Whippoorwill

seandersonLeave a comment

by Joseph Monninger

Reviewed by SA

I reviewed this book on Saturday on our Tumblr, but the truth is I liked it so freaking much that I had to put it on our main blog. This book is fantastic, and I still can’t put my finger on the reason why: it just was. It was heartfelt, truthful, and the first book to bring me to tears this year.

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Clair Taylor has neighbors who are what locals call whippoorwills, the kind of people who fill their yards with rusty junk. Clair tries to ignore her surroundings, choosing instead to dream of a future beyond her rural New Hampshire town. But, when a black dog named Wally is chained up to a pole next door, Clair can’t look the other way. Clair decides to save Wally, and the immediate connection she has with the lovable dog catches her off-guard, but even more surprising is her bond with eighteen-year-old Danny Stewart, the boy next door.
I picked up this book thinking nothing of it: not expecting it to affect me the way it did. It looked like some kind of romance (maybe?) with a dog (super cute, that cover gets to me) set in a more rural community. Now I am amazingly glad I read this amazing book: I’m still emotional over how it ended. There were tears. Even if the summary doesn’t appeal to you, please pick it up anyways, I am sure it will surprise you.

Whippoorwill is a term for people who hang onto their junk – just like Clair’s neighbors, the Stewards, whose yard is crammed full of trash. One really shouldn’t be called junk, though, even if he’s treated as such: Wally, the labrador/great dane mutt who wants nothing more than to play. Clair has decided to take action: she’s going to treat the dog right, save Wally. But she didn’t expect Danny, the boy-next-door, to be something different.

It’s amazing how the author brings us to see how quickly we judge, see things as junk, while to others they can be treasures. How some see Wally as junk, and others will see him as the perfect dog. How some people will throw out what others will use to create art, like Clair’s mom does. How people will quickly judge others as being worthless, or not worth their time, when they can be golden. I was impressed by how much this theme of trash and treasure really spoke to me.

What struck me as well was how realistic and honest this novel felt. It didn’t seem pulled out of hat, or as if it relied on coincidences to drive the plot forward. Everything felt as if it could actually happen, as if it was happening. Even the somewhat magical ending seemed plausible and perfect – proof of a love a father has for his daughter.

It was amazing how quickly I was drawn into Clair’s story, connecting with her. She’s a relatable young woman, smart, caring, but not an idiot. She doesn’t throw herself into rash actions. I liked being a part of her life, as she seemed like someone I really could get to know through the pages of this book.

The relationship with Danny is also something incredibly realistic. You don’t have the usual tropes you see in novels these days, no grand immediate crush, but a slow, growing connection that blossoms from a genuine respect for each other. And as some of Danny’s actions seem odd, Clair is quick to notice them as well, and the ending wraps them up well. All the points I found strange – or somewhat creepy – made sense when we reached the end.

The ending was both perfect and horrible – horrible in the way it left me inside. I have so many questions! I want to know what happens to them all next, and I felt such a loss as Clair – well I’m not going to spoil that for you. We only get closure on a few points, though possibly the only one that really matters. Once you know this character is safe and settled, everything else can be left int he air, however much it hurts.

What really blew me away though was Wally. A lot of books have people connecting over dogs (Marley and Me for example, which also brings you to tears) but Wally seemed more real for me. I cannot stand for animal abuse, and maybe that’s what related me to Clair so quickly: she takes action against this kind of thing. Over the course of the novel, she buys a book written by a priest who loves dogs (which reminds me, any dog lovers out there, How to be your dog’s best friend was written by monks and it’s possibly the best guide to owning a dog you will ever read.) and used it to train Wally to be the best dog he can be. This helps her bond with Danny, but also allows her to share some important life lessons: about finding your pack, about effective communication, about caring. It’s amazing how much you learn about people through learning about dogs.

Whippoorwill will leave you emotionally in need of ice cream for the soul. It comes out September 1st.

All the Rage

Shililoquy1 Comment

by Courtney Summers

Review by KM

Okay, we have to start here: there’s rape in this novel. It’s not something you can skip; it’s not a singular scene that can be ignored. It’s harsh and unforgiving; it’s not going to sugarcoat anything. This is your warning.

