine rather than something more realistic and traditional. But since we're working with vampyres I guess realism goes out the window.

Anyway, it was a fun read, though mainly due to the fact that I just love the Jane Eyre story so much, otherwise I probably would have been too bored or too annoyed to finish. Curiosity has been satisfied, may I never read a supernatural take on a classic again.

2 out of 5 stars

Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner

I grabbed this book off the library shelf at random when the book I thought I had on hold had been returned to it's original library that afternoon. I don't feel like writing a synopsis, so here is what Amazon has to say about the book:
Amazon Description:
Hermes—also known as Mercury, Wayfinder, and Prince of Thieves—has many talents. Wearing his famed winged sandals, he does the bidding of his father Zeus, leads the dead down to Hades, and practices his favorite arts of trickery and theft. He also sees the future, travels invisibly, loves jokes, and abhors violence. And he’s an entertaining and ideal narrator on a fast-paced journey through ancient Greek mythology—from Medusa’s cave to Trojan War battlefields to the mysterious Underworld.

I've always been intrigued by Greek mythology, which is why I picked up this book to begin with. It was a light-hearted and easy read and tied together several famous stories from the perspective of Hermes. I felt like the retelling of these stories didn't have a whole lot of depth but it was still interesting to read. It kind of makes me want to go read Homer's classics The Illiad and The Odyssey.

3 out of 5 stars

The Secret Circle series by L. J. Smith

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and the Captive part 1, by L. J. Smith, was another book I found off Kerry's book blog. Let me just say up front that I had EXTREME difficulties putting this book (and it's sequel) down for any length of time. When I picked up this book from the library I was expecting a vampire story, probably my first impression from the cover, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was about witches! Good times.

So we start with our heroine Cassie who moves to New Salem, Massachusetts to live with her grandmother. She starts school and meets the Club, the hottest clique in school whose members are all very attractive and get away with anything. This part of the story tells about her initiation to the group and Cassie's discovery of her own witch heritage. The group discover a crystal skull which is the source of a strange and very evil darkness that they have to learn more about.

In The Secret Circle: The Captive Part 2 and the Power the group continues to learn about the crystal skull and it's dark energy. They believe the skull's power is responsible for a few recent deaths at their school. Cassie's powers and knowledge of who she is grows and she develops positive relationships with the other members of the group. Also introduced in the first book was Adam, the guy Cassie is in love with but who is also the boyfriend of her best friend Diana. A nice dose of relationship drama is spread throughout these stories.

Overall I really really enjoyed these books. Like I said I had a hard time putting them down even to go to bed at night. I read them on my lunch breaks at work, at the gym on the elliptical machine, and any spare few minutes I could find throughout the day. Any books that draw you in that much can be safely recommended to anyone. Fun reads! Just make sure you have book 2 handy when you start.

4 out of 5 stars

Fade by Lisa McMann

Fade by Lisa McMann, sequel to Wake. This story picks up right where Wake left off and was very similar in themes and writing style. This was a quick and fun read and got me through a few days of dreary work.

Janie and Cabel are still working for the police as undercover agents in their high school. They are put on an assignment to find a sexual predator amongst the faculty by using their unique talents. Janie used her dreamcatching ability to help solve the case. Go Janie!

Fade had a pretty simple plot with no real twists but it was still fun. Just like in Wake, the writing style bugged me after awhile. The author uses a bunch of random sentence fragments that get under my proper grammar loving skin. I'll be reading the next book in the series as soon as I get it from the library, though I'm not sure when that will happen. I currently have a few other books checked out that I'm going to work on first. Always happy reading!

3 out of 5 stars

River Secrets by Shannon Hale

Well I am on a roll this week! I read this book (like Enna Burning) in just over a day. I read most of it yesterday and then finished it on my lunch break today. It was fabulous! This book is told from Razo's point of view, which automatically makes it super fun. Razo has been the comedic relief during the first 2 books and so to have a whole story full of Razo was very exciting.

The story takes place just after the war with Tira ended. A group of soldiers is sent to Tira to accompany the Bayern ambassador to facilitate in improving Tiran-Bayern relations. Among the soldiers is Razo, who is quite possibly the worst soldier Bayern has ever seen, but he is handy with a slingshot and has a fantastic eye for details, which comes in handy later when his captain makes him a spy. Burned bodies start showing up around camp in an attempt to frame Bayern and Razo is set on figuring out who is responsible. Go Razo go!

So this was a very fun story. It was fun to get to know another land outside of Bayern, and it was nice to finally find a girl for Razo. Razo is just a great character so the whole story was just happy. I felt like there wasn't quite as much action as the other Bayern books, but enough to be satisfying, and there was a great deal more mystery and detective work!

I love love LOVE this series and am sad that I have now finished reading all the books. I hope Shannon Hale writes more of these magical stories.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

I definitely read this book in almost a day! Fabulous. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale is book 2 of the Books of Bayern. It takes place 2 years after The Goose Girl ends. Enna is living in the forest where she took care of her sick mother until she died. Now she lives there with her brother Leifer, who comes home one day having discovered the ability to speak to fire. War has broken out between Bayern and the neighboring country of Tira and Enna seeks out the knowledge that will enable her to speak with fire like her brother. Soon her power becomes overwhelming and Enna is unsure of how to help her country.

I loved this book! It was more serious than The Goose Girl but I love how much I grew to care about all of the characters. Whenever there was danger I was so worried that they wouldn't be ok. Although, it does help that I've read the 4th book and thus know that all of the characters I care about live at least until then... I suppose I cheated. There is also more death and war in this book, but I think the added conflict was good for the story. I didn't like this one quite as much as The Goose Girl, where the conflicts were pretty clearly defined even if you couldn't figure out how they would resolve. In Enna Burning, you knew something was wrong but weren't sure exactly who or what the enemy was, if that makes sense...

Overall, great book! Fun read. I stayed up much too late reading and could barely put it down during the day. Love this series!!!

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

This was a fabulous book and I loved it!! Based on the fairy tale by the Grimm brothers, "The Goose Girl" by Shannon Hale was a beautifully written tale. I've never heard the story before so I was quick to get lost in the magic of the writing.

Ani is the crown princess in the land of Kildenree. In her youth her aunt teaches her the language of birds and how to know the language of a horse. Years later she finds her mother made an arrangement for her to marry the prince of Bayern, so she and a group of guards and her lady-in-waiting make the journey across the mountains to Bayern. During the several month journey, as they approach Bayern, there is mutiny in the group and Ani is forced to flee for her life while her lady-in-waiting intends to take Ani's place as princess. She finds herself alone and pursued by murderers and she seeks refuge in the forest. She eventually makes her way to the city where she finds a job as a goose girl tending the king's geese. She meets all kinds of good people, most of them forest born, while working in the city. Through the rest of the story Ani tries to find a way to convince the king that she is the rightful princess while avoiding the traitors who would kill her. Along the way she learns the language of the wind and makes wonderful friends.

I was unable to put this book down for very long. There truly is magic in Shannon Hale's writing! It was a beautiful story and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I would recommend this book to all!

5 out of 5 stars

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

This book was AWESOME. Again I am tipping my hat to Kerry for the recommendation.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E Pearson, is about 17-year-old Jenna who wakes up from an 18 month long coma. She doesn't remember the accident she was in nor can she remember anything about her life or who she is. She spends time reviewing home movies of her life to help her piece together her identity. As some memories begin to return Jenna is forced to relive the details of the accident and confront her parents about it's aftermath.

The story is set in a nearish future where medical science can do pretty much anything. What I liked most about this book is that it makes you question the ethics behind a nearly limitless scientific world. Just because you can save something or someone does it necessarily follow that you should save them? Where is the line between God and science? What is the soul? Where does it reside? Can you lose it? How do you retain your humanity when your body and brain are no longer natural but man-created? Interesting questions that we as a society may be faced with in a future that may be closer than we think. I've always thought ethical questions are fun to discuss and think about and I loved that this story made me think about things I hadn't considered before.

I also loved the writing style and how the story was told. I didn't figure out the secrets too far in advance; there were plenty of mysteries and questions right to the end. I feel like this was a book that the author put a lot of heart and energy into writing; this was no quick-written story. It was beautiful and I loved it. I recommend The Adoration of Jenna Fox to everyone.

