June 2018 Book Review

As I mentioned on Tuesday, I finished the POPSUGAR book challenge, hallelujah! June was another big month of reading with mixed results, but I'm so happy I finished the challenge, I don't really care, ha.

Let's start with the YA selections {since I seemed to rely on those heavily to finish}, shall we?

Winter by Marissa Meyer - The last book in the Cinder series I started last month. I enjoyed this series - it wasn't amazing - but I did like it! This book was set on the moon and was the final battle between the rag-tag team from Earth {comprised of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel basically and their counterparts} to battle the Moon Queen {basically every evil stepmother ever}. We added the Snow White-esque character who is the stepdaughter of the Moon Queen. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I liked them!

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine - Has anyone seen this movie? I think it's so cute! Ella was blessed by a fairy when she was a newborn with the 'gift' of obedience. Basically, if someone tells her to do something, she must. After her mother passes away, she decides to find the fairy who gave her this gift. Princes, ogres, evil almost-stepsisters all get in her way as she tries to change her fate. It was cute but nothing special - I think Drew would enjoy it in a few years.

The Witches by Roald Dahl - I only saw a few books mentioned in other books and narrowed it down to this [Found in Trick or Treat Murder] or Wuthering Heights. I wasn't up for a classic this late in the challenge so a children's book won out! This is not a fairytale, this is a REAL book about witches! {grin} The main character is a little boy who lives with his grandmother who tells him story after story about witches, but nothing prepares him for when he comes across a meeting of hundreds of witches including the Grand High Witch! Another one that wasn't anything special, BUT I am reading it with Trent and he's LOVING IT!

The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry - Natalie is finishing her senior year of high school when she starts noticing things are 'off'. One minute her front door is a different color, later as she drives through town the buildings are changing. She meets someone in her small town she's never seen before yet he's her age and goes to her school. What is going on? This was up there for me this month. Yes, it was YA. Yes, it was overwrought with teenage emotion. BUT I love that kind of stuff, ha. I'm probably not selling it, but it was fun AND is being made into a movie, yay!

Y is For Yesterday by Sue Grafton - I've listened to a couple of these before, but when I saw someone reading this at Starbucks, I thought it'd be a good one for that category [A book you have seen someone reading in public] given it's the last in the series due to Sue's death. This series is about a private investigator named Kinsey. This story revolves around a guy who just got out of prison for killing a classmate 10 years earlier and is now being blackmailed. I thought the mystery was interesting, but I just don't really LIKE Kinsey - she isn't a very personable character, and that's why I don't think I could ever get into this series. It was just okay.

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson - A non-fiction book about the U.S. Ambassador to Germany in the 1930s as Hitler rose to power. Parts of this book were fascinating - learning about the things Hitler did/caused and the German people's reaction {acceptance} and America repeatedly turning a blind eye, to name a few. BUT it was also very dry and at times, dull. I kept thinking 'How is it possible for a book to be shocking and disturbing but boring too?' Has anyone read this? Is it just me? So many people tell me how much they LOVE Erik Larson, but maybe he just isn't the guy for me...

Year Zero by Nora Roberts - My first Nora book in a LONG time - well over a year! And it's a new trilogy! A plague hits earth and wipes out 80% of the earth's population. This book follows some survivors during and after the epidemic. Very different for Nora but it also felt like a Nora trilogy {of course there are magical elements, ha}. I'm excited to read the 2nd book in December!

10 Habits of Happy Moms by Meg Meeker - My mom gave me this book for Christmas, and I don't normally like advice books, but I love my mom so I dug in. I really liked the habits Meg picked and the stories she told/moms she profiled, but it was too long. I felt like each chapter could have been half as long, but then it wouldn't have been long enough to be a book, ha. There's a little workbook at the end that I want to look at in more detail to try and put some of these details into practice.

Chomp, Chomp Chomp: How I Survived a Bear Attack and Other Cautionary Tales by Allena Hansen - I really thought I'd never find a book written by someone with the same name as me but what do you know, here was my find! And what a find it was! This Allena is a HOOT. She's about my mom's age and tells stories starting back when she's a little girl. If HALF of what she said is true, she's had a crazy life and a great outlook on it by the end - and after the bear attack {which is true because there are news articles about it you can google}. But I often felt she was a little too jaded/off for my taste - I don't think I liked her too much in her earlier years? Fun stories but another one that was slightly too long.

I'm not sure I gave any of these enough of a review to encourage anyone to read them. Let's hope July - when I'm reading JUST FOR ME - improves the selections!

I DID IT!!!

Guys, I finished the POPSUGAR Book Challenge! And I beat Allison! To be honest, she could have kicked my butt - at one point I had at least 10 books to go when she had 3, but she didn't like her last categories, so I benefited, yippee!

