Caitlin 's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 12 Apr 2025 18:41:14 -0700 60 Caitlin 's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden]]> 15814872
No Easy Day puts readers alongside Owen and the other handpicked members of the twenty-four-man team as they train for the biggest mission of their lives. The blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen's life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death, is an essential piece of modern history.

In No Easy Day, Owen also takes readers onto the field of battle in America's ongoing War on Terror and details the selection and training process for one of the most elite units in the military. Owen's story draws on his youth in Alaska and describes the SEALs' quest to challenge themselves at the highest levels of physical and mental endurance. With boots-on-the-ground detail, Owen describes numerous previously unreported missions that illustrate the life and work of a SEAL and the evolution of the team after the events of September 11. In telling the true story of the SEALs whose talents, skills, experiences, and exceptional sacrifices led to one of the greatest victories in the War on Terror, Mark Owen honors the men who risk everything for our country, and he leaves readers with a deep understanding of the warriors who keep America safe.]]> 316 Mark Owen 0525953728 Caitlin 0 memoir, currently-reading 4.00 2012 No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
author: Mark Owen
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: memoir, currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate, #1)]]> 6202556
As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.

Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit.
]]> 344 Jacqueline Kelly 0805088415 Caitlin 4
*re-read]]> 3.99 2009 The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate, #1)
author: Jacqueline Kelly
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/11
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: historical-fiction, children-s, 2025
review:
Still a banger, although I’m not totally convinced she didn’t want to date her own brother sometimes

*re-read
]]> When You Reach Me 5310515 199 Rebecca Stead 0385737424 Caitlin 4
**re-read]]> 4.08 2009 When You Reach Me
author: Rebecca Stead
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/22
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: contemp-literary-realistic-fiction, children-s, books-that-slap-hard, 2025
review:
“IT’S jUsT a KiDs bOoK� and it’s one of the most complex and insightful pieces of literature ever made

**re-read
]]> Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2) 7791997
Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadn't been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude, Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feelings that he is hiding something.

If that weren't enough, Nora is haunted by images of her murdered father, and comes to question whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death. Desperate to figure out what happened, she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations to get the answer. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.]]> 427 Becca Fitzpatrick 1416989439 Caitlin 3 paranormal, ya, 2025
**re-read]]> 3.99 2010 Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2)
author: Becca Fitzpatrick
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: paranormal, ya, 2025
review:
Does a disservice to the original smh. Where is the banter. Where is the sexual tension?? It grew legs and walked away

**re-read
]]> <![CDATA[Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)]]> 960
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.]]> 736 Dan Brown 1416524797 Caitlin 3 thriller-mystery-crime, 2025 A cool idea, I do love treasure hunts and clues and secret societies. However I did not care for the only non-Catholic and POC being a bloodthirsty murderer and the fact that Vittoria, the female character, is just there for Robert to have a hot woman to look at. And that ending “twist� was clearly pulled out of his ass.

Despite having some extremely basic writing and characters at times, there is the one incredible speech for the camerlengo that I think is really important in our tech obsessed world:

“Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and drudgery and provided an array of gadgetry for our entertainment and convenience, but it has left us in a world without wonder. Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies. The complexities of the universe have been shredded into mathematical equations. Even our self-worth as human beings has been destroyed�

The technology that promises to unite us, divides us. Each of us is now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone. We are bombarded with violence, division, fracture, and betrayal. Skepticism has become a virtue. Cynicism and demand for proof has become enlightened thought. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than they have at any point in human history?�

Scientific growth is exponential. It feeds on itself like a virus. Every new breakthrough opens doors for new breakthroughs. Mankind took thousands of years to progress from the wheel to the car. Yet only decades from the car into space. Now we measure scientific progress in weeks. We are spinning out of control. The rift between us grows deeper and deeper� We cry out for meaning. And believe me, we do cry out. We see UFOs, engage in channeling, spirit contact, out-of-body experiences, mindquests-all these eccentric ideas have a scientific veneer, but they are unashamedly irrational. They are the desperate cry of the modern soul, lonely and tormented, crippled by its own enlightenment and its inability to accept meaning in anything removed from technology."

The promises of science have not been kept. Promises of efficiency and simplicity have bred nothing but pollution and chaos. The language of science comes with no signposts about good and bad. Science textbooks tell us how to create a nuclear reaction, and yet they contain no chapter asking us if it is a good or a bad idea� Your world moves so fast that if you stop even for an instant to consider the implications of your actions, someone more efficient will whip past you in a blur.”]]> 3.95 2000 Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)
author: Dan Brown
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: thriller-mystery-crime, 2025
review:
**re-read
A cool idea, I do love treasure hunts and clues and secret societies. However I did not care for the only non-Catholic and POC being a bloodthirsty murderer and the fact that Vittoria, the female character, is just there for Robert to have a hot woman to look at. And that ending “twist� was clearly pulled out of his ass.

Despite having some extremely basic writing and characters at times, there is the one incredible speech for the camerlengo that I think is really important in our tech obsessed world:

“Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and drudgery and provided an array of gadgetry for our entertainment and convenience, but it has left us in a world without wonder. Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies. The complexities of the universe have been shredded into mathematical equations. Even our self-worth as human beings has been destroyed�

The technology that promises to unite us, divides us. Each of us is now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone. We are bombarded with violence, division, fracture, and betrayal. Skepticism has become a virtue. Cynicism and demand for proof has become enlightened thought. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than they have at any point in human history?�

Scientific growth is exponential. It feeds on itself like a virus. Every new breakthrough opens doors for new breakthroughs. Mankind took thousands of years to progress from the wheel to the car. Yet only decades from the car into space. Now we measure scientific progress in weeks. We are spinning out of control. The rift between us grows deeper and deeper� We cry out for meaning. And believe me, we do cry out. We see UFOs, engage in channeling, spirit contact, out-of-body experiences, mindquests-all these eccentric ideas have a scientific veneer, but they are unashamedly irrational. They are the desperate cry of the modern soul, lonely and tormented, crippled by its own enlightenment and its inability to accept meaning in anything removed from technology."

The promises of science have not been kept. Promises of efficiency and simplicity have bred nothing but pollution and chaos. The language of science comes with no signposts about good and bad. Science textbooks tell us how to create a nuclear reaction, and yet they contain no chapter asking us if it is a good or a bad idea� Your world moves so fast that if you stop even for an instant to consider the implications of your actions, someone more efficient will whip past you in a blur.�
]]> <![CDATA[The da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)]]> 968 The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, and The da Vinci Code

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever.

The Da Vinci Code heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.]]> 489 Dan Brown Caitlin 3 thriller-mystery-crime, 2025
**re-read]]> 3.92 2003 The da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)
author: Dan Brown
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: thriller-mystery-crime, 2025
review:
If you take a shot for every time that a character "explained" or "quickly explained"something, you would be drunk enough to explain how Robert Langdon keeps getting himself involved in these global conspiracies when he is the most boring person alive

**re-read
]]> <![CDATA[The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #2)]]> 233637 182 Carolyn Keene 0448095025 Caitlin 4
*re-read]]> 3.95 1930 The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #2)
author: Carolyn Keene
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1930
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: books-that-slap-hard, thriller-mystery-crime, children-s
review:
Did not expect a girlie pop mystery book from the 50s to discuss the corruption of the American railway industry but vive la resistance I suppose

*re-read
]]> Empress 815786
In seventh–century China, during the great Tang dynasty, a young girl from the humble Wu clan entered the imperial gynaecium, which housed ten thousand concubines. Inside the Forbidden City, she witnessed seductions, plots, murders, and brazen acts of treason. Propelled by a shrewd intelligence, an extraordinary persistence, and a friendship with the imperial heir, she rose through the ranks to become the first Empress of China. On the one hand, she was a political mastermind who quelled insurrections, eased famine, and opened wide the routes of international trade. On the other, she was a passionate patron of the arts who brought Chinese civilization to unsurpassed heights of knowledge, beauty, and sophistication.

And yet, from the moment of her death to the present day, her name has been sullied, her story distorted, and her memoirs obliterated by men taking vengeance on a women who dared become Emperor. For the first time in thirteen centuries, Empress Wu flings open the gates of her Forbidden City and tells her own astonishing tale–revealing a fascinating, complex figure who in many ways remains modern to this day.]]> 336 Shan Sa 0060817585 Caitlin 4 historical-fiction, 2025 RIP Empress Wu, you would’ve loved the album Queen by Nicki Minaj

**re-read]]> 3.70 2003 Empress
author: Shan Sa
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: historical-fiction, 2025
review:
3.5/5
RIP Empress Wu, you would’ve loved the album Queen by Nicki Minaj

**re-read
]]> <![CDATA[The Bungalow Mystery (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #3)]]> 156979 204 Carolyn Keene 1557091579 Caitlin 4
**re-read]]> 3.95 1930 The Bungalow Mystery (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #3)
author: Carolyn Keene
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1930
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: thriller-mystery-crime, children-s, 2025
review:
Nancy was and is that girl periodt

**re-read
]]> <![CDATA[Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)]]> 8337
Little House in the Big Woods takes place in 1871 and introduces us to four-year-old Laura, who lives in a log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. She shares the cabin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their lovable dog, Jack.

Pioneer life isn’t easy for the Ingalls family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But they make the best of every tough situation. They celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do their spring planting, bring in the harvest in the fall, and make their first trip into town. And every night, safe and warm in their little house, the sound of Pa’s fiddle lulls Laura and her sisters into sleep.

The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.]]> 224 Laura Ingalls Wilder 0060885378 Caitlin 2
I liked these as a kid apparently, but upon re-read there isn’t much to them, especially not for adults. There is no traditional story or plot—the book is more episodic, depicting Laura and her family living in the woods, and the anecdotes mostly center around how to do things like churn butter or smoke meat (are you excited yet???). These anecdotes did make me realize that a) people in this time period had to know how to do a lot of stuff and b) I would not have done well in said time period, but none of them made for a very entertaining reading experience.

I think this series is great for young readers who want to learn about pioneer times, but beyond that, I don’t know who would enjoy these.

**re-read]]> 4.21 1932 Little House in the Big Woods (Little House, #1)
author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1932
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: historical-fiction, children-s, 2025
review:
Hope you like learning about chores!!! Because there sure are a lot!!

I liked these as a kid apparently, but upon re-read there isn’t much to them, especially not for adults. There is no traditional story or plot—the book is more episodic, depicting Laura and her family living in the woods, and the anecdotes mostly center around how to do things like churn butter or smoke meat (are you excited yet???). These anecdotes did make me realize that a) people in this time period had to know how to do a lot of stuff and b) I would not have done well in said time period, but none of them made for a very entertaining reading experience.

I think this series is great for young readers who want to learn about pioneer times, but beyond that, I don’t know who would enjoy these.

**re-read
]]> <![CDATA[The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)]]> 11408650
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been
through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.]]> 456 Michelle Hodkin 1442421789 Caitlin 4 guilty-pleasures, ya, 2025
**re-read ]]> 4.01 2011 The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)
author: Michelle Hodkin
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: guilty-pleasures, ya, 2025
review:
The angst is strong with this one

**re-read
]]> The Devil All the Time 12992927 The Devil All the Time follows a cast of characters from the end of World War II to the 1960s. There’s Willard Russell, tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific, who can’t save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from an agonizing death by cancer no matter how much sacrifi­cial blood he pours on his “prayer log.� There’s Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial kill­ers, who troll America’s highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. There’s the spider-handling preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick, Theodore, running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin Eugene Russell, Willard and Charlotte’s orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right.]]> 320 Donald Ray Pollock 0307744868 Caitlin 4 4.16 2011 The Devil All the Time
author: Donald Ray Pollock
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2020/10/06
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: 2020, books-that-slap-hard, thriller-mystery-crime
review:
Gnarly shit, and at times it feels slightly gratuitous, but engaging and chilling nonetheless
]]> Walk Two Moons 53496 Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned.
"Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold � the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.]]> 280 Sharon Creech 0060739495 Caitlin 5 3.99 1994 Walk Two Moons
author: Sharon Creech
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: contemp-literary-realistic-fiction, children-s, 2025, books-that-slap-hard
review:

]]> Not Like Other Girls 175722832 A girl risks everything to find her former best friend in this powerful debut mystery about trauma, girlhood, and what we deserve.

