Write On Review-a-Thon Sign Up

It's been great having the time to write reviews again on this little break from my college courses. But I don't want my blog to hibernate again when school starts back up in September! So I'm hoping to have as many reviews as possible written and ready to publish, to make keeping the blog going between assignments easier. Hence, a review-a-thon!

Part of signing up for the Write On Review-a-Thon is listing the things you reviews you need to complete. So here are the books I hope to write reviews for during the 3 day event:

• Righteous Fury by Markus Heitz
• Club Monstrosity by Jesse Peterson
• Medusa Jones by Ross Collins
• Donuts by Julia Dweck

I'd list more, but I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding that Friday (yay!), so that's one day totally out for this challenge. Also, I might change this list a bit if I review some of them before the challenge starts, but my goal will remain writing four reviews.

The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh

Title: The Faceless One
Author: Mark Onspaugh
Publication Date: October 28, 2013
Length: approx. 410 pages (ebook)

When an archaeological dig in Alaska unearths an ancient mask, an evil god called the faceless one is unleashed. While he can't reach full power until someone puts on the mask, he still manages to brutally murder anyone who comes into contact with it. Jimmy Kalmaku, a Tlingit shaman who is now living in a Seattle retirement home, is the only one with the knowledge required to return the faceless one to his icy prison.

This book was unlike any horror novel I've ever read. First of all, the use of Tlingit mythology was a refreshing change. Jimmy is guided in his mission by Raven, and has to make use of the shamanic skills his uncle taught him when he was a child. I don't know enough about the Tlingit to judge the accuracy, but it certainly felt real.

Jimmy is a great character with a lot of depth. Trained to be his village's shaman as a kid, he came into the position just as his people began to adopt the white people's ways. Now, living in a retirement home far removed from his native land and from his traditional ways, he feels disconnected. George, Jimmy's best friend, is also a delight, always a loyal friend and eager for an adventure.

If I have one complaint about this book it's that Jimmy and George didn't get enough focus, as the story also follows a number of other characters, including the family of the first victim, a New York cop who starts off investigating the murder and gets more involved than he'd planned on, and various lawyers who are connected to the case. The cop, Stan Roberts, does have a good story line of his own and is well-developed, but Jimmy and George were my favourites.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book was. And while the ending wraps up the story nicely, it does leave an opening for a possible sequel, so here's hoping!

5 stars. Highly recommended for horror fans looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants by Louise Rennison

Title: Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 2002
Length: 214 pages

Warning: This is a review of the fourth book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from earlier books. My review of the first book is here.

Georgia is still with the Sex God (Robbie), but he keeps going away on trips related to his rock star status, leaving Georgia all-aloney-on-her-owney. Meanwhile, Ellen is kind of dating Dave the Laugh, even while Georgia keeps accidentally kissing him. Much like in the previous book, Georgia can't seem to resist Dave, even while she's sure she wants to be with Robbie. And now that Dave's with Ellen, she's also got some jealousy and guilt going on.

The usual hilarious writing in this series had me laughing the whole way, and the ending was particularly satisfying for me (which hopefully doesn't give it away too much). There's not much to say about this book since it didn't have the major events that some of them do, but it's still a great read that had me giggling all the while.

5 stars.

July 2015 Wrap-Up

Here's a summary of my book-related activity for July. It was my first full month with no homework in over two years! It was wonderful to have more time to read, and to catch up on some blogging activities. I've already scheduled a few posts, and I'm hoping to write enough by the end of August to keep this blog active during the school year.

Books I read

Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds (new book)
The Boyfriend by R.L. Stine (TBR pile)
From Anna by Jean Little (library book)
Medusa Jones by Ross Collins (library book)
Winnipeg 1912 by Jim Blanchard (new book) (in progress)
The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler (TBR pile) (in progress)
Righteous Fury by Markus Heitz (new book) (in progress)
The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh (NetGalley) (in progress)

Books I bought

Brewing Evil: A Witch is Born
by Carol Gardarsson

Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson

The Wooden Sea
by Jonathan Carroll

Dealing With Dragons
by Patricia C. Wrede

I Am a Taxi by
Deborah Ellis

Shatter Me by
Tahereh Mafi

Not a Drop to Drink
by Mindy McGinnis

Progress on challenges

I read 2 books for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

I read 1 book for the Diversity on the Shelf Challenge/Show Your Shelves Some Love Challenge.

