Audiobook Archives - Page 11 of 14

Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L. A. Meyer: Book Review

Synopsis from GoodReads: After being forced to leave HMS Dolphin and Jaimy, her true love, Jacky Faber is making a new start at the elite Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston. But growing up on the streets of London and fighting pirates never prepared Jacky for her toughest battle yet: learning how to be a fine lady. Everything she does is wrong. Her embroidery is deplorable, her French is atrocious, and her table manners--disgusting! Then there's the small matter of her blue anchor tattoo. . . . Despite her best efforts, Jacky can't seem to stay out of trouble long enough to dedicate herself to being ladylike. But what fun would that be, anyway? I loved Jacky Faber when I read the first book in the series, Bloody Jack. Then I listened to the second book on audio. Holy cow! I'd heard these audiobooks were awesome but I really didn't understand until I picked one up for myself. Katherine Kellgren brought Jacky to life for me. Narrating in a Cockney accent that I loved, she crowed in triumph, cried in sadness, and took her with me on every emotion in between. It was amazing and a joy to listen to. I already felt this was a strong start to a series, but I will definitely be continuing in the audio format. I can't imagine separating Kellgren and Jacky now! I've waited too long to review this book, but from what I can remember, this second entry is darker than the first. Yeah, the more I think about it, parts got downright dark and creepy. I was seriously worried for Jacky. It was huge fun to see her in a group of proper young Boston schoolgirls. They don't know what hits them when Jacky walks in! We can all…

Cinder by Marissa Meyer: Book Review

4 Stars. I had my reservations about this. I love me a retold fairy tale, don't get me wrong. But it's all science-fictiony. Cyborgs? Androids? Not my thing. And then it's set in a future that sounds a little post-apocalyptic? Definitely not my thing. And yet, searching around for something mildly dystopian to read for a reading [...]

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall: Book Review

4 Stars. I just love the Penderwicks. They are all so cute! Rosalind feels older than twelve, but in her circumstances, I think that's right. She's stepped up to be a mother figure to the younger children. Skye is so abrasive and intelligent, Jane is so dreamy and unintentionally funny, and young Batty is just adorable. I love [...]

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon: Book Review

On a dark and stormy night in 1968, a widow is alone at home, as she usually is. She hears a knock on her door. She isn't expecting anyone, but, these being simpler times in many ways, she answers anyway. A young black man and white woman are outside, drenched, in obvious need of help. It soon becomes apparent that the man is deaf and the woman has some sort of developmental disability. There's also a newborn girl hidden under the woman's sodden clothes. White, the girl is obviously not the black man's daughter. Martha, the widow, sets about making the man, woman, and infant comfortable. Then there's a second knock at the door. Police. They're looking for the couple, "escapees" from the local "school for the feebleminded." They quickly find Lynnie, the woman, but the baby is hidden away and they don't seem to know about her. The man, "Buddy," makes his escape out the back door. Lynnie, who hasn't uttered a word up to this point, whispers one request into Martha's ear as the authorities drag her away: "Hide. Her." Meaning the baby. In a life-altering decision, Martha does exactly that. Oh my gosh, this was so heart-breaking to listen to. Seriously. My heart just ached through some of the descriptions. It's just so hard to imagine the conditions that citizens with different abilities were subjected to, and not that long ago. Families were ashamed of their children and locked them away, out of sight, never to visit again. The families who felt differently were often pressured into sending their children to these "schools," where a good front was assumed on visiting days. The book follows Lynnie's story after she is sent back to the school. One toothbrush to share, bullies as "caretakers," violence, menial work, and absolutely…

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall: Book Review

4 Stars. I listened to this ages and ages ago, but I remember that I loved it. I don't even recall the sisters' names, but as I listened they each had a distinct personality and I was easily able to differentiate between them. There is no big plot here, it's just a series of little adventures that these sisters have on their [...]

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley: Book Review

4 Stars. I have waited entirely too long to write this review-- over a year. But. I absolutely loved this story of brilliant little Flavia de Luce. She is going to be intimidating when she grows up. Wait. What am I talking about? She already is intimidating at the tender age of 11 or so. She's a brilliant scientist with an [...]

