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Yes, THAT Veronica Roth (Divergent Series) Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Two nations inhabit one planet, but they're constantly at war, and constantly creating their own version of history to put themselves in the best light. Only one nation is recognized by the rest of the galaxy as owning the planet. The other nation is treated like squatters of the planet. Ryzek and Cyra are siblings in the Noavek family, of the Shotet (squatters). There was a prediction that their family will fall to the Benesit family, of the Thuvhe. Akos and Eijeh Kereseth are Thuvhe, but have their own prediction that they will spend their days serving the Noavek family. The story happens in between all these predictions of fate. Category : YA, Sci-Fi Why I chose this book : Because it's by Veronica Roth! My personal opinion : This book was excellent! No bad language, no sexuality, the fighting wasn't gory or bloody, and the story line was captivating. I plan to buy the next book as soon as it comes

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Things are disappearing from the theater and the company must discover who the culprit is.  Category: Juvenile/Middle School Why I chose this book:  Third in the trilogy My personal opinion: I only forced myself to finish because it was the end of the series. I didn't really have my heart into it though. The story just seemed stale.  Warnings Language:  None Violence: Minor/non descriptive fights between characters "Adult" situations: None  Death:  Those occurring in previous books mentioned Movie rating equivalent: PG Protagonist description:  Widge does grow up a bit in this book - he helps take care of some of the children at the orphanage, he worries about the things the heads of the troupe are worried about, he develops a crush on a girl, and he tries to write his own play.  Point of view of story:   Widge Book length:  Short Story flow:  Fluid Grammar and spelling issues: Several European slang words. Widge speaks with a

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Emma continues pretending to be Sutton, in hopes of identifying her killer. She has assimilated herself well, but she's struggling with the fact that her twin was, quite often, not very nice. Category : YA Fiction Why I chose this book : Next in the series My personal opinion : Warning: this book is a total cliffhanger! It also skirted very close to a higher movie rating. Twice, I felt like things were going to become inappropriate in the "adult situations" category. And twice it felt like the language was going to go in a bad direction. But the Warnings Language: One big one, a couple minor bad words Violence: Fairly frequent, but not gory or graphic "Adult" situations: One romantic situation that gets close to a kiss Death: Not in this part of the series Movie rating equivalent : PG-16 (not R, but I won't let my 13-year-old read it) Protagonist description : Emma is conflicted. She's trying to be normal Emma, but she

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): An explosion on the moon causes massive power outages and chaos on Earth. Scientists interpreted a signal from the explosion site, and believe some entity wants humans to investigate the site in person. Only the United States and China have funding and space exploration programs advanced enough to make it. The US is back in the space race! Category : Sci-fi Why I chose this book : Previous purchase My personal opinion : I enjoyed the story line, and found the plot credible. It leaned more toward the evolution talking points than I prefer, but it's fiction- don't take it too seriously. The romance was quite clean. Only one scene of minor characters had bad language, so I found it easy to ignore. They were more like "extras" than characters, really. My only real complaint is that the main characters were too lucky. Things almost magically worked out in their favor too many times. Yes, there was tragedy when it was necessary. B

Brief synopsis Clary and Jace continue their Shadowhunter path, chasing after demons and one "bad guy" in particular. They're attracted to each other deeply, and they're also siblings. Eww. With the help of werewolves and vampires, the good guys fight a bunch of demons led by a madman. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book My daughter wanted to read the series, so I decided to give the next book a try. My personal opinion  (the review) I'm very disappointed. The characters are caricatures- complete personifications of one particular trait, each. The plot is predictable (the good guys will win, in the end). Jace and Clary are basically invincible. The only thing the story has going for it is the cliffhangers. Throughout the book, it felt like the story was constantly begging, "wait, don't put me down- there's another surprise coming!" I don't recommend this book at all. Warnings Language: A couple f-words at the beginning, less

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Alena is dying from a virus that only affects humans. She is given the opportunity to turn her back on her morals and become a supernatural creature. Once she does that, she is hit with challenge after challenge, just to remain alive as a "Supe". There's no trusting anyone! Category : Fiction, fantasy Why I chose this book : Kindle First My personal opinion : I have to pan it, for the language and adult themes. I cannot recommend this book to anyone. But I wanted it to be good. First of all, the language was completely unnecessary- it should have been left out. Secondly, the sexuality was completely unnecessary- the feelings of desire and betrayal could have been brought into the story without so much detail. Keep it to PG-13. Thirdly, pick a genre. Is it a monster novel (werewolves, vampires, witches), or is it a mythology novel (Greek)? I understand that those all fall under the umbrella of "supernatural", but at the beginning, A