When Jo-Lynn Kirby's former best friend—pretty, nice Maddie Price—comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it's some kind of joke. After all, Jo has been an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked—and since everyone decided she deserved it. There’s no way Maddie would actually come to her for help.

But then Maddie is gone.

Everyone is quick to write off Maddie as a runaway, but Jo can’t shake the feeling there's more to the story. To find out the truth, Jo needs to get back in with the people who left her behind—and the only way back in is through Hudson Harper-Moore. An old fling of Jo’s with his own reasons for wanting to find Maddie, Hudson hatches a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into their clique. But being back on the inside means Jo must confront everything she’d rather forget: the boys who betrayed her, the whispers that she had it coming, and the secrets that tore her and Maddie apart. As Jo digs deeper into Maddie’s disappearance, she’s left to wonder who she’s really searching for: Maddie, or the girl she used to be.

Not Like Other Girls is a stunning debut that takes a hard look at how we treat young women and their trauma, through the lens of a missing girl and a girl trying to find herself again.]]> 448 Meredith Adamo 1547614005 Caitlin 0 to-read 4.07 2024 Not Like Other Girls
author: Meredith Adamo
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)]]> 214331246 When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 382 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 Caitlin 4 Cool I hate being alive 4.66 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: 2025, books-that-slap-hard, cry-time, dystopia, ya
review:
Cool I hate being alive
]]> Rules for Vanishing 42872940 In the faux-documentary style of The Blair Witch Project comes the campfire story of a missing girl, a vengeful ghost, and the girl who is determined to find her sister—at all costs.

Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her—and who won't make it out of the woods?

It's been exactly one year since Sara's sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn't know whether her former friends no longer like her... or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to "play the game" and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara is sure this is the only way to find Becca—before she's lost forever. And even though she's hardly spoken with them for a year, Sara finds herself deep in the darkness of the forest, her friends—and their cameras—following her down the path. Together, they will have to draw on all of their strengths to survive. The road is rarely forgiving, and no one will be the same on the other side.]]> 404 Kate Alice Marshall 198483701X Caitlin 0 to-read 3.73 2019 Rules for Vanishing
author: Kate Alice Marshall
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Head Full of Ghosts 23019294
To her parents' despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie's descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts' plight. With John, Marjorie's father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie's younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface--and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.]]> 287 Paul Tremblay 0062363239 Caitlin 0 to-read 3.78 2015 A Head Full of Ghosts
author: Paul Tremblay
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Homeless Bird 243229 192 Gloria Whelan 0064408191 Caitlin 4 3.99 2000 Homeless Bird
author: Gloria Whelan
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: contemp-literary-realistic-fiction, ya, 2025, children-s
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Disney Princess Movie Theater Storybook & Movie Projector]]> 882384 Balducci, Rita 48 Rita Balducci 1575849399 Caitlin 5 3.70 2002 Disney Princess Movie Theater Storybook & Movie Projector
author: Rita Balducci
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: children-s, sweet-sweet-nostalgia, books-that-slap-hard, my-most-iconic-reviews
review:
"And He gave unto Moses, two tables of testimony, written with the finger of God... The Disney Princess Movie Theater Storybook & Movie Projector" -- Exodus or whatever
]]> Penny (Breyer Stablemates) 985481
It's the day of Princess Isabella's coronation, and her fairy godmother sends her on a quest to help her become a good queen. At first, Isabella isn't sure which horse to pick. The fastest? The biggest? She decides on Penny, the smartest horse in the stable.

Together, Isabella and Penny set out on a journey to find twelve jewels. On the way, Isabella learns that the keys to being a good queen are inside her--kindness, courage, and wisdom!]]> 48 Jane E. Gerver 0439722357 Caitlin 0 the-horse-girl-phase 3.99 2007 Penny (Breyer Stablemates)
author: Jane E. Gerver
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: the-horse-girl-phase
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories]]> 108538 Crash...
BOO!

Shivering skeletons, ghostly pirates, chattering corpses, and haunted graveyards...all to chill your bones! Share these seven spine-tingling stories in a dark, dark room.]]> 64 Alvin Schwartz Caitlin 0 4.31 1984 In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories
author: Alvin Schwartz
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: sweet-sweet-nostalgia, children-s, holidays, horror
review:
Scared the everloving crap out of me as a kid. Green Ribbon Girl is engrained in my brain for the rest of my life
]]> <![CDATA[Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog]]> 5956943
The author says, "Don't forget to pet your dog while you read. Dogs like that almost as much as hearing stories."]]> 40 Sara Swan Miller 0590823078 Caitlin 0 3.78 1997 Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog
author: Sara Swan Miller
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: children-s, sweet-sweet-nostalgia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1)]]> 32979 210 Carolyn Keene 1557091552 Caitlin 4 3.99 1930 The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1)
author: Carolyn Keene
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1930
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: thriller-mystery-crime, children-s, 2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[True Blue (Hannah Montana #13)]]> 3427637 Miley Stewart looks like a regular girl-next-door, but when the lights go down, Miley is teen pop sensation Hannah Montana! Off stage, Miley wants her life to be as normal as possible, so only a few people know the truth about her dual identity. But keeping that secret is harder than Miley ever thought it would be.

Hannah Montana #13: True Blue
Miley and her best friend Lilly have a major falling out when Lilly doesn’t ask Miley to join the flag football team. Their friend Oliver decides the best way for the girls to work it out is to talk, so he handcuffs the two of them together―then accidentally loses the key! Plus, when Miley and Lilly start their first day at Seaview High, everything is going great―until Miley receives a text from someone who knows her secret identity!]]> 128 Laurie McElroy 1423108698 Caitlin 0 4.20 2008 True Blue (Hannah Montana #13)
author: Laurie McElroy
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: children-s, sweet-sweet-nostalgia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Face the Music (Hannah Montana, #9)]]> 2274855 Miley Stewart looks like a regular girl-next-door, but she’s got a big secret. When the lights go down, Miley is the famous teen pop sensation Hannah Montana! Miley may be a celebrity when she’s on stage, but she wants the rest of her life to be as normal as possible. The only people who know the truth about Miley’s dual identity are her father, brother, and best friends Lilly and Oliver. But keeping that secret―and balancing school with her newfound fame and fortune―is harder than Miley ever thought it would be.



Hannah Montana #7:
When Miley’s scheming, look-alike cousin Luann pays a visit, she’s surprisingly well behaved. Miley thinks they finally might have gotten over the rough patch from their childhood, and even invites Luann to the coolest Halloween party in town. But when Luann hog-ties Miley in her pop-star closet, Miley realizes she’s made a big mistake! Will Miley’s friends rescue her in time to stop Luann from revealing Miley’s secret identity? Plus, when Miley’s grandmother comes for a visit, Miley’s brother Jackson seems to be getting more than his fair share of attention. Didn’t anyone teach Grandma Stewart not to play favorites?

Hannah Montana #8:
Ever since Jake Ryan started acting on the TV show, Zombie High , Miley thinks he’s become a huge egomaniac. So when he invites Miley to the school Seventies Dance, she says no. Then Hannah Montana guest stars on Jake’s show, and Miley realizes she might have been wrong about her former crush―but is it too late? Plus, when Miley and Jake start using other people to make each other jealous, it’s bound to backfire―Miley just never expected it would be on her!

Hannah Montana #9:
When Hannah Montana becomes a spokesmodel in a TV commercial for a new perfume, there’s only one problem―she hates it! But when she gets an incredibly hot gift for being the new face of Eau Wow, Miley starts to reconsider. . . . But could she really go on TV and lie to the whole world? Plus, when Miley accidentally gets her brother Jackson fired from his job, she makes him Hannah Montana’s assistant―with serious consequences!]]> 128 Beth Beechwood 1423107721 Caitlin 0 3.99 2007 Face the Music (Hannah Montana, #9)
author: Beth Beechwood
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: children-s, sweet-sweet-nostalgia, tie-in
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #2)]]> 59050133
The Diamond

Death walks alongside me,
But the reaper is no match for me.
I'm trapped in a world full of monsters dressed as men, and those who aren't as they seem.
They won't keep me forever.
I no longer recognize the person I've become,
And I'm fighting to find my way back to the beast who hunts me in the night.
They call me a diamond,
But they've only created an angel of death.

The Hunter

I was born a predator,
With ruthlessness ingrained in my bones.
When what's mine is stolen from me in the night,
Like a diamond hidden within a fortress,
I find that I can no longer contain the beast.
Blood will paint the ground as I tear apart this world to find her.
And bring her back to where she belongs.
No one will escape my wrath,
Especially not those who have betrayed me.

Warning: This is the second and final installment to the Duet. You must read Haunting Adeline first.]]> 702 H.D. Carlton Caitlin 1 shitty-reads No. 4.05 2022 Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #2)
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: shitty-reads
review:
No.
]]> Gravity’s Rainbow 415 776 Thomas Pynchon 0143039946 Caitlin 0 to-read 4.01 1973 Gravity’s Rainbow
author: Thomas Pynchon
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Where the Mountain Meets the Moon]]> 5983694
In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli spends her days working hard in the fields and her nights listening to her father spin fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli's mother, tired of their poor life, chides him for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these enchanting stories and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest.

Source: Jacket flap]]> 278 Grace Lin Caitlin 4 fantasy, children-s, 2025 4.31 2009 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
author: Grace Lin
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: fantasy, children-s, 2025
review:

]]> A to Z 488923 14 Sandra Boynton 0671493175 Caitlin 0 4.14 1984 A to Z
author: Sandra Boynton
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Blue Hat, Green Hat 252268
This whimsical first concept book, featuring a delightful read-aloud text that showcases animals, colors, and clothes, is sure to elicit giggles from little ones as they happily chime in on every spread with an OOPS .

BLUE HAT,
GREEN HAT,
RED HAT,
OOPS.]]> 16 Sandra Boynton 0671493205 Caitlin 0 4.23 1984 Blue Hat, Green Hat
author: Sandra Boynton
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hail Mary (Red Zone Rivals, #4)]]> 62987445
North Boston University’s star running back, notorious bachelor, and number one on my people I would murder if I could get away with it list.

And now?
He’s my new roommate.

I used to think I loved him.
But that was before I hated him.

He doesn’t remember who I am, or how he made my life miserable for years. And before I unknowingly moved across the street from him, I couldn’t have cared less. I was living my life despite him and what happened that summer, chasing my dream of becoming a tattoo artist.

“The Pit,� as the university so gracefully nicknamed the house he lives in with three other football players, has served as nothing more than a pain in my ass and a constant reminder of the boy who broke my heart. Watching him parade his one-night-stands in and out of it never helped, either.

But with rent this cheap and so close to the tattoo shop, I’ve learned to ignore him � no matter how he’s tried to get under my skin.

At least, until this summer. Because when a water and mold disaster leaves me with no choice but to vacate my house, I have nowhere to go. And Leo Hernandez offers me a deal I can’t refuse.

Live at The Pit with him and the guys, free of charge, until my landlord fixes this mess.

Ignoring him was easy when I lived across the street, but in the same house, with him shirtless half the time and watching me with his cocky grin and searing gaze? It’s impossible.

Still, I have to try. I have to push him away, even when he makes it infuriatingly difficult to do so.

He’s broken my heart once.
I won’t let him do it again.]]> 436 Kandi Steiner Caitlin 2 2025, romance
Also I’m not a native Spanish speaker, but I studied it quite a bit and still speak it to some extent, and I’m pretty sure that 1) bilingual people don’t think or speak the way they are written in this and 2) some of the translations are incorrect. Pls correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure Ms Girl just ran that shit through Google translate without actually checking how accurate it is. Open the schools!]]> 4.03 2023 Hail Mary (Red Zone Rivals, #4)
author: Kandi Steiner
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/01
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: 2025, romance
review:
I love a good enemies to lovers and it started off so well, but just like the previous installment, the spicy scenes got repetitive and lowkey gross. However at least Quarterback Sneak has a consistent conflict. This time in Hail Mary , the main conflict is resolved midway through the book, so we spend 100 pages LITERALLY DICKING AROUND featuring way too many sex scenes (yes, there is such a thing) with no antagonist until the very end when a half assed issue is thrown in just to give this story a “conclusion�. I think I need a break from romance books.

Also I’m not a native Spanish speaker, but I studied it quite a bit and still speak it to some extent, and I’m pretty sure that 1) bilingual people don’t think or speak the way they are written in this and 2) some of the translations are incorrect. Pls correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure Ms Girl just ran that shit through Google translate without actually checking how accurate it is. Open the schools!
]]> <![CDATA[Quarterback Sneak (Red Zone Rivals, #3)]]> 61334176
Except me: the coach’s daughter.

