Month: December 2015

Readcommendations’ Top of 2015

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I can’t believe the year is coming to an end… Wow! 2015 has gone by so quickly. And we have reviewed so many books… and read a whole lot more as well. It’s so exciting to have such great books in out lives. As this year ends, let’s share the books we liked the most in this great year. Some of the books have not been reviewed on the blog (for reasons) but still mean a lot to us.

Best YA
Sarah: Dumplin’, Julie Murphy
Kenzie: The Walls Around Us, Nova Ren Suma

Best Fantasy
Sarah: A Darker Shade of Magic, V.E. Schwab
Kenzie: A Darker Shade of Magic, V.E. Schwab

Best Science Fiction
Sarah: The Martian, Andy Weir
Kenzie: Illuminae,  Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Best Romance
Sarah: Every Day, David Levithan
Kenzie: Hold Me Like a Breath, Tiffany Schmidt (It’s not just a romance, there’s so much more, but it’s the best romantic outcome outta the books I read this year)

Best Non Fiction
Sarah: Come As You Are, Emily Nagoski
Kenzie: Welcome to Night Vale, Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Kramer (I refuse to believe that Night Vale isn’t real).

Best Mystery
Sarah: Grave Beginnings, R.R. Virdi

Best Graphic Novel
Sarah: Django/Zorro, Quentin Tarantino
Kenzie: Bodies, Si Spencer

Top 2015
Sarah: A Darker Shade of Magic, V.E. Schwab
I simply loved this book way too much. I ran the books I loved over in my head, and I kept falling back on this one. And I’m way too excited for the sequel!
Kenzie: I love every book I’ve listed above, but I think Illuminae takes the cake for me. It’s everything I adore in one book.

 

The Stargazer’s Sister

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By Carrie Brown
Reviewed by SA

It’s no secret to readers of Readcommendations: I’m an astrophysics student. I love everything there is to do with science, with space and with fantastic women who paved the way for me to be where I am now. So of course I jumped at the opportunity to read a novel about Lina Herschel: sister of the great William Herschel, she herself was not only an assistant to the astronomer, but a powerful mind. This novel did not disappoint.

Summary

25430659This exquisitely imagined novel opens as the great astronomer and composer William Herschel rescues his sister Caroline from a life of drudgery in Germany and brings her to England and a world of music-making and stargazing. Lina, as Caroline is known, serves as William’s assistant and the captain of his exhilaratingly busy household. William is generous, wise, and charismatic, an obsessive genius whom Lina adores and serves with the fervency of a beloved wife. When William suddenly announces that he will be married, Lina watches as her world collapses.

I was sad to read that this was only based on Lina’s life, rather than be a biography, though I can easily imagine this as being the true story of her life: it is so believable. Brown manages to create a story that feels authentic, while at the same time weaving beautiful prose. The novel fits to its period, almost as if it was written by one of Lina’s contemporaries.

The novel is slow going, following Lina’s life from her childhood on. About a third of the story or so takes place at her childhood home, following the difficult life that the young woman leads. She struggles through life with an unloving mother, difficult siblings, and an illness that will leave her permanently disfigured.

It is once she and William are finally reunited that the story picks up. I loved reading about how she saw the world, and how Herschel explains it. Science in the Georgian era was fascinating: so much was being discovered, and the characters are excited and enthuastic about new learning. It gave the novel a sense of wonder which drew me right in. I was excited to read about what happened next, and was engrossed by the plot.

Lina is a fantastic character, whom you can’t help but love. You relate to her instantly: her hunger for knowledge, her endless ideas. Seeing her trapped by her gender is painful; seeing her take control of her life is invigorating. She works far too hard though, and at moments she is much less likable, but I still loved learning more about this young woman.

Even if she wasn’t a real person, I would have read this story anyways. Knowing she’s the first woman to have been paid for scientific work, and to have eventually even have received the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society made me love her even more. Oh, and she discovered quite a few comets. Impressive woman!

Her borderline obsession with her brother was something I would like to discuss with other readers sometime. After he decides to marry, the novel revolves around if she can build her own life for herself. Can she be happy on her own?

A fantastic woman in science, in history: a must read. Pick it up on January 19th, 2016, by Pantheon. Thank you Penguin first to read for the chance to read this novel.

