Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 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...

 I finished reading The Final Gambit  by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and now need to choose my next mystery read. That's a 1, so I get to read... The Brothers Hawthorne ! Lucky me, I get to continue reading the series. Look for my post about The Final Gambit next week.

 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...

 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 book was recommended to me by one of my coworkers. The case of Lori and Chad Daybell have fascinated me from the start. I'm not usually a "true crime junkie" by any means, but I do tend to follow some cases like this. The more I've read about this case, the weirder I feel it's gotten. This book aims to clarify and shed some light on the Daybell's strange belief systems. When the Moon Turns to Blood  written by investigative journalist Leah Sottile gives insight into the religious beliefs of Lori and Chad Daybell, both of whom are accused of murdering Lori's two children from previous marriages, and Chad Daybell's former wife. The book focuses mostly on the pair's beliefs and focus on the "end times" - the times right before the second coming of Jesus Christ as outlined in the book of Revelation in the New Testament. The couple have taken the doctrine taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and twisted it to their o...

 I thought it might be fun to look at my reading challenge from last year and look at what I enjoyed the most. I picked my top 5 favorite books from 2022 to highlight one more time. Choosing only five was actually more difficult than I imagined, since I had a lot of favorites. It was also hard to rank them if I'm completely honest, but here is my list! #5 - The Girl Who Drank the Moon  by Kelly Barnhill I loved this book. I loved the whimsical storytelling style and the plot. I loved the characters and how they were developed. I loved how the author carefully crafted the foreshadowing and how she carefully guided you through the mystery of Xan's memories. Overall, this book was so well written. Even though it was a middle grade book, I found myself unable to put it down. #4 - I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys If you've followed my blog, then you probably know that I don't usually care much for Ruta Septys's writing. It's not that I dislike the stories she tells,...

 This is another book I plan on using next year in AP language. In Cold Blood  by Truman Capote is the story of the Clutter murders in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. Perpetrated by two men who had never met the family, Capote tracks them in the days that lead up to the murders and the months that follow. He follows investigators, family members, and many connected with the case to its ultimate end - the hanging of the two murderers. I loved this book. While this book is completely true, it reads like a mystery novel. Capote masterfully unravels the mystery and carefully reveals the secrets of the case. It was fascinating to read and is amazingly well-written. I feel like my only criticism is that it was a little unclear at first that it was non-fiction. I would have loved something at the end that described how Capote got the information he got. Did he follow the case from the start, or did he do his extensive research afterwards? Regardless, this is a beautifully written book and i...

 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 yo...

 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 yet another book club read. This is not usually my first choice in books to pick up. The Husband's Secret  is a gripping tale of lies and intrigue. Cecilia is an extremely successful woman. She has the absolute perfect life: three girls who light her life, an adoring if forgetful husband, she's amazing at selling Tupperware, and she even is the PTA president at her school. Tess thought she was happily married to Will, before Will tells her that he's in love with her cousin and basically best friend Felicity. Tess uproots her son and moves back to Sydney to live with her mother at the revelation. Rachel works at the same school Cecilia's girls (and now Tess's son) go to: St. Angela's. Rachel is the secretary and basically keeps the place afloat. Rachel's daughter was murdered twenty years ago, and she has no idea who did it, but she certainly suspects Connor Whitby the school's P.E. teacher. These women's lives are intricately linked by one ...