The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez: Book Review
Lucía Álvarez is your typical teenage girl. She has a crush on cute Manuel, she and her best friend Ivette are interested in all the latest fashions and movies, and she’s trying to fit in at school. So when Fidel Castro cancels classes, her only thought is enjoying her unexpected freedom. She slowly realizes how […]
The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan: Book Review
Annabeth and the goddess Artemis are missing. Percy, Thalia, and Grover embark on a quest to find them before the winter solstice, just a few days away. Artemis is needed to vote at a meeting of the gods about the Titan issue. And well, Annabeth is Annabeth, and her friends are worried about her. I’ve […]
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving: Book Review
3.5 Stars. This came awfully close to being a 3 star read for me. The book just seemed to get longer and longer. It was finally about 100 pages longer than my attention span for the story. But once I got to the end, I realized that everything was essential, even what I thought were tangents. John […]
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston: Book Review
I’m taking a break from all my Banned Books Week reviews to post about an excellent book that is being released tomorrow! Check it out! What if the Big Bad Wolf was framed? That’s all the synopsis I want to give, but I’ll give you more. Henry Whelp is a good wolf. He’s never gotten […]
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: Book Review
The first volume in Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is not an easy read. It picks up when she’s three and her brother is four and they’re being shipped from California to Arkansas–alone on a train. They live with their paternal grandmother for years. Maya writes poignantly and heart-breakingly, but […]
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: Book Review
This is the story of Captain Yossarian, who is serving in World War II as a navigator on a bomber based in Italy. Yossarian is caught in a “Catch-22” where he wants to be grounded, but he can only get out of flying more missions if he’s crazy, but if he was crazy, he wouldn’t […]
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez: Book Review
Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza fall in love when they’re very young. Ultimately, Fermina chooses to marry Juvenal Urbino, a wealthy, well-respected doctor from a good family. Florentino decides to wait for Dr. Urbino to die so he can renew his pursuit of Fermina. As he waits, he has 622 affairs. The best thing about […]
Changeless by Gail Carriger: Book Review
Alexia Maccon, née Tarrabotti, is awakened one morning by her husband bellowing out orders and questions. He doesn’t take time to answer her questions, but of course she finds out what’s going on later. Something or someone has found a way to completely negate whatever magic makes supernatural beings, well–supernatural. This has London in an […]
Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende: Book Review
3 Stars. Even though this novel was written in first person, I felt as if I were watching the story unfold behind glass. I never got pulled into the story completely. I was never particularly interested in Aurora. I was more interested to see what scheme Paulina would come up with next in late-nineteenth century America and […]
A Book That Deserves More Attention: Book Blogger Appreciation Week
Today’s blog topic for Book Blogger Appreciation Week is: Thursday—Forgotten TreasureSure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider […]
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich: Book Review
Stephanie Plum has just gotten laid off from her job as a lingerie buyer for a company that turned out to be owned by the mob in New Jersey. Her Miata has just been repossessed, she’s sold everything of value, and her refrigerator is empty. Out of desperation, she goes to see her cousin Vinnie, […]