In this issue, we begin with Deadpool having a scientist test some of Mercedes DNA to make sure she isn't a clone. Deadpool can't believe it is her, because he saw her being murdered way back when. So much has changed since he last saw her. When Monty questions Deadpool about it, Deadpool tells him that he was married before everything- before the cancer, before mercy stuff- when he was just Wade Wilson. But before he could dive too deep into the story, the house in invaded by Black Talon and a bunch of Zombies. Black Talon is also after Mercedes and Deadpool doesn't understand why. When Black Talon first reveals who he is and what his name is, Deadpool has a laughing fit that even gets a few of the zombies laughing.

While Deadpool is fighting the zombies, Monty goes off and makes sure that Mercedes is safe. She talks to him and says that she saw Wade just last week, working as a teacher, so she doesn't understand what's happening now. But the zombies end up capturing her because Monty didn't know how to shut the pod door or load the gun Deadpool gave him...

Black Talon sets up a circle of magic and sacrifices Deadpool. Only one little hiccup, Deadpool can't be killed with just one stab wound like a normal person. So he jumps up and shoots Black Talon and then continues to break his arms and legs. While this is happening, the Black Talon's hold over the zombies is broken and they begin to die...again.


Favorite lines:
"Oh...heh heh...one of you people...You could have just said, "Avon calling"... sheeseh."-Deadpool

"Oh sweet Diana Ross...I got Medulla Oblongata all over my glove..."-Deadpool

"Wilson! You've broken his control over the zombies! They're dying! Okay, I know that's redundant...but the point is they're not trying to kill us anymore..."-Monty

In this issue, we begin with a wonderful Shakespeare styled intro by Deadpool. When we pick up with the story, Mercedes is demanding that Deadpool tell her what's happening because the last thing she remembers is reading Jane Eyre and then suddenly she was in Atlanta being chased. Deadpool tells her that he will get them the truth as soon as he can, but until then she just has to trust him. Monty tells Deadpool that he needs to just tell her the truth, and so he does. Deadpool tells a story about how Wade and Mercedes Wilson once lived in a house in Maine. They went out to get water from a river one day when they ran into someone who they thought was a logger than had fallen into the river. They brought him home, gave him food and clothing, and then a snowstorm hit. The three were forced to spend time together and they quickly realized they had made a mistake inviting this man in- he was a killer, and he killed Mercedes. Then Deadpool tells Mercedes that he was soon diagnosed with cancer, and the cure made him look how he does now. He takes off his mask and she hugs him.

Meanwhile Alestaire has gone to Patch at the Hellhouse to ask for help protecting him after he double crossed Deadpool.

Mercedes and Deadpool get Ilaney to fly them to the Hellhouse so Deadpool can talk with Patch. When Deadpool busts his way in, he discovers that a LOT has changed since the last time he was there. However, Deadpool gets backup from Patch and his old buddy Fenway and they take back the place for their own. Later, Deadpool finds Monty tied up to a pole with a note stabbed into his chest with a bone knife that says "See you soon" ... T-Ray is back.

In this issue, we pick up with Deadpool bringing Monty back to Culloden (who is now the Overboss at LL&L) to get him fixed up. When Culloden tells Deadpool that he shouldn't have brought Monty there, Deadpool says that Monty would have done anything for her because he loves her, so helping him is the least she can do. Apparently, Culloden didn't know Monty loved her... Culloden seems to have turned cold; she attacks Deadpool and locks him, Mercedes, and Ilaney up. While Deadpool and the girls are coming up with an escape plan, Culloden is discovering that Monty appears to have become a vegetable. However, when Culloden is alone with Monty, talking to him, his vitals start registering on the computer. This makes Culloden have an epiphany and she quits her job and saves Deadpool and the girls from a tough situation with the LL&L troops. Next, Monty and Culloden have decided to go through a doorway to escape the situation and live out the rest of their days. Monty tells Deadpool this is his one chance to do the same with Mercedes. However, when Mercedes, Deapool and Ilaney use the door, they end up in Maine at their old home...and T-Ray is there.