5 out of 5 stars

Wake by Lisa McMann

This book was another tip off from Kerry's book blog. Thanks again Kerry!

Wake is about a girl named Janie who experiences other people's dreams when they are sleeping. She herself doesn't dream, but I guess she doesn't need to if she sees everyone else's dreams. This story is about Janie exploring her ability as a "dream catcher" and how to live with it. She also develops a relationship with Cabel, the only person who knows about her secret. This was a fun and easy read (I finished it in a day) and also inspired a pretty awesome/creepy dream of my own. In my dream I was being sucked into other people's dreams and each time I changed dreams I quasi woke up and was totally disoriented. Then I was at work (but it wasn't really my work) and then I was bitten by a vampire! It felt like when they stick the needle in your arm when you give blood only I felt it pretty vividly in my neck. I had given blood just a couple days before, but I'm not sure where the vampire came from since I haven't read a vampire book in probably 6 months or more. I don't remember anything else but it was a pretty strange dream, all (or at least mostly) inspired by this book! I definitely want to read the sequels.

There were a couple things I didn't like so much, mostly being the author's writing style. She used a lot of fragment sentences and after awhile it bugged me. I also felt like this was a book that was written too quickly and thus didn't have much depth. It was fun and easy but I wish there was a little more umph to it, a little more complicated, more meaningful. But as it was I did enjoy the read, and it did inspire a fun dream, and I do want to read the sequels.

3 out of 5 stars

Forest Born by Shannon Hale

I heard about this book from Kerry's book blog. This book is the fourth volume of the Books of Bayern. I liked this book so much that I've decided to read the rest of the series. I also liked that I was able to jump in at book 4 and understand everything that was going on.

Forest Born is a beautiful sort of coming-of-age story about a girl named Rinna who, like the title suggests, was of the forest. She is very close to nature and draws peace by communicating with the trees. She decides to leave home and goes off with her big brother Rizzo to the city to be a hand maid to the queen. Adventure takes Rinna along with others she has met away from the castle where they all experience danger and excitement. Along their adventure Rinna grows into herself and her abilities and finds new friends in Queen Isi, Enna, and Dasha. I won't go into particulars because I wouldn't want to ruin the story for anyone. I enjoyed this book enough to sincerely recommend it to others. The language and imagery is beautiful and magical and the characters are fun. This book made me really want to read the other books in the series; in fact, I have book one checked out from the library and plan on starting it tonight or tomorrow. I recommend this book to anyone, though I would probably suggest starting with book one. Good read!

4 out of 5 stars

The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch by Marsha Moyer

On vacation I also read this interesting book. I feel like I should critique this book in two parts: the part I liked (aka the first part) versus the part I didn't like (aka the last/middleish part). First of all this story is about a 33 year old girl named Lucy Hatch whose husband of 14 years dies in a farm machinery accident. She goes to live in her small home town in Texas to be near family and tries to build a new life on her own while dealing with her husband's, who she says that she never really loved and who never really loved her, death. She meets this guy named Ash and they fall in love and etc etc. He helps her come to know who she really is and live life in a different way yadda yadda yadda.

Ok, so I liked the premise of the story: a girl suffers a life changing experience and tries to get back on her feet. Tangent alert---->She gets a job at a flower shop which I think would be the greatest job ever! If I ever get the opportunity to have a part time job that I'm not depending on to be financially stable I would LOVE to work in a flower shop. How much better could life get? You get to work amongst heavenly smelling flowers and can use your creative juices to make something beautiful. Plus you can deliver flowers to make people happy, because we all know that flowers make everyone happy, at least a little bit. ahh, I think that would be so wonderful.

Anyway, I liked where the story was going, what with getting the job and trying to find herself. I even liked the love interest, Ash. For me the story fell apart as soon as Ash and Lucy actually got together. It got way too intimate and focused on sex for a good chunk of the second half of the book. I had checked out the sequels from the library to bring with me on the trip, and from the book summary on the back cover they sound like they could be good books. But I don't want to read them because I have a suspicion that they'll be like the first: a little good story, a lot of unnecessary and inappropriate spice.

