Review: Morning Star

Morning Star by Pierce Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fitting end to the trilogy. It was rapid-paced and fun and horrifying and everything a good book should be. I almost wish I had gone back and re-read the whole series before this one, as there was one scene at the end that caused me to go "WHAT???? I DON'T REMEMBER THAT HAPPENING!"

I hear Brown is writing a follow-up series, and I think that will be very interesting.

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Review: Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting

Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting by Brian Gordon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review! I very much enjoyed it, despite not having children. I have definitely seen this behavior, both as a librarian and with my friends who have children. I think most parents would enjoy reading it, as it would definitely help them feel less alone!

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Review: Pax

Pax by Sara Pennypacker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one that I'll be thinking about for a while. The writing of this story is beautiful. I love the general plot. I love the way Pennypacker chose to tell part of the story from Peter's point of view and part of the plot from Pax's. I love Vola so much, and she breaks my heart.

I need to sit with the ending however. It doesn't end the way I would like, which isn't really the problem. I had to read it three times, because I felt like I missed something. It was so sudden. I'm hoping it will rise in my esteem as time goes on.


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Review: I Am Coyote

I Am Coyote by Geri Vistein
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book definitely had a lot of good coyote information and made me feel more sympathetic to them. However, the choice of present tense didn't work for me, and it really just wasn't my cup of tea. I think I would have rather read the same sort of information in a nonfiction title.

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Review: The Girl Who Fell

The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M. Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It feels weird to say "it was amazing!" about a book that deals with an abusive relationship, but this one truly is. I was curious about how I would deal with this book knowing that it was about an abusive relationship from the start--would I still fall for Alec? Or would that ruin the book for me? The truth is, it adds an interesting layer. For me, I was constantly stating on Twitter about how I wanted Zephyr (the main character) to not be interested in Alec, and yet you can totally see how she falls for him. There is something dark and charming about him, even as you realize that he is bad news. And hopefully, you will realize it before Zephyr does. And hopefully that realization will help young women as they navigate relationships in their teen years and beyond. An essential for library and personal collections.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for review.

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Review: Randoms

Randoms by David Liss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this one. It took me longer than I expected to read. It is a bit of a tome--485 pages. The other reason is that so many science fiction references are scattered throughout, I wanted to go and research them all. I think knowing the basics of those references does increase your enjoyment of the book, but if you don't, perhaps it will inspire you to learn more. I know I asked a lot of questions about Martian Manhunter after reading it.

Zeke Reynolds has been invited to an intergalactic study-abroad type situation as the "random." The other delegates are all exceptional children. They also leave Zeke out, because statistically it is better for them to do so. Can Zeke still have a good year, despite being left out?

It's hard for me to give too much of a synopsis here, because I don't want to spoil anything. If you have readers who love science fiction that are in grades 4 and up, this book will be a winner.

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Review: The Wolf Wilder

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another excellent choice from Rundell, about a girl and her mother who retrain wolves to live in the wild. When the wolves attack the wrong man, Feo's mother is arrested and taken to St. Petersburg. Feo must rely on her wits and some new friends to save her mother and the wolves.

I've never heard of wolf wilding before, and I was a little disappointed to see that it's not really a thing, although other animals are sometimes wilded--let out of zoos I suppose. Still, I enjoyed this story about a girl with companions that she respects but also understands they aren't pets.

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