Force of Nature

“Later, the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things.  One:  No-one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell.  And two:  Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you.”  

During a corporate team building retreat in the Australian bushland, five women begin the four-day hiking excursion but only four come out.  So what happened to Alice?  Was she lost by some tragic accident…or was she murdered?  Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk and his partner have come to help with the investigation because they think her disappearance may have been malicious.  Falk had been in talks with Alice about turning over corporate documents that indicated her bosses had illegal finances coming in.  So did Alice’s boss find out and decide to do something about it?  Was it her overused and undervalued assistant?  Was it her frenemy from high school that now works at the same firm?  Or was she a victim of a serial killer who’s been known to be in the Giralang Ranges?  This is a mystery thriller that will definitely keep you on your toes!

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d like this one as much as I did.  My last few thriller choices have been duds, so I was skeptical, but the mystery drew me in immediately.  The story is told in chronological chapters from the point when the four women are picked up and find out Alice is missing.  Interspersed between these chapters are flashbacks that show what actually happened during the women’s hike from varying perspectives.  The mix of both really works for this book since you’re finding out clues in the real world then seeing if they match up with what really happened.  

Also, I didn’t know this book was the second on a series before starting it, but it really doesn’t matter.  The first also features Agent Falk but has no real relation to this story other than it’s the same character.  So don’t feel like you HAVE to read her previous novel, The Dry, before reading this one.

Jane Harper did a wonderful job, and I’ll definitely be picking up another book by her in the future!

**This book was a part of a book train giveaway, so if you want to read it, see my Instagram giveaway!  @whatmrs.harperisreading

Thrawn: A Star Wars Story

Ever since my husband and I got married, we’ve made it a habit to read aloud to each other while driving in the car long distances (it also helped that we moved nine hours away from our families and came back to visit every few months).  We’ve read other genres of books, but mostly we’ve read Star Wars books.  This newest joint-read is another in the Star Wars universe.

Thrawn is set after the Clone Wars but at the beginning of the Star Wars Rebels TV show.  Obviously, it revolves around Mitth’raw'nuruodo (more commonly known at Thrawn) and how he came to be a part of the Empire.

After being cast out of Chiss society, Thrawn is found alone on a world in the Outer Rim’s Wild Space and is taken to the Emperor.  This blue skinned, red eyed alien shows his military intelligence and is told to attend the Empire’s Academy to train him to be an officer.  The problem is Thrawn doesn’t know a lot of Basic (the main language in the Star Wars universe), so he’s given a translator, Ensign Eli Vanto, who just happens to know a remote trade language that the Chiss also use.  

Along with chronicling Thrawn’s career from a lieutenant to a grand admiral, the story also introduces us to Arihnda Pryce, which you know as Governor Pryce of Lothal if you’ve watched the Rebels TV show.  Her story starts with the loss of her family’s mine on Lothal and her move to Coruscant.  It shows her drive, and her manipulations, to get back the power she’s lost.

It is your typical Star Wars story…there’s political power plays, space battles, smugglers, and hidden agendas.  It’s also very well written and easy to follow, especially if you’re already familiar with the Star Wars universe.  I just think Thrawn himself is such an interesting character, being a military genius but also an alien in an Empire that dismisses anyone non-human.  It shows you that you shouldn’t judge people who are different from you; what you should do is look at what’s underneath.

The Crown's Game

I will admit it took me about three weeks to read the first 100 pages of this book but only 24 hours to read the last 300 pages.  Maybe because July started off rather rocky and I was more in the mood to watch a movie than read a book?  Or maybe it was because the book was set in Russia in the early 1800s?  Whatever the case, if you make it through to the end you will definitely be picking up the sequel very soon.

The Crown’s Game is an old tradition in Russia to choose the Royal Enchanter.  Typically there is only one person who holds Russia’s magical powers, but every so often, two people are given magical abilities.  When this happens they must duel to the death to figure out who will help the tsar rule Russia’s empire.  Vika is an odd girl who lives on a remote island near St. Petersburg with her father so she can practice her magic in private.  Nikolai is an orphan from the Steppe whose benefactor found him and trained him to be a magical killer.  What these two magicians don’t know is that magic pulls to magic, and their attraction may be unstoppable.  

If that’s not enough tension for you, add in an undead mother, a lying father, and Nikolai’s best friend—Pasha, the soon to be tsar of Russia—falling for an enchanting fire girl.  The action, though a little slow at the start, picks up quickly and the you will not be able to put the book down during the last 100 pages.

This book walks the tight rope between middle school and high school.  The tedious Russia names and titles may turn off some readers and there are some references to physical intimacy, but I think this book would hook most magic readers.

As Old as Time: A Disney Twisted Tale

Growing up, Belle was my favorite princess.  She is smart, bookish, friendly, and (duh) she’s the one who got to wear the gorgeous yellow dress, my favorite color.  So when I heard there was a series of twisted Disney tales, I automatically decided to pick Beauty and the Beast first.

