Book Reviews Archive - Page 28 of 79

Time Stops for No Mouse by Michael Hoeye: Book Review

Hermux Tantamoq is a quiet, rather shy watchmaker who just happens to be a mouse. His world is turned upside down when the lovely Linka Perflinger walks into his shop and asks him to repair her watch. She never returns to pick it up, even though it seemed to be important to her. When a suspicious-looking rat comes in asking for it, Hermux knows Miss Perflinger must be caught up in something dangerous. He sets out to find her and save the day. I liked Hermux a lot. I think he and I would get along splendidly. Give us a pot of tea and some doughnuts and we'll quietly talk, or just sit and enjoy each other's company. He felt like a kindred spirit. His community was interesting as well. There's the gossipy mail lady, the gruff cafe owner, the bossy neighbor, and the reporter who seems to be everywhere. I enjoyed reading about them all. When it came down to the mystery, I did figure out some parts that were featured in a journal. But I was truly surprised when one part directly affecting Hermux was revealed! I knew something was up but I didn't know it was that! I wished for a slightly different ending but I was happy enough with the one we got. I guess it leaves more room for sequels. Campbell Scott narrated well, though not brilliantly, but he does get points for not stumbling over these tongue-twisting names! Boys and girls in the 8-10 age range should enjoy this gentle hero and his intriguing mystery. Read or listen to an excerpt. Find author Michael Hoeye on his website. Buy Time Stops for No Mouse at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful…

gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson: Book Review

Arlene left her hometown of Possett, Alabama after she graduated from high school and never looked back. She has withstood bribery, threats, and guilt trips from hell from her Aunt Florence and remained in Chicago for ten years. But now Alabama seems to have found her. A face from Arlene's past shows up on her doorstep and at her job, asking questions that Arlene doesn't want to answer. At the same time, her boyfriend Burr, a Black man, is ready to get serious but he wants to know that she's serious too. He wants to meet her family. Her slightly racist family. To keep Burr and protect an old secret and her family, she must head back to Possett. I have seen Joshilyn Jackson speak multiple times and I always enjoy myself hugely. She is hilarious! And she sure knows how to tell a story. I was hoping to listen to a book that she had narrated herself, but those always seem to be checked out at the library so I grabbed this one instead. Catherine Taber narrated wonderfully so I wasn't disappointed. I've only read one other book by Ms. Jackson, Between, Georgia. I didn't care for it much. There was nothing wrong with it, exactly, it just seemed forgettable and it has been. I think I'll remember gods in Alabama for a long time. I don't even know whether to say that I like Arlene. Her heart's in the right place but she's about as crazy as her Mama. She prides herself on never telling a lie but that's not quite the same as telling the truth, now is it? She goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid telling lies but I never knew what parts of her story to believe. With good reason. There are only a couple…

Gulp by Mary Roach: Book Review

Mary Roach has a gift for making science accessible and--dare I say it?--even funny. In this book, she tackles the digestive system. Covering topics ranging from thorough chewing (as in 700+ chews for One. Freaking. Bite.) to the miraculous properties of spit, from being eaten alive to the possibility (or not) of chewing your way out if you are, from "The alimentary canal as criminal accomplice" to *ahem* flatus, and ending up with bacterial transplants to treat intractable digestive ailments, this book asks everything you might possibly have ever wanted to know on the topic but were afraid to ask. I have a pretty juvenile sense of humor, so all of the fart jokes, and spit jokes, and *ahem* "criminal accomplice" jokes had me at least giggling. In the two chapters devoted to flatulence, I was quite honestly laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. Not that it was necessarily that funny but because "Oh my gosh, I can't believe she went there. And there. And there!" I'm almost ashamed of myself. Almost. Luckily my husband and I have the same sense of humor so he just kept playing whatever game on his phone as I laughed myself silly and waited for me to catch my breath and report so he could share in the joke too. I've worked in healthcare for years, so I've developed a pretty strong stomach (though I'm not a nurse or CNA and haven't ever had to wade into the trenches, so to speak), so nothing in here bothered me. That will obviously not be the case for all of you. If you can stomach it (heehee!), I do recommend this. If it doesn't seem to be your kind of thing, it's probably not. Read an excerpt. Find author Mary Roach on her website and Twitter.…

