Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 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,...

 I've been working my way through this audiobook for months. With my busy schedule, the birth of my son, and my struggle through my AP curricular books, I haven't had much time to read. That being said, I've started driving significantly more, and am now putting on audiobooks in the car again. I apologize for any misspelling of character/location names - I listened to the audio and don't have a paper copy. A Torch Against the Night  picks up immediately after An Ember in the Ashes  concludes. Laia and Elias are desperately trying to get to Kauf prison to rescue Laia's brother. Helene is just as desperate to track Elias down - not because she wants to kill him, but because she knows what will happen to her family if she doesn't. Elias is badly poisoned from the encounter with his mother, Karis Veturia, better known as the Commandant. Elias's brush with death has left him hanging between worlds: the living, and the Waiting Place, where spirits go before passin...

 This was another book club choice, and as I'd read An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir already, I was eager to dive into this one. I'd heard it's drastically different than An Ember in the Ashes  and isn't even in the same genre, so I was curious to read it. All My Rage  by Sabaa Tahir follows the story of Salahudin Malik. Salahudin grew up in Juniper, California with his mother who is almost his whole world, and his father who cannot even stop drinking enough to ensure that his mother gets to dialysis. The Maliks are Pakistani, and own the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel in Juniper. The novel also follows Noor Riaz, also Pakistani, who lives with her uncle and works in his liquor store. Chachu saved Noor from the wreckage of her earthquake-destroyed village when she was six and brought her to the United States. He gave up everything to take her in, and put his entire life on pause to raise her, a fact that he is not afraid to remind Noor about. Noor and Salahudin have bee...

 This book is one of the more popular YA fantasy reads out there, and after reading it, I can see why. I would definitely recommend this to older and more mature readers based on the content. An Ember in the Ashes  by Sabaa Tahir follows two characters: Laia and Elias. Laia has lost everything; her family and her home. Her brother has been taken to prison, and Laia's only option to save him is to work for the Scholar Resistance. She is sent as a slave to the most dangerous woman in the Empire, the Commandant, the leader of Blackcliff School. Elias is a Mask. He is of the ruling class in the Empire, a student at Blackcliff, training to become the Empire's most feared weapons. But he feels trapped. Disgusted by the things he must do, Elias finds himself abandoning his plan to flee the Empire and fighting to be its emperor instead. Will Laia be able to save her brother? Will Elias ever be free? Overall, I loved this book. Tahir has woven a stunning tale full of twists and turns, ...