This tale poses the question:  what if Belle’s mother cursed the Beast?  The first part of the book swaps back and forth by chapter between Belle (basically the start of the story we all know and love) and her mother and father, Rosalind and Maurice.  The chapters by her parents give us some backstory about the Beast’s kingdom:  how it was a refuge for les charmantes, which are people with extraordinary powers; how the king and queen were fearful of these les charmantes so they turned a blind eye when they were persecuted as an unwanted minority; how Belle’s mother, a powerful enchantress, tried to reason with them but failed and had to flee the country to protect Maurice and Belle.  As Belle learns more about her mysterious mother, we are also learning bits and pieces about her too.  

The story Belle tells stays mostly true to the original up until she leaves the castle to go save her father.  From there on, there are some dramatic storyline changes, but overall it still stays true to the themes in the story.  I feel like the story also gives a little more insight into Belle as a strong female lead and to the redemptive nature of the book.  People make mistakes, but being willing to admit those mistakes and trying to fix them is the ultimate show of forgiveness.

For any Disney lovers or kids at heart, this book was a win for me!  One caveat is these books are YA books and may be a little too intense for an elementary schooler.  Just because the content revolves around a fairy tale doesn’t mean it’s all fluffy clouds and unicorns.

Graphic Novel Run-Down

This summer I’ve been on a graphic novel kick.  It started because I needed to fulfill a requirement for my summer reading bingo cards, but then I started looking at other teen graphic novels I hadn’t read but had heard about.

So here’s my run-down of my recent graphic novel reading:

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Best thing:  Shows that “good” and “evil” are really just labels put on people, but what you should really look at are their actions.

Nimona shows up on Lord Ballister Blackheart’s doorstep hoping to be his next evil genius side kick.  She has the amazing skill to shift into any living form, but Blackheart’s a little wary about her hazy past.  While trying to prove the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics is up to no good, Blackheart must confront his once friend, now enemy Sir Abrosius Goldenloin and finds there’s more to Nimona than meets the eye.

Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen & Fain Erin Hicks

Best thing:  Common ground can be found by anyone.

Charlie and Nate are neighbors and have grown apart.  Charlie is now the star player on the basketball team while Nate is the head of the robotics club.  When the school decides to let the student council decide how to use some discretionary funds—to buy new cheerleading uniforms or fund the robotics team at nationals—Nate decides to run for student body president.  Unfortunately for him, the cheerleaders—who would scare the mafia—signed Charlie up to run as well, knowing he would cave to their demands.  This basically leads to a war that no one can possibly win unscathed.

All Summer Long by Hope Larson

Best thing:  Friendships change, but they don’t always have to end because of change.

Bina is lonely because her best friend Austin has left for soccer camp, and she has nothing to do.  With no one else to hang out with, Austin’s older sister Charlie starts to share music with Bina and vice versa.  As Bina’s friendship with Charlie continues, her friendship with Austin starts to waver.  He’s not texting her, and when he comes back, he’s weirdly quiet about camp.  Bina’s worried about their friendship and turns to playing music to help her cope.

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang

Best thing:  It shows how any person can make a difference, no matter how small.

Anda is new to Flagstaff, Arizona, and is into online gaming.  But her gaming experience changes when she meets Liza and starts going on missions that pay actual money.  On one of these missions she meets Raymond, a gamer in China who works for a company who tries to by-pass the rules of the game and help people cheat.  As Anda learns more about Raymond and his horrible working conditions, she is moved to try and help him, even though he’s a world away.

Mouse Guard:  Fall 1152 by David Petersen

Best thing:  Do what you know is right, even if it seems impossible.

The Mouse Guard was formed as a protection against outside attackers to their mouse kingdom.  However, an uprising is happening with a group of mice who are disgruntled at the guard’s inaction against their animal foes.  Three of the Mouse Guards find themselves in the middle of uprising and may be the only ones who can keep the kingdom together.

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Best thing:  Don’t cave to peer pressure just because it makes you look “cool,” instead just be yourself.

Anya’s family is Russian, so she sticks out like a sore thumb at her New England prep school, no matter how hard she tries to fit in.  Then one day a freak accident leads her to the ghost of Emily, a girl who was tragically murdered but her body never found.  With Emily’s ghostly help, Anya starts to feel like she belongs at school and may even have a chance with her crush, until the benevolent ghost starts to turn malevolent.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Best thing:  Our differences are our best superpowers, so don’t judge someone by their looks.

This is a semi-autobiographical tale of Cece, born hearing but after contracting meningitis when she was four, she is now severely deaf.  It’s fine at first because her class is all deaf kids, but after moving to a new school and getting a new bulky hearing aid, Cece isn’t so sure of herself.  To help cope with her feelings, she creates a superhero in her head, El Deafo, who gets to say what she can’t.

Out of these, my favorite would still have to be Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong, but none of these were bad.  They are all different in their own ways, and that’s the best thing about graphic novels…they are for everyone.

