Let’s get to my June 2024 wrap up. I read some books I really loved, and I read a few that I didn’t.
Royal Assassin
Synopsis:
Fitz has barely survived his first hazardous mission as king’s assassin. Battered and bitter, he vows to abandon his oath to King Shrewd, remaining in the distant mountains. But love and events of terrible urgency draw him back to the court at Buckkeep, and into the deadly intrigues of the royal family.Renewing their vicious attacks on the coast, the Red-Ship Raiders leave burned-out villages and demented victims in their wake. The kingdom is also under assault from within, as treachery threatens the throne of the ailing king. In this time of great danger, the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz’s hands–and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.
My Rating: 3/5
The United States of Cryptids
Synopsis:
Welcome to the United States of Cryptids, where mysterious monsters lurk in the dark forests, deep lakes, and sticky swamps of all fifty states. From the infamous Jersey Devil to the obscure Snallygaster, travel writer and chronicler of the strange J. W. Ocker uncovers the bizarre stories of these creatures and investigates the ways in which communities embrace and celebrate their local cryptids. Readers will learn about:
– Batsquatch of Washington, a winged bigfoot that is said to have emerged from the eruption of Mount Saint Helens
– Nain Rouge of Michigan, a fierce red goblin that has been spotted before every major city disaster in Detroit
– Flatwoods Monster of West Virginia, a robotic extraterrestrial that crash-landed in rural Appalachia
– Lizard Man of South Carolina, a reptilian mutant that attacked a teenager in the summer of 1988
– Glocester Ghoul of Rhode Island, a fire-breathing dragon that guards a hoard of pirate treasure
– And many more!
Whether you believe in bigfoot or not, this fully illustrated compendium is a fun, frightening, fascinating tour through American folklore and history, exploring the stories we tell about monsters and what those stories say about us.
My Rating: 5/5
Middle of the Night
Synopsis:
The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul-de-sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.
Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul-de-sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?
The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed ghosts roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate.
The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place–be it quiet forest or suburban street–is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: Coming Soon
The Moon is Down
Synopsis:
In this masterful account set in Norway during World War II, Steinbeck explores the effects of invasion on both the conquered and the conquerors. Occupied by Nazi troops, a small, peaceable town comes face to face with evil imposed from the outside–and betrayal born within the close-knit community.
My Rating: 3/5
My Full Review: This isn’t the best of Steinbeck’s work, but I did enjoy it. Also, I noticed the synopsis said that it’s set in Norway with Nazi invaders but it’s not. The setting is never told. He wrote it that way on purpose.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Synopsis:
Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy’s heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned.
My Rating: 2/5
My Full Review: I had mixed feelings about this one. In the beginning, I really thought I would love it but toward the end I really didn’t. The author had a strange way of viewing the world that I’m not sure I agree with.
Educated
Synopsis:
Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
My Rating: 5/5
My Full Review: This is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. It’s so hard to believe that people actually live life the way her family did. It was so inspiring to hear Tara’s story even though it was completely heartbreaking at times. If you read this one expect to feel all of the emotions.
So that’s my June 2024 wrap up. What did you read this month? I’d love to see your June 2024 wrap up.
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