Tag: book review

Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman

Beyond the Valley of Thorns

the Land of Elyon series: book two

genres: children’s. fantasy. christianlit

The Review

This is a great sequel to the Dark Hills Divide. It also immediately took my criticisms for the ending of the first book and solved them within the first few chapters. I’m not gonna lie though, this is kind of where I find some issues. Although the story, adventure, and characters are all phenomenal, the thinly veiled creationist backplot was just laid on a little thick. With Abaddon (Elyon’s favorite) being a fallen Seraph (read: angel) and wishing to bring about the fall of mankind through sin…I don’t know. It didn’t make the book bad, it just made it a little less enjoyable for me. However, despite this, it’s still a great read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and continuing with Alexa’s journey!

Characters:

Most of the characters are carried over from the first book and get even more development in the sequel. I still think Alexa is a really amazing female lead. She’s brave and independent, but not so much that it’s unrealistic for a 12 year old. Also, Odessa is the best and anyone who thinks otherwise can fight me. I mean, have you seen her on that cover?

Set-up:

The story brings Alexa and her group of friends outside of the walls and into the world. This really expands the story to new levels. The evil is much more present and looming. It’s definitely a lot moodier than the first book, but it’s still a good story for any young fantasy fan. (Or adult. I enjoyed it. I’m 24. Come at me.)

Additional notes: the ChristianLit aspects are a little stronger in the sequel, but still do not distract from the overall story.

Approx read time: 2 days

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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Next book in the series: The Tenth City

Previous book in the series: The Dark Hills Divide

Ownership: I used to own this, but have since donated it to my local library

Author Goodreads

The Science of Evil…by Simon Baron-Cohen

Science of Evil

genres: nonfiction. psychology. research.

The Review

First of all, if this wasn’t obvious already, don’t read this unless you’re interested in scientific books on psychology/psychiatry research. Now: this was a very interesting read. Although it was a little different than what I had expected. Because of the title, I was expecting something a little darker. More related towards the idea of evil and the bad things that people do. However, Baron-Cohen’s book is all about empathy. But to be honest, this was a very refreshing book on the ideas of “evil.” Baron-Cohen is very adamant in clarifying his opinions and what they do or do not relate to and it’s interesting to take his ideas and fit them into whatever thoughts you may have on your own. Definitely would recommend this to anyone with an interest in psychology and how the human brain can justify or simply not understand acts of “evil.”

Research:

The more scientific chapters on neurology were a little dull if you don’t have any prior experience with that specific field, but the rest of the book certainly makes up for it. I think Baron-Cohen’s examples were the best part of the book. Each adage was taken from real events and used to express ideas that the author had in order to more easily relate them to the reader. There are examples of violence, but also examples of individuals with mental illness that may or may not contribute to acts of cruelty. That is not to say Baron-Cohen only focuses on the negative. On the contrary, he is very clear in identifying positive ways in which a lack of empathy can influence an individual (this was certainly one of the most interesting sections to me).
Make sure you read until the end. To me, the last chapter (6) was the most interesting. This is where Baron-Cohen really takes all of his evidence and examples and sums it up into a nice conclusion.

approx read time: around fifteen days

Rating: 4 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I own a copy of this book 👍🏻

Author Goodreads