Well, it seems like I somehow spent even less time reading this past month than I did the one before, but I did read a couple of fantastic books, so hopefully that makes up for the dearth (does anybody actually use that word anymore?) of reviews here.
You know how sometimes a book will have a fantastic concept, but the characters are annoying, or the details are stupid, or the writing just sucks? Well,
Sawkill Girls, by Claire Legrand, had a mix of all three. The blurb talked about girls going missing over the decades and had this creepy little rhyme:
Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.
He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.
I thought it would be great, but I had to abandon it before I even got a quarter of the way through. I should have let the moths on the cover convince me not to check it out at the library (this is like the fifth book I've read with moths and none were as good as I'd hoped), but alas, I didn't listen and wasted four precious days of reading time. I'd skip this one if I were you.
I am a big fan of April Genevieve Tucholke's books, so it is no surprise that I loved
The Boneless Mercies. Did I say loved? I am going to buy my own copy. The story is a sort-of retelling of the epic poem
Beowulf, but with a band of teenage girls instead of young men as the warriors. It's very hard to describe what I liked about it, because it is, in general, hard to describe. It is really, really, unique. The best thing about it was the writing, which was simple, but gorgeous. This is one of those rare books that has all the makings of a great film, but a movie could never do it justice because it wouldn't have the
feel of the words. And without that, it just wouldn't touch you the same way. I highly recommend you read this book, even if you
aren't a fan of Tucholke's earlier works, because this one is nothing at all like those! (Reading Level: ? / Upper Grades)
We Regret to Inform You, by Ariel Kaplan, was fantastic! It tells the story of an overachiever who attends a prestigious private high school as a scholarship student, and is rejected by every college she applies to. Not just the fancy ones, like Harvard, but her 'safe school' too. The book is really funny, and the characters are all super likeable (well, except maybe the mom), the concept is really well done, and guess what? On top being humorous, this book could be filed under 'Mystery' because the heroine of the story and her unlikely allies try to get to the bottom of how such a thing could have happened. To top it all off, there is a little bit of the most endearing budding romance you will probably ever read. Go get yourself a copy. (Reading Level: 4.3 / Upper Grades)
I didn't really care for the cover art of
Bridge of Clay, but what was inside the pages - amazing. Markus Zusak delivers another incredible work of art with this book. I mean, this is the kind of book that you write papers about in your honors English class! The concept is wholly original, the characters are incredible, and the writing, well, the writing is nothing short of
brilliant. It is almost like reading a 537 page long poem. After reading
The Book Thief, I kept wondering what was taking Zusak so long to turn out another book. But I guess ten plus years is what it takes to write a masterpiece. Just a few tips: Don't read this book if you already have a head cold - I was literally crying for like the entire last third of the book! Don't read this book if there are going to be distractions - like a poem, it is sometimes hard to grasp exactly what the author is saying. Take your time - immerse yourself in the writing and enjoy it. It took me close to two weeks to read this book, and it was worth every minute! (Reading Level: 5.3 / UG)
Only three books read in a month sounds abysmal, but all three were great (two 5-stars and a 4-star), which is actually a better track record than some months when I've read ten books! So I guess it's all okay, and we'll see what I manage next month!
