Reviews
Big Little Lies
By Liane MoriartyBig Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, read by Caroline Lee, is an extraordinary book deserving of its place on many 2014 must-read lists. Set in an Australian suburb, it’s a story about three women that meet at their children’s kindergarten orientation and become friends. Clues and innuendo lead the reader to believe a tragic event has occurred during a school parent get-together.
Only In Dreams
By Dum Dum GirlsOne might think that an album whose title references songs by alt-rockers Weezer and rock-‘n'- roll troubadour Roy Orbison might play like a confused mish-mash of ironic lyrics, hipster-disposition delivery, and metronomic performances. Thankfully, that is not the case.
Denton Little's Deathdate
By Lance RubinI immediately fell for Denton Little. Born at a time when people know the date they will die, Denton knows his funeral is today. No surprise. Tomorrow is his death date. No big deal. But waking up in the bed with his best friend's sister? Now that is a surprise. And a big deal.
Angel Sanctuary Vol. 1
By Kaori YukiSetsuna Mudou is a teenager in Tokyo with a lot of unusual problems. First, he’s in love with his sister Sara--like real love love--and as if that weren’t enough, he’s also the latest reincarnation of the cursed female angel Alexiel, who rebelled against Heaven and defied God. When his powers start to awaken he’s approached by Kurai, a demon princess of Gehenna who was Alexiel’s follower, hunted by Alexiel’s insane twin brother Rosiel and his puppets, and viewed as a savior by an underground faction in Heaven.
Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey
By Margaret Peterson HaddixTish is writing journal entries as an assignment for her English teacher, Mrs. Dunphrey. She has promised not to read any entries marked "Don't read this" and that is exactly what Tish writes before almost every entry. As Tish struggles with her abusive father and neglectful mother, she writes about those struggles in the journal. Dunphrey comments positively about how much she is writing, asks her to write some entries she can actually read, and also scolds her for not turning her journal in on time and for not completing other homework assignments.
Wolf in White Van
By John DarnielleJohn Darnielle’s second book is about the space between two separate worlds – the one we live in and the one we think we live in. It’s a place where aspirations are born, where imagination develops . . . also where great loneliness lives.
Dark Times in the City
By Gene KerriganHardboiled has been transported to Ireland and the result is thoroughly enjoyable!
The Returned (DVD)
By Fabrice GobertOne day, fifteen year old teenager Camille walks back up the winding mountain road and into her house, shocking her family. What seems like it should be a completely mundane act most patently is not; Camille died in a bus accident four years earlier. Camille has no memory of that event and no apparent understanding that she has died. As far as she knows, it's the day of the bus accident. But her family, while still grieving, has moved on. Her parents have split up, and most strikingly, her twin sister Léna is now several years older than Camille.
The Dark Tower, and Other Stories
By C. S. LewisI picked up a book of C. S. Lewis’s short stories for a staff exercise in genres with Faith-Based and Inspirational Fiction. The Dark Tower and Other Stories contains some of his science fiction as well as faith-based works, so as a sci-fi fan I was eager to combine the two. Then I started reading, and my hopes swiftly plummeted. The first story is “The Man Born Blind,” a heavy-handed tale of religious allegory.