I received this book last year in a Facebook Christmas book box exchange. To be honest, I had never heard of it! But I’m really glad my exchange buddy sent it to me, because this is now a new favourite of mine.

The Book Thief is narrated by death, and she’s not the most consistent of story tellers. She jumps ahead in the narrative, and alludes to future tragedy in Liesel’s life. It inspires a false sense of confidence, thinking that you know what is coming. Trust me - you don’t. And guaranteed, the climax of the book is going to hit you where it hurts. I didn’t cry - but it was a near thing.

Liesel’s book thievery, although constant throughout the story, is actually a very minor part of the plot. This book is about family, survival, and the power of words in the most tragic of periods in recent history - WWII. It’s a unique perspective, following poor, German families trapped in a war zone.

Liesel attends the mandatory Hitler Youth program, watches soldiers parade Jewish prisoners through the streets… then goes home to read with Max, the Jewish man her foster family is hiding in the basement. She hides from falling bombs and dreams of a brother that died far too young. How on earth can a child grow in this environment?

Zusak writes beautifully - his world building and characters are excellent. I absolutely loved Liesel’s foster father, Hans. He’s a gentle soul in a world of hard corners and rough edges. This isn’t a rapid page turner, but the pacing doesn’t drag. It’s thought provoking and lingers with you after you’ve read the last page. I’m actually already tempted to crack it open and read it again.

As soon as I saw that The Marrow Thieves was a 2018 Canada Reads selection, I knew I had to read it. And now that I have, I’m convinced it was robbed of first place.

This book describes a near future that is scary and downright horrifying with its plausibility. Fresh water has become extremely scarce, sparking wars across North America. Earthquakes and rising seas crumble the coastlines, burying entire states and provinces. And the majority of the population has lost the ability to dream. Big deal, right? But without dreams, people start going crazy. The world truly looks like it’s on the brink of total destruction. But there is hope - First Nations people can still dream. In fact, it’s rooted in their oral traditions.

And that’s when things go from bad to absolute hell. Because civilization’s answer is to round up First Nations people, trap them in ‘schools’ and suck the ability to dream right out of their bone marrow. The obliteration of one race to save another. The erasure of a culture through abuse and murder. Sound familiar?

The story follows Frenchie, a boy on the brink of adulthood, and his ‘family’ - a ragtag group of people on the run from those tasked to find and capture the dreamers. Each person’s backstory is layered and complex, with entire chapters devoted to each individual ‘coming-to’ story. This character development really made me emotionally invested, with heart wrenching results.

The plot moves along with a laid back gait, relying more on emotion than action. But it doesn’t suffer for it - the pacing works for the story Dimaline is trying to tell. It ends without solid resolution, but with a sliver of hope for the future - I kind of loved that. It made me wonder what was next for the characters I had grown to love. And made me wish for more pages to immerse myself in.

5/5

I’ve read the other books in this series, but it has been awhile. So unfortunately, I spent 2/3 of this book struggling to remember what the heck was going on. And it definitely can’t be read as a stand-alone. So be sure to read the others first!

Mistress of all Evil tells the origin story of Maleficent, the dark fairy that cursed Sleeping Beauty. But it’s also the continuation of the story of the odd sisters that have been a constant throughout the series.

The first thing that struck me is how dark this book is. The series is marketed as middle grade, but I think it has evolved beyond that level. Much of the story is focused on why Maleficent wants Aurora dead so badly, and on how betrayal changes people and relationships. Calling it heavy would be an understatement. And while I love the direction Valentino took this in, I think the execution of it could have used some cleaning up.

While the characterization and world building was excellent, the pacing of the story was very uneven. Maleficent’s backstory was executed well - it was hands down the best part of the book. But the present day events ambled along with no clear direction; almost like filler while waiting for the final showdown between Maleficent and Prince Philip. And even that was hardly touched upon. I was left feeling like this book was just a bridge to the next book in the series.

Honestly, I have yet to read a Neil Gaiman book that didn’t blow me away. I wish I had his talent. So of course, I loved Norse Mythology.

This book is a series of short stories, retelling the myths of Odin and his fellow gods - from the creation of the world, to the end of it. You can tell that Gaiman really wanted to keep to the spirit of those original tales - tone, pacing and even verbiage are all in line with the old myths (with his own personal touch thrown in). It made the stories very engaging, and I loved how the individual tales came together into one large arc.

Have you ever watched the dramedy series The Almighty Johnsons? I loved that show - it’s about a messed up family that are actually reincarnated Norse gods. But the constant reincarnation means their powers are rather weak and sad. They are a bit dumb and extremely petty at times. This book reminded me of it - I thought the show was written that way for comedic value, but Gaiman’s norse gods act the same way. It cracked me up a bit. And of course I couldn’t help but picture those actors whenever certain gods were mentioned!

Now I’m in the mood to read some more myths - maybe Greek this time!