Favorite lines:
"Hold on to you belt straps gals...this ain't no pokemon."-Deadpool

"This is bad, no?!"-Ilaney
"This? Please! I've seen episodes of Dexter's Lab more dangerous than this! This is nothing!"-Deadpool
"Really?"-Ilaney
"No. I'm about to lose my bladder."-Deadpool

In this issue, we pick up when the three have been teleported back to Maine. They quickly realize that they are in the past, watching what had happened to them years ago. But then the flashback starts to break up...T-Ray is in charge and he can alter things the way he wants to. First he gets rid of Ilaney, first by offering her freedom but when she stands to stay loyal to Deadpool, T-Ray has her "eaten" by little flying things. He tells Mercedes that Ilaney is not dead, but that she will see what happened to her. T-Ray and Deadpool begin to fight. In the next flashback, they are on the beach where Deadpool and Mercedes spent their honeymoon. Then they are in Ilaneys hell- where she is crashing the plant over and over again until Deadpool stops it. Soon, we find out that T-Ray is the man that Deadpool and Mercedes saved from the water years ago. In the next flashback, they are where Mercedes and Deadpool first met. At the end, Deadpool discovers that it wasn't him and Mercedes pulling T-Ray out of the water....Mercedes and T-Ray pulled Deadpool out of the water.

In this issue, we pick up back in Maine where T-Ray is showing Deadpool and Mercedes what happened. He convinces Deadpool that his story is true and that Deadpool is the bad guy... T-Ray brings back all the people that Deadpool has killed, and Deadpool can't believe it was so many. bBut just when it appears that Deadpool is cracking, he starts laughing. He tells T-Ray that he may have done some bad things, but he still wins because he is STILL trying to be a good guy. At one point, Mercedes transforms and T-Ray says he brought her back from the dead to get back at Deadpool. Mercedes becomes very angry that she was used, but then her and T-Ray leave. Deadpool is then attacked by all the people he had killed when suddenly the Grim Reaperess steps in. She tells him that he isn't don't with his redemption and therefore must go back to the world.

Favorite lines:
"Oh, no not I! I will survive! Oh, as long as i know how to live, I'll kick you in the eyeiigh!"-Deadpool singing

"What-choo talkin' bout Grim Reaperess?"-Deadpool.

In this issue, Deadpool and Weasel get to Nepal, where Slayback is waiting for them. While Deadpool and Weasel are poking around the treasure room, Kane shows up and he and Deadpool start fighting. When Slayback appears with Vanessa, he grabs Deadpool. Kane steps up to fight back and tells Weasel to try to get Vanessa to safety. When he sees Weasel hiding, he notices the big white form and asks where they got an "adam unit," which is a peace keeping machine that absorbs energy. Of course they accidentally turn it on. The machine can scan, register weapons and break them down so the Adam Unit takes out Slayback. It scans Kane and reads that he is part weapon but that his brain leans more toward the peaceful side. When it scans Deadpool, it only sees the bad, but when Deadpool says he is the only one that can save Vanessa, the unit thinks twice. Vanessa can absorb powers from others, so she can absorb Deadpool's healing factor to save herself. When Vanessa starts to come back around, she tells Deadpool that she still loves him, but that she also loves someone else. She then asks him to get passed all of the things weighing him down- the cancer, his enemies, and himself. Kane then takes her away to get medical attention and Deadpool tells Weasel that he needs to work on making himself a better person.

Favorite lines:
"I mean, the Weapon X program may have left us both pretty 'u-g-l-y we don't got no alibi'..."-Deadpool

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong is a heartbreaking, but lovely novel about family and growing up.

This novel is written in a series of journal entries. Because of this, the content is quite jumpy and raw. The first couple pages were especially hard to follow as the narration jumps all over the place trying to set the story.

However, this novel is beautifully written. The things that the author deals with throughout are heartbreaking, frustrating, and silly at times, but so real. I liked that there wasn't a tidy ending, as it was just a year in the life of the main character.

One of my favorite features were the pages from her fathers journal where he wrote down little notes about Ruth as a child. These notes were anything from conversations they had, questions she had randomly asked, or any other situation, sprinkled with comments from the father about how amazed he was by you.

