Author: Charlotte Drane

I started reading a series of books when I was in elementary/middle school that made me fall in love with books and reading. They were the only books that the author had ever released or planned on releasing, and I absolutely loved them and still love them to this day. Anyways, after all these years and thinking that I’ll never have the chance to experience this world again, he released a new and final installment to the series.

(SPOILERS KINDA)

The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm – Tales from Alagaesia was the ending to a world that you always want for a world, but you never seem to get. Christopher Paolini ended the “final” book in the series with a cliffhanger that left all of the characters across the world from each other, love stories were left unresolved, and the main character was cast out into the world alone because of a foreshadowed cryptic prophecy from book one that everyone forgot about. In my own personal opinion, it was probably one of the most infuriating series/book ending that I have ever read. After spending years falling in love with the characters and all of their separate, intricate story-lines and then pretty much having the author do that thing that some authors do where they leave the story open for the readers to imagine the ending was awful. Turning the last page of a four book series, after reading over a 1,000 pages, and turning the last page to have no closure was the worst thing that I didn’t plan on. That’s why having this extra, small book to cover the ends of the stories was almost enough to make me cry. 

Paolini began the new, bonus stories book set a year after the final installment of the original series, writing out three brand new smaller stories inside the book to clear up all of the loose ends of the original series. We’re now able to see the end of Eragon and his family and friends, bringing it all to a final point, opening the way for a whole new set of books, but it isn’t clear yet if we’ll get them or not. 

I’ve been a little vague with this book review because I am still trying to process the stories and ending of the newest book. I will say that these books are some of the most in-depth, world-building series I’ve ever read. Never have I read a series and understood the layout of the world as much as I did while reading the Eragon books. 10/10 would recommend. 

(SPOILERS!!!)

Kingdom of Ash is the final installment of the Throne of Glass series written by Sarah J. Maas. In the final book all of the loose ends tie together bringing all of the stories to a close. 

The book begins three months after the end book six; Aelin, the main character, has been trapped in an iron coffin and tortured for the entire three months by her aunt that is but one of the main villains that wants to take over their world. Aelin is close to breaking and is ready to end her life before she can give her aunt the information that she needs to find the last of the keys that will allow her to travel between worlds.

Rowan, Aelin’s mate, along with a small group of their court is at the same time traveling trying to find Aelin and rescue her so they can meet up with multiple armies from all over the world ready to defeat Erawan, the big bad that wants to end all of humanity. 

As the story progresses all of our favorite characters ranging all the way back to book one are seen again and play a large role in defeating Erawan and his demon army. There are large sacrifices made by all and many of the characters we have grown to love do not make it to the last page, but in the end, the good guys win and everyone is happy and healing. 

This series is one of my favorites for many reasons. For starters, most of the main characters are strong, capable, brilliant women that only have men around because they want them, not because they need them. Along with that fact, Sarah J. Maas creates the most well thought out world that I have ever read. It it filled with color and beauty that I have never read before.

My most favorite thing, though, about this book and the entire series is that it has a happy ending. I started reading these books about four years ago, when I was not in a great place mentally, and reading these books about this strong female lead that was just as equally human, was extremely good for me. I took solace in the fact that, though the characters are not real, they could go through the horrible events and still find happiness and love and peace. 

I read something somewhere one time that said you need to write the story that you need to hear. I think it also spans to read the story that you need to hear. If you need that courage and hope, then this is the series to get you started. 

“I’ll Give You the Sun” by Jandy Nelson is one of my all-time favorite books. It is set in an upstate California town, narrated by two siblings, Noah and Jude. They are twins who see the world the same way at the beginning of the book, but as the book goes on, and they fall away from each other, their differences become more apparent. They both struggle with the same internal struggle of wanting to be their own independent people, despite being twins, and their story follows them through their stages of grief after losing their mom in a car accident. 

Noah, the ‘younger’ of the twins is narrating their younger years, and we follow him in his efforts to get into the local art high school. His narration is very close to being unreliable due to his exaggerated accounts of his surroundings. It is often hard to tell what is really happening and what is actually real. His narration was the polar opposite of his sister’s in his accounts of growing up. He made it very obvious that he had lost his mother, distanced himself from his father, and barely talked to his sister. As the book goes on, he uncovers his most prevalent internal and external struggles, revealing him being gay, and how he has to reevaluate who he hangs out with and how he has to act. While his mother is alive, he is somewhat comfortable in being the artsy, weird gay kid, but after she dies, he takes time completely rearrange how he lives. After Jude, his sister, sabotages his portfolio for the art school, and his mother dies,  he becomes the popular, athletic kid. It’s a very interesting way to see how different grief and self-loathing can affect characters. 

Jude, polar opposite of her brother, begins the book being a sunny and cool character. She is the typical rendition of surfer-popular-girl. She has the most friends and distances herself from her weird brother unless they’re hidden away at home. She hangs out with guys older than her and goes to too many parties. She grew up being closer to her father, but striving to gain her mom’s approval. Her narration starts as soon as her mother dies, and the total shift in her character is even more extreme than her brother’s. She begins to totally isolate herself, wearing baggy clothes in hopes that boys will not notice her, and talking to her dead grandmother’s ghost. Because of Noah meddling with her portfolio, she gets into the art school, but is close to flunking out because she thinks her mother’s angry spirit is breaking her sculptures. Through much personal growth and revealing secrets about her mother and herself, she eventually realizes that she is not cursed and the whole family finally reunite again. 

I love this book for so many reasons, but the main one is the beautiful way Nelson captures the process of grief. I was recommended this book in a very hard time after I lost a loved one, and reading it was very refreshing. I stand by it being my favorite book, telling anyone I see that they should definitely give it a read. 

Dispatches From Pluto is a non-fiction novel written by Richard Grant. It takes place in the Mississippi Delta after Grant and his girlfriend Mariah move to Pluto from New York. Grant was previously a travel journalist and spent time in many other countries, bringing him into contact with many different types of people. He decides to move himself and Mariah to Pluto after a single trip to visit a writer friend turns into him buying an old plantation home and the acres surrounding it in the heart of the Delta. Grant spends the book taking time to delve into the heart of the spirit of the South. Most of the book focuses on the racial tension still prevalent in the South and its hold over politics, the education system and regular day-to-day life. He makes friends ranging from a metal scrapper to Morgan Freeman himself, battling the wildlife and terrain of a new and often-times harsh landscape. 

I have to admit, I was fairly skeptical of reading Dispatches From Pluto when it was referred to me. For one, I don’t normally read nonfiction, but I have wanted to get more into real-life reading as I get older, and I figured this would be the perfect book to start. Another thing I was worried about was the nature of the author before I started reading; I was worried it would be narrated by a typical middle-aged white man thinking he knew more about things than he actually did, but I have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised. 

I was ensnared by the beautiful writing to begin. Grant had a way with his descriptions that made it easy to understand the complicated background of Mississippi politics and life, even for someone who lives here. His words were causal and sincere in the way he wrote, taking great care to include even the most basics of interactions he had with the locals to show the reader the broad spectrum of people that preside in the South and in the Delta. 

For me, it was nice to read something about home that was not all bad. Of course, he made sure to include the semi-rampant racism and sexist behavior that runs deep through the South, but Grant also included his account of the people that make the phrase “southern hospitality” believable. 

Through his writing, Grant paints a picture of the South that ensures to capture the reader, and hold their attention, all while painting the picture of the South that I believe would have anyone falling slightly in love with Mississippi, as I believe he wanted. 

(I highly recommend this book!!)