On paper, the plot of The Descendants almost sounds like a bad soap opera. A man who has the deciding vote that could mean wealth for him and his extended family is dealing with an unfaithful wife who is in a life-threatening coma. The execution of this plot, however, brings so much humanity to the forefront that I wouldn’t be surprised if any of these events were real. While I loved the movie adaptation of this book, the first-person narrative of the book helped add so much more depth to the story. It’s difficult to get into the main character’s head when there’s no internal monologue like in the movie.

Of course, with such realistic and vulnerable characters, there were bound to be a few that I didn’t like. Ironically enough, I hated the comatose wife. Sure, her husband was probably a bit of a workaholic, but he always meant well and was practically saint-like in his dealings with her, her family, and her friends after her accident. I think the most significant part of my dislike of the wife was how much she seemed to screw up her kids. Throughout almost the entire book, the main character is trying to control his out-of-control daughters, and it becomes abundantly clear where they got their tendency for poor life decisions.

In the end, I probably wouldn’t like the wife character if I met her in real life, which is why I didn’t like her in this book. That says a lot about the realism of the writing here. To be able to create a character that I reacted to on an emotional level (even if it was a negative emotion), with nothing more than what other characters said or remembered about her speaks volumes to the author’s talent. If anything, the contrast of the main character was heightened because of it and showed how noble and upstanding his actions were in the midst of crisis and significant life changes.

An expertly-written book full of juicy drama, I give The Descendants 4.5 stars out of 5.

While the previous two entries in this series seemed to be disjointed in their writing styles, The Long Mars seemed to iron out some of these discrepancies . . . finally. In The Long Earth and The Long War , you could almost pinpoint the sections that Terry Pratchett wrote and the sections primarily written by Stephen Baxter. By The Long Mars, there are still a few moments of Terry Pratchett’s goofiness, but they are few and far between. Consequently, the narrative of The Long Mars seemed a lot more consistent than its predecessors.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that The Long Mars is absent of problems. While there was plenty of exploration of these parallel universes, the ones that were deemed necessary enough to describe didn’t add anything to the plot. In fact, I felt like this book could have been much shorter if these thought experiments that explored how parallel universes would function were cut out entirely. If these momentary breaks in the action were tied to critical moments or conflicts, then I could see their necessity. As they are right now, you could remove almost every one of them and still have the same basic story.

The scientist in me did like the broader examination of what to do with multiple universes, like easily visiting Mars. These concepts were touched on in the previous books, but now they felt a lot more fleshed out. Similarly, I felt like the characters were a lot more interesting, especially the dynamic between Sally and her father. Sure, there were probably a few too many plot lines to follow, but at least I cared about the characters now. I’m also not sure if the ending was supposed to mimic its predecessors, as that was one of my frustrations with The Long War: an almost identical ending to The Long Earth.

A significant improvement in the Long Earth series, I give The Long Mars 3.5 stars out of 5.

Tom Sawyer is not the most likable of characters, but he is clever. This book seems to be an honest depiction of a young boy growing up in the 1840s. I like that Tom, Huck, and the rest of his friends go on adventures big and small. Our children can't do that today, which is a shame. This is a fun book to listen to on audio.

Teodora DiSangro is the daughter of one of the heads of the five families. And, while most people wouldn’t expect this of a woman, she’s the heavy. That’s because she’s got a secret: she a streghe, a witch. She can turn people into inanimate objects. So, when her father is poisoned by the Capo, she heads to the capital. Not just to represent her family as the new head of the family: her ultimate goal is revenge. NO ONE crosses the DiSangros. No one.

I really enjoyed this one! YA fantasy is one of my preferred genres, but after a while, much of it can seem pat or a bit too similar, so it feels so refreshing when something new comes along. This was something new, at least to me. A mob story that features gender queer protagonists who also happen to be a witches? I loved everything about that, and the book delivered on the plot and character development as well. The worldbuilding is rich, the characters are likable with understandable and clear motivations, and there are a few twists and turns that will keep most readers guessing. I’m not sure if there’s a sequel planned, but the book was tied up nicely with enough loose threads to justify a sequel should the author choose to write one. I know I’d read it.

TLDR: Looking for a mob based fantasy with a strong, engaging gender queer protag? Not to worry – The Brilliant Death has you covered. For fans of The Godfather and/or The Brooklyn Brujas, or really for anyone who likes inventive and inclusive YA fantasy. 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for the advance copy which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. The Brilliant Death will be available for purchase on 30 October 2018, but you can put your copy on hold today!

I’ll admit: I didn’t really “get” this book. I had seen a TED-Ed YouTube video that told me how great it was, and I decided to give it a try. While there were parts that were entertaining, most of this book went over my head. I suppose if I understood Columbian history and the culture of Central and South America, I might have had a better grasp of what was going on. As it was, I felt lost most of the time and kind of wonder what makes it so highly-recommended.

