The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Type: Novel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 552
Copyright: 2005
Publisher: Random House, Inc
Rating: 4.5 to 5


Summary: From Good reads
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.


Feelings:
I thought this book was classified wrong at the library when I checked it out and it was Juvenal Fiction. After finishing it I really think that it was in the wrong place. This is not a simple book. It is experimental, death narrates, the story of Liesel, a young girl in Germany during World War II. The topic is difficult. Death is not your conventional narrator either, he doesn't always like telling the story in order, or leaving the surprises until they actually happen chronologically. When he feels like it he tells, and then goes back and fills in the blanks.

I really enjoyed the book, even though it was quirky. The characters in the story are difficult and real. Liesel moves into a foster home when her mother realizes that being a communist is putting her children in danger. The Hubermann's are an odd couple, Rosa Hubermann is loud and loves to curse. Hans Hubermann is quite and gentle, and Liesel quickly bonds with him. Even though Hans doesn't have much of an education himself he and Liesel set out to read books together in the middle of the night when Liesel wakes up with nightmares.

There are many reasons to like this book it is well written and not your usual fare. I can also see why people might not like it. The experimentation, that I really enjoyed, would likely be it's downfall for many other readers. Don't let the Juvenal/ young adult category deter you from reading this book. I would recommend this book, however, those picking it up should know this book is not going to be for everyone.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Grisha Book 1

Pages: 358
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unraveling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

Feelings:
I like the story but I didn't realize it was a Russian setting until after I finished the book read the Acknowledgements and saw Russian history books and then it really struck home when I looked at the map and saw the names which were very like some Russian places with a few letter changes.

At first I thought this book was going to be in third person, breaths a sigh of relief, but then after the prolog chapter the book was in first person from Alina's perspective, another first person--long sigh. The prolog and the epilog were both in third person which was interesting and added a sort of fairy tale feeling to the story. This is not a fairy tale story, it is has more of a folk story feel to it. I think the author was striving to have that feeling by placing it in a "Russian" setting.

This book puts forward another love triangle, I say another because seems that every book I read recently has one. This doesn't automatically downgrade the book in my view, a little tension is a good thing. Mal, Alina's best-friend, seemed underdeveloped for the import he held to the story. I would have like to see more of character development with him. This is not to say that I didn't like this book I did I just didn't thing that the parts with Mal were as strong as the parts with the Darkling. I bathed in the schemes and intrigue of the Darkling and in many ways he was the most dynamic of the characters.He was a mystery in may ways to and I think that added to his appeal. I liked Alina but she seemed a little like a poor sniffling child for the first half and then a "look at me I'm finally gorgeous" teenager the rest.

Overall I enjoyed the story and thought the plot was interesting. I am only giving it a three out of five rating because I felt like it could have been a stronger book with some more character development, Mal, and a bit more history of what a Grisha is and why they are divided from society. Alina seems to lack interested in the group of people she is suddenly thrust into and I felt like she would have wanted to learn as much as she could about who the Grisha were. She is curious but it seems tame for many of her other characteristics.


I would recommend this book to young adult readers who enjoy a story with magic and mystery(the Darkling).

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy

Series: Yes

Pages: 487
Copyright: 2011

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed the book. It was some what predictable but not all of it was. Tris has doesn't fit into just one of the clearly designed groups in the civilization she lives in but three. She has a choice to make about where she wants to be and how she wants to live. Chicago is largely abandoned and it is surrounded by a fence. I have to admit there seem to be a lot of young adult books that focus on a post-American world and what that might be like when living in America after it's fall. I'm pretty sure that The Hunger Games  was at the front of the group of books like that but there are at least four others that I can also think of.

This book focuses mostly on the initiation into Dauntless and less on the political side of things, which are clearly simmering and about ready to take over the city. Tris does seem to have an interest in why her society is the way it is and to try and search for the answers as best she can while trying to fit in.

The story is fast passed and easy to read. Sometimes a good thing when you want to sit back and go along for a ride.


There is a movie coming out in late March of the first book. I have watched the trailer and I'm not sure how I feel about it. To me looks like it might be a disappointment after the book was so good. The trailer is a mish-mash of sense throughout the story so I didn't think it gave a very good feel for what it would be like, except for lots of action.

I would recommend this book to those that enjoyed The Hunger Games series. It isn't the same as but it does have a strong female character who strives to stay true to herself while fitting into the society.

