Walk on Earth a Stranger by: Rae Carson
Grade: B
Leah was born with the ability to find gold anywhere so it makes sense that she’d be headed to California during the gold rush. This was a time of history that I don’t get to read much about or see much of in movies so in that regard it was really interesting. But man, did Leah get on my nerves. I usually am not bothered by the whole Mary Sue thing (overused anyway) but I have to admit her perfection at seemingly everything bugged me here.
Not only could this chick find the gold she could hunt, shoot, ride, find missing people, save children, participate in surgeries, deliver babies… I probably missed something somewhere but it all ran together after awhile.
The book gets points for interesting supporting characters and a gorgeous cover.
Recommend: 50/50 If the time period and the gold rush thing interests you. Also the last book in the series is coming out later this year so you can always wait and see how the finale is received.
Ronit & Jamil by Pamela L. Laskin
Grade: C
This one is a Romeo and Juliet story in verse of an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy who fall in love. I really wanted to like this one more than I did. I don’t think the verse is great here and the two main characters sounded too much alike. (Which actually in the author’s note she said was on purpose but it was frustrating to read.)
I think a traditional and longer narration with a lot more depth and fleshing out of the main characters could have made this one awesome.
Recommend: Nope. It’s not a bad book and it’s a quick read but there’s better Romeo and Juliet knock-offs, books in verse, books about the conflict…
The Possessions by Sara Flannery Murphy
Grade: C
Edie works as a “body” at the Elysian Society channeling the dead for the living when she meets and falls for a handsome man who wants to chat with his late wife. Sounds good, right? Definitely interesting ideas but I had such a hard time finishing this one!
Edie is dull. Patrick and pretty much everyone else is background or unlikeable. It’s really hard to root for a relationship that involves using your body to channel a dead spouse. Just not healthy. Edie’s past was a let down when finally revealed. The story just fell flat and the things that did capture my attention- the dead girl, why they don’t bring back suicides, getting lost in the possession and things like that where just after thoughts. Pull on any of those threads and you could have had a much more interesting book.
Recommend: Nope. Maybe I was expecting something else but this one just didn’t work out for me.