Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Sun Down Motel in Books
Mar 19, 2020
This was such a great book. It features a hard to put down mystery with excellent characters and some downright terrifying scenes! The book is packed with twists and turns, and it's absolutely captivating.
The parallelism between Viv’s story—set in the 1980s—and her niece, Carly’s, in present-day, is excellent. I was so attached to these tough women and their stories. The 1980s piece really grabbed me; St. James really captures the era so well.
Haunted Rock and Roll: Ghostly Tales of Musical Legends
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From rock and roll's pioneers to its present-day rebels, explore how the greatest names live on...
The Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones
8.2
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First in Cassandra Clare's internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series about the...
Young adult romance vampire werewolves fairy faeries
The Mortal Instruments 2: City of Ashes
8.3
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Second in Cassandra Clare's internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series about the...
River is the River
Book
A woman named Naomi arrives at her sister's house, intending, it seems, to say goodbye. She is...
Forest of The Damned
9.0
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Legend says this forest is haunted… A group of four researchers travel to the Black Forest to...
Haunted Hikes: Real Life Stories of Paranormal Activity in the Woods
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Strange things happen in the woods-paranormal sightings along rarely used dirt paths through the...
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Sing, Unburied, Sing in Books
May 14, 2018
In Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward returns to the same neighborhood in Mississippi that Salvage the Bones was written about. (Two of the siblings from Salvage the Bones show up in a scene in Sing.) The story is told from three different viewpoints: Jojo, a thirteen-year-old boy and the main character of the novel, Leonie, his drug-addicted mother, and Richie, the ghost of a boy Jojo's grandfather met in prison.
This book covers so much that it's difficult to categorize - between discrimination and outright bigotry, bi-racial romance and children, drug addiction, poverty, prison life - deep south gothic, I suppose, would be the best description. Sing really only takes place over a couple of days, but it feels much longer, because Jojo's grandfather tells stories of his time in prison decades prior, Leonie reminisces about high school, and there's just this sense of timelessness over the entire novel.
It's not an easy book. These are hard issues to grapple with, and too many people have to live with these issues. Poverty, bigotry, addiction - these things disproportionately affect the black community, and white people are to blame for the imbalance.
I'm not sure how I feel about the ghost aspect of the book; on one hand I feel like people will see the ghost and decide the book is fantasy - that they don't really need to care about the problems the family faces. On the other hand, the ghost allows us to see even more bigotry and inhumanity targeted at black people. So it serves a purpose.
I'm not sure I like this book. But I'm glad I read it. And that's pretty much going to be my recommendation; it's not a fun read, but it's an important one.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Shadow Bound (Wraith, #2) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Original Rating: 4.5
<i><b>Disclaimer:</b> I received this book from the author for free in exchange for an honest review. The review is not influenced in any way.</i>
It's another one of those stories with a minor to majorly strange title in which the meanings of it are figured out with the following ways: a) woven throughout the pages and only reading will enlighten you, b) it's in the dictionary and it has a double meaning, which definitely isn't the typical definition you generally hear, or c) you simply never find out why.
Well, it's been a while since the situation with Evan and his family has passed. It's now summer vacation and it's been ghost-free for Jane and Connor for some time. At least for awhile. It's not along until another ghost comes along, and it's worse than Evan's situation.
I like how Shadow Bound is a different situation to both Jane and Connor than what they're used to. It's a bit more challenging for them, and we find out more about Jane's ability, which is different than what she thought it was. I'm surprised that Ruth was willing to help and warn Jane later; she seemed too lost to help, much less warn.
I'm confused a few times, especially a bit at the beginning, but overall, I found Shadow Bound better than Wraith in a way. I am hoping, however, that if there's ever a *insert one word spoiler*-sized ghost, both Jane and Connor have better luck, despite the tedious situation they'll be in.