“Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences.” An eerie but captivating story about a boy who stumbles upon a family down the lane. Three women with secrets take him in with open arms, and help him through a myriad of adventures that he definitely wasn't prepared for. Lettie, the 11-year old powerhouse is one of my favorite characters I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Gentle disclaimer: this book had my heart beating with fear, which doesn't happen too often.

"You must learn to be strong in the dark as well as in the day, else you will always be only half brave." I read this book while struggling to fall asleep with jet-lag. I read it in one sitting, cover to cover. And then I fell in love with it. A Scottish fairy-tale novel that dives deeper into uncharted waters than you could ever imagine. A story about a golden boy born into daylight but afraid of darkness, which wraps around the sensitive maiden born into the night. His descriptions are filled with wonder and understanding, and the whole story allows you to be a child again while reading a story with a true lesson within it.

"I question whether it can even be called cruelty when any other action would have meant our certain death." What an interesting read. Gripping and smooth to read, but filled with uncomfortable moral questions and decisions being made by 39 ship passengers stranded on a lifeboat. The story skips back and forth between the present (where the main character Grace is being tried at court) and the past (on the lifeboat). This book led to a lot of discussions with my friends, and within my head. Rogan writes in a daring manner, unafraid to upset or tilt the story this way or that. I found myself wishing it were longer, since many story-lines were not fully expanded upon, but also understand that it might have become too dry if it were any longer. Give it a read and tell me what you think.

“The problem with being clever, Serene thought with a sigh, is that everyone assumes you're always planning something.” What a fun book. A stand-alone fantasy book (which is hard to come by) that caught my attention by having a female heroine on the cover. The story of a fallen empire Elantris where immortal humans reigned as Gods, sharing their magic with the world. Now Elantris is a all-but deserted city, a prison for those "Gods" who have suddenly lost all of their power and humanity. This book was a non-stop roller coaster of laughs and action-filled scenes. Cunning writing by Sanderson moved the story along swiftly, without extra fluff or nonsense. I enjoyed this book immensely, and am looking forward to reading some of his other novels!!