Divergent

I've heard people recommend Divergent by Veronica Roth for awhile, and then I just saw a movie theater preview for a Divergent movie coming out--which finally motivated me to read the book.  Divergent is about a dystopian society that is grouped into 5 factions--each focused on a single positive quality.  When citizens turn 16, they take an aptitude test and find out their best faction match; they then choose whether to remain in their faction of birth or switch to another for life. Sixteen-year-old Beatrice lives in Abnegation, the faction of selflessness.  Her aptitude test turns up inconclusive--secretly marking her as Divergent.  Beatrice has to decide how--and why--to keep her secret as she discovers a new side of herself in a new faction.

This was a really good book.  The story was interesting, and it was very engaging and unique.  It turned out to be a quick read even though it was a long book--probably because it was semi-addicting.  I liked Beatrice and a character named Four and felt like they were really well-developed.  I really, really liked the book, but for some reason, I can't quite give it the "love" rating.  Maybe just because it had kind of a negative feel to the story overall; there was lots of violence and death and unhappiness, so maybe that vibe just kind of turned me away.  But I am still super excited to read the next book.  Hopefully I can borrow it from a friend because I'm #62 on the library wait list.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Gregor the Overlander

My teenage neighbor lent me Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, telling me this was one of her favorite series and that she liked it better than the author's other famous series (Hunger Games). This book tells about 11-year-old Gregor who lives in NYC and has a less than ideal life after his dad mysteriously disappeared two years before. Gregor is in charge of watching his 2-year-old sister Boots all summer, and one day while doing laundry, they fall into an air vent and end up in the Underland--a land with humans who fly on bats, giant rats and cockroaches, and spiders. Gregor is immediately on a mission to first, survive, and second, get himself and Boots back home.

This was a really fun book. It was hard to imagine this as being the same author as Hunger Games just because it was so different. But I really liked the plot--once I got into it, it was fast-moving and exciting. The characters were all very endearing--surprisingly, I think a cockroach was one of my favorite characters. I like how the book ended, even though it is a series. I plan to continue reading the rest of the series.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Catching Fire (re-read)

I re-read Catching Fire so I could have it fresh in my mind before going to see the movie. I wanted to put it on here to keep track of my reads, but I won't do an official post about it since I did in the past--post here. I think I like this book more each time I read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the re-read.

The Fault in Our Stars

I had several people recently recommend The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and then a teenager at church lent me her copy.  This book is about 16-year-old Hazel, who is dying from terminal stage IV cancer.  It follows her life as she deals with her parents and her support group and when she meets a new friend--Augustus, a cancer survivor too.

This was a really good, addicting book.  It was one of those books that is not great to read when I am supposed to be hanging out with Emmeline because I am very distracted and want to keep reading.  The characters were very real and believable, and I became very engrossed in their stories.  It was a sad book (as can be assumed from the subject matter) but never got too depressing.  The only thing about this book is it has some language and a few bursts of questionable material in there. Normally I just put down books like, but this one was so highly recommended (including by young women in my ward) that I figured it wasn't going to be too bad so kept reading.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Heaven is Here

After listening to a General Conference talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland where he mentioned Stephanie Nielson, I became re-interested in her story. I looked her up online and saw she had written a memoir--Heaven is Here--so I checked it out from the library.  It tells of Stephanie's story--she was a young mother of 4 and a popular blogger when she was in a small plane crash with her husband.  The pilot was killed, and she and her husband survived but with burns all over their bodies.  The book chronicles her life before the crash (her life growing up, meeting her husband, starting their family) and then the crash and how her life changed after the tragedy.

This was a really inspiring book.  It was definitely very hard to read at times because of the difficulties that she went through, but she really showed how family and faith and hope can get you through times that seem impossible to overcome. Her life was really idyllic before the crash; she was the stereotypical young Mormon mom with a bunch of kids.  But I think understanding that life was important because it helped the reader better understand the devastation of the accident.  It was touching to follow her emotions from depressing and hopeless to the realization that there was still good and happiness in her life, even amid the terrible things she was going through.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

PS--There is also a great "Mormon Message" on youtube that tells a little bit of her story.  I just watched it last night and really liked it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E

Al Capone Does My Homework

I saw that Gennifer Choldenko had written a new Alcatraz story, so I found Al Capone Does My Homework at the library. This is the third book in a series following Moose Flanagan, a boy who lives on Alcatraz Island in the 1930s because his dad works at the prison.  In this book, his dad has been promoted to associate warden, which means that he is more at risk from problems from the inmates. Moose worries about his dad as well as his sister Natalie, especially when a mysterious fire starts in their home.

This was another great book.  I was just so engaged and by the end didn't want to put the book down.  I just love the kid characters in the book and their distinct personalities.  I love Moose and how protective he is of his older sister.  (Natalie probably has autism, but it is never really labeled in the book since it was the 1930s, when things like that just weren't understood.)  I just think this series is so fun--the time period and setting along with the fun plot twists and awesome characters.  It just makes for a great book.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Emmaline and the Bunny

I randomly saw Emmaline and the Bunny by Katherine Hannigan on a shelf at the library and was so surprised to see a book with my daughter Emmeline's name.  It looked like a cute book (an easier chapter book with some illustrations in there), so I told Emmeline about it, and we checked it out.  It is about a little girl named Emmaline who lives in Neatasapin where everything is tidy--but she doesn't like being tidy.  She wants a pet bunny, but bunnies are not allowed because they are too dirty.  But Emmaline is lonely, and she wants to find a way to get a bunny somehow.

I read this book aloud to Emmeline over a few days.  It's the first time I've attempted a chapter book with her, and she was actually quite interested in it.  (I only did attempt a chapter book because it was an Emmaline book, but now maybe I'll try again sometime.)  Each day when we read more, I just reminded her what had happened before, and I asked her some questions throughout to see how she was following it and to help her understand.  It was fun to read it with her, and she really liked the plot--a girl named Emmaline, bunny rabbits....that's about all it takes to interest a 3-year-old.  I didn't actually love the book that much though, which surprised me since the author's book Ida B is fabulous.  I think the book was just kind of random.  I also think I would've liked it slightly more if I didn't read it aloud because it had a kind of odd writing style that I think would have come across better in my mind rather than spoken aloud.  But I think it was actually a pretty good first chapter book to read to Emmeline.

Rating: * (1/3 = It was okay)