ABookGeek is an eclectic book blog that features reviews of fiction, including genre fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, some young adult fiction, and the occasional non-fiction book.
I like post-apocalyptic fiction and this definitely qualifies. The reader finds out exactly what happened to land this family and the rest of the country in this predicament gradually as the story progresses. Read the whole review here: http://abookgeek-llm.blogspot.com/2011/01/unit.html
I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this book. First of all, I have to say that after finishing the book, I really liked it and plan to suggest it for my son to read. The first section, entitled “November1, Late Morning Winter, Wisconsin left me wondering what I was about to read. I think the biggest – and really, only – issue I had with the book was the beginning and ending sections. I had a bit of a problem reconciling them with the rest of the story. 
I really enjoyed this story about Molly Allgood, an Irish actress also known as Maire O'Neill. This is a fictionalized story about her life and her relationship with playwright John Synge.
I was finally able to get this book from my local library - after being on the waiting list for what seemed like forever. I read the book in one day as has been typical for each of The Hunger Games books. This book held my attention from the first. I was totally pulled into the pain and darkness that has become Katniss' life.
This was a very short book - a story, really. I started reading it just because it was the shortest book in my Kennys parcel. I was hooked from the first page. This is a simple story told from the little girl's point of view. Don't be fooled by the simple style and the brevity of the story. This is such a moving story. The girl has a stressful, chaotic life before she goes to live with the foster parents. The difference this couple make in her life is amazing. And in such simple, down to earth ways. This is a touching and memorable story. 
The brief description from Goodreads, while intriguing, really doesn't do this book justice. I don't usually go in for short stories, but these were just so good -- and they stay with you.
This was an interesting book for a number of reasons. I like Irish history and the book takes place in the 1880's in western Ireland during the activities of the Land League, so there is the historical aspect to it. But the most interesting thing was the picture it painted of the lives of five girls born into the gentry of the West of Ireland. Read the rest of my review here: http://abookgeek-llm.blogspot.com/2010/09/drama-in-muslin.html
The world-building in this exciting dystopian novel is pretty amazing. The reader follows the story of Finn, a prisoner in Incarceron who doesn't seem to be like the other prisoners and Claudia, the wealthy, pampered, educated daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. The world is pieced together for the reader through the alternating narratives. 
I've been procrastinating writing this review - not because I didn't like the book -- I really really loved this book. I was just afraid that I would either not write what I meant or start gushing over it. I think that Beautiful Creatures really stands out among other books in this genre. I loved that I had just read To Kill a Mockingbird and I still had all the Southern Gothic imagery in my head. 
I have mixed feelings on this one. 
As with first book in this series, The Hunger Games, I was completely drawn into the story after only a few pages. Considering that this series is dystopian, we all knew deep inside that Katniss and Peeta weren't going to be left alone to live their lives in peace. But we could hope - for a little while at least. We find out that the Capitol's control over the districts isn't quite a firm as they would like everyone to believe. And apparently, Katniss's little act of rebellion with the berries during the games has stirred up more defiance than she or anyone in District 12 really knew. 
One of the ways that helps me decide that a book is an example of really good writing and that the book can be considered a classic is that people find so many different things to say about it. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great example of this. Every review you read about this book picks something different that was important or meaningful to that reader.
Louisa Cosgrove finds herself at Wildthorn Hall, a hospital -- an asylum for insane women. She thought she was supposed to be going to stay with a family as a companion to their daughter. When she arrives at Wildthorn Hall, she is addressed as Miss Childs and the more she insists that she is Louisa Cosgrove and that there has been a mistake, the more the director and attendant are sure that she is indeed insane. Her papers have been falsified and she has no one to turn to, for she is unsure of who has betrayed her. Read the rest here: http://abookgeek-llm.blogspot.com/2010/07/wildthorn.html
This novel is historical fiction in that it takes place in Maine during the 1918 influenza epidemic, but this is a dreamy, ethereal, ghostly story about Lyza, her artistic, eccentric father and the death of Lyza' mother. Mayra, Lyza’s mother, has always taken care of her artistic, sensitive, and some might even say insane, husband and made sure that their lives ran relatively smoothly. 
Meghan leaves her home shortly after making it back in order to fulfill her promise made to Ash in the first book, The Iron King, to return with him to Tir Na Nog. She finds herself a prisoner of Queen Mab in the cold and unfriendly Unseelie court with only an annoying phouka for company. Meghan is now stuck in the land of winter with all the hostile members of the Unseelie Court. Meghan is unsure of where her relationship with prince Ash stands – if there was ever a relationship at all or if it was all just a cruel ploy to get her to return to Tir Na Nog. Meghan feels lost and betrayed but still hopeful that Ash will come through for her. 
I really liked how this tied the two books together. I liked the development of the relationship between Ash and Meghan. I loved that we got to meet the Wolf and Grimalkin showed up again. I only wish that it had been longer.
