Heartwarming science fiction book that is more about the characters than the sci-fi aspect.
-Jen, 5/5 stars
It was recommended to me and while I chose another sci fi title I just never could finish it but I started this and enjoyed it. It's an interesting world Becky Chambers built and following the crew of the Wayfarer was a great way to explore it. I'm not sure if I'll finish this series but I can definitely recommend it to others.
- Sarah, 3/5
I really enjoyed this book. It was really weird towards the end, but kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time!
-Ali, 4/5 stars
This was a good story that followed Joseph from the time he was a young boy until at least his 60’s. It had a few twists and turns and he certainly had an interesting life. He had a bit of a rough childhood and even rougher young adulthood. Just when you think things can’t get worse, well I don’t want to spoil it for you.
-Beth, 4/5 stars
The protagonist gets on a bus that leads from hell (or purgatory or earth?) to heaven, where he has to decide if he can give up (or divorce) everything in the past so he can enter into heaven. Intriguing, with some great insights. Still, not among my favorites of the works of C.S. Lewis.
-Marie, 3/5 stars
This was sort of a Frankenstein retelling except while Victor is creating his "monster," his sister Angelika is trying to create her soulmate. The book held my interest, but Victor never finds his creation to be an abomination and Adam (aka "the monster") never seems to seek revenge on Victor or kill anyone. The book was more of a romance than I was expecting considering it is a retelling of a horror novel, though, given the title and author I should have put 2 and 2 together,
-Jenny, 3/5 stars
The whole series is great for anyone who likes light mysteries set in 19th century England. It’s fun and well-written with an engaging female protagonist.
-Kara, 4/5 stars
Great pregnancy book that explores traditional rules of pregnancy by exploring data and studies.
- Alli, 5/5
The main character is shooting a documentary to promote tourism in Alaska, but the locals of Moose Springs are not cooperative. As a result, the crew decides to film themselves climbing a mountain which requires the help of a local guide and lots of cold weather camping. Romance ensues and a few near-death experiences are thrown into the mix. Overall a fun, light-hearted read.
- Jenny, 5/5
I like stories about very different characters who come together in surprising ways. The individual characters were well developed and interesting, and showed how people coming from very different experiences can have different but equally valid perspectives on things. But the way their stories all intersected was too contrived and far fetched to be realistic so it kind of took me out of the story.
- Kara, 4/5
411 B.C. seems like an interesting time to visit. A nice short read that shows the power of women joining under a single banner and thus ending a war.
- Kai, 4/5
This book is a dense read. It was interesting reading about Vincent Van Gogh's struggle through life interspersed with prints of his works, but there were a lot of times I was saying 'Vincent No...' while reading.
- Kai, 3/5
Three out of the four peoples' stories had me tearing up, if not crying outright. Well written and the stories flow together seamlessly, I really enjoyed it.
- Kai, 4/5
This shifted point of views between the 3 main characters. They were once best friends but had drifted apart when they see each other outside the school they decide to ditch, and things quickly get out of hand. They discover the body of a classmate and quickly flee the scene but soon find themselves trying to figure out who did it.
- Jenny, 4/5
It's set in the 1920's Paris art world and includes several famous artists and writers as characters. The book evoked a lot of detail about Paris and important artists in the early 20th century. The plot was fast-paced with romance, con games, a murder mystery and some interesting details about the art movements of the time. But I thought the author took too many liberties changing around the historical facts to suit her story.
- Kara, 3/5
The main character decides to take the sailing trip of the Caribbean her finance was planning for them before he committed suicide. She wants to sail away from her grief but quickly realizes she can't make the trip alone and enlist the help of an Irishman with a prosthetic leg. Throughout the trip Anna learns how to live again.
- Jenny, 3/5
This is not a light-hearted book. It's about swimmers in an underground pool, one of whom is a lady named Alice. One day, a crack in the bottom of the pool appears, disrupting the routine of the swimmers, and then the crack spreads. The cause can't be found, so it can't be fixed, and the decision is made to close the pool. The lives of everyone connected to the pool are changed forever. It's a metaphor for what is happening to Alice, who is slowly disappearing into dementia. Sad read.
- Marie, 3/5
This book is a guilty pleasure because the premise was suspect (time travel to change history and science fiction isn't my thing), but since I'm in the midst of an Austen craze, I figured, what the heck. I'm glad I picked this book up because it gave great insight into the world Jane Austen lived in with lots of details about the social order of the day, and also what a day in the life of Jane Austen would have looked like. There was also some discussion of scientific progress and the morality of time travel. Thoughtful, yet romantic. Loved the ending.
