This book is another that I’ve recently picked up, my fifth this year. It is a book that follows a twin that is overshadowed by her sister, and scorned by her family. She’s a very interesting narrator that helps introduce you to the world. I really have been enjoying this book so far. It does take place in a universe that was established in the author’s previous works Seraphina and Shadow Scale but this book is actually able to introduce you to the universe without any difficulty. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to read a well-built fantasy universe with a strong female protagonist that has an equally strong and interesting personality.
Category: Book Update
The Loop Reading Update #5
The Loop, by Ben Oliver, takes place in the future where one man and the government control everything about people’s lives. The book follows a 16-year-old named Luka Kane who’s been wrongly imprisoned in a nightmarish prison, called the loop, where the prisoners are tested on horrible experiments, brutally tortured, and in solitude every day until they die. But shortly after being in the loop for two years, things begin to change, and the daily routine of the prisoners begins to change.
The group finds a way to escape from the loop by climbing the giant wall of their recess area. While trying to get down from the wall, one of the group members falls and breaks her ankle. This creates a conflict in the group as some people want to go find their family, while others want to help the injured friend and look for painkillers. Luka decides to go with the group that wants to help the injured friend to find painkillers. While looking for the painkillers Luka and his friends get split up as a group of Smilers, the people that are infected with this weird virus that turns them into murderous machines, chase them.
The book is amping up the action and it is getting very interesting now, I highly recommend it.
The Loop Reading Update
The Loop, by Ben Oliver, takes place in the future where 1 man and the government control everything about people’s lives and even the environment. The book follows a 16-year-old named Luka Kane who’s been wrongly imprisoned in a nightmarish prison where the prisoners are tested on horrible experiments, brutally tortured, and in solitude every day until they die. I just started the book and it is already very interesting.
The State of Fear By Michael Crichton Book Update #2
The State of Fear, written by the late Michael Crichton is a science fiction novel about the global warming crisis, only that a group of people is about to make it so much worse. As stated in the last update, people around the world have been gathering supplies for a destructive weapon, with many people being killed in the process. For instance, a seller in Vancouver declined a mysterious man’s offer to buy a submarine. Once the man left, he left his cellphone, in which the seller grabs it and tries to give it back to him, but is electrocuted and dies. A man named Peter is a lawyer for a millionaire named Morton who is involved with a company who is trying to save global warming. Morton won an award for his dedication to stopping global warming but then gets incredibly drunk. Once he had to get up for his speech he announced that he no longer supports his global warming push. After that rough speech, Morton speeds off drunk in his car and gets into a car crash and has either died or gone missing. This book has me very intrigued and I can’t wait what happens next.
Rebound Book Review
Rebound written by Kwam Alexander was a very good book. Charlie Bell is the main character and also the most complex. We see how he changes during the course of the book and we see many different sides when he goes to visit his grandparents. At the beginning of the book you need a little bit of patience but it picks up quickly. Charlie Bell has an internal conflict that relates to his external conflict, he’s going through a lot of changes in his life and demonstrated that with his actions. I would recommend this book to any reader but especially to people who are into basketball. We see how Charlie Bell found a love for basketball and connects a deeper bond with his grandparents but overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for anyone.
Solo – Reading update
Solo by Kwane Alexander has main character Blade Morrison in a tough spot. After his rock and roll star dad, Rutherford Morrison embraces Blade at his graduation as Blade was about to give a speech. This puts Blade in an already broken relationship with his dad. But during a party thrown by Blade’s older sister, Blade shuts down the party after it gets too crazy. His sister then in a fit of rage tells Blade that he’s actually adopted! Blade then is in search of his biological mother in Ghana, Africa. Before he leaves for Africa he tattoos his girlfriend’s name on his arm, only when he sees her one last time before his flight he catches her cheating on him with her ex. In shock he leaves in hopes of never coming back to Hollywood. The book is in the format of a series of poems that tie to the larger story. similar to Crossover, or Rebound (Also written by Kwane Alexander). The book is amazing and I highly recommend if you enjoy music.
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Reading Update #2)
So far I have seen a lot of Growth in Janie’s character. A lot in her live has drastically changed. From where we left off she started to realize the way she was treated by her husband was not love. He began to try and mask his own insecurities by trying to shine a light on hers. He would purposely try and put her down and make her feel small and helpless. But, then he began to get sick and tired. That didn’t stop him from continuing to shame her.