Courtney Summers is one of my favorite authors. If you haven’t read This is Not a Test, I totally suggest you run to your nearest bookshop or library and take it out now. And then get this one. It’s not a sequel or anything, but the other one has zombies. Zombie books always come first.

Summary (thanks, Amazon!)
The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything-friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time-and they certainly won’t now-but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.

Musings

If I could have as much writing talent as Courtney Summers does in her left pinkie nail, I would be elated. Her style is just remarkable; I’ve never seen anything similar. All the Rage doesn’t deviate from this trend and the ending of this novel is probably my favorite of hers.

In fact, let’s talk about endings. Endings that wrap everything up into tight little bows like Christmas presents are great, but life doesn’t work that way. Stories and situations end abruptly, just like a Courtney Summers novel and that’s marvelous.

Now that one of my author crushes has been exposed to all of you, let’s get into the beef of the novel:

All the Rage is hard to read. It’s hurtful and it’s aching and it’s desperation and feelings of worthlessness. It embraces what it feels like to be a girl and how some of us live in fear. It shows girls putting other girls down, girls defending each other when they aren’t friends, and just the way misogyny can be internalized after traumatic events.

It was a hyper realistic novel, one that I could unfortunately pull out many news stories in the past year that would sound eerily similar. It discusses how worth is defined in both a biological sex point of view, as well as a social hierarchy point of view. Women are just valued less in the small town presented; they’re expected to take the fall for men’s mistakes and keep each other quiet.

My absolutely favorite choice in this novel was the fact Summers chose to use the word slit instead of slut. I hadn’t realized until today how desensitized we are to the word slut. Teenage boys scream it down halls, girls use it as insults and then call their best friends sluts with affection in their tone. It has lost its sharpness. Slit, however? That just felt dirty and degrading and oh my gosh. It was the impact that slut should be getting.

Overall, I’d recommend this book so highly, in my top 10 that have come out in 2015. I want everyone to go into this with wide-eyes though because 1 in 6 American women has been the victim of attempted or successful rape.

Another Day

seandersonLeave a comment

by David Levithan

Reviewed by S.A.

I’m always one to jump for a David Levithan book when it comes up for grabs. However, I only realized after I had picked this one up that it was actually the companion piece (no, not sequel) to another one of his novels, Every Day, which I had not read… oops. But a very good friend of mine absolutely loved Every Day, and has been recommending it to me for ages; AND in the forward of Another Day, the author states he has newbies in mind too when writing his new novel; so I jumped in head first.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Summary – Curtesy of Goodreads

Every day is the same for Rhiannon. She has accepted her life, convinced herself that she deserves her distant, temperamental boyfriend, Justin, even established guidelines by which to live: Don’t be too needy. Avoid upsetting him. Never get your hopes up.

Until the morning everything changes. Justin seems to see her, to want to be with her for the first time, and they share a perfect day—a perfect day Justin doesn’t remember the next morning. Confused, depressed, and desperate for another day as great as that one, Rhiannon starts questioning everything. Then, one day, a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with, the one who made her feel like a real person . . . wasn’t Justin at all. 

This is a fascinating concept: what if you had no body of your own? If every morning you woke up and were in someone else, but were still you? That’s the concept of Every Day, the novel this one is the companion of. How would you function? How would you build relationships? Could you build relationships?

Another Day is taken from Rhiannon’s perspective, as she slowly falls for A, a person with this particular predicament. Her life seemingly revolves around Justin, who, I admit, looks like a terrible person to have as a boyfriend. What’s interesting, however, is that this novel starts off on the day she meets A – so we think we are meeting Justin, without meeting him at all. Which makes his introduction an introduction through negatives: he never does this, he never does that. When we meet him in person, we see how he is the polar opposite of the person Rhiannon spends the day with, and it makes you feel the tension in their relationship even more.

