Touch of Power

From Goodreads:
Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

You know, I almost bought this right out. I own 6, no make that 7 books by Maria V. Snyder and she's one of my favorite authors. I figured I'd wait and get it from the library first, just to make sure. I should have trusted my instinct and just bought it. :D I really loved this.

I don't know if I can say exactly why, but Maria's writing (I own a lot of her books - that puts us on first name terms right?) clicks with me. It's the mix of fantasy, adventure, magic, romance, strong female heroines, and just good old-fashioned gorgeous writing that gets me.

Excellent plot, character development, magic system, action sequences, setting... All in all, my kind of book. I'd even recommend this over the Poison Study series (since Touch of Power doesn't have the graphic torture scenes that occasionally popped up in the Poison Study books), so if you haven't read anything by Maria V. Snyder, I say this this is a great place to start.

Partials

From Goodreads:
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.


Partials is a new release from Dan Wells (brother to Robinson Wells - author of Variant which is also a new release this year). What a talented family! I'd like to know what the Wells' parents did to inspire such creativity in their kids. :D

I really enjoyed Partials. I thought it was intense and thought-provoking. And what world-building! It was so atmospheric and I could feel what it would be like to live in this future world. Dan Wells really took his time thinking out exactly how future New York would be if 99% of the population died of war and the Partial virus: the excess of clothes and housing, the constant salvage runs to find supplies from likely places (like high school nurse offices), the abandoned technology (Kira has one friend whose hobby is collecting abandoned mp3 players and they try to figure out the personality of that person by listening to his or her playlist), the difficulty of organizing and governing the population, the moral and ethical questions of how best to help the remaining people - all of these things were described with detail and believability.

I loved all the characters. Kira was strong and bold. I liked that she had a boyfriend already at the beginning of the book, so while there were some lightly romantic moments, the focus of this book was on the plot and on Kira's determination to find a cure for the virus to save her pregnant friend's baby. Kira breaks rules and makes shocking discoveries. She is also incredibly smart in the medical field and I've always loved a bit of a medical thriller. Lots of science in this book!

Plenty of action, twists and turns, and lots to look forward to from Dan Wells. Can't wait for the sequel.

Our Mutual Friend

Finally finished! It's weird for me to take two weeks and spend it just reading one book, especially when my pile of to-reads from the library is stacking up. But, for Dickens, I couldn't help it. It takes a lot to read a Dickens book. It needs extra attention and the longer breaks I take from it, the harder it is to get back into the language and the complex plot. BUT, as I just said, for Dickens it's worth it.

I loved this book. There are so many memorable characters (always Dickens' strong point) and the plot here is incredible. So many stories lines woven together with such skill. There's a lot of both mystery and romance in this book. The love stories are so so good. So sweet, so heart-breaking at times. As for the mystery, well, it wasn't too much of a surprise (because I watched the movie first :D) but was still enjoyable. This is, arguably, one of Dickens' darkier and scarier works, especially as we get inside the mind of one Bradley Headstone, who is a truly terrifying character. I won't give away any more, but this is a bite-your-nails kind of read. I knew how everything would turn out and I still got completely into it and could hardly put it down.

Also, the most recent movie adaptation of this book (1998 from the BBC) is a little-known gem of British drama.

 If you love Austen movies this is one I'd recommend. It also plays out almost exactly as the book does. Almost all of the dialogue is Dickens' and the actors and actresses all do a great job portraying their roles.

And if you're hesitant to read a Dickens' novel (no easy feat) watching a movie adaptation first is a great way to get to know the characters and plot lines so you don't get lost while reading the book. It also helps me to know which scenes are not as important to the plot so I can skim when Dickens gets long-winded about society. Which he does. A lot. Anyway, it's a super movie and I recommend it. (Content advisory: There is one scene with nudity, so when you see Bradley Headstone heading into a river to wash off in episode three, close your eyes if you don't want to see his ugly backside. :D It's a very brief moment and easily fast-forwarded through)

Anywho, I'll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from Our Mutual Friend. Dickens is, after all, enjoyable quotable.


