And Then There Were None

by Agatha Christie
published: Berkley Books, 1991 (first published
1939)
pages: 204

Ten people who have never met are invited to Indian Island by a mysterious host.  None of them knew that they would meet a cruel fate. Shortly after arriving, people begin to die according to the an old nursery rhyme.  As the tension and fear rises, each person tries to figure out who the murderer is before they become the next victim.

Once again, Agatha Christie threw me for a loop.  She always manages to surprise me, even to the very end.  I've said it before, I love trying to figure out the mystery before the book does, but I was stumped.  At one point, I was willing to believe that there was something supernatural at work.  I knew that wasn't the case, but I really had no idea.

I loved that so much of the story was based on a nursery rhyme, "Ten Little Indians".  It makes it creepy and at the same time exciting.  We knew how the next person was going to die, we just didn't know who it would be or when it would happen.  This kept me on my toes.

Rarely do I throw out the word brilliant, but this story itself was, well, brilliant.  All the characters were brought together because they were outside the law.  I thought this premise was incredible and some what understandable in a twisted vigilante justice way.

Each character justified themselves in different ways and went about trying to lay blame on others.  Their thought processes showed a lot of their character in a short period of time.  This book takes place over the span of two or three days, and we only know those characters for that long and yet, we know them.  These characters let their actions speak loudly.  I love that kind of characterization.

I shall be reading much more Agatha Christie in the near future.

Stars: 5/5

Praise:

"The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating.  It is the most baffling mystery Agatha Christie has ever written."
--New York Times

"There is no cheating; the reader is just bamboozled in a straightforward way from the first to last.... The most colossal achievement of a colossal career.  The book must rank with Mrs. Christie's previous best- on the top notch of detection."
--New Statesman (UK)

"The most astonishingly impudent, ingenious and altogether successful mystery story since The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."
--Daily Herald (UK)

Top Ten Tuesday: Memorable Secondary Characters

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

1. Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter) - He will always and forever be my favorite secondary character.  His character development over the course of those seven books blows me away again and again.  I love that he comes into his own and is completely underestimated.

2. Tyson (Percy Jackson) - I wasn't sure about him when he first showed up in the series, but I have grown to love him and his eagerness and bravery.  His spirit in the books makes them all the more lovable. He's a great companion and an incredible character.

3. Sophie (I Am the Messenger) - She may not be in this book all that much, but she is by far one of my favorite characters.  Ed helps her come into her own.  We first see her as a very shy person, but then she disappears for a while and after a bit we see her again and something has changed about her.  I love that we only see part of her transformation and the rest is left to mystery.

4. Metias Iparis (Legend) - I love that he devoted so much of his life to raising and taking care of June.  She is the kind of person she is because he instilled in her core values that he knew to be true.  He worked hard and did his job well, questioned what needed to be questioned.

5. M (Warm Bodies) - M is the greatest best friend any zombie could hope to have.  He has a great sense of humor and a sense of camaraderie which is hard being that he is in fact a zombie.  Even when he doesn't understand R's reasons or motives, M is there, ready to do whatever needs to be done, no questions asked.

6. Simon Lewis (City of Bones)- Some might find him annoying, but I really enjoy that he is a constant norm for Clary in her crazy mixed up world.  He is nerdy and loves music, but also incredibly brave when he needs to be.

7. Finnick O'Dair (Hunger Games) -  I think his character is incredible.  He has so many secrets that he keeps under this playboy air that deceives everyone.  And at the same time, he loves fiercely and has great loyalty to those he cares about.

8. Tiny Cooper (Will Grayson, Will Grayson) - His name may be Tiny, but tiny he ain't.  He character by far outshines any other character.  He is absurd and beautiful, comical and serious and all encompassing.  I love this character. period.

9. The Ents (Lord of the Rings) - I just love the Ents.  All of them, I love that they basically talking trees, that they take care of the forest.  I think these characters are one of the most interesting characters that Tolkien created.

10.  Fred and George Weasley (Harry Potter) - This pair is about as dynamic as any pair of characters can be.  I love them, their humor, bravery, courage and loyalty, among so many other characteristics.  I mean who can resist a pair of lovable red-heads?

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare
published: Simon Pulse, 2007
pages: 485

Clary Fray is a normal girl living in New York City, but when she starts seeing people and things that her friends can't, she goes looking for answers.  She meets Jace Wayland, a Shadowhunter -  warrior dedicated to destroying demons, and Clary's carefully balanced world turns completely upside down.  The answers to her questions bring trouble and all sorts of complications to her life. When her mom goes missing and she is attacked by a demon, Clary looks to Jace and his friends to help find her mom and figure out exactly why the demon attacked her.

I hesitated hugely when it came to reading this book.  I didn't really know much about it, other than it is part of a series and that there is a movie adaptation.  There were several people who told me that I would love the book and some that told me it wasn't worth the read.  However, I decided that I wanted to see the movie, so naturally I had to read the book first.  

I was completely sucked into this story from the get-go.  It is fast-paced and gripping the entire way through.  I liked the city setting; New York City meshes well with the pace of the story.  It's a perfect place for things to go unseen and unnoticed.

