Category Archives: Reason: Literati

June 7, 2023 · 3:20 pm

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

There is a whole lot of foul language in When We Were Magic, particularly at the beginning. It is way more than I expect in a YA book. In the middle of a tense situation there’s a couple sex scenes because of course friends are going to want to have sex with each other right when they are worried about getting caught having killed a guy and working on getting rid of him piece by piece. It’s like the book is trying to be too many things at once. The writing is mediocre. The plot is interesting, though. The title is misleading. They weren’t magic, they ARE magic. I assumed the ordeal would cause them to lose their magic or something, but it doesn’t (though it does do things like take away the ability to dream or cry or have freckles on your face, though). Overall I’m just meh about this one. I don’t really recommend it, but some people will enjoy it.

3 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 64
Pages Read in 2023: 20,217

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March 20, 2023 · 7:37 pm

Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget Heos

Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget Heos

Blood, Bullets, and Bones is a fascinating trek through the history of forensic science. So many cases are described to show how forensic science was used to prove someone’s guilt or innocence including discussion of incorrect convictions and the limitations of various methods. The writing is incredibly engaging and had my 14 and 16 year olds and myself all absolutely enthralled. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in true crime and how crimes are solved.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 36
Pages Read in 2023: 11,757

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Filed under Non-Fiction, Reason: Bedtime Story for the Boys, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Literati

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February 9, 2023 · 2:34 pm

Skink: No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Skink: No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Skink: No Surrender is hilarious. So many crazy, over the top things happen and Skink is crazy and over the top himself. It is a pretty quick read and just totally enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who is in the mood to read a really fun book.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 19
Pages Read in 2023: 6275

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Filed under Realistic Fiction, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Bedtime Story for the Boys, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Literati

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December 9, 2022 · 7:25 am

1789: Twelve Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, & Change

1789: Twelve Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, & Change

1789 covers a diverse number of topics with the unifying theme of it mainly happening in the year of 1789. Each essay was relatively short (10-12 pages usually). Everything was very western focused (Europe/USA) so it’s not a worldwide snapshot of the year. I found each one fascinating and sometimes found myself wondering just why when told to write an essay about 1789 the author chose that particular topic. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 108
Pages Read in 2022: 37,902
Graphic Novels: 3

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Filed under History, Non-Fiction, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: Literati

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November 1, 2022 · 7:17 am

Another Kind by Cait May & Trevor Bream

Another Kind by Cait May & Trevor Bream

The art in Another Kind is really amazing. The kids are all different mythological creatures or aliens and how they are drawn are all very creative. The story is interesting and easy to follow. Even in blocks where quite a bit of dialogue happens the voices of each character are unique and the speech bubbles are drawn or colored in a way that makes it completely obvious who is doing the speaking when. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys graphic novels.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 95
Pages Read in 2022: 33,594
Graphic Novels: 3

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September 25, 2022 · 6:59 pm

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

All of Us Villains is extremely well-written Hunger Games fanfic. Take the Hunger Games, add magic, and make it between children in seven specific families and you have the premise of this book. A character even comments that someone else almost made him spill his drink on his pants. The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of four characters, three chosen as their family’s champion and one not. I got sucked into the story and then it just ended. There was no resolution whatsoever. It just got to a point and, boom, done. I wasted no time ordering the second book of the duology, but it still annoyed me a bit. I have no problem with series, but I do like for each book to wrap stuff up at least somewhat. This one answered one single question (who wrote A Tradition of Tragedy) and that’s it. Not satisfying at all. Other than that, I loved the book. I recommend this book to people who like magic set in the current day and enjoyed reading The Hunger Games. Just be aware that the two books really should just be one single book and expect to move on to the second book quickly to finish the story.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 85
Pages Read in 2022: 30,226
Graphic Novels: 2

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Filed under Fantasy, Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: Literati, Young Adult

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September 11, 2022 · 6:06 pm

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity and illustrated by Christopher Baldwin

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity and illustrated by Christopher Baldwin

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor is really funny. I laughed out loud several times. The pictures are very nicely drawn. I recommend it to people who like graphic novels, especially those who also like gothic novels.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 82
Pages Read in 2022: 29,204
Graphic Novels: 2

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August 11, 2022 · 9:13 am

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is a very bizarre book. The story makes little sense and there doesn’t seem to be all that much of a plot. Sometimes too much description is a bad thing and with this book that is definitely the case. It could’ve been half as long. The cadence is weird, too. I read it out loud to my boys and usually within a chapter or two it’s easy to get into the rhythm of reading a book, but this one just stayed weird and was never pleasant to read. The romance was so contrived and unnecessary, almost like the author said to himself that this is a YA book therefore it must have some sort of romance (and the last paragraph, related to that romance, was totally silly and unneeded). The characters were pretty flat and while the main character got the information she wanted, there was no real growth or change to any of them. No one seemed to be shocked or even care much at having a traitor among the booksellers. It was just not a very enjoyable book so I do not recommend it.

2 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 75
Pages Read in 2022: 27,273
Graphic Novels: 1

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Filed under Reason: Grim Readers, Reason: Literati, Young Adult

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July 8, 2022 · 7:29 pm

Set Fire to the Gods by Sara Raasch and Kristen Simmons

Set Fire to the Gods by Sara Raasch and Kristen Simmons

Set Fire to the Gods is a pretty exciting book. The way gladiators from ancient Rome and element bending were blended was quite interesting. The characters were well-written and made you care about them and what happened to them. I recommend this book to teens and up, particularly those who like gladiators or Avatar: The Last Airbender.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 67
Pages Read in 2022: 24,529
Graphic Novels: 1

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Filed under Fantasy, Reason: Bedtime Story for the Boys, Reason: Literati, Young Adult

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June 24, 2022 · 7:25 pm

Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

Dry is alarmingly realistic. It changed narrator regularly which I thought was very effective in telling the whole story. The authors really did a good job with how people would behave if there was suddenly no water. The government response was likely pretty accurate, too. I enjoyed the book a lot and it really made me consider how important water is to our lives. I recommend this book to teens and up.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 64
Pages Read in 2022: 23,306
Graphic Novels: 1

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Filed under Reason: Literati, Reason: We Be Book'N, Young Adult

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