Category: 3 Star Book Reviews

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis (2017)

July 30, 2018

Casually combining chocolate and dragons, as children’s books should.

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart follows the story of a young dragon named Aventurine who is turned into a human by a “food mage” who tricks her into drinking cursed hot chocolate. Once a human, her dragon family no longer recognizes her so she has to join human society and get an apprenticeship, which she chooses to do at a “chocolate house.”

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to kids and even teens, but I’m not too certain if it holds up for adults.  … More The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis (2017)

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (2017)

May 28, 2018

I’m not sure whether to call this “Girl Power: the Novel” or “PTSD: the Novel.”

The Alice Network is a historical fiction novel telling the combined stories of Charlie Sinclair and Evelyn Gardener, who both lost a close, spirited friend to the cruelties of the two world wars. They team up in search of Charlie’s missing cousin, Rose, and in the end discover that their experiences were quite similar, embrace independence, and finally hunt down the person who wronged them both.

Now, I don’t think you should read this book. … More The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (2017)

Epigenetics (2012) and Game Theory (2008)

April 16, 2018

Originally posted 1/3/2016. Lead images from Amazon.   5 STARS and 3 STARS (respectively) So the full titles of the books are: Epigenetics: How the Environment Shapes Our Genes by a professor named Richard Francis and Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life by Len Fisher. These are both non-fiction books, so I won’t exactly be focusing … More Epigenetics (2012) and Game Theory (2008)

MoneyBall: The Art of Winning and Unfair Game by Michael Lewis (2003)

March 19, 2018

Moneyball is not what I expected it to be. I expected it to be a depressing account of how math and machines are slowly going to stamp out our individuality, but the narrative I read was quite different. It was about merit triumphing over appearance, about strategy outdoing wealth, about brain beating brawn, about overlooked young rookies finally being given a chance. It’s one of those untold, hope-inspiring stories of a quiet revolution happening right under our noses. … More MoneyBall: The Art of Winning and Unfair Game by Michael Lewis (2003)