Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

My Rating: ★★★★★

I’ve been fascinated with space since I was a kid. Space travel has always been a fantasy of mine even though I knew it’s not something I’d ever do even when I was a kid. When I picked up this book, I expected to learn about space travel and some of the expectations, plans, and problems with a potential future mission to Mars. What I got was so much more. Mary Roach had me laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. Her book not only covers the history of space travel and the logistics, but all the hilarious things that is rarely talked about, like pooping at zero gravity.

I learned so much from Roach. Everything from space flight testing to zero gravity training is there, but also the psychological worries, experiments, taboos, and the testing that goes on in and out of space. There’s so much history here that was never even hinted at when the first Moon landing was covered in high school history.

This book is a treasure. It’s honestly one of the most fascinating books that I’ve ever read. There are seemingly obvious topics thoroughly covered, like the difficultly behind showering at zero gravity and how something as simple as a fuse doesn’t work the same in space thanks to, you guessed it: gravity. Mary also has a wonderful writing style and I like her personality. She took what could’ve been some very dry topics and made them interesting to read about. I highly recommend this book and I’ll be checking out her other works.

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

My Rating: ★★★★

After Jacob and company rescued Miss Peregrine, her time loop was destroyed, and it was discovered that can’t transform back into her human form. On the run and being chased at every turn, Jacob and his new friends hold onto the hope that they can save Miss Peregrine. They must save her, so they put their heads together and count on each other’s strengths to get themselves and Miss Peregrine to safety as they travel through World War II Europe in 1940.

Picking up where the first book left off, we follow Jacob and company as they try to get off the island and come to the terrible conclusion that Miss Peregrine is stuck in her bird form. This time around has a much darker feel to it because the stakes are much higher. The timespan that Miss Peregrine can be saved from spending the rest of her life as a bird is very small, and the clock is ticking. Jacob and company are on the run and their lives are at stake. Every time they think they’ve finally caught a break, they’re discovered. Plus, they’re traveling through World War II struck Europe, which really drives time travel through the time loops home for Jacob.

The world building is absolutely phenomenal in this installment. The first book introduces us to Jacob, his world, and the other world he never knew he was apart of.  This time around, we’re thrust into a dual war zone as WWII rages and the war between peculiars and wights and hollows. Jacob and his friends are essentially being chased through time every time they enter a new loop hoping they’ll finally be safe and find help.

I love that we get to see how big the peculiar world is this time around. We meet so many new characters including peculiar animals! It was really wonderful seeing everyone come together after discovering they didn’t need to be suspicious of each other each time we met new people. It was also great seeing all the kids, if you can call many of them that since Emma and company are basically adults stuck in the bodies of kids and teenagers, lean on each other and find their strengths in new ways.

It does get a bit slow at times, but it makes perfect sense because there are so many action packed scenes and everyone is on the run and constantly in danger. Every time things finally slow down, and Jacob can finally catch his breath, things pick up again. I thoroughly enjoyed this installment and all the twists and turns that it takes us through. I’m excited to start the next book in the series.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #1) by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My Rating: ★★★★★

Jacob grew up hearing his grandfather’s amazing stories that he once believed were real. Now a teenager and aware that it’s impossible for any of the monsters or the people in these stories to exist, Jacob remains close to his grandfather but tries not to entertain the fantastical stories of his past. Everything changes when he sees a monster with his own two eyes on the night a terrible tragedy occurs. The problem? No one believes a monster murdered his grandfather. His family is walking on eggshells around him and his only friend ditches him while he’s haunted by the monsters. Thinking about his grandfather’s final words, he figures he has nothing to lose and decides that he needs to visit the orphanage from the old fantastical stories and finally get some answers.

I absolutely love this book. In a rare turn of events, I saw the movie before picking up the book, so I had a pretty good idea of how the plot would go for the first book other than any changes that were made for the adaptation. Once I picked up the book, I dove straight in and couldn’t get enough of it. It’s well written, has a wonderful cast of characters, and is an overall fascinating story.

