The Girl in Green

This is a story of two men in search of a girl. In 1999, US forces were in the Middle East during Desert Storm and were in the process of pulling out just as a civil war was breaking out. There were many civilian casualties. Arwood, a pee-on in the US military is supposed to be on the look out for Iraqi forces at Checkpoint Zulu, lets a war reporter named Thomas Benton walk go into the nearby city to go reporting. Non-U.S. military forces bomb the city Benton is in and he tries to run back to the demilitarized zone. On his way back, he tries to help this teenage girl in a green hijab come with him as a refugee to the save US compound. Arwood tries to help and on their way back the girl gets shot in the back. This moment changes their lives. Arwood becomes more reckless and "dishonors"  himself in the military, Benton has a hard time getting over how this girl died. They never even knew her name or really heard her speak. Now, 22 years later, they see television footage of the war-torn Middle East and see this same girl who's been imprinted into their minds for over two decades as a bomb goes off right behind her. How is she alive? Is it really her? And how are they going to save this girl? 

When it comes to Desert Storm and many of there African and Middle Eastern wars, I know very little. I know that there are U.S. Troops there, and that "War is Hell" but as for many other parts of it, I know very little. I was hoping for a little view into the Desert Storm world that I was only a kid living through and didn't understand the news. This book gives a great feeling toward what I was looking for. It sets you right there giving fairly fleshed out characters in this real world time and location. It was written well for the most part which I appreciated. 

Arwood is a fascinating character and Benton is alright. The real situations were eye opening as well. 

I was prepared for the war moments, the sad and scary times, but the vulgarity (which I gave a few more passes to because "soldiers be soldiers) got to be more than what I care for as well as the more than prevalent "boinking" going on. The "curtains closed" on many sex scenes, but I stopped when Arwood was discussing things. I hit final straws and there was enough hopping on my drawn line that I just set it down. 

I didn't finish it. Some might want to, but I'm setting it down and will probably have to do my own research into what happened instead of hoping for "entertainment" to do it for me. 

The Poppy War

 

This one, I didn't finish.

The basic plot of this book is a young girl, Rin, who grew up with her "auntie" and "uncle" in the country of a China-esque country. In order to not be sold off into marriage she studies her heart out to take the governments exams to try to get into an academy. While she aces the exam and escapes a life of forced marriage and hiding the drugs her "relatives" are dealing, she finds herself way out of her league. She's studied for two years, but the rest of the students at this war academy have had their whole lives to train in marital arts, the classics, and other areas that she has no training in whatsoever. With pompous arrogance on ever side of the students and teachers who hate the country trash, she must prove herself not only to them, but to herself as well. And then she discovers she has shaman magic.  

With a difference in country and cultures, this book reminds me very much of Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness series and her Protector of the Small series. Only girl in a group of boys at school and she must show that she can stick with the boys and beat them or get "kicked out of school." There is even the "I'm starting my period" moment toward the beginning reminding her that she is very much a girl amongst the arrogance of men. For those coming into a new generation, sure enjoy it (for as far as I read anyway). 

It is highly based on the politics and wars of 20th Century China which there isn't much of on bookshelves. Her country goes from Imperial "China" and fighting wars to defend their borders, to stopping a civil war and joining rebels to build a republic, and fighting enemies with more modern technologies. Being a history buff, I enjoy the other culture interpretations of history (in a fantasy sense too) and so I was really excited about it. Though I just read a brief article with the title of "What if Mao was a teenage girl?" And that was kind of off putting. He is not a world leader I like in any which way, so comparing Rin to Mao... makes me a bit wary. 

But I had to put it down because there was too much swearing. Not as much as others (comparatively, it could be considered "light") but there to many F-bombs dropped for me. Some of the other swear words I can deal with, but when it comes to the heavier language... I prefer to not. There are too many other books I'd like to get to. 

It was well written from 15% I got through. For those who don't mind/care, go for it. If you enjoy diving into cultures and enjoyed the Song of the Lioness or Protector of the Small, I think you'd enjoy this one too. History buffs, have fun. 

Storm Front

 

The first of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. 

Harry Dresden is a wizard in Chicago who works as a wizard for hire. You can find his add in the newspaper. Most of the time he finds keys or other lost items. Other times he works as a "psychic" with the Chicago PD when cases have a occult feel to them. He doesn't often take missing person's cases from people who find his add and this case the police are working on is beyond morbid. Bills need to be paid, but he might be over his head on this one. 

