Stranger by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith {Book Review}

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

For the first time in I don't even want to know how long, I have a book review for you! I have been doing a lot less reading lately than I would like, and most of the books I have been reading are advanced readers copies (ARCs), meaning that they have not yet been released, and that I can not yet review them. I want to get into the habit of reviewing them as I finish them and having the reviews go up as they come out, so hopefully there will be more book reviews coming soon.

Plot Summary (from Amazon.com):

Many generations ago, a mysterious cataclysm struck the world. Governments collapsed and people scattered, to rebuild where they could. A mutation, "the Change,” arose, granting some people unique powers. Though the area once called Los Angeles retains its cultural diversity, its technological marvels have faded into legend. "Las Anclas" now resembles a Wild West frontier town… where the Sheriff possesses superhuman strength, the doctor can warp time to heal his patients, and the distant ruins of an ancient city bristle with deadly crystalline trees that take their jewel-like colors from the clothes of the people they killed.

Teenage prospector Ross Juarez’s best find ever – an ancient book he doesn’t know how to read – nearly costs him his life when a bounty hunter is set on him to kill him and steal the book. Ross barely makes it to Las Anclas, bringing with him a precious artifact, a power no one has ever had before, and a whole lot of trouble.


My Review:

Stranger was recommended to me by a friend who said it was the best book he'd ever read. While I wouldn't put it quite in that category, it was very good. The characters were well developed and unique. The book has five main characters who alternate narrating chapters (all in third person), and they each manage to have a unique voice. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and it can be easy to forget who some of the minor characters are and how they relate to the story, but overall that wasn't too much of a problem.

The plot is enjoyable. While it is primarily action driven, the action was interesting enough that I did not mind too much. As I know I've said on this blog many times, I'm usually a fan of character driven plot over action driven. The plot kept a good pace, never getting slow enough to be boring, or fast enough to be confusing. There were quite a few subplots, mostly of the romantic variety, and while some of them lost me a bit, the main ones were interesting. There was a good balance between the action driven main plot line, and the romance driven subplots.

The writing is very interesting. While it at first seems to fit pretty well into the easy to read/well-written slot where books like Harry Potter reside, something about it makes me hesitate to put it there. As I read, I never found myself particularly noticing the writing, but it was a slow read, which I also wouldn't have expected. I think that maybe that is because of the density of action and nuance that it is not a super fast read. You do have to pay attention to understand what is going on.

One of the best things about this book is the fictional world it resides in. While we hear very little about the world as a whole (there is very little exposition, which I appreciate), we don't really need to. It's a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world, but it still manages to feel unique and fresh, and the important elements of this world aren't at all formulaic.


Who should read this book?

I would recommend this book to young teens and above. The writing and plot might be challenging to grasp for some younger readers, but it is well written and should be engaging to most. There are romantic elements to the story, but there are is nothing that would get probably about a PG rating, and there is no swearing that I can recall. Even violence, while it exists, isn't particularly graphic.

Freedom by Daniel Suarez

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

I'm going to warn right away: this post is going to have spoilers. It is the second of a two book series, so there will certainly be spoilers for book #1, and likely some spoilers for this book too. Freedom is the sequel to Daemon, but they are really just parts one and two of the same story. You can't just read Daemon and stop there. I really, really liked both books, and highly recommend them.

My Review


In Daemon, the Daemon is painted as evil. It kills people, it frames people for murder, and it is a huge national security risk. But in Freedom, it is suddenly a question that you have to answer for yourselves. Yes, the Daemon shook things up, and people died, but the people fighting it have done bad things too.

Freedom begins with many of the characters we know from the first book joining the Darknet (the virtual world the Daemon has created to allow its followers to communicate, work on projects together, and follow it's initiative.) and trying to make the best of a new world they are now living in. With the economy going south, and traditional government unable to do anything about it, the Darknet is providing an opportunity for a new life for many people.

I thought the book was fantastic and creative. There were times when I doubted the ability of Matthew Sobol and the Daemon to predict so many events so accurately so far into the future, but in the end, I could ignore that. Also, I think the fact that I'm not familiar at all with any of the technology that would be used to do something like this helped. The characters were mainly well developed and the plot was well formulated (and obviously extensively planned ahead of time).

I really liked the character of Pete Sebek in this book. He goes on a quest that changes not only the course of history, but also greatly changes him as a person.

Who Should Read This Book?

As with the previous book in the series, this is an adult book, and thus has some adult elements. The violence is particularly graphic, and there is a lot of it. I highly recommend this book, but if these are things that bother you, you may not want to read it.

Daemon by Daniel Suarez {Book Review}

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

Today I am reviewing a book called Deamon by Daniel Suarez. I read this book on the recommendation of a friend, and I loved it. Daemon, and it's sequel Freedom are really what I would call a two part novel. While they are separate books, and each have a clear plot arc, Deamon is only half the story. I thought about waiting until I'd finished Freedom (I'm still reading it), and doing a joint review, but I decided to do two separate posts. Daemon is hard to classify. At first, I thought it was a murder mystery. Then I thought it was a techno-thriller, with good guys and bad guys. But the farther along the story got, the harder it was for me to decide who was good, who was bad, and what the real problem was.

My Review
 As you probably know if you've been reading my blog for a while, I am a character person. The books I love have well developed characters, who act like real people, and who drive the story with their choices. Daemon has a lot of great characters. Pete Sebeck, the police detective who has no idea what he'd getting in to. Natalie Phillips, the NSA agent who never stops fighting the Daemon. Jon Ross, the mysterious freelance analyst without a past. Loki, the hacker with high aspirations, and not too many morals. The Major, the man without a name who is always there when something big happens. Roy Merritt, the hero. And Matthew Sobol, who I think might be the most interesting character, but who dies before the book even begins.

