Date Read: April 13
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
This is, of course, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but I was rereading it and so I decided to read it in French. It was just how I imagined it, and it was funnier rereading it and looking at the French names of the Houses, such as, for example, Poufsouffle instead of Hufflepuff.
Ça ne fait pas grand bien de s’installer dans les rêves en oubliant de vivre, souviens-toi de ça.
– Harry Potter à L’école des Sorciers
Date Read: April 12
Authors: Amal El-Muhtar and Max Gladstone
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Red and Blue, agents on opposite sides of a war that spans all of time and space, find themselves exchanging letters. The letters and the narrative are beautiful, woven together just as carefully as the strands of time that Red and Blue manipulate. An amazing book.
Books are letters in bottles, cast into the waves of time, from one person trying to save the world to another.
– This is How You Lose the Time War
Date Read: April 10
Author: Colson Whitehead
Genre: Post-apocalypic Horror
Rating: 5/5
Zone One takes place months after the world falls to a zombie pandemic, and it follows a man trying to survive through the various stages of the zombie apocalypse. The book takes place over three days, but includes various flashbacks throughout. My only complaint would be that sometimes it was difficult to tell whether or not it was a flashback.
If the beings they destroyed were their own creations, and not the degraded remnants of the people described on the things’ driver’s licenses, so be it. We never see other people anyway, only the monsters we make of them.
– Zone One
Date Read: April 8
Author: Alex Michaelides
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4/5
Alicia Berenson has not spoken a word since she murdered her husband. Theo Faber, a psychotherapist, wants to be th one who gets her to speak again. The Silent Patient is told through Theo’s narration, presenting his view on Alicia and the mysterious events surrounding her. It was a good mystery and a quick read.
One of the hardest things to admit is that we weren’t loved when we neded it most. It’s a terrible feeling, the pain of not being loved.
– The Silent Patient
Date Read: April 7
Author: David D. Levine
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Arabella the Traitor of Mars is the conclusion to the Adventures of Arabella Ashby Trilogy, which begins with Arabella of Mars and Arabella and the Battle of Venus. If you enjoy the first book, then the conclusion will not disappoint. There are more ship battles, adventures, and dangerous tasks ahead of Arabella. A fun young adult series.
Date Read: April 6
Author: Lorie Langdon
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Olivia Twist, who lived most of her young life disguised as a young boy named Oliver, has been taken in by her wealthy uncle. Now a member of high society, her life is still full of danger. Olivia Twist is action-packed, and perfect for everyone, whether or not you’ve read Oliver Twist.
There’s no point in wanting something you can never have.
– Olivia Twist
Date Read: April 3
Author: David D. Levine
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 4/5
The sequel to Arabella of Mars, Arabella Ashby’s adventures continue as she travels to the planet Venus, once more braving the dangers of sailing in space. I loved the book, and I’m looking forward to reading the third book in the series.
Date Read: April 5
Author: Michael Crichton
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5
In 1876, Yale student William Johnson sets out on a paleontology expedition with Professor Marsh. He finds himself in the treacherous Wild West, a completely unknown landscape. Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, weaves together historical figures with fictional characters in order to tell a story of danger, intrigue, and dinosaurs.
“You must first learn patience, if you wish to learn anything at all.”
– Dragon Teeth
Date Read: April 2
Author: Yaa Gyasi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
A multi-generational novel following two half-sisters and their families, Homegoing is a powerful novel. It balances emotions and the story, and the result is an incredibly well-written narrative.
Evil begets evil. It grow. It transmutes, so that sometimes you cannot see that the evil in the world began as the evil in your own home.
– Homegoing
Date Read: April 1
Author: David D. Levine
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 5/5
In the late 1600s, Captain William Cook was in charge of the first ship to Mars. A century later, Arabella Ashby, born and raised on Mars, has to find her way back. An inventive blend of space travel and the 1800s, Arabella of Mars is a terrific novel when you’re looking for something fun to read.
How quickly expectations can change one’s behavior.
– Arabella of Mars
Zoey's Year in Books 2020