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A Brief Note on Migrating Reviews

Monster Librarian has been active since 2006. Until April 0f 2014, when our founder, Dylan, suddenly died, reviews for the site were posted and indexed on our static site. After that, we started posting reviews here on the blog. There are therefore eight years’ worth of reviews on the static site. I can’t take it down but when people search for Monster Librarian, that’s where it takes them– to a webpage designed fourteen years ago that was last updated 4 1/2 years ago. Why not just migrate the content, you ask? Well, Dylan wrote the code in FrontPage, an editor that no longer exists and is not supported by, well, anyone.  It therefore has to be manually cut and pasted from the static site to this blog. What this means is you are likely to see reviews here of many older books over the next several months (at least) in addition to more current titles. I’m not going to re-edit them, so they may make some dated references. Once this is all completed, though, everything will be searchable from one place, which is great for people interested in backlist titles as well as what’s up this year. Yay!

 

Reading Bites editor Michele Lee has been migrating YA content in the same way for quite some time, in addition to her more current content. Just because they’re older, doesn’t mean they’re not worthwhile. I encourage you to visit and see what she has up right now.

Posted on September 6, 2018 by , Reply

School’s Out!

Gosh, where have I been the last few weeks? Well, school ended just a few days ago, and preparations for that have been time-consuming… and the little monsters are now out playing. Sadly, I have been forced to separate them from their technological toys, and then faced the accusation that I spend too much time on the computer myself. So keeping up has been a challenge, but I hope now to be getting back on track. In the meantime, Michele Lee over at Reading Bites has posted some fantastic reviews and I encourage you to head over there and check them out. And now I must head to the library myself, where a John Scalzi book awaits. In the meantime, I’d love to know what you’re reading, because summer is a great time to try new things, and I’m willing to give it a shot. Have a great day and, in the words of Arnold, I’ll be back.

Posted on June 1, 2015 by , Reply

Book Review: Made For You by Melissa Marr

Made For You by Melissa Marr

HarperCollins, 2014

ISBN-13: 978-0062011190

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook download.

 

Melissa Marr’s latest is the magic-light tale of Eva, a southern princess (child of the elite in the tiny town of Jessup, NC) who after being struck by a car and left for dead finds herself with the unpredictable ability to read the deaths of people who touch her.

Even more disturbing is how many of her friends die at the hands of a serial killer, a maniac that has begun leaving messages through flowers and carved into the flesh of his victims.

The whole premise of Eva being a genteel, popular, universally loved southern lady almost ruins this book. But in the chapters where readers find themselves in Eva’s head (which is most of them) we learn she finds it just as repressive and ridiculous as I did when I read the back cover. Eva feels trapped by societal expectations, a note that rings stronger when a psycho-serial killer starts sending her messages.

Made for You is a great introductory horror novel for teens. There’s a lot of the creepy, stalky, murdery bits with stronger drawn characters. There is horror and gore here, but without the loving descriptions often found in adult novels. Definitely recommended for teen audiences, especially ones who already enjoy Marr’s other series.

Contains: sexual language, violence, murder

Reviewed by Michele Lee

Editor’s Note: This review appeared previously at our partner blog on YA fiction, Reading Bites.

Posted on December 15, 2014 by , Reply
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