Saturday, July 26, 2014

Lost Lake

Lost Lake
Sarah Addison Allen

Lost Lake

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life?

Sometimes lost loves aren't really lost. They're right where you left them, waiting for you to find them again.


Review:  I thought I would love this book - I've enjoyed other books by this author, and the title, cover, and description are beautiful - but it fell a little flat for me.  The writing is quite lovely, the characters are quirky and charming, and the setting is evocative and mysterious.  So what was the problem?  I think the author tried to detail too many interesting characters.  I especially would have loved to delve further into Kate and Eby's lives, learning more about their pasts and what brought them to make the decisions that they did.  Quite a few sections were written from the point of view of the other characters (Lisette, Devin, Jack, Wes, Bulahdeen, Selma and Cricket), and while they were very interesting, well-thought-out, charming characters themselves, there just wasn't enough information about them.  I really liked them, and I can see why they were each important in the story, but if they were going to be so important, then I wanted much MORE about them. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher


Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Synopsis:  You can't stop the future.  You can't rewind the past.  The only way to learn the secret...is to press play.

Clay Jensen doesn't want anything to do with the tapes Hannah Baker made.  Hannah is dead.  Her secrets should be buried with her.

Then Hannah's voice tells Clay that his name is on her tapes-and that he is, in some way, responsible for her death.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening.  He follows Hannah's recorded words throughout the small town...

...and what he discovers changes his life forever.
From the back of the book

Becky's Review:  I found the concept of this book quite intriguing-recorded messages from a girl who commits suicide and leaves the notes for the people who played into her reasons for ending her life.  From the beginning I was hooked and had to keep reading.  At some point this book lost steam for me.  Perhaps telling stories about the 13 people and how they affected Hannah were just too much for me to keep straight-I lost track of which boy was which boy.  There were twists and turns in the plot and since I didn't get to read this all in one sitting and had a few days in between, I was confused by what was going on.  I also don't buy that Clay fit into Hannah's 13 reasons why.  Obviously the author needed a reason for Clay to be listening to the tapes but it was a weak reason.  What Hannah explained on the tapes as why she thought about suicide and then ultimately killed herself, don't seem to be strong enough reasons why she would do something like that.  It was hard to buy into. The ending didn't make much sense to me either.  I know this seems like a lot of negatives but I still did like it and I think it's a great read.  One of the things that was great about the book was the dual narrator.  In between Hannah talking on the tapes, we heard Clay's reactions to what he was listening to.  I thought this made Hannah's story stronger.

Becky's Rating: 4 stars

Marcie's Review:  This is a tricky book to rate.  On one hand, I was drawn into the story immediately, and didn't want to put the book down to go about my day.  It was suspenseful and gripping, yet it wasn't light and fluffy reading; it really made me think.  It deals with a sensitive topic, and provides a lesson for teens (and everyone) to understand how their words and actions can affect others.  As soon as I finished the book, I called Becky to see if she had read it, and I told my friend Diana that she should put it on her hold list at the library so that I could discuss it with her.  All of those things should mean that I would rate it very highly.  I certainly reacted more strongly to this book than any other book I've read this year.

But on the other hand, I just didn't fully understand Hannah.  I'm not a teen (and haven't been one for a long time, ha ha) and I have never had issues with serious depression (thankfully), so I just couldn't understand why some of her reasons were serious enough to make her commit suicide.  So some guy said she had a nice ass.  Of course girls shouldn't be made to feel objectified, of course it was harassment, but it seems like it would have been a better reason for suicide if he'd said she had the worst ass.  I understand that it was all these reasons building on top of each other until she couldn't cope any more, and she must have had some underlying depression or something, but some reasons seemed so minor and others so major, and the focus on each was about equal.  Then she makes claims that no one was trying to help her, but it seemed to me that she wasn't letting anyone help her, that she wasn't letting anyone see the real Hannah.  Certainly SHE is responsible for that herself.  And her motive for making the tapes was so vengeful.  Does she see that she is now hurting people in the same ways that she has been hurt? Does she see that her actions could be causing other people to also have suicidal thoughts?   I wanted to feel sorry for her, and I did, but she was so awful.

