Hollow City

Hollow City Ransom Riggs

This sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children picks up exactly where the last one left off. Having been a few years between books, it was a little confusing in the beginning as I tried to remember plot details and the world that Riggs has built.

Jacob and his friends are out of the loop, but still in the 1940s, traveling from their island to London, trying to find another ymbryne who can hopefully fix Miss Peregrine. Along the way they discover more about the Peculiar world, finding other loops and allies, all the while fighting hollows and wights. Of course, once they get to London, they still have to find another ymbryne (it’s not like they’re in the phone book) and deal with the dangers that the Blitz creates when you’re no longer in a timeloop. It all concludes in another wrenching ending that will leave us waiting desperately for the next book.

I do still love the interplay of the photos and the text, but I feel like the photos didn’t work quite as well--maybe because Riggs used all his best ones in the first book, of what needed to be illustrated wasn’t as peculiar, or because I was already used to it from the first book. I’m not sure why. I didn’t NOT work, it just wasn’t as awesome as the first book in that regard. It is still really well designed as a book though. I like the brown papers marking new chapters--it really adds to the feel created by the photographs and the story--retro paranormal, as well.

I did like the further exploration of the world, and the problems with their weird place in time--being out of a loop, but not being in the present creates issues. Some of the things I liked about the first one aren’t here there-- there’s not that is he/isn’t he on Jacob’s reliableness as a narrator. There’s not the slow reveal of this other world, or the slowly building tension--this is a lot more fast-moving action-- and I think that’s where the story needed to go, but it didn’t wow me in the same way. That’s not to say I didn’t like it--I liked it a lot, I just wasn’t as absolutely floored by it the same way I was floored by Miss Peregrine. I do look forward to getting back into the this world with the next book--I just hope it doesn’t take two years before it comes out!

Book Provided by... my local library

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Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic David Quammen

We’re all going to die. And it’s probably bats or monkeys that will do us in.

As you may remember, I’m a huge fan for medical epidemic books and stories so I was very excited to come across this one, which is about diseases we get from animals, and the science of how a spillover works-- what makes something go from an animal to a human and then make large numbers of us very sick?

Quammen looks at several zoonosis (infections we get from animals) throughout history, and the history of how it made people sick, how they figured out what was going on, and what made it spillover and spread. And he looks at A LOT of diseases such as Hendra, Ebola, SARS, AIDS, Malaria, Lyme, and a host of others. Along the way, he also talks to many scientists about what they’re doing now to be ready for the next one-- what will it be, where will it hit, what can we do to be prepared.

One on hand it’s fascinating. On the other, it’s terrifying (even though he doesn’t want us to freak out too much. I mean, we will all die at some point. And probably not of the next BIG ONE. Which will probably be a flu. And probably from bats or monkeys. Man, I really like bats.)

It’s very interesting, but it does occasionally get bogged down (I found the AIDS stuff a little too academic and wasn’t a fan of his speculative fiction about how it spread in humans).

It was a weird one, because I LOVED it, but it took me FOREVER to finish. Not sure why.

If you liked Outbreak and The Hot Zone, you should probably read this one (if nothing else, just to find out that everything you thought you knew about Ebola is false.) Plus! It's an Outstanding Book for the College Bound.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Keeping Corner

Keeping Corner Kashmira Sheth

Remember The Edge of the Forest? I still have a few reviews that ran in that wonderful magazine that I'm reprinting here...



Leela was engaged at the age of two and married at the age of nine. Next year, when she turns thirteen, she will celebrate her anu and move into her husband’s house. Leela’s excited for her anu but when her husband is suddenly killed, everything changes.

Following Brahmin custom, Leela is forced to shave her hair, smash her bangles, and wear muddy brown saris. She will be unable to remarry and must keep corner—stay in the house—for a full year. Leela’s family is devastated by her loss and their grief permeates the household, making it impossible for Leela to imagine any sort of future.

But India is changing. Gandhi is leading the people to stand up to the English. Leela wonders how a small, old man in a dhoti can change the white men who sit so straight on their horses, but Gandhi is. Confined to the house, Leela is still caught in a struggle between the old and new as India stands on the brink of liberation—both from the English and from tradition.

Based on the true story of her great-aunt, Sheth paints a lush, vibrant picture of Indian home life. Leela’s story moves with the weather and seasons as she marks off her time before being allowed outside. Moving and honest, Leela’s tale of drawing inspiration from Gandhi to find agency in her own life is sure to strike readers and linger long after the last page.