Overall I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It could have been really good but was ruined by explicit romance. And I totally did NOT get this from the romance section, it came from general fiction at the library. I'll have you all know I've never actually read a romance novel, and after reading this book I'm convinced that I shouldn't. I should probably stick to Young Adult fiction; it's more fun and generally clean.

Overall rating: 2 out of 5

Lily Dale series by Wendy Corsi Staub

Chris and I just got back from a week-long vacation to Daytona Beach, Florida where I had the opportunity to veg on the beach and read many, many books. Unfortunately we did not have access to the internet and I was unable to write a thorough review of each book. Because I'm lazy I will review this series as a whole.

Our heroine in this story is Calla Delaney, a 17-year-old girl living in Florida. She has recently broken up with her boyfriend and our story begins at her mother's funeral, who died from falling down the stairs in their home. While he father goes to grieve in California and start a new job, Calla goes to live with her grandmother in the place where her mother grew up. Calla's mother had a falling out with her mother and never liked to talk about her hometown. While in Lily Dale, New York Calla starts to see spirits/ghosts and learns that she can communicate with the dead and that Lily Dale is the birthplace for Spiritualism and is full of psychics. So the first book Calla starts to get used to her newly discovered abilities while getting settled in the local high school and community. Calla begins to learn more about her mother's past and finds out that her mother kept many secrets.

In the second book Calla is still getting used to her new abilities and uses them to find the body of a girl who was recently murdered. Calla is able to save another victim's life and catch the killer when he comes after her. Go Calla! Meanwhile she's still trying to figure out the secrets of her mom's past and learning how to interpret messages from the spirit world. She is also developing a cute relationship with a boy named Jacy. She's been going on dates with a guy named Blue, but I don't really like him much. Jacy is much better for her and I like it when there's a really good love interest.

Book 3 focuses more on Calla trying to discover her mother's secrets, in particular the details of her death. What had previously been determined to be a tragic accident, Calla finds clues that suggest her mother was pushed down the stairs. Jacy has visions of Calla in danger and there is eventually a confrontation between Calla and her mother's killer while she is in Florida searching for clues to her mother's past.

In the last book I was able to read of the series Calla seeks to learn why her mother was killed. She discovers that her mother had another child back when she was a teenager. Calla uses her abilities to communicate with the spirit world to try and find out what happened to her half-sister. Meanwhile her relationship with Jacy progresses in a slow but happy manner.

I'm pretty sure that the author, Wendy Corsi Staub, is going to write more books for the series. When she does I will definitely be checking them out from the library. I really enjoyed reading these supernatural stories during my beach vacation. They were easy and entertaining reads and kept me engaged during all my down time. I read approximately one book per day. I would recommend this series to anyone who wants a fun, easy, and mildly suspenseful experience. One thing that annoyed me was that Calla and sometimes Jacy would have difficulty working out clues that were totally easy; it frustrated me when I could figure out the mystery in seconds and it took them pages or chapters even to solve. Annoying. And unrealistic. The heroine is supposed to be clever. I just don't like working out an easy mystery way before the main character does. But otherwise I really enjoyed the series. Not particularly thought provoking in any way but definitely entertaining. Fun read!

Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Fang (A Maximum Ride Novel) by James Patterson