These characters all get trapped in a world they didn't know existed. The Daemon, which is a computer program, is threatening to destroy the world as they know it, and they must stop it. The world is becoming a video game, and those who don't know how to play are getting left behind.

This book is so hard to talk about without giving away the plot. It is very well written, and even though it is a technology book, it's written in a way that would make it very accessible to people who aren't familiar with how that world works. The story can be hard to follow at times, because it often makes leaps forward in time, and it switches often between narrators. If any of this sounds interesting, I highly recommend this book.

Who Should Read This Book

Basically, if you were intrigued by the description, and enjoy a good thriller sometimes, you would probably like this book. But, a obligatory disclaimer: This is not a kid's book, and you shouldn't expect it to be. There is a lot of very graphic violence in this book. A lot of people die or are tortured in very creative ways, and very little is left to the imagination in many of those scenes. While this in no ways lessens my recommendation of this book, it is something to be aware of. If those things bother you, this might not be a book for you. It didn't bother me that much, though there were some time where I started just skimming for a few pages (not only are those parts graphic, they are long. They get a little boring sometimes). There is also sex, and some swearing (though no more than any YA book, and actually probably less than most), so as usual, take those things into consideration when deciding whether to read this book.

Writers of the Future {Book Review}

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Before I get to the review, I want to apologize. This post was supposed to come out two weeks ago, but due to illness, I've gotten quite behind on a number of projects (and school!) that I am working on. This is the reason that the contest at the bottom closes so soon.

When I got a copy of the Writer's of the Future book this year, I was a little excited, since I have heard good things about the stories in these collections, and also a little skeptical about the program and contest in general. In this post, I'm going to talk only about the individual stories and their particular merits, as well as the organization and readability of the collection as a whole.

I'm going to be honest: I don't really think I'd want to read this book in public, and a few things that I had read online about the contest did weird me out a little, but on the whole, the individual stories were quite good. I'll let you do your own research about the rest of it. In my review, I'm going to focus on a two of the stories (though there are many more great ones than that), and give more in depth reviews of them. I will also talk about how I thought the book was organized and the quality of the stories as a collection.

My Review
First of all, my review of the collection as a whole. I was impressed by the variety of stories and the quality of them. There are stories ranging all parts of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genres, and it is fun to read. The illustrations were also quite good, though there were times where the illustration almost didn't seem to fit with the story it accompanied. The book itself was very readable, and good quality. Now, I am going to briefly review two of the stories I read. I had a hard time choosing the stories to review, but in the end I chose the two which most stood out to me as I read them, for various reasons.

Another Range of Mountains by Megan E. O'Keefe is the first story I am reviewing. I enjoyed the story and plot, but there were moments where I felt a little overwhelmed by it. There was a lot of plot in those 25 pages, more, maybe, then made sense. I was intrigued by the premise, and I liked the ending, but it felt a little abrupt. I would have liked a little more backstory, and a much slower plot. I actually would love to read this same story in a novella format. I think that with maybe 150 pages to work within, this story would be really great.

The second story I'm reviewing is Giants at the End of the World by Leena Likitalo. I'm going start by saying that I loved this story. The plot was subtle, the writing was absolutely beautiful, and the ending was perfectly set up. This is the kind of story that makes me want to find everything this author has ever written. The short story is, in my reading and writing experience, a difficult medium to master, since you are limited in space, but still trying to tell a full story. The plot in the story was subtle: there wasn't a lot to it at first glance, but it was still substantial. I felt satisfied at the end, but also curious as what might happen next.

Contest!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are links to find Writers of the Future online:
Facebook
Twitter is @WOTFCONTESTNEWS
Pinterest 
Newsletter & event
Trailer

 I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano {Book Review}

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

Today, I'm reviewing Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. I have read (and semi-enjoyed) her Chemical Garden trilogy, which was why I picked up this book in the first place.To start off with, let me just say, this book is way better than the Chemical Garden books (Wither, Fever, Sever). The world is so much more interesting, the characters are more realistic, the romance is more believable, and the writing is much better.

I just want to say that I love this cover. I know that that's not something I usually talk about, but with the kinds of covers that are usually found on YA books nowadays, something that's subtle, a little mysterious, not a collection of clip art, and that doesn't have a giant teen face/feet is kind of refreshing. I also like the colors. The dark background with the white design is so pretty, and the red dress is eye catching, but it doesn't pull away from the subtlety of the cover. I know you can't really judge a book by it's cover (actually, if it's a YA book, you sort of can), but this one is giving a good first impression.

Summary from Amazon.com

Morgan Stockhour knows getting too close to the edge of Internment, the floating city in the clouds where she lives, can lead to madness. Even though her older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. If she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in her best friend, Pen, and in Basil, the boy she’s engaged to marry.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially once she meets Judas. Betrothed to the victim, he is the boy being blamed for the murder, but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find—or whom she will lose.

My Review

The characters in this book were a bit of a mixed bag. There were some really good ones, and some who felt completely flat. Morgan, the main character, did feel nicely fleshed out, as did Pen, her best friend, and Amy, a young girl she befriends. Others, like Basil (her betrothed), Thomas (Pen's betrothed), and Lex (her brother) felt much more one sided to me.

The plot was great. I thought the worldbuilding was really good, it felt so believable. Even a having different words for everyday items, which usually bothers me, seemed normal. I liked the premise quite a bit, and the general progression of the plot made sense to me, though I disliked the ending. I know that all teen storied now have to be trilogies, but I don't like it. I think that a book, whether or not it's part of a series, should be a story in it's own right. This book ends on a cliffhanger, which is something that really irritates me.