ARC Provided by... a coworker, who picked it up at ALA (maybe? this ran back in 2007-- I don't quite remember)

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The Forbidden Rose

The Forbidden Rose Joanna Bourne

This is a weird one for me to review. One on hand, it didn't always work for me as a romance. On the other, I freaking loved it.

William Doyle is an English spy, sent to France to assassinate the Marquis de Fleurignac, who has come up with a list of English nobles--nobles that are being picked off one by one at home. The servant girl he finds speaks French too well to be what she claims, but he knows she will lead him to what he's looking for

Marguerite de Fleurignac survived the burning of her chateau, but her network that smuggles aristocracy out of revolutionary France has been compromised--she must tell the others before they're arrested. She doesn't trust the man who looks at the rubble of her home with too calculating an eye, but he may be her only chance at survival.

So, this one was a bit too insta-love for me, and I never really bought into their chemistry. Also, the steamy bits were...not that steamy. BUT. The story is incredible. The politics and intrigue in this one! Where it doesn't always work as a romance, it shines as a spy novel. I also like that what was keeping them apart wasn't the fact they wouldn't just say what needed to be said, or they had closed themselves off to love-- their main obstacles weren't emotional, but the turmoil of revolutionary Paris and their greater causes. When they were apart, they were physically apart (like when William is arrested for being a counter-revolutionary) there are a million sides and games being played-- that's where this novel shines and that's what's added the rest of Bourne's Spymaster series to my TBR.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Attack of Jabba the Puppett

Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett: An Origami Yoda Book Tom Angleberger

The Fun Time Menace has fully descended on McQuarrie Middle School. All electives have been cancelled and the kids are instead being forced to watch horrible videos (featuring rapping calculators) teach them how to do basic math they already understand.

A Rebel Alliance is needed.

There are a ton of new origami Star Wars characters introduced in this one as Tommy & Co. recruit members to their cause to get rid of FunTime. They’re smart about it--they use math to know how to throw the test to show that FunTime wasn’t effective--if X number of kids fail, then they can get rid of it for next year. They also find ways to work some of their missing electives back in.

The problem is that even though the kids are actually being rather reasonable, Principal Rabbski’s not really listening to them, and they’ll need help from some very unexpected places to get their point across.

I really like the turn the series took. It’s about a much bigger issue than just one student or one piece of maybe magical origami. It’s an entire school movement, and it tackles so many issues we face in education today-- the FunTime menace isn’t real, but it is. (*cough* AR *cough*) We put so much emphasis on test scores, that’s we’ve opened a market for people to cash in without any real benefit to the schools and students and this book really looks at this, in a hilarious manner.

I also really liked how Dwight chose each character for the different kids in the alliance. Much like he showed with the original Origami Yoda, Dwight notices things about people and knows how to nudge them in the right directions.


Book Provided by... my local library

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No Future for You

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 2: No Future for You Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty and Brian K. Vaughn

So, this big thing to know about this one is FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH.

I really grew to love Faith as a character ever since they defeated the mayor. She's complicated and fascinating. She's the star of this story, as Giles sends her to put down a rogue slayer, being "advised" by a warlock who works for Twilight (Season 8's Big Bad). Hilariously, this involves Faith pretending to be British aristocracy. The rogue slayer is being groomed to kill Buffy, unless Faith can stop her. Of course, in true Faith/Buffy fashion, no one's clued Buffy in to who's the good guy and who's the bad guy in this situation.

One of the things I loved about this was how it flashed back to the TV series so you see what Faith's demons are, with her narration. It really delves into her character and psyche more than the show did, which makes her even more complicated and fascinating.

At the end, there's a story about Buffy and Willow visiting some mystical forces, which reveals some secrets neither really want revealed, and some movement on Dawn's giant curse.

But, mostly, FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH. (Also, a brief glance of Robin (Principal) Wood.

Book Provided by... my local library

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My Beloved Brontosaurus

My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs Brian Switek

Guys-- it’s a dinosaur book FOR GROWNUPS. And it’s sad, because it turns out that everything I thought I knew about dinosaurs is TOTALLY WRONG.

Like the fact that dinos aren’t related to birds. BIRDS ARE DINOSAURS. The ones we think of are technically “non-avian dinosaurs.” Just… let that sink in a bit. Seriously, I’ve just been going around like Tracy Jordan screaming DINOSAUR at the pigeons on the street.

