Stacking the Shelves #29

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Review

Bought:

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don't realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geyers are caused by an underlying supervolcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite. And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and gang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to search for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

"His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead of himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a moth, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione." With these words Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince draws to a close. And here, in this seventh and final book. Harry discovers what fate truly has in store for him as he inexorably makes his way to that final meeting with Voldemort. In this thrilling climax to the phenomenally bestselling series, J. K. Rowling will reveal all to her eagerly waiting readers.

Hild by Nicola Griffith

In seventeenth-century Britain, small kingdoms are merging, frequently and violently. A new religion is coming ashore; the old gods are struggling, their priests worrying. Hild is the king's youngest niece, and she has a glimmering mind and a natural, noble authority. She will become a fascinating woman and one of the pivotal figures of the middle Ages: Saint Hilda of Whitby.

But now she has only the powerful curiosity of a bright child, a will of adamant, and a way of seeing the world - of studying nature, of matching cause with effect, of observing her surroundings closely and predicting what will happen next - that can seem uncanny, even supernatural, to those around her.

Her uncle, Edwin of Northumbria, plots to become overking of the Angles, ruthlessly using every tool at his disposal: blood, bribery, belief. Hild establishes a place for herself at his side as the king's seer. And she is indispensable - unless she should ever lead the king astray. The stakes are life and death: for Hild, for her family, for her loved ones, and for the increasing numbers who seek the protection of the strange girl who can read the world and see the future.

Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin

It's been over six months since the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Alex and Darla have been staying with Alex's relatives, trying to cope with the new reality of the dark, cold, and primitive world so vividly portrayed in Ashfall, the first book in this trilogy

It's also been six months of waiting for Alex's parents to return from Iowa. Alex and Darla decide they must retrace their journey into Iowa to find and bring back Alex's parents to the tenuous safety of Illinois. But the landscape they cross is even more perilous than before, with life-and-death battles for food and power between the remaining communities.

When the unthinkable happens, Alex must find new reserves of strength and determination to survive.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm.

Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings . . . .

Received for Christmas

Heather, Oak, and Olive by Rosemary Sutcliff

These three dramatic stories show the author at her best, vividly bringing new life to ancient times.

THE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER

The clan seized young Dara, son of the Irish raiders, for sacrifice to the Black Mother. But Nessan, the chief's daughter, pleaded for his life. The Mother took angry revenge, so again the Clan offered him victim. And again Nessan interfered - heedless now of all costs.

A CIRCLET OF OAK LEAVES

Aracos still remembered the battle long past, yet he never joined the cavalrymen in recounting its events. One day the men thought they knew his secret: Had he won the Circlet of Oak Leaves, the highest award for bravery? Why was he silent?

A CROWN OF WILD OLIVE

New to the great Games of Olympia, Amyntas and Leon were rivals and members of warring states. But they became close friends, even knowing that when the Games ended, they would never be able to meet again.

Brother Dusty-Feet by Rosemary Sutcliff

Hugh Copplestone lived in Devon with his Aunt Alison because his parents were dead, but when his Aunt threatened to have his beloved dog Argos destroyed, Hugh ran way, taking Argos with him. He hoped to reach Oxford and to go to the University there, though as yet he had no money to pay the fees. On the way, however, Hugh met a band of strolling players, who asked him whether he would like to join them. Hugh was delighted, and together with Argos, he spent an exciting year traveling about the southern counties of England. But he did not forget that his real purpose was to read the University, and, at last, it seemed that Hugh might achieve his ambition.

Song for a Dark Queen by Rosemary Sutcliff

"I suppose if she has the victory tomorrow, they'll make a song about her to sing for a thousand years."

So wrote the young Roman, Julius Agricola, on the eve of the great battle which was to change the face of the future. For "she" was none other than Boudicca, or Boadicea, defiant queen of the Iceni, who had already led her small British tribe in rebellion against the dark might of the Roman invaders. Now she had summoned the War Host together, from all over Britain, determined to lead them towards the light, to freedom.

This Week, On The Reading Hedgehog.....

December 23, 2013 - Monday

Review: Curtsies & Conspiracies - Gail Carriger

December 24, 2013 - Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday #26: Top 10 Books I Wish Santa Would Bring

December 25, 2013 - Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday #29

December 26, 2013 - Thursday

Review: The Clockwork Scarab - Colleen Gleason

December 27, 2013 - Friday

Review: Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson

Next Week, On The Reading Hedgehog.......

December 30, 2013 - Monday

December Book Haul

December 31, 2013 - Tuesday

2013 Reading Wrap-Up

January 1, 2014 - Wednesday

2014 New Year's Resolutions + TBR

January 2, 2014 - Thursday

Review: The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

January 3, 2014 - Friday

Review: The Deception of Tara Magee - Kathy J. Scott

January 4, 2014 - Saturday

Weekend Recommendations #30