A Monster Calls

By Patrick Ness
Lexile = 730

I must admit that I avoided this book for a while. A monster book, really? But this is a monster like no other. Conor is visited regularly by a monster, who looks like a tree, and who challenges what Conor is afraid of.

What are YOU afraid of? Conor's monster helps him to find out what Conor's greatest fear really is.

This book will make you cry. If it doesn't, maybe a monster will appear outside your window in the night.

A Monster Calls was made into a movie! HERE is the trailer.

GUEST POST! Animal Farm

By George Orwell
Lexile = 1170

This book review was written by Timothy Davis:

This Story takes place in England, more specifically the Manor Farm. This farm is run by a man named Mr. Jones. Mr Jones is a drunk neglectful man who does not care about his animals in the slightest unless they make him money to benefit himself.
When an old pig named Old Major has a dream about the animals being free from human control, this puts the seed of rebellion into every animal's mind. After punishment from Mr. Jones, the animals rebel successfully. As the pigs are put in charge it becomes a race for control of the animals and their minds.

The story of “Animal Farm” is based on the fall of the Russian Empire and its replacement with the USSR with communism as its belief. Most characters from “Animal Farm” have real life counterparts.

Old Major = Karl Marx
Mr Jones & Co. = The Czars and the Russian Empire
Napoleon = Stalin
The animals = The Russian People

This book was fairly easy to read and very engaging. It personifies animals as humans and shows the history of the revolution of Russia and the aftermath that takes effect after the revolution.

Lost and Found

By Orson Scott CardLexile = 700Orson Scott Card is a super famous author. He was won many important awards for his fantasy and science fiction novels. But I can't imagine that he will win awards for this novel aimed at young adult readers. I think Card should stick to "adult" novels. Kids don't talk as portrayed in Lost and Found. HIs characters philosophize and banter with adults in the way Card portrays. I recall being told when I worked at a bookstore, "If the author's  name is bigger than the title on the cover, you know that we're trying to sell it based on the author's name alone." So TRUE!  Marking this as a stinker. Sorry, Mr. Card.

Cilka's Journey

By Heather Morris

Lexile = 760

Have you read The Tattooist of Auschwitz? Such a compelling story! A minor character in that historical novel is Cilka Klein. Cilka's Journey could be considered a sequel to Tattooist. 

Cilka Klein seemed to be doing pretty well in the camp at Auschwitz. She was labeled a "collaborator" by her fellow prisoners, when in reality she was a victim as much as all prisoners. 

For years following the liberation of the camps, Cilka suffered in other camps set up for liberators. I knew so little of this aspect of the Holocaust and its aftermath. Morris is able to make history compelling and current. 

Watch a book trailer HERE

Darius the Great is Not OK

By Adib Khorram  

Lexile = 710 

Darius the Great has a bit of a "sleeper" quality to it. Seems to be quietly building to a great climax, but that doesn't really happen. Now, that isn't going to convince you to read it, I know, but it is a good book about a young mamn coming to terms with who he is and where he fits in his faily. Good view of modern life in Iran... and guess what? It's pretty much just like life anywhere. 

Watch the author speak HERE.

10 Blind Dates

By Ashley Elston

Lexile = 680

With 10 Blind Dates, Elston has given readers a sweet holiday themed romance. You may have read her other novels, Rules for Disappearing and Rules for Breaking.  It's rare that an author can jump genres seamlessly, but Elston has done it here.

Sophie is dumped by her boyfriend just before Christmas. Her parents have left on a trip, so Sophie decided to travel to her grandparents house to hang out with the cousins and try to forget  about romance. However, when her large extended family hears about the broken heart, they are determined to make her forget about the old boyfriend. They decide to make it a game: each uncle, cousin, or  aunt gets to set Sophie up on a blind date. (Sounds fun, right?) And then the old boyfriend shows up.....

Really, this is pretty fun book. Watch a quick interview with the author HERE.

Great Small Things

By Jodi Picoult
Lexile = 800

Ruth is an experienced nurse tending to the needs of new mothers and their babies in a hospital. One of the new babies belongs to a family of white supremacists and Ruth is black. She is told by her supervisor to not touch the baby under any circumstance. She complies with the order and terrible things happen.

This novel, like most of Picoult's writings, is timely and painful. It is about race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion. Great Small Things is a hard read. I think about it often.

Note: Great Small Things was written in 2016. It has recently been re-examined in light of #BlackLivesMatter. The white author is telling the story of a black woman. It has been argued that her audience is white women. Is this novel an example of #whitesplaining? Also, this novel was set to be made into a movie. We will see......

Watch a short interview with the author HERE.