Nancy

I love Maisie Dobbs!

Revisado: 11-21-20

I am a huge fan of Maisie Dobbs. She's intelligent, caring, and one smart investigator. The Maisie Dobbs books are always complicated enough for me to stay interested, and generally, I can never figure out who the culprit is. In this book, Maise is hired to find the daughter of a wealthy grocery magnate. It doesn't seem all that challenging until Maisie figures out that the missing daughter is also friends with three recently murdered women. That certainly adds a little drama to the case, which (spoiler alert) Maisie solves. I highly recommend this book, but start with the first book in the series, and you'll enjoy this second one more. I do think this story is best enjoyed on audible, but I suppose you could read it also, and while missing some of the dialect, you'd still get the gist of the story.

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Read it!

Revisado: 06-12-20

When I give a book five stars it means I LOVED the book. It may or may not fall into the category of amazing literature, but it kept me entertained or I found the information inside fascinating and/or helpful.

RECAP: Cussy Mary is known as the Bookwoman. She works for the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project delivering books, via pack mule, to the folks in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. The Library Project was part of President Theodore Roosevelt's “New Deal Works Progress Administration” which hired women (mostly) to deliver books in rural Appalachian Kentucky where the people did not have access to books. Cussy Mary is also blue. Believed to be the last of her kind, Cussy Mary has blue skin, and is treated like every other “colored” person in the region. There is a lot of sadness in this book, as with most books that deal with prejudice, but it’s an excellent story!

BLUSH FACTOR/LANGUAGE: There are a handful of times where expletives are used, and some discussion of sexually inappropriate behavior that was thrust upon Cussy Mary.

THE WRITING: Phenomenal. Very well researched and written.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? Stand-alone

AUDIBLE PRESENTATION: Excellent

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Well done. I don’t like the fact that I sometimes feel as though I could hate certain characters because I want to be able to love everyone, but let’s just say, I was appalled at some character’s behaviors. Whereas there were others I wish I could know personally.

BOTTOM LINE: Fantastic book with a great story line – read it!

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Another Great Gallagher Girls book!

Revisado: 03-27-20

When I give a book five stars it means I LOVED the book. It may or may not fall into the category of amazing literature, but it kept me entertained or I found the information inside fascinating and/or helpful.

RECAP: Gallagher Girl, Cammie Morgan wakes up in a convent, confused, scared, and very sore. She has no idea how she’s spent her summer vacation, but it doesn’t appear to have been much of a vacation. Her loyal friends and sister Gallagher girls (and her boyfriend) help her to regain her memory.

BLUSH FACTOR/LANGUAGE: None

THE WRITING: Ally Carter knows how to hold a reader’s attention.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? You COULD end the series with this book, but why would you when it’s so good and there’s only one book to go?

AUDIBLE PRESENTATION: Fantastic!

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Very well done.

BOTTOM LINE: I love this series. As I’ve said in other reviews of these books, they do get a little darker as they get further along so if you’re planning on buying them for an early teen, you might want to read them yourself first.

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Not for Me

Revisado: 03-09-20

One Star = I didn’t really like it at all, but I took the time to finish it. (I never rate books I don’t finish because that doesn’t seem fair.) It just might not be for me at this point in my life.

RECAP: I’m going to be totally honest and tell you that I was confused for about the first half of the book. It probably would have helped if I’d read through some Cliff notes before I started the book but seriously, if I have to do a lot of research to understand a book, it’s probably not a book for me. (Please don’t judge.) Anyway, as far as I could surmise, Odysseus, married to Penelope, left home to fight in the Trojan War. The story is of his 10-year struggle to return home after the war as he battles mystical creatures and the wrath of gods. While he is gone his son, Telemachus, grows into a young man and suitors come to try to get his wife to marry them. Telemachus helps stave off the suitors until Odysseus returns. I’m not sure it’s possible for me to spoil the ending for you, but I’ll leave it at this.

BLUSH FACTOR/LANGUAGE: There is talk of Odysseus and Penelope making love but nothing graphic is shared. There are plenty of gruesome descriptions of war, murder, and torture.

THE WRITING: I mean, who am I to dis Homer? The book isn’t a classic because it’s poorly written. The version I listened to was, of course a translation, but I felt it was done well.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? Let’s just say it didn’t leave me wanting to read The Iliad.

AUDIBLE PRESENTATION: The first couple of hours of the audio version are an explanation of the translating process by the author. It was fairly boring but somewhat valuable in helping me understand the book.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: There were lots of characters mentioned, and I did get somewhat confused but eventually had a good feeling for their personalities.

BOTTOM LINE: My grandchildren listened to Mary Pope Osborne’s Tales from the Odyssey and loved it. Maybe I should have stuck with that version.

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Continues to be a great series

Revisado: 01-16-20

For me, a four-star rating means I liked the book a lot. It was an enjoyable read but probably didn't keep me up at night waiting to see what happens next.

