Reading at Dawn - Book Review Blog

Hello Readers,

I have realized over the past month in preparing for NaNoWriMo that this blog has been a little bit neglected. Somehow we achieved our 50th follower but haven't posted a review in weeks. That is so exciting in itself. Since we are now officially in November, the blog won't have any posts because the crazy goal of 50,000 words is a difficult task and we're a little distracted by that. But don't worry, we will return to a more regular schedule once the month is over.

Thank you to all of our dedicated followers. We are so grateful to have each one of you and will be back to give you more wonderful book reviews in December.

For now we write. Keep reading and have a good November!

So, this was supposed to be the month I did only middle grade book reviews but the book I was reading has disappeared on me. This book will have to fill in but it's not even close to middle grade. While I love fantasy, I studied science fiction lit and this was one of my favorites. I recommend the audio version, which is what I have, because the voicing is great and makes the story really stand out.

About the Book: A set if people (humans and some others) on the moon in 2076, and they are kept poor and oppressed by an Earth-based Authority that turns huge profits at their expense. A small band of dissidents, including a one-armed computer jock, a radical young woman, a past-his-prime academic and a nearly omnipotent computer named Mike, meet under odd circumstances. Revolution inspirations spiral into actions despite the near certainty of failure and death.


This is a great book and while I haven't read a paperback (so unlike me I know) the audio version was just mind blowing amazing. I can see why Heinlein is such a prominent name in Science Fiction.


I am always interested in stories where unlikely characters come together for a rebellion. And to have characters that are fun to listen(read) about is a key element. While I wasn't sure at first about the main character, he grew on me and his interactions with Mike was intriguing. Heinlein is not just a fine author but he created a believable world where people live on the moon.


Reason for going with audio: The accent. I never would have read the accent at all because I wouldn't know what the exact sound would be so I'm glad I went with audio because now all I can here is the readers voice whenever I think about the novel and it was so fitting. It even worked with the other characters, including the sassy and slightly outrageous in a good way female side kick. Well, she wasn't a side kick per say but it's kind of the role her character took. She was vital in the revolution and with the odd mismatch group, the story of the adventure stood out. Listening to it was great. 


If you're interested in trying out a classic Sci-Fi novel, I'd recommend this book. Even if the genre is not your usual, it's always good to give other genres a try and there is much any writer could learn from an awesome author.

Another advanced reader copy I was lucky to get from the book bloggers conference. The publish date was back in June, the 21st, so it's available and I say, Go Buy It.

About the book from Goodreads: Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?



Oh My Gosh. This was an amazing book. I don't know if it's my reading preference or such, but I seem to like the books that have a historical feel to the fictional story. Even the ones set in the "future" but seem to go back to old feeling setting become ones I love, depending on the story of course. This book had everything that kept me wanting to read. The main character was interesting and evolved because of the story. There was something close to a love triangle but not the usual kind and it was part of the plot I actually enjoyed along with how the different characters interacted with Violet. Everyone really added to the story and I couldn't predict what was going to happen in a good way.

The story starts with a great first chapter and the momentum builds from there. The reader gets an idea of the story, about the seances and such, then we get a surprise as Violet finds out she can actually see spirits, unlike her mom who just pretends to do such. And the ghost that Violet sees is a very persistent girl who needs Violet for something, if only she could figure out what. While I usually don't care for ghost stories, this one was amazing. Or at least, I've never cared for those kinds of movies but if there are more books like this I want to read them now. And one good part about this story is just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, boom, there is a new twist. It has a few "holy ...." moments. And it's very well written, which is always good.

It really was an amazing story and I recommend it to anyone. Read this book.

A change of pace from the past books I've been reading. While I Am Now A Serial Killer has a teen main character, it's not what I would call a young adult novel. Plus the character is a boy instead of a girl, so that makes it different than most of the books I've read over the last couple of months. It was a nice break, to have a more ambiguous (to put it lightly) main character.

About the book from Goodreads: John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.

