Monthly Archives: September 2015

September 28, 2015 · 6:50 pm

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

Library of Souls, the third book of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, starts up where the second book, Hollow City, left off. Jacob has developed the unexpected skill of communicating with hollows. Jacob, Emma, and Addison make their way to Devil’s Acre, a loop for Peculiars you probably don’t want to meet in a dark alley. Caul has kidnapped their friends and locked them in a tower in Devil’s Acre, but getting inside to rescue them proves quite tricky and requires a Panloopticon and a hollow, two things that are hard to acquire.

The Miss Peregrine series is one that is impossible to describe, but incredibly fun to read. Library of Souls is well-written, exciting, and has the most perfect ending. I could barely put the book down and couldn’t wait to find out how it would all turn out. I highly recommend it (but you must read the first two books first or it won’t make any sense at all)!

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 83
Pages Read in 2015: 23,614
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September 20, 2015 · 6:14 pm

The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

In the first part of the book, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson arrive at a manor house to investigate the murder of the man of the house. Sherlock focuses on a single strange clue in the room – a single barbell missing its partner. He solves the mystery, but not why it happened. That backstory is told in the second part when the man of the house lived in America and got mixed up in a gang posing as a respectable men’s society.

The way the story was told in the two parts is very effective. The first part is engaging and interesting throughout. The second part is slow-moving for about half of it. The two parts are of equal length so sometimes I felt like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had just added needlessly to the second part to make is as long as the first. Nevertheless, it’s a good mystery and I only guessed the answers just a page or two before my guesses were revealed to be correct. I recommend reading The Valley of Fear.

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 81
Pages Read in 2015: 22,924
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September 19, 2015 · 8:12 pm

Michael Vey 5: Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans

The fifth book in the Michael Vey series opens right where the fourth one left off. The Electroclan succeeded in rescuing Jade Dragon, but the news that the ranch has been bombed and there are no survivors puts a damper on their happiness. They return to the ranch and find utter devastation with no one left but one barely alive Elgen guard. The kids return to the US and discover everything they think they know is wrong and eventually end up at a ranch in Utah. Meanwhile, Hatch and his glows and Elgen army finally arrive at Tuvalu and quickly take control of the island nation (serious comparisons to Hitler and his rise to power here). Hatch appoints Quentin king, but the loyal glows may not be as loyal as previously thought. Finally, former-chairman Schema reappears in Europe and is whisked off by the 16th electric kid to meet The Voice.

This book does a lot of necessary setting up for the last two of the series. The things that happened really have to when they do and merging it in with the other books likely would not have worked. Nothing happened that is as exciting as, say, blowing up the Ampere, but many smaller things happened that were nail-biters. It was a bit less stressful for me to read than the previous book and that helped me enjoy it more. In fact, I’d put it as a contender for my top two Michael Vey favorites (tied with the first one, Prisoner of Cell 25). Once again there was a cliffhanger that left me excited for the next book. I very highly recommend Michael Vey 5: Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 80
Pages Read in 2015: 22,729
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September 16, 2015 · 7:22 pm

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Basil Hallward paints Dorian Gray’s portrait and is so impressed by how beautiful and youthful Dorian looks. Dorian is saddened by the thought that he will one day grow old and makes a wish that he would stay looking like the portrait forever. Encouraged by Lord Henry, Dorian begins to do things that are not kind or decent. Dorian discovers his portrait changes based on his behavior. As the years go by, Dorian stays young and innocent looking while his portrait begins to look evil and old. Eventually, Dorian’s conscience catches up with him and he decides to turn his life around and “kill” the portrait.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is well-written, though it does get wordy and tedious at times. The description of Dorian’s madness at leading a sort of double life is well done. The differences between Basil and Lord Henry, one encouraging Dorian to be a good person and the other encouraging him to enjoy himself no matter who he has to step on in the process, reminded me of the concept of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. I recommend this book.