I just read the newest installment of the Maximum Ride books by James Patterson. For those who have not read these books, this is a Young Adult series about a group of kids who were experimented on by evil genetic engineering scientists who basically combined human DNA with bird DNA to create people with wings and some other cool stuff like super strength and speed. (whew! how's that for a run-on sentence??) Max is the leader of the family of bird-kids and throughout the series they are constantly on the run and fighting their way out of disasters. It's pretty exciting and full of action. In the last couple books there was a bit of a love connection between Max (who is in fact a girl) and Fang (the tall, dark, and handsome guy in the flock) and this book really focuses on that connection. In the beginning of the story the youngest sister Angel (she has some special powers including mind reading and some kind of future telling ability) predicts that Fang will be the first of all of them to die and he will die soon. dun dun dun... Max is really upset to say the least. She meets this crazy doctor who wants to save humanity from an upcoming apocalypse by giving people superhuman abilities with a drug that he tests on human children. He wants Max to join forces with him, which she clearly refuses. This guy has a hard time accepting 'no' for an answer so Max and the flock go into hiding for a bit. The story focuses in more on the Max and Fang relationship and the flock decides that Max should no longer be the leader because she's too distracted. She's basically banished and Fang comes with her. They go to Las Vegas together and are confronted by the evil doctor again. They hear on the tv that the rest of the flock is in trouble and they go to the rescue. I'm going to cut the details and just say that there's more fighting and trauma where Fang's life is in serious jeopardy. Even though I found this book to be fairly predictable and very similar to the other books in the series, I definitely teared up at the end. Oh I forgot to mention that the love connection between Max and Fang is strained by the addition of a new character who was genetically designed to be Max's perfect other half. He's perfectly charming and tries to win over Max. He doesn't really succeed by the end of the book but I have a feeling he'll be a consistent character in any upcoming books.

I really really enjoy the Maximum Ride books; all of them. This one followed suit with the others and was fairly predictable, but I feel like each book is a single episode of a television series that I love, like LOST or Heroes or something. I only wish that these books were a little longer, a little more complex. I read Fang in a single afternoon/evening. Started around 4 pm and finished by bedtime at 10:30 pm. Probably could have finished it sooner without dinner, bathroom, or internet breaks. My point is that I read the book quick and I wanted more. Definitely a fun read but it ended too quickly, like all the rest of the Maximum Ride books.

4 out of 5 stars

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

So! I just read the Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. It was funny and new, but I was a little confused through out the story. Turns out this is a "middle" book. It is a "Discworld" book and there are some 37 or so books in the Discworld series. Within Discworld there are 4 books about a girl named Tiffany Aching. I think The Wee Free Men is book 2... but I'm not sure exactly. Like I said, I got a little confused.

But from what I understood from the story and the characters, The Wee Free Men is about a girl named Tiffany who lives in the country of chalk on a sheep farm. Turns out little Tiffany has the makings of a witch! The evil queen of Fairyland kidnaps Tiffany's little brother and Tiffany goes off to rescue him. Along the way she meets the Nac Mac Feegle, aka the Wee Free Men, who are 6-inch blue men who like to drink, steal, fight and speak like Scotsmen. They are definitely the funny part of the story! Together Tiffany and the Wee Free men fight their way into and through Fairyland to find her baby brother and return home. The confusing part of the story is in Fairyland because the landscape keeps changing and they keep entering these crazy dreams that I found hard to follow.

This definitely wasn't a gripping book, but it was fun and interesting enough. I have the next book in the series checked out from the library but I haven't decided if I'll read it yet.

3 out of 5 stars

The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

I finished reading The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull (author of Fablehaven) yesterday and am not feeling jazzed to write about it like I usually am when I finish a book. I found The Candy Shop War to be a fun and easy read but overall it lacked that special something to keep me fully engaged in the entire story.

The story starts by introducing the reader to four 10-year-old kids: Nate, Trevor, Summer, and Pigeon. They go by a new candy shop in town and become acquainted with the owner, Mrs White, who begins to solicit their help in doing odd jobs in exchange for magic candy that gives you special powers while eating it. The kids love this new candy and agree to do some jobs for her, but eventually Mrs White asks them to do things that become increasingly more sketchy all in the name of trying to find a certain treasure. The kids realize that she's dangerous and get help from another candy man in town, who turns out is also magical and also after this treasure. The kids are caught in the middle of this race to find a treasure and are forced to be rather creative in how they get out of trouble. Things all work themselves out in the end.

I guess technically there wasn't anything wrong with the book, I just had a hard time sticking with it because I felt it was geared toward a very young age group. With the Fablehaven books, even though they were written for kids, as an adult they gripped my attention from the very beginning. The Candy Shop War was a little too simplistic and predictable, but still a fun and easy read. My 9-year-old nephew Tyson enjoyed the book, if that's any indication. Overall, a light and easy read with some clever conflict-resolution scenarios dispersed throughout the story. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone under the age of 14 but not necessarily to other adults.

