Hello Everyone,
welcome to this month’s Wrap-Up. I have read a lot of books this month, and I am definitely happy about it. This has been a very mixed month, with some wonderful reads and other ones that I did not enjoy so much. I will start by talking about the books that I read for Teen Titles, and then get into the books I read on my own.
Teen Titles Books
A Map of Days (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children #4), by Ransom Riggs. I had previously read the first book in this universe. I had liked it, but it did not live up to the hype or the expectations for me, so I had decided not to continue on with the series. However, I was given this book to review, and the same this happened: I enjoyed it, but it was average. Maybe I have just outgrown the story. I gave it 3/5 stars.
- Virus, by Chris Bradford. This one is a wee book tailored for students with dyslexia. I thought it was okay. Maybe a tad patronizing, in that it was to simple I believe, and children with dyslexia have the same ability to understand a story as everybody else. 2/5 stars.
- White Feather, by Catherine MacPhail. This one was similar to the previous one, however it dealt with grieving, brotherhood and loss. I enjoyed it slightly more. 2.5/5 stars.
- Phantom, by Leo Hunt. On the other hand, I did not like this one. The story is set in the future, when Earth is poisoned and humanity has built very high towers connected by bridges. It’s the story of a hacker in this world who has to carry out a mission undercover. I thought the writing was quite poor, the world building a bit sloppy, and my attention slipped form the story. Overall, 1.5/5 stars.
Other Books
Northern Lights, and The Subtle Knife (book 1 and 2 in His Dark Materials), by Philip Pullman. Now we are getting to the good stuff. It is the very first time I read this trilogy and I now understand why it’s everybody’s favorite. It is a very clever satire of humanity and the bigotry proper to monotheistic religions. I will do a series review as soon as I am done with last book. Both the first and the second got 5 stars.
- For Every One, by Jason Reynolds. This is a wee poetry letter for his readers, where Jason Reynolds talks about what it means to pursue your dreams. 4/5 stars.
- Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7), by Sarah J Maas. You can find my review here. There is not much I can say about this book without spoiling the whole series, since it’s the last installment. I gave it 3/5 stars.
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Another great reading this month, and you can find my review here. I really loved this book, and highly recommend it to anyone. 5/5 stars.
- Rebel, published by The Scottish Book Trust. This was a wee delight. Given out to staff working in schools for Book Week Scotland, this is a collection of short stories and poems by Scottish people who share with the public what it means to them to be a rebel.
- Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1), by Leigh Bardugo.
I am finally reading the Grisha Trilogy. The sense of nostalgia this book gave me was amazing, reminding me so much of how I used to feel when reading Licia Troisi as a child. Of course now I am binging it, and keep an eye out for a full series review when I am done! I gave it 4/5 stars.
- Less, by Andrew Sean Greer. Unfortunately, we do not end on a positive note. I really did not enjoy this book, and DNF-ed it at about 50%. It really does surprise me that it was the Pulitzer Prize this year. I could not connect to the writing nor the main character, whom I found to be without any personality and annoyingly clueless. If you have read and liked this book, please let me know what you enjoyed about it. Another 1.5/5 read for me.
These are all the book that I have read this month. Please let me know if you have read any of these and which ones you enjoyed.
Until next time,
Keky