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 79
Pages Read in 2015: 22,441
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September 10, 2015 · 3:11 pm

The Man Without a Country by Edward Everett Hale

The Man Without a Country by Edward Everett Hale is a short story about Army Lieutenant Philip Nolan who says he wishes to never hear of the United States again during his trial for treason. His wish is granted and he becomes a man without a country. He lives on a ship and no one is allowed to talk with him about the United States or even mention his former country in his presence. By the end of his life he wants nothing more than to have news of the country he once despised, but realizes too late that he loves.

The story is okay. It’s very slow and a bit boring to read. The ending is decent and bittersweet. It reads very fast since it is so short (around 50 pages) so it is worth reading, but definitely not a must-read.

3 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 78
Pages Read in 2015: 22,169
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September 7, 2015 · 6:59 pm

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Set at an opera house in Paris, Christine Daae is a young singer with a beautiful voice. She has been tutored by a man she calls The Angel of Music, later revealed to be Erik, the Opera Ghost. Raoul, a friend she has not seen in many years, falls in love with Christine, which makes Erik very jealous. Erik wants to keep Christine for his own and attempts to force her to stay with him.

The Erik/Christine relationship is abusive and controlling. Raoul is annoying and flat. However, the writing is excellent and the story is told in an amazing way. The book makes the musical make more sense at some parts. Even with how abusive Erik is toward Christine, I found myself feeling very sorry for him and what he had gone through in his life just for the crime of being “ugly.” I was left feeling a bit hollow when I finished The Phantom of the Opera, but I still recommend it, particularly for fans of the musical.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 77
Pages Read in 2015: 22,119
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September 4, 2015 · 6:04 pm

Miracles & Mayhem in the ER by Dr. Brent Rock Russell

Spanning the time of his residency through the first few years as an ER doctor, Dr. Russell weaves the story of becoming a doctor, his best friend’s stress as he went through a malpractice court case (I was holding my breath reading the last couple pages leading up to the outcome!), and lots of memorable stories of people who crossed his path (and the paths of other doctors and a paramedic). Some of the stories were funny, some were scary, some were nothing short of amazing. All were told in an engaging, fun to read way. I highly recommend this book!

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 76
Pages Read in 2015: 21,767
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September 4, 2015 · 5:54 pm

The Rabbit Ate My Homework by Rachel Elizabeth Cole

Drew and Libby find an abandoned rabbit on the side of the road, but they know their parents’ rule: No pets allowed. They decide to keep the rabbit without their parents knowing, hiding it in Drew’s closet. The rabbit continually escapes, waking Drew up in the middle of the night and leaving puddles of pee on Drew’s bed. When the rabbit chews through the legs of Drew’s bed, their parents become convinced they have a rat infestation. Knowing the exterminator will find the rabbit in his closet, Drew takes the rabbit with him to school. When the rabbit escapes, it’s only a matter of time before Drew and Libby’s parents find out what’s really been going on in their house.

The beginning of The Rabbit Ate My Homework by Rachel Elizabeth Cole was a little confusing because the first few chapters seemed to have very little to do with each other. In the end, the two storylines merged and everything made perfect sense. This was a very cute, fun to read story. Even though it is aimed at kids (and my 7 and 9 year old boys both liked it), I found myself wondering what the rabbit would do next and worrying about what would happen when the kids were caught with the forbidden pet. A great read-aloud and also great to give to older children to read on their own.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 75
Pages Read in 2015: 21,477
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September 2, 2015 · 6:01 pm

The Martian by Andy Weir

After a freak accident, astronaut Mark Watney is left behind on Mars. Since the mission was only supposed to last a month, he must use his ingenuity to produce food and water and other critical things in order to survive until he can be saved.

The Martian is action-packed and fun to read. The science is sound and the storyline is plausible (provided we were at a point where we were doing manned Mars missions). That the United States is willing to spend millions to attempt to retrieve a single astronaut is reasonable. The only thing that bothered me about the book was the language, particularly the extreme number of times the f-word was used. If it hadn’t been for the overuse of bad language, this book was have definitely been 5 stars.

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 74
Pages Read in 2015: 21,265
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Applied to Category for Special Reading Challenge: A book set in the future

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