DNF.

I did enjoy this book when I first started reading it. However, it was a bit of a difficult read because it is about some pretty dark things like depression, suicide, and “madness.” There were also numerous phrases that I had issue with, but I tried not to focus on them too much.

My main complaint is that I had a really hard time following the storyline of this book. The author would start a new chapter, or even a break within a chapter, right in the middle of a new situation. Then she would backtrack to fill us in on what was happening. I found these transitions very jarring. The first few times this happened, I had to flip back a page or two to make sure I didn’t miss anything. When I realized that was just the authors format, I tried to roll with it, but I ended up more frustrated with it than anything else.

I also had a lot of trouble actually caring. The storyline didn’t really interest me and neither did any of the characters. Everything just seemed so dull. And yes, I am aware of the authors personal history. I too have a personal history with depression and suicidal thoughts, but her words had absolutely no effect on me.

I made it to chapter 14 and had to stop.

Favorite Passages:
I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.

There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.

Every time it rained the old leg-break seemed to remember itself, and what it remembered was a dull hurt.

This was such a joy to read! I absolutely loved everything about it!

I loved the artwork and the characters. I thought the storyline was simple, but also fast paced and action packed!

I loved that in situations where various characters are speaking within one panel, that we either see their faces in little circles, or the word bubble is colored to match their lions.

I also loved that the narration in two chapters took on an appearance that related to the specific character. So in one chapter, which was from Lance's point of view, there was an old English theme. Then in the chapter from Pidge's point of view, there was a computer coding theme. I thought this was a very nice touch!

The dialogue was perfect and so, so, so funny!

My favorite passage was:
“Well Lance hoped Planet Krell was hungry, because it was about to get served a Lance knuckle sandwich with a side of slap sauce."

I cannot wait for another edition!



***Warning!***

The following is a spoiler filled summary. Do not continue if you have not yet read this and do not want to be spoiled!!

SPOILER FILLED SUMMARY:

In chapter 1, the team heads off for a training exercise, but before they can get started, they run into a little snag. Coran owes Kythylian Mu money, and a lot of it! Kythylian Mu takes Coran as ransom and tells the Paladins that he will trade Coran for a Yalexian Pearl that can be found on planet Krell. So off they go! When they reach the Krell, they are immediately faced with a giant bug that they must find a way to defeat with Voltron.

In chapter 2, the team learns that that bug was actually the guardian of the village, and the village leader is not thrilled that they have killed it. Soon, the beast (called the Abomination) that the guardian had been protecting the village from shows up, and the team forms Voltron again to fight it. This time, the team follows Hunk’s “gut feeling” and they create a meal for Abomination. The villagers thank the team for solving their problems. Then the leader tells them the name of the princess that knows where the pearl is. Her name is Princess Malocoti, but of course she is being held captive and needs rescuing.

In chapter 3, the team goes off to rescue Princess Malocoti, but things are not what they appear. The princess is actually the dragon, and the lady they saw is the sorcerous that was holding the princess captive. Once they defeat the sorcerous, the princess turns back into her normal form. Then when they ask the princess where the pearl is, the tells them what they need to do and that it will take the most clever and brave paladin- Pidge.

In chapter 4, the reach the desert and the Great Universal Sphinx, repository for great research, asks who among them is most knowledgeable. The team all nominates Pidge, and the Sphinx then tells them that she will be tested by body, mind, and spirit. The first test Pidge has to pass is defeating all of her friends when they are controlled by spores. By exploring each of their weaknesses, Pidge wins and they move on. The second is a chess game that Pidge has to win against herself. Using her teams strengths, she assigns each person to a chess piece. They win and move on to the final test- the riddle.

In chapter 5, the team heads to the Evershadow of the Moon of planet Krell to battle the Yalex, finally get the pearl, and save Coran! And surprise; this was all one big training activity.

Giant Days Volume One is about three best friends that are in their first year of college. Susan Ptolemy has short brown hair and she seems to be the "leader" of the group. Esther De Groot is pale with dark hair and she has been deemed a drama queen. Daisy Wooton has big hair and glasses and she is quite naïve. Together, the three deal with a ridiculous website run by three college boys, they battle a nasty flu, and get into a number of other situations.

Sure, some of this was pretty over the top. Like any comic in this vein, the reactions of the characters are all taken to an extreme and their behavior doesn't make much sense sometimes. But I thought it had just the right amount of ridiculousness.

The tone was upbeat and humorous. Though I only actually laughed out loud a couple times. Once was when a character asked another character for a flashback. Another was when I saw the illustration of a mother taking her son out of a classroom, stuffed in her purse.