And the sensitive issues around suicide....  It seemed to me that this book could provide a dialogue for teens who are concerned about their friends, and it also listed help lines for those who are considering suicide.  It could make readers consider how they treat others, how their words and actions can affect others in major ways.  And those are all GOOD things.  But, does it romanticize suicide?  Does it give teens the idea that they can do the same things as Hannah?  That they can tell their enemies how much they've hurt people, and then end their own lives.  I don't know. 

So, why the four rating?  Well, because I think the good discussions it can foster with teens, and the idea that one's actions can affect others are more important than my own thoughts about Hannah.  And it was really fascinating reading.

Marcie's Rating:  4 stars

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Martian

The Martian
Andy Weir

The Martian

Genre: Science Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Apollo 13 meets Cast Away in this grippingly detailed, brilliantly ingenious man-vs-nature survival thriller, set on the surface of Mars.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there.

It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to get him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?


Review:  As I was reading this book, I forgot that it was fictional!  It seemed like an accounting of an event that actually happened, which appealed to me much more than science fiction that's too out there. Mark Watney is a resourceful engineer who gets stranded on Mars and has to figure out how to survive until a rescue mission can be launched.  He's obviously a clever guy, but it's his slightly snarky attitude towards the whole adventure that really made me love him.  The scientific details around space, engineering and chemistry were way over my head, but they seemed like they could be realistic.  The book is fast-paced, dramatic and completely believable; all-in-all, a really fun read. 

This is the first book I've reviewed that Ben has read, and he enjoyed it, too.  Becky, I was going to tell you to recommend this book to Brian, but I see from Goodreads that he's already read it.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Red Rising

Red Rising
Pierce Brown

Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy, #1)

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow-- and Reds like him-- are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity' s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society' s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Review:  OK.  This book has a rating of 4.16 on Goodreads, and has been compared favorably to The Hunger Games, which means that there was a good chance I'd love it.  But I found it bloodydamn boring, gory and unrealistic.  The beginning was quite interesting - a civilization of slaves on Mars mining for the upper classes, but the catch is that they don't know they're slaves.  There's a little romance, a very little character building, some drama, and then BAM.  Off into crazy sci-fi land. Cursing?  Way too much.  Completely changing the main character's body, including skeleton, heart, muscles and all that?  Too unrealistic, even for science fiction or dystopian fiction.  The writing style?  Not mine.  Sentences?  Too choppy.  Reviewers seem to think that the middle and end are gripping and fantastic, but I just couldn't get that far into it.

Rating: abandoned

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World." A. J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means.

A. J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island-from Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who's always felt kindly toward Fikry; from Ismay, his sister-in-law who is hell-bent on saving him from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who keeps on taking the ferry over to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.'s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It's a small package, but large in weight. It's that unexpected arrival that gives A. J. Fikry the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for that determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.'s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn't see coming. As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.


Review:  How could I not like this book?  It's about a man who owns an independent bookstore, a woman named Amelia, and a girl who grows up loving books; if the bookstore had also had a bakery, it would have been the perfect book!  A.J Fikry is a snarky bookstore owner (he'd be curmudgeonly if he was older), who is drawn out of his life of grumpy solitude by a quirky and charming book sales rep and a surprising little girl.  It purports to be about literature and books (and I'm sure I missed quite a few literary references since I haven't read all the books he discusses), but it is really about love and families.  My biggest complaint is that I wanted MORE!  Maya grew up too fast and the end came about too suddenly.    A delightful summer read.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Cutting for Stone

Cutting for Stone
Abraham Verghese

Cutting for Stone

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novel — an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, doctors and patients, exile and home.

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father's disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics — their passion for the same woman—that will tear them apart and force Marion, fresh out of medical school, to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as an intern at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him — nearly destroying him — Marion must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.

An unforgettable journey into one man's remarkable life, and an epic story about the power, intimacy, and curious beauty of the work of healing others.


Review: We read this book for my book club, but we didn't have much of a discussion about it at all.  It's such a long book that I'm not sure anyone but me actually finished it in time.  I don't mind long books if they are captivating; in fact, I prefer them to be long so that I can spend as much time as possible with the characters.  And this was one book that I was sad to put down.

