Believe Me

Hey everybody!

Next up is the book Believe Me by Nina Killham.

Thirteen-year-old Nic Delano has a lot of questions. Like why does he have a babysitter at his age-and where did she get such long legs? But mostly, what exactly is the meaning of life? His mother, Lucy, an astrophysicist and atheist, has always encouraged Nic to ask questions. But lately she doesn?t like the answers he?s getting. Nic has been hanging out with a group of devout Christians and is starting to embrace the Bible?and a very different view of the heavens. But when unexpected tragedy strikes, Nic and Lucy?s beliefs are truly to put to the test. And they need each other now more than ever. But will a mother and her son be able to find a common ground where faith meets understanding and love is, ultimately, what endures?

I definitely judged this book by its cover. Not going to lie. Also, the title caught my attention. So this was written in the point of view of a 14 year old boy but it's meant to be an adult novel. It had the simplicity of a teenager's writing and it was all over the place. Maybe that's why the book didn't go deeply into the topics it was supposed to. The characters never really developed, although at first they were interesting overall they were flat. It was very superficial. And the big tragedy? Happens at in the last 50 pages. Definitely not enough time to resolve the issue at hand. it just kind of ends...okay? I thought maybe there would be this big point that made the book worth reading. It's like the adult version of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. The concept was a good one and had a lot of potential but Killham didn't follow through. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

P.S. This was a book for my separate 2015 reading challenge, fulfilling the "A book based entirely on it's cover"

Modern Fairy Tales

Hello there,

We've talked a lot about fairy tales. My question is:

What fairy tales do you like to see modernized and why? Also, what new fairy tales should I check out?

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Hey everyone!

Next up is The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Russell Brand, yes Russell Brand wrote a children's book...I think.

Well I don't think I would ever read this to a child. The whole time I was thinking, "What the heck am I reading?" I'm sure most of you know the story of the Pied Piper and this I guess is the same thing...just really weird. As an adult it was an amusing read. As I was reading I found it jumped around so much I thought I was missing pages because it didn't follow through and it was very unfocused. The seemingly main character, Sam, really shows up about five times and he really isn't necessary for the story. I don't even know why he was there. Brand really forced the morals but never explained them. After mentioning something of importance once he just left it. This is definitely something that would come out of Russel Brand's mouth. Maybe he should stick to writing about himself. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

P.S. This book was read in order to fulfill the "A book you can finish in a day" category in my 2015 book challenge.

New Year, New Challenges

Hey everyone!

So I was so backed up with reviews that I'm finally starting to review books that I started in January. That being said I also made my Goodreads goal.

Last year I surpassed my goal of 60 and ended with 69. This year I made my goal 70.

On Pinterest I found a 2015 reading challenge. That I will keep you updated on at the very bottom of each post. Here is the challenge:

I hope you'll follow along.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

77 Shadow Street and The Moonlit Mind

Hey there!

In this post you get a two for one review. The main book is 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz. The prequel to this is The Moonlit Mind .

77 Shadow Street

The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill at the highest point of an old heartland city, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon’s dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents—among them a successful songwriter and her young son, a disgraced ex-senator, a widowed attorney, and a driven money manager—the Pendleton’s magnificent quarters are a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten. But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton’s past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. Soon, all those within its boundaries will be engulfed by a dark tide from which few have escaped.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I think because there was so much hype surrounding it and its own cool website I was really excited and wanted to love it. But then I dove into the world of the Pendleton and didn't feel that way. This is a book that deals with a lot of supernatural creatures and Koontz just failed at describing them. I couldn't imagine half of the stuff he was talking about because the descriptions were so jumbled. I also was unaware of the timeline. I think it took place in 24 hours? But all of that was unclear, how long did they have to live in that miserable situation. There were just too many stories. How the heck was I supposed to keep up with all those people? And some of them just seemed to be thrown in there and have no purpose in the story. This had a lot of traits of Koontz's other books. Overall, it just felt unfinished and in the end Koontz seemed to just want to end the book. This book felt like it could have had so much potential. I gave it 3 out of 4 stars.

