This is a sequel to the book The Last Dragonslayer that we reviewed a while back and it’s another venture into the world the the wizarding business of Kazam.  This time, King Snodd, the ruler of the Ununited Kingdoms, has ordered a contest where wizarding agencies in the land would compete and there would be one winner and one magical company.  This contest pits Kazam again a rival company and it seems the king wants, rather, has an interest in Kazam losing the contest. This, they believe, is because of the events that took place during The Last Dragonslayer. There is also the problem of a Quarkbeast on the loose.…

I enjoy John Green’s books, but this one was a far cry from his previous works.  I really enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, and I even enjoyed the novel, Paper Towns, despite the story being a little far-fetched.  However, Turtles All the Way Down was a miss for me.  I know there are a lot of people who enjoyed the book and it was an okay read, but this story wasn’t for me.  I do think Green understood his characters well but the story was just not for me. I feel like the pacing was a bit off.  The main character Aza seems to jump…

This novel is considered a classic and has a lot of beautiful language but it is a work that is a great example of what many might call “literary fiction” as it’s not very plot driven and can be a difficult read for some.  The story centers around Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Joseph Projectus Machebeuf who are catholic priests that are assigned to New Mexico in the hopes of starting a church and establishing catholicism in the area. There isn’t much by way of story but the book does have a few accounts and reflections by the characters. Death Comes for the Archbishop does a great job of showing how difficult…

Pet Sematary is one of the more creepy books by King, in my opinion, due to the theme of death being at the forefront.  It’s not a monster or supernatural occurrence but simply death that is the main antagonist here. Louis Creed, and his wife Rachel, move near the University of Maine for a job.  Their home is near the road so, during the course of the novel, their cat is hit by a car. The problem is death has been haunting their family in different ways so Louis is hesitant to tell them about the cat but their neighbor, Jud, leads Louis to a place with the sign “Pet…

The Savage and McCray families own two homes on a secluded area of beach in Alabama, which has been a long staple in their families lives, going back to the younger days of members of both families.  However, a third house in their little hamlet is slowly being devoured by a sand dune and both families warn their children not go to near it. While they make the argument that it’s simply unsound, the truth is there is a terror that lives in the house which seems to have awoken and begins to follow the younger members of the families as they vacation in this off-the-map area during the summer.…

I’ve not read a great number of John Grisham’s books but The Last Juror is one that I really enjoyed because it was pretty much in the style of Grisham but also different enough that I didn’t feel like I was reading a legal thriller.  And, in truth, it’s not really a legal thriller in the courtroom-drama vein. We follow Willie Traynor and a cast of characters as they are thrown into the middle of one of the biggest scandals/crimes in Clanton, Mississippi.  The Padgitt family, a notorious group that is known for being a reclusive criminal family, has one of their own brought up on rape and murder charges.…

I recently reread A Separate Peace and I’m still not sure where I stand on the novel as a whole. I think it’s complex and has a lot of layers despite its simple story of two friends, Finny and Gene, and their school Devon. This novel starts out as a reflection by an adult Gene, who has returned to Devon to visit, and possibly just to relive his time there, but as we get deeper into the story, we see that the relationship between Finny and Gene gets complex. Finny is the athletic guy that seems to be able to do anything, is fearless, and outgoing to a fault.  He…

While this isn’t one of King’s more famous novels, it’s a good story and one that poses a lot of questions.  I think the main character is also complicated in that he goes through a lot of changes (physically and emotionally) but I’m not so sure we can say he’s learned his lesson in the end.  The novel focuses on Billy Halleck who hit a woman with his car who is part of a traveling band of gypsies. The father of the woman then curses Billy. Billy, being a massive man, obese and a man of means, starts to lose weight as a result of being freed from any wrongdoing…