The 16th book in the Elemental Assassin series. Gin has finally found a member of the Circle from whom she might be able to get some information on the elusive group and it's leader but it hasn't been easy. It's been preying on her mind but when Jade comes to her for a favor, she also can't say no. She owes Jade and a missing girl in this town will probably not end well as they both know but Gin also knows how to deal out her own brand of justice. Following the trail of Jade's sister though, proves to be more elusive than The Spider anticipated and much more deadly as it appears she may be the latest victim of a new serial killer, one who now seems to have his sights set on Gin.
The constant inner monologue has gotten better but it's now been replaced with memory flashbacks that tie directly into whatever it is Gin needs to make the leap to solve the latest crisis which I feel is a lazy way of dealing with things rather than setting things up enough in advance that you know it was all well thought out and planned. I still enjoy the world even if its fairly shallow because the characters are entertaining and I like their interactions with each other and there are books where there is less reliance on tired tropes. This just wasn't one of them.
Page count: 371p/15,596p ytd/286,728p lifetime
Friday, September 29, 2017
Sunday, September 24, 2017
75:120 The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire
The 11th book in the October Daye series. Things are going so well for October right now. The biggest worry she has right now is that someone will want her to join in the karaoke at her bachelorette party and drinking enough to stay mildly drunk with her metabolism so she doesn't go crazy. Yeah, life is actually pretty great until she gets home and there is a knock on her door and when opened, it reveals the one person she really didn't want to see...her mother. Amandine is not here to wish her daughter well on her upcoming matrimony though. Amandine wants to hire October to find her other daughter, August, who has been missing for 100 years. To ensure her 'cooperation', Amandine captures Tybalt and Jazz and then forces them into their animal forms and into rose thorn cages. To save them, October had not only better find August but she must do it before there is nothing left of their minds to save.
The biggest problem is that the trail is 100 years old, older than October, and she doesn't have the faintest idea where to start so she goes to Sylvester to ask the biggest favor of her life, for him to wake up his brother, Amandine's husband and August's father (and the one who turned October herself into a fish for 14yrs), Simon. Now they are on the trail together to search out August who went looking for Oberon himself but she is on a path the Luidaeg set her, one that she sold her way home to get but which means she can't come home until she finds him and he does not want to be found which means even if October can find her, bringing her back to Amandine will be a much bigger problem than she can imagine.
This was a heartbreaking, gut wrenching story but so amazingly well done. There were so many twists and turns along the way that while I was sure October would eventually succeed, I had no idea what the cost would be although I was sure there would be one. What I most appreciate is that even through all the anguish, there are some light-hearted moments to keep you from sinking down too far. My favorite happened during the opening bachelorette party where the Luidaeg performs "Poor Unfortunate Souls" during karaoke party. I literally snorted my tea over that one.
Now I have to wait for another year for the next one to see how people recover from this ordeal. It will seem like an eternity!
Page count: 354p/15,225p ytd/286,357p lifetime
The biggest problem is that the trail is 100 years old, older than October, and she doesn't have the faintest idea where to start so she goes to Sylvester to ask the biggest favor of her life, for him to wake up his brother, Amandine's husband and August's father (and the one who turned October herself into a fish for 14yrs), Simon. Now they are on the trail together to search out August who went looking for Oberon himself but she is on a path the Luidaeg set her, one that she sold her way home to get but which means she can't come home until she finds him and he does not want to be found which means even if October can find her, bringing her back to Amandine will be a much bigger problem than she can imagine.
This was a heartbreaking, gut wrenching story but so amazingly well done. There were so many twists and turns along the way that while I was sure October would eventually succeed, I had no idea what the cost would be although I was sure there would be one. What I most appreciate is that even through all the anguish, there are some light-hearted moments to keep you from sinking down too far. My favorite happened during the opening bachelorette party where the Luidaeg performs "Poor Unfortunate Souls" during karaoke party. I literally snorted my tea over that one.
