A beautifully written retelling of classic fairytales. Some I thought a little dark but it is classified as YA so really not appropriate for the little kids. Block's language and imagery are striking, rhapsodic but not cloyingly overdone . Highly recommend if you like classic retellings of stories you thought you knew and even if you don't.

This is the sequel to The Life We Bury (also very good). At first I struggled with the blatant naïveté of Joe, the protagonist, especially after reading the first book. But it didn't deter me and I appreciated his character more as the book went on. Both books teach you a lot about how complicated and unfair life is but also the positive power of hitting rock bottom, the power of forgiveness, and doing the right thing, no matter the cost. I think this makes Joe a good man, even if he doesn't think so. He shortcomings are shadowed by how honest and fair he is. Throughout the book you might try to predict how it will end but the author does a good job keeping you on your toes and you might not see this ending coming. I think you might think it could go one of two or three ways and then the author might introduce another couple ways. Definitely worth the read.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore was the kind of book that had me hooked at its title. It wasn't what I was expected, but then again I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting. Upon reading the first 20 pages, I was a bit uninterested. There were a few lulls in the text at some points(mostly the coding talk, which I couldn't understand) and there were some points where I simply found myself getting easily distracted (however, the characters, it seemed, were always just confused as me until the end and that was something I could appreciate). But come upon pages 50-100, well now I just gotta keep going to see how it ends. Upon reaching page 200, I was eager to finish and things quickly picked up from there. While having some very important philosophical points and fun mysteries, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour bookstore was a fun read that was intriguing and somewhat thought provoking. It was not very intense which is something that I appreciated, given just finishing The Deathly Hallows for the first time. I needed an easy and kind of *shoulder shrug* why not read, and although I initially wanted a great deal more from this book(and still kind of do) it was a break that I didn't realize I needed. All in all, this book was in the okay-pretty good range, so I'd give it about 3.5 stars. But from the chapter "A Really Big Gun" and on, I was fully focused and had to stick along for the ride. From "A Really Big Gun" and on, I'd give it a solid 4 stars. If you are looking for something with similar energy alongside this book, I'd recommend An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green.

Rising storm was a great book with a lot of twists and turns. It so perfectly displays a once great leader's decent into madness, while also keeping you on the edge of your seat during the battle scenes. The writing is good enough to really make you feel what the characters feel, and holds one of my favorite death scenes in the series.

Obviously a must read for fans of The Hunger Games, this gives the story of how President Snow became who know him as. The first 2/3 went pretty quickly, taking place during the 10th Hunger Games (also showing us its evolution). There's a love story for Coriolanus, and that takes up some of the last third. That whole last chunk of the book came off a bit forced to me, like she could have included the content during the HG, but then didn't bother to go back to fill it out and instead tacked everything onto the end. But, you know, Hunger Games. Clearly we'll all read it and ask for more.

Plain and simple, it just wasn't very good. First of all, the main character was extremely naïve and annoying. Listening to the things she said made me just want to shake her. And the story was anticlimactic. It was pretty much laid out for you from the start and there was a little twist at the end that was surprising but not exciting, like twists in many books. Wasn't worth the read so I'm glad it was short. I didn't give it one star because I've read worse.

I love the illustrations and how all the dresses are designed. It has a happier, kinder ending.

This is one of my GOAT book series. The characters are so fleshed out, the dialogue is hilarious, the woman writes a mean fight scene. They just announced the release date for the next one and I don't know how I'm going to survive until next January.

I thought this book was a good way to tie up all the loose ends of the last one. The new character POVs were nice, especially Carl’s. I was a little apprehensive to see April and Maya get back together, but I think if April works on her self-esteem and can consequently treat other people better, it will work out. I would have liked for Robin to be more involved and I wish he had chapters of his own. Otherwise, this book was wonderful. It was paced well, April’s return and her character development were perfect, and getting to look further into the main characters’ lives was interesting and needed. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and will read it again.

4.5 stars! A thrilling end to the April May saga. The ending confused me a bit, and so did a specific characters lack of major involvement in the story, but overall it was a thrilling book that once I began reading, was difficult to put down. There are many quotable moments, and there is a lot to be said on the future of the world and on one person holding too much power. I felt that the story was both anti-climactic and very very very climactic. Overall, a very enticing and enjoyable read in which the book nearly stuck to my fingers whenever I'd pick it up. For the first book I've ever had to wait to have be released, the wait was worth it.