The writing was good. I really don't like present tense writing, but I've gotten used to it, and it wasn't too noticeable here. I was really happy about two common teen lit features which were not in this book. First of all, it was narrated solely by one person. I know this shouldn't be a big deal, but I've gotten kind of tired of all the teen books narrated by a girl and her love interest. Also, there isn't a love triangle. There is the perfect opportunity for one: She is engaged to marry Basil, and has been since birth, but then she meets mysterious Judas. But the author didn't go for it! Basil, the "safe guy" who Morgan has known forever, ends up really being the perfect guy for her. I really hope this potential love triangle doesn't get played out in future books.

Who Should Read This Book?

I would recommend this book to lovers of YA dystopian fiction. And I don't mean the Hunger Games style obviously dysfunctional governments, but more the Giver type of subtly (but fatally) flawed utopias. Actually, the world Perfect Ruin had quite a bit in common with the world of The Giver.

A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin {Character Analysis)

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

Last night, I finished reading A Storm of Swords, the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. This won't be a review really, more just a collection of my initial thoughts after finishing the book. There will be spoilers, certainly for the first two books, and probably for this one as well, so be warned. If you're watching the TV series, this goes beyond what has aired so far, so there might be spoilers for that too, though I'll try to avoid them. If you are worried about spoilers, DON'T READ THIS.

My Review
I was really impressed by the character development in this series, but particularly in this book. For example, take Sansa. In the first book, I really didn't like her. I found her irritating, and a little flighty. In the second book, I started to feel sorry for her, but in this book, I really began to respect her. She went through incredible things for someone her age, and made very difficult choices, but stayed strong through it. By the end, I felt so, so sorry for her, but also really liked her. Another example is her sister Arya. I have always liked Arya, but in this book, I began to feel like she's gotten a little detached. By the end, I was almost a little afraid of what she would do. Her circumstances would have made her become that way, and George R. R. Martin created that change in her perfectly. Warning, possible spoilers in the following paragraph.

This book was a little shocking. With a number of major character deaths, a few weddings, and more shocking revelations, it was quite a page turner. There were a number of points where the thing that happened was the one thing that I was absolutely sure could not happen. Here are some of my opinions about characters as of the end of the book. My thoughts of them change all the time, so I think its interesting to record who I do and don't like at the end of each book. Warning: Spoilers may follow.

Arya and the Hound.

Some characters who I like now, but didn't before, or didn't expect to like, are Jaime Lannister (I love his relationship with Brienne), Sansa Stark, Ygritte (in a way, she was really a good thing), and sort of the Hound. I didn't really like him for sure, but my respect for him grew a lot during the last half of the book. Other favorites (but not new favorites), are Tyrion Lannister, Bran Stark, Samwell Tarly, and Jon Snow. Some that I am less sure about, but once liked (and don't really dislike), are Arya Stark (she's gone through a lot, and it's taken a tole), and Daenerys (she scares me. She's gone through unimaginable things, and she's kind of gone crazy.). I straight up don't like Cersei, Melisandre, Tywin Lannister, and Joffrey Baratheon.

The most interesting part of the series to me is the way the characters change, and how my thoughts on them change. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these people too (though please, no spoilers for anything beyond A Storm of Swords).

As usual, I should mention that while I personally love these books and would highly recommend them, they are NOT books intended for young readers. They include quite a bit of sex, swearing, and violence. Keep that in mind when choosing whether to read these books.

Tasting the Sky by Ibitsam Barakat

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Today, I'm reviewing Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat. I read it for our World Lit group as our February book. We had our discussion a few weeks ago, and I really wish someone recorded it. It would be way more interesting to read here then whatever I'll end up writing! We had the weirdest, most random discussion (many tangents were gone on, including cat collars at one point near the end), but over two hours, a lot of really good points came up. It got a lot "deeper" than most of our book discussions in that we spent probably half an hour talking about memory, emotions, the effect of major world events on our lives, and more.

Summary from Amazon.com

Winner, Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children's/YA Literature, among other awards and honors.

“When a war ends it does not go away,” my mother says.“It hides inside us . . . Just forget!”
            But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to remember.

In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of
life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home.

Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.

My Review

Considering that this is a memoir, it doesn't really seem fair to judge the characters and plot of this book in the same way I normally would. The characters in this book are real people, and so it doesn't feel fair to judge their actions and personalities. What I can say is that I was impressed with the way she wrote about them. She managed to portray her family in the light that she saw them, as a young child, but also in a way that allowed the reader to see all the motivations and emotions that she was too young to understand.

Again, I can't judge the plot, as it is her life. I can talk about what parts she chose to focus on, though. I expected the focus to be on the war and the soldiers, and while it sort of was, it was much more on her. It was about her personal struggles, and the struggles she saw her parents and siblings going through. It became a very personal book, which by the end was focusing on her relationship with the written word, and the way those outside influences, like the soldiers, affected her as a person.

The book was well written to a point. It is a children's book, and so the reading level is lower than most books I read now. The vocabulary was relatively simple, and so were the ideas presented, but I was at times impressed by how she managed to impart a complex idea or feeling in a simple way.


Who Should Read This Book? 
I would recommend this book to young teens and preteens looking for a window into life in the middle east. It's also a great discussion book for a book club, and there are many events and ideas that are jumping off points for casual discussion as well.