With piercing green eyes, herculean biceps, and irresistible dimples, Holden is the number one target for every girl on campus. But according to his teammates, football is the only love of his life.

He’s their leader, their QB1 and team captain who is all business and no play.

But when I’m with him? Mr. Serious isn’t serious at all. He loves to push my buttons, to pin me with those sexy eyes of his and tease me until I bite back.

I remind him I’m off limits.
He can’t have me, and I don’t want him � or anyone else, for that matter.

I’m here for one reason: to show my father I'm more than his greatest disappointment.

But when an old injury flares up and I’m forced to work with Holden every day as his athletic trainer, his attempts to get under my skin start becoming harder to resist.

We can’t give in, no matter how much the air crackles between us when we’re close.

I’m the coach’s daughter, and if Holden Moore wants to go pro, he’s got to play by daddy’s rules.

Otherwise, he’ll be off the team.
And he’s not the only one with something to lose.]]> 352 Kandi Steiner Caitlin 3 2025, romance 3.99 2022 Quarterback Sneak (Red Zone Rivals, #3)
author: Kandi Steiner
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: 2025, romance
review:
Ahhhh I really liked this at the beginning but doing the nasty in public places and also recording it is not my thing and that ending was so cheesy I had to take lactaid. But I liked the rest of it!!!!! Just stop adding in weird shit, romance writers, you don’t have to do that. That’s what the TLC channel is for
]]> 1408 36411953 Stephen King Caitlin 4 3.72 1408
author: Stephen King
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.72
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/05
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: 2022, horror, short-stories-and-novellas, books-that-slap-hard
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens Omnibus]]> 35939538 All of the GOTHAM CITY SIRENS starring Batman villains Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, written by multiple Emmy and Eisner Award-winner Paul Dini are collected into one giant hardcover omnibus for the first time!

This omnibus features the bad girls of Gotham City! Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are tired of playing by other peoples' rules regardless of which side of the law they're on. These tough ladies have a new agenda that's all their own, and they'll use any means necessary to pursue it. But can they get along and work as a team? And who will get hurt along the way?

Collects GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #1-26 and CATWOMAN #83.]]> 648 Paul Dini 1401278396 Caitlin 0 to-read 3.97 2018 Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens Omnibus
author: Paul Dini
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Batman: Hush 6375845
BATMAN: HUSH is a thrilling mystery of action, intrigue, and deception penned by Jeph Loeb (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN) and illustrated by comics superstar Jim Lee (ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER) in which Batman sets out to discover the identity of a mysterious mastermind using the Joker, Riddler, Ra's al Ghul and the Dark Knight's other enemies - and allies - as pawns in a plan to wreak havoc.

This volume collects Batman #609-619 as well as the 6-page segment from Wizard #0 and a 2-page origin story that originally appeared at dccomics.com.]]> 320 Jeph Loeb 1401223176 Caitlin 0 to-read 4.27 2002 Batman: Hush
author: Jeph Loeb
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)]]> 78411
I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket]]> 162 Lemony Snicket 0439206472 Caitlin 5 children-s, 2025 4.02 1999 The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)
author: Lemony Snicket
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: children-s, 2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things]]> 23848559
In Furiously Happy, a humor memoir tinged with just enough tragedy and pathos to make it worthwhile, Jenny Lawson examines her own experience with severe depression and a host of other conditions, and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest:

"I've often thought that people with severe depression have developed such a well for experiencing extreme emotion that they might be able to experience extreme joy in a way that â€normal people' also might never understand. And that's what Furiously Happy is all about."

Jenny’s readings are standing room only, with fans lining up to have Jenny sign their bottles of Xanax or Prozac as often as they are to have her sign their books. Furiously Happy appeals to Jenny's core fan base but also transcends it. There are so many people out there struggling with depression and mental illness, either themselves or someone in their family—and in Furiously Happy they will find a member of their tribe offering up an uplifting message (via a taxidermied roadkill raccoon). Let's Pretend This Never Happened ostensibly was about embracing your own weirdness, but deep down it was about family. Furiously Happy is about depression and mental illness, but deep down it's about joy—and who doesn't want a bit more of that?]]> 329 Jenny Lawson 1250077001 Caitlin 4 2025, humor-parody, memoir
“I think it would serve everyone if flight attendants were allowed to whack one person per flight on the head with a piñata stick for being the stupidest damn person on the plane�

*scooping out hair gel from non travel size container in TSA line*

“Melted parsley is how plastic is made. In fact I suspect there are actually no more than one thousand pieces of parsley in the world and chefs just keep reusing them over and over er ]]> 3.88 2015 Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
author: Jenny Lawson
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: 2025, humor-parody, memoir
review:
3.5/5 Pretty funny and enjoyable for the most part.

“I think it would serve everyone if flight attendants were allowed to whack one person per flight on the head with a piñata stick for being the stupidest damn person on the plane�

*scooping out hair gel from non travel size container in TSA line*

“Melted parsley is how plastic is made. In fact I suspect there are actually no more than one thousand pieces of parsley in the world and chefs just keep reusing them over and over er
]]> <![CDATA[Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus (Origami Yoda, #6)]]> 20701998 A Field trip without origami? What the Hutt?

The Origami Rebel Alliance is off to Washington D.C.! After gloriously defeating the FunTime Menace, the seventh graders of McQuarrie Middle School expect their hard-earned field trip to be totally stooky! But there's a hitch. Principal Rabbski has banned origami. Without the Jedi-wise advice of Origami Yoda, how will Tommy and the gang navigate the serious drama of a class trip?

Luckily Dwight comes prepared with green Fruit Roll-Ups that he can whip into emergency Fruitgami Yodas. Unluckily, Harvey also comes prepared with a wrinkly, hateful pickle... Can Fruitgami Yoda figure out why Emperor Pickletine is acting so sour, before the Emperor pushes this field trip into the Dark Side?

The final battle between the forces of good and evil at McQuarrie has everything: Twists! Turns! Snacks! Secrets! But who is keeping the biggest secret of all? Origami Yoda himself, and it's a shocker!]]> 210 Tom Angleberger 141970933X Caitlin 4 4.28 2014 Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus (Origami Yoda, #6)
author: Tom Angleberger
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/12
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: star-wars, children-s, 2025, shitty-reads, sweet-sweet-nostalgia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue! (Origami Yoda, #5)]]> 18685287
In their fight against FunTime, the tedious, elective-crushing test prep program, Origami Yoda and the Rebel Alliance have found powerful allies in unexpected places. But the allegiance of one mysterious, all-powerful figure remains to be seen: Principal Rabbski. She says she'll help the rebels, but how? The state standards tests are just a month away, and the FunTime Menace is as strong as ever.

With time running out, one rebel decides to take matters into her own hands. The rogue rebel's code name? Princess Labelmaker! Convinced the Alliance's case file will persuade Rabbski to join the Rebellion, Princess Labelmaker steals it and delivers it right to the principal herself! Will the case file convert the principal...or bring about the Alliance's doom?]]> 189 Tom Angleberger 1419710524 Caitlin 4 4.24 2014 Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue! (Origami Yoda, #5)
author: Tom Angleberger
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/12
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: sweet-sweet-nostalgia, star-wars, children-s, 2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett (Origami Yoda, #4)]]> 17802191
Naturally, the kids turn to Origami Yoda for help, but her tells them that this enemy is far too strong for him to fight alone. If they want to get their favorite classes back, they must form a Rebel Alliance. Soon dozens of kids, each with his or her own origami puppet, join the Alliance. But will the Force be with them--or will they be defeated by the FunTime menace?]]> 214 Tom Angleberger 1419708589 Caitlin 4 4.20 2013 The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett (Origami Yoda, #4)
author: Tom Angleberger
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: star-wars, ya, children-s, 2025
review:

]]> The Bandit Queens 61065982
But she soon discovers that being known as a "self-made" widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It's even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry.

Freedom must look good on Geeta, because other women in the village have started asking for her help to get rid of their own no-good husbands...but not all of them are asking nicely.

Now that Geeta's fearsome reputation has become a double-edged sword, she must decide how far to go to protect it, along with the life she's built. Because even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry.]]> 342 Parini Shroff 059349895X Caitlin 0 to-read 3.90 2023 The Bandit Queens
author: Parini Shroff
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (Origami Yoda, #3)]]> 13591296
With Dwight suspended, McQuarrie Middle School is missing its most famous attendee: origami Yoda. And no Yoda means no case file mystery to solve. But just as Tommy wonders if he'll ever find anything interesting to write about again, something BIG happens. Something BIG and HAIRY. It's a Fortune Wookiee, a paper fortune teller in the form of Chewbacca. Sara brings it to school as a gift from Dwight, and it seems to give advice that's just as good as Yoda's. Mysterious it is!

Tommy, Kellen, and Harvey are on the case. and when their classmates start having strange "Dwight Sightings" (sightings of Dwight in which he is Yoda-less and acting WAY too normal), the boys have TWO mysteries to solve. The closer they get, the more possible it seems that origami Yoda will be back...]]> 202 Tom Angleberger 1419703927 Caitlin 4 4.02 2012 The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (Origami Yoda, #3)
author: Tom Angleberger
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: star-wars, children-s, 2025, sweet-sweet-nostalgia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Darth Paper Strikes Back (Origami Yoda #2)]]> 10803806
Something amazing happened. A weird kid named Dwight made an origami finger puppet of Yoda. (That wasn't the amazing thing--just typical Dwight weirdness.) the amazing thing was that Origami Yoda gave great advice. He could predict the date of a pop quiz, tell a guy if a girl likes him or not, and keep kids from embarrassing themselves in a dozen different ways. Most of the sixth graders were convinced he was using the Force.

But now, a year later, it's a dark time at McQuarrie Middle School. Dwight has been suspended and may be expelled, which means no more Origami Yoda. Even worse, Darth Paper, a puppet created by Dwight's nemesis, Harvey, has taken Yoda's place. He spews insults and evil and just may be responsible for getting Dwight kicked out in the first place. Now the kids of McQuarrie are trying to build a case to save Dwight. This is their case file.]]> 163 Tom Angleberger 1419700278 Caitlin 0 star-wars, children-s, 2025 4.12 2011 Darth Paper Strikes Back (Origami Yoda #2)
author: Tom Angleberger
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: star-wars, children-s, 2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Origami Yoda, #1)]]> 7150174 IT TAKES THE WISDOM OF YODA TO SURVIVE THE SIXTH GRADE

Meet Dwight, a sixth-grade oddball. Dwight does a lot of weird things, like wearing the same T-shirt for a month or telling people to call him "Captain Dwight." This is embarrassing, particularly for Tommy, who sits with him at lunch every day.

But Dwight does one cool thing. He makes origami. One day he makes an origami finger puppet of Yoda. And that's when things get mysterious. Origami Yoda can predict the future and suggest the best way to deal with a tricky situation. His advice actually works, and soon most of the sixth grade is lining up with questions.

Tommy wants to know how Origami Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. Is Yoda tapping into the Force? It's crucial that Tommy figure out the mystery before he takes Yoda's advice about something VERY IMPORTANT that has to do with a girl.

This is Tommy's case file of his investigation into "The Strange Case of Origami Yoda."]]> 141 Tom Angleberger 0810984253 Caitlin 4 3.91 2010 The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Origami Yoda, #1)
author: Tom Angleberger
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: sweet-sweet-nostalgia, books-that-slap-hard, star-wars, favorites, 2025, children-s
review:

]]> The Favorites 211400175 To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER � An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice

“P˛ą°ůłŮ Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones & The Six, this novel is as brilliantly choreographed as a gold medal performance and will keep you guessing until its last page.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of By Any Other Name

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.

Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story� through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.]]> 464 Layne Fargo 0593732057 Caitlin 0 to-read 4.18 2025 The Favorites
author: Layne Fargo
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rule of Two (Star Wars: Darth Bane #2)]]> 1347837
Two there should be; no more, no less.
One to embody the power, the other to crave it.

Now Darth Bane is ready to put his policy into action, and he thinks he has found the key element that will make his triumph complete: a student to train in the ways of the dark side. Though she is young, Zannah possesses an instinctive link to the dark side that rivals his own. With his guidance, she will become essential in his quest to destroy the Jedi and dominate the galaxy.

But there is one who is determined to stop Darth Bane: Johun Othone, Padawan to Jedi Master Lord Hoth, who died at Banes hands in the last great Sith War. Though the rest of the Jedi scoff at him, Joshuas belief that there are surviving Sith on the loose is unshakeable.

As Johun continues his dogged pursuit of the man who killed his master, Zannah, faced unexpectedly with a figure from her past, begins to question her embrace of the dark side. And Darth Bane is led by Force-induced visions to a moon where he will acquire astonishing new knowledge and power, power that will alter him in ways he could never have imagined. . . .]]> 318 Drew Karpyshyn 0345477480 Caitlin 4 2025, star-wars 4.23 2007 Rule of Two (Star Wars: Darth Bane #2)
author: Drew Karpyshyn
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: 2025, star-wars
review:
Language got a little long winded sometimes but still fun
]]> Man's Search for Meaning 26146 (back cover)]]> 165 Viktor E. Frankl 0807014273 Caitlin 4 4.42 1946 Man's Search for Meaning
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1946
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves: books-that-slap-hard, 2020, memoir, 2025
review:
Everyone has a book that they think everyone should read before they die. This is that book
]]> <![CDATA[This Isn't What It Looks Like (Secret, #4)]]> 7939759
Cass finds herself alone and disoriented, a stranger in a dream-like, medieval world. Where is she? Who is she? With the help of a long-lost relative, she begins to uncover clues and secrets--piecing together her family's history as she fights her way back to the present world.

Meanwhile, back home, Cass is at the hospital in a deep coma. Max-Ernest knows she ate Time Travel Chocolate--and he's determined to find a cure. Can our expert hypochondriac diagnose Cass's condition before it's too late? And will he have what it takes to save the survivalist?]]> 423 Pseudonymous Bosch 0316076252 Caitlin 3 children-s, 2025
In the same vein, it seems the least planned of all the books and there’s no explanation for the fortune teller, how Lord Pharoah returned, the lodestone, or how any of this really connects to the lore established in previous books. I can’t remember if the next and final book gives an explanation for everything, and if it does then I’ll take back this review. But as of now, while still a fun read, it’s the most confusing of the series and thus far less enjoyable than the other books.

*re-read]]> 4.29 2010 This Isn't What It Looks Like (Secret, #4)
author: Pseudonymous Bosch
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: children-s, 2025
review:
As a kid, this was always my least favorite book in the series, and I still agree with myself after this re-read. I do appreciate that Bosch went for something more ambitious with a time travel type plotline, but it doesn’t really make a ton of sense while the rest of the books have been consistently pretty tightly written and easy to understand. If I can’t follow it as an adult, I can’t imagine any of the kids reading this followed it either.

In the same vein, it seems the least planned of all the books and there’s no explanation for the fortune teller, how Lord Pharoah returned, the lodestone, or how any of this really connects to the lore established in previous books. I can’t remember if the next and final book gives an explanation for everything, and if it does then I’ll take back this review. But as of now, while still a fun read, it’s the most confusing of the series and thus far less enjoyable than the other books.

*re-read
]]> <![CDATA[You Have to Stop This (Secret, #5)]]> 10757817 I always feared this day would come. A secret is meant to stay secret, after all. And now we've come to this: the fifth and final (I swear!) book in my saga of secrets.
A class trip to the local natural history museum turns dangerous, or perhaps deadly--and I don't mean in the bored-to-death way--when Cass accidentally breaks a finger off a priceless mummy. Forced to atone for this "crime" of vandalism, Cass and her friends Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji go to work for the mummy exhibit's curator, only to be blamed when tragedy strikes. To clear their names--and, they hope, to discover the Secret--the trio must travel deep into a land of majestic pyramids, dusty tombs, mysterious hieroglyphs, and the walking dead. Egypt? Or somewhere much stranger . . .

In the midst of it all, the Secret still lurks. You're out there, reading and talking about it, and now my life--and chocolate supply--is in the greatest danger yet. So please, with a cherry on top, I'm begging you: you have to stop this!]]> 352 Pseudonymous Bosch 0316076260 Caitlin 4 children-s, 2025
*re-read]]> 4.32 2011 You Have to Stop This (Secret, #5)
author: Pseudonymous Bosch
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: children-s, 2025
review:
Pretty solid, although there’s still quite a bit that was left unexplained regarding the Jester and everything we saw in the fourth book. I also would’ve liked a final confrontation with Ms Mauvais; they just see her in the audience and then she drives off and it wasn’t satisfying.

*re-read
]]> Lily's Crossing 289681
Every summer Lily and her father go to her family's house in Rockaway, near the Atlantic Ocean. But the summer of 1944 is different. World War II has called Lily's father overseas, Lily's best friend Margaret had to move with her family to a wartime factory town, and Lily is forced to live with her grandmother. But then a boy named Albert, a refugee from Hungary, comes to live in Rockaway. He has lost most of his family to the war. Soon he and Lily form a special friendship, and they have secrets to share. But they have both told lies, and Lily's lie may cost Albert his life.]]> 181 Patricia Reilly Giff 0440414539 Caitlin 4 children-s, 2025
*re-read]]> 3.85 1997 Lily's Crossing
author: Patricia Reilly Giff
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: children-s, 2025
review:
Very mature for a kids book, but at the same time doesn’t hold as much value for adult readers

*re-read
]]> <![CDATA[This Book Is Not Good for You (Secret, #3)]]> 6464094
In this tooth-rotting adventure, Cass's mom has been kidnapped by the evil dessert chef and chocolatier, Señor Hugo! The ransom...the legendary tuning fork. Can Cass and Max-Ernest find the magical instrument before it's too late? Will they discover the evil secret ingredient to Señor Hugo's chocolate success?

If you're tempted, take a taste, but just remember...this book is not good for you.]]> 394 Pseudonymous Bosch 031604086X Caitlin 5 children-s, 2025 4.29 2009 This Book Is Not Good for You (Secret, #3)
author: Pseudonymous Bosch
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: children-s, 2025
review:
Why is it only now I’m realizing that Cass� two grandpas were almost definitely gay
]]> Stargirl (Stargirl, #1) 22232
Leo Borlock follows the unspoken rule at Mica Area High School: don't stand out--under any circumstances! Then Stargirl arrives at Mica High and everything changes--for Leo and for the entire school. After 15 years of home schooling, Stargirl bursts into tenth grade in an explosion of color and a clatter of ukulele music, enchanting the Mica student body.

But the delicate scales of popularity suddenly shift, and Stargirl is shunned for everything that makes her different. Somewhere in the midst of Stargirl's arrival and rise and fall, normal Leo Borlock has tumbled into love with her.

In a celebration of nonconformity, Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity--and the thrill and inspiration of first love.]]> 186 Jerry Spinelli 0439488400 Caitlin 4 3.76 2000 Stargirl (Stargirl, #1)
author: Jerry Spinelli
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/18
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: contemp-literary-realistic-fiction, children-s, 2025
review:

]]> The Covenant of Water 180357146 From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala's Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. Imbued with humor, deep emotion, and the essence of life, it is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.]]> 715 Abraham Verghese 0802162177 Caitlin 0 to-read 4.34 2023 The Covenant of Water
author: Abraham Verghese
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Collected Poems of William Wordsworth]]> 35913380 1082 William Wordsworth Caitlin 2 2025, poetry-or-verse 3.97 1850 The Collected Poems of William Wordsworth
author: William Wordsworth
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1850
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/08
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: 2025, poetry-or-verse
review:
For a guy named Wordsworth I don’t think most of his words were worth it
]]> <![CDATA[The Hooker and the Hermit (Rugby, #1)]]> 23285659 Book #1 in the USA TODAY BESTSELLING Rugby Series

New York’s Finest
Blogging as *The Socialmedialite*
April 22
LADIES AND GENTS! I have an announcement!

You know that guy I featured on my blog a few months ago? The really, really hot Irish rugby player who plays the position of â€hookerâ€� in the RLI (Rugby League International)? The one with the anger management issues, the body of a gladiator and the face of a movie star? The one with the questionable fashion choices leading me to ask whether he was the lovechild of a leprechaun and a hobbit? Ronan Fitzpatrick? Yeah, that guy.

Well, I have a confession to make�

THE HERMIT

Annie Catrel, social media expert extraordinaire at Davidson & Croft Media and clandestine celebrity blogger, can make anyone shine in the court of public opinion. She is the Socialmedialite, anonymous creator of New York’s Finest and the internet’s darling. Virtual reality is Annie’s forte, but actual reality? Not so much.

THE HOOKER

Ronan Fitzpatrick, aka the best hooker the world of rugby has seen in decades, despises the media—social or otherwise. The press has spun a web of lies depicting him as rugby’s wild and reckless bad boy. Suspended from his team, Ronan has come to Manhattan to escape the drama, lay low, fly under the radar. Only, Ronan isn’t easy to overlook, and he can’t escape the notice of the Socialmedialite�

THE PLAN

When Ronan is sent to Davidson & Croft Media to reshape his public image, he never expects to cross paths with shy but beautiful Annie, nor does he expect his fierce attraction to her. He couldn’t be happier when her boss suggests pairing them together.

What lengths will Annie take to keep her virtual identity concealed? And what happens when the hooker discovers who the hermit really is?]]> 369 L.H. Cosway 1942874006 Caitlin 2
1. I made these facial reactions:



2. repeat in rapid succession for all 330 pages.

I loved the concept and the initial character dynamic but like most romance books I've read so far, it loses me after the first third or so. Every interesting idea or conflict--the secret blogging, the fake dating, the ex-girlfriend-- is instantly and/or easily resolved, so there's no tension or consequences for anything that happens. There's also way too much focus on the sexual component to the point where at the end Ronan tells Annie about how much he wants to be with her not only because of their sexual compatibility (yeah, he comes right out and says it like that) but because he lOvES her or whatever. If he has to say that, doesn't that imply that there has been too much focus on the sex so far?

And finally, where the hell was the rugby? I got one scene about a rugby match, and it was about Ronan joining a random fucking scrimmage against some dudes in Central Park. Have the authors ever been to NYC? New Yorkers do not invite strangers to play with them, because New Yorkers know that strangers in New York have a good chance of being wackos!]]> 3.86 2015 The Hooker and the Hermit (Rugby, #1)
author: L.H. Cosway
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: 2024, romance, my-most-iconic-reviews
review:
Here's how I read this book: a summary.

1. I made these facial reactions:



2. repeat in rapid succession for all 330 pages.

I loved the concept and the initial character dynamic but like most romance books I've read so far, it loses me after the first third or so. Every interesting idea or conflict--the secret blogging, the fake dating, the ex-girlfriend-- is instantly and/or easily resolved, so there's no tension or consequences for anything that happens. There's also way too much focus on the sexual component to the point where at the end Ronan tells Annie about how much he wants to be with her not only because of their sexual compatibility (yeah, he comes right out and says it like that) but because he lOvES her or whatever. If he has to say that, doesn't that imply that there has been too much focus on the sex so far?

And finally, where the hell was the rugby? I got one scene about a rugby match, and it was about Ronan joining a random fucking scrimmage against some dudes in Central Park. Have the authors ever been to NYC? New Yorkers do not invite strangers to play with them, because New Yorkers know that strangers in New York have a good chance of being wackos!
]]> <![CDATA[Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)]]> 58763686
I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave.
He's always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.


