Tag Archives: speculative

The Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth picks up six months after the last installment at the beginning of summer camp. This time it’s Annabeth’s turn to go on a quest, with Percy, Tyson (the Cyclops), and Grover (the Satyr) by her … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Children's, Prose | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Titan’s Curse, by Rick Riordan

The third installment of the Percy Jackson series (which began with The Lightning Thief) is The Titan’s Curse. Halfway between two summers at Camp Half-Blood, Percy gets roped into following a quest of fellow half-blood Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Kronos … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Children's, Prose | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 is the ultimate banned book – a book about banning books to the degree of burning any that are discovered, as well as the house of the owner who concealed them. Firemen in this dystopian world don’t mess … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Time of My Life, by Allison Winn Scotch

Spoilers. Jillian has the seemingly perfect suburban life with a supportive husband and a cute toddler that she gets to stay home with. But underneath the facade, she’s dying. Slowly withering away trying to keep up the perfect-wife-and-mother act. She … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

This will not be a popular review. Most people who have read Catching Fire have said it’s even better than The Hunger Games. I’m afraid I disagree. In fact, I was a little bit disappointed. Why, you ask? Well, I’ve … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, 2010, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel

[joint review and recipe by my husband and me] Recipe: Gignac Tiramisu Ingredients: 24 Milano cookies, 5 egg yolks, 1/3 C sugar, 1/2 C heavy cream, 2 tsp REAL vanilla (no extract!), 14 oz cream cheese, 3/4 C espresso Jason: So… … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Last Days, by Scott Westerfeld

This is the most disappointing Westerfeld I’ve ever read. Normally, I love his books. Spoilers if you haven’t read PEEPS. If you have or don’t plan to, you should be fine to read on. *No* spoilers from The Last Days. … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Trial, by Franz Kafka + graphic novel

Spoilers. Josef K. wakes up on his 30th birthday to find himself arrested. No one will tell him why, and he’s free to go about his own business in the meantime. Over the course of a year, he must defend … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose, Visual | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan

I hardly know what to say about this book. I’m not even going to try to describe the plot. A plot description really doesn’t tell you anything. Each moment of this book illuminated nothing but the moment before it, nothing … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Kin, by Holly Black

While Tithe by Holly Black wasn’t my favorite book, I decided to give her another chance with this graphic novel. I had about an hour of downtime at ALA while waiting for my friend Debye, plus my feet were killing … Continue reading

Posted in 2009, Visual, Young Adult | Tagged | Leave a comment