Beware, the negatives:
Like I said before, this novel is organized as a journal, which I am not usually a huge fan of. Occasionally I think this format can be done well, but rarely. The content here was just way too jumpy for me.

I felt absolutely nothing for the main character. Where this story was so focused on her and what she was going through, I really wanted to feel empathetic for her... but I just didn't. In fact, I had a hard time feeling anything for any of the characters. Such a bummer!


My favorite passages:
The light coming in through my apartment's bay windows would be pretty, except all it does is illuminate the dust on the floor.

"You're the doctor," I said. "What's your prescription?"
Try not to feel too shitty, was her main piece of advice. Stop, always, at 2.5 drinks. Make a list of good things – however small.

Sharing things is how things get started, and not sharing things is how they end.

"Hello, water," you said, holding the glass against the moonlight and shaking the pills, like they were dice you were ready to roll, in your other hand. "Goodbye, vitamin."


My final thoughts:
While reading, I absolutely could not put this one down. However, because of the format, this ended up just being an okay read for me.

Even so, I would highly recommend that others pick it up! It is most definitely a worthwhile read and I'm sure many others won't have the same irks as me! ;)

From Ant to Eagle by Alex Lyttle is heart breaking but incredible story about family and the special bond of two brothers.

Make sure to grab your tissues before you jump in here. And be warned, once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this incredible story.

My thoughts:
So first of all, I dove into this book totally blind. I simply LOVED the cover and requested it immediately from NetGalley. If you haven't already read the synopsis, I recommend doing the same and checking out this review later.

After reading the very first chapter, I said right out loud: "Holy cow!" The first chapter certainly hooked me! I thought that it set the scene very well. After that, I could not put the book down.

The last line of the first chapter is alluded to in the synopsis; "I'm the one who killed Sammy." When I read this line, my brain immediately starting thinking of all the things this could mean. Then as I read, I realized that there was a nervousness that was always looming. Every situation seemed like it could be the one where things went wrong- but I could have never seen what was coming.

I absolutely loved the narrative and how it circled right back to the beginning. Overall, it all just flowed so well and seemed so real! It followed a format where the main character was writing the story down, so as the narrator described things he occasionally got ahead of himself and then said things like, “That’s not quite right” and then backed up to clarify.

I also thought that the author wonderfully captured the personas of eleven-year-old, Calvin, and six-year-old, Sammy! They both seemed so incredibly real; everything from their quick back and forth banter to the looks they would give each other to communicate silently was incredible. Having a close younger brother, I related to a lot of the things Calvin experienced or discussed.

One small element of this book that was really wonderful to me was that Sammy and Calvin shared a love of Goosebumps books. Whenever there was a scene with these books, I couldn't help but smile.


My favorite passages:
To me, beautiful would have been movie theaters and fast food, not endless cornfields and dirt roads. We didn’t even have a TV!

I tried to play it cool but a sheepish grin spread across my face. She closed the door without another word and I felt as light as a dust speck floating through the air as I walked back downstairs.

I'm not sure exactly what it was but there was something about Aleta that made me want to get to know her – something intriguing. Maybe it was the Goosebumps book I'd seen her reading, or maybe it was the thought of having a friend a short bike ride away, or maybe it was that she was just so pretty it was hard not to think about her. I don't know, but whatever it was it kept me glued to my seat until we heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Then maybe we could hang out again? We could go for a run or something – you said you liked cross-country. I'm not sure if you noticed but there happens to be a lot of country to cross out here."

The forest had looked dense from far away but twenty steps in and I was already coming out the other side. Only it wasn't like I was on the other side of that same forest, it was like I had walked out of a completely new forest. Like it was some sort of gateway to another world.

And that's how I found myself running through cornfields at a ridiculous hour. I grabbed a flashlight but it wasn't much help. It only gave me enough time to see what I was going to step in – not enough time to avoid it. Still, I ran the entire way without stopping – partly because I didn't want to miss the sunrise, partly because I was scared that if I stopped something would jump out of the corn and eat me.

"Soon," I would learn, has a very different meaning in hospitals but does elsewhere.

For the rest of the afternoon I sat reading R.L. Stine's classic Say Cheese and Die! out loud to Sammy but I didn't use my scary voice. I was done trying to scare Sammy. There were real things to worry about now.

