December and January Reading List

Well, as usual, the holiday and end of term testing whirlwind has kept me from talking to you about books in December and January.

I've had lots of time to read, as I spent hours in transit traveling and waiting for traveling to happen, so let's get on with the book reviews!

1. The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer-- This is a short story/novella that takes the "Lunar Chronicles" from the point of view of the moon wolves and the training they get.  As I love how the same story can be changed when you tell it from different points of view, I liked this little ditty.  It's very short and can be read in one sitting.  The story is from one of the guard wolves that eventually makes his way to Earth and shows up in the second book of the series.  You get a different look at what it is to be glamored and start to understand how war/soldier training can change a person into a (literal) animal.

2. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston--  If you like twists on Shakespeare, you will like this book.  The question this book asks is "what if fairies are real?" and then it goes on to ponder what if those fairies had given some story to Shakespeare to tell... "Midsummer Night's Dream" comes to life as one girl discovers that she was stolen from Fairie and is really a princess of the realm.  This is a great book for kids into fantasy and is at a middle school level.  There are more books in the series as well.

3. Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne--  This is a thriller about obsession and what people do in the name of love.  Set in high school, one girl is secretly glad when her abusive boy friend turns up dead in a car crash, but the book turns dark as she becomes the focus of a serial killer who is showing his love by killing those who have hurt her.  A very creepy story.  I give the writing a B-, but give the story plot an A for keeping me sucked in.

4. The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan-- At what point does art imitating life become life?  The dreaded English senior project "the Tragedy paper" was intended to make seniors think about what tragedy is, but the project becomes its own brand of tragedy after people start to end up in the hospital.  Told from a male voice, this high school coming of age story will make you wonder how much of life is changed by those assignments teachers give out.

5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman-- I had no idea this was a movie, but I can see why it would be.  In the vein of "Legend", that 80's movie where Tom Cruse runs around in a loin cloth, this book creates a world where dreams can come alive.  A star falls from the sky and turns into a woman.  A man makes a promise to bring back a fallen star, not knowing what he was getting into, and there is a missing heir to the throne mixed in as well.  Magic and wonder will keep you engaged in this book, and the writing is top notch as well.

6. A Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin--  To tell the truth, I've seen an episode or two of the HBO show and was not really that into this story.  I thought the show had too much T and A for me, but that can be said of most HBO shows. The books have been sitting on my Nook for nearly three years, and I ran out of things to read during a flight, so I opened this one.  It turns out I really enjoy the story and the writing.  Take nights, fair maidens and add a dash of zombies and you get this book.

And that is all she read for the months of December 2013 and January 2014... Over all, not too shabby if you ask me.

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