Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (review by Elizabeth S. '16)

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Though intimidating because of its subject matter, Wintergirls yields a reward high enough at the end to make reading it well worthwhile. Anderson's writing is always visceral and heartbreaking, but the harsh reality of eating disorders makes it even more gritty. When I was not transfixed by the story, I was admiring Anderson's writing style and the perfect way that she captures the first person speaker, Lia. Lia's best friend Cassie was recently found dead in a motel room of an overdose. The book details their past together, including Cassie's bulimia (which eventually led to her downfalll), Lia's anorexia, and the pact they made together when they were younger. Lia's anorexia resurfaces, for the guilt that Lia feels about Cassie serves as a trigger. The author's voice is strong in this book, with truly believable characters and a singular writing style. I recommend this book to any reader looking to really feel for a character and who isn't at risk of being triggered by the subject matter. - Elizabeth S. '16

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Snuff by Terry Pratchett (review by Andrew R. '17)

Snuff by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After starring in seven previous Discworld novels, it’s time for street urchin-turned-policeman-turned-nobleman Sam Vimes to take a vacation. But no reader will be surprised when Vimes uncovers a smuggling and trafficking business that’s thriving quietly in the countryside—after all, the policeman knows from years in the City Watch that everybody is guilty of something. Unfortunately, Snuff marks the degradation of some of the Discworld’s most complex characters. The city’s resident tyrant Vetinari, who in the past has embodied the role of the omniscient chessmaster, seems inexplicably to be losing his previously iron grip on his rule; meanwhile, Vimes’s butler Willikins, a nod to Jeeves from P. G. Wodehouse’s novels, has somehow morphed from the perfect “gentleman’s gentleman” to an unnecessary free-thinking, free-acting double of Vimes himself. And Vimes’s signature cynicism in believing that the policeman isn’t so very far removed from the criminal, while fresh six or seven novels ago, now feels stale and repetitive. So, while readers will recognize Pratchett’s style and wit in Snuff, those of us who have stuck with Vimes since Guards, Guards! so many books ago will find this novel uncomfortably familiar. - Andrew R. '17

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The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (review by Andrew R. '17)

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“There was a lady Inzilbêth, renowned for her beauty, and her mother was Lindórië, sister of Eärendur, the Lord of Andúnië in the days of Ar-Sakalthôr father of Ar-Gimilzôr.” That kind of sentence, supersaturated with unpronounceable fantasy names that make even the most hardened Tolkien fan shudder, fills the entirety of The Silmarillion. This history of Middle-Earth, which Tolkien conceived decades before publishing The Lord of the Rings, is dense—so dense that I'm surprised the story doesn't explode from the 300-page volume—I doubt I could have survived the whole thing without the aid of the index to remind me the difference between, for instance, Elwë and Olwë or Finarfin and Fingolfin. But despite the obvious difficulties (and there are many), The Silmarillion is easily the finest and most defining example of epic fantasy I’ve ever read, resplendent with mighty gods and thunderous battles. Yes, it requires a measure of patience and plenty of free time, and, yes, its target demographic is so small you have to squint to see it, but I hope a few battle-tested Tolkien fans will still be willing to give The Silmarillion a chance. - Andrew R. '17

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The Drowned Cities by Paul Bacigalupi (review by Karen T. '16)

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Built in the same world as Paolo Bacigalupi's first book, Ship Breaker, The Drowned Cities follows the danger-ridden journeys of two children, Mahlia and Mouse, as the traverse the post-apocalyptic world of a multi-factioned civil war. As Mahlia and Mouse's precarious existence in the small village of Banyan town is torn apart by the arrival of violent bands of soldier boys, they must find their own means of survival. Bacigalupi's writing portrays the meaningless violence of war without trivializing it. Through the development of Mahlia's conscience and the shifting of each character's loyalties, Bacigalupi renders a cruel world that demonstrates the futility of war. A strong sequel to his first book, The Drowned Cities is definitely a worthy read for anyone who enjoys action and dystopian fiction. - Karen T. '16

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