The crazy thing is, there is a TON of discovery happening in dinosaurs right now. Switek tells us the new science and explains the history of scientific thought about dinos and why it’s been changing. All while still maintaining his little-kid love of the giant animals. He doesn’t shy away from admitting the pop culture influences his original thoughts and ideas about dinos came from.

He also looks at a lot of the really big questions we ask about dinosaurs-- what color were they? Why did they die? How did something that big reproduce? Were they good parents? What did they sound like? How did they get that HUGE?! Why were they that big? Seriously, did their tails get in the way of mating? (Yes, there is an entire chapter on research into the logistics of reproduction. I, for one, am glad to live in a world where legit scientists have funding to study the physics of dinosaur sex. It warms my heart.)

It’s super interesting and very readable. I could have used more visuals (mostly to remind me which -asaurus is which) but I really liked it. PLUS! It's an Outstanding Book for the College Bound.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite

The Science of Monsters: The Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear Matt Kaplan

Kaplan looks at many mythical monsters and what was going on in the world that people explained with monsters. He then looks at how the roles of the particular monster have changed over the years as our understanding and world has changed. I think it's at it's strongest when talking about the scientific explanation for things that we understand now, but back then Occam's Razor really did logically lead to "vampire." I also found the exploration of the role such creatures play today in our collective psyche (and how it has changed over time) to be interesting--especially when he looks at what we most fear today, and what's going on in our world that makes us fear those things instead of others. (Although, see below, I do have a few complaints about this section.)

Kaplan writes for the Economist, and much of this book has that same tone of sarcastic snark, which is something I personally love but may be a major turn-off for some readers. It's an adult book, but it's written in a very accessible, readable style (again, think Economist) and I think many teens would enjoy it.

My main complaint is when he’s looking at Greek monsters today, he obviously uses a lot of Percy Jackson, but… he uses the movie, not the books. I’m not even sure he’s aware that they are books. *headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk* He does the same thing with Harry Potter, but we at least mentions the books. When it comes to adult stuff (such as Jurassic Park) he’ll actually talk about the differences between books and movie.

But, I did learn a lot and it was very readable and interesting. It’s mostly European-centric, but he does pull in non-European cultures and monsters occasionally. He does a great job at looking how sometimes different cultures have different monsters that look similar but are very different-- often one sees it as evil, one sees it as an overall benevolent force.

It’s a great look at how humans use monsters to explain what we don’t understand and also as a way to name our fears.


Book Provided by... my local library

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How I Killed Pluto: And Why It Had It Coming

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Mike Brown

Ever since he was a kid, Brown wanted to discover planets. But, when he did discover some, instead of being excited he discovered a planet, he realized that, really, Pluto shouldn’t count as a planet, because that made what he was finding make a lot more sense.

Brown is a hilarious and fascinating as he tells us about the development of thought about the solar system, how modern astronomy works (it’s a lot of coding!), why Pluto isn’t a planet, and his own life. Plus, oh the shennanigans and in-fighting (astronomer politics! who knew?!)

Not a lot of scientists can write like this- heck, not a lot of writers can write like this. It’s a wonderful and fascinating book that really digs into the story-behind-the-story of when Pluto stopped being a planet.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Five Dysfunctions of a Team

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable Patrick Lencioni

I have a lot of super-awesome volunteers at my library. One of them has a fancy-schmancy day job as a high-level executive. When I became branch manager, we were talking about my new role and management stuff and she highly recommended Patrick Lencioni, this book in general. So I read it.

I loved it. It’s a “Leadership Fable” which made it a much easier read for me. The first 75% of the book is a story about a dysfunctional software company and how a new CEO came in and fixed the team and the problem and successes they had along the way. As a story, it wasn’t that awesome, but as someone who thinks in story, it was a much easier, faster, and accessible read than a normal “how to” management book. I read it in an evening and the points made are going to stick with me for a lot longer because of it. I was skeptical going in, but I really appreciated the style. The last 25% is a little more “how to” that goes a little more in-depth on the 5 dysfunctions, how to spot them, and how to get over them.

I also think Lencioni makes good points on how to make a team work. He really focuses on the overall goal of the team, and not individual success and ego. Part of this is a good dose of conflict (because good conflict creates better buy-in) and holding each other accountable. I also liked how his team-building exercises and overall method wasn’t touchy-feely. (No trust falls!) and stays largely focused on the actual business at hand, while still being broadly applicable.

