Review: The Dig by Audrey Hart

Title:  The Dig (Zoe and Zeus Trilogy #1)

Author:  Audrey Hart

Genre:  Young Adult

Publisher:  Backlit Fiction 

Format:  Ebook

Release Date:  November 7, 2011

Zoe is an outsider.  She’s not interested in the same boring, lame stuff all of the girls at her boarding school are interested in—things like constantly updating her Facebook, watching Teen Mom or talking about boys. She would rather discuss ancient history or spend her summers digging up ancient relics with her aunt and uncle.  It is on one of these archeological digs that Zoe’s life changes forever. While investigating an ancient temple in Crete, Zoe is inexplicably transported back in time to ancient Greece. She soon discovers that the Gods are real, living, breathing humans and for some reason, she is just as powerful as they are. But they refuse to accept Zoe. In fact, Zoe has thrown the balance of nature completely out of whack and the Gods will stop at nothing to set it right. Only the gorgeous, winged god Zeus will risk everything to save her.

The Dig is a fun romp through ancient Greece, with a bit of Greek mythology thrown in for good measure. Zoe is a smart, funny and completely relatable character. At the beginning of the book, she is a good role model for young teens, especially those who travel a bit off the beaten path (I said “at the beginning of the book” because Zoe’s attitude changes a bit—more on that later).  The Dig is a simple, quick read, perfect for those reluctant readers who hate picking up a lengthy book and plowing through it. There are a lot of pop culture references also, which made for some interesting conversations with Zoe attempting to explain Kim Kardashian or Facebook to someone in ancient Greece. I also liked Hart’s twist on the Olympian Gods; it gave The Dig a bit of Mean Girls nastiness and snark.  Hart doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously, which definitely shows through in her writing and the plot of The Dig.  She gives it her all and holds nothing back.  I commend her for not being afraid to tell her story the way she wants to tell it.

My biggest issue with this book was Zoe’s very rushed relationship with Zeus. She literally falls for him after spending just a few hours with him. And I felt that she became the type of girl she seemed to look down on at the beginning of the book. Her entire world became all about Zeus and how she could stay with him. Because this is a trilogy, maybe the love story between Zoe and Zeus could have been stretched out a bit. This is the primary reason I felt that Zoe was a good role model at the book’s beginning, but she seemed to lose that quality a bit as the book progressed.      

Also, I do feel that The Dig is a bit simplistic. I am not sure older, more mature teens will appreciate the humor and laid-back attitude present in the story. I know my girls would not enjoy it.  And the pop culture references will be obsolete in about ten years, making this a book with questionable longevity issues.  I do think it is a great story for middle-grade readers, like sixth, seventh or eighth graders, especially those looking for a good, quick story.  I would definitely recommend it to my students at the junior-high level. If you are looking for a funny, quick read, this is the book for you.

My grade for The Dig by Audrey Hart:        

Teaser Tuesday (January 10)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

·         Grab your current read

·         Open to a random page

·         Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

·         BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

"I wished there were a textbook of undead creatures. Or a field guide. It would make my life so much easier."  The Gathering Storm (Katerina Alexandrovna #1) Kindle e-galley--42% 

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Title:  Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Author:  Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen

Genre:  Adult

Publisher:  Quirk Classics

Format:  Kindle e-book (self-purchased)

Release Date:  May 2009

The peaceful English village of Meryton, home of Elizabeth Bennet and family, is facing a zombie menace of epic proportions. But that is a menace Elizabeth has been trained to overcome. Until the supposedly haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy arrives and distracts her from her duties as a protector of her beloved England. What follows is a hilarious tongue-in-cheek retelling of a beloved classic.

I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; it was a fun and interesting read.  The one word that comes to mind when describing this book is quirky. It is definitely much racier than the original book.  I finally had to pull my copy of Pride and Prejudice out, dust it off and use is it for comparison.  For instance in chapter 17, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are discussing balls—the dancing kind. Which you would never guess from was the topic of conversation: “On the contrary, I find that balls are much more enjoyable when they cease to remain private.” Like I said, racier than the original.  It’s funny how dropping just one little word like “an” can completely change the meaning of a sentence. Trust me, it does.

