My Cozy Book Corner: 2018

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas

After finishing Throne of Glass I had to jump right into book 2. While reading this there came a point that my husband chuckled and said "You haven't been this vocal reading a book in awhile." And he is right, there was a lot of "NOO!!!" "CRAP!!" and other expletives being hurled.

I am loving this series. Celaena is such an awesome baddass. Maas is in league with Martin, as in she doesn't shy away from killing and ripping apart people, figuratively and literally.

One of very best friends, Ann, has suggested I read in this order: Book 1- Throne of Glass, Book 2- this one, pause and read The Assassin's Blade - the five novellas written about Celaena's life leading up to Throne of Glass, Book 3- Heir of Fire, Book 4- Queen of Shadows, Book 6- Tower of Dawn, Book 5- Empire of Storms, Book 7- Kingdom of Ash. Her reasoning being that book 5 ends on a note that makes it lead better into 7 and 6 is better read before 5 so that I (and now you) can go right into the finale. So because I trust her I am going to follow this, but I have to admit it is hard to stop and read the novellas and not dive right into book 3!!!!

Anyway, by way of a review, without spoilers, some answers and even more questions, there is betrayal, pain, love, suffering, violence, magic, demons, and Mort, there is Mort, and I kind of love him....

(Finished December 30, 2018)

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

There is something delicious about a book that causes so much tension that you are torn between the need to pause and catch your breath and the need to read on and see what happens as soon as possible. Throne of Glass is one of those books.

I decided to give this series a try because it's just what I needed, ANOTHER series to obsess over...ok not really, it may very well be the last thing I need, but I jumped in anyway. I did because leading up to Christmas there was a half-price sale at Barnes and Noble (where I happen to work) on all works by 15 YA authors. Maas was one of them and I read the back and it sounded like a good read so I bought books 1 and 2. I was hooked by the bottom of page 1. And then I found out my new friend and coworker Rachel loves the series. And I found out some of my other friends also love it. I went back the next night when the sale began again and got books 3 and 4.

Celaena is an unlikely assassin. She has been trained since childhood to be a coldblooded killer. She has killed, and done it well, but she isn't what you would expect. She isn't heartless. She isn't dead inside. And that makes her so complex and human.

She has a reputation as the best at what she does. And she was. But at some point, by someone, she was betrayed, caught, and sent to the salt mines to be a slave/prisoner. When the Crown Prince shows up and offers her a chance at freedom she takes it and it changes her life, his life, and the life of the Captain of the Guard's too. What else and who else will it change? There are many more books ahead where I am sure I will learn the answer to that. I also hope to learn the answer to who betrayed her.

What I also hope:

Duke Perrington gets his in a lovely and gruesome way.
Same for the King.
Nehemia sticks around for a long time.
The Dorian-Chaol-Celaena friendship/relationship is treated in away that is done smartly and is respectful of the strength of all three characters.
Elena makes more appearances.

(Finished December 27, 2018)

2019 Book List

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

This book was a gift to my son by a dear friend. I wanted to read it right away. I finally got to. And I recently found out that Michael B. Jordan *swoon* will be playing Bryan in a movie with Jamie Foxx in the role of Walter.

I spent much of the book anxious for Bryan to get to the point, WHAT HAPPENED TO WALTER!!??!! But at the same time I learned more about the justice (using the word justice lightly) system fails so often and so badly especially in southern states. This is yet another book that provides empirical evidence to the points made in Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow.

Bryan feels he is broken, much like many of the people he tries to help but that in recognizing one's brokenness is part of healing and helping others. And help others he does. Bryan puts his blood, sweat, and tears into his work and while he isn't able to help everyone, or even everyone he gets to try to help, his work and that of those who have joined him, has done so much good for so many. And they are still at it, as sad as it is that they still need to be.

At times Just Mercy reads like a novel at others times it's more like a history book and at others it is a political commentary on the prison and criminal justice system. But it is always informative and gipping.

(Finished December 20, 2018)

Friday, December 14, 2018

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

I first spent time with Ibi Zoboi when I read American Street, a book my son got me for my birthday. And I was blown away by the way her characters lived and loomed larger than the pages they inhabited. So when I saw Pride I had to have a copy. I got a signed copy from the special batch of signed edition books that came into work, hey I work at Barnes and Noble now, I never get tired of saying that!!

I love Pride and Prejudice so right away I had high hopes for this book. It was so much more than I hoped or imagined. The last book I (tried) to read that was a reboot of P&P was just awful and I gave up on it, Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld. He made his version of Elizabeth was just really unlikable and that should not be the case!!! As my friend and coworker Marissa pointed out, it was written by a man. But given how much I liked Ibi's writing I was sure she would not make the same mistake, and she didn't. From the first paragraph on the first page I loved Zuri!!!

Not only did Ibi stay true to the spirit of Jane Austen's work, she also made the story completely her own. I was born in raised in Brooklyn and she made my hometown come alive and it was as much a character and the Darcy boys and Benitez girls.

The moments of Zuri's poetry were so incredibly powerful. Watching her and Darius grown and learn and fall, it was worthy of Elizabeth and her Mr. Darcy!!!

Ripe with real talk on being true to yourself, an authentic voice, the beat of love and life in a family that isn't anything you think a "hood" family would be, and so much rich layering, this one will go on my short list of books I reread every so often!!

(Finished December 14, 2018)

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom by Ariel Burger

This was my 100th book read in 2018. And what a great book for the milestone.

***Side note- if you don't feel like it's a milestone and are laughing at the use of the term, I'm sorry you don't get the joy the written word brings and you REALLY will benefit from reading this book!!!***

Ariel was so lucky to have landed where he did, in the classroom of Elie Wiesel, and to spend many years learning from and sharing with the man. And this book really does drive home that point, Elie wasn't a celebrity, he was a curious and sensitive man who survived something horrific and rather than crumble or become jaded and disconnected, he "preached," for lack of a better word, the value in always being willing, always seeking out, always letting yourself learn, right until your last day. And he placed such high value in the role of the witness, even if it is as the witness to the witness. It is how we never let history devour, change, and erase the events we need to learn from and to protect ourselves and each other from ever having to repeat.

What becomes clear from the beginning is how much Elie respected and honored each and every student who sat before him even as he pushed and challenged them. One of the things Ariel quotes Elie as saying most often is "I need more" after a student has responded to their in class discussions.

As a man who witnessed what was inarguably one of if not the worst human tragedies in the history of humanity he stayed so gentle and open to the world. He traveled and spoke and used what open doors he came across to bear witness to each later tragedy and atrocity in hopes of awakening people and spurring action.

He was a witness both to his own time and to the sufferings and hurt of others. And he SPOKE!!

(Finished December 12, 2018)

Thursday, December 6, 2018

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Did I mention I now work at Barnes & Noble? YEP!!

This one has been on my radar for some time, it has been popular at work and so I used my shiny new employee discount and grabbed a copy. I have read other great books about the Holocaust, both fiction and nonfiction (Sarah's Key, Schindler's List, Night, The Diary of Ann Frank, The Zookeeper's Wife, to name just a few). This joins that list.

Lale is taken to Aschwitz-Birkenau in April 1942. Earlier that month Gita is sent there. When he becomes the Tätowierer, the one who tattoo's the numbers on the arms of the Jews and later the other prisoners too. It comes with some measure of privilege and safety and he uses it to try and help others survive the horrible nightmare they find themselves living in. And he meets Gita.

During the three years they are captives they fall in love. Amid the blood and fear and cruelty these two people hold on to their humanity and find love and hope. A small circle of friends grows around them and it keeps them going. Late uses his position and access to villagers working in the camp to smuggle food and chocolate to those he can. It is amazing at how small bite of sausage or a nibble of chocolate can help a body hang on long after it wants to lay down and give up.

