2017 books: Deer Life, Little Warrior: Boy Patriot of Georgia

[thistlechaser]

Deer Life by Ron Sexsmith
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



The beautiful cover was the best thing about this book. I loved the writing style (so lyrical! Which makes sense, since turns out the author is a famous Canadian musician), but the story itself didn't hold my interest at all.

Something of a fairy tale? It jumped between a couple different characters, and the worldbuilding was too slow. I gave up at 10%.

Little Warrior: Boy Patriot of Georgia (Patriot Kids of the American Revolution Series Book 2) by Geoff Baggett
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



Since I'm currently so into Hamilton, it seemed like a good time to pick this book from my To Read pile.

It tells the story of a family moving from Virginia to Georgia, back in revolutionary times. While there was nothing wrong with it, it was only mildly interesting. The writing was pretty pedestrian and completely unchallenging. It was only when I sat down to write this review that I saw that it's not even a YA book, but a children's book. Target audience was kids age 9-10, which explains the writing.

While it was a fast read, it didn't hold my interest enough to finish it. Stopped at 45%.

Partial book credits:
Point reached in these books: 45% + 10% = 55%
Previous abandoned book total: 6%
New total: 55% + 6% = 61%

Comments

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I just picked up 'Fault lines in the Constitution' to educate myself a bit more about the whole process of creating the foundation of the U.S. - I'm only about 15 pages in and it is already a mess LOL! it is amazing we made it this far.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Isn't it? And amazing how we've backslid, too.

I'm probably going to pick up another book on the subject eventually, I just have a bunch of other things to read first, unless something else catches my eye.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I really love using children's non-fiction (or teen non-fiction) to dip my toe into history. Usually gives me enough information to see if I want to do more research or not LOL. We have about three kid's biographies of Hamilton now and even if I read all three of them, they would only be half the page count of the Chernow book, which scares me it is SO BIG

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh that's a good point, I hadn't thought of it that way.

Do you have a book rec site you like, that you use either in work or personal? I'm finding it harder and harder to find good recommendations for books.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Hm, not really? I usually just browse the new cart at work and grab stuff then go on GoodReads to see if the reviews are decent before I add it to my giant pile on my desk. I have the opposite problem. My favorite site actually just shut down because the owners were just done and I'm struggling to find another site that can keep me abreast of upcoming trends in books. :(

Our library has a subscription to Novelist which is a database that you can use to get book suggestions based on favorite titles or authors or even browse by themes.

What are you in the mood for? I love doing Readers Advisory at work :D I can try to help you out!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I guess our process is similar. I look for titles that catch my eye, then check the cover. (Nowadays you can somewhat judge a book by the cover -- you can almost always tell self-published books that way.) Then from there I check Amazon and Goodreads.

And ooh that sounds fun! I'd love more books about gaming (YA or otherwise). And any non-dry American Revolution stories? YA especially for that one.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Did I already suggest Sarah Vowell? I forget. She's not YA, but she does history. 'Lafayette in the Somewhat United States' would be fitting for your Hamilton kick. :)

I'm totally blanking on gaming stories except for 'ready player one' LOL. I know there is a new one...Warcross by Marie Lu - I haven't read it but it is supposed to be good. Cory Doctorow has 'For the Win', which is also supposed to be interesting, though it focuses on "farmers" in MMORPGs and their lives.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Woo, thanks! This was the first time I've encountered Sarah Vowell, but she looks like I'd like her. I grabbed a copy of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, as well as the other two.

Thanks! :D