Review: The Final Empire

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars. What a great fantasy! I'll write more when I have more time (which I've been saying a lot lately), but for now I'll just say that this one had wonderful world building, character development, and a very unique magic system. I can't wait to read the rest of the series! I think it's going some really interesting places. :)

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Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars (rounded up since there aren't half stars). I think objectively this is not a 5-star book, but it is exactly the kind of book I love. I love books written in epistolary style (and they are hard to find!). The characters felt very real to me. I fell in love with Guernsey, Juliet, Kit, Dawsey, and everyone else in the literary society. I also really enjoyed the all of the literary allusions. It was clearly a book about loving books, which is my very favorite kind of book.

I am looking forward to the movie, although I'm a little worried because the preview didn't have anything about Kit in it. I hope it is well done, but I'm having trouble imagining how it will translate to film. I hope to watch it this weekend.

I am so sad that the author is no longer alive because I would have loved to read more by her. This was actually a reread for me (which I almost never do). It was just so good. It may not be for everyone but it was perfectly suited to my tastes.

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Review: The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog

The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fun, interesting book! This is the best middle grade novel I've read in a while. I've had a lot of trouble getting into middle grade novels the last several times I've attempted to read them, but this one broke that trend. It was full of fascinating characters - the holy dog, the nun, and, of course, the children. I loved how it was told by the different characters in tales (like The Canterbury Tales) and the meaning behind the inquisitor's tale. It was a great adventure story and I look forward to reading it to my little boys when they are older!

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Review: Betsy-Tacy

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. This was a very sweet little book that I probably would have absolutely loved if I had discovered it when I was growing up. I listened to it while I was cleaning for a couple of hours this afternoon. I still enjoyed it and I'd like to see what else happens to Betsy and her friends.

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Review: Betsy-Tacy

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. This was a very sweet little book that I probably would have absolutely loved if I had discovered them when I was growing up. I listened to it while I was cleaning for a couple of hours this afternoon. I still enjoyed it and I'd like to see what else happens to Betsy and her friends.

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Review: Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really well-written book about little-known events in history during World War II. It follows Lina, a young Lithuanian girl who was taken to a Siberian work camp and struggled to survive. It was heartbreaking and hard to read at times, but also an important part of history that has been widely forgotten. The author is Lithuanian herself and drew on the experiences from her own family and others she interviewed who went through this experience. I certainly plan to recommend this book to my students. The content was hard to read, but powerful and important.

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Review: Rose in Bloom

Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.75 stars. Very enjoyable, although a bit preachy (as Alcott tends to be). Like in the last book, Rose was too perfect for me, but some parts truly were surprising and it was overall what I was hoping to get out of it - a light, sweet, mostly happy little book.

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