Reviews Week 41

Reviews Week 41

October 10th- 16th

Book 136: Sparrows in the Wind

By Gail Carson Levine

Read on October 8th-11th

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Greek Mythology is one of my favorite things to read about, especially stuff about the Trojan War. What drew me into this book, to begin with, was that it told Cassandra's perspective on the events leading up to the Trojan War. I have always enjoyed tales of the Trojan princess, who foretells her and her family's eventual demise and is not believed in her predictions. Cassandra's plot in this book is quite intriguing. Her main goal is to try and prevent the events of the Trojan War. I wish that the story was written differently. 

I was not too fond of the book being divided into two parts, the first being Cassandra's and the second an Amazon princess named Rin. Going into the book, I assumed it would be from Cassandra's perspective. It is fine that it wasn't, but if we were going to get another perspective, I think it should have been formatted differently. The book should have switched back and forth between the girls' perspectives. I believe that this would have helped the plot feel not so disjointed. 

I enjoyed the friendship between the girls, but I can't say that I enjoyed Rin's perspective much. Cassandra's was much more interesting to me. In most books about the Trojan War, we get very little of Cassandra; what we get is usually from other people's perspectives of her. I liked how we got to see her in a different light at the beginning of this book. That is what I went into this book wanting, and I’m sad to say it was lost in the middle of the book. 

*Thank you, NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.* 

Book 137: Hocus Pocus: Illustrated Edition

By A. W. Jantha 

Read on October 11th-13th

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I adored this edition of Hocus Pocus. Hocus Pocus has always been one of my favorite Halloween movies, and I was looking forward to picking this version of it up. It is basically the movie word for word in written form, with some additions. The illustrations were beautiful! I recommend this to any fan of the movie.

Book 138: Terry Pratchett: A Life in Footnotes

By Rob Wilkins

Read on October 14th-16th

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It was very bittersweet reading this book. My first Terry Pratchett read was Good Omens in 2013, which he wrote with Neil Gaiman. I remember how much I absolutely loved that book. Right before reading it, I had heard about the Discworld series. It was recommended to me because of my love of the humor in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. From the minute I read information about the Discworld series, I knew that I had to read it someday. But with its size, I wasn't sure when that would be. Flash-forward to 2015, when Terry passed away, I made a vow that I would read his series. I had my parents get me the books that were out in the Discworld Collector's Library for my college graduation, Birthday, and Christmas present in 2016. 

I started reading the series in 2017 and have been reading the books ever since. Now in October 2022, I only have five more books left in the series. I am so glad to almost be done with it, but I'm also sad to leave the characters I have come to love so much. It's going to be hard not to have any more adventures with Granny Weatherwax, Death, Sam Vimes, Susan, Nanny Ogg, The Librarian, Tiffany Aching, and many others from the series. 

It was a joy to learn about Terry's life from Rob and his own words. This was such an excellent book that touched my heart from the beginning until the very end. I obviously knew how it was going to end, but that did not make it any less harder to read. This is the perfect book for any fan of Terry's. If you haven't had the joy of picking up one of Terry's books ever, I thoroughly recommend doing so. They are some of the best books that I have ever read, and I know that I will be rereading them every year from now on. Especially Hogfather, my favorite of his books. 

This biography is one of my favorite books of the year. It had me bawling by the end and touched my heart in so many ways. A beautifully heartbreaking book that I'm so glad Rob wrote for Terry. Sadly, Terry never got the chance to write his autobiography for himself, but Rob's book was such an act of love. Beautiful in every single way. 

Book 139: Magic Kingdom

By Extended Play

Read on October 16th

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This book was just as delightful as the first. I love the charm of these books so much and how they make you think of your childhood. They feel so much like Calvin and Hobbes, which I love. The humor in these books is just so much fun, especially with the little girl's stuffed animals. I love how they each have distinct personalities. It was absolutely fantastic. I hope that we will get a third book eventually.