Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Annotated Centennial Edition) by Frank Baum

My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Plot: A beloved classic comes to life with this beautifully illustrated annotated edition on the 100th anniversary of Oz. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the quintessential American fairy tale, but also one of the most controversial children's books ever published. Michael Patrick Hearn, the world's leading Oz scholar, provides a spellbinding annotated edition that illuminates all of Oz's numerous contemporary references, provides fascinating character sources, and explains the actual meaning of the word "Oz." A facsimile of the rare 1900 first edition appears with the original drawings by W. W. Denslow--scrupulously reproduced to mimic their correct colors, using a different color for each region of Oz--as well as twenty-five previously unpublished illustrations. In addition, Hearn provides an extensive bibliography, compiling Baum's published work, every notable Oz edition, and the stage and motion-picture productions from 1939's The Wizard of Oz to the 1974 Broadway smash The Wiz. The result is a classic to rival Baum's own, and a book no family's library can do without. 90 black-and-white, 56 color, and two-color illustrations throughout

My Thoughts: This book was just as great this time around as it was when I read it in second grade. Dorothy is such a fun character, and the book version of this specific book is much better than the movie (although the movie is FAB). I love the annotated version because it has basically one page of notes for every page of story, and I learned a lot about Frank Baum and his inspirations and a lot of the references in his books. Did you know that he (allegedly) wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz without bothering to go back and edit or read it before publishing?? That's crazy. Anywho. I loved this version of the book, and if you're a collector or you just like reading factoids while you read a story, you should definitely check this book out!

Review: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

My Rating: ★★★½

Goodreads Plot: Where there's a will, there's a way—and Sam Westing has left quite a will!

One fateful day, sixteen people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. To their surprise, the will turns out to be a contest, challenging the heirs to find out who among them is Westing's murderer. Forging ahead, through blizzards, burglaries, and bombings, the game is on. Only two people hold all the clues. One of them is the Westing heir. The other is you!

My Thoughts: (I rated this book 4 on Goodreads because they don't have half-stars and I didn't want to under-rate it) It took me a while to get into this book. The format was weird, and I was in sort of a funk when I started it. But I'm so glad that I finished it, because the twist at the end made it totally worth it. There were a lot of characters in this book, so it was hard to keep track at first, and I found myself getting confused a lot with who was who. It wasn't a great book, but it wasn't horrible either.

Review Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Plot: When the love of Katie's life, Matt, leaves her, he leaves behind a diary. This diary is written by his former wife, Suzanne, to their infant son, Nicholas. Suzanne tells the story of how she met Matt and about their relationship and having Nicholas. Katie is torn between hatred and love, worrying about this other family while hating what Matt has done to her.

My thoughts: The movie was better. I hate it when people say this. It makes my skin crawl. But I did not like this book. James Patterson needs to stick to writing suspenseful books.

Review: The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

My Rating: The Giver-- 5 out of 5 stars; Gathering Blue-- 4 out of 5 stars; Messenger-- 4 out of 5 stars; Son-- 4.75 out of 5 stars; Overall-- 4.5 out of 5 stars

Plot: The series begins in Jonas' community-- a utopia of sorts in a dystopian world. Jonas learns that the world is not as small and perfect as his community, and the truth of this new world needs to be told. The following three books follow different characters (with appearances of previous characters in each book), and shows how each community is different, and the scary traditional ways that they are all the same. Son wraps the quartet up nicely, bringing much of the plot full circle and ending on a happy not.

My Thoughts: These are not happy books. They're emotionally straining, especially for books that you're required to read in middle school. They hurt. You get attached, and you feel everything. Reading the second book, I had a feeling that it had something to do with The Giver, I just wasn't sure. Then I stumbled upon Messenger and Son, and I knew I had to read them all. Gathering Blue was kind of frustrating, because I just wanted answers. But Messenger and Son wrap it up nicely. However, I do have a lot of unanswered questions, so I can't completely give it 5 stars, even though the series is really, really great. If you haven't read these books, you really should. Especially since The Giver is coming out as a movie in August (lord, help us).

Review: Son (The Giver Quartet #4) by Lois Lowry

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Plot: Claire is a Birthmother. Her purpose in life is to birth three newchildren, and when she is done with that, she will be placed somewhere random in the community. When her first birth goes terribly wrong, she is placed at the fish hatchery; but she feels incomplete without her son. She makes it her mission to reunite with her son, even when a string of events make this seem completely impossible. She will do anything it takes to get her son back, even if it means risking her life.

My Thoughts: This book as an individual unit is amazing. I love that it was split nicely into three parts. I love that it connects the other three books to make the series come full circle. And I love that it ends with a happy ending. At first when part two started, I thought I would lose interest, but I kept reading and I loved it so much. Minus .25 of a star because I have so many unanswered questions. If you haven't read the first three books in The Giver Quartet, do so, and then read this book. You will not regret it.

Review: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Plot: (Without giving anything away because this is a must-read) Biographer Margaret Lea is called upon by renown, mysterious author Vida Winter to write her biography. Margaret is thrust into the story of the March family, where she is captivated by the tale of twins and the lives they led in a town where no one quite understood them. All the while, Margaret is facing memories of her own, and together she and Vida Winter come to terms with who they are.

My Thoughts: Oh. my. gosh. This book. This book. Wow. Oh my gosh. From start to finish, this book is a page turner. I didn’t want it to end, and I really feel like I know the characters intimately. I feel completely satisfied with the ending, and I would recommend this book 10000%. There is not a single thing I can comment negatively on.

Review: Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot:Katie moves to Southport with a large bucket of secrets, determined to be left alone, but that changes when she meets Alex, the owner of the store where she shops, and his two children.

My thoughts: This was a good book. I flew through it. I couldn’t put it down. I constantly wanted to know more about Katie’s secrets, and the last hundred pages or so flew by. I’m not usually one for lovey-dovey books, but I think that this book is fantastic, and maybe even intense. The twist in the last chapter probably could have been wrapped up a little better, but it ended the story nicely

Review: Allegiant (Divergent Series #3) by Veronica Roth

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Spoiler-free plot: (Kind of hard but I will try) Tris and Tobias, and their friends, learn the truth of what it means to be Divergent or not Divergent. Stuff happens. People die. I really cannot talk about the plot without spoiling so I’m not going to.

My opinion: I. loved. it. I was waiting to hate it and throw it across the room and be pissed off at Veronica Roth for what she did, but it. makes. sense. It was sad. So incredibly sad. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry my eyes out, and then go stand under the shower numbly for a half hour after finishing the book. But it was good. The ending was rushed though. I feel like it just stopped. Which I guess kind of makes sense, but I was hoping for a little more closure, which is why I didn’t give it five stars like I had originally planned. Anyways, it’s a good book. Read the whole series and cry along with me.

Review: The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

My ratings: Divergent: 4.5; Insurgent: 5; Allegiant: 4.5; Overall: 4.5

Spoiler-free plot: Beatrice learns that she is Divergent, and that Divergent is very dangerous. When a government official decides to do something about these Divergent citizens, things happen. Vague inserty stuff because I can’t actually really say anything that happens after this without giving anything away so yupp.

My opinion: Before reading this series, I wasn’t sure if I liked dystopian books, or mainstream literature. Apparently, I do. These books are incredible. Roth writes so well that you forget you’re reading a book. It feels so real, and maybe because it could happen some day. I was reading at the speed of light whenever I picked the book up to read, but I also put off finishing the series because it was so good and I was so attached and I didn’t want it to end. These books are phenomenal. Now we can only hope the movies don’t screw them up.