The Shadow

I didn't mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can't stay away.
I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.
The way she undresses...
I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I'll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to.]]> 583 H.D. Carlton Caitlin 1 3.95 2021 Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 1
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: 2024, absolutely-wild-books, hilariously-bad, shitty-reads
review:
Maybe they were onto something in medieval times when they only let priests write books
]]> <![CDATA[Uncle John's Electrifying Bathroom Reader For Kids Only! Collectible Edition]]> 18342429 Uncle John's Electrifying Bathroom Reader for Kids Only! is so awesome it'll make curious young readers� hair stand on end. Illustrated and easy to read, this book is full of fascinating articles, fun games, forgotten history, silly science, myths and legends, jokes, weird sports, and more. And at the bottom of each page are Uncle John's famous “running feet� facts, like this one: Bald eagle nests can weigh up to two tons � more than a compact car. What else is in here? The mysterious goings-on in the Bermuda Triangle, how not to get struck by lightning, the history of the @ sign, real-life X-Men, royal slobs, and newspaper kids from a century ago who went on strike...and won!]]> 288 Bathroom Readers' Institute 1626860467 Caitlin 5 children-s You just had to be there man 4.60 2003 Uncle John's Electrifying Bathroom Reader For Kids Only! Collectible Edition
author: Bathroom Readers' Institute
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2009/09/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: children-s
review:
You just had to be there man
]]> <![CDATA[Agent P's Top-Secret Joke Book (Phineas and Ferb)]]> 10474752 Phineas and Ferb joke book is filled with screen grabs and black-and-white original art throughout.]]> 48 Walt Disney Company 1423143310 Caitlin 0 4.12 2011 Agent P's Top-Secret Joke Book (Phineas and Ferb)
author: Walt Disney Company
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2010/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: children-s, sweet-sweet-nostalgia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Freeze Frame (Phineas and Ferb Novelizations, #7)]]> 7749152 112 Ellie O'Ryan 1423127412 Caitlin 0 4.29 2010 Freeze Frame (Phineas and Ferb Novelizations, #7)
author: Ellie O'Ryan
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2010/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: children-s, sweet-sweet-nostalgia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America]]> 10445900
In Pawnee, Leslie Knope (as played by Amy Poehler on NBC's hit show "Parks and Recreation") takes readers on a hilarious tour through her hometown, the Midwestern haven known as Pawnee, Indiana. The book chronicles the city's colorful citizens and hopping nightlife, and also explores some of the most hilarious events from its crazy history—like the time the whole town was on fire, its ongoing raccoon infestation, and the cult that took over in the 1970s. Packed with laugh-out-loud-funny photographs, illustrations, and commentary by the other inhabitants of Pawnee, it's a must-read that will make you enjoy every moment of your stay in the Greatest Town in America.

Praise for Pawnee:

"Carrying this book around is a good way of picking up girls with glasses." —Tom Haverford

"I have read over four books, and this is by far the one that has me in it the most." —Andy Dwyer

"Literally the greatest endeavor of human creativity in the history of mankind." —Chris Traeger]]> 240 Leslie Knope 1401310648 Caitlin 0 tie-in 4.13 2011 Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America
author: Leslie Knope
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2013/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: tie-in
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh]]> 858534 344 A.A. Milne Caitlin 4 2024, children-s 4.53 1926 The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
author: A.A. Milne
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1926
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: 2024, children-s
review:
This is overall very cute but did not really care for the songs. I do love how Pooh and all his friends constantly and freely acknowledge how stupid he is âşď¸Ź like that’s OOMF
]]> Defending Jacob 11367726
Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.]]> 421 William Landay 0385344228 Caitlin 0 to-read 3.99 2012 Defending Jacob
author: William Landay
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mandalorian and Child (Star Wars)]]> 123204602
Din Djarin, the terse Mandalorian bounty hunter, travels the galaxy with the adorable Grogu in tow. Whether he is keeping Grogu from messing with the ship's controls or stopping him from using the Force to steal extra snacks, Mando’s lessons as a caretaker will be instantly fun and recognizable to all families.

Brown’s colorful all-ages style and spin complement the show’s gritty milieu while accentuating the sweetness of the found family at the heart of the story. His unexpectedly funny touches and twists, and lighthearted interpretations of favorite characters, including Bo-Katan, Moff Gideon, The Armorer, Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, IG-11, Peli Motto, and many more, will thrill fans and give them a way to appreciate all three seasons of the show in a whole new way.

© & TM LUCASFILM LTD. Used Under Authorization.

THE CHILD IS BELOVED BY Grogu became a massive fan favorite, inspiring new toys, merchandise, thousands of pieces of fan art, and an unquenchable desire for the fan-dubbed “Baby Yoda.�

THE PERFECT SUBJECT FOR JEFFREY The Mandalorian’s relationship with the child is the perfect playground for Brown’s charming take on fatherhood. Like Brown’s Darth Vader, Mando is a brooding, serious, masked character with a dark past, but he opens up to the joys of found fatherhood in the presence of Grogu.

Perfect]]> 64 Jeffrey Brown 1797223690 Caitlin 5 2024 4.30 2023 The Mandalorian and Child (Star Wars)
author: Jeffrey Brown
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/13
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: 2024
review:
This book is so important actually
]]> <![CDATA[If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (Secret, #2)]]> 3359940
Dangerous secrets lie between the pages of this book.

OK, I warned you. But if you think I'll give anything away, or tell you that this is the sequel to my first literary endeavor, The Name of This Book is Secret, you're wrong.

I'm not going to remind you of how we last left our heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest, as they awaited initiation into the mysterious Terces Society, or the ongoing fight against the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais. I certainly won't be telling you about how the kids stumble upon the Museum of Magic, where they finally meet the amazing Pietro!

Oh, blast! I've done it again. Well, at least I didn't tell you about the missing Sound Prism, the nefarious Lord Pharaoh, or the mysterious creature born in a bottle over 500 years ago, the key to the biggest secret of all.

I really can't help myself, now can I? Let's face it - if you're reading this, it's too late.]]> 385 Pseudonymous Bosch 0316113670 Caitlin 5 children-s, 2024
*re-read]]> 4.23 2008 If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (Secret, #2)
author: Pseudonymous Bosch
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: children-s, 2024
review:
This book came out in 2008, seven years before the Drake album of the same name released in 2015. This leads me to conclude Drake read this book and liked it so much he took the title. And I don’t blame him honestly because these books are so good

*re-read
]]> <![CDATA[The Name of This Book Is Secret (Secret, #1)]]> 1099301 Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch.
As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret.]]> 364 Pseudonymous Bosch 0316113662 Caitlin 5
*re-read]]> 4.07 2007 The Name of This Book Is Secret (Secret, #1)
author: Pseudonymous Bosch
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: sweet-sweet-nostalgia, children-s, books-that-slap-hard, 2024
review:
Get your plates out, this guy is COOKING and it still tastes good even after 15 years.

*re-read
]]> Into the Wild (Warriors, #1) 111332 288 Erin Hunter 0061284203 Caitlin 3
The world building is really creative and in depth. Especially if this is a kid’s first time in a vast fictional world with lots of characters and plot lines, they’re going to fall in love with it. At the same time, especially because this is the first book in a series, there is a lot of exposition and character introductions that can feel overwhelming at times. I think each page has at least five capitalized proper nouns, which is kind of insane for a kid’s book.

Due to the size of this world, only some of the characters feel fleshed out. Bluestar, YellowFang, Ravenpaw, Greypaw, and Tigerclaw are unique, but weirdly our main character, Rusty/Firepaw, is not that interesting. After he decides to join the clan, there’s not a lot to him, he just goes through his training. He is pretty attentive to details and nice, but in a book with literally 50 other cat characters, I need something else.

Now obviously these are books about cats, right, so they’re going to act like cats. This is fine until you start reading sentences about how characters are “mewling� or “purring� their dialogue and nuzzling each other’s flanks. I KNOW they’re cats, but something about this just got to me, maybe because I’m an adult now and picturing real cats “mewling� real words is too funny not to notice.

Here’s something I did NOT remember—this book is pretty fucking violent!!! The cats and the animals they hunt for food are mauled, bitten, slashed, and killed on the page, sometimes with in depth description. This doesn’t bother me, and I guess it didn’t bother me much as a kid either since I kept reading these, but goddamn Erin Hunter!!! You’re throwing a very deep reckoning with the finite nature of life at some kids who just wanted a cat book!

*re-read]]> 4.33 2003 Into the Wild (Warriors, #1)
author: Erin Hunter
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fantasy, sweet-sweet-nostalgia, children-s, 2024, my-most-iconic-reviews
review:
It’s really interesting to read this book again; I don’t think I’ve opened it up since I first read it, which has to be at least 15 years ago now. I was completely obsessed with this series, and upon this re-read, I can see why, but I can also see some problems with it.

The world building is really creative and in depth. Especially if this is a kid’s first time in a vast fictional world with lots of characters and plot lines, they’re going to fall in love with it. At the same time, especially because this is the first book in a series, there is a lot of exposition and character introductions that can feel overwhelming at times. I think each page has at least five capitalized proper nouns, which is kind of insane for a kid’s book.

Due to the size of this world, only some of the characters feel fleshed out. Bluestar, YellowFang, Ravenpaw, Greypaw, and Tigerclaw are unique, but weirdly our main character, Rusty/Firepaw, is not that interesting. After he decides to join the clan, there’s not a lot to him, he just goes through his training. He is pretty attentive to details and nice, but in a book with literally 50 other cat characters, I need something else.

Now obviously these are books about cats, right, so they’re going to act like cats. This is fine until you start reading sentences about how characters are “mewling� or “purring� their dialogue and nuzzling each other’s flanks. I KNOW they’re cats, but something about this just got to me, maybe because I’m an adult now and picturing real cats “mewling� real words is too funny not to notice.

Here’s something I did NOT remember—this book is pretty fucking violent!!! The cats and the animals they hunt for food are mauled, bitten, slashed, and killed on the page, sometimes with in depth description. This doesn’t bother me, and I guess it didn’t bother me much as a kid either since I kept reading these, but goddamn Erin Hunter!!! You’re throwing a very deep reckoning with the finite nature of life at some kids who just wanted a cat book!

*re-read
]]> Fire and Ice (Warriors, #2) 275000 Fireheart could hear a roaring around him, like wind in tall trees. The acrid stench of the Thunderpath stung his nostrils, together with a new smell, sharper and more terrifying. Fire!

Book Two of WARRIORS continues Fireheart's quest to be a true warrior, when he finds new danger lurking in the woods as the chill of winter sets in.

WindClan is missing, and hostilities between the remaining three clans place all the cats in peril. Illness and tragic accidents weaken the camp, and ThunderClan needs all its warriors to defend itself - but Fireheart suspects that certain cats may not be as loyal as they appear.

]]> 317 Erin Hunter 0060525592 Caitlin 4
With that said, there’s so much of this book that’s also repetitive. Fireheart goes on patrol, hunts, goes to sleep, has a weird dream, some plot development actually happens, and then it starts all over again. As a younger reader, this can be reassuring and even interesting when it’s a world you care about. Unfortunately, as an adult, it gets old.

I also cannot get over the fact that the humans seem to be unaware or indifferent to the fact there are OVER 100 FERAL CATS in these woods. Like one or two makes sense. But a fucking LEGION??? Somebody call animal control. And also the war crimes board for the violence they are inflicting on each other.

I’m glad I revisited the series, but I don’t think I’ll be continuing on my re-read. I was going through the wiki to remember what happens in the other books and my head started to hurt. There are some interesting ideas/plotlines/lore, but there are far too many characters for my liking, and since they’re all cats with similar names, no way in hell can I keep track of everyone. I will always love and support the series for what it gave me as a kid and all the ways it changed the way I consume media, but I don’t need to re read the entire thing. I am a nerd, but I can at least hold myself to a standard of not being a nerd for a children’s cat series.

*re-read]]> 4.35 2003 Fire and Ice (Warriors, #2)
author: Erin Hunter
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fantasy, children-s, 2024, my-most-iconic-reviews
review:
Once the initial world building is out of the way in the first book, the second book has much less exposition and can get straight into the story, which made for a better read because more stuff was actually happening.

With that said, there’s so much of this book that’s also repetitive. Fireheart goes on patrol, hunts, goes to sleep, has a weird dream, some plot development actually happens, and then it starts all over again. As a younger reader, this can be reassuring and even interesting when it’s a world you care about. Unfortunately, as an adult, it gets old.

I also cannot get over the fact that the humans seem to be unaware or indifferent to the fact there are OVER 100 FERAL CATS in these woods. Like one or two makes sense. But a fucking LEGION??? Somebody call animal control. And also the war crimes board for the violence they are inflicting on each other.

I’m glad I revisited the series, but I don’t think I’ll be continuing on my re-read. I was going through the wiki to remember what happens in the other books and my head started to hurt. There are some interesting ideas/plotlines/lore, but there are far too many characters for my liking, and since they’re all cats with similar names, no way in hell can I keep track of everyone. I will always love and support the series for what it gave me as a kid and all the ways it changed the way I consume media, but I don’t need to re read the entire thing. I am a nerd, but I can at least hold myself to a standard of not being a nerd for a children’s cat series.

