Monday, January 25, 2016

The 13 Story Treehouse Series

The 13-Story Treehouse
The 26-Story Treehouse
The 39-Story Treehouse
Author: Andy Griffiths
Illustrator: Terry Denton

The 13-Story Treehouse

Genre: Chapter Book (Grade Level 3.8)

Summary (from Goodreads): Who wouldn't want to live in a treehouse? Especially a 13-storey treehouse that has a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a games room, self-making beds, vines you can swing on, a vegetable vaporiser and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots your favourite flavoured marshmallows into your mouth whenever it discerns you're hungry.

Two new characters – Andy and Terry – live here, make books together, and have a series of completely nutty adventures. Because: ANYTHING can happen in a 13-storey treehouse.

This is a major new series from Andy and Terry- and it's the logical evolution of all their previous books. There are echoes of the Just stories in the Andy and Terry friendship, the breakaway stories in the Bad Book (the Adventures of Super Finger), there's the easy readability of the Cat on the Mat and the Big Fat Cow, and like all these books, the illustrations are as much a part of the story as the story itself.


Amelia's Review:  These books are about two kids who run away from home and are captured by a pirate.  When the pirate ship gets wrecked, they use the wood to build a 13-story treehouse, and then a 26-story treehouse, and then a 39-story treehouse.  The treehouse has fun things in it like a trampoline so they can fly up really high, an anti-gravity chamber, a once-upon-a-time machine, a chocolate waterfall, a baby dinosaur petting zoo and an opera house.  I like these books because they are funny.  I like all the different levels that the kids invent, and I like that they build all kinds of dangerous things!  There are lots of very nice pictures that look so real.  I think it is cool that the kids in the book are actually the author and the illustrator, and that they have a friend Jill who has a lot of animals.  I hope the next book comes out tomorrow so I can read it!  I would recommend these books to Noah because the kids are creative and like to invent things. 

Rating: 5 stars (actually 10 stars!)

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

The Bones of You


The Bones of You
Debbie Howells

The Bones of You

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Summary (from Goodreads): A stunning, wonderfully assured psychological thriller that evokes Gillian Flynn and Alice Sebold, The Bones of You revolves around a young girl’s murder and one woman’s obsession with uncovering the secrets in an idyllic English village.

I have a gardener’s inherent belief in the natural order of things. Soft‑petalled flowers that go to seed. The resolute passage of the seasons. Swallows that fly thousands of miles to follow the eternal summer.

Children who don’t die before their parents.


When Kate receives a phone call with news that Rosie Anderson is missing, she’s stunned and disturbed. Rosie is eighteen, the same age as Kate’s daughter, and a beautiful, quiet, and kind young woman. Though the locals are optimistic—girls like Rosie don’t get into real trouble—Kate’s sense of foreboding is confirmed when Rosie is found fatally beaten and stabbed.

Who would kill the perfect daughter, from the perfect family? Yet the more Kate entwines herself with the Andersons—graceful mother Jo, renowned journalist father Neal, watchful younger sister Delphine—the more she is convinced that not everything is as it seems. Anonymous notes arrive, urging Kate to unravel the tangled threads of Rosie’s life and death, though she has no idea where they will lead.

Weaving flashbacks from Rosie’s perspective into a tautly plotted narrative, The Bones of You is a gripping, haunting novel of sacrifices and lies, desperation and love.


Review:  This was a dark and creepy psychological thriller, full of lots of nasty characters that I couldn't stand.  What made this book different is that the narrator was an eminently likable, lovely, kind woman who befriended the mother of the missing girl.  Somehow having a decent woman at the heart of the story made the nastiness easier to read, while also providing an interesting contrast between good and evil.  Interestingly, it was also narrated by the dead girl; at times this was a bit confusing, but it lent an interesting perspective and provided some of the back story, since the novel opened with the girl already missing.

