Saturday, November 29, 2014

Bookish Bingo Update

Happy Saturday!  Now that I'm on a rotation to host Stacking the Shelves on Tynga's Reviews, I needed something new and fun to do here on Saturdays so I joined Great Imaginations' (click on blog name to go to their blog) Bookish Bingo game.  I only have one new book on the grid, but my aunt sent me a bunch of great recommendations that I hope to check out soon.  Here's my update!



Starting with the top row, and going left to right:
Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko has a green cover.

Trans-Siberian Express by Warren Adler is historical.

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis has "ice," "snow," or "frost" in the title.

Watch Out, Hollywood! More Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child by Maria T. Lennon is set on Halloween.

I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan has a black cover.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko is a mystery.

Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson has witches.

Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick with Suzanne Young is set in autumn.

The Martian by Andy Weir has an orange cover.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray had a fall or winter release.

Looking at my empty spaces, do you have any recommendations to fill them?  Let me know!  I'd love to complete at least one row!  (I do have a book in my to-read stack for "Steampunk," so I'll get at least one Bingo.  Book recommendation courtesy of my aunt.)

Friday, November 28, 2014

The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans | Book Review


Flashback Friday Review!

I originally read The Prisoner of Cell 25 back in September 2012, but I never did review it here on the blog.  In fact, I didn't write anything on Goodreads either!  I gave it four of five stars, and put it on my to-do list to eventually follow up with the rest of the series.  Well, that day has finally (two years later) arrived!  I just finished the second book, and am most of the way through the third.  I think they keep getting better and better, as the reader gets to know the characters.

Michael Vey isn't your typical teenage boy.  Yes, he has school and homework and worries about girls... but he's also electric.  And he has Tourette's.  And he is trying to keep both hidden, so that he can fit in.  That can be hard to do, though, when you're constantly ticking and occasionally glowing.  Good thing he has an awesome best friend, Ostin, who's always got his back.  Then things really start to look up when Michael discovers that a cheerleader, Taylor, is also electric.  Before we know it, the trio sets off on an adventure to discover how they got electric superpowers.

I'd put the Michael Vey books at the lower end of YA.  There's pretty much no romance in this first book, but there is TONS of action and adventure.  The characters' dialogue is skewed a little younger, too.  Even though the characters are 14/15, they read a little more like 12/13.  That's ok!  I would totally hand these books to fans of Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series or John Flanagan's Ranger Apprentice series.  I'll be honest: the sometimes-snarky comments from Ostin would often make me laugh out loud.  A book doesn't need cursing or sexy times to be appealing to teens.

One unfortunate thing about the Michael Vey books:  the characters aren't very deep.  At least, not in this first volume.  They all very much stay within their trope.  Michael is the awkward kid with Tourette's who very begrudgingly leads a ragtag group of other teens on an adventure.  He often second-guesses himself and then finds his inner strength.  Ostin is the chubby kid who's always on the lookout for the next meal or snack.  He's a bookworm who's always spouting off too much background information for the situation.  Taylor is the cheerleader.  She literally cheers for the group at one point.  She gets super excited to find out that Michael is also electric and immediately proposes that they form a club.  She worries a bit about her appearance at times, but never lacks self-confidence in anything else.

The good news is that the originality of the plot and the immense amount of action packed into this story totally overcomes that shortcoming.  From the first page, the reader is swept along on an adventure that never once slows down.  I found myself tempted to read late into the night in order to find out how it turns out for the teens!  The Michael Vey books are classic good vs. evil, and you can't help but cheer for Michael and his Electroclan as they struggle to take down the bad guys.  A fantastic thing about most YA lit is that it shows teens working together to overcome seemingly impossible odds and accomplish great things.  I love that positive influence, whether the characters are fighting dragons or demons or totalitarian dictatorships... or, in this case, evil scientists.

*I checked out my copy of The Prisoner of Cell 25 from my local library.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Unwholly by Neal Shusterman | Book Review

UnWholly (Unwind, #2)
(What a creepy cover!  But the book itself isn't creepy.  It's a thriller, but not super-scary.)

Today I'm reviewing Unwholly over at Tynga's Reviews.  Stop by and see why I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!

*I received and ARC of Unwholly from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.  Thank you!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Proof of Angels by Mary Curran Hackett

(Pretty cover... nothing to do with the story, but pretty.)

Proof of Angels was ok, but not great.  I don't think I'm going to be telling friends & coworkers that they need to go read this now.  It's kind of a genre-defying book, too.  The title mentions angels, and the plot is set up when the main character, Sean, prays in a moment of distress, but then there's cursing and none of the characters go to church.  There's also no extramarital sex, so I guess it's "clean" in that department.  Sometimes the characters talk to each other about redemption and all, but I don't really remember hardly any mention of God.