- Marie, 4/5
I received an advance e-galley of this book which will not be released until September. The humans living on the ledge are essentially imprisoned there by the Glacian king and his royal subjects. The humans battle the cold and each other for scarce resources while also being fearing the day they will be selected for human sacrifice by the Glacians. The chosen ones are never seen or heard from again leaving the people of the ledge to expect the worst. When Dawsyn is finally selected however, she finds herself on a quest to free her people from their icy prison and the winged creatures who have been keeping them prisoner.
- Jenny, 5/5
I hope this fits the challenge. The whole book is not on the boat. So fingers crossed u think it fits. I find the Titanic a very interesting topic and if you share that interest I think you would enjoy this book. Really tells the tale of the very young Madeleine Force who falls in love and marries the much older and very rich John Astor. Love this time period and it is very much a romance story.
- Beth, 4/5
It's based on the idea that technology has been developed that lets people erase memories. In the book technology exists that allows people to erase unpleasant memories. Several people who had this done then have to decide whether they want to recover those memories. I thought the author did a really good job of developing several different characters who take different approaches to this question, and have their stories intersect in interesting ways. It really does make you think about whether you would want to have your painful memories erased, or if they are too much a part of what makes you, you. Similar to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but more about the farther reaching consequences memory erasing might have in society.
- Kara, 4/5
The first half of this book was really slow and I thought about giving up on it a couple of times, but the ending was pretty good. I didn't like the characters, but once the story picked up a bit I was intrigued.
- Ali, 3/5
I've really been enjoying novels written in prose -- and this one tells the story from a number of points of views. This is an excellent book to read for all -- it was tough when it comes to describing the experience of the African men and women brought over on the Clotilda but it was an important piece of history to explore.
- Sarah, 3/5
I chose this book because it had a yellow cover but also for the cat story. Very enjoyable light mystery/comedy with very cute and very smart cats, and a trip to Scotland. I recommend it heartily.
- Marie, 4/5
The 3 boys in this book are lifeguards for the summer but one fateful night they come speeding home on their bikes from their favorite swimming hole to reveal something bad has come to pass. The POV switches between the 3 mothers as they do what they can to protect their children and question the friendships they have cultivated over the past 15 years. This book was intriguing and you could never be sure of anyone's motives but I wasn't a big fan of the ending which didn't wrap everything up neatly and instead left several unanswered questions.
- Jenny, 3/5
Lina is a wedding planner that was left at the altar at her own wedding. After impressing a guest at one of the weddings she coordinated Lina is offered the opportunity to compete to land a job as a wedding concierge for a major hotel, which would triple her salary. The catch? She has to work with the best man from her failed nuptials who just happens to be her former fiancés brother. The man who left Lina at the alter will be working with the other wedding planner but the brothers in direct competition with each other. This book is great for anyone one who enjoys the enemies to lovers trope.
- Jenny, 5/5
I think anyone who was a fan of Bridgerton will enjoy this book since it has a very similar feel. The plot was fun and the story was fast paced though. The end got a little annoying as it felt like the plot was going in circles with everyone trying to manipulate everyone else. Overall it was enjoyable.
- Jenny, 3/5
While none of the main characters are clowns, all of them are being chased by clowns -- mechanical giant ones and smaller regular sized ones. There's lots of clowns and lots of sharp clown teeth. I like the Small Spaces series and it was good to finish the quartet! It's a pretty good scary story -- that may be due to all the clowns and the dolls. A mostly satisfying conclusion to a solid horror quartet.
- Sarah, 3/5
My favorite of all her books I've read so far. Spectacular and moving. It's been quite some time since I read this, and it was so good to have a reason to pick it up again. LOVE IT!
- Marie, 5/5
I really enjoyed the writing style and even though the book is dealing with some pretty heavy subject matter it somehow remained lighthearted. I enjoyed watching Wallace grow as a person during his time at the tea shop after his death. The cast of characters were extremely likable.
- Jenny, 5/5
It took a while for me to get into this book. I thought are they just going to keep repeating the same day over and over for 479 pages. Then I got into it and wanted to see how it would end. It makes some good points and aren’t there things we could all do better if we got a do over?
- Beth, 3/5
I didn't know it when I picked this book for my vacation beach read but once again it's a novel in verse and prose. I like the way in which the question of who killed Christopher Goodman unwinds slowly and all the while each character reveals themselves as it is told. It's very much a tragedy of lives intersecting for good and for bad.
