Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

 

8/10

I read this with my kids about 6 months ago. This was a book that the entire elementary school read together last school year and so I read several chapters with the kids each night. It was really good and could have easily gotten a 9/10. I went with the 8/10 just because it is elementary level reading after all and some minor writing stylistic issues. But it was an enjoyable story mixing in several old Chinese folktales and was actually quite touching at the end. The selflessness of the main character was pretty inspiring. The whole book had this gentleness about it that I quite enjoyed. Overall a good experience reading this together with the whole crew.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

 

5/10

I finished this book back in February. I read this one with Mallory. This one was super uninteresting to me. The story felt so directionless. Everything is overly vague with no resolution whatsoever. Mystery to a story can be a useful tool but in this book it's just annoying for some reason, almost like you feel like the author himself doesn't know what's going on either and so he just leaves everything unanswered. The main character passes out at the conclusion of every other chapter. The writing isn't great. It wasn't in the Maze Runner either, but I gave it a pass since the story and its setting were interesting enough. I probably would have given this one a worse ranking except my daughter really likes these books and her enjoyment for them makes me like them slightly more than I otherwise would if I was reading it by myself. Not much else to say. I read it several months ago and honestly don't really remember much about it.

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

 

8/10

I'm ba-ack! Not sure why I got out of the groove of posting my books, but the further I got behind the harder it was to make a post. Hopefully I can knock out some posts real quick to get caught back up. The posts will probably be short and sweet because I don't remember as much about my reading experience since it's been so long. Doesn't make for a very interesting post, but I need to jot these down. For posterity.

I read this book several months ago. I had mixed feelings on this one. I liked the story and the great detail about the incident where he and three others were caught behind enemy lines and pinned down with seemingly no way out. And, as the title of the book implies, the author is the only one to make it out alive through a series of incredible events. You can't help but respect the sacrifice of these men. Lots of heroes in this one.

The part that bothered me about this book is how the author kept taking little stabs at Democrats and making politics part of the story in such a negative way. Few things annoy me more than the negativity of politics, so I didn't enjoy that part of the book. But in the end, it was a very enjoyable and inspiring book and I'm glad that I read it.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

6/10

I finished reading this several months ago but never got around to posting about it. It also took me forever to finish reading this book because it was largely uninteresting. I came in expecting some swashbuckling, swinging from chandeliers, etc. but instead had to read about some low stakes drama about traveling to England to get a necklace and then replace a missing pearl in order to cover up an affair. It wasn't until like 3/4ths of the way into the book until I finally got to see some of the daring bravado that I was yearning for when the musketeers and D'Artagnan (who is actually the main character) had to speak of important matters in private and so they nonchalantly had a picnic out in enemy territory with their lives in mortal danger at all times. It is where Athos became the coolest of the musketeers and really the second most interesting character in the book. The most interesting character was Milady who was quite the evil schemer. The last 1/4th of the book focuses mainly on her story and was mostly enjoyable and it really salvaged the book. 

Alexandre Dumas books I've read, ranked:

1.  The Count of Monte Cristo
   
2. The Three Musketeers

Two quotes:

"A rogue does not laugh in the same way that an honest man does; a hypocrite does not shed the same sort of tears that a man of good faith does. All falsehood is a mask, and however well made the mask may be, with a little attention we may always succeed in distinguishing it from the true face." 

"[R]epentance is becoming to the guilty. Whatever crimes they may have committed, for me the guilty are sacred at the feet of God!"

 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

 

7/10

I finished reading this a few months ago with Mallory. Mallory absolutely loved it. It does have a really good and interesting premise and is exciting pretty much throughout. I wanted to like it more than I did. But the writing wasn't great and the slang language constantly throughout was off-putting to me. The character development is sub-par and I didn't fall in love or really care for any of the characters. But the story really is pretty fascinating and keeps your attention and interest enough for it to overcome most of its shortcomings. I always have been more of a fan of a good story over great writing (although I prefer both, obviously). But I'd rather read a book like this than one of those smartsy-fartsy, well-written stories where nothing happens (I'm looking at you Mrs. Dalloway). Also, when my child really enjoys a book that we're reading, it always helps me enjoy it a little more along with them. 

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

 

9/10

Finished reading this about a month ago. Mallory picked it for me to read, but my six-year-old Brandon saw it and was super interested in it. He's obsessed with the Titanic and George Washington, so learning about Mt. Everest is very on brand for Brandon. So I read the entire book to him. We both loved it, although he certainly had moments of disinterest. I found it completely fascinating and as good of a picture of the Mt. Everest experience I could imagine. Add to it the fact that there was some intense drama with lives in the balance, with several being lost, and this was one of those books that is hard to put down. The story of Beck Weathers was totally unbelievable, something I would have scoffed at if this were a fiction novel, and yet he somehow managed to survive after being left for dead multiple times. I knew Mt. Everest was a dangerous climb but I didn't fully realize just how frequent death was, basically every year to some degree. I feel bad for those who lost their lives but they seemed to be doing what they loved. I enjoyed getting to learn more about the mountain and it gave me some of the adventurous spirit that I had as a youngster, making me want to go out and do some hiking.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 

7/10

I read this about a month ago when my kids brought it home as part of a reading challenge from their elementary school. We read about 20 pages or so every night and finished the book in a couple weeks. It was a good book and a quick read based on the short chapters and spaced out writing on each page. Ivan is easy to root for and the other animals complement the story nicely. Not too much overall drama other than the slow realization of the poor living conditions Ivan and the others have been in most of their lives without them completely realizing it. It was a fun story for the kids.