Tag Archives: Adventure

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (review by Fiona W. ’21)

January 23, 2018 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Richard Mayhew is an average young man who lives in modern-day London with an average life and and average job. One day, he finds a ragged and bloodied girl dying on the side of the road that nobody seems to notice but him. He takes it upon himself to help her and learns that two assassins are chasing her, and a whole city resides underneath London that he never even knew about.

As I have been a fan of many of Neil Gaiman’s books, I hoped this book would not disappoint. And it didn’t. The character development of all the main characters was unique and fulfilling. The imagery of each scene made me feel like I was right alongside Richard. And the ending still had me in tears.

Gaiman mentions in the introduction that while he is not one to write a sequel, he would love to revisit the world of this book again one day. (And I hope he does, too). As someone who dislikes fantasy novels, this book changed my mind about the genre and I hope it may impact you, dear reader, as well. – Fiona W. ‘21

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Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth (review by Sofie K. ’20)

October 31, 2017 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After the hype and attention that Veronica Roth’s Divergent series received, I was very excited to hear about a second series in the works.

Cyra and Akos, like many YA novel characters, are two sides of the same coin. Separated by social class and the races of their people, the two meet when Akos and his brother are captured by the royal Shotet fleet, and delivered right to Cyra’s doorstep. Though Cyra is the sister of the tyrant that rules the Shotet people, she rebels against her family out of love for this new stranger. As if the plot wasn’t cliche enough, every person on this planet has a special power, or currentgift. Cyra has the power to cause excruciating pain to anyone she touches, which her brother exploits to get information. Akos, on the other hand, has to power to cancel out anyone else’s currentgift through contact. The characters conveniently balance each other out, obviously created for one another.

While the book’s concept was quite unique, the characters had little to no originality. Cyra and Akos reminded me of a reversed version of Tris and Four; it felt like I was reading the Divergent series all over again. Hopefully, the second book will give the characters their own personalities and develop their stories more. – Sofie K. ’20

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (review by Sachi B. ’21)

August 29, 2017 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Written by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, is a heartwarming novella about two men working to achieve their dream of having their own farm. The novel revolves around the Lennie and George, the protagonists who are complete opposites. George, a smart and caring man, acts as a protector for Lennie, a hard-working man with the mind of a child. The duo work and travel together as migrant workers in California during the Great Depression. Though George sometimes criticizes Lennie for being an extra burden for him, deep down he knows that he can never abandon him. Both Lennie and George have absolutely no family; they only have each other. These two men work in a farm, dreaming of the day to have sufficient money to buy their own land. While the novel is mostly light-hearted, it takes a massive turn towards the end, which made me give it four stars due to the extremely depressing ending. Despite the climax of the novel, this book showcased the importance of friendship and how one always needs another human by their side. I would definitely recommend this short but sweet novel that teaches the important message of friendship. – Sachi B. ’21

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Heller’s Tale by David Pablo Cohn (review by Amelia H. ’19)

July 16, 2017 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Heller’s Tale: an Antarctic Novella by David Pablo Cohn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Heller’s Tale is a novella that follows Andrew Heller, a welder working at the South Pole, as an intended adventure with his friends goes, well, south. The details of the setting are based off Cohn’s own experience working in Antarctica and give a fantastical feeling to the story, particularly for those of us who have never actually been to Antarctica. Multiple timelines are also used to great effect by interspersing events so that they continuously build up the plot, instead of by chronology. The novella format keeps the story from dragging, while still allowing for complexity. I would recommend Heller’s Tale to anyone looking for an immersive, setting-driven story. – Amelia H. ’19

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Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (review by Melissa K. ’18)

April 6, 2016 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Out of the Easy begins with seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine’s stark opening line: “My mother’s a prostitute.” From the very first sentence, author Ruta Sepetys sucks the reader into the world of 1950s New Orleans, a place rife with scandal and mystique. Desperate to escape the stigma of her mother’s reputation, Josie dreams of leaving New Orleans by attending college far from the South.

Everyone in the novel has something to conceal—the wealthy Mr. Lockwell hides his trips to the French Quarter from his wife; Josie’s friend Patrick hides his aging father’s memory loss from the authorities; Josie hides a pistol under her skirt. The inexplicable death of a wealthy Memphis businessman in the French Quarter only adds to Josie’s list of secrets, especially when she suspects her mother’s involvement.

Ruta Sepetys writes flawlessly, revealing striking historical details through Josie’s observant eye. As historical fiction, Out of the Easy is painstakingly researched and powerfully told. Do I need to say more?

