Yesterday I posted this summer’s non-fiction reads. Today, the fiction. Three just for me and two I shared with Tween, since reading aloud with my kiddo remains one of my all-time favorite activities.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“What you could be.”
But what we become is an intersection of who we are and the times in which we live.
The unlikeliest characters, a blind girl and an orphan boy with a genius for radio, take center stage in this World War 2 novel. And from their youthful perspective, we see bright light and life worth living in one of the darkest times in history.
License to Thrill by Dan Gutman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
My least favorite of the five Genius Files books, but the author had to get the family home from their cross-country road trip. This one takes some strange twists, almost like the author ran out of new ideas, and again as he ties up loose ends and reminds us of the journey we’ve been on together. It is tongue-in-cheek funny and I’m glad to get out of the car now that the kids are home safe. However, I will say this is one of the brightest series I’ve read with my young adolescent boys and, although this wasn’t my favorite book, the series itself is worth a good read-aloud.
The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Art, infirmity, the brokenness of families and the possibility of redemption, with just a little bit of mystery…
I almost gave up on this one, but about half-way through it kicked in. The writing was good from the beginning, but I just wasn’t sure I cared enough about the characters. Until I did. True to form, I read the last page after having read about two chapters. It spoiled some things, of course, but not everything. The book still was able to surprise me.
Story Thieves by James Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Tween saw this at Costco and insisted we buy it. Which made it a mandatory read-aloud. The only problem with that is I have longer reading stamina and he’s fine stopping after a couple of chapters. It took us weeks to finish the book, which after all might not be a problem because it drew out the suspense.
I give it 4 stars for Tween (personally I might give it 3, but he insists). It’s a clever story about what might happen if fictional characters ever had the power to enter the real world and thus discover that they are fictional. And what might real people face if they entered books? If you don’t think too hard about the issue of free will (which most kids won’t), it’s a fun read about the power, beauty, and danger of reading.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Even though the title of this book has been popping up here and there and everywhere over the last couple of years, I had no idea what it was about. Surprising, delightful, the characters entranced me and hooked me in to their various “projects.” It’s The Big Bang Theory meets When Harry Met Sally. Loved it!
The Rosie Project was my favorite last year. In fact I purchased the disc so Don and I could listen to it as we drove on vacation last August, a trip we were never able to take. Love the characters!