Birthday Book Haul

Hello!

So twice a year I allow myself to place a large order of books. The first is during June right after my birthday. So last Wednesday I placed an order and they have been slowly trickling in. Today I'll show you what I've gotten this week and then I'll update you when the rest come in.

Here we have Attachments, The Book of Unknown Americans, Redeployment, The Joy Luck Club, Elephant Company, The Children Act, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Euphoria, The Thirteenth Tale, Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Fight Club, and Horrorstor.  All of these were part of Barnes and Nobles 2 for $20 summer reading book promotion. ( Go check it out)

Clearly this is The Heir the fourth book in The Selection series.  The first three are still on their way.

Finally, March, The Strange Library, The Martian (which I'm reading now), I Am Malala, The Rosie Project, and The Clan of the Cave Bears

Lots of books to read and review. But since I read faster than I post reviews it may take a while for you to see these. If you think I should post more reviews a week leave a comment down below and let me know how often.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

One Final Night

Hello there!

This week my review is on One Final Night by Wendy L. Young.

Mel and Paul, like many modern couples, seem to have it all. But beneath the thin veneer of a successful, happy life trouble has eaten away the once-strong foundation of their relationship. It all comes crashing out in one final, fateful - and shocking - night.

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Seventh Son

This was a fairly short book BUT it was actually really good. Young did fantastic work in under 100 pages that some authors can't get done in 300. For the short amount of pages she had it was great.  I did not expect the ending. Although I guess in a short story there are less pages to give away too much information. This book still haunts me. It was a little cliche but most books are, I'm happier that there was an element of surprise. Everything is realistic: characters, dialogue, situation. If you are looking for a quick, good read I highly recommend this book. It gave me chills and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

Paper Towns

Hey there!

Obviously I am on a John Green kick because my book review this week is for Paper Towns.

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew. 

These characters are pretty much the same. In fact the stories are all very similar just in different settings. Although this book makes a great palette cleanser. It's less of an emotional roller coaster than his other books, which is nice for a change. This book addresses high school cliques but not in a normal way.  It's like a high school coming together. The beginning of the book was great, mysterious and suspenseful. The second part just kept repeating itself and somewhat anti-climatic. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie 

The Bell Jar

Hello there!

This week's review is of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under -- maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.

I can see why this book is a classic. This book takes you into the downward of depression and leaves nothing out. As a victim of anxiety I could totally relate to some pieces of this story. Plath touches on subjects that not many authors (especially at that time) will touch and she does a fantastic. You can definitely feel a piece of Sylvia Plath's soul in this book. It was so raw and emotional. There are not enough words to describe how great this book is. I gave it a 5 out of 5 stars.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

Looking for Alaska

Hey everyone!

This week's review is on Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

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I have to say Green really likes his metaphors. He always sneaks in metaphors. I read this book because I needed an ugly crying book and I knew Green could deliver. It was a really good book though. It was somewhat predictable. Pudge kept not-so-subtly foreshadowing and basically gave everything away before it happened. It is definitely written for teens. Although I enjoyed it as an adult but I would probably have enjoyed it more as a teen. He manages once again to hit you in the feels. There's a lot of smoking, sex, and drinking. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Hello, hello, hello from Disney,

Today my review is on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

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This was a charming little book. It was funny and whimsical. It was such a quick read. It's actually quite genius. Everything we do will eventually be erased because Earth will be no more. Not so much the aliens. It's almost like before climate change was a thing Adams knew that it was coming. If you want a light read this is the book for you. There is a lot of clever commentary on humans. And it's a classic! A book you have to read at least once. At first it's a little confusing but then things clear up. It's just a ridiculous kind of book. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Seventh Son

Hey everyone,

This week's review is The Seventh Son by Joseph Delaney which is the first and second book of the Last Apprentice  series.

Only the Spook has the knowledge and skill to face ghosts, bind witches, and bargain with boggarts. Now he needs an apprentice—Tom Ward, who is the seventh son of a seventh son. Other apprentices have come before. All have failed, or fled, or died. Will Tom learn what they could not? Can he trust anyone, even his one true love? He will find out—and soon, for the dark is getting powerful, and the Spook's time has come. Will Tom survive to carry on his master's battle? Will he be the Last Apprentice?

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Seventh Son

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It wasn't what I expected at all. I thought it was going to be some silly imaginary war story. Kind of like a bad Lord of the Rings. It was actually nothing like that, at least in the first two books. It was kind of spooky and they fight off different types of evils. I quite enjoyed it. It was simply worded so it would be great for a younger child. It really goes into depths about different creatures out there. Some situations seem impossible to get out of but they always manage it like in most books. This book really shows evil comes in all forms. The main character is strong but an outcast and kind of a jerk. So we don't have a perfect protagonist. (yay!) And finally no romance story line! How often does that happen? Rarely! There is a lot of gore and specifics of rituals though. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie