One of the nice things about listening to audiobooks from my library (via the
Overdrive app), is that I can pick up a book and listen to it without really
knowing what it’s about other than a title and a cover. In this way, I
often have no preconceived notions about the book other than first
impressions. At this point, all I’m giving up to “read” the book is the
time it takes me to listen to it, and I have plenty of that driving to and
from work every day.

Since I had no idea what this book was really about, I was surprised at how
humorous it was. If I were to combine a few, better-known series together,
I’d say this is X-Men mixed with James Bond, with just a dash of Jason
Bourne all blended together in Monty Python’s Flying Circus. An odd
combination, I know. But somehow, it works here. The humor is markedly
British, but the characters and their powers are supernatural, to say the
least. Since this was merely the first in a developing series, I can’t wait
to get to book #2: Stiletto.

All this being said, there were a few structural choices to this book that I
often found confusing, which may just be part of listening to it in audiobook
form instead of reading it. First off, the decision to have the main
character afflicted with amnesia was an interesting way to essentially give
the audience what the character already would have known but had conveniently
forgotten. Secondly, because the letters from her former self were used as
backstory, these “flashbacks” were often confusing because it was easy to
lose track of which Mfwany Thomas (glad I had the audiobook for the
pronunciation of this name) was “speaking” at the moment.

An interesting premise with plenty of potential in future iterations, I give
The Rook 4.0 stars out of 5.

Unlike Practical Applications for Multiverse Theory, The Infinity of You & Me
really nails the complex and unique challenges of dealing with multiple
universes. Far more serious than its comedic counterpart, Infinity takes the
reader on a journey through the multiple lives of a teenage girl. The
descriptive writing used for this task was quite adept at conveying the
transition between worlds, as well as the numerous dystopian scenarios
present within them. Clearly, the Sylvia Plath poems the main character holds
dear also influenced the author’s writing style.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of the young adult genre, especially
when it devolves to cliches. This book managed to reside in that young adult
genre, but successfully told a story that didn’t make me roll my eyes in
annoyance. Sure, the elements were there, but they were handled much more
subtly, almost in the vein of how The Hunger Games did it years ago. The
complexity of the internal struggle of the main character really made her
come alive. Her growth by the end of the book was significant and made me
enjoy reading this book.

While it’s almost perfect, there are still a few weaknesses in this book.
Early on, it was difficult for me to figure out that the other multiverse
worlds were taking place in the same timeframe, and not in the past.
Furthermore, there were some sections that didn’t make as much sense as I
would have liked, but I suspect that’s also a limitation of dealing with
the multiverse as your main topic. Despite all these things, the story is
solid and the characters are complex and understandable.

Perhaps the best fictional account of the multiverse I’ve ever read, I give
The Infinity of You & Me 4.5 stars out of 5.

In another “lapse” of my reading habits, I didn’t manage to read
Ender’s Game until the movie of the same name came out in 2013. At the
time, all the sci-fi fans were eagerly anticipating a film that had taken
over 25 years to finally become a reality. While I thought the movie was
quite well done and engaging, after I read the book, I can understand why
some of the diehard fans of the series were disappointed. As is usually the
case with book-to-movie transitions, sub-plots often find themselves on the
cutting room floor. Of course, I don’t blame them for cutting what they
did; after all, it is called Ender’s Game.

Even though watching the movie first spoiled the exciting twist of the ending
when I read the book, I almost read the book differently knowing how it would
turn out. I could see the signs leading up to the shocking reveal, almost as
if I had read it before. I did appreciate the sub-plot with Ender’s
siblings and their efforts back on Earth as their brother was winning the war
in space. If anything, it helped to break up the intense action surrounding
the eponymous main character so that the reader could fully absorb what was
happening in the universe on a political level as well as a military one.

It is disappointing that there will likely be no more movies in this series
since the source material is full of interesting ideas that I’d like to see
on the big screen. Perhaps the series would be better suited for a television
show (a la Game of Thrones) to fully include all the different elements that
made it a classic of sci-fi back in 1985. Either way, I look forward to
exploring more of Orson Scott Card’s universe in the next book of the
series: Speaker for the Dead.

A fantastic sci-fi story with an incredible twist ending, I give Ender’s
Game 5.0 stars out of 5.

It was a good book but it was boring at some parts.

Great if you are the type that likes Fantasy. It is an easy book to get wrapped into and hard to pull away from. I highly recommend this book. It has an interesting plot that keeps you hanging and want to keep reading. Get the next books in the series too because this book makes you want to read more.

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd is about a young girl named Felicity Pickle, who sees and collects words. These words are words that people are thinking about or what they want. These words can even dance, glow, or wiggle around. She has traveled to many places in the world and has seen many words except for one, home. But when the Pickled Jalapeño, the family's van, drives into Midnight Gulch, Felicity believes that everything is about to change. She has found a place to make a friend and even make some good memories. This happens to be, because Midnight Gulch used to have magic! This is where people shared their magical talents, until a curse stole that away from them. From what all of the people believe, Felicity can tell there is still a snicker of magic left and all she has to do is find the right words for the magic to return to Midnight Gulch.

This is a great book full of adventure, friendship, and well magic. I chose this book because the cover caught my eye and it seemed interesting. My favorite thing about this book is how the author explained parts and how she used her words. My least favorite thing was how there really was no big change in the characters, but this was still a great book. I highly recommend this book for people especially early teens.

Therefore, I gave this book a 4.0 out of 5 stars!

Fans of Bartimaeus will not be disappointed by Jonathan Stroud’s series, Lockwood & Co. The “Problem” started about 50 years ago in London. Ghosts became true, dangerous, and very real threats to the living. Only young people have the ability to “see” and eradicate these creatures of the night. Enter Lockwood & Co., a company of three who go out nightly to defend the city. Great adventure, ghost story, and humor interweave for perfect storytelling in The Screaming Staircase, the first in the series.

Scurvy Goonda is a pirate ab-com who is ruining Ted’s life (an “ab-com” is an abstract companion). What other self-respecting 14-year-old still has an imaginary companion?! Soon it becomes clear that great evil is afoot, when all the world’s ab-coms disappear – along with Scurvy and Ted! Chris McCoy’s first bacon-filled novel is rife with invention, fun and whimsy, a page-turner that will keep you up all night.

I love the way Chris Colfer holds out the suspense and keeps the story interesting. I enjoy reading about Froggy and Trollbella and all the other characters. It is a great twist on classic fairy tales and some of the stories behind them. I especially like how the authors makes the villains seem less villainous. I love all of the Land of Stories books. This is a must read!

I believe that in this particular Harry Potter book you do not know what is going to happen next and you are full of suspense and Harry potter runs in to some very difficult problems and him and his friends, Ron and Hermione, have to resolve them by being clever, witty, and brave. It is so suspenseful and great that I did not want to set the book down. I hope that every one loves this book as much as I did.