Once again I've gotten behind on my reading updates. So, here are some of the highlights of my recent reading.
The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper. Five books make up this series:
Over Sea, Under Stone,
The Dark Is Rising,
Greenwitch,
The Grey King, and
Silver on the Tree. I chose to read it because the
The Grey King is a Newbery Award winner and
The Dark Is Rising is a Newbery Honor book. They fall into the fantasy genre with each book containing a quest of sorts and a battle of good vs. evil, or in this case light vs. dark. There are also elements of time travel, strange people and critters, and hints of Arthurian legend throughout. They were ok to read, but not my favorite. I was really glad when I finally finished the last one.
Illusion by Frank Peretti. I've been a fan of Frank Peretti for a long time, however, I read his newest book,
Illusion, about a month ago, and I still haven't decided if I like it or not. It is a strange story involving magicians, an accident, government conspiracies, time travel and lots of other things that are hard to explain. It is definitely a compelling read, but also one that will leave you scratching your head and saying "what?"
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Unseen Guest by Mayrose Wood. This is the third in the Incorrigible series, and if you haven't read any of them yet, you are really missing out on some fun reading. In this one, the wolf children head back into the woods to track down a runaway ostrich. Along the way we meet mama wolf and of course, more mystery involving the children's origins is brought up. Hopefully there will be a fourth book. I really want to know more.
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. You can't really see it on the cover, but this book is subtitled
Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears. This book teaches how to pray bold, specific prayers and to literally and figuratively draw circles around our needs and dreams and not move from that circle until an answer is given. I know that sounds a little like circle-drawing voodoo, but it's not. Read the book to find out more. It's some powerful stuff.
The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. There are four books in this series:
Uglies,
Pretties,
Specials, and
Extras. This is a dystopian series, set some three hundred years in the future. When people turn 16, they are given plastic surgery to change them from an ugly to a pretty, and the sole purpose of a pretty's existence is to have fun and party. What people don't know is that in addition to making them pretty, the operation also messes with the brain, taking away the ability for deep and independent thinking. Of course, someone has to buck the system and as a result, chaos ensues. It takes four books to get things resolved, which is about two too many. If I were handing out stars and feeling generous, this series might get 2.5 out of 5. It's really kind of dumb. I can think of lots of ways it could be improved.
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler. If you don't know, Daniel Handler also writes under the name Lemony Snicket. I loved the
Series of Unfortunate Events, so I thought I would give his newest young adult book a try. I don't know what I was expecting, but not this. It is the story of a high school couple who fall in love. He is a jock and she is from the artsy crowd, which apparently dooms their relationship from the start. Therefore, it is the story of why they break up. The story is whiny and too full of angst, drama, and bad decisions for my taste. Skip it.
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. This is a Newbery Honor book from 1945. It is the story of a poor polish girl who claims to have 100 dresses at home, even though she always wears the same faded and worn dress every day to school. The other girls tease her mercilessly, until it is too late. (Don't worry, there is a happy ending). It's a sweet book with charming illustrations. Check it out.
Ok, of those 14 books, I only heartily recommend 3. I need to find something better to read. What have you read lately that's good?
