This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Finished this book last night... it was certainly hard to put down once I was into the second half! This story is intended to be a prequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein classic, which I don't recall ever reading but I've seen enough on the screen to know the premise.

Enter Frankenstein twins Konrad and Victor, their distant cousin Elizabeth (who has been raised in their household), and best friend Henry. They stumble upon a secret passage to "the Dark Library", filled with scientific apparatus and alchemy books.  And Victor's fascination with alchemy begins.  When Konrad suddenly falls seriously ill, Victor turns to alchemy to seek a cure, and the adventures begin!

I loved Elizabeth's strong character, and the turmoil and internal struggle we witness Victor work through. I enjoyed the historical setting, although I think it could have used more description. And as I've already said, once the story hit high-adventure mode, I had a hard time closing the cover.  Now I need to go read Frankenstein!!!

Summer reading update... in January?

Sooo...  I have been meaning to review the books I read over the summer, and it just keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.  Now I'm not even sure I remember enough about most of the books to write a thorough review!  So I'll list the books and my general impression of each and move forward from here...

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (Nujood Ali) - this memoir/autobiography was intriguing. A peek into what it must be like to live as a second-class female citizen in a male-dominated society. It does restore faith that there are people who care and will help you fight if the battle is just.

My Name Is Mina (David Almond) - I tried, and maybe I didn't try hard enough, but I could not get the voice into my head. I just couldn't not finish this book. It has won tons of accolades however, so please give it a shot.

Beauty Queens (Libba Bray) - I hesitated even buying this book for my high school library, because the premise did not appeal to me at all, nor was it something I thought my students would want to read.  But it kept popping up on list after list, so I figured it must be good, right? Nope.  I should have trusted my instincts - I just couldn't get into this story.  I definitely laughed out loud a couple of times, but eventually I just put it down. Maybe I'll try again later...

Going Bovine (Libba Bray) - very... different. This book took me a while to "get into", but I did eventually begin to care about Cameron (the main character) enough to finish his story.

Hate List (Jennifer Brown) - LOVED this story!  It haunts me to this day. Imagine a school shooting, but you know the shooter and remember him not as a shooter, but as a person. The main character of this story, Val, is just that person, and struggles with understanding how this all came to be and her own part in what happened.  Definitely a different perspective on a difficult situation.

What Happened to Goodbye (Sarah Dessen) - Many of my female students love Dessen's stories. This was enjoyable, easy enough to read, and certainly a realistic portrayal of the life of a teen whose parents have divorced. Doesn't make me a lifelong fan of Dessen, but I can understand my students' attraction...

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame-Smith) - LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!  I have recommended it to SO many people since reading it.  Even got my non-reading husband to listen to the audio version :)  I love biographies, so it was enjoyable to read for the historical information, but the seamless & realistic insertion of vampires put this one over the top.  Highly recommend!

Shine (Lauren Myracle) - Great read! It wasn't the kind of book that I couldn't put down, but it also wasn't the kind that let me leave it unfinished either.  Great story, with several interesting twists and turns, dealing with the dark topic of hate crimes.

So that is what I accomplished from my reading to-do list this past summer. Not nearly as many books as I had hoped to read, but I did have fun playing in the pool with my kiddos!  I'll post some book reviews and library news in the near future...