2.5 out of 5 stars

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

This book was recommended to me by an old friend from high school. I have never heard of this book before but was feeling in desperate need (a result of finishing Fablehaven and being left wanting more) to read something with a really good and satisfying love interest in it. I'll say now that this book left my need for a tender and TASTEFUL love story satisfied.

So the story is set in the late 1800's in London and we follow a group of 6 people who have been given the task to protect the city from evil spirits and demons. Upon being given abilities to help them protect the city they were also given a prophecy telling of a seventh person who will join them and be a totally awesome and powerful member of their group. They are told to watch for specific signs in order to know who the right 7th person is because if they choose wrong then bad stuff will happen. The quasi leader of the group is named Alexi and when he's not protecting the city he is a professor of alchemy at a private school. At this school Alexi meets Percy, a 19-year old albino girl who can see and talk to ghosts, has visions, speaks tons of languages, and is terrible at alchemy. Percy has to take individual tutoring lessons with her professor to improve her abysmal math and science skills and the two begin to develop a relationship. In time Alexi becomes convinced that Percy is the prophesied 7th, even though she has no idea that she is special or why she can communicate with ghosts and has visions. The two fall in love (yay!) and it's all very sweet and tasteful. Only problem is that the rest of the group thinks they've found the real 7th and make Alexi sever all ties with Percy (shoot!). Well when they try to initiate this other girl (Lucy) into the group they find out that she's an evil form of Medusa (at least I think she was supposed to be Medusa, I was a little confused with the particulars) who tries to let loose a bunch of evil creatures from the Underworld into London. Percy shows up in the nick of time and has sweet powers that baffle even her and saves the day! Alexi convinces Percy that he loved her all along and knew she was the real 7th and they live happily ever after for all I know at this point since I haven't read the sequel.

This book was definitely not something I would have picked out for myself had it not been recommended to me. It was a different kind of story for me, gothic style with lots of chanting and praying and demons and spirits, but I really liked it. The beginning is kinda confusing because she (the author) just starts the story so fast with no explanation as to what's going on, but after getting through the first couple chapters I was completely hooked. I started the book on Saturday reading the first few chapters and then I couldn't put it down all day Sunday after church at noon until bedtime at 10:30 and then I finished it after work today. Chris even mentioned that he hasn't seen me so engrossed in a book like that since the first time I read Twilight, which I beg any of you who read this to not judge me too harshly by: I really do enjoy reading Twilight! It's a fun story. And you know, I don't think I'd have to defend my liking those books if the movie madness didn't get so out of hand. In fact, I think it'd be better if they'd never made the books into movies. The books are so much fun and the movies are stupid. Plus the fact that now everybody is obsessed with vampires makes those of us who are normal and like the books look bad.

Hmmm...where was I??? Well to sum up, I really enjoyed this strangely beautiful tale. The love interest Alexi reminds me of Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre, whom I have always had a secret crush on, and Percy is a sweet and gentle character that any girl who has ever felt shy can relate with in some way. Plus reading this book gave me strange/cool dreams both nights I read it; the first night I dreamed of dragons! even though there are no dragons in the book... but it was still pretty cool.

Final consensus: good book! Refreshingly different and a satisfying love story intertwined with ghost stories and inexplicable phenomena. Definitely recommended!

4 out of 5 stars

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

I've been putting off this post for a little while because I wanted to write about all of the books together, but then I realized that this might mean a really long post and I've never been particularly long winded, so I'll do my best. These books were recommended to me by several people, the latest being my sister Teresa and brother-in-law Frank. The author, Brandon Mull, was actually on of Frank's roommates at BYU, which I think is funny because he also knows Stephenie Meyer from his home ward in Arizona. I guess Frank just has awesome connections to people who write books that I really like! Moving right along, the Fablehaven series was SOOOO GOOD!!!! I recommend it to everyone; I absolutely loved it.

Book 1: Fablehaven

Fablehaven sucked me in right away and I quickly fell in love with the two main characters, 14-year-old Kendra and 12?-year-old Seth. They are fun, real kids who actually act like siblings. Their banter is very entertaining. The world that is set up in such a beautiful way and I was so quickly drawn in. In this story Kendra and Seth discover the secret world of magical creatures that live around them during their visit to their grandparents, who happen to be caretakers of the magical preserve Fablehaven. Fun first story!