Bonus: One of my favorite paintings, representing a Georgian experiment in science. 

air_pump

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
1768, Joseph Wright ‘of Derby’

Dig Too Deep

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by Amy Allgeyer
Reviewed by SA

I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I picked it up, but i was quickly thrown into a world of corruption and lies that was impossible to put down. I was thrilled to find a fantastic YA with compelling characters and an engrossing plot. Just how much corruption can a community take?

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With her mother facing prison time for a violent political protest, seventeen-year-old Liberty Briscoe has no choice but to leave her Washington, DC, apartment and take a bus to Ebbottsville, Kentucky, to live with her granny. There she can finish high school and put some distance between herself and her mother– her ‘former’ mother, as she calls her. But Ebbottsville isn’t the same as Liberty remembers, and it’s not just because the top of Tanner’s Peak has been blown away to mine for coal. Half the county is out of work, an awful lot of people in town seem to be sick, and the tap water is bright orange–the same water that officials claim is safe to drink. When Granny’s lingering cold turns out to be something much worse, Liberty is convinced the mine is to blame, and starts an investigation that quickly plunges her into a world of secrets, lies, threats, and danger. Liberty isn’t deterred by any of it, but as all her searches turn into dead ends, she comes to a difficult decision: turn to violence like her former mother or give up her quest for good.

Liberty returns to rural Kentucky to live with her grandmother, pushing thoughts of her absent mother out of her mind. But it’s not too long until she realizes that something is amiss with the town of her childhood: her grandmother is sick, though she won’t admit it, and half of the mountain is just missing, replaced by trucks and drills and a large pool of weird looking water. That same water which seems to be running through the pipes in her home: is is possible that the water has something to do with her grandmother’s illness?

Our protagonist is smart, and she’s determined: her grandmother’s life is on the line, for goodness sake! Interestingly enough, it’s Granny who quickly became my favorite character: plucky and vivacious, she won’t let anything get her down. She’s a force of nature: albeit a small, frail one. I loved granny so much, with her wit, with her determination, she reminded me so much of some of my own relatives.

The characters had depth and a real personality. Admittedly, I didn’t like Cole from the start, but I quickly came around to Dobber, a young man you wouldn’t expect to be so smart and compelling. It was interesting how Liberty’s first impressions were both spot on and completely off, though I won’t spoil any of that for you.

While some events a found a little unrealistic, I was deeply engrossed with the main plot. It reminded me at times of a teenage Erin Brockovich, though admittedly Liberty has much less power and credibility. That’s why I wasn’t so taken in by the ending: It didn’t seem all that plausible to me, even if it was a great fit.  In any case, i enjoyed the book from start to finish.

If you want a book with spunk, and a determined teenager trying to fight for justice in a place where her voice is ignored, then this is just the book for you. It will be published onApril 1st 2016 by Albert Whitman.

Sleeping Giants

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by Sylvain Neuvel
Reviewed by SA

Those who know me know that I NEED good science fiction in my life. I need a story that pushes the limits of modern day thinking and make us dream about the possibilities the universe has to offer. When I saw that this novel was compared to The Martian, one of my all time favorite books, I jumped at it, and was no disappointed: Sleeping Giants is a fun, intriguing, fascinating novel that had me hooked from the very first page.

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17 years ago: A girl in South Dakota falls through the earth, then wakes up dozens of feet below ground on the palm of what seems to be a giant metal hand. Today: She is a top-level physicist leading a team of people to understand exactly what that hand is, where it came from, and what it portends for humanity. A swift and spellbinding tale told almost exclusively through transcriptions of interviews conducted by a mysterious and unnamed character, this is a unique debut that describes a hunt for truth, power, and giant body parts.

When a second body part is found almost twenty years later, a team is assembled to figure out exactly what these giant pieces are for, and what on earth it all could possibly mean. A team is assembled, comprised of a physicist, a pair of pilots, a linguist, and a biologist; pieced together by a mysterious, nameless figure who seems to have more power than we could ever possibly know…

Rather than using the usual novel format, the story is told through a collection of oral journal entires, and interviews with the nameless figure. This makes it somewhat complicated to connect with the characters, as everything we know about them is given through dialogue, so there is no direct connection with any of them.

However, this is definitely not a problem: the plot is so compelling, you’re hooked either way. It was a fascinating story from start to finish, with the characters throwing out hypothesis over what this giant could possibly be about as fast as you could. There were twists and turns, some awful moments that make you cringe, some exciting events that make you grip the novel so tight your hands will hurt.