Graveminder by Melissa Marr: Book Review

Rebekkah Barrow has left the town of Claysville behind. She keeps in touch with a few people, including her "adopted" grandmother, but otherwise she's a free spirit roaming the earth. One day she gets a phone call that her grandmother has passed away. She heads back to Claysville for the funeral and learns that her grandmother was actually murdered. There's more to it than that though; Rebekkah and her on-again-off-again boyfriend Byron both sense it. There are secrets in Claysville, and Rebekkah and Byron must learn them before time runs out for everyone. This could have been so good. I loved the idea. The Barrow women are graveminders, assiduously tending the graves of the town residents. It's obvious from the beginning what is going on and I liked it. But the story just kept circling around and around and around the why of things. There's a lot of drama between Rebekkah and Byron, both in the past and their present. They fight, they make up, they decide they don't have time for fighting, and then they disagree again and have to have another "discussion." It was exhausting! But not in any kind of interesting way. Just in an "Oh my gosh, can we please just get back to the dead people now?" kind of way. I did actually like Byron. He was trying his very best to figure out what was going on, take care of Rebekkah, and respect her wishes. Rebekkah was my downfall. Deep down, she knew what she wanted but she kept fighting it and fighting Byron and I just got so tired of it. I didn't really care about her or her personal drama. I wanted to know why these crazy things were happening. The ending slightly redeemed it because it was fairly horrifying. There had…

Drama by John Lithgow: Book Review

In this memoir, Lithgow writes of how his early years shaped him as an actor, from his childhood, to his time at Harvard, to his studies in the UK as a Fulbright scholar, and on to his breakthrough on Broadway and film. I truly enjoyed listening to Lithgow narrate his own personal history. I don't know how much of his work I've actually seen, but I do like his voice. He took my thoughts and feelings exactly where he wanted them to go. I was quiet and pensive as he spoke about the power of story in his father's last days, I was howling with laughter alone in my car as he wrote about his father telling off a decidedly unpassionate Romeo, and I was interested enough not to notice as I listened and worked my way through yet another week of the Couch to 5K training program. You could probably accuse Lithgow of name-dropping, but when he's speaking of his work, it's impossible not to name-drop. I was very interested to learn that he was at Harvard with Tommy Lee Jones and that he saw some of Meryl Streep's earliest Broadway auditions. He doesn't hold much, if anything, back. His first marriage was rocky and he acknowledges his role in that. He writes honestly about his great love and respect for his father, how confused he felt to sort of surpass his work, and how determined he became to disassociate himself from his father's influence. If you like memoirs at all, I do recommend this as audio. It's wonderfully narrated by a fascinating man. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in a contest I won during Audiobook Week at Devourer of Books. Read an excerpt. Read more reviews at A Musing Reviews, Boston Book Bums, and…

The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg: Book Review

4 Stars. Having now read one of Bragg's books and listened to another, I am torn about the best medium. I'm left thinking that the best thing for everyone would be if his publishers just gave us one of those readalong books I remember from when I was little. "You'll know it's time to turn the page when you hear the chime ring like this [...]

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente: Book Review

September is bored at home. Her dad is fighting a far-off war and her mom is working long shifts at the factory. When the Green Wind comes along and offers to take her to fairyland, she jumps at the chance. But all is not well in fairyland. Good Queen Mallow has disappeared and The Marquess rules in her place. The Marquess has introduced laws and bureaucracy to the fey. It isn't long before September finds herself on a quest that sets her at odds with The Marquess, and that is never a safe place to be. What a delight! I was immediately thrown back to my favorite classic children's fantasies--Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz... I'm sure there are more, but those are the big ones. Yet it was wholly its own story when it came to actual plot. There were nods to other books, but the characters and places that September encounters on her journey were unique and fun. There's the loyal wyverary A-through-L (He's a cross between a wyvern and a library. Yes, a library), Lye the soap golem, Calpurnia the velo wrangler, Saturday the marid, Iago the panther of storms, and many, many more. Each will live in my memory for a long time to come. I will think of them fondly and dream of the adventures we might have had if only a wind had offered to take me to fairyland when I was a child. I really liked September and her loyal friends. September feels like a real little girl. She's heartless sometimes, as the narrator points out, but she's one of the most loyal and true characters you will ever meet. She literally sails to the end of the earth for her friends. She's brave and resourceful and…