I enjoyed learning about Ethiopia (did you know it is pronounced Eeth-yo-pya by natives, not Ee-thee-o-pee-a?) and about the medical profession in Africa contrasted to the United States. Having said that, there was an awful lot of medical jargon that I just didn't understand or care about, and some of it was a little graphically disturbing.  It wasn't an easy read, and I'm not sure there was a single character that I liked unreservedly, but overall, I am very glad I read it.

Rating: 4 stars

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

Review: Wow.  I do not know how Alexie managed to write a book that is both heartbreaking and hysterical at the same time, but somehow he did.  Junior is a teenaged Native American boy who is trying to overcome his sad family life and make something of himself by going to high school off the reservation.  He's scrappy, brave and self-deprecating, with a wickedly funny sense of humor.  The things he suffers through should fell a normal kid, but he perseveres, drawing wacky cartoons to illustrate his emotion.  The book does deal with a huge number of issues for a young adult book (alcoholism, bulimia, domestic violence, masturbation, bullying, death of close relatives, and I'm sure there are more), and I can't comment on how accurately it depicts Native American reservation life.

Rating: 4 stars

Leaving Unknown

Leaving Unknown
Kerry Reichs

Leaving Unknown

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Sweet Lips, Tennessee . . . Toad Suck, Arkansas . . . Okay, Oklahoma . . . Truth or Consequences, New Mexico . . . Maeve Connelly's epic road trip is taking her through every colorfully named tiny town in America on her way to the far less imaginatively named Los Angeles, California. With her foulmouthed cockatiel, Oliver, her only companion, Maeve's heading way off the beaten track with little money and a load of painful baggage she wants to leave behind. But when her beloved rattletrap, "Elsie," breaks down outside Unknown, Arizona, she finds herself taking a much longer rest stop than she anticipated.

The only mechanic in the vicinity is on an indefinite walkabout, so Maeve's in for the long haul—and she'll need to find two jobs to pay for Elsie's eventual repair. But she's starting to feel strangely at home among the quirky denizens of Unknown—especially around her new bookstore owner boss—so Maeve is seriously considering saying good-bye to Hollywood for good . . . if she can keep her past troubles from coming to light.

From Kerry Reichs, author of The Best Day of Someone Else's Life, comes a poignant and very funny new novel about finding yourself after finding yourself in the middle of nowhere.


Review: Such a quirky and delightful book!  I admit that at first, I struggled to enjoy the book because of Maeve's flightiness and unmotivation, but as the story unfolded, I was happily surprised to discover that Maeve had a compelling reason for her behavior.  And as she traveled around the country dealing with car troubles, lovable pets, job difficulties, entertaining friends and romantic tangles, I was delighted to see her grow into a strong and endearing woman.

This book reminded me of Driving Sideways and Beginner's Luck, both coming of age stories with unconventional and lovable characters.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Rose Under Fire

Rose Under Fire
Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbruck, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that's in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.


Review: I didn't like this book quite as much as Code Name Verity, and I fear that its rating may have suffered because of my high expectations based on that book. The story focused on the medical experiments performed by the Nazis on Polish women at the Ravensbruck concentration camp, a subject which I had little prior knowledge of.  While I know that the Nazis imprisoned groups of people in addition to Jews, it was strange that this book dealt entirely with those groups, and didn't mention Jews at all.  Rose was a plucky teenage girl who managed to survive the concentration camps, and I thought her behavior during the Nuremburg trials was not in fitting with her character at all.  So the ending was a little soured for me because of that.  I am not a big fan of poetry in general, and I'm not sure I understood all the poems that Rose wrote in the camp.

Rating: 4 stars (or maybe 3.5 after further reflection)

Golden State

Golden State
Michelle Richmond

Golden State

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Jacquelyn Mitchard, and Anna Quindlen, Golden State is a powerful, mesmerizing new novel that explores the intricacies of marriage, family, and the profound moments that shape our lives.

Doctor Julie Walker has just signed her divorce papers when she receives news that her younger sister, Heather, has gone into labor. Though theirs is a strained relationship, Julie sets out for the hospital to be at her sister’s side—no easy task since the streets of San Francisco are filled with commotion. Today is also the day that Julie will find herself at the epicenter of a violent standoff in which she is forced to examine both the promising and painful parts of her past—her Southern childhood; her romance with her husband, Tom; her estrangement from Heather; and the shattering incident that led to her greatest heartbreak.

