Book Hooked

Are you a reader? I'm a Reader. I can devour entire books in one sitting. I stay up past my bedtime to finish just one more chapter. I can remember the first time a book truly came alive for me. I was reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by the hallway light while sitting in the doorway of my bedroom, way past my bedtime. I remember being so nervous for the Pevensie children, fighting the White Witch, and when she had Aslan on the table? I thought my 6 year old heart would break. I've been book hooked ever since.

This book. THIS BOOK. I loved it. The story follows 3 family members through all sorts of mediums, emails, letters, newspaper clippings and first hand accounts. The general story follows Bee, the daughter of two eccentric geniuses- a sock sporting computer guru father, and a architect mother. Bee gets perfect grades and insists on a trip to Antarctica. Things unravel from there, culminating in the disappearance of her mother, Bernadette. This book made me laugh, made me cry, made me righteous on Bernadette's behalf, and had me routing for the family as a whole. It's delightful, highly recommend.

Yes, this is a young adult book. I love young adult books. As someone who doesn't always have the time to dive into a long book (I've been 'reading' Sarum for about 4 months), young adult books are perfect. This book centers around 3 children in Victorian England, one wealthy girl with a terrible secret and two street urchins dependent on a puppet master. The children get drawn into a decades old feud between rival witches over a spectacular firey opal. It resolved itself a little too neatly, but overall the story kept my attention and was engaging. Quick, fun read.

I'm on to The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, a sequel to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (highly recommended) and Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn's first novel. I'll report back. What have you recently read and loved?