Intellectual Recreation: December 2015

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

JoLee's Favorite Reads of 2015

The end of the year is my absolute favorite time to be a book blogger. I don't think I could ever get tired of reading year-end favorites and best-of's posts.

I gave fifteen books 5-star ratings this year. They are all represented in some fashion in my year-end favorites below. (I gave 52 books 4-star ratings, so yeah, I read a lot of books that I really liked this year!)

Of the 15 favorites:
13 were released in 2015
2 were released prior to 2015
4 are contemporaries
2 of those contemporaries have a little magic/ sci-fi mixed in
3 are nonfiction
7 are fantasy or science fiction
1 is historical fiction
4 were consumed as audiobooks

Favorite work of Nonfiction: Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson
I did all sorts of gushing over this book about the life and work of Dmitri Shostakovich, the great Russian composer. I read most of it while listening to Shostakovich's music which made for a very enjoyable, emotional, and wonderfully aesthetic reading experience. This book will make you want to listen to Shostakovich's symphonies. (featured here)
Another 5-star 2015 nonfiction read was The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill by Andrea Warren.

Favorite Contemporary: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
Robin Benway writes wonderful, lovable, complicated characters. I absolutely adored this book that mixes humor with the serious stuff so well. The romance between Emmy and Oliver is sweet and honest, and, for a reader, nothing is more satisfying. (featured here)
Another 5-star 2015 contemporary was Robyn Schneider's Extraordinary Means (featured here)

Favorite Sequel: Beastly Bones by William Ritter
Sign me up for more! This sequel to William Ritter's fantastic debut, Jackaby, is even better than the first. There's plenty of delightful weirdness in this novel, and the Bone Wars setting just sang to my little nerd heart. (featured here)

Favorite Audiobooks: Time's Edge and Time's Divide by Rysa Walker
I listened to the final two books in The Chronos Files series this year and now that series is vying for a spot on the top of my metaphorical "favorite time travel series ever" list. I highly recommend the audio versions. Kate Rudd is an excellent narrator. She adeptly conveys Kate's strength and smarts. This series definitely deserves more love! (featured here and here)

Favorite Book Club Book: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
This was the book club pick for June, and I spent the rest of the year recommending it to everyone I know. It's about the rowing team that won the Olympics in 1936. I loved it. And I loved that the audiobook is read by the late Edward Herrmann.

Favorite Fantasy: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
This marvelous sequel to one of my favorite books ever is so, so good. When I finished Shadow Scale I was so sad that I would be leaving this rich and lushly wrought world behind. It's a gorgeous book with the most terrifying villain ever. (featured here)
Another 2015 5-star fantasy was Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge. (featured here)

Favorite Ghost Story: The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud
Jonathan Stroud is going to have to keep writing Lockwood & Company books forever because I am never going to want to give up this lovely tradition I've got going on of reading one every Halloween. Parts of this book are absolutely terrifying, and I loved ever minute of it.

Favorite Historical Novel: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
I liked Rose Under Fire even more than the first in the series which is saying a lot because Code Name Verity is pretty gut-wrenchingly great. I absolutely adore Rose. She is the kind of friend that everyone would want. Simply stated, this is one of the best World War II novels I've ever read.

Favorite Series Finale: The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas
The Elemental Trilogy comes to a heart-stopping conclusion with The Immortal Heights. This is a great series for those of you missing Harry Potter. With great magic, a terrifying villain, and a pitch-perfect romance, this series gets lots of love from me. Titus and Iolanthe forever! (featured here)

Favorite Debut: More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Out of the eight debuts I featured last week, this was my favorite. Adam Silvera took this book in a really unexpected direction, and seeing him work that magic was so incredible. The book just got better and better with every page. (featured here)

Favorite Middle-Grade: The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale
This was a tough one. I didn't read a whole lot of middle-grade books this year, but every one that I did read was great. I was so pleased with this finale to the incomparable Princess Academy Series. It was such a pleasure to see Miri go from student to teacher. (featured here)

Most Beautiful Read: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
Oh my, I just can hardly even handle this book. The whole time I was reading it I was thinking, "This is so, so beautiful." The writing is glorious. Bone Gap made me feel that swelling, tingling sensation that you get when you are reading something truly amazing. Read it. (featured here)

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Favorite YA (+ one Middle-Grade) Debut Novels of 2015