It’s interesting how you can love a character while hating them as a person. Hate may be a strong word in this case, but I just did not like Rhiannon as a person, as a opposed to how much I enjoyed reading this novel and seeing her character grow. I find her too passive, too much of a pushover. It made me ache to see her in such an awful relationship, I wanted to grab her shoulder and shake her out of it. However, her growth within the span of two weeks is remarkable. It’s amazing how you can feel her isolation at the beginning, but slowly her friends are introduced – or re-introduced – into her life until she can finally breathe again.

It made me so mad how she acted around Justin, it kind of made me want to put the book down. Many things she did I really found myself annoyed at, especially once she started growing closer to A. There are just some things you don’t do when you’re in a committed relationship, no matter how much of a jerk the other one is – at least have the decency to tell the truth, to end it. There again is another reason I did not like her as a person, though admittedly it made for an interesting story.

Her inner monologue could be dull at times, and admittedly, the plot did not have much going for it. It’s very relationship oriented, and it really did feel like a companion piece: I was more interested in A’s life, what was happening in their life, than I was in Rhiannon’s. I could not understand what A found to like in her and wished I could follow A around for a while – this probably means I’m going to be picking Every Day up very soon.

However, some of Rhiannon’s thoughts were very compelling, especially when she was questioning what attraction means, or personhood, or the connection between body and soul. At those moments, I found the author to be very insightful.

All in all, it’s an enjoyable read. I’m going to read Every Day next, probably, and see if it makes me feel any differently after that.

Another Day comes out next week, on August 25th. Don’t miss it!

A Thousand Nights

ShililoquyLeave a comment

by EK Johnston

Review by KM

I originally requested this book because I loved the summary and the cover was gorgeous. I truthfully had heard of One Thousand and One Nights before, but I didn’t know much about the original and I’ve never read it. Having wiki’d it now, I can see that this is clearly a retelling. I’m happy to have read A Thousand Nights, if only for the fact that it’s introduced me to the original, which I can’t wait to read.

Summary

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

Musings

Now, if any of the aspects I love completely are derived from the original, pardon me. I’ve already said how I haven’t read it yet.

The main character in this story isn’t given a name. In fact, no one except Lo-Melkhiin is giving a name. They’re referred to by titles: Lo-Melkhiin’s mother, my sister, my sister’s mother, my mother, my father’s father’s father, and et cetera. Originally, I thought that this was clever. It reminded me of how stories would be passed down orally and become legends, to the point that the characters lose their names. Now, a week after reading it, I kind of feel like the lack of a name robbed her. She was to be a smallgod. If any character in the book should have been given a name, it should have been her.

She was strong as a character, taking her strength from how she protected her sister and from her inner magic. The magical parts had to be the best out of the entire book. By using traditionally feminine crafts, she was able to harness a power that not even Lo-Melkhiin could grasp.

A few other reviews have complained about the lack of romance between Lo-Melkhiin and the main character. I actually appreciated that it didn’t have that romance. The main character had nothing to go on except proclamations from Lo-Melkhiin’s mother that he was indeed, a good man. How is a person supposed to fall in love with that, especially when the horrible actions done were done by the same body? Had there been an instant romance, I wouldn’t have bought it.

Overall, I love to see an Asian story get a retelling; it stands out among all the Wizard of Oz and Cinderella ones on the bookshelves.

Zero World

seandersonLeave a comment

by Jason M. Hough

Reviewed by SA

I didn’t think I’d find another thrilling science fiction book this summer, but I was proven wrong the second I picked up this amazing novel. Thrilling, intriguing, smart and most of all, fun, this novel rocketed up high on the list of my favorite books of 2015. There’s so much to love about this novel, and if you’re looking for one last book to read this summer, make sure it’s Zero World.

Summary – From Goodreads

Technologically enhanced superspy Peter Caswell has been dispatched on a top-secret assignment unlike any he’s ever faced. A spaceship that vanished years ago has been found, along with the bodies of its murdered crew—save one. Peter’s mission is to find the missing crew member, who fled through what appears to be a tear in the fabric of space. Beyond this mysterious doorway lies an even more confounding reality: a world that seems to be Earth’s twin.
 
