Category: Book Reviews

Book Reviews by Reel Literature Staff

Book Reviews

WELCOME TO KID NATION

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This post contains affiliate links, which are noted with an asterisk (*). For more information, please review our Disclosure Policy. Title: Lord of the Flies Author: William Golding Genre: Allegory Publisher: Faber and Faber Publication Date: 1954 ISBN: 0-571-05686-5 Summary: When a plane crashes on a remote island, a small group of schoolboys are the sole survivors. From the prophetic Simon and virtuous Ralph to the lovable Piggy and brutish Jack, each of the boys attempts to establish control as the reality – a brutal savagery – of their situation sets in. The Conch Chooses the Leader At the sound of the shell, Jack enters the assembly with his choir. They are dressed in matching garb, marching in parallel lines in almost perfect succinctness. He exudes the confidence of a more than ready leader. He is even the first person to bring up the need to for a rescue plan. Although the choir unanimously voted him leader, the others in the group were swayed only by the conch. At this moment, the boy who holds the conch holds the power, and that boy is Ralph. In hindsight, it is obvious that Jack is not yet prepared for this responsibility because …

Book Reviews

THE GIRL WHO LIVED FOR READING

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This post contains affiliate links, which are noted with an asterisk (*). For more information, please review our Disclosure Policy. Title: Matilda Author: Roald Dahl Genre: Juvenile Humor Publisher: Jonathan Cape Publication Date: 1988 ISBN: 0141301066 Summary: Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she’s knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she’s a super-nerd and the teacher’s pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda’s world. For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there’s the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Miss (“The”) Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge. A Precocious Prodigy I was one smart cookie when I was a kid, but Matilda has me beat by a long shot. While I spent my youth reading Goosebumps and Nancy Drew, Matilda is out here reading the all time greats in the literary world! Jane Eyre …

Book Reviews

THIS IS NO ORDINARY LOVE

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This post contains affiliate links, which are noted with an asterisk (*). For more information, please review our Disclosure Policy. Title: The Notebook Author: Nicholas Sparks Genre: Romance Publisher: Warner Books Publication Date: 1996 ISBN: 0-446-52080-2 Summary: The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner recently returned from the Second World War. Noah is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories…until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again. A Sappy Mess This could be the shortest post I have ever written about a book. It’s quite hard to muster the effort to analyze a book that is so shallow and should definitely be judged by its cover. How is it possible for a book to have so many of the tropes that a hopeless romantic like me would eat up and make me hate every single moment of it?! Noah pines over Allie for 14 years, and one …

Book Reviews

WHAT WOMEN WANT

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This post contains affiliate links, which are noted with an asterisk (*). For more information, please review our Disclosure Policy. Title:Remember the Ladies Author: Gina L. Mulligan Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Five Star Publishing Publication Date: 2016 ISBN: 1432831763 Summary: Growing up in an orphanage prepared Amelia Cooke for the high-stakes role of a female lobbyist surrounded by the egos of the 1887 Congress, a time before women had the right to vote. Her success in the isolating male arena comes from using the tactics she’s learned from those who oppressed her. So when she’s hired by the National Women’s Suffrage Association to help pass a proposed constitutional amendment granting women’s voting rights, Amelia feels empowered to at last win a place for herself and give all women a voice in the world. What she doesn’t foresee is the charismatic and calculating Senator Edward Stillman who threatens to ruin her hard-earned reputation and end her career. Recommended Reading If not for starting this blog, it’s very unlikely I would have come across this book. Thanks to Allison at The Book Wheel, I was introduced to Remember the Ladies. I’ve read a lot of books, but this was a new topic …

Book Reviews

MO’ MONEY, MO’ PROBLEMS

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This post contains affiliate links, which are noted with an asterisk (*). For more information, please review our Disclosure Policy. Title: Debt Free or Die Trying: How I Buried Myself in Over $30,000 in Debt and Dug My Way Out By Age 30 Author: Marcus Garrett Genre: Personal Finance Publisher: Marcus Garrett Publication Date: 2016 ISBN: 0692769005 Summary: The story of how and why I lived check-to-check and often paid credit cards with other credit cards. If the lifestyle I’ve described sounds like how you’re living now, have lived in the past or want to avoid living in the future this book will help you or that friend you know that is living the lifestyle of the fast and the financially frivolous relate to my story and develop a sustainable plan based on proven tools of success that allowed me to become debt free. A Novice Perspective I have to admit that I have never read any book from a financial guru, so my naivety may shine through while discussing the book. However, I think this book is great for people like me who are new to reading finance books. I don’t want to be hit over the head with …