THE 5TH WAVE By Rick Yancy

The 5th Wave

By Rick Yancy

Categories: Young adult, dystopian, science fiction, adventure

Cassie is surviving, it’s what she does best. When the aliens first showed up hanging out in Earth’s orbit, no one could figure out what they wanted. Then they began systematically orchestrating wave after wave of devastating assaults that leave the human population at first limping, then crawling along. Cassie’s family survived the first and second waves, but her mother perished in the third, her father in the fourth. As far as she knows, her little brother is alive but has been separated from her and might possibly be held captive in a military base. So Cassie lives one day at a time, utterly alone and maintaining her last grip on reality.

This story pulled me right into it. Cassie’s will to survive and bad ass outlook was hard to ignore. Right away you want to hear how her family went through each of the waves (and what they were). She is one of those strong female heroines you start rooting for and just need to find out what happens to her. The novel also follows Cassie’s high school crush (a lifetime ago) Ben, who has been recruited into the last remains of a military organization. Once a teenage heart throb who didn’t even know Cassie existed, now a disciplined soldier elite.  He shows us the last hold out of human resistance against the fifth wave of alien invasion.

If you watch Doomsday Preppers, have a plan for any of the potential natural or manmade disasters, or are fascinated by different scenarios that could decimate human civilization, this is the book for you. These aliens want earth, and they want it bad. Each wave is a calculated blow to decimate and cripple humans. And even if you have a plan for one, like a virus? They have a back up to get to you also. Earth is prime for the taking, but humans are in the way. The 5th Wave is thrilling and scary and action-packed, with very realistic and interesting characters.

The bottom line, I read this book while on vacation in Denver and I spent a lot of time making excuses to sneak away to read another page or two. Or twenty. It was good to the point of distraction. So if you need a book to completely suck you away from reality, just grab this one. My only aggravation when I reached the end was that, surprise! This is only the first book. It is never fun, waiting around for a sequel to come out. As of this writing, the next book is slated to come out September 16 2014 titled The Infinite Sea.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS By John Green

The Fault in our Stars

By John Green

Categories: Young Adult, Fiction

Hazel Grace has cancer. She carries around an oxygen tank and everyone besides her parents and “pre-cancer pal” Kaitlyn, see only a sick girl walking around. Hazel does nothing extraordinary and has to be coerced into attending a support group.

You would think that this is a bleak tale with only sorrow and sick children. Alas, it is not. It broke my heart and tore me down, yes, but it was also about the vast capabilities of the human heart. When Hazel meets Augustus Walters at Cancer Kid Support Group, all her preconceived notions about being at death’s door are challenged. And try as she might to resist, Hazel is pulled under the current that love creates.

There were several times while reading The Fault in our Stars that I had tears swimming in my eyes but they wouldn’t fall because I was also laughing. John Green creates a fine line on which to balance the reader’s emotions. Laughing out loud is not something you also expect to do while reading a book that makes your lip tremble as you try not to cry.

It was beautiful and sad. It’s worth the emotional roller coaster, I promise.

Favorite quote: “Oh, I wouldn’t mind Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”

THE POTTY MOUTH AT THE TABLE By Laurie Notaro

The Potty Mouth at the Table

By Laurie Notaro

Categories: Non-fiction, humor

The sharp-witted perception of Laurie Notaro is a staple of socially awkward awesomeness. No one else can quite convey the driving impulse to hoard fabrics, the distain of the modern ‘foodie’, or the unbreakable laws of personal hygiene regarding shower puff like Notaro. “I would never laugh about a dead hobo, or even think of the term ‘hobo’”, might have gone through your head a time or two before reading this book, but never say never friends.

Our heroine, amid a hoarder's start-up-kit

If you pick this book up and have only 5 more minutes to live, and would like some laughs to forget about impending doom, read the chapter ‘Live from the Bellagio’ on page 71. I read it while camping and had to read excerpts to my four male companions around bouts of laughter, to better explain that I’m not some freak who has psychotic breaks with reality punctuated with laughing fits. It’s about throwing up in public, the shame of such an unforgivable act, and tips to live through such an event. You might think that such things only happen in elementary school, but it’s a wide open world out there with lots of tainted falafels to eat.

