Room by Emma Donoghue # 54

Room by Emma Donoghue is one that I have started hearing more and more about and had to read.  It is about a girl that is kidnapped and held hostage in a room that is only 11x11.  When the story starts she has been held captive for 7 years, and has a 5 year old son.  The story is told from the point of view of the 5 year old, so it is a little "cleaner" than you would expect when you first hear what the story is about.

I liked the book, the fact that it is told by a 5 year old helps a lot.  I have a 5 year old and at first it bugged me that they 5 year old acted much younger than his age, but then I realized that if he had never been outside of that room, than that is what he would really be like with limited exposure to the outside world.  It was a good and believable story that had my heart pounding at times.

It made me think of a few stories I have heard about people that have been in that situation in real life and how hard it would be to be cut off from the world.  Especially the ones that have given birth while being held captive and how that must effect the children.

I did get a little irritated by the mom at some points of the book.  She acted the way you would expect someone in that situation to act, but I still found myself yelling at her a little bit in my mind.

Overall a really good story and much cleaner than I expected, even knowing it was told from a 5 year old's perspective.

Room gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks #53

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks is his latest book, that just came out recently.  I borrowed it from my sister and she told me it was a little different than the "typical" Nicholas Sparks book.  I agree with her, but am happy to say that it was still really good.  The main difference was that it was a little more mysterious and a little bit of a thriller.

I liked all the characters which is always a good start to any book.  I didn't really have a problem with any of them annoying me or making dumb decisions or anything like that.  I was even pleased to say that the ending surprised me.  I didn't see it coming.

Safe Haven gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Room by Emma Donoghue

House Rules by Jodi Picoult # 52-I DID IT!

Well, I did it!  I reached 52 books.  House Rules was also the last of Jodi Picoult's books that I had not read.  Well, there is a book about Wonder Woman, but I have no interest in reading it.  I thought since I wanted to read all of her books, that finishing my 52 books with the last one of hers (well, until next year) was a good way to end.

I liked House Rules, but not as much as some of her other books.  It is about a boy with Asperger's Syndrome who is obsessed with crime scene investigations and is accused of murder.  My problem with the book is that I figured out the ending pretty quick into it.  Although, I kept doubting myself because it seemed so obvious to me that I thought there might be another twist.  So the whole time I know the answer that everyone is looking for, only they aren't asking the right people the right questions.  I was yelling at the characters in my mind throughout the whole book.

The good parts of it is that, like most of her books, I liked the characters and they were all believable so it was easy to get lost in the story.  Jodi Picoult is very good at researching for her books, so it was interesting to read what a child with Asperger's is like.  I was disappointed though after reading some other reviews online to learn that she as a little off this time.  I guess she took every symptom that someone with Asperger's could have and gave them all to this kid, which obviously is not how it is in real life.

House Rules gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

P.S.  Yes, I am still going.  I have two more waiting at the library for me, then I am going to start on next year's list.

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs # 51

Running with Scissors in one that has been on my list for a long time.  It is a memoir of the authors life during his teenage years.  Apparently there is a movie based on the book as well.  My overall statement is that I would not waste my time on the movie or the book.

The book was weird.  This guy moved in with his mother's psychiatrist as a teenager, and the psychiatrist was a little (ok, maybe a lot) crazy.  It was too graphic for me at times, and I didn't really connect to, or even care for any of the characters that much.

Running with Scissors gets 1 out of 5 stars.

Next up-House Rules by Jodi Picoult

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner #50

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner is book #2 in a trilogy.  I read the first book, The Maze Runner earlier this year and liked it a lot.  This one just came out in October and the next one doesn't come out until next year.  I was a little concerned that I would have a hard time remembering the characters and the details of what happened in the first book to be able to follow the second book.  Even though the author did not do much, if any, backtracking explaining the first book, I had no problem remembering.

One thing that I did like about The Scorch Trials is that it picked up right where the first book left off.  I love that, I can't stand it when the second book in a series picks up way later than the first one left off.  I also liked that the characters stayed true to who they were in the first book.

I did not like this one as much as the first one though.  The first one had me thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it and trying to solve the problem.  This one was different in that the characters knew how to solve the problem, they just didn't know what would get in their way to reaching the end.  I liked The Maze Runner partially because of the mystery.

The Scorch Trials gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs