Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 I've almost read through my whole rotation, and I've settled into how I think I'm planning on doing that for the time being. I think I'll read all the way around, then roll for finished genres, and add them to the back. I've just had surgery this past week, and will hopefully have more time to read in the next couple of weeks. Here's where I stand with the rotation: Fantasy:  The Courting of Bristol Keats  by Mary E. Pearson (74%) Sci-Fi: A Wrinkle in Time  by Madeleine L'Engle (17%) Realistic Fiction: Speak  by Laurie Halse Anderson (100%) - Gotta roll for this next! Young Readers:  A Monster Calls  by Patrick Ness (100%) - Gotta Roll for this one too Brandon Sanderson:  The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England  (12%) Nonfiction:  The Anxious Generation  by Jonathan Haidt (12%) Classic: Les Misérables  by Victor Hugo (2%) Mystery/Thriller:  The Brothers Hawthorne  by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (0%) Hist...

 Like I mentioned when I rolled for options for realistic fiction, I have read this book before, but I didn't review it on here. I'm so glad I picked it up again and reread it. I finished this book in one day, it's quick, engaging, and powerful. Melinda Sordino is an outcast. Her friends have all abandoned her and no one will speak to her. What's worse, Melinda finds herself not caring about anything. Her grades slip, she cuts class, and she almost doesn't care about her complete lack of friends. She also stops speaking, almost entirely. What happened?  This book does deal with sexual violence and rape, however I believe that it's a story that must be told. So many young girls (predominately) will find themselves in a position where they don't consent to what's happening to them (and let's be clear, minors CAN'T consent) but they don't know how to stop it. After it's happened, they also don't know how to talk about it, or how to tell ...

 Continuing the Inheritance Games  series, I was really excited going into this book. I've enjoyed all of the characters and the story, the riddles and puzzles, so I was so eager to continue in this series. The Final Gambit  raises the stakes of the series immensely. Toby has been kidnapped, and Avery must find him before it is too late. Each clue seems like a dead end, and when Toby's daughter shows up at the House, the stakes rise even further. Will they be able to find out who is behind it before it's too late? This book was intense from start to finish. Barnes made the stakes high with the abduction of Toby, and that intensity carries throughout the novel. I loved the added character development in this book, especially in Avery and Jameson. I also liked that as part of that development, we started to move past the love triangle that The Hawthorne Legacy  set up. It was good to see Grayson finally letting someone in, and watching his character fail in The Final G...