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raesengele's reviews
313 reviews
Finding Miracles by Julia Alvarez
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
While this book is wonderfully written with well rounded, diverse characters and discusses a life/world most YA wasn't at the time, the writing style is definitely of it's time. In the early 2000s, when Finding Miracles was written, YA was really just middle grade for teens with the writing style being much more simplistic than even typical YA books of today (which is the reason why most of us teens in that era skipped YA and went straight for the adult books). Because that honestly was the norm then, I won't fault the book for it. At the same time, though, I think the lighter writing style kind of aided the story. A lesser author would have reveled in the violence and destruction leftover from the revolution, but this book is about hope, spreading light, and finding miracles in the dark places even if they're small. By being lighter in tone, this theme was definitely able to carry throughout a lot cleaner. I personally would have ended the book differently, but that's just me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Rape, Torture, Violence, and Police brutality
While never being graphic or detailed, the story does frequently discuss war crimes and the violence that comes with dictators and revolutions.
Clive Barker's Nightbreed Vol. 1 by Marc Andreyko, Clive Barker, Piotr Kowalski
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
Not for me. It was easy horror with not much behind it.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Codes And Ciphers: Secret Writing Through the Ages by John Laffin
informative
fast-paced
5.0
I'll admit that I bought this book because of the movie Zodiac. The movie is one of my favorites and I've always been curious about ciphers, so when I found the same edition as was in the movie, I snatched it up for myself.
This is a fascinating book that doesn't just talk about how to encrypt a message, but also goes into the history of secret writing and how it was used over the centuries. There were certain historical topics that I wished Laffin could have gone more in depth on, but for an overview and book that, I'm assuming, was written for kids, it was pretty informative without being too dry. What I appreciated the most, though, was all the opportunities Laffin gives to practice enciphering/deciphering throughout the text. Each time a new type of cipher is introduced, Laffin includes an example message that has already been encrypted using that cipher, so you can follow along with his explanation or even attempt to decipher it on your own and see how you did. There's even a section in the back with sample cryptograms for you to practice with.
This is such a fun and informative book, especially if your interested in ciphers or just want to feel a little bit more like Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Zodiac.
This is a fascinating book that doesn't just talk about how to encrypt a message, but also goes into the history of secret writing and how it was used over the centuries. There were certain historical topics that I wished Laffin could have gone more in depth on, but for an overview and book that, I'm assuming, was written for kids, it was pretty informative without being too dry. What I appreciated the most, though, was all the opportunities Laffin gives to practice enciphering/deciphering throughout the text. Each time a new type of cipher is introduced, Laffin includes an example message that has already been encrypted using that cipher, so you can follow along with his explanation or even attempt to decipher it on your own and see how you did. There's even a section in the back with sample cryptograms for you to practice with.
This is such a fun and informative book, especially if your interested in ciphers or just want to feel a little bit more like Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Zodiac.
The New You by Kathleen Leverich
4.0
The New You by Kathleen Leverich is about Abigail Hunter, a girl who has just started her first day in a new school wishing she could be anyone but who she is. After what she feels was a humiliating day she hides in the phone booth rather than boarding the bus with the other students. While hiding, she searches the Yellow Pages for "New Identities" in hopes of finding a place that will provide her with a new self. To her surprise she discovers a store called "The New You". In a rush of hope and excitement Abbey takes the subway to the shop she hopes will change her life. Instead she finds a closed hair salon which is occupied by three twenty-something year old women. Before Abbey can leave however, she nearly faints and the three women let her stay until she is feeling better. One thing leads to another and the women decide to give Abbey a new hairstyle, one that she (thankfully) loves much more than the one she had (personally, I wouldn't trust three chicks I just met to have a go at my hair all willy-nilly, but whatev's, to each their own). After a chapter's ado over Abbey's new hair, she is sent home where she finds herself alone and she collapses into bed. She awakes to find that she has been in bed for a few days due to the flu. She is told that she did not actually visit "The New You" and that she came straight home in a cab. The next day she discovers that the route she took is out of order, the neighborhood doesn’t exist and there is no shop called "The New You". In school she is coaxed by a teacher to tell the dream to the class. This strikes the interest of some of the other students and by the end of class she finds that she now has an identity. Two of her classmates begin speaking to her and strike up a friendship, inviting her to hang out at the mall with them before she gets her hair cut. The book ends at the mall where Abbey discovers the truth behind her dream and her new identity.
The New You is a good book, not brilliant nor the best I’ve ever read, but still good. Definitely more for a younger crowd, say Junior High age or younger. It has a neat sort of Sci Fi/Time Travel twist to it, though I guess that is up to the reader to decide. It can be predictable at times (I guessed the “twist” pretty soon off the bat) and the writing can be a bit stiff at times. I would definitely recommend this to kids entering their teen years, who, like the main character, are searching for their own identity. It has a good moral without being didactic and holds the interest pretty well. All in all, it was a good, fast read, probably better for a younger crowd, but still worth the read.
The New You is a good book, not brilliant nor the best I’ve ever read, but still good. Definitely more for a younger crowd, say Junior High age or younger. It has a neat sort of Sci Fi/Time Travel twist to it, though I guess that is up to the reader to decide. It can be predictable at times (I guessed the “twist” pretty soon off the bat) and the writing can be a bit stiff at times. I would definitely recommend this to kids entering their teen years, who, like the main character, are searching for their own identity. It has a good moral without being didactic and holds the interest pretty well. All in all, it was a good, fast read, probably better for a younger crowd, but still worth the read.