Mosquitoland

After 660 pages of supernatural Shadowhunter goodness, I decided to step back into reality with this book by David Arnold. Mim comes from a line of women who have mental illness and her father is determined to keep her off that path. Mim does not appreciate his efforts and sets out on a quest to see her mother- who she has found out- is sick. Of course, Mim is rather strong willed and does not inform her father or stepmother of her intentions and steals a can  of money and hops on a Greyhound bus to get to Cleveland, where her mom is in the hospital. Along the way she meets both kindhearted and nefarious characters, all who change her perceptions on life. Arlene, Carl, Poncho Man, Ahab and most of all, Beck and Walt. Those two help her realize what it means to have friends who become family so quickly you don't even realize it is happening. Mim is not exactly a reliable narrator and you are never sure that what she sees and does is actually happening. At one point, I had a small heart attack when I thought .... well, I don't want to ruin that for you. I really liked this book, it had such a heart and soul and honesty. I don't know that every middle schooler would relate, but the more mature reader who loves realistic fiction would certainly enjoy this tale. Mim is a powerhouse of personality and will. But I think deep down, she craves family and friends like we all do. This is not a light summer read, but it is worth the time. Happy reading my friends... 5 days until summer!

Lady Midnight

Let me say I am horrified by how long it took me to read this book. I don't know the reason-work and other such nonsense. And I guess a part of me was avoiding the inevitable sad ending I knew would come with his book.  See, it's not my first rodeo with Cassandra Clare and her Shadowhunter world. In fact it is my 11th rodeo. I don't know how she does it, I 'm just grateful that she does. This is a new series that picks up where the Mortal Instruments leaves off. If finds us with Emma Carstairs- yes those Corsairs but more on that later and the Blackthorn family who run the LA Institute. Julian is the head of the family since his brother Mark and sister Helen have been banished due to their Fae blood. Julian and Emma have become parabatai but both are starting to regret that move. You see, you are not allowed to fall in love with your parabatai. Mark shows up at the Institute after years of being forced to ride with the Wild Hunt in order to convince Julian and Emma to help the Fae figure out who is murdering their kind. Mark doesn't know his place in the strange world of his family and nothing is the same as when he left. Time passes different in Faerie. As Emma and the Blackthorns (great band name by the way) are pulled into the mysterious deaths. They are betrayed by those who had been considered friends. And as their love grows stronger, Emma must make heartbreaking decisions to save Julian. This book is over 600 pages and I can't do it justice in a simple blog post. But know that everyone I love in this series makes an appearance (except my all time favorite Will Herondale) Jem, Tessa, Jace, Clary, Alec, Magnus etc. My eyes were teary many times and the end is a major heartbreaker. But I have faith and the experience of reading many series that if there is a happy ending in the first book, where would you go from there. So I will hope for a happy eventual ending while enjoying yet another Clare journey. I want to be a Shadowhunter. And if that can't happen, I'll have to just be a super fan. You could read this book as a start, but you would miss so much of the backstory that led to this place and time. So go back to City of Bones and carve out the rest of this year and I'll see you in 10 books. Meanwhile, I'll wait for my parabatai to show up and give me a fortitude rune as I have the long wait until book 2. Happy reading my friends- 10 days until summer and miles to go before I sleep!