Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2022/What I've Read in 2022

#36 Klara and the Sun by Kazua Ishiguro



I had high hopes for this book, having read Never Let Her Go. The potential was there but the themes just weren't developed. Disappointing.

#37 Crossroads by Jonathan Fransen

Very detailed bok about a minister and his family of four kids. Lots if detail. Lots of focus on heavy issues and God. I didn't like the characters and I was cringing at many of their poor choices.

#22 - The Return of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks

Book 2 in the Indian in the Cupboard series. Omri wins a prize for this story "The Plastic Indian" and brings back Little Bear to share the news.

Not a great book but a logical continuation of the series. It gets really weird when Omri becomes part of a teepee when he uses the magic key to send himself back in time to Little Bear's village though.


#23 - The Secret of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks

Book 3 in the series. Picking up directly at the end of Book 2, Omri is still dealing with the fallout of having sent modern weapons back in time with Little Bear and his newly created army of formerly plastic Indians. This time, his friend Patrick goes back in time to the Texas town where his cowboy, Boone, is from. The secret nearly gets blown but is saved at the last second when Patrick returns from time traveling with a tornado hot on his heels.

I know I read all these books as a kid. The sequels are so bad I've completely blocked them from memory. But my daughters are enjoying them!


#24 - Runaway Max by Brenna Yovanoff

Max Mayfield is forced to accept her new "brother," Billy, when her mother remarries. The trouble is, Billy is abusive and creepy, mostly due to the fact that his father is abusive and creepy. Then she's forced to move from California to the sleepy little town of Hawkins, Indiana, far from her biological father. She meets a group of kids and learns about the monsters stalking Hawkins...

I'm super into Stranger Things, so this was fun. Maybe not as insightful as some of the other books (Suspicious Minds was awesome and Rebel Robin shed some interesting light on the character) but still a fun read. It makes me look forward to rewatching the older seasons again.[b][/b]

#38 Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shriver

People love or hate this book. I thought it was well done. The author isn't against trans people. She's concerned about a current trend where much statically higher numbers of girls are claiming to be trans. She includes interviews with girls and their families, doctors and scientists.

#25 - Tracker by Gary Paulsen

John Borne's life is turned upside down when his grandfather is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He becomes kind of obsessed with the ideas of life and death, and when it comes time to hunt for deer to provide meat for the coming winter, he tracks a doe in the woods instead of taking the shot.

A short read, I found it bland. I loved the images of the woods covered in new snow, the feeling of tacking the deer. But the book tried too hard to be deep - John feels like he can cheat death from getting his grandfather if he can touch the doe and not kill her. In the end, he goes home meatless and nothing has really changed at all. It just didn't come together for me - perhaps if the story had been longer and delved more into if John was going to give up hunting for good or something.

#39 Good Company by Cynthia Daprix Sweeney

After many years of marriage, Flora discovers that her husband had an affair, years ago, and that her best friend knew about it.

I think the writer could've gone a little deeper with the conflicts in this book.

#40 Sister Stardust by Jane Green

The blurb on this book didn't match the story at all. Supposedly it was about the real person Talitha Getty and her lavish lifestyle in the 1960s. Instead the book focused on a fictional character, Claire/Cece, that hung out with her for three weeks. Sometimes it's kinda fun to read about the counterculture happenings of the 60s but this got a bit ridiculous. Cece is an outsider yet invited to go to Marakesk with rock stars? Who immediately become best friends? There's drugs everywhere. Cece almost overdoses but it feels like it was no big deal? Her brother's best friend happens to be rich (while Cece and her brother are not), and comes to Marakesk to bring her home? Cece and Talitha are such great friends, the author keeps telling us but after three weeks, Cece doesn't answer any of Talitha's letters. This is just silly. Don't waste your time on this one.

#26 Six (Stranger Things) by Jody Houser

A look into another gifted girl, Six, at the Hawkins National Laboratory.


#27 The Other Side (Stranger Things) by Jody Houser

What kinds of adventures did Will Byers have in the Upside Down when he was taken?


#28 Science Camp (Stranger Things) by Jody Houser

Dustin heads off to summer Science Camp, where counselors are disappearing. There seems to be a murderer on the loose. Or is there?


#29 Zombie Boys (Stranger Things) by Greg Pak

After returning from the Upside Down, Will uses his drawings as an outlet for the trauma he suffered through. Introduced to a new student at school - an aspiring movie maker at that - Will's drawings become a basis for the horror flick they start to make.



All fun, fast, fluffy reads and a good way to momentarily fill in some time before we get Season 5, whenever that might be.

41 We are not like Them by. Christine Pride and Jo Piano

A long time frendship between a while woman and a black woman is tested when both are involved in a tragic police shooting event.

Very timely topic. Brought up feelings from both Povs. Haven't completely made up my mind on this one.

#42 The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan



This one didn't work for me. Hated all of the characters. There were no chapter breaks and constant changing of POV which made it hard to tell which character was talking.

#43 The Sentence by Louise Erdrich


It took me over a week to finish this book. It did not hold my attention. It rambled - there was the ghost story then the pandemic. I had no feeling as to where it was going. I would've put it down if it hadn't been a selection for my bookclub.

#30 The Mystery of the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

The 4th book in the Indian In the Cupboard series. This one delves into the history of the magic key that brings plastic to life. It was pretty dull and felt almost wholly unnecessary, except as a vessel to set up the time travel of the next book.