Infused with emotional depth and poignancy, Golden State takes readers on a journey over the course of a single, unforgettable day—through an extraordinary landscape of love, loss, and hope.


Review:  This started out as a very interesting book, but I thought it lost steam in the last quarter, and then the end was a bit lackluster.  I found the constant switching between the present time, earlier that morning, six months in the past, and four years or more in the past to be very confusing.  But I did like how that technique managed to uncover the past lives and emotions of the main characters.  Julie was a wonderfully sympathetic character, and I found myself rooting for a happy ending for her.

Rating: 3 stars

I Shall Be Near to You

I Shall Be Near to You
Erin Lindsay McCabe

I Shall Be Near to You

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  An extraordinary novel about a strong-willed woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight beside her husband in the Civil War, inspired by a real female soldier's letters home
 

Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she's always worked by her father’s side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier.
 

Rosetta drills with the men, prepares herself for battle, and faces the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Fearing discovery of her secret, Rosetta’s strong will clashes with Jeremiah’s as their marriage is tested by war. Inspired by over two hundred and fifty documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta’s powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman’s amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life’s challenges side by side.

Review: This story was hard to read at times, with descriptions of battles and battlefields, injuries, hospitals and death, but it was, after all, a story about the Civil War.  In fact, it brought the war to life in a way that I have never experienced before, and I enjoyed it more than I expected.  Rosetta was an extremely stubborn and independent woman for her time with a voice that reflected the idioms and dialect of a farm girl at that time.  Having said that, I did find the constant usage of the word "ain't" a little annoying.  The author's note at the end of the book states that she based her story loosely on letters and books about real women who had fought in the Civil War just like Rosetta, and I was fascinated to find out that over 200 women had actually done so.  This well-written novel captured a unique period of history.

Rating: 4 stars

Monday, July 14, 2014

Love and Other Natural Disasters

Love and Other Natural Disasters
Holly Shumas

Love and Other Natural Disasters

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Eve is eight months pregnant and in the middle of a Thanksgiving celebration when she discovers that her husband Jonathan has developed an intimate relationship with a woman over the past year. Jonathon asserts his innocence (an affair involves physical intimacy, and he didn't have any), while Eve feels deeply betrayed by the emotional connection he shared with someone else. What Jon has done seems so terrifyingly out of character that Eve finds herself questioning her entire reality. Did she ever really know Jon at all? Was their happiness together a lie? Is emotional intimacy more forgivable than sexual intimacy? And can their marriage survive?

Review: The author of this book is a marriage counselor, and it definitely shows in this book.  Eve's feelings are well thought out, but the dialogue between Eve and Jon sounds like they are having their conversation in a marriage counselor's office.  Perhaps that's how normal couples talk, but not anybody I know.  I can see how this book would spark some interesting discussions in a book club, but I would have liked something more to happen.

Rating: 2.5 stars

The Funeral Dress

The Funeral Dress
by Susan Gregg Gilmore

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:  Emmalee Bullard is on her own with a new baby.  She has no husband, no running water in her house, no know-how about caring for an infant, and no help from her cruel father, who's furious she got herself into this situation.  Only Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat beside her sewing collars on the neighboring machine at the local shirt factory, has befriended her.  Much to Emmalee's wonder, Leona even offers her a place to live.  But before Emmalee can jump at the chance for a better life, Leona is in a terrible accident, and her life is lost, along with Emmalee's chance for escape.