Rating: 4 stars

Don't Ever Get Old

Don't Ever Get Old
Daniel Friedman

Don't Ever Get Old (Buck Schatz, #1)

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Summary (from Goodreads): DON'T EVER GET OLD was one of mystery-publishing's biggest critical successes last year, earning starred reviews from every major trade publication, garnering nominations for the Edgar, Thriller, and Anthony awards, and winning the Macavity Award for Best First Novel. The producer of four Harry Potter films and the Sherlock Holmes sequel, Lionel Wigram, is writing the script for the movie and producing the film version.

When Buck Schatz, senior citizen and retired Memphis cop, learns that an old adversary may have escaped Germany with a fortune in stolen gold, Buck decides to hunt down the fugitive and claim the loot. But a lot of people want a piece of the stolen treasure, and Buck's investigation quickly attracts unfriendly attention from a very motley (and murderous) crew.


Review:  I really liked the crotchety elderly man at the center of this book, a long retired police officer and Jewish veteran of a Nazi prison camp.  His attitudes about growing old and his "things to remember" were humorous and insightful.  I also enjoyed his frat boy grandson Tequila, especially watching the interactions between the two men from completely different generations.  The action scenes, chase scenes, and murder scenes were descriptive and compelling.  However, I thought this novel was lacking in plot continuity; I never fully understood why all the victims were so violently murdered, and the resolution seemed a little hasty.

Rating: 4 stars

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Invisible

Invisible
by Cecily Paterson

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Synopsis:  Jazmine Crawford doesn't make decisions. She doesn't make choices. She doesn't make friends. Jazmine Crawford only wants one thing: to be invisible. For Jazmine, it's a lot easier to take out her hearing aid and drift along pretending that nothing's wrong than it is to admit that she's heartbroken. She starts to come out of her shell when she's forced to be in the school play and even makes friends with bouncy Gabby and chocolate-loving Liam. But can she stand up to the school bully, and is she strong enough to face the truth about what really happened to her dad?
from GoodReads

Review: Things turned out a little too good to be true in this book for me and far too unrealistic.  I also think the book was too young for me as the main character was just 13 and often the characters were immature and tween-like, especially one of Jazmine's friends.  I prefer older young adult books.  Jazmine starts as a girl who tried to be invisible and doesn't talk to anything about her problems due to her mother instilling in her that no one wants to hear her problems and they'll leave you if you tell them your problems.  Jazmine's father died several years ago and she never really grieved for him.  I'm not sure why Jazmine didn't have issues with her mother based on her advice and her lacking of being there for Jazmine.  Something happened at school and a teacher stood up for her and gave her a chance but told her she needed to write in a journal about her feelings. Jazmine started to do this and came out of her shell at school and her transformation seemed to happen too quickly.  I can't say much more without spoiling the story but it continues to develop unrealistically and too good to be true.  Perhaps a young young adult reader would find this book to be right up their alley but it's not the best book for adults.

Rating: 3 stars

Monday, January 11, 2016

Don't Try to Find Me

Don't Try to Find Me
by Holly Brown

Genre; Fiction

Synopsis:  Don't try to find me. 

Though the message on the kitchen whiteboard is in fourteen-year-old Marley's handwriting, her mother, Rachel, knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.

I'll be okay. 

Marley's quiet. Innocent. Sheltered. Growing up in Northern California with all the privilege Rachel never had, what does Marley know about taking care of herself? About being okay? Rachel might not know her daughter at all. But she does know that she needs to find Marley before someone else does. Someone dangerous.

I'll be better. 

The police have limited resources devoted to runaways. Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter and launches FindMarley.com. But Marley isn't the only one with something to hide. Paul's social media campaign generates national attention, and the public scrutiny could expose Rachel's darkest secrets.

I love you. 

The blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. But Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. When it's discovered that Rachel lied to the police, the devoted mother becomes the prime suspect in Marley's disappearance. Is Marley out there, somewhere, watching it all happen . . . or is the truth something far worse?
from GoodReads

Review: This book was a fast paced highly engaging read told from the perspectives of Rachel, the mother who has something to hide, and Marley, the fourteen-year-old run away.  I found Marley's character to be honest about her feelings towards her parents, friends, life and love but also full of teenage angst.  Rachel was too wrapped up in things going on in her life to realize that Marley needed someone to talk to and pay attention to her.  I also found Rachel's character sympathetic as we learn more about her life and people manipulating her throughout her life.  There were times that I didn't like Rachel but I felt like most of her actions were justifiable.  I like where the story went with the relationships between Rachel and Paul, the husband and father, as well as Rachel's relationship with Marley.  There are other relationships in the book that are dysfunctional and I didn't feel that the vilification of one of the characters was necessary nor well developed.  I can't tell you which character I'm talking about because I don't want to spoil anything but I did feel like his character development was not the best and that he seemed not to be quite right.  I know that is vague but the synopsis does not even mention this character.  I did think that part of this book was quite unrealistic but for the sake of fiction, I suspended reality while reading.

Rating: 4 stars

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Little Beach Street Bakery

Little Beach Street Bakery
Jenny Colgan

Little Beach Street Bakery: A Novel

Genre: Chick-Lit Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): In the bestselling tradition of Jojo Moyes and Jennifer Weiner, Jenny Colgan's moving, funny, and unforgettable novel tells the story of a heartbroken young woman who turns a new page in her life . . . by becoming a baker in the town of Cornwall

A quiet seaside resort. An abandoned shop. A small flat. This is what awaits Polly Waterford when she arrives at the Cornish coast, fleeing a ruined relationship.

To keep her mind off her troubles, Polly throws herself into her favorite hobby: making bread. But her relaxing weekend diversion quickly develops into a passion. As she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, each loaf becomes better than the last. Soon, Polly is working her magic with nuts and seeds, chocolate and sugar, and the local honey--courtesy of a handsome beekeeper. Packed with laughter and emotion, Little Beach Street Bakery is the story of how one woman discovered bright new life where she least expected--a heartwarming, mouthwatering modern-day Chocolat that has already become a massive international bestseller.

Includes 7 Recipes!


Review:  This book took me a really long time to read, given that it's chick-lit, which I normally fly through.  Once again, I'll say that I think I'm growing out of that genre.  Perhaps I should try to remember that when I'm at the library looking for books!

I just didn't really care about Polly, who struck me as a wishy washy character who (with no real talent or effort on her part) luckily fell into the perfect career.  Her relationships with her friends developed too quickly, her romances had no depth, no history, no emotional connection.  The descriptions of her little town in Cornwall, and her connection to the rescued puffin were my favorite parts of the book.

Rating: 2 stars

Armada

Armada
Ernest Cline

Armada

Genre: Science Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.

But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer.

Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.

No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.


Review:  I LOVED Cline's first novel, Ready Player One, and this book didn't live up to the high expectations I had for it.  It was still a fun quick read with an entertaining and fast-moving plot, but the depth of character was lacking, and the 1980s references were needlessly overdone.  And while Cline acknowledges that he borrowed ideas from all kinds of 1980s books and movies (and references them in the book as background knowledge that the main character shows off continuously), the ideas seemed a bit too borrowed.  I think the book would have benefited from being longer and more involved; it felt like it was written and published quickly to take advantage of the popularity of Ready Player One.

Rating: 3 stars

Ender's Game

Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet, #1)

Genre: Science Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Enter Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the result of decades of genetic experimentation.

Is Ender the general Earth so desperately needs? The only way to find out is to throw him into ever-harsher training at Battle School, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when his training begins. He will grow up fast.

But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. His two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Among the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.


Review:  The problem with this book is that it has a very specific target audience, and I am not it.  Ben read it as a smart young teenage boy and loved it; I read it as a smart middle-aged woman, and appreciated the groundbreaking (for 1977/1985) aspects of video game warfare, but despaired over the treatment of poor, sweet little Ender.  I was also offended that only one girl made it to Battle School, and (spoiler alert), she's the only one who cracked up at the end.  I get that this book was written in the early 1980s, but the ratio of girls to boys (1 to about 300) seemed completely unfair.  It was an interesting story, and I became invested in the character of Ender, and was happy to see how he made great progress even given the intentional stressors in this life.  But the bullying and subsequent violence was really hard to read about.