I was first told to read this when I was in high school. I would not have been okay to read this one in high school. There was more than a handful of profanity and these murder scenes would not have been one I would want to look at even on TV. Grotesque, bloody, something that even C.S.I. wouldn't have let air. If this was a movie or show, I wouldn't watch it. The fact that I can mentally jump over the profane words and do my best to not remember unwanted scenes vividly is the only reason I actually got through it. If you don't want to handle those things, go ahead and skip it. If you can or don't mind, enjoy the rest of the book. 

It is an interesting mystery with the major twist of our detective being a wizard. There are normal human bad guys, but then also other wizards, demons, and vampires. Typical supernatural creatures and things that go bump in the night. The mystery was interesting and well lead the story along. 

Characters were interesting and the big ones will do well, I think, in the sixteen other books. The way they interact is great and will have many adventures to come. I really liked Harry Dresdens' sly, sarcastic personality. It was fun to see through his eyes. 

I listened to this book. The reader is James Marsters, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I great reader even if he didn't keep his British accent. He did the voices well and gave a good depth to Dresden and his emotions. 

Good book, but, wow, the profanity and scenes where he lost his bath towel... they could have done without. I'm going to be wary of the next book, which I plan to read. If it continues to be ridiculous in those aspects or if there are actually steamy scenes, I will not pick up another one. 

The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train is a National Bestseller and supposedly pretty good. I somewhat disagree. I can see why people would like the book, I however don't care for it.

The book is about Rachel who's had a mental crisis and is trying, very poorly, to function. She rides the train to work every day and at a particular stop, she watches this couple whom she deems perfect. They must have the perfect life. She's fascinated by them because her life has gone down the drain since her divorce to her cheating husband. She does drink and often blacks out, not being able to recollect anything whiles she's drunk. Megan who is spotted having an affair. And lastly, Anna, who is the woman Rachel's husband had an affair with and is now currently married to. Megan is suddenly found dead and after a drunken blackout, Rachel is trying to find out what is happened on the night she can't remember. Did she do it? Did she see who did it?

This is the story with a very unreliable narrator. Rachel is on the verge of mental snappage which makes her testimony hard to find solid footing in, which is a way to make this fun. Unreliable narrators bring twists to the story that otherwise wouldn't be there or it wouldn't be nearly as fascinating. This was the point that drew me in and kept me wanting to listen.

However, I didn't finish the book. It had a few too many and strong swear words for my liking as well. It was also more dark than I really wanted to read. I don't get drunk, I don't drink at all. I don't find it as fascinating as others might. I don't have a point of reference for it, not that I really want one either. Then there is the concept of affair this and that and having it constantly swirling around the page. I don't read for that. Getting cheated on isn't something I like focusing on. To have it be so constant, has put me off.

I'm sure it's a good book, for other people. Not me.

If others don't mind the concepts that are very prominent here, then they would probably enjoy it very much. Have at it. It was written well with good characters and an interesting concept. It's just not more me.

The Moon And More

Sarah Deaden is really good at writing young adult romances while also hosting life on the page.

The Moon And More is about Emaline and her romantics summer on a beach. Unlike most vacationers, Emaline works at the beach in Colby at her families business renting beach houses for the typical vacationer. New people come in and out of the renting houses all the time, but one house is being rented for two straight months--a very odd occurrence--while they work on a documentary about a man who is just a regular laundromat business man,  right?

Not only are these new people but Emaline's father is making a visit for the summer. He relations wither father have always been strained with his life being so very different than her and her mother's and the rest of her blended family. Her summer is full of boys, family, film, and work to, hopefully, the Best Summer Ever.

I like the way Sarah Dessen writes her books. It is fun to see hints of previous characters from previous books, familiar places, as well as life--not only romances that bloom throughout its pages. There is romance through all of her books,  but there are also bigger questions being asked as well. Bigger situations that exist around her characters more than just, "Does that guy like me?"

Here dealing with a flaky father, disloyalty from a boyfriend, leaving for college, work, a new guy who knows she's too good for her little town, and finding time to watch out for her half brother, Emaline has a lot on her plate. Like real life. I very much enjoy that. And what is great is that Sarah Dessen makes it flow. She makes the chaos of life flow in her stories so then we don't get lost as readers.

There was some language and there was talk of sex though nothing graphic (in the end, I don't really know if it was all that needed. There didn't seem to be much of a purpose to it, which I feel there needs to be in it is put in there).

I was a good book and well done. 

