Olive’s Ocean
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Banned Books Week special review. Challenged for "sexually explicit, offensive language." Sigh. There is so little of this "language," it has to have been for a one paragraph description of the parents' "MSB," "Morning Sex Behavior." What a stupid reason to challenge an otherwise completely inoffensive and touching book.
The book itself is a very quick read, being aimed at the "tween" set. Martha is a young girl trying to figure out her place in the world and realizing that the world does not, in fact, revolve around her. The book doesn't even give her a happy ending, but it definitely holds some lessons to be learned.
Next up, I'll be tackling the more challenging Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.
Victory Prima Pils
This one is going to spoil me on other pilseners.
Pale yellow color, good substantial frothy white head. Looks great.
Mostly hoppy aroma, lemon too.
Very hoppy flavor as well. More citrus and herbal flavors too. But the hops were more than I expected. A full-flavored pils, wow!
Finish is nice and dry, only some slight bitterness left behind.
I've had a few people recommend this one to me, and I'm definitely glad I tried it out.
Overall rating: 4.5
New Holland Ichabod Ale
Great looking pour, good head and lacing, nice copper color.
Nothing much in the aroma, somewhat earthy I guess. A touch of pumpkin when I look for it.
I was surprised by the hop bitterness here, not what I would expect in a pumpkin. But first there is a definite pumpkin sweetness, with some undertones of pumpkin spices like nutmeg, and a little cinnamon.
A good fall seasonal, I think.
Overall rating: 3.9
The Magicians
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The most likely comparison for this book will be a grown up Harry Potter. I've never read Harry Potter though, so I couldn't say. What I can say is that The Magicians is a fantastic story of discovery and growing up. Magic plays an integral role, of course, but ultimately this book is about the characters, the magicians, and Lev Grossman does a wonderful job in bringing them to life with his own magic.
I'm taking a little break from book reviews for a while to get caught up on some other stuff. Books will return in a couple of weeks.
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