An amazing Dystopian
series, an intriguing MG read and a delightfully different YA book
The amazing series, of course, is The Hunger Games. OMG! I had read book one a couple of years ago
and just never went on to book two. What a mistake! So after the movie came out
and blew my socks off (not that I ever wear any since I live in my Birkenstocks)
I just HAD to read the rest of the series. The funniest part of the story,
though, is that my hubby, who devours nonfiction, biography and religious
books, read books two and three before I could even get to them.
So over the past month, in addition to:
- · making stuff and organizing my daughter’s June wedding
- · editing Harpies, Book Two of Seraphym Wars
- · revising Laman, Book Three of Stardust Warriors
- · doing Travel Soccer with my youngest son
- · helping my oldest son graduate high school and finish his first semester of college at the same time
- · preparing for the Summer Reading Teen Party blog hop I agreed to join
- · blogging on my many blogs
- · showing my Victorian house which is for sale and we hope to be moving after the wedding
- · keeping the log house I rent out as a Vacation Rental clean and occupied
- · I read. Four books at a time.
My husband asked, how do keep them straight? I answered,
they’re all different and good. Oh, yeah, and I listen to Harry Potter on my
iPod in the car—for the millionth time, to analyze why it’s such a good series.
Now, there are several authors I’ve read lately whom I
really admire for their ability to write—voice and style. Suzanne Collins is
one, of course, as is Cassandra Clare with her Mortal Instruments Series, which
I am in the middle of reading. But I also discovered a couple of new authors
whose writing is just as well done and captivating as the best-sellers’.
C. K. Volnek’s MG book, Ghost
Dog of Roanoke kept me spellbound as I poured through it each night or
whenever my son was at soccer practice. It combines obviously well-researched
history of the missing Colony of Roanoke Island, Virginia with credible Native
American lore. She did an amazing job finding her way to the past while
maintaining a foothold in the present. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the
characters and loved the way she introduced and dealt with the ‘evil’
antagonist, including how and why it came to be. I think any Middle Grade
reader would enjoy this book and it could easily be used in any fifth-grade
classroom during the study of American History. Well done, C. K.
The YA book I just finished reading and found amazingly
well-written, well-crafted and couldn’t wait to finish was Colors Like Memories by Meradeth Houston. She took the idea of guardian angels and
created a fascinating, plausible world and culture around which to weave a
story of loss, grief, love and recovery. Not only do we get a peek into the
world of the Sary, but she dealt with an abusive boyfriend, suicidal/cutting
teenager dealing with an alcoholic parent and loss of her mother. Yet the characters
never seem too needy or angsty—and find the strength they need when they need
it. I found that reading Colors Like Memories while also reading The Hunger
Games books wasn’t a jarring change as one might assume given one is a new
author and the other a best-seller. Colors Like Memories held its own with interesting
characters, plot twists and good, descriptive writing. Well done, Meradeth.