What I’m Reading This Week

This week all my books were recommendations (except Enders Game but that was just on my list of rereads). I had taken tips from a few friends and lists and requested a bunch of books from the library, it just turned out that the ones that came in were mostly young adult….and odd.

When Jeff Comes Home – Catherine Atkins

This book is apparently inspired/based on the Stephen Stayner kidnapping, about a boy who was abducted and lived with their kidnapper for a long period before coming home. In the real case, Stayner was held for seven years before he escaped, in the story Jeff was held for 2 years before his kidnapper takes him home. The book deals with his conflicting emotions about being home, trying to fit into his family and friends, and coping with the abuse done to him by his kidnapper. It was hard to understand what you wanted for the characters, obviously you wanted Jeff to be happy and healthy, but the father in the book seemed emotionally abusive to his other children so it was hard to feel happy when Jeff opens up to him. The other authority figures were horrible, the police were incompetent and the FBI agent seemed like a predator. That aspect bothered me a lot, there was no way that Jeff would have been treated that way by law enforcement. The book wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t that great either. The recommendation I got for this was “this book changed my life” and so I probably set my expectations a little high. 

Among the Hidden – Margaret Peterson Haddix

This is a story about a society in which the world was struck with famine and the government has stepped in with strict rules, including one that families can only have two children. The book follows Luke, a third child or “shadow child” as he hides from the threat of the population police. He finds another shadow child nearby and learns about the world through her, discovering that things aren’t exactly what they seem. This book was a great short story, but a weak novel. Err…scratch that. I just checked Amazon and it turns out that this is the first book in a series. That makes more sense. (I still maintain that this would have been a lovely short story in a sci-fi anthology)

The Magicians – Lev Grossman

I’m reading this along with Sword and Laser and so far it’s pretty good. They say that it’s a grown-up Harry Potter with Narnia bits thrown in. I’ve not gotten far into it, but it’s interesting and I love reading in a group!

The Creek – Jennifer L. Holm

…I haven’t actually read this yet. Or know where it’s currently hiding. I may need to track this down.

Oh, I also finished The Hum and The Shiver (finally!) and boy did that novel pick up at the end. The supernatural elements also increased, but there was never a lot of description. The novel just sort of…stopped. It was a good ending, but I wanted more answers, more assurances of what was going to happen to the characters.