-Sarah, 3/5
Enjoyed this book that follows a group of high school kids in and out of school as the world is turned on its side with the discovery of a planet that mirrors earth. I liked how they made point of the fact that things are not always what they seem and maybe we are all more alike than we realize. Good story and I really wanted to keep reading to see what would transpire.
- Beth, 4/5
This novel explores multiple points of view regarding black life in a white world. Nella, the main protagonist, has to decide how she wants to live her life, professionally and personally. Should she stand out like Malcolm X or blend in, like George Washington Carver? There are twists and turns and the story is told from several viewpoints in several different voices. I was left wondering whether the ending was a sad one or not, which is exactly the point of the book. Great insights. Good read.
- Marie, 4/5
I like YA mysteries and thought sure I can finish this series....I didn't like the first book in this series -- it was kind of my own personal issue with the main character but in the second book Pip tried to balance her life, her obsession and not doing really stupid stuff. The plot was well paced and the mystery interesting. This is the first time the second book in a series is my absolute favorite -- of the series.
- Sarah, 2/5
I found this modern day parable a very interesting read. Unfortunately I fear it’s told exactly as it would play out today. Not sure people have learned a lot in 2000 years.
- Beth, 4/5
I really liked this book though I really don’t understand why it would be banned. I felt like Melinda actually moved through the process of her terrible experience much faster than one typically would but other than that felt like it was really written well. Showed how clueless friends, parents and educators can be. Glad it turned out like it did. Maybe this should be required reading not banned.
- Beth, 5/5
I picked up a few books about being at camp and while I don't think the graphics appealed to me, the story itself was good and direct. Surprisingly the monsters weren't who I thought they were...
- Sarah, 2/5
It's a moving and illuminating memoir - a journey through the author's sense of self and all the different aspects that play a role. A very important read for people who both feel out of step and for those that don't.
- Sarah, 4/5
I really enjoyed this book and remember when my son read it years ago in school. Didn’t want to put it down as I just wanted to see what would happen. Quite the experience for a young man to find himself as the only survivor of a small plane crash. I’m sure he grew immensely that summer.
- Beth, 5/5
The In Death series is my must read series -- and as I've decided to stop feeling guilty about whatever I read, this is one of my pleasure reads that has continued through the years. It was an interesting mystery -- I think most of the tension came from the search for Dorian and that was okay. Part of the reason this comes closest to a guilty pleasure read is because at this point, I read the series to visit this world, spend time with these characters and enjoy their competence in their pursuit of justice not just the law.
- Sarah, 3/5
Every edition of this book has always had a swimmer on it or a pool -- so I grabbed it to be my book about swimming. Eric is a swimmer and how it plays a role in his life is key to the story. Sometimes I forget how good Realistic YA fiction can be. Eric "Moby" Calhoune explains why he stayed fat for Sarah Byrnes when he first started being a part of the swim team at school. Swimming is an escape, an act where he just concentrates on going the distance -- not on his best friend stuck in the hospital in a catatonic state and finding out what happened to Sarah Byrnes to put her there. Crutcher weaves a story that hit so many of the issues and problems we face today and does it so well.
- Sarah, 4/5
At first I was thinking this was a bit of a corny YA book, but as I got into it I really wanted to see what was going to happen. You learn the story pretty early but more and more comes out and I certainly didn’t think it would end like it did but have faith everything turned out ok.
- Beth, 4/5
great book about how to survive without daily needs on hand.
- Beth II, 4/5
too many emotional ups and downs
- Beth II, 2/5
very great explanation of characters and makes you wonder who the bad guy/bad girl is
- Beth II, 4/5
tough mother/daughter relationship
- Beth II, 3/5
liked the boys relationship with the adults, wished it ended differently. It just seemed to drop off.
- Beth II, 3/5
Good story for children
- Beth II, 3/5
reminds me of the Diary of Anne Frank
- Beth II, 4/5
a woman who survived a lot of heartbreak and kept going
- Beth II, 4/5
whodunnit story
- Beth II, 4/5
did not like the descriptions and use of language he used
- Beth II, 2/5
I liked the humor and how relationships were formed
- Beth II, 4/5
How a family ends up healing
- Beth II, 4/5
Sisterhood and Indian culture
- Beth II, 3/5
seeking revenge on someone you thought was a friend
- Beth II, 3/5
Life, Loss and reunion
- Beth II, 4/5
realizing you need to change and go back to who you were before marriage and children
- Beth II, 3/5
childhood favorite
- Beth II, 4/5
teenage read
- Beth II, 3/5
fantasy book
- Beth II, 1/5
easy read as Danielle Steel always is, predictable but good
- Beth II, 4/5
hard to find a picture book about softball. Very basic
- Beth II, 2/5
Not much about softball-disappointed
- Beth II, 2/5
Great novel about the relationship between the coach and one of the players and the players themselves.
