I read a lot of bad ass books this month, so I'm excited to share my mini reviews of them. I enjoyed one book so much that I gave it 5 stars, so I hope you'll then run to the nearest bookstore and go pick it up!
The Water and The Wild
★★★★★ (4 out of 5)
Written by K.E. Ormsbee, Lottie Fisk with Mrs. Yates since her parents are dead and her only friend in the world is Eliot, who is very sick, and a mysterious letter-writer. But strange things are happening on the island and then a door in her favorite apple tree opens to a strange world.
I would call this a modern, middle-grade Alice in Wonderland with a timeless feel. Lottie lands in a weird world where she meets three sprites her age (Ollie, Adelaide, and Fife) and they go on an adventure to find Ollie and Adelaide's father, who was kidnapped. The Water and The Wild is whimsical and quirky and the characters are the right amount of interesting and flawed. I really enjoyed this book as it is, but if it was a YA book I feel a lot more could've been done with the story.
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Lois Lane Fallout
★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
Written by Gwenda Bond; Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. She's trying to stay quiet, but in her new high school a group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They're messing with her head via a high-tech immersive video game and Lois wants to solve the mystery.
I LOVED this book! I read it in one day. Lois Lane is a snarky, intelligent, determined, and keeps her cool. She's on the road to being a reporter and is friends with a guy in Smallville who she talks to online, but he refuses to tell her who she is. I kept turning the pages so fast while reading this; I had to know how the Warheads were messing with this girl's head and if Clark was going to tell her who he is. I need the second book in my hands like yesterday.
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The Martian
★★★★★ (4 out of 5)
Written by Andy Weir, The Martian follows Mark Watney, the first man to become stranded on Mars. His crew thinks he's dead, NASA thinks he's dead, and Mark himself is sure he might be dead soon. How can he survive on Mars until the next mission in three year's time?
Despite Mark Watney's horrible situation, he definitely knows how to crack a joke. This book is the perfect mix of humor, drama, and science. Mark never gives up hope and it makes you root for him. I also learned a lot about how to survive on Mars, should that ever happens.
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The Strange Library*
★★★★★ (4 out of 5)
Written by Haruki Murakami, The Strange Library is the story of a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plotting their escape from a nightmarish library.
This book definitely is strange. It really follows no rhyme or reason and half the time I had no idea what was going on, but it's interesting because it's half text, half pictures and it's kind of fun to decipher. (*Thanks Helen for this book!)
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Armada**
★★★★★ (4 out of 5)
Written by Ernest Cline; Zach Lightman is a the 5th best player of the game Armada in the world. He doesn't think that will help him in the future, but then he notices an alien drone like the one from the game in real life. Suddenly, he's being taken to a secret base and finds out that aliens are real and that they're coming to attack.
Aliens, video games, adventure. This book sure takes you on a fun ride. Zach is a believable and likable character because he has flaws and knows it. Unpopular opinion time: I like Armada more than Ready Player One. The stakes are higher in Armada because the aliens are going to annihilate the human species and I found it much more engaging. (**Book via Blogging for Books.)
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Step Aside, Pops
★★★★★ (4 out of 5)
Written by Kate Beaton, Step Aside, Pops is a collection of cartoons from the smash-hit Hark! A Vagrant blog featuring both real and fictional historical characters like Heathcliff and Napolean.
History meets pop culture meets humor! The cartoons by Kate Beaton are hilarious. I read half of this on the train and laughed so much that a woman near me gave me the stink eye. I wish I had my own Tiny Hermione.
★★★★★ (4 out of 5)
Written by Rob Thomas, it's ten years after Veronica Mars graduated high school and she's back in Neptune. She traded in her law degree for her private investigating license and is trying to score a big case. Then a girl goes missing during spring break and she thinks it might have something to do with organized crime. Turns out the case hits a lot closer to home than she imagined.
I'm a huge fan of the Veronica Mars show and the movie, so I knew I would have to read the book eventually. It has the same feel as the show: gritty, funny, dramatic, spunky, and digs into what's wrong with our culture. I could "hear" Veronica's (aka Kristen Bell's) voice in my head as I read it and I enjoyed seeing the story through her eyes because she gives it her all to solve the case, but also lets herself be scared. I also think the case and how it evolved was an interesting one.
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Landline
Written by Rob Thomas, it's ten years after Veronica Mars graduated high school and she's back in Neptune. She traded in her law degree for her private investigating license and is trying to score a big case. Then a girl goes missing during spring break and she thinks it might have something to do with organized crime. Turns out the case hits a lot closer to home than she imagined.
I'm a huge fan of the Veronica Mars show and the movie, so I knew I would have to read the book eventually. It has the same feel as the show: gritty, funny, dramatic, spunky, and digs into what's wrong with our culture. I could "hear" Veronica's (aka Kristen Bell's) voice in my head as I read it and I enjoyed seeing the story through her eyes because she gives it her all to solve the case, but also lets herself be scared. I also think the case and how it evolved was an interesting one.
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Landline
★★★★★ (3 out of 5)
Written by Rainbow Rowell; Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble, but two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show. Through a magic phone, Georgie can communicate with Neal in the past, and maybe it can help fix what's broken.
To be honest, I found this book kind of depressing and the characters annoying. While it's easy to root for Georgie and Neal to stay together because they have a good dynamic and are clearly made to be a couple, Georgie by herself I couldn't stand. She's too nitpicky and kind of a boring character. It's a sweet book at times, but I love Rowell's other works much, much more.
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Written by Rainbow Rowell; Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble, but two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show. Through a magic phone, Georgie can communicate with Neal in the past, and maybe it can help fix what's broken.
To be honest, I found this book kind of depressing and the characters annoying. While it's easy to root for Georgie and Neal to stay together because they have a good dynamic and are clearly made to be a couple, Georgie by herself I couldn't stand. She's too nitpicky and kind of a boring character. It's a sweet book at times, but I love Rowell's other works much, much more.
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What was your favorite read of the month?
