February 2014 Reads

I didn't read quite as many books in February (8) as I did in January (12), but it was still a good reading month!  Here's what was in my reading stack in February:

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson -- 4 Stars.  I always enjoy Laurie Halse Anderson, and this book was no disappointment.  This book tells the story of Haley and her veteran father who suffers from severe PTSD.  Like most of Anderson's books, this was hauntingly realistic.

Creating Innovators:  The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World by Tony Wagner -- 2 Stars.  I was disappointed in this book.  The author told half a dozen redundant stories about the lives of modern innovators and the people who influenced them.  The conclusions he drew appeared to be largely based on personal opinion rather than research.  Wagner lost me fairly early in the book when he referred to a student as a high school and college dropout, yet the student left his boarding school early to attend Stanford and then left Stanford before completing his Master's degree.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo -- 3 Stars.  This book started off slow for me.  It was fine, but not all that into it.  The second half, however, sucked me in and I'm eager to read the next book in the series.  Definitely worth a read if you are a fan of YA fantasy.

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi -- 3 Stars.  I was really looking forward to the conclusion of this trilogy, but it fell kind of flat for me.  The first two books really grabbed me, and this one...well...didn't.  It wasn't bad.  It just wasn't great.  I'd love to hear how others felt after reading this!

Speaker For the Dead by Orson Scott Card -- 4 Stars.  I loved Ender's Game, but I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the sequel.  Turns out, it was great!  I loved seeing Ender as an adult, and the world that Orson Scott Card has created was as fascinating as ever.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab -- 3 Stars.  I think I got this for free from the Kindle store.  The premise is interesting --  when you die your life is archived and kept in a library, sometimes those archives wake up.  Another book that started out slow for me, but in the end I enjoyed it enough to want to see what happens next.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion -- 5 Stars.  This was, by far, my favorite read of the month.  Don is an adult with Asperger's (though he doesn't know it) looking for a wife.  Don's voice was just fantastic.  This was quirky, sweet, and lovely.  I missed Don and Rosie as soon as I closed the book.  Read it!

 The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood -- 4 Stars.  Oh, Margaret Atwood.  Such amazing writing.  Believe it or not, sometimes I like my dystopia a little more grown up.  I loved Oryx and Crake, so I was excited to dive into The Year of the Flood.  It took me a bit to figure out the who, the what, and the when in this book, but overall, it was fantastic.

There you have them, my February reads.  I think my theme for February was "it took me a while to get into this book".  With the exception of Creating Innovators, I was glad that I stuck with each of these titles.

What did you read in February?