Biography, Non-Fiction, Photography/Art

Women in Sports by Rachel Ignotofsky

Sarah

Why did I decide to read Women in Sports… I hope I’ve established through my selection of books so far that I absolutely adore all books that celebrate strong women and positive female role models. Sports in particular hold a very special place in my heart – those are my hockey skates in the picture – and I will do everything in my power to make sure that all little girls in my life know that they can do and be anything – including the world’s best ice hockey goalie. 

Synopsis

Women in Sports highlights the achievements and stories of fifty notable women athletes from the 1800s to today, including trailblazers, Olympians, and record-breakers in more than forty sports. The athletes featured include well-known figures like tennis player Billie Jean King and gymnast Simone  Biles, as well as lesser-known champions like Toni Stone, the first woman to play baseball in a professional men’s league, and skateboarding pioneer Patti McGee. The book also contains infographics on topics that sporty women want to know about such as muscle anatomy, a timeline of women’s participation in sports, pay and media statistics for female athletes, and influential women’s teams. Women in Sports celebrates the success of the tough, bold, and fearless women who paved the way for today’s athletes.

Review

Sports have always played a big role in my life. Whether I was playing them or watching them with my friends and family, I have loved them always. Growing up, I did gymnastics, ballet, roller bladed, biked, swam, played softball and skated like a fiend. I skiied, played basketball, and was nearly recruited to Brown University as an ice hockey goalie. My sister played soccer and tennis, my dad was a gymnast and sailor, my mom was a three sport athlete and my grandfather played four sports and for the Philadelphia Eagles. To say sports are in my blood is an understatement. The first book I ever finished writing was about a teenage hockey star.

Downside, I wasn’t really great at any sport, not a one. The jokes about ice hockey goalies were true for me – I was not a great skater. Upside, I loved it, so I worked hard and I practiced. When I found out that the author of Women in Science was writing about women in sports, I started begging our rep to send me an ARC (advanced reader copy) or finished copy of the book. Nine months ago. I knew I had to have this book.

I love this book – of all the compendium books of great women, this is by far one of my favorites. The art style is perfect for the style of book – think infographics, but with a bit more text. The decisions for which wonderful women to include must have been a challenging one, but it is definitely a worthy list – variety of sports and backgrounds of each of the women is diverse. If you are looking for inspiration for yourself, your daughter, your niece, your student, your granddaughter AND (or) your son, nephew, grandson, this is a fabulous book to encourage them to be their best and to never stop trying to excel.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Edition: Hardcover • $16.99 • 9781607749783 • 128 pages • published in July 2017 by Ten Speed Press • average Goodreads rating 4.19 out of 5 • read in July 2017

Rachel Ignotofsky’s Website

Women in Sports on Goodreads

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Women in Sports 2

 

Classics, Fiction, Mystery

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Sarah

Just like A Study in Scarlet, Murder on the Orient Express was one of the Modern Readers’ Magical Mystery Tour books from last summer. Every since I saw The Mousetrap, one of Agatha Christie’s plays, and watched the Doctor Who episode that includes Agatha as part of the storyline, I’ve wanted to read one of her famed mysteries.

Synopsis

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stopped the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train was surprising full for the time of the year. But by the morning there was one passenger fewer. A passenger lay dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.

Review

For years I wondered why Agatha Christie had such an appeal, until my father-in-law gave my husband and I tickets to see the stage production The Mousetrap in Philadelphia one weekend. And I now know why she is the queen of mystery writing. Her plot and pacing are superb – it is easy enough to follow along, the writing in her books and the dialogue in the play made you feel like you were in the hotel/on the train with the inspector as they attempt to solve the mystery.

Christie reveals enough details and suspicious that the reader can attempt to solve the mystery themselves, but she also allows for enough wiggle room for you to eventually be surprised by the final twist without feeling completely blindsided. While I have not been a mystery reader for a terribly long time (this could probably be considered my first true mystery novel, save for a Patterson novel I read shortly after college), I have quickly come to appreciate the differences in storytelling required for a good mystery versus a good novel.

Suspense is key, but in moderation. If the crime is committed at the start, then there should be enough background build up for each character that it doesn’t feel procedural. If crimes are continuing to be committed, it should feel like at least one character’s life is still under threat.