The plot itself would make a fantastic Lifetime or Christian movie.  Remember that movie Fireproof from 2004?  Proof of Angels also stars a firefighter!  Sean is a tough guy who has built up walls in his life to protect himself from getting hurt.  He ran from NYC to LA after the death of a beloved nephew and took up firefighting and surfing.  While in a burning building, he calls out to God to save him, sees an angel, is saved, and sees the whole experience as a second chance to make things right with a girl he hurt over a decade before.

The book has everything you'd expect in this type of book:  multiple characters who have overcome addictions or past sins to get where they are today.  Romances.  Everyone gets redeemed.  This isn't terrible; it's the perfect "comfort" read.  Like mac'n'cheese for your brain.  And I did get a few warm fuzzies when Sean is able to overcome great odds to get to certain achievements.

In fact, Proof of Angels may be just a little too comfortable.  Mary Curran Hackett doesn't seem to trust us readers to "get it."  There is a lot of telling over showing.  The characters will have long conversations that feel totally unnatural in order to convey feelings or relay past events.  Or there would be a long passage where Sean would "reflect" on things in order to convey feelings.  

Overall, I give the book 2 of 5 stars.  On Goodreads, this is "it was ok."  I didn't struggle to get through it.  It was a solid novel.  It just wasn't my book.  It was a little too cushy and predictable.

*I received my copy of Proof of Angels from the publisher, HarperCollins.  I did not receive payment in exchange for my fair review.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday

This is a neat weekly feature over at a blog I really enjoy, The Broke and the Bookish.  They read books similar to some that I've been reviewing, and they're fun and they write well.  Totally worth checking out!

Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR List!
This list was actually a little easy; I'm just going to give you the next ten books that I plan to read!  Some are books I own but haven't read yet; some are ARCs I need to catch up on; and some are library books that I've checked out recently.

1. The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn.  (Own, but haven't read yet.)

2. Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick with Suzanne Young.  (ARC)

3. The Complete Peanuts, 1993-1994 by Charles Schultz.  (Library.  I originally ordered this for the hubby, a huge Peanuts fan, thinking it was "the complete Peanuts."  This is a lesson in reading the whole title...)

4. Postcards From Ed by Edward Abbey.  (Own, but haven't read yet.)

5. The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble.  (ARC)

6. Compulsion by Martina Boone.  (Library)

7. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson.  (Own, but haven't read yet.  And this is a travesty, because I love all things Peter Pan.)

8. Ink by Amanda Sun.  (ARC)

9. CraftFail: When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong by Heather Mann.  (Library, for laughs.)

10. Miracles and Massacres by Glenn Beck.  (Own, but haven't read yet.)

So my list might be a little boring this week, but those are the next 10 books in my queue...

What are you looking forward to reading this winter?  I love seeing what others are up to!  Leave a comment with a link, please.

Monday, November 24, 2014

The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community by Marc J. Dunkelman | Book Review


The Vanishing Neighbor was difficult to rate.  On Goodreads, I only gave it 2 stars because I was reading it for leisure.  If I were a sociology student, I'd probably give it 4-5 stars.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to others to read "for fun" but I can't deny the depth and wealth of information within, or the novelty of the thesis presented.

Let me back up just a little and explain why, exactly, I picked up this book in the first place.  Two years ago, the hubby and I bought a house in a suburb and moved in and I waited and waited and waited for a neighbor to come over and say hi.  Maybe with a plate of cookies.  I spent my evenings imagining running into neighbors as we all came home from work and sharing glasses of wine on the front porch.  (I bought a few bottles of "good" wine just in case.)  I looked forward to dog-sitting for the neighbors two houses down and giving children's book recommendations to the neighbors one house down.  We moved onto a cul de sac; I daydreamed of "block parties" on the 4th of July.  Because this is what I grew up with.  I wasn't delusional, I swear!  When I was a kid, all the neighbors hung out and we kids played together and our parents sat on the porches together and there were cul de sac block parties every 4th of July.  

I picked up Mr. Dunkelman's book hoping for answers.  Why was it that not a single neighbor came over to welcome us to the neighborhood?  Why was one of our neighbors actually actively antagonistic?  What was wrong with me that no one wanted to form connections?

The good news:  there's absolutely nothing wrong with me or the hubby, according to the author.  It's just that in the past 20 years, America has seen a great shift, a wave, as he terms it, from geographical community connections to a more selective "networked" society.  We Americans own a lot of cars.  We have great public transportation systems in big cities.  We have many computers and lots of internet access.  We no longer rely on the neighbor next door because we can easily selectively choose our social group, even if the others in the group live many miles away.  I can't tell you how relieved I was to find that out so early in the book.  The Beaver Cleaver community model just doesn't exist anymore.  I'm not doing anything wrong, and my neighbors aren't doing anything wrong.  We've just become a more efficient society!

