Five Books for Lazy Days

When school is cancelled or delayed, I find myself in a place with what seems like nothing to do. Sometimes I will be social, but nine out of ten times I like to be a tad anti-social. I find that my parents do not like when I am on electronics for extended amounts of time, but they can’t argue about reading. These are just a few of the books I have read in the past month or so that I think everyone should read.

“Graceling” by Kristin Cashore

In a land where someone with two different colored eyes has special powers, Katsa is thought to have the power of killing. When she meets Prince Po, who is thought to have powers that help him fight, her life, controlled by her uncle, becomes a little less heartless.

One of my student teachers suggested this book to me. I checked it out from the West High Library and started to read it, with a high expectation after having it hyped up to me for a few days. I thought that the story line was unique and well developed. I love all of the characters’ personalities, Katsa being impatient and Po being very cool and collected. The only criticism I can give is that some of the scenes seemed drawn out and it was hard to remember which characters were which. I would rate this book a 4.25 out of 5.

“City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare

Clary Fray, a 15 year old petite girl with fiery red hair, starts to see strange things around New York. People with strange tattoos and glowing weapons. When her mom gets kidnapped by someone, Clary gets immersed in the world of imaginary, starting by almost getting killed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. After having read it around five times, I can still find new details that I missed the other times. I believe that this makes a good book. I also like that it isn’t just a single book, but a series with multiple branches off of it. I like that the series aspect allows me to be part of the fictional world longer. The creativity behind the series was great. I have never read another series where there are demon hunters quite like this. There is suspense and mystery while still be filled with action. When the book first starts, Clary is in a club and sees someone with a weapon follow a funky looking boy, but when she tells Simon, her best friend, about the people, Simon doesn’t see anyone. This confusing scene still had enough action and suspense to make me want to keep reading. I will say that other parts of the story were a little confusing, but overall I really enjoyed it. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5.

“The Nine Lives of Chloe King” by Celia Thomson(Pseudonym)/Liz Braswell

Chloe King just turned 16, only to find out that she might be part cat. She has the claws and the night vision. She also becomes aware that someone might be following her, with not so nice plans for her.

This was very original, I liked the writing style of the author and how the kind of intimidating size of the book was not transferred to the actual writing of the book. I later found out that my copy of Chloe King has the entire trilogy in it, something I enjoy because that means I don’t have to go find another book in the series. I enjoyed the idea of cat people and the story of someone learning about their heritage and history. When I am reading books, I like to be able to pronounce the names of the characters, because of many of the characters’ Russian heritage, I was unable to pronounce many of the names, causing me to reread the names every time. I would rate this book a solid 4.75 out of 5.

“Dorothy Must Die” by Danielle Paige

Dorothy is great, right? Amy Gumm finds out first person that Dorothy is not as great as she first seemed. Dorothy has turned evil and it is up to Amy to bring Oz back to its former glory. But the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow stand in her way.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic story, Dorothy finding Oz and defeating the Wicked Witch of the West, going home with her ruby slippers. But I never thought of the idea that she went back and became corrupted with the praise she received from the occupants of Oz. I thought this idea was really creative and was an easy read. It uses more simple language and, while still being a chapter book, was shorter than some of the other books I have read in the past. I tend to prefer to read books that might challenge my abilities as a reader, but this book and series was a nice break from the challenging reading. I would rate this book a 3 out of 5.

“Shiver” by Maggie Stiefvater

People that only exist during the summer? Wolves that Grace only sees during the winter? That one yellow-eyed one? Do they correlate? Grace spends her winters watching the wolves from her backyard. She is drawn to the one with the yellow eyes. Then, one summer she meets Sam, someone who has curiously yellow eyes.

I really liked the new take on the werewolf idea. Stiefvater writes in simplistic detail about the wolves and the pain of their transformation. She wrote in two points of view, both Sam’s and Grace’s. While it is the same author, Sam and Grace are written in different ways. I enjoyed reading from different characters points of view. I thought the book was a really easy read and a little boring at times, but overall a really good book. I would rate it a 3 out of 5.