Book Reviews Archive - Page 36 of 79

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay: Book Review

In WWII France, the French police rounded up over 13,000 Jews and held them in a huge stadium, the Vélodrome d'Hiver, for days before shipping the survivors off to concentration camps. This is the fictional story of one little girl who was taken and what her life might have been like. It's also the story of a modern-day journalist researching Sarah's family. This review is not going to do this book justice. I've waited a couple of weeks to write this and my notes on it are in all honesty pretty fragmented. I read Sarah's story with a cold horror in the pit of my stomach. There were so many ways that everything went wrong that all I can say is that I was just horrified. There were moments of kindness, as there almost always are in Holocaust stories, but the biggest part just left me speechless. Any Holocaust book that captures that feeling is an important one. We can't ever be allowed to forget what happened. What knocked this down to four stars for me was the journalist's story. I didn't care. Parts of it were important for showing how the effects of something that happened over 60 years ago are still being felt today, but I could have done without most of the personal drama. It was insignificant in the context of a book about the Holocaust. One little preachy thing. I could not help but be reminded of the New Orleans Superdome and Hurricane Katrina as I read this. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm trivializing the history, because I promise I'm not, but a stadium where people are trapped just brings it to my mind. This story somehow made the recent event a little more real for me and I can't believe that something like…

The Company by K. J. Parker: Book Review

A group of comrades-in-arms have almost all gone back to live in the rural area where they came from. Some are faring better than others but they all seem to be at a loss as to what to do with themselves now that the war is over. Things change when their long-time leader, Kunessin, finally retires from the military and comes back to ask them to form a colony on an island with him, free from all care. They'll hire some indentured servants, find some wives, and they'll all live happily ever after. The company agrees, they set off, new wives and servants in tow, and find that life on the island is not as easy or as simple as they expected it to be. This author was very highly recommended to me by an old friend from high school. I haven't seen her in years but I've seen enough of her on Facebook to trust her recommendations. I chose this book to start with because I could easily download it from the library website rather than waiting a week or so for a physical copy of another work to transfer in to my local library. I felt a little hesitation on her part when I said I had picked this book but she didn't actively dissuade me from reading it. She just warned me to make a list of the character names. Good thing because I couldn't even remember who was whom among the five main characters, much less the wives and servants. It was a losing battle from the get-go. To me, that signals a lack of good characterization. I have read books with much longer lists of characters and never even hesitated as to who they were (A Song of Ice and Fire is the immediate example.…

The Big Beautiful by Pamela Duncan: Book Review

Cassandra Moon, firmly in her 40s, is finally getting married. She's been taking care of others all her life and now she's looking forward to having someone else take care of her for a change. All she has to do is walk down the aisle and say "I do." So why does she find herself in her wedding dress, driving like a bat out of hell in the honeymoon limo and heading for the coast, still a single woman? She must be crazy. She ends up staying with her Aunt May and Uncle Walton in Salter Path, NC. She loved visiting there as a child and she's hoping to get some time to herself to figure out what she really wants. Everyone else is always telling her what she should want and she's tired of it. She just needs some downtime to get things straight in her own heart and mind. I have enjoyed all of Pamela Duncan's books but this one is my favorite. Cassandra first showed up in Moon Women. In my review of that book, I wrote, "Poor Cassandra. I wasn't entirely happy with her story, but there's a glimmer of hope for her. I'll have to dive into The Big Beautiful soon to see how she ends up." I am much happier with her story now. She does a lot of growing up and thinking and gets a stronger backbone. I want to start praising her to the skies but I don't want to spoil anything. Her development and her reactions all felt real and right. She has a great big heart and I think she finally starts to focus on her strengths and blessings rather than her shortcomings. I just love books where women make that journey successfully. The other characters in the book were…

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg

Dena Nordstrom is on the verge of making it big as a female newscaster in 1970s New York, but she’s not dealing well with the stress of the job and some unresolved issues from her past. This was enjoyable enough. My favorite parts featured the extended family living in Elmwood Springs, Missouri. I kept reading Aunt Elner’s speeches out loud to my husband. She just cracked me up! And I loved the little chapters that featured “Neighbor Dorothy’s” radio show. They sound so homey, cheerful and nice. If you find yourself reading this and enjoying these parts the best, pick up Standing in the Rainbow. That book is more about Neighbor Dorothy’s family. There were whole chunks of this book that could have been included in an essay entitled, “What’s Wrong with the News Industry Today.” I agreed with them, but they got preachy and old. The book sort of settled into stereotypes. The big city people were mean and money- and power-hungry. The small town people were friendly, neighborly, gossipy, and not all that bright. The one Southern lady didn’t seem to realize that the Civil War was over and could tell you your family’s history and Civil War genealogy based on your last name alone. The big secret felt a bit anti-climactic at first. Luckily, the author switched the point of view and showed exactly why the big secret was so terrible and so secret. So I did eventually understand. I can’t believe I missed how significant it was in the first place, to be perfectly honest. But I was definitely surprised when I found out what it was. The times, places, and points-of-view did shift pretty frequently, but everything was clearly labeled at the beginning of each chapter, so it was easy to keep up with. There…

