Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline
published: Broadway Books, 2011
pages: 372

When the creator of the worldwide virtual reality gaming system, OASIS, dies, he leaves his fortune hidden in an egg somewhere in his digital world.  People all over the world have been searching ever since.  Wade Wilson stumbles across the first clue that leads him closer to the ultimate prize.  However, time is not on his side; Wade must beat a slue of other competitors including some that are willing to kill.  There's only one way to survive: to win.

This book was a bit of a rollercoaster.  There's so much action packed into the story.  It had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next.  I loved all the plot twists and the big reveal; you never know who to trust when everything is online.

There was a bit of a lull in the story about halfway through.  We had some character development, but other than that not much seems to happen.  I found myself skimming the page every once in a while, waiting for the next moment of high action.

The vast amount of 70s and 80s references were incredibly entertaining.  I grew up on that kind of pop culture thanks to my dad, so I knew most of the references on the spot.  It was so much fun to geek out while reading this book.  I thoroughly enjoyed slipping in and out of OASIS with Wade.

OASIS is a virtual reality that I would love to visit.  The world is so intensely huge, there something for everyone.  Each planet is described with such vivid details that it feels like you are right there with all the avatars.  We only got a small peak into the virtual world.  There is some much left unexplored that it's incredibly enticing.  I  would love to explore it, I wouldn't be very good at the MMO (massive multiplayer online) parts of OASIS but it would definitely super cool to experience it.

Ernest Cline creates an amazing world with an intense adventure challenge to complete.  I definitely enjoyed reading this book.


Stars: 3.5/5

Praise:

"As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simple evaporates."
      --Entertainment Weekly

"An action-packed, highly entertaining, nostalgic thrill ride through the past combined with the danger and excitement of a not-too-distant future."
      --New York Journal of Books

"An adrenaline shot of uncut geekdom... [featuring] the perfect lovable/unlikely hero."
      --Publishers Weekly

A Full House Reading Challenge 2015 book.
A 2015 TBR Pile Challenge book. 
An Alphabet Soup Challenge book.
A 2015 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge book. 

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel
published: Vintage Books, 2014
pages: 333

The Georgia Flu swept in with little more acknowledgement than the common flu.  Twenty years later, there are few people left that actually remember a time before everything went down, a time of technology and gasoline and electric lights.  Kristen was young when the Georgia Flu struck but she managed to survive.  She travels around from settlement to settlement with a troupe people who perform the great works of Shakespeare and classic music.  Rarely do they run into trouble, they come across a town that will threaten the very existence of the troupe and Kristen's only home.

I don't think I've ever read a post-apocalyptic book where I actually witness the apocalypse.  Usually, I get to deal with the aftermath.  This book gives us everything from beginning to end and it's so so interesting.

The storytelling in the books is amazing.  It is captivating and moving and beautifully written.  It bounces around in the past and the present worlds, the time before the pandemic and the time after.  The stark differences between these two time periods are captured with phrases and illustrations of people interaction and the physical beauty of the world around them.  Every person in this story is connected in some fashion and as the story is unraveled the relationships and connections are revealed.  It really takes the small world aspect of life to its fullest.

I love that the group of people we follow post pandemic is a group of musicians and actors and their role in this life is to provide entertainment to the towns they travel through.  I love that they exclusively run Shakespeare.  It's so telling, what people in this novel choose to perpetuate and honor from the old world.  Shakespeare is one of those things, technology is another.

There's a bit of mystery to this story.  Things aren't always explained when they are first brought up.  Most of the time we get the answers we are looking for, but never in the time or the way we expect to get them.  This book feels so much like life, like I'm living my life with these characters, getting to know them a little bit at a time and not always through the original source.

The last line of this book sums it up beautifully without giving anything away.  "He likes the thought of ships moving over the water, toward another world just out of sight."

Stars: 4/5

Praise:

"It's hard to imagine a novel more perfectly suited, in both form and content, to this literary moment."
     --The New Yorker

"[A] surprisingly beautiful story of human relationships amid...devastation."
     --Washington Post

"Soul-quaking....Mandel displays the impressive skill of evoking both terror and empathy."
     --The Los Angeles Review of Books

A 2015 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge book!
A 2015 Full House Reading Challenge book!

Eleanor & Park

by Rainbow Rowell
published: St. Martin's Press, 2013
pages: 328

Eleanor meets Park on her first day of school when he saves her from the nightmare that is the school bus.  Despite the fact that they didn't talk, they manage to bond and form a relationship that is tested in every possible way.  Eleanor is radiant and defiant and Park is observant and methodical and they are both gliding through life, flying under the radar.  Will real life bring them together or tear them completely apart?

I absolutely could not put this book down.  I was sucked in from the very beginning by the incredible characters.  Eleanor and Park are enchantingly odd characters that you can't help but love.

