The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder Review

I am way behind on writing reviews! It’s time to get back on track. Here we go!

 

The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
April 10, 2014
Razorbill
Hardcover, 304 pages.

What it’s about:

Hannah and Zoe have faced many challenges in their lives, but they have always faced them together. So when Zoe insists that she has to get out of their New Jersey town, Hannah agrees to pack up her old LeMans and head west. The girls leave behind family dramas, romance traumas, and the prospect of disappointing futures as they chase storms and maybe break a few laws. Zoe has always been the more outgoing of the pair and as their journey progresses Zoe encourages Hannah to be bolder, dream bigger, and take more risks. She tries to teach Hannah about the things missing from her life. While Hannah embraces Zoe’s  daring lessons she tries to hold on to a bit of her old self, the Hannah that is the grounding, stable force in Zoe’s chaotic world.

Why you might like it:

Before I give you a few things that you might like about this book, I have to warn you that the cover is terribly misleading and really has nothing to do with the story. Yes, there are two girls in the story, and yes, they see some mountains, but that is it. This road trip is not all sunshine and flowers. It is frenetic in an earth-shattering, life changing way. So, if you up for some heartbreak, then I definitely recommend this story that touches on so many issues. If you love books about road trips, you might enjoy Zoe and Hannah’s trip from New Jersey to the Grand Canyon. Their trip is quite entertaining at times, even if it does require readers to suspend disbelief at times. If you are interested in alcoholism or mental illnesses, and the impact they have on families and friendships, you’ll find they are both powerful forces in this book. If you love a first romance, and an unbreakable best friend bond you’ll find both here.  If you can handle sadness, heartbreak, and shock that often comes along with the joy and humor in life, you might pick this book. The Museum of Intangible Things is not a light, summer-y road trip book that is all about romance and self-discovery. Actually, it IS about friendship, romance and self-discovery, but it is certainly not light! This book was not what I was expecting, but I was quite moved by what I found.

Want more like this?

For more road trip tales and epic journeys try An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, and The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner. You might also enjoy Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs, It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, and Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler.

Waiting on Wednesday-The Secret Place-5/28/14

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I am so excited about this one:

The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) by Tana French
September 2, 2014

From Goodreads:

“The photo on the card shows a boy who was found murdered, a year ago, on the grounds of a girls’ boarding school in the leafy suburbs of Dublin. The caption says, I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.

Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to get a foot in the door of Dublin’s Murder Squad—and one morning, sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey brings him this photo. The Secret Place, a board where the girls at St. Kilda’s School can pin up their secrets anonymously, is normally a mishmash of gossip and covert cruelty, but today someone has used it to reignite the stalled investigation into the murder of handsome, popular Chris Harper. Stephen joins forces with the abrasive Detective Antoinette Conway to find out who and why.

But everything they discover leads them back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends and their fierce enemies, a rival clique—and to the tangled web of relationships that bound all the girls to Chris Harper. Every step in their direction turns up the pressure. Antoinette Conway is already suspicious of Stephen’s links to the Mackey family. St. Kilda’s will go a long way to keep murder outside their walls. Holly’s father, Detective Frank Mackey, is circling, ready to pounce if any of the new evidence points toward his daughter. And the private underworld of teenage girls can be more mysterious and more dangerous than either of the detectives imagined.

The Secret Place is a powerful, haunting exploration of friendship and loyalty, and a gripping addition to the Dublin Murder Squad series.”

The majority of my reading is YA, but there are a handful of non-YA authors who I love. Tana French is one of them. Her Dublin Murder Squad series is one of my favorite mystery series. I can’t wait for this next installment!

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

Top Ten Tuesday-Freebie, Or, Ten Series I Need to Finish in 2014 5/27/14

I hope everyone had a nice long holiday weekend! I certainly enjoyed the lovely weather, but now it’s time to get back to work. Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie topic. It turns out I randomly chose the same topic as our hosts, The Broke and the Bookish. I keep telling myself that I should finish old series before I begin a new one, but that never really works out so well. Maybe this list will help me focus a little bit and actually finish some series.