He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.

He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.

Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don’t demand or expect the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there’s something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat---and to appreciate what that difference means.

Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.


Overall: this was a really good book. As much as I thought I might like the story, it was even better. Having the young male character be a less than moral teenager was perfect and I loved having a character where I couldn't tell if the bad guy would be stopped or if the main character would be able to stop himself. And the action starts right away. There isn't too much reflection or whining over past things like his father leaving, it gets mentioned then the story moves on. Everything felt like it had a purpose. The only part that had me question was when John first decided he had to go after the antagonist himself, that it must be him. I paused to wonder what brought him to that conclusion but it was a minor pause. I couldn't wait to finish reading the book.

Characters: The main character, John, is a troubled teen and he knows it. Growing up around a mortuary and even helping out with the bodies makes for an interesting setting to what becomes an intriguing character. If anyone wants to write an anti-hero or any hero that is questionable in reader acceptance, John would be a good example. He isn't good but readers will still want to root for him. All of the other characters, from his mother, the other kids and the therapist, all worked towards moving the story forward.

I am looking forward to reading the next book already. Judging by the next titles, there is more troubled times ahead and who knows what John will do next.

Guest Review by Ashlee Burke

Gayle Forman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and is someone who I will constantly be checking for new titles. Where She Went is a sequel to her devastatingly beautiful debut novel: If I Stay. I will be referencing If I stay several times because they are definitely not stand alone novels. You need to read the first book to understand what is happening in the second. (If I Stay on Goodreads)

Goodreads on Where She Went: It’s been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam’s life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard’s rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia’s home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other. Told from Adam’s point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.


Despite the title this sequel is not a philosophical book about where Mia was in the first novel. It does not address if she was in heaven or having an out of body experience and her experience is in fact not even addressed until later in the book. Where She Went is a reference of Adam’s perspective. It’s a question of his loss. What makes the sequel very interesting (and what makes it work for me) is that even though this novel is in a different characters point of view than the first novel it is just as personal and relatable. That in itself is what I think is the major accomplishment of these novels. They are able to make you relate to situations that are normally very hard to relate to: a devastating loss in If I Stay and life crippling fame in Where She Went. Where She Went also addresses the ripple of devastation a single loss can create.

Loss affects everyone in very different ways and sometimes the people who are not immediately related to those who are gone have their pain pushed aside and overlooked even though they are suffering along with the immediate family. As I mentioned Where She Went is not a reference to where Mia went in If I Stay. Mia left Adam and it becomes clear throughout the novel that Adam has no idea where this very important person in his life was and why she was no longer there for him when he felt he had always been there for her.

As I mentioned before the fact that I found this novel to be very relatable was a major accomplishment because the Adam you find in Where She Went is a very different Adam from that in If I Stay. In If I stay Adam is the dedicated boyfriend who loves music and is willing to sacrifice anything for Mia. The Adam in Where She Went is an apathetic famous musician who now finds music a burden on his life and cannot find happiness in anything that he has been given. On the surface he is not a very relatable character. He is constantly complaining about the problems fame has brought to his life and in the beginning I was wondering how this book would even connect with the first one because the first novel had such heart even in the face of great loss. Adam it seemed was just a whiny little boy. It isn’t until you begin to realize how much Adam himself lost that you see that his problems do not stem from fame and he becomes a completely different character without changing his narrative all that much.

Mia herself has changed but not so much that she becomes a different character. When we meet up with her she is doing what she loves: performing. She has graduated from Julliard and is preparing to fly to Japan for the first performance of her tour. It is interesting that while it becomes apparent that she completely cut Adam out of her life she continues to surround herself with the pictures and memories of those who she did not choose to lose. It is not until the end that you are shown why she left Adam. It is a powerful revealing and the strongest reference to the first novel. Which makes sense because If I Stay is Mia’s story where as Where She Went belongs solely to Adam. Overall I cannot recommend this book enough especially to the contemporary young adult readers out there.