Monday Minis…

I need to do a little bookish housekeeping…I’ve barely been reading, or when I do, it takes me a month to finish a book (as opposed to my usual 4-6 hours). But here’s a quick round up of the books I’ve managed to clear off the shelf with mini-ish reviews.

The Life Below (the Final Six #2) by Alexandra Monir ~ Goodreads Good for fans of dystopian with a sci-fi twist that uses the timely subject of Earth’s climate change as a catalyst to ask…what if Earth was being destroyed and we HAD to leave to save humanity? And what if where we’re going is even more dangerous?

Earth is being destroyed by violent storms and rising water. Nations have banded together to find another planet to relocate everyone. In book #1, The Final Six – there is a competition and training program to find 6 teens who will make the mission to Europa to see if it’s inhabitable.

In The Life Below, the Final Six is on their mission, while one of the failed finalists is left behind to unravel the secrets that endanger the crew and the human race.

I enjoyed this series (I believe it’s just this dulogy) but there’s nothing too groundbreaking. Teens competing, romance, betrayal, government secrets.

TBH, I forgot most of book #1 and spent a good amount of time trying to remember things. Most of the crew doesn’t really stand out but there are several really tense scenes in this one - both psychological and physical because there’s other life in space…and it’s not very nice. And I was impressed by the pretty solid, mature romance – not a lot of drama on that front.

* Finished copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz & illustrations by Thomas Pitilli ~ Goodreads Gotham High is  a new graphic novel series that reimagines the Batman universe with the characters in high school.

The artwork and colors are vibrant and fun, de la Cruz added as much needed dose of diversity in her telling, Bruce is Asian American, Uncle Alfred is gay and married, the story itself is a bit bland high school drama.

We get a glimpse of Batman, The Joker & Catwoman as teens, well before they embody those personas – as Bruce, Jack and Selina with a bit of insight into who they will become - but overall this felt like generic teen drama and any character could have been used interchangeably. But maybe this is a case of needing to read the next one in order for it to all come together or possibly being more attractive to new comic book readers or teens that want their drama more high school focused with just a touch of super hero/villain dynamics.

*Finished copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review


Crave (Crave #1) by Tracy Wolff ~ Goodreads Unpopular opinion – I DNF’d this at page 50 & I’ll just repeat here what I said on goodreads about this “feminist update of Twilight* – This book was everything I expected it to be. Take that as you will.











Pax by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Jon Klassen ~ Goodreads I’ve had this book on my shelf since I got it at ALA in 2016. It is a GORGEOUS book and I have it signed (complete with a little fox drawing) by both the author and illustrator.

Peter and Pax get separated and try to find their way back to each other while encountering others (people and in Pax's case - foxes).

This is a beautiful story about the bond between animal and boy, trying to change expectations for yourself, dealing with anger and to some degree, war and its impact on both humans and nature.

Pax and his fox friends are in frequent danger and there are multiple animal deaths. SPOILER –> Pax lives and is not hurt in any way <- The pain both Peter and Pax went through missing each other hurt my heart but I'm a wimp with animal stories.

It was written very well though, especially Pax's pov, discovering his senses and wild side, missing his boy. Their ending is bittersweet but perfect.

If I have any complaints, it would be with how it handles the war and father/son aspect. While the war and encroaching soldiers is a constant drumbeat and danger to the foxes, the story never really fleshes that out. Same with Peter and his father (who is serving in that war) who have a very angry and abrupt conclusion.

Otherwise, this was a really sweet story.

So that brings me up to speed and I read 2 books this week that I really enjoyed and have coming up for review so yay!

I also got approved on Netgalley and bought a few fun books so I might post about that soon too.

What are you all reading/doing, watching?