Hunger - Jackie Morse Kessler - 3 stars

This was another pretty quick read for me for the end of July, which was exactly the type of book I needed. This was kind of like a YA Fantasy and I did not expect it to be exactly what I read. It was such a different view of eating disorders. I have never read anything like it. Now there were of course some rushed parts, it was little predictable at times, and sometimes also pretty unrealistic, but I did really enjoy this one. It was an engaging story even though I think there could have been more to it than what I got, but for a short book it was interesting.

I liked the characters even though they were somewhat unrealistic, but I think that was the point of the story. This was to show someone what their self worth is, how there can be change only if they allow it. At least that is what I got out of it. I did hope that the ending would have been a little better, I felt a little let down at first, but it was ok. I think it was to show the growth of the character. This book is a part of a series, but different characters in each one. I believe that the purpose of these books is to bring to light, the issues that teens and YA encounter on a daily basis and our author brings it to life in a very different form. I liked that.

Skin - Rick Jasper - 3 stars

So my niece bought this book while visiting us nd she zipped through it in about a half a day if that. She left the book behind because she thought I might also like it. This is a YA good VS. Evil story and is part of a pretty long series and the book only has a little over 100 pages, so it was a very quick read. I found it to be quite interesting and I did find myself pretty engrossed by the story. It was quite different from other YA horror/thriller stories. I feel like even though it was very different, it was lacking that excitement that I expected it to have. I wanted more thriller aspects to the story. There were some intense scenes to the story, but I feel like it could have been a lot more than it was. The ending seemed too easy, or maybe it felt rushed. Either way, I do think that I will pick up other books to this series.

YAY FOR READING!

Missing my reading time

Wow I knew I would not be able to read as much when I went back to work, I just did not know it would be this bad. I seriously miss sitting in my library reading a book, or kicking back in my favorite reading chair with a book clutched to my chest. It is almost like losing a best friend. I feel completely lost without the comfort of reading. I am hoping that one day that will change and I will once again be able to spend all day with a favorite book or two.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling - 5 stars

This is a reread for me. We are reading the whole series this year in my Good Reads group. Loved this one and how our characters are growing up and developing, it makes me love them more with each book I read. All of them have been super engaging for me. I have enjoyed them more since reading more Middle grade books. It really makes you understand that reading level the more you read of them.

I was really quite engaged to this one, hard to put it down when I do finally get to read. This one has a lot more excitement, adventure and action to it. There are all the same great characters and some new faces in this one. A lot to love and hate. Umbridge is a great bad guy. She makes you seethe with anger when she is around. She is one for readers to love to hate.

The End - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

Wow this book wrapped up the series pretty well. I have to say though that it had a rather bitter and depressing ending, but I guess it depends on how you look at it. (A clever phrase used throughout this book.) Yet I still thought it came together nicely bringing with it a whole new crew of characters, some of which I really liked, and then some not so much. Even though it did not end any more unfortunate than normal for the orphans, it was just not everything I wanted. Even through all of it, it was still a very engaging read, with a lot of questions answered and then with even more questions to now be asked.

The characters, you know, I fell in love with from the start. The orphans are so much fun to tag a long with throughout this series. Never did I get bored of any of them. They are just amazing kids who have a very rough time at life. And no matter how hard they try to make things a little better something else steps conveniently in the way.

I was thinking that I wished there was a beginning to all of it. Not the beginning to the Orphans, but the beginning to their parents. That would shed a lot of light on this whole series. Maybe in the future our author will feel inclined to write a little something about that.

The Penultimate Peril - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

Wow this one was a pretty dramatic book as well. The orphans go through some pretty dangerous situations while trying to convince themselves that they are still good and noble. It kind of makes me sad to know that they, being as young as they are, have to even have thoughts like that. Again I was completely engaged with this story, always rooting them on and trying my best to help them find solutions, but if you know this series and you know these orphans, you will also know that they don't need much help as far as solutions go.

I really enjoyed seeing some of the older characters from other books playing a role in this one. It made it a much more fun and exciting read. Not all of those characters are enjoyable but it did add a sort of flair to the story and got it moving along pretty well. I found myself also trying to decipher who is good and who is bad. There are many characters throughout this series that were questionable and it made it hard to decide who was noble and who was not. So it made this book a bit more mysterious trying to figure out who was who.

Looking forward to getting to book 13 appropriately named 'The End', and maybe finally having some kind of closure for the orphans because they really need that, I really need that as well. I am afraid that I will be disappointed, but here's to hoping it will end on a good note. I definitely recommend this series to everyone. Even though the unfortunate events get annoying it is a very enjoyable read.

The Grim Grotto - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

This is another great installment to A Series of Unfortunate Events. I found this one to much more dramatic than previous books. It moved along very quickly and of course I was hooked right from page one. These books also seem to get much darker with each book and I am not sure they are appropriate for Middle grade readers. I did not enjoy this one as much as the previous one, but still an enjoyable read.

What I love the most about these books are the characters. They are developed so well and even though the stories are pretty far fetched and have so many annoying and unfortunate events, they make the stories seem very real and I love that. From our sweet and innocent Orphans to the villainous villains, they all play such great roles in the story. Plenty to both love and hate.