Book Review: One Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

One Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate.  As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them--in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul--they come to form a bond that makes them both sister and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation.  With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I think I like book better than The Kite Runner.  Both Mariam and Laila were likeable and I was rooting for both of them to get the life they deserved.  They both struggled in different ways.  I would love to see a follow up book on Laila and how her life has dramatically changed since the events that occurred at the end of this book.

Book Review: The Mime Order - Samantha Shannon

The Mime Order - Samantha Shannon

Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London...

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on the dreamwalker, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly.  Jaxon Hall and his Sever Seals prepare to take center stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner.  Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows.  But where is Warden?  Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I think I liked the first book better than this one.  This book seemed to be a little slow and there was a big lack of Warden.  I would have liked to see more of Warden in the book.  Although the ending of this book greatly redeemed itself.  I love the forbidden relationship between Warden and Paige.  Also as much I don't like Jaxon I like him.  All the other clairvoyants that are friends with Paige are great.  I can't wait to read the next one.

Book Review: That Summer - Sarah Dessen

That Summer - Sarah Dessen

For fifteen-year-old Haven, life is changing too quickly.  She's nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried, and her sister-the always perfect Ashley-is planning a wedding of her own.  Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were.  Then an old boyfriend of Ashley's reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

Sarah Dessen is a great author and I always love reading her books.  They are always a quick read.  This book is about Haven and how she is at a place in her life where she is no longer a kid.  Her life is changing, her sister is getting married and her father is also getting married.  This was a great book about a young girl and how she must accept change.

Book Review: Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular - Bob Pflugfelder & Steve Hockensmith

Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular - Bob Pflugfelder & Steve Hockensmith

In Nick and Tesla's Special Effects Spectacular, 11-year-old siblings Nick and Tesla Holt find themselves on the set of a big-budget superhero movie.  But someone's sabotaging the onscreen debut of their favorite comic book hero, so the brother and sister sleuths must crack the case with the helpf of a fresh assortment of homemade special-effects gadgets.  This cinematic saga features instructions for all-new movie magic projects that kids can build themselves, such as a camera gear, stunt dummies, make-up magic, and more.  Science and electronics have never been so much fun!

4/5 stars(really liked it)

Nick and Tesla books never disappoint.  My 11-year old was excited when this new one came out and her read it first and really liked it.  Then I read it and loved it too.  Nick and Tesla and their friends always seem to find trouble but they are always the ones to solve the trouble.  I hope the next book shows us a little more about their parents.  The ending really makes me want to read the next one.  I could use a little more Uncle Newt in the next one.