Perhaps my biggest qualm with this book is how its narrative structure is laid out. There’s practically no dialogue, and it’s basically told in the form of a parable or fairy tale. There are a lot of characters, but their names were so similar that I had trouble keeping track of them all. I get they’re all part of the same family, but having to remember so many individuals and the familial connections to each other was a struggle. I also felt a little lost because there wasn’t a strong narrative thread tying everything together other than the fact that it all took place in the same small town.

This is not to say One Hundred Years of Solitude has no merit, though. Some of the elements of “magical realism” were interesting and could have been the solid base of their own stories instead of being jammed together in this book. The pacing of this book was also pretty peppy, as it didn’t seem to linger too long with one character, realizing that it had many generations to cover. Even though it’s considered a classic (much like Ulysses ), I’m not sure if I agree, and I am certainly welcome to my opinion as you are welcome to yours.

A much better book for those who are “in the know,” I give One Hundred Years of Solitude 3.0 stars out of 5.

When I got into this book, the only things I knew about it were that it was about wine and it was made into a movie of the same name by Alexander Payne. Unfortunately, unlike a good wine, this book doesn’t seem to have aged well. Maybe people were able to put up with buddy comedy sex romps back in the early2000’s, but the social climate has changed considerably since then. I doubt a book like this would be written today, at least without some outcry from people who find the women in it to be inherently objectified.

Most of my issue with this book comes down to the characters. I’ll give the author credit for creating individuals that made me react to them so vehemently. The problem is that I hated these characters. I hated Jack for being so sex-crazed that he felt obligated to satiate his urges mere days before his wedding. Ihated Miles for being the stereotypical alcoholic failing author. If you wanted a template for poor life decisions, I think these two characters would fit the bill. There wasn’t much (if any) redemption in either of their story arcs, and both of them just seemed to enable their worse selves.

In the end, this book is supposed to be a comedy. At least, it’s a comedy in the sense that it ended with a wedding (as most comedic plays and musicals usually do). Sure, it’s filled with witty banter and some good stretches of natural dialogue, but there was hardly any vulnerability of the characters to give them any grounding. One moment near the end briefly pulled away to let Miles reminisce, but I would have liked some more consequences that would have forced both men to change for the better. And maybe that’s the point: real life doesn’t work that way, and I hate that there are real men out there who have these very same faults.

Terrible people in somewhat amusing situations, I give Sideways 2.5 stars out
of 5.

The first book in the series from the author of the popular Cinder series. Renegade takes place in a futuristic world where some humans have gained superpowers. The story takes as on a journey through two different perspectives. Nova is known as a villain to other people, but to Nova the only bad guys are the heroes. Adrian lives in the shadow of his hero fathers and believes villains must be put in their place. The two meet both using secrete identity's and both heir worlds are changed forever.

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, you probably always wondered what happened to Harry, Ron and Hermione after they left Hogwarts. This book answers those questions. It is written in play form, so it is a little awkward at first, but once you get into the story, you barely even realize the different style.
It was a great story and made you feel like you were still part of Harry and his friends lives. This is a must read story for any Harry Potter fan.

While most people think of Stephen King's book as being scary, this book was more suspenseful than scary. It is the story of Gwendy, a 12 year old girl who decided to run the suicide stairs in her neighborhood to lose weight before school starts. She meets a man wearing a black hat at the top of the stairs. This man calls her over by name and gives her a specialw box that will give her chocolate and silver dollars. The box has buttons on top and Gwendy can control what may happen by pushing one of the buttons. Once she takes the box, good things start happening in Gwendy's life. Gwendy becomes obsessed with the box and keeps it with her until after college, when she comes home one day to see a familiar black hat in her apartment. The story moves quickly and keeps you interested throughout the phases of Gwendy's life. If you are interested in Stephen King books but don't want to read anything too scary, this is a great book to start with.

Have you ever felt out of place? Felt that you were hiding who you really were, or a big part of you? Incorporated with themes of self acceptance as well as humor, Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is for you. This book tells the story of Simon, a junior growing up in a small, conservative town. He is gay, and has not shared it with anyone and is not ready to yet. Keeping up a relationship via email with a boy with the pen name Blue, he accidentally leaves his email logged on in the school they both go to. When a boy named Martin finds this email, he blackmails him. Help Martin win over his crush (one of Simon's closest friends), or get revealed on one of the most personal things a human can have, their identity and sexuality. Keeping up this correspondence with his crush, turning more flirtatious daily, while hiding from a close group of friends, is sure to cause all kinds of trouble.

I love this book, because it is full of heavy topics, along with humor and adorable romance. This is recommended to anyone learning about such controversial themes, and to a lower reading level audience, because it is a very easy read. However, the more mature the better, because many cuss words and descriptions of romance are used in this book along with imagery on underage drinking and more. If you have ever felt like you don't fit the description of the normal human being, check out simon vs the homo sapiens agenda today.