"No one who can read, ever looks at a book, even unopened on a shelf, like one who cannot."

Mr. Boffin: But there's nothing like work. Look at the bees.
Eugene Wrayburn: I beg your pardon, but will you excuse my mentioning that I always protest against being referred to the beest?
Boffin: Do you?
Eugene: Ye-es. They work; but don't you think they overdo it? They work so much more than they need - they make so much more than they can eat - they are so incessantly boring and buzzing at their one idea till Death comes upon them - that don't you think they over do it? And are human labourers to have no holidays, because of the bees? And am I never to have change of air, because the bees don't? Mr. Boffin, I think honey excellent at breakfast; but regarded in the light of my conventional schoolmaster and moralist, I protest against the tyrannical humbug of your friend the bee. With the highest respect for you.

Eugene and Mortimer, on being told to pretend to be lime merchants while they spy in a tavern:
'You hear, Eugene?' said Lightwood, over his shoulder. 'You are deeply interested in lime.'
'Without lime,' returned that unmoved barrister-at-law, 'my existence would be unilluminated by a ray of hope.'

"There was an innocent piece of dinner-furniture that went upon easy castors and was kept over a livery stable-yard in Duke Street, Saint James's, when not in use, to whom the Veneerings were a source of blind confusion. The name of this article was Twenlow and he was in frequent requisition."

“[She wasn't] a logically reasoning woman, but God is good, and hearts may count in heaven as high as heads.”

One Miss Peecher, the schoolmistress:
"She could write a little essay on any subject, exactly a slate long, beginning at the left-hand top of one side and ending at the right-hand bottom of the other, and the essay should be strictly according to rule. If Mr. Bradley Headstone had addressed a written proposal of marriage to her, she would probably have replied in a complete little essay on the theme exactly a slate long, but would certainly have replied yes. For she loved him."

Jenny Wren: "You are wise as wise can be godmother (having been brought up by the fairies), and you can tell me this: Is it better to have had a good thing and lost it, or never to have had it?"

'No one is useless in this world,' retorted the Secretary, ' who lightens the burden of it for any one else.'

"And oh, there are days in this life, worth life and worth death."

Bella: "Dear John, your wishes are as real to me as the wishes in the Fairy story, that were all fulfilled as soon as spoken. Wish me everything that you can wish for the woman you dearly love, and I have as good as got it, John. I have better than got it, John!"

“Love, though said to be afflicted with blindness, is a vigilant watchman.”   

“A heart well worth winning, and well won. A heart that, once won, goes through fire and water for the winner, and never changes, and is never daunted.”   

“Are you thankful for not being young?'
'Yes, sir. If I was young, it would all have to be gone through again, and the end would be a weary way off, don't you see?...”   

Bella: "Give me a moment, because I like to cry for joy. It's so delicious, John dear, to cry for joy."

The Hero of Ages

This is the final book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and it was a fitting and intense end. Sometimes I think I overuse the word epic, but in this case, Hero of Ages really deserves it. This was truly EPIC fiction. I love endings like this where pieces from all the books come together. Brandon Sanderson used just the right touch of foreshadowing here so that I wasn't wholly surprised by the ending, but also wasn't able to predict it. Really brilliant writing.

I'd say more, but at this point in a series almost anything else I could add would include a spoiler! Let's just say that this is a perfect ending to a spectacular fantasy trilogy.

Under the Never Sky

From the book cover:

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

You know I have a weakness for these dystopian post-apocalyptic books. It always fascinates me to see the way these different authors project our world into the future. Under the Never Sky does it better than so many of the others out there. It felt realistic and I could easily see how our current world could turn into this. In general, Veronica Rossi did an amazing job building her world. She didn't slog things down with long descriptive passages (in fact, she left quite a few of my questions unanswered), but she let me discover the world gradually until it felt very real and I could see it all.

