Welcome to another Monthly Wrap-Up here at Stardust and Words! November was a weird month, and I'm not just talking about the election and everything that came after that. Sufficient to say, I'm not sad to see November go. ESPECIALLY because I love Christmas, and I think the joy of December is especially important this year. But anyways, we're focusing on November. I had a pretty good reading month. I ended up finishing 15 books and posting 6 reviews :) I hope that y'all's Novembers were better than mine!
1. Here's To You, Zeb Pike – Johanna Parkhurst ☆☆☆
Fact: When Zebulon Pike
attempted to climb what is now known as Pikes Peak, he got stuck in
waist-deep snow and had to turn back.
That's the last thing Dusty
Porter learns in his Colorado history class before appendicitis ruins
his life. It isn't long before social services figures out that Dusty's
parents are more myth than reality, and he and his siblings are shipped
off to live in Vermont with an uncle and aunt they've never met.
Dusty's
new life is a struggle. His brother and sister don't seem to need him
anymore, and he can't stand his aunt and uncle. At school, one hockey
player develops a personal vendetta against him, while Emmitt, another
hockey player, is making it hard for Dusty to keep pretending he's
straight. Problem is, he's pretty sure Emmitt’s not gay. Then, just when
Dusty thinks things can't get any worse, his mother reappears, looking
for a second chance to be a part of his life.
Somehow Zebulon
Pike still got the mountain named after him, so Dusty's determined to
persevere—but at what point in life do you keep climbing, and when do
you give up and turn back?
2. Been Here All Along – Sandy Hall ☆☆☆
Gideon always has a
plan. His plans include running for class president, becoming head of
the yearbook committee, and having his choice of colleges. They do NOT
include falling head over heels for his best friend and next door
neighbor, Kyle. It’s a distraction. It’s pointless, as Kyle is already
dating the gorgeous and popular head cheerleader, Ruby. And Gideon
doesn’t know what to do.
Kyle finally feels like he has a handle
on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate
the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain
of the basketball team. Then, both Ruby and Gideon start acting really
weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, and Kyle can’t quite
figure out what he did wrong…
Alex Craft knows how to
kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister,
Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex
uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence.
While
her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other
people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the
shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high
school hallways.
But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all
other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with
the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night
Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years,
and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his
attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.
So
does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled
with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste
of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex
start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and
Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats
they care for.
Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay
together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s
darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that
will change their lives forever.
4. Three Dark Crowns – Kendare Blake (DNF)
Every generation on the
island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal
heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a
fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the
snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the
deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a
naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and
control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned
isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it.
And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night
the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing
gets the crown.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable
to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she
tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully
faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and
their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being
formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the
queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might
not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.
5. Him (Him #1) – Sabrina Bowen and Elle Kennedy ☆☆☆☆
They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?
Jamie
Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest
friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking
roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a
little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were
eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.
Ryan
Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet
that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their
college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll
finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his
longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.
Jamie has
waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more
questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six
more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one
more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his
old friend...and a big one to learn about himself.
6. Us (Him #2) – Sabrina Bowen and Elle Kennedy ☆☆☆☆
Can your favorite hockey players finish their first season together undefeated?
Five
months in, NHL forward Ryan Wesley is having a record-breaking rookie
season. He’s living his dream of playing pro hockey and coming home
every night to the man he loves—Jamie Canning, his longtime best friend
turned boyfriend. There’s just one problem: the most important
relationship of his life is one he needs to keep hidden, or else face a
media storm that will eclipse his success on the ice.
Jamie
loves Wes. He really, truly does. But hiding sucks. It’s not the life
Jamie envisioned for himself, and the strain of keeping their secret is
taking its toll. It doesn’t help that his new job isn’t going as
smoothly as he’d hoped, but he knows he can power through it as long as
he has Wes. At least apartment 10B is their retreat, where they can
always be themselves.
Or can they?
When Wes’s nosiest
teammate moves in upstairs, the threads of their carefully woven lie
begin to unravel. With the outside world determined to take its best
shot at them, can Wes and Jamie develop major-league relationship skills
on the fly?
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.
This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The
year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet
that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the
universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With
enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even
talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating
fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems
are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is
mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be
protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will
say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to
find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to
light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
Told
through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails,
schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae
is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives
interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
8. Constance: A Story of Early Plymouth – Patricia Clapp ☆☆☆
"Pish!" says Constance
the day the "Mayflower" finally lands in America. Constance longs for
her beloved London, but she does her share to help the pilgrim settles
fight disease, tame the landscape, and befriend the natives. The village
of Plymouth grows as more settlers arrive. Many of the young men have
eyes for Constance. Could there possibly be room for romance in this
wild new place?
9. Disneywar – James B Stewart ☆☆☆☆
"When You Wish Upon a
Star," "Whistle While You Work," "The Happiest Place on Earth" -- these
are lyrics indelibly linked to Disney, one of the most admired and
best-known companies in the world. So when Roy Disney, chairman of Walt
Disney Animation and nephew of founder Walt Disney, abruptly resigned in
November 2003 and declared war on chairman and chief executive Michael
Eisner, he sent shock waves through the entertainment industry,
corporate boardrooms, theme parks, and living rooms around the world --
everywhere Disney does business and its products are
cherished."DisneyWar" is the breathtaking, dramatic inside story of what
drove America's best-known entertainment company to civil war, told by
one of our most acclaimed writers and reporters.