There are many great graphic novels out there, but here are some of my all time favorites:

• Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
• Cardboard by Doug TenNapel
• Smile by Raina Telgemeier
• Rollergirl by Victoria Jamieson

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

“I always think of each night as a song.  But now I’m seeing we don’t live in a single song. We move from song to song, from lyric to lyric, from chord to chord.  There is no ending here.  It’s an infinite playlist.”

This is one of the rare books that I read after seeing the movie instead of the other way around.  I loved the movie (so much so we named our first dog Norah), the quirkiness and excitement of a night of adventures.  But the two are VERY different.  In the movie, Norah and Nick spend their night trying to find Norah’s lost friend Caroline and hunting down a secret concert for their favorite band, Where’s Fluffy?  The book focuses more on Nick and Norah’s budding romance and pushing past their current situations to see a future together.

Nick, the bassist in a band with his two gay best friends, sees his evil-ex Tris at his band’s latest concert.  Nick freezes and asks the random girl next to him to be his seven minute girlfriend to make Tris jealous.  Enter Norah, the random girl next to him who also happens to know Tris from school and her ways of leaving heartbroken boys in her wake.  Norah’s also going through an on-again-off-again relationship with her evil-ex Tal, but she enthusiastically agrees to be his seven-minute girlfriend.  Little do they know this is just the start of their whirlwind night, full of singing nuns, broken down cars, stale Oreos, and mending hearts.

The best thing about this book is the feelings behind it.  It shows how everyone is broken in ways others may not see, but we still deserve love and happiness.  There are so many great quotes from this book, from both Rachel Cohn (who wrote Norah’s chapters) and David Levithan (who wrote Nick’s chapters).  It is just a great story about healing and learning to move forward after life tries to knock you down.

Just be aware, this is a young adult book, but there’s lots of language (f-words all over the place) and some sexual innuendos. In my opinion it doesn’t take away from the story, but it does make it more appropriate for older teens.

Matchmaking for Beginners

This rom-com story was hilarious and maddeningly frustrating, so I had a really hard time deciding what to rate it, but I’d have to say it’s a solid three.

Marnie is marrying Noah, perfect and rich and devastatingly handsome.  Noah’s family’s engagement party, Marnie meets Blix, Noah’s eccentric great-aunt who has the magic to see who would make a perfect match.  Blix sees a kindred spirit in Marnie, who has the same matchmaking ability but fails to see it’s magic.  After Marnie’s short failed marriage to Noah, she’s thrown back home with her parents in Florida and wondering what is going on with her life.  Then she gets a letter from an attorney:  Blix has died from a cancerous tumor and has left Marnie something in her will that will change her life forever.

This book made me want to scream.  There were even a few times I huffed dramatically, and my husband had to ask what was wrong.  Marnie just seemed to make every wrong choice, and you just wanted to jump through the pages and give her a good shake, like pining after Noah even when he broke her heart and their marriage or when she let her parents and sister dictate her life.  Other times Marnie made me laugh out loud, like how she went crazy and let preschoolers dismantle her wedding dress or her failed Thanksgiving dinner attempt.  One thing you will get to see is the different characters’ growth through the story, from likable tween Sammy to the reclusive Patrick to Marnie herself.

If you’re the type of person who gets sucked into watching Lifetime movies and just can’t look away, then this might be the next summer read for you!

Extracted

This first book in a time traveling trilogy is a “hold on to the seat of your pants” kind of book.

Basically, time travel is real.  A “device” was made, but then something went wrong.  After visiting 2111, something in the existing timeline was thrown off, and the world is destroyed.  Now the time machine creator is trying to fix the problem he made by going back and extracting valuable people, an elite force to find and fix the problem.  But as to not mess with time more than necessary, the people they extract must be dead, and their deaths need to leave behind no trace of themselves.  The three best candidates are Harry (a WWII elite soldier who infiltrated and lead an attack against a German encampment and destroyed five submarines before dying in the icy waters), Safa (a military protection force who helped save the prime minister during a terrorist attack then got blown up herself), and Ben (a civilian who foiled a terrorist bombing in the London subway then getting blown up when the train hit the bomb-wearing eco-terrorist).  The three wake up in a sterile facility away from prying eyes and are shocked to find out they are supposed to lead the mission to save the world.

It’s a very well set-up first book.  It lets us get to know Harry, Safa, and Ben, along with Roland—the man funding the time traveling mission—and Malcolm and Konrad—the two other techs involved in the project.  Obviously to get to the saving the world part you have to read the next books in the series, but the overall story is laid out well.

A few things did bother me, though.  First, the middle of the book slowed way down and spent too much time describing the scenery.  It made the middle lag, but it did show character development since during this time Ben was experiencing a mental breakdown from his extraction.  The second thing I didn’t care for was the dialogue.  The author vary rarely puts tag lines on the dialogue, so you have to just know who’s speaking.  It also swaps points of view frequently, even in the middle of a paragraph, so you just have to know that from the start.  Finally, the cursing.  Like really.  These characters need to have their mouths washed out with some soap because they do like dropping some f-words (much like The Martian).

I will definitely be continuing this series, but you must like science fiction or time traveling to really enjoy this book.