I knew of this book and the TV series that was based on it pre-pandemic, but reading it now has just confirmed how surreal this all is. The premise of the book is there is a virus that ends up wiping out most of mankind and tells of the people who survive to make a new life for themselves. (Think Walking Dead minus the zombies.) You see how some people stay true to who they are, while others struggle to reinvent themselves, for better or for worse. It was published back in 1976 so it is slightly dated, but it is easy to apply the premise to what it going on today. The TV series (the newer one from the BBC) took some liberties but also still a good companion follow-up to the book.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

I'm very ambivalent towards this novel, but not in a bad way. I am stuck between good and neutral. Admittedly, I did not particularly enjoy this book more so than the average read. However within the last 50 pages, I found myself feeling incredibly human, which is something I haven't felt in a while. I've learned to become an escape artist with myself, and for a moment I was able to come back from that. I loved some of the quotes, and occasionally I'd find a one off passage that I'd adore. But over all, I don't really like this as a book. I could understand what was going on just enough to finish it and come out of it with something rather than nothing. I don't regret reading it, but I don't think I would have necessarily picked it up if it weren't assigned for my AP summer reading. I also felt as though this was less than a book and more a snippet of the human experience. I feel like the reader was put in place halfway through the actual story, and was only keyed in to a small piece of the main character as well as the story. It was more of a piece of life rather than a novel, which I both appreciate indefinitely, and kind of am stuck shrugging my shoulders at. Very ambivalent, but given that I enjoyed some one offs, 4/5 stars

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 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.

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.