- Beth II, 4/5
A surprising book -- grounded in friendship and the experience of grief.
- Sarah, 3/5
A great fast read about being different with a creepy magical adventure. Really loved Alex and his story telling, the way in which he thinks his way through the adventure. Liking creepy things doesn't make him unkind. Also, I really like the cat Lenore who doesn't die in the end.
- Sarah, 4/5
This is the second book in the Avalon Bay series and takes place in a coastal town. This was a quick easy read featuring a second chance romance.
- Jenny, 4/5
In this book women can spontaneously turn into dragons, and no one seems to know why it happens (though most of the women seem to turn after something misogynistic happens), but the subject becomes taboo and is swept under the rug despite mass dragonings taking place. We follow the main character Alex from childhood until old age. This was an interesting read but with a premise like this I was hoping for more.
-Jenny, 3/5
This is a fantasy novel that features bi characters, folklore and fae. The world is interesting but could be flushed out a little more. Nox and Amaris are interesting characters, and I am curious to see where the story will go next.
- Jenny, 4/5
One of the main characters, Georgie, is a children's birthday party clown. This book was recommended to me by a patron. After an injury forces Travis to leave his career in the MLB he moves back to his hometown to work for his friend who is also Georgie's older brother.
- Jenny, 4/5
This book has a bit of a Hallmark vibe with the main character Bettie accidentally summoning the Holiday Spirit, Hall. He is able to grant her wishes to increase her Holliday cheer. She decides to bring him to her grandmother's house for Christmas where they pretend to be engaged. Soon she finds herself developing feelings for Hall but the happier she becomes the less time she has left with him because once he has completed his mission he must return to where he came from.
- Jenny, 3/5
Kind of a coming of age. Funny and sad, interesting years just after 9/11.
- Beth, 3/5
Cute little novella about a process where I think 20 girls from different castes vie to marry the prince.
- Beth, 3/5
Waiting for everything to come together -- the premonition, what happened in the past and the current moment's mystery -- got me to the end of this book. Just a not very successful attempt at blending history, the paranormal and contemporary issues. I can't think of who I would recommend this book to....
- Sarah, 1/5
Calling it a tragicomedy is dead one and I can see why it's won awards. I enjoyed it but again, my own personal taste in visual arts mean it wasn't my absolute favorite.
- Sarah, 3/5
Possible the only way I will connect to H.G Wells Cthulhu. A Seuss-like retelling of the Call of Cthulhu - a very enjoyable way to digest this weird world created by H.G. Wells.
- Sarah, 3/5
I've been meaning to read this for a while -- I like the art style and the story is good as well. It feels like a mash up of historical periods but with a basis in some reality. Just a lovely read.
- Sarah, 4/5
Lloyd Alexander was a author that the librarian at the middle school would send home with my mom to give to ten year old me and I loved the Vesper Holly series. I've always enjoyed Alexander's writing style -- I like the adventures and the fantasy. The Rope Trick is interesting tale of wandering in a feudal like Italian landscape. It was hard not to be charmed by the kid, who insisted on becoming the Added Attraction.
- Sarah, 3/5
Though this book was not the “one sitting read” or “couldn’t put it down” book described by other authors it did turn out much better than I was thinking it would. The protagonist made some of the worst decisions in the first half of the book and it was making me crazy. The second half is much better with twists and turns and unexpected ending.
- Beth, 4/5
Found the beginning a bit boring, but I really enjoyed the twist!
- Ali, 4/5
This book had a lot of great twist and turns. It is perfect for spooky season.
- Jenny, 3/5
Any fan of Jodi Picoult's older books will enjoy this book. Lawyer Jordan McAfee is back, and the main plot of the story takes place around a murder trial.
- Jenny, 5/5
was rated for young adult but had some very serious, and dark issues
- Beth II, 4/5
Whale Talk is about a group of students that form a swim team to fight the injustice and prejudice in their school.
- Shirley, 4/5
This book is about 2 sisters Mary & Margaret and their sister in law Katherine of Aragon who will become Queens of England, Scotland, & France.
- Shirley, 5/5
Strange things happen around the Buick parked in an old shed at the police station. Read the book and find out why?
- Shirley, 4/5
People that enjoy intrigue and murder mysteries will like this book.
- Shirley, 4/5
During WWII four youths from different countries trek across Russia to reach a ship to safety. Sad tale - based on a real event - have tissues handy.
