February Reads

Well, as you can see I only took a picture of one of the books I read for February. But, I read more than just the one. Books I read:

Church of Lies by Flora Jessop
Its Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Risked (The Mising #6) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

I'm gonna just stick with a short review for each because, six reviews is a lot for one blog post.
My lease favorite will come first to get it over with, it's more fun to end on a good note. Church of Lies was probably my least favorite. I have read a lot of books written by ex-polygamists as I find their stories inspirational and also probably because I'm totally drawn to taboo subjects. Flora Jessop's story is definitely one of inspiration and her mission to help the poor souls stuck in polygamy is pretty amazing. Her experiences within polygamy and escaping are interesting, but I found the writing lacking in…something. Maybe she needed better editor(s) to help put it together better. In any case, if you are looking for some ex-polygamist books to read Stolen Innocence was a good read and so was Escape. Those two are stories of women who escaped from the FLDS we are probably most familiar with, the compound run by Warren Jeffs. Shattered Dreams is another polygamist book, but in her story her family moves around, and joins a group in Mexico for a time (while also being involved with groups the main stream population may be familiar with). These are definitely not books for the faint of heart, so keep that in mind.

It's not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer were okay. I mostly read them because I had read the first, and while I was pretty sure of the conclusion of the series, I just had to be sure. Plus, YA romance novels are typically easy reads and can be finished in a few hours if you have the time. This series is a pretty tame romance novel as in the main character doesn't have sex ever in the series, it's mentioned but she really only kisses/makes out in the series. For that reason I think it's a good recommendation for a tween, or maybe even a 6th grade girl who reads above her grade level but isn't ready for full fledged YA novels yet.

Looking For Alaska was a pretty great YA novel. Of course, it doesn't hold any light to The Fault in Our Stars (I'm very excited for the movie, although the main guy isn't as cute as I imagined him being. haha), also written by John Green. It's a good novel about a teenage boy who changes schools, has to make new friends and the drama surrounding that. Plus, he experiences a big life changing event and it goes through how he deals with it. This is the second John Green book I've read, and both have had similar themes, which makes me wonder if all of his do. In any case, the main character experiences a major life changing event, which is pretty sad, but not heart wrenching like The Fault in our Stars. It's a good YA read.

The One and Only Ivan was such a sweet story and I see exactly why it won the 2013 Newberry Award (although, I did LOVE Wonder, and maybe kind of wish it won, but oh well). It's a story of a Gorilla in captivity (not a zoo) and how he lives his life, and the friends he has. It's a great story of an underdog who doesn't seem to have much going for them but then fixating on a worthy goal and doing anything to meet it. The story has some sad elements, but ends pretty happily. It's a very easy read, written in "journal style" from the point of view of the Gorilla, Ivan.

Risked, part 6 in the Missing series was great. I've loved reading this series as each installment comes out. It's part sic-fi part historical fiction (which is why I love it). This particular installment focused on Anastasia and Alexei Romanov. Haddix planned to write one of her installments in the series about the two "missing" Romanov children before their bodies were found in 2007. She decided to still write on them and I'm so glad she did. I loved the Romanov "mystery" as a kid and was happy with how she presented them in the plot of the series. This is a great series that I am constantly recommending to kids,  I would say it's probably 4th-5th grade reading level and whenever I describe the plot to kids they seem pretty eager to check it out (one even said "wow" once). Love it, can't wait for the next one.

That's all my books for February. I know it came late, I know it came without many pictures, but it's a work in progress okay? Plus, at least I put links to the books on Amazon if you want to buy them. But of course, you can always check them out at the library and if you feel so inclined feel free to add me on Goodreads my username is lindseypilgrim, but I think you can find me if you just type my full name in too (lindsey watts). Have any good suggestions for me?