December 2015 Wrap Up

I wish that I could have ended this year with a bang. I have a feeling that this will be a pattern where I don't read that much in December. With college and school in general sometimes there isn't enough time to read. I did read two books this month. *Insert sad face.* I know that this month isn't 'over' yet but there is no way that I am going to finish Outlander by tomorrow. 

1. Red Queen, Victioria Aveyard 3/5

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart .

2. Mudbound, Hillary Jordan, 4/5

In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm—a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not—charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.

Thank God for English teachers. One day I was in Lang and Mrs. Matheny asked if I was reading anything. I gave her a sad look and said, ‘no.’ Stupid reading slump. She handed me this book and to be honest I was not too thrilled to read it. It didn’t seem to catch my interest. At the same time Mrs. Matheny and I both have good taste in books so I trusted her. I love southern literature and I guess because I want to move south. I love that the south is such an important to the story. It’s a character. If you’re looking for a light hearted, easy read then this book is not for you. This book is simplistic but at the same time really heavy. The characters are complex and I love how all their lives intertwined in the end and the fact that each chapter was from different perspectives. I was holding my breath for most of this book because I wanted to know how it ended. Even though it might be on the inappropriate side I think this would be a great book to read in schools. Before we know it, it will probably be banned. Of course, no surprise I was crying.

Overall this is year has been a good reading month. I am so proud of myself. I read 85 books, that is insane. Obviously I am going to do the 2015 Favorite Books post so I am not going to talk about it to much. Let's just say that I can't wait to see what I'm going to read in 2016.

DFTBA

-AB