My heart goes out to both Eleanor and Park for their different living situations, their joys and grievances.  They each deal uniquely with hard situations  and their relationship becomes their solace.  The story being told is not only their love story but the story of their growth as people in an environment that isn't always nurturing.

I've been complaining lately about parents being almost nonexistent in books, but in this book not only are the parents present but they are vibrant and essential characters.  They act like actual parents, which is so much better than shell parent characters.  They give and deny permission, punish and reward based on behavior and they prove to be an essential part of this story.

The ending of this book is incredible, like mind shattering, dangerous and wonderful.  There is so much tension and anxiety surrounding it and the actual ending is perfectly realistic and not at all wrapped nicely in a little bow.  I think that's one of the reasons I love this book so much.  It felt authentic like I was reading about someone's actual life.

Rainbow Rowell once again makes me feel very strongly about fictional characters in the best way.  I love her writing and I love this story.  I cannot wait to get my hands on more of her work.

Stars 5/5

Praise:

"Rowell keeps things surprising, and the solution maintains the novel's delicate balance of light and dark."
     --Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"Funny, hopeful, foulmouthed, sexy and tear-jerking, this winning romance will captivate teen and adult readers alike."
     --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship Eleanor and Park develop is urgent and breathtaking and, of course, heartbreaking, too."
     --Booklist

An Alphabet Soup Challenge Book.
A 2015 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge book.  

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell
published: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013
pages: 433

Cath, like the rest of the world, is a fan of Simon Snow.  She always has been and always will be.  In fact, thousands of people think she is an incredible fan.  Cath and her twin sister, Wren, are going to college and Cath is bringing along the fanfiction she's been writing or two years in anticipation of the last Simon Snow novel.  Wren has decided not to room with Cath, leaving Cath with a surly roommate who has an omnipresent, overly cheery boyfriend and an intimidating world she's not sure she can handle by herself.  Cath is also really good at worrying.  Will she be able to juggle everything or will all her worrying cause her to lose sight of what's really going on and what's important?

I absolutely could not put this book down.  It was hysterical and beautiful and it made me want to start reading fanfiction again.  There's so many layers to this novel it's crazy.  It's a story about a girl who loves a story so she writes fanfaction about that story.  They talk about the fanfiction quite a bit in the story and at the beginning I was curious to know if we'd get to read any of Cath's stories.  And we did! It's great that we actually get to read some of the fanficiton that Cath wrote.

This book places us in a refreshing setting, college.  Most YA I read is set in high school and I don't mind it, but I loved reading about Cath's transition into college.  It can be a hard transition and Cath's college experience feels so real.  Her feelings about going into this big new and scary situation are on par with how I experienced the beginning of of school. She has introverted tendencies and when she builds up a wall about certain things, I completely understand.   I have so much empathy for Cath.   Despite her concerns and all the other stuff going on in her life he manages to make friends even if they don't understand why she writes fanfiction.

All of the characters in this book are incredibly relatable.  I've been in each character's shoes at some point in my college career and that makes me like them all, even when they are being unbelievably irritating and dumb.  One thing I find so entertaining about this book is that fact that Simon Snow feels so much like Harry Potter and Cath feels the same way about Simon Snow as I do about Harry Potter.  That's grounds for many relatable moments.

I was told that I would love Rainbow Rowell and I do, I love her writing and her characters and her stories and how she took an idea and brought it to life with words.  I cannot wait to read her other books!

Stars: 4.5/5

Praise:

"A deliciously warm-hearted nerd power ballad destined for greatness."
     --New York Journal of Books

"A funny and tender coming-of-age story that's also the story of a writer finding her voice."
     --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Rowell manages to capture both the wildly popular universe of fanfic and the inside of an 18-year-old's head.  Consider me a fangirl of this charming coming-of-age tale."
     --Entertainment Weekly

A Full House Reading Challenge 2015: You heard about the book online
A Alphabet Soup Challenge 
A 2015 Book Blogger Recommendation Book Challenge book. 

2015 Book Challenges

The Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge 2015, hosted by The Geeky Zoo Girl.

RULES:
This challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 2015.  Create a blog post committing to your participation. You will be reading books of this list which is a compilation of books suggested by book bloggers in the community. Choose one of the levels and start reading!

Level:
Bronze - 3 books
Silver - 5 books
Gold - 10 books
Platinum - 25 books
Diamond - 50 books +

My Level: Silver
1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
3. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
4. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
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The Eclectic Reader Challenge 2015 , hosted by Book'd Out.

RULES:
This challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 2015.  Create a blog post committing to your participation.  You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advanced.  You have to read a book from each of the genres listed below.  You can read your chosen titles in any order, at any pace, just complete the challenge by December 31st 2015.  Each time you read and review a book as part of this challenge, make sure you identify it by adding either a direct statement or the challenge image badge to the post.