Eventually he got to the point where he was close to death. He was the Mayor of the town and a very powerful and authoritative man s this effected the town greatly. On his death bed Janie was able to confront him about the way he treated her and how he was the insecure one. I think this provided closure for Janie and overall made her more confident, reassured women.
After his death Janie was able to start living her best live. Her husband had restricted her from doing things that made her feel young and like her self. So she was able to start embracing those things about her. Eventually she met a new man who truly loves her and cared for her. They moved out of the town and Janie is now thriving and happier. Honestly I think the best thing for Janie might have been to be on her own for a little bit longer. But, I am happy that she is flourishing and growing as a character.
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Scheider
I am still reading The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Scheider. The main character, Ezra, is getting more and more complex as the story goes on and as he gets to know the new version of himself after his accident. The accident isn’t talked about much in the story, but I predict that more details are going to be uncovered because it seems to relate to multiple characters. Currently, Ezra and Cassidy are spending a lot of time together because they’re a couple, both within the same friend group, so Ezra is also doing a lot of activities with his new friend group. He is progressing on the debate team and overall just learning a lot of new things in general. He is finding a balance between who he is now and who he used to be through interactions with old friends, and socially accepting himself more. I think the author does a good job of keeping the story engaging because it keeps portraying Cassidy as a mysterious, new girl who has a lot going on for her that we don’t know about.
We Are Okay book update
In the book We Are Okay the main character, Marin, is going through a tough time losing the people she loves. This creates a problem where she isolates herself and goes through a time of sadness. The story goes through her past and her present which explains the decision she’s made. She is conflicted on if she wants to return to the past or continue to go on the path she is currently on.
Reading Update 1/20/23
Book: Daisy Jones & The Six
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid (Author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
Current page: 90
To start I’d like to say that the book Daisy Jones is an incredibly well put together novel. The Author, Reid, collected a wide variety of anecdotes and memories from the Six and Daisy Jones herself. Reid has organized these events in perfect order and spacing between perspectives. Daisy and the Six are incredibly relatable and honest to Reid. The way the so-called characters tell the stories makes it feel like you were right there with them in those memories. I fell in love with Daisy and Camilla right when they were introduced, and I think part of that is because Reid doesn’t cut out the dark and bad parts of their stories and let’s them exist as they were. Taylor Jenkins Reid has (so far, at least) done an amazing job bringing these people out of memories and turning their life into a fantasy, without any lies.
The Dragonfly Effect by Gordon Korman book update
The third book in the Hypnotists trilogy by Gordon Korman is sure to keep you reading, even without reading the first two novels. The plot centers around 12-year-old Jackson Opus, possibly the most mentally powerful being in the universe. Jackson possesses the ability of hypnotism, also known as mind-bending or mesmerism. He is the product of two of the greatest mesmeric bloodlines to ever exist, making him an almost invincible force. In the first and second books, Jax meets his archnemesis: his former teacher, Dr. Elias Mako. Mako is potentially more powerful than Jax, which is why he attempts to kill Jax in the first two books. But after he breaks out of the highest security prison in the U.S., Mako sets a different plan in motion. Not one to hurt Jax, but rather a sinister and twisted plot to take over the world. However, no one will be able to stop him, not even Jax, because no one will be paying attention. In conclusion, this is a solid book with a strong plotline and several twists that help keep you engaged and focused.
Book update- Secrets of eastcliff over the sea
I am about halfway through the book and my motivation to finish the book has increased and i have been enjoying the book more than from a few weeks ago. I’m glad that I took time to get further into the book to see if it would get more interesting. The characters in the book aren’t very complex but the most complex would probably be Throckmorton due to him being a sock monkey. The most recent conflict was between one of the characters getting sick for awhile and everyone else getting worried about them.
State of Fear by Michael Crichton Book Update
When starting Michael Crichton’s State of Fear, the reader is introduced to many people and many places in a short period of time. In the first chapter, there is a physicist who falls in love with a beautiful woman and shows her his work that he has made simulating waves and currents. Once she seduces him, strong men inject the physicist will a drug that slowly paralyzes him. The woman then dumps his limp body in a river, with him never to be seen again. Another chapter is shown to have people smuggling wire for missiles, with one of the smugglers being injected with the same sedative, which causes him to go limp and be killed. Additionally, there is another instance where two men buy a submarine and act very shady when purchasing it, creating suspicion among the sellers. There are many more instances like this at the beginning of the novel. While not making total sense at the moment, it seems everything is building up and coming together like a puzzle. With the acts of murder, theft, and the use of explosives, whatever comes next in the story must cause mass destruction to the world and humanity.