I liked the artwork. I loved the characters faces when they reacted to something. I also really enjoyed that the backgrounds added to the story in some of the panels. For example, when Esther and Daisy are pushing Susan for a flashback the background of that panel repeats the word "flashback" over and over again. Or when Esther finds out she's on that website, her background turned into a very intense black and orange, followed by a paned with a bunch of "A's" all over the background. In many situations, when a character was embarrassed or shocked, the color of the background matched the emotion.

I did have fun reading this, but I think I had hoped to enjoy it more than I actually did.

My first complaint was the flow; it seemed like there wasn't a very clear storyline or even a timeline. It just jumped from scene to scene very abruptly. More than once I had to flip back to examine the pages to make sure two hadn't gotten stuck together because the scene change was so abrupt I thought I had missed something.

I also had a hard time with Susan's character. Sometimes I liked her and thought she was a great friend, but other times I thought she was the absolute worst.

That being said, I would still definitely recommend giving this a read. While I won't be re-reading this first volume, I am looking forward to reading Volume 2!

I was a bit nervous going into this second volume because I didn't love the first one. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. This one seemed to be more organized from a storyline point of view, but a few of the transitions were still a bit jarring to me.

In this volume, we follow Susan Ptolemy, Esther De Groot, and Daisy Wooton as they deal with a sociopath, new relationships and boy issues, winter weather, academic tests, and other such situations. And of course, the over-the-top reactions and odd behavior continued in a lovely way.

I thought that the overall tone in this one was less sarcastic, and more humorous, which I appreciated. I was happy to realize that I was chuckling more often reading this volume. I also found that I was more interested in all of the characters in this edition when compared to the first.

I would definitely recommend this volume!

WOW. This book was incredible! If I were asked to describe the book, I would just say that it had a Michael Crichton storyline, a dash of Stephen King suspense, and a ton of sarcasm and humor. So clearly this book was 100% in my wheelhouse!

The book is about a man named Mark Watney, an engineer/botanist astronaut who is left behind on Mars after a freak accident. Because of a very unfortunate series of events, (a sandstorm, horrible visibility, and a hit to some critical features on his suit) Watney's crew believes that he was killed, and were forced to leave without checking his body. But of course, Watney was still alive. When he regains consciousness after the accident, he immediately starts trying to figure out a way to survive. The odds against him are huge, but by keeping a level head, Watney is able to solve many problems that are thrown his way.

To put the suspense into perspective, check out this passage:
"So that’s the situation. I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I’m in a Hab designed to last 31 days.
If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.
So yeah. I’m fucked."

I absolutely loved how this book was written and organized; it was such a fun suspenseful read rather than an anxiety filled one. For the main portion of the book, we are reading nerdy journal entries from Watney. I loved the tone; the mix of humor and science was perfect. Even if you aren't a science buff (which I am not), the way that everything is presented made it very enjoyable.

I also really appreciated that we had various a bursts of the storyline from the crew's perspective as well as from people at the NASA headquarters in Texas. I felt that these bits really gave the story more depth.

I will admit that during the heavy science filled bits, I felt like the pacing slowed slightly. But I think that is only because Science isn't my strongest subject, so I really took my time reading through these bits to make sure I was following. Some of the science was definitely over my head, but I don't feel that it took away from the story at all.

This is a book that will make you want to stand up and cheer for the characters; especially Watney! What an amazing character he is. I would highly recommend this book!


My favorite passages:

It was a ridiculous sequence of events that led me to almost dying, and an even more ridiculous sequence that led to me surviving.

Godspeed, little taters. My life depends on you.

I guess you could call it a "failure," but I prefer the term "learning experience."

He turned back to Venkat. "I wonder what he's thinking right now."
LOG ENTRY: SOL 61
How come Aquaman can control whales? They're manuals! Makes no sense.

I told NASA what I did. Our (paraphrased) conversation was:
Me: “I took it apart, found the problem, and fixed it.”
NASA: “Dick.”

Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.

I got bounced around a lot, but I'm a well-honed machine in times of crisis. As soon as the rover toppled, I curled into a ball and cowered. That's the kind of action hero I am.
It worked, too. 'Cause I'm not hurt.

I can't wait till I have grandchildren. “When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!

"I admit it's fatally dangerous," Watney said. "But consider this: I'd get to fly around like Iron Man."
"We'll keep working on ideas," Lewis said.
"Iron Man, Commander. Iron Man."

