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KAITLYN Kaitlyn has been reading and writing stories for as long as she can remember. One of her earliest writing memories is of the book binding station at her elementary school library where she could buy bound books to write in for pocket change. Kaitlyn has a degree in English Literature from ASU, where she also studied Creative Writing. She is an omnivorous reader known to read multiple books at once. She never reads without a pen, a fact that her often heavily annotated books can attest to. |
My interest was peaked by the cover, intensified by the first lines and once I started this book there was no way I was going to stop. There is so much to love in this book. A mostly female cast of characters, each unique, strong in their own way, and representative of diversity in many forms. Claire Legrand does a wonderful job of creating the world that these characters exist in and the mythologies that terrorize and control their lives. And most importantly for me was the expert rendering of visceral and gut twisting horror. Even if you’ve seen the things described here in a movie, reading it is a new and horrifying experience. I’ve never read anything quite like this, but I would be happy to keep reading about these characters and this world.
Author Emily Arsenault writes in a way I’ve never encountered before. She puts you on a path, makes you believe that everything you read is gospel and then pulls the rug from underneath you, changing direction so expertly that you can’t believe that you didn’t see it coming. The Last Thing I Told You is infinitely complex both in the story being told and the depths of the characters portrayed. This book speaks to the intricacies of life and people and explores lurking darkness in a uniquely illuminating fashion.
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Two truths and a lie.
1. This is a compelling read that takes a simple B movie horror trope and spins it into a compelling tension filled story where things can change in an instant and you never know who to trust.
2.Riley Sager executes the twists and reveals at a level I haven’t encountered since reading early Chuck Palahniuk.
3.This isn’t the perfect summer read and I wouldn’t recommend that you read it.
A hardened murder detective reeling from the loss of his partner and a case gone bad; a plucky, sassy, resourceful bookstore worker; a legacy buried in history; and a mad mathematician determined to doom the world all have their roles in this expertly written novel. The characters feel so real you’d swear you had actually been interacting with them as you read through the pages. A great melding of well known elements of Lovecraft’s fiction and the best of detective storytelling. I flew through this audiobook hardly wanting it to end, but when it was done I was pleasantly taken by surprise and left eager for more.
As someone who has fully bought into the fad of ghost hunting TV shows, the idea of a book about a crew lost at sea while filming a mockumentary felt right up my alley. I had no idea what I was in for with this book. It is so smart and prioritizes scientific study as a way to find and understand the creatures they seek. It is beautifully written as well as a pulse pounding thrill ride with a varied cast of characters and a story that never fails to surprise. If we are at the start of a new trend in the genre I’m not sure any book can top this one. If you like audio books, this one is stellar.
I envy those people that can make you feel understood even when they've never met you by putting just the right string of words together. It's books like these that show how even when the world is divided there are certain feelings and drives that can hold us together. This is a book that is, as it claims to be, for every one; for all ages, and for any one creative or not. I believe that every one can find at least one sentence that will speak directly to them. Whether it helps you for a moment or maybe sets you out on a new life path, this book is absolutely worth reading and rereading as often as necessary.
Told in the multimedia format popularized by author/illustrator Brian Selznick, Thornhill is the parallel and intersecting story about two lonely young girls and the lengths that they will go to make a friend who understands them. This novel is haunting and grapples with sophisticated topics in an engrossing way. The illustrations are mesmerizing and the prose beautifully captures both the emotions and trauma of life. This book is recommended for a more mature reader who is ready to tackle a tale with deep resonance and lasting impact.
The perfect combination of timeless fairy tale qualities and the austerity and fear mongering ways of the Puritans this book explores the dark natures of human beings. When twins Benedicta and Angelica are banished from their village they are irrevocably changed as are the lives of those that banished them. This book deftly explores the public and private faces that each of us possess, how our assumptions and beliefs color the way we see the world, and the ways in which responding in fear can create the exact things that we fear. Thoroughly creepy and unexpectedly deep this book should definitely be on your list of things to read.
Warning, do not begin this book if you aren't prepared to give your heart to an enigmatic, exquisitely dressed, fact-filled ten year old. The allure of a reclusive author beginning to write after many years spent secreted away from the public intrigued me, but it was truly the aforementioned ten year old, Frank, that kept me coming back to this book. Fun tidbits about old Hollywood films and their stars live side by side with bluntly realistic depictions of how the world is not always an easy place to navigate. This novel is ultimately a sweet story about a mother who loves her son, his journey to be himself in a world that doesn't understand him, and the ways in which his struggle touches those who take the time to get to know him.
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. This book looks at those moments and how they can either build you up or break you. It made me think about how you can never know what someone else may be going through though under the surface there is guaranteed to be something. The writing in this books is beautiful, the emotions real, and its impact lasting. It’s subject may be sad, but the book left me feeling oddly light, happy, and hopeful.
Neal Shusterman has done it again! He writes books that will delight teens and adults alike without talking down to the younger bracket of his readers. His stories are complex and deal with grim realities in the most elegant ways. In a world where death has been conquered and a group of people known as Scythes are responsible for culling the population to ensure that the world remains stable anything is possible. Once I began this book, everything else I had to do I did grudgingly, wanting more than anything to spend uninterrupted reading time in this new world. The world of this novel is so fully realized. Shusterman thought of it all, from the technologies that would power his future society to the slang people would use and new ways they would get themselves into trouble. The characters inner life is rich and conflicted which makes for a great read. Simply put this book is brilliant!
For me, returning to the Old Kingdom is akin to returning to Hogwarts. I am always ready for the next tale, the next harrowing adventure, the next opportunity to return to the friends I made years ago. This book is unique in that several short stories that were published in the time between the publication of Abhorsen and Goldenhand figure into the story prominently. It was fun to see the details from those stories come into play in this tale. This book is truly for the fans that have followed the tales of the Old Kingdom with ravenous devotion. Here we get a story that brings together everything we know into a seamless and spellbinding tale. For the best experience I recommend that you refamiliarize yourself with all of the novels and short stories related to the Old Kingdom.
Buy this book. Don’t think twice. I’m begging you, learn from my mistake. I looked at the cover of this book and assumed that the historical element might make it a little dry; informative, but dry. I could not have been more wrong. From the opening page to the very last word, I was captivated. This novel is the perfect combination of history and heartfelt human connection. The stars of this story are it’s unlikely relationships. They will make you smile and remind you of the possibility of endurance in the face of terrible odds. Towles’ writing is smart without being pretentious and anyone familiar with Russian literature will feel its influence on Towles and this story.
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If you love F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, or Thomas Wolfe, this book is a MUST! Reading about how amazing books like The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises came into the world was a treat; I felt like I was getting away with something. I couldn't help but smile while reading about Max Perkins. My cheeks positively ached with joy. Perkins seems like that kind of man that I would have like to know, and even more to have worked with and learned from. I feel lucky that A. Scott Berg wrote such a comprehensive, and entertaining, biography that allows me to feel as if I did get to know the man after a fashion.
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I was astonished by this book. Between the story of the main character trying to find Lenore (both her grandmother and herself), her parrot who repeats scripture, her brother who refers to himself as the antichrist, and the sessions with “about the worst psychologist of all time”, this book is nonstop fun. This book is witty, as well as absurd. I laughed out loud, and was alternately moved to introspection. I learned so much while reading because I constantly found myself lacking a good enough understanding to completely enjoy what Foster Wallace was delving into. I cannot wait to read this again to see what new experiences it has in store.
“I know exactly what you’d be saying to me now. You’d be telling me that I have to try. To try to try.” This was all it took to convince me to read this book. I am so glad I took the time to peek inside or I might have missed this absolute gem. I loved the writing in this book. James Hannah understands how to write with impact; how a few well-placed words can stop a reader dead. I loved that this story didn't lay everything on the line right away. I liked that the reader learned things about the main character, Ivo, only as he was able to divulge them. When the end finally came I wasn’t ready for it. I knew what was coming, and yet I wasn’t prepared to read it. Absolutely beautiful book.
I came to Tom Spanbauer through a long, and sometimes tumultuous, relationship with Chuck Palahniuk. I had no idea what to expect when I came to this book, but anything I could have imagined would have been wrong. I'll admit I was nervous going into this book because at its core it is about a love triangle. The difference between this and the typical love triangle portrayed in books and movies is that this particular love triangle feels organic; it is the product of time, and of the strange ways that life can bring people together and pull them apart. The characters feel alive, and more real than should be possible. This book opens with emotional force, and it never relents. Fans of Chuck Palahniuk will recognize the style, but the punch packed by Spanbauer's writing is more emotional, his prose lyrical and moving.