*Spoilers from here on*

The characters here, though there are many, are developed and all have their own story,  their own reasons for being themselves. Benji and Morris are probably my favorite characters. Mainly Morris because of how much growth and development he has throughout the story and how much he is willing to change. He is willing to put Daisy's good ahead of what he wants even though she is very much willing to keep things going. The fact that he made assistant instead of Theo made my day (literally, though it's kind been a bad day). Going from lackless and pretty much unmoving on the job to scrambling for an art show was awesome. He had a very good story arc. He was also pretty cool with Benji, who was probably the real man (at age 10) of the story. 

I also really liked that Emaline doesn't "end up" with any of the guys. She left Luke for good cheating  on her and didn't go back to him by the end of the story, which was a big relief to me. Then there is Theo. He was new and invited her to push herself and try new things, he wasn't a prince charming character either (which Sarah Dessen doesn't really write, no one is perfect in her books). He definitely had his flaws and in the end they overcame how "good of a pick" he was for her. His Best Ever's would probably get on my nerve along especially when making a spectacle in front of people in public places. She felt very much embarrassed as would almost any girl. He also seemed far more excited to for work and hanging out with Clyde (his interviewee) more than he actually did with her unless it was his Best Ever events. That is no kind of thriving relationship. 

I guess Emaline kind of chose Benji at the end of it. If you had to pick one. 

My Giant Nerd Boyfriend

My Giant Nerd Boyfriend otherwise known as My Giant Geek Boyfriend is another webcomic that I
binged in a half day and must tell all about.

It is a slice of life comic about a girl who is about 5'1" with a 6'5" boyfriend and most days in their relationship. Moments from dealing with parents, to arguments in their relationship, to laughing about everything, to how they met, to dealing with cramps, to getting their new dog, frustrations, good times, differences in height problems, and many nerdy things that I have grown accustomed to in my own relationship with my spouse. There are many gaming moments with hints at games alongside real problems that many people face.

I think the situations here are honest and do occur. These are real people in comic form. It was simple, but very much fun and had me laughing out loud in many spots.

A book with some of the comics has been published but you can find all of the stories on webtoons.com . On the book cover here says for "mature readers only" though I'm not 100% sure as to why... It was a good set of stories.

The Blade Itself

I had heard great things about Joe Abercrombie. His books are on all the lists of fantasy books to read and many people rate this book as awesome.

I do not. I try to finish most books,  but is just couldn't bring myself to do so. I got to my 50 page rule and have no interest in it.

A crippled torturer, a "barbarian," to cool for you jock/captain of something along with some kind of wizard get together eventually and do something. I don't even know what,  but bad guys from the north have something to do with it. I don't even know.

The characters are supposed to be cool, but they are really just either creepy or cocky. The torture has an obviously gross and gory line of work and although he says he's trying to find meaning in the brutality, he keeps doing it and finds pleasure in it. The captain reminds me of a stereotypical football jock who is on the team to get the cheerleaders to look at him and to get drunk at the next kegger held. His friends were pretty cool and could have had a more interesting story than jock boy. The barbarian man,  though I don't know his age (supposedly has a family that was murdered,  but he very much acts and talks younger than an adult so I don't know for sure), brutal decapitates a kid. He boy was part of a bandit group,  I get it,  but ick. Abercrombie didn't have to make him a boy or be as gross with it as he was. At this point I just stopped. Too gross for me.

It is just the beginning of the book so the characters haven't had their trials to smooth out their character yet. I get that. It's the character arc. Obviously they grow somehow but I just don't care. They aren't engaging enough for me to want to see them grow.

The jock had a run through the city and that was pretty cool for about the two seconds of setting we got,  but aside from "mountains," "cliff," "water," maybe "bog," and "torture room" there wasn't much setting even though the descriptions were long. There was white gloves and plaster which made me put it in a more modern sterile setting, but then everywhere else felt fantasy-ish. My mind couldn't decide where to put people or the intended setting around them.

Between the constant profanity (F-bombs included) and the gore/creepy factor,  I'm relieved to put this book down.

Our Numbered Days

Our Numbered Days is a book of poetry. I fell in love with on of the poems that I saw him perform on the Button Poetry's facebook page and instantly asked my library to buy a copy. I found that the rest of his poetry is really good too.

A lot of the poems in this book are about relationships. Many are about girlfriends, but others are talk about his grandmother or dealing with people around him--mostly the annoying people around him. But a lot of other poems talk about mental illnesses and things correlating with suicide. They are beautifully done.

He does swear, which I think will be the case for a lot of modern books of poetry. So you'll have to deal, if you care.

But below is a video of Neil Hilborn performing his poem "OCD" at a TedTalkx back in 2013 after his poem went viral and he started touring. He not only performs his poem, which poetry is best when heard/read aloud, but talks about his experience through going viral. It is at a TedTalk Conference centered on Change, so he also discusses how others who don't experience mental illnesses can help, which has been a big thing for me to help my friends.