The League of Seven by Alan Gratz: Book Review

It's 1875 and Archie Dent's parents belong to The Septemberists, a society dedicated to remembering the damage caused by monsters called the Mangleborn and to preventing them from rising again to destroy civilization. On a routine trip to the Septemberist headquarters, the older Dents are taken over by Manglespawn, children of a Mangleborn, and forced to Florida where one of the monsters is trying to break free. Archie and his family servant, a tik tok man named Mr. Rivets, try to save the Dents but fail. They set off to seek help from other Septemberists and make a couple of brilliant young friends along the way. Whew! That sounds complicated! It's not really. This is a middle grade steampunk adventure and everything's explained pretty easily. Archie's a great protagonist. He's small for his age, smart, kind of a nerd, and apparently there's nothing special about him. He wants so badly to be a hero that he feels his normalcy is a weakness. His friend Fergus is an electrician/scientist of amazing talents. His friend Hachi is a fierce warrior, utilizing five clockwork toys to her advantage. Archie seems to just be...Archie. I love the whole world this is set in. The fledgling colonies of North America lost contact with Europe when there was a catastrophic Mangleborn rising. They had to learn to live peacefully with the Native Americans so they've come to be known as the United Nations of America. The states we know correspond more closely to tribes of Native Americans. The colonists come to be known as the Yankee tribe. The society is pretty advanced but everything runs on clockwork and steam power. I was fortunate to see author Alan Gratz at his book launch and he said that he wanted to write a "book of awesome," so he…

Walden by Henry David Thoreau: Book Review

Soooooo........yeah. I just rated Walden, one of the great American classics, two stars. That probably says more about me than it does about the book, doesn't it? Don't answer that. But here's the thing--well, a few things. 1. I'm not generally an abstract ideas kind of person. I like narrative and stories and characters that come to life for me. Walden has none of these. Obviously. The section that I liked best? Thoreau described a pretty epic battle between some tiny red ants and some big bullying black ants. There were sides and protagonists and bravery and heroism, the agony of defeat, and the high cost of victory. I flew through those few pages. And then I got back to ideas and it was like I'd stepped in quicksand again. 2. I found Thoreau to be great in small, quotable chunks. Page after page? He wore on me. I don't care how much he spent on potatoes, I don't care about his theories about measuring bodies of water, I don't care exactly what day the pond thawed each year. And yet this book has produced quotes that most people will recognize. "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away." “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck…

This I Believe, edited by Jay Allison: Book Review

In a collection of short essays, men and women from all walks of life share their defining beliefs. I listen to NPR in between audiobook downloads but I seem to only be in the car for the news and Marketplace, so I've never heard any of these essays. I enjoyed them immensely. Ranging from funny to serious, from heartfelt to tongue-in-cheek, there's a wide range of personal voices and creeds to be found in this collection. I particularly liked that essays from the first run of the series, hosted by Edward R. Murrow in the '50s, were included. They were concerned about the end of the free world due to the Cold War. Now we're concerned about the end of the free world due to terrorism of all kinds. Some things never seem to change. That said, people don't change all that much either, and I mean that in the best possible way. We still have faith in our own humanity. Many of us have religious or spiritual faith. Those who don't have faith in order and reason. Kindness, compassion, humility, personal growth, empathy--all our best traits are on display here, both in the older essays and the more recent ones. On a side note, I enjoyed hearing the way voices and accents have changed in only about 60 years. The accents in the '50s seemed to be more pronounced. My guess is that we're losing some regional accents due to media influences. That makes me a bit sad since I enjoy hearing them and definitely speak with my own Appalachian twang! I was interested to hear women speak back then too. I find it hard to explain, but their voices sounded more breathy and feminine to me. Was that something girls were subconsciously taught? I've noticed it in old…

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen: Book Review

3 Stars. When I first read this, I thought it was another solid four-star book from Sarah Addison Allen. But now that months have passed, it's faded away and I'm only left feeling that it was a decent entry in her body of work. I'm bumping it back to three stars. Devin may have been my favorite character. She's a bright child [...]

