Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pros:
Events from the Holocaust are so much more real and disturbing when you get to know someone who lived it. And that is what this book does. You get to know Anne as a person, with all of her strengths and weaknesses. You feel her fears and frustrations, her petty disagreements and her adolescent highs. When those final entries come, and you sense some maturity coming to her, and with it her growing fear, the events of the times take on new meanings. It was an awful time to be alive, and and this book does an unusually effective job at portraying it.

Cons:
I don't think I needed to read the definitive edition. The entries of a young woman going through puberty were not meant for the public, and even if they were, I didn't gain anything from them. They don't add to the experience or the message of the book, so I can see why they were edited out of the mass-market version.

The Hidden City by David Eddings

The Hidden City by David Eddings
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Previous books in the series:
Domes of Fire
The Shinning Ones

It took me a year or so to read this book. It wasn't bad, but the whole series is just... dated. It is a mediocre classic fantasy book, displaying a lot of the features that have been the focus of writers to improve on in the last few decades. The plot was often predictable, the characters felt shallow at times, and the bad guys were just bad. It was in all ways a 3 star read.

So why did I read it? I just like a good classic fantasy from time to time. The escapism that draws fantasy readers is still there, even with the concerns. Keep expectations low, and go on a little journey to save the world with Sir Sparhawk and friends. Just don't take a year going about it.

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie by Garth Nix

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie by Garth Nix
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hmm, I need to go back and read my review of the first book. I might be at risk of repeating myself. This book was entertaining at a juvenile level. While maintaining a simple plot with simple goals, the authors were able to maintain a storyline and set of characters that appealed to their audience.

The best thing about this book is actually the epilogue. This postscript kicks off the next conflict, which was set up by both book 1 and 2. If not for that I think I would be done with this series, but now I might consider reading one more. Time will tell.