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 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.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life

Summary: English professor Emma Grant has always done everything just the way her minister father told her she should -- a respectable marriage, a teaching job at a good college, and plans for the requisite two children. Life was prodigiously good, as her favorite author Jane Austen might say, until the day Emma finds her husband in bed with another woman. Suddenly, all her romantic notions a la Austen are exposed for the foolish dreams they are.

Denied tenure in the wake of the scandal and left penniless by the ensuing divorce, Emma packs up what few worldly possessions she has left and heads to England on a quest to find the missing letters of Jane Austen. Locating the elusive letters, however, isn't as straightforward as Emma hoped. The owner of the letters proves coy about her prize possessions, sending Emma on a series of Austen-related tasks that bring her closer and closer to the truth, but the sudden reappearance of Emma's first love makes everything more complicated.

In the end, Emma learns that doing the right thing has very little to do with other people's expectations and everything to do with her own beliefs. Laced with fictional excerpts from the missing letters, Jane Austen Ruined My Life is the story of a woman betrayed who uncovers the deeper meaning of loyalty.

I don't read a lot of Austen sequels or Austen based books, but I'm beginning to wonder why not, because every one that I've tried I've enjoyed. This book surprised me! It looks like a light bit of chick lit, but I found the emotions very real and relatable. That, and I just loved the whole subplot about the missing Austen letters. And while Pattilo takes some artistic license with Austen's life, she creates a story so real and so convincing that it makes perfect sense of the missing puzzle pieces in Austen's life. Frankly - loved it! That and a not perfectly wrapped happy ending made me respect this book more than I expected to. There's a moral and a message, but it's not hitting you over the head with it. I like that.

Oh, and my favorite part? The setting. Hands down. Emma, our main character, visits every important Austen site in England and I felt like I was able to visit them too - which I plan on doing someday in real life. In fact, I have my England trip all planned, and it includes tons of literary sites - particularly the Austen ones. It'll happen someday! But until then, I can reread Jane Austen Ruined My Life.

(And since this is adult romance chick lit, I just want to reassure those of you who might be wondering that this book is perfectly clean. Maybe one kiss. Nice of Pattillo, isn't it?)

Vespers Rising

From Goodreads:
The Cahills thought they were the most powerful family the world had ever known. They thought they were the only ones who knew about Gideon Cahill and his Clues. The Cahills were wrong.
Powerful enemies — the Vespers — have been waiting in the shadows. Now it’s their time to rise and the world will never be the same. In Vespers Rising, a brand new 39 Clues novel, bestselling authors Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman and Jude Watson take on the hidden history of the Cahills and the Vespers, and the last, terrible legacy Grace Cahill leaves for Amy and Dan.

The 39 Clues continues! I'll admit that I've been looking forward to this, and the section written by Rick Riordan was really, very good. Emotional and heartbreaking even. All the other authors did a good job too. This is a bridge book between the last series and the new one that's starting soon. Leave it to scholastic to milk this for all it's worth. I'm pretty sure there will be another 10 books coming out for this new series. I love everything about these books: the mystery, the clues, the historical stuff, the travel, the family dynamics, all of it. I'd like to own this whole series, but for heaven's sake it would eat up my entire budget if I bought them all. Series like this make me very, very grateful for the library. :D I'll be checking out The Medusa Plot soon, hopefully! (Medusa!!! Will it have greek mythology in it?? I'm so excited!)

Anna and the French Kiss

Seriously, the two main things going against this book are 1) the title, and 2) the cheesy-looking cover. I kept reading amazing reviews of this book everywhere I turned, but I had a hard time getting past the title and the cover. Finally, I gave in. And it was so good I have been disappointed with every book I have read since.

Now, I feel like I have to give a couple warnings. There is some swearing (pretty serious swearing) and immoral acts are alluded to (but never acted out). It's still a cleaner book than a lot of other YA lit I've read recently. It's much better than what you'd find in, say, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. If they didn't bother you, this won't bother you.

That out of the way, I'm ready to tell you that this book is funny. Lots of witty, guffaw-out-loud dialogue. I loved the characters and I loved how well you got to know them. This book is about Anna, who is sent by her author father to spend her senior year at a high school for rich American teens in Paris. Anna is not excessively rich, by the way. Her author father has had very little to do with her life, so she is surprisingly humble and down to earth. I liked her so much and felt like I knew her so well that when I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I thought, "Oh, Anna would love this book!" She loves Cinematic History. Here I am, thinking of a book character as if we were actually friends. Embarrassing!

There's more I could say, but I'll let you discover this book for yourself if you're interested. I guarantee you'll find it funny and you'll find the romance fabulous. I think it's fabulous because Anna and Etienne (who is British - love his Britishisms!) spend nearly the entire book as best friends. The plot is great, character development is great, dialogue is great, setting is fabulous, romance is well-developed. It has a lot going for it.