A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin

I finished reading A Clash of Kings (the second Song of Ice and Fire book, the sequel to A Game of Thrones) this morning, and I decided I'd do my review now, while I'm still thinking about it. This review will have spoilers for the first book, and some mild ones for this book, though I'll do my best to keep it to a minimum. Consider yourself warned.

Summary
In this thrilling sequel to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has created a work of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination. A Clash of Kings transports us to a world of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare unlike any we have ever experienced.
 
A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel . . . and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

My Review
Since I already reviewed the first book in this series, I'm not going to talk much about his writing style, or how exactly I liked the way he developed the characters or plot. Basically, I really love these books. If you want more, go read my review of the first book, in which I talk about these things a lot more.

My feelings about the various characters changed a LOT while reading this book.This is partly because you see different amounts of different characters, but also because the characters themselves have changed. Tyrion Lannister was a character I enjoyed, but didn't really like at the end of the first book, but is now one of my favorites. Sansa Stark I actually disliked in Book 1, but now I really like her. She narrated chapters in this book (did she in book 1? I can't remember), and she has a pretty terrible time of it. I felt a lot of empathy for her in addition to sympathy, which helped. She, at this point in the series, is the character I can best relate to (not that I can relate to everything she's dealt with, but certainly more that someone like Daenerys), and I always tend to like characters I can relate to. Some other characters like Theon Greyjoy, who I didn't have strong feelings about before, I now strongly dislike.

This book really ramped up the fantasy. There was actual magic happening, which definitely changed thing up. There are also dragons now, though they weren't much more than a trading commodity in this book. Some parts of the book, particularly anything involving Daenerys and Jon, seemed to really be setting up something else that never happened. I assume this will come to something in an upcoming book. The most confusing part of the book to me was Davos, the Onion Knight, who was narrating some chapters. I never really understood who he was (other than that he worked for Stannis Baratheon), or if he is actually important or not.

George R. R. Martin definitely has lived up to his reputation for killing characters, though some things happened at the end of this book that made me question a lot of the other things I had read. This book also really ended on some major cliffhangers. Almost every character's final chapter ended dramatically, and wasn't properly resolved. I can't wait to start A Storm of Swords!

Who Should Read This Book

I'm going to say basically what I said last time. If you read and enjoyed the first book in the series, read this one. These books are amazing works of fantasy, and I highly recommend them. However, these are certainly not kids or YA books, and have plenty of adult content in them that you should be aware of.

Weird is Good {Book List}

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Starting today, I'm going to be highlighting some of my favorite books, both those I read as a kid, and those I currently read and love. I'm going to be dividing them into categories, and we're going to start today with the category I don't have a name for. If you've read all the books on this list, you can probably figure out what I'm talking about.

I call these "weird books" for lack of a better term. They all have a fantasy aspect, and also a real life slant. They are probably my favorite books ever. They combine fantastic writing with unique characters and crazy worlds and plots. They are each unique in themselves, and that is really the main thing that ties them together.

1. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. This is probably my very favorite kids book of all time.



 2. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. While I loved the whole series, I'm thinking more about the first book here, and not the whole thing.



3. The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.



5. The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix



7. His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman





These are some of my all time favorite books. As I look back on the list, I realize they are all kids books. There are some books by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett that probably belong on this list too (Good Omens, anyone?), since I really do love both of them, but I'm leaving them off for now.

So, looking at this list, what do you think the unifying themes are? What is it about these books that make me group them together? I'm honestly not completely sure myself, though I do see some themes of magic, fantasy, and dark themes. What do you think? Have you read these books? Do you like them?

Over the next month or two, I'm going to do a bunch more of these lists on different topics. Let me know if you have any I should cover. Some I'm planning on are:

History and Historical Fiction (this will be a long one!)
Classics
Sci-fi and Fantasy
Realistic Fiction

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

 (This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I will earn a small commission.)

Today, I'm reviewing Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser.

Summary (from Amazon.com)
An 18-year-old girl without money or connections ventures forth from her small town in search of a better life in Theodore Dreiser's revolutionary first novel. The chronicle of Carrie Meeber's rise from obscurity to fame — and the effects of her progress on the men who use her and are used in turn — aroused a storm of controversy and debate upon its debut in 1900. The author's nonjudgmental portrait of a heroine who violates the contemporary moral code outraged some critics and elated others. A century later, Dreiser's compelling plot and realistic characters continue to fascinate readers.

Review
I'm going to start out by saying that I really liked this book, though it doesn't really seem like the kind of thing I would expect myself to like.

The writing was fantastic, but took some getting used to. I'm used to reading books where the underlying messages are just that: underlying. Not so here. He regularly pauses the story to give commentary, which sometimes appears unrelated to the story, but in the end ties in somehow. He has strong opinions, and he's not afraid to tell them to you. A lot. That does mean that this book in incredibly quotable though, which makes for a different kind of reading experience. There is a lot of foreshadowing and references to later plot events in the writing, and it almost makes me want to just start at the beginning again to catch it all.

The characters in this book are what make it so great. Despite Carrie being the title character, I would argue that she doesn't feel much like the main character. Really, none of them do, but if I had to pick one person to be the official "main character," it would be Hurstwood, even though he isn't even in the first portion of the book.Carrie is young and naive, but Dreiser doesn't use her to make it look bad. In fact, she is the character with, in some ways, the best ending. That of course, it a topic that could be hotly debated (and has caused some family discussions at my house). Drouet is a very realistic character who floats along in his own little bubble. Though he is a good deal smarter than Carrie, he still underestimates her.

The plot was rather unlike most modern books I'm used to reading. While it had the major elements of a story, the pacing felt a little strange. At some times near the end, I felt like I was reading a whole different book than I had been at the beginning. Carrie's life takes  very major turn about half way through the book and at that point the whole focus changes. While the plot was good, the characters and writing take the stage here.