There is an afterward that tells you where Lale, Gita, and other main figures end up. I don't know that I agree with what happened to one person but it is good to know who went where and how they did.

This is a powerful and moving reminder of how easy it is to lose hope and humanity and the endurance of love and the human capacity for resilience.

(Finished December 6, 2018)

Monday, December 3, 2018

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

I have read a few other works by Baldwin and have been moved and angered and saddened by his writing. Recently while at the movies I saw a trailer for the movie telling of this one and wanted to read it before the movie is released.

As expected, Baldwin is making an observation, commenting on society, and revealing something that needs exposing. And as has been the case with everything else I have read by him, it is still too relevant today.

The backbone of this story is Fonny's being arrested and stuck in jail for a crime he didn't commit with no end in sight. He has a run in with a white officer with a history of abuse of power but to no consequence to him. When Fonny and the officer, Bell, run into each other Bell comes away feeling humiliated and disrespected and you can see it coming, that this officer will get even. So when a White officer is the driving force behind an accusation against a Black man it doesn't matter if it is 1974 or 2018, it isn't hard to see who is going to get fucked in the situation.

Tish is the narrator, our tour guide, and the love she and Fonny have for each other is beautiful and pure even in the awful separation they face, each being able to see the other from their side of the glass divide in the jail visiting area, a phone the conduit of their words. They and their families paint a picture in words on the injustice and race based punishment faced by generation of people of color. Their love and pain and even joy keep them going even when things are at their worst. The criminal justice system is the adversary they must face to be together and it is clear to them they are David facing Goliath.

Wish is so strong and I loved her from page one. Fonny is a man in every sense of the word and he is admirable and honorable even when it is so hard to be, in a world that tells him he is less. When my fellow White people ask how they can be better allies I give them the advice I first got from reading The New Jim Crow, start by educating yourself, read everything you can, fiction and nonfiction, that will teach you about the experiences of Black people in America, and Baldwin should be all over the list of writings you read, this included. And through all the self-education you do, always acknowledge the privilege you have just because of the luck of the draw that had you born in the skin you are in.

(Finished December 3, 2018)

Friday, November 30, 2018

(((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump by Jonathan Weisman

I learned what the ((( ))) around a name means and I immediately went and added it to my Twitter profile. I learned about Leo Frank. I was reminded of the Gamergate and how it started.

I learned some of the history of Jewish people in the Unites States. I knew about Ford and Lindbergh but if you don't you might be surprised to learn they were antisemites.

As the trump administration has been in office there has been a rise in hate crimes not just against Jewish people but also People of Color, Muslims, Immigrants...basically anyone not White.

What Weisman lays out is the argument that there is something to be learned from the past, how to join together in a common cause and where the danger is greatest. This is a quick read, and it is important. The best defense, the best way to protect oneself and others is to be well armed, and in this case it isn't guns and bullets but knowledge and smart actions. Read what you can to better arm yourself, no background check required.

(Finished November 29, 2018)

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Bitterblue (Graceling Realm #3) by Kristin Cashore

My review of Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)

I know this one, Bitterblue, says #3, and that is because there is another book, Fire, but in the timeline of Graceling, this is a continuation where as Fire is a side story or prequel, which at some point I will absolutely read.

This book picks up Bitterblue's story about 9 years after the events in Graceling. It's the story of the challenges of being a young woman who is Queen but also a young woman with all that goes with that, the learning who you are, what you want, what you feel, and trying to learn to be a leader of a people who have been so damaged by their last leader.

My favorites from book 1, Katsa, Po, Raffin, Bann, they are back. And there are new characters to get attached to, Helda, Hava, Teddy...and Saf.

While yes, this is a long book, over 530 pages, it doesn't read as long book. Don't let the length of time it took me to read it make you think it was a tedious read, my life got hectic recently and my free time to read has been reduced and I also paused this read with about 15 pages to go because I got AND HAD TO READ IMMEDIATELY - Becoming by Michelle Obama -

The lessons Bitterblue learns as she makes mistakes are so much more timely that I think Cashore could have possibly known when she wrote this book back in I believe 2012. Being a leader requires compassion, listening to those who know more than you and then using all relevant and real information to make decisions, and being able to own mistakes and make things right. What a stark contrast from the current occupier of the White House.

And of course there is some romance here and some humor too. I enjoy the way she writes, the blending of drama, humor, romance, and adventure.

(Finished November 24, 2018)

Becoming by Michelle Obama

As graceful and amazing as she seems in interviews and in the coverage of her over her time as First Lady, that is how she writes. She tells her story from her time on the South Side of Chicago as a child to her time in The White House and a small glimpse into life since reentering civilian life with humor, feeling, dignity, and respect both for herself and those she encounters, even when they may not deserve it (for example a counselor at school who told her she wasn't Princeton Material). And of course she addresses Trump and his rise to the his current position. She doesn't go as hard on him as she could for what he has done to her family with his terrible feeding the birther movement. No mention of the awful people outside The White House waving confederate flags. She follows the creed she set forth, When They Go Low We Go High.

I cried at times both for the content and for what we have lost as a country when the outdated and in need of a change system of electing our president gave us Trump even as Clinton won 3million more votes.

The grace and dignity and reverence Michelle Obama lives makes her a role model for mothers, girls, and anyone who has a mother or girl in their life, so basically everyone. This isn't a snark fest or take down of those who could probably use it. Becoming is a treat for the sense, a balm in a time of emotional turmoil that is constant in this day of the 24 hour news cycle and a president who is incapable of speaking any truths or even any coherent thoughts. It's a reminder of a time when there was still a reason to respect the office of president even if you didn't vote for the holder of the office. It hardly seems like only 2 years ago.

All of that aside, we all know so much about her husband, but now we get to hear in her own words what her life was like, her family, how she was molded into the woman she is now. And the end feeling is that aside from her journey as the wife of a man who would become the nation's first Black president, she is a smart, capable, interesting, funny, and amazing person in her own right.

(Finished November 23, 2018)

Monday, November 5, 2018

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

I believe I have read all of his books now. I will start by saying that of them all (What If It's Us (joint with Becky Albertalli), History Is All You Left Me, & They Both Die at the End) this wasn't my favorite but I felt like it was important. I will also say that as he writes he gets better and better. This is is debut novel.

Is being Gay or Straight who you are or a choice you make? I believe it is not a choice but is part of who a person is born to be.

And if you could be happy by forgetting, by having memories altered so you are not who you were but who you think you need to be to be happy, if a procedure to do this existed would you? Would you want to completely forget the person who broke your heart or wronged you or a wrong you did?

Add these two questions together and you are in the version of The Bronx that Adam sets his story in. Aaron meets Thomas and starts to feel....but what is it and how is it possible, after all Aaron has a girlfriend he loves and has started to have sex with. So who is he? What makes him him? And when the pain of figuring it out and all that it brings him becomes too much he considers getting this procedure from the fictional Leteo group. It manipulates memory and makes it so people don't remember things.

And then the world really unravels. Are things what they seem? If you are who you are no matter what you remember or force yourself to forget then wouldn't these parts of you just surface again eventually?

And how much happy is enough? More Happy Than Not?

(Finished November 5, 2018)

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Oh my gosh I loved this book!! And I hated it!! I can't say why exactly because I don't want to spoil anyone. But I loved it and hated it in the very best possible ways!!!

First the two voices, I think Becky wrote Arthur and Adam write Ben. Ben feels like he would have been from the world in They Both Die at the End and Arthur feels like he would be friends with Simon in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Now the story, the universe, fate, what ever you want to call it, puts Ben and Arthur together and then they really begin to find each other and themselves. They are real and fragile and strong and young and full of love and doubt and fear and bravery and I love them!!!

