John Green: The Fault in Our Stars

Wow.  I read this in one day.  It is amazing.  The command Green has over his lovable characters is inspiring.  I loved the friendships in this book, and the heroine is the narrator this go-round.  If you are looking to bawl (even more than Looking For Alaska), this book will satisfy.

I have to think long and hard about who I can recommend this book to.  I loved the language, the vocabulary, the academic nature of the book, but the student that can appreciate this book will be a unique entity.  That doesn't take away from the awesomeness of the story, or the unique nature of the friendships Green creates.  Really an amazing read.

J.K. Rowling: The Half-Blood Prince & The Deathly Hallows

Or, as I like to call it, finally giving in.

I have been avoiding reading the last two books.  I bought both of them the day they were released and they sat on my shelves.  I heard spoilers that irritated me, yet I still fought the urge to read them.

I didn't want the series to end.

Harry Potter is pivotal in my reading experience.  Yes, even at 35 years old.  Yes, even for one who has been reading (BOOKS) since she was three years old.  I wasn't a fan of the fantasy genre--I avoided it.  I didn't even read The Sorcerer's Stone until it had been out for about four years.  When I finally picked it up, I was beyond amazed.  The imagination Rowling conveys in these books is absolutely astounding.  The vivid detail and super-fun characters hooked me from page one.

I haven't seen the movies.

I won't see the movies.

What I have in my head might be "well-done" on the screen, but I love MY mental interpretation.  Even as I listen to Jim Dale (if you have a chance, listen to the audiobooks--they are FANTASTIC), my way of saying Hermione's name rules out his.  I love how this series has lived inside me, and am very sad that I finished the series with no more books to come.

I won't lie, the last two books could really use an editor that is able to stand up to Rowling to tighten up the language and sift through the unneeded.  But I can't blame them--Rowling made them filthy rich--why make waves?  The final books are dark, frustrating, and I got very sick of the whining.  But the overall awesome feeling at the end overweighed the negatives.

So now I am "re-reading" the series--listening to the audiobooks whenever I have a moment.  I am on The Goblet of Fire.  I love this series.

Do yourself a favor.  Pick up book one.  Give it 60 pages.  See if you can put it down.

Deborah Reed: Carry Yourself Back To Me

Book Club book.

The author came to our bookclub--she lives in Portland.  I liked the book more after meeting her and seeing her interact with my friends after adult beverages.

Yeah.

Laini Taylor: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I started this last night, and couldn't stop reading today--even during planks at the gym during my BodyPump class.  Amazing characters, world, story, and language.  I wish I was more familiar with Eastern cultures, and I have a burning desire to visit Prague.  There were moments I just bawled--the emotion is palpable throughout the text--and yet moments that are wry and peaceful.  The vocabulary is rich and very culturally diverse.  I learned a great deal thanks to immediate access to Google.
Around page 320ish I knew something bad was on its way, but I couldn't stop reading.
Fantastically amazing, powerful, heart-wrenching.  The way that Taylor interwove the past with the present without a lull or overdone tactics (like italics) is truly amazing.  I didn't really know what to expect with this book, and angels and chimaera and humans and magic and war and modern technology and flight were definitely NOT on the list of possibilities.  I am so glad that I read this book.  I can't wait to see how the rest of the series will go.  Really, really, really amazing.

Rae Carson: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Wow.  

Religious/Spiritual, emotional, diverse, action-packed, and a strong heroine.  Usually these components don't exist all together in one book--at least not successfully.  But Carson't book manages, in a hefty 400+ page story, to combine all these elements and more.   Elisa is the. first. "overweight" heroine I have ever read in a fantasy. Yes, along the way she changes both mentally, emotionally, and physically, the start of the book is a representation of an overeater's lifestyle, including medicating oneself with food.    Yet Elisa overcomes her need to feed her boredom, her insecurity, her sadness as she discovers her higher purposes and finds her role in the kingdom where her special mark--the Godstone in her belly--is coveted by some, and feared and revered by others.   Friendships and relationships are developed and the characters are likable and I really appreciated this entire book.  Really well-written, and different from anything I have read.  