#31 The Key to the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks

The 5th and final book of the series. Omri and his father (now in the know about the magic) travel back in time to help Little Bear and his people as the US expansion continues to push them out of their ancestral homelands. The time travel stuff was kinda cool but all the stuff leading up to it was a drag.


#32 Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson

A group of kids are hired by Walt Disney World to be scanned and recorded and turned into DHIs - Disney Interactive Hosts. Basically, holograms that can interact with park guests, show them around, and point out cool facts. However, there's an intentional "glitch" in the software - put there by Imagineer Wayne - that lets these 5 kids "cross over" into the Magic Kingdom when they go to sleep at night. Because Wayne needs them to thwart the "Overtakers" - villains who want to take over the parks.

Really fun idea - who wouldn't want the run of WDW without the crowds, right? What makes to hit such a sweet note is the incredible attention to detail - anyone who's been to the parks can easily picture the rides and attractions mentioned. For me, Disnerd that I am, it's comforting and feels like reading about my home.

#33 Kingdom Keepers II: Disney At Dawn by Ridley Pearson

After having defeated Maleficent in the first book, the DHIs face a new, bigger, threat - Maleficent's boss (so to speak). This one takes us into the Animal Kingdom - from the Maharaja's Jungle Trek, to the Kilimanjaro Safari, to Expedition Everest. The only problem is how much I want to go back to Disney now!

Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It
Adam Savage

A mix of autobiography and maker philosophy. I enjoyed it.


The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes
Zach Dundas

Nice detailed dive into Sherlock Holmes and all that has come from that. Scholarly in ways with footnotes, bibliography and index.
It is amazing how small the writers circle could be. The author of the Raffles stories was Doyle's son-in-law for example and he
organized a cricket team that had J.M Barrie, Wells, Kipling, Wodehouse, Milne, E.W. Hornung, George Cecil Ives on it at various times.

#44 Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

This is a re-read for an upcoming book club. Trevor tells about his upbringing in South Africa during Apartheid. Even though some of the material was traumatic, there were many laugh out loud moments.

#45 Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore


I liked the technique of mixing podcast excerpts with the sister's narrative. It was an intriguing mystery, though the characters were a bit edgy and the ending fell short.

#34 Kingdom Keepers III: Disney In Shadow by Ridley Pearson

The Kingdom Keepers (with two unofficial members) must save their Imagineer friend, Wayne, from the Overtakers, who are running rampant in Epcot Center.


#35 The Giver by Lois Lowry

Jonas, who lives in a "perfect" community where differences don't exist and choices are premade for everyone (what job who have, who you marry, what kids you are assigned to raise), is turning twelve and is to find out what job he is to train for, for his adult life. But instead of being assigned, he is "selected" to become the new Receiver of Memory - the most important job in the entire community. Because, you see, people have no memories of life before "Sameness" - so no memories of things like love, war, joy, sorrow, even things like music and colors. Jonas realizes that his community is not so perfect after all, and wonders what he can do to change that.

One of my favorite books ever. I read this one to my daughters and they fell in love with it too and are currently reading the graphic novel version, which I have also read and is extremely faithful to the source material.


#36 Polar Nights by Jen Calonita and Mari Mancusi

A brand new Frozen adventure! To steal the summary from Amazon:

Anna, Queen of Arendelle, has been tirelessly preparing for the Polar Night’s Celebration that is held every year to welcome the time when the sun doesn’t rise in the Polar Circle. She has been working so hard, her fiancé Kristoff suggests she take a night off to visit her sister Elsa, the Snow Queen. Anna loves the idea. Accompanied by Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf, Anna reunites with Elsa in the Enchanted Forest.

After telling spooky stories around the campfire, Olaf swears that one of the creatures of their tales has come to life! Who else is responsible for the sudden onset of storms and the earlier than normal darkening of the skies? Why else is everyone starting to become so forgetful?

Anna and Elsa join forces to determine what is going on. Together they recall Kristoff’s terrifying tale about a princess who turned into a draugr―an undead creature that steals memories in an effort to make others forget the misdeeds it committed when it was alive. Is it possible that Kristoff inadvertently unearthed memories of a draugr, and thus unleashed the monster upon Arendelle? Anna and Elsa must uncover the real story behind the tale before everyone in Arendelle forgets who they are and is cast into darkness forever….

A delightful read, if not a little predictable for the adults, but my daughters were hanging on every word! And, let's face it, as a Disnerd, I'll devour any new tales I can find.

#46 Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard


I was impressed by the research put into this book. The author did a wonderful job fleshing out these historical people. And she also emphasized historical developments and inventions at the time. How Garfield might have lived had he not been treated. With current surgical practice, massive infection was introduced into his wounds. That's what killed him. Lots of interesting tidbits there.

BTW, Deadly Chakram, I'm a big fan of The Giver too. Excellent book!

Everyone my kids mention the book to says the same thing! "Oh, I love that book!"

#37 Animal Farm by George Orwell

Hey kids! Let's read about communism and why it can never work!

I'd never read this during my school days, but I found it to be well done in terms of how understandable it was for my daughters. They totally got the political implications and had lots of questions once we were finished reading.

#46 The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan


It was nice to have a slightly different WWII perspective. I enjoyed the book, though it was very predictable.