As they explore what it means to find yourself and someone who is ok with what ever that means they made my heart melt. And bonus for all the HP and Hamilton and of course (I mean look at the title of the book) Dear Evan Hanson references!!

Please read this!!! You will thank me!!

(Finished October 23, 2018)

Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World by Jennifer Palmieri

Oops, I forgot to write a review and post it! I started and finished this the same day and then I passed it on to a great kid on her 13th birthday, my son's bestie!

This is a motivational reminder that the best way to make change is to keep moving forward. That when women move forward we draw fire and that's ok. It was a little bit of what happened to Palmieri after the devastating loss of the 2016 election. But it is more. It is a how she moved forward letter to the person who will some day be the first female president AND it is a love letter to young women everywhere that they have a voice and should not be afraid to use it. And to cry if you feel like you need to, it doesn't make you weak to feel what you feel.

(Finished October 20, 2018)

Friday, October 19, 2018

Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor

This is the followup to Strange The Dreamer. I hope this isn't the end of Sarai and Lazlo stories. I would like to spend more time with Eril-Fane and Azareen, with Ruby, Sparrow, and Feral, with Sheila, and even with Minya and Thyon.

Like many stories recently, Muse of Nightmares is about abuse of power and the fallout when those abused finally have had enough and fight back. It isn't always a clean outcome. There is death and loss. There is fear and anger. But there is victory and love too.

Sarai is learning how to use her powers in her new form. She doesn't want to inflict pain and suffering, she wants to help and heal.

How much of who we are and what do is comes out of trauma and how much is just our nature? Can incredible grief and loss be overcome? Can there really be a starting over, a remaking of oneself and doing better? How eternal is love? These are some of what Taylor explores in her writing. It doesn't feel preachy or forced. It feels like a fairytale, a very long one, but a fairytale none the less. I will gladly read more if she writes more.

(Finished October 19, 2018)

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

Holy heck this was a great and creepy read!

A tribute to and a retelling of the original Frankenstein story by Mary Shelley.

Elizabeth is taken in as a child, rescued she thinks, by the Frankenstein family. Her job becomes clear, to be a companion to oldest son Victor. There is a bond between the two and it is a relief to his parents. Elizabeth is calming to Victor. Keeping him happy and calm becomes her life, and she believes it is how she will be allowed to stay with the family. As the years pass it becomes clear that there is something off about Victor.

He is obsessed with the idea of conquering death, to keep it from ever taking HIS Elizabeth. The things he does to figure out this puzzle are horrific. Much like in the original, he creates a creature. Which is the monster is the question addressed in Shelley's story and it is here too. There is mystery, some gore, love, betrayal, and the looking within to see people for who they are.

I was creeped out, scared a little, and even grossed out a few times. And it was delightfully awful!!!

(Finished October 10, 2018)

Sunday, October 7, 2018

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Wow!!!

Ok so where to begin....Fabiola, Fabulous to Kasim, Fab to her cousins, has come back to America. She was born and spent the first few months of her life in Detroit but then she and her mother returned to Haiti. Now they are back, or trying to come back. But when they land at JFK her mother is detained and she is allowed to continue on her own.

And alone she lands in Detroit and is swept into the world her cousins and Aunt occupy. Life in Detroit, in the little house at the crossroads of American Street and Joy Road, is so very different than her life in Haiti but not so different. There is a power struggle and not always enough to go around. She may be new to the language and culture but Fabiola is wise in her own way, and she is so very strong. Even when she gets it wrong. She believes in family, in love, and in Vodou, the culture which she holds onto and looks to for guidance and comfort as she adjusts to her new world. And she wants her mother back, and will do what ever she has to to get her, well almost what ever. But the cost is high and Fab doesn't expect where things go.

There is magic, love, fear, violence, and hope on America Street. And the writing is raw and beautiful. Zoboi has a new book out, Pride, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, that I am not very anxious to get my hands on.

(Finished October 6, 2018)

Friday, October 5, 2018

Impostors (Uglies #5) by Scott Westerfeld

I have read quite a few books by Scott Westerfeld, the first 4 in the Uglies series, the Leviathan trilogy, the Midnighters books, and the Peeps books. And for the most part I have loved or at the very least really enjoyed all of his work.

Specific to uglies, I loved the first 3 books but didn't love Extras, it felt forced to me. I would say it felt like the story was done and then someone made him come back for more before there was more to tell to cash in on the popularity of the trilogy. When this book was announced I was excited even if I was a little worried it would suffer from what ever plagues Extras for me. I was hopeful that enough time had past that it made sense to revisit Tally's world. And boy was I right!!!

In the beginning I was wondering when she (Tally) would show up. But before long I found myself thinking less of her and getting more and more invested in Frey. I wondered about the romance and how it fit into the story as I often do when reading YA. I always ask myself is it gratuitous meant to pander to the teen audience and what publishers think they want or does it add to the story. In this case I would say it adds to the story, it is part of how Frey separates herself from Rafi, begins to find and form her own identity outside the world where she is kept as a secret killing machine and made to be a carbon copy of her twin and nothing more. It is a case of the heir and the spare taken to a deadly extreme.

By the time I got to the last page I was feeling a familiar sense of dread, the one I always feel when a series has gripped me and I know the current piece is ending and there is a wait ahead for the next part.

Bring on more Frey and Col please Mr. Westerfeld, as soon as possible.

Oh and I just want to say here, as a prediction of sorts, I don't trust Rafi. I have a feeling she is not what she seems and is not a good gal.

(Finished October 4, 2018)

Monday, October 1, 2018

Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) by Robert Galbraith

This was a LONG book. But it was good!! I paused it for a couple of days to read An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green and then picked it back up. I like, really like Robin. And I like Cormoran too. I like them together. I like how they like each other but neither knows it about the other and they are a little awkward with each other but their minds work so well together to solve mysteries and the mushy love stuff isn't a distraction, even if there isn't really any mushy love stuff...yet. There might be at some point, and I hope there is, but it is the mysteries I love most. This is four adventures in and I have yet to be disappointed. This was one was tough and I am not ashamed to admit I didn't figure it out before the reveal. I thought it was someone else and I was wrong. I love that in a who done it.

From book 1 I did not like Matthew...not even a little, and my dislike for him was cemented in this edition. He is a real ass!!!

I can't say much else because, SPOILERS. So I will end here saying this was a book I enjoyed and I hope there will be more soon!!!! If you like a good, well spun, murder mystery then you want to spend time with Robin and Cormoran.

Actually before I leave you, I want to say that as much as I would love to be friends with Robin I would be very nervous about going anyplace with her, she seems to attract a bit of danger. But then again she gets out of it so maybe....

(Finished October 1, 2018)

Saturday, September 29, 2018

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

This was on my list to read but then got even more exciting when it was announced as the next Barnes and Noble book club book.

I wanted to love this book without reservation because of how much I really like both the Green brothers. Plus it started out with a gripping and crazy first couple of pages. I mean come on, a narrator who in the opening references having BEEN human and a giant transformer type robot thing on a street in NYC!!!

I am going to try to give the least spoilerish review I can but I am sorry if I fail. Maybe you should know this first and can come back for the rest after you read it. I ended up really liking this book but didn't LOVE it. But part of why I didn't love it is because of me. I think I expected to much and that's my fault and not Hank's. After reading the whole thing including the author's note I think my expectation is part of the problem Hank's parable addresses. Had I gone into this knowing what it was going to be I might have felt differently. So that being said, this is a good story, interesting, creepy, and a lesson. Now stop if you are worried about being spoiled even despite my best intention not to spoil anyone.