It’s sciency, but not science heavy: perfect for geeks like me, and lovers of robots of all ages. The interview format gives it all a sense of realism, without going too deep into scientific explanations that would have scientist groaning. Instead, there is a lot of speculation, coupled with recent discoveries based on the scientific method.

And it’s rather beautiful, actually. Myths and legend play an important role towards the end, and it’s rather gorgeous how they intertwine with history. Somehow, a novel about a giant buried in pieces across earth manages to be delicate and profound. It’s possibly one of the best science fiction novels I have read in ages, and I’m adding it to my list of favorite books.

For fans of science fiction and myths, this book is gripping and beautiful. Too bad you have to wait until April 26th to read it! Published by Random House.

Also, isn’t that cover just gorgeous?

Giveaway Winners!

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Thank you to everyone who participated in our giveaway over this past month! We’ve loved getting your book recommendations and just chatting with you all.

The winners have been chosen and emailed, but we’ve gotten their permission to post their names.

Bundle Winners:

Bundle 1: Alice
Bundle 2: Shelley
Bundle 3: Sydney

Reviewed Books Winners:

Hardcover: Kay

Paperback: Lara and Jamie

All winners have already been notified. I’m super excited to say that two of the book winners chose Illuminae and the other chose A Darker Shade of Magic, both being my favorites this year!

Thanks for following us, guys! We love doing giveaways and we love books, so I hope you all don’t jump ship now that this is over.

 

Not If I See You First

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by Eric Lindstrom

Reviewed by SA

There’s something fantastic in reading a book that opens your eyes (no pun intended). It’s something different from your everyday reading, and for me, the reason I read books in the first place. Not If I See You First is a fascinating novel, that relies more on character growth than plot to tell a story. It was a story with true depth and dimension which I was glad to have a chance to read.

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Everyone has secrets. Everyone is a secret.
Parker Grant is a junior in high school who loves to run, has great friends, and isn’t afraid to speak her mind–especially when it comes to how stupid some people can be around a blind person like her. The only topic to avoid is how Parker feels about the boy who broke her heart in eighth grade… who has just transferred to her school. And as long as she can keep giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago, she’ll be just fine. Right?

Parker Grant has a few rules you must never break around her: Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you’re just getting in my way or bothering me; Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter; and the most important one of all, Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public. Break the rules, and you will never regain her trust.

Now Scott, the only boy to ever deceive her, is back in her life after their two high schools have merged. As if Parker’s life isn’t difficult enough to begin with, what with her family moving into her home after her father’s death, and the fact that wants to join the track team, which means she’s going to need to find a running partner. And what if she wants to start dating, too?

The great thing I love about Parker is that she’s flawed. She can be a complete a**hole sometimes, if you pardon my language. The fact she can’t see people flinch means she’s usually more direct with what she says, and never sugarcoats anything, with means she can come off as being incredibly bitchy. But she’s also smart, insightful, and cares deeply about her friends.

The weird thing about this novel was I felt like it had no real plot or direction until I reached the end. Everything revolved around her character growth,  around her realizing that just because she hears everything doesn’t mean she actually listens. And that’s key: because when she learns to actually listen to the people around her, she discovers she can be really blind about somethings, that have nothing to do with the loss of her sight.

It was cool to be int he head of a blind person for a while. To have description of all the senses except sight. To know how things feel and how people sound. What it’s like to run when you can’t see where you’re going. I was wondering why I still made a physical image in my head of how everything looked, when no description was given. Heck, Parker doesn’t know her friends skin color, what they wear, or anything else physical about them:  so why did I fill in the blanks?

What hit me was just how relatable Parker was even under the layers of harsh exterior. She’s the kind of person you don’t see often in modern YA: she’s not afraid to admit she loves her friends, she’s intense and flawed and has difficulty relating to others.She’s too quick to jump to conclusions and that gets her in trouble. She’s no special snowflake, she’s a girl like us going through high school.

This unique and hard hitting novel is something that has me still thinking about it well after the last page was turned. I want to know what happens next, and yet, I’m happy with where the author left us, the small window he’s letting us see into Parker’s life. Well worth the read.

Not If I See You First comes out today, December 1st, from Little Brown Books.