Not only does she have a cool name, but Aria is a great main character. She doesn't remain static, but changes and matures. She begins naive and a little annoying, but gradually becomes a fighter and a survivor. The story is told both from her point of view and from Perry's point of view, which really worked and I liked seeing things from both of their perspectives. 

Another plus for this book is that while it has a wonderful romance, the plot is more of an adventure story. The focus isn't on some lust-filled, fast-moving, doomed love story. No, in fact, the love is very real. Perry and Aria really are from different worlds and at first they hardly even see each other as human. They are brought together by need, and trust and friendship build slowly throughout the novel. So, instead of being overwhelmed by the love story, the intricate plot is perfectly enhanced by slowly-revealed real love.

This book isn't groundbreaking or original for this genre. There are lots of things here I've seen before, but I gave it five stars on goodreads because it does those things better than so many other books in this genre. Plus, I can't deny that I zipped right through it and enjoyed every moment.

Read-alikes: Blood Red Road, Matched/Crossed 

Variant

Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.

He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

Ok, so partly I read this because the main character's name is Benson and my son is named Benson and that fact just made me happy because it's not that common of a name. :D

Anyway, I really wish that I had read this book before The Maze Runner. They are so similar that this book feels after-the-fact, even though I think that I liked this book better than The Maze Runner. The Maze Runner has all that weird made-up swearing and I never loved the character development. Yeah, plus I hated the sequels. Ok. My hate is mostly for the third book. Both of these series are, I still think, perfect for middle school, high school-age reluctant boy readers. They are gripping.

Anyway, Variant is very well-written and I thought the plot was nicely paced. I liked seeing how things unfolded. It's very tense and suspenseful, and WOW. Let me say that again. WOW. Was there ever a big surprise in there. Such a big twist that I so was not expecting. I think Robinson Wells has a fabulously creative brain and I'll be looking forward to reading the sequel.

Chime

From Goodreads:
Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

Chime is gorgeous and haunting. It is very dark. Much more of a Grimm fairy tale than a Disney fairy tale. But I've always loved witch stories. This one has some serious depth to it and is extremely engrossing. Everything is very vividly and realistically described. I didn't have any trouble suspending disbelief, even for the magic.

I had a little trouble at first with the writing voice. It is very first-person, stream-of-consciousness. We read what Briony is thinking as she's thinking it, and, like any real person, her thoughts are often disjointed. She jumps around, she has random memories, she thinks completely unrelated things. Also, the language in this book is very artsy. Franny Billingsley uses some very bizarre metaphors and her descriptions are a little wacky. But, once I got used to it and dove in a bit more, it sucked me in. I loved the weirdness and the little bit of creepiness.

One of the reasons this book is so dark is that Briony suffers from a lot of guilt and depression. But it's not that she's feeling sorry for herself. There are some very real things that she has done wrong. Or so she thinks. Also, Briony has suffered from some heavy emotional and verbal abuse, and once a message has been ingrained in a person's brain like that, it can be very hard to silence those inner voice. Oooh, this book is so psychological. Since we get the story through the filter of her brain, the answers and the whole picture aren't immediately noticeable. There are some surprises and I loved the journey we go through with her to unravel the tangled mess in her soul.

And speaking of journey, my favorite part of this book is the absolutely beautiful love story. I'm talking real love, based on months of friendship, laughter, and mutual support. I get so sick of the insta-lust in so many YA books these days.

Anyway, I don't think this is a book I can recommend without reservation, because it is very dark and Briony's brain is a bit of a depressing place to live in, but I just know that I loved this. Kudos to Franny Billingsley and I'll be looking for more from her.

Prized

Prized is the sequel to Birthmarked (which I recently read) and I was glad to continue the story. This is the benefit of waiting until sequels are out to read first books - no long draw-out suspense on cliffhangers. And thankfully, Prized ends in a much more settled place than Birthmarked. Once again, this series explores some serious questions about life and death and truth and lies. One of Gaia's major motivations is still to protect mothers and babies and she continues her work as a midwife, which I find so fascinating. And I really shouldn't say a single other thing about the plot, but I'll leave you with this: Prized is even better than Birthmarked. It is one of the absolute best dystopians out there and I heartily recommend it.

Between Shades of Gray

From Goodreads:
Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

This book is beautiful and sad. I've always loved Holocaust/War books - not for their subject matter obviously, but because there are so many stories of people rising above their circumstances with bravery and hope. Reading books like this remind me that I have absolutely nothing to complain about. If Lina managed to stay positive, then I have no reason to ever be pessimistic. I loved Lina. Such courage and beauty. Ruta Sepetys does a beautiful job of describing her and really, all her writing was beautiful. It was the light moments interspersed throughout the book that made me especially love this novel. One moment towards the end involving a Dickens book made me bawl and laugh at the same time. I was really moved by this story and these characters. While this book's characters are fictional, the story is based on true stories of families that were deported from Baltic countries at the beginning of World War II. It's a little-known chapter of history, and while it's ugly, I feel like I'm a better person for knowing what these people went through. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and help them all, take some fruits and vegetables to the kids who were dying of malnutrition. It just breaks my heart to read about them and makes me so grateful for the plenty that my family enjoys. This is a powerful book, right up there with Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place and I plan to buy it so I can lend it out to everyone I know.

Birthmarked

From Goodreads:
In the Enclave, your scars set you apart, and the newly born will change the future.

Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone and her mother faithfully deliver their quota of three infants e

very month. But when Gaia's mother is brutally taken away by the very people she serves, Gaia must question whether the Enclave deserves such loyalty. A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

It's been a while since I've read a dystopian! For a while there, that's all I read and then I think I got burnt out (I think it was because of the very disappointing Enclave). So I decided to stick to the dystopian series I'd already read, but this one kept popping up and looked so interesting that I finally caved. I'm glad I did.

Birthmarked is fascinating. It is emotional and does what a good dystopian should, stir up the reader's sense of justice. It's infuriating and disturbing to see people living in such an unjust society. This story is doubly compelling because it deals with the most defenseless people imaginable: newborn babies. I thought all the midwifery in this book was extra interesting too. This book has good pacing, a gripping plot, fantastic characters, a nice bit of romance, beautiful writing, and a terrible ending. :D Just saying... I'm hoping to get the sequel soon from the library because I'm dying for a bit of resolution. Not that second books in trilogies are known for their resolution. But I am hoping it will resolve some of the burning questions I have because of that terrible cliffhanger. I recommend Birthmarked! Definitely not a disappointment.

Crossed

I just finished Crossed earlier today (I know - shocker, right? me actually blogging about a book the same day I finish it?) and I loved it. I won't give you any blurbs because I don't want to spoil Matched for you if you haven't read it yet. But if you haven't, I recommend that you do. This is a fascinating series in a very compelling world.

Crossed is one of the better sequels I've read in a long time. I liked it better than I liked Matched, actually. Cassia is out in her world, she's seeing the truth and she's no longer sheltered and deluded by her "perfect" Society. Like Matched, Crossed doesn't have the break-neck pace that so many apocalyptic/dystopians have these days and it's much better for it. The characters definitely benefit from the story being more psychological because we really get to know them and what's important to them and why. We uncover their personalities and back stories in layers and the whole thing is so engrossing. Not that there isn't any action - the story definitely moves along and its setting is absolutely haunting and gorgeous at the same time. Ally Condie bases The Carving on her native Southern Utah - a fact that only makes me love this book even more.

Ally Condie is also awesome because of the way she uses art and poetry in her writing. She incorporates real poems, as well as poems written by the characters and the effect is beautiful.

I really enjoyed this book and have put this series on my to-buy list. I was going to wait until more came out to make sure they were worth owning and now I'm certain. Can't wait for book three.

The Son of Neptune

If you've been reading this blog, you know that I have been sooooo excited to read this. And, as always, Rick Riordan delivers.

This is my favorite of his books yet.

Welcome back Percy! It was so nice to read from Percy's perspective again, and his adventure is incredible. The new characters are some of my favorite yet. Hazel has one of the most compelling back-stories I've ever encountered, and Frank has the coolest powers of any demi-god we've ever met in Rick Riordan's world. I loved reading about the roman camp. I loved everything about this book.

Book three will be called The Mark of Athena and I can't wait. Oh Annabeth. Oh Son of Neptune. Why did you have to end??????

Thanks Rick Riordan for giving me something to look forward to!

Ranger's Apprentice: Book 8 - The Kings of Clonmel

Another installment in the Ranger's Apprentice series. I must say, it's taken me a while to get to it. I really lost steam on these becaues book 7 takes place between books 4 and 5. Doing that really made the series lose momentum. I've had this book from the library for ages and I finally just decided to get it over with and read it. Book seven was just a little disappointing for me, but I'm happy to say that book eight makes up for that. It was fun and action-packed. There were some very exciting revelations made about the past of a certain major character *cough*Halt*cough* - and I thoroughly enjoyed it all. I'm always so frustrated with this series, though, because some of the books go together and I never manage to get the right ones from the library at the right time. Book eight leaves you on a cliffhanger for book nine, which - naturally - I didn't manage to get from the library as well. So, once again I have to wait. Frustrating. :D But I can still vouch for this series. It's tremendously entertaining.

The Medusa Plot

SPOILERS IN THE SUMMARY FOR THE 39 CLUES SERIES!!!

Goodreads:
Thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, thought they belonged to the world's most powerful family. They thought the hunt for 39 Clues leading to the source of that power was over. They even thought they'd won. But Amy and Dan were wrong.

One by one, distress calls start coming in from around the globe. Cahills are being kidnapped by a shadowy group known only as the Vespers. Now Amy and Dan have only days to fulfill a bizarre ransom request or their captured friends will start dying. Amy and Dan don't know what the Vespers want or how to stop them. Only one thing is clear. The Vespers are playing to win, and if they get their hands on the Clues . . . the world will be their next hostage.



Such an amazing book. There's a reason that this is the only book (aside from Ella Minnow Pea) that I've given five stars to from my most recent batch of books. It's brilliant and intense. I love these characters, but then, I got to know them so well in the 39 Clues series. Amy and Dan are older too, and as they are aging they're changing and maturing, making this book even more enjoyable for adult readers like me. This is the first book in the Cahills vs. Vespers series and I can't wait to read the rest. Oh, and a lot of it takes place in Florence and Rome. Visiting places I've been. Definitely helped me love this installment even more. But then, this series always has been awesome for its travel and adventure. I highly recommend it and only wish I was completely rolling in money so I could buy every single book. There are way too many!

The Killer Angels

From the back cover:

In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life.

Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Shattered futures, forgotten innocence, and crippled beauty were also the casualties of war.

The Killer Angels is unique, sweeping, unforgettable--a dramatic re-creation of the battleground for America's destiny.

Wow. You know, I'm not much for war, but this was a brilliant book. I thought it would be boring; instead, it was the most engrossing thing I've read all year. Jon's been telling me to read it for ages - I should have listened to him a long time ago!

I hate war and I find the civil war so frustrating. Why? Why did so many people have to die? Why was the south so stubborn - claiming that their cause was so noble? They said it was their rights they were fighting for, but in hindsight, it was obviously just one right that caused the war: the right to own slaves. I don't consider myself an extreme feminist, but sometimes when I look at wars like this I think, honestly... put men in charge of the world and how do they solve their differences? swords, guns, cannons, and mass slaughter... someone doesn't agree with you? the solution is to go on a killing rampage until the only people left standing are the ones on your side.

Rant over.

Anyway, this book helped me understand not only the Battle of Gettysburg (which I now consider myself an expert on - the important generals, the landscape, the turning points, the big battles and charges - I know them all) but the entire war. I was there. Michael Shaara's writing is so present, so alive and descriptive that I understand the emotions, the politics, the sights and sounds and smells, and most importantly, the people. And the writing is clever, witty, and funny at times. Some of the conversations the men have are riotously funny. And some of the events brought me to tears. I was completely caught up in the drama of this important battle. I feel like I have a better understanding of why the war happened and the mentalities behind both sides. And I'll concede that it's not totally fair to generalize that it only happened because the people in charge were men. :D

This is a compelling novel. I especially loved the very personal stories of men from both sides. There were many who fought against each other who were friends or even brothers before the war. The civil war is a complex and tragic thing and I feel like studying it has been a fascinating study in human nature. One thing's for sure; this book is anything BUT boring.

And to top it all off, after reading it, I watched Gettysburg with Jon, the movie based on this book. It's incredible. The emotions from the book are all captured on film, which was done entirely on location with authentic re-enactment groups from all over the country as the hundreds of extras. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it. And the music is incredible!!!

One other civil war related thing I watched after reading this book was an episode of American Experience (Jon's favorite tv show - shows what a cool history nerd I married :D) about General Robert E. Lee (which you can watch online here). Proof that General Lee maybe wasn't the perfectly pious grandfatherly figure he's portrayed as in the book. The Killer Angels, however well researched, is still a work of historical fiction after all. The facts and events are all correct, and many letters and journals were used to find specific dialogue, but most of the character's personalities were fictionalized.

So, I've been long-winded on this subject, haven't I? To sum up, this is a compelling book which helped me understand Gettysburg, the Civil War, and human nature better. I believe it fully deserved the Nobel Prize it won. If you haven't read it, put it on your to-read list.

The Time Machine

From goodreads: The story that launched Wells's successful career-the classic tale of the Time Traveler and the extraordinary world he discovers in the far distant future. A haunting portrayal of Darwin's evolutionary theory carried to a terrible conclusion.

I read the original dystopian (1984), so I figured I ought to read the original time travel novel. The Time Machine is just plain weird. I'm glad I read it, though. There's something historical and fascinating about this. If H.G. Wells hadn't wrote this novel would sci-fi be the same today? He was arguably the first person to take our current society and try to project it into the future. This was published shortly after Darwin's The Origin of Species became so popular in Europe, so evolution was definitely a big influence on the plot of The Time Machine. Wells' future society shows humankind evolving into two very distinct different species in the future. Naturally, our main character, The Time Traveler, spends most of the novel trying to escape from the more vicious and cannibalistic of the two. Anyway, very interesting and worth a short read. It doesn't take long to get through this.

Heist Society

Goodreads summary:
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

I've been wanting to read an Ally Carter novel for a while. She's written lots of teenage spy/thief books and I love that kind of thing. The Oceans movies are some of my favorites, and my husband and I quote them all the time. Anyway, I love a good heist. I just didn't think this was a great one.

Any good heist is going to be very complicated, and the trick in a heist book/movie is to portray that without being so confusing that readers/viewers feel like they have no clue what just happened. Heist Society is a little too confusing and overall just doesn't quite cut it. Oh it's close. I enjoyed many parts of this book, but overall I left feeling dissatisfied. Since I finished the book, I haven't thought of it once (until writing this review). It's unforgettable. It lacks the "WOW!" factor that it needs. 

Despite that, this is a really fun, clean teen read and I still plan on checking out more of Ally Carter's works. 

Ranger's Apprentice (book 6)

I won't provide a summary since this is a sequel, so I won't say much either. Just enough to let you know that this series improves with each book. It is so entertaining and original! Plus, as an added bonus for romantics like me, this sixth book has a pinch (a nice hefty pinch) of romance. Very fun and I can't wait to read the final three books in the series!