Peter discovers that this mirrored world is indeed different from his home, and far more dangerous. Cut off from all support, and with only days to complete his operation, Peter must track his quarry alone on an alien world. But he’s unprepared for what awaits on the planet’s surface, where his skills will be put to the ultimate test—and everything he knows about the universe will be challenged in ways he never could have imagined.

The basic premise of the novel – if it can even be called basic – is what really got me. I hadn’t read the blurb before picking up the book, so it started off as a particularly well written novel about an assassin whose memories are wiped after every mission. Already pretty cool. But only a chapter or two in, they send you into space. Then the author ads the extra dimension of a TWIN EARTH. And then… then it becomes much more. I was, in a word, captivated.

I seriously could not put this book down: I wanted to know everything, about this new world, about the mission. So much happens in such a small amount of time! There’s no time for the novel to slow down, it keeps going strong, against the clock, forcing Peter to push himself to his limits. It’s so fast paced you’ll need running shoes to keep up.

It’s amazing that in such a fast, action packed novel, there is still room for character development. Peter begins as a hardened assassin, but as details of his mission start to change, he does too. It’s almost as if he is an entirely different man from one minute to the next, and the man at the end of the novel is not the man we met at the very start.

Melni, the woman from the alternate earth, is an amazing woman, and develops alongside Peter during the course of this story. She too begins hardened and focused, and in the end, her focus has shifted to a much larger scope than she had started with… though I won’t give you any spoilers there. She is an outcast in this world, but also a talented spy, with firm conviction and amazing skill. I liked moving to her perspective, have her view of Peter to balance with Peter’s view of her world. It was fantastic writing, as you would really tell the difference between whose mind you were in.

The relationship between the two of them just works. There’s a chemistry there – nothing sexual – just a great match and great teamwork. While Peter and Melni didn’t always see eye to eye, they managed to plan (which Peter hates) and get the job done. I am so glad to have read a great book without a weird love story to set it off balance: their relationship only served to add balance to the novel.

But my favorite thins about Zero World isn’t the plot or the characters – as awesome as they are – but the world building. My gosh! Creating this alternate Earth, a new history, with depth, huge events, small events, thinking all the way down to clothes and architecture, even considering the ethnic diversity of the population, and the discrimination! A work of art. The language, however bugged me – why are “shoes” now called “Treadmellows” but “boots” are still boots? It probably shouldn’t bother me, it’s such a small detail. But with all the attention everywhere else, it made me laugh just a little bit.

Now this book also comes with an entire novella, which is awesome as well. But reading on kindle, I was at 75% when the novel ended – I was shocked! I thought it had more to go! I think i even yelled at the book for ending too soon. I may be greedy, but I was more! I’m very excited for the sequel, which I hope comes out soon.

Zero World comes out August 18th. Be sure to pick it up – though I know you’ll never put it down.

On another note, the reason we didn’t write last week was because we both decided to take a week off and spend time with out families. Happy summer everyone!

Circle Unbroken

seanderson1 Comment

By M.A. Kropp

Reviewed by SA

When I picked up this book, I admittedly had no idea what to expect. But I was quickly hooked:  Science Fiction AND magic? I’m being spoiled here! Circle Unbroken is an awesome mix of two genres, masterfully woven together into a strong story. Intrigue, plots, and schemes? Sign me up!

Circle UnbrokenBook Blub

When your family runs the mining operation on a planet that supplies a long-depleted Earth with needed resources, there are bound to be those who would like to see you fail After five years away with the Interstellar Security Corps, Kaili is coming home after the death of her grandmother as a key participant in the ceremony to install her sister as head of the company and the ruling planetary council. She and her partner land in the middle of old resentments and new threats.

Like all of her people, Kaili is gifted with psi abilities developed over generations living in close harmony with their world- what outsiders see as magic. The ceremony investing her sister with her new positions will be a formal ritual, and Kaili, as her sister’s closest relative, will complete the binding Circle.

Accidents and unrest are growing in the mine operations, and Kaili and her partner, Jeff, uncover evidence that her sister will be formally challenged at the ceremony. When Kaili goes missing right before the ceremony, and returns with no apparent memory of the past few days, Jeff  knows something is not right. He will need to use a little magic of his own to make sure Kaili is ready to face the family’s enemies. If not, it could mean both sisters’ lives.

