The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)

*****

         Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce enjoys the simple pleasures of life.  Her favorite pastimes include reading old chemistry books, examining a skeleton called Yorick, and concocting poisons.  Flavia's life at Buckshaw, her home in the English countryside, is quiet.  She manages to make life exciting by recreating famous chemical discoveries and coming up with a few of her own.  When Flavia finds a dead man in the cucumber patch early one morning, her quiet life is interrupted and a thrilling murder mystery emerges.  And honestly, what could be more exciting than that?  

         This is one of the few books I have read that had me hooked before I finished reading the first two pages.  Alan Bradley's descriptive writing brings Flavia de Luce's world to life, and it's the kind of world I wish I was a part of.  Flavia is an extremely clever and totally hilarious character unlike any you have ever seen.  Instead of thinking through her plans, Flavia dives into action as she tries to solve the murder mystery and prove her father innocent.  Though this mystery doesn't send chills up your spine, it does keep you on the edge of your seat as you try to put all of the pieces together.  If you haven't read it yet, definitely make a point of doing so.  

Rating: 5/5

Completed: March 26, 2012

How I Live Now (Meg Rosoff)

***

         Daisy's father and loathsome stepmother have sent her to live with her Aunt Penn and cousins (Osbert, Isaac, Edmond, and Piper) in the English countryside.  She quickly adapts to life with her strange relatives, who feel more like family than Daisy's own father does.  In an unfortunate turn of events, war breaks out when Aunt Penn is abroad.  The cousins are on their own as violence and fear are spreading like the plague.  Together, they try to survive as the war gets worse and an unorthodox romance blossoms.  But when Daisy and Piper are separated from the boys, it seems like their chances of survival are slim to none.  

         

         Nearly two weeks after reading this book, my thoughts on it have changed slightly.  I was driven to give it three stars based on the punctuation (or lack thereof), which was hard to work with.  At first I read the text as written, but I quickly realized that was a bad approach.  The reader has to insert their own punctuation and read in a slow, poetic way.  On the whole, though, I found How I Live Now to be strangely addictive, and I ended up getting very little work done while I had the book within arm's reach.  For those who don't have patience for odd and unique styles of writing, it's probably not a good choice.  Having put a little distance between myself and How I Live Now, it might be closer to a four-star rating.   

Rating: 3/5

Completed: March 14, 2012

Our Town (Thornton Wilder)

***

         Our Town is a play set in Grover's Corners, a small and secluded town in Maine.  It follows the lives of the Webb and Gibbs families as they experience life, love, and death.  

         

         I read this in English class, which usually ends up ruining books for me.  Many of the themes in Our Town (such as the significance of time) would have been interesting except for the fact that we spent far too much time discussing the play.  In fact, I'm having a hard time bringing myself to talk about it at all.  However, I did enjoy it before breaking it down in class.  Try to read this only when you are in a particularly philosophical mood - it can be somewhat depressing.  On the whole, probably a good book in the right setting.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: Early March

Legend (Marie Lu)

****

         June Iparis is an extremely talented student being trained to fight in the Republic military.  When her brother is killed on patrol at a local hospital, June is recruited to track down his killer.  The prime suspect?  Day, a teenaged criminal mastermind whose work has been an embarrassment for the Republic over the past several years.  Right now, though, all Day really cares about is saving his family.  June eventually goes out onto the field to find arrest Day, but what she learns there forces her to question every belief she ever had about her beloved Republic.  And once she starts to pursue answers, June realizes that the Republic has lied to her from the start.
      
         I really loved reading Legend!  It was a great, fast-paced dystopian novel that I finished pretty quickly.  Although the basic conflicts in Legend have been covered before (i.e., Good Girl Falls for Bad Boy) Marie Lu managed to make her story stand out.  The characters are well-developed and have great personalities.  You also get to see the world from the points of view of both June and Day.  The print helpfully switches from black to gold when the story changes perspective.  June and Day are very likable (and also very human), and you will be keeping your fingers crossed when all odds are against them.  Legend is another great choice for fans of dystopian books like The Hunger Games.


Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 10, 2012

Bewitching (Alex Flinn)

****

         Kendra - the witch you may or may not know from Flinn's earlier book, Beastly - is back.  This time, she's here to tell her side of the story.  Kendra has been around for a long time, using her powers to help people in need.  Even though she means well, sometimes Kendra's ideas go horribly awry (ever heard of the "Little Mermaid"?).  Despite past difficulties, Kendra was recently encouraged by an unexpected success.  Now she sees Emma, a girl with a passive-aggressive step-sister, in need of help - and Kendra thinks she qualifies for the job.  After all, Kendra has some tricks up her sleeve, and Emma seems to be worth the effort.  Of course, if things go wrong, Emma's life just might be ruined.
      
         Bewitching was a good book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as some of Alex Flinn's other stories.  It was certainly a unique take on "Cinderella".  It was more realistic than other Cinderella stories in that Emma had a mean streak and her step-sister wasn't always horrible.  I really did like seeing Kendra's background after reading Beastly, and I would definitely recommend this book for those who read it as well.  Bewitching is a good, light read if you're looking for a fresh take on several old stories.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: February 20, 2012