books
Book Review: Basil
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I do adore Wilkie Collins’ writing, but this sad Gothic tale was seriously depressing from start to finish. In this story, the main character Basil sees a young woman in the street, and instantly falls in love with her. He meets her briefly, and learns that her name is Margaret. Later he approaches her father, and the two are married within a couple of weeks with the proviso that Margaret remain living with her family until her 18th birthday. So Basil is married in name only and can only visit Margaret with her mother as a chaperone. During this time, Basil meets Mr. Mannion, a family friend of his in-laws, but the man is so strange and mysterious that Basil can’t decide if Mannion is friend or foe.
There’s horror and betrayal and violence, insanity and disease and death; Gothic literature at its finest! Continue reading
Book Review: The Boy Who Lost Fairyland
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
How to describe the delicious whimsy and melancholy of Valente’s books? It’s impossible to do, but I shall try.
It’s like spiced cinnamon tea served in a golden teacup with all the honeyed tears of your childhood heart when it first broke into pieces. No, that’s not it. It’s like cool peppermint tea in a silver chalice and all your favorite golden words at the bottom… no, no, that’s not it either. It’s like your heart and mind are at war, and when they finally call a truce they sit down for a lunch of memory sandwiches and warm library books baked with pink icing. But it’s all wrapped up in a glittering fairy story, so you don’t mind so much that your heart was just sliced open and your mind picked apart.
This fourth book in the Fairyland series is no exception! I was wary, as many were, since this book is not about September; but I immediately fell in love with the new characters, and cheered them on through their adventures.
This is the story of Hawthorne, who is whisked away to be a changeling and make trouble in the world of men. When he meets Tamburlaine, they become friends and discover that they are not so very different. The two find their way to Fairyland and are immediately roped into a quest. Continue reading
Book Review: The Adventures of Superhero Girl
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
These comics are wonderfully clever and fun! They are set up almost like daily comic strips with little punchlines, but with a longer story line too.
Superhero Girl has some awesome superpowers, but struggles to pay her rent, buys capes at secondhand thrift stores, and suffers from insecurity because her brother is a cooler, more popular superhero. When she has to put up with snarky comments from Skeptical Guy AND battle an alien monster, Superhero Girl has to call up all her patience and superhero know-how to save the day, and get her laundry done. Continue reading
Reading told in Chalk
Series Review: The Debt
I started out really loving this series! The books are fast paced and the adventure is non-stop. There are so many mysterious elements in the story, not the least of which is the evil Debt mafia who are giving Dom, the main character, six impossible tasks to complete. I love a good puzzle, and these books are just one enigma after another!
However, by the time I got to the last two books, I was seeing some message in the books that I did not agree with. Messages like “School is not for everyone. You can quit and get a job instead.” Messages like “Underage drinking is okay, as long as you can handle it like a man.” Messages like “You are in charge of your own life. You don’t need God to tell you what to do.”
Keep reading to see my reviews of each book, and you’ll see how I loved these books in the beginning and then it was a quick descent into extreme disappointment by the last book. Continue reading
Goodreads Guru
Book Review: Son
Son by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the perfect conclusion to the Giver quartet. The world-building is exquisite, of course. In every book we get another glimpse of this world and understand it a little better, a little deeper. I especially have loved understanding more and more about the nature of the supernatural gifts that the characters discover in each book.
The action, the interesting plot, the suspense, the deep social themes and everything just amazed me! Everything is so beautifully balanced, and the story delves into the deepest meanings of what it is to be human, but is never preachy at all. Now that takes genius! Continue reading
Book Review: I’m Not Afraid
I’m Not Afraid by Lee Ann Mancini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the story of Susie the shark and her friend Rachel, who go to the amusement park, but Susie is too scared to go on the roller coasters. Susie learns that you don’t have to be afraid because courage comes from God! As part of the Adventures of the Sea Kids series, each book of the series has a definite Christian message. Continue reading
Book Review: Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another hilarious retelling of Greek myths from Rick Riordan! I can’t get over how irreverent and silly these stories are with Percy narrating them. I was laughing through every page!
I especially loved all of Percy’s little aside comments to the reader. So funny!
I also thought that the myths were really well organized, one myth story flowing into the next in each chapter. Greek mythology is one big mess of conflicting stories with no real timeline to follow, so being able to make some kind of sense out of that nonsense… simply brilliant job!
Luminous Libro 