I really loved bringing magic into the mix of a science-fiction driven universe. It somehow doesn’t seem out of place: we know little about where these abilities come from, just as the characters still haven’t solved this mystery. Jeff, the captain of the Slingshot and Kaili’s ISC partner, is awkward in a magic-driven society, but he doesn’t write it off as hocus-pocus when he sees what people can do. And for the people of Geb, living with magic on the one hand and a thriving mining industry on the other is just everyday life for them. It was interesting to see what an advanced, space faring civilization could do with magic on their side.

Kaili is caught between two worlds, the world she was brought up in, with magic and ceremonies, and the world she has chosen to live in, the world of the ISC, where things are driven by technology and work. She’s smart and determined, even working on scientific research to try and figure out why the psi abilities of her planet will not work in hyperspace. Even when worse comes to worst, she keeps her head up and doesn’t stop fighting. A great protagonist in this universe.

I did really like the characters: Jeff and his space-captain attitude, Humfrid and his cheerful fatherly demeanor. The mystery revolving around who could be trying to sabotage the ceremony makes you watch everyone incredibly intently, and the depth that was shown demonstrated the author’s fantastic writing skills.

The mystery itself is slow growing – is there a plot, or are they paranoid? Who is involved if it is? I honestly did not see the ending coming, or at least, I didn’t see the full scope of it until very late. It was a great amount of suspense.

However, with the story revolving around this slow mystery, it made the plot a little slow itself. I was wondering when some great incident would come rippling through their lives, and was surprised then there wasn’t some huge intergalactic event. Not to say that the mystery wasn’t compelling, only that it threw the pacing a little off.

Circle Unbroken is a fun and enjoyable book, set in a universe I’d quite like to see more of. Hopefully we’ll get to hear more from Kaili and Jeff in the future!

The novel is set to come out on August 18th, but the author is hosting a pre-sale event: if you purchase the novel anytime between August 2nd and 17th, you will receive a free download of TWO other books by the same author!

Find it on Smashwords. Enjoy!

The Hollow People

ShililoquyLeave a comment

by Brian Keaney

Review by KM

Working in a library is fantastic fun, but there is one part that absolutely tears me to pieces: weeding our collection. I’m not put in charge of this job because it hurts me too much to see a cart and a half of novels head over to our sale section. A book getting weeded doesn’t mean it’s not good; it just means it hasn’t been checked out for a few years. I was shocked to see almost the entire Vampire Diaries series on the cart last week, as well as some of my favorite books from junior high.

The Hollow People was one of the books I grabbed off the cart this time. The cover is hauntingly compelling and I couldn’t take seeing it sitting on a shelf alone any longer.

Summary

ON THE SINISTER ISLAND where strict obedience to the laws of the mysterious Dr. Sigmundus holds sway, dreaming will get you locked up and branded a lunatic, a danger to society and to all who know you. In this doomed and repressive place, two teens that were never meant to meet or share their dreams, cross paths and set in motion that which rips them from the lives they were meant to lead. Together they join forces with a ragtag group of rebel forces bent on breaking the grip of lies and illusions their countrymen have accepted without question.

For fans of thoughtful science fiction and fantasy, The Hollow People opens a window on the unseen worlds that surround us.

Musings

It feels strange to say that this book felt like it both had a slow start, yet was a fast read. The first half of the book was all about gathering information as it came to Dante and Bea, but soon enough, you’re half way through the book and the action is really coming together. I wouldn’t say it’s a stand alone, though. When I got to the end, I knew without looking it up that there was a sequel — there just wasn’t a possible way that this was the absolute ending.

To me, it felt like a diet version of a lot of other books I’ve read. It had the typical dystopian trends of books like Divergent and Hunger Games, mixing it with science versus magic. A book perfect for a middle schooler transitioning from shorter books to the ones famous in our pop culture.

Suggested reading on Amazon puts the age group at seventh grade, but I’ve been seeing a lot of sixth graders taking out books from the Young Adult section. If you’re looking for something to interest a fifth grader during these last few weeks of Summer, this could be the book. Just make sure to grab it from your library, so it remains in the collection.