I read 1 book written by women.

I read 2 books written by Canadian authors.

Progress on my TBR pile: I added 7 books to my to read list and removed 6, so my pile increased by 1 this month.

The Book of David by Anonymous

Title: The Book of David
Author: Anonymous
Publication Date: June 2014
Length: 272 pages

Following the tradition of Go Ask Alice, The Book of David is written as if it were the diary of David, a gay teen living in the American South.

When Jon moves to town, the attraction between him and David is immediate and undeniable. But David is in total denial, so he spends much of the book trying to figure out his identity, all while trying desperately to hide his attraction to Jon from his family and friends. Eventually the truth comes out, and each person in David's life makes it clear whether or not they really care about him.

David's story is painful to read. He lives in a town that is still very backwards and where he knows he won't be accepted. I don't know if there really are still places in the U.S. that are that bad, but certainly there are still people as bad as those who don't accept David. This book made my heart break for every kid who has to worry about coming out to those kinds of people.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the woman-hating. Like, just because you aren't attracted to girls, doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it, you know? I felt bad for Monica, dating a closeted gay guy who constantly gives her a hard time about not wanting to have sex with him.

But the budding relationship between David and Jon was sweet, and the characters who stand up for them are good enough people that the story has a happy side to it. Even though David's coming out has some pretty major consequences in his life, the story still ends with hope for a better future.

4 stars.

High Summer Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

This read-a-thon was exactly what I needed right now. Sometimes when you're used to being so busy, it can be hard to force yourself to relax and just enjoy some reading when you do have time. The High Summer Read-a-Thon this year came at just the right time to force me to chill out. :)

I didn't quite meet my goal of finishing three books, but I did come close. I read The Boyfriend by R.L. Stine (165 pages) and From Anna by Jean Little (205 pages) start to finish. Aside from that, I read an unknown number of pages of Righteous Fury by Markus Heitz and of Winnipeg 1912 by Jim Blanchard, both of which were already in progress before the read-a-thon started.

Thanks to Michelle for hosting these read-a-thons! I appreciated them more last week than ever before.

High Summer Read-a-Thon Update Post - July 20-26, 2015

It's time for some lovely, relaxed reading time! I said when I signed up that my goal would be to read three books. As it happens, I'm in the middle of three books right now (which isn't my usual reading style, but just kind of happened): Righteous Fury by Markus Heitz (a novel), Winnipeg 1912 by Jim Blanchard (non-fiction), and The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler (short stories). I think I'll keep working on the books I'm already reading, but may also throw in a short book or two, like an R.L. Stine book, since those are my preferred read-a-thon fare.

Updates:

July 20: I read a few pages of Righteous Fury by Markus Heitz before falling asleep. It was a busy day!

July 21: Because I felt like something new, I picked up The Boyfriend by R.L. Stine, which is the next book in his Point Horror novels that I've been reading. I read 59 pages of it. For a moment I actually thought I'd figured out the twist and was disappointed, but then I realised I was wrong! So I'm looking forward to the usual twist-out-of-nowhere that makes me love this series so much.

July 22: I read the rest of The Boyfriend (holy plot twists, R.L. Stine!), and then read a few pages of Righteous Fury.

July 23: I read From Anna by Jean Little, cover to cover, 211 pages. I picked this one up at the library while looking for some kids' books to review for Blanket Fort Reviews. I had no idea it would be so wonderful!

July 24: Not much time for reading today. Just a few pages of Righteous Fury I think. I've been falling asleep so quickly at night! Which is good, though not for my reading progress.

July 25: I started reading Medusa Jones by Ross Collins, which is a kids' book I got at the library. I read 39 pages of it.

July 26: I didn't get much reading in today. Just my usual few pages of Righteous Fury before bed.