Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan

Penguin

This will be a short review of her memoir. I needed a nonfiction read for Book Bingo and I have wanted to read an Amy Tan book for awhile now. I loved the Joy Luck Club movie and used to watch it all the time when I was a teen. When I saw this short story/essay collection and read that it was her memoir, I had to try it. She calls it her book of musings.  I enjoyed how she put together the short stories and even though the timeline jumps around a bit, it still seemed really cohesive. She has a beautiful writing style which draws you in and to me it was also a calming read that I could read right before bed. She covers everything from the relationship with her mom to her many losses in life and she also talks about writing in general and what it was like to help with the Joy Luck Club movie. This was written about 10 years ago, so it does not discuss her most recent work.

Favorite Quote: I really enjoyed the whole book and there were several phrases that were beautiful and introspective. "In the hands of a different reader, the same story can be a different story." This was from her section on the best stories and was my favorite of the book.

Overall, it was a nice insight to her life and work and makes me want to pick up her novels! 5 cups of cocoa!

Yearlong Challenges Update

Since the year is now a little over half over, I thought I should check in with some of my yearlong challenges. I am doing okay in a few and I really need to catch up in some others.


I have read 2 classic books out of 6. I finished Animal Farm and Their Eyes Were Watching God. I am actually where I thought I would be at this time with this challenge. I hope to start Emma soon!



I have read two for this challenge, Flora and Ulysses and Shen of the Sea, but I still need to review the second one. I am rereading A Wrinkle in Time with the Teen Book Club, so I will be counting it toward this challenge.



I have finished 7 for this challenge! I only need one more reread to reach my goal, but I think I will actually end up surpassing my goal with this one.

 

I have read 2 of 10 for these two challenges, so this is clearly where I need to work. I have several e-galleys that are patiently waiting on my Kindle, so hopefully I can catch up here soon!



I have read 5 out of 10, so I am exactly where I need to be with this challenge. I have a few in the middle books on my reading stack now, so hopefully I can finish two by the end of next month.





I have read 2 out of 7 for this challenge. This really surprises me, because I usually read lots of fairytale retellings and I feel behind in this challenge. I have 3 on my reading stack now, so hopefully I catch up soon!



I bumped this challenge up to 3 pairs because I finished so early last year and this year I haven't finished a pair yet! I have all my pairs picked out but have yet to start them. I must conquer this soon.

 

I am only reading one or two books for these two challenges, but I haven't started either one yet. I think I know what I want to read for each one, I just need to check them out from the library.



I have finished The Calling and just have The Rising left to go to finish this challenge.





I forgot the April check in with this one, but I hope to do the July 1 check in. I am progressing okay with this one and will have a longer post on this soon.

I think that covers all of them except Book Bingo and an in depth Seriously Series. Both those post will be coming soon! Thanks to all the great hosts of these challenges!

COYER Summer Vacation Signup

This is the first time I have signed up for a COYER challenge! You can sign up at this link. I really need to finish some books, so I thought this would be the perfect for helping me to read more. They have twitter parties and read-a-thons. The rules are pretty much to read whatever, although read-a-thons are geared to set themes. Here is my reading list so far for Summer Vacation:

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie
The Silkworm by JK Rowling
The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross
The Rising by Kelley Armstrong
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter
Earthquake by Aprilynne Pike

Finish:
If I Should Die by Amy Plum
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I may add a few to fit the read-a-thons as needed. I would like to finish 10 books for this challenge and get back on track with my reading. Thanks to Berls and Michelle for hosting!

Wrapups for Spring Challenges

Well this is how I did on my two spring challenges:


This is hosted by Gina at Book Dragon's Lair. Goal: 10 books by June 20.
1. Snow by Tracy Lynn-finished and reviewed
2. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge-finished and reviewed
3. Perfect Lies by Kiersten White- finished and reviewed
4. The Calling by Kelley Armstrong-finished and reviewed
5. Flora and Ulysses by Kate Dicamillo-finished and reviewed
These were my original five.
6. Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep- finished and reviewed
7. Cinder by Marissa Meyer-currently reading
8. Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan-currently reading
9. Goose Girl by Shannon Hale-currently reading
10. If I Should Die by Amy Plum-currently reading

Well I did finish my original 5 and a 6th book and reviewed them, but I did not finish 10 books. I am so close on two of these to being done, but I am happy that I finished 6. Thanks to Gina for hosting!




