Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

This review contains massive spoilers for the original trilogy as well as The Lost Metal . Read with caution!  I love Mistborn ; it's one of my favorite Sanderson series. I bought this book as a standalone, but I think it appears in some of Brandon's novella collections as well, maybe Arcaneum Unbound (don't quote me on that). Kelsier died at the hands of the Lord Ruler in a vain attempt to assassinate the god. Or did he? Secret History  follows the story of Kelsier after he was stabbed by the Lord Ruler on that fateful day. Too stubborn to die, Kelsier instead lingers, finally convincing the shard of Perserverence that he should instead survive. The Shard binds him to Ruin's power as well, trapping Kelsier in Ruin's prison until the day that Vin released him. Can Kelsier help Vin? Can he become more than a spirit? This book was amazing. I love Kelsier's story so much, and I always thought that Brandon killed him off too early. Turns out he didn't end up dyi...

 I'd heard about the Netflix series that adapted this, and many of my coworkers have read it. I also love World War II stories (if you can't tell by my historical fiction choices, haha). This book also won a major prize, and I was curious about the story. All the Light We Cannot See  follows two characters in two timelines. It bounces from the past to the present between Marie-Laure and Werner. Marie-Laure is a young girl who lives in Paris with her father. Her father works for the Museum of Natural History in Paris. As the Germans close in on Paris at the start of World War II, Daniel (Marie-Laure's father) is entrusted with one of the museum's priceless treasures: the Sea of Flames. He and Marie-Laure flee Paris to the home of Daniel's wealthy uncle, where they stay until the city is bombed. Werner is a poor German orphan in a mining town. He is particularly gifted with mathematics and engineering, and is given the opportunity to go to a prestigious Nazi school. H...

 I've read both of the other books in this series and loved both of them. I was excited to get a story that was completely about Julie. The Pearl Thief  takes place about five or six years before the start of Code Name Verity  when Julie is just a teenager. The book starts with her arriving at her grandparent's Scottish castle for holiday sooner than anticipated. After visiting an old friend in the village near the estate, Julie is knocked unconscious by the river that runs on the estate, a river famous for its pearls. After she is discovered and taken to the hospital, Julie is determined to find out who hit her and solve the mystery of the missing pearls from the estate. I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I love Julie and her character. I loved her in Code Name Verity , and her voice is sarcastic, witty, and intelligent. All of that carries into The Pearl Thief  as well, with an added sense of aristocracy that the younger Julie obviously harbored. The plot was...

 I finally finished Mistborn era 2! I loved this series so much (though I think I love era 1 the most still). This story was an incredible addition to Scadrial's story. In this final installment, we pick up in Elendel at a time of great uncertainty. The outer cities are threatening war, their tentative alliance with the Malwish is falling apart over the Bands of Mourning, and Wax is still in the middle of all of it. Now serving on the senate, Wax is desperately trying to help the Elendel nobles maintain peace while hunting the Set. Unsuccessful thus far at locating his sister, the leader of the Set, Wax is still trying to uncover her plans. Can Wax, Marasi, and Wayne uncover the Set's plans before the invasion of Trell crushes Scadrial? This was a fitting conclusion for Mistborn's second era. I loved the character development we saw in each of the characters: Marasi, Wax, Wayne, and Steris. I love the involvement of some era 1 characters (one who I am not going to spoil), a...

  A while ago, I read David and Goliath  by Malcolm Gladwell and found it interesting. As my sister was preparing for the AP exam last year, she read this and then recommended it to me. The Tipping Point  by Malcolm Gladwell explores how "epidemics" start and spread. Gladwell's analysis of how people can influence trends follows several different types of people and their roles in epidemics. As with all of Gladwell's work, I like the way he structures his argument and utilizes evidence. He has a very specific structure to his work that I find particularly helpful. His writing is clear, and I feel like I always know what the point of his evidence is. Like I tell my students, he doesn't leave things up to my interpretation as the reader. This structure does bother some readers because it gets a little repetitive by the end, and I also feel that Gladwell's use of that structure fizzles at the end. Sometimes I got lost in the evidence a bit as well. This was an in...

 Several students recommended this book, which was really popular a few years ago. I finally bought it and read it. Kya Clark has been abandoned her whole life. First, by her mother, who walked out on the family, then each sibling drifted off into the marsh and never came back. Kya was left with her abusive father until he, too, never returned. Kya took attachment wherever she could get it, first from Tate, who taught her to read and write, and then from Chase, the star football player from town. When Chase is found dead, it is Kya, the Marsh Girl, who is their primary suspect. Is Kya responsible for Chase's death, and can she hide in the marsh that only she knows? All around, this book is sad. Kya's story is heartbreaking as she is abandoned over and over again throughout the story. I truly felt for her as the story unfolded. Kya's character is a little flat; I feel like she remains the aloof Marsh Girl throughout the story, and she doesn't get past that personality tr...

