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August 9, 2015February 7, 2018 One Man Book Club

Alcatraz versus the Shattered Lens

5/5 stars

Alcatraz versus the Shattered Lens by Brandon Sanderson

Brilliant. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get to Alcatraz. A worthy review will be forthcoming.

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Dan Grover is the book-loving dad of six reluctant readers and the founder of One Man Book Club, a place for fellow parents and other content-conscious readers to find books they (and their kids!) will love.

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#TheSasquatchEscape (#TheImaginaryVeterinary: Book 1) By: #SuzanneSelfors My Rating: Four out of Five Stars Our local school district selects one book each year and gives copies to every elementary student for a district-wide family reading month. There have been a few duds over the years, but most of the time they pick good ones. Luckily, this was a good year. The Sasquatch Escape has short, easy to read aloud chapters that held my grade-schooler's attention and stirred their imagination. They were never content with just one chapter a night, laughed at the silly parts, and got nervous as the tension built. They enjoyed it, and really that's all the review it needs. The story has an ending, but it left enough dangling carrots that my 9-year-old is ready for book 2. The story is quite juvenile. It would have bored me if I had been reading it myself. But it's well written for its target audience, and this particular target audience loved it. All ages. Great for reading aloud or for 3rd graders to read on their own. Happy reading!

The #Winternight Trilogy #TheBearandtheNightingale (Book 1) #TheGirlintheTower (Book 2) #TheWinteroftheWitch (Book 3) By: #KatherineArden My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars Oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow... The Winternight Trilogy is gush worthy. I'll try to avoid crossing into obnoxious hyperbole--but man, this series was fun to read. Deep in the winter woods of very old Russia lives a Lord and his family. While the snow falls, the children gather around the oven in the warm kitchen to hear the old stories. The Winter King. The River Prince. The Snow Princess. Baba Yaga. The Eater. The dead who walk. The Fire Bird. As long as they receive their tributes of crusts of bread left on the hearth and crumbs sprinkled in the water, they will protect. Don't forget, because if you do... But they're just stories, told to keep children in line. Just stories. Just stories. Right? The Winternight Trilogy is a magical fantasy fairy tale with lyrical prose that will make your toes cold and your heart warm. The story is a slow-build arc in three parts that will pull through and won't let go until you're left giving a slow-clap standing ovation at the end. The main character is a every bit a HERo, and you'll easily fall in love with her AND her supporting cast. You're especially going to love her horse... Magic. Love. War. Tradition. Roles. Family. Children. Freedom. Religion. Defiance. Courage. Fear. Bravery. Cheers. Tears. Cheers. The Winternight Trilogy is based in historical fact and expertly mixed with traditional Russian culture, tradition, and mythology. After you've read The Bear and the Nightingale you'll be shocked it was Katherine Arden's debut novel. As for content, there are no language concerns, but there is quite a bit of violence throughout and one PG-13 sex scene in book 3. There are some LEGIT scary moments--you'll won't want to be alone in the dark for those. Women are not treated kindly in this story per the time period, and Orthodox Christianity is used as the justification for bad things. The book is marketed as adult fantasy, but I'd be comfortable recommending it for 14 and up. The Winternight Trilogy was brilliant. Happy Reading! @arden_katherine

#Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, Book 2) By: #JessicanTownsend My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow is book 2 in a new upper-middle grade series. Book 2 was as good as book 1, and now I'm looking forward to book 3! I don't know if there will ever be another Harry, although everyone's always looking for it. Two books aren't enough to know for sure (it wasn't until Goblet of Fire that Harry really became special) and I don't know what the future holds for Morrigan. But I'll tell you this: if someone came from the future and told me Morrigan Crow is the next Harry, I'd believe them. I love Morrigan. She's strong and brave, but also naive and flawed. She's packed full of potential and has room for tremendous growth. She has good friends and bad enemies. I can't wait to see how high she rises. I love this world. The dials for creativity and imagination are turned to 11. Morrigan lives in a living hotel where the rooms change to fit the mood of the guests. The head of housekeeping is a giant talking cat who used to be a champion cage fighter. The head of activities is a Vampire Dwarf. Her best friend is training to be a professional dragon rider. You get around town by hooking your umbrella to a rail and holding on tight. The school's headmistress is two women inhabiting the same body. There's something new and incredible every corner! The writing is strong. The dialogue is smooth. The plot is clear. The story is engaging. I can't wait for book 3. Content appropriate for all ages. 500+ pages might be too much for younger readers to tackle, or it might be perfect if they're not intimidated by the high page count. Happy reading! #onemanbookclub #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #dadswhoread @digressica

#HeartofDarkness By: #JosephConrad My Rating: Three out of Five Stars I read Heart of Darkness as a buddy read with my HS senior who was assigned this slog of a book for her AP Lit class. The good: it's only 96 pages. The bad: It's boring as heck. The message: British imperialism was bad. The-sun-never-sets-on-the-British-empire aristocrats were at best naive, at worst intentionally ignorant. It's never a good idea to try and "civilize the natives." Kind of refreshing that there were great thinkers during the height of the British Empire who got that. The value as literature of a HS Lit Class: Um...They're getting a well-rounded view of the power of books to spread opinion? Although I strongly suspect getting that message from reading this book is probably too nebulous to grasp for your average HS senior. The only message about books being delivered? See above. And below. They're boring. That being said, I was impressed by Conrad's ability to write such a layered novel going after the world's greatest super power. The guy was certainly bold--which I suppose is exactly the novel is so important. Not to mention his grasp off the English language...he was Polish, and I read that he didn't learn English until he was in his 20's. The only content warning is a frequent use of the 'N' word and a 19th century view of women as decoration. Happy Reading. #onemanbookclub #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #dadswhoread

#Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) By: #JessicaTownsend My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars This is the first book in a new upper-middle grade series, and guess what? It was great! You think you have it bad? There's no way your life is worse than Morrigan Crow's. Morrigan Crow was born on Eventide...and that makes her a Cursed Child. Lose the spelling bee? Break your leg? Not enough sun? To much rain? Stomach ache? It's Morrigan's fault. It's especially bad to be a Cursed Child when your dad is a politician and everyone knows who you are. Morrigan has to write apology notes every week to all the people hurt by her curse. Sounds bad, right? It is. But it's not the worst. What's the worst part of being a Cursed Child? You die on your 11th birthday. At least, that's what Morrigan expects to happen. So when she's rescued by a mysterious stranger on the night of her birthday and taken to the magical city of Nevermoor, she can't believe her luck. She also can't believe why she was rescued--she is going to compete for a spot in the Wunderous Society, the brotherhood and sisterhood of the most Wunder full and talented people in the world. But what does her benefactor see in her that no one else--not even herself--sees? What does she have to offer the Wunderous Society? A lot, obviously. But you'll have to read it to find out! I loved Morrigan Crow! It unashamedly sticks to the Harry-Potter formula, which works perfectly. Some Harry Potter rip-offs just rub the wrong way in their blatant copying and lack of originality. I didn't like The Iron Trials by Holly Black, for example. But I thought the Trials of Morrigan Crow was excellent! There is enough unique to set it apart, the writing is fantastic, the characters are strong, and imagination in the world building is wonderful! Or maybe I should say Wunderous... Content appropriate for all readers. It's over 500 pages though, so maybe too long for younger readers to tackle alone. 12 and up, but accessible to advanced younger readers too. Happy Reading! #onemanbookclub #bookstagram #dadswhoread @digressica

Happy Friday Book Club! It's #worldreadaloudday today! Did you know that 66% of kids ages 6-11 say that reading together is fun? I think the other 34% just haven't read a story with me! What are you reading to your kiddos this weekend?

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