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): A murder occurs on the Orient Express train and detective Hercule Poirot must solve the case.  Category: Mystery Why I chose this book: Movie coming out this month  My personal opinion:  I didn't find this much to my taste. I think if I had a better understanding of European languages and customs I might have understood some of the undertone of things that were said or done. There were just little things I found annoying about the writing style. I also found it somewhat difficult to remember the details of 12-15 different "players" in the story. The details of their personal lives and their confessions kind of bled together. I found the end somewhat preposterous and fantastic. I know it's just a book, but it didn't feel as realistic as I had hoped it would. I am still excited to go see the movie with my Dad (who does love mystery novels) when it comes out later this month. I also plan to try another Agatha Christie novel at a later

Brief synopsis (no spoilers):   Things go horribly wrong at tech giant Edmund Kirsch's presentation to share his ground breaking findings. Symbologist Robert Langdon gets caught in the cross hairs and must find out what's going on.   Category : Adult Fiction Why I chose this book:  Liked other books by this author  My personal opinion : This was a fun read. I always take of Dan Brown's books with a grain of salt and don't take it seriously. But his stories always include art and historical and cultural details, all of which I enjoy.  Warnings Language:  None Violence:   A few episodes (fighting/death) "Adult" situations: Homosexuality mentioned at the end (I really wish he hadn't, I feel like it was just added in for effect. Boo!) Death:  Main character and minor character (both mildly gruesome - not overly descriptive, just violent in how thy happen) Movie rating equivalent : PG-13 Protagonist description:     Robert Langdon i

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Two main stories: Carol, the daughter of Lord Rafel, wants to be a magic wielder. As she learns magic and grows in strength, she is unaware that she is being hunted by the greatest wielder in the world. The second story is about a ward of Rafel's, named Blade, who becomes an infamous assassin and works for the king. The king sends Blade to kill Rafel and Carol, but he warns them to flee instead. Blade wanders, to escape the king's justice, but finds himself in his own adventure. Category : Fiction, fantasy, possibly YA Why I chose this book : Kindle First My personal opinion : I really enjoyed the story line, the world the author created, and the depth of the characters. It was easy to lose myself in the story. I also really appreciate that the story is "clean" - no bad language, no sexual situations, etc. I feel comfortable recommending this to my teenage children. Warnings Language: none Violence: fairly frequent fighting "Adult&q

Brief synopsis (no spoilers):   " For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation. Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants E

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Plague at the theater forces the troupe to go on tour. Widge, an orphan, meets someone who may know about his past. His shorthand skills also become useful to Shakespeare.  Category: Juv. Fiction Why I chose this book: Second in the series My personal opinion: This story was a bit of a let down after the first. I felt like the story just kind of wandered without real purpose. And even though Widge learns some important things I never really felt any resolve.  Warnings Language: None Violence: A few brawls "Adult" situations: None Death: Mentioned - effects of plague Movie rating equivalent: PG Protagonist description: Widge is a good boy who wants to do the right things, but he also has a longing for belonging and knowledge of his past. He learns some difficult lessons throughout the story.  Point of view of story: First Book length: Short Story flow: Linear Grammar and spelling issues: A few old English or area specific di

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) We finally get some of Yerin's and Eithan's back stories. Lindon finally faces Jai Long. We have a new misfit for the crew. And we also get to learn more about Ozriel. Beware the cliffhanger. Category Fantasy, maybe Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) Fantastic book- fits right with the rest of the series. I love that the story line continues to be clean, gripping, and fun. I definitely recommend this series. There's a fair amount of fighting, blood, and gross creatures, so my wife won't like it, but I think my two teenagers will. Warnings Language: None Violence: Fighting, but not graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Yes, including major character(s) Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagonist description Lindon's will is solid iron, but his abilities are stunted Point of view of story Third person, mostly focused on Lindon Book length Medium Story flow Excellent Grammar and spelling

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Lindon and Yerin are adopted into the Aurelius Clan, and their training continues under Patriarch Eithan. They each struggle down their own Path, but they must also learn to work as a team. They don't really know just how far they'll end up reaching. Suriel also continues her observation and work. Category Fantasy, maybe Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) Excellent continuation of the series! Clean content, very interesting plot, characters have good depth to them, and there's a bunch going on. I will admit that sometimes it's hard to switch context for the Suriel story line, since it's so very different. It feels very disconnected. But it starts to merge in by the end. Warnings Language: None Violence: Fighting, but not graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Yes, including major character(s) Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagonist description Lindon's will is solid iron, but h

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Lindon and Yerin continue their adventure to help Lindon advance, always with the protection of his Clan ultimately in mind. They come across an uncountable number of beasts, and a remote outpost run by several collaborating (and competing) families. Category Fantasy, maybe Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) I don't think any second book of any series has ever lived up to the first. They usually spend the majority of their time setting up for the third book. This is no exception, but as sequels go, this one was excellent. The elements that made the first book great continued: clean, compelling, fun. Another great novel by the author. I anticipate buying many of his books in the near future! Warnings Language: None Violence: Fighting, but not graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Yes, including major character(s) Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagonist description Lindon's will is solid iron,