Please, enjoy.

Heir of Fire

The third book in the "Throne of Glass" series by Sarah J. Maas, just didn't do it for me. I got to page 248 when I couldn't take it anymore and stopped. I may pick it up later, or I might just find a wiki on it to find out what happened, but I just can't get myself to finish it. I don't not finish books very often, especially after starting this here blog, but I just couldn't.

After Choal sends Celaena away across the sea to another country for her own safety, she finds she doesn't want to kill the mark she was sent to get rid of him. So she meanders around town until a Fae, the strong, silent type (who is also immortal) who could be described as a Juggernaut, finds her and she willingly goes with him (for no real reason except he is Fae...) to one of the cities of the Fae where she meets her great+ aunt who is queen of the Fae. But before her aunt will answer any of her questions that she has about how to defeat the king she serves so then he doesn't annihilate the world and all who are in it, she has to prove herself magically. Now that she is away from the country and the king who is stopping magic, she can access her uber powerful magic that she has been scared of/doesn't have access too since she was eight (someone cliche in my opinion). The Juggernaut Fae is the one set on babysitting duty to help her find a way to control her magic. But then as she is starting to gain access and minor control over it, there are baddies in the woods she she starts investigating--because she can't get any answers about the world wide problems that are erupting back at home.

Meanwhile, back in the castle, the Prince is starting to fall for a medic who has been twitterpated over him for years (he is the Prince after all). She also finds out about his new magic that made themselves  known in the second book. She okay with it and is willing to keep his secret, so much so that she is willing to help him find away to control or stop it. I foresee this going badly and probably hurting him. Also, there is a new man in town. Someone from Celaena's hometown, before it was destroyed, who is known for being a traitor to his country. He even holds Celaena's uncle's sword, which she was supposed to inherit. No one likes him but the king because he's a traitor-pants. But the also has something going on. Going out to party at night but only staying at his parties for a but before sneaking off. Choal finds this out and is super suspicious and follows. Suddenly, everything is thrown in the air and isn't what it seems.

Then way up north we get an introduction into Baba Yellowlegs (from book two) colony of witches (like they eat people and all they want to do is kill, not nice people at all). The King has something up his sleeve and has given the clans of witches packs of wyverns. They start training how to fly so they can go off to battle for the king.

This book jumps around a lot. There are so many points of view, which are distinct enough that it is easy to tell apart so it didn't get confusing, but it just jumped through so many and I didn't care like I had previously. It seemed to take too long to get anywhere. While Celaena is trying to learn how to use her magic, we get nothing more than Rowan yelling at her to "shift" and being boring for hours on end. They get into some dialog but even halfway through the book we know nothing about him except he will follow all of Celaena's aunt's orders until he immortally dies of old age. I don't care about him. He will be a love interest, but... eh. Whatever.

I didn't like Manon (the witch lady) for a long time. The death, death, death, and more death got old waaaay fast. How she got her wyvern was pretty cool, but then it went back to death, blood, smelling humans and wanting to kills them again. Ugh. But then that's what all of these books is about. I mean, Celaena is an assassin, of course it's going to be about death. But with Manon there is nothing but killing. Death ends up trickling into the other characters stories as well and it just gets so over done. Like a cloud of gloom hangs over the book. I'm so not up for gloomy or the foreseeable romances.

I think the characters we also not much like themselves, mainly Celaena. In the first two books she was witty, a book lover, it was fun to read. And I get that after the death of her friend she would change, but her wit is what I liked most about her. Now it seems to have pretty  much vanished unless she's getting beat up by Rowan. Those conversations don't last long and they aren't as funny.

OH, I also am very put off by her lack of description. People are blurry, if they were described it was probably only once and what seemed half heartedly. There is very little repetition of description to remind the reader what the freaking people look like. This drives me nuts!

It also swore a lot, which I don't care for in the least bit. It became very annoying. (Call me a prude, whatever.)

It felt rushed to me but weirdly enough it took forever to get anywhere. 560-ish pages of not a lot happening. Almost like a hurry up and wait game we play in bureaucracies. It got boring and I have a very large pile of other books that are due back at the library soon that I want to get to. So I'm putting it down.

Also, it was funny, when I was trying to explain it to my husband, he got all confused--possibly due bad descriptions on my part. But there was so much going on with so many characters and popping in and out and just odd things happening. It was a very long conversation, where, at the end, he asked me, "why are you still reading this then?" And I didn't have a good answer to give him.

I know there are lots of other people who like it, but I just didn't.