The Bat by Jo Nesbø: Book Review

Norwegian Inspector Harry Hole is sent to Australia as something of a consultant/observer in the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian woman. Based on this, the first book in the series and my first Harry Hole book, I'm not clear why these are so popular. I can only assume they get better. Maybe it was the translation or maybe it was that I was distracted but nothing seemed to flow together at all. Hole and his Australian partner, Andrew Kensington, seem to jet about the country with impunity. I haven't been there but Australia sure seems like a big place and I'm sure they face the same budget problems that all police forces do. And these two guys are roaming where they please? All of Hole's relationships get crazy-intense, crazy-fast. He and Kensington are immediately best friends forever. He meets the love interest the first day, I believe, and they almost immediately pledge lifelong and devotion. I really started to wonder if I had just missed the amount of time that Harry had been in Australia and then he would say something like, "I've already been here a week; I'm not sure how much longer my superiors will let me stay." Really? I had a terrible time keeping the names straight. Granted, some of them were aboriginal (Is that politically correct?) and therefore very unfamiliar to me. And what was up with everyone, absolutely everyone, knowing "whodunnit" except Harry and trying to give him subtle clues? Why not just come right out and say it? I get that you're trying to protect yourself, but if you're going to go so far as to try to clue him in, why not just go all the way? And is there really no one in Australia who is capable of investigating a…

Dreadnought by Cherie Priest: Book Review

Mercy Lynch is a nurse in the Civil War, which has been lingering on for decades. Like many people, she has torn loyalties. She's a nurse for the Confederacy but her husband is a soldier in the Union. Shortly after she receives word that he died in a POW camp, she receives a telegram notifying her that her long-estranged father is very sick and asking for her to come see him in Tacoma, Washington. That's quite a trek away from Richmond, Virginia, especially given the state of the country. Duty and curiosity win out and she sets out via dirigible and then train to hopscotch her way across the country. I really enjoyed Boneshaker so I had high hopes for this book. I downloaded it on audio but read the first in print. When I realized that Kate Reading was the narrator, I wasn't quite sure what to think. Don't get me wrong--I've enjoyed Ms. Reading's narration but I've only listened to her reading fiction that is more directly targeted to women. I wasn't sure how she'd handle the steampunk action that I expected. I needn't have worried. The performance was so pitch perfect that I'll continue with the series on audio. It's been a while since I read Boneshaker but I do think Dreadnought may actually be a little better. It's not a direct sequel but it does take place in the same book world and at the very end a few characters overlap. I was a little disappointed that the rotters (read: zombies) aren't around very much. But when they are--holy cow! I didn't like Mercy quite as much as I liked Briar from the first book but she was still a strong character. She's just trying to get across the country as fast as she can and…

The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood: Book Review

I seriously did not think I could love an audiobook performance more than I love Katherine Kellgren's narration of the Bloody Jack series by L. A. Meyer. And then she narrated The Mysterious Howling. Holy cow. I am in awe of Ms. Kellgren's talent! Old men, teen girls, simpering married women, wolfish children howling at the moon, she went at all of them with gusto and I loved every minute of it! Miss Penelope Lumley has just graduated from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females. She has no family but her headmistress encourages her to apply for a position as governess to three children at Ashton Place. She seems perfect for the job since she is (obviously) a bright student and (not so obviously) an animal lover, a trait specifically requested of job-seekers in the advertisement. Miss Lumley sets off for her interview, finds herself hired on the spot, and soon learns that the three children given to her care were found in the woods within the past week. They have apparently been raised by wolves and don't speak a word of English between them. But a Swanburne girl is more than a match for any task and Penelope sets about teaching them a love for poetry, phrases of polite conversation, and the fine art of ignoring irrepressible squirrels. I loved these characters. Miss Lumley simply doesn't see that she might have an impossible job before her. She has been hired to teach these children and teach them she will. When Lady Ashton gives her ever more Herculean tasks to accomplish, she simply tackles them the best way that she knows how. She genuinely cares for the children and has their best interests always at heart. The children, Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia, are little scene-stealers. They are remarkably intelligent,…