Camino Island by John Grisham
Camino Island by John Grisham is an easy to read book. The characters are interesting and the story has a lot of promise. After the rather long beginning, the story draws the reader in and it is a light, fun read. That earns the story 3 stars, but I expect more from Grisham. Spoiler alert.
The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert
“According to science, humans have no souls. There is no afterlife or guardian angels or ghosts or spirits or anything at all supernatural. Our world is purely physical. The government has systematically removed God from society.” So begins The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert, a dystopian science fiction story where “science won.” The protagonist of the story,
The Enhanced by T.C. Edge
I enjoyed reading The Enhanced by T.C. Edge. It is the first book of a series. The story takes place in the city of Haven which is a relatively safe place in a world that has been decimated by nuclear war. It is a class-based society. At the top are the Enhanced, people who have
Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti
I’m a big Scott Westerfeld fan and was pretty psyched to start reading Zeroes. It is the story about 6 teenagers who each have a unique, special power. I wouldn’t call them “super powers,” though they were pretty cool: Flicker is blind but can see through other people’s eyes. Crash is able to “feel” electric
The Survivors Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz by Michael Bornstein
Michael Bornstein was 4 years old when he was rescued from Auschwitz by Russian soldiers on January 27, 1945, which made him one of the youngest Auschwitz survivors. A few days later the Russians photographed the children that had been rescued to document the event. Michael Bornstein didn’t see the picture until he stumbled across
The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
I thoroughly enjoyed this journey to 13th century France and I’m glad to have experienced it through a book and not in person! And for those who are “listeners,” the readers on the audiobook, Jayne Entwistle, Allan Corduner and Fiona Hardingham were absolutely amazing. The tale is told by three narrators: Botille, one of three
The Good Braider by Terry Farish
The Good Braider by Terry Farish chronicles the experiences of a South Sudanese girl and her family fleeing their war-ravaged country and making their way to the U.S. to start a new life. Although this is a fictional story, the author, Terry Farish, did a lot of research so that the experiences of her characters
Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat
Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat is a memoir about Barakat’s struggle to finish school and become a writer while growing up in the West Bank. It is about her search for an identity as a Palestinian, a people without a country, and her determination to be valued and
Dark Matter – Another Review
Have you ever had a dream where you felt like you were running down an endless corridor? Well, that is what the middle of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch was like. A little boring and frustrating. Fortunately, the endless corridor feeling was surrounded by some engaging suspense in the beginning of the story and a
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
The Sun is Also a Star is a wonderful romance book for teens. Do you believe in love-at-first-sight? In soulmates? In fate? Or is life just a random set of events? Natasha is a practical, no-nonsense sort of person. Definitely not the starry-eyed and sentimental, ready-to-fall in love at the drop-of-a-hat type. She loves her
Filmish: A Graphic Journey through Film by Edward Ross
This is a great Graphic Novel for movie and photography buffs as well as more serious film students. Filmish looks at the history of the film and movie industry, referencing over 300 movies. Instead of looking at individual movies, one at a time, Ross looks at various cinematic concepts and then references films that illustrate
Giant Days Volumes 1 & 2 by John Allison
Giant Days is a British graphic novel that follows three “dorm-mates” through their first year in university. The three, Daisy Wooton, homeschooled and unworldly; Esther De Groot, a bit rash and overly dramatic; and Susan Ptolemy, who thinks she is the only one with common sense; become fast friends despite their unalike personalities and backgrounds.