The Genres:

1. Retellings: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
2. A book set in a country starting with the letter S:
3. PI Crime:
4. A novel published before you were born: Matilda by Roald Dahl
5. Contemporary romance: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
6. Fiction for foodies: Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson
7. Microhistory:
8. Science Fiction set in space: The 100 by Kass Morgan
9. Sports:
10. Featuring diversity: Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
11. Epistolary Fiction: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
12. Middle Grade/YA Adventure: Savvy by Ingrid Law

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The Newbery Reading Challenge 2015; hosted by Smiling Shelves.

RULES: This challenge runs from January 1st - December 31st, 2015.  Make a post stating your intention to join the challenge.  Books begun before January 1st do not count.  Rereads, audiobooks and ebooks are acceptable.  Choose a point level.  Reviews are encouraged, but not necessary. There will be a page to link up any reviews.

Each book you read is worth points.  You get:

• 3 points for a Newbery Medal Winner
• 2 points for a Newbery Honor Book
• 1 point for a Caldecott Medal Winner

In addition to that, you pick a level to aim for:

• L'Engle: 15-29 points
• Spinelli: 30-44 points
• Avi: 45-59 points
• Lowry: 60-74 points
• Konigsburg: 75+ points

My level choice is: L'Engle - 15-29 points

1. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg - 3 points
2. Savvy by Ingrid Law - 2 points
3. Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo - 3 points
4. Doll Bones by Holly Black - 2 points

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Full House Reading Challenge 2015; hosted by Book Date. 

RULES: This challenge runs from January 1st to December 31st, 2015.  Create a post committing to your participation.  Read and review books based on topics on the card below.  There will be a link every quarter for you to add your reviews as you go along.  The goal is to complete the full house card, with one free exchange if there is something on a square that you really dislike.

Published in 2014: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins 

You heard about the book online: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Author new to you: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Library Book: My Faire Lady by Laura Wettersten
Published pre 2000: Matilda by Roald Dahl
Published 2000-2013: How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer
Novella: Fairest by Marissa Meyer
Author outside you own country: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
You love the cover: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
First in a series: Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein
Published 2015: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Book by and author you really like: Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Debut novel by author: The 100 by Kass Morgan
Outstanding hero or heroine: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
Set in the Southern Hemisphere: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
A Keeper: The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Won or Borrowed: Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
A Top Book of 2015 for you: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Set in the Northern Hemisphere: Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly
Setting that I now want to visit: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Type of Book I Rarely Read: Room by Emma Donoghue
2nd book or more in a series: Winter by Marissa Meyer
Award Winning: The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo (National Book Finalist)
Free Choice: Walking on Trampolines by Frances Whiting
Been on You TBR Forever: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

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The 2015 TBR Pile Challenge; hosted by The Roof Beam Reader.

RULES: Read 12 books from your "to be read" pile.  Each of these books must have been on your bookshelf for at least a full year.  They must be published before 1/1/2014, anything before that is fair game. Create a list of book with two alternatives just in case one or two of your original picks end up in the "can't get through" pile.  Books must be read and reviewed to count as completed.  The 15th of every month there will be a post where you can post your reviews.

1. Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)
2. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962; my edition 1995) NO LONGER OWN 
3. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison (1999) NO LONGER OWN
4. Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte (1847; my edition 2001)
5. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1898; my edition 2007)
6. Mr. Toppit by Charles Elton (2009)
7. Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (2010)
8. Matched by Ally Condie (2010)
9. Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt (2011)
10. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011)
11. Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans (2012)
12. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (2013)

Alternates:
1. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (2005)
2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore (2008)
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Alphabet Soup Challenge

There are some letters on my page of book reviews that don't have any books under them and I think it's high time for that to change.  I've decided that I will read a book for every letter of the alphabet this year because that would be fun. (excluding the "the"s in the book titles)   Here's where I will keep track of that adventure.  I'm not going to necessarily read the books in alphabetical order, but hopefully I will get to each book.

# - The 100 by Kass Morgan
A - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
B - Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein
C - Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
D - Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
E - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
F - Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
G - The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
H - How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer
I - Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
J - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
K -
L - Little Bee by Chris Cleave
M - Matilda by Roald Dahl
N - Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
O - Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
P - The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Q -
R - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
S - Savvy by Ingrid Law
T - Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly
U - Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
V -
W - War Horse by Michael Morpurgo 
X -
Y - The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Z - Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

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The Book List Challenge 

I've been reading off a book list since 2007 and last year I read quite a few from the list.  This year I would like to continue to read more books off of it. There are over 450 books, so it shouldn't be a problem. It's the Teenreads Ultimate Reading List if you'd like to take a look.

My goal is 15 books off the list this year.

1. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
3. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
4. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
5. Savvy by Ingrid Law
6. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
7. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
8. The Young Elites by Marie Lu
9. Room by Emma Donoghue