Series that have ended and are available now:

1. Ashfall by Mike Mullin. I am afraid to read the final book, Sunrise.

2. Dust Lands by Moira Young. I am really excited to read Raging Star!

3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I cannot believe that I haven’t listened to Dreams of Gods and Monsters yet!

4. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. Ok, I am not going lie. I am kind of relieved that this series is coming to an end. And if we’re being honest with each other, I may as well put it out there that I might not be interested in further Shadowhunter series. We’ll see.

5. The League of Princes by Christopher Healy. I am really sad that The Hero’s Guide to Being an Outlaw will be the last book in the series. I have it at home and really should get started on it.

6. Blood of Eden by Julie Kagawa. I have only read the first book of the trilogy, but I think I can manage the other two books this year!

 

…and some Coming Soon series enders:

7. The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. We can’t really be saying goodbye to Percy and Annabeth, can we?

8. Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin. Oh, I am hooked! The cliffhanger at the end of book two was brutal!

9. The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo. I have really enjoyed this series on audio. Ruin and Rising is coming soon!

10. His Fair Assassin series by Robin LeFevers. I *finally* managed to read Grave Mercy and I am so excited to continue this one. I just bought the second book and will be ordering the third one soon! Yay, Barnes & Noble member coupons!

Bonus:

Jasper Dent by Barry Lyga, Article 5 by Kristen Simmons, and BZRK by Michael Grant (I am actually working on an arc of this one!!!)

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

 

Waiting on Wednesday-The Cure for Dreaming 5/21/14

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I am so excited about this one:

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters
October 14, 2014

From Goodreads:

“Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women. Winters breathes new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real story, including archival photos and art from the period throughout.”

I loved Cat Winters’ stunning debut, In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I expect this next offering to be just as amazing! This is how I love my historical fiction-with a touch of the supernatural, plenty of suspense, and a little mystery. Also, her covers are phenomenal!

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

Top Ten Tuesday-Books About Friendship 5/20/14

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is an ode to friendships.

1. Also Known As by Robin Benway. Maggie has grown up as a spy, living a life of adventure on the go. There has never been time for friends, until an assignment brings the family back, to settle in New York. Enter Roux, the best bestie ever!

2. The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan. One of the main themes throughout this series is friendship. I just love the relationships between Halt and Will, and Will and Horace.

 

3.  Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern is about one girl’s quest to find new friends. Because her old ones totally suck. She branches out, discovers new interests, meets new people, and she ultimately finds herself. Love this one!

4. Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg attempts to answer the age-old question: can guys and girls just be friends? Macallan and Levi have been best friends since middle school and they can’t figure out why everyone assumes they are a couple.

5. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a touching story of friendship between two boys. Ari was an angry loner before he met Dante, but as their friendship grows Ari learns a lot about himself and his family.

6. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater is about magic and fate and myths and true love, but at its core is the friendship amongst the four boys from Aglionby Academy. Gansey is the glue that holds these boys together. It is truly magica.

7. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extance is the story of an unlikely friendship between an epileptic teen and a reclusive American expat and Vietnam veteran. This book will certainly have a spot on my favorites of 2014 list.

8. The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter has some of the best female friendships around. Sure, the girls are all training at a top-secret spy school, but Cammie, Bex, Liz, and Macey really have each others’ backs.

9. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is a beautifully heartbreaking look at friendship.

10. The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan starring Percy, Anabeth, and Grover has one of my favorite group of friends since those loveable Harry Potter kids!

Runners Up: Winger by Andrew Smith, Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt, and I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak.

