Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (Book Review)

Through the Ever Night

by Veronica Rossi

341 pages

Harper Collins, 2013

fiction/young adult

Read in 3 days

Another Review

My Rating: N/A 

Amazon.com / BN.com

"Aria was here."

Review: It's just not gripping me the way Under the Never Sky did. Then again, that book wasn't all that riveting to me either. I find this book to be lacking in story line so it's trying to make up for it with the love story which seems a bit forced to me. I'm trying to remember this is a young adult book so it doesn't necessarily have to have a stellar story to sell millions of copies. Unfortunately, I think my interest in the series will end with this book.

I think I would have liked it more if the relationship between Aria and Perry didn't exist. YES, I know they are the main characters and if not for their meeting in the first book there wouldn't be a need for a second and third book. However, the relationship Perry has with Cinder paralleled with the relationship Aria has with Roar, this book could actually have potential to survive. There is nothing wrong with the characters. In fact, I even like the bitchy ones because their reasoning for bad manners and terrible attitudes is understandable.

I will go back to this book and finish it, but at a much later date and time, when I feel I can give it the proper attention it deserves. Do not let my lack of interest in finishing the book at this time deter you from reading it. There is something here, I'm just not in the right frame of mind right now to pick up on it. I urge you to click on the link above for "Another Review" where I've come across a review that puts the book in a much better light and gives me hope that I will come to appreciate the book when next I pick it up.

Synopsis: It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.

Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.

Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at fi rst. Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?

Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night? In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and sci-fi elements to create a captivating adventure—and a love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

To learn more about Veronica Rossi, visit her site here.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (Book Review)

The Age of Miracles

by Karen Thompson Walker

269 pages

Random House, 2012

young adult/fiction

Read in 4 days

Another Review...

My Rating: ★★★★

Amazon.com | BN.com

"We didn't notice right away. We couldn't feel it."

Review: What amazing storytelling! In a nutshell, what would you do if to Earth suddenly started spinning at a much slower rate than it already does, thereby causing time to take longer to pass by? We all say how much we'd love to have more hours in the day. But, as this story proves, that is, until we actually get those hours. It starts off small, adding a half an hour at a time then continuing until this "slowing" begins to disrupt the lives of society.

This book is told through the point of view of a twelve year old girl living with her parents. She's having a hard enough time going through those changes young girls go through without throwing this phenomena into the mix! Not to mention the revolution that begins to take place among those who refuse to do as the government tells them which is to continue as usual. They go so far as to get heavy black curtains to block out the sun when it's a longer day than normal and get bright lights to put up when it's dark for a long time. Of course you can imagine what this does to the farming industry? Imagine taking every natural disaster you can think of in someones mind and watch everyone scatter to make underground shelters or buy up all the groceries they can. There are a few blackouts as well as a few make-out sessions that happen as the story progresses too. The cynicism is dripping in this book as well as the parallels of this unreal world with the one we are all really living.

Without telling too much of the story and possibly ruining certain parts for you, it's a book anyone can read. There are moments anyone can relate to or at least understand when it comes to Julia's (the main character) life and those around her. There are plenty of secrets as well as lessons learned here as well. I found it easy to follow and never got bored with it at all. The ending is wide open for perhaps a sequel?

Otherwise, there is sadness, death, and a lot of possible truth to what this world and those who inhabit it would be like if there was a constant fear of an impending end.

Summary: Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and change, the story of Julia and her family as they struggle to live in an extraordinary time. On an ordinary Saturday, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer, gravity is affected, the birds, the tides, human behavior and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world of danger and loss, Julia faces surprising developments in herself, and her personal world—divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by Hannah and other friends, the vulnerability of first love, a sense of isolation, and a rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking story of people finding ways to go on, in an ever-evolving world.

To learn more about Karen Thompson Walker, please visit her site here.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Book Revew)

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
by Rachel Joyce

320 pages

Random House, 2012

fiction

Read in 4 days

Another Review...

My Rating: ★★★★

Amazon.com | BN.com

"The letter that would change everything arrived on a Tuesday."

Review: What can I say about Harold Fry? He's an old man, but not as old as all that, who's recently retired, when he receives a letter from a co-worker he hasn't seen in several decades. Queenie is dying from cancer and she's writing to say her last good-bye.