*re-read
]]> Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1) 6339664 A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.]]> 391 Becca Fitzpatrick 1416989412 Caitlin 5
*re-read
]]> 3.93 2009 Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)
author: Becca Fitzpatrick
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: paranormal, favorites, ya, 2024, books-that-slap-hard
review:
Notice how Shakespeare didn’t publish anything after this book came out? That’s because he knew he couldn’t top this

*re-read

]]> Good Material 198688460 Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can't work out why she stopped.

Now he is. . .

Without a home

Waiting for his stand-up career to take off

Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn't looking

Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his ruined relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. But Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story�

In this sharply funny and exquisitely relatable story of romantic disaster and friendship, Dolly Alderton offers up a love story with two endings, demonstrating once again why she is one of the most exciting writers today, and the true voice of a generation.]]> 319 Dolly Alderton 059380130X Caitlin 0 to-read 3.75 2023 Good Material
author: Dolly Alderton
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hello Beautiful 61771675
But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters� unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?]]> 416 Ann Napolitano Caitlin 0 to-read 4.14 2023 Hello Beautiful
author: Ann Napolitano
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire]]> 203578896 The first unauthorized look at the inner workings―and ultimate breakdown―of the Disney Channel machine

For many kids growing up in the 2000s, there was no cultural touchstone more powerful than Disney Channel, the most-watched cable channel in prime time at its peak. Today it might best be known for introducing the world to talents like Hilary Duff, Raven-Symoné, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Zendaya.

It wasn't always destined for greatness: When Disney Channel launched in 1983, it was a forgotten stepchild within the Walt Disney Company, forever in the shadow of Disney’s more profitable movies and theme parks. But after letting the stars of their Mickey Mouse Club revival―among them Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling―slip through their fingers, Disney Channel reinvented itself as a powerhouse tween network. In the new millennium it churned out billions of dollars in original content and triple-threat stars whose careers were almost entirely controlled by the corporation. Suddenly everyone wanted a piece of the pie―and there were constant clashes between the studio, network, labels, and creatives as Disney Channel became a pressure cooker of perfection for its stars.

From private feuds and on-set disasters, to fanfare that swept the nation and the realities of child stardom, culture journalist Ashley Spencer offers the inside story of the heyday of TV’s House of Mouse, featuring hundreds of exclusive new interviews with former Disney executives, creatives, and celebrities to explore the highs, lows, and everything in between.]]> 336 Ashley Spencer 1250283450 Caitlin 0 to-read 4.03 2024 Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire
author: Ashley Spencer
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The School for Good Mothers 57846320 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781982156121 can be found here.

In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance.

Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents� sacrifices. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough.

Until Frida has a horrible day.

The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida � ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers � that she can learn to be good.

This propulsive, witty page-turner explores the perils of “perfect� upper-middle-class parenting, the violence enacted upon women by the state and each other, and the boundless love a mother has for her daughter.]]> 336 Jessamine Chan Caitlin 5 3.51 2022 The School for Good Mothers
author: Jessamine Chan
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: 2024, books-that-slap-hard, contemp-literary-realistic-fiction, dystopia
review:
Dare I say�. This book was mother ?
]]> <![CDATA[Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery]]> 56179372 Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger � only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.

Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.

Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.]]> 305 Brom 125062200X Caitlin 3
The drawings are really cool though and added a lot to the story. I wish more adult books had pictures in them]]> 4.23 2021 Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
author: Brom
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/14
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves: 2024, historical-fiction, horror, paranormal
review:
Really strong start� I love everything witches/pagan, especially in a colonial setting, and our protagonist is up against quite a bit of challenges. However, we end up spending a lot of time with Samson being misled or captured by other natural forces, which got confusing. I didn’t know who was working with who or why, and it took up page space that I think could’ve been used for something else. It also wasn’t interesting; I don’t really care about if a goat demon man is fighting with a shaman who is also kind of a demon. I want to see colonists get their shit rocked!!! (Eventually they do thankfully and it’s great comeuppance)

The drawings are really cool though and added a lot to the story. I wish more adult books had pictures in them
]]> 11/22/63 10644930
In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane � and insanely possible � mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.

In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald...]]> 849 Stephen King 1451627289 Caitlin 4 4.33 2011 11/22/63
author: Stephen King
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/26
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: books-that-slap-hard, science-fiction-space-aliens-time, 2024, historical-fiction
review:
RIP JFK you would’ve loved OnlyFans
]]> Dark Disciple (Star Wars) 23277298
The only way to bring down the dark side's most dangerous warrior may be for Jedi and Sith to join forces.

In the war for control of the galaxy between the armies of the dark side and the Republic, former Jedi Master turned ruthless Sith Lord Count Dooku has grown ever more brutal in his tactics. Despite the powers of the Jedi and the military prowess of their clone army, the sheer number of fatalities is taking a terrible toll. And when Dooku orders the massacre of a flotilla of helpless refugees, the Jedi Council feels it has no choice but to take drastic action: targeting the man responsible for so many war atrocities, Count Dooku himself.

But the ever-elusive Dooku is dangerous prey for even the most skilled hunter. So the Council makes the bold decision to bring both sides of the Force's power to bear—pairing brash Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos with infamous one-time Sith acolyte Asajj Ventress. Though Jedi distrust for the cunning killer who once served at Dooku's side still runs deep, Ventress's hatred for her former master runs deeper. She's more than willing to lend her copious talents as a bounty hunter—and assassin—to Vos's quest.

Together, Ventress and Vos are the best hope for eliminating Dooku—as long as the emerging feelings between them don't compromise their mission. But Ventress is determined to have her retribution and at last let go of her dark Sith past. Balancing the complicated emotions she feels for Vos with the fury of her warrior's spirit, she resolves to claim victory on all fronts—a vow that will be mercilessly tested by her deadly enemy . . . and her own doubt.]]> 336 Christie Golden Caitlin 1 I’m a huge Ventress fan, I’ve loved her since I first saw her in Clone Wars as a kid and I always wanted to know what happened to her after the show ended. And she deserves better than this.

PLOT—I actually like the idea of the Jedi getting desperate enough to send someone to assassinate Dooku, it shows how much strain the war is putting on them. I also think recruiting Ventress makes sense. However, why would you send Vos? He’s a talented Jedi, but he’s nowhere near as powerful as someone on the Council.
He eventually falls for Ventress and vice versa. At the beginning I was actually intrigued because they had some good banter and an enemies to lovers thing looked possible. But it was so bland, mostly due to the writing style (see below). I couldn’t really root for these two as a couple.
Once Ventress starts training Vos as a Sith, it goes downhill faster than a wheel of cheese on a ski slope. Vos� constant flip flopping between light and dark side is literally at the author’s convenience. It makes no sense at all, gets really confusing, and it’s way too quick each time to be justified. And that ending? Well�.


CHARACTER—The way Ventress speaks sounds nothing like how she speaks in the show. If for one moment I can imagine Ventress actually falling for someone, would she ever say such sappy shit out loud? No!! Because she is a baddie!!! But all of a sudden, her entire character goes out the window because a MAN is in her life now. She has never done anything for a man ever, but now She “DIES 4 lOvE� or some shit. Yeah. She fucking dies. For a boyfriend. HUH???? Ventress may not be a Sith anymore, but she’s not a fucking romantic. She is a cynical badass who has certainly grown to be better but is not a sentimental starry eyed lover girl. I don’t know where the fuck this character came from but it’s not the Ventress I know.

AND SHE’S NOT EVEN BALD ANYMORE!!!! THAT WAS HALF OF WHY SHE WAS SO COOL IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!


STYLE—The writing is clunky as hell. It’s all telling, no showing. Vos and Ventress fall in love because they say so, it’s not really clear what one likes about the other. This rich world is reduced to such bland descriptions and it really sucks.


Maybe the original scripts were better, but this was such a disappointment. I swear to God this better not be her arc in the new Bad Batch season or I may have to take up arson or something]]> 4.07 2015 Dark Disciple (Star Wars)
author: Christie Golden
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at: 2024/01/30
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, shitty-reads, star-wars, my-most-iconic-reviews
review:
Uhhh wow. That was not good.
I’m a huge Ventress fan, I’ve loved her since I first saw her in Clone Wars as a kid and I always wanted to know what happened to her after the show ended. And she deserves better than this.

PLOT—I actually like the idea of the Jedi getting desperate enough to send someone to assassinate Dooku, it shows how much strain the war is putting on them. I also think recruiting Ventress makes sense. However, why would you send Vos? He’s a talented Jedi, but he’s nowhere near as powerful as someone on the Council.
He eventually falls for Ventress and vice versa. At the beginning I was actually intrigued because they had some good banter and an enemies to lovers thing looked possible. But it was so bland, mostly due to the writing style (see below). I couldn’t really root for these two as a couple.
Once Ventress starts training Vos as a Sith, it goes downhill faster than a wheel of cheese on a ski slope. Vos� constant flip flopping between light and dark side is literally at the author’s convenience. It makes no sense at all, gets really confusing, and it’s way too quick each time to be justified. And that ending? Well�.


CHARACTER—The way Ventress speaks sounds nothing like how she speaks in the show. If for one moment I can imagine Ventress actually falling for someone, would she ever say such sappy shit out loud? No!! Because she is a baddie!!! But all of a sudden, her entire character goes out the window because a MAN is in her life now. She has never done anything for a man ever, but now She “DIES 4 lOvE� or some shit. Yeah. She fucking dies. For a boyfriend. HUH???? Ventress may not be a Sith anymore, but she’s not a fucking romantic. She is a cynical badass who has certainly grown to be better but is not a sentimental starry eyed lover girl. I don’t know where the fuck this character came from but it’s not the Ventress I know.

AND SHE’S NOT EVEN BALD ANYMORE!!!! THAT WAS HALF OF WHY SHE WAS SO COOL IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!


STYLE—The writing is clunky as hell. It’s all telling, no showing. Vos and Ventress fall in love because they say so, it’s not really clear what one likes about the other. This rich world is reduced to such bland descriptions and it really sucks.


Maybe the original scripts were better, but this was such a disappointment. I swear to God this better not be her arc in the new Bad Batch season or I may have to take up arson or something
]]> <![CDATA[Collected Essays: Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays]]> 17142
With burning passion and jabbing, epigrammatic wit, Baldwin fearlessly articulated issues of race and democracy and American identity in such famous essays as “The Harlem Ghetto,� “Everybody’s Protest Novel,� “Many Thousands Gone,� and “Stranger in the Village.�

Here are the complete texts of his early landmark collections, Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961), which established him as an essential intellectual voice of his time, fusing in unique fashion the personal, the literary, and the political. “One writes,� he stated, “out of one thing only—one’s own experience. Everything depends on how relentlessly one forces from this experience the last drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give.� With singular eloquence and unblinking sharpness of observation he lived up to his credo: “I want to be an honest man and a good writer.�

The classic The Fire Next Time (1963), perhaps the most influential of his writings, is his most penetrating analysis of America’s racial divide and an impassioned call to “end the racial nightmare…and change the history of the world.� The later volumes No Name in the Street (1972) and The Devil Finds Work (1976) chart his continuing response to the social and political turbulence of his era and include his remarkable works of film criticism. A further 36 essays—nine of them previously uncollected—include some of Baldwin’s earliest published writings, as well as revealing later insights into the language of Shakespeare, the poetry of Langston Hughes, and the music of Earl Hines.]]> 869 James Baldwin 1883011523 Caitlin 4 4.66 1998 Collected Essays: Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays
author: James Baldwin
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.66
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/06
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, books-that-slap-hard, racial-theory
review:
So sorry to my friend who had to watch me read this poolside in Vegas while she was reading a romance novel
]]> The Reformatory 62919847 A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he’s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

Gracetown, Florida
June 1950

Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie’s journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory.

Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. Through his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie is learning not just the rules but how to survive. Meanwhile, Gloria is rallying every family member and connection in Florida to find a way to get Robbie out before it’s too late.

The Reformatory is a haunting work of historical fiction written as only American Book Award–winning author Tananarive Due could, by piecing together the life of the relative her family never spoke of and bringing his tragedy and those of so many others at the infamous Dozier School for Boys to the light in this riveting novel.]]> 576 Tananarive Due 1982188340 Caitlin 4 difficult but necessary 4.44 2023 The Reformatory
author: Tananarive Due
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/02
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, historical-fiction, racial-theory, horror, thriller-mystery-crime, books-that-slap-hard
review:
difficult but necessary
]]> Cinderella Is Dead 51079282
Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball . are forfeit.

But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen - she's in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world.]]> 389 Kalynn Bayron 1547603879 Caitlin 2 3.65 2020 Cinderella Is Dead
author: Kalynn Bayron
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2024/06/06
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, fairytale-retellings, fantasy, ya
review:
Cool concept but writing style was very juvenile
]]> She Drives Me Crazy 52516406 High school nemeses fall in love in this queer YA rom com perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Casey McQuiston.

After losing spectacularly to her ex-girlfriend in their first game since their break up, Scottie Zajac gets into a fender bender with the worst possible person: her nemesis, the incredibly beautiful and incredibly mean Irene Abraham. Things only get worse when their nosey, do-gooder moms get involved and the girls are forced to carpool together until Irene’s car gets out of the shop.

Their bumpy start only gets bumpier the more time they spend together. But when an opportunity presents itself for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex (and climb her school’s social ladder at the same time), she bribes Irene into playing along. Hijinks, heartbreak, and gay fake-dating scheme for the ages. From author Kelly Quindlen comes a new laugh-out-loud romp through the ups and downs of teen romance.]]> 288 Kelly Quindlen 1250209161 Caitlin 4 2024, romance, ya 3.93 2021 She Drives Me Crazy
author: Kelly Quindlen
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/14
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, romance, ya
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (Montague Siblings, #3)]]> 52934919 Return to the enchanting world of the Montague siblings in the finale to the New York Times bestselling and Stonewall Honor-winning series, featuring a teenage Adrian Montague as he desperately seeks the now adult Monty and Felicity—the older siblings he never knew he had.

Adrian Montague has a bright future. The sole heir to his father's estate, he is an up and coming political writer and engaged to an activist who challenges and inspires him. But most young Lords aren't battling the debilitating anxiety Adrian secretly lives with, or the growing fear that it might consume him and all he hopes to accomplish. In the wake of his mother's unexpected death, Adrian is also concerned people will find out that he has the mental illness she struggled with for years.

When a newly found keepsake of hers-a piece of a broken spyglass—comes into Adrian's possession, he's thrust into the past and finds himself face to face with an older brother he never knew he had. Henry "Monty" Montague has been living quietly in London for years, and his sudden appearance sends Adrian on a quest to unravel family secrets that only the spyglass can answer.

In pursuit of answers about the relic, the brothers chart a course to locate their sister Felicity. But as they travel between the pirate courts of Rabat, Portuguese islands, the canals of Amsterdam, and into unknown Artic waters, the Montague siblings are thrown into one final adventure as they face a ghostly legend that threatens their whole family.]]> 592 Mackenzi Lee 0062916033 Caitlin 4 2024, historical-fiction, ya 4.14 2021 The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (Montague Siblings, #3)
author: Mackenzi Lee
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/09
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, historical-fiction, ya
review:

]]> Tess of the D’Urbervilles 32261 here and here.

When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D’Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her â€cousinâ€� Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future.]]> 518 Thomas Hardy Caitlin 4 2024, classics 3.83 1891 Tess of the D’Urbervilles
author: Thomas Hardy
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1891
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/13
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, classics
review:
One of the more readable classics. And good to see someone realized men suck even back then
]]> <![CDATA[Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster]]> 1898
Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the bestseller Into the Wild. On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world. A rangy, thirty-five-year-old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and had led thirty-nine climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a forty-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996.

Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.]]> 368 Jon Krakauer Caitlin 4 2024, biographies, nonfiction
And I have been successfully convinced not to climb Everest]]> 4.24 1997 Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
author: Jon Krakauer
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/26
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: 2024, biographies, nonfiction
review:
I learned so much about the disaster and mountain climbing in general from this book. I do think it suffers from having to include so many people; quite a few times I would get confused as to the location or status of a certain person, I couldn’t keep them all straight.

And I have been successfully convinced not to climb Everest
]]> <![CDATA[The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2)]]> 50531218 Intrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Inheritance Games perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions - including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons.

Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture - by any means necessary.

With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.]]> 380 Jennifer Lynn Barnes 0241480744 Caitlin 4 2024, ya 4.19 2021 The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2)
author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/10
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: 2024, ya
review:
These are so fun they remind me of the books I would read as a kid and stay up late just to find out what happens
]]> <![CDATA[Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War]]> 18114047 511 Mark Harris 1594204306 Caitlin 4 2024, nonfiction 4.11 2014 Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War
author: Mark Harris
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/15
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: 2024, nonfiction
review:
“Somebody should be on fire about any picture made, or it shouldn’t be made� The trouble with Hollywood is that too many of the top people are too comfortable and don’t give a damn about what goes up on the screen so long as it gets by at the box office. How can you expect people with that kind of attitude to make the pictures the world will want to see?� —William Wyler, director
]]> <![CDATA[The Sun and the Star (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #1)]]> 63028719 Demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace must endure the terrors of Tartarus to rescue an old friend in this thrilling adventure co-written by New York Times #1 best-selling author Rick Riordan and award-winning author Mark Oshiro.

As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo has been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life–literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that’s been the case so far...

Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades’s realm. Nico’s dreams and Rachel Dare’s latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico’s mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to “leave something of equal value behind?�

Nico will have to face demons both internal and external as his relationship with Will is tested to the core in this standalone adventure featuring two of the most popular characters in the Percy Jackson saga.]]> 480 Rick Riordan 1368081347 Caitlin 2
Let’s start with the *message* of this book. Holy fucking shit, the amount of times we are hit over the head by the morals of how “people hAvE bOTh ligHT AND dArK in ThEm IsN’T tHaT CRAZYYY� was ridiculous. Makes a Looney Tunee episode look tame. I know this is aimed at younger readers, but good god, please give them something to come to on their own time. They aren’t babies, they don’t need to be spoon fed.

The humor was so grating. I don’t think I laughed more than once reading this, and I recall the PJO books always making me laugh. A lot of the humor was based on pop culture references, which will date this book a TON, or humor that can only be described as 2012 “quirky� tumblr fan fiction and/or bad Marvel movie dialogue. Yikes.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the cheesiness factor with Will and Nico’s relationship made me ill. I do not have a problem with gay relationships, but I do have a problem with relationships of any sexuality that have sappy pet names for each other. Nico calls Will a “Care Bear�. Will calls Nico his “grumpy ball of darkness�. I am calling an ambulance because suddenly I’m having a lactose intolerant reaction from all this cheesiness.

Now, Percy Jackson plots have always been kind of weird and/or lacking structure, which I’ve been fine with before because a) it’s a kids book and b) it’s mythology so it’s gonna get a little weird in here anyway. But the plot of this book felt so sloppy. Nyx just decides randomly, after YEARS of adventures, that she needs to get Nico to embrace his darkness. Like okay?? No one moved. You could’ve done this five years ago when he was more depressed. Her evil monologue is generic. The final climax fight is boring. There’s just truly no reason for her to be evil, much less go after Nico. You’re the goddess of night, just go to raves or something. Additionally, this shits on the work that’s been done to show in previous books how minor gods are not necessarily evil, just underrepresented and misunderstood. But Nyx? Nah, she’s just an evil bitch because we need a villain. No depth for her!

All in all, very disappointing. Maybe kids nowadays really enjoyed this, and it is good queer representation at least. But I know Riordan can do better than this. ]]> 4.21 2023 The Sun and the Star (The Nico di Angelo Adventures #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: 2024, my-most-iconic-reviews, ya
review:
It hurts to give this a two star because I love the Percy Jackson series. I haven’t reread it in a while and I’m much older now than when I first read it, but now I’m scared to go back to it at all if it was as cringey and half assed as this book was.

Let’s start with the *message* of this book. Holy fucking shit, the amount of times we are hit over the head by the morals of how “people hAvE bOTh ligHT AND dArK in ThEm IsN’T tHaT CRAZYYY� was ridiculous. Makes a Looney Tunee episode look tame. I know this is aimed at younger readers, but good god, please give them something to come to on their own time. They aren’t babies, they don’t need to be spoon fed.

The humor was so grating. I don’t think I laughed more than once reading this, and I recall the PJO books always making me laugh. A lot of the humor was based on pop culture references, which will date this book a TON, or humor that can only be described as 2012 “quirky� tumblr fan fiction and/or bad Marvel movie dialogue. Yikes.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the cheesiness factor with Will and Nico’s relationship made me ill. I do not have a problem with gay relationships, but I do have a problem with relationships of any sexuality that have sappy pet names for each other. Nico calls Will a “Care Bear�. Will calls Nico his “grumpy ball of darkness�. I am calling an ambulance because suddenly I’m having a lactose intolerant reaction from all this cheesiness.

Now, Percy Jackson plots have always been kind of weird and/or lacking structure, which I’ve been fine with before because a) it’s a kids book and b) it’s mythology so it’s gonna get a little weird in here anyway. But the plot of this book felt so sloppy. Nyx just decides randomly, after YEARS of adventures, that she needs to get Nico to embrace his darkness. Like okay?? No one moved. You could’ve done this five years ago when he was more depressed. Her evil monologue is generic. The final climax fight is boring. There’s just truly no reason for her to be evil, much less go after Nico. You’re the goddess of night, just go to raves or something. Additionally, this shits on the work that’s been done to show in previous books how minor gods are not necessarily evil, just underrepresented and misunderstood. But Nyx? Nah, she’s just an evil bitch because we need a villain. No depth for her!

All in all, very disappointing. Maybe kids nowadays really enjoyed this, and it is good queer representation at least. But I know Riordan can do better than this.
]]> <![CDATA[Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1)]]> 146943294 626 Chloe Walsh 1728299950 Caitlin 2
The downside to this is that now I am 22 and can’t stand hearing about how tiny and pathetic our female protagonist is, reading her repetitive inner monologue, or looking at character playlists that unironically include songs by The Chainsmokers.

I love 2010 tumblr as much as the next girl. But let the past stay dead]]> 4.45 2018 Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1)
author: Chloe Walsh
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: 2024, my-most-iconic-reviews, romance
review:
This is a book I would’ve mooned over as a middle schooler. The benefit of this is that there is a hot rugby player and some extreme angst/yearning that make me turn the page.

The downside to this is that now I am 22 and can’t stand hearing about how tiny and pathetic our female protagonist is, reading her repetitive inner monologue, or looking at character playlists that unironically include songs by The Chainsmokers.

I love 2010 tumblr as much as the next girl. But let the past stay dead
]]> Come Closer 220772
The new voice in Amanda's head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. Is she possessed by a demon, or is she simply insane?]]> 194 Sara Gran 0425210316 Caitlin 0 to-read 3.63 2003 Come Closer
author: Sara Gran
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Boys in the Valley 61884783 Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania.

Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future... a family.

Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within. Soon, boys begin acting differently, forming groups. Taking sides.

Others turn up dead.

Now Peter and those dear to him must choose sides of their own, each of them knowing their lives � and perhaps their eternal souls � are at risk.

The Exorcist meets Lord of the Flies, by way of Midnight Mass, in Boys in the Valley, a brilliant coming-of-age tale from award-winning author Philip Fracassi.]]> 335 Philip Fracassi 1250879035 Caitlin 0 to-read 4.11 2023 Boys in the Valley
author: Philip Fracassi
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Caitlin 3
PLOT� Ideal rom-com plot with love triangles and social connections. However, very slow paced and this dragged it down.

CHARACTERS—Definitely the strong point here! They were distinct and well-developed. Although, why someone would purposely name their child Fanny is beyond me and probably should be reviewed by UNICEF.

STYLE—This is always what makes me rethink my decision to read Austen. Sometimes, she constructs very beautiful, profound sentences. And other times she decides to make a sentence take up a half of a fucking page. She can get so long-winded! it’s like putting a vacuum over a dictionary and getting hit in the face with the blast of air and words.

SOME FUNNY PLOT POINTS—People getting in trouble for doing a play in their own house (?), drama about which necklace to wear, “trembling�, visiting people for no fucking reason, Fanny getting tired after 0.41 seconds of walking, Henry being a 18th century fuckboy

With some editing and faster pace, this would’ve been much more enjoyable. I usually find the film adaptations to be more enjoyable than the books because they highlight Austen’s strengths and cut the boring shit.

I would say this was actually one of my top Austen reads. Check it out, but make sure you have a lot of patience bc my girl Austen can get tiring ]]> 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 3
read at: 2020/12/06
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: 2020, classics, my-most-iconic-reviews
review:
Jane Austen would definitely be the artsy kid in your history class who has great designs for a project but has to be kept in check because she takes too damn long

PLOT� Ideal rom-com plot with love triangles and social connections. However, very slow paced and this dragged it down.

