Book Review: Kanada

Title: Kanada

Author: Eva Wiseman

Series: standalone

Genre: YA, Middle Grade, Historical

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Page Count: 300

Goodreads Summary:

Kanada. The name meant untold riches and promise to Jutka, a young Hungarian girl who was captivated by stories of a vast, majestic country where people were able to breathe free of hatred and prejudice. Freedom was in short supply, but hatred was everywhere in Hungary as hundreds of thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps during the last year of WWII. Jutka, her friends, and her family are sent to Auschwitz.

In that hellish place, there was another Kanada. It was the ironic name given to the storehouse at Auschwitz where the possessions, clothing and jewelry stripped from the victims were deposited, and where Jutka was put to work.

The war may have ended, but it did not end the suffering of many of the inmates of concentration camps. Many had no homes to go to, and if they did, they were not welcome. Hundreds went back to Poland and were murdered. Famished, diseased, and homeless, they lived in the hopelessness of camps, wondering if they could ever find a home in the world. Some went to Israel, but for Jutka there was only one dream left her: the dream of a country full of hope, where she would no longer have to live in fear.

Eva Wiseman’s powerful novel describes the war and its long, difficult aftermath with compassion and tenderness.

My Thoughts:

Definitely have a box of tissues prepared for this book. I had gone into this completely blind, and ended up sobbing my eyes out.

My Review:

This was very good, although super sad as it’s another Auschwitz story. I hadn’t realized that in going in so allow me to inform you that you definitely should have a box of tissues prepared. Jutka is a believable character and the story is powerful, emotional, and full of historical references. From Hungary to Canada, this was a really good read. I can definitely see why it was the winner of the Geoffrey Bilson award back in 2007. Jutka, a young Hungarian girl, is just trying to survive and not get killed all because she was born a Jew. The story is told before, during and after World War 2. It’s beautifully written, and vivid with descriptions of the time and place of what it was like living as a Jew during that era.  It was quite sad, and yet Jutka pressed on and survived. Very recommended for those who like historical fiction!

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book

Book Review: Avalon

Hello Everyone,

The cover is so intriguing!

Title: Avalon

Author: Mindee Arnette

Series: Book 1

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Publisher: Harper Collins

Page Count: 400

Goodreads Summary:

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they’re damn good at it. Jeth doesn’t care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents’ ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he’ll go to get the freedom he’s wanted for so long.

My Thoughts:

This was proclaimed as a For fans of Josh Whedon’s cult classic television show Firefly comes a fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi thriller from author Mindee Arnett, over on Google and I really feel like it is accurate description of the book, however Firefly remains top tier. Worth reading if missing Firefly otherwise unless you really like predictable teen science fiction, I’d give this a hard pass. I love Mindee Arnett’s books, but this just didn’t do it for me.

My Review:

Jeth, Celeste, Lizzy and others on his crew are hired by the ITA to find a missing ship in a place no one goes to anymore because bad things happen there. There’s a mystery surrounding his parents death and their being called traitors. Lots of hijinks ensue, being chased by all sorts of people and near death experiences while also Jeth is intent to buy his parents ship, Avalon, back. It’s all fun and games until the truth comes out.

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book

Shadow & Bone: A Review of the Show (So Far)

I really want this book edition. Stunning!

I have watched the first three episodes of Shadow and Bone and automatically I must tip my hat to the writers, actors, all the crew. Phenomenal job so far!

I’ll try not to make any spoilers here, as I rave about how good a job this was. Granted it had weak moments and sometimes the screen got to dark to see ANYTHING but otherwise, I am so HYPED for the rest of this show and I want to reread the books because *gasp* I never finished it!

Jasper remains my favorite character but honestly I like ALL of them. Alina, Mal, Kaz…the whole of them are absolutely cast perfectly imho. I like that we have a diverse cast. I like that there’s hopefully/definitely going to be a season two. There’s very little that I don’t like and that’s mostly the frustrating lighting issues in the show.

I’m only three episodes in so this isn’t a full review but more hype for the show. If you haven’t watched yet? What are you waiting for, a darkling to save you? 🙂 Trust me. This isn’t a show you want to miss and Leigh Bardugo is amazing. I’m probably going to marathon her books now.

Have y’all watched/read Shadow and Bone? Let me know in the comments!

New Release Review: All the Wandering Light

Title: All the Wandering Light
Author: Heather Fawcett
Series: Book 2
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Harper Collins
Page Count: 430
Type of Book: Hardback, New Release
Received: Library
Review Word Count: 500
Rated: 4.5/5 stars
Notes: Another sequel finished. Alas, book three is not out so now I have to wait. *cries*

River. Kazmin. Ragtooth. Azar-at. Lusha. These characters have devoured my soul within 400 pages of complicated story plot, action, adventure, treachery, royalty, and even death. There was so much going on that I lingered through the pages, and took most of a day to read, as opposed to just a few hours. I don’t know why I spent a week putting off this book, and now after having finished reading book two, I do know-I didn’t want this world to end, again, for the second time on such a drastic cliffhanger.

You can’t trust River. But then he goes and does things like saving Kazmin’s life again and again. He even saves Lusha’s life. He helps her with Azar-at. He does things that keep confusing Kazmin to no end, and towards the end of the book even River appears confused by all that he’s been lead to believe. For he isn’t quite what he thought he was.

On that mysterious note, there’s also the added fact of the group chasing down a falling star one that has the power to raise the dead. It’s powers are limitless, but that’s the power that their afraid River will use it for. Whoever has the star can command literal armies of the dead.

There’s also the added fact that Ragtooth, who had been thought dead at the end of book two, is no longer dead in this volume…but he’s also not quite himself. We learn more about him towards the end of the book, yet still mysteries carry.

The writing is so vivid and detailed within this book, that I truly hated finishing it. I know it’ll be months before I get book three, and even then the story will remain firmly etched in my mind (probably not, but it feels like it will, though we all know I’ll likely forget all that happened by the time book three rolls around).

This was my first read for Feburary. As far as first reads go, this was glorious, and I really hope the rest of the month proves to be this entertaining. I completely skipped the first week, and we’re now into the remaining three weeks of the shortest month of the year because I just couldn’t be bothered to read, and I was working on writing my own books as well, so…

Not too many reads for this month, but the one that I started out with? Absolutely perfect.

4.5/5 stars, and I definitely am getting book three as soon as it releases!

Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book

Happy New Year: New Year, New Arcs!

There’s lots of new arcs that I was recently approved on Netgalley. I’ve done two reviews thus far, but am behind-again-but only because I’m working on other things too. It being the new year, there’s also little time for reading/writing with family over for the holidays, which makes it more challenging as well. But I decided to do a brief post where I display the upcoming ARCs that I plan on reading and reviewing. Here are the new books that I was approved on Netgalley, several of which I am eagerly anticipating!

 

I’m quite excited for “Romanov”, “Fog Season”, and “A Danger to Herself and Others” but I really am eagerly anticipating all of these, and can’t wait to start reading them! I hope I can get to them soon, because my Netgalley reading list is starting to become rather alarming.

Other books that I’m currently reading:

The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

The Winter Road by Adrian Selby 

I should have reviews up for those three books soon. Be sure to keep an eye out for that, as well as several other updates I’m planning on doing. I’ve been working like made on the secret project, hoping to get it up soon. Otherwise, this is all the news that I really have to share with at the moment. I hope everyone had a lovely new year, and got approved arcs as well.

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book