Book Review: Educated, by Tara Westover

Genre: Non-fiction memoir
Date Published: February 2018
Publisher: Random House
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 334 pgs/12 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.
Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.
Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For capturing my interest from the beginning

Book Review: Brinsingr (Inheritance #3), by Christopher Paolini

Genre: Young Adult Epic Fantasy
Date Published: September 2008
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 748 pages/29 hours and 40 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Oaths sworn... loyalties tested... forces collide.
It's been only months since Eragon first uttered "brisingr", an ancient language term for fire. Since then, he's not only learned to create magic with words — he's been challenged to his very core. Following the colossal battle against the Empires warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still, there is more adventure at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.
First is Eragon's oath to his cousin, Roran: to help rescue Roran's beloved from King Galbatorix's clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength — as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices — choices that will take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.
Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For showing how much the author's writing has matured since the first installment.

Book Review: Career Of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3), by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Genre: Detective Mystery
Date Published: October 2015
Publisher: Mulholland Books
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 492 pages/ 18 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.
Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.
With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…
Career of Evil is the third in the series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A mystery and also a story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For Being A Great Re-read!

Cold Days (The Dresden Files #14), by Jim Butcher

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Date Published: November 2012
Publisher: Penguin
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 515 pages/18 hours 50 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: (WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS NOVELS IN SERIES)


HARRY DRESDEN LIVES!!!

After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill.

Guess which Mab wants first?

Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…

His soul.

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For being better on the re-read

My Thoughts:

First, I should mention that the only two things I remembered from the last time I read this was that Harry Dresden meets Santa Claus in the beginning, and that the final fight resulted in a bit of a surprise.

With that being said, I think I enjoyed this book more the second time around. I laughed louder, I paid attention more, and I found some of my questions getting answered. Granted, I now have new questions, but something tells me that I'll learn more in Skin Game.

I can't talk about this book without talking about the series as a whole. This ongoing series has a lot going for it. It's got comedy, action, mystery, fantasy....it's reasonably well-written (no one can top Tolkien, but still) and you end up feeling for the characters and hoping that none of them will die.

Seriously, if you like urban fantasy, get started on this series!

Book Reviews: Changes (Dresden Files #12) and Ghost Story (Dresden Files #13), by Jim Butcher

Fell behind on my book review posts, so here are the last two:

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Date Published: April 2010
Publisher: Roc
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 438 pages/15 hours 48 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover - until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.
Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it - against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world...He's fighting to save his child.

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For being dramatic and different from the norm.

My Thoughts:

"Changes" is certainly the right title for this book. Literally everything changes for Harry Dresden in this book. Everythikng. From beginning to end, something that was a constant for Harry gets taken away or changed into something else. I won't say more for fear of spoilers, but nothing will ever be the same for subsequent books.
There is a final twist in the end. One last unexpected change that, if you haven't read this series before, will catch you completely by surprise. I'm sure it was an immense shock when this book first came out.

Overall, this story is a whole lot more tragic than the previous novels, but it still made me laugh a number of times. Definitely a good read.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Date Published: July 2011
Publisher: Roc
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 481 pages/17 hours 36 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: WARNING! SPOILERS FOR THE PREVIOUS BOOK When we last left the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden, he wasn't doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin.

But being dead doesn't stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has no body, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.

To save his friends—and his own soul—Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic...

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For being a fun re-read

My Thoughts:

I liked this story. It's not everyday that the hero is able to come back after dying and help his friends once again. It was nice to see Harry help/witness everyone move on from his death and find closure.
There was a lot of depth in this novel, which was a good continuation of the intensity we saw in Changes.

Of course, the story is still funny at times, surprising at other times, and exciting the rest of the time (as usual). Also of course, this series isn't over! So far, there are two books left and I'm determined to finish!

Book Review: Turn Coat (Dresden Files #11), by Jim Butcher

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Date Published: April 2009
Publisher: Roc
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 420 pages/14 hours 40 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: When it comes to the magical ruling body known as the White Council, Harry keeps his nose clean and his head down. For years, the Council has held a death mark over Harry's head. He's still thought of as a black sheep by some and as a sacrificial lamb by others. But none regard him with more suspicion and disdain than Morgan, a veteran Warden with a grudge against anyone who bends the rules.

Like Harry.

So when Morgan turns up asking for help, Harry isn't exactly eager to leap into action. Morgan has been accused of treason against the White Council, and there's only one final punishment for that crime. He's on the run, he wants his name cleared, and he needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog.

Like Harry.

Now Harry must uncover a traitor within the Council, keep a less than agreeable Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head.

Like Harry...