Now I have to wait for another year for the next one to see how people recover from this ordeal. It will seem like an eternity!
Page count: 354p/15,225p ytd/286,357p lifetime
Friday, September 22, 2017
74:120 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Salamanca Tree Hiddle does not understand why her mother left her and her dad, only that something has happened and she isn't coming back and now her father has moved them away from the farm and the only life she has ever known and that she loves to the suburbs where her entire life has been turned upside down. The first person her dad introduces her to is Mrs. Cadaver who Sal finds strange and does not understand why her dad wants to spend so much time with her. Then she meets Phoebe who lives on her block and is in her classes at the new school. Phoebe's family seems like the perfect middle class family...until her mom disappears one day. It brings everything Sal has gone through flooding back. Now she is on a roadtrip with her grandparents, following the path her mother took to Idaho and with so many miles ahead of them, she starts telling them Phoebe's story not realizing that she is telling her own story at the same time.
A poignant story about a girl trying to come to term's with the loss of her mother and upheaval of her entire life. There is love and loss, friendship and family, basically life. One of my older kids had read it years ago so it was hanging around and I've been trying to read new authors so figured I'd give it a try. It was ok. The plot and writing were simple and straightforward with no major surprises.
Page count: 280p/14,871p ytd/286,003p lifetime
A poignant story about a girl trying to come to term's with the loss of her mother and upheaval of her entire life. There is love and loss, friendship and family, basically life. One of my older kids had read it years ago so it was hanging around and I've been trying to read new authors so figured I'd give it a try. It was ok. The plot and writing were simple and straightforward with no major surprises.
Page count: 280p/14,871p ytd/286,003p lifetime
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
73:120 House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Set in a future where Mexico has given over a stretch of land that separates them from the US to the drug dealers, a land now called Opium and ruled mostly by the House of the Scorpion, the house of El Patron. Matteo has led a sheltered life in the little house in the poppy fields with his caregiver Celia. She has told him that he must always stay in the house when she is not home and not let anyone see him but one day when he was 6, heard the voices of children outside and couldn't stand it any longer so he showed himself to them. Next thing he knows, he is taken to the main house and everything changes. He finds out that he is a clone of El Patron, the head of the family, but that clones have no status and are generally despised. He is luckier than most in that he has the special favor of El Patron who eventually comes to his rescue and demands that he be given an education and treated at least civilly. It doesn't completely matter as the household, except Celia and his bodyguard Tam Lin, decide that ignoring him will do well enough although there is one son, Tom, who torments Matt as he torments everyone else and there is a cousin, Maria, who does actually want to be his friend but thinks of him as more of a pet than a person. What makes matters worse is when he learns that most clones are lobotomized upon birth as their only function is to serve as a source of organ donation for their original. That was to be Matt's fate but that was before Ceclia and Tam Lin came up with another plan for him.
While Matt is definitely the "hero", there are times as he is growing that you can see the person El Patron is now trying to take root in Matt but you can see the struggle that Celia and Tam Lin are going through to try and mold Matt into a different person than the horrible head of the family. This is his journey, to choose what kind of person he wants to be, the DNA does not have to dictate who he will be.
I hadn't even heard of this book prior to seeing this in my 11th graders English class where we are studying the Hero's journey. I really enjoyed the story and can see why it has won and been nominated for so many awards. It is well written, the world and characters are rich and complex, and the plot gripping.
Page count: 400p/14,591p ytd/285,723p lifetime
While Matt is definitely the "hero", there are times as he is growing that you can see the person El Patron is now trying to take root in Matt but you can see the struggle that Celia and Tam Lin are going through to try and mold Matt into a different person than the horrible head of the family. This is his journey, to choose what kind of person he wants to be, the DNA does not have to dictate who he will be.
I hadn't even heard of this book prior to seeing this in my 11th graders English class where we are studying the Hero's journey. I really enjoyed the story and can see why it has won and been nominated for so many awards. It is well written, the world and characters are rich and complex, and the plot gripping.