There was one point in the story when Hurstwood is about to make a major decision that will completely alter the course of his life. As he wavers between two options, his thoughts and emotions become more and more conflicted. What Dreiser managed to do in that scene was make Hurstwood a real person. In that scene, Hurstwood goes through a process of thoughts and emotions that was intensely relate-able. Everyone, at some point in their life, has had a moment when they debated doing something that they were not sure was right or moral.

I really love this book, if you can't tell, and I didn't even really notice that it was depressing (though other people have said it was). To me, it is a story of life, of the natural rise and fall of people, and while that certainly can be depressing, it can also be fascinating.

Who Should Read This Book
 I recommend this book to people who enjoy classic literature (this doesn't read like a modern novel). I also think that people who like Edith Wharton (a favorite author of mine) who like this too. It shows a very different perspective on the same time and place.

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

Today, I am reviewing A Doll's House, a play written in 1879 by Henrik Ibsen. It was the December book in my World Lit high school book group. Since it is a play, and not too long of one, we thought it would be fun to read it aloud together. It took us a little longer than we had anticipated, a little over three hours all told. I read the part of Mrs. Linde for the majority of the play. This post contains spoilers, so don't read if you care about that.

I'm going to write this post in a much more relaxed manner than usual, mainly because I didn't read it like a normal book. It was a different reading experience that normal, and I think it deserves a more chatty type of review.

I found this play an interested read considering the time in which it was written. The play focuses on a woman named Nora Helmer, who was, at some point in the past, forced to borrow money to pay for the treatment of her husband's illness. He does not know about the loan, and would be furious if he knew. As the play begins, her loan situation is falling apart, along with her marriage.

Nora is an interesting character in that she manages to be at once both a "doll" and a relatively independent woman. By the end, she seems to know what she wants, or at least needs, and she is willing to to what it takes to get there. In her husband's eyes, however, she is an airheaded homemaker.

This play breaks away from several social norms of the time, especially in the end, when Norma leaves her husband. The ending, in which Norma leaves Torvald and their children because she needs to grow as a person, and she finds her life with him too stifling. What I find particularly interesting about the ending is not so much the events themselves, but more the light in which they were presented.

The tone of the writing suggests that Norma is in the right, and that her husband is wrong to try to make her stay, which, for the late 1800's, is quite a statement. Not just that, but Torvald is represented as being hypocritical and the true "Doll" in the house. This is not at all what I would expect from a play from that time, and I found it quite interesting.

For a play, I think it read quite easily. It did a good job of showing character and plot development through dialogue, which is certainly important for a play. Each of the main characters, Norma, Torvald, Mrs. Linde, Krogstad, and even Dr. Rank all were quite human and well written.

I recommend this play to those who enjoy a well written play, and are interested in the history of play writing or woman's rights. It provides a unique perspective on this topic.

Have you read this book? If you have, I would love to hear what you thought about it!

Book Review Round Up - 2013

Now that 2013 is almost done (just ten days left in the year), I thought it was time to look over the year in books. Since I've only had this blog since March, there are a few months of books I didn't review, and there are quite a few I never got to this summer and fall. Despite that, I still reviewed a good number of books in 2013. Here are some of my best.

1. Eve and Adam by Micheal Grant and Katherine Applegate. I'm not putting this one in here because it was one of my favorite books, but because I often feel like I post a lot of very positive reviews. This is a good example of a book that I didn't love.

2. Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow. Cory Doctorow is one my very favorite authors, and this book didn't disappoint. It was a favorite of mine this year. I also read another new book of his, Homeland, this year, and loved it, but didn't have a chance to review it.

3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is one of the first books that I reviewed that I really respected, and appreciated, but didn't exactly like all the way.

4. Divergent by Veronica Roth. With the movie coming out soon, this seems like a good one to feature.

5. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I loved this book and highly recommend it. It has raised some controversy recently, which I think is a sign of how great it is. If everybody likes a book, it is unlikely that it did anything risky or unusual.

6. Erebos by Ursula Poznaski. This is one of the weirdest books I read this year, but I highly recommend it.

7. The Eight by Katherine Neville. I liked this book a lot. It's pretty different from the kinds of thing I normally read, which makes it perfect for this list.

8. Parnucklians for Chocolate by B. H. James. This book is the reason Erebos isn't the very weirdest book I read this year. This book is WAY weirder, and I love it. If you only read one book on this list, make it this one. Read the review first though, because I could imagine that this book could be somewhat polarizing for some people.

9. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Another fabulous Rainbow Rowell. I liked this one better than Eleanor and Park, which will probably make sense if you read my reviews of the books.

10. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. How could I leave this off my list?

There will be one or two more book reviews coming this next week, and then we're on to 2014.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin {Book Review}

(This post contains affiliate links, and I may make a small commission if you purchase and item through them.)

12/20/13 Edit: After talking to some friends, I realized that Arya should really be added to the list of characters I liked the whole way through in addition to Jon, Ned, and Bran. The post has been duly updated.

Today I'm finally getting around to reviewing A Game of Thrones, a book I finished about two months ago. I just started book two (finally!), and I thought it was well past time I post my thoughts on this one. I think this pretty much goes without saying, but there will be spoilers. I'll avoid the ending, and that sort of thing, but if you haven't read the books (and intend to read them at some point), you should probably stop reading now.

Before I begin, if you've read the book, definitely go read this review by Forever Young Adult. It's hilarious. If you haven't read the book, and go read that review, just know that it is not at all representative of the book. It's just meant to be funny.

