This month: Book-related: Battle Royale, Toukoshun Takami. Obsidio, Aime Kaufman & Jay Kristoff For movies. Captain Marvel 8/10 of enjoyment. She is a strong woman who is very confused and very insecure about who she is and what she wants, but in the end, she stands up for herself and is determined to choose her own way from then onward. It is not as action packed as other superhero movies but it has enough action-self discovery drama to make it a very enjoyable movie. Avengers End game: 10/10 on enjoyment Going with Style  This one I did not see it when it first came out but I finally manage to watch it, and loved it!! It's hilarious. These grandpas are awesome XD

Author: Jennifer Brown Genre: YA Contemporary Original publication date: September 2009 Book description (from Good Reads):  Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets. Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life. This is a hard thing to describe. At some point it felt a very long book, it had me annoyed, angry, it made me upset.....  I s

Author: Michael Crichton  Genre: Mystery/Suspense Original publication date: 1994 Book description (from Good Reads):  Thomas Sanders' world collapses in just 24 hours - he is passed over for promotion, his new woman boss comes on to him during a drink after work, then, the next morning, he learns that she has accused him of sexually harassing her. She demands his transfer, thereby threatening to cut him off from the millions he would have made when his high-tech company was floated on the stock market. Thoughts: So this is a very gripping story. It begins with a bang. A man who is sexually harassed by an ex-girlfriend who arrives in the company he is currently working for. The very first day she is announced as the new boss. He is thrown head first into a series of unpleasant situations. It is unheard of to place a complaint about sexual harassment by a female aggressor.  But behind the scenes, there is a series of events that kept disclosing a much more serious matter t

Author: Marcia Grad  Genre: Fiction Original publication date: April 1995 Book description (from GoodReads): Raised by very strict parents, the delicate Victoria grows up dreaming about been rescued by a prince charming. But when she is finally rescued, things don't turn out as she had dreamt them. The prince stops been charming and the princess advised by a wise owl begins a journey of discovery where she will learn that fairytales can become reality but differently.  Thoughts: It is a story where you are prompted to discover to value yourself, to appreciate and love your own self and not try to live the way other expect you to, see the reality of situations, not accept an abusive relationship and how to break from them. It is a very good message but in parts it was annoying like any other case where you see the person is not willing to accept that they're in a bad situation. A very good way to illustrate the message with very easy to understand messages. There is

Author: Kristen Callihan Series: Darkest London #1 Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Original Publication date: January 2012 Book description:  Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman. Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker i

Author: Mario Benedetti First Published: July 1998 Genre: Short Stories Book description (from Good Reads): Compiled by the author, this selection of short stories represents all of the stages of Benedetti's life and the wide range of interests he has. From the anti-bureaucratic stories that characterized him at first to the ingenious and intensive texts he has published recently. A bonus is the narration of Benedetti, as he tells a story the way only he can! There are several stories, some were fantastic, others were enjoyable but not all of them were memorable, again this is only my opinion.  * El presupuesto or The Budget 3.75  *Familia Iriarte or The Iriarte Family 2.5 * Los pocillos 2.0 * Réquiem con tostadas: 3.75 * Los bomberos or the firemen: 3.0. * La expresión: the expression 2.0 * La noche de los feos the night of the ugly: 2.75 * Miss Amnesia or Mrs A mnesia 3.0 * De puro distraído or distracted 2.0 * Jules y Jim or Jules and Jim 2.5 * La sirena viuda The wid

Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff  Series: Illuminae Files #3 First Published: March 2018 Genre: Sci-Fi Book description (from Good Reads):  Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion? Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken. Thoughts: It is again a fast-paced story with more death and fighting, full of drama and it is thrilling pulling the re

Author: William Paul Young Genre: Fiction, Religion Original Publication date: May 2007 Book Description (from Good Reads):  Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his "Great Sadness," Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment, he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. Thoughts: This is hard to rate. As I was reading the beginning I loved it so very much, the story was alluring and it was giving the message I have always wanted people to actually accept.  *God does not control everything there is really no reason to say that when someone dies or something bad happens it wa

As usual I built a huge TBR including books from diverse media Audio, digital and physical books. Sometimes when I'm out and about I get the feeling I should start reading and I do not have my physical book or is not a convenient format to listen to it so I pick random books to occupy my time such as what happened this week. While at work I had to resort to other books and I did not pick any form my initial TBR because I simply did not remember them XD One of the random picks was: The deal of a lifetime by Fredrick Backman a short story I had no idea what was about but I had heard the author somewhere so I decided to pick it up.  Book description (from Good Reads):  A father and a son are seeing each other for the first time in years. The father has a story to share before it’s too late. He tells his son about a courageous little girl lying in a hospital bed a few miles away. She’s a smart kid—smart enough to know that she won’t beat cancer by drawing with crayons all day,

Author: Rick Riordan  Series: The trials of Apollo Original publication date: May 2016 Genre: YA Fantasy Book description (from Good Reads):  After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour. But Apollo has many enemies—gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood. So let's see It is a nice quick read with some of the characters we already care about such as Percy, brief but good encounters really XD Apollo is very self-centered and coincided in the beginning but it is funny the lengths of his shortcomings. For a god he is far from perfect and ver

