Bout of Books 10 Wrap-Up

For Bout of Books 10, my goal was to read three books and get a substantial portion of Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin done.

I bought Vicious by V.E. Schwab, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson specifically for this week.  In-between reading these, I read my Life Application Study Bible, NKJV.

I started off with Speak as a warm-up read, which I finished in about two hours spread between days 1 and 2.  I didn’t enjoy it, per say, because the subject content it tackles is not easy or entertaining.  That being said, it is an important book that does a great job exploring a very difficult reality.  

I thought that the main character’s journey through the healing process was beautifully experienced.  From the shame and denial to the eventual realization that she is a victim of a crime that doesn’t have to define her life was powerful.  

After that, I read Vicious over a three-day span.  You can find my review of it here.

Since I finished Vicious early in the morning on the fourth day, I went right into Miss Peregrine’sand read that in one, 4-hour sitting.  My review of that is here.

On day 5, having finished my TBR, I still didn’t feel like picking up A Clash of Kings.  So, I reread For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, by Ntozake Shange.  Since I was 18, this has been one of my favorite works of literature.  It tackles really important feminist issues that are universal.

I didn’t read anything on the sixth day because I was so busy.  Shame shame shame.  And on the last day, the only reading I was able to get in was in order to prepare my history lesson for homeschooling the next day.  

All in all, I read 4 whole books and 1,114 pages and got in almost 18 hours of reading.  Given my schedule, this was pretty good for me.  

I also participated in a few challenges and quite a few Twitter chats with people about books we were reading.  I really enjoyed this week, and I can’t wait until August.

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Series #1
Quirk Books, 6 July 2011
352 Pages
3.5 Stars
Barnes & Noble; Book Depository; Goodreads

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography.

Book Review: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Vicious Series #1
Tor Books, 14 October 2013
368 Pages
3 Stars
Barnes & Noble; Book Depository; Goodreads

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?