Book 2: Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star

This was a step above the first book on the "exciting" scale. I feel like the first book could have stood on it's own as a single, fun book without any sequels. So I enjoyed how Book 2 brought you back into the story at the end of their school year to spend their summer break at Fablehaven. We start to experience what betrayal feels like by characters you think you can trust, which becomes a theme that the author tends to touch on quite a bit. Kendra and Seth do make some lasting relationships and encounter some creative difficulties in this second book, including surviving being eaten by a huge demon, finding an artifact, and destroying an evil revenent. Always good times!


Book 3: Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague

In this book the adventure and trials get stepped up again in intensity and excitement. The preserve is being taken over by a plague that is turning all the creatures dark/evil. In this book we get to know a greater variety of the kinds of creatures that live on the preserve. And just so we're all clear, the centaurs are total jerks! I would not want to have anything to do with them. The satyrs are fun; highly immature and add a lot of spunk to the story. They help lighten the mood when things get too serious. Seth and a character named Warren also have fabulous senses of humor. Throughout their adventuring in the last couple books Kendra and Seth have acquired some new and useful abilities that help them save the preserve from the source of evil that is threatening to take over. Of course they save the day while meeting more fun and exciting characters along the way. Fun story! Oh, and Kendra totally meets a cute boy in this book who we quickly fall in love with. At least I did, but then I'm a total sucker for adolescent romance.

Book 4: Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

Again, a large step up in excitement from the last story. You can feel the tension growing as you get a feel of what they need to accomplish before the end of the series in Book 5. Getting an idea of the overall purpose behind the adventuring made it more intense for me. This book was definitely the most....I don't wanna say emotional but I guess it was in the sense that it toyed big time with your connections with the characters. Brandon Mull was very successful in making you fall in love with several particular characters so that you really come to care about their well being and how they relate to other characters. Because he was so successful in creating meaningful characters, the ending in this book REALLY pissed me off!!! I haven't been so angry from reading anything in years. In fact, it's possible that I have never been as angry as what happened at the end of this story. I'm still fuming, even though I know everything works itself out by the end of Book 5. But holy cow! I don't want to put in too many details here in case anyone who might happen to read this blog actually reads these books, but man, it was intense. So even though it made me really mad, there were some seriously creative and fun adventures in this story, including being kidnapped, escaping from vampires, and breaking into a dragon sanctuary to steal an artifact. Brandon Mull created such a crazy twist ending and again visited his theme of serious betrayal, which I suppose is safe to say what caused the emotional roller coaster I went through in the last couple chapters. I hope I'm not giving away too many details; I'd really hate to spoil the story for anyone...maybe if you read this and want to read Fablehaven take a break before reading so you can forget everything I wrote about the story.

Book 5: Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison

So in all the previous books Kendra and Seth and a bunch of others have been trying to collect 5 artifacts that serve as keys to the demon prison Zzyxz. A bad guy is trying to open the demon prison which would basically mean the end of the world cuz the demons would get out and slaughter everyone. So the good guys are trying to get the artifacts and make them safe to save the world from the demons. Basically in this book they fail to keep the artifacts safe and so now have to prepare for how to keep the world safe from the demons. There is an epic battle at the end, very exciting as should be expected. And there is also a new love interest in this story for Kendra! which I was very happy about. This guy is really cool and we like him a lot. The sap in me wishes that there had been more details about their budding romance, but I have to remind myself that these books were written for 10 to 12-year-old kids who have no desire to read about how Kendra and (I won't ruin the story for anyone by saying his name here) hold hands or how he puts his arm around her. But the story ends very well and the world doesn't get destroyed by demons. I definitely read this book in 3 days while simultaneously hanging out with my family. I had a really hard time putting it down at all. Captivating read!

Overall summary: Fablehaven is fabulous! I'm already considering buying all the books because I think I'll want to read them again. Plus I think Chris should read them and someday I'll read them to my kids. I think they're just as fun as Harry Potter and I have all of those books. I love adding to my library when I find truly entertaining (and clean!) literature. Everyone needs to read these stories!