This book had me from the very beginning. For me, it really starts when he decides to mail a response. The way this book is told from inside his head, his inner-most thoughts and ideas are fascinating and gripping. What lengths would any of us go to so a friend might live?

There are many moving moments in this story that sort of begins and ends with a girl who works in a garage (ie. a kind of convenience store) where Harold first makes the decision to walk from his home in Kingsbridge to Queenies Hospice located on the outskirts of Scotland. In all it's over 500 miles he's decided to walk. As long as he walks the whole way there it stands to reason that she will live until he gets there. It's what he believes from a story the young lady who works in the garage tells him. It's the beginning of a great many stories he's confided with on his journey. I'm reminded of the doctor who teaches him how to properly care for his feet since he insists on completing the journey in a pair of boat shoes. They are not aprapo footwear for a pilgrimage of any kind. Then there is the silver-haired gentleman who confides in him about his closet romance with another gentleman. There are so many different kinds of people Harold meets along the way it's fascinating to read.

Rachel has an uncanny way of answering questions the reader might have at the right moment that they might be thinking it. For instance, the notion that he would be walking for so long and no one ever taking his picture or his story never turning up on the news? Well, not only does that end up happening, but he's even tweeted about! This is a story that shows just how powerful a persons actions can be and just how personal their intent if they truly believe. Harold believed, which in turn made others believe in themselves enough to do unthinkable things. He does come across one or two with bad intents on their minds but the good people he encounters outweighs the others.

There is a lot of raw emotion and so much more to the story than a simple pilgrimage to visit a dying friend. At first you might think it odd that he should journey so far for a woman he hadn't heard from in over 20 years but as his journey continues so does the truth about his life and how the choices he made put him where he was at that moment, walking.

So I ask, how many of us would talk 500 miles if it meant a dying friend would live a little longer? I won't spoil the ending except to say, expect tears of joy and of sorrow. I would expect nothing less from an excellent book.

Summary: Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning a letter arrives, addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl, from a woman he hasn’t heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. But before Harold mails off a quick reply, a chance encounter convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. In his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold Fry embarks on an urgent quest. Determined to walk six hundred miles to the hospice, Harold believes that as long as he walks, Queenie will live. A novel of charm, humor, and profound insight into the thoughts and feelings we all bury deep within our hearts, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry introduces Rachel Joyce as a wise—and utterly irresistible—storyteller.

If you want to learn more about Rachel Joyce, please visit her site.

The Pigman by Paul Zindel (Book Review)

The Pigman

By Paul Zindel

166 pages

Harper Trophy, 1968

Young Adult literature

Finished in 2 days

Another Review...

My Rating: ★★★★

Amazon.com | BN.com

"Now, I don't like school, which you might say is one of the factors that got us involved with this old guy we nicknamed the Pigman."
My Review: I remember when I was a pre-teen and I would call my grandmother a few times a week and read to her. She didn't care what I read really, I think she just loved how much I loved to read. I figured that out when one Christmas she gave me Sue Grafton's A-P series in one shot! But I'm straying off the subject. I mention this memory of mine because every time I read The Pigman I am reminded of the time I read it to her over the phone. I miss her very much which is probably why I jumped at the chance to read it right away.

This story is a sad one but it speaks to the heart of anyone who reads it. The idea of writing a story where two completely different personalities (Lorraine and John, the main characters) take turns writing a chapter, telling the story of how the Angelo Pignatti changed their lives forever, I would imagine, is not as easy as it sounds. You have the level headed female who happens to be friends with the stubborn, yet handsome, male. They are teenagers which is a difficult age as it is, who happen to have difficult home lives already. It is because of these difficult home lives that they instantly become attached to the Pigman. He could easily have been a grandfather figure for them but he wasn't. Instead, he was more the father and mother John wish he had and the mother Lorraine needed as well. And although both of them lied to get into his life in hopes of using his kindness for their favor, they quickly realize just having an adult around who truly loved them and never put them down or hindered their individuality was all they ever truly wanted.

This book is truly a timeless classic anyone at any age can read. I would recommend it as required reading in school where parents should read it with their child(ren). Their is humor, seriousness, and truth hidden in every page.

Synopsis: A Most Unusual Friendship

When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they had no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man; it wasn't long before they were more comfortable in his house than their own. But now Mr. Pignati is dead. And for John and Lorraine, the only way to find peace is to write down their friend's story — the story of the Pigman.