Matched

Matched is a great new piece of dystopian fiction by an LDS author. It was very clean and very interesting. It was a bit of a mix between The Giver and The Hunger Games (without the violence). I liked this because it was original and very psychological. Most of the plot conflict takes place within the main character's - Cassia's - mind. I love that we discover along with her just exactly what is wrong with her world. The writing is beautiful and I love Ally Condie's use of poetry in the story. Fabulous. I just wish everything didn't have to be a trilogy. Do I really have to wait who knows how many more years for the second and third books before I know how this story ends? The trilogy is feeling a bit overdone to me... I guess I'm just impatient.

Travels with Charley in Search of America

I loved this book! Surprise, no? I didn't expect to find any literature that I really loved in my American realism class, but here it is. Finally, a realist author that doesn't feel the need to write only about depressing things! Granted, this is Steinbeck's lighter novel. Compared to Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men it's positively a comedy. And it really was funny. I didn't laugh out loud much, but it made me smile many times. This is Steinbeck's own travelogue as he crosses America with his poodle Charley, searching for the American people he's been writing about for years. His discoveries are funny and moving. His writing is gorgeous. I especially appreciated what he wrote as he went through Lousiana, since this novel is contemporary with The Help's time period. He saw first hand some of those race issues and his account is shocking. Steinbeck really has a way of viewing the world and writing about it honestly. I thought the whole novel was candid and entertaining. Definitely a keeper and certainly one of the novels I read this semester that won't spend the rest of its life gathering dust on a book shelf. I intend to read it again and share with my kids someday.

39 Clues Wrap-Up

Finished the series! Wohoo! And I really love the way they ended. Yeah, maybe I was able to predict some of the ending (like 6 books ago) but there were a few good surprises. And naturally it sets up a whole other series at the end. I think this is a fun series and I love that the ending brought it to England and had a lot to do with Shakespeare. I think these books are so educational and my kids will definitely be reading them, although not for a few years. They can get pretty intense, so I'd say upper elementary school/middle school ages would like it best, but of course, always depending on the individual child.

It was a fun journey, and it was a nice change to have 10 books come out in such a short amount of time. The author switches were well done, so in some books a style difference wasn't even detectable. I wish they'd all been written by Rick Riordan, but he's a busy guy. His new book The Lost Hero is coming out next week (new Camp Half-Blood series! Hooray for Greek Mythology!!!) and I'm looking forward to that.

39 clues catch-up

Since it doesn't take me long to read these books, I decided to wait until a few more came out and catch-up on them. I read 6, 7, and 8 and there are only two more left! The 9th is actually out and I have a hold on it at the library, but there's a long line, so I'll probably have to wait. These books continue to be what they started out as... fun, adventurous, mysterious... but not spectacular. The plot does continue to thicken, but I'm ready to know how it ends and move on. I think these books are great for kids, though (both boys and girls, which is nice), and I definitely recommend them to people who are looking for books for their kids (ages 8 or so on up, depending on the maturity of the kid - there are some scary/intense moments).

The Red Pyramid

I was very excited to start a new series by Rick Riordan, as I'm a huge fan of his Percy Jackson books. This new series is based on Egyptian mythology (another favorite of mine) and this first book is a great start to a new adventure. I really enjoyed the whole ride. I have a feeling that this series is a little more serious and heavy and a little less fun that the Percy books, but Egyptian mythology is by nature more serious than Greek. It suits me just fine, so I'm not complaining, just saying. The book had all of Rick's signature traits, though, from clever chapter titles to great dialogue to fantastically described action sequences. He really makes this mythology come alive and makes it more accessible for kids, teens, and adults to understand. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series!

Mara, Daughter of the Nile

Definitely my kind of book. I love all things Egyptian and this book has it all. Mara is a slave girl who is sold into a new life as spy for Queen Hatshepsut who is trying to prevent her son Thutmose III from taking his rightful place as pharaoh. Everything gets turned upside down when she's recruited as a spy for the opposite side as well! She works as a double-agent for a while, but begins to believe in Thutmose III's cause, and develop feelings for the leader of the rebellion as well. Mara's duplicity is discovered and mayhem ensues which determines the fate of both Egypt and Mara. This book is beautifully written. Love, love, loved it.

Troubling a Star

I loved this book when I was a child and recently found it at a used bookstore and had to buy it. I ended up using it in my Children's Lit class, too. I have to admit, it wasn't nearly as impressive to me as an adult as it was when I was young. I did still love the whole Antarctica aspect of this story and imagining what it would be like to take a trip there. At the moment, though, I'm feeling very cold in Idaho Falls, so I think I need to go find a warmer book to write about.