Drawing on
unprecedented access to both Eisner and Roy Disney, current and former
Disney executives and board members, as well as thousands of pages of
never-before-seen letters, memos, transcripts, and other documents,
James B. Stewart gets to the bottom of mysteries that have enveloped
Disney for years: What really caused the rupture with studio chairman
Jeffrey Katzenberg, a man who once regarded Eisner as a father but who
became his fiercest rival? How could Eisner have so misjudged Michael
Ovitz, a man who was not only "the most powerful man in Hollywood" but
also his friend, whom he appointed as Disney president and immediately
wanted to fire? What caused the break between Eisner and Pixar chairman
Steve Jobs, and why did Pixar abruptly abandon its partnership with
Disney? Why did Eisner so mistrust Roy Disney that he assigned Disney
company executives to spy on him? How did Eisner control the Disney
board for so long, and whatreally happened in the fateful board meeting
in September 2004, when Eisner played his last cards?
Here, too,
is the creative process that lies at the heart of Disney -- from the
making of "The Lion King" to "Pirates of the Caribbean." Even as the
executive suite has been engulfed in turmoil, Disney has worked -- and
sometimes clashed -- with a glittering array of stars, directors,
designers, artists, and producers, many of whom tell their stories here
for the first time.
Stewart describes how Eisner lost his
chairmanship and why he felt obliged to resign as CEO, effective 2006.
No other book so thoroughly penetrates the secretive world of the
corporate boardroom. "DisneyWar" is an enthralling tale of one of
America's most powerful media and entertainment companies, the people
who control it, and those trying to overthrow them.
"DisneyWar"
is an epic achievement. It tells a story that -- in its sudden twists,
vivid, larger-than-life characters, and thrilling climax -- might itself
have been the subject of a Disney animated classic -- except that it's
all true.
Moving to a space
station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of
Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.
The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.
Hanna
is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of
a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the
realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little
do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.
When
an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are
thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking
off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's
wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before
dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival;
the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.
But relax. They've totally got this. They hope.
Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.
Natasha: I’m a girl who
believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that
will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a
cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him.
Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica.
Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always
been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high
expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I
forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate
has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The
Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single
moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
Sloane isn't expecting
to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to
Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so
all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens.
Sloane becomes
closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe,
Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met. When a
beloved painting by the twins' late mother goes missing, Sloane takes
on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her
across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins' lives.
Filled
with intense and important friendships, a wonderful warts-and-all
family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty
dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you
needed.
13. Lisa and Lottie – Erich Kästner ☆☆
When they meet for the
first time at summer camp, two ten-year-old girls discover they are
twins and agree to exchange identities in an attempt to reconciliate
their divorced parents.
This new series features
the blandest sisters who ever embarked on a rollicking, swashbuckling,
and entirely unintentional adventure
In the spirit of A Series of
Unfortunate Events and the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
series, The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters will captivate
middle-grade readers looking for humor, hijinks, and a swashbuckling
good time. Meet Jaundice and Kale Bland, two sisters who avoid
excitement at any cost. Together, they patiently await the return of
their parents, who left on an errand years ago and have never returned.
One
day, the Bland sisters are kidnapped by an all-female band of pirates.
They’re unwillingly swept into a high-seas romp that might just lead to
solving the mystery of what happened to their parents. With whimsical
illustrations and Roald Dahl–esque wit, The Unintentional Adventures of
the Bland Sisters is the visually stunning, laugh-out-loud funny start
to a new series for readers who are looking for an anything-but-bland
adventure.
15. Alterations – Stephanie Scott ☆☆☆☆
If anyone saw the prom
boards Amelia Blanco makes on her favorite fashion app, they'd think
Ethan Laurenti was her boyfriend. They wouldn't know that all the plans
she's made for them are just dreams, and that she's the girl who watches
him from the kitchen while her parents cook for his famous family.
When
Amelia's abuelita enrolls her in a month-long fashion internship in
NYC, Amelia can't imagine leaving Miami--and Ethan--for that long. As
soon as she gets to New York, however, she finds a bigger world and new
possibilities. She meets people her own age who can actually carry on a
conversation about stitching and design. Her pin boards become less
about prom with Ethan and more about creating her own style. By the time
she returns to Miami, Amelia feels like she can accomplish anything,
and surprises herself by agreeing to help Ethan's awkward,
Steve-Jobs-wannabe brother, Liam, create his own fashion app.
As
Liam and Amelia get closer, Ethan realizes that this newly confident,
stylish girl may be the one for him after all . . . even though he has a
reality TV star girlfriend he conveniently keeps forgetting about. The
"new and improved" Amelia soon finds herself in between two brothers, a
whole lot of drama, and choice she never dreamed she'd have to make.
what did you guys read this month?
xx
Caroline