After reading Murder on the Orient Express, I immediately went out and purchased more Agatha Christie books – they make for a delightful, quick, beach or summer read and I have enjoyed them immensely.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $13.99 • 9780062072495 • 265 pages • originally published in 1934, this edition published January 2011 by Harper Paperbacks • average Goodreads rating 4.15 out of 5 • read in June 2016

Murder on the Orient Express on Goodreads

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Murder on the Orient Express

 

Classics, Fiction, Mystery

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sarah

Last summer, my book club, the Modern Readers, decided to go on a magical mystery tour, reading one contemporary, one Agatha Christie and one Sherlock Holmes mystery. We had a heck of a lot of fun and we will definitely do it again at some point!

Synopsis

Though endlessly reinterpreted, reinvented, and imitated, the Sherlock Holmes stories have never been surpassed. Sporting his signature billowing coat and pipe in hand, the genius investigator Holmes captivates readers with his alluring melancholy and superhuman intuition, while his partner, Dr. Watson, remains ever the perfect foil, a classic Victorian gentleman with brilliant intellect. Set in the seductive world of Victorian London, the stories of Holmes and Watson live on, as immediate and original in our time as in their own.

Review

When the Modern Readers decided to embark on a Magical Mystery Tour of a summer, we thought that we’d be ending the summer with what would be our favorite of the lot. We all loved the Guy Ritchie/Robert Downey Jr. movies, we were a 50/50 split on the Cumberbatch mini series, but we figured that the source material would have to be great to inspire so many revisits and retellings.

But it wasn’t. And we all agreed that it wasn’t what we anticipated, it didn’t live up to our lofty expectations for it. We concluded that a good mystery lets you hypothesize, come to your own conclusion before the “big reveal!” Mystery writing, for all its nuances, really is formulaic – and it needs to be for a reader to fully engage in what they’re reading. Sir Arthur’s Sherlock doesn’t even attempt to let you try to solve the mystery with him. You’re given all the facts, not potential suspects, and then an extremely complicated backstory that even the great and wonderful Sherlock should never have been able to deduce as a means of explaining why the perpetrator did what they did.

There was no following along, no reasonable ability to follow Sherlock’s thought pattern. While this is understandably Sherlock’s MO, which we all knew going in as somewhat respectable Sherlockian aficionados, but in film and television, it’s easier to suspend believability and reality.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $9.00 • 9780140439083 • 192 pages • originally published in 1886, this edition published October 2001 by Penguin Books • average Goodreads rating 4.15 out of 5 • read in August 2016

A Study in Scarlet on Goodreads

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Sherlock Holmes

 

Non-Fiction, Photography/Art, Sociology

Strong is the New Pretty by Kate T. Parker

Sarah

Shortly after Strong is the New Pretty came out and jumped onto the bestsellers list, my coworker’s stepmother came into the store and scoffed in disdain at the cover and claimed that we (society) were now turning girls into boys. I was livid, absolutely livid to say the least and my coworker had to restrain me to keep me from screaming at her stepmother. Far from my proudest moment, but one that inspired a passionate response, one that I shared in my review both and the store and below in this post here.

Synopsis

Girls being fearless. Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. With more than 150 full-color and black-and-white photographs, Strong is the New Pretty is a powerful visual celebration of the strength and spirit of girls – athletic girls and bookish girls, artsy girls and contemplative girls, girls holding their best friends’ hands and girls running through the sprinkler. It’s the book that says to girls, be yourself because that’s what makes you strong. Divided into nine chapters, including Confident is Strong, Wild is Strong, Kind is Strong, Determined is Strong, and Creative is Strong, Strong is the New Pretty says beauty has nothing to do with looks – it’s showing the world what’s inside you that counts. It’s inspiring, it’s liberating, and it conveys a powerful message for every girl, for every mother and father of a girl, for teachers and counselors and mentors and coaches.

Review

There is nothing that makes me angrier or more upset than people criticizing anyone for trying to express themselves. Kate Parker opens the book with an introduction that starts with a story about her hair getting in her way when playing soccer and how happy she was to have it chopped off into a bowl cut. When I was 6, I did the same thing. I wanted to be just like Kerri Strug. I wanted to play ice hockey. I used to pester my parents for an older brother and was given the explanation that as the oldest child, I would not be getting an older brother to play hockey with. (Little did my parents anticipate they would get divorced and I would get my older brother! But that’s beside the point.)

Basically, I wanted to do everything – play sports, play instruments, run races, ride by bike around our lake, jump in the stream beside my dad’s house, take art classes, read constantly – I had more interests than there were hours in the day to pursue them, which is still the case. And the greatest thing about my childhood? My parents let me. Regardless of my parents’ differences, they were united on at least one front : my sister and I were allowed to pursue basically anything that we wanted, we were allowed to try anything we wanted, even shop in the boys clothing section if that’s what we wanted.