Historical fiction isn't one of my favorite genres, but I do enjoy it every now and again. While this book sure had its sad moments, it was also a delight to read! I loved so many of the characters and the pacing of the storyline was just right! This book makes me want to venture deeper into the HF genre to find more gems like this one.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

Revenants is about a young girl who has recently lost her brother in Vietnam. After falling into a funk and getting into a bit of trouble, she winds up working as a candy-striper in a VA hospital. There, she makes friends with the patients and helps them do anything they need her to; from writing letters home and holding cards for the man without arms, to reading books to the man without eyes, and other such tasks. When she discovers that there is a secret patient held upstairs, she becomes determined to figure out who he is. But with all the secrecy, she begins to wonder- will unraveling the mystery have some unintended negative effects?

So first things first. The cover is so beautiful! The colors are lovely and I really enjoy the design of the girl holding an umbrella with soldiers walking in the distance that appear to be in a fog. It’s like the girl and soldiers are both ghosts, occupying the same space, but walking different paths.

I was warned that some readers find this a story a bit slow to start, but I was very interested right from page one! Yes, the beginning was quite sad, but it definitely set the reader up perfectly for the rest of the story. Once the main character, Betsy, entered the VA hospital for the first time, I was hooked and could not put the book down.

The writing style is so lovely! I found this book very easy to read because everything flows so well. This is a great example of a book that starts right in the middle of the action, but then backtracks to give the reader more information. In this format, I really enjoyed the short flashbacks to learn more about Nathan before he went off to basic training and then afterwards, to war. I also loved that when we learned more about the mystery man, that there were chapter breaks that set his story apart from the rest.

I absolutely adored so many of the characters; especially Betsy, Bartholomew, and the VA hospital patients.

Betsy was so interesting to me! I loved that she got along so well with her brothers. And I will admit, I was very worried about her for a minute there as she began walking on the wrong path. I also felt that her emotions were very powerful. For example, when she missed Nathan, I found myself missing him as well, even before we had gotten the flashbacks to learn more about their relationship.

Betsy’s brother, Bartholomew, was also a lovely character. I really enjoyed his banter with Betsy when he was trying to convince her to either do or not do something. However, I have to admit that I was thrown off when we first "met" Bartholomew on page 27, when someone mentioned that Betsy had a little brother. Up until then, I thought Betsy and Nathan were the only two siblings. Even after that first slight mention, we didn't really meet Bartholomew until page 70. Bartholomew also wasn't mentioned in any of Nathan's letters until one very slight reference in the very last few pages of the book, which confused me. I know the story is focused on Betsy, but I wish Nathan had written more about both siblings.

I adored each of the patients in the hospital that Betsy spoke with. Especially the first man she spoke to who had lost a leg and was looking for a parrot to complete his look. When she was getting to know them, the humor that each man had was so wonderful. All of the pages about them interacting with Betsy made my heart so happy! I do wish we had gotten more scenes with them because I loved them so much.

The character Matt may have been an intense reporter looking for a story to land him a better job, but he was so sweet to Betsy. I loved how nice he was and how determined he was to solve the mystery.

But then there was Congressman Hanna, the politician. He was incredibly infuriating! What a nasty man! Every page with him on it made me frown.

Beware, the negatives:

Other than the brother not getting much attention from the family, I only have one small complaint- the dialogue format.

Because of the way that the dialogue was set up, I sometimes had trouble following along. This was especially true in scenes where there were more than just two people talking. A couple of times, I had to go back and re-read the conversation because I had gotten confused and needed to remember who was involved in the conversation.


My favorite passages:
"Since you did, there is something I could use help gettin' a hold of."
"What's that?"
He nodded at his stump. "Maybe a parrrot to go with what's left of my leg."
The temples behind Betsy's eyes crinkled. "Maybe I can find a bottle of rum for you too?"
"Hey, now you're talking, Sis."

"I miss these old fashioned keys. Gives me the feeling whenever I use one that I'm opening up not just a door, but a part of someone's past. A secret past. You know what I mean?”

Love always comes, Betsy, dies only when you do. That is its blessing. Its blessing as well as its curse.

Sigmund Freud he contended was so big a quack he deserved at least a pond of his very own if not a lake...

Months sifted through the hourglass of his life, and he had no way of counting its grains.

Life happened. Real life. Betsy, not storybook life. Not life where it all makes sense on the final page, but as it's truly lived, where there is no sense but the sense with which we delude ourselves so we can keep going on for one more day.


My final thoughts:

This beautifully written novel was a heart-wrenching read at times, but it was also very inspiring. I really enjoyed the lovely characters and the mysterious storyline. I would definitely recommend this book! I gave it four stars.