Another fun installment.

This middle volume carries the allegory of the power of one's will versus the power of fear a little further. It introduces a couple of new characters and the plot moves along quickly. It's been about fifteen years since I've read this series, so I've forgotten much of how the story gets to where it goes. It's been fun to rediscover. I am not certain how it can all be wrapped up in one more volume!

This book suffers a bit more from its own brevity than the opening volume. It is most damaging for the characters of Presea and Zagato's female disciple, who's name isn't even mentioned in this volume. The simple lack of face time on the page makes these characters only caricatures and plot devices. Any emotion or motivation for these characters really has to come from the reader. That's not an awful thing, but the story itself does suffer for it. There's really only space on the page for the main trio to develop in any meaningful way. This is more forgivable in the first book because it was an opening novel and it's to be expected that not everything will be explored at first. Pacing is an issue with middle installment, but it's not completely damning to the story. I definitely still enjoyed reading.

The final installment of Magic Knight Rayearth was... okay.

I know I've harped in reviews of the previous two installments that this series suffers from an incredibly short page count. That problem is clearest and most damaging in the last installment. The final battle (Debonair) happens so quickly that it's hard to understand what is going on if you haven't read the summary or watched the anime. The art doesn't provide a lot of clarity here either since the Mashin Rune Gods are so new and we haven't yet had time to learn how to tell them apart. This means it's impossible to determine who does what in the battle. If I didn't know from watching the anime 15 years ago who actually defeats whom, I wouldn't have a clue now.

The final twist also comes with little build up or explanation and I think it would actually be more effective if it hadn't come out of the blue with no warning. Foreshadowing can be powerful, but this series didn't create room for that kind of build up. That means the twist doesn't feel earned to me and feels more like it's just something for shock value.

The last page is also very frustrating for me as a reader. We don't get to see how these three girls deal with what they've just lived through. Their task wasn't what they thought it was and I'd love to see how the trio, especially Hikaru, deal with the weight of what they've actually done - what it means for them and for Cephiro. Instead, we just get "the end".

This is where the allegory of Emaurade's task as the Pillar falls flat. She alone is responsible for the safety and security of Cephiro. This really could have led into an exploration of suffering versus responsibility, and agency versus powerlessness. With a person's will being the strongest force in Cephiro, it seemed like the series was really building up to exploring each person's responsibility to their own selves and also to the world around them. This allegory had so much potential, but it is barely explored in this final volume. Instead, this is all about in your face PLOT. Everything suffers to get the rest of this story on the page as quickly as possible.

Everything suffered in this ending volume - art, characters, allegory, relationships, empathy, even plot itself. This felt rushed and unfortunately ends the series as a bit of a hot mess instead of what it truly could have been.

Even though the plot is different, I recommend the anime after reading to get some decent closure on the story of this series.

You could read this book in an hour.

Don't.

I read it and annotated it deeply, thinking about each page. I wrote questions and explanations and thoughts to my husband to give this book to him as a gift. I hope that he will do the same for me. I think we can grow more deeply together through an exploration of the thoughts and practices in this book.

If I am ever privileged to do premarital counseling I believe this book will be a part of that process. It is heavily influenced by Buddhist teachings and I think that the practices and truths are all the more beautiful and real for that. There is much we Christians can learn of love from people who understand the impermanence of all things.

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less is an incredibly thorough graphic memoir of Sarah Glidden's birthright trip to Israel. Sarah is Jewish, but she's far from a Zionist and mostly believes that she sides with the Palestinians in "their situation". The artwork Sarah uses to illustrate her thoughts and her journey is simple and beautiful.

From the back of the book: "At the same time, ISRAEL is a sensitive, deeply thoughtful and personal examination of a highly charged issue, an account of a journey Sarah never expected to take. Her experience clashes with her preconceived notions again and again, particularly when she tries to take a non-chaperoned excursion into the West Bank. As she struggles to "understand Israel," Sarah is forced to question first her beliefs, then ultimately her own identity."

I learned so much about Israel that I never knew I didn't know from this book. I've become very interested in Kibbutz life and of the early Zionist movements and of daily life in the Holy City. I know the perfect student to give this book to next and that's always a wonderful feeling to have as a teacher.

Pick up a copy of this. It'll take you the same amount of time to read as any typical novel. It'll be time well spent.

What a journey.

Earth's End is the third book in the Air Awakens quintet. Some of this book is a camp training montage, but most of it is political intrigue. I thrive on that, but not everyone does, so I think this is probably a book that some will enjoy and others will absolutely find far too long and boring.

I've been on a fantasy kick lately, so this series has been perfect for me. I've been devouring it.

From the back of the book: Vhalla Yarl has made it to the warfront in the North. Forged by blood and fire, she has steeled her heart for the final battle of the Solaris Empire’s conquest. The choices before Vhalla are no longer servitude or freedom, they are servitude or death. The stakes have never been higher as the Emperor maintains his iron grip on her fate, holding everything Vhalla still has left to lose in the balance.

The ending is definitely controversial. Personally, I loved it. I want to see Vhalla in her own glory, not fighting for love or freedom, but purely for herself and her own needs, and hopefully this next book will provide that.

My goodness. This series has some twists and turns. Some are a little predictable, but some will BLOW YOU AWAY.

This portion of the series follows Vhalla's journey after the war in the north. She's earned her freedom, but lost her best friend and her fiancé and all her hopes for the future. Now she has to learn exactly who Vhalla Yarl is and what she wants from life. She may be free, but she's not free to have the life she wanted. But, she is a lady now and that does come with some possibilities.

So as Vhalla explores who she is and who she hopes to become she finds herself swept up in a mess of sorcery. Those she thought she could trust aren't so worthy of that trust and those she was so weary of in the past might turn out to be true friends after all.