I wish there was a book like Strong is the New Pretty around when I was a child and had to explain to the boys in my class and my friends’ parents that being a tomboy was perfectly acceptable. Kate Parker takes the approach to raising girls that my parents did and for that, I am most grateful to her. As one of my friends is expecting her first child, a girl, in a few short months, I want her daughter to know that she can be whatever, and whoever, she wants to be, both when she’s a kid and when she grows up.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $17.95 • 9780761189138 • 256 pages • published March 2017 by Workman Publishing • average Goodreads rating 4.56 out of 5 • read in July 2017

Kate T. Parker’s Website

Strong is the New Pretty on Goodreads

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Strong is the New Pretty (2)

 

Graphic Novel, Memoir/Autobiography, Non-Fiction

Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green

Sarah

FUTURE RELEASE DATE: October 3, 2017 (released in the UK in 2013)

It is an interesting story how I stumbled upon Lighter Than My Shadow. About a month and a half ago I was in New York City for BookExpo, and as a member of the ABA (the American Booksellers Association) I had been granted special access to a room full of galleys/ARCs (advanced reader copies) of books. In my attempt to be very judicious with my selections (I had to carry everything back from Manhattan to Brooklyn), I was avoiding particularly weighty books, such as Lighter Than My Shadow. But there was just something about it, something that drew me and told me that I had to pick up Katie’s book and read it. 

Synopsis

Like most kids, Katie was a picky eater. She’s sit at the table in silent protest, hide uneaten toast in her bedroom, and listen to parental threats she’d have to eat it for breakfast.

But in any life a set of circumstances can collide, and normal behavior can soon shade into something sinister, something deadly.

Lighter Than My Shadow is a hand-drawn story of struggle and recovery, a trip into the black heart of a taboo illness, an exposure of those who are so weak they prey on the weak, and an inspiration to anybody who believes in the human power to endure towards happiness.

Review

I was extremely lucky when I was nineteen years old to have a grandfather who helped me figure out that my relationship with food and exercise (too little of the former, too much of the latter) was unhealthy. At a time that could reasonably be called the worst point of my life – I had taken a leave of absence from college, my dog and stepfather were both dying from cancer, and I couldn’t figure out how to have a positive attitude – I turned to controlling my food and exercise regime to help me cope.

I’m also extremely lucky that I picked up Lighter Than My Shadow and was able to personally thank Katie for writing it when I was in New York. It has taken me a month and a half to finish her exceptional work of art and writing because every single page hits so close to home. Every single emotion is captured perfectly. The quote from Joss Whedon (yep, creator of Buffy, director of The Avengers, Joss Whedon) sums it up pretty succinctly – “It’s universal yet specific and those together make such strong medicine. Wow.”

It also goes to show how little we are willing to talk about eating disorders when I can share my experience with strangers on the internet, but when one of my own friends starts to show the warning signs, I attempt to help her in every way I can, save the most important – I’m too scared to tell her that I’ve been in the exact same position that she is in. I struggle to tell her that I too was not eating and overexercising. It wasn’t until after I started reading Lighter Than My Shadow, it wasn’t until she’d been struggling for almost 2 full years that I could finally bring myself to share that truth with her – that she wasn’t the only one in our friend group to have experienced the despair that accompanies such a loss of control.

Because while a great number of people use their eating disorder as a way to feel in control in a uncontrollable world, exercising that control over yourself also makes you feel out of control, even if you’re not willing to admit it to yourself. Katie perfectly captures that feeling through her illustrations and text. If you, or someone you love and care about, is struggling and you’re not sure what you can do to help yourself or them, take a look at Lighter Than My Shadow.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $19.99 • 9781941302415 • 516 pages • published October 2017 by Lion Forge • average Goodreads rating 4.45 out of 5 • read in July 2017

Lighter Than My Shadow Website

Lighter Than My Shadow on Goodreads

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Lighter Than My Shadow

Fiction, Mythology

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Sarah

I have to admit, I’m a bit obsessed with the Norse. Since I first discovered the protagonist of my own novel, a Norse princess turned pirate back in December 2014, I’ve been trying to read anything I can get my hands on that might prove to be worthwhile for research. Add into it my love of everything Neil Gaiman writes, and it seemed like a perfect fit.