I read 24 debut novels this year and participated in That Artsy Reader Girl's Debut Author Challenge Link-Up almost every month. I've really enjoyed having the opportunity to discover new authors just as their books are coming out. Here are some of my (JoLee's) favorites from 2015:

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard:
This book came out in February of 2015, and we haven't been able to stop talking about it since. Who is looking forward to the sequel? (featured here)

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera:
This is gutsy debut just slayed me. I am so pleased to see it on so many "best of the year" lists. (featured here)

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle:
I got a copy of this book at BEA, and I was in line right behind the cover designer. The cover is pretty fabulous, and I highly recommend this for anyone wanting a creepy Halloween-appropriate tale. (featured here)

Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff:
This book is takes an honest look at how suicide effects those who are left behind. (featured here)

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley:
This lovely middle-grade novel is about magic, belief, friendship, family, and, of course, the circus. (featured here)

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir:
Here's the other big fantasy debut of the year. I love the dark and violent Ancient Rome-inspired setting. (featured here)

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia:
Mental health was a common theme in many of the books I read this year. This is an extra-impressive debut to me because Francesca Zappia wrote large portions of this book in middle-school and high school. (featured here)

Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos:
I love the inventiveness of this story, The combination of fashion and fame with a dystopian setting is brilliant.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Historical Nonfiction for Young Readers

One pleasing result of the increased emphasis on nonfiction literature in school curricula is all the new and fabulous history books aimed at young readers that have come out in the last couple of years. I love history. I loved it even as a kid. I like to think that a book like this would have sparked my interest when I was in middle-school. And, although I'm not the target audience, I can see myself incorporating more and more of this type of books into my reading diet. I hope that some of them turn their young audiences into young historians.

The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill: Growing Up Billy Cody in Bleeding Kansas by Andrea Warren:
Andrea Warren's book is a great way for young readers to learn about Bleeding Kansas and the frontier. Billy, a true frontiersman, was friends with Native Americans, went on cattle drives, trapping expeditions, served in the Civil War, and hunted buffalo. He was even a rider on the short-lived Pony Express! And he did this all before the age of eighteen. Basically, Buffalo Bill encapsulates the Old West perfectly. I lived just outside of Kansas City for seven years. I so wish I could have read this book while I was living there! Full review here.

Radioactive! How Irene Curie & Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World by Winifred Conkling:
Radioactive! is about the contributions that two women, Lise Meitner and Irene Curie, made to the development of the atom bomb. All the science in Winifred Conkling's book is fascinating, but what I enjoyed most about this book was learning about these female scientists who were working in an age when being a scientist was not really something that women did. On top of that, much of the book takes place in the years leading up to and during World War II, creating further complications for the pair both personally and professionally.

Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman:
Escape! was one of the great children's author Sid Fleischman's last books, and I loved the personal touches he included in his biography of Harry Houdini. As a young magician, Fleischman knew Houdini's wife Bess. In Escape! the reader follows the Houdinis on their journey to success. Born Ehrich Weiss, the son of a rabbi, Houdini transformed himself into the showman that has become a household name.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming:
In The Family Romanov Candace Fleming tells the story of the last Czar of the Russias. She melds the intimate family matters and the current events of Russia and Europe in order to create a complete picture of this tumultuous time in Russian history. Perhaps because we know that oppression is coming with the Soviet Union, there is so much romanticism that surrounds the last Russian Imperial family. I love that this book is the real deal. It tells the story straight, and what results is a fabulously demystifying.

The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century by Sarah Miller:
Andrew Borden and his wife Abby Borden were brutally murdered in their own home on August 4th, 1892. Andrew's grown daughter Lizzie Borden would become the prime suspect. Lizzie was the fodder of countless rumors and tabloid and newspaper articles. Miller has sifted meticulously through all of this in order to present the facts of the case. The final trial, especially, reads like a courthouse drama. The Borden Murders is like the Serial of the nineteenth century. I honestly have no idea if Lizzie killed her parents or not. Full review here.

Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti:
Mary Mallon was an Irish immigrant who worked as a cook in New York City in the early 1900s. She was also a healthy typhoid carrier. Terrible Typhoid Mary's story has either been forgotten or taken on a mythic quality at this point in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti unravels the story of Mary Mallon's life. She sheds light on the beginnings of a public health system and the newness of germ theory. This is an intriguing story about the rights of the individual vs. the public's health.

Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman:
I really enjoyed this biography of Charles Darwin. Deborah Heiligman focuses on Darwin's relationship with his wife, Emma, and their family life. It was incredibly interesting to learn about their remarkable relationship and how they raised their children. In Heiligman's book, Darwin's doubts about God and Emma's religiosity are a microcosm from the greater conflict between the theory of evolution and the Christian society. I thought that Heiligman treated each side with respect.

Symphony for the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson:
This book about the life and work of Dmitri Shostakovich, the great Russian composer, is absolutely exquisite. Anderson deftly navigates the atrocities of Stalin's reign, the siege of Leningrad, the experimental art of the 1920s and 30s, and explorations of what art can do. I read most of it while listening to Shostakovich's music, which proved a powerful backdrop to the Great Terror and the siege. I am incredibly impressed by how well Anderson is able to convey music with his words. This book will make you want to listen to Shostakovich's symphonies.

Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin:
Bomb is a book you don't want to miss. I already knew quite a bit about the building of the atomic bomb, but this book taught me a lot about the Soviet spies who stole the atomic bomb technology from the United States. There's a lot of think about or discuss in this book, such as science and morals; spies and attempts to thwart the German's ability to build the bomb; the bombing of Japan and the impact of the bomb.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Reading on a Theme: Historical Detective Duos

A good mystery is even better with an historical setting. Slip into the past with a pair of detectives.

Veronica and Stoker:
Deanna Raybourne's newest book has fantastic main characters. Veronica Speedwell is very progressive and scientifically minded. She kind of reminds me of Temperance Brennan in Bones in that she is extremely logical to the point that it becomes humorous. Stoker is a taxidermist, an explorer, and a knife-thrower with lots of secrets. The chemistry between the two characters is great. Unfortunately, I feel that the pacing of this book is a little off. The detective work begins almost halfway through the book after a long stint with the circus (really). Still, I think Veronica Speedwell has a very promising future as a series. A Curious Beginning was out September 1st, 2015. Review copy from Edelweiss.

Cecelia and Kate:
Authors Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer created the Sorcery & Cecelia series together. They did so by writing letters to one another, just as the characters in the books do. I'm fascinated by coauthorships. Wrede and Stevermer never discussed the plot; it just came as they wrote! The series takes place in England just after the French Revolution in an alternate world with magic. Cecelia and Kate are cousins with a penchant for detective work. I love this series. The alternate world is cleverly constructed. Kate and Cecelia are witty and intelligent. The epistolary format is fun and different. The mysteries concern magical objects. I love a good genre-bender, and this series fits the bill.

Jackaby and Abigail:
Ever since I finished William Ritter's fantastic debut, Jackaby, I've been eagerly awaiting the sequel. In Beastly Bones Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer travel to Gad's Valley to investigate a mysterious death that occurred at the site of a dinosaur unearthing. This sequel is even better than its predecessor. Abigail and Jackaby's professional relationship is quite endearing, and there's plenty of delightful weirdness in this novel. But beyond that, I absolutely love that Ritter set the book in the midst of the Bone Wars, a period in American history where rival paleontologists rushed to find and name dinosaurs. Sign me up for more! Beastly Bones was out September 22nd, 2015. Review copy from NetGalley.

Thornhollow and Grace:
It's the late 1800s, and Grace Mae is trapped in a Boston asylum. She escapes with help from a brilliant doctor who is studying the newly emerging theories of criminal psychology. Grace will become his assistant. Mindy McGinnis's new book did not meet my expectations. First off, I was expecting something with a subtle paranormal bent based on the opening scenes. Also, having all these heavy topics in one book--murder, clearly, but also incest, miscarriage, suicide, and prostitution--was a little much. The book is murder mystery but also a court house drama, and, thus, it felt a little disjointed. Finally, I'm really not sure how I feel about Grace. Some of her actions are rather disturbing. A Madness so Discreet is out October 6th, 2015. Review copy from Edelweiss.

Truthful and Harnett:
Lady Truthful Newington will one day inherit the Newington Emerald, but first she'll have to find it. The emerald was stolen on her birthday. With the help of a disguise, her great-aunt, and Major Harnett--who is more than he seems--Truthful sets out on a search through London. Newt's Emerald is an alternate history set in Regency England. Magic and London's Season always make a great combination. There are some wonderful characters in Newt's Emerald, my favorite being Great-aunt Ermintrude. Garth Nix's story is pure fun with intrigue, sorcery, and a determined heroine. Newt's Emerald is out October 13th, 2015. Review copy from Edelweiss.

A Curious Beginning, Beastly Bones, and A Madness so Discreet reviewed by JoLee.
Sorcery & Cecelia and Newt's Emerald reviewed by Paige.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Blog Tour: The Trouble With Destiny & Giveaway

I've read all of Lauren Morrill's books. You can find Meant to Be and Being Sloan Jacobs here and here on the blog. I'm a fan, so I am thrilled to be part of this blog tour. And, you know what I am even more thrilled about? It's that The Trouble with Destiny is my new favorite Lauren Morrill book.

Liza Sanders, drum major for the Holland High School Style Marchers, boards the cruse ship Destiny with laser-focus: win the high school talent competition and save the band. With budget cuts looming the band desperately needs the $25,000 prize. Liza knew winning wouldn't be easy, but she didn't expect quite so many things to go wrong. The Trouble with Destiny is comedy in the purest form.

To celebrate the release of The Trouble with Destiny on December 8th, we are celebrating literary Young Musicians here at Intellectual Recreation. Here are some of our favorites.

Liza from The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morrill:

Liza is the youngest drum major in Holland High history. She is a good musician and a great organizer, but all the pressure she feels over possibly losing the band makes her a little nuts. Just a little. Honestly, Liza's mania is what makes this book fun and funny. I hate to laugh at someone else's problems, but that's comedy for you.

Carmen from Virtuosity Jessica Martinez:
Carmen Bianchi is a violin virtuoso. After her mother's career with the New York Metropolitan Opera was cut short she poured all her energy in Carmen's musical career. Now on the cusp of the greatest competition of her life, Carmen starts falling for her competitor.

Seraphina from Seraphina by Rachel Hartman:
Seraphina is the music mistress in the castle at Goredd. Incredibly talented, she is also hiding a very dangerous secret. One that just might not be able to remain a secret as the tenuous peace between the humans and the dragons is threatened. Seraphina is a 5-star fantasy.

Mia from If I Stay by Gayle Forman:
Mia is a cellist with big plans. She has a loving family, a devoted best friend, and a great boyfriend. Then Mia's family is involved in a serious automobile accident, leaving Mia in a coma. From her coma Mia must decide whether to live or die as she slowly discovers want has happened to her and her family. Poignant and heartbreaking, If I Stay has become a YA classic.

Ivy from Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat:
Ivy is a talented pianist with terrible stage fright. She prefers the solitude of her piano room where she can pour all of her emotions into her playing. The her family's home is foreclosed and the Emerson's are forced to move to an apartment in an undesirable neighborhood. With everything crashing down, Ivy needs her music more than ever.

Dierdre from Lament by Maggie Stiefvater:
Deirdre Monaghan is an exceptionally talented harpist. At a competition Deirdre meets Luke Dillon, a flute player, who has a lot of secrets. With Luke's introduction, Deirdre's comfortable life begins to meld with the creepy world of the fey. This was the first book by Maggie Stiefvater that I ever read, and it made me a fan for life.

Lucy from The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr:
Lucy Beck-Moreau had a promising future as a concert pianist. Until she quit. When her brother's new piano teacher encourages her to play again, Lucy starts to reconsider who she is. With a great San Francisco setting, The Lucy Variations confronts where you go when you think you have lost who you are.

Violet from The Jewel by Amy Ewing:
Violet is a talented cellist. She's also a surrogate raised to bear a child for the infertile elite in an unpleasant future world. The world of The Jewel is dark and fascinating. It's all about wealth and power and appearances and the ugliness underneath. Violet is a strong character, but she is trapped.

Amber from No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown:
Amber Vaughn lives in a small town in the hills of North Carolina. Times are tough, but she has a voice that soars if only she could figure out a way to let it fly. I couldn't help but feel for Amber and wish she didn't have it quite so hard. Brown's writing conveys Amber's singing voice so well.

Lennon from The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson:
Clarinetist Lennie's vibrant, gorgeous, and full-of-life sister Bailey is dead. And Lennie is lost. Left by their wanderlusting mother to be raised by their grandmother and their Uncle Big, the two needed one another even more than most sisters do. This poignant tale features fabulous writing, measurable growth, and fully formed characters.