Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Quick Reviews - The Traitor in the Tunnel, Despereaux & Story of a Girl


The Traitor in the Tunnel (Goodreads | Amazon)
4/5 stars

Sometimes you have a series that you just love.  For me The Agency, despite the fact that I know it's completely unrealistic, is a favorite.  I love Mary's practicality.  I love how circumstances keep throwing Mary and James at each other. I love how they try to resist each other for logical and rational reasons.  I love the witty banter and flirting between them. I love that they are attracted to each other's intelligence.   This series is very pro-female, which I love.  There is no real way to review the 3rd in a series without some spoilers (and some might consider that paragraph spoilery enough as is).  This series continues to be delightful, full of good mysteries to solve, fun flirting and a very pragmatic heroine.

The Tale of Despereaux (Goodreads |Amazon)
4/5 stars

The Tale of Desperaux is a very sweet story about an intelligent mouse that doesn't really know how to be a mouse.  Desperaux loves to read, music and eventually falls in love with a Princess.  He's banished to the dungeons, a death sentence for a tiny mouse, but with bravery and intelligence he finds a way to become a hero that both mouse and man can admire.  An adorable story that any kid would enjoy.

Story of a Girl (Goodreads | Amazon)
4/5 stars

Sarah Zarr is one of my favorite contemporary writers.  The way she writes struggling, lost teenagers is very authentic.  I really felt for Deanna Lambert - how one mistake with one stupid boy changed her reputation, changed how her father looks at her and changed everything.  She was only 13 years old when her father caught her having sex in the back of Tommy's car and she became the school slut.  At 17 she is still suffering the repercussions, especially at home where her father still doesn't trust her.  Deanna is not a hero, just a confused girl who wants to be loved, wants to feel like a part of a family and wants to forget about her past.  This is a character-driven, plot light story that deals with Deanna's internal struggles and it's wonderful.  The only problem I had with this book was the ending.  I'm just happily listening to the narration, enjoying the book and then suddenly it was over.  To me the story didn't feel finished yet and it felt like a strange way to end an otherwise brilliant book.

3 comments:

@MelissaJoLynn_ said...

I hadn't heard about Story of A Girl. Sounds interesting and realistic. I like these mini reviews!

Cassi Haggard said...

Thanks! i do these ever so often when I want to tell people but there isn't a full review in me.

Merin said...

I'd wondered what you'd thought of the Agency book, so thanks for sharing! I need to read the second one soon. :)

~Merin @ Read and Reviewed~