I also liked how he has five dysfunctions, but they really play into each other and are all part of a larger problem, and how if you have problem in one area, you almost definitionally are going to have problems in another.

Now, I work with an awesome team, so I won’t be putting what I learned into direct process, but I’ll be keeping it in mind to evaluate if we continue to be awesome in the future.

And, I’ll be checking out Lencioni’s other leadership books.

(ooo.. there’s also a manga version)

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Everbound

Everbound Brodi Ashton

Jake went into the Everneath in Nikki’s place. Jake is what kept her alive when she was there and she’s not about to let him go that easily. There’s only one solution--she’s going in after him. Of course, to save him, she has to work with, and trust, Cole, who has his own agenda for getting Nikki back to the Everneath.

I do love a good story where the girl saves the guy. I also like how this one builds on the mythology, politics, and world-building of the Everneath. You really get to dig into this world more, as most of the action takes place in the Everneath as Nikki tries to rescue Jake.

I reviewed the third book in the trilogy, Evertrue, here at RT Book Reviews.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Everneath

Everneath Brodi Ashton

Nikki Beckett is back in town, but everything’s different. She’s been gone for 6 months and there are rumors surrounding where she’s been--most people assume rehab. She knows she was taken by Everliving, an immortal who feasts on human energy. Being feasted on kills you, but Nikki survived, never being able to forget Jake, her boyfriend. But because Nikki survived, she’s not the only one who’s back--Cole, the Everliving who dragged her into the Everneath, is also back, and has to get her to go back to the Everneath with him. Nikki only has 6 months, and then she has to go back for good. 6 months to say goodbye properly and to make everything right, but it’ll be harder than she ever expected.

I liked this one. It’s told in alternating timelines, now, when Nikki’s trying to settle back into life so she can fix the mess she left behind and make things OK for when she goes away again, and then, which shows the beginning of her relationship with Jake, and how she ended up in the Everneath. This allows for a slow unveiling of the backstory, and a slow introduction to the mythology that Ashton’s creating and playing with (overall, the story is Persephone meets Orpheus). I also liked her family. Things are tense with her politician father after her disappearance, but they’re working on it. I like the balance he tries to strike between being a responsible parent and getting her the help he thinks she needs and not being so stifling that she leaves again. And her little brother is awesome.

I also just liked Nikki. I liked her voice. I liked that she didn’t have any superpowers, but could also take care of herself. She wasn’t a shy mousey clutzy girl that everyone actually loved, but was more middle-of-the-road real.

Stay tuned for my review of the sequel tomorrow.

ARC Provided by... the publisher for review consideration (hey look at that! Sometimes I do get around to reading the unsolicited ARCs that I set aside because they look interesting!)

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages

Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages Mark Abley

Abley starts in Australia, then travels to Oklahoma, the Isle of Man, Provence, Wales, and then New York, looking at minority languages that are in danger of dying out, and what people are trying to do in order to save them (with varying degrees of success.)

Along the way, he provides a potent argument for the role a language plays in culture and why keeping the small, endangered languages alive is important. (His argument is compelling enough that I personally feel it broadens out well as to why it’s important to learn another language-- not just for trade or commerce, but as a way to provide another way of looking at the world.)

Abley’s not a linguist, and I know that some of this book irks actual linguists and scholars in the field, but I think his non-expert approach really works in making the subject accessible to non-expert readers.

My main complaint is that it’s fairly European/North American-centric. While other areas of the world are touched on, I think it would have been stronger to look at other areas of the world more in-depth.

Parts of it are heart-breaking as languages and cultures die, stamped out by English and other dominant forces. But the things people are doing to try to save their language were inspiring, and, of course, we can always look to Wales and Israel to see how a dead language can come back.

Language death isn’t something one often thinks about, but it’s becoming more and more of an issue, and as a language dies, so much dies with it.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Diverse Book Reading List

Tweeting about how we need Diversity in Books is all well and good, but in order to make it work, we need to put our money where are mouth is.

Here are some books I bought yesterday:



Code Name Komiko by Naomi Paul

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

Prophecy (The Dragon King Chronicles) by Ellen Oh

Mismatch by Lesley Namioka

These are all books I haven't read yet, so I'm excited to dig into them.

And, I've started to make a Pinterest Board with diverse books that I've read and reviewed, in case you're looking for recommendations of where to put your money.


Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.