Basic Book Review-RANDOM STYLE

Since the general consensus is to avoid giving a book a bad review, I don't have a fresh book on my mind to tell you about.  And yes, I did in fact read not only one, but two books last week!  That's one thing I can do while sick in bed.  


The worst thing about it was that the instant I finished the second one and wondered why I had wasted so much of my life on 500 pages of nothing (just in the second book), I didn't have another book yet to clean my brain!  Sorry, just a little frustrated that I had two downers right in a row.


Don't worry, this week I have at least 5 books to choose from, so there will be a more solid review next week!


I'll tell you about a few of my favorite books, besides those that are everyone's favorite (Harry Potter, Twilight, Chronicles of Narnia, Pride and Prejudice, etc.)  Obviously, since they are my favorites, they are going to get the full on but I'll give each of them their own movie rating.


The first is one that I haven't picked up in many years, but is still one of my favorites.  It's called The Alliance by Gerald N. Lund.


From what I can remember, it gets a PG in my movie ratings.  Here is the cover, of the one that I own (the goodreads one is different but this one is the best), and the jacket flap from goodreads.



It's 18 years after the end of civilization as we know it. Slowly, ragtag villages of nuclear holocaust survivors are being relocated to a new society known as the Alliance. At first it seems like a dream come true to Eric Lloyd and his family. There is work and safety and food enough to spare. But the trappings of civilization wear thin when Eric learns that the violent human impulses that lead to crime and rebellion are controlled by pain chips surgically implanted in the brain. 

Eric vows to destroy the Alliance. But can he have any hope of withstanding the wrath of the Alliance's Major and his computerized Punishment Mode? And what of Eric's growing attraction to Nicole, a Guardian in the Alliance? 

Futuristic in setting but timeless in its message, The Alliance makes a stunning statement about agency in a gripping and entertaining way.


The second one is The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.  Honestly, the whole series is good, but this is where it all starts!  Again, from what I remember it gets a PG in movie ratings.  Here is the cover and jacket flap info from goodreads.





She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale's likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm. 


The last one, and certainly not the least (these are in no given order according to what I like of course), is Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.  


This is also the first to an awesome series!  I give it a PG-13 in movie ratings (there are some gross details).  Here is the goodreads cover (I have seen another as well) and the jacket flap info.




About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear.


What are some of your favorite books?  Have you read any of these?