I thought the author did a fantastic job presenting both the positives and the negatives of the shift into this new, networked society.  Sure, I was reassured about my own situation, but he also brought up some negatives.  People very rarely run into people outside of their education level, socioeconomic level, and career anymore.  This can actually impede idea-sharing, which could lead to a loss of innovation in America.  That's no good.  

The author also does a fantastic job with his research.  My mind was a little blown at all the texts he referenced, and all the diverse historical sociological theories that he pulled together to support his thesis.  If I were his professor, I'd totally give him an A++.

Unfortunately, that's also where this book lost me a bit, and lost stars in my personal rating of the book.  You see, I'm not a professor or student of economics.  This book was pretty intense for something I was reading prior to going to bed.  So, please check out this book if you're a student of sociology, and maybe look for something a little lighter if you're an average Joe like me.

*I checked out my copy of The Vanishing Neighbor from my local library.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Bookish Bingo Update!

Happy Saturday!  Now that I'm on a rotation to host Stacking the Shelves on Tynga's Reviews, I needed something new and fun to do here on Saturdays so I joined Great Imaginations' (click on blog name to go to their blog) Bookish Bingo game.  I only have one new book on the grid, but my aunt sent me a bunch of great recommendations that I hope to check out soon.  Here's my update!


Starting with the top row, and going left to right:
Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko has a green cover.

Trans-Siberian Express by Warren Adler is historical.

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis has "ice," "snow," or "frost" in the title.

Watch Out, Hollywood! More Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child by Maria T. Lennon is set on Halloween.

I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan has a black cover.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko is a mystery.

The Martian by Andy Weir has an orange cover.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray had a fall or winter release.

Looking at my empty spaces, do you have any recommendations to fill them?  Let me know!  I'd love to complete at least one row!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Unwind by Neal Shusterman | Book Review

(Odd cover, right?  The person is all blurry, which makes sense once you've read the book, but then you have the fingerprint overlay... makes no sense; and the font of the title also makes no sense.)

Unwind was not what I was expecting.  At all.  I don't remember now what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.  The plot is this, essentially:  there's been a civil war in America over the abortion issue, and the end truce was that fetal abortion is illegal, but parents can choose to "unwind" their child at age 13 if they're unhappy with how they're turning out.  If a kid makes it to 18, they're safe; no one can be "unwound" after that point.  What is unwinding?  Healthy teens are portioned out to others for medical or cosmetic needs.  Need a kidney?  There's an Unwind you can cut open and grab one from.  Every single part of the Unwinds is used, so society is told that they're not "dead;" they "live on" in others.

So this YA book was a lot deeper and more thought-provoking than I ever would have thought!

Connor, Risa, and Lev have all been set aside to be unwound for various reasons, and this brings them together into an unlikely partnership to survive.  Connor is a "difficult" kid for his parents.  Risa is a ward of the state.  Lev has been set aside since birth as his family's "tithe" to the program.  So there are many issues at discussion in this book!  Teens with discipline problems:  how they view the situation, how the adults in their lives view the situation, and what the ideal solution is.  Orphan rights:  even as minors, what are their rights?  What decisions can they reasonably expect adults around them to make in their name?  When do they stand up for themselves?  Religious freedom:  at what point should someone outside step in?  When the parents are about to sacrifice their child in the name of their beliefs?

Neal Shusterman is such a fantastic writer.  Even as I cringed at the issues being presented, I laughed at the characters' witty banter.  Even as I feared for the characters' safety and stayed up too late reading, I thoroughly enjoyed watching them continue to triumph over the horrible circumstances in which they'd been placed.  Every time I thought the characters might be safe... nope!  There's danger at every turn for these three teens on the run.  While they are definitely still teens, with very little "life experience," they repeatedly make well thought-out and mature decisions.  

I went into Unwind years after it's publication, knowing that it's the first in a trilogy.  But the ending really wraps up well!  You could stop at the end, but why would you want to?  By the end, you're going to be rooting for the teens and will want to know what happens next.  I know that I'm looking forward to Unwholly!

*I checked out my copy of Unwind from my local library.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare | Audiobook Review

(Just haven't been thrilled with most of the covers in this series.  This one?  Not so thrilled.)

City of Heavenly Fire, the final book in the Mortal Instruments series, really delivers!  It's chock full of action and adventure during the great war between Sebastian and the Shadowhunters (with the Downworlders who have joined the Council) and romance between the various main characters.  Overarchingly, this is a classic good vs. evil battle, with characters working together loyally and bravely to take down Sebastian, the monsters he's created, and the demons he's recruited.  The fight will take Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, Alec, and Magnus to a place where almost no one has dared to go before, to accomplish what "can't" (in the eyes of the Council) be done...

And to see the rest of my review, in which I discuss bravery and swooning and everything in between, click on over to Tynga's Reviews!