Julia Karr: XVI

This book was more disturbing than I anticipated.  Teenagers in this dystopian society are highly sexualized, and girls are branded (tattooed) on their 16th birthdays so that the entire world knows they can have sex.  Men who are 18 are able to have their way with any "sex-teen" (of-age girl), and there are no ramifications.  The media controls everything, and incessant projections from every angle never relent.  Any instance of silence is suspicious, and the government is highly sensitive to ANY deviation (perceived or real).  

I'm not sure what books 2 or 3 will bring, and some of the situations that occur in this text are disgusting.  The writing isn't stellar, and the excessive acronym use (without explanation) is annoying.  Many inferences have to be made, so this book might not be a good fit for struggling readers (who would really like the love story/friendships/society depiction).  

Meh.  I'm not in love with this book, but I didn't totally hate it, and about mid-way through, I couldn't stop reading because I had to figure out what was going to happen next. 

Ann Aguirre: Enclave

Couldn't stop reading this one.  I started yesterday afternoon, and was done today at 11.  

Really enjoyed it, but the ending is nearly too much of a cliffhanger, and all I am reading about for book 2 doesn't sound any more fulfilling.  I am on a post-apocalyptic kick I guess, and this one is a combination of fighting, internal struggle, zombies, society's missteps, developing relationships, survival, that isn't too over-the-top or unbelievable.  

I  like Deuce, Fade, and the developing relationships they discover.  I love the inner strength Deuce has, and her capacity to fight, survive, yet be compassionate in a world that doesn't support her desire to act on that compassion.  

The societies that survived the plagues that destroyed the majority of the population are very interesting, yet extremely frightening. 

Well-written with only slightly irritating missteps along the way.  

"wicked fast" Really?!? C'mon man. ;)

Veronica Roth: Divergent

Best. Book. EVER.

I say that frequently, and in this post-last-page aura, I am aware that I have MULTITUDES of "Best.Book.Ever." books, and I just don't care.

This is right up there with The Hunger Games.  As good, if not, almost better.  No lie.

Beatrice/Tris, the society Roth created, the character development, the friendships, the relationship...all real, raw, and fascinating.  The factions that society had broken into and the method for selecting/accepting members was intriguing.

Are there problems? Yes.  There are some aspects of the text that really irked me, and unfortunately, they are all spoilers!

I am not excited that a movie deal has already been reached--even before book 2 is out--and not sure how some of the mental simulations will be replicated and conveyed to be meaningful for the viewer--because I really feel that one of Roth's strengths is her ability to make the reader experience powerful emotions as Tris does.

There are many questions I can't wait to see answered, yet the ending was actually quite satisfying without being too much of a cliffhanger.

Definitely. AWESOME!!!

Alice LaPlante: Turn of Mind

Caragh M. O'Brien: Prized

Wow.
Now THIS is what a book 2 should be.

I avoided reviews before reading this (thankfully), but just read this review and was slightly irked.  But then I saw her reading list, and that she rated The Perks of Being a Wallflower only ONE star, and I realized that a book that goes against traditional, super-religious thinking may not be received with open-minded love.

Are there issues with the book? Heck yes.  Does Gaia irritate me? Several times in the novel.
But is the journey worthwhile?

Super-Heck YES!

I love that O'Brien delved into controversial issues (assisted miscarriage, love triangles/quadrangles, matriarchal society, autopsies, genetic and reproductive issues, etc.), and I love the overall tone of this book. It is rife with agonizing decisions that Gaia is forced to make.  It is peppered with frustrations that the reader and the characters must grapple with.

If a book 3 never comes, I won't be sad.  This was a highly satisfying, very exciting, super intense, awesome read.  Done in one day.  Love, love, love, LOVED this book.