Rating: 5 stars! (I rarely give 5 stars, so this must be big.)

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

So I read Robinson Crusoe by recommendation of my friend Kate's blog. I think that because Kate gave this book such a glowing review my expectations were very high and different from what I was actually going to get from this book. I've never really known anything about Robinson Crusoe except that he was shipwrecked on an island. I think I was also confusing his story with the Swiss Family Robinson. I kept expecting him to find people on his island and eventually start a family.

I don't really want to give a synopsis about the book, but it's basically about Robinson Crusoe who gets shipwrecked and builds up a community on his own with a goat farm and corn and all the resources he needs to survive. It was cool to read about his resourcefulness and how he learned to make clay pots and baskets. There's no way I would have survived if I were found myself in a situation like he did. He is able to build a boat and a home and furniture and everything he needs. Throughout the story he observes and eventually meets with cannibals who come to his island from the coast of South America. The whole time I kept thinking "There's no way these guys are actually cannibals!" but they totally were! Then I actually started thinking about cannibalism and I got really grossed out. But from these cannibals Robinson gets his faithful friend Friday! Friday is the first person that Robinson gets to talk to in years. From here they work together and eventually meet with pirates and eventually find a way off the island and go back to England.

Throughout his time on the island, especially his time alone, Robinson goes through a very spiritual journey and explores and strengthens his faith in and relationship with God. This was a very introspective book and made me think about a lot of things. Robinson is very aware of his sins and firmly believes that his abandonment on the island was a result of his wickedness in his youth, but he is also quick to recognize the goodness of God in allowing his life to be spared and provide him with food and a relatively comfortable existence in his solitude.

I think overall I definitely enjoyed the book, though maybe not as much as I thought I would. The writing style was something to get used to but ultimately wasn't a problem. DeFoe used a lot of run on sentences and wrote in first person which I think made the story more interesting because you really get into Robinson's head. It was a good read and I would recommend it to others! Reading the classics is always fun.

3 out of 5 stars

Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke

I just finished reading the Inkheart trilogy. I had a hard time getting into Inkheart, the first book, but once I got past the first several chapters I was hooked. The story was fun and was pretty close to the movie I had seen of it. It's too bad that the movie changed the ending making it incompatible with the following two books, since the next two books in the series are totally AWESOME.

Book 2, Inkspell, was my favorite book in the series. I really enjoyed getting to know Inkworld and getting to know the characters Dustfinger, Farid, and Meggie better. I loved the whole Farid and Meggie relationship in this book.

Book 3, Inkdeath, was also very good, but I felt like it dragged on a little bit. I stopped liking Farid in this book because he became way too obsessed with Dustfinger and completely ignored Meggie. Not cool. The character of the Blue Jay was also one of my favorites and I thought tied the story together really well. I wish the ending had been a little more thorough; I want to know what happened with characters like Elinor, Darius, the Black Prince, and Violante. Throughout the three books I really grew to love the characters, so I'm a little sad that the book doesn't convince me that they all have happy endings.

Anyway, overall I really enjoyed the series. Inkspell was my fave, closely followed my Inkdeath. Inkheart was good too. I loved all the characters and their individual stories and I loved getting to know Inkworld. It almost makes me wish I lived in a world with fairies and little glass men. I think that the author, Cornelia Funke, is a wonderful storyteller and filled her books with beautiful descriptions of her world. So, I definitely recommend these fun, easy-read books!

ratings:
Inkheart: 2.5/5
Inkspell: 4/5
Inkdeath: 3.5/5

Welcome to my blog!

My first post! I am creating this blog to document my experiences with the many wonders of the literary world. I have found that I am easily forgetting all the books I've been reading and I want to better keep track of all the cool books I discover. So when I finish a book I will make a post describing my immediate thoughts and feelings about the story. And so we begin!

Oh and thanks to Uncle Greg for the blog title. It was supposed to be "Cindy's Almanac of Good Tales and Yarns and Favourite Bathroom Books" but it wouldn't fit. Thanks Greg!