Synopsis

In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredible strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki – son of a giant – blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Once, when Thor’s hammer is stolen, Thor must disguise himself as a woman – difficult with his beard and huge appetite – to steal it back. More poignant is the tale in which the blood of Kvasir – the most sagacious of gods – is turned into a mead that infuses drinkers with poetry. The work culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and rebirth of a new time and people.

Review

Prior to doing any sort of research for my own story, the bulk of my Norse mythology knowledge came from watching the Thor Marvel movies. Not the greatest source of information, I’ll admit, but not the worst. I’d been looking all over for a comprehensive and easy to read book about the Aesir and Vanir, the two families of Norse gods, but had yet to find anything that really fit the bill.

When we first got word at the store that Gaiman was writing his own tome on the subject, my coworkers and I got very excited. I even more so when the books finally came in and I found the one signed copy the publisher had sent in! I started reading it straight away. Back in February. It’s July, and I just finished it.

Admittedly, I was going through a reading slump, but trying to get through Norse Mythology felt like slogging through the world’s densest bog. It has been the biggest chore of a read that I have undertaken in quite some time, and it’s not even 300 pages of prose. When I thought back on it, though, I realized that I actually don’t really like Gaiman’s writing. I love his stories and world building, but I don’t love his style.

Gaiman recounts the tales of the gods with prose that reads similarly to how a person would reasonably tell a story – the stories were oral traditions, and Gaiman clearly made a point to try to continue to honor that medium in print. As such, though, there are often times sentences and phrases that are clearly asides meant to be mentioned to those listening in the middle of a story – emphasis on the verbal component.

While I have not yet listened to the audiobook of Norse Mythology, I’m guessing that my review would read differently – it would probably be more favorable as then I would be hearing the stories in the manner in which I believe Gaiman actually intended – I would have been listening and not reading.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Edition: Hardcover • $25.95 • 9780393609097 • 304 pages • published February 2017 by W. W. Norton & Company • average Goodreads rating 4.13 out of 5 • read in July 2017

Neil Gaiman’s Website

Norse Mythology on Goodreads

Get a Copy of Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology

Memoir/Autobiography, Non-Fiction, Photography/Art, Travel

My Holiday in North Korea by Wendy E. Simmons

Sarah

In January 2016, I went with my boss to an ABA (American Booksellers Association) event called “Winter Institute.” It is the biggest gathering of independent booksellers and my boss reminded me that in addition to learning lots about the book world and being starstruck by all the authors present, I should bring a book back for each of my coworkers. My coworker Su is the most difficult person to pick out books for, so this is the one I brought back for her. She thought I was nuts, until she started to read it. And then she couldn’t shut up about it! On her recommendation, my book decided to read it last September.

10 - September 2016 - My Holiday in North Korea

Synopsis

Most people want out of North Korea. Wendy Simmons wanted in.

In My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth, Wendy shares a glimpse of North Korea as it’s never been seen before. Even though it’s the scariest place on earth, somehow Wendy forgot to check her sense of humor at the border.

But Wendy’s initial amusement and bewilderment soon turned to frustration and growing paranoia. Before long, she learned the essential conundrum of tourism in North Korea: travel is truly a love affair. But, just like love, it’s a two-way street. And North Korea deprives you of all this. They want you to fall in love with the singular vision of the country they’re willing to show you and nothing more.

Review

If you’ve ever wondered what life is really like in North Korea, this is not the book for you. If you’ve ever wondered why North Korea wants you to think life is really like there, then this is the book for you. Wendy Simmons is one of a very limited number of Americans granted access to a tour of the country, a fully planned, fully monitored, full devoid of any genuine moments, tour of the “empire.”

We’ve all heard stories about how the people are brainwashed into thinking that their country really is the greatest on Earth and far better than any other in the world, but few have witnessed the truth firsthand as Wendy has, the truth being, that they really do seem to believe it.

This review is so brief because words really cannot describe the incredulity I experienced while reading – simply to say that you should go read it. Read it now. Read it immediately.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Edition: Paperback • $19.95 • 9780795347047 • 312 pages • published May 2016 by Rosettabooks • average Goodreads rating 3.7 out of 5 • read in September 2016

Wendy E. Simmons’ Website

My Holiday in North Korea on Goodreads

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My Holiday in North Korea
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Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology, Young Adult

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Sarah

FUTURE RELEASE DATE: August 29, 2017

When I first saw the trailer for Wonder Woman, I couldn’t wait to see it. When I found out that Leigh Bardugo was writing a YA adaptation, I was even more excited about it! As as new-ish fan of Wonder Woman, I have been keen to get my hands on anything relating to my new feminist hero and when I found out there would be advanced reader copies of Wonder Woman: Warbringer, my coworker and I immediately set about pestering our publisher rep to send us some!

