The Girl with All the Gifts. 4.25/5. Apocalyptic horror thriller?. 462 pages, 2014

Let’s talk about the 2014 The Girl With All the Gifts. This is an apocalyptic horror story, as far as I can say. We start with Melanie, a ten-year-old kept locked and chained unless during the week when she has class with other kids just like her. The doctor wants to slice her open, the sergeant is happy to let that happen, and the teacher just loves her the best she can.

I don’t read a lot of this genre, but I got sucked into this one and I’m so happy I picked it up. I loved the ending which took it to the next level. There’s a second book that I might check out, but it takes place before this book and I’m not sure I’m curious enough.

Do you like these types of horror/apocalypse/thriller type of books? Think Justin Cronin, Neil Gaiman, Dean Koontz.

Chapter 45

“What she thinks is: this could have been me. Why not? A real girl, in a real house, with a mother and a father and a brother and a sister and an aunt and an uncle and a nephew and a niece and a cousin and all those other words for the map of people who love each other and stay together. The map called family.

Growing up and growing old. Playing. Exploring. Like Pooh and Piglet. And then like the Famous Five. And then like Heidi and Anne of Green Gables. And then like Pandora, opening the great big box of the world and not being afraid, not even caring whether what’s inside is good or bad. Because it’s both. Everything is always both.

But you have to open it to find that out.”

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim, Kay, story inspired by Siobhan Dowd. 4.5 stars, middle grade fiction, 206 pages, 2011

An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor.

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting– he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd– whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself– Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined. from Goodreads

If I know a book will likely make me cry, more often than not, I’ll skip it. Plenty of things to cry about in real life, I do not need to be sobbing when reading fiction.

This book was so good I didn’t even mind that it made me cry twice. Not just tears in my eyes, but having to close the book and grab some tissues. I can only speak to this illustrated version. The fantastic illustrations really added another layer to this story for me. They created just the the right amount of darkness and terror needed.

Conor’s mom has been sick awhile and he’s having trouble at school. When a monster appears he’s scared, but nothing can be as scary as his nightly nightmare. The monster tells his stories and Conor’s life continues to get worse.

This is a kids book, but it goes to dark places. I don’t want to give anything away, but there’s so much to say, but I don’t want to say all of the spoilery things.

Have you read it? I highly recommend, but would read it first before sharing it with your child. As a mom you want to be prepared to discuss.

“There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.”

“Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?”

“Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both.”

“Conor was no longer invisible. They all saw him now.
But he was further away than ever.”

Following the Path by Joan Chittister. 4.5/5 stars, Inspirational, 192 pages, 2012

This book is meant to give someone in the process of making a life decision at any age—in early adulthood, at the point of middle-age change and later, when we find ourselves at the crossroads without a name—some ideas against which to pit their own minds, their own circumstances. Its purpose, as they wrestle with the process of trying to find and follow their own special call at this new stage of life, is to both provoke thinking and to clarify it. —Joan Chittister
 
In our modern and mobile society, the range of answers to the questions “What am I supposed to do with my life?” and “How do I know when I’ve found my purpose?” can seem endless and overwhelming. Following the Path by Sister Joan brings the insights of her years of teaching and contemplation to bear on this issue, providing readers with a new way forward. Through her examination of spiritual calling and gifts, change and discernment, she leads readers home to the place where, finally, we know we fit, where we are the fullest of ourselves and a gift to the world, a timely and much needed message that many will be happy to hear.

from Goodreads

I loved it. I always get something I need out of Joan Chittister’s books and this one was perfect for me during this transitional time of Gage going back to school after 3 years of homeschooling. When you’re at a crossroads, or even at a place where you’re acknowledging that there’s something unfinished in you, this is a nice read. I read a chapter every morning for a few weeks and it was a nice way to start the day. If any of these quotes resonate with you, get your hands on the book.

“We are all called, in some form and fashion, to give ourselves away so that tomorrow can be better than yesterday for many. We are all called to be reckless, intrepid, conscious philanthropists of the world to come.”

“But it is in our giftedness that our future lies. To be really happy, we must either follow our gifts or find our gifts. Otherwise we run the risk of going to our graves only half alive.”

“Aristotle, the great philosopher of personal development, said happiness depended on developing ourselves to our fullest potential. On becoming the best self we can possibly be…he said happiness depended on our commitment and involvement in ‘virtuous activity.’ In doing good…it’s about doing something that makes the world a better place to be…What fills our heart with happiness, ironically enough, is not what we get out of the world; it’s what we put into it.”

“Enjoyment and happiness are not synonyms. Enjoyment is, at best, an answer to the rigors of routine, it is not the abiding sense of a life we’ll live. That comes with having lived life well at every level and to the very heart of its ultimate meaning.”

“The more equipped I am to distinguish the me I want to be from the me everybody else wants me to be, the more likely I am to become it.”

“What other people require of us leads us to create the masks we present to the world.”

“At the end of the day, at the end of every decision, the measurement criteria must always be whether what I am doing is serving my false self or my true self.”

“Unless I am capable of letting go of the security level to which I have become accustomed, unless I am ready to begin again, the lack of a sense of meaning in the here and now that plagues us with the grace of doubt will die in the wind.”

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. 4.25 stars. Romance. 323 pages, 2023

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life—placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality with every face she sees.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls into—love? Lust? A temporary obsession to distract from the real problems in her life?—with not one man but two very different ones. The timing couldn’t be worse.

from Goodreads

Hello Stranger is the latest feel good novel by Katherine Center. Sadie is an artist in her 20s living in a not-fit-to-rent apartment on a dime. She’s just reached the finals of a prestigious portrait competition, when an accident and subsequent surgery cause prosopagnodia, an inability to ‘see’ faces.

Sadie’s family story was the most moving part of the story for me. Her mom was gone, and she had an evil stepmother and stepsister to make her miserable while her father looked away. Needless to say, I was rooting hard for Sadie.

There was a love interest or two, a loyal best friend, and the realities of her new life with face blindness. This novel was warm and fuzzy in all the right places, while also letting real life shine through.

I loved it. There were, perhaps, one or two more coincidences than necessary, but at the end I was left feeling happy and satisfied.

Have you read a book by Katherine Center? Are they great?

“The fact that you don’t want me to help you really makes me want to help you.”
“That sounds like a you problem.”

The Enchanted Hacienda by JC Cervantes. 4.5 stars. Magical realism. 368 pages, 2023

I’m a sucker for all things magical realism. This was the perfect book at the perfect time. I love when that happens! It was magical, romantic, and fun.

The Estrada women are tied to their Mexican flower farm. Each one of them, for generations, has been born with special powers and the ability to help others through spells, like erasing memories or bonding to another person. Harlow didn’t have any such gift and always felt like the odd one out. When she goes home to regroup after a breakup she finds the magic she’s been looking for her whole life.

There are lots of women in this family and something tells me we might see more of these women in the future. I can’t wait!

This was one of three books in my quarterly TBR box from Book Riot and the second I’ve read so far. I always like care they use when choosing my books and, of course, I love the element of surprise that the box brings when I see it on my doorstep.