Rating: 4 stars

Friday, January 8, 2016

Island of a Thousand Mirrors

Island of a Thousand Mirrors
by Nayomi Munaweera

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:  Before violence tore apart the tapestry of Sri Lanka and turned its pristine beaches red, there were two families.  Yasodhara tells the story of her own Sinhala family.  As a child in idyllic Colombo, Yasodhara and her siblings' lives are shaped by social hierarchy, their parents' ambitions, teenage love, and subtly, the differences between Tamil and Sinhala people.  When the peace is shattered, Yasodhara's family escapes to Los Angeles.

Saraswathi is living in the active war zone of Sri Lanka, with hopes to become a teacher.  But her dreams for the future are abruptly stamped out when she is arrested by a group of Sinhala soldiers and pulled into the very heart of the conflict that she has tried so hard to avoid.  A conflict that, eventually, will connect her and Yasodhara in unexpected ways.
from the book

Review: In the first few pages I could not keep anyone straight and that made me put the book down but once I got past the first few pages and then reread the beginning I understood things better although now that I finished the book I'm confused still by the first 2 pages of the first chapter.  I knew absolutely nothing about the Civil War in Sri Lanka before reading this book and I feel that I should have known something about it based on how long it lasted and how violent it was.  The descriptions of the violence in this book are honest and horrific to imagine.  The author has expertly woven the tale of Yasodhara's family into the history of the war and has made the reader ache for the characters and what has happened to them throughout their lives.  I wish that Saraswathi's story played into the book a bit more.  We are introduced to her and her family in part 2 but we also get much more of Yasodhara's family then too and I wanted Saraswathi to be more integrated into the story because I felt like Saraswathi's transition seemed rushed and a little out of place.

Rating: 4 stars

Sunday, January 3, 2016

The Book of Unknown Americans

The Book of Unknown Americans
by Cristina HenrĂ­quez

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis: A  boy and a girl who fall in love.  Two families whose hopes collide with destiny.  An extraordinary novel that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American.

Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico.  One day, their beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury, one that casts doubt on whether she'll ever be the same. And so, leaving all they have behind, the Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better.

When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight.  It's also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families, whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novel's core.

Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America.  Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart.
from the ebook

Review:  I really enjoyed the different voices in this book.  Each person was so honest about their lives in America.  Most of the book is told from the perspectives of Alma and Mayor but there are chapters interjected about various minor characters in the book.  Some of those minor characters I wanted to know more about.  Those were the chapters that tugged at my heart strings but because there was only one chapter about each minor character I forgot about some of their stories.  Someone who does not understand Spanish may need to have the internet close by to translate some things.  There were phrases and words that I didn't know that I looked up as I was reading (and I speak Spanish).  I wanted to love this book because it came highly recommended to me by several people but there was just something missing to make me say that it was a good read.

Rating: 4 stars

Friday, January 1, 2016

Brooklyn

Brooklyn
by Colm Toibin

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following Word War Two.  Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy.  When an Irish priest from Brooklyn to sponsor Eilis in America--to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland"--she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love.  Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm.  He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents.  He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans.  But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.
from the ebook

Review:  As I was reading, I felt like I was just watching time go by.  I was not connected to Eilis at all and felt like she and the other characters were very one dimensional.  From the synopsis you would think that it was an internal debate trying to decide whether to go to America or not but really it was just decided for Eilis and it seemed to come from no where.  Then she left with no emotions or anything.  Arriving in America was the same way and people just popped up to help her.  I just didn't feel connected with anyone even later in the book when the news from Ireland arrived.  Strange things were introduced like a Jewish professor who may have been in the Holocaust and a woman who may have been a lesbian but those topics weren't taken anywhere nor were they developed.  A little bizarre in my mind.  The basic story could have been interesting but it just fell flat.  The ending was quite abrupt and I wish that I knew more about what happened.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars