Life of Pi
Yann Martel
Publisher: Harcourt
Source: Personal library
I picked this up because it’s required reading for my Philosophy of Religion class. This is a wonderful story about a young boy, Pi Patel, who’s stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger named Richard Parker after the ship he was on with his family sunk. There’s a lot in the book about religion, life, and God which was a perfect fit for my class. It’s not a book for everyone but I thought it was a great read.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Aimee Bender
Publisher: Doubleday
Source: Personal library
What if you had the ability to know what people felt by tasting the food they made? That’s the question behind the story of Rose and her amazing ability. Rose is nine years old when she discovers her gift but at the time it doesn’t feel that way. With an emotionally detached father, an unhappy mother, and a older brother named Joseph who prefers not to have any part in the world, Rose doesn’t know what to do or how to cope with this new abilities. Bender gives readers a great coming-of-age tale about love and loss. I highly recommend this book for readers who love magical realism. It’s also a great companion read to Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, which features a protagonist with a similar ability.
Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers
Rachelle Rogers Knight
Publisher: Source Books
Source: Publisher
I thought this was a great book for teens who really love to read. Read, Remember, Recommend is divided into several parts featuring awards and notable lists, a place to write down recommendations and tbr lists along with everything you’ve read. My favorite part of the book was the awards and notable lists because it featured the lists of winners from such diverse awards like the Eisner Award to the American Indian Youth Services Literature Award.
I Kill Giants
Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Niimura
Publisher: Image Comics
Source: Personal Library
I Kill Giants is probably my favorite graphic novel of the year. Barbara is a young teen girl obsessed with killing giants. A girl who’s practically friendless, Barbara spends her time playing fantasy games and ignoring the growing dysfunction in her home. But when a new girl named Sophia wants to be friends with Barbara, it starts a chain of events that change everyone involved. What I love about this book is how it deals with grief and love. I highly recommend it.
I have heard SUCH good things about I Kill Giants over the past few months; I really should pick it up soon (of course, I say that about everything).
I really, really want to read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake!
I really think I’m the last person left on earth who hasn’t read Life of Pi. Must get on that…
And I’ve heard great thing about Lemon Cake. It’s such a neat concept.
I enjoyed Life of Pi until the ending which just left me bewildered. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I also loved Life of Pi, and have The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake waiting for me on my Kindle. I am also hoping that my husband will gift me with Read, Remember, Recommend for Christmas! A lot of good choices in this review! I also love the format of the mini reviews and think I am going to start doing a couple!
Glad you liked Lemon Cake. I loved it, but have read many so-so reviews of it.
How did I miss that The Peculiar Sadness of Lemon Cake is a novel?! lol Now I definitely want to give it a go; she came to visit my college when I was a sophomore, so I read her short story collection then. I know that I loved some of the stories but felt a bit ‘meh’ about the book as a whole, but it’s been so long I can’t remember why. Time to give her another try I think!
Argh, make that Particular…I’m kind of tired of this trend of super-long titles in contemporary fiction.
I Kill Giants was the first graphic novel I ever read. I loved that such a powerful story was contained in graphic format.
I really want to read the Bender book, mainly because the description did remind of the Esquivel book. I love that one. Glad to hear you liked it!
I think I must be the only one who hasn’t read Life of Pi!
Ooooh I Kill Giants sounds great. I’ve been hesitant to read Lemon Cake. I did like Water for Chocolate but I generally don’t do well with magical realism.
I really want to read The Particular Sadness of the Lemon Pie. As for Life of Pie, I think I may need to reread it and look at those religious themes. It must be a great book to discuss in class
Have found that Life of Pi is a particularly good read for teenagers too. They connect on a surprisingly deep level.
OMG! Lemon Cake AND I Kill Giants??? What a great post
Glad you enjoyed them both! They’re both favorites of mine this year 
I’ve never heard of I Kill Giants but if it’s your favorite graphic novel this year I’m going to have to read it!
I’ve heard tons about The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake but have yet to pick it up. It does sound interesting! And I agree with Ash that if I Kill Giants is your favorite of the year then it is going to be a must read for me!!! Hope you have a great week of reading
I’m dying to read I Kill Giants. It keeps eluding me. I have heard everything wonderful about it from everyone who’s reviewed it, and every time the library or bookstore claims to have it and I go get it, it’s gone.
I had a difficult time with I Kill Giants but Jason loved it. I was also sort of on the fence about the lemon cake book…
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