Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Posted by Anonymous

Reviewed by: Elia Juarez

What I Read: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Find It @YCLD: Here!

What It's About: Ever since her parents died, 17-year old Emmerson can see ghosts just about everywhere she goes. The problem is, no one believes her, and her older brother has sent her to psychiatrists, psychologists, and hospitals trying to “help” her but the only thing that seems to help is heavy doses of medication that leave Emmerson feeling like a zombie. As a last ditch hope, Emmerson’s brother hires a man from an organization known as “Hourglass,” which claims to be experts in this sort of thing. That’s when Emmerson begins to the dangerous truth about what she’s really seeing, what she really is, and why this is all happening to her. 

What I Thought: Though it has an interesting premise and includes elements of both fantasy and science-fiction, this is pretty typical teen fare. Everyone is impossibly beautiful, impossibly rich and impossibly brilliant (even though none of them are even old enough to legally drink yet) and of course, there’s a kind of love triangle that starts to emerge by the end.

However, this is part of a series, and because of that, lots of strings are left loose, and frankly some of what happens here makes very little sense. Still, I want to give it the benefit of the doubt BECAUSE it is only book 1 of 3 and I am hoping a lot of my unanswered questions get answered before the series is over (book 2 is Timepiece and book 3 is Infinityglass). I did like the uniqueness of the premise, but too many characters seemed one dimensional. And the time travel elements just sort of seem scientifically unsound.

Readalikes: Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Or look this book up on NoveList!

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Posted by Anonymous

Reviewed by: Elia Juarez

What I Read: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Find It @YCLD: Here!

What It's About: This book really tells two separate but intertwined stories. The first is a murder mystery, while the second tells the story of the earliest days of the Mormon church in the United States.

The murder mystery goes like this: a young man who was raised in a Fundamentalist Mormon family that practices polygamy is kicked out of his home as a child. Many years later, as an adult, he learns that his mother (who is wife #19 of MANY) has been arrested for the murder of his father, and he must decide whether he wants to return home to help her.

At the same time, we slowly learn the story of Anne Eliza Young, one of famed prophet Ann Eliza Young, who was also a 19th wife. Through her eyes, we learn about the beginnings of the church in America, and get some background on why the polygamist practices of the fundamentalists, were outlawed by the mainstream church.

What I Thought: I found the book to be interesting and engrossing, but I found myself getting much more sucked in by the Anne Eliza Young side of the story, and not as much by the modern-day mystery of the murder. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I tend to read a lot of historical fiction, or maybe it’s because I knew so little about the history of the Mormon church before I started this book, but I found myself wanting to rush through the chapters set in the present to return to the 1800s and Anne Eliza’s story.

The wrap-up of the murder mystery also seemed a bit rushed to me.

Still, I definitely enjoyed the book and would most certainly recommend it.

Readalikes: The Sister Wife by Dianne Noble, Wife No. 19 by Anne Eliza Young

Or look this book up on NoveList!

Gated by Amy Christine Parker

Gated by Amy Christine Parker

Posted by Anonymous

Reviewed by: Elia Juarez

What I Read: Gated by Amy Christine Parker

Find It @YCLD: Here!

What It's About: Gated tells the story of Lyla, a 17-year-old who has been living in a doomsday cult known as the Community since she was 5 years old. The cult’s leader, Pioneer, came into her family’s life shortly after Lyla’s little sister Karen was kidnapped and convinced her emotionally vulnerable parents that the world was soon to end, and the only way to be saved is to move to the Community and prepare for the arrival of “The Bretheren,” a race of aliens who came to Pioneer in visions and foretold the end times.

12 years later, the Community’s members have been stockpiling weapons, food and other provisions inside of a huge underground silo, where they plan to move on the day Pioneer believes the earth will begin to end. Shortly before this happens, though, Lyla meets some people from the outside world – a local sheriff and his son Cody, who begin to raise doubts in her mind about the things Pioneer has been preaching all this time, which of course does NOT make Pioneer or the other members of the community happy.

What I Thought: I found the book quite entertaining. It’s outside of the realm of what I normally like to read, since it is realistic fiction and I like to read mostly fantasy and dystopia. Still, it was an interesting enough premise to keep me reading. Because it’s told from the point of view of someone living inside of a cult situation, you get a unique understanding of why otherwise seemingly normal and intelligent people would let themselves get sucked in to something so bizarre, as well as getting the perspective of someone who didn’t really have the choice to join, since her parents brought her into this lifestyle before she was old enough to know any better.

Look this book up on NoveList!