THE MAZE RUNNER By James Dashner

The Maze Runner

By James Dashner

Categories: Young adult, adventure, mystery, dystopian

What would you do if you woke up with no memory of anything except your name? Thomas finds himself the newest arrival to a community of about 60 boys, who all remember nothing about their lives before they came to this strange place with many odd rules named “the glade”. Most boys can recall being there for two years at the longest, typically with a new, memory-free boy deposited every 30 days. They must rely on themselves for everything from growing food to keeping livestock. Escaping the Glade is impossible when nightmarish creatures patrol the area surrounding them every night, and the Glade happens to be at the center of an incredibly large, seemingly endless maze. Boys are sent out during sunlight to attempt to find a way out, but to no success. Thomas is just getting familiar with everything that is going on when a comatose girl is deposited in their midst with a mysterious note.

Fans of The Hunger Games series or the Divergent series will love the suspense and intrigue of The Maze Runner series. Author James Dashner has finished them so it’s OK to read all in one go (which you must if you want to find out what the heck is going on!).  This is one of those books that you’ll want to read before the movie come out in September. I was almost annoyed by how many things are left a mystery until the very end of the book (or even series) but never so much that I dared stop reading them. Dashner also wrote a prequel if you finish The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure and still want to dive further into the history of what brought about the beginning of it all, titled The Kill Order.

THE GOLDFINCH By Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch

By Donna Tartt

Fans of author Donna Tartt must wait patiently for their prize. The Little Friend was published in October of 2002, being second to Tartt’s first novel The Secret Society (published in 1992 by  Alfred A. Knopf). Good things do come to those who wait, The Goldfinch is well worth the investment at nearly 800 pages. Fans know that the sweeping scale of Tartt’s storytelling can not be rushed.

“Stay away from the ones you love too much. Those are the ones who will kill you.” -The Goldfinch

Exquisitely written, delightfully suspenseful, the reader will be pulled into the story right at the start. Theodore Decker begins his tale anxiety ridden and pacing around the hotel room in a country where he does not know the language and fearful that something, someone is out to get him. This enticing introduction then morphs into the tale of how dear Theo got to be at this place, in this situation. We are transported back to a 13 year old Theo with a beautifully art-obsessed mother, which starts the tale of his circumstances that ultimately lead to a life of decadent highs and unexpected lows. Colorful, vivid characters come into Theo’s life and not always for the better. It was a story spurred by loss but saturated with purpose and determination.

Never before have I read about the dubitable dealings of the art world, the way a secret can take on a life of it’s own, in such eloquent narrative. Theo’s tale, while lengthy, is beautiful and impossible to rush. Tartt’s lines deserve to be enjoyed and digested.

“But sometimes, unexpectedly, grief pounded over me in waves that left me gasping; and when the waves washed back, I found myself looking out over a brackish wreck which was illumined in a light so lucid, so heartsick and empty, that I could hardly remember that the world had ever been anything but dead.” -The Goldfinch

In Tartt’s craftsmanship, even grief is a heart-breakingly beautiful experience. Well worth the effort, if you’re looking for the next novel to consume your evenings try The Goldfinch today!

(Tartt's first novel)

                                                      (Tartt's second novel)

COLUMBINE By Dave Cullen

Columbine

By Dave Cullen

Categories: Non-fiction, true life crime, historical

On April 20th, 1999, an American tragedy happened in a suburb of of Colorado, whose name would be remembered forever after in infamy.The slayings of thirteen high school students by two of their own classmates struck the community and the nation to its core, how could this have happened?

Dave Cullen spent ten years researching the events that unfolded in Columbine High School, what went on prior to the shootings and how the media drove the stereotypes and errors of the case into mainstream thinking. For example, when you think of Columbine, you probably associate a few things with it like “The Trench Coat Mafia”, Gothic teens, and how two teens were fed up with being bullied finally turned their pent up anger into a plan to get revenge. None of these things are factually linked to the tragedy. Even the one teen (victim Cassie Bernall) who allegedly was asked “Do you believe in God?” and replied “Yes”, only to be shot dead, did not happen that way at all. Cullen unfurls the myths and misconceptions that were thought of as commonplace to the investigation.

Based on first hand accounts of the tragedy, police and FBI reports. Cullen weaves the story of one of the most brutal, calculated killings of children. Had the murderers actual plans (also researched in depth and explained) been carried out, the death toll would have been in the hundreds. The differences in the two killers, one was in control and one might have been somewhat normal (if not depressed or suicidal) had they not met the other.  

The book also goes into detail about the lives of the victims and survivors. Their struggles after the tragedy, the way they refused to let this horrific act define them as a school, as a community. The way they took control of their lives by eventually forcing the media out, because all they wanted to do was move forward while sensationalized journalism only wanted to relive the horror.

If you are in the mood for a sobering look at one of the most unforgettable tragedies and have a strong stomach to handle the realities of such acts of brutality (with some incredibly empowering survivors and acts of kindness) then read Columbine. It was as intense as it was eye-opening.

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 :)