The Heart Goes Last

seandersonLeave a comment

by Margaret Atwood

Reviewed by SA

When I saw that this book was available, I jumped at it. Margaret Atwood? Heck yes! I was super excited to get to reading, and had no idea what to expect. And now, after having finished the novel, I still have no idea how to describe this book. It was pretty amazing, while being strange, unpredictable, and oh so weird. The premise itself is bizarre to begin with, and it just goes on from there.

Summary

(from the book, since I honestly have no idea how to summarize this novel without giving anything away.)

Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately need to turn their situation around—and fast. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience seems to be the answer to their prayers. No one is unemployed and everyone gets a comfortable, clean house to live in . . . for six months out of the year. On alternating months, residents of Consilience must leave their homes and function as inmates in the Positron prison system. Once their month of service in the prison is completed, they can return to their “civilian” homes.
At first, this doesn’t seem like too much of a sacrifice to make in order to have a roof over one’s head and food to eat. But when Charmaine becomes romantically involved with the man who lives in their house during the months when she and Stan are in the prison, a series of troubling events unfolds, putting Stan’s life in danger. With each passing day, Positron looks less like a prayer answered and more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.

From some online research, I’ve gathered that this novel is a reworking of Atwood’s epub series, “I’m Starved for You” , Part of the Positron series. Having not read this series myself, I can’t really comment on how it’s been altered: the changes the author has made, the things she has added or taken away, I don’t know. However, I do know that fans of the series must be pretty excited about this new release.

Set in a dystopian near-future, The Heart Goes Last  touches on the idea of obsession, power, and love. If this makes you uncomfortable, then I’m sorry to say this novel will have your skin crawling. There are characters inside so overcome with desire for others that they completely let go of rationality and step into the realm of science fiction. We have Stan’s obsession with Jasmine, the woman he believes is his alternate, and who appears to be the answer to his sexual fantasies. There’s Ed, and his obsession with Charmaine, going far beyond what is healthy. And then there’s the secret of Positron itself, and what it has to offer the outside world: a cash cow of Possibilibots (incredibly lifelike sexbots) and an operation that could give any person with the right price exactly what they’ve always wanted…

Atwood manages to make you cringe so many times in this novel. While the main plot is strange, in a very bizarre world, full of the oddest twists and surprises, it somehow comes off as comedic, with the ending like something out of Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, it is still incredibly dark. These things cannot be legal, and at many points creeped me out. Stalking, spying, lifelike sexbots – the lengths some people will go to get what, or who, they want, astounds me.

It’s odd how much I liked this book without liking many of the characters. Stan came off first as a bit of a creeper, but his character seemed kind of empty towards the end, which is understandable considering what he’s been through. Charmaine seemed at times resourceful and smart, but other times came off as a bit of an airhead. While I loved the plot of the novel, sometimes the wandering thoughts of our two protagonists slowed down the pace too much for me. I found that their idea repeated themselves a lot without much development, to the point where it made the novel feel slightly dull. It really picks up once Stan is told the truth and thrown out of the status quo.

The novel accelerates towards the end, or at least, increases in weirdness until the ending. The end itself seems still a little strange for me: as I said before, it reminds me a lot of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the way that everything comes together and love is set right – even if in some cases that love may be a little strange. But here I am, sitting and thinking about this novel and its bizarre ending, long after the book has been put down. It’s stuck with me.

I do really recommend this book, though. It’s a dark comedy very much in synch with what Atwood has written before. It’s strange, yes, but also thought provoking and memorable. Publishing date is expected to be September 29th.

The Think Happy Club: Friendship

seanderson1 Comment

by Anne Saucer and Grace Snoke

Reviewed by SA

This month, we’re doing something a little different. We’re doing to have two self published Saturdays! Why? Because I thought the 31st was a Saturday. Nope, it’s a Friday, so the last Saturday this month is today. All this to say I’m reviewing TWO self published books! One today, and one next SScreen Shot 2015-07-25 at 7.18.11 AMaturday.

