Kari
The jumping around between Chloe and Karen was confusing at times! Especially when things were moving along quickly and things were already slightly confusing as it was, but I still enjoyed it. I do wish there was a bit more interaction with the residents in Sugar Maple since they're always fun.
You can read my full review here: http://knowitnotsomuch.blogspot.com/2012/10/evil-at-heart.html
There were some slow parts, some parts that I didn't think we needed to read, but it was tense and fun at the same time. I really wanted to try all the drinks Morgan made. It made me wish Roberts did the “recipes at the end of the book” type of book!
Creepy and enthralling. Very similar style to the Hunger Games. Like the Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies.
The Legend of Zelda manga series is a collection of 10 books that are written in collaboration by two women, A. Honda & S. Nagano. When they started they played all the games so they could get an idea of the story and then they sat an elaborated to create the books.
There's a great attention to detail from Link to his companions to the enemies he fights. It's so much more interesting to read the conversations and see the familiar places from the games from a different perspective.
Creepy, funny, sad and hopeful are the words I would use to describe this series of books. I picked them up at the library when I was waiting for Emma the other day thinking she would like them, but the cover for The Parting was slightly creepy so I decided to read them first. Good thing I did!
I've seen the books recommended for ages 7+ and also 9+ and I think the 9+ is more accurate. The books deal with some heavy issues, like death, child abuse and terminal illness. Nothing too graphic, but heavy nonetheless. While I'm sure Emma could ‘handle' it, I think we can wait a couple of years first.
But I did enjoy them! The art is reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes, especially Max. The full color books lend to the richness of the Elsewhere world that the kids find themselves in. Despite their issues the kids are bonded and only want to look out for each other and help keep everyone safe. While they are certainly brave and courageous, there are always moments of showing their age so that it's clear that these are still, despite their adventures, children.
There are still many questions left unanswered and things begin to get a little confusing near the end of The Parting, ending with a ‘To be continued' cliffhanger. And yet, I can't find anything about another volume coming out anytime soon. Hopefully, that's change soon!
The Legend of Zelda manga series is a collection of 10 books that are written in collaboration by two women, A. Honda & S. Nagano. When they started they played all the games so they could get an idea of the story and then they sat an elaborated to create the books.
There's a great attention to detail from Link to his companions to the enemies he fights. It's so much more interesting to read the conversations and see the familiar places from the games from a different perspective.
Total Kevin Smith spin and even a bit of Walter shining through. I loved the Edgar & Bryan owls in the classroom. Genius. Joker dropping trou...it's a Smoddy sort of Batman.
Revisiting old comics because I'm too lazy to really look for new ones....
The book reads like a novel instead of a ‘just a comic book' and it sucks you in right away. This is a classic for a reason. Dark and gritty, Frank Miller took the origin story of Batman and made it even more amazing than it was. I think what I enjoy most about this is that it's not just Batman's origin's story, but Gordon's also. We get to see everything from the beginning. The characters and their heroics or their failings. It's all there for us to experience.
It's the best.
I'm amazed at the sheer cruelty of the characters and I can't say that I even enjoyed any part of this book, but it was nothing if not well written. I wanted to punch so many people in the face. So that's something.
When I found out that James Marsters read for the audiobook versions of the Dresden Files I decided to give fiction audiobooks another try.
Marsters has a great voice, no doubt about it and I can fully believe him as the Harry Dresden character. I was able to get through the whole book, although it took me weeks listening here and there. I would drift off a time or two and have to rewind a bit, but it wasn't as bad as my previous attempts at fiction audiobooks.
The story itself was okay. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. It reminds me a lot of early Anita Blake. I do like that Dresden isn't a tough guy. Except for his magical abilities he's a pretty average guy. His courage comes from his goodness. But the pace and the subject matter is very similar to Anita Blake and there are many times when the decisions Dresden makes make no sense to me. I think I would have enjoyed this more had a read it instead of listened to it so I will continue on with the series, but do the reading myself!
This book just made me incredibly happy. It was like comfort food. The coziest of cozies.
This is one of those books that's fine. An example of why I don't really go out of my way to read romance, but when I need something that's entertaining and distracting this is pretty perfect. I wasn't super invested in Harriet and Wyn, but I did feel myself rooting for them and trying to figure out how they could end up together.
“Never feel guilty for being where you belong,”
Words cannot adequately describe how I feel about this book. I wanted to scream afterwards. I cried and in my head, I raged. A stunning work of fiction steeped too much in the grim reality that is the horror of missing and murdered Indigenous women. I sit here still, shaking with sorrow.
Medina writes a slow, strangling horror story that takes you to the highest point with meticulous scene building until suddenly, we are careening to the bottom, faster than we want to go. The melding of so many Native cultures was brilliant and despite the dark, dark reality this book echoes there was so much beauty as well.
Highly recommend.
I don't know why this was 400 pages. I don't know why I kept reading it after the first 50, but I did because curiosity killed the cat. It did bring me back to my hockey girlfriend days, which were good times so it gets a star for that I suppose.
There's not much creepier than La Llorona. Castro takes that idea and runs with it. The writing missed the mark at times, but the pace of the book kept me from dwelling on that too much. I probably could have read this in one sitting, but I really loved the intergenerational storytelling. I almost wanted more of the ancestors than Alejandra.
I liked the way the story was told through all the villagers recollections as well as the family's before the murder. I wasn't surprised by the ending. I think that was the only way it could have gone. I'm interested in the family that the story was based on, although unsolved murders generally drive me nuts!
I admit I probably gave this five stars because there's a panel of my high school gym and the bowling alley I hung out in and the elementary school where I got my nose broken, but really it earned its five stars. A grown Thien asks Russ what he was thinking when he was driving his family to San Jose when they first got to the US he tells him how he was trying to get to the 280 because driving from SF to San Jose on 280 is beautiful and he wanted them to fall in love with their new home. I was already teary by this point, but that did it for me.
I had high hopes for this one, but I really, really disliked it. I hated every character in this book, but no one more than Roach, though Laura was pretty awful as well. Ugh.
Divergent with dragons and many more detailed sexy parts! I really loved the scenes with the sisters and the descriptions of battle are great. There are too many characters in the beginning it's really hard to keep track until you realize you really don't need to because they probably won't stick around. I'm not sure I'm invested enough to read the next one or four more if she really writes five altogether though.
Why do middle grades books have to be SO SAD!?
I think I started crying in the first chapter and then here and there throughout the book. I purposely didn't read it while waiting at the dentist because I didn't want to cry in public!
What I thought would be a fun, baby scary book ended up being a book about how to deal with grief and the permanence of loss and that was a lot!
This case was a little boring and I really can't stand Blair (I know I'm not supposed to like him, but it's ridiculous what he gets away with!). I also didn't understand that flashback ending. I felt like I missed something....