The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

****

         A tale of high adventure with princesses, giants, murderers, mysterious killers, and everything in between.  'Nuff said.

         Seriously, though, this was a really good book.  The characters are well-developed and sort of comical.  The Princess Bride reminded me of the books I read when I was nine and refused to read any story that took place in the real world, and it would probably appeal to people of all ages.  I'm also told the movie is awesome, but haven't got around to watching it.  Now that school is out for the summer (!) I'll hopefully have time.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 23, 2013

Prodigy (Marie Lu)

****

Sequel to Legend - watch out for spoilers . . .

         June and Day have finally made it to Vegas, where they hope they can get the Patriots to give Day the medical attention he needs.  Shortly after their arrival, something completely shocking happens: Primo Elector dies and is replaced by his son.  Nobody seems to know what to think of their new leader, except for the Patriots.  When June and Day ask for help, a trade is proposed.  If the pair will join the Patriots, Day will be taken care of.  They agree without thinking about it, but once the Patriots unveil their plan for the new recruits, June starts to regret her decision.  She doesn't believe in the mission she's been tasked with, and can't help but question where her loyalty lies.  With Day?  The Patriots?  The government that destroyed her family?  Or something else entirely?

         It's been a while since I read this book, and I'm struggling to remember what I thought of it.  I do know that I liked the continuation of the plot line.  I also think Lu handled the characters very well.  It doesn't seem like it, but Legend covers a pretty short time span.  By the end of that book, it feels like the characters have completely changed.  When you think about it, though, it's not realistic for such thorough changes to happen so quickly.  I thought it made sense that June would question her loyalties and that Day would feel the class differences between himself and June in Prodigy.  This was a suspenseful sequel with a cliff hanger ending, and there will definitely be a third book on its way soon.  I'm looking forward to finding out what will happen next and having some of my questions answered.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 14, 2013

The Theban Plays (Sophocles)

****

         I read two of the three plays for my English class: Oedipus Rex and Antigone.  The former is the tragedy of Oedipus, a Greek prince who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother.  Oedipus Rex takes place years after this has occurred, when Oedipus must discover the truth about his identity in order to save the people of Thebes.  Antigone is the story of his daughter, a defiant young woman who has grown up as the daughter of a disgraced king.  

         I didn't expect to like these plays, probably because books on the school curriculum are hated by the general population.  You end up hearing a lot of bad things about school books whether they're bad or not.  However, I actually thought both plays were really interesting.  The language isn't too difficult all things considered, and there's a lot of action and drama.  Neither Oedipus Rex nor Antigone is very long, so if you were interested in reading a Greek play, this might be the way to go.  (I know that sounds like a long shot, but I think there may actually be some people out there who really are interested in reading Greek plays.  Just a few, but still.)

Rating: 4/5

Completed: March 14, 2013

Perfect Scoundrels (Ally Carter)

****

Book 3 of the Heist Society series

         As a con artist, Kat Bishop knows a trick when she sees one.  When her boyfriend, W.W. Hale the fifth, suddenly and very unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's company, she can't help but suspect foul play.  Kat needs to find out the truth about Hale's inheritance, and fast - something is off and she wants know what before Hale gets hurt.  The biggest problem?  She can't tell Hale what she's doing.  Kat will have to enlist the help of her expansive web of criminals to prevent Hale from losing the company to somebody he'd never suspect.

         This was another great book by Ally Carter!  The plot was exciting and the characters were awesome as usual.  I appreciate the blend of serious, emotional scenes and hilarious banter between characters.  I also love all the names of the different cons that Kat and her family pull off.  It's been a while since I read the last Heist Society book, but Ally did a nice job of making it so that I still sort of remembered what was going on.  If you've read the other books in this series and liked them, you'll definitely like this one as well.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: February 23, 2013

Pivot Point (Kasie West)

****

         When Addie Coleman's parents announce that they're getting a divorce, they want her to decide who she'll live with.  After all, the decision should be simple for Addie: she is a Searcher, so she can look six weeks into the future to see which path is best.  Addie's Search isn't as straightforward as she'd hoped, though.  Life with her dad outside of the Compound is unlike any experience Addie's ever had, and she meets a cute guy in the process.  Staying with her mom and best friend, Addie has the familiar and a boyfriend to boot.  Neither place is perfect, though - dangerous forces are in action regardless of her decision.  And once the Search is over, Addie will have to choose what (and who) she is willing to sacrifice to protect the people she cares about.

