These Broken Stars

I don’t know what to say about this one.  I honestly don’t know if I liked it or not.  Basically, your average Joe small-town war hero crash lands on a deserted planet with the daughter of the richest guy in the galaxy.  Drama ensues.  I thought a lot more could have been done with the world they landed on, especially since so many hints were dropped along the way that “something wasn’t right.”  It was another story (yes, another one!) where I was really excited that the author was going to take me on this awesome journey and wrap it up nicely without me having to take a giant leap of faith, and the actual conclusion left me a little disappointed as I scratched my head and wondered what moment took it too far.  Sigh.  At least this story did not contain a giant flying squid.  That would have pushed me over the edge.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13138635-these-broken-stars?from_search=true

Poor Little Dead Girls

Also known as Barbie and the Secret Society.  Interesting at first, almost pulled me in, then became too contrived and lost my interest.  It took too long to figure out exactly what the plot was, and the resolution was…hmmm….odd.  And I totally called it.  I wish the story could have focused more on the issues of the scholarship girl trying to make it in high society and less on the creepy hospital and Skull and Bones-like underworld.

His Fair Assassins

I listened to the story GraveMercy, book 1 in this series, mostly while riding around on my ATV.  I thought the premise of the story was very creative and interesting.   The characters were engaging, but the plot dragged for me and I get bogged down by the abundance of political intrigue.  I honestly can’t remember how it ended… but I think I will put it on my list of books to go back and reread because I think it deserves a second look.

When Nothing Else Works

This is a book for early childhood professionals that addresses challenging behaviors in the classroom.  Now, it reads much like a textbook (maybe it is used as one) but contains much useful information.  The book is divided into chapters that help look at behaviors from multiple views including personality, needs, environment, and reactions.  It gives well-documented proof that the views it puts forth are sound principles.  The one short-coming is that everything in it is quite generalized.  Of course, this is necessary in a textbook situation where you are trying to equip a beginning teacher with tools to enter the classroom with, but it would be frustrating to a seasoned professional who may not be able to tell where to look for answers to an ongoing issue because they do not know where a behavior stems from.    That being said, I believe this text would be a welcome addition to early childhood curriculums and many parents could benefit from reading it as well.

Money Run by Jack Heath

Teenagers looking to get rich often get themselves in loads of trouble.  Which, fortunately, can make for some very good literature if the author knows what he is doing.  Mr. Heath was well up to that challenge.   Ashley and Benjamin get in way over their heads when an assassin shows up on scene when they think they are about to hit it big.  And then you won’t stop reading until you finish, famished and uncomfortable because you haven’t eaten or taken a bathroom break for several hours.

All Our Yesterdays

Oooo, this one was niiiice.  We have ourselves a little time-travel story all mixed together with a mystery/thriller.  You will not be disappointed with the twists that the author added here.  Em and Finn are great characters, and you really feel for everyone.  It’s really just a bad situation that got out of hand. I buy that.  Happens all the time.  I was very happy with the final pages of the book and had to give props to the author for having everything mapped out nicely without sharing it with the reader until the very end.

Rose Under Fire

Nothing I can write in a review can give enough credit to this book.  From the author of Code Name Verity comes a great World War II story that takes the reader into a believable, yet horrifying look into the Ravensbruck concentration camp from the view of a female pilot.  My advice for Code Name Verity was to read it.  My advice for Rose Under Fire is this: read it, and tell the world.