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Showing posts from September, 2017

#CBR9 Review #20: Holes by Louis Sachar

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I remember first reading Holes when I was in the 5 th grade; it was always taken out of the library and I had to put myself on the waiting list to check it out. And I absolutely loved it back then. A while after this, the movie adaptation came out, and since then I’ve watched it about a million times (give or take). So I thought, hey, why not revisit it now, after just finishing a different novel, which was so long and detailed? A nice little palate cleanser. And honestly, it’s almost word-for-word exactly the same as the movie, with just a few slight changes. Have you seen or read it? I was shocked to find out that the cousin I work with had no idea what this story was even about! But maybe I was just the right age at the right time when the book/movie came out. Because really, it is more of a book for children or youth, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still valuable. Holes is about a teenager named Stanley Yelnats IV who is being sent to a reform camp for young boys convicte

#CBR9 Review #19: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

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Coming in at 1001 pages (before the appendix of magic theory and other information, of course), The Way of Kings may well be the longest individual novel that I’ve ever read. But it’s just the first in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series. Which is apparently also tied together with the worlds of Sanderson’s other series (including the Mistborn universe, the first trilogy of which I read earlier this year and loved). And honestly? That’s… a lot. It seems pretty complex and while you don’t necessarily need to read all the series and know all the connections in order to enjoy the series, I just can’t even fathom how one would begin to create such an expansive universe with so many connections and the theories behind it all. That’s super impressive! But, let’s just focus on this one novel here, shall we? The Way of Kings introduces us to the world of this epic fantasy, which has within it what appears to be the two main factors of any epic fantasy: focusing largely on

#CBR9 Review #18: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

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Just what I needed to take a little break from the lengthy and detailed epic fantasy book I’ve been working on for the past month or do: a sweet and slightly wonky adventure! I just heard of this novel recently, and upon reading Narfna’s positive review of it, I knew it would be great for a little breathing room after reading a couple of more dragging and heavy things as of late. And it was absolutely delightful! Not a masterpiece by any means, but light and fun, and just generally feel-good. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a YA novel, focused on an 18 th century English boy of noble birth named Henry “Monty” Montague. The story centers on the “tour of Europe” he and his biracial friend, Percy (loosely inspired by Dido Elizabeth Belle) go on during their last summer together. Along for the ride is also Monty’s tenacious young sister, Felicity. But of course it’s not such a straightforward trip, as havoc ensues and quite the adventure befalls these three companions

#CBR9 Review #17: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

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