         I really enjoyed the concept of this book, and it was executed pretty nicely.  It only took me a few days to read because I always was excited to find out what happened next.  Addie was a likable character with some good friends on the side.  It was cool how each chapter flip-flopped between alternate futures, especially because there was a sort of mirror affect between the two.  Some of the events that occurred changed drastically in the alternate paths, but others were unaffected by Addie's choice.  It was interesting to see how much influence Addie's choices did or didn't have on the future.  I'm not convinced that there will necessarily be a sequel to this book.  If there were, though, I would definitely make a point of reading it.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: February 18, 2013

Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein)

****

         Verity is living every spy's worst nightmare.  She's been captured by the Nazis in France before completing her mission, and is now facing torture and a terrible death at their hands.  But first, she has struck up a bargain to give away any information she knows in exchange for a little more time.  Not that she claims to know very much.  Meanwhile, greater forces are in action.  There is a war on, and there are plans that must be fulfilled with or without Verity's help.  Friends are trying to find a way to save the mission that she failed to complete, and possibly a way to save Verity herself.

         This was a really powerful book.  It got a fair amount of hype in the book world, which I would say it deserves.  After reading the first fifty pages or so, I was thoroughly invested in the characters.  Maddie and Verity were well-developed both in Verity's prison confession and the rest of Wein's story.  The book was divided up in a way that added to the excitement and made me feel even more affection and pride for the characters (but I can't properly explain that without ruining the story).  I was on the edge of my seat hoping that things would work out well for the two best friends, even though it was pretty clear that wasn't going to happen.  The ending did turn out to be very sad, but it still managed to be satisfying in its own way.  This is by no means a light read, but it is  definitely worth picking up.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: February 15, 2013

The Collector (John Fowles)

***

         Clegg is a small-town man with a boring job who gets a lucky break and wins enough money that he will never have to work again.  With the power to do whatever he wants, Clegg hopes to improve his life and find real happiness.  At first, happiness means buying an isolated countryside home, which happens to have a very lovely large cellar.  Soon it means following Miranda, the beautiful girl he's fallen in love with, all around London.  But knowing Miranda from a distance is not enough for Clegg; he decides to kidnap her so that he can enjoy her company for as long as he wants.  The only trouble, of course, will be to get Miranda to love him back.

         Sorry, guys, but I just can't bring myself to go in-depth about this book after picking it apart in English class.  This is going to be a short review.  Basically, this book was very creepy.  How can a book about a guy who stalks a girl and then kidnaps her in his van - yes, van - not be creepy?  The Collector deals with some pretty heavy themes, including gender roles, class, and power, and John Fowles does a good job of playing them out in the story.  There's no denying that it's a great candidate for analysis and essay writing.  As we discussed in class, Fowles gets the reader confused about who they like and who they don't.  It's shockingly easy to feel sorry for Clegg at certain points.  In the end, though, I knew exactly how I felt about the characters.  Although I was not happy with the ending, it was fairly realistic.  I can't say that I exactly recommend this book, but it definitely has its merits.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: February 8, 2013

Sorry that I haven't posted much at all lately.  Junior year is really catching up with me - I have heard more than one person refer to this week as "hell week".  Spring break is on its way, which means college visits, but also hopefully more time to read.  In the meantime, I'm still a bit behind on posting, so I'll try to keep 'em coming for the rest of the month.  Have any fun plans for the spring?  Reading any great books?  Post it in the comments.