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

 

 

 

 

Mondays With Megan: Bout of Books 10 Wrap-up/What Are You Reading? 5/19/14

Happy Monday, dear readers! Did everyone have a nice weekend? Did you squeeze in some reading time? I got a lot of listening in, but I think that I am in a bit of a reading slump when it comes to using my own eyeballs. There are a number of factors contributing to this, but I have isolated the one thing that I can actually change. I need to loosen up on the “rules.” I have really enjoyed having my teens pick books for me to read and for the most part, I have enjoyed their choices. I have also enjoyed participating in the Random Reads meme. However, with two book clubs, two teen’s choices, and a random read each month, there is less time to just read what I want to read. I had hoped a loosely structured readathon like Bout of Books would help, but sadly, I really dropped the ball on that one. Now that I am aware of what is hanging me up, I think I am going to take the summer “off” and just read whatever I want. Oh, the troubles that plague us readers, right? Despite my self-perceived slum, I managed to finish a few things last week.

Here’s a quick check-in with Book Journey and Teach Mentor Texts for another It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Finished:

• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins was so much fun! The story was fresh (this is the first teen Paladin I have encounter outside of Dungeons & Dragons!) with plenty of action, sass, and romance.
• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is a YA classic. I honestly didn’t know much about it going in. This story is dark, disturbing, and stands the test of time.
• The Rules for Breaking by Ashley Elston is the sequel to her thriller, The Rules for Disappearing. Again, a fresh story (a teen in witness protection) and lots of danger and suspense.
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is definitely my favorite of the bunch. This debut novel is so quirky and sweet and I loved every minute of the audiobook.

Current Audio:

Currently Reading:

On Deck:

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

Bout of Books 10 Updates

The Bout of Books Readathon has reached the halfway point and I have really slacked. Time to kick things into gear and go out strong! Here’s a quick recap of what I had hoped to accomplish:

Goals:

1. Finish all Currently Reading books

• I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
• Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
• The Rules For Breaking by Ashley Elston

2. Finish all Current Audio (see below)

• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

3. Read The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder and BZRK: Apocalypse by Michael Grant

DAY 5:

Finished Books:

• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
• The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier
• The Rules For Breaking by Ashley Elston

Reading Progress:

• I am the Messenger pg. 192/360
• Enchantment pg. 77/387
• BZRK: Apocalypse pg. 35 /400

 

 

DAY 4:

Total Books Finished:

• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
• The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier

Reading Progress:

• I am the Messenger pg. 192/360
• Enchantment pg. 55/387
• Rules for Breaking pg 258/320

 

Here is my progress so far (DAY 3):

Total Books Finished:

• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
• The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier

Reading Progress:

• I am the Messenger pg. 127/360
• Enchantment pg. 55/387
• Rules for Breaking pg 105/320

I have a lot of work to do!

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

Waiting on Wednesday-100 Sideways Miles 5/14/14

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I am so excited about this one:

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
September 2, 2014

From Goodreads:

“Finn Easton sees the world through miles instead of minutes. It’s how he makes sense of the world, and how he tries to convince himself that he’s a real boy and not just a character in his father’s bestselling cult-classic book. Finn has two things going for him: his best friend, the possibly-insane-but-definitely-excellent Cade Hernandez, and Julia Bishop, the first girl he’s ever loved.

Then Julia moves away, and Finn is heartbroken. Feeling restless and trapped in the book, Finn embarks on a road trip with Cade to visit their college of choice in Oklahoma. When an unexpected accident happens and the boys become unlikely heroes, they take an eye-opening detour away from everything they thought they had planned—and learn how to write their own destiny.”

I have read most of Andrew Smith’s books and they are all so different from each other. Winger is still my favorite, but this new, with a road trip one sounds like it has the potential to make me have to call Winger *one of* my favorite Andrew Smith books. Man, I LOVE road trip books!

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Almost Put Down, But Didn’t (Thank Goodness!) 5/13/14

It used to be that if I started a book I needed to finish it, whether I was enjoying it or not. Those days are long gone and I no longer have any problem ditching a book that just isn’t working for me. Of course, there are exceptions to any rule, so I do have a list of books that I *almost* gave up on, but for some reason or another pushed through, only to discover a truly amazing book. Oh, those slow starters!

