In Justina Ireland’s America, nobody won the Civil War. The war simply never ended, because of the shamblers. The shamblers are the dead that rose up from the battlefields of Gettysburg and began to walk, hungry for blood and flesh. The country needed to band together to fight this new threat, and the war simply petered out. Most of the cities in the South are simply gone. Burned. Destroyed. Overrun by shamblers. The cities in the North are doing slightly better, but its hard to […]
THUG Life Well Worth Reading
Verdict: Angie Thomas’ first book is a gem. Although aimed at young adults (YA), it is sharply written, entertaining and packs a real punch on social issues. Review: A member of my book club chose this for our first read of 2019 and I’m so glad she did. I was reluctant to dive in because I thought the subject matter- the police shooting of a young black man and ensuing fallout – would be heavy. While the subject matter was heavy, and deservedly so given […]
I just can’t quit you, Lauren Oliver.
Lauren Oliver is sort of my Cannonball nemesis. I adored her first book, Before I Fall, but have been disappointed ever since, and my disappointment is somewhat well documented. I disliked her Delirium trilogy (yet kept reading). I didn’t care for Rooms, and Panic was just ok. But for seem reason, I just can’t quit her. And I know, I have no one to blame but myself, really. Lauren Oliver owes me nothing. But still. I want more. I know that someday she’ll write something […]
“If you can’t win the game, you have to cheat.”
Have you read Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue? If not, stop reading this review and go read that. This is the sequel, and both books are utterly delightful and disarming. This book is the second in The Montague Siblings series (or duology? there are only two of them) and the story belongs to Felicity, the more sensible and academic of the two. Gentleman’s Guide made it clear that Felicity has more interest in science and medicine than domesticity and society and in her […]