April May becomes internet famous and like many becomes addicted to the attention. Like any addiction it changes her life and those her life touches. Her story begins with the discovery of Carl, a giant robot thing that appears in NYC and in a whole bunch of other cities around the world. Why? How? Who are they? Where are they from? What the heck are they made of? It's a mystery.

Part way through the book, about halfway, it felt like the story changed on me and I worried that Hank was trying to be too many things at once. By the end and after reading his note I feel like that was intentional so I can forgive it, the off kilter feeling I was left with, it is part of the journey.

But I do have 1 complaint that wasn't addressed in his note. Why was April Queer? It was talked about in the beginning and then sort of just dropped. I am not sure why it was started to be talked about because her Bi identification became an issue when she was asked to "just be a lesbian" and she hesitates and then agrees. Then it felt forgotten in all the other stuff happening. Maybe I am being overly sensitive to how this might feel to Queer teens and young adults, but I wonder if that was going to go someplace and then couldn't because of all the other things Hank was doing here. Please share your thoughts with this on me. I don't mind being told I am off base if I am.

Now I wait for the Barnes and Noble book club night to hear what others thought.

(Finished September 29, 2018)

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Sea Prayer by Khalid Hosseini

It took me 15 minutes to read this but it will stay with me forever. It’s a letter from a father to his son as they are fleeing Homs. In just a few short phrases you can see the Homs the father grew up in and the war torn place his son knows and it’s heartbreaking.

The art is breathtaking too. I’m no expert but I think they are watercolor. They are striking!!

Hosseini was inspired to write this by the death of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, the Syrian refugee who drowned trying to reach saftey in Europe in 2015. We all saw his picture on magazine covers and in news reports. But what you may not know is that in just the year after Alan drowned 4.176 others died or went missing attempting the same escape.

(Finished September 18, 2018)

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding (The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding #1) by Alexandra Bracken

I saw postings about this being released in paperback and since it was by Bracken I wanted to read it. I had recently read The Darkest Minds series (1, 2, 3) and I read what the book was about but nothing else. So what I missed until I had it in my hands was that it was a middle grade book. But I am totally in love with Harry Potter so I am not against reading books categorized as children's or middle grade books. The blurb on the back of Dreadful sounded good and so I grabbed it.

It was what I would have expected from Bracken after reading the other books, it was creepy, it was snarky, it had moments of tension, there was mystery, deception, people not being who they seemed to be and some being more, and in true middle grade fashion there was snot and other grossness.

Prosper is part of a set of twins in a family that in its entire history only ever had two sets of twins. But the Redding family has been unusually lucky in every way, or almost every way. Prosper sees the lucky of his family members all around him, inches parents, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, and his scary Grandmother, but none of it seems to be reaching him. He is picked on, feels like the odd one out, and like he can't be himself, his true artist self.

Then on Founder's Day something really creepy happens. And there is a ritual and a knife and a stranger and running for his life. And when the smoke clears Prosper finds himself in the company of Nell and Uncle B. And he goes to a different school and he can be himself while hiding in plain sight and he begins to feel what it feels like to be part of a group, to have a friend. Oh and he has a fiend living inside him gaining power and ready to fight his way out of Prosper on his fast approaching 13th Birthday.

But not everything is what it seems. And while Prosper tries to be strong and not give in to the fiend who wants to enter into a contract with him to make him as lucky and well off as the rest of his family Prosper just wants to do the right thing because he truly cares. It isn't always easy but he tries hard.

This was a really good story for the creep and mystery, but there was an underlying message that is really important for middle grade aged kids, be you no matter what, theater kid, art kid, jock, bookish kid, all of us deserve to be able to be who we are, it is good to be good, and fitting in isn't easy but it gets better and you don't have to sell your soul for it to happen. Don't worry, the message here for kids in middle school (or even high school and college) isn't a plank Bracken beats you over the head with but it is there in among the ghost(ish) story.

A good read!

(Finished September 17, 2018)

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore

If you see the dates on my Goodreads page for this one it looks like it took a longer than one might expect for me to finish. But I put it aside to read Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward and had a few things going on that kept me from reading anything.

I tried to buy book 2, Bitterblue, today but B&N only had 1 copy in and it was dinged up and so I had a copy ordered for me. Now I almost wish I had sucked it up and bought the damaged copy because I want to spend more time with Katsa, Po, & Bitterblue,

Near the end of this book the tension was so much that I felt like wanted to put it down and catch my breath but I didn't want to stop because I needed to know what happened, but the tension was so bad I needed to stop but couldn't....

This was my second date with Kristin Cashore, the first was Jane, Unlimited, and she is now cemented in my mind as a favorite. Yes I have a lot of favorite authors, and it is mostly like with kids, I love them all differently but couldn't pick just one.

So a review of the story without spoilers, it's an action packed, romance, swashbuckler, mystery, fantasy. Katsa is something called Graced...the Graced have some sort of extra power. They could be hunters, swimmers, fighters, etc...and they are identified by their two different colored eyes. Po is Graced too. His Grace challenges Katsa's entire sense of self and helps her stand up for herself and allow herself to grow and be who she wants to be. Some Graced are used and abused by the Kings who have them in their kingdom, as was the case with Katsa, she is used horribly Kind Randa. Some are hidden or have their gift downplayed to protect them as is the case with Po. Then they meet and their lives are changed. Katsa has rescued Po's grandfather from a dungeon. Po wants to know why his grandfather was kidnapped in the first place and by who.
Can they solve the mystery? Can Katsa manage to give of herself without giving up herself?

I really enjoyed Graceling, it was tense, interesting, at times it was fun and funny, it was satisfying. And I freely admit I love the girls don't have to belong to anyone other than themselves to share their life with someone plot point.

(Finished September 15, 2018)

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward

I went out to Barnes & Noble on Tuesday September 11, release day, yes on 9/11 and no I don't think it was a coincidence. I go there 20 minutes after they opened and they were almost sold out. My friends who work there said there was a line waiting before they opened of people waiting to buy a copy. I am a fan of Woodward so I was interested, but I figured that anything that had Trump so angry and unhappy was something I wanted to read.

With each page I became more worried and angry and hopeless. Most of this wasn't new information. Some was stuff I hadn't heard before. But there was something about seeing all of this laid out in one place in chronological (mostly) order was just blood boiling and scary.

I know Trump and the Trumpettes would have us believe Woodard was lying but I am not buying that, I think he has been doing this too long and has earned his credibility. He says he has tapes of his interviews but that he isn't willing to release them, and I am not saying he should, just saying that I believe he does and it fits with the careful journalist he is. Now is it possible he was lied to? Sure I guess so. But remember how I said a lot of the material isn't new info? There has been too much said before now that cooperates this account. And what this account does is confirm that Trump isn't fit temperamentally, intellectually, and maybe psychologically, fit to hold this office.

My only complaint is that I had so much to day the past couple of days that I didn't get to read this in one sitting.

(Finished September 13, 2018)

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Warcross (Warcross #1) by Marie Lu

Virtual reality. Gaming. Hackers. A little romance. Some mystery. That's what is happening in Warcross.

It was a good story and I will read the sequel Wildcard. I didn't see the twist coming, Zero's identity surprised me. I thought I knew who it was but I was wrong and I liked the twist, even as I hope the sequel has more about Zero because I have questions!!!

But what is really great about this book is the question is raises about how much virtual reality should be integrated into life and how should it be used. And the timeless questions of literature, just because someone can does that mean they should and does the ends justify the means?

I cant say more or I will spoil you so I will stop here and say I enjoyed this and I also now want to read Marie Lu's The Young Elites and Legends.

