Since I've started these reviews I've struggled with how to make these reviews unique and keep you readers interested. I'm going to try a new approach--5 minute reviews. I'm about 8 books behind, so clearly I'm spending time reading but not enough time reviewing. I want to write these reviews, so I'm going to try a new approach--writing these reviews in 5 minutes or less. We'll see how it goes.
If that doesn't work, then one or both of the cats will be taking over the reviews.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Book Review: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
Title: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: Emily Shepard is a homeless teen living in Burlington, VT after her parents died in a catastrophic accident at the nuclear power plant where her parents worked and where they lived in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. To make matters worse, there's speculation that Emily's dad caused the accident that caused the town to be abandoned. Once her parents died and Emily fled her hometown Emily had to focus on surviving. She's surviving, but it's a lonely existence.
Review: I started this review over a month ago and still haven't written the summary. So, this is going to be quick and dirty. This book was sad. Emily's in a tough spot--she's orphaned and knows the accident wasn't her dad's fault but can't prove it. She runs away because she's afraid she'll become a pariah. I can't fault her for that. I liked this book and I liked the ending but it was just too sad.
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: Emily Shepard is a homeless teen living in Burlington, VT after her parents died in a catastrophic accident at the nuclear power plant where her parents worked and where they lived in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. To make matters worse, there's speculation that Emily's dad caused the accident that caused the town to be abandoned. Once her parents died and Emily fled her hometown Emily had to focus on surviving. She's surviving, but it's a lonely existence.
Review: I started this review over a month ago and still haven't written the summary. So, this is going to be quick and dirty. This book was sad. Emily's in a tough spot--she's orphaned and knows the accident wasn't her dad's fault but can't prove it. She runs away because she's afraid she'll become a pariah. I can't fault her for that. I liked this book and I liked the ending but it was just too sad.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Book Review: I Was Here
Title: I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: When Cody's best friend Meg kills herself, Cody is left to pick up the pieces and try and find answers. Why would a girl that lit up a room kill herself? Could something more sinister be at play? Or will Cody have to deal with the guilt that her best friend killed herself and Cody really never noticed that anything was wrong?
Review: I don't think I was the target audience for this. Cody's an admirable young woman--her mom isn't very hands on, her dad wasn't around growing up and she grew up quite poor. Despite being very smart, she forgoes school and starts cleaning ouses after high school graduation. Anyway, Cody's world is shattered when her best friend Meg kills herself. Without Meg Cody feels lost, but her death opens Cody's eyes to the distance that was growing between the two of them. I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I was 20 years younger. There's some romance, of course, which is one of the reasons that I took away one of the stars. I wasn't convinced that this was going to be a relationship that was going to last.
Time to write review: 6:30 (what can I say, I was distracted).
Author: Gayle Forman
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: When Cody's best friend Meg kills herself, Cody is left to pick up the pieces and try and find answers. Why would a girl that lit up a room kill herself? Could something more sinister be at play? Or will Cody have to deal with the guilt that her best friend killed herself and Cody really never noticed that anything was wrong?
Review: I don't think I was the target audience for this. Cody's an admirable young woman--her mom isn't very hands on, her dad wasn't around growing up and she grew up quite poor. Despite being very smart, she forgoes school and starts cleaning ouses after high school graduation. Anyway, Cody's world is shattered when her best friend Meg kills herself. Without Meg Cody feels lost, but her death opens Cody's eyes to the distance that was growing between the two of them. I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I was 20 years younger. There's some romance, of course, which is one of the reasons that I took away one of the stars. I wasn't convinced that this was going to be a relationship that was going to last.
Time to write review: 6:30 (what can I say, I was distracted).
Monday, March 2, 2015
Book review: Reunion
Title: Reunion
Author: Hannah Pittard
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: While she's on a plane, Kate gets a call that her father has died. Kate's life is in turmoil. For one, she doesn't even like her dad. Another, her marriage is in shambles for various reasons, primarily because her husband has caught her cheating. Also, she has no money because she's extremely in debt. She heads home to Georgia at the urging of her brother and sister to say goodbye and perhaps deal with some demons.
Review: When I first started this book I thought, "I already read this book except it was called This is Where I Leave You. I wanted to like this book but this book is no This is Where I Leave You. And perhaps it's not a fair comparison, but the whole time I read this book that hung over me. It's not quite as funny nor is it as poignant either. Still, I could see Kristin Wiig starring in the film adaptation. Wait for the movie. Or read This is Where I Leave You. Kate's dad didn't sound like a peach--Kate's mom was his first of several wives. I could see why Kate's so angry with her dad. As an only child I'm often fascinated by books that explore sibling dynamics. This one just didn't do it for me. But...it wasn't awful, thus the 3 stars.
Author: Hannah Pittard
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: While she's on a plane, Kate gets a call that her father has died. Kate's life is in turmoil. For one, she doesn't even like her dad. Another, her marriage is in shambles for various reasons, primarily because her husband has caught her cheating. Also, she has no money because she's extremely in debt. She heads home to Georgia at the urging of her brother and sister to say goodbye and perhaps deal with some demons.
Review: When I first started this book I thought, "I already read this book except it was called This is Where I Leave You. I wanted to like this book but this book is no This is Where I Leave You. And perhaps it's not a fair comparison, but the whole time I read this book that hung over me. It's not quite as funny nor is it as poignant either. Still, I could see Kristin Wiig starring in the film adaptation. Wait for the movie. Or read This is Where I Leave You. Kate's dad didn't sound like a peach--Kate's mom was his first of several wives. I could see why Kate's so angry with her dad. As an only child I'm often fascinated by books that explore sibling dynamics. This one just didn't do it for me. But...it wasn't awful, thus the 3 stars.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Book review: Young God
Title: Young God
Author: Katherine Faw Morris
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Nikki is a determined 13-year-old girl who watches her mom die in the first pages of the book. From that moment on she is on a mission to establish her presence in the world and protect what's hers.