Emmalee decides that since nothing in Leona's closet is nice enough to wear for eternity, she'll make Leona's burying dress herself, though there are plenty of people who don't think someone who has so obviously sinned should design a dress for an upstanding woman-or care for a child on her own.  While relatives scheme to get custody of her baby and the local church tries to keep her away from Leona's funeral, Emmalee struggles to do what is right for her daughter and to honor Leona the best way she can, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town's funeral director.  In this moving tale exploring Southern spirit, camaraderie among working women, and the power of compassion, a young mother compels a town to become a community with every stitch.
From the book jacket

Review:  This was a very touching story about how women take care of each other and watch over those in their community.  I really enjoyed reading about how so many women at the factory were willing to help Emmalee out even though she didn't know it.  I wasn't sure how much story would be in this book based on the description but the author does an amazing job of describing Leona's early life via flashback chapters and also describing earlier moments in Emmalee's life and showing how their two lives were connected more than Emmalee knew.  Character development is clearly one of the author's strengths because I could picture each character no matter if they were a kind woman from the factory or Emmalee's drunk father.  The one complaint I have with the story is Emmalee's speech.  The story takes place in the back country of Tennessee and Emmalee grew up in such squalor but she did attend school until she was almost 16.  But yet her grammar was not great and she used ain't all the time.  She sounded so much less educated than anyone else in the book.   Perhaps the author was trying to show how young Emmalee was compared to the other characters but her grammar did not help her be strong against other strong characters.

Rating:  4 stars

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone
by Ishmael Beah

Genre: Memoir

Synopsis:  My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.
"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?"
"Because there is a war."
"You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?"
"Yes, all the time."
"Cool."
I smile a little.
"You should tell us about it sometime."
"Yes, sometime."

This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s.  Children have become soldiers of choice.  In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child solidiers.  Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.

What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier?  How does one become a killer?  How does one stop?  Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives.  But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.

In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attaching rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence.  By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.

This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honestly.
From the ebook

Review:  This was a very eye-opening book about what has happened in various parts of Africa as Sierra Leone is not the only place where boys have been soldiers.  Beah writes this story in a fairly matter-of-fact manner.  He does interject some of his feelings and emotions but this story is more about him escaping from the rebels and traveling with groups of boys to try to find their parents and safety and then ultimately being drafted into the government army and trained to be a killer.  Most of the events when he was a soldier are his memories once he was "traded" to UNICEF so that he could be rehabilitated.  His story was compelling but also horrific.  Beah is an amazing young man and I commend him for sharing his story.  I am in awe of the courage that he showed as such a young man.  The ending did not seem like an ending though.  I really wanted to know what happened after he found his way to freedom.  The book just ended so abruptly.

Rating: 4 stars

Monday, July 7, 2014

New Money

New Money
by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Genre: Chick Lit

Synopsis:  Savannah Morgan had high hopes.  She dreamed of becoming a writer and escaping her South Carolina town, where snooty debutantes have always looked down on her, but at twenty-four, sh's become a frustrated ex-cheerleader who lives with her mother and wonders if rejecting a marriage proposal was a terrible mistake.

Then Savannah's world is shaken when she learns that the father she never knew is Edward Stone, a billionaire media mogul who has left Savannah his fortune on the condition that she move to Manhattan and work at his global news corporation.  Putting aside her mother's disapproval, Savannah plunges into a life of wealth and luxury that is threatened by Edward's other children-the infuriatingly arrogant Ned and his sharp-tongued sister, Caroline, whose joint mission is to get rid of Savannah.  She deals with their treachery along with her complicated love life: eventually she has to decide between Jack, a smooth and charming real estate executive, and Alex, a handsome aspiring writer/actor.  Savannah must also navigate a thrilling but dangerous city while trying to figure out what kind of man her father truly was.
From the book jacket

Review:  This was a good, quick summer read.  I enjoyed the story about Savannah moving to New York and learning how to adjust to society there.  There were quite a few characters who I didn't care for.  Her half siblings were nasty and unnecessarily cruel as was their mother.  I understand why they would be mad but the author took them to a whole other level.  I also thought that Tina, Savannah's best friend, was immature and annoying.  Savannah's relationships seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.  She would meet someone, i.e. her driver and Kitty, her sister-in-law, and be instant friends with them and everyone was giving everyone advice.  It seemed sudden and a little shallow to me.  There were humorous parts during this story but there were also serious parts where Savannah had to learn a lesson.  I did enjoy the book overall for it being a very light read.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Graduation Day

Graduation Day
by Joelle Charbonneau

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis:  With the United Commonwealth teetering on the brink of all-out civil war, this is the moment to lead that the gifted student and Testing survivor Cia Vale has trained for.

