Don't Make the Obvious Joke, Part II

I just finished books two and three of the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer.  An Unwelcome Quest and Spell or High Water were the follow up novels to Off to Be the Wizard.

Spell or High Water was.... well, I guess it was necessary to the third book, but I'm going to be completely honest, I HATED this book.  It was so annoying, and the whole premise of the book was that you can't change the future, which, for me, completely made the rest of the book so pointless.  The heroes of the first book Martin and Phillip are invited to visit Atlantis, where they uncover a murder plot to kill one of the leaders of Atlantis.  I won't tell you any more, but I will say that if you are planning on reading the series, you'll need this one to understand what's going on in the third one.

An Unwelcome Quest was waaaayyyyyy better than the previous one!  This book didn't have as much of the humor as the first book, but was still very enjoyable.  If you've ever played a video game, this book is for you.  Most of the wizards of medieval England get pulled into a video game world by their arch nemesis and stripped of their powers.  The jokes and jibes about video games and how silly they can be made this book very enjoyable, and the wizards attitudes made it hilarious and relate-able.  Meyer definitely left it open for a fourth book in the series.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there is one.  This book definitely redeemed the second one!

Again, this series is recommended for any and all geeks, dorks, and nerds.  Go forth and read!

See the review for Off to Be the Wizard here!

Reconstructing Amelia

I just finished Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight.  This was a book billed as an "if you liked Gone Girl..." sort of book.  While I can't say I liked Gone Girl, it was definitely a book I couldn't put down, so I thought I'd try this one.

Whew.  Let me tell you, there is not an ounce of fun in this book.  I couldn't even think of anything related to this book for a catchy title of the review, because there are very very few "light" moments.  

Having said that, I devoured this book.  Read it in less than 24 hours.  I just had to know what happened.  The premise of the book is Kate's overachieving daughter Amelia is caught cheating at her premier private school.  Kate is told she needs to come pick Amelia up because she's been suspended, but by the time Kate arrives, the school is a crime scene.  Kate is told that Amelia killed herself.  Weeks later, Kate receives a text that tells her Amelia didn't kill herself.  The rest of the book is Kate trying to figure out what really happened.

This book was good.  Not great, but good.  It's definitely a heart-string puller.  There were multiple times when I teared up.  I think the best parts of this book were the moments when Kate was grieving.  They were the few "real" moments in a book full of the superficial.

There were a lot of loose ends that I wish had been tied up, and one of the big twists felt forced to me, but overall I enjoyed the book.  I would definitely recommend that you read it, but I would also recommend that you don't open it with your expectations too high.

Series Sunday- Kate Burkholder

For our first Series Sunday review, I'm going with the Kate Burkholder series.  Now, in order for me to consider it a series, I'm going with a set of at least five or more books.  This series has seven books currently, but as far as I know, the author is still writing!  

The Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo starts with Sworn to Silence.  I always like to know where to start!  These books are definitely not my norm, since I'm not big on mysteries or crime novels, but for some reason, they hooked me!

I got the sixth book, The Dead Will Tell in a prize basket and read it without having any idea that this was a series at all. I didn't think I'd like it, but it was one of those things where I told myself I'd read the first fifty pages and then three hours later I was halfway through the book and loving it.

Ok, so, basics: adult fiction, mystery, series.  

The books follow Kate Burkholder, a small-town police chief, as she investigates some really, really messed-up crimes.  She is formerly Amish, which is a big part of the books.

These books are not for the faint-hearted.  The crime descriptions are gruesome and graphic.  I'm the kind of person who gets nightmares easily, and these were definitely nightmare fodder.  Still, I couldn't put them down.

Now, I do have to put a disclaimer here...I've only read the first, second, and sixth books!  So I beg your pardon if, for some crazy reason, the other four books suck!  (I doubt they do!)

I reallllllly want to talk about these books with someone, so if you go read them, let me know!  Lots of things I want to discuss!

Happy reading!

Don't Make the Obvious Joke

I just finished reading Off To Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer.

Basics: adult science fiction, (although, there is nothing in this book that wouldn't be appropriate for older kids or teens, provided their fandom knowledge is up to par) freaking hilarious.

More interesting:  DON'T READ THIS BOOK IN PUBLIC!!!!!!   You will be committed for laughing like a crazy person.  This book was a riot.  I will say, your geek level will greatly influence how amusing this book is.  If you're a giant geek like me, you will find the scattered and very subtle references to all sorts of fun tidbits like Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Game of Thrones delightful.

I had so much fun reading this book.  It follows Martin, a twenty-something single guy who discovers that...well, essentially, we are actually all part of the matrix.  Not The Matrix, but just a matrix, I guess.  He learns how to manipulate it, screws up, as twenty-something guys tend to do, and winds up traveling to medieval England to become a wizard.

I won't tell you any more, just read it, in private or around people who won't think you've lost it when you're wiping tears of laughter from your face.

There are, as far as I can tell, two more books after this one.  I'm planning on ordering them from my local bookstore tomorrow, and they will definitely move up to the front of my to-read list as soon as they get here.

Enjoy!!!

P.S.  You will have to read the book to get the hidden joke in today's blog title!

All Gorg Are Left-Handed

For my very first book review here, I'll be reviewing The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex.

Just a few basics for you: this is juvenile fiction, science fiction, and what the movie "Home" was based on.

Now that that's over, let me just tell you, this book is amazing!  Definitely the best children's book I read this year.  It is laugh-out-loud funny.  Seriously, it's one that if you read in public, you're going to have people looking at you funny.

The story follows Tip, a half-black, half-Italian girl, her cat, Pig, and a rouge Boov, J.Lo as they navigate the country to find Tip's mom.  The story is told in the form of Tip writing an essay on "The True Meaning of Smekday" for her eighth grade English class.  Having Tip as the narrator is genius!  Her sassy pre-teen voice gives the book a ton of humor and makes it very relate-able.

Her essays are broken up by teacher feedback and some very graphic-novel-like sequences from J.Lo himself, to help explain the Boov to Tip and to the readers at large.

I read this book just because I like to read the book versions of movies, but after reading it, I can't wait to use it in my classroom!  It will be my first read-aloud to my students this fall, and I plan on pulling it out again and again to teach voice, figurative language, word choice, and character development.  I wish I had the book here with me to give you some examples of all of the above, but I loaned it out already, and there's a waiting list for my copy, so you'll just have to go find your own at the nearest library or bookstore.  (Honestly, you may as well just buy it.  You're gonna love it!)

I would recommend this book for anyone over the age of about nine.  Tip does say "God" as a curse word a few times, and I think maybe "crap" once, but, because she is a good girl, she apologizes every time.  :)

There is a sequel to this book that is on my current "to-read" list called Smek for President!  As soon as I read it, I'll let you know how it goes!