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May 2021 Book of the Month

Max-      My May 2021 Book of the Month was Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan. Ben already did this one, but I have a whole different perspective! In the first book, Magnus is picked up by his crazy uncle who raves about Viking stuff. By the way, this is the same uncle the Magnus's mother told him not  to go to for help after their apartment blew up. So then, Magnus summons this cool sword  rusty pipe and attempts to kill this fire giant Surt, but he dies in the process even though his buddies Blitz and Hearth uses plastic arrows. But then, he is transported into Valhalla, a Norse afterlife, where the strange girl that took him to Valhalla is literally fired. Also, there's this wolf that is tied down and if his bonds break, then he will start Ragnarok, and his bonds are old and breaking. Magnus does not like this and leaves Valhalla illegally and goes on a bunch of adventures with his friends. Happy first few chapters!     This serie...
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August 2020 Books of the Month

  Ben and Max-     Our August 2020 Book of the Month was the Jurassic Park duology by Michael Crichton. There are animal attacks in Costa Rica, and it's up to a pair of scientists, Alan and Ellie, to -- Ooh! An invitation to a nature preserve! Let's go! The nature preserve turns out to be a dinosaur preserve, but don't worry! We genetically altered them to rely on our food so they can't escape, and they can't reproduce, either -- they're all females! While we couldn't get all the dino DNA, we filled in the gaps with frog DNA! What's the worst that can happen? As it turns out, painful death. An attempt at corporate espionage gone wrong frees all the dinosaurs from their enclosures, and the dinosaurs are breeding somehow. It will take a lot to escape... We liked this book because it is suspenseful, sciencey, and actionful. Being hunted by murderous (but they can't help it) dinosaurs is actually pretty fun. There's also a sequel, The Lost World, and...
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April 2021 Book of the Months

Max -      My April 2021 Book of the Month is The Testing series by Joelle Charbonneau. Malencia Vale has graduated from school. So she's an adult. She was not chosen for the Testing, (people test people because they need great people to fix what the Seven Stages of War did) maybe because she lives in teeny tiny Five Lakes Colony. But wait, she HAS been chosen for the Testing. So she leaves, but not after a little talk with her father (who took and passed the Testing and the University). He says to trust no one. Of course, Malencia. or Cia, can't not trust anyone, so she starts off with Tomas, another candidate for the Testing. But, the testing is more than she thinks. And she does think.      I liked this book because it is many many things, and it is a dystopia, which is fun, because it makes everyone feel good about this world. Also, if you like The Hunger Games, you will like this. The Testing is like The Hunger Games, but with different systems, r...
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March 2021 Books of the Month

Ben     My March 2021 Book of the Month is Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall. It covers the geopolitical contexts and situations in several vital regions of the world. These include:  Russia ,  China , the  United States ,  Europe , the  Middle East ,  South Asia ,  Africa ,  Japan  &  Korea ,  Latin America , and the  Arctic Ocean . Learn why the DRC is a cesspool, why Russia needs Crimea, why America's geography  is great, why France and Germany are destined for greatness, why the EU is doomed to fail, and how Arabia became a warzone.     I like this book primarily because I am a cartophile. It contains lots of maps, explains our world, and reminds me that Russia is in trouble. (I don't like Putin.) Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in geography, politics, or geopolitics. Max -     My March 2021 Book of the Month was The Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterma...
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February 2021 Books of the Month

                       Max:       My February 2021 Book of the Month was The War That Saved My Life  by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. In the book, Ada is stuck in a one room flat by herself a lot because her mother does not want anyone seeing Ada's clubfoot. There is a lot of talk about the war going around, but it all seems far away from London. However, in fear of a German attack, many children in London are sent to Kent so they will be protected. Ada is ecstatic about this opportunity to get away from her mother, but her brother, Jamie, does not want to leave. As the children leave on a train, Ada notices so many things that she has missed and many things that she wants to do. They are the last left after all the children are taken, and they are taken in by Susan Smith. Will Ada and Jamie live a happy life with Susan as they learn to love each other during wartime? Or will they fall back into ...
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January 2021 Books of the Month

              Max -                My January 2021 Book of the Month was Recursion by Blake Crouch. In it, an epidemic of false memories are occurring. People who have FMS (False Memory Syndrome) remember two lives lived, and they can't tell them apart. The only difference is that one set of memories is gray and staticky.  In 2008, Helena is offered a job on a converted oil rig constructing a chair that supposedly should cure Alzheimer's disease. But, Helena's boss takes it too far - and the chair goes further. In 2018, Barry, a police officer, fails to stop an FMS suicide, but then realizes that the whole event turned into a false memory after a nosebleed. I liked this book because it is about an interesting topic, because the entire book is a plot twist, and because it gives you something to think about.  Read to find out how Barry and Helena stop FMS - and what FMS really is.  ...
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July 2020 Books of the Month

 Ben -     My July 2020 Book of the Month was the Genie Lo Duology by F.C. Yee. An otherwise normal Chinese girl makes a fun new friend, who happens to be a reincarnation of the hero of Chinese mythology -- the Monkey King. Also Genie is the reincarnation of a stick. Also demons are invading California. Also you can make a funny quip about every other sentence. I liked this book because of the humor and action. There's also romance and red tape, but who cares? I would recommend this book to anyone who cares about things other than romance.   Max -     My July 2020 Book of the Month was The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. He also wrote books like Jurassic Park . The Andromeda Strain has a sequel, The Andromeda Evolution , by Daniel H. Wilson.      A small town in Arizona, Piedmont was struck by a satellite. Then everyone in the town died. Researchers who went there find that either everyone died instantly of blood clots...
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