(Finished September 9, 2018)

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

My son bought me Autoboyography for my birthday, mainly because he wanted to read it and used my birthday as a way of getting the book into out house. Silly really because I never deny either of us books but it was kind of cute of him. Then I read it and was hooked on the authors, yes more than one, since it is two writers, Christina and Lauren who are besties who write together. I started following them on Twitter and enjoy them there too. They talked about this new title, I got excited about it, and I ran out on the 4th and got it, finished Seafire and then started this, and I wasn't disappointed.

I love Hazel. If Luna Lovegood was a Muggle and an adult she would be Hazel!

This isn't a YA book, this is defiantly more of an adult book. The story is sweet, even when it is naughty and HOT.

I love Josh, mostly because he appreciates and genuinely likes all of the quirks that make Hazel Hazel, but also because he is such a good guy.

I was rooting for them from the start, right from the snappy and fun to read prologue. I enjoyed spending time with Josh and Hazel and I am so glad they decided not to date and we got to hear their story.

Oh and I loved how well the double voices were done. I have complained in the past about authors who try to tell a story in alternating voices and how they don't always stay distinct and it gets muddy and distracting. Not so here, it works. Each POV stayed consistent and true to the character that was forming a picture in my mind about them.

And one last point: Tyler, he was such an ass!!! I just had to get that off my chest because he annoyed me A LOT!!

(Finished September 5, 2018)

Seafire (Seafire #1) by Natalie C. Parker

And I have started yet another series. The inside cover of this one says that it's "the undeniable feminine power of Wonder Woman and the powder-keg action of Mad Max: Fury Road." I have never seen Mad Max but I know enough about it to get the reference, and from the old Linda Carter TV series when I was a kid to the current Gal Gadot version of Wonder Woman I have seen and love her and I can see that here too.

Seafire is the story of a ship with an all girl crew. I say girl and not women or female because I want to make it clear that most of these characters are girls and not adults or have been torn away from their parents since they were very young girls and are barely into their teens. But they are the most loyal, brave, and heroic group because they have each other's backs.

When she was about 14 Caladonia (Cala) and her best friend/shipmate Pisces (Pi) are on shore gathering fruit and plants to bring back to their ship where their families are Cala runs into a Bullet (Lir) (the term used for the members of the enemy fleet) and he tells her he wants to defect and she is taken in by his handsome face and soft words...until he isn't so nice...and her and Pi lose their families that night and Cala loses her ability to trust, others and herself. She also doesn't tell Pi what happened and sits for years with this guilt on her own, afraid what her friend would think.

When years later she has put together her ship and a crew she is presented with another Bullet (Oran) who says he wants to get out of the life of the bad guy and Cala can't trust him. But he knows things she needs to know and has an important and life changing bit of info that would change her world.

It started a little bit slow, but not really too much, part of the problem for me was that I was distracted by another book that was released yesterday and I wanted to get to (Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating) and the Kavanaugh hearing on the news so I didn't spend as much time as I would have focused on this book yesterday and so finished it this morning. But I ended up really enjoying it and now am looking forward to book 2.

Something I need to mention, I really appreciated that Cala wasn't a tough girl until a boy was placed in front of her and she didn't go all googoo eyes over Oran and there wasn't this a romance and she didn't immediately begin to defer to the "big strong boy." She was still the captain of her ship and the lesson she needed to learn from him was to learn to trust and forgive but it wasn't this damsel in distress needing rescue and I was so glad about that. When Oran first comes on board the ship I was worried it would go that way but glad it didn't.

(Finished September 5, 2018)

Monday, September 3, 2018

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor

The past week Barnes & Noble has had this AMAZING sale. A whole bunch of bestsellers were 50% off and it stacked with the membership 10%. This was one of the titles on sale and the bookseller I really like and who has given me great recommendations before said she loved loved loved this one and was anxiously awaiting book 2 in October. So I grabbed it. And I read it. And I loved it.

It's a fairytale, it's mythological, it's a romance, it's a tragedy, it's a mystery, it's an adventure. There are Gods and Humans and Monsters. Sometimes the monsters are the Gods sometimes the humans.

Lazlo Strange grows up in a monastery where he learns to love books or learns he was born with a love of books inside him maybe. He was a sickly, gray baby in a cart full of babies who are somehow orphaned. He is curious and has a love of stories and one story in particular has burrowed deep inside him and stayed with him as he grew. It is the story of the lost city Weep. Weep had a name before it was called Weep and Lazlo knew it for a time but one day it just vanished from his mind. But that just made him more determined to solve the mystery of Weep.

And then something happens, some strangers come riding in looking for help saving their city and Lazlo swear they remind him of the people from Weep. The city that has shunned outsiders for so many years has come looking for outsiders to help and Lazlo wants to go so badly. When he is selected to join the group even with his fantastic imagination and willingness to believe he couldn't have guessed what would become of his life once he starts this journey.

Who is Lazlo? What makes a monster? Can a monster be reformed? Can a God be a man or a monster? Is there a point when holding on to anger and the desire for vengeance becomes too long and it is better to move on, and if so how? Those are some of the questions I felt like this story tackled.

The start was a little slow, but I have said in the past, in stories where world building is needed and there will be at least one more book that can often be the case, but not far in the story grabs hold and doesn't let go until you hit the words "To Be Continued"

There are characters that are clearly good or clearly bad. But there are a few that fall into the good people who do bad things and those are often to me the most interesting.

I didn't like Minya at all and after a time started to find it harder to feel bad for her and I began to wonder if she is just bad, like her father. She made me so angry at times I had to put the book down and take a breath.

I loved Lazlo and Sarai. I had mixed feelings about Ruby but didn't find myself invested in her, Sparrow, or Feral.

I found Eril-Fane an interesting character who I liked despite his past acts. It is an interesting thought exercise, is it ok to kill a few to save an entire city and end generations of torture and abuse? And even if it is, how does one then live with themselves?

(Finished September 3, 2018)

Friday, August 31, 2018

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

I have a confession to make. I get very attached to and maybe too emotionally invested in fictional characters. And I am ok with that.

I love Darioush (the Iranian form of Darius' name). I wanted to hug him, to bake him some cookies and tell him he can have cookies and salad, life is about balance (an area I need to learn to practice what I preach about), and to tell him he is ok and normal is overrated.

This was such a lovely book. There were lots of geeky references to LoTR and Star Trek. It was moving and sad and happy and important.

So many young people (and not so young) have some level of clinical depression or some other form of mental health diagnosis. There has been for so long, for too long, a stigma attached to it that asking for help has become almost as painful if not more so than the diseases themselves. I feel like Darius' story might help some with that.

I truly believe that ALL OF US, everyone, has at one time or another not felt completely comfortable in our own skin, regardless of our mental health. We have all wondered about where we fit in and look for that place of belonging. Some of us are lucky and find it easily others struggle for a lifetime. Darius The Great Is Not Ok is about that journey and the pain and misunderstandings in our own heads and between us and our peers and family that can come from this misfit, broken feeling.

I truly appreciated the Afterword and Adib sharing his own struggle with depression. And I appreciated his mention of how exhausting and difficult it is for both the person with it and their loved ones and caregivers. As the parent of a child (well not for long, she will be 18 in less than 2 months) with a mental illness I can attest that it is so very exhausting but you keep going anyway, even when you feel like you can't.

Oh and I can't end without saying how much I enjoyed the descriptions of the customs and places Darius encountered when he went to visit his grandparents in Iran. Adib writes so well and in such a conversational and descriptive way that I could see what Darius saw. It was wonderful.

This was just such a moving read and one that will stay with me now forever. You need to read it too. Seriously!! Trust me.