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) People of the Clans in the Sacred Valley practice mystical arts to improve themselves. There are four disciplines in the arts, and children are tested to see which best fits them. Lindon is unique in that he is neutral and weak in his abilities. But he feels a strong need to progress, just like everyone else. Category Fantasy, maybe Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Recommended by Amazon My personal opinion (the review) This is definitely the best book I've read this year! I absolutely am going to buy the next book in the series right now and start it immediately. One warning: the book uses a ton of unfamiliar terminology, and is brief on the explanations. So be prepared to use context clue, and to fill in many blanks yourself. The story line is excellent, the language is clean, and the characters are credible. Fantastic story. Warnings Language: None Violence: Fighting, but not graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Yes, including major charact

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Anna went missing while on a trip to London with her friend Sarah. Antony and Karl spent time with them on the train to London, and at a club that night. Anna was also on the train, and had a bad vibe about Antony and Karl, but didn't say anything to anyone. Now, a year later, Anna is still missing. And everyone in the story has more information than they initially gave. It's going to get messy. Category Mystery Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) There are a ton of characters, so it was hard sometimes to keep them all straight. But all in all, I really liked the book. The story was interesting, the language was clean, the characters were credible, and the ending was a surprise. Warnings Language: None, really Violence: Some fighting, but not graphic "Adult" situations: Vague reference to a couple having sex in a train bathroom; teen girl gets pregnant by her teen boyfriend Death: Yes Movie rating equivale

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) India Steele is the daughter of a watchmaker who died recently. He wished to pass his shop on to her, but since she's a woman, that wasn't possible. So, hoping it would be in her best interests, he willed it to India's fiancee. But after India's father's death, her fiancee broke off the engagement and kept the business. India now must struggle to provide for herself, but no watchmakers in town will hire her. Matthew Glass arrived recently in London from America, and is in search of a particular watchmaker. He enlists the help of India, to find the man. Category Fiction Why I chose this book Recommended by Amazon My personal opinion (the review) I really enjoyed this book. I was hoping it would be YA-level, so I could share it with my kids, but I don't think it qualifies. But in general, the book was excellent: the story line was interesting, the level of detail was satisfying, the language was clean. I liked it, and I'

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Lib continues her quest to take down the AI (named Conie), and block AI's plans to take the Norm off the planet. She and the rest of the Clan experience some heavy losses. Lib pulls together one last big plan, but it will involve all of the surviving Clans working together, and that's no easy task. Category YA Fiction, Dystopian Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) The story itself was excellent- great way to wrap up all of the loose ends and close the series. Well done! But one of the things I liked most about the first two books was that they gave me a clean world to live in for a while. Romance was holding hands, kissing, and thinking wistful thoughts. Goodbye innocence. That was so disappointing. I do not recommend this book. Warnings Language: None Violence: Some, but mild "Adult" situations: Yes, 2 scenes that used mild language, but were quite graphic Death: Yes, mostly minor character(s) Movie rat

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Lib continues her quest to take down the AI (named Conie), and block AI's plans to take the Norm off the planet. She built hardware to enhance her senses and physical abilities, but there are members of Clan that don't like the "biogear". Before she even has a chance to fight Conie, she might divide the Tracker Clan beyond any hope of helping her. Category YA Fiction, Dystopian Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) Pretty good. It wasn't as interesting as the first book, but it feels like it's setting up for an action-filled third book, so that's okay. Lib is different, and she's just plain obsessed with her goal, so I found the story extremely repetitive. Meaning, she hashes and rehashes the facts of the situation in her head and then with everyone around her. I can totally understand how half of the Clan got sick of her talking about it constantly! But I like that the story is c

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) June is a top-tier soldier in training- she is the only person in the country's history that got a perfect score on the placement test. Day is on the nations Most Wanted list. When Day kills June's brother, she is graduated from the military academy early and set loose to capture the criminal. But maybe everything isn't exactly as it seems. Category YA, Dystopian Why I chose this book Recommended on the Amazon website My personal opinion (the review) Pretty good. The characters have good chemistry, they're mostly credible, and the story line is interesting enough. Oh, and two thumbs way up for no language or adult situations! Way to go! But I didn't really connect with the characters, the plot, or the back story. I think that will get better in the series, so I do plan to continue reading it. But I'll borrow it from the library. If it impresses me later, I'll pay for the series. Warnings Language: Not really, mild if any Violen