Taking place: April 13 to 26 Creator:  Thoughts on Tomes Goal: Read books over 500 pages. Plan to read during the week: *Battle Royale by Koushun Takami *Obsidio by Amy Kaufman & Jay Kristoff *Mistborn #1 by Brandon Sanderson If I have time I will try to get to: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Author: James Patterson & Ned Rust Series: Witch & Wizard #2 Publication date: December 2010 Genre: YA Fantasy Book description (from Good Reads):  When Whit and Wisty were imprisoned by the wicked forces of the totalitarian regime known as the New Order, they were barely able to escape with their lives. Now part of a hidden community of teens like themselves, Whit and Wisty have established themselves as leaders of the Resistance, willing to sacrifice anything to save kidnapped and imprisoned kids. Now the villainous leader of the New Order is just a breath away from the ability to control the forces of nature and to manipulate his citizens on the most profound level imaginable: through their minds. There is only one more thing he needs to triumph in his evil quest: the Gifts of Whit and Wisty Allgood. And he will stop at nothing to seize them. Thoughts: A nice quick read. The story develops much faster than the first book and a lot of things happen one after the othe

Author: George Orwell Genre: Dystopia Publication date: June 1949 Book description (from Good Reads): Winston Smith works for the Ministry of truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big Brother will not tolerate dissent - even in the mind. Thoughts: Hard to say the story is very captivating the idea of a government so controlling that it even dictates what you should think about. It is very promising but the story is not action based, the ideology is very explored unfortunately at some points it felt almost as if it dragged because of long descriptions of actions from Winston.  Winston is a very hard ch

Author: Cassandra Clare Series: The Mortal Instruments There is really very little that can be said for this book that has not been told before This is the I'm not sure which number of rereads. I am currently reading it in order to get to Lady Midnight, not like I don't remember anything but I simply really wanted to see how it all began once more.  I had some struggles with the writing style the first few times I tried to read a book by Cassandra Clare but by now, I am used to it. This book seems a bit too long in some parts because it gets annoying, I really did not like the way Clary behaves, but then again she is a normal teenager who is used to being protected from anything so how can anyone (talking to myself) expect her to be a mature human being and act logically.  The characters in this book are introductory but feel like there is so much that is lacking. Oh well, it might be that for nostalgia I remembered liking them so much and now, they're just ok ther

Author: Becke Albertalli and Adam Silvera  Genre: Contemporary Original publication date: October 2018 Book description (from Good Reads):  Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it. Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things. But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them? Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated. Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited. But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third? What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough? Thoughts: It is a nice fluffy quick read. With typical interest, at first sight, everything happening too fast because the time

Author: Wendy Higgins  Genre: YA Fantasy Series: Eurona Duology #1 Original publication date: March 2016 Book description (from Good Reads):  When a strange beast terrorizes the kingdom of Lochlanach, fear stirs revolt. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage. Princess Aerity knows her duty to the kingdom but cannot bear the idea of marrying a stranger... until a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention. There’s no denying the unspoken lure between them... or his mysterious resentment. Paxton is not the marrying type. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast—but the princess continues to surprise him, and the perilous secrets he’s buried begin to surface. Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale “The Singing Bone,” This book was picked

Author: Neil Gaiman Original publication: July 2001 Genre: Fantasy Book Description: It's the story of Shadow released from prison a few days after his wife and best friends were killed in an accident. He gets recruited to be bodyguard, driver and errand boy for the enigmatic Mr. Wednesday. So begins Shadow's dark and strange road trip, one that introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Beneath the placid surface of everyday life, a storm is brewing - an epic war for the very soul of America- and Shadow is standing squarely in its path.  So this is definitely not a quick read. Not only because it is over 700 pages long but because it has a slow start. It took a while to pick my interest fully not sure if it was because everything was just so confusing we get the introduction to many people in a short amount of time and initially Shadow does not believe or accept what he is seeing. So his perspective is kind of

So there will be several Readathons I want to participate in so let's begin: #AYearAThon this takes place from April 4 to 10 and the challenge is to Reread: *City of Bones by Cassandra Clare *Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Magical Readathon O.W.Ls  Takes place from April 1 to 30 Wizard careers   OWL prompts So I picked my career: Metal Charmer So I have to cover the following O.W.L.s Ancient Runes: A Retelling The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins Arithmancy: Work Written by more than one author. Obsidio by Jay Kristoff and Amy Kauffman Charms: Age-line. Mistborn #1 Brandon Sanderson D.A.D.A Reducto. Title starts with an R Battle Royal by Koushun Takami Transfiguration- Sprayed Edges or red cover Dientes de Dragon by Michael Crichton Then I have to pick two more subjects. Muggle Studies Contemporary. What if it is us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera Potions- Sequel. Pending to pick. Calendar of Crime One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline. It was

For the Calendar of Crime I had to read a book in which the title has a word starting with M. The book was All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda. It was originally published in July 2016. So it is not very old as of yet but I had not heard anything about it before but picked it up because it was categorized as a mystery/thriller.  It is about a girl who has moved away from the small town where she grew up after the disappearance of her best friend. She is forced to return when economic distress hunts her family by then her father is already living in a home and is suffering dementia.  The story is told in a very annoying for my taste. It goes a bit backward after she arrives at her home town another person goes missing after being asking around about the girl who went missing all those years ago. Now Analice, the young woman who went missing bring light to the missing case of the girl who went missing a decade ago (Corrine). Nicolette is an annoying person because she does not