 This is a book that was recommended to me by several of my coworkers. I read it for my AP class, as several teachers before me used to use it in that class. If you want to truly know and learn about the horrors of the Holocaust, this is the book for you. Elie Wiesel took a ten-year vow of silence before writing about what he experienced at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. Wiesel describes how the Jews in his village in Romania hoped that the war would pass them by, how they knew that something was happening to Jews in other countries, but they hoped that nothing would happen to them. Wiesel then describes being forced into ghettos, then being taken to Auschwitz, where he was separated from his mother and sisters. Wiesel describes his experiences in the camp and the ending of the war as the Jews in the camps were liberated by the Americans and Russians. This book is chilling. There is no other way to describe it. Wiesel writes in vivid detail and describes the deep fear ...

This is a book I've used as an option in my AP class. It was the only book I hadn't read for the longest time. I finally finished it, and here is my review. The Devil in the White City  covers two true stories. The first is the story of the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. This part of the book follows the story of how the fair was built and the work that went into it by the famous architect Daniel H. Burnham. The second storyline follows the life of America's first serial killer, Dr. H. H. Holmes, who was active at the time of the World's Fair. Both accounts are true and pulled from primary source documents. Larson attempts to use the voices of the actual people involved wherever possible. This book was an interesting account on both sides. The individual stories were interesting, detailed, and as I said, Larson pulled from primary sources wherever possible. He often uses the "characters'" words when recounting their story. I enjoyed this aspect of it...

 This is a play that I grew up watching with my dad. We loved the Kenneth Branagh adaptation (bare butts at the start and all) and I watched it many times with him. My dad's love of Shakespeare was definitely a big reason that I love it so much, and it has been literature we've bonded over. Since becoming an English teacher, this is my favorite play to teach, and I love sharing it, with its complicated but funny plot, with my students over the years, who have reported liking it more than they thought they would. Much Ado About Nothing  begins on the heels of some sort of short war. The prince, Don Pedro, and his brother, Don John, have just returned from fighting each other. In a gracious move, Pedro has forgiven his brother, and has taken him back into his company. It is from this conflict that the armies arrive in Messina to stay at the house of the governor, Leonato. As the soldiers stay in Leonato's house, Claudio, Pedro's right hand man, falls in love with Leonato...

 To continue my reading of The Lord of the Rings , I listened to this one on Audible. I listened to the Andy Serkis recording which was AMAZING! He is such a good narrator and voice actor. I enjoyed his narration thoroughly. The Two Towers  picks up the story of the fellowship of the ring (now divided) practically where it left off. Frodo and Sam are desperately headed toward Mordor to dispose of the One Ring, while Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas pursue the Orc army who took Merry and Pippin toward Isengard. Frodo and Sam meet an unlikely guide, Gollum, the wretched creature who once possessed The Ring. Gollum agrees to lead Frodo to Mordor, and having no one else to guide them or trust, Frodo and Sam follow him through the dangerous lands leading to Mordor. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas hunt down the orc army in Rohan, eventually finding that the men of Rohan have already decimated the army for them. Merry and Pippin have escaped, and the trio meets a familiar friend: G...

 This book was a book club choice, and while the premise sounded a little weird, it ended up being a feel-good book that I enjoyed. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt follows three different stories. At first, the storylines are disconnected, but gradually they start to line up. Tova lives in a small town in Washington and has recently lost her husband. Cameron is a failure who gives up on everything he's ever tried. Afraid to invest in anything, and desperate to know his parents, Cameron sets out from California to Washington to find his father. Marcellus is an octopus living in the Sowell Bay Aquarium. He alone knows the answers to the mystery of Tova's son, and though he can't communicate it directly, he really is a remarkably bright creature. This book turned out to be a feel-good, warm, fulfilling novel. If you're looking for a beach read or a cozy, comfort book, this is a great choice. I loved the sense of mystery throughout this book. It's clear f...

 This book had so much hype on Bookstagram and the cover is beautiful. I picked it up hoping for a good fantasy read. Fourth Wing  by Rebecca Yarros follows Violet Sorrengail, daughter of the tough commanding general as she enters Basageth to become a dragon rider. Frail and easily injured, Violet must fight for her position in the college each and every day: outwitting the other recruits and surviving her squad leader, the son of the dangerous rebels. Can Violet make it to be paired with a dragon? I honestly got into this book looking for a good fantasy story. I was sorely disappointed. For all of its hype on Instagram, I found this book poorly written. Yarros used the f-word at every opportunity, even when it wasn't appropriate or necessary. This felt lazy to me and unimaginative. I didn't love the story either. It was a bit predictable and the main character bothered me. She acted like a teenager but was supposed to be 21. In fact, when characters started sleeping together,...