December 2018 Reading Wrap Up
December 2018 Reading Wrap Up
Hello friends! It’s time for a belated wrap up of what I read in December. I only managed to read 5 books, 2 of which were re-reads… but I was doing Blogmas so I feel that’s a valid reason! Also I seem to be heading to read even less this month, so maybe 5 wasn’t bad!
The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett Published by Berkley on June 13th 2017
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 368
Goodreads
In a breathtakingly vivid and emotionally gripping debut novel, one woman must confront the emptiness in the universe—and in her own heart—when a devastating virus reduces most of humanity to dust and memories.
All Jamie Allenby ever wanted was space. Even though she wasn’t forced to emigrate from Earth, she willingly left the overpopulated, claustrophobic planet. And when a long relationship devolved into silence and suffocating sadness, she found work on a frontier world on the edges of civilization. Then the virus hit...
Now Jamie finds herself dreadfully alone, with all that’s left of the dead. Until a garbled message from Earth gives her hope that someone from her past might still be alive.
Soon Jamie finds other survivors, and their ragtag group will travel through the vast reaches of space, drawn to the promise of a new beginning on Earth. But their dream will pit them against those desperately clinging to the old ways. And Jamie’s own journey home will help her close the distance between who she has become and who she is meant to be...
I got given The Space Between the Stars from my TBTBSanta, and it was the only book I was given for Christmas if I’m honest! You know me, I LOVE space, I also love viruses, so I was SUPER hyped to read this one. I’ve been more strict with my ratings lately, which is why it got 4 stars. I really enjoyed it but I didn’t LOVE it. I think it was just a bit slow for me, but I still recommend it!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré
Published by Scholastic Inc on June 26th 1997
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 320
Goodreads
Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.
Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.
Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.
So I told this story on Twitter, but basically my boyfriend hasn’t ever read Harry Potter, and I’ve tried to get him to read it SO many times to no avail. I floated the idea of listening to the audiobook and again, he had no interest. So I sneak Harry Pottered him. I started listening to it before bed to help me sleep, I used to listen to music, and he got hooked! Now he makes me go back and re listen to bits if I’ve gone further ahead when he’s fallen asleep!
So yes, I love Harry Potter, I don’t need to summarise the book for you or anything. It’s great, end of. It’s also great that they had working plumbing when the series was written, and that the wizards didn’t just defecate where they stand anymore…
The Disasters by M.K. England
Published by HarperCollins on December 18th 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 352
Goodreads
Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.
But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.
On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.
They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.
When I saw The Disasters, I HAD TO READ IT! I got a copy free from the publisher to review and it was great! It had a motley crew of misfits, lots of LGBTQI rep and SPACE.
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins
Published by Scholastic Press on August 24th 2010
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 392
Goodreads
My name is Katniss Everdeen.Why am I not dead?I should be dead.
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.
My second reread of the month, the finale of The Hunger Games series. I loved it just as much! The narrator was an odd choice for me, as she sounds much older than Katniss so it’s a bit jarring.
All the Lonely People by David Owen
Published by Atom on January 10th 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 304
Goodreads
Everyone tells Kat that her online personality - confident, funny, opinionated - isn't her true self. Kat knows otherwise. The internet is her only way to cope with a bad day, chat with friends who get all her references, make someone laugh. But when she becomes the target of an alt-right trolling campaign, she feels she has no option but to Escape, Quit, Disappear.
With her social media shut down, her website erased, her entire online identity void, Kat feels she has cut away her very core: without her virtual self, who is she?
She brought it on herself. Or so Wesley keeps telling himself as he dismantles Kat's world from across the classroom. It's different, seeing one of his victims in real life and not inside a computer screen - but he's in too far to back out now.
As soon as Kat disappears online, her physical body begins to fade and while everybody else forgets that she exists, Wesley realises he is the only one left who remembers her. Overcome by remorse for what he has done, Wesley resolves to stop her disappearing completely. It might just be the only way to save himself.
All the Lonely People is a timely story about online culture - both good and bad - that explores the experience of loneliness in a connected world, and the power of kindness and empathy over hatred.
I loved All the Lonely People! I had the privilege of opening up the blog tour so check out that post!
I hope you enjoyed my wrap up! What did you read in December? Were they Christmas related?
Follow Jenniely on WordPress.com
5 Comments
Great reads, which ones was your favorite?
Great post, which of these books was your favorite?
Rereading Harry Potter is always a great choice! And I just finished The Disasters and really enjoyed it! 😀
Because I’m not of the generation raised on Harry, I have read maybe two of the books and maybe have seen two (different books from the two I read) or three movies. I rarely say this, but I liked the movies better. I just sit back and let Hollywood do the imagining for me. My great niece lived on a steady diet of Potter during her teen and young adult years and she threw her one year old daughter a Harry Potter-themed first birthday party. The pictures were fabulous. I read The Hunger Games as assigned for my Third Tuesday Book Club (mostly old ladies, like me) and continued to read the other two in the trilogy on my own. I, unlike you, liked the third (conclusion) the least. All the strategy and planning reminded me of a video game, and I just didn’t have the mind for it. I liked the second book, Mockingjay, best, and found a pin at a gift shop that everything thinks is taken from the cover. It’s gorgeous. The othersI haven’t looked at. Are any five stars out of five stars?
I think of Harry Potter as kind of a gateway series – it seems to be getting a lot of people in reading and fandom! your boyfriend is in for quite an adventure 😉 I remember sitting down and reading it to my younger brother, along with Percy Jackson – he never got into PJO, unfortunately, but lo and behold a few months later he was rereading the HP books over and over and over! mischief managed 😈