This was a strange read, and not quite what I was expecting, but I really got into it. It’s set in a dystopian future where wilderness spaces have nearly all been destroyed. A nameless government sections off the Last Wilderness and no one can access it, except for Park Rangers and a group of 20 people…
This is my second book by O’Neill, and while it wasn’t nearly as powerful as Asking for It, it still kept me thinking well after I put it down. O’Neill draws characters that feel very real, and her books leave an emotional impact. Only Ever Yours is set in a dystopian future where girls are…
Author Andersen has just released the third book in this series, and when she asked me to read it, I asked if I could start with the first instead. This was an interesting, well-written YA dystopian novel. It builds on concepts you’ve already seen frequently in dystopian novels, but with a nice amount of detail…
This was a fascinating book, and one I recommend it if you’re looking for something like The Handmaid’s Tale (appropriate on this Women’s March weekend). Erdrich’s book is set in the near future, where instead of environmental catastrophe, mankind is facing a different threat: life has begun to evolve backwards, and no one can tell…
1984 has to be one of the most disturbing books I’ve read, between the creepy parallels with our current political situation, and the torture and brainwashing. Animal Farm has always been one of my favorite books, for its basic but powerful allegory about political corruption. 1984 takes this idea to a very different level. Written in…
I found this to be a thoughtful and entertaining take on the time travel story. Time travel stories have plenty of tropes, and it seems like most of it’s been done before. Mastai’s debut novel takes those tropes, mashes them together, and comes out with something that feels new. I had a few issues with…
I liked this novel by Margaret Atwood, although I don’t think it’s one of her best. I had a hard time buying into the concept of the story, and she lost me a little when the story turned in a direction I wasn’t expecting. Still, this is Margaret Atwood we’re talking about, and any new…
Trying something new this month! I rarely review series books, unless it’s the first in a series. So I thought I’d do a set of mini-reviews instead. (Note: minor spoilers ahead since two of these reviews are for the second book in the series.) The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon I really enjoyed this second…
I can see why this book shows up on so many best-of-2014 book lists. What I liked most about it is that it’s a post-apocalypse story about people that seem very real. I love The Stand, but I’m always more interested in the regrouping that happens than the whole good versus evil battle. Station Eleven…
No doubt you’ve already heard about Wool. I’d read a lot of good reviews and my husband highly recommended it – and still it exceeded my expectations. Wool is hard to put down. It starts out with this really eerie description of a future civilization that is living in a silo because the air outside…
I’m struggling with how to review this one. I’m torn between my love/worship of Margaret Atwood, my admiration for the world she’s created in this trilogy, and my “meh” reaction to this book. Atwood has created a future world that is so detailed, down to the names of food products and chain strip clubs. It’s…
If you liked The Hunger Games, I’m sure you’ve already read this one by now. But if you haven’t, or if you like to get ahead of what’s coming out in theaters, you might want to check this one out. Divergent isn’t literature, and it doesn’t break too many of the rules of the young…
I read, breathe, and live in bookish worlds.
Book Reviews & The Written Word
"Books are a uniquely portable magic" - Stephen King
*somewhere to collect my (mostly) bookish thoughts*
"She had read novels while other people perused the Sunday papers" - Mary Elizabeth Braddon
A Classic Literature Journey
Thoughts on Literature, Expressing Creativity, Being Authentic
books, libraries, life
Reading, Writing, Cats - Life is pretty good.
Books and Beverages