Matched by Ally Condie

Title: Matched

Author: Ally Condie

Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy

Series: Yes book one

Pages: 369
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Penguin Group

Rating: 2.5 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Feelings:
So many post-American series recently: Hunger Games series, The Selection series, and of course Mathched. Another similarity is that all of these are stories told in the first person. This limits the amount that we know about the society and how it came to be the way it is today. I admit this bothered me in each case, Hunger Games fans sorry but it was not an exception. In fact I'm not sure if it didn't bother me more in the Hunger Games as that was the first of the three that I read (listened to audiobooks but will say I read the Hunger Games for the sake of making it easier). It prepared me for what was coming in Matched and The Selection thus making the holes in the history easier for me to deal with.

My problem with this book was the world I might have liked it more if it weren't for the world that is created here. I know I'm not supposed to like the officials, and I don't, but I would like to understand them a little more than I did through Cassia. The characters did seem a little bit predictable to me but in a world were everything is planed out I guess things would be predictable.

I did enjoy the story. It has to be pretty bad for me not to find something to like, and the writing wasn't bad. First person narratives often bothers me in that I want to know more but I can't because the narrator doesn't know what I want to know.

I would recommend this to readers than enjoyed The Selection there are similarities and they are both love stories with a bit of politics.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes
Pages:327
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 2.5 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads


For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. 

Feelings:
This book took me a while to start enjoying. It was an easy read but I didn't care for the beginning and all of the "I wasn't going to be selected" stuff when there wouldn't be a book if she wasn't selected. Sometimes I really just don't care for knowing more than the narrator does and this book was an example of that. I had seen the book in lots of places so I thought I would give it a try at least two chapters. By then I was starting to like America Singer and the post World War IV America, Illea. The society with an eight tiered caste system was interesting but largely unexplained. I felt like it was alright at first but then after a while I started to wonder why it wasn't getting explained, there aren't any history books, was the explanation given. I would have liked more there.

I did wonder at first if the characters in here would stand up and they are a bit wobbly but I'm willing to look past that when I'm reading young adult romance. I have come to realize that there are many young adult novels that could use a little something more but because they are young adult I forgive them for this where I wouldn't if I wasn't reading young adult. The Selection was not a strong book but the plot and the world were interesting enough to keep me interested. 

Because I wasn't really looking for more than brain candy when I picked the book up to read, cover as evidence, it I admit I was satisfied and will read the next books. 

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

Genre: Southern Fiction 
Series: No 
Pages: 296 
Copyright:  2014 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press 
Buy: Amazon

Reviews of other books by Sarah Addison Allen: Garden Spells, First Frost, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, and The Peach Keeper

Summary: From Good Reads.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells comes a novel about heartbroken people finding hope at a magical place in Georgia called Lost Lake.

Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found.

Feelings: 
I enjoyed reading Lost Lake the newest book from Sarah Addison Allen; however, I liked some of her older books more than this one. The magical parts of her other books that I really enjoyed, seemed to be something that the adults didn't really believe in but that only really Devin did in this novel.

The setting for the story a lake with summer cottages that are becoming run down and don't have the same beauty they did fifteen years ago when Kate visited with her parents for the first time. Now Lost Lake is very different from her memories but it is still a place where she finds peace. As the story unfolds the relationship between characters begins to change. It is clear that the changes taking place started happening long before the opening of the novel.

This is enjoyable light reading with a little magic. I would recommend this book to readers that have enjoyed Sarah Addison Allen's other novels.  

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes. A Throne of Glass Novel
Pages: 418
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: from Good reads.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

Feelings: 
The second in the Throne of Glass series carried on the story of Celaena after she becomes the Kings Champion. I wondered if the second would hold together as well as the first and it did. The story was intriguing and the characters continued to grow and changed.

Without giving away to much of the plot from the first book I would say that the story after the competition is really much more political than the first book. While characters have developed in different ways we see more of Prince Dorian and from his point of view as well. In the first book he was a good character that we grew to like but this book really looks at who he is and I think that was a good thing. Captain Westfall is also expanded as a character which was necessary for the story. Celaena has more of a back story in this book as well. The past which was largely over looked in the first book is delved into in this one which helps us to understand the characters.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed the first in the series as well as people who love a strong young female character.