Misery by Stephen King

Author:  Stephen King

Genre:  Horror, Fiction, Thriller

Reading Experience:  9/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

I respect a writer when he or she makes the book come alive.  When a book evokes the same feeling the main character is feeling, or makes the entire atmosphere swallow you whole, then that writer has earned my respect.  Of course, it has to be Stephen King!

The story is simple:Paul Sheldon is a bestselling novelist, famous for his Misery Chastain series.  But his life changes when he was driving through the snow and crashes his car, hurting himself very, very badly.  It's a good thing Annie Wilkes was there!  She has become his nurse since the moment she found him in the wreck.  She takes care of him, nursing him back to health.  And she is also his biggest fan...and his captor.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Author:  Stephen King

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, 

Suspense, Thriller

Reading Experience:  7/10

Story:  8/10

Writing:  7/10

My Verdict:  7.5/10

We all know what happened that 22nd of November in 1963.  The world stood still and fell silent, to mourn John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as he was assassinated while strolling down the street of Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas, in his motorcade.  It shook not only the United States to its core, but also the world.  Every human held their breath, as they watched in horror the development of this tragedy.

Theories and conspiracies began to surface about the man that shot JFK.  Why did he do it?  Was he hired?  Who hired him?  Was it an inside job?  Was he working alone or someone from the government hired him?  They kept coming; more questions and less answers.  But it all lead to the man that pulled the trigger: Lee Harvey Oswald.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

“Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?”

- A Monster Calls

Author:  Patrick Ness 

(originally conceived by Siobhan Dowd) 

Genre:  Fantasy, Young Adult, Horror, Contemporary

Reading Experience: 7.5/10

Story:  8/10

Writing:  7.5/10

My Verdict:  8/10

This is a sad story, with an even sadder background.  This is one of those books, one of those stories, that stick with you far beyond the last sentence.  It evokes something very sad and very dark since the first chapter, and it holds you until you read the last one.  Never have I once cried for a book as much as I did with this one, not even the Fault in Our Stars or any of the sort.  No, this book strung many strings in my heart, and it's a personal treasure, a favorite almost.

The story is simple: a boy named Conor and a monster that stalks him every night at midnight.  Conor is coping with his mother's cancer, school and many other things that will hit home and make you reminisce about the obstacles and frustrations of being a teen.

This monster visits him every midnight, demanding only one thing from Conor, the single thing Conor will never, ever give anyone: the truth.