The Running Bibliophile

The Girl in the Castle by James Patterson and Emily Raymond is a young adult novel centered on Hannah Doe, a teenage girl who claims she can time travel between present day New York City and the year 1347. After a frightening incident that police believe to be a mental health episode, Hannah is taken to Belman Psych, where doctors diagnose her as schizophrenic. But as Hannah’s story unfolds, the question lingers ... is she truly mentally ill, or is something far more extraordinary happening? Thank you to NetGalley and LittleBrown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Girl in the Castle . I was genuinely excited and grateful to be selected to read and review this book ahead of its publication. The synopsis immediately caught my attention, and the cover art was striking. Going into the novel, I wasn’t entirely sure what direction the authors would take, and I initially expected a young adult fantasy. There was a brief moment of disappointmen...

Over twenty years ago, I bought the book Beach House by R.L. Stine when I was a high school student. I remember feeling that this book by him was so much more mature than his other works and was super impressed by the fact that it alternated between the year 1956 and the present day. With that being said, I was even more impressed that he included time travel into the novel and was totally surprised that one of the characters had "come back from the dead" to kill him. At that point in time, the only other book that had to do with any kind of "time travel" that I read was Mary Downing Hahn's middle grade book Wait Til Helen Comes , which isn't really a comparable book. A few months ago, I came across a copy of Beach House at Goodwill and decided to buy it because I had such fond memories of it. This past weekend, I finally picked it up and read it within a few hours (maybe 2-3 hours total reading time). As I read it, I had vague memories of the time ...

11/22/63  by Stephen King opens with high school teacher Jake Epping being recruited by his friend Al, a local diner owner, to travel back in time to 1963 and stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy . Though skeptical at first, Jake follows Al’s instructions and discovers a portal to the past. As he builds a new life in another era, he quickly learns that altering history comes with unexpected consequences and not everything goes according to plan. Who hasn't thought about time travel ... of going back into the past or jumping ahead into the future? With so many books, and movies, on this subject matter, you'd think the subject of time travel would be overdone and predictable. But, Stephen King is anything but predictable and delivers a story that feels fresh, immersive, and completely unforgettable. I frequently find myself thinking about 11/22/63 . Does the date sound familiar to you? On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, leaving the nati...

I am the type of person who will put down a book if it doesn't grab my attention within the first five pages or so, even when it comes to adult novels. The reason for this is that I just don't want to waste my time, or money, on something that isn't any good. And, yes, I'm one of those that has to own their copy. I've just now started borrowing books from the library, especially when it is a book that I am unsure of. That was exactly the case with  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children  by Ransom Riggs . I put off reading it for the longest time because I wasn't convinced I'd enjoy it. I even tried reading a few pages while browsing at my local Barnes & Noble, but it didn't immediately grab my attention, despite having an intriguing premise. Eventually, I saw that my local library branch offered both the eBook version and digital audiobook versions available, so I decided to give the latter a chance. Listening to audiobooks has neve...