September and October

I hardly read at all in September. I'm not even sure why. Even though Nathan had two soccer games per week and two football games per week, this usually gives me prime opportunity to get in a few pages as I'm riding to games or waiting for games or waiting for practices to be over.  But for some reason this really didn't happen much this time. Once his sports were over, I found myself reading more.  I haven't read anything from the Goodreads list for months now..... 

So anywhere, here is what I did read. I know I read a few more but I honestly can't remember what they are. I remember reading one as an ePub book on my computer and it was such a lovely story that when I was reading it while on break at work I was fighting the tears and emotions. It always concerns people when they walk by your cubicle and your sobbing. Well normally it would but it happens quite frequently at this job. HAHAHA.  But now I can't even remember what in the world it would have been that I was reading.  Pioneer doesn't track your history, so I can't go back and figure it out.  But anyway, I'm rambling. Here is the list for September and October:

The Last Star (The 5th Wave #3) by Rick Yancy  / YA / *** / Book
I know I read this book. I can't remember much about it. I remember how it ends. I remember I decided the main character, Cassie, was kinda annoying.  Which is sad because in book 1 she was great.  And as for the whole plot arc,  I still don't even know if I got what happened. And considering I reread the first two just to try and figure it out, I'm not really happy about that.  The characters were talking in cryptic circles the entire novel. I was soooo confused.  So in summary, this book 1)took me a million years to read.  2)consistently put me to sleep 3) made me angry 4) was ultimately forgettable.

Slated by Teri Terry / YA / *** / Kindle
Another dystopian novel. In this world, the Government doesn't jail teens for violent behavior, they give them another chance by erasing their memories.  They get a second chance - a clean slate (which is why the book is called, "Slated").  In this story, Kyla is joining her new family, her new school, her new life. She is closely monitored to make sure she conforms to her new life.. But of course whispers of her past are echoing in her mind.  She doesn't know who to trust, including herself.  It was interesting... I'll read the sequel.

We are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly / *** / Kindle
Oh man I love my apocalyptic books. Each book has a different cause of disaster (virus, nuclear war, aliens, etc).  This one was global warming that created a giant series of storms.  The interesting thing about this book is that instead of taking place AFTER the disaster and tracking how society falls apart, it instead takes place BEFORE society fell apart. The premise of the book is that when people actually have some warning about the fact that their life is going to totally be destroyed, people react in entirely different ways. Some ignored it. Some turned into avid "preppers". Some become religious fanatics. Some become violent.  Exploring the "before" was a new take on the cautionary tales I love.  My problem with this book was that it was told from the perspective of Ash and I really didn't like the guy.  The author tried to make it appear that he went threw some painful growth but the guy had such an ego he had to point out his growth non-stop.  So in summary the plot was great, the main characters were awkwardly developed, and you never can have too many canned goods. The end.

Zeroes by Scott Westerfield, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti / YA / *** / Kindle
Zeroes is about a group of six teens that have "special powers" or abilities. They have found each other and their differences have bonded them.  While it wasn't as good as some of the other books by Westerfield (I love the "Uglies" series, it had a great underlying premise... that power has a price. These kids have powers, but these powers are inconvenient, usually get them in trouble, take practice, and are sometimes painful.  I also like that Westerfield made some of the characters deliberately unlikable. I am sure the series will expand on this and we'll see some growth.  This book would make a fantastic TV series.


The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay / A / ***** / Book
I started reading this book again because Emily was reading it. I've read these books over and over again, so I was able to put it down and pick it up again over the last six months.  This was the book I would curl up in my chair in my office and read when I had insomnia.... so it is a good thing that it took me months to re-read it again. I love this author.  

The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay / A / ***** / Book
This is the sequel to the book above. Once I finished, "The Summer Tree", I just kept going in a mad rush of delightful revisiting.  These books were more "flowery" than I remembered, but I still love them.

The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay / A / *****
The last book of the Fionovar trilogy. This is an epic story full of strong characters.  Each of Kay's books is based on a period of history, and this one focus on Britain and King Arthur.  

Three Wishes: A Novel by Liane Moriarty / A / **** / Kindle
Witty. Sometimes hilarious.  Always real.  I enjoyed this story of three sisters (triplets).  The story starts with a climatic fight between the three, then jumps back in time to set up the big event.  Moriarty is just good at character writing. This was not anywhere close to my favorite book of hers, but I did enjoy listening to it.  I did not like the little vignettes told from the point of view of a few strangers, but I would imagine that triplets usually do cause a stir.  

The Last Letter from your Lover: A Novel by JoJo Moyes / A / **** / Kindle
I loved loved loved the first two-thirds of this book.  Devoured it.  Then the story breaks your heart before jumping into a whole different story. It felt really jarring.  Even though everything ends well, I wasn't satisfied and felt actually a big exhausted.

Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin / A / ***
An Irish girl leaves her small town in Ireland and travels to a new life in America. The story takes place after WWII, and tells the story of a young woman finding her way in a new country.  She has to get used to being without her family, living in a boarding house, getting around a big city, and her new job as a shop girl,  The story has a lot of charm, but I ended up really really being dissatisfied with the main character, Eilis.  My awesome friend and co-worker Kerry read the book, and felt angst about the story as well. She found the following review that perfectly sums up what we were feeling:
 "...the story itself is so lacking in depth, with unrealized characters. Eilis, the protaganist, offers so much potential for the author to plumb the history of the immigrant -- their myriad reasons for coming here, the struggles to make it, the ties to their home country.  Instead, life basically happens to this girl, with no real effort or participation of her own. She doesn't desire to come to America but it's conveniently planned out for her (including a job and home for when she arrives), she doesn't fall in love but rather comes to accept the love of another. I kept waiting for her to grow into and express her own intentions, to make her own decisions, but alas, even the ending is simply an acceptance of circumstances."