Their Eyes Were Watching God- Reading update
Their Eyes Were Watching god by Zora Neale Hurston is so far a really interesting book. The main character is a women named Janie living in the early 20th century. She was orphaned as a child so she was raised by her grandmother who had traditional idea’s. Janie has to deal with the struggles of not only being an orphan but being a African American women in a difficult time period.
So far I think Janie is having trouble finding her identity. So far a lot of her life has been controlled by someone. First, it was her grandma then two different men. It is hard for her to find her voice when she is in the shadow of powerful men. Especially considering the roles women are forced into specifically in this time period.
I’m looking forward to see how Janie will grow as a character. I’m also excited to see what part Janies husband will play. If he will end up supporting her or holding her back. So far I would recommend this book it is interesting and also a little challenging of a read.
One of Us is Lying- A book update
At the beginning of Karen M. Mcmanus’ novel One of Us is Lying, a group of students are in detention. These students are all in detention for the same reason. One student, in particular, is allergic to peanuts. This student’s name is Simon. Simon gets a cup and fills it with the faucet water offered in the classroom. Almost immediately, Simon hits the ground. He’s turning blue and is in an obvious state of distress. Simon ends up passing away and everyone is confused. How did peanut products end up in Simon’s water?
Book Update: Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Deep End
In Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Deep End by Jeff Kinney, Greg and his family have been living in his grandma’s basement because of the incident that happened with their house. And they are getting sick of it. Greg’s mom decides its time to go on a family trip. Using Greg’s uncle’s camper the Heffleys leave with high expectations but quickly they turn into problems.
Bound to happen.
The book It Ends With Us by Collen Hoover is already one of my favorites. The story starts while you are still curious and feels like you are just walking into the story. At first, I was confused, but as the story went on, I started to enjoy being able to make my own inferences about characters and upcoming stories. Ultimately this book is a love story- A girl finds a guy on the top of a rooftop and tells him every last ounce about her life. She finds out he is learning to be a neurosurgeon and is extremely wealthy- although he doesn’t say it. Not only did this help me learn about the character but it also helped build the story. While they are talking, the girl (Lily) tells the boy (Ryle) that she has dreams of opening an amazing flower shop. The story picks up 6 months later when she is handed the keys to her new shop. On the first day, some girl around Lily’s age walks into the store asking if she needs help with anything. One thing leads to another and Lily and her (Allysa) become best friends. After some hard work trying to transform the flower shop, Lily falls off a chair and hurts her ankle. Allysa calls her husband, but as he is too drunk to help, he hands the phone to Allysas brother who is apparently a doctor. When they walk in Lily can’t believe who is there.
Read me – REAMDE by Neal Stephenson
Yes, the typo is intentional. REAMDE by Neal Stephenson is a story that begins with a computer virus, but very quickly spirals out into a series of events much larger than any of the characters could have predicted. Richard, the creator of popular video game T’Rain, finds his greatest work terrorized by a group of Chinese hackers ransoming player’s data. Zulu and her boyfriend, Peter, find themselves in over their heads when Peter makes a stupid decision. Meanwhile, Russian gangsters who have also found themselves victims of REAMDE make their move to hunt down its maker.
Lord of the Flies update
In case you are unfamiliar, Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a classic novel that follows a group of British schoolchildren during world war 2, after their plane crashes onto an uninhabited island. At first they are all content to be without adults and have fun and live a productive life under the rule of charismatic leader Ralph. After many days on the island with no sign of rescue however, things take a turn for the worse for the boys as violent hunter Jack butts heads with Ralph, until eventually everything spirals down to a chaotic and bloody ending that teaches us a valuable lesson on how easily society can crumble, no matter how logical and and reasonable its leaders may be.
I am only about halfway through this novel, but it already has me hooked. I like seeing the contrast between Ralph and Jack, and how their society of young men slowly devolves into a rampage. This story has many valuable lessons and morals, which are tied together by Golding’s old fashioned yet still relevant writing style. Overall I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading an old yet highly enjoyable book.
Solo reading update
Kwame Alexander’s Solo reflects the life of Blade, son of Rutherford Morison, a washed up singer of a famous rock band. During Blade’s high school graduation, as he was supposed to perform an original song to his class, Rutherford crashes it drunk, ruining both his and Blade’s reputation. This coming of age story tells the story of Blade through the summer before he leaves Hollywood for college. The book is in a poetic style of writing. and the format is similar to other books like Crossover, Rebound, and Booked (other books made by Kwame Alexander). If you like music, as well as coming of age stories, I highly recommend it.
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