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Roselle St. Sismode is a celebrity- she has been watched by the general public since she was born. But she's a secondborn, so she has no rights, inherits nothing, and is destined to be a servant, beginning on her Transition Day. She's famous because her mother is the leader of the Sword Fate, and her father is in the line of succession for the Virtue Fate. Category Sci Fi Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) What a great story! I really enjoyed the pace, the futuristic setup, the class system, and the characters- they felt real. If it didn't have the sexuality, I would definitely recommend this to all- including YA readers Warnings Language: None Violence: Regular, but not graphic "Adult" situations: One scene with petting and heavy kissing Death: Yes, of mostly minor characters Movie rating equivalent PG-16 (not R, but I won't let my 14-year old read it) Protagonist description

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) - Over 35 classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes Category: All ages Why I chose this book: Wanted my daughter to hear classic fairy tales, beautiful illustrations, I love fairy tales  My personal opinion (the review): As far as stories go this one is pretty simple as just a collection of famous tales. However, what I loved about this collection was that I felt they were the perfect middle ground between the original versions of the fairy tales and the Disney versions. Colfer didn't shy away from saying that the Little Mermaid gets her tongue cut by the evil witch out or that she doesn't end up with the Prince after all or that Rapunzel gives birth to twins after her visits with the Prince; however, he doesn't make a huge deal about them either. They are said with tact and I didn't really even bat an eye when those things came up with my almost six year old listening. Brandon Dorman also created some really breathtaking illustrations. Ov

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) -  Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space? (Goodreads) Category: YA Fantasy Why I chose this book: Movie coming out My personal opinion (the review): I'm not really even sure what to say about this book. It was so weird. I feel it either should have been shortened to a short story of less than 50 pages or should have been lengthened out to at least 200 (It was 130 in my copy of the book). The story was very jerky and abrupt. Things just "happened" with no explanation. I understand that all the characters are supposed to be eccentric in their own ways, but that isn't an excuse for the way the story played out. And there is no explanation for how the Dark Planet came to be

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) It's just before the New Year, leading to 2001. Will is a good Samaritan, going around helping people in New York City, and inspiring some to improve their lives. There's something different about this year, though- Will hopes it will be the end of something. Category Fiction Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) The story line is captivating- one many travels through time (the long way), meeting and influencing great people in history. But the execution of the book was terrible! There were a few preachy moments, that I didn't care for, several agenda-pushing moments that felt forced, and detailed accounts of sexual abuse. I have way better ways to use my time. Warnings Language: Tito, one of the minor narrators, is a total potty mouth! Awful language Violence: Yes, including sexual abuse of children and attempted rape of an adult "Adult" situations: Vaguely referenced encounters between consenting adult

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Raistlin and his twin brother Caramon live in a small tree village. Their lives are bound together. Raistlin cannot get through life without the physical help of Caramon, and Caramon cannot handle the intellectual demands of being independent. So they choose to stay close to each other, until Raistlin enters a school for mages, and Caramon tries his hand at farming. One day, Raistlin will take The Test to become a Mage, and when he does, he'll leave Caramon behind. Category Fantasy, D&D Why I chose this book Liked the series in the past My personal opinion (the review) I used to read the Dragonlance series as a teenager, and I'm glad to see I still enjoy them as an adult. Raistlin was my favorite character, so this volume in particular was fun to read, to learn more of his history, and why Caramon was so devoted to him. The characters are fantasy, but they're approachable. The writing style is excellent, engaging. I'll probably spend m

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) : Widge is taught his owner's version of shorthand writing. Another man buys him and asks him to copy attend and copy the text of Shakespeare's play Hamlet so that the new owner's group of "players" can perform the play for themselves.  Category : Middle grades Why I chose this book: Had it in my collection My personal opinion (the review): Though the story and writing style were quite elementary I found that I did enjoy the book and I look forward to reading the others in the series. Widge is a likable character, as are the other players at the Globe Theater. It was interesting to see his transformation as he entered the world of the theater and began learning about acting.  Warnings Language: None Violence: Mock play fighting, some mild sword dueling, and a tavern brawl "Adult" situations: None (one of the "players" ends up being a girl in hiding. Her shirt is ripped during sword practice revealing a pa

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Vega Jane, Delph, and Harry Two make their way through the Quog Category: YA Why I chose this book: 2nd in series My personal opinion (the review) : I much preferred this second novel in the trilogy to the first book, The Finisher. This book was faster paced and didn't spend unneeded time with descriptions and unneeded plot elements. Their first encounter in the quog was weird, but I enjoyed their time with Astria Prine. Much backstory is given here and cleared up some questions.  Warnings Language: Several curse words Violence: Lots of fight scenes with creatures and people "Adult" situations: None Death: minor character Movie rating equivalent: PG-13 (at least) Protagonist description: Vega continues to be the leader. She is both confident and unsure of herself. Her adventure in the Quog broadens her character a bit more than The Finisher.  Point of view of story: Vega Book length: Medium Story flow: Linear (a little s