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thewildnorry's reviews
213 reviews
How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy and fast read, getting right to the heart of how cell phones can negatively affect us and what exactly to do to try to break the cycle. I highly recommend it to anyone--even if you think you don't have a problem--to read this book. At the very least, you can hurl the research at your friends and family who do have a phone problem.
A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
4.0
I really really enjoyed this book. As I was reading it, I was swept away by the vivid world Schwab created, and I found myself nervous about what was going to happen to the characters (< which is great).
Yet, the further away I get from this book, the more I become aware of its various flaws.
The characters who were intriguing and promising in book one failed to evolve much from their introduction then to their conclusion in this book. Lila is still a thief with an affinity to knives and the same unwillingness to set down roots or get too close. Sure she *did* get close to people, but that was more a consequence of circumstance than a change of character. Kell was still broody and overprotective. The issues set up in book one (such as his feeling of not belonging in the Maresh family) were not really resolved or expanded upon. Alucard was Alucard. Rhy Holland remained aloof and strong (although arguably he was the most rounded out in this book.) Emira seemed to change from who she was in Book 1 in really striking ways.
While the larger plot was tied up well, some of the aspects didn't make sense. At times it felt more like a writer's outline with checkboxes (then this has to happen and then this and then this and then this) and it missed some of the flow of a good narrative.
Some of the subplots seemed forced and convenient rather than well thought out.
And the Veskan ships only needed one letter to be turned away? They didn't even check with their crown? To be honest, even Jasta's "betrayal" seemed pointless. I would have preferred a random Sea Serpents attack. There were also many "deaths for death's sake." Think about it,
I was also disappointed (as I was in the last book) with the lack of movement between worlds. The three London's is perhaps the series' most interesting selling point to me. I love the idea of three identical towns in three completely separate worlds. It's interesting. It's riveting. It's a bit of a let down. I spent much of the series hoping to go to Black London and. And as for Grey London, .
Yet my biggest problem that I can't seem to find anyone talking about (and maybe it's because I misread something or simply haven't read enough reviews: Kell's origin. The mystery of Kell's memory loss and subsequent adoption was set up in book one, and I waited and waited for the resolution.
So, while I loved this book and would happily recommend it to anyone, I will say that it is by no means the perfect book or an absolute masterpiece. It is good and it avoids what I like to call "The Divergent Dive," but don't expect a literary wonder.
Yet, the further away I get from this book, the more I become aware of its various flaws.
The characters who were intriguing and promising in book one failed to evolve much from their introduction then to their conclusion in this book. Lila is still a thief with an affinity to knives and the same unwillingness to set down roots or get too close. Sure she *did* get close to people, but that was more a consequence of circumstance than a change of character. Kell was still broody and overprotective. The issues set up in book one (such as his feeling of not belonging in the Maresh family) were not really resolved or expanded upon. Alucard was Alucard. Rhy
Spoiler
in his kingship remained very much the same as Rhy in his princely days. I missed some of the darker Rhy we got in book 2.While the larger plot was tied up well, some of the aspects didn't make sense. At times it felt more like a writer's outline with checkboxes (then this has to happen and then this and then this and then this) and it missed some of the flow of a good narrative.
Some of the subplots
Spoiler
mainly the Veskan murder plotSpoiler
Cora's character was all over the place and we only had one scene of a transition from impetuous/spoiled princess to cunning/ambitious princess.And the Veskan ships only needed one letter to be turned away? They didn't even check with their crown? To be honest, even Jasta's "betrayal" seemed pointless. I would have preferred a random Sea Serpents attack.
Spoiler
Hastra's death was meaningless. Alucard's sister's death was meaningless. Emira's death amounted to little. Maxim's death made a little more sense, but overall it seemed like a device to make Rhy king.I was also disappointed (as I was in the last book) with the lack of movement between worlds. The three London's is perhaps the series' most interesting selling point to me. I love the idea of three identical towns in three completely separate worlds. It's interesting. It's riveting. It's a bit of a let down. I spent much of the series hoping to go to Black London and
Spoiler
unfortunately that never happened. It seems like a waste of a perfectly good myth that the author set up.Spoiler
the Ned Tuttle "subplot" (if you can even call it that) amounted to next to nothing and the King George scenes at the end of the book were just stupid.Yet my biggest problem that I can't seem to find anyone talking about (and maybe it's because I misread something or simply haven't read enough reviews: Kell's origin. The mystery of Kell's memory loss and subsequent adoption was set up in book one, and I waited and waited for the resolution.
Spoiler
Only for Kell to rip up the note that would unlock his memories because he realized it didn't really matter and he didn't really want to remember. I felt like Schwab took the easy way out with this one. It was as if she came up with the idea only to realize she didn't have anywhere to go with it, but she had to give the reader some resolution. It was disappointing.So, while I loved this book and would happily recommend it to anyone, I will say that it is by no means the perfect book or an absolute masterpiece. It is good and it avoids what I like to call "The Divergent Dive," but don't expect a literary wonder.
Enjoy your prayer life by Michael Reeves
5.0
I received this book as a random gift from a friend 3-4 years ago. I thought it was very thoughtful to send me the book, but I had no interest in reading about prayer. Like many people, I avoided prayer whenever possible: I said a form prayer to bless the food, I avoided eye contact and stared silently at the floor when someone asked people to open/close in prayer, I told others I'd pray for them and thought about their needs but never verbalized a request to God.
This book changed that.
Not astoundingly and all at once, but slowly and profoundly. It was less being jolted awake, and more letting the natural sunlight wake you up. This book was powerfully convicting, but without any guilt or shame. In many ways the author has mastered the art of guiding people away from "regret bad choices and wish you were better" to "do better from here on out."
