Book Review - The Jeeptown Sock Hop by John Harrigan

How did I come into possession of this book?

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  I got a nice, personal email from the author that really showed he had taken time a look at my blog.  I really like this, and will review almost any book that comes my way if you take the time to make me feel like I am the one you want reviewing your book!

First Lines:

“When you drive cross country to relax for a few days with your sister you don’t expect a blind date with an old friend.”  (Harrigan 5)

What is it about?

Set in the 1950s in the Midwest this story centers around a boy who is going through a lot.  His brother is off to Korea, his Dad’s union is on strike, and his best friend is black.  All he really wants to do is play music with his friends, and show that an integrated band can work, but so much of life gets in the way. 

What did I think?

It seems like I haven’t read a recent historical book in a while.  So this was a great change from some of the other books I’ve been reading.  Since it was a genre I don’t read a lot of, I was worried the story would be slow and it would take me a while.  But this book caught me right away and I felt like it read at a great pace.  I loved the setting, the time period and everything going on at that time. I really felt for Charlie, he is a character who is hard not to like.  I could feel his anger for Mr. Jackson, and even though he wasn’t always sure about the details of the strike I really liked how he stood by his father.  All the characters seemed very genuine and real.  This book was sad, and happy, and sad again but I enjoyed it the whole way through.

Who would I recommend it to?

I thought this was an interesting look at a different time of union strikes and how it really affected families back then.  I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a good down to earth book about normal kids growing up in the 50s.  It reads pretty fast and I think it is a nice book to mix into a diverse to-be-read pile.

Check out other reviews on this book from fellow bloggers:

Book Worm Blogger

And a good Author interview at Tribute Books

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Book Review - Wheels by Lorijo Metz

How did I come into possession of this book?

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  This was the first time I’d been directly contacted by an author and not just a publisher, so it felt very personal and I was happy to read and review her book!

First Line:

“McKenzie remained in the game, but her brain had split in two.”  (Metz 1)

What is it about?

McKenzie Wu is seeing weird things that don’t seem to make sense to her.  After being sent to the principal’s office for racing down the hallway she is snooping where she shouldn’t be and the next thing she knows she is being sent on a whirlwind adventure involving some long lost ancestors of hers. 

What did I think?

I thought this was a very enjoyable read.  The beginning was a little tough, I had trouble figuring out what was going on and who thee characters were and a lot was happening very fast.  But once I got into the meat of the story I really stared enjoying it.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the interviews by the FBI agent and other letters scattered throughout the book, I didn’t think they added much to what was already a good story.  Something about Metz’s writing style is very light and almost always bordering on humorous.  I loved this aspect of it because it was very different from other authors I’ve read.  I also loved how she wound HG Wells into the book as a main character; it was just another element of fun in this book.

Who would I recommend it to?

You need to be a fan of science fiction involving other worlds; otherwise I don’t think you’d enjoy this book.  There are lots of made up words as well, so if that isn’t your cup of tea I wouldn’t suggest this book to you.  However if you like science fiction and want an author with a light and humorous voice (something you don’t always see in sci-fi) you should read this book!

  

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Book Review - Outpost by Ann Aguirre

How did I come into possession of this book?

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I guess I didn’t realize it was the second in a series (of which I hadn’t read the first book), but I thought I’d give it a try anyway and if I got too lost I’d go get the first in the series from the library.

First Lines:

“I woke to the cold kiss of steel on my throat.”  (Agiurre 1)

What is it about?

Being the second book in the series this book takes place after Deuce and some others have escaped to a place called Salvation.  Salvation is a safe place where they have patrols to keep away the Freaks (monsters) and seem to have a more normal way of life.  Deuce is having a hard time fitting into this new community and just being a regular teenage girl. So she decides to try and help and use her huntress instincts in any way she can.

What did I think?

I was a bit nervous since this was the second book in the series and I didn’t read the first.  But this book seemed to read separately of the first and didn’t rely a lot on you knowing exactly what had happened.  The author did a good job on catching you up with relationships and giving you a good background without it cutting into the story too much.  There wasn’t a lot of action at first but you could almost feel like something was going to happen, and then it did.  I really enjoyed this book, it had some different ideas than some of the other dystopian books, and I can’t wait to see where it heads in the third book.  I don’t feel like it’s necessary for me to go back and read the first book, but I will definitely be reading the third!

Who would I recommend it to?

Even though I didn’t, you should have probably read the first book in the series, from what I can tell it seems even more action packed and would lead you right into this book.  I haven’t heard much talk about this series but its right up there in the ranks of Divergent, Delirium, Matched, and the Chaos Walking trilogy.  I think it might even read better than some of those, and not feel quite as young adult.  If you like dystopian this is a good series to read!

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!