christianreader | December Books

Fragment
by Warren Fahy

This was a book I randomly grabbed from the small book exchange at work. The cover describes it as “Jurassic Park on steroids” and it's pretty apt. A small extremely remote island has developed along its own separate evolutionary path. The animal and even plant life on the island is extremely deadly and will kill everything else on Earth if it gets off the island. I wasn't super into it at first, but towards the end I really liked it and even took it home to finish it off. 3.5/5

The Giver
by Lois Lowry

I would say this was a cross between The Hunger Games and Divergent but it was written in 1991 and proceeds those books by decades. It has a very interesting premise and background (don't want to reveal it exactly!). It was a short but very good read. Highly recommended if you're into the whole Dystopian thing. It's deeper than most books in the genre and will make you think a little bit. 4/5

Tell No One
by Harlan Coben

Another standalone book by Coben that I enjoyed. I love how even the standalones have small references to other books and even the occasional minor character will pop in for a guest appearance. 3.5/5

Where the Red Fern Grows [audio book]
by someone

Ugh, this stupid book. Some website recommended it to me, and didn't tell me it was about an Ozark hillbilly kid and his two stupid dogs (named Little Anne and Old Dan, oh brother). To make matters worse I thought for a while I had lost it and came within a whisker of paying for it at the library. Definitely one of the worst books I've ever read. 1/5

Pandemonium
by Warren Fahy

The sequel to Fragment, I didn't enjoy it as much. There was this whole lame underground city thing going on in Russia that I didn't care about, and it wasn't nearly as interested in this story. It was the opposite in that it started out pretty good and got less interesting as it went along. 2.5/5

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & The Prison of Belief
by Lawrence Wright

My best friend from high school ended up in Scientology when we got to college, so I know a lot about this particular cult. But I haven't really read up on it lately, so this new book (published this year) was a good update. The result: still a scary, corrupt, mind-controlling, money-grubbing, horrible cult. Big surprise! Unfortunately it seems to be gaining a little more acceptance and influence in society. Scary. I was pretty well versed on this evil organization, but there was a lot of stuff in there I didn't know. Frustrating but informative read. 4/5

A Walk in the Woods
by Bill Bryson

A recommendation by

kiwiria and seconded by

hestergray that I really enjoyed. Bryson ends up unknowingly moving next to the Appalachian Trail and decides to walk the entire 2400 mile length of it. He's a very funny writer and he intersperses some history and good anecdotes. Nice quick read I would recommend to anyone. 4/5

Gathering Blue
by Lois Lowry

The followup to The Giver, this book takes place in the same world but focuses on an entirely new main character in a different part of that world. I knew going in this book didn't really have anything to do with the first (who says spoilers are always a bad thing!) so I wasn't wondering how and when it was going to tie in. Wasn't quite as good as the first book, but it was still very interesting. The world and setting definitely make you want to learn more about what's going on. 3.5/5

Messenger
by Lois Lowry

The third book in the Giver series, it is a direct sequel to the previous book, following the secondary character from that book. It also relates these two books to the first one with a nice little tie-in that pops up suddenly toward the end. Very anxious to read the fourth and final book in the series. 4/5

Books for December: 9
Books for 2014: 76