New Favorites | Hollow Kingdom and Of Foster Homes and Flies

Do you ever read a book that you basically just loved and for various reasons you had a hard time reviewing? Below are a couple of books that I fell in love with recently and highly recommend.

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.

S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle's wild crows (those idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.

Then Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn't quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies--from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim's loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis--fail to cure Big Jim's debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.

Hollow Kingdom is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.

Hollow Kingdom is so good! And hilarious.

Hollow Kingdom is a science fiction, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, comedy, zombie book all rolled up into one told through the POV of a crow. What more could you possibly need to know? (Bonus: his companion is a dog.)

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Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke

A neglected 12-year-old boy does nothing to report the death of his mother in order to compete in a spelling bee. A tragic coming-of-age tale of horror and drama in the setting of a hot New Orleans summer.

"Coming of age... is this like Catcher in the Rye?" She makes a funny noise--one of disgust. "No way. I'd never pass that trash on to anyone. Trust me. This one's good."

I see why everyone speaks so highly of Chad Lutzke. I loved Of Foster Homes and Flies so much. I should write a longer review, but instead I'm going to spend my time hunting down more Lutzke stories to read.

If you love coming of age horror, you need to pick this one up.

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