The Host - Stephenie Meyers

The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a great book. I also got this book for Christmas, from Jared, although I can't know why because I practically ignored everyone and everything while reading the twilight series. I did spend all this weekend reading it, and I could see Jared was happy that I was happy in a good book.

I really enjoyed how these two minds were joined so thoroughly and how the author was able to describe it so aptly. That was my favorite aspect of the book, I adored it. I loved the plot, loved the writing. There was a point where I felt that all the points had been hashed out in conversation a little too much, like I got the point and didn't need to have things repeated so much. Over 700 pages is a little too much in the first place. And I wish it had had more humor, but then again, it might take away from the survival-thinking of the situation.

I can't say if I liked this book better than the Twilight series, because the story is just different. I do love that this is a fantasy novel with a bit of sci-fi put into it. I love the motivations of the characters, loved the romance and how it was still clean. Loved Meyer's creativity & resourcefulness in finding solutions. I want to read it again, but I need to get back to work.


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Rebekah - Orson Scott Card

Rebekah: Women of Genesis by Orson Scott Card

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is the 2nd book in the "women of the covenant" series Card wrote, and yes, I got this book for Christmas, too.

This book was quite a bit too drawn out for me. The first book, Sarah, got a little slow near the end, but Rebekah could have had a much better pace than what was given. I appreciated the details put into the characters and relationships, how Card tried to be authentic & give the best interpretation with the research he had. He put the plot together seamlessly. I got really sick of Abraham's character by the end of the book, though. I could understand that even prophets have their own personal demons, so to speak, but it's hard to see people you hold up to such high expections be so pigheaded when it comes to their family. So if you don't like to see prophets in an imperfect light, this isn't for you. I'm interested to read the last book in the series. (I'm guessing it's called Rachel but I don't have it.) It's just out of curiousity though. I can't stand not reading a whole trilogy, unless it's something I hate. I didn't hate this, so I'll try to check the last book @ the library.


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Sarah - Orson Scott Card

Sarah: Women of Genesis by Orson Scott Card

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got this book for Christmas, too (seven books in all). It's about Sarah from the Old Testament, wife of Abraham, and it's the first of three books about the wives of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.

I loved reading about the different cultures of the time, the different ways of thinking and how original this new religion was that Abraham brought. A religion where the god doesn't even have a name that's spoken aloud, a god with no image to represent it. I also enjoyed how these imperfect characters worked with what they were given in life. I have a new appreciation for the women who brought to pass the covenant given to Abraham, that his seed would fill the whole earth. She seemed to have been a remarkable & revered women of her day. By the by, this is an LDS author, but it's written for any faith to understand.


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Rules by Cynthia Lord

Rules by Cynthia Lord

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is yet another book my Reading for Elementary class teacher handed out. It won the Schneider Family Book Award & Newberry Honor award, which says something. It's about a girl with angst & insecurities from having an autistic brother. I really enjoyed reading the motivations behind the sister's over-sensitive reactions, assumptions, and need to control the situation. It told in simple writing but still helps you look into her life clearly & see in other characters perhaps what the main character doesn't see herself. It also doesn't just deal with autism, but other handicaps, too, in an open sense. I didn't feel like I was reading about just someone with a handicap but real characters with limitations.


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Treasure Island

Treasure Island by Robert L. Steveson

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book was given to us in my Reading for Teaching Elementary class. It wasn't required reading, but the teachers gave us each a free copy to add it to the library we'll have to provide for our class once we're teaching. We had been talking about trying to get kids interested in the classics.

This book was ingenious for its time, I'm sure, but because of its old language use, I don't see how it could be anything for kids younger than middle-school age. It's just too hard to decipher the old & complex way of speaking back then. I'll keep it on my shelf in case kids want to read it. Who knows? Maybe some 5th grader will surprise me. But I won't blame them if it doesn't happen; I had a hard time myself trying to follow many vague & archaic passages in the book.

Although I didn't enjoy reading it because of the way it was told and the laborious pace it was told in, it had a pretty good ending.


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The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got this book for Christmas and spent the rest of my vacation reading it. It's about the building of Kingston cathedral in 16th century England. I don't know if it's based on a real cathedral, but I believe it is. It is really hard to read through because it is such a harsh reality to go through. You spend the first half of the book just living with the characters and their day-to-day lives, but you come to care about some of the characters. The book itself spans maybe fourty years. It amazes me how hard it was to get anything done, and how each person has a different motivation concerning the cathedral. It made me appreciate being a women in a free country and a technologically advanced society. The point you should remember about this book is that it's a "meat & potatoes" novel; this isn't something you can just pick up and nibble on. It's hard not to get emotionally drained by it. It's also very graphic; I can't stress that enough!


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Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's" Web by http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/988142.E_B_White">E.B. White

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My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this for my Teaching Reading in Elementary class @ SUU. I think I read it as a kid but I'm glad I got to read it again & look at why it's a good book for kids and a good book all over. I like the playing with words that the Goose uses, the vocabulary Charlotte teaches, but mostly the lesson taught about how to be a good friend and how to make your life mean something by what you have to contribute to others. I really enjoyed reading it and can't wait to show it to kids I teach.

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