Synopsis

She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning…

Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law – risking exile – to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer – a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies – mortal and divine – determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Review

I love Leigh Bardugo’s books and I love Wonder Woman. So this should have been the perfect combination of the two, right? Well, mostly right. Wonder Woman: Warbringer is the first of four books in the new DC: Icons series, and also the first book Leigh Bardugo has written that has not been published by the same publisher who did her last 5 books, all set her self-created Grisha-verse. These two facts lead me to wonder, is Wonder Woman: Warbringer truly all Leigh? Anytime one is adapting an already existing character and world, it never feels truly like it is fully the author’s own creation and having read all of Leigh’s previous books, Warbringer left me disappointed.

Comic book stories and superhero adaptations are infamous for having multiple timelines – i.e. Wonder Woman is originally set during WWII, the movie is set during WWI, and in Warbringer, Diana doesn’t leave her home, Themyscira, for the outside world until the 21st century. While many comic book and superhero fans accept multiple timelines, it does get confusing and a little frustrating to accept time and time again. I’m a fan of continuity and linear time lines, it can be difficult to accept three different timelines for the start of Diana’s story.

However, from the start of the publicity push for Warbringer, it has been made clear that this is a different, stand alone book that can be read both by existing and new Wonder Woman fans and I fully support that approach to promoting the book – it is absolutely true – if you know nothing about Wonder Woman, you will love it, and if you already love Wonder Woman, you will at least mostly enjoy it like myself.

The characters are textbook Leigh Bardugo – funny, beautifully diverse, and thick and well-rounded with details and unique qualities. Alia’s friends Theo and Nim are great supporting characters, her brother Jason has his own unique destiny to fulfill and Diana, well, she is a fully realized Wonder Woman. Despite the sense of feeling like we are going back to the beginning, there is nothing lacking in Diana’s character development. Her confidence and charisma are evident, as is her desire to protect human life, despite risks to her own self. The plot is fun and well paced, I flew through Warbringer in 2 days, it definitely kept my attention, despite my occasional frustration.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Edition: Hardcover • $18.99 • 9780399549731 • 384 pages • published August 2017 by Random House Books for Young Readers • average Goodreads rating 4.27 out of 5 • read in July 2017

Leigh Bardugo’s Website

Wonder Woman: Warbringer on Goodreads

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Wonder Woman (5)

Fantasy, Fiction, New Adult

A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah

#1. I will read anything by Sarah J. Maas. #2. It’s based on Beauty and the Beast. #3-#10. Repeat #1.

Synopsis

Books in Trilogy: A Court of Thorns and Roses • A Court of Mist and Fury • A Court of  Wings and Ruin

A Court of Thorns and Roses Synopsis

Feyre is a huntress. She thinks nothing of slaughtering a wolf to capture its prey. But, like all mortals, she fears what lingers mercilessly beyond the forest. And she will learn that taking the life of a magical creature comes at a high price…

Imprisoned in an enchanted court in her enemy’s kingdom, Feyre is free to roam but forbidden to escape. Her captor’s body bears the scars of fighting, and his face is always masked – but his piercing stare draws her ever closer. As Feyre’s feelings for Tamlin begin to burn through every warning she’s been told about his kind, an ancient, wicked shadow grows.

Reviews

Original A Court of Thorns and Roses Review from May 2015

It’s no secret that I have become obsessed with Sarah J. Maas’ books. I’m going to BookCon in NYC next week for the sole purpose of meeting her. I flew through the first three books in the Throne of Glass series in a week – one week. When I found out A Court of Thorns and Roses would be more geared towards the “new adult” genre, I couldn’t wait to pick it up! While it still falls into the “young adult” realm, I think Sarah J. Maas is really starting to flesh out the middle ground between young adult and new adult to what I think “new adult” will eventually mean – slightly more mature young adult.

ACOTAR (I literally call is “ack-o-taar” which is, I admit, mildly annoying) is the story of Feyre (Fae-rah) and how she falls in love with a high fae lord, Tamlin. The plot is based loosely on Beauty and the Beast, and how Feyre must come to love Tamlin in order to free the land from a wretched curse. The story is told in two distinct parts – the first when Feyre comes to live in the realm of the Fae and the second when she has realized how she feels and discovered what she must do to save them.