By the numbers, this was 50 prompts, and I finished it in half a year. And I read other books too for a total of 57 books so far this year! This should easily be the most books I've ever read in a year - although I might read 1-2 books a month the rest of the year, ha.

So here's a breakdown of the prompts and books I read for anyone who might be interested, and that might be no one? Or maybe just Allison?

• Book made into a movie you've already seen: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine [Cute/ok, hardly like the movie]
• True Crime: Columbine by Dave Cullen [Gripping]
• The next book in a series you started: Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz [Blah, loved some of this series but not this one]
• A book involving a heist: The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg [Meh, series that I won't continue with]
• Nordic noir: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagerkrantz [Continue to enjoy these, not as good as original 3]
• A novel based on a real person: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly [Zzzzz, wanted to like this but didn't]
•  A book set in a country that fascinates you: The Maid’s Tale by Rose Plummer and Tom Quinn [Really interesting POV of one of my fave topics, the British aristocracy]
• A book with a time of day in the title: Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson [Another of my fave topics - WW2 - and a great, mostly light read]
• A book about a villain or antihero: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snickett [Meh]
• A book about death or grief: If I Did It by The Goldman Family [OJ is a psycho]
• A book by a female author who uses a male pseudonym: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling [Dark, slow, didn't like many of the characters, stick with Harry Potter and Robert Galbraith]
• A book with a LGBTQ+ protagonist: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertall [So good]
• A book that is also a stage play or musical: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon [Great read, last 1/4 got a little tedious]
• A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you: Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson [AMAZING]
• A book about feminism: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins [Yes, this was a stretch but there was a section that discussed feminism, ha. Fun, YA fluff]
• A book about mental health: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green [Good, not great]
• A book you borrowed or was given to you as a gift: 10 Habits of Happy Moms by Meg Meeker [Too long but liked the points]
• A book by two authors: The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen [Not my fave thriller but a good read]
• A book about or involving a sport: Bleachers by John Grisham [Easy read by a great author]
• A book by a local author: Rotten by Lily Sayre [Lily is going places, cute story for kids]
• A book with your favorite color in the title: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr [A good WW2 book from a young girl who lived it]
• A book with alliteration in the title: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth [Skip the whole thing EXCEPT the parenting chapter]
• A book about time travel: The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry [Overwrought teen love but that's some of my fave, ha]
•        A book with a weather element in the title – The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank [started out slow but got really good]
• A book set at sea: The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor [I give it points for the ending surprising me]
• A book with an animal in the title: A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron [LOVED it! So sweet!]
• A book with song lyrics in the title: Holding Out For a Hero by Victoria Tan Viem [Blech, don't read it]
• A book about or set on Halloween: Trick or Treat Murder by Lisa Meier [Not bad but nothing special]
• A book with characters who are twins: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell [Not my fave by Rainbow but cute]
• A book mentioned in another book: The Witches by Roald Dahl [Really goofy, not his best]
• A book from a celebrity book club: The Lying Game by Ruth Ware [Lame]
• A childhood classic you’ve never read: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry [Loved it, want to read it with the kids]
• A book that’s published in 2018: Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella [Typical of her]
• A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner: Saint Odd by Dean Koontz [The last in the series redeemed the series after 2 or 3 stinkers in the middle]
• A book set in the decade you were born: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell [Excellent]
• A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to: Year Zero by Nora Roberts [It's Nora, 'nuff said]
• A book with an ugly cover: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom [SO glad I looked past that ugly cover]
• A book that involves a bookstore or library: Still Me by JoJo Moyes [The best of the 3]
• Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges {I chose 'Female author'}: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins [Not as good as her others in this trilogy]

ADVANCED 

• A bestseller from the year you graduated high school: The Street Lawyer by John Grisham [The man can tell a story]
• A cyberpunk book: Cinder by Marissa Meyer [Fun YA, devoured all 4 books]
• A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place: Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton [I don't get people's love for this series]
• A book tied to your ancestry: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson [Is it possible to be interesting and boring at the same time?]
• A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows [THE WINNER OF THE CHALLENGE!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE]
• An allegory: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle [How is this a classic? Yuck]
• A book by an author with the same first or last name as you: Chomp, Chomp Chomp: How I Survived a Bear Attack and Other Cautionary Tales by Allena Hansen [Kept me entertained but not super engaging]
• A microhistory: Educated by Tara Westover [Knock your socks off good]
• A book about a problem facing society today: Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom (racism) [So, so, so, so good]
• A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen [Allison gave me a winner!]

I would say the reason I like to do things like this is it forces me to read stuff I might not ordinarily pick or wouldn't know about without researching a prompt. Sometimes that results in a winner and sometimes it doesn't - either way, it introduces me to something new!

Now onto collecting my reward from Allison! Woot, woot!