Having discovered the brutal truth behind The Testing, she has vowed to end it once and for all.  As Cia plunges through layers of deception and danger, she must risk the lives of those she loves most and gamble on the loyalty of her lethal classmates.

The stakes are higher than ever-lives of promise cut short or fulfilled; a future ruled by fear or hope-in this electrifying conclusion to Joelle Charbonneau's epic Testing trilogy.

Ready or not...it's Graduation Day.
From the book jacket

Review: Something was missing in this book and I can't pinpoint what it was.  But there was something that didn't hold my interest.  There was lots of build up to the end mission but it was a lot of talk and planning and Cia trying to figure out what was the truth.  At times I was really confused by what Cia was struggling with.  Perhaps it was too much of Cia being charged with solving the whole Commonwealth's problem even thought she was just the youngest student on campus (which we are reminded of constantly).  While there was a satisfactory ending and an explanation of why things happened, I still didn't buy into why Cia had to be the one to solve everything.  I did enjoy the whole series and I would recommend it as a quick, dystopian trilogy.

Rating:  3 1/2 stars

Friday, July 4, 2014

Independent Study

Independent Study
by Joelle Charbonneau

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis:  With her brutal Testing experience forgotten thanks to a government-issued memory wipe, seventeen-year-old Cia Vale is eager to begin her studies at the Commonwealth's elite University, as is Tomas, the boy she loves.

Their bright futures are threatened by the past,  however, when violent nightmares that feel more like memories force Cia to question reality and the true motives lurking behind the friendly faces of her classmates.

Embarking on a forbidden course of study that could get her killed, Cia delves into the Commonwealth's darkest secrets.  What she learns changes everything...

The Testing was just the beginning.

Review:  I enjoyed this book as a sequel to The Testing but it wasn't as action filled as the first book.  This book continued to raise questions for me regarding the underlying basis of the book: killing off the best and brightest of the colonies' youth to find the best leaders.  This just doesn't make sense when there aren't that many people who remain in the Commonwealth.  But just try to ignore that while reading!  This book is a good set up for the next book but it doesn't come to a satisfying conclusion.  It almost seems that this book was meant to be longer perhaps even as long as the second and third book put together!  Luckily I have the 3rd book in my hands to read right away.  Cia is a very strong heroine in this book but sometimes she just seemed too intelligent and too able to solve problems that no one else could.  She seems a little unrealistic.  I am still enjoying the series and I can't wait to find out how it concludes.

Rating:  3 1/2 stars

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Secret of Raven Point

The Secret of Raven Point
by Jennifer Vanderbes

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:  1943: When seventeen-year-old Juliet Dufrense receives a cryptic letter from her enlisted brother and then discovers that he's been reported missing in action, she lies about her age and travels to the front lines as an army nurse, determined to find him.  Shy and awkward, Juliet is thrust into the bloody chaos of a field hospital, a sprawling encampment north of Rome where she forges new friendships and is increasingly consumed by the plight of her patients.  One in particular, Christopher Barnaby, a deserter awaiting court-martial, may hold the answer to her brother's whereabouts-but the trauma of war has left him catatonic.  Racing against the clock, Juliet works with an enigmatic young psychiatrist, Dr. Henry Willard, to break Barnaby's silence before the authorities take him away.  Plunged into the horrifying depths of one man's memories of combat, Juliet and Willard are forced to plumb the moral nuances of a so-called just war and to face the dangers of their own deepening emotional connection.
From the book jacket

Review:  This book was enjoyable but did not live up to what it promised to deliver.  From the title and the summary, one would expect that there is a mystery surrounding Juliet's brother, something suspicious due to his cryptic letter, and that Juliet is going to do everything in her power to find her brother.  But yet this book is much more about Juliet's experiences as a nurse at the front line in Italy and reading about the horrors that went on.  Juliet does attempt to find out information about her brother but the letter mystery is not solved at all in the story and we are left unsatisfied.  If this book had been advertised as being a story about a nurse during WWII and nothing about her brother, I could have rated this book higher.  Another complaint I have with this book is character development.  Juliet does some things that are completely out of her character and I didn't feel like the change in her character was supported by the other events that transpired.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars