Winter by Marissa Meyer

from goodreads

4 stars

So, this post was supposed to be done on Christmas Eve and totally wasn't. It seemed to be a pretty crammed day and I didn't even touch a computer until today. Our weekend didn't go as planned to do an unforeseen family circumstance, so it changed our Christmas plans slightly.

While I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked I had a great Christmas and I am looking forward to a great New Year of reading and other fun things. The next big project is renovating part of our basement to become our new office and then our old office will become a bedroom for Miss G. We'll see how that goes.

I will do my best to do my regular Thursday post tomorrow. It might be a bit tight as we are going to watch Star Wars tomorrow morning! Very excited. But, if for some reason I don't get around to it, have a very Happy New Year!

Synopsis

This is the conclusion of the Lunar Chronicles Cinder and her friends infiltrate Luna in the hopes of bringing down the evil Queen Levana. This chapter of the Lunar Chronicles is loosely based off of Snow White.

My Thoughts

When it comes to an end of a series, especially one as fun and awesome as the Lunar Chronicles, either you will feel satisfied or you won't. There have been many endings where you are left feeling a bit jipped really and you feel a bit disappointed, or a lot disappointed. This was not the case at all with Winter. While it was not my favourite book of the series, I felt satisfied with how it ended. Everything got wrapped up in a way that made sense and stayed true to the series. It had romance, adventure, battles, deception, humour, the perfect blend of sci-fi and fairy tales. It was great!

The book is long. It is double the length of previous installments. The length came in part because of multiple/simultaneous story lines that caused some repetitiveness. It was helpful to help keep everything straight, but it did add to the length of the book. And we get it. Princess Winter is beautiful...you don't need to beat us over the head with it!

I found the last battle a bit drawn out and melodramatic. And, the fight was really intense and then just seemed to end which felt a bit anti-climatic.

I appreciated how well thought out the society of Luna was. It was interesting to learn of the different sectors and how things are labeled and what people do. This helped the characters become memorable and real.

My one other beef has nothing to do with the story it is more of the construction of the book. I get that 800+ pages is a lot of pages and that using normal paper would cause it to be super thick, but, the pages were almost too flimsy and I found it quite difficult sometimes to turn the pages as the paper would sometimes stick/turn together. I am not sure what they could do differently, but it was bit frustrating.

All in all, if you liked the rest of the series you will like Winter. While it is a bit more serious in tone there is still a playfulness that sets this series apart from all other dystopians. While it won't leave you in breathless awe it will not leave you disappointed. Now I think I will have to find the time and reread the series... I think I have my summer planned out!

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

from goodreads

5 stars

I am so excited for tomorrow! Yes, it is Christmas Eve. But that's not why I'm excited. My husband is off tomorrow so he can help the kids and I might be able to have some uninterrupted reading time in the morning. I love lazing in my nice, warm and comfy duvet in the morning just reading. I sure hope he isn't expecting a lazy morning... I think we might have to have a discussion tonight.

Synopsis

Christopher is an apprentice for an apothecary, Benedict Blackthorn. Apothecaries are being targeted by some cult. Christopher has to decipher clues in order to save the guild and stop these murders.

My Thoughts

What an awesome book! I read it in a day. I just could not put it down. It had suspense and intrigue and funny bits and puzzles. It was just great.

I will admit I went into the book with a bit of trepidation. This is the author's first book and it seemed to be heavily pushed and that combination does not guarantee a success, quite often it is hit and miss. This is definitely a hit.

I liked how he was able to incorporate historical detail without it feeling like a history book. He is able to create this great world without the reader feeling bogged down in details. You are learning, but you don't feel like you are learning.

He doesn't shy away from the brutality of life in the 1660s. He also doesn't shy away from the brutality of torture and murder, so if you are squeamish, this might not be the best fit for you.

Even though it is set in the 1660s, the characters are relatable and you would love them as your friend.

This is a great mystery and a great adventure. If you are looking for a last minute book for someone on your list pick this up. While anyone could read this book, this might be a good one to introduce to a preteen boy who might not be as interested in reading as you would like. The suggested age for this book is 10-14. I would think that the 10 year old would need to be a bit on the mature side and be able to handle some gore. Just love this book!

Open Heart, Open Mind by Clara Hughes

from goodreads

4 stars

Well yesterday there was a minor Christmas miracle. I actually started feeling a tiny bit Christmassy and got out some of our decorations. So we finally have a nativity scene out (it is a Veggie Tales one, I feel sort of sacrilegious) and our stockings.

The kids kept wanting to put more and more out but I squashed those ambitions. Usually we have decorations in our bay window. But our tree is in front of the window and is so big that you really can't get to the shelf part or see it. We'll save those for next year, when hopefully, we will get a smaller tree!

Synopsis

One of Canada's best known athletes, most decorated olympian in both summer and winter olympics, opens up about the demons of her past, the demons she still faces, how sport helped her but also hindered her as well.

My Thoughts

This was a great, fast read about a Canadian celebrity.

It is amazing, the success she has found, considering she didn't find sport until late, by most standards. As well, it is amazing the early success she had considering the booze and drugged filled life she had as a teenager.

I think she did a great job of balancing her life stories and her sport stories. The balance helped maintain interest. For me nothing is worse than a book purely about just sports things, the games they played and training they did. While an important element, I like learning about the actual person, how they think, and feel. I felt that I actually got to know Clara the person, instead of learning about all her stats and awards.

I like how she doesn't always try to show herself in a positive light. She shows us times when she didn't act well, when things didn't go the way she planned. It was interesting how she had her on stigma against mental illness (she refused to believe she had depression when first asked about it) and now she is the spokeswoman for mental illness awareness and is working hard to remove the stigma.

I appreciated how she showed her relationship with her husband in a real light. She shows their highs and their lows. They seem really cool and suit each other and that is awesome. By the way, their wedding, totally awesome. It should be an inspiration to all those getting married.

While not a deep memoir, it still shed light on her life, dark times, good times, self-discovery and how sport literally saved her life. This memoir definitely helped make Clara a whole person and not just a memorable smile.

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

from goodreads

3.5 stars

I have mentioned before how I grew up in a house filled with books. While there were many bookshelves everywhere we did have a dedicated room we called the library which had floor to ceiling book shelves. The books were even divided into sections.

I loved going in there and looking at all the books and thinking about what it would be like to read certain books or not.

One book that always caught my eye but I never picked up was The Princess and the Goblin. It was one of my mom's favourites, but I never got around to reading it. When I made my list of books for the year I put it on. It had been on my to read list for so long it was ridiculous. The time was now. Well, I finally read it and I am so happy that I did. Now on to the next!

Synopsis

Princess Irene lives in the mountains, but can not be out at night. That is when the goblins come out. Curdie is a miner, he has learned of a plan the goblins have. Curdie's and Princess Irene's story lines weave together for a magical fairy tale.

My Thoughts

This was a cute story. It was a story that allowed magic to happen without it feeling weird. It had adventure, magic and love.

While it was a bit slow at some parts it was still a fun story. I love the character of Curdie. He seemed so brave and sure of himself. He was cool. I also liked Princess Irene. She was strong willed but also cared for those around her, and she had this naive kind of trust that was lovely.

As with anything written over 100 years ago the cadence of words, the choice of words and pacing of the story was odd and could make this story hard for some readers to enjoy. With classics, either you like it or you don't, it is really a style preference, or more, a style "I can put up with it".

This is and was a children's book. Do not expect a deep Tolkein type novel. It is just a fun story. A story for story sake. If you read it to your kids, I'm not sure what their reaction would be, if they would like it or not. I think my kids would listen to being read aloud but not absorb it. This might be better for 12 and over. But, it is delightful, definitely worth the read.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

from goodreads

1 star

December has been a busy month of reading. Next week I will do a blog post everyday to catch up.

Have a fun weekend!

Synopsis

This is from goodreads as I only got to page 153.

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

My Thoughts

So I could not finish this book. Not because it wasn't well written, it was. Not because it wasn't interesting, because I did find it so. But mostly because of some of the subject matter. There is a mother who is high on drugs and trying to take care of her children. That was just hard for me to get through at this point in my life. I just didn't feel like reading about drug abuse, overt poverty and the sense of hopelessness that can go along with those things. Those subjects are definitely worthy of attention and discussion, I just didn't feel like having that discussion right now. I needed something lighter and a bit happier I guess. Less heavy.

I will probably try this book again at some point in my life. I would like to know what happens. The characters are so well thought out and well rounded that you almost feel like you have known them forever. But for now, this will stay on my couldn't finish shelf.

A Pirate's Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates Illustrated by Sebastia Serra

from goodreads

5 stars

I don't know what it is about pirates, but man they sure are fun. As soon as my kids' eye catch a pirate book they have to get it. Miss G even wants to make pirate gingerbread men for Santa because of the book The Gingerbread Pirates.

When you think about the history of pirates and what they were like in real life, they really weren't so fun. In fact, I would not want to encounter them or encourage my kids to learn of them and their ways.

I guess that what happens with the distance of time. Things, that in reality were quite horrible, become fun through nostalgia. We have the luxury of picking out the good things so we can have fun and casually ignore the horror.

So, thanks time. Modern pirate kid books will have a place on our shelves because of you.

Synopsis

It is the night before Christmas on the Sarrk and the pirates are waiting for Sir Peggedy. A great piratey take on the Clement C. Moore Poem, The Night Before Christmas.

My Thoughts

This was such a fun book. Like his other book, A Pirate's Twelve Days of Christmas, Yates does a great job of planting you into pirate's life and becoming one of the crew.

I love the pirate jargon, and Sir Peggedy. I love how Yates is able to keep true to the original yet make it completely his own. Serra's unique fun style of illustrations add life and vibrancy to the tale.

This is a great, fun, Christmas book that is definitely going to be a classic in our house.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

from goodreads

5 stars

Have you ever felt that there are so many books and so little time? My to read list keeps growing and growing. With so many interesting books being published ever day, plus the books that are already published that I haven't discovered yet, it seems like I will never read everything that I would like.

This past year I made a list of books I would like to read. I only have two left on my list, so I made it through. While it was a good method to get some books done, it felt a bit constricting because there were some other books that caught my eye and I wasn't sure if I should go for those books or keep to the list. Thanks to some awesome reading months, where I got so much done, I was usually able to do both. But not always.

This year I have decided not to have a set reading list. Instead I have a list of suggestions where if I don't know what to read I can read something from that list. I'm not going to feel rushed to read those books but I will never be stuck with the question what to read next. I'll see how that goes.

Synopsis

Alice is a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard. She has built a successful career and is a sought out lecturer. But when words start to go missing and she gets lost in areas of town she knows very well, she knows something else is going on, early onset Alzheimer's.

My Thoughts

What a simple, elegant, breathtaking story. I ended up reading it in a day. I could not put it down.

I thought it refreshing to see the disease of Alzheimer's from the perspective of the patient. I think it illuminates many aspects and deficiencies in the support for patients and the differences in opinions, limited trials and slow diagnosis that sometimes occur.

I liked how it showed how those with Alzheimer's get frustrated too. While sometimes they don't remember and so things aren't a big deal, there are times when they are lucid and know that something is not right, or want to have a say but not sure how to say it. Yes, it is frustrating for the caregivers too, but sometimes when we give people labels it is easier to take away what little humanity and dignity they have left by just doing everything for them, even decision making.

I really loved seeing the different relationships in Alice's life. Her disease brought her closer to one daughter, and really, closer to her family in general, as she is realizing that family is the most important thing, not the accolades of the world.

The relationship with her husband was at times hard to watch. Here is a man, who's work is everything to him. Yes, he loves his wife and family, but he feels that his work in cancer research is what he needs to focus everything on. When he stops having time to run with her because of his lab I wanted to slap in on the head. Pass the torch man, there are times and places for things and it was sad, yet understandable how he was putting his work first and wife second as that was his way of dealing with the devastating prognosis.

While I'm sure there is poetic liscense and it might not be 100% accurate for what the patients with Alzheimer's think and feel, I think this is a great book to help get rid of the stigma of Alzheimer's, especially the early onset of it, and to increase our empathy for those living with it and those in their family.

The only drawback to the book is that now any memory slip or lost word I have makes me think I have early onset Alzheimer's. I am a lot more paranoid about it now. Maybe that is a good thing?

The Santa Trap by Jonathan Emmett Illustrated by Poly Bernatene

from goodreads

3 stars

Well... I am slowly starting to feel a bit more Christmassy. On the weekend we went to a nearby tree farm and got our Christmas tree. It looked way smaller in the field. In reality it takes up like half our living room. But, it makes me smile every time I see it. It is definitely worth the slight inconvenience if it does that.

It was the kids Christmas party at my husbands work on Saturday as well.  They always do such a great job. Miss P's dreams were fulfilled because she finally got to sit on Santa's knee. She has been talking about doing that for weeks. And, for the first year in a long time our family didn't make the cry wall! Now if that isn't an accomplishment I don't know what is.

Synopsis

Bradley Bartelby is bad and never likes the presents Santa leaves him, so he has come up with a plan.

My Thoughts

If I was rating this just on my own without thinking of how my children enjoyed it, it would only be a 2. My husband and children enjoyed it and chuckled, but I really did not enjoy this book.