(Finished August 31, 2018)

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

As I said in my review of To All the Boys I've Loved Before I loved it and couldn't wait to read book 2 but Barnes & Noble was out of it and I had to wait. Well I got it, then had a million things to do yesterday so I didn't get to spend the day with Lara Jean until today. I love her still. Her heart and curiosity and innocence which made her such a great character, they are all traits she still has. But she learns some new and painful lessons here. But she does it with the grace and charm I fell for in book 1.

I had some very mixed feelings about Kitty. At times she is wise beyond her years and it comes across as helpful and like she is growing up too soon, like she is an old soul. But there are times when it comes across as bratty and annoying. Maybe that's the way with little sisters but I wish Lara Jean had told Kitty she was out of line or had a conversation about her behavior. It all works out in the end between them, of course, and I still really enjoyed the book, but it was something that I felt while reading it.

I really liked Stormy, she was such a feisty old broad and she liked that she was. I hope if I am that age and living in a retirement home I still have as much pep in my step as she did.

I tried to find something redeeming about Gen, some reason to not disliker her so very much, but even learning her secret didn't do enough to make me able to like her past her actions. But I guess that's life, like I tell my kids, you wont like everyone you meet and not everyone will like you.

There is a book 3 but there are a couple of other books I need to read first, Darius the Great is Not Ok and Seafire book1, before I read Always and Forever, Lara Jean, which I can do comfortably since this one didn't end in a huge cliffhanger the way To All the Boys I've Loved Before did.

(Finished August 29, 2018)

Monday, August 27, 2018

The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights and Other Appreciations by John McCain and Mark Salter

I bought this the day it was released, not because I am a supporter or fan of McCain, hell if wasn't for his campaign we wouldn't have been subjected to the horror of the Sarah Palin train wreck, but because as much as I didn't like that he gave us her, as much as I don't agree with him on very much of anything, I respect his service, his military career and what he went through, and even his years in Congress. I am proud of how liberal I am, I lean pretty far left, so there isn't much common ground between us, but I don't have to agree with someone to respect them. And I have the utmost respect for Sen. McCain. So I bought his book, because I wanted to learn more about him. But then it sat in my TBR pile. Until Saturday night. When with his death a few hours earlier it felt like time to read it.

And he is interesting. Some things that stood out to me, and I don't know if I knew this and forgot or hadn't known at all, but he was against the Bush era interrogation policies, called them what they really were, torture, and pushed for it to stop. Something I can agree with him on. It didn't earn him any points with Rumsfeld or Cheney but he said what he needed to, what he believed was right, and didn't put party before country.

Also, It was interesting to read about his thinking process on the vote he made that stopped the ACA from being repealed, a vote I am so glad he cast.

Something about him that I picked up from reading this was that he was of kind of Republican I feel is a dying breed (no pun intended), the kind that doesn't believe compromise is a dirty word or horrific act, the kind that knows it is the way to get things done and that the point of Congress is to get things done.

The section on immigration reform was an area I wasn't sure I knew we shared some agreement until I read it. He isn't for the building of a wall, he doesn't agree with the scapegoating and othering of immigrants, those who came legally or otherwise, and he thinks there is a beauty in the diversity that makes America America.

So anyway I am sadder than I expected to be over his death, I feel like he was one of the last holdouts against a full Trumpification of the opposition party, and having two (or more) parties who can civilly debate issues and govern together for all of the people in the country is so important.

Also, I am so troubled by the way his military service and time as a POW and what he was put through is treated with such disdain and disrespect by Trump, it is hard not to feel some level of support for McCain.

One final thing...I thought the way he stopped that woman at his event who called President Obama an Arab was admirable and the video is getting a lot of play now that he has died, but something was brought to my attention in discussing the event and it changes it somewhat. While it was great that he tried, no one else was, his running mate was encouraging the hateful treatment of then Candidate Obama so it looked like they were talking out of both sides of their mouths. Now I tend to believe he was sincere but he didn't stop her from doing and saying what she was so he would need to own that and I am not sure he ever did. Also, as it was said to me, the opposite of Arab isn't good family man. And maybe he meant to say citizen and good family man as two separate things and just citizen was the counter to the woman says "arab" but to those with Arab heritages it felt like an insult, like you could be one or the other. He would have been better served just focusing on the fact that the birthers were wrong, that Obama was born in the US and left it at that. So while not full points, he did try, sadly he even had to try. And that is the root of what Trump has unleashed and I think over the last year before his death McCain realized that because he spoke out more often.

Read books about people you don't agree with, it is good to learn about them so you can defend your point of view or disagreement but have some insight into where they are coming from.

(Finished August 27, 2018)

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Firefly Lane: A Novel (Firefly Lane #1) by Kristin Hannah

I read and really liked The Nightingale so when I saw Firefly Lane on the Buy 2 Get 1 Free table at Barnes & Noble I put it on the list of books I wanted when I gave my husband my birthday wish list, and he got it. With as many books in TBR pile it took me awhile to get to this but holy ugly cry did I get to it. I didn't know it was a "book 1" and I don't know that my heart can stand more, I am so wrecked over this one, but at some point I may go ahead and read book 2.

As with many stories this is one about love, family, and loss. But it is more. It is about the love between best friends over decades and making family where there isn't one and staying together even when it is so hard and hurts so much.

I have to say that at times I was so upset and angry with Tully, to the point of not liking the character. But by the last page I found that like Kate, I just couldn't help but to love her even though I had those other feelings too. Katie, I loved her from the very first moment. And Mrs. M, oh how I love her, I hope I am the kind of mother she is. At times I found myself yelling at Kate to grow a backbone, but by the end I realized she was so very strong and that it was her way of loving Tully so fully that it may have looked like weakness but it sure as hell wasn't.

Friendships, love, family, it is all so messy and complicated and Kristin does a masterful job writing a powerful novel that highlights all the ups, and downs, all the good, bad, and ugly.

This was one of those truly heart shredding reads but was so beautifully done.

(Finished August 25, 2018)

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Words are powerful. They can hurt and heal. They can cause chaos and spark peace. They can save us.

Tanner's words, words that spill from him because his love and his truth just bubble up inside him and beg for release. And while drowning Sebastian finds in those words a life preserver he can grab onto and which will help him find his way.

Autoboyography is a love story but it is so much more. It is affirmation that what you are, your worth as a person, it is about your character, your actions and the way you treat those around you. Your worth isn't diminished based on your gender and the gender of the person you love and who loves you back. Family and religion can much that message up and that is explored here. Sebastian is truly a good person. He loves his family. He loves his church and he loves his God. But he also loves Tanner. And it isn't clear to him if he can love his faith and his boyfriend, or even have a boyfriend. Tanner is also a good and kind person. He is more comfortable in his own skin, with being Bi. He loves his family, friends and he loves Sebastian.

Their story is painful and scary and beautiful even when it gets ugly.

I felt like the treatment of religion and sexuality were so respectfully handled and that is really huge because this could have easily turned into a Mormon bashing tale but it didn't. It could have been almost any religion and the conflict would have fit the story. But writers tend to write from what they know and I learned from the acknowledgments that Christina worked in a junior high in Utah and met lots of kids (like Sebastian) who said their parents would rather have a dead kid than a gay one while Lauren grew up more like Tanner, in a place and with a family who allowed her the room to be herself without fear or judgement.

Thank you both for your words, I can't wait to get my hands on your new book in a few days time!!!

(Finished August 23, 2018)

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han

Got this because I wanted to watch the movie on Netflix but wanted to read the book first, and I had heard such good things about both.

Now that I have read it, I am so very tempted to run out and buy book 2 and 3 right now!!! I will hold off until tomorrow but it isn't easy!! I want to spend more time with Lara Jean. I want to know how her heart is. I want to know what happens with Margot and Kitty. And I want to know how the Song girls do with Jamie Fox-Pickle.