Notaro’s books are always good for a laugh, they include a  variety of topics about the true life adventures of a writer. She’s got a unique perspective that borders on the manic side of life, getting worked into a frenzy over anything from suspected child laborers to erotic Harry Potter fan-fiction. A few years ago I was reading another one of her books ‘Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood’ on a plane to Vegas with my husband (then fiancée) and I was laughing so much, so loudly and uncontrollably that Shane was slightly embarrassed to be sitting next to me. And by slightly, I mean he was whispering urgently to me “please, please be quiet.” So far be it for me to spoil every savory story in ‘The Potty Mouth at the Dinner Table’, I can’t even convey the vast landscape of Notaro’s mind without giggling about Facebook being the ‘reigning five-star general of hell’. So if you’re in the mood for a laugh and some perspective on your own quirks and habits, please read this book.

Additional required reading if Potty Mouth made you laugh out loud...

CITY OF EMBER By Jeanne DuPrau

The City Of Ember

By Jeanne DuPrau

Categories: Children’s Fiction (enjoyable up through adult)

This enchanting tale of life for two children really made my imagination take off. It follows the residents of the City of Ember, specifically 12 year old Lina and Doon, who are of the age in which they are randomly assigned a job. But no sun rises to start off each day in this city, flickering and unreliable florescent light bulbs determine when it is “day time”, no moon hangs in the pitch black sky. Everything in the city is from massive, seemingly endless supply rooms; clothing, shoes, medicine, food, all things Doon has come to fear are actually in short supply. He is driven to find the solution, something that will make him a hero. Lina just wants to have her dream job of being a message runner, zipping around the city delivering other people’s plans and reminders and secrets. Everything changes when her baby sister uncovers a puzzling mystery…

                                                     Also available as a graphic novel

I loved the way it was impossible to tell what era this city was in. It had a run-down feel; old sweaters are unraveled to reuse the material, the dump is combed over to find over-looked reusable items; but Lina and Doon envision a way out of the city through the underground passageways the connect the city to its power supply source, a massive raging river. This was a quick, absorbing read that brought lots of examples of waste in everyday life that people take for granted to mind. Driving down the street I no longer saw someone’s garbage sitting on the curb, I saw nearly new items that could be reused or re-purposed again. This book made me go from wanting to put a compost pile in my backyard to getting a compost pile in my backyard (and a rain barrel, thanks to my hubby). This story is perfect for any kid, or any kid at heart.

                                            Doing something for the environment! Thanks Shane :) 

SOUL SCREAMERS By Rachel Vincent

Best part of being a reader? Getting swept away into a story and letting it consume your thoughts for days or weeks.

Worst part of being a reader? Waiting for sequels! I've decided to add a collection of “finished collections” that have either many or all of the books in the series, trilogy or sequel set already published and ready to enjoy.

SOUL SCREAMERS

By Rachel Vincent

Categories: Fantasy, young adult

MY SOUL TO TAKE is the first book that introduces Kaylee Cavanaugh, a young bean sidhe who does not yet understand the how’s and why’s of what is happening to her. When someone near her is about to die, her irrepressible nature comes out to “sing” for the soul of the dead, a trait particular to the females of her species. Sneaking into a club with her best friend Emma sets of a chain of events that allows Kaylee to learn about her true nature, fall for a guy who knows a lot more about her then she thinks and solve a mystery of murderous proportions...

This series opens up the world of hellions, other worlds, grim reapers who collect souls and other supernatural creatures disguised as humans. The discovery of one’s individual strength and responsibilities, heartbreak and true love, the immortal bonds of family and friends are all explored in Kaylee’s adventures. She gets herself into many tough spots and makes an enemy in the hellion of greed, who regularly makes a grab for Kaylee’s soul. She experiences betrayal, the loss of her mother, an absent father,shunning from her cousin and complete acceptance and loyalty from Emma. Lots of teenage growing pains and lessons learned. I liked the picture that was painted of the other world, Netherworld, inhabited by hellions and creatures of a sinful nature. Kaylee’s bean sidhe abilities allow her to travel to this place, sometimes with heart-wrenching results.

I progressively liked these novels more and more as they went on, things really got interesting when Kaylee’s boyfriend Nash’s ex comes back into the picture, she was one of the more complex characters that added a bit of drama to things. Especially since Sabine wants nothing more than to get back together with Nash. Nash’s brother Todd and Emma are humorous characters that bring a bit of relief to the otherwise dark and difficult journeys Kaylee goes through.

The order of the books:

My Soul To Take

Deals with Kalyee learning about her bean sidhe heritage and the beginning of her relationship to Nash. Female classmates keep dying for no apparent reason and Kaylee must solve the mystery.

My Soul To Save

When pop-star Eden dies in the middle of a concert, Kaylee ventures into the world of selling one’s soul for fame and fortune. A friend’s former lover is held captive by the hellion of Greed and Kaylee is asked to help...