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For being an excellent continuation of the series

Book Review: White Night (Dresden Files #9), by Jim Butcher

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Date Published: April 2007
Publisher: Roc
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 407 pages/14 hours, 13 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: In Chicago, someone has been killing practitioners of magic, those incapable of becoming full-fledged wizards. Shockingly, all the evidence points to Harry Dresden's half brother, Thomas, as the murderer. Determined to clear his sibling's name, Harry uncovers a conspiracy within the White Council of Wizards that threatens not only him, but his nearest and dearest, too.

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For being fun as usual

Book Review: Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow

Genre: Historical fiction, Literature
Date Published: 1974
Publisher: Random House
# Of Pages: 270

Goodreads

Synopsis: Welcome to turn-of-the-century America, where Scott Joplin's ragtime sets the beat and passionate vitality sets the tone. Harry Houdini astounds audiences with feats of magic escape while J.P. Morgan rules the world of finance like a Roman emperor. Emma Goldman preaches revolution, free love, and feminism; Henry Ford builds cars by turning men into machines. And a beautiful ex-chorus girl named Evelyn Nesbit sparks the murder of a great architect by a mad millionaire. These real-life characters mingle with a Lower East Side Jewish peddler, a black musician from Harlem, and a rebellious young middle-class WASP in the classic E.L. Doctorow novel that weaves a spellbinding story into a vibrant mosaic of a time, a place, and a people losing their innocence and giving birth to an age when anything and everything goes.

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

.....For being extremely well-written

Book Review: Proven Guilty (Dresden Files #8), by Jim Butcher

Genre: Urban fantasy
Date Published: 2006
Publisher: Roc
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 479 pgs/16 hours 16 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: There's no love lost between Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and the White Council of Wizards, who find him brash and undisciplined. But war with the vampires has thinned their ranks, so the Council has drafted Harry as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City.

As Harry adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend, all grown-up and already in trouble. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it's all in a day's work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob....

My Rating:

 ★★★★ 1/2

....for being entertaining as usual

My Thoughts:

This was a re-read.  I felt the urge to read this series again, especially since I haven't read the latest installments.  And, since I've already read this before, I already knew I was going to have fun with this one.

The books are full of humor and exciting scenarios, but it seems with each novel that they get progressively more serious.  This was definitely one of the more serious ones.  Especially towards the end.  However, it is still one that I found immensely entertaining.

I think my favorite character is Mouse.  He doesn't talk, but he's still such a great dog.  I later looked up his breed and, Good Lord he's gigantic!  If you've read this series before and have struggled to visualize what Mouse looks like, here he is:

...and no, this wasn't photoshopped.  The dog is literally this huge

Anyway, onward to the next book!

Book Review: Dead Beat (Dresden Files #7), By Jim Butcher

Genre: Urban fantasy
Date Published: May 2005
Publisher: Roc
Number Of Pages/Listening Time: 517 pages/15 hours 7 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Harry Dresden is the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone book, and paranormal investigations are his stock-in-trade. Luckily, he's not alone. Although most people don't believe in magic, the Chicago PD has a Special Investigations department, headed by Dresden's good friend Karrin Murphy. They deal with the... stranger cases.
It's because of Karrin that Harry sneaks into Graceland Cemetery one night to meet a deadly vampire named Mavra. It seems Mavra has some incriminating evidence that would destroy Karrin's career. The vampire's demand is simple: find her the Word of Kemmler and all the power that comes with it. But first, Harry would kind like to know just what the Word of Kemmler is. Before long, he's in a race against time- and six necromancers- to get the Word. And to prevent the good people of Chicago from experiencing a Halloween night that will truly wake the dead...

My Rating:

★★★★ and a 1/2

....For being a fun and amusing reread.

Book Review: Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Genre: Science Fiction
Number Of Pages/Listening Time: 374 pages, or 15h 45m on audiobook

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, Ready Player One is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut-part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera.
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS—a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughe’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

My Rating:

★★★★ and 1/2

....For being extremely entertaining.

My Thoughts:

Well, this story didn't do all that well on the re-read. I still really enjoyed it, but I'm debating whether or not to call this a favorite. It could be that I listened to the audiobook rather than reading it, but the experience wasn't quite as amazing as the last time.

Despite that, it was still a fun read. It really is all about the 80's in this story: there are numerous references to 80's pop culture, technology, and games, and while I didn't really know a lot of them, it was still rather fun to recognize the stuff that I did know. Even the plot had a bit of an 80's vibe to it!
The characters weren't all that fleshed out, but they were still fun to read about, and the plot kept things going without slowing down. It is definitely a story that is both fun and fast, although you might to pause a little to look up the movie/game/80's technology that one of the characters is referring to, just for kicks.

As for listening to it on audio.....well, I dunno. I think that might have been the reason why I didn't enjoy it quite so much this time around. Wil Wheaton did a good job narrating (fun fact here: did you he's the actor who plays Wesley in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which by the way first came out in 1987?); he certainly played the part of the nerdy kid quite well, but it still felt like it dragged a little bit. I guess the narration wasn't entirely what I had pictured it to be, but that could be because I read it in print previously so I had certain expectations.