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I did, in fact abandon this book. Twice. And then I got the audio and it was a whole new experience. Suddenly I was sitting in my driveway after work just to hear the end of the track.

2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. *See Above*

3. Blood Red Road by Moira Young. I almost gave up because of the dialect. I only pushed on because I felt obligated to finish because I had received an advanced copy from the publisher. I love this series and can’t wait to read the last book!

4. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I mean, have you seen these books? I only picked it up because I had finally succumbed to peer pressure at work. This book was a chore! But thankfully it all just clicked…over 200 pages in!

5. Going Bovine by Libba Bray. This was another case of the book not working for me, but the audio being just the right thing.

6. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. This is another example of dialect almost ruining it for me. That, and the talking dog. I am so glad I got over my hang ups and finished this awesome series.

7. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. I really enjoyed listening to Code Name Verity, but struggled to get into my print copy of Rose Under Fire. This was in large part due to the fact that this book was much more graphic in describing the horrors of the concentration camps. I really can’t handle Holocaust books and only picked this one because of the previous book. I am glad I finished, but struggle to say I liked it. Make sense?

8. I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. I can’t explain this one. This books are really not that great, especially the first one, but they are so darned compelling! I am strangely hooked.

And how about two that I *did* but down and don’t feel one bit of guilt over?

9. Nil by Lynne Matson. Um, really? Nope.

10. Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell. So. Many. Issues. This was a hot mess.

Happy Reading!

∼Megan

Mondays with Megan…It’s Been Awhile Edition & Bout of Books 10 5/12/14

Hi Friends! It’s been awhile since my last post. I had some time off, both planned and unplanned and now I have to get caught up on a bunch of work. Of course, I decided to start with the fun stuff-making lists! At the top of my sort of overwhelming to-do list: blog. Despite having a week off, I really did not get a ton of reading completed. Luckily there is a readathon starting today! I will be joining Bout of Books 10 for a week-long event.

“The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team”

Goals:

1. Finish all Currently Reading books (see below)
2. Finish all Current Audio (see below)
3. Read The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder and BZRK: Apocalypse by Michael Grant

 

It’s also time for another It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, hosted by Book Journey and Teach Mentor Texts

Finished:

       

• The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith is another  cute romance added to her collection of works. It was just what I had expected and I enjoyed it very much.
• The Accident by Chris Pavone was a thrilling book about a book!
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is a complex cyberpunk tale. It is the story of a teen hacker who finds himself in trouble with Homeland Security. Despite the complex computer concepts that were totally over my head, this was an awesome and disturbing audiobook.
• Love Life by Rob Lowe is the follow-up to his previous autobiography. This is another moving, insightful, and entertaining offering from Lowe. His writing has made me a bigger fan and I highly recommend the audio, as it is read by the author.
• Storm Front by Jim Butcher is the first book in The Dresden File series. I needed a new series to dig into and this was the perfect book for me. I can tell that Harry Dresden, the slightly sexist, sarcastic, and oddly gentlemanly wizard and I are going to become pals. Lucky for me there are plenty of books to catch up on!
• Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman is my middle school book club selection for May. It tells the story of a boy with Cerebral Palsy who believes his father wants to kill him.

Current Audio:

 

I am really enjoying the controversial classic by Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War. I am loving The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Currently Reading:

   

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak is a reread for book club and I am enjoying as much as the first time through. Rebel Belle is the incredibly fun new book by Rachel Hawkins. The Rules for Breaking is the sequel to The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Easton. It is sitting abandoned on my Nook, just waiting for me to jump back on the elliptical machine. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card was a Teen’s Choice pick and I am really struggling to get into it.

Abandoned:

That’s right. I totally abandoned one of my most highly anticipated books of the year. I quit when I got to the part where she describes her first kill at age 9. With her bare hands. Nope, not buying it.

On Deck:

   

Happy Reading!

∼Megan