A2. A cyberpunk book – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

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Finished 04/25/18

I was having some trouble finding a book for this in the beginning, it’s not a genre I had ever explored before. First I settled on Warcross because the cover caught my eye and I figure why not? Then my brother bought Ready Player One. I liked the cover (yes I judge books by the covers but I try not to, honest) and the summary was interesting. I read the first chapter just to see and I was hooked. I loved the plot and I was immediately sucked into this world Cline built. I could not put it down. Sure there were some things that seemed unnecessary to the plot and world building but overall I really enjoyed this read. The story was interesting as were the characters. Cline was able to give you a lot of information without it seeming like a bombardment and still being interesting. I loved all the pop culture references, I’m a 90s kid but I was able to recognize the majority. Amazing, it had me hooked all the way through the end. 100% recommend this book.

2. True Crime – Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker

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Finished 04/21/18

I love watching ID channel but I hardly ever read true crime books and after reading this book I’m going to be changing that. I really liked the format Kolker used to tell this story and the backgrounds he provided of the girls. I remember watching the special on this that was on the ID channel, it was a very interesting and sad story. When I was looking through true crime books to read for this prompt the cover pulled me in first. Then I read the summary and knew this is the one I want to read first.

The story intrigued me because of the mystery surrounding it all and this book was very informative and unbiased. Kolker provided facts, he spoke to the people involved and the families. He didn’t assume, he just reiterated the facts of the case and the conspiracies as well without pushing his own thoughts/opinions on the reader. I appreciated the tone of the book. Very well written imo. I recommend this book to those who like the true crime genre or for those interested in this particular genre. Also go check out the People Magazine Investigates on the ID network, it was filmed after this book and has even more info and Kolker is also in the episode.

19. A book about or involving a sport – Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

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Finished 04/20/18

The summary of this book really interested me and decided to give it a go. I wasn’t planning to read this for the 2018 popsugar challenge. After reading it I realized hey horseback riding totally counts as a sport and it was very much involved in this story.

The book was great, I do think it needed a little more background regarding the conflict of the kingdoms in the beginning. It sort of just drops you in the middle and you have to swim or sink. Other than that the story was awesome, strong female lgbt+ characters, adventure and magic. Who doesn’t love books with magic? I definitely recommend this book and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series as well as the prequel.

6. A novel based on a real person – Kaiulani: The People’s Princess by Ellen Emerson White

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Finished 04/04/18

I loved these books growing up. The first one I read was Cleopatra in fifth grade and I remember doing a book report on it. I loved that these were historical people and that the books were fun to read. I also loved the covers, so pretty. I’ve always wanted to read more of this series and decided it would fit this prompt.

I really enjoyed it. There were some grammatical errors but not many and it was a very easy read, I remember reading The Royal Diaries books in 5th grade. This isn’t some amazing masterpiece of literature but it is a fun read. And I learned some things I did not know about Hawaii’s annexation. My favorite parts are always the historical notes at the end that provide more information and has pictures of the real people depicted in the book. I would definitely recommend this to parents who want to read with their kids or anyone who doesn’t mind reading books geared towards elementary aged kids.