I didn't like how the parents were spineless. I didn't like how Bradley really didn't seem to learn anything. I understood why Bradley built the Santa's Trap, but I felt he didn't learn from this experience and thus would not change his ways. That seems like a waste. To me it was a "what was the point" type book. I know that not all children's books have to have a logical point but it should still be fun, and for me it just wasn't.

I did like the drawings. I did like the elephant element. And I did like what happens at the end with the tigers. I could see the beginnings of Bradley humbling himself. But because the end didn't show real character change I just felt it was a let down.

Your kids will probably have fun with this book so it is worth stomaching it, but for the adult, unless you are like my husband, it will leave something lacking.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

from goodreads

4 stars

One of my book club friends is in a total reading slump. Even some of her go to authors haven't helped. How frustrating that must be.

I, on the other hand, seem to be on a reading high. Lately I have been reading some awesome books. The book I just finished yesterday I read in a day. I couldn't put it down. Poor Miss P probably felt neglected. Thank goodness for Peppa Pig compilations.

My fear now is that this high won't last and I will soon be in a slump! hopefully that won't happen, but you just never know.

Synopsis

Rose, a young American pilot, is caught by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbruck.

My Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While it is a companion/continuation of Code Name Verity, it could be its own stand alone book. You would not have to read Code Name Verity to understand the story.

I have read quite a lot about this time period and studied it in university. Yet, whenever I read a new book about this era it amazes me just how much more there was to WW II. It was all encompassing war and it seems that the Nazis were scattered in what they were trying to achieve. Instead of being focused on one way of achieving their goals they were spread all over the place trying tons of different things. I don't know if anyone could learn everything that went down back then in a life time. It overwhelms me.

Telling the story using "the rabbits" was an interesting angle. I know people know of the experimentation done in Auschwitz but I did not know about the experimentation in Ravensbruck. What horrible things to have happened to these women.

The cast of characters allowed for the portrayal of the various types of prisoners in the camps. Some of the situations or relationships were, perhaps, a bit contrived but it did allow for a broad overview of the camp and all the facets that went with it.  I would not call this the definitive work on Ravensbruck but it is definitely a great jumping off point to delve and gain an interest in this subject.

I like how this book was able to go beyond the war and showed the Nuremberg trials, and other tribunals, that went on to hold those people who did such gross things to humanity to account. That is one thing I think I would like to research more myself.

One character that I appreciated being included was Anna. She was a german prisoner who actually used to work at Ravensbruck and administered sedatives to the rabbits. Her character shows that there is a big grey area when it comes to the war. Some were all about inflicting pain and horror onto others. Some were merely trying to figure out how to survive themselves. Her character throws a wrench in the simplistic view of good and evil that is sometimes caste up on the German people when discussing this era of their history. It was not an all or nothing scenario.

Whenever I read stories like this, set in concentration camps, I always wonder to myself, what type of prisoner would I be? I would like to think I would be noble, and decent. But then, part of me things I might be like those prisoners who were kind of crazy and would grab food wherever they could and fight over a sock. For those who were able to keep part of their humanity I totally salute them.

This was a great and heart wrenching read. I think it was done very well. It was not over the top graphic, but it also didn't try to downplay the horrors. That is a balance that is hard to perfect, yet Wein did so. Definitely a must read.

The Twelve Days of Christmas in Canada by Ellen Warwick Illustrated by Kim Smith

from goodreads

3 stars

December 1st! I guess it is really time to get serious about Christmas. Usually by this time if I haven't bought things I have at least a list made up and some sort of plan. This year... not happening. It's not that I'm anti-Christmas or feeling particularly grinchy. I just haven't got my brain to the place of sugar plum fairies yet. I'm sure I'll get there, hopefully before December 24th.

What do you to help you get into the Christmas spirit?

Synopsis

Two children and their grandmother travel across Canada over twelve days.

My Thoughts

This book confused me. It's a picture book, but then it is also a travel guide to Canada. Though the pictures look like it should be a book for kids 4-8, it is more appropriate for 10-12.

For every day there is a lengthy letter telling all about what they did on that particular day. And then on the other page there is an added line to the song of The Twelve Days of Christmas. The letter is too long to hold little kids attention so we just looked at the pictures and sang the song. When I read it myself later the letters were full of fun and cool facts and made me excited to take a cross Canada tour. You can learn a lot. So, if you are reading it then I would totally change how you read it according to what kids you are reading it to.

This book celebrates all fun things Canada, but in a rather long winded way. While I think it is great I think it is missing its target audience, or at least is unsure of who the target audience is. Because of this confusion I don't think this book will be as loved as it should.