My Soul To Keep

Kaylee and her boyfriend Nash are inseparable, until his group of high school jock buddies start getting addicted to the Netherworld substance known as Demon Breath. A rift forms and Kaylee is left trying to protect others from the deadly substance, only to find someone really close to her has been keeping so many more secrets...

My Soul To Steal

Kaylee’s strained relationship with Nash is further tested when the arrival of his ex, Sabine comes to town.  And she’s not your typical seductive ex, she’s a living nightmare known as a mara, who feeds of fear in nightmares. I really enjoyed the additional tension added when Sabine forced her way into the group.

If I Die

The new teacher at Kaylee’s high school just so happens to be an incubus who feeds on desire, specifically the easiest desire available from teenaged girls. But Kaylee see right through that (thanks to her bean sidhe nature), and sets about trying to save the rest of her fellow classmates from his sinister plan to reproduce. Making things even tougher is the fact that her own time on earth has a fuzzy, but close, expiration date...

Before I Wake

Embarking on the next phase, Kaylee is given her first assignment as a soul reclaimer (reaper) and comes face to face with the rogue reaper who murdered her mother years ago. Being immortal is no guarantee that she’ll be safe, since various hellions are still after her soul, not to mention the rogue reaper who’d like nothing more then to finish her off for good...

With All My Soul

Finishing the series, Kaylee is out to once and for all stop hellions from hurting the humans in her school and the people she loves. Her plan is to set the hellions of Greed, Envy and Vanity against one another and have them destroy one another. But the price of setting such things in motion is weighing on Kaylee and she grows more angry and desperate with each additional life that’s lost... A great wrap-up to the series, I would say ninety percent of the things I was wondering about were resolved. Which is a lot more than most long series does. Very exciting and action packed.

Additional reading (in case you just can't get enough) is available in the form of short ebooks, online novellas to read on a Kindle or tablet/smartphone:

Never To Sleep

This short is about Kaylee’s cousin Sophie Cavanaugh going on an unexpected trip to the Netherworld.

My Soul To Lose

Details Kaylee’s earliest experience wailing for someone’s soul as a young bean sidhe.

Reaper

Grim reaper and friend to Kaylee’s, Todd’s short story about his daily life.

EVERY DAY IS AN ATHEIST HOLIDAY! MORE MAGICAL TALES FROM THE AUTHOR OF GOD, NO! By Penn Jillette

EVERY DAY IS AN ATHEIST HOLIDAY! MORE MAGICAL TALES FROM THE AUTHOR OF GOD, NO! By Penn Jillette

Categories: Nonfiction, humor

Some people are so honest they make you cringe. They tell it like it is, and then some, which is why I really like Penn Jillette. He may be known for being one half of the famous magical duo “Penn & Teller”, but his insight into being a pseudo-celebrity, parent and all-around boisterous individual is refreshing. There’s no “Bullshit” here! Being on The Celebrity Apprentice with Donald Trump? Not as stressful and awful as they would like you to believe. Except for one excruciating exchange with Clay Aiken that had Penn contemplating jumping out of a window to his death just to make it end, and I can’t fault him for that. In the same situation, if someone claimed I was a being a bully for defending my personal space just to make some fictitious reality TV drama (redundant), and if that someone was Clay freaking Aiken, I’d have faked a seizure or religious epiphany just to make it stop. Maybe that would be the wrong thing to do on national television, I wouldn't know. Books are my thing, not reality TV.

                                                Magical duo: Penn & Teller

Even if you don’t read this book, try to read the chapter “Happy Birthday” on page 191. It’s from 191-198 and I read it twice it made me laugh so hard.

                                           Penn on Dancing With the Stars

I’m a huge fan of the television series that Penn and Teller created called “Bullshit”. It showed me some things that I took into consideration, and completely changed my views on a couple things. More than that it really opened up my eyes to how deeply as a culture we have a perceived view of particular things and that image is so manufactured it can be entirely wrong. So question everything, take nothing at face value.

                                                    Penn & Teller
                                                         

In his novel Every Day is an Atheist Holiday, I started to realize (possibly embarrassingly late) certain people treat atheists different. And by different, I mean badly. Which struck me in a profound way, because even though I know not everyone is treated the same (which is awful, horrible raw garbage)  but wasn't this country based on the right to freely express yourself and pick whatever religion you wanted? Why is it that Penn Jillette can get asked inappropriate questions about missing his dead mother by Piers Morgan but someone who openly identifies as “Christian” would never get that third degree?  Penn states that “Christians have treated me fairly”, praying for him, sending him the occasional tweet hoping that he’ll find the light of Jesus, occasionally calling him a Satan-worshiper. But why exactly does one need to force their religion down someone else’s throat? When people come to my door to hand out pamphlets about finding eternal glory, I claim my dogs bite and politely close the door. Maybe it’s because Penn is a celebrity. Maybe it’s because he does magic shows and therefore people assume he influences children (Penn swears a lot, plus, he and Teller get naked in shows to prove they are not hiding anything, so perhaps they don’t have anything directly to do with children, *gasp*). All I know is it seems hypocritical to preach acceptance when the first thing you try to do is change someone with different beliefs then you.