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On the Road by Jack Kerouac (review by Lisa L. ’16)

November 9, 2015 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book made me want to throw on a denim jacket, steal a packet of cigarettes and hitchhike across America to wind up in a damp basement in New York City to crank out pages of leaky ink poetry on a typewriter. On the Road invokes a sense of nostalgia for the way America used to be, when the roads were full of strangers promising money at their brother’s house in California, and the good life was hauling groceries up a hill outside San Francisco, and everyone was mad, mad about their loneliness or their art or the American Dream or their girl or their drugs. Or all of it at once. Kerouac takes the hitchhiking words of the English language and throws all the vagabonds, the orphaned teenagers, the Midwestern farm boys together to make lines of beautiful metaphors and descriptions. This book is the essence of spontaneity and trying to create the purest form of art out of the whimsy of the human mind. It’s gritty, dark, and hopeful all at once, and definitely one of my favorite books.

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Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (review by Kaitlyn N. ’18)

July 3, 2015 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aveyard skillfully combines a dystopian society with the world of fantasy in Red Queen, which addresses segregation and the conflict between different social classes. In the genetically modified future, humans are divided into two castes: those with silver blood (Silvers), and those with red (Reds). Those with silver blood enjoy a wealthier lifestyle and magical abilities, while people with red blood work as peasants and slaves. Even so, Mare, a Red, discovers that she straddles the border between the Reds and Silvers, and she is forced to become a princess under the watchful eye of the despotic king and her newly betrothed, the prince. Her plans for a rebellion go unnoticed, but Mare also faces internal struggles within her lovestruck heart and in her decision to sacrifice hundreds of innocent people for the sake of her cause. Aveyard’s unique plot and her taut writing from Mare’s perspective build suspense until the end. However, the lack of description and detail may easily confuse the reader. Fans of fantasy, adventure and strong female leads would certainly enjoy Red Queen.

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Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff (review by Akshay B. ’16)

February 3, 2015 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lost in Shangri-La is the incredible true story of the “Gremlin Special,” which crashed on May 13, 1945, in the uncharted New Guinea region referred to as Shangri-La. Of the original twenty-four officers, only three survived and struggled with their grief and injuries, all while fighting to survive in a harsh and unforgiving jungle surrounded by tribes rumored to be cannibals and Japanese soldiers infamous for their brutality. The narrative’s greatest strength comes from the honest fortitude of the trio, but at the same time Zukoff critiques the Americans for completely altering the way-of-life of the New Guineans. Ultimately, the interaction with the natives mirrors the destructive conflicts between American settlers and Native Americans, in which the latter were at the outset the saviors of colonists but eventually were ruined by them. Thus, though the exterior reality of the rescue tale resounds within the reader, the deeper undertone condemns the methods in which the rescue was achieved. – Akshay B. ’16

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Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde (review by Melissa K. ’18)

January 8, 2015 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After their mother dies, two sisters Carly and Jen trek from New Mexico to California in hopes of living with her ex-boyfriend. Trying to dodge Child Protective Services, they risk hitchhiking with strangers, dehydration in the desert, and stealing for sustenance. They pass small towns and encounter an odd variety of people, whose quirks are the highlight of the novel. Even the minor characters have distinctive voices. Catherine Ryan Hyde manages to convey regional accents so naturally that the reader barely notices them. The downside of the novel was the overuse of fragments, which distracts from the plot. If that annoys you, avoid this book. Otherwise, Walk Me Home is an easy, satisfying read. – Melissa K. ’18

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The Martian by Andy Weir (review by Connie M. ’17)

December 15, 2014 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

The Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Looking through Goodreads for a sci-fi book, I found that The Martian was voted the top sci-fi book for 2014, and decided to give it a try. Well, I certainly did not regret that decision.
The Martian was, yes, filled with highly technical scientific explanations. This, however, only added to the legitimacy of the story. But above all, The Martian is one of the most engrossing novels I have ever read. Not only was a stellar sense of humor imbued into multiple characters (I literally laughed out loud multiple times), but as the hero encountered challenge after challenge, I was so terrified of what might happen next. I could only pause my reading when the challenge was resolved. This was partly because of how realistic the story was. All challenges seemed completely plausible, and all solutions made complete sense and I was completely drawn into the story.
The Martian is a must read for any sci-fi fan and a wonderful experience for any reader.” -Connie M. ’17

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