Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo

 

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
My Rating: ★★★

Weak, powerless, and frustrated, Alina finds herself trapped in the clutches of the Apparat somewhere deep underground. The Apparat offers protection… at a price, and that price is following his orders while isolated and kept on a very short leash. Thankfully, Alina has a small group of friends and allies who are following the Apparat’s instructions while plotting to get out of there and go find the final amplifier so she can face the Darkling one final time.

It took me sometime to get into this book because the first 35% or so was dreadfully slow. I was rather disappointed that the opening chapters was mostly exposition letting us know what transpired during the short period of time between the second and third book. This would’ve been okay if the Apparat and his followers made a huge showing later in the book. Instead, it didn’t really pay off and I found myself bored and feeling like the story wasn’t going anywhere until almost halfway through the book.

I am also disappointed in how little Alina uses her powers and how much she relies on finding the third amplifier to give her strength. Even with the amplifiers, you’d think she’d want to focus on practicing her abilities, sharpening her skills, and pushing those abilities to the limit to see what she could achieve. The amplifiers to increase her strength, but what’s the point of that without putting in more effort on her end? It just seemed kind of odd, especially since she craves the increase in power. You’d think she’d want to also put more effort in to maximize her abilities, but maybe I’m expecting too much from

Complaints aside, once the story picked up, it really picked up. I was glued to the pages and excited to see where the story was Alina and company. There were some shocking events that took place. One event had me thinking this was the end for this character for sure. I wish what happened to them was further explored, but I’m happy with the information we got and how it was resolved.

I am surprised with how the final events unfold. I both like and dislike this because I think they’re excellent twists, but the way one of them plays out needed more of an explanation. The more I think about it, the more it doesn’t make a single ounce of sense. However, if I don’t think much about it, I guess I can live with it. I just wish we had some information to expand on how A led to B and C because it doesn’t make sense and seems like it wasn’t well thought out.

Wait. I thought I wasn’t complaining anymore… I swear I did enjoy the second half of book! I loved many of the characters and where the story took them. I was sad to see some of them injured and others killed, but I’m also surprised that so many of them survived to the end of the book. We also got some very interesting backstory that I was very excited to see. I’m a little sad to say goodbye to these characters now that it’s over, but I can’t say this was my favorite book in the series.

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty
My Rating: ★★★★

In a society where it’s taboo to ask questions about what happens when we die, you can always count on kids to ask all the hard-hitting questions. Caitlin Doughty takes several questions that have come her way thanks to tiny humans without filters and wrote a book answering them. What happens when we die? Why don’t bugs and animals eat our bones? What happens if someone dies in space? Caitlin takes her knowledge as a mortician and applies them to each question in a serious yet fun way that’s easy for kids and adults to understand.

I’m not sure why I picked up this book but I’m glad I did. Caitlin is the perfect person to answer the many morbid questions that have come her way. Each chapter is serious, informative, and funny without being distasteful in all the right spots. There are also illustrations perfect for kids in each chapter along with information that’s easy to digest whether you’re a child or adult.

In fact, you may even find questions you remember having as a child pop up. I know I did! I always wondered what would happen if someone were to die in space. When I was a kid, I watched an episode of some TV show with my older brother. One of the characters died and their coffin was launched in space. As a kid, I then wondered what would happen if we died in space and if we would be launched into deep space. Thanks to this book, I now know what would happen if anyone were to die in space, which is a question I had not thought about in many years.

While this book is kid friendly, I do think that parents should read it beforehand to decide if it’s appropriate for their kids. I think it’s perfect for older kids in the 10+ age bracket, but it may be confusing for most children younger than that.