Thursday, September 1, 2016

#mustreadin2016 September update



Read my January post here.
Read my first update here.

I missed the last update because we were fresh into my daughter's limb lengthening journey and it was a bit overwhelming at the time.  So I'm here to update what I've read since April!  I have a few to update, but as you can see below, I'm behind.  So many books I feel the "need" to read.  Too bad my book purchasing is more than my book reading.  It's the never ending piles and piles.  I'm not complaining.  It's not going to change!  I'm glad I decided to stick to a list of 12 books.  I feel like I still have time to catch up and actually complete this challenge this year!  Without further ado, here's my update!

1.  Cinder by Marissa Meyer read in April
2.  The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern read in July
3.  All Four Stars by Tara Dairman read in April
4. The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson read in July
5.  Nooks and Crannies by Jessica Lawson
6.  After You by Jojo Moyes
7.  Hook's Revenge by Heidi Schulz
8.  Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton read in January
9.  The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
10.  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
11.  A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
12.  Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard read in March

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)
Cinder 
by Marissa Meyer
read in April
I was encouraged to read this book by Carrie Gelson.

One sentence summary:  Drawing from elements of Cinderella stories, Meyer recreates the story as we know it, making Cinder a cyborg who has a mysterious past that may leave a clue to why she can survive a deadly plague that is killing those around her.

My thoughts:  It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did, it was hard to pull away.  I really liked how the author kept elements of the Cinderella story but really made it into a very different version.  I read this book with my sister as a book club, so it was fun to talk (well, really, text) back and forth about the book.  As an added bonus, my sister who used to love reading, but fell out of it with the birth of her premature twins, fell back into reading with this book!  She's actually read all of the books in the series now!

All Four Stars
All Four Stars
by Tara Dairman
read in April
I was encouraged to read this book by Kristen Picone.

One sentence summary:  Gladys must keep her cooking obsession away from her fast-food, microwave meals loving parents, until she gets a secret job as a food critic - how can she hide her age from the newspaper and this job from her parents?

My thoughts:  Score a book for the foodies out there!  Love Gladys' gumption and her will to follow her passion.  Throw in some friendship issues, and you've got a book that a lot of middle grade readers will relate to!  I'm looking forward to reading the other two books in this series.

The Meaning of Maggie
The Meaning of Maggie
by Megan Jean Sovern
read in July
I was encouraged to read this book by Ann DiBella.

One sentence summary:  Going through middle grade is tough and Maggie lets us know her thoughts about it all, through the tough times (a lot) and the good.

My thoughts:  This book has one of the best middle grade voices.  Period.  My only concern was some mature content for a book about an 11yo.  I did not pass it on to my 11yo yet, but I'll be the first to admit how innocent she is!  There's time for the mature stuff!

The Friendship Doll
The Friendship Doll
by Kirby Larson
read in July
I was encouraged to read this book by Jason Lewis.

One sentence summary:  Told in different voices and different years, each narrator tells how they come to get Miss Kanagawa, a doll given to America as a gift of friendship from Japan.

My thoughts:  I really enjoyed how each narrator moved the story along and how the ending brought two of the stories together.  Although the character of Miss Kanagawa was in each part, it really was the story of each narrator.  Perfect historical fiction - readers will get wrapped up in the story, learning nuggets of history along the way without realizing it!


I'm 2 months behind, but I have a feeling I'll catch up this fall.  I'd like to start with the Jojo Moyes book After You.  Her book Me Before You is one of my all time favorite adult reads.

How is your #mustreadin2016 coming along?

7 comments:

  1. I loved hearing this story about your sister and falling back into reading with Cinder and the rest of the series. I am a twin mama too - I read LOTS while on bedrest and then lots again when they started sleeping through the night! You have so many fantastic reading communities!

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  2. Such a great story to read about your sister! I think I will have to move Cinder up my priority list after reading that. It is one of the 34 books I have left on my original list, and I would say it is middle of the pack in priority on that list. I have to read it before my nine year old gets interested to see if it is an age appropriate series, plus I have always loved that cover.

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  3. Such a great story to read about your sister! I think I will have to move Cinder up my priority list after reading that. It is one of the 34 books I have left on my original list, and I would say it is middle of the pack in priority on that list. I have to read it before my nine year old gets interested to see if it is an age appropriate series, plus I have always loved that cover.

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  4. Such a great story to read about your sister! I think I will have to move Cinder up my priority list after reading that. It is one of the 34 books I have left on my original list, and I would say it is middle of the pack in priority on that list. I have to read it before my nine year old gets interested to see if it is an age appropriate series, plus I have always loved that cover.

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  5. Like others before me, I love that Cinder got your sister back into reading. I started Cinder late last summer and finished the entire series by Christmas. I just picked up Stars so Sweet, book three in Tara Dairman's series. I'm so glad that Maggie is getting lots of love in these updates. I don't think of it as being mature, but maybe that is because I lived Maggie's life from the time I was 7.

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  6. Cinder wasn't really one of my personal favorites, but it is one of the books I recommend most often. I've had so many teens at my library blow through Cinder then come back excited to read the rest of the series! It's a great book to inspire reluctant readers or those in a book slump.

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  7. All Four Stars looks like one I'd enjoy. I love reading about food. The Friendship Doll was one I really enjoyed.

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