Books, April Through June

Here is the list of all the books I have read April – June.




(I added personal comments about the books on some of these)




Here is a list of all the books I read during April:


The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (pretty good I thought, worth reading at least. see my review here)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carré (one of the classic spy novels)
It's OK, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers! by Louise Rennison (Georgia Nicholson books are awesome)
Saphique by Catherine Fisher (sequel to Incarceron, it's good)
Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Ahhhh. I loved it. My review here)
Saved By The Music by Selene Castrovilla* (I read this over and over because I love Axel)
Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice (the classic vampire book (after Dracula of course))
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I actually really enjoyed it)
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (sequel to aforementioned the Summoning)
39 Clues, Book 9: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park (this series is awesome)
39 Clues, Book 10: Into The Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Chime by Franny Billingsley (interesting and good. see my review here)
A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson (loved it. i love all her stuff)
Where She Went by Gayle Forman (sequel to If I Stay which is a great book, this one's good too!)
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (it was good)




Here's May:


What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook (I seriously enjoyed this. and not only because of the title)
Eli The Good by Silas House (worth reading, not action packed though, it's about a 10-year-old)
39 Clues, Book 11: Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson
Sovay by Celia Rees (good author. lots by her. this one involves a girl dressing up as a highway man!)
The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge (awesome and steampunk)
Getting The Girl by Markus Zusak ('twas a'ight)
Death Cloud by Andrew Lane (young Sherlock Holmes! it's awesome!)
The Diamond Of Drury Lane: A Cat Royal Adventure by Julia Golding (it's cool. yup. cool)
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (sequel to possibly my favorite book ever. it's pretty good. review here)
City Of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (read the first 3. this one is ok. i liked it)
The Ruby In The Smoke by Philip Pullman* (great books those Sally Lockhart books)
The Incorrigible Children Of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (kids raised by wolves)
Peter And The Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (prequel to Peter Pan! It's cool!)
The Dowser's Son by Kimberly Willis Holt (I really enjoyed this)
The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan ( sequel to The Red Pyramid. Both are cool.)




Here's June:


Academy 7 by Anne Osterland (kind of dumb looking but it's pretty good)
Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (my dad claims the movie is boring but the book was interesting)
Cat Among The Pigeons: A Cat Royal Adventure by Julia Golding (i love this series)
The Shadow In The North by Philip Pullman* (again. the Sally Lockhart books are great)
Beyond The Station Lies The Sea by Jutta Richter (kind of weird. but interesting. and cute)
Den Of Thieves: A Cat Royal Adventure by Julia Golding
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (it was quite good. although sad. see my review here)
What I Saw And How I Lied by Judy Blundell (I didn't actually enjoy this very much but other people did)
Darkwood by M. E. Breen (it was good enough. interesting)
The Incorrigible Children Of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood (sequel. both are awesome)
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter (a book about baseball. and boys. and a softball pitcher. it's cool)
The Tiger In The Well by Philip Pullman* (Sally Lockhart)
Fat Cat by Robin Brande (I seriously loved this. read it)
The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman*
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley (interesting and slightly off beat. i liked it)
Cat 'O NineTails: A Cat Royal Adventure by Julia Golding
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (author of Saving Francesca which I loved. I loved this one very much too!)
All's Fair In Love, War, And Highschool by Janette Rallison (I'm not embarrassed to say that i enjoyed this)
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff (this was good)

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

Briar Rose

     Everyone knows of Briar Rose.  The Sleeping Beauty awoken by her true love's kiss.  In a way this book is a retelling of that classic story.  In a way it's a completely new story. And it's not a happy one.
     Becca's grandmother Gemma has told her and her sisters the story of Briar Rose over and over.  She always tells the story like it's her life.  Then when Becca is 23 her grandmother dies.  On her deathbed she makes Becca swear that she'll find her castle.  Becca promises and starts researching her grandmother's life.  The only problem is no one really knew Gemma.  Even her own daughter didn't know her real name.  But Becca keeps looking and digging deeper into the past and what she finds will take her to Poland, a place called Chelmno, and an elderly man with an important story.
     This book is by the author of The Devil's Arithmetic and it's another unconventional Holocaust story. It's an interesting look at a lesser known part of the Holocaust and it's definitely worth reading. (Plus there's a little bit of romance, who could resist?)

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

The Wise Man's Fear

To start I want to say that this is the sequel to one of my favorite books of all time (The Name of the Wind). Also, that it's 994 pages long.  It can get a bit slow at parts but it's still very good and there's something in it for everyone.

This is the continuing story of Kvothe as he is telling it to the Chronicler and his apprentice Bast.  We pick up when Kvothe is at the University.  Soon after, he is forced to leave the University by his archenemy Ambrose and he travels abroad.  He goes to Severen to find a powerful Vintan noble, Maer Alveron, who is looking for a skilled musician.  He is sent by the Maer, and with four other mercenaries, he must find and stop who—or what—ever is waylaying tax collectors on the King's Road.  Along the way he becomes the first man to be lured in by the Fae Felurian and survive.  He is also trained and taught by the Adem and much improves his fighting skills (as well as his Ademic).  All the while he is searching for stories of the Amyr and the Chandrian.

I highly recommend reading The Name of the Wind before this sequel.  Many of the events at the beginning won't make much sense.  It will also be hard to understand Kvothe's motivations and desires.  The first book explains Kvothe's origins and more about sympathy (magic) and other elements in The Wise Man's Fear.
The end of this book still leaves many questions unanswered and will have readers clamoring for the final book in The Kingkiller's Chronicle.

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Chime by Franny Billingsley

"I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged.
       Now, if you please.
       I don't mean to be difficult, but I can't bear to tell my story.  I can't relive those memories—the touch of the Dead Hand, the smell of eel, the gulp and swallow of the swamp.
       How can you possibly think me innocent?  Don't let my face fool you; it tells the worst lies.  A girl can have the face of an angel but have a horrid sort of heart.
       I know you believe you're giving me a chance—or, rather, it's the Chime Child giving me the chance.  She's desperate, of course, not to hang an innocent girl again, but please believe me: Nothing in my story will absolve me of guilt.  It will only prove what I've already told you, which is that I'm wicked.
       Can't the Chime Child take my word for it?
       In any event, where does she expect me to begin?  The story of a wicked girl has no true beginning.  I'd have to begin with the day I was born.
       If Eldric were to tell the story, he'd likely begin with himself, on the day he arrived in the Swampsea.  That's where proper stories begin, don't they, when the handsome stranger arrives and everything goes wrong?
       But this isn't a proper story, and I'm telling you, I ought to be hanged."

So begins the story of Briony.  She's hiding a terrible secret.  One that could get her hanged, witches are hanged aren't they?

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning

What would you do if you found out you could talk to the dead?  Well, that's what happens to 5 foot nothing 15 year-old Chloe Saunders.  One day she sees a ghost at her school. Understandably she freaks, gets diagnosed with schizophrenia, and ends up in a teen group home called Lyle House.  Soon she finds out that she's not the only teen there with an unusual power.  The group of teens figure that it can't be a coincidence that they're all at Lyle House.  Two foster brothers Simon and Derek come up with a plan to find their missing father and Chloe and a girl named Rae join in.  What happens to the group? Do they find Simon and Derek's dad?  Does Chloe ever get her normal life back?  The world may never know. Also don't miss the sequel The Awakening.