Sash & Em: A Tale of Two Bookies

Another great contemporary (and great audiobook!)! I read this one when I was really in the mood for some contemporary and it hit the spot. Lucy is looking for a graffiti artist named Shadow and her and some of her friends (and non-friends) go on a hunt to find him. This was fun, and yet not what I would necessarily call “light-hearted”. Some of her non-friends are in a bit of trouble and Lucy isn’t aware of this at the beginning. The book is broken up into three different points of view – Lucy, Ed, and Poet – and each POV brings something different to the table. Lucy tells us of dreams of art and glassblowing and finally get out into the world now that she’s done with year 12. Ed shows us kind of a sad story – he’s dropped out of school and yet shows incredible promise. Poet has a way with words and is also absolutely hilarious and brings a gritty type of feel to the book.

Once again, another author has got me loving a book set with a 24 hour timeline. When the pacing is just right for these kinds of books, it works wonderfully. All of the scenes – from the party to the school – felt so right. What also felt so right was the best friendship between Lucy and Jazz. The way they spoke to each other was so real and just how best friends act.

A very quick read (I listened to this one in less than a day) and still meaningful. I absolutely adored this book and fans of Melina Marchetta will enjoy it as well!

A very cute, very fun summer read. Perfect for fans of Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard. The ending was a little un-realistic (for me) but I enjoyed the book as a whole.

A very good contemporary (and extremely character driven). I can totally understand why some people might think it's a bit odd. If you're a hardcore contemp reader, I highly recommend.

There was more than just Lynde Houck for the voice actors and I liked that it was more than just her!

Poignant doesn't even begin to describe this book. It affects me like no other. I love it.

Lots and lots of action. Had some things figured out before they happened but a good writer often foreshadows. :) A wonderful end to a spectacularly fun series.

Another great adventure with Percy. I think what I like about this series is that I'm actually learning Greek mythology!

This book is beautifully written and the performance that Allan Corduner gives is unlike any voice actor out there.

Between Shades of Gray is the story of Lina, a 15 year old Lithuanian girl, who is taken captive with her mother and younger brother and shipped off to a Siberian labor camp during World War II.

First things first. This is a good book. But my misfortune was that I read it AFTER I had read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and while these books both take place in World War II Europe, that’s really where their similarities end. Whether or not I felt more connected to The Book Thief because I was more aware of the tragedies in Germany rather than Lithuania, I don’t know. But this book just didn’t touch me in the same heartfelt way that The Book Thief did. And perhaps I can blame this on the rather grating voice actor chosen for Between Shades of Gray. It took all I had to get through the last 45 minutes of this audiobook. I found most of the characters to be extremely whiny; their voices like nails on a chalkboard. They didn’t seem to have the strength of Liesel or Max. Yes, I know these people were in labor camps but I didn’t feel their vigor or uncoquerable-ness (yes, I think I just made that word up).

And the ending just seemed rather un-realistic.

I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy this book; it’s just that it was only an alright read for me. Do I think I would have liked it more if I read it before The Book Thief? Yeah, probably but what can you do, ya know?

All These Things I’ve Done is about a 16 year old girl named Anya, whose family is in the illegal business of chocolate making. This is the story of her life, what happens when someone poisons the chocolate her family makes, and the repercussions of her starting to fall in love with a boy, whose father is the assistant D.A.

This book, like Eve by Anna Carey, had everything that I was wanting in a dystopian society. And on top of that, the premise of the society is SO unique. Caffeine is illegal, chocolate is too, paper (and consequently, books) is difficult to get a hold of – what could go wrong with such creative ideas? The answer? So many things.

My gripes may come from the fact that I listened to this on audiobook and so obviously if I were to have read the book, I could have interpreted Anya different. But I didn’t read the book – I listened to it and let me tell you what – I think Anya is really..rude. I think she’s TOO blunt. Is she the product of her environment? (read: mafia family) Yeah, maybe – but still. I did not like her. She talked about her love for her siblings and though she does make a sacrifice at the end of the book for them, most of the time she talks to her older brother like he really is an idiot and is rude to her younger sister. I thought she was immature, paranoid, and just plain mean.

Then the plot dragged and dragged in the middle section of the book. There was no conflict and I wasn’t scared or worried for Anya, especially considering how mean and cold-hearted she was. For a good section of the book, it was just her everyday life and it wasn’t even exciting. Also, I swear, I think I would have smashed something if I had heard the word “birthright” one more time.

Needless to say, I was so sad that I didn’t like this book because I went into it with really high hopes.

If you read this book, what did you think? Did you interpret Anya differently than I did from the audio?

Very high!

The ending!

Everything! He is the perfect Percy. Plus all his different voices for the different characters was great!

YES! (And I did!)

I love that I can see how much Percy and the gang are growing up and maturing. I even cried at the end!

A fun adventure for Percy and his friends, and a good follow up to The Lightning Thief. I'm enjoying this series a lot more than I thought I would!

Jesse Bernstein is the PERFECT voice actor for Percy!