Heartless by Gail Carriger: Book Review

**SPOILERS FOR SOULLESS, CHANGELESS, AND BLAMELESS** Alexia Maccon, nee Tarrabotti, is back in residence at Woolsey Castle. She's gloriously pregnant, not very happy with the way the infant-inconvenience is trying to slow her down, and firmly resolved to keep on with her daily business as usual. When a ghost appears to her and manages to gasp out a warning about a plot on the Queen's life, Alexia starts trying to stop events before they get out of hand. Alexia is back and how I do love her! I haven't reviewed Blameless because I was a little disappointed in it. Not that it wasn't good--it was--it just didn't live up to the incredibly high expectations I have for this series. With Heartless, I feel that we're back on track. What I really love about this series is the characters. They are all just so memorable! We're getting up to a pretty big cast now and I have no trouble keeping track of them. Of course soulless, pragmatic Alexia is far and away my favorite, but Lord Maccon, Lord Akeldama, Madame Lefoux, Floote, Biffy, Ivy--I just love them all. I sit reading, grinning like an idiot, with the occasional giggle (Zombie porcupines? Really?) and laughter (There's a new character at the end whom I just can't wait to see more of). This being a book about Alexia Maccon, the action is of course practically nonstop, if leaning a bit more toward waddling than striding. I would snatch it up every chance I got just to read a few more lines. The climax has to last 50 pages but it never flagged; it just kept getting better and better. By the time things wrapped up, I was delighted with how thoroughly Ms. Carriger had managed to shake up London's supernatural scene. Read this…

A Dash of Magic by Kathryn Littlewood: Book Review

**SPOILERS FOR THE 1ST IN THE SERIES, BLISS** Rosemary Bliss feels incredibly guilty; she lost her family's magical cookbook to her evil Aunt Lily and now everything in their hometown of Calamity Falls just feels drab. To make matters worse, Aunt Lily is everywhere Rose turns--on the TV, on the radio, and now on the grocery store shelves with Lily's Magic Ingredient. Something has to be done. Rose and her older brother Ty sneak onto the set of Lily's TV show, where Rose challenges Lily to a bake-off. Basically, whoever wins the prestigious Gala des Gâteaux Grands in Paris gets to keep the magical Bliss Family Cookery Booke. With an assortment of Bliss family members, talking animals, and magic ingredients, Rose flies off to Paris to do her best in the world-class competition. I still love this series! I hate to cook, but I have a sweet tooth that won't quit, so baking is right up my alley. The Bliss family are all so quirky and endearing that I just have to love them. Earnest Rose who feels more responsibility for everything than she should; charming Ty, trying to win over all the ladies; funny Sage with his microphone hoping to mine his conversations for hstandup comedy gold; and little bewitched Leigh, spouting off Lily's praises at every turn. They're funny and adorable and so loyal to each other. I just love them. The other characters are great too. Balthazar Bliss, a many-times-great grandfather, is roped in to help and he's cranky and funny. His talking cat, Gus, is delightfully sarcastic but comes through when he's needed. A talking mouse, Jacques, finds himself involved as well and discovers that his bravery is much bigger than his tiny body. They all add to the fun of this magical little book. The…

