Imagoala

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda  (Creekwood #1) by Becky Albertalli Blurb: Sixteen-year-old  and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. ...

(Yes, one of our kitten is kind of obsessed with biting books. I'm trying to make him break that habit but he's loyal to his own ways.) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?  by Philip K. Dick Blurb: It  was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment – find them and then retire them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found. Review: Funny , he thought; even though I know rationally it's faked the sound of a false animal burning out its drive-train and power supply ties my stomach in knots. I wish, he thought painfully, that I could get another job. If I hadn't failed that IQ test I wouldn't be reduced to this ignominious task with its attendant emotional byproducts.  Okay , so this was a really interesting experience. I would definitely recommend this one for a variety of re...

Die Wilden Hühner: Fuchsalarm (Die Wilden Hühner #3) von Cornelia Funke Zusammenfassung: Die  Wilden Hühner sind in heller Aufregung: Sprotte hat "Fuchsalarm" gegeben! In der Geheimsprache der Mädchenbande heißt das größte Gefahr, Lebensgefahr. Und es geht auch wirklich um Leben und Tod: Sprottes Oma will nämlich ihre Hennen schlachten! Das können die Mädchen natürlich nicht zulassen und beschließen, ihre heiß geliebten Maskottchen zu entführen. Doch wie sollen sie zu fünft fünfzehn laut gackernde Hühner abtransportieren, ohne dass Oma Slättberg es merkt? Und vor allem- wohin mit den Tieren? Schließlich haben die Wilden Hühner immer noch kein eigenes Banden quartier. Ob sie vielleicht ausnahmsweise ihre alten Feinde, die Jungs von den Pygmäen, fragen sollen? Rezension: " Wisst  ihr, was Sprotte schreiben würde?" Frieda verstellte die Stimme: "Tochter sucht Mann für liebeskranke, im Moment leider unzurechnungsfähige Mutter. Besuchszeiten: ei...

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King Blurb: Lucky  Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far. But Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside? Review: Only  two hours earlier she was telling me how great I was because I could cook eggs. Now my egg-making means ...

City of Ashes  (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare Blurb: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? Clary would love to spend more time with her best friend, Simon. But the Shadowhunters won't let her go--especially her handsome, infuriating newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil--and also her father. When the second of the Mortal Instruments is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor suspects Jace. Could Jace really be willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father? Review: " I  don't want to be a man," said Jace. "I want to be an angst-ridden teenager who can't confront his own inner demons a...

Die Wilden Hühner auf Klassenfahrt (Die Wilden Hühner #2) von Cornelia Funke Zusammenfassung: Eine  Woche Klassenfahrt ans Meer! Spitzenmäßig finden das die Freundinnen Sprotte, Frieda, Melanie und Trude - alle zusammen Die Wilden Hühner genannt. Nervig sind Die Pygmäen : vier Jungs, die dauernd versuchen der Mädchenbande eins auszuwischen. Und das mit so albernem Stinkbombenjuckpulversonstwaskram . Mit dem gruseligen Gelächter nachts auf dem Flur und den rätselhaften Fußspuren im Zimmer haben die Jungs Fred, Willi, Steve und Torte diesmal allerdings nichts zu tun. Stimmt es am Ende tatsächlich, was sich die Leute vom Geist des alten Strandräubers Jap Lornsen erzählen? Rezension: " Oh , nichts Besonderes. Nur eine dumme Gespenstergeschichte. Von einem herumgeisternden Strandvogt." Straubmann guckte sie über den Tassenrand an. "Ausgerechnet beim Landschulheim soll er herumspuken. Ziemlich unglaubaft, nicht wahr?" Der  erste Teil der Die Wilde...

Restmensch  von Daniel G. Spieker und Devon Wolters Beschreibung: Eine  Kurzgeschichtensammlung mit fünf Geschichten von zwei Stimmen aus der jungen Horrorliteratur. Düstere, surreale Stimmungen mit Themen, die über die klassischen Motive hinausgehen. Rezension: " Du  willst hier weg, oder? Wir wollen dich loswerden." Kurzgeschichtensammlungen bewerten finde ich irgendwie sehr schwer. Besonders schwer, natürlich, wenn ich dann auch noch mit beiden daran beteiligten Autoren befreundet bin, was hier der Fall ist. Mir sei also, hoffentlich, verziehen, wenn ich mich hier grundsätzlich etwas bis sehr vage ausdrücke. Eine allfällige Inklination zu einer positiven Betrachtungsweise, hoffentlich, auch.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Billy  Pilgrim, a traumatized American POW, becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens. Under their watchful gaze, he must relive his life over and over again, coming at last to some understanding of the human comedy. Review: I  have this disease late at night sometimes, involving alcohol and the telephone. I get drunk, and I drive my wife away with a breath like mustard gas and roses. And then, speaking gravely and elegantly into the telephone, I ask the telephone operators to connect me with this friend or that one, from whom I have not heard in years. Slaughterhouse-Five  is quite the beautiful book. It is also terrible and disturbing, after all it is a book about war, but that cannot change the fact that it is inherently beautiful. It's beauty struck me at odd times, sometimes a particular sentence resonated with me, sometimes a particular imagery enchanted me, and sometimes a story-telling device a...

Another year has passed and I hope you've had a good one. Personally, a lot has happened this past year so my reading has somewhat suffered (not greatly but a little) and, thus, this year's book recommendations list is the shortest yet. That being said, there are still quite a lot of books on this list and I really hope it proves at least somewhat useful for you. Now, before I actually get into the list I have a couple of things to say. However, since I've already said all these things last year I'm just going to copy the work I've already done (I'm lazy like that) and if you're already familiar with the format you don't have to bother reading this again (in case you're lazy like that, too). This isn't a list of all my favorites. Some of the best books I read last year won't be on this list because [insert reason here] but I'll include some books I personally didn't enjoy as much as I could have because I see some inherent ...