The Undaunted

Summary:
When it comes to creating spellbinding historical fiction, nobody does it quite like Gerald N. Lund. In The Undaunted, he transports readers first to the coal mines of Yorkshire, then across the ocean and the plains to the territory of Utah, where, even in 1879, there is pioneering to be done. A little- known and perhaps even less- appreciated chapter in the Church's history comes to life in this gripping story of a stalwart group of Saints called to create a settlement to serve as a buffer between the established communities of Utah and the lawless frontier of the Four Corners area. Their challenge will be enormous— but the biggest part of it just may be getting there in the first place. Skillfully interweaving historical figures and events with fictional characters, Gerald Lund takes us through the Hole in the Rock and over miles of uncharted country that even today is impassable without all- terrain vehicles. His account of the adventure, romance, and sacrifices of these undaunted pioneers will resonate with readers who love a good story as well as those who want to better understand the incomparable legacy and unconquerable faith of those valiant Saints.

I haven't read a Gerald Lund book in such a long time and I really enjoyed coming back to this genre. The Undaunted is a fantastic read. Gerald Lund is so good at making me feel like I was right there along with the pioneers experiencing history. I think this is an overlooked story that most people have never payed much attention to, but it is certainly well-worth knowing. My favorite part of this book was all the footnotes at the end of each chapter, showing actual journal entries and other documents that lent an even stronger air of authenticity and history to this book. This really happened and I feel like I was able to develop faith, right along with those pioneers. I've always loved southern Utah; the country is gorgeous and almost alien at times. I can hardly believe that these faithful saints were able to make a wagon trail across it.

The fictional story was great and along with the story of those hole-in-the-rock pioneers, we get a tale about coal mining in England, immigration to Utah, the colonization of different areas of Utah, and even some of the tensions between pioneers and Native Americans. It was all completely engrossing and fascinating. One of my favorite scenes was when a few characters climb Angel's Landing in Zion's National Park (before it was Zion's National Park). That is a terrifying hike, but an exhilarating one and reading this brought back memories from when I did it a few years ago. Anyway, there's a lot going for this read. I'm so glad I read it and I think soon I'm going to have to revisit the whole Work and the Glory series.

Divergent

Summary:
Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place her in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

Wooooohoooooo!!!!!!!

Oh I so loved this. I have really been enjoying all the great Dystopian reads out there and this is one of the best I've read. If you haven't heard of it yet, go check out some of the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. See a pattern? Yeah, they're all as exuberant as mine!

This is a great book with a fantastic plot. Just when I was starting to think Dystopian books were feeling cookie-cutter and unoriginal, Veronica Roth came along and blew me away. I don't know what it is about this genre that's so appealing to me. There's a lot of politics and intense emotions. I loved reading about Tris and her family. Tris was such an amazing heroine. That's one of my favorite things about these novels - strong female heroines who can prove to the world that one girl can make a difference. This is exactly the kind of book I think teen girls and YA girls (and grown-up girls like me) should be reading. It's empowering.

I can't say enough about the writing. It's tight and there are no leaky plot holes. The word choice is perfect. Just the right words to say just the right thing. Incredibly well-written action sequences and descriptions. And the characters! Wow, so well-drawn and real. So believable. There's just the right touch of romance in this story too. Sweet and beautiful but without overshadowing the overall story. Another thing about this is that I completely believed how our current world could lead to Tris's world - from the technologies to the government to the people... everything. Anyway, I thought this book was brilliant and I definitely recommend it to fans of The Hunger Games. It's already on my to-buy list. I can always tell when I should just buy a book because I'm reluctant to take it back to the library. I've already reopened this book several times just to reread my favorite parts. I know it's one that I'll want to revisit again and again and I can't wait for the sequel (Insurgent) which comes out early next year.