Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 I read this for a co-worker who chooses his own book list for Battle of the Books and uses it in his classroom each year. I'd already read and loved the first one, and he brought this to me one morning (ironically while I was desperately trying to finish Skyward  again so I could read Cytonic ) and asked me to read it and write questions for the book. I finished it in one day, and that should also tell you a lot about how I felt about this book. The Hawthorne Legacy  by Jennifer Lynn Barnes picks up with Avery Grambs' story almost immediately after the conclusion of The Inheritance Games . Avery is trying to find Toby Hawthorne, the son of the billionaire that left her his entire fortune. Along with the help of the Hawthorne grandsons, she must unravel the mystery of who she really is, how she's related to this family, and where Toby might have gone. I loved this book. Just like The Inheritance Games , there is a twist around every corner. Barnes is a master of giving you

 This was another book club read for our team book club. I don't read much non-fiction, and I didn't know who Trevor Noah was before reading the book, but overall, I did end up enjoying this memoir. Trevor Noah, a successful South African comedian, tells the story of how in Apartheid South Africa, his birth was against the law. Noah explores his race and how that influenced his identity as well as the race of his mother, his father, and the rest of his family. He explores his relationships with his mother in particular, as she was central to his life, and ended up being shot in the head (but surviving) by his step father. Overall, this was a light-hearted take on the deep racial divides that existed in South Africa during Apartheid. I didn't know much about Apartheid going into the book, and I'm glad I was able to understand more of what South Africa was like during that time. Despite the serious topics that Noah touches on, domestic violence, abuse, race, the book does

 I read this one for Battle of the Books for one of my coworkers. When looking at the summary, this book jumped out to me. The premise sounded very interesting and exciting, and I was not disappointed. This is probably the best book I read last year. I LOVED it. The Inheritance Games  by Jennifer Lynn Barnes describes the story of Avery Grambs, a poor high schooler just trying to make ends meet. Avery's mom died years before the story begins, and since then, she's been living with her half sister, Libby. While she loves Libby and living with her isn't bad, it is when Libby's dating Drake, so Avery moves out. At school, Avery is pulled out of class and goes to the office to be confronted by the Hawthorne grandson, Grayson. Grayson informs Avery that she has been named in his grandfather's will, the will that outlines his multi-billion dollar empire. She travels to Texas for the reading of the will to find out that the old man disinherited his entire family and left h

 This was a pick for our team book club. I started reading it, but wasn't even close to finishing it in October when we were supposed to talk about it. I did finally finish it months later, and am finally writing my review. Cemetery Boys  by Aidan Thomas follows the story of Yadriel, a brujo tasked with protecting their cemetery and helping spirits cross over. The one issue, Yadriel wasn't always a boy, but as a trans boy, he is struggling to find acceptance and his place in his community. He completed the ceremony to become a brujo on his own and without anyone else knowing except his cousin, Maritza. Another of his cousins, Miguel, is killed somewhere - all of their community feel it - and Yadriel is desperate to help. Instead, he finds the ghost of a boy he knows from school, Julian, and feeling that this is finally his chance to be accepted into his community, decides to help him cross over. I did really enjoy this book. The start was a little slow and a little confusing if

 I got this book as a gift from our annual English teacher Christmas book exchange (sounds perfectly English-teachery, right?). I didn't have much else to do one day, and picked it up to read, and loved it. The Girl Who Drank the Moon  describes life in the Protectorate, a small village on the edge of the swamp, and some of its members. Each year, to keep the wicked swamp witch away from the village, the elders select the youngest baby in the village and take it into the forest for the witch to eat. Xan, the perfectly kind swamp witch, collects the baby each year and takes them to other villages on the other side of the forest, to be raised by loving families, feeding each child by starlight on the way. One year, she picks up a baby girl, and instead of giving her starlight, gives her moonlight, infusing the baby with magic. Unable to leave the child with a different family, Xan decides to raise the girl on her own. I loved this book. I loved the fairy-tale quality of the writing s