Just like this book, my review will be short and sweet. Another book we’re not used to reviewing on Readcommendations, but I enjoyed it so much I feel like I need to share it with you. It’s a small, cute, illustrated advice book on the value of friendship and the methods of keeping a friend close and valued.

It’s one of those books you may get a friend as a gift, to remind them how much you love them; or a book you may hang on to yourself, to reming you of how you can show your friend they mean so much to you. Honestly, when I read it, I instantly thought of it as a book for adults, while it was only after that I saw it as something children would love too.

It’s incredibly sweet, with such advice as “Listen: don’t just hear the words, but their meaning and emotion” or even “Share the Same Melody”, things that seem obvious, but as human beings, we frequently tend to forget to do. It’s so very nice to have a little handy guide to put us back on track. Reading it filled me with the “warm fuzzies” and made me want to hug my besties closer. Truth is, we’re losing touch these days, relying too heavily on our social media without knowing how to act outside of it. This handy guide will guide you right back on track.

I loved the illustrations. They were, just like the book, incredibly sweet. The style reminds me a lot of the Japanese chibi (“cute” cartoons) though gently painted like a water color. They’re not in your face, they’re just bringing the advice to life, one smile at a time. It’s what gives this little gem its charm: they connect with you. They looked ready to hop out of the page and hug me.

Friendship is the first of these little guides in the series, the Think Happy Club, and I would love to read more.  I wonder which one they’ll think of next! It’s great for kids and adults alike, and does exactly what it sets out to do –  it’s “filled with inspiration images focused on improving or changing things in our lives” and promoting healthy relationships. We all need a little of that in our lives.

Check it out on Amazon and the Think Happy Club website.

The Diviners

ShililoquyLeave a comment

by Libba Bray
Review by KM

In all honesty, I didn’t have a love for Libba Bray’s characters before reading The Diviners. While many of my friends gushed over her books for a long time, I couldn’t get through A Great and Terrible Beauty. I kept hearing things about some of her other books, but my to-read pile was growing taller and I just didn’t fit them on top. That is, until two of my friends sent me The Diviners. I thought it would be rude to ignore it and, really, Libba deserved a second chance from me.

I am so happy that I cracked open The Diviners earlier this summer. It’s a brilliant read that engulfs you into a world of creepy-enchantment and spunky characters.

Summary

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City–and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult–also known as “The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies.”

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer–if he doesn’t catch her first.*

Musings

Evie was definitely the first thing that pulled me into this book. She’s clever, pretty, and reminds me a bit of Buffy Summers with a dash of Roxie Hart mixed in. Others in the story don’t get as much spotlight, like Evie’s Uncle Will or Theta, but there’s hope that they’ll have their own action in the next book of the series. Along with that cast of charismatic characters running around New York, Evie fits in perfectly.

Now, it’s been quite a few years since I was hugely into historical fiction. I grew up on the American Girls series, but really haven’t read much of the genre since junior high. The Diviners is set in the 1920s, but filled with the supernatural. This book has definitely rekindled my love for the genre. All of the periodical slang, fashion, and lifestyle details left me smiling and wanting to grab the nearest TARDIS and head back in time.

The plot was fast-paced and intense. In the moments I had to put it down, for silly things such as work and family-time, I was craving to pick it up again. I usually find books are either character-focused or plot-focused. One of them is brilliant and the other lags a bit behind, earning the silver medal. The Diviners broke this trend with both the plot and characters tying for gold.

Going along with the plot, the setting was fantastic. Talking about speakeasies and The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies gave a definite eeriness to the book, which I adored. A lot of freedom was given to the characters, more than one could manage to do now in the days of digital technology. The city of New York shone brighter to me through this book than in any of the books I’m forced to read as a history minor. Although not every detail may be factual, it certainly is more enjoyable.

I’m so happy that I gave this author another chance. The Diviners is the start of a series that I’m bound to read over and over again. I just want more of Evie, the 1920’s, and the witty dialogue. Until those come out, I’ll have to go back and read some of Bray’s other books that I’ve missed out on!

*Taken from Amazon.com