Book Review: Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry

A mass shooting.  A hostage situation. And little chance of escape.  When a deadly shooting breaks out in a Portland shopping mall a group of six teens ends up trapped behind a store’s security shutter.  They have three options: run, hide, or fight.  The wrong choice could mean their lives but despite their different backgrounds each one is willing to fight to come out alive.  But not all will.

Run, Hide, Fight Back was an emotionally heart- wrenching tale that delved into the depths of a mass shooting and what people did to make it out alive.  The tale was told through the eyes of six teens whose varied backgrounds gave them depth and forced us as a reader to look at how in desperate situations the past is set aside and the moment is all that matters.  The characters were simply people who had been thrown together because their lives had been upended and it made the book real.  They weren’t superheroes they were normal people doing what they could do to survive.

Miranda was the the character that the book centered on the most.  She was a teenage girl who shoplifted to pay for an expensive and addictive medical drug.  The character growth was phenomenal for it showed how Miranda was willing to push through the withdrawals she was feeling during the shooting and find a way for her and the other teens to survive.  By the end of the book she had managed to get off of the drug and realize how precious life is for in a matter of moments it can be taken away.

The other characters viewpoints were shown less often but we still got to learn about their backgrounds and see their amazing courage to go down fighting.

As a reader we even managed to get a glimpse into the shooters lives and reasoning.  At the beginning of the book I saw the shooters as evil cold blooded murderers and one of the teens, Cole, turned out to be one of the shooters and as a reader it was intriguing to see why he had thought that the attack was a good idea.  At the end of the book I even felt slightly sorry for them.  I saw that they had been led astray but knew that there was no excuse for what they had done.

The book excellently rendered the fear, courage, sadness, desperation, and emotion of the characters.  The story came to life and made me ponder the reality of mass shootings once again.

Run, Hide, Fight Back was a stunning tale full of the pain, loss, and the courage of everyday people who were willing to put their lives at risk for the chance of survival for themselves and others.  I would definitely recommend this book but will state that it is dark and all too real.

Advertisement

Book Review: The Bone Witch By Rin Chupeco

The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite.

BUT THE GIRL WAS FIERCER

Tea is unique for she is a bone witch feared by all in her kingdom.  Her magic sets her apart from other asha for it goes beyond the boundaries of the living.  However, power comes with a price forcing Tea to leave her home and train with an experienced bone witch.  There, Tea puts her energy into becoming a dark asha.  But even as she gains knowledge and power an evil rises forth from its hiding place intent upon destroying the kingdoms and the asha.  So, Tea must be stronger than she and anyone thought she could be.  Because war is brewing placing everything and everyone that Tea holds dear in mortal peril.

This book was good but I had a major issue with it.  The chapters in italics were horrible.  They raised more questions than were answered in the book and it gave away what could have been major plot twists.  I understand that Tea was telling her story in the past tense but sometimes it was boring and hard to follow what happened in the past and what was currently happening.  Plus they did nothing to contribute to the story and it was told from a different perspective telling us things that the Bard noticed about the bone witch such as her scar but we didn’t learn about how she received the scar until the very end of the book.  It would have been better to just skip all of the italic chapters and the book would have still flowed somewhat smoothly.

Beyond that, I thought the book was good.  I liked the idea behind the book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the daeva.  The characters were diverse and interesting to read about.  Tea grew from a girl who knew nothing of magic to a very powerful bone witch.  I hated Prince Kance for I felt that he had little character growth and was one of the those boring princes who are kind, good, and handsome but that is about the end of their character.  Fox, Tea’s brother was fun to read about for I felt that he grew beyond the fact that he is dead.  He was always willing to help his sister and guard her.  Kalen was amazing.   He hated Tea which added arguments and spice to the book.  Halfway through the book, I predicted that he would become Tea’s lover and at the end, I realized I was right.  I liked Khalad’s character for he was kind and sweet plus his job as a Heartforger was enthralling.  He seemed to me to be the quiet and wise friend.  The other asha made the book slightly more engaging but sometimes I was confused as to who was who in the Valerian household.

Despite the chapters in italics I enjoyed the book and would recommend it especially if necromancy and magic are intriguing to you.

Book Review: A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess

Henrietta is in a city full of lies and secrets. Her friend Rook is turning into a monster and as she desperately searches for a cure she must hide the truth of who she really is; a witch and definitely not the chosen one.

When she finds what could be the answer to defeating the Ancient Ones she sets out on a journey with Blackwood, and Magnus intent upon stopping the ancients once and for all.

This book was phenomenal. I was on the edge of a precipice which the book could simply push me into for I there were so many twists that I never saw coming. The main character was wonderful and it was easy to connect with her desire to heal Rook. Furthermore, the book was boring at the beginning but steadily grew more intriguing.

****Spoilers Ahead****

Close to the end, we found out that the evil Ancient was her father! I did not see that coming. And then there were two love interests and when she finally told Rook she loved him, I screamed. I screamed in horror for it is so cliche to fall in love with a best friend and Rook was never my favorite character. But I hated how Blackwood proposed. I mean honestly, we don’t even know if she truly loves him. Did she just agree to marry him because Rook was out of the picture and she’s unclean?