The Once Upon A Time Reading Challenge is hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.
I signed up for Quest the First with a 5 book goal
1. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge finished and reviewed
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer currently reading
3. Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep  finished and reviewed
4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale currently reading
5. The Calling by Kelley Armstrong finished and reviewed
I did finish 3 of the 5, but just couldn't finish the last two yet.

I also signed up for Quest on Screen.
I was hoping to watch all of season one of Once Upon a Time, Frozen, and Brave and I have only watched Frozen.  I loved Frozen and Elsa and the beautiful music! I did buy the first season of OUoT and hopefully I can watch it and Brave before the year is up. Thanks to Carl for hosting!

Library Books Read-a-thon Wrap-up

I managed to finish the three library book reviews I needed to write, so that was a major achievement for me! I only finished one audiobook and I read/listened to 441 pages, so I was only about 59 pages shy of my 500 pages goal. I will take that though, since I am reading/listening slowly now. Thanks to Rachael for hosting!

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

The Calling is the second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy and this review will have spoilers for the first book.

Harper

As they are escaping the forest fire, Maya, Daniel, and Rafe realize the pilot has drugged the mayor, the only other adult on the helicopter. As they fight for control of the helicopter, Rafe is thrown from it and the helicopter crashes, killing both the pilot and the mayor. The rest of the passengers escape with minor injuries and Maya has to decide the story to tell them when all she wants to do is mourn Rafe. They let the survivors know that there are people out to get them, but even Maya and Daniel do not realize completely the group's intentions. As they flee and some are captured, Maya and Daniel, by spying, learn that there is more than one group of people out to capture them and that all of the teens are supernaturals in someway, whether shapeshifter, demon hunter, or as yet discovered by the group. As they learn more about their own Project Phoenix, they learn about another project, Project Genesis, that had failed results. When betrayals abound, it may be up to Maya and Daniel to find out the truth behind the two projects in a way that unites with Armstrong's other series.

This one is hard to review without giving too much away. Most of the book takes place in the woods as the children are fleeing and the last 60 pages have most of the action and reveals. I can't wait to see how the third book deals with both the Darkest Powers and the Darkness Rising characters! I thought this one had more action and information than the first book in the series and I liked it better. Armstrong always manages to make her books a quick read with the perfect amount of pacing and suspense.

Favorite Character: Maya. Maya is stong, maybe a bit naive at times, but she holds true to what she thinks and acknowledges her own faults.

Favorite Quote: "Strong emotion is better than indifference."

Nice bridge book and she did a great job filling in all the necessary details. The third book should be pretty exciting! 4 cups of cocoa!

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White

Perfect Lies is the sequel to Mind Games, so this review will have spoilers for Mind Games. I received this as an eARC from the publisher, HarperTeen,  in exchange for an honest review.

HarperTeen

Fia believes she did the right thing by pretending to kill her sister Annie. Fia completely trusts James and his plan to destroy the Keane Foundation and free all the special girls from the program. Annie feels betrayed by her sister, who left her with Adam, one of the guys with a crush on Fia, and the Lerner Group. Annie keeps trying to have visions about Fia, since she is the only one who can and what she sees is devastating. Fia does not seem to be destroying Keane, but actually finding special girls with the abilities to see the future and read minds and with her perfect instincts, Fia knows how to safely bring them into the Foundation. Annie decides to work with Lerner to stop Fia, but when she sees a vision of Fia's death, can she save her sister and herself from a horrible fate.

White has created another fast-paced suspenseful masterpiece. It felt like I held my breath for the last 40 pages until the surprise ending. Her writing just keeps getting better and her characters are perfectly flawed. You want to hate Fia at times and at other times you just want to protect her. I loved seeing more of Annie in this one and I felt like she was fleshed out better in the second book. The love interests are intriguing although I still can't stand James.

Favorite Character: I love Annie and Fia! They will do anything to save each other and even when they are past the point of saving, they still try to salvage what is left. Annie, in particular, grew on me with this book. She showed she is just as strong and fierce as her sister.

Favorite Quote: "We all want things we shouldn't have. Even you. Just because you love him doesn't mean you should. Love is a choice, like anything else."

Perfect ending to a great ride and one of my favorite reads this year! Can't wait until she releases a new one! 5 cups of cocoa!