Summary from Amazon.com

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.


My Review

As usual, I am going to start out by talking about the characters. This book has absolutely fantastic characters. There are many of them, and most of them felt very well developed. While there were some that were not as fleshed out, they also never narrated, which I think makes a difference. Despite having so many great characters, I think that there were very few that I truly liked. I liked Daenerys at times, but by the end of the book, I can't say I was too fond of her. The characters who I really did like, all the way through, were Ned Stark, Bran Stark, Arya Stark, and Jon Snow. All in the family there. :) There were characters I enjoyed reading, like Tyrion Lannister and Catelyn Stark, who I didn't really like that much.

I also really liked the writing. There were times when it felt like it was just going on and on describing one scene, but most of the time, I thought it was terrific. I was very impressed with how he switched the POV between chapters seamlessly. There were probably seven or eight characters who narrated, and they all felt unique and well developed. The writing was such that the 800 page book felt much shorter while I read it.

The plot was also good. It was complicated, with plots and sub plots galore, including several which I am sure were just a set up for upcoming books in the series. George R. R. Martin is obviously an author who cares deeply about the story, and is perfectly willing to sacrifice characters for it. He used surprise wonderfully, and there was a point at which I suddenly realized that no character was safe.

Who Should Read It?

This book is one I highly recommend, but there is quite a bit of sex and swearing, and this is (despite the FYA review) NOT a kids or YA book.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

 (This review contains affiliate links, which means that if you buy something after clicking it, I will get a small compensation.)

Today I am reviewing The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I read this book for the high school World Lit group I am in, and I also saw a play version of it.

Summary (from Amazon.com)
Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.

With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

My Review
I enjoyed many things about this book. I found it to be a unique look at the lives of eight women, and their relationships with their families and each other. The characters in this book were good, and each had a distinct personality. With the format of the book, I often found it difficult at first to remember who was who, and who was who's daughter, but I think it mostly sorted itself out. When I saw the play version, they did it a little differently (they had the first mother story and then the first daughter story for each set together), and I think it helped me keep track a little better. Also, by doing that, it made me realize that there were many connections between the mother's childhood experiences, and their behavior and reactions as an adult. I missed these connections when I read the book.

I very much enjoyed her writing style. It was quick to read and flowed well, but still managed to portray complex ideas and emotions with ease. I was impressed with how she was able to write about such different people and times, but still make them all feel like they were part of the same story. She manages to capture with words not just the women, but the relationships and the emotions that those relationships were built on.

In this book, the plot matters much less than the characters, which is rare. The plot that there is exists between the lines, and between the stories. In many cases, the most important parts of the plot were the ones never told. They are the ones that you must realize for herself. For example, one part that to me seemed very important plot wise, but was never said was the reason for Ying-Ying St. Clair's extreme reaction to her pregnancy, and the eventual loss of her child. This ties back to her first marriage in China, which her husband and daughter in America do not know about. When her first husband left her, she aborted their child she was pregnant with at the time, and now she feels that the loss of this baby is her punishment.

Who Should Read This Book?
I highly recommend this book. It is a wonderful look both at Chinese-American culture, but also, more importantly, at the importance of strong relationships between mothers and daughters. I would recommend this book to anyone, but I think women of all ages would find it particularly powerful.

Allegient by Veronica Roth {Book Review}

Today I am reviewing Allegient by Veronica Roth. Just so you know, I will try not to have too many spoilers here, but this is not going to be a spoiler free review. So, if you have not read the book, but intend to, maybe skip this post. Also, this review is more about how this book fits in with the previous two, and less about it as an individual book.

Summary
What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent. 

My Review
With this book, I had the somewhat unique experience of not having ANY spoilers. Seriously, I did not even read the front flap of the book before I read it. That being the case, I did not know what to expect, and I have very mixed feelings.

I have always felt like Veronica Roth's characters and writing style is very much middle ground. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about them, but they also don't particularly stand out. I think that it is the story lines in her books that really make them stand out.

I will admit that I didn't have too high of hopes for Allegient. I have read far too many teen dystopian trilogies with a wonderful first book, and okay second book, and a disappointing resolution (Reached, and even Mockingjay are prime examples). It was not as bad I had feared it might be.

The main explanation for everything, which comes a third or so of the way through the book, was one I was happy with. It made sense to me, even though it could have used a little more fleshing out in my opinion. However, the book continued to stretch the idea to greater and greater lengths without ever really making it more then a reletivly abstract idea. I didn't love that.

By the end, the characters are rebelling against this idea, but I was never able to totally get behind them since I never really understood what it was they were rebelling against.

Warning, spoilers ahead. Nothing explicit, but enough info that you might be able to guess how it ends if you read it carefully.



Another thing that bothered me through out the book was the switch from Tris's 1st person POV in the first two books to now switching between Tobias and Tris. I found it rather annoying, though of course I understand now why the author did did that, and I really can't complain too much.

The way the book ended, that one thing that I am sure Veronica Roth is getting plenty of hate about, I can't say I really am too unhappy about. It felt somewhat appropriate, and it showed me that she was willing to take risks with her characters for the sake of the plot.

Who Should Read This Book
 Anyone who read and enjoyed the first two books. As the final book in a series, I can't really recommend it to anyone else.

Jayden and the Mysterious Mountain {Book Review}

(This review contains affiliate links, and I will receive a small compensation if you purchase a product through them.)


Today, I am reviewing Jayden & the Mysterious Mountain by Katrina Kope. You can find the book on Amazon by clicking the title in the previous sentence, and you can find the author's website here.