The only thing worse than dying is living without hope.

They were fighting. They were always fighting it was like the world was made of flint – everything provided a spark.


My final thoughts:
It is clear that this author is incredibly talented. I'm a bit sad that this was his first book, but only because I cannot wait to get my hands on another! I will definitely be watching closely for new releases.

This story was just so beautiful. And while I cried and got angry from time to time, these situations quickly passed into moments of hope and love. I cannot recommend this one enough. Go pick From Ant to Eagle by Alex Little up today.

The Sailor Dog by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Garth Williams, is an adorable story about Scuppers the Dog and his adventure across the sea!

Oh my goodness, this book is adorable! The storyline is short and sweet, but also very exciting! Scuppers goes on quite the adventure. The illustrations are also very lovely!

A very enjoyable read as an adult... but I cannot wait to read this one to my future kiddos to see their reactions!

When I first heard that this manuscript had been discovered and would be published, I couldn't believe it! Michael Crichton is my all time favorite author, and I'm not afraid to admit that when I heard the news, I started crying from excitement.

I pre-ordered the book just as soon as it was available and started reading the day it made it to my doorstep.

This book did not disappoint!

My thoughts:
I absolutely loved that Mr. Crichton spliced together strands of fiction and history for this book! I loved learning about the real characters and events in the typical Crichton fashion.

For example, some of the characters were real-life figures of early paleontology. These characters included:

Othniel Charles Marsh
A very well connected and eccentric man.
Also very paranoid!
Professor at Yale University.
He led groups of students West to dig for bones.

Edward Drinker Cope
Upbeat, honest, and laid back.
Though Cope had anger issues that turned violent when provoked.
From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

These two were were involved in the Bone Wars, a time of intense fossil speculation and discovery, which spanned the years from 1877 to 1892. In this "war," Cope and Marsh had a very heated rivalry where they resorted to bribery, theft, destruction, and other such methods to out-compete the other. Each scientist also tried to ruin the others reputation in the process.

Other real characters included:
Wyatt Earp
A gambling gunman.
Known for his gun and boxing fights.

Charles Hazelius Sternberg
A fossil collector and paleontologist.

The storyline organization and pacing was absolutely thrilling. I was hooked right from page one and did not want the book to end. There were many situations that got my heart pumping, times that made me sad, and times where I found myself cheering the characters on.

I really loved the anticipation that I felt when I read the lines that were thrown near the very end of chapters!

Examples:
The trouble the teeth would soon cause them, they could not have imagined.

But it was also the beginning of trouble between... that would later cause him so much misery.

The characters were so well developed! I really enjoyed each of them, even the rotten ones. I will say that I was nervous when we first met the first (fictional) main character, William Johnson. He was your stereotypical entitled rich boy that couldn't care less about the consequences of his actions. But I loved seeing him change over time.

And of course the writing was incredible. I love Mr. Crichton's style so much.

A few of my favorite passages:

You must first learn patience, if you wish to learn anything at all.

...and then his eyes met those of the new girl, and the raucous sound of the theater faded away, and time seemed to stop, and he was aware of nothing but the dark intensity of her gaze and the pounding of his own heart.

This is the nature of fanaticism, to attract and provoke extremes of behavior. And this is why fanatics are all the same, whatever specific form their fanaticism takes.

In the middle of the still hot afternoon, Johnson was riding alongside Cope, talking quite peaceably to him, when his hat suddenly flew away in the air, although there was no wind.
A moment later they heard the snapping report of a long rifle.
Then another, and another. Someone was shooting at them.

One never knows what one will find, and the possibilities, the potential discoveries lying in wait, fuels the quest.

To ride out under the great dome of blue sky, with the plains stretching in all directions around him, was an experience that approached the mystical.

Photographs provided a tangible reality to men who were far from home, fearful and tired; they were posed proofs of success, souvenirs to send to sweethearts and loved ones, or simply ways of remembering, of grasping a moment in a swift changing and uncertain world.

My final thoughts:
I will most definitely be reading this book over and over again. I absolutely loved it! 5 STARS!