Pirates and cowboys and dogs, oh my!
Here it is: the review dump from the past month. I ordered a ridiculous amount of books off Thriftbooks, then I wandered into Barnes & Noble with the intention of merely browsing...but I am weak.
Paper Towns by John Green
Another John Green book. Why do I keep doing this to myself? As I mentioned in my review of The Fault in Our Stars, he's a fantastic writer. I kept wanting to love this book, but the characters were so crude and disrespectful that I couldn't make myself like them. Every scene had at least one disgusting joke or comment that left a bad taste in my mouth. Additionally, the ending was weird and anticlimatic. So again--I really wanted to love the book. But I didn't, and I wouldn't recommend it.
The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer
I read this book several years ago when someone lent it to me, and I found it recently for super cheap at BAM. The Time Travelers (formerly Gideon the Cutpurse) is about two kids who accidentally take a time machine back to 1763. There they meet a resourceful ally named Gideon, and the dreaded Tar Man. Great book about time travel, definitely for more of an 11+ reading level because of the historical violence (hangings, ect.). At one point, Kate explains to a historical figure that Charles Darwin proved that humans came from monkeys. In one scene, a prostitute walks up and flirts with one of their companions, but it's not explicit; it never even actually says that she's a prostitute.
The Time Travelers is the first book in the Gideon Trilogy. I have the next two books, but I haven't gotten around to rereading them yet. More reviews to come!
The Last of the Lost Boys by N.D. Wilson
I read this one on my way to Scotland. Which meant, sadly, that our little brother had to wait two weeks to have it. He proceeded to read it in two days and suffer, for the first time, the experience of all readers who have followed a series as each book is published. MANY TEARS. In short--the final Sam Miracle book was amazing. It's definitely not for the faint of heart as far as violence and blood are concerned, and the time travel makes my head spin--but it was wonderful.
Read the series. Read The Last of the Lost Boys. Then write N.D. Wilson and tell him to finish the fourth Ashtown Burials book.
Death by Living by N.D. Wilson
This was what I listened to throughout plane flight after plane flight, layovers in airports, and evenings of wishing the sun would set already ("It's 10:00 PM, for heaven's sake!"). Get it on Audible, and it's read by N.D. Wilson himself. The best way I can describe Death by Living is sarcastic, brutal poetry. N.D. Wilson's meditations on life and Creation are heartwarming and heart-stopping, uncomfortable and satisfying. Want to hear Atheists and the "pro-choice" movement brutally called out? Want to hear about life and death and every moment of failure and victory in between? Read Death by Living.
N.D. Wilson is Protestant, but his ideas are very Catholic. There are only two or three things he says that I disagree with, most of which are said out of ignorance of Catholicism. Overall, however, it's a great read--or listen.
The Ever Breath by Julianna Baggott
Julianna Baggott is actually Catholic, and she lived in Tallahassee for several years. Which is funny, because we've been fans of her The Anybodies series (written under the pseudonym N.E. Bode) since we were young, and we didn't even realize we lived in the same area as one of our favorite authors. I emailed her a few months ago to express my love for her books and ask for writing advice and...uh...she wrote back...
But, like...no big deal.
Anyway. I've been reading a lot of her stuff. The Ever Breath was great--really adorable, and written along the lines of and for a similar audience as The Slippery Map and The Anybodies.
Pure by Julianna Baggott
Pure is the first in a post-apocalyptic Young Adult trilogy. I would definitely give this one to a 14+ audience, for the violence and intensity and mildly mature content. It's hard to find really unique post-apocalyptic YA these days, but Pure impressed me. I'll definitely be hunting down the rest of the series!
UPDATE: yeah...the last book goes a bit downhill with ambiguous morals and a sex scene. Wouldn't recommend for younger kids.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
This one was so much fun! The origin story of Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook and Never Land is just as magical as the original. I have several of the books in the series, which I'll review once I get to them. I'd recommend this book for 11+, just because of some mild violence. There's also a passing suggestion that there's something going on between this woman and a sailor, but it would go over the head of a younger kid. My little brother absolutely loved Peter and the Starcatchers.
The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall
SOB.
It was good, you guys. It was REALLY GOOD.
That's all. Nerd #1 is going to write a more comprehensive review of this heartwrenchingly amazing book really soon.
