aylaravenstar's reviews
122 reviews

Sabriel by Garth Nix

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I very much enjoyed this book. I feel that Sabriel is a great example of a strong female heroine, who is a strong lead, but not too perfect, which is something that I value. The writing was descriptive and beautiful, without being too dense. Nix uses metaphor and symbolism elegantly without getting bogged down and losing the flow. And if you're an audiobook fan, Tim Curry's rendition of the series is absolutely fantastic.

Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

5.0

I can't adequately express how much I love this book. I just finished it for the second time and it is most definitely one of the most moving novels I've ever read, destined to become one of my favorite books of all time. As a child I believed in magic. Magic was an important part of my childhood. I always wanted to be an author - or, "storyteller" as Robert McCammon puts it - and sometimes I regret that I eventually lost sight of that dream. I still write, but my moments of creativity - those times when I get to touch the pool of magic that was so essential to my young life - are much, much harder to tap into now that I'm an adult with responsibilities and bills and a full calendar. This book resonates so clearly with me, and reminds me that magic does exist. It's there in the heart of children, and those adults who allow themselves to believe, even if just for a moment.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

2.0

I must admit I had a hard time with this one. I felt like it had potential in the beginning, but a couple chapters in the whole tone of the book changed. The characters were almost all completely unlikable, and there were so many I couldn't keep track of them. It also became kind of politics heavy, which is something I personally find uninteresting. It got better toward the end, but by that point I'd lost interest to the point that I had no idea what was going on anymore.

Overall, it felt like it had potential, but for me personally, it missed the mark.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

5.0

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

5.0

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne

3.0

The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig

2.0

An interesting premise, but needs work on character development. The main character's relationships with all but her brother just felt flat and lacking depth. The author's setting was well thought out and her poetic writing style was, in places, absolutely beautiful, but overall I found I just did not care about most of the characters.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

4.0

Rising Sun by Michael Crichton

3.0

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

4.0

I picked this up because it was on a list of must-read LGBTQ fiction, and it was a genre I am interested in exploring more of. I was surprised at how engaged I found myself in the lives of these two young women. I really felt the characters' struggle, and found myself wanting to put words in their mouths and yelling at other characters in the book when the main characters were mistreated for the love they felt for each other. I would recommend this book to any young person struggling to come to terms with their sexuality or gender-identity, or anyone else interested in gaining a better understanding of what people in the LGBTQ community go through.