Tag Archives: Young Adult

Book 32: The Waiting Tree – Lindsay Moynihan

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Moynihan, Lindsay - The Waiting TreeI’m never sure whether I should research an author or book too much before I start reading, especially if it is an advanced copy. On one hand I wouldn’t mind knowing where this novel fits within their repertoire (is it a first, a tenth, a hundredth?) or are they a writer by training? And on the other hand do I really want to have those pre conceived notions? Sometimes that really works well for an author.

If I’m reading a novel that I’m not sure is a first novel or not and I read it with no pre-conceived notions and then I go back and find out that it is a first novel it often makes me reflect on it differently and that is the case with The Waiting Tree. I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and received no compensation for my honest response.

This is Moynihan’s first novel and it was a good novel; it wasn’t great, but it bordered on great which is all you can really ask for in a first novel. I vaguely remember it saying this was her first novel, but there were times where the maturity of her writing made me think this couldn’t be her first novel, but there were a few occasions which made me think it could be her first novel.

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Book 20: The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles #2) – Rick Riordan

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Riordan, Rick - The Throne of FireI just want to start by saying if by some odd chance you’re the publisher of this book, you need to pay for better copy writers. There were quite a few mistakes in this novel in the text and maybe it was part of the ‘style’ but I really doubt it.

Although I’ve enjoyed reading both of the books in the Kane Chronicles so far, I still think it is the weakest of Riordan’s series. They’re definitely action packed and entertaining, but overall I just can’t truly appreciate the characters as much as I can in his other two series and I’m not sure why. Part of this I think comes from the style of the writing and the other part comes from the inability to identify with any of the minor characters. Although I think he did a better job with this book, it just didn’t click perfectly with me. However, don’t get me wrong it was still a fun read and I appreciated seeing Carter and Sadie grow and meeting new characters. I just wish there was more.

This novel picks up not long after the last novel, but there is A LOT of information that is never filled in and that drives me insane! This novel just sort of picks up and a lot of things have changed and it’s like you’re supposed to accept that and move on, which you have to do, because there’s no other way to get that information. Part of this comes from Riordan’s style of writing in that this novel is just a transcript of a tape he ‘discovered’ and that added to the personalities of Sadie and Carter this time, but it left so much information out like more information where the other magicians came from, what they’re doing and what they’re planning to do!

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Book 18: The Madman’s Daughter (The Madman’s Daughter #1)- Megan Shepherd

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Shepherd, Megan - The Madman's DaughterA friend from UNC (Go Heels! – it’s a gut reaction :-D ), Hi Lizzie!,  recommended The Madman’s Daughter as the author is a family friend (or something along those lines) and I’m glad she recommended it! It was a fast paced and engaging read and although it wasn’t perfect, it was an amazing debut novel and I can’t wait to see where her writing takes her in the future.

It has been a very long time, over 10 years if not closer to 15, since I went through my H.G. Wells obsession and read everything he wrote and from what I remember this mirrors The Island of Doctor Moreau pretty closely. I think at some point in the next few years I will go back and read Wells work again as I really enjoyed The Time Machine and The Invisible Man.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the author’s story telling ability and her great descriptions. At one point when I was getting reading my final chapter for the night before bed I had chills all over my body because of what happened and the cliff hanger of that chapter (almost the exact half-way point). Honestly, I was shocked I was able to put the book down and go to bed.

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Book 15: The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus #3) – Rick Riordan

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Riordan, Rick - The Mark of AthenaI can’t wait for the next in this series to come out!

When it does, I’m going to re-read the first three all over again because there were so many details I only vaguely recalled AND their just fun reads! (Although this might not happen as The House of Hades‘ scheduled publication is August 2013, but I hope to get the chance!)

From what I do recall from the first two books, this is definitely more action packed and definitely not lacking. However, in the end it was just as much a tease as the others. For the entire book I held out hope that some of the major plot lines of the series would be wrapped up, but only one of them was (which was definitely nice). I was, however, very glad that the seven demigods from the prophecy were finally together and the teen angst in the book definitely added to the plot (although I’ve yet to read an author who does teen angst as well as J.K. Rowling).

What’s great is Riordan is slowly perfecting his new style of writing (third person narration) and I think he’s improved over the last few of his novels. In addition he’s stuck with his strengths of weaving disparate stories (and cultures) together and creating a crazy cacophony of non-stop action.

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Book 10: When Love Comes to Town – Tom Lennon

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Lennon, Tom - When Love Comes to TownI received a copy of this via request on NetGalley and I am so happy I requested it. This is my honest opinion and I received nothing in return for it.

It’s times like this when I wish I went into teaching at some level to share a story like this with my students. It’s heartbreaking, but hopeful and I can only imagine what it would be like if I were an Irish teen reading this in the mid 1990s after it was written. Honestly, I would’ve felt just like Neil when he found out he wasn’t ‘the only gay in the village.’

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this novel and Tom Lennon (a pseudonym to protect his Catholic-school teaching identity and he’s still unknown) as an Irish author writing about LGBT characters had the decks stacked against him: Jamie O’Neill can do no wrong, John Boyne won me over with The Absolutist, Damian McNicholl put up a good effort with A Son Called Gabriel and Oscar Wilde is, well, Oscar Wilde. Needless to say, Tom Lennon did not disappoint, and as I listed all of those authors I realized his story pre-dated all of the rest by at least a decade with the exception of Oscar Wilde, so I’m excited his story is being introduced to the US.

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