- Shirley, 4/5
A memoir of Beverly during her childhood in Oregon. She talks about school, her relationship with her mother, and the Great Depression.
- Shirley, 4/5
FBI agent trying to catch a serial killer.
- Shirley, 4/5
awesome history of horse racing and those who own and take care of the horses
- Beth II, 4/5
kept me on my toes with twists and turns
- Beth II, 4/5
If you like horror type books this is for you. Not my usual read but enjoyable all the same. Interesting take on adults being fed up with teens.
-Beth, 4/5
Possibly the prettiest picture book ever but also a great way to introduce and explain the evolutionary relationship between birds and dinosaurs. Plus it's just fun seeing a hummingbird assert their dinosaur-ness.
- Sarah, 5/5
I think I skipped a section of the Moon Girl and Devil DInosaur saga PLUS this is the volume where the duo end up separated when she manages to get Devil Dinosaur back to its home planet. Once again, not terribly fond of American comics.
- Sarah, 2/5
The most boring read ever -- it took me almost the entire challenge because I had to read bits at a time. Still, really does have lots of interesting random bits on paleontology and the hunt for more info on feathered dinosaurs.
-Sarah, 1/5
Not a big horror fan but the story of a multigenerational contact with an evil spirit was intriguing and the artwork is fantastic and got the rating up a point because it really made the story come alive...pun intended.
-Marie, 4/5
The Night Circus is about, you guessed it, a circus that operates only at night. It's a magical romance. Lovely and imaginative.
-Marie, 4/5
This book is a series of lectures given by the author who talks about what she writes and a little bit about what she reads. I don't like to say I hated any book but this was close. This gets a rare do not read from me. It simply did not float my boat.
-Marie, 1/5
A boy named Pi and his family leave India on a Japanese boat, heading for a new life in Canada when tragedy strikes. The ship sinks and Pi and a tiger named Richard Parker end up in a lifeboat and must coexist in order to survive, and they do reach Mexico eventually. But what really happened to Pi out in the Pacific? It's an incredible story that I absolutely will read again. Loved it!
-Marie, 5/5
Just finished this with my granddaughter, my absolute favorite book as a child. Memories of sitting out under a tree with my brothers and some friends being read this by their mother. Just love the awesome characters.
- Beth, 5/5
Tiny Dino
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Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 4
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Flying Dinosaurs
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Softball
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Stealing Parker
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The Flood Girls
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Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
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Fun Home
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The Night Circus
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Night Fall
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Survive the Night
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The Night & Its Moon
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Nightbooks
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The Night We Said Yes
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Charlotte's Web
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A Girl from Yamhill
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The Rope Trick
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Curious George Goes to the Hospital
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What Alice Forgot
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Bad Girl Reputation
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One Summer
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HP Lovecraft for Young Readers
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Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre: the Best of H. P. Lovecraft
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In the Margins
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Counting on Katherine
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From a Buick
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A Gate at the Stairs
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Just Last Night
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The Car
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The Poet X
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Speak
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Gender Queer: a Memoir Deluxe Edition
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Clown in a Cornfield
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Fix Her Up
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Empty Smiles
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Horse
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The Queen
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The Worst Best Man
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Just Like Magic
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Suspects
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Desperation in Death
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The Jane Austen Project
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Whale Talk
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Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
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The Lifeguards
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The Swimmers
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Salt to the Sea
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Good Girl, Bad Blood
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Song of Solomon
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Lust for Life
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Half Broke Horses
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Mr. Malcolm's List
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The Collector's Apprentice
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Lysistrata
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Number the Stars
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Nine Perfect Strangers
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The Other Black Girl
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African Town
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The Atlas Six
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You'll Be the Death of Me
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Before the Coffee Gets Cold
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Metropolis
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Campfire
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Hatchet
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Camp Midnight
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Enjoy the View
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Mad Honey
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Wildcat
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Joshua
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Who Killed Christopher Goodman?: Based on a True Crime
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The Cat Who Wasn't There
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Expecting Better
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Lost Lake
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Bitterroot Lake
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Lost Lake
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The Lake
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The House Across the Lake
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How High We Go in the Dark
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Mirror in the Sky
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Tell Me an Ending
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Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match
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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
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When Women Were Dragons
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You Bring the Distant Near
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Send down the Rain
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Life of Pi
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438 Days
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The Second Mrs. Astor
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Float Plan
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From Below
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The Next Person You Meet in Heaven
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Before I Fall Movie Tie-In Edition
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Under the Whispering Door
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The Great Divorce
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Three Sisters, Three Queens
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The Prince and the Dressmaker
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Ledge
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An Unexpected Peril
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