Tag Archives: revisiting

Cress, by Marissa Meyer

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Thistle

Cress is third in the Lunar Chronicles, after Cinder and Scarlet. To recap previous feelings, I’d wished Cinder was standalone, and left out all the moon-alien-people, which felt superfluous. Then, in Scarlet, I didn’t mind so much, because the story … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Thistle

Minor spoilers. In complete contrast to what I normally think about second books in a series, I not only enjoyed Scarlet as much as Cinder, but I think it improved Cinder in my mind. Scarlet is a retelling of Little … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Mostly True Story of Jack, by Kelly Barnhill

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Thistle

Jack’s parents are getting divorced, and so Jack is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in middle-of-nowhere Iowa for the summer. At home, he’s used to being nearly invisible. He has no friends, the bullies ignore him, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Children's, Prose | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Vision, by Jen Nadol

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Thistle

I really enjoyed the first book of this series (The Mark), up until it suddenly switched from philosophical to paranormal in the last few chapters. I didn’t plan to read the sequels, but somehow I forgot that by the time … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Protected: The Magicians, by Lev Grossman

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Thistle

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Posted in 2012, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , | Enter your password to view comments.

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Thistle

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella, set in future-world China on a background of cyborgs and plague and intergalactic politics. I’ll be short with this review. I wasn’t sure I would like this book. It seemed everyone was reading it, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Castle in the Air, by Diana Wynne Jones (audio)

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Thistle

In Zanzib, a city in a land south of Ingary, a carpet merchant named Abdullah dreams of meeting and falling in love with a princess. He buys a magic carpet from a stranger one day, and that night, finds himself … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

When She Woke, by Hillary Jordan

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Thistle

I’m in two minds about this book. It’s a dystopian retelling of The Scarlet Letter, so I expected there to be some similarities there. However, some of the similarities were, for me, a little too close: Hester Prynne = Hannah … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Habibi, by Craig Thompson

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Thistle

This could have been a really nice story, with beautiful illustrations, all woven together very well. However, the cultural portrayals made me very uncomfortable, and I was very distracted by the constant vomiting and juvenile humor written/drawn throughout. I noticed a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, Adult, Visual | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Don Juan, by Lord Byron

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Thistle

This epic poem is a retelling of the legend of Don Juan. Don Juan is normally seen as a scoundrel and womanizer, but in Byron’s retelling, he is instead just a beautiful young man easily seduced by women. The poem … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, Adult, Poetry | Tagged , , | 1 Comment