Review: I'm not sure if I didn't like this book because it was poorly written or because it was about a 13-year-old girl dealing with situations that no 13-year-old girl should have to deal with. Despite some of the things Nikki did, she's a smart kid. It was just sad that she felt she had to do some of the things she did. She's clearly a survivor, it was just sad. On the plus side, it was a really fast read.
Author: Katherine Faw Morris
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Nikki is a determined 13-year-old girl who watches her mom die in the first pages of the book. From that moment on she is on a mission to establish her presence in the world and protect what's hers.
Review: I'm not sure if I didn't like this book because it was poorly written or because it was about a 13-year-old girl dealing with situations that no 13-year-old girl should have to deal with. Despite some of the things Nikki did, she's a smart kid. It was just sad that she felt she had to do some of the things she did. She's clearly a survivor, it was just sad. On the plus side, it was a really fast read.
Monday, February 16, 2015
The Lullaby of Polish Girls
Title: The Lullaby of Polish Girls
Author: Dagmara
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: Anna lives in Brooklyn with her Polish parents who emigrated to the States as political refugees when Anna was a little girl. When Anna heads to Poland for the summer to visit her grandmother, she feels like she's discovered a missing piece of herself. That summer she meets Justyna and Kamila and their friendship begins and evolves as the three of them grow up.
Review: This book was short and quick to read, but it just didn't blow me away (especially not after reading The Boston Girl and Big Little Lies). For one, the summary on Amazon calls these girls best friends. I disagree that these girls are best friends. I agree that Anna and Kamila seem to have a connection, but Justyna in particular isn't part of this friendship. She doesn't even seem to really like Anna and Kamila. Point two, the book gets better, but it has a slow start. Three, I just didn't buy that these girls would stay in touch over the years. I'm not saying that friends who drift apart can't come back together. I just wasn't convinced it was going to happen for these three women.
Author: Dagmara
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: Anna lives in Brooklyn with her Polish parents who emigrated to the States as political refugees when Anna was a little girl. When Anna heads to Poland for the summer to visit her grandmother, she feels like she's discovered a missing piece of herself. That summer she meets Justyna and Kamila and their friendship begins and evolves as the three of them grow up.
Review: This book was short and quick to read, but it just didn't blow me away (especially not after reading The Boston Girl and Big Little Lies). For one, the summary on Amazon calls these girls best friends. I disagree that these girls are best friends. I agree that Anna and Kamila seem to have a connection, but Justyna in particular isn't part of this friendship. She doesn't even seem to really like Anna and Kamila. Point two, the book gets better, but it has a slow start. Three, I just didn't buy that these girls would stay in touch over the years. I'm not saying that friends who drift apart can't come back together. I just wasn't convinced it was going to happen for these three women.
Book review: Big Little Lies
Title: Big Little Lies
Author: Liane Moriarty
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Summary: This story revolves around three friends who live in an affluent seaside town: Madeline, Celeste and Jane. All three have children that recently started Kindergarten. Jane, only 24, doesn't fit the profile of the other moms, but Madeline and Celeste take her under their winds. At the kindergarten orientation, Jane's little boy Ziggy is accused of bullying a little girl. This event divides the town into who sides with the mother of the little girl and who sides with Jane, Celeste and Madeline. Meanwhile, Celeste and Madeline are dealing with their own challenges around family and husbands. Things come to a head on the school's Trivia Night. when somebody dies. Was it murder? Just an accident?
Review: I love Liane Moriarty's work, although I didn't realize until I finished this that this was her work. In the interest of full disclosure, I listened to this book on CD and because Moriarty is an Australian author, it was read by somebody with an Australian accent. That probably helped me like the book a little more, but I still really liked this book. There's a great buildup to the night of the Trivia Night where the murder happens. For some reason I thought at first it was a woman that had died but it wasn't. I don't want to reveal too much, but this was the kind of work that I couldn't stop listening to but I started to dread the book ending. Another awesome peace of work by Moriarty.
Author: Liane Moriarty
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Summary: This story revolves around three friends who live in an affluent seaside town: Madeline, Celeste and Jane. All three have children that recently started Kindergarten. Jane, only 24, doesn't fit the profile of the other moms, but Madeline and Celeste take her under their winds. At the kindergarten orientation, Jane's little boy Ziggy is accused of bullying a little girl. This event divides the town into who sides with the mother of the little girl and who sides with Jane, Celeste and Madeline. Meanwhile, Celeste and Madeline are dealing with their own challenges around family and husbands. Things come to a head on the school's Trivia Night. when somebody dies. Was it murder? Just an accident?
Review: I love Liane Moriarty's work, although I didn't realize until I finished this that this was her work. In the interest of full disclosure, I listened to this book on CD and because Moriarty is an Australian author, it was read by somebody with an Australian accent. That probably helped me like the book a little more, but I still really liked this book. There's a great buildup to the night of the Trivia Night where the murder happens. For some reason I thought at first it was a woman that had died but it wasn't. I don't want to reveal too much, but this was the kind of work that I couldn't stop listening to but I started to dread the book ending. Another awesome peace of work by Moriarty.
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