I loved this story, ok well I loved the story telling more than the story, though the story was really good. I loved that Jenny Han writes a beautiful story without feeling the need to sex it up. Many YA books include overly sexualized teens. I think it does teens and young adults a huge disservice when sex is used to move a story forward and it serves no purpose. I don't for a second mean to imply a story with sex in it isn't ok, I just think it isn't always needed and there is a talent to story telling in such a way that it doesn't sink to, ah ok, I have it, I think we all know sex sells, we see it in advertising all the time. And sex has its place in story telling, but it is lazy story telling to use sex rather than have it as part of a well told story. Lara Jean is a good girl and there isn't anything wrong with that. She has feelings and thoughts and explores that but if she were to have sex it would have felt like it was out of character for her. And that is what I am getting out. When an author lays out who a character is and then throws sex into the story because it sells, that is lazy and bad story telling. Ok enough about sex.

Something I really appreciated about Lara Jean's story is how important her heritage is to her and her sisters and even to her dad. He is white, her mother was Korean. Without her mom there anymore her dad still makes sure the girls stay connected to their Korean side of their heritage and it is lovely to see that embraced. It isn't a huge part of the story, but it is mentioned, the things that sometimes happen or are said to Lara Jean, like at Halloween people assuming what ever she is is an anime/manga character.

What to all the boys I've loved before is is a story about family, young love, the love and bond between sisters, and the process of learning who you are and what you feel as you grow up. It is a subtle and wonderful told story. I was so pleasantly surprised and how the Netflix movie does it justice.

(Finished August 21, 2018)

Monday, August 20, 2018

The Lake House by Kate Morton

This is another book from the pile my hubby got me for my birthday.

I don't know what I liked more, the unfolding of the whodunit mystery part of the story or the unfolding of the family secrets and history part of the story so I wont choose. The two together made this an engrossing read, the kind that pulls you in and makes you feel like you are falling into it.

As for the whodunit piece, every damn time I thought I had it untangled there was a reveal that proved me wrong and a new but fully believable twist would happen. I LOVED THAT!!!!

The entire story, both the family tale of love, loss, and secrets kept and revelaed, and the mystery itself center around the vanishing of the Edevane's youngest child, baby Theo in 1933.

What happened? Why? Where is baby Theo and is he even still alive?

Connected to the early 2000's through Sadie, a detective on a forced leave because of a misstep she took at work when she let her feelings get involved in her working a case of a child left alone by her mother and the grandmother insisting her daughter would never leave the child alone. While on leave she goes to Cornwall to visit her grandfather. While there licking her wounds she discovers a long neglected estate and something about it draws her in and the puzzle solving part of her that drove her to detective works is sure there is something about this house to investigate. This brings Sadie into the baby Theo mystery, one she won't let go of until she solves it.

Alice Edevane is in her 80's, best selling mystery writer, and is finishing her 50th novel. She is also Theo's sister and she thinks she knows what happened to her brother and isn't sure she wants it exposed when Sadie first reaches out to her. This brings in the thread that unravels to reveal the history of love, pain, loss, devotion, and secrets that are the legacy of her family. Even this didn't go where I thought it was heading and I was glad it ended up where it did, and to avoid spoilers I won't say more about it.

This was my first Kate Morton read, but I think somewhere in my pile of TBR books is another, The Distant Hours. Either way, I will be seeking out more by her, I really liked her style.

(Finished August 20, 2018)

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Holy powerful punch to the gut book lovers!! I read this because my son bought it and it sounded like it would be powerful but also because I wanted to make sure it was ok for him and so I could talk to him about it since school shootings are a fear of his. Not debilitating, but he is of the thought that it is only a matter of when not if his school has one, he began to feel this after Parkland and watching nothing happen to protect students from easy access to guns. He is a smart kid and has lots of opinions.

HATE LIST is the Valerie's story. It is the story of the aftermath of a school shooting, yes, and it is a story about the way bullying impacts people. But it is so much more. Val's parents are a mess, even before That Day. Nick is Val's boyfriend. He reads Shakespeare, plays video games with Val and lets her win because everyone needs to be a winner sometimes, he makes her feel safe and accepted, and he loves her. But he is so angry and while she is too Val doesn't realize how much more angry he is and how much deeper it goes. Not until he comes to school and opens fire on the people who have been so awful to them over the years. When Val started the Hate List she thought it was a way to vent, she didn't know or didn't want to know or wasn't able to see, that's what she is trying to figure out now AFTER That Day, what Nick was saying to her wasn't just blowing off steam.

Val faces her school and peers and teachers and community after That Day and it isn't pretty or easy, for anyone. Forgiveness is not easy, to give or take or ask for or offer even when not asked for.
Parents aren't perfect, family is hard, so is friendship. Sometimes people learn from tragedy sometimes not so much. But life finds a way, or tries to. Like in real life the people in the world Brown created don't all get a happy or clean ending, some are ok, some are almost there and some have a long way to go before they heal, some may never heal.

This was so well done, so respectfully done, and that is huge because with all the school shootings over the past few years this could have been quite exploitive but instead it is hard and painful and lovely and life affirming and scary and just so damn good!!!

(Finished August 16, 2018)

I Found You: A Novel by Lisa Jewell

This was a quick read but filled with such tightly building tension I had to put it down every so often and take a deep breath. On the cover it says "Readers of Liane Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Ruth Ware will love this." I agree, it brought to mind these authors work.

Who is the man sitting on the beach in the rain outside Alice's house? Where is Lily's husband and who is? What happened to the Ross family in 1993? How are all these threads connected? I'm not going to tell you!! But Jewell will, in 342 pages of well spun story telling and the perfect blend of answers and tension.

I gave this 5 stars because while I guessed who "Frank" was I was never quite sure I was right and doubted myself a few times and it didn't ruin anything having guessed, if anything it made it more exciting because every time I was sure I was right something made me doubt a little. And Goodreads doesn't have half stars and I liked this more than 4 stars so rounded up.

This was from my birthday stack of books from the Hubby and it was a good read before I dive into a darker read even though this was kind of dark, just a different kind of dark than my next read, Hate List, which I am borrowing from my son.

(Finished August 16, 2018)

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

I enjoyed my outing with Adam the first time around (History Is All You Left Me) that when my son bought this with (and I think this is pretty cool!) the Barnes & Noble gift card he got at the end of his summer program (they gave each kid $25!! for taking part in a wonderful STEM based summer program) I had to borrow it. And Oh My Oh My!!! WHAT A BOOK!!!!

There was one line that game me the chills, broke my heart, made me happy, shredded me, and filled me with love and hope all at once.

I cried while out walking my dog this morning as I finished reading and I was so in love with the story and the characters, well not Peck and his crew, but everyone else.

I came away with the feeling that love and family are where you find them, not always where you are born, that life is to be lived while alive, and that being brave isn't always doing a huge and grand thing, it is just stepping out of the shadow of your fear and living your life, sing Karaoke, dance, kiss the one you love, tell those you love how you feel, those can all be acts of bravery.

Thank you Adam Silvera for a wonderful story about death that is so very full of life!!!

(Finished August 15, 2018)

Monday, August 13, 2018

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore

This was recommended to me by one of the cool young women who work at my local Barnes and Noble along with Cashore's Graceling series.

It was a lot of fun to read. It tells the story of Jane and her trying to recover from the grief of losing her beloved Aunt Magnolia by accepting her former tutor Kiran's invite to come back to a gala at Kiran's family home on a private island, Tu Reviens. The invite comes at the exact right time and oddly enough not long before she dies Magnolia made Jane promise she would never turn down a chance to go to Tu Reviens. Once there Jane meets a cast of characters that change her life in some unexpected ways.

