I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I did The Golden Compass. But it made me very eager to read The Amber Spyglass, and isn't that half the point?
Finished The Shadow Club Rising by Neal Shusterman.
This takes place after the events of The Shadow Club. Not surprisingly, nobody at their school trusts the members of the (now-disbanded) Shadow Club. And when a new student (the incredibly obnoxious and unfortunately named Alec Smartz) starts getting hideous pranks played on him, everyone (students, teachers, the principal) believes it's because of The Shadow Club in general and Jared in particular.
So Jared has to prove his innocence. I preferred this to the first book but still like Unwind most of all. :)
Finished Hunger by Michael Grant (the sequel to Gone).
This is more of the same (kids surviving in a world without parents) but there are more bad things thrown in in this one. (No, I'm not getting more specific; if you're curious, read them.) :)
I think I prefer Susan Beth Pfeffer's books, but these are good, too.
Finished Gone by Michael Grant.
This is a pretty fitting series to start right after reading Life as We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone (and right before Under the Dome), because there are similar themes.
In this one, everyone over the age of 14 disappears, all at once. (So kids 14 and younger are now responsible for themselves/each other.)
To make matters more interesting, some of these kids start developing powers. (Think X-Men style mutations.)
Not surprisingly, they start to break into two camps--Team Sam (good) and Team Caine (awful).
This is an interesting series. (I'll be starting book 2 tonight or tomorrow; Gone ended with no real sense of resolution.)
Finished The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This is a companion book to Life As We Knew It.
Alex lives with his parents and two younger sisters in New York City. When the asteroid hits the moon, his mom is at work (she works in a hospital's OR) and his dad is in Puerto Rico for a funeral.
Alex has to figure out a way to keep his family safe and together, at least until one or both of his parents comes home.
I think I preferred Life As We Knew It, but this was good, too.
These books (there's going to be a third out in April) are so scary, too. I don't think I'd do well in a world where I'd have to acquire food someplace that isn't a grocery store (or any of the places where we normally get food) and I certainly don't know how to cook and wash clothes without electricity and running water.
Finished Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain by Paul Meier and David L. Henderson for Thomas Nelson.
The thesis with this book is that hard times can either bring you closer to God or drive you farther from God. When bad things happen, it tends to be for one of two reasons:
1) God is using these incidents to improve you in some way. For instance, if you have a problem with patience, perhaps you will be put in situations where you have no choice but to develop that quality. :)
2) God didn't want this to happen, but will work within these circumstances so your life will continue to be what He wants. This is where free will comes in. He doesn't "let" you get mugged, but if you trust Him, He can take your fear away. (as an example.)
I don't think this would be a good book to read while you're going through difficult times (although maybe that's just me; hearing about how God works in mysterious ways after my dad died made me want to hit people in the face) but I think it'd be comforting to read after, once things are calming down a little.
I do have some issues with some of the things the authors said. First, as someone who's struggled with faith, I can tell you that atheists don't think that there's no point in being a good person in this life. You can be a moral or ethical person without believing in God. (And really, isn't there something to be said for doing the right thing because it's the right thing, not 'cause you think God will smite you?)
And second, they trotted out Carrie Prejean as an example of faith and not, say, prejudice. Yes, she has every right to believe whatever she wants. But let's not act like she isn't a bigot. If she had said that she didn't think black people/Hindu people/atheists/immigrants or any other group shouldn't be allowed to get married, we wouldn't even have to have discussions on whether or not she's prejudiced. And yes, it is the same thing. :)
Finished Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
This book is told through a series of diary entries. Miranda is a normal teenager, living with her mom and two brothers (one older, one younger). There are two noteworthy events for her at first--her dad's second wife is pregnant and she's going to be the godmother. And an asteroid is going to hit the moon, which everyone's excited about.
Except it turns out the asteroid was bigger than anyone thought, because it knocks the moon closer to earth.
This may not seem like a huge deal. Until you remember that the moon controls the tides, so there are a lot of tsunamis. There are also a lot of earthquakes and volcanic activity (something about gravitational pull; Miranda doesn't get much more specific).
Because of the tsunamis, oil refineries are mostly gone (gas goes up to $12 a gallon) and there's not much electricity. And after all the eruptions, plants aren't growing so well, either (volcanic ash blocks the sun, which means no light for growing). And of course there's no electricity, so grocery stores aren't open very long.
It's scary to think about how screwed we'd be if a huge event like this actually happened. Still, a very good book.
(And tomorrow I have to go to the store anyway, so I may be stocking up on canned goods.)
I really liked this book.
Having spent some time in the Muslim world, many things mentioned - such as the bazaar, hamman and henna - were familiar to me. And I got so involved in the story of the young female protagonist that I finished the book in just one day, staying up late into the night to find out how the tale ended.
If you like historical fiction, this novel set in 17th century Iran is a nice change of pace from the usual tales of wealthy or royal Europeans.
This was the November selection for my monthly book club and I'm really looking forward to discussing it with others.
Finished Fallen by Lauren Kate (this is a review copy; it comes out December 8).
Luce (short for Lucinda) is about to start school at Sword & Cross (a sort of cross between boarding school and an alternative school for troubled and/or dangerous children). She's there because of a mysterious incident involving a fire that led to a boy's death. (That's about all we know, because she doesn't remember it.)
Not long after arriving, she meets Daniel, who is really, really, ridiculously good looking. He smiles...then gives her the finger.
She's still fascinated.
This is a suspense/love story.
Luce is a good heroine. She's smart and easy to root for. Daniel is a fairly typical love interest (I don't think it's a spoiler for me to say that) although I wish that authors would let go of the "He's cruel because he cares so, so much" rationale.
The writing is cheesy in parts but the story is compelling, so I forgive it. (Also, since I got a review copy, it's possible that some of that got edited out.)
Sigh. I let the allusion to an Austen novel in the title fool me into thinking this wouldn't be the usual chick lit drivel. While I did find myself enjoying parts of the book - after all, it does owe its themes to Price and Prejudice, which I love - overall I found the storyline a bit overblown and unbelievable.
With happy endings for EVERYONE.
How often does everyone in both your family and circle of friends wind up neatly paired off? Really, now.
