Renegades by Marissa Meyer: Series Review
4 Stars. I loved Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles so I eventually decided to read her take on a superhero story. I like superhero movies but that’s about as far as I go (no comics or other books), so this was a bit of a step outside my comfort zone. I really liked it. Sometimes superhero stories feel entirely too “good vs […]
World War Z by Max Brooks: Book Review
3 Stars. You can imagine my surprise when I listened to World War Z and discovered that I was… a little bored. There. I said it. The format is very similar to that used in Devolution, with a fictional interviewer speaking with survivors of a catastrophic event. I think the difference for me was that Devolution also included a […]
The Giver by Lois Lowry: Book Review
4 Stars. This was published in 1993, when I was 15 years old, and I must have just barely missed having it as assigned reading in school. While it’s probably a classic to many of you, this was the first time I’ve read it. I was surprised by how unsettling it is. Jonas’s world seems almost perfect at first. Everyone apologizes […]
Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer: Book Review
4 Stars. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of The Lunar Chronicles (especially on audio), so when I stumbled on these books at the library, I had to bring them home. Iko has always been sort of the comic relief of the series for me. Even if she isn’t truly being funny, she still generally provides lighter moments when the story […]
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline: Book Review
3 Stars. While I did enjoy Ready Player Two, my expectations were so high from Ready Player One that it was almost guaranteed to be a bit of a letdown. I still loved all the ’80s Easter eggs that I identified but this older Wade isn’t quite as engaging. He’s still a major geek but his absolute resistance to listening to others’ […]
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: Book Review
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is one of those rare books–a second that is actually better than the first. In my humble opinion anyway. I read all 391 pages in two sittings, really in one day. I picked it up, got sucked into Katniss’s world, and never looked away. We got to see a little more of Gale in this story […]
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan: Book Review
I’m a little out of practice with my reviews, but I’m having a hard time putting my feelings about this book into words. On the one hand, I would actually love to see this as a movie, filmed in the style of Schindler’s List. The world is bleak but lends itself well to the unexpected pops of color I remember from Spielberg’s […]
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins: Book Review
So. I haven’t re-read any of the original novels since they were first published and I haven’t re-watched any of the movies since their respective releases. So I’m fuzzy on those plot points. But this didn’t do much to further the broader story. Snow is a manipulative prick. We know that. All I learned in this book is that he […]
The Fireman by Joe Hill: Book Review
I try hard to avoid any blurbs or early reviews of books that I’m really anticipating, but somehow things just seep into my consciousness and I’m not even sure how they got there. So in addition to having my own ridiculously high hopes for this book, I’d come across things like “Hill’s magnum opus!” and “his best work to date” […]
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer: Book Review
4 Stars. I needed these Lunar short stories to get some closure after the emotional turmoil of Winter. (I was so angry at Levana that I almost gave up on the book. It was that torturous). When I realized that this book was happening, I jumped on it as soon as I possibly could at the library. Most of the stories are prequels to Cinder […]
Winter by Marissa Meyer: Book Review
3 Stars. I’m exhausted. Emotionally and physically exhausted. Because of my library’s policies, I had two weeks to listen to a 21-part audio book, when it normally takes me that long to listen to about 10 parts. Because I love this series, I buckled down and did it. This can’t have been good for my blood pressure. I only thought […]