CHARACTERS—Definitely the strong point here! They were distinct and well-developed. Although, why someone would purposely name their child Fanny is beyond me and probably should be reviewed by UNICEF.

STYLE—This is always what makes me rethink my decision to read Austen. Sometimes, she constructs very beautiful, profound sentences. And other times she decides to make a sentence take up a half of a fucking page. She can get so long-winded! it’s like putting a vacuum over a dictionary and getting hit in the face with the blast of air and words.

SOME FUNNY PLOT POINTS—People getting in trouble for doing a play in their own house (?), drama about which necklace to wear, “trembling�, visiting people for no fucking reason, Fanny getting tired after 0.41 seconds of walking, Henry being a 18th century fuckboy

With some editing and faster pace, this would’ve been much more enjoyable. I usually find the film adaptations to be more enjoyable than the books because they highlight Austen’s strengths and cut the boring shit.

I would say this was actually one of my top Austen reads. Check it out, but make sure you have a lot of patience bc my girl Austen can get tiring
]]> Faust 406373 Faust reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant scholar so disillusioned he resolves to make a contract with Mephistopheles. The devil will do all he asks on Earth and seeks to grant him a moment in life so glorious that he will wish it to last forever. But if Faust does bid the moment stay, he falls to Mephistopheles and must serve him after death. In this first part of Goethe’s great work, the embittered thinker and Mephistopheles enter into their agreement, and soon Faust is living a rejuvenated life and winning the love of the beautiful Gretchen. But in this compelling tragedy of arrogance, unfulfilled desire, and self-delusion, Faust heads inexorably toward an infernal destruction.]]> 503 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 0385031149 Caitlin 0 to-read 3.90 1808 Faust
author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1808
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Powerhouse 27212405 An astonishing—and astonishingly entertaining—history of Hollywood’s transformation over the past five decades as seen through the agency at the heart of it all, from the #1 bestselling co-author of Live from New York and Those Guys Have All the Fun.

The movies you watch, the TV shows you adore, the concerts and sporting events you attend—behind the curtain of nearly all of these is an immensely powerful and secretive corporation known as Creative Artists Agency. Started in 1975, when five bright and brash employees of a creaky William Morris office left to open their own, strikingly innovative talent agency, CAA would come to revolutionize the entertainment industry, and over the next several decades its tentacles would spread aggressively throughout the worlds of movies, television, music, advertising, and investment banking. 

±Ę´Ç·É±đ°ůłó´ÇłÜ˛ő±đĚýis the fascinating, no-holds-barred saga of that ascent. Drawing on unprecedented and exclusive access to the men and women who built and battled with CAA, as well as financial information never before made public, author James Andrew Miller spins a tale of boundless ambition, ruthless egomania, ceaseless empire building, greed, and personal betrayal. It is also a story of prophetic brilliance, magnificent artistry, singular genius, entrepreneurial courage, strategic daring, foxhole brotherhood, and how one firm utterly transformed the entertainment business.

Here are the real Star Wars—complete with a Death Star—told through the voices of those who were there. Packed with scores of stars from movies, television, music, and sports, as well as a tremendously compelling cast of agents, studio executives, network chiefs, league commissioners, private equity partners, tech CEOs, and media tycoons, ±Ę´Ç·É±đ°ůłó´ÇłÜ˛ő±đĚýis itself a Hollywood blockbuster of the most spectacular sort.]]> 768 James Andrew Miller 0062441396 Caitlin 0 to-read 3.86 2016 Powerhouse
author: James Andrew Miller
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[To Tame a Highland Warrior (Highlander, #2)]]> 112756 A Woman's Tender Touch

He was born to a clan of warriors of supernatural strength, but Gavrael McIllioch abandoned his name and his Highland castle, determined to escape the dark fate of his ancestors. Hiding his identity from the relentless rival clan that hunted him, he called himself Grimm to protect the people he cared for, vowing never to acknowledge his love for ravishing Jillian St. Clair. Yet even from afar he watched over her, and when her father sent an urgent summons, "Come for Jillian," he raced to her side—into a competition to win her hand in marriage.

A Warrior's Steely Heart

Why had he run from her so many years before? And why return now to see her offered as a prize in her father's manipulative game? Furious, Jillian vowed never to wed. But Grimm was the man she loved, the one who urged her to marry another. He tried to pretend indifference as she tempted him, but he could not deny the fierce desires that compelled him to abduct her from the altar. She was the only woman who could tame the beast that raged within him—even as deadly enemies plotted to destroy them both....]]> 416 Karen Marie Moning 0440242177 Caitlin 2 This one started off so tantalizing with good yearning and plot idea!!!!! �..and then halfway through devolved into nonsense. Spicy scenes got repetitive and played out. The characters were amazingly stupid—if you saw your dad over your dead mom, would you really not ask any questions???? You’re just going to immediately assume he killed her without any confirmation??? Fuckin idiot.

Also there was some weird shit about what it means to be a woman and how it’s related to having sex with someone and like� no? Your identity as a woman is not based on when a man makes you feel like one.

Oh and the plot?? It’s lost to the ether. The premise of having three men to choose to marry is quickly solved halfway through when Jillian gets with Grimm, and then they kinda fart around for 100 pages until a flimsy antagonist is pulled out from a dusty drawer, but only for 50 pages when they are defeated in what has to be the most anti climatic climax I have ever read. It’s no joke one sentence that states how everyone in the rival clan died that day. Then the wedding in the next chapter, and then the book is over. Seriously. You’re expecting me to believe this romance continuously delivers to climax every time and yet the plot can’t even do it once? Thank you, next.]]> 4.12 1999 To Tame a Highland Warrior (Highlander, #2)
author: Karen Marie Moning
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1999
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/30
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: 2024, my-most-iconic-reviews, romance
review:
This is the second Karen Moning book I’ve tried, and while less cringy than the first one, I think I’ve realized she’s not for me.
This one started off so tantalizing with good yearning and plot idea!!!!! �..and then halfway through devolved into nonsense. Spicy scenes got repetitive and played out. The characters were amazingly stupid—if you saw your dad over your dead mom, would you really not ask any questions???? You’re just going to immediately assume he killed her without any confirmation??? Fuckin idiot.

Also there was some weird shit about what it means to be a woman and how it’s related to having sex with someone and like� no? Your identity as a woman is not based on when a man makes you feel like one.

Oh and the plot?? It’s lost to the ether. The premise of having three men to choose to marry is quickly solved halfway through when Jillian gets with Grimm, and then they kinda fart around for 100 pages until a flimsy antagonist is pulled out from a dusty drawer, but only for 50 pages when they are defeated in what has to be the most anti climatic climax I have ever read. It’s no joke one sentence that states how everyone in the rival clan died that day. Then the wedding in the next chapter, and then the book is over. Seriously. You’re expecting me to believe this romance continuously delivers to climax every time and yet the plot can’t even do it once? Thank you, next.
]]> Klara and the Sun 54120408
In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?]]> 340 Kazuo Ishiguro 059331817X Caitlin 4 3.71 2021 Klara and the Sun
author: Kazuo Ishiguro
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/02
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: 2024, science-fiction-space-aliens-time
review:
Really cool concept and I love the writing style. One star off for sometimes having really confusing syntax/sentences
]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (Great Illustrated Classics)]]> 925103 In a specially adapted version by Malvina G. Vogel

SHIPWRECKED!

A violent storm at sea destroys Robinson Crusoe's ship. He alone survives and is cast ashore on a deserted island. In this great adventure story of survival and courage, Crusoe must summon all his strength and intelligence to survive and flourish against impossible odds. Here is an amazing tale of a young man who overcomes loneliness, tames wild animals, battles ferocious cannibals and dangerous mutineers in a twenty-four year struggle to stay alive!


-from the back cover]]> 233 Malvina G. Vogel Caitlin 0 children-s 4.12 1719 The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (Great Illustrated Classics)
author: Malvina G. Vogel
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1719
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves: children-s
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oliver Twist (Great Illustrated Classics )]]> 1479288 240 Marian Leighton 0866119566 Caitlin 0 children-s 4.04 Oliver Twist (Great Illustrated Classics )
author: Marian Leighton
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.04
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves: children-s
review:

]]> The Music of Bees 55198935 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, following three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, who are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it.

Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.

In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.

And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.

Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect.]]> 322 Eileen Garvin 0593183924 Caitlin 3 4.01 2021 The Music of Bees
author: Eileen Garvin
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: 2024, contemp-literary-realistic-fiction
review:

]]> The Scotsman 7489703

From the Paperback edition.]]> 400 Juliana Garnett 0307570045 Caitlin 1
Also there is somehow too much plot and yet not enough: so much talk about English-Scottish politics, but the romance doesn’t really grow or evolve. I don’t feel like these two have any reason to care about each other, they’re basically just fuck buddies, and I didn’t have a reason to care about them either. I only kept reading to see if one of them would die, which would’ve made things interesting, but alas, everyone lives. Where is the plague when you need it?

So if I had a nickel for every time a Scottish romance let me down, I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. ]]> 3.70 1998 The Scotsman
author: Juliana Garnett
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1998
rating: 1
read at: 2024/09/26
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: my-most-iconic-reviews, romance, shitty-reads, 2024
review:
Ughhhh this was irritating. I was actually really into the initial concept and Catherine’s rebellious character but it quickly devolves into not much of anything. Catherine gets nothing to do. The Scotsman isn’t even that sexy. The *spicy* scenes are all the same to the point where Catherines brother gets a sex scene with a maid and it reads exactly the same as Catherine’s sex scenes with the Scotsman�. Which is weird. Like, I already thought the relationship between Catherine and her brother was a bit incesty, but the fact they basically have sex the same way confirmed it. Are we sure this takes place in the UK and not Alabama?

Also there is somehow too much plot and yet not enough: so much talk about English-Scottish politics, but the romance doesn’t really grow or evolve. I don’t feel like these two have any reason to care about each other, they’re basically just fuck buddies, and I didn’t have a reason to care about them either. I only kept reading to see if one of them would die, which would’ve made things interesting, but alas, everyone lives. Where is the plague when you need it?

So if I had a nickel for every time a Scottish romance let me down, I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
]]> <![CDATA[Dread Nation (Dread Nation, #1)]]> 30223025
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.]]> 455 Justina Ireland 0062570609 Caitlin 3 4.12 2018 Dread Nation (Dread Nation, #1)
author: Justina Ireland
name: Caitlin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/19
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: 2024, historical-fiction, horror
review:

]]> The Treasure Hunters Club 208580624
WELCOME TO MAPLE BAY, NOVA SCOTIA

For nearly a century, people have ventured to the idyllic seaside town of Maple Bay in search of a legendary lost pirate treasure, but locals know there’s more than just gold buried in the sand. As the paths of three strangers converge in Maple Bay, the truth is about to be blown wide open. But not before the bodies start to pile up.

Peter Barnett is rapidly approaching 40 with little to show for it when a mysterious letter invites him to Maple Bay and the mansion his estranged family has called home for generations.

Seventeen-year-old Dandy Feltzen is isolated and adrift following the death of her beloved grandfather, until his final request and a tantalizing clue sets her on a mission to solve the mystery he spent his entire life chasing.

Cass Jones has given up on her dream of being a successful author when an unexpected opportunity lands in her a housesitting gig in remote Maple Bay, where she stumbles on the perfect subject matter for her breakout book—and the handsome sailor who might be just the person to help her research it.

Peter, Dandy and Cass have never met, but they’re on a collision course with each other and the mystery that has defined Maple Bay for two centuries, and none of them are prepared for the shocking truths that may or may not still be buried there.]]> 384 Tom Ryan 0802163637 Caitlin 0 to-read 3.74 2024 The Treasure Hunters Club
author: Tom Ryan
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)]]> 53275961
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why--or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.

To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch--and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.]]> 0 Jennifer Lynn Barnes 1549133519 Caitlin 4 2024, ya 3.71 2020 The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)
author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
name: Caitlin
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: 2024, ya
review:
3.5/5 but rounding up bc it was fun, I’m a sucker for puzzles n riddles. I do think this was aimed at a younger audience though bc the romances are weak and having a character who fake swears (fox instead of fuck, etc) is a dumb bit. Just curse!! It’s okay!! I’m not going to tell on you!!
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