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Book Review: "Thorn" by Intisar Khanani

  Thorn by Intisar Khanani My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thorn is a young adult novel of a Grimm’s fairy tale, The Goose Girl , reimagined. It follows a princess who is not happy with her life as she is never good enough for her mother and the target of her brother’s abuse. She dreams of a life where she can be free from the responsibilities of her royal miserable life. Instead of freedom, however, she is given away in an arranged marriage to a prince she has never met. On her journey to meet him in his kingdom with another girl that has a grudge against her, magic changes the princess’ course. She attains her desired freedom, but at what cost? As her life is turned upside down she learns about a plot against her to be wed prince. Can she save him while keeping her newfound freedom? Or will she have to choose between being responsible for his demise due to her silence or voluntarily walking back into the life she felt trapped in. Thorn has many twists and turns while following Princes...
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Book Review: "Sanctuary" by Paola Mendoza

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  Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza My rating: 3 of 5 stars Sanctuary is a young adult alternate reality fiction novel. It takes place in America during the near future of 2032. In this dystopian take of the country, the fight against immigration and the use of racial profiling and discrimination has evolved into a chilling reality. Walls are being placed to separate those wanted from those deemed not worthy. Identification chips are placed into every citizen to help weed out illegal immigrants in order to be deported back from where they came from or put into detention camps. After violence keeps erupting against this new reality, California decides to take a stand in solidarity. They have chosen to become a sanctuary state to all immigrants in the country seeking it. Sanctuary follows Vali and her family on their journey from trying to survive in America as immigrants to making the escape to safety in California. The questions are, can they make it? Or will California’s consequence o...
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Book Review: "Heretics Anonymous" by Katie Henry

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Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was a fun light read while tastefully bringing up questions the reader can ask themselves about their own personal lives. Heretics Anonymous created a world where different ideas are respected within a group and shows that this diversity can be used to enhance the group's abilities in certain situations. It is about not only being open minded to others' beliefs but also encourages one to challenge and grow in their own. The characters were written well and you follow the character development of the protagonist as he starts asking the harder questions. All of this is done inside a high school drama and a love story with some twists of comedic releases sprinkled throughout. It also has an underlying theme of taking ownership of your choices and being willing to receive the consequences for them. I really enjoyed this book and will keep an eye out for other works written by Katie Henry. View all my review...
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Book Review: "Parable of the Talents" by Octavia E. Butler

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Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler My rating: 4 of 5 stars This addition to the Earthseed series took a twist with the story coming from the original protagonist's daughter's point of view. Throughout the book you follow Ashe's thoughts, Lauren's journals, as well as some writings from Ashe's father. The story continues with Acorn being established and facing adversity. Another extremist religious establishment threatens their existence and brings harsh circumstances the group must survive, unfortunately, not everyone did. In this process many of their children are taken, including Ashe when she was still only a baby. This book is her journey coming to know her past and confronting the truth of it. Although originally this was meant to be a trilogy, I do not feel a third book is necessary. Octavia leaves the reader feeling content ending the story. I did enjoy this book and, being written in 1998, felt there were very current topics and ideas present. T...
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Book Review: "The Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve

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The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve My rating: 3 of 5 stars As a fan of historical fiction, multiperspectivity, and mysteries this book held high interest to me. Based off of the Smuttynose murders that took place on New Englands Isles of Shoals in 1873 this book follows two women on different timelines. One, Maren, was the survivor of the event that took both her sister's and sister in law's lives. The other, Jean, is a journalist in current time assigned to take photographs for a magazine article on the event. Throughout the novel you follow Maren's childhood in Norway and events leading up to the murders and Jean's research with the case as well as her interactions with those she is traveling with on a small boat. This book is full of themes of jealousy, desire, and struggles with relationships both romantic or family. The book did start very slow and the first half you do have to stick with it, however, the ending is well worth it with a twist you do not see com...
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Book Review: "A Cave in the Clouds: A Young Woman's Escape from Isis" by Badeeah Hassan Ahmed

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A Cave in the Clouds: A Young Woman's Escape from Isis by Badeeah Hassan Ahmed My rating: 4 of 5 stars Badeeah's story is one of survival, resilience, and humanity. Her life journey unfortunately involved paths of violence and a lack of human compassion that no person should have to face. However, this biography showed her courage to not only survive herself but her strength and compassion in helping her family and other victims with her. At 18 Badeeah was driven from her home during an ISIS raid on her Ezidi village in Iraq. She was separated from her family, some did not survive or were considered missing after her escape, except for her young nephew who she posed as his mother. They were sold into a human trafficking ring. This eventually brought them to Syria where she was sold as a wife and was both physically and sexually assaulted during her containment. Together with another woman, who was sold with them, they were able to escape and be reunited with some of their fa...
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Film and American Culture Series: "To Kill a Mockingbird" Review

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     This week I am reviewing To Kill a Mockingbird directed by  Robert Mulligan . It was produced by Alan J. Pakula  and was  released December 25, 1962. The cinematography was done by  Russell Harlan  and the musical score was written by Elmer Bernstein . To Kill a Mockingbird won three Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Art Direction. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor (Motion Picture Drama), Best Original Score (Motion Picture), and Best Film Promoting International Understanding (Award category was given from 1946-1964)     To Kill a Mockingbird follows Jean Finch (Mary Badham), nicknamed Scout, and her brother Jeremy, Jem, (Phillip Alford) for a couple years. Their father Atticus (Gregory Peck) is a lawyer in town. We see him with a case defending Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), an African American, against accusations of attacking and raping a white girl in ...
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