The Moonlit Mind (I believe this is a Kindle exclusive)

Twelve-year-old Crispin has lived on the streets since he was nine—with only his wits and his daring to sustain him, and only his silent dog, Harley, to call his friend. He is always on the move, never lingering in any one place long enough to risk being discovered. Still, there are certain places he returns to. In the midst of the tumultuous city, they are havens of solitude: like the hushed environs of St. Mary Salome Cemetery, a place where Crispin can feel at peace—safe, at least for a while, from the fearsome memories that plague him . . . and seep into his darkest nightmares. But not only his dreams are haunted. The city he roams with Harley has secrets and mysteries, things unexplainable and maybe unimaginable. Crispin has seen ghosts in the dead of night, and sensed dimensions beyond reason in broad daylight. Hints of things disturbing and strange nibble at the edges of his existence, even as dangers wholly natural and earthbound cast their shadows across his path. Alone, drifting, and scavenging to survive is no life for a boy. But the life Crispin has left behind, and is still running scared from, is an unspeakable alternative . . . that may yet catch up with him.

I liked this a lot better than 77 Shadow Street. The two really have nothing to do with one another accept that they are across the street from each other. It was simple and the plot was kind of creepy and whimsical. There were real people and not made up creatures I couldn't picture. There was some great symbolism in it specifically the moon. The one issue I had was that Koontz sets up some great symbols for the reader to figure out and then he ruins it by spelling it out for the reader. At times he left nothing to the imagination of the reader. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was drastically better than its later counterpart.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure

Hello!

At the beginning of the week I reviewed The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Now naturally I have to review The Scorch Trials  and The Death Cure. I'll do as I have done before where I don't provide a summary and just give you a quick review.

The second installment in the series was definitely more action packed. This was probably my favorite book of the series. There is a lot more scenery in this book and the characters are better developed. Oh and the feels in this book! I had so many emotions I didn't know what to do with myself! There was a lot of sleeping and passing out on Thomas's part... a lot. Dashner again kept a lot from the reader for a good majority of the book and I found myself getting frustrated that I couldn't know, I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

I lost faith. This book was like the typical third book in a series like this. It was good but it's been done. Also, so much was left without explanation. I guess that's what the prequel is for. I'm still so confused not a great way to end a series. This book was a lot of back and forth, who's good, who's bad, they're here, now they're back to point A. And why? I'm not sure. This book lost a lot. It could have been great and it kind of failed. There was a lot of action and twists and turns but the end just left me hanging. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars,

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Maze Runner

Hey everyone!

Next up on the list is The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

This book starts off a little slow. But then it sure does pick up and after that I couldn't put the series down. It was definitely a unique dystopian teen sci-fi book other than the whole concept of "Big Brother". Dashner really created his own world in this book. He creates slang words that the Gladers use which is sort of unique to this book. Only a few characters really had personality, the rest were completely lacking. It also doesn't help no one has their memories so personality is almost impossible. The reader goes into this book with absolutely no information but his name and it takes a REALLY long time before we find out anything. It also did seem like a big video game but don't all of these types of books. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Lone Wolf

Hello, hello, hello,

Next up is Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.

Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara. With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Angels and Demons
R
M
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Doctor Sleep
I Am Legend
Lone Wolf
L
Once Upon a Prince
Superman on the Couch

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. I would say this wasn't one of my favorites by her. I read this while I was taking an Animal Behavior class and it brought in a lot of information but there was a lot anthropomorphising. Halfway through the book she added another voice. And there were a lot of events that happened that really had very little significance. One thing Picoult did well was show the separation and coming together of family. The big "bomb" that Picoult drops at the end of every book was really not that big of a deal. There were a lot of twists and turns in the book The ending overall was incredible. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie