I’m sorry. I am still talking about books I read last year. This has become the Forever 2013 Blog, a url where time stands still. But you guys, I cannot leave the last quarter of my Goodreads Star report unfinished. It’s unbecoming.

This will be me final star report. I am having some Deep Thoughts about book reviewing and some misgivings about Star Ratings in general. That probably isn’t going to stop me from using them, but they will stay on Goodreads where they belong. Please feel free to add me as a friend! I am always looking for Goodreads friends. I will add you back, I promise. Unless, of course, your reviews include more gifs than words. Or any gifs at all. I just can’t handle all those flashing pictures in my feed, yo.

Two Stars

~ the books that annoyed me or had major league flaws ~

Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick

Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein

Stained by Cheryl Rainfield

Dear Teen Me edited by Miranda Kenneally

Artemis Dreamt by Crystal Beran

Since You Asked by Maurene Goo

 

Three Stars

~ the books that were just fine, no huge complaints, but nothing to write home about either ~

For the Good of Mankind by Vicki O. Wittenstein

Looks Like Daylight by Deborah Ellis

Legends, Icons & Rebels by Robbie Robertson

Pepita: Takehiko Inoue Meets Gaudi by Takehiko Inoue

Lincoln’s Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin

Regine’s Book: A Teen Girl’s Last Words by Regine Stokke

Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies by Nell Beram

Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices ed by Mitali Perkins

A Marked Man: The Assassination of Malcolm X by Matt Doeden

Helga’s Diary: A Young Girl’s Account of Life in a Concentration Camp by Helga Weiss

Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays by Brad Wolfe

Women of the Frontier: 16 Trailblazing Homesteaders by Brandon Miller

Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair

Believe by Sarah Aronson

Losing It, ed by Melvin Burgess

Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights, Daring Missions, and Record-Setting Journeys by Karen Bush Gibson

Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II by Martin W. Sandler

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

They Call Me a Hero by Daniel Hernandez

Darkness Everywhere: The Assassination of Mohandas Gandhi by Matt Doeden

Andi Unexpected by Amanda Flower

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, and Other Female Villains by Jane Yolen

Your Food is Fooling You by David A. Kessler

The Nazi Hunters Neal Bascomb

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Full Ride by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mojo by Tim Tharp

 

Four Stars

~ the books I really enjoyed and would not hesitate to recommend ~

Mountains Beyond Mountains (adapted for young people) by Tracy Kidder

“The President Has Been Shot!” by James L. Swanson

The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne by Catherine Reef

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

Saints by Gene Luen Yang

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Lily and Taylor by Elise Moser

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt

Two Boys Kissing by David LEvithan

 

Five Stars

~ I am having a love affair with these books ~

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart [my sort-of review here]

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King [my review here]

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline [my review here]