June Book List

The Crown Rose by Fiona Avery
A historical novel about Isabelle, Abbess of Longchamp, the sister of King Louis IX. The mystical part of the storyline revolves around three sisters, the Order of the Rose, who are sworn to protect the royal family - and a mysterious man who saves one of the princes and thus befriends the family. The revelation at the end (which stunned me, but maybe I'm just unobservant) made an already good book even more interesting. Though inaccurate. :P

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
This was the last Sarah Dessen book that I hadn't read. It's about a girl whose life takes a wrong turn after her perfect older sister runs away; she gets involved in an abusive relationship. While it was very well-written, I couldn't personally relate to the story (thank goodness), so it's not my favorite.

The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne Duprau
The last book in the Ember trilogy, which started with so much promise but got worse with each book. It's actually a prequel. A woman in a small town sees a vision of nuclear disaster and falls into a coma-like shock. While she's out, a sort of religion grows up around her vision. Unfortunately, other than the two main characters (a pre-teen girl and boy), everyone in the book is a caricature. I guess it's better when you're the age that the book is intended for. :)

The Lucky Shopping Manual: Building and Improving Your Wardrobe Piece by Piece by Kim France and Andrea Linett
This is (appropriately) more like a very nice magazine than a book. I don't care. It's WONDERFUL. Each type of clothes (skirts, sweaters, etc.) gets its own chapter, and there are fitting and shopping tips. My favorite parts were the "One wrong move..." sections at the end of each chapter, which show how garments can go awry when paired with the wrong things. Fun and enlightening. If I ever need to start my wardrobe over from scratch, this will be my guide.

Hip to be Square by Hope Lyda
I started reading this a while back but lost interest quickly. This time I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. It's the story of Mari, a 29-year-old who works in a retirement home and has a personal life to match. Her three best friends succeed in getting her out of her rut, but as she lives the high life, she comes to believe that maybe that rut wasn't so bad. I liked it.

The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey into the Feline Heart by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
A must for anyone who loves cats. :) This guy (who has apparently written other books about animals) adopted five cats so he could study their behavior for this book. It's filled with stories about funny things they did and ways they interact. I LOVED it.

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
The sequel to The Sparrow, which I raved about last month. Through events not of his own making, Emilio (the priest from the first book) ends up back on Rakhat, the alien planet. The planet is consumed with a war between the two alien races, which was accidentally started by the humans from the first mission. Also...a character who was presumed dead is alive and very central to the plot. :) I can't recommend these books enough. Fantastic.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
A YA book about a fifteen-year-old girl who dies and goes, not to heaven, but Elsewhere. Which is pretty much like Earth, except everyone ages backward from the age they were when they died, and when they become babies again, they're sent back to Earth on a river to be reborn. I thought it was interesting and imaginative, but also depressing.

Books for July: 8
2007 year to date: 54

June Book List

The Crown Rose by Fiona Avery
A historical novel about Isabelle, Abbess of Longchamp, the sister of King Louis IX. The mystical part of the storyline revolves around three sisters, the Order of the Rose, who are sworn to protect the royal family - and a mysterious man who saves one of the princes and thus befriends the family. The revelation at the end (which stunned me, but maybe I'm just unobservant) made an already good book even more interesting. Though inaccurate. :P

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
This was the last Sarah Dessen book that I hadn't read. It's about a girl whose life takes a wrong turn after her perfect older sister runs away; she gets involved in an abusive relationship. While it was very well-written, I couldn't personally relate to the story (thank goodness), so it's not my favorite.

The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne Duprau
The last book in the Ember trilogy, which started with so much promise but got worse with each book. It's actually a prequel. A woman in a small town sees a vision of nuclear disaster and falls into a coma-like shock. While she's out, a sort of religion grows up around her vision. Unfortunately, other than the two main characters (a pre-teen girl and boy), everyone in the book is a caricature. I guess it's better when you're the age that the book is intended for. :)

The Lucky Shopping Manual: Building and Improving Your Wardrobe Piece by Piece by Kim France and Andrea Linett
This is (appropriately) more like a very nice magazine than a book. I don't care. It's WONDERFUL. Each type of clothes (skirts, sweaters, etc.) gets its own chapter, and there are fitting and shopping tips. My favorite parts were the "One wrong move..." sections at the end of each chapter, which show how garments can go awry when paired with the wrong things. Fun and enlightening. If I ever need to start my wardrobe over from scratch, this will be my guide.

Hip to be Square by Hope Lyda
I started reading this a while back but lost interest quickly. This time I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. It's the story of Mari, a 29-year-old who works in a retirement home and has a personal life to match. Her three best friends succeed in getting her out of her rut, but as she lives the high life, she comes to believe that maybe that rut wasn't so bad. I liked it.

The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey into the Feline Heart by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
A must for anyone who loves cats. :) This guy (who has apparently written other books about animals) adopted five cats so he could study their behavior for this book. It's filled with stories about funny things they did and ways they interact. I LOVED it.

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
The sequel to The Sparrow, which I raved about last month. Through events not of his own making, Emilio (the priest from the first book) ends up back on Rakhat, the alien planet. The planet is consumed with a war between the two alien races, which was accidentally started by the humans from the first mission. Also...a character who was presumed dead is alive and very central to the plot. :) I can't recommend these books enough. Fantastic.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
A YA book about a fifteen-year-old girl who dies and goes, not to heaven, but Elsewhere. Which is pretty much like Earth, except everyone ages backward from the age they were when they died, and when they become babies again, they're sent back to Earth on a river to be reborn. I thought it was interesting and imaginative, but also depressing.

Books for July: 8
2007 year to date: 54