Anyway, this is definitely a story that is worth checking out. Like I said, it's fun and it's fast. You'll never look at gaming the same way again!

Book Review: Words Of Radiance (Stormlight Archive #2), by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Epic Fantasy
Number Of Pages/Listening Time: 1087 pages, or 48 hours and 15 minutes on audio

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive sequence began in 2010 with the New York Times bestseller The Way of Kings. Now, the eagerly anticipated Words of Radiance continues the epic story and answers many of your questions.
Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi king on the very night a treaty between men and Parshendi was being celebrated. So began the Vengeance Pact among the highprinces of Alethkar and the War of Reckoning against the Parshendi. Now the Assassin is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.
Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl. Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.

My Rating:

★★★★ 1/2 

....For Being An Awesome Sequel.

Book Review: People Of The Book, by Geraldine Brooks

Genre: historical fiction
Number of Pages: 372

Goodreads | Shelfari | Audible


Synopsis: In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she begins to unlock the book’s mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book’s journey from its salvation back to its creation.
Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.

My Rating: 

★★★★, maybe even ★★★★1/2

....For being a beautifully written tale of a book's survival through the ages.

Book Review: His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1), by Naomi Novik

Title: His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1)
Author: Naomi Novik
Date Published: January, 2006
Publisher: Del Rey
Source: Audible
Length: 353 pages, or approximately 10 hours on audiobook
Genre: Fantasy, parallel universe

Goodreads | Shelfari | Audible

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

Book Review: Garden Spells (Waverley Family #1), by Sarah Addison Allen

Title: Garden Spells
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Genre: Magical Realism
Year Published: 2007
Source: Audiobook
Length: 304 pages (7 hours 43 minutes)

Shelfari | Goodreads | Audible

In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small house in the smallest of towns, is an apple tree rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it. The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. A successful caterer, Claire prepares dishes made with her mystical plants--from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her cousin, Evanelle, distributes unexpected presents whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys--except for Claire's sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before. When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire's quiet life is turned upside down. Together again in the house they grew up in, the sisters soon realize they must deal with their common legacy--if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom...or with each other.

My Rating:

★★★★ 1/2

Book Review: A Redbird Christmas, by Fannie Flagg

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Redbird Christmas, by Fannie Flagg
★★★★ ½

Synopsis: Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. Once you experience the wonder, you too will never forget A Redbird Christmas
In A Sentence: A cute read …*sniff* It made me cry.

Book Review: River Secrets (Books Of Bayern #3), by Shannon Hale

River Secrets by Shannon Hale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

River Secrets (Books of Bayern #3), by Shannon Hale
★★★★ ½ (rounding up to 5)

Synopsis: Razo has no idea why he was chosen to be a soldier. He can barely swing a sword, and his brothers are forever wrestling him to the ground. Razo is sure it's out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission--escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's great enemy. But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, Razo discovers the first dead body. He befriends both the high and low born, people who can perhaps provide them with vital information. And Razo is the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive. Newbery–Honor winner Shannon Hale returns the reader to the intrigue and magic of Bayern, first introduced in her critically acclaimed novel, The Goose Girl . Enter a world where even those with no special magical skills find in themselves something they never imagined
In A Sentence: An adorable read that makes you chuckle out loud.

Book Review: Enna Burning (#2 In Books Of Bayern), by Shannon Hale

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enna Burning (#2 in Books Of Bayern), by Shannon Hale
★★★★ 1/2

Synopsis: Enna and Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee (Ani for short) became fast friends in The Goose Girl, but after Ani married Prince Geric, Enna returned to the forest. Enna's simple life changes forever when she learns to wield fire and burn anything at will. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good--to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders--and goes on secret raids to set fire to the Tiran camps and villages. But as the power of the fire grows stronger, she is less able to control her need to burn. In her recklessness she is captured by the Tiran army and held captive by a handsome, manipulative young captain who drugs her to keep her under his influence. Can Ani and her old friends Finn and Razo rescue her without sacrificing themselves? And with the fire still consuming her, will Enna find a way to manage the gift that threatens to destroy her?
In A Sentence: A very good book with some excellent qualities for a sequel

Book Review: Moloka'i, by Alan Brennert

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

☊ Moloka'i, by Alan Brennert
★★★★ and 1/2

Synopsis: This richly imagined novel, set in Hawaii more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place -- and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.
Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her.
Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end -- but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.
With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka'i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death. Such is the warmth, humor, and compassion of this novel that "few readers will remain unchanged by Rachel's story"
In A Sentence: A wonderful, heartbreaking story, worth a look

Book Review: The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
★★★★ and 1/2

Synopsis: The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.
In A Sentence: Beautifully written, very well done!