Amazon.com Summary
When a rich grandfather figure strangely appears in the dark street to rescue the young boy, Jayden from homelessness, a life better than his dreams has come true. He is taken to a five star hotel – no, actually a school called The Sanctum, camouflaged in the mountains. The students build and operate high tech equipment, including surrogate robots all to fight against terrorism or are they?

By the way, you don’t want to annoy Scarlet who runs the general operations of the building. She is one cheeky AI and plays nasty if you cross her.

My Review
I chose to read and review this book because I was intrigued by the description. I enjoyed the story, and I found myself often curious about where the story was going. I also found the characters to be mostly enjoyable, particularly Scarlet, who had some great lines. :)

This book is full of misspellings, grammatical errors, and awkward phrasings. To me, it reads like a first draft. That does not mean that this story is bad, but it made if difficult for me to enjoy. What this book needs is some thorough editing, and then I think I would enjoy it much more. I have been informed by the author that a new edition of this book, which will have been more thoroughly edited will be released soon. As I have not seen the new edition, I can not say anything for sure about it, but I will say that I expect that I would be able to give it a higher recommendation.

Who Should Read It?
My recommendation of this book is mixed. While I feel like this book has many positive aspects, particularly in terms of the story, the technical errors and stylistic awkwardness may make it difficult for you to read. If this is not something that bothers you, I think that this book would be enjoyed by preteens, and young teens, though older teen and adults might like it too. If you are unsure it, but still find the premise interesting, I would maybe wait until the new edition is released.

I am going to give this 2.5 stars at the moment (out of five). While it is quite possible that an edition of this book with better editing would receive a higher rating, I have not seen it, and can not say for certain.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell {book review}

Today I am reviewing Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This book is by the same author as the rather controversial Eleanor and Park (read my review here, and my discussion of it's censorship here), but is, in my opinion, even better.

Summary
In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life--and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.
Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

My Review
Wow, that was a really long plot summary (I just grabbed it off of the amazon page)! Let's start with the characters. This book had some really good, really complicated characters. Cath, Reagen, Levi, and eventually Wren, are all characters with multiple layers. You think you know them, and what they would do, and then you suddenly realize you don't. These characters were all great, and very human.

The plot was enjoyable. For a lot of the book I wasn't sure what direction it was heading. Was it going to be an Eleanor and Park like romance, an Ellen Hopkins like book about dealing with mental illness (I know that Rainbow Rowell and Ellen Hopkins aren't even slightly comparable, but I was thinking that it would end up being about how she gives up everything to take care of her dad and sister)? In the end, it didn't really fit any of the stereotypes. It made a new catergory, one without a name. One with fanfiction (an almost taboo topic in most teen lit), romance, difficult parental and sibling relationships, and other very real issues being dealt with be a very real teenage girl.

The writing was fantastic. I love Rainbow Rowell's writing. This was where I thought this book really surpassed Eleanor and Park. While the 1st person naration switching between characters is popular, and works fine, I liked that this book didn't do that. Having a third person book with is all on one character was a bit refreshing. It makes the book feel more personal. Also, one thing that people complain a lot about with Eleanor and Park is the swearing. There is a lot. While it didn't really bother me, I did sometimes feel that it was overused. I have no problem with well placed swear words intended to make a point, but an f-bomb every few lines can get annoying. This book really used swearing in a believable, efficient manner.

I think the reason I liked this book so much was because I related to Cath right off the bat, which rarely happens to me with teen books. While I don't have her family situation, I do have one that can feel very tricky to navigate at times. While I don't write fanfiction, I do read it (I used to read it all the time, but now I just read the one my friend writes, which I am in), and I understand the culture around it pretty well. Her fears, concerns, and anxiety about college, and relationships is something I can directly relate to. In some ways, I see my future self when I read this book.

Who Should Read It?
I'm going to give this book a very high recommendation. If you are into fanfiction, you should really read this book. There is mild swearing, some drinking, and some sex, so if that bothers you, be warned. It is all quite mild though, especially compared to several of the books I have reviewed on here recently, including other books by the same author.

I'm almost done with A Game of Thrones (finally!), so expect a review soon. I also just got Smoke, the new Ellen Hopkins book, from the library, and I am super excited. I first started reading her books right before Fallout came out, and since then, I am always looking forward to her next one! This is the sequel to Burned, which honestly I never expected to happen, so expect a review of that in the next few weeks. Also, I'll be posting a final NaNoprep post this weekend.

Sorry for the crazy long post! If you made it all this way, give me some book suggestions in the comments! What would you like me to review? If I've read it, I'll write something up, if I haven't, I'll put it on hold at the library.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Freelance Writing Guide by Christine Rice {Book Review}

Today I am reviewing Freelance Writing Guide: What to Expect in Your First Year as a Freelance Writer by Christine Rice. To preface this review, I am not a freelance writer, and I don't think I will be in the future (though I'm not going to close any doors), so my thoughts on this book are from the experience of an uninformed reader.

This book is short, and to the point. It does not mess around with long introductions and personal stories, but instead gets straight to the information promised. For this reason, I think this ebook makes a good reference book. While I did read it straight through, you certainly don't need to. If you want to know more about the details of ghostwriting, or if you want advice on writing a good cover letter for your resume, you could go to that page, and read just that section.

I was impressed with the mixture of practical and personal advice. While I said above that she doesn't spend a lot of time on personal stories, and this is true, she always will say what her personal experience was in the situation she is discussing. For example, when talking about payment types, and levels of pay in various jobs, she discusses each one in an objective, but familiar manner.