This book is very short--only about 47 pages, and the pages are smaller than a normal book. Each chapter has loads to unpack in a very concise and easy to understand manner. I think I'm going to go back and re-read it dedicating a day for each chapter.
Very much recommend for everyone. Those who love prayer and those who don't.
This book changed that.
Not astoundingly and all at once, but slowly and profoundly. It was less being jolted awake, and more letting the natural sunlight wake you up. This book was powerfully convicting, but without any guilt or shame. In many ways the author has mastered the art of guiding people away from "regret bad choices and wish you were better" to "do better from here on out."
This book is very short--only about 47 pages, and the pages are smaller than a normal book. Each chapter has loads to unpack in a very concise and easy to understand manner. I think I'm going to go back and re-read it dedicating a day for each chapter.
Very much recommend for everyone. Those who love prayer and those who don't.
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
4.0
Summary: A girl's infatuation with a graffiti artist sends her on an escapade. Lost boy tags along.
This book is the equivalent of someone you really like holding your hand on the first date. It's a little jittery with excitement. It's inspires a warm radiant feeling. It's the kind of book you think about after it's over, hoping to find those feelings again. I really enjoyed this book.
I liked that it happened over the course of one night and left me feeling a little breathless and ready for action.
I liked that there was a strong female character who other characters didn't comment "Wow she is a strong woman" or "She's not like other girls" (I know it's mentioned she's weird, but I love it because she actually IS weird.)
I like that characters are called out for stupidity and unrealistic expectations.
I will read this again and recommend it happily to every one else.
Some explanation for the 4 rather than 5 star rating. There are three major flaws:
You can tell the author is the same as the author of Words in Deep Blue. Each of the teenager has a Quirk (TM). They're each somehow an expert in different fields and know way more than the average teenager does despite the fact that they're by and large supposed to be normal. The teenagers sometimes talk like teenagers and sometimes talk like book versions of teenagers whose quirks make them smarter than anyone else around. They can clearly verbalize their deep thoughts in a way that real life teenagers struggle to. As a result, the book has a warm reassurance to it--that we're not the only ones to feel and think a certain way, but it does make the writing a bit unrealistic at times.
One, this book works out *too* perfectly at times and takes me out of the story. She answers questions too quickly--some of which don't need to be answers. Example:
Ed's Chapter: I wonder if the memory fleet came out of Lucy's tangled drawings I mentioned that I used to creep on earlier.
Lucy's Chapter (immediately after Ed's): The memory fleet came out of my tangled drawings I used to do and never mentioned before."
I wish she made the reader piece things together--I know that Crowley & Marchetta read each other's work, and I think that the Marchetta's Mystery is something that Crowley should make an attempt at incorporating into her own writing.
Additionally the ending tied together nicely. No one went to jail. The bad guy got paid. Beth's feelings weren't hurt. Jazz really did like Leo and vice versa. Ed and Lucy are in love and working at the same art studio. His mom made rent. Lucy met Shadow and after 4 hours of unsurety he loved her back. Her parents aren't getting divorced. I could go on. It would have been nice to have a lingering problem. Maybe Jazz didn't like Leo as much. Maybe his mom didn't make rent. I'm not one for having an unhappy ending to shock the reader, but this was a little *too* happy.
Crowley does attempt to leave the reader pieces to put together without giving the whole picture sometimes. Largely this is dialogue. Sometimes this works well. "I decide to let the universe decide and flip a coin. Best two out of three. Best three out of four. Best four out of five." Sometimes it doesn't. (I'm looking at you first interaction between Lucy and Ed where weird things are happening with putting a certain number of fingers up.)
Overall, really enjoyed. Please read so we can discuss.
This book is the equivalent of someone you really like holding your hand on the first date. It's a little jittery with excitement. It's inspires a warm radiant feeling. It's the kind of book you think about after it's over, hoping to find those feelings again. I really enjoyed this book.
I liked that it happened over the course of one night and left me feeling a little breathless and ready for action.
I liked that there was a strong female character who other characters didn't comment "Wow she is a strong woman" or "She's not like other girls" (I know it's mentioned she's weird, but I love it because she actually IS weird.)
I like that characters are called out for stupidity and unrealistic expectations.
I will read this again and recommend it happily to every one else.
Some explanation for the 4 rather than 5 star rating. There are three major flaws:
You can tell the author is the same as the author of Words in Deep Blue. Each of the teenager has a Quirk (TM). They're each somehow an expert in different fields and know way more than the average teenager does despite the fact that they're by and large supposed to be normal. The teenagers sometimes talk like teenagers and sometimes talk like book versions of teenagers whose quirks make them smarter than anyone else around. They can clearly verbalize their deep thoughts in a way that real life teenagers struggle to. As a result, the book has a warm reassurance to it--that we're not the only ones to feel and think a certain way, but it does make the writing a bit unrealistic at times.
One, this book works out *too* perfectly at times and takes me out of the story. She answers questions too quickly--some of which don't need to be answers. Example:
Ed's Chapter: I wonder if the memory fleet came out of Lucy's tangled drawings I mentioned that I used to creep on earlier.
Lucy's Chapter (immediately after Ed's): The memory fleet came out of my tangled drawings I used to do and never mentioned before."
I wish she made the reader piece things together--I know that Crowley & Marchetta read each other's work, and I think that the Marchetta's Mystery is something that Crowley should make an attempt at incorporating into her own writing.
Crowley does attempt to leave the reader pieces to put together without giving the whole picture sometimes. Largely this is dialogue. Sometimes this works well. "I decide to let the universe decide and flip a coin. Best two out of three. Best three out of four. Best four out of five." Sometimes it doesn't. (I'm looking at you first interaction between Lucy and Ed where weird things are happening with putting a certain number of fingers up.)
Overall, really enjoyed. Please read so we can discuss.