Jane's story once she gets to Tu Reviens changes depending on choices she makes, and she makes 5 of them. and each one is told in a different genre. Jane experiences a Heist Mystery, then she is in a Spy Thriller, then she finds herself in a Gothic Horror, and then a Space Opera and finally a Fantasy tale.

Some of the 5 worlds were better than others but all in all this was really enjoyable. I liked how some of the threads carried through all 5 worlds. I love Jasper!!! And Ivy!!! This was a fun and nice palette cleanser in-between some of the heavier, darker reads in my TBR pile.

Thank you bookseller!!!

(Finished August 13, 2018)

Saturday, August 11, 2018

White Houses by Amy Bloom

I am not really sure how I feel about this book. I didn't love it but I did. It is at times beautifully written, the love story of two women in a time when it was not ok, not accepted, not looked upon kindly, for two women to be in love and intimate. Add in the fact that one of the women is the First Lady of The United States and it gets that much more complicated. At other times it felt like a too heavy perfume, pretty at first but then clawing and too sweet and sticky, and just really hard to wash off.

White Houses is a fictionalized telling based on the true story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok (Hick to her friends) and decades long love and friendship between the two women. The need for secrecy even when hidden in plain sight, Hick lives in the White House for awhile on two different occasions, takes its toll on their relationship. Bloom's telling of the story assumes that behind the scenes the affairs of FDR under his wife's nose were taking place at the same time as her lesbian encounters including this long term relationship with Hick were happening under his and it was something they lived with. This may our may not be true but it does add to the drama of their love affair and the difficulty in living their fullest, best life. Not only was she married with children, but her husband was President which made Eleanor feel like she couldn't leave and start her life with Hick. And then things, life, happens, and they never quite get it together, never start and live the life they talked so often of "someday" having.

The heartache felt by Hick after the death of Eleanor is palpable and I hurt for her at the same time as this was one of the sections that starts out beautifully and for me went back and forth between beautiful and just too much, as I described at the start of this posting.

Overall I liked the book and am glad I finally read it, is has been on my list since it was released. I may feel like it would have been better waiting for it to show up in paperback in the Buy 2 Get 1 Free table but it is what it is. And it is a relatively quick read, so no real regrets.

(Finished August 11, 2018)

Friday, August 10, 2018

In the Afterlight (The Darkest Minds #3) by Alexandra Bracken

The final book in The Darkest Minds Trilogy. (Book 1, Book 2)

I don't want to spoil anyone so as usual when reviewing books that could be ruined is too much is said, I have a fine line to walk here so for the sake of those who don't want any details I will say there is a lot to this story that is timely and should make you think, this series is not my favorite of this YA sub-genre, the apocalyptic world stories, I really liked it and have no trouble recommending it.

Now for a more detailed but hopefully spoiler free chat.

I was so angry with Alexandra for a character she killed but as I have been finding more and more (Ned Stark anyone?) authors are not shying away from making us love main characters and then killing them, no more neat and perfect endings where all the principals survive to the end. And that is a good thing for readers and a terrible thing. It breaks our hearts so it's bad. But it treats us with respect, it says life isn't ever all neat and pretty and sometimes people die too soon and the people we love die and those who are monsters live, and that is awful but that is good. It makes story telling more relatable and less clean and doesn't insult the intelligence and ability of the reader, even YA readers who are actually YA people (many adults, myself included love YA stories), to be be mature enough to grasp this concept.

There are important questions raised in In the Afterlight and the series as a whole:

how much change or subduing should be forced on people who are different, who scare people because of something new or different about them
should age play a part in how much choice a person has, what age should more autonomy over a person's body begin
who should decide what is normal and what is different or bad
how much choice is too much or is there even such a thing as too much choice
how much or little freedom of the press should there be, where is the line, if there is one, between what people need to know and the rest of a story

Something else worth thinking about is how much of a person's bad acts are the result of what was done to them and how much is just the kind of person they are regardless of what has happened. What I mean is are some people just not nice and destined to do bad things even if the bad things done to them hadn't happened or if nothing bad ever happens to them? And if they are and there was a way to change them should they be changed, if so before or after they start to act badly?

Like I said, there is a lot to think about after reading this and I am sure I barely scratched the surface.

(Finished August 10, 2018)

Friday, August 3, 2018

Refugee by Alan Gratz

"They only see us when we do something they don’t want us to do."

These are the words of one of the three refugee children, one from Germany, one from Cuba, and one from Syria, whose stories are told in this book.

In 1938 Josef and his family leave Berlin, Germany.

In 1994 Isabel and her family leave Havana, Cuba.

In 2015 Mahmoud and his family leave Aleppo, Syria.

At first their stories seem to be tied together because they are all children that share the commonality of the refugee experience, and they do. As much as the time and their reasons or need to leave home differ some, their struggle is very similar, to stay together, to survive, to land someplace that will be home.

But then there is more, a connection that binds these three children. It was heartbreaking and beautiful.

And the quote I started with, it is Mahmoud who is painfully aware of this, that he is invisible until he or the other Syrian refugees do something that those observing or trying to ignore them don't like, such a pray. What is so vile is that so little seems to have been learned about how to welcome and care for the persecuted since the days of Jews like Josef's family fled Hitler's brutal regime. This turned out to be such a timely read as I feel so helpless watching how my government is treating those coming her seeking protection from violence and persecution.

This book, like Ghost Boys, was recommended by my friend Kelly. Please don't let it being in the "kid's/young reader" section fool you here either. Read this with your kids and talk about how we can help, how we should treat others, who we owe to our fellow human.

(Finished August 3, 2018)

Thursday, August 2, 2018

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

This is yet another book I discovered on the Buy 2 Get 1 Free table at Barnes & Noble. I placed it on my birthday wish list and my husband got it for me. It took me a bit longer to read than it should have because I had a few busy days that kept me from having as much time as I would have liked to read. But in a way that now seems appropriate, because like the tea meant to be savored and consumed slowly, that is how I consumed the story of Li-Yan and Haley.

This was a few different stories brewed together to make one sweet and bitter experience. (yes I am going to push the tea type connections as far as I can) The story of tea and the Akha people and their culture that stayed untouched my modernity for so long was very interesting. While some of the way of life lived by them may seem wrong or backwards to modern Americans, I think it is important not to compare or hold it up to beliefs that are shaped by a different time, place, and culture.

When Li-Yan falls in love with a young man, Jin, her family tries to tell her is a bad match she doesn't agree and a relationship develops. When she ends up alone (Jin has gone off to try and make some money so he can be allowed to marry her) and pregnant rather than follow tradition her baby is given up for adoption. After a time her parents are proven right about the fitness of Jin as a match are proven true and the course of Li-Yan's life has been altered. The thread of Li-Yan's story focuses on her learning to live outside the old ways she knows and become part of the modern world and grow her knowledge of tea as she starts a life she never imagines having, all while wanting to know what happened to, and maybe even finding her baby girl. The world of tea growing and the tea market in China was fascinating.

Haley grows up in California after being adopted by a wealthy white couple. Her thread of the story was at first an insight into what it feels like to grow up not only in a home where you look nothing like anyone else, but you don't look like anyone in your community as well. The adoptee experience is explored. At the same time tea plays a part in Haley's life too, at first because the only thing she has from her birth mother is a tea cake, and later because she is drawn into studying tea from a scientific perspective. All of this leading her to a young man and a trip to China.

The relationship between mothers and daughters is also a thread running through the story.

All in all this was a warm and satisfying read.

(Finished August 2, 2018)