                                Penn Jillette with his wife Emily, partner in life/business Teller, and children

Penn covers a lot of things, people he loves, loved ones he lost, career ventures he made, all manner of zany sexual adventures (see also “pictures” and “extortion”). Obsessions with baths, bouts of crying for joy and/or sorrow. Private screenings of his film The Aristocrats with Christopher Hitchens. Comedy is Penn’s real forte, and being boisterous (meaning ‘noisily rowdy’, not ‘rough and massive’, although he is a large man) makes him stand out. I greatly appreciated his refreshing views and blunt honesty. I would recommend this book to any aspiring magicians, jugglers or Dancing With The Stars contestant hopefuls. Or if you want some laughs. Or if you want something besides fluff to ponder over.

THE DOVEKEEPERS By Alice Hoffman

THE DOVEKEEPERS

By Alice Hoffman

Category: Historical fiction

QUICKIE REVIEW!

Intense story that is beautifully told, captivating characters and emotionally charged. I read this book two years ago and was really affected by it. If you liked The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, give this book a try!

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE By Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone By Laini Taylor

Category: Fantasy

                                                          (Above, our heroine Karou)

Brace yourself. Secrets are going to unfurl like bombs in the last half of this book. Working up to that is the mysterious life of Karou. Soaking up Prague through her sketchbook, eating goulash with her best friend Zuzana, hunting down teeth for a creature from another world. Wait, whaaaaaat? While one part of Karou’s life is brilliant, naturally growing vivid blue hair and school work, the other is secretly running errands for the only family she has ever known, a collection of creatures known as chimaera. Chimaera, cratures of animal and human parts combined, are Karou’s people. And while Karou keeps her chimaera business a secret from her human world, the chimaera keep secrets from Karou. She is only allowed to fetch teeth for the powerful and wise Brimstone. Brimstone, in turn, weaves those teeth into magic. What of the chimaera world? What the magic is used for? How did Karou came to be with the troupe of four other worldly creatures since infancy? Karou feels like she’s missing some very important puzzle pieces to her life, and all that shifts into something more dangerous when black, hand-shaped burns start to appear on the doors the link Karou to her chimaera world...

                                            (Above, a chimarea sketch)

Eloquently written, beautifully described, this story was magical. Karou’s tale wove many questions and worked me into a frenzy to discover the answers. The last half of the book went off with many surprises and turns. There was love, loyalty, war, friendship, fantasy, suspense, mystery, disappointment, hope. Always hope. For all the decisions Karou faced, she make her choices respectively. In one case of obtaining the power of flight, enviably. If I had to step inside the world of a book to experience the wonder of such bizarre creatures and rampant magic, this place would be my first choice. You think you have certain characters pegged after a particular point, only to actually get a grasp on them much later on. It was not until the final few pages that it was largely revealed what some people truly were. To say who or what I mean would be a spoiler, so I’ll let you uncover these things for yourself. I am eagerly anticipating reading the sequel, Days Of Blood And Starlight!

GIRLS By Joshua and Jonathan Luna

Girls

By Joshua and Jonathan Luna

Category: Adult Graphic Novel, Sci Fi, Drama

Vivid artwork, engrossing characters and a suspenseful plot bring Girls around like the best of horror stories. In the sleepy little Pennystown a mystery is becoming unearthed. A gorgeous and dazed naked woman comes darting out of the woods in front of average guy Ethan.  But when strange eggs appear and savage attacks occur, everyone in Pennystown is left scrambling to understand and survive.

The visually striking graphics make this novel feel more like a movie playing out. The deep, bright colors often contrast the brutality of the egg-women. The dialogue is realistic, each character believable. It’s a horror story with blurry edges. The egg-women at times appear docile, at times murderous. Are they all the same or is the first one that Ethan found different? With the town’s population shrinking and everyone suffering various degrees of insanity, any and everything can happen.

I was completely spellbound by this book. It got my curiosity from the cover alone and devoured me within a few pages. Very adult themes and gore aplenty, this one is not for the faint of heart. If you’d like to savor a chilling tale of epic proportions, this might be your next read!