The Alchemist

Meh, I don't see the hype. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. It just wasn't my thing. The Alchemist tells the story of a young shepherd boy whose simple life is turned upside down when a traveling king, tells him where to find treasure. From there the boy goes on a long journey, following omens and good sense to try and find the treasure that lay near the pyramids. It's a little deep for me and I didn't much care for it. I don't like these kind of fables. The only good part was having Jeremy Irons narrate the audiobook version.

Less

An adorable book with an unforgettable quirky character. Andrew Less is a gay writer, but he's also so much more. He's scared, naive, hopeful, and in total denial. When his young paramour breaks it off with him and announces his marriage, Less knows he must go. He can't possibly be around while his lover get married to someone else. He clears his calendar and makes a plan. For once, he's going to start RSVPing to author events and vacations. He will get out of California and spend months traveling and forgetting all about his paramour. From an author event in NYC to a conference in Mexico to teaching a class in Germany, Less finds a way to travel for free. The only problem is, he can't escape his past no matter where he travels or what he does. Plucky, cute, inventive, and fun. I adored this book. Andrew Less is a character you won't soon forget.

No Exit

Fast paced and impossible to put down, I finished this thriller in one day! I legit could not put this down! Darby had been planning on spending Christmas alone at college, but when her sister texted her that their mother had advanced pancreatic cancer and had to have emergency surgery, Darby decides to put family squabbles aside and race home. The only problem is, she is in a race against tie. Not only does she need to speed home so she can see her mother before her surgery, she has to race through the mountains before the winter storm hits. As Darby speeds through the mountains, the roads get progressively worse. Finally, after a wiper breaks she has to take shelter at a rest stop, the roads have become impassable. Luckily for Darby, she's not alone. There are two younger guys and an older set of cousins. Unluckily for Darby, she discovers that the box van parked out front has a young child trapped in a cage. She makes that shocking discovery while trying to get cell signal to call her mother. Now Darby has to figure out who owns the van and figure out who she can trust to help get the kid to safety. But with no way to contact the police and nowhere to run because of the snow; it is going to be a long dangerous night. Soo good! I loved it!!

Salt to the Sea

No one writes teen historical fiction like Ruta Sepetys. She's phenomenal. This book was gripping from the start in its character building, intrigue, and adventure. Like one of her prior novels, this was a historical event of which I was largely unaware. Everyone knows what happened to the Titanic, but how many could tell you about the Wihelm Gustloff? It is the largest disaster in maritime history and occurred towards the end of World War II. Salt to the Sea tells of four refugees fleeing their homelands in the winter of 1945 as the Russians approach and the Germans retreat. They are all desperate to reach port and get on one of the ships that will take them to safety. They'll do anything to get out of their broken war torn countries filled with decaying bodies, starvation, cold, and soon to be Russian pillagers. Each of the refugees carries secrets and as they flock to the sea, their secrets threaten to reveal themselves. Masterfully written!

The Catcher in the Rye

..... I don't understand why this is considered the classic coming of age story. It's centered on a privileged white boy who is a total douche canoe. He is soo unlikable; he bumbles about making a mess everywhere, full of self importance. Holden Caulfield finds himself getting expelled from yet ANOTHER private boys school and rather than wait out the rest of his term, he packs up his bags and resolves to spend some time in New York City cheering himself up before his parents find out and hit the roof. The entire story only spans a few days and is just Holden showing disgust and naivete at the adult world around him. Even though he tries to pass himself off as being mature, he's really just a young dumb kid. Ugh, what douche canoe. Skip this and read any other coming of age story. Please, do yourself a favor.

Graceling

I'm super late on this one, but I found Graceling to be a super original medieval, young adult fantasy. It seemed very fresh even though teen fantasy has been more than a bit lackluster in recent years. In this tale, there are many kingdoms close together, currently they are at a peace, but that doesn't mean that all is well. Katsa is a Grace, every kingdoms has Graces, individual with different colored eyes and varying special abilities. Katsa is graced with killing. She is unmatched in brute force and strength. Her uncle is a king and sends her out to do his dirty work and she is sick of it. To try and balance the scale she created an underground council that operates in all the kingdoms and works to root out evil and injustice. When she helps rescue a kidnapped old man, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. She encounters unheard of dangers, an unthinkably evil plot, and the biggest threat to herself and the kingdoms; someone nearly equal to her in strength and cunning. A mild romance, plenty of adventure, and lots of intrigue. Great fun and I think I may continue the series!

The Fall

A fantastic follow up to The Nine! Steampunk fantasy and adventure that takes the readers on an incredible journey across continents, through the skies, and in the dark underbelly of the city. The book of secrets, the book that holds the fate of humanity, has been lost and now it's in the wrong hands. It's up to the unlikeliest bunch of people to recover the book and decipher its secrets before their universe is forever altered. Rowena Downshire has no idea how central she is to the book's secrets, all she knows is that she has to help the alchemist and some other mercenary allies track down the book. Their chase leads them far across the skies to the Grand Library where there is more than meets the eye. Full of adventure and tight plot lines, this book will take readers on a breathless race against time to find the book. I will note that this is not a standalone book and it is crucial to read the first in the series before attempting this, it had been nearly a year since I read the first one and even I needed to reference back to it!