My favorite part of the book, however, has little to do with Tamlin & Fae Co., but everything to do with Feyre’s older sister, Nesta. Nesta and Feyre have never gotten along and have resented each other for years for various reasons. When Feyre is taken to Tamlin’s court, she is not to see her family ever again and being rid of Nesta is perfectly fine by her. Later, however, she has the opportunity to see them and learns that Nesta came looking for her, had missed her younger sister. The two have the opportunity to connect and it is Nesta who ultimately helps Feyre understand what she must do to save the realm of the Fae (and the human populations as well).

Trilogy Review

It’s hard to go back two years later and read my review of the first book and kicking myself for not mentioning the character has become the book boyfriend to end all book boyfriends. Step aside Mr. Darcy, you’ve been replaced! It don’t want to spoil too much so this collective trilogy review will be brief.

Basically, the first book, ACOTAR is a world unto itself, and the second and third books are just spectacular. While the first book can be kind of slow and off to a rough start, the deeper you get into the world, and the books, the more it becomes clear what Sarah J. Maas was trying to do – the books are written in first person, through Feyre’s point of view, and as such, readers are only permitted access and information as Feyre is permitted access to information.

And then Rhysand saunters into the picture, which happens in ACOTAR, and things get all sorts of shaken up and spectacular. The second book, ACOMAF, is probably the closest thing to a perfect book that I have ever read, and Rhys plays a large part of that, but it has more to do with plot structure and the introduction of so many dynamic characters and finding out more information about the world.

It’s a wonderful series, and I understand it’s not for everyone, but I will recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who will listen!

Series Rating: 8 to 10 out of 10 stars

Best Book: A Court of Mist and Fury

Edition for A Court of Thorns and Roses: Paperback • $10.99 • 9781619635180 • 448 pages • originally published May 2015, this edition published May 2016 by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books • average Goodreads rating 4.29 out of 5 • read in May 2015

Sarah J. Maas’ Website

A Court of Thorns and Roses on Goodreads

Get a Copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses

ACOTAR Series

Fiction, Historical, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Sarah

I purchased Leviathan shortly after I started working at a bookstore, nearly two years ago. It was not, however, until Scott Westerfeld came to said bookstore back in the spring that I remembered that I had the book at home, still sitting on my shelf unread. After a friend finished all three in the series in the course of one night, and I watched Wonder Woman, set during World War I as well, that I figured it was about time I finally read Leviathan.

Synopsis

Alek is a prince without a throne. On the run from his own people, he has only a fighting machine and a small band of men.

Deryn is a girl disguised as a guy in the British Air Service. She must fight for her cause – and protect her secret – at all costs.

Alek and Deryn are thrown together aboard the mighty airship Leviathan. Though fighting side by side, their worlds are far apart. British fabricated beasts versus German steam-powered war machines. They are enemies with everything to lose, yet somehow destined to be together.

Review

Like Marie Lu, Scott Westerfeld is an author who walks the line between middle grades and young adult. Each of his series, and there are many, including the Uglies, are accessible reads for middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults alike. His effective storytelling and dynamic characters insures that one will never be bored when reading his books and they have great staying power – Uglies, published over 10 years ago, is still a staple in bookstores and on school reading lists.

But I wasn’t particularly intrigued by Uglies, I was much more intrigued by Westerfeld’s take on the start of World War I and his Darwinists and Clankers. The British Darwinists have woven together the “life-threads” of various animals to create everything from great flying whale ships to messenger lizards and many “beasties” inbetween. The German & Austrohungarians have crafted mechanical machines, referred to as “clankers.” Main characters Alek and Deryn are often trying to one-up each other in terms of determining which are better, beasties or clankers. Steampunk definitely suits Westerfeld’s storytelling style.

Leviathan, told in third person but in alternating perspectives between Deryn (Dylan) and Alek, weaves together a complex tapestry of the motivations behind the start of World War I, blending fact and fiction until you have to forcibly remind yourself that the British didn’t set off across the continent in a giant whale zeppelin. As with Legend, Leviathan is the perfect book for both boys and girls of all ages, especially for teenagers who love a good adventure that doesn’t center on romance.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $11.99 • 9781416971740 • 440 pages • originally published October 2009, this edition published August 2010 by Simon Pulse • average Goodreads rating 3.91 out of 5 • read in July 2017

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