Page count: 400p/14,591p ytd/285,723p lifetime
72:120 Shadow Memory by F Larson
Brandon has had periods where he couldn't stand his father but those are over now. Unfortunately, the timing could have (should have) been better. His father has dementia and is slowly slipping away. Brandon has been trying to get together and have lunch with him but it's hard when his father doesn't remember how old he is or what has been going on in his life half the time. As hard as it's been to watch his father deteriorating in front of him, it's even harder to consider that this could happen to him. His thoughts keep turning back to his stepmother and how she has held up and how this could be his Terry.
This is one of the best pieces I've read by this author. While a short story, it was poignant, heart felt, and emotionally charged. It was so easy to feel for Brandon since any one of us could find ourselves in that position so easily. I'm a bit bummed that the author chose to take this down for now as it didn't mesh well with her other work. It's understandable but I hope that she chooses to release it again at some point. For the record, I know the author but my review was based solely on my opinions of the work in question.
Page count: 28p/14,191p ytd/285,323p lifetime
This is one of the best pieces I've read by this author. While a short story, it was poignant, heart felt, and emotionally charged. It was so easy to feel for Brandon since any one of us could find ourselves in that position so easily. I'm a bit bummed that the author chose to take this down for now as it didn't mesh well with her other work. It's understandable but I hope that she chooses to release it again at some point. For the record, I know the author but my review was based solely on my opinions of the work in question.
Page count: 28p/14,191p ytd/285,323p lifetime
Monday, September 18, 2017
71:120 History of US Vol.8: Reconstructing America 1865-1890 by Joy Hakim
Last read 4 years ago. Here's my review from that time:
Middle-School US History. Deals with the time following the Civil War but not just the Reconstruction of the South but also what was happening in the west, the strides in innovation and inventions, woman's rights, the start of the temperance movement, the rising racism against the Chinese as well as the blacks. It was nice to hear more about the country during that time than just what was going on in the South which seems to be the more typical way of presenting that time period.
I have to say that so much more of it resonates with me now than it did then as we are seeing white supremacy on the rise and I'm learning so much more about white privilege. I do think that we will continue to get closer to a more equal and just society but we need to take note of our past and learn from it as we strive for that society.
Page count: 199p/14,191p ytd/285,295p lifetime
Middle-School US History. Deals with the time following the Civil War but not just the Reconstruction of the South but also what was happening in the west, the strides in innovation and inventions, woman's rights, the start of the temperance movement, the rising racism against the Chinese as well as the blacks. It was nice to hear more about the country during that time than just what was going on in the South which seems to be the more typical way of presenting that time period.
I have to say that so much more of it resonates with me now than it did then as we are seeing white supremacy on the rise and I'm learning so much more about white privilege. I do think that we will continue to get closer to a more equal and just society but we need to take note of our past and learn from it as we strive for that society.
Page count: 199p/14,191p ytd/285,295p lifetime
Thursday, September 14, 2017
70:120 Batman: City of Owls Vol. 2 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, James Tynion IV, Rafael Albuquerque, and Jason Fabok
The conclusion of the City of Owls storyline. Batman must try to figure out what links the Court of Owls, Andrew Lincoln, and his family's past have if he wants to survive this most deadly game.
Also included are some other stories featuring the secrets that the Pennyworth family keeps for the Waynes and more about Dr. Freeze and his past with the Wayne family.
In all, the stories were good and engaging but pretty standard comic book fare, no real surprises.
Page count: 208p/13,992p ytd/285,096p lifetime
Also included are some other stories featuring the secrets that the Pennyworth family keeps for the Waynes and more about Dr. Freeze and his past with the Wayne family.
In all, the stories were good and engaging but pretty standard comic book fare, no real surprises.
Page count: 208p/13,992p ytd/285,096p lifetime
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