My final verdict is that I found many parts of this book to be very useful, and even though I don't see freelance writing in my future at the moment, there are still sections of this book that I found useful, and that I expect I will find myself referring to.

If freelance writing is something you are thinking about delving into, but have not yet made the final decision, this book will be useful in helping you make a smart, informed decision. And, as I said before, even if you are not a freelance writer, but if you would like a good reference material on things like resume writing for the writing industry, or managing and monetizing a professional blog, I would recommend this book.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 

 *This post contains affiliate links.

The Spectacular Now - Tim Tharp {Book Review}

Today, I am reviewing The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp. I really liked this book, and I am excited to share my thoughts with you. If you have read this book, I would love to know what you thought of it!

Amazon Description

SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He'll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

My Review

I thought the writing in this book was completely amazing. Sutter's voice felt so authentic, and real. I honestly believed at times that I could be inside his head. It was written in such a way that even though you experience everything directly from Sutter's experience.

The plot of this book was almost painful at times.  It was good, it was real, but was hard to read at times, especially as it gone on towards the end. The number one thing I have to say about this book is that when you finish it, you will feel a little empty, and a little (or maybe a lot) sad, and realize that whatever else this book was, it was 100% honest. I never felt that any character did anything out of character. They were real, and honest, even when it hurt.

The characters were really good as well. Sutter was a train wreck you just can't look away from. Aimee was so sweet, all the way to the end. You just can't help but hope for all her dreams to come true. Cassidy was a very three dimensional character who really made me pause and think a few times. I don't have a lot more to say here.

I feel like I should touch briefly on the ending, though, don't worry, no big spoilers here. If you are really worried, skip to the next section. The ending reminded me a lot of Eleanor and Park's ending. I hoped it wouldn't happen, but I kind of secretly always knew it would. Beyond that part of the ending though, I can't help but feel that it could not have been more true to real life, as hard as that can be to accept at times. I think the end of this book could be used in an ad to keep kids from drinking. To me, it was that kind of sadness that I felt. The inevitable, yet still painful kind. It was almost like Sutter was my best friend who's choices I had been trying to ignore, trusting that everything would work out fine, until suddenly I was forced to realize that it had gone too far, and it couldn't turn out fine. Okay, the next paragraph will have major spoilers, but I will put it in white, so you will have to select it to read it.

I really held out hope for Sutter and Aimee up until the very last page. It wasn't until then that I realized exactly what was going on. I think that maybe the author intended to make it feel ambiguous, but to me it did not. To me, it meant that Aimee had moved on (or been forced to), and Sutter was continuing down the path he had started down years before. I saw no hope for them as a couple, and honestly no hope for Sutter as a person. Aimee now had a whole life ahead of her she wouldn't have had without Sutter, so their time together wasn't for nothing, but at the same time, maybe it was best for her that it ended when it did. I don't think she had the ability to do for him what he had done for her.

Who Should Read This Book?

I would recommend this book to just about anyone, since I loved it so much. If you liked Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell, this has some similarities (and a lot of differences). If you are really sensitive about drinking, this is not the book for you, since that is really a main theme. In fact, I might even go so far as to call Sutter's alcohol problem a character that develops throughout the book. There is some sex and swearing, but not to what I would consider an abnormal amount for a book like this.

A Painted House - John Grishom {Book Review}

Today, I am reviewing A Painted House by John Grishom. I have pretty mixed, though positive feelings about this book, which should make for an interesting review. :)

Amazon.com Summary
The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."

Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.

For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.

A Painted House is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience.

My Review
For me, characters can make or break a book, and in this one, they made it. Luke is a terrific narrator, and through his eyes, you come to meet many unique characters. This book has a lot of characters in it, and I was pretty impressed at how really human many of them were. There are several antagonists over the course of the book (one of them was not a person), but none were really hateable to me. You only experience life as Luke knows it, and so you find yourself experiencing some of the characters as you would if you were a child. I'm having a hard time explaining exactly what I liked so much about the characters, but they are truly the best part of the book in my opinion.

The plot was good, though I would say that it is the weak link in this book. There was a point about half way through were I found myself just getting a little bored. There is not really an overarking plot, but more of an ebb and flow, which is very realistic, but not always as gripping for the reader. In the end, I was pleased with the story, and was happy I stuck with it, but be warned, there are some moments where you may be tempted to leave it for something a little faster. The plot is enjoyable, and there are some exciting parts, but many of the early conflicts get resolved rather quickly, and the new ones do not come up right away.

The writing was very enjoyable. I really liked how if really felt like it was being narrated by 7 year old Luke, and that part never felt fake. I think it worked because it was written in an almost nostalgic style, and so it feels more like an adult remembering and describing what life was like the summer he was seven. This keeps it from feeling too young. Also because of this, you can appreciate the characters in a way the Luke might not, because you can see the motivations behind their actions that a seven year old could not. The writing is easy to read, and felt real (for 1950's Arkansas) without feeling like historical fiction, where dialects and trends are often over emphasized.

At the risk of being a little spoilery, I am going to say that the end made me inexplicably sad. I was happy for Luke (and particularly his mother), but at the same time, it made me sad, since I know that everything Luke is saying about it is true. I don't deal well with change in my own life, even positive change, and things like this make me being to feel nostalgic. I felt particularly that way because of that one little corner of the house on the farm. They got so, so close.

Who Should Read This Book

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a thought provoking, unique glance at cotton farming in Arkaksas in the 1950's, or to those with a thing for baseball. This book is easy to read, but it really makes you think about the secrets you keep, and what it really means to be a child in an adult's world.

Do you have any question for me? Let me know and I will include them in a Q&A post soon!

*This post contains affiliate links.