Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Lux #1)

From GoodReads:

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

My sister has mentioned this one to me several times but we both ended up confused because I thought she was talking about the LUXE series and had never heard of the LUX series. They are quite different, as it turns out.

As far as YA novels go this one fits right in. Superhuman super-hot boy in love with a normal oh-gee-what-does-he-see-in-me girl. Despite the fact that I've read some version of this book approximately 18 million times already that didn't stop me from devouring it in one day. This is a sad commentary on the triteness of my brain, I'm sure.

The story is fine, the alien element is new, the protagonist mercifully has a brain of her own despite the fact that she is in CONSTANT need of saving.

Here's my big beef: the author wrote in a fantastic extraterrestrial female friend for the protagonist but then made her weak and borderline useless while her brother is almost godlike in his strength and abilities. I would have LOVED this book to be about two girl friends working together to overcome their individual weaknesses and prejudices to fight evil. The romance could have been a delicious little footnote (because I do need SOME romance). Instead we have yet another YA novel teaching girls that they are nothing (possibly even RAPED AND DEAD) without a guy to love and protect them. My inner feminist is shaking her head in sad disappointment. This book would not pass the Bechdel test even though the author laid a kind of groundwork that should have gotten it there. 

Feminist annoyance aside, I will probably finish out the series. Because of my trite, sappy, unfeministy brain. Curse you, Brain.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

This was my first book read on my new e-reader! It made it kind of novel (pun intended).

Had I read it in a more traditional format I'm not sure I would have stuck with it. There were some lovely bits of fancy and fantasy but I was surprised to find myself yawning rather frequently.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who occasionally got lost. Alice takes to doing recitation from time to time to prove how things are just slightly off. But if you are unfamiliar with the recitations (I assume they were fairly standard when the book was written) then you're going to miss the point.


I get that it's just supposed to be fun and nonsense but for me it was just a little TOO much nonsense and not quite enough fun. Generally enjoyable but nothing particularly memorable.

I Love You Rituals by Becky Bailey

I recently took a 6 week Love & Logic parenting class. Our city's public school system did it for free (which warms my cheap, penny-pinching heart) and I went with a couple friends who have similarly aged kids. It gave me some desperately needed skills for dealing with Stinky's recent brush with the terrible twos and things have been running much more smoothly around here lately.

Our instructor heartily recommended I Love You Rituals by Becky Bailey as a complement to Love & Logic. I had a gift card to Barnes and Noble so, rather than get it from the library like I would normally do, I just bought it. I hoped it would be the kind of book I'd like to keep on hand for quick reference when I needed it.

Thus far it has not disappointed. As I read through the rhymes and games I knew Stinky would love them all. She gives specific ideas for things you can do with your child but also gives ideas for creating your own. I've used several of her rituals over the past few weeks and have come up with a couple of my own. Our mornings are much more pleasant when I start them with a loving ritual instead of not very nicely asking Stinky to go back to bed because it's freaking 6 in the morning. We have weathered several pre-naptime tantrums with the help of her sweet revised nursery rhymes.

Some of the games and rhymes seemed silly to me as I was reading them but they work when done with a 2 1/2 year old. If you have younger children this is a great book for helping you bond and build trust and all those other lovely happy things you want in your relationship with your babies.

Karen by Marie Killilea

A few weeks ago I was talking to the lovely EK and somehow we got to talking about reading and the mail and whatnot and we ended the conversation by deciding to start sending packages of books or other fun things to each other. I started by sending her an ARC of Matched by Ally Condie. She reciprocated by sending me an old, slightly battered copy of Karen by Marie Killilea. And I'm already planning my next three packages to her and have decided this was pretty much the best idea ever. Getting a (mostly) unexpected package from a friend is enough to completely make your day.

Karen is an incredibly charming book. It's the true story of a little girl growing up with cerebral palsy in the 1940s when no one really knew what it was or what to do about it. When it became apparent that something was wrong with their baby girl, Marie and Jimmy Killilea were told to put her in an institution and forget about her as people with cerebral palsy "have no mentality."

The story of Karen's growth and development and her family's fierce loyalty and fight on behalf of those with cerebral palsy is so sweet. But what has really struck be about this book is how different the field of medicine has become over the past 60 years. After giving birth, Marie stays in the hospital for at least a week and spends most of that time away from her baby. Karen's doctor suspected she had cerebral palsy, possibly for a long period of time, but didn't tell her parents about it until they begged him to tell them why their almost year old daughter was still laying there like an infant. There have been so many little things that just boggle my mind and make me grateful to live when I do (and that I'm healthy and so are my children).

A lovely read, perfect for lounging on the couch and enjoying the cool, rainy days we had this week!

Third Quarter Books

I'm late on this but I am a little busy what with the 2 children and the packing and moving and whatnot. Also, my reading was so slow this quarter. I kept picking up books and then not finishing them because one kid needed this and then the other kid needed that so I couldn't ever get into a book. Jones in particular is at an age where he needs me pretty much constantly and there just isn't much time to do the extras. Oh well. Some day I will read again!

28. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
Looooove. I have to admit, though, that with the exception of the desserts, I don't think I'd eat any of the recipes she shared.

29. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
Some good stuff but overall eh.

30. The First Year of Homeschooling your Child by Linda Dobson
Good resource for when you're just starting out and have no idea where to begin.

31. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath*
Fantastic.

32. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
I renewed it as many times as I could and almost threw in the towel. I'm not sure why I had such a hard time though.

33.Homeschooling: The Early Years: Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 3- to 8-Year Old Child by Linda Dobson
Not quite as useful for me as her other book, but still a good starting place.

34. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman*
Put me to sleep. I have no idea what that was all about.

35. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Took me a while to get into but when it ended I was sad. I spent a long time thinking about all the different ways Francie's life could have gone.

36. Matched by Ally Condie
I was in need of something fluffy. This totally fit the bill.

37. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Good but could have been better.



Gave up on:

1. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Killed me.

2. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
The dead aunt made me want to stab something.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

From Goodreads:

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost.

*just a smidge spoilerish. Stay away if you want to come to the book knowing nothing.


About 10 pages in to Mockingjay I was very worried. It was weak, almost painfully so. Katniss's self-pitying navel gazing was not what I had come to expect from the Hunger Games series and I found myself slogging. I had expected to sit down and devour this in a day while neglecting my children and personal hygiene so I was really disappointed when the first chapter, only 15 pages, took me a full day to get through.

Fortunately, after a slow start in the first few chapters, Collins brings the action, which is where she really shines. Unfortunately, Mockingjay is definitely the weakest in the series. It's a fine end to the journey and with any other author I would likely be satisfied but since I know what Collins in capable of I found myself disappointed. I remember sobbing over deaths in the previous books but found myself completely dry eyed this time around and thinking, "I should be devastated over this!" but I wasn't.

Although it doesn't stand up to the previous two, there is plenty to love here. Katniss finally pulls herself together and once again becomes the reluctant hero we know and love. Finnick and many of the other supporting characters are fabulous. I really loved the ending. I kind of expected Collins to go a bit darker but I will never argue with a happily-ever-after.

Pre-ordered

It comes out August 24th!

Only $8.45 to pre-order on Amazon. Normally I would just get it from the library but the wait list for this is going to be insane and I don't see myself waiting patiently for 6 months for it to get to me!