Overall, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a good read, especially if you can handle the gory descriptions of zombies eating brains and cannibalizing dead bodies. That was a little gross for me, so I usually just skimmed through those parts. I liked the absurdity of the book, in particular Elizabeth Bennet’s visit to Charlotte and Mr. Collins, definitely kept me giggling. It takes a classic to a whole new level, a funny, quirky new level. 

My grade for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: 

     

In My Mailbox (January 8)

In My Mailbox (IMM) was started over at the The Story Siren by Kristie and has evolved to over 300 participating blogs.  It is a way for bloggers to network and socialize and to show everyone the various books that they have received.  

I haven't participated in In My Mailbox in well over a month. The holiday season was keeping me hopping (unfortunately, not always through blogs)! I thought about going back and listing every book I received since the last time I participated, but that was too much. I am only listing the books I received during the last week, especially since I am very excited about them. I might feature the other books during a week when I didn't receive any other books.

Without further adieu, here are the books I received this week!

I am very, very excited about the following books! All of these books I received from NetGalley for review. I am including a link to Goodreads so you can check them out for yourselves. 

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi--Goodreads Link

Slide by Jill Hathaway--Goodreads Link

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows--Goodreads Link

Everneath by Brodi Ashton--Goodreads Link

And finally, I have been waiting for this book for what seems like forever! 

Anew: The Archers of Avalon by Chelsea Fine--Goodreads Link

That is my week in a nutshell. Please leave a link to your IMM in the comment section and I will stop by and check it out.

Save it for Saturday

I have decided to start a weekly blog post entitled “Save it for Saturday.” While it is true that Mom Reads My Books is a book blog, every now and then I feel the urge to discuss something else, whether it is movies, television or music. Sometimes I find interesting articles I would like to share with my readers and sometimes my extremely opinionated nature comes out and I feel the need to share my thoughts and feelings about some aspect of my life or such (never politics, though, that is too volatile of a subject). This is also helping me in my attempt to blog more consistently—reviews, memes or interesting articles.  So I have decided that these discussions will be “saved for Saturday” and a weekly post made on that day.

I have several ideas on paper, and a least one interesting guest post coming up concerning technology and where it is taking the reader. I figure more ideas will come to me as time passes and I am willing to take input from my readers as well.    

I hope my readers find this new venture interesting. Please leave a comment in the comment section to let me know what you think.

Follow Friday (20)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee’s View and Alison at Alison Can Read. It is a great way for bloggers to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Go to either blog, follow ALL the instructions and then add you link to the list. It’s just that easy!

This week’s question:

Question of the Week: Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

I opted to count not only my physical books, but my Kindle books as well.  Since getting my Kindle over the summer, I have been getting books like crazy! So, I have 36 on my Kindle, plus about 25 on my shelves (under the bed, stacked on the floor, on my coffee table), which makes my total 61 unread books. Phew, that is way more than I thought! I really need to work my through my TBR pile this year. I'm actually scared to look at my "to-read" list on Goodreads (ok, I looked, it's 178 books, ugh)!

How many books do you have waiting to be read? Leave a link to your Follow Friday post in the comment section and I will check it out. 

Teaser Tuesday (January 3)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

·         Grab your current read

·         Open to a random page

·         Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

·         BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

My teaser this week comes from The Gathering Storm (Katrina Alexandrovna #1) by Robin Bridges:

"Our family tree has roots and branches reaching all across Europe, from France to Russia, from Denmark to Greece, and in several transient and minute kingdoms and principalities in between. This tree is tangled with all the rest of Europe's royalty, and like many in that forest, my family tree is poisoned with a dark evil."  NetGalley e-book ARC--1st paragraph of 1st page (quote may be subject to change)


Please leave a link to your Tuesday Teaser in the comment section below and I will stop by and check it out! Happy New Year all!