Some of my favorite characters are actually secondary characters.  Simon and Magnus hold the top places in my book.  Magnus' charm and wit are completely entertaining; I couldn't help but smile when he was in a scene.  As for Simon, his loyalty and determination to help earn him a top spot.  However, I did find some of the characters highly annoying at very inopportune times.  I thought Clary needed to stop and think a little bit more before rushing into situations she was not well equipt to take on.

 This book has a solid plot with great pacing, but the last twist at the end was really very unnecessary.  It  irritated me rather than strengthened the story.  It felt like the author purposely put that in there to frustrate the reader.  If I'm perfectly honest, I'm not sure it was all that believable either.  This story didn't need the further complications that came because of the twist.  Needless to say, it was a bit of a let down.

Despite my reservations, I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series and exploring the lives and the world of Clary and the Shadowhunters.

Stars: 3/5

Praise:

"Clare's atmospheric is spot-on, informed equally by neo-gothic horror filmd and the modern fantasy leanings of Neil Gaiman... Fans of... Bufy the Vampire Slayer will instantly fall for this series."
     --Publishers Weekly

"Readers of urban fantasy will devour this deliciously overwrought adventure."
     --Kirkus Review

"This fast-paced fantastic thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats."
     --VOYA

TBR Jars

Top Ten Tuesday: Things That Make My Reading Life Easier

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

1. I love the Library! It is a money saver and, sometimes, a life saver.  Whenever I hear about a book that I decide I have to read, that's where I go first.

2. Goodreads is a really convenient place to keep track of the books that I'm reading.  And it's a great way to let others know what I'm reading and for me to find out what others are reading.

3. & 4. The Book blog and Booktube communities are awesome! I love reading reviews and seeing what other people are up to.  It helps me make decisions on which books I read.  Also, I love the conversations that happen in the comments.

5. I love bookmarks! This may sound like a given, but there was a time when I didn't use bookmarks.  I would either try to remember the page number or finish the chapter.  Mostly, I'd finish the chapter, probably because I'm a little OCD.  Now, I use bookmarks all the time; there are so many cool and fun bookmarks that I have way too many, but that's okay.

6. Summer has always made it easier to read, partially because I was always less busy and could read what I wanted without interference of classes. Even though I'm out of school now, I still feel like summer is somehow less busy.  In my mind, the word summer is a trigger to more free time and more reading time.

7. I take books with me everywhere.  You never know when you are going to have a few minutes, or a couple hours to spare.

8. I never travel anywhere without an audiobook or two.  I love listened to them in the car, especially on longer car rides.  It takes me back to my early years when people used to read me books.  Also, multitasking!

9. Friends with books are the second best thing, in my opinion, to a library.  Sometimes, it can be even better.  They recommend you a book and then lend it to you, what could be better!

10. A nice cup of tea and a good book is all I need to enjoy my leisure time.

Notable Quotable: Erin Morgenstern (#19)

"Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasure and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words."
     --The Night Circus

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern
published: Anchor Books, 2012
pages: 512

Stars: 4/5

Le Cirque des Reves appears without warning and the magic begins.  Patrons come from all over to experience this unique and mysterious circus.  Little do they know, there is so much more at work behind the scenes.  Two young magicians have been raised to compete in a battle of skill and endurance, without knowledge of their opponent or the rules of the game.  The circus is their playground and before they know it the competition becomes more involved than they ever expected.  It is up to them to figure out how to end the game and who will win the title of champion.

The prose in this book alone is beautiful enough to keep reading Morgenstern's writing for the rest of my life.  It is elegant and enchanting, describing areas of the circus that I wish I could see in person.  The writing is poetic and poignant to the point that I would have been content with no plot connected to it.

However, the plot attached was equally beautiful and mysterious as the writing. The set up and the storytelling draws you in and immerses you in the world of the circus from inside the walls and from the outside visitor perspectives.  The jumps in time add to the ambiance of the story, allowing the more important details to be revealed in a different manner than they are actually played out.  It is as if the reader shares a gift and is able to read the story of the circus in whichever order we like.

I will say that there were a couple things left unexplained or under-explained.  I wish we knew more about "the challenge" that centered the main point of the story.  We get bits and pieces of it, but it is never really explained beyond the idea that it is more than what the characters thought it. And while the time jumps are a great addition to the novel, if you're not careful you'll lose track of what happens when and what stage the characters are at in their lives.  I had to pay close attention to that.

I really enjoyed diving into the beautiful circus world of Celia and Marco.  You can bet that I will be rereading this book in the future.

Praise:

"Get ready to be won over.... Part love story, part fable, and a knockout debut.... So sparklingly alive, you'll swear the pages are breathing in your hands... The Night Circus defies both genres and expectations."
     --The Boston Globe

"[A] few [ages in...and you know you are in the presence of an extraordinary storyteller."
     --The Daily Beast

"Morgenstern's exquisitely realized world will have [you] wishing to run off and join the circus."
     --USA Today