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill: Book Review

Victoria McQueen, known at different times as Vic or The Brat, inadvertently discovers she has a special gift when she's about ten years old. If she wants to find something badly enough, she can ride her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike across a rickety wooden covered bridge and find whatever she's looking for on the other side. The problem? The physical bridge was torn down; she's creating a new one with her mind. After finding a kidnapper and helping to put him behind bars in her teens, Vic's life spirals out of control. She thinks she's crazy so she starts drinking and doing drugs, with stints in mental hospitals and rehab. But she gets her act together quickly when she finds out that Charlie Manx, the kidnapper, is no longer in prison. I thought I would probably get to this point after reading his other work but with NOS4A2, it's official: I love Joe Hill. He is a helluva writer. I'll be reading his books as they come out. Well, I've been doing that since Horns, but I'll continue doing it. I was hooked from very early on. I wouldn't even say that the pacing is all that fast, but it is a very steady burn. There's a lot of back story and filling in the blanks but it's all just so intriguing that I kept plowing through. I haven't been reading particularly fast recently but I still managed to tear through all 680+ pages in about ten days. And that's including a long, busy weekend out of town. What really kept me turning the pages was the big heart at the center of the story. Vic's tough but she had a rough childhood and she's had a rougher adulthood. She pushes everyone around her away but that's because she loves…

Drawing Down the Moon: Book Review

Charles Vess's fantasy artwork has been collected in a beautiful volume. I love just about every piece of art in this book. The few that I don't like are probably the few that are science fiction. I am not at all knowledgeable about art so I can't write in any kind of meaningful way about it. I do know what I like and I most definitely like this. I tried hard to take my time poring over this book. I can flip way too fast through illustrated books, focusing too much on the words. I knew that Vess hides a lot of details in his work and it would be worth the time to look carefully at every page. It was. The vibrant colors, the classic fantasy elements with the occasional modern twist thrown in, this collection was all that I expected it to be and more. The problem is that now I want to add all of the books he's worked on to my wishlist! He's been a busy man! I already own quite a few of them because he tends to collaborate with authors I love in their own right, such as Charles de Lint and Neil Gaiman. I did not realize that Vess had worked on an illustrated edition of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series but now that I do, I feel the burning need to own it. Unfortunately, it was apparently a limited edition and is now pretty much unavailable or way beyond my means. Here's hoping for a wider release. Fans of fantasy art and/or writing will love this collection. It will be displayed proudly in my home. Find author Charles Vess on his website and Facebook. Buy Drawing Down the Moon at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I…

Apologies to My Censor by Mitch Moxley: Book Review

Mitch Moxley hits a personal low in his mid-twenties. His career is pretty much nonexistent and he's tired of the cold, gray Toronto winters. He starts looking for jobs overseas and stumbles on a job working for a state newspaper in China, the China Daily. He applies and lands himself a one year contract. He heads on over, knowing that he isn't really prepared for life in Communist China but not really understanding what that means. He has issues with censorship at the paper almost from the beginning and quickly gives up trying to change anything or doing any actual reporting. He makes some friends, offends some people, drinks a lot, and starts heading down that tired old expat path. Luckily, he does change directions. He finally goes into life in China with a bit of a Yes Man attitude and finds himself in some unbelievable situations. He watches all the buildup for the Olympics. He starts doing some serious reporting. Through it all, he slowly slides closer to the Chinese side on the Foreigner/Chinese scale. I like reading books about people who are brave enough to pack up and move away from everything they know, not just to another city, but to a whole different country. I can't even begin to imagine the culture shock, especially going from Canada to China. I have been disappointed a couple of times in other books when the author chooses to write about his or her experiences partying and drinking. That is not even remotely what I'm looking for when I pick up this kind of memoir. Mitch started down that path and I got worried but then he turned himself around and started writing about life in China, not life in bars. He started getting out and experiencing things that I can't…

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: Book Review

Jacob Portman grew up believing every word of his beloved grandfather's fantastic stories--the levitating girl, the invisible boy, the strong children. Grandpa Portman claimed to have grown up with them all in a special orphanage in Wales. As Jake grows older though, he realizes that the stories can't possibly be true. After Grandpa's shocking death, Jake has a hard time. He witnessed everything and he can't believe what he saw. He's either going crazy or the world is a scarier place than he realized. He feels that the answers to his questions lie back in that Welsh orphanage. He convinces his father to take him for a visit, and Jake finds much more than he expects. I loved this! It was so different and quirky. I feel pretty safe saying that if the cover and a quick flip through the pages entice you, you'll love it as well. The one thing that knocked my rating back a little is that it occasionally felt as if the weird old photographs were dragged in. They didn't always present anything that was necessary for the story, so it pulled me out of the flow a little bit. But mostly it worked very, very well. I liked Jake, but the peculiar children...I really liked them, especially Emma in the end. Their peculiar abilities were very cool to read about, especially after seeing their pictures. I really didn't have a clue where the plot was going so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. It took some very unexpected twists and turns and I have to say that I'm looking forward to the next installment. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes a taste of the inexplicable in their fiction. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy for review. The paperback…