Narrated by Jacob, we follow him on this journey from a teenager who hates his job and only has one friend to a someone who starts to blossom now that he knows there’s much more to life than he thought. Because he’s not very popular at school, we follow him bouncing back and forth between going solo and being with family until he jumps into the loop. One of the things that I love is that Jacob’s family is intent on helping him recover from his grandfather’s death. While they don’t realize that the monsters are real and not a figment of his imagination, at least they’re supportive and want to give him as much support as possible. I found that I liked his parents. They seem like a kind and loving family.

Once the ball gets rolling, the story really starts to unfold. I enjoyed meeting all the characters and learning more about how the loops work as well as what life is like in these loops. It’s interesting to learn how everyone’s abilities work and the history of peculiar people and how they came to live safely in loops rather than in real time. Most of all, I love that all the kids under Miss Peregrine’s care are one big family.

I really enjoyed the story and I can see where the book and the movies will most differ from one another. I’m excited to see how the rest of the story unfolds and where the characters will go from here. It’ll be interesting to see if Jacob has any living family members who are also peculiar. I don’t know if that’s something that will be answered in the next book, but I’m excited to dive into the next installment and see where Jacob and company go next!

Miles Around London (Miles Around The World Book 1) by Douglas Pledger, Caroline Harris

Miles Around London by Douglas Pledger, Caroline Harris

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Raven Crest Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Encouraged by his neighborhood friend, Miles the cat leaves his home for the first time, gets lost, and travels around London. During his his adventures, he acquires a tour guide in the form of a pigeon, learns about different locations, meets new animals, and does some sightseeing.

This is such a cute and educational book that’s perfect for kids. Not only does it show them some places around London, but they meet various characters that range from well-known people to animals that they can learn about. I love that is interactive as well so that kids can play matching games and do things like spot the difference. It adds a bit of extra fun to the book because they can get involved. Plus, the interactive portions are fun and educational, so they’ll learn something even while playing the games.

I think that I would’ve loved this as a kid and I would recommend it for anyone with kids because it’s fun and something parents and children can enjoy together.

The Star-Touched Queen (The Star-Touched Queen #1) by Roshani Chokshi

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

My Rating: ★★★★

Cursed with a horoscope that predicts death and devastation left in her wake, Maya is well loathed and feared throughout her father’s kingdom where birth horoscopes are taken seriously by most. Maya doesn’t mind though. It means that she’s mostly left to her own devices and has as much control that a princess could possibly have over her own life. At least, that’s what she thought until the day her father tasks her with a secret command: meet potential husbands and then kill herself to prevent war from ravishing the kingdom. However, her dad’s plan doesn’t pan out and she’s rescued by Amar and becomes the queen of Akaran. In Akaran, she finds freedom, love, power… and a lot of whispers and secrets.

I absolutely love this story. The writing is beautiful, the imagery is stunning, and the characters are interesting to follow. There are two sides to this world: the living and the dead, and that’s part of what makes it interesting. When the story starts, we follow Maya in the mortal world where magic is heard of but never seen. There are hints that Maya possesses at least magic, but even she doesn’t believe it herself. As the story continues, we discovered that she much more powerful than she could’ve ever imagined and that there’s a whole other world that accepts her unlike the mortal world she grew up in.

There’s a great cast of characters ranging from magical, evil, sad, and just outright mean. It was great to see all these characters and I love that even the mean or evil ones had a backstory that showed us how they came to be the people that Maya knows. They weren’t one dimensional even when we didn’t know their full stories. Each of the characters are vibrant in their own way.

The story started to lose me for a bit toward the end. Maya went from being too naive to this determined and almost all knowing. Thankfully, my favorite character, Kamala, entered the picture during this time so I still enjoyed it during this time. The ending did leave me unsatisfied after how wonderful the entire opening and first half of the novel was. The final chapters seemed rushed and I’m left feeling like the ending didn’t fully pan out the way it was probably meant to. It just feels rushed and it almost feels like something is missing. All in all, I really enjoyed it and I look forward to checking out the sequel.