There's a lot that happens in this book and I would say it's the most emotional of them all so far. The character building is A++ and I feel like I could be friends with all of these characters. I look forward to the conclusion of the series.

What a finale!

I have enjoyed this series immensely.

The world building was exactly what I had hoped for. It's not too intense as to overwhelm the story or make for heavier reading. (Think more on the level of original trilogy of Star Wars movies instead of the level of Game of Thrones). So it's still light enough to consume rather quickly, but heavy enough to hold up to some scrutiny.

The characters are what really shine in this series and I enjoyed the final part of their journey. I was not expecting to love the side characters so much in this book, especially Jax. He is the hero of this book. I love how all of the characters are broken and flawed, but lovely and doing their very best for one another.

This book is darker than the others and it only makes sense in the scope of the story for that to be the case. Vhalla and her friends grapple honestly and openly with what they've been through. They have killed and they have done so in the most personal and graphic of ways. They'll have to continue to do so to save the people of Solaris and that exacts a cost they may not be able to pay. After all, can you value your own life or your love's life above that of a country full of people?

I'll be thrilled to pass this series on to my older students who love fantasy and strong characters.

Told in verse, Forget Me Not is a sweet story about a seventh grade girl who has moved so many times that she has it down to a science. She can unpack her entire bedroom and have it set up in a new place in seven minutes. Each time her mother breaks up with a boyfriend they change cities, which means Calli is forced to change schools. This would be bad enough for any teenage girl, but for Calli it's agony. She has Tourette's Syndrome and each time she moves is a new opportunity for others to notice her tics and make fun of her. She never gets to stay in one place long enough for anyone to see past her quirks and make friends.

But maybe this place will be different. Maybe in this place she'll be able to make a friend.. or maybe something more. But even friendship comes with its own risks when she could be pulled away and be forced to move again at any time.

I have students who are highly mobile, who move in for a couple of months and then move to countless other schools before sometimes cycling back to our school. They suffer in so many ways. They never get to have stability in their friendships or in their education and constant moving creates gaps in social, emotional, and academic skills. These issues are compounded for Calli by the additional isolation she feels from her Tourette's.

Calli is a very sympathetic character despite the short length of the story. I wish we had learned a bit more about her interests instead of simply seeing her react over and over to things, but the point of the story isn't to get to know Calli but to feel empathy for her situation. The reader is left wishing they could know her better, which is how I imagine others might feel when Calli moves away from her other schools.

Conspiracy theories aren't just "interesting". They're dangerous.

Quassim Cassam, professor of philosophy at Warwick, writes in clear and simple terms about how conspiracy theories aren't created for the purpose of finding truth but for furthering an economic or political agenda. The ones with the most to gain from conspiracy theories are those selling them and those benefiting from the political confusion or panic such theories can sew.

This book doesn't detail any modern conspiracy theories or lend credence to those theories by giving them space on the page. Instead, he describes common aspects of conspiracy theories and how those aspects are designed to keep conspiracy theories engaging. They make the believer feel special, like they're in on a secret only few people are privileged enough or smart enough to figure out - and we are all so susceptible to that kind of thinking, even if we aren't conspiracy theorists ourselves.

I was most intrigued with the prevalence of Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and how such theories played a role in the Holocaust and are still in the manifestos of present day terrorist groups such as Hamas. Conspiracy theories can and do cost lives and lending any credence to any conspiracy theory lends credence to them all because those who believe one conspiracy theory are more likely to believe more and more conspiracy theories, even about unrelated topics.

Cassam presents this book as a simple call to action to debunk conspiracy theories in ways that fit the psychology of conspiracy theorists. When logical appeals and evidence aren't enough, we have to get to the heart of attacking the politics behind the propaganda. Cui bono? That's the question.

We can't afford to ignore conspiracy theories. There's simply too much at stake.

Evicted tells the story of multiple people and families living in grinding poverty in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the end of the first decade of this century. It's a deeply personal look at how eviction shapes not just the lives of those evicted, but their school systems and their larger communities as well.

I'm a bit ashamed at how little I knew of eviction and how it works. I always assumed it to be a process with thirty days of notice and only if the renter falls so far behind on their rent. That is not the case. That is almost never the case. Renters can and are evicted for a variety of reasons, some of which are vindictive and cruel. When there is a list a mile long of people trying to get into any type of lower income housing, there is no incentive for landlords to work with renters or to ever fix up their properties. Desperate people will live in some horrendous places simply because those places offer more security than the streets.

It was painful to watch as families featured in this book lost everything time and time again, only able to take with them clothes in garbage bags. I cried when a family had their belongings tossed out on the curb and ruined in a torrential downpour. Families and individuals often had to decide between trying to keep the gas and heat on to keep their children from the clutches of social services or trying to stay current on rent. So often these families had to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Frequently landlords would take a tenant's money, sometimes all the money to the tenant's name, and then evict them anyway because the amount was still a few dollars too short.

The eight families featured in this book are a mix of black and white. Their struggles are similar. Sometimes drugs are involved in their situations and sometimes they are not. These people were all willing to work to try to make the rent. They were not freeloaders or "welfare queens". One was even a former nurse who once made 80,000 dollars a year, but lost his job and his license after becoming addicted to pain killers. The licensing board made it nearly impossible for him to ever get his license back, so what incentive would he ever have for trying to get clean?

All too often we focus on punitive measures instead of healing and reconciliation. Justice, even in the face of drug crimes or money owed, is not continued suffering. Justice should NEVER be continued suffering. In his book, Desmond outlines solutions for the urban poor housing crisis. We as a country our failing our poor and failing generations to come and in doing so we are failing ourselves. We can do better. We must do better.