RECAP: This is the third book in the Gallagher Girls series. Cammie Morgan, the main character of the book is in Boston with Macey, her roommate and classmate from the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women (AKA spy school). Macey’s father is running for Vice President and while they’re in Boston there is a kidnapping attempt involving Macey, Cammie, and Preston (the President hopeful’s son). The rest of the book is wrapped up in uncovering who is trying to kidnap Macey and how can the Gallagher girls help protect her. In the first book of this series, Cammie is in middle school, now she’s 16 and the danger cranks up a bit.

BLUSH FACTOR/LANGUAGE: Normally, I wouldn’t even comment on this but since this book is designed for middle schoolers I’m throwing it in for all the parents trying to figure out if it’s an appropriate book for their pre- or early teen. There is some kissing in this book, and discussion on the hotness of certain male characters in the story. I’d let my middle schooler read it but I know some people are more conservative in that area than I am.

THE WRITING: As always, good writing.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? This book could definitely stand-alone but will be more enjoyable if you’ve read the first two books in the series and know the characters. It’s also left wide-open at the end for a sequel but I wouldn’t say it’ll leave you frustrated if you don’t read the next book.

AUDIBLE PRESENTATION: Outstanding. That’s probably my favorite part about these books is how well they are read on Audible.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Very good.

BOTTOM LINE: I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense fiction. The subject matter in this story revolves around attempted kidnapping of a young girl, one scene being quite vivid and potentially frightening. If you, or the person you’re thinking of buying this book for frightens easily, you might want to hold off for a bit.

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It's great!

Revisado: 11-29-19

My rating guidelines:
For me a four-star review means I liked the book a lot. Generally there doesn’t have to be something I disliked about it to dock it a star, it just means I thought it was great but not over the top fabulous.

RECAP: Let’s face it, families can be messy. And the family in this story is no different. Sophie is a chef and thus makes Thanksgiving for her family every year. Things change a lot in the course of three Thanksgivings, and this audible original makes a great story out of all the drama. The listener will find his/herself laughing hysterically and crying equally has hard.

BLUSH FACTOR: There is talk of sex, but nothing explicit. There are a few swear words. Think of an episode of Friends and you’ll find this story quite equal in the appropriateness category.

THE WRITING: If I laugh out loud, it’s a well written book.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? Stand-alone.

AUDIBLE PRESENTATION: Excellent.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Excellent.

BOTTOM LINE: I found this story delightful, humorous, and touching. I highly recommend it.

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It'll make you laugh and make you cry

Revisado: 11-29-19

For me a five star review means I LOVED the book. It might not fall into the category of amazing literature, but it kept me entertained or I found the information inside fascinating and/or helpful.

RECAP: I couldn’t bring myself to see the movie Wonder when it came out. It looked too sad. But, when it was on sale on audible, I decided to take a chance. I’m so glad I did. Yes, I did cry, but there were parts where I also laughed out loud. Wonder is the story of a boy who was born with a severely deformed face. Auggie has been home-schooled for much of his life because of needing frequent surgeries and intense medical care, but by the 5th grade he’s finally able to go to school. And, as you can imagine, there’s no better time for a kid who looks different from the other kids to enter school than when he’s in 5th grade - NOT! Auggie is a brave kid and meets a few other kids who are brave just for befriending him while the bullies are trying to knock him down.

BLUSH FACTOR: It’s a book for middle school kids. There might be a couple of swear words, but I wouldn’t hesitate to let my kids read it. In fact, there’s so much to learn in this book, about being kind, I’d encourage every kid in the world to read it.

THE WRITING: Well done.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? R. J. Palacio has written subsequent books that focus on Auggie but Wonder is a stand-alone book.

AUDIBLE PRESENTATION: Excellent. It’s one of those presentations that leaves you wondering if would even be as good if you just read it in the paper version.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: I guess when you’re reading a book and there are kids you’d like to punch (though I never would), and kids you’d like to hug, high five, and shower with praise, it means that the character development was quite good.

BOTTOM LINE: Don’t hesitate to read this book. It will challenge you, encourage you, and fill you with warm fuzzies.

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Not what I expect from Debbie Macomber

Revisado: 11-17-19

Three Stars = I liked it but wouldn’t read it again.

RECAP: Lindsay Snyder has spent her whole life in the south. But when she and a friend decide they need to get out of town for a few days they determine that a road trip to North Dakota would be perfect. Lindsay’s grandparents were from Buffalo Valley, North Dakota and Lindsay has visited there when her grandparents were still alive. While she’s there she hears about a teaching position that has opened up in Buffalo Valley. Lindsay makes a commitment to teach in North Dakota for one year, which will give her just enough time to get over the man she’s been dating. There are lots of new friends to be made in Buffalo Valley but will the small town accept an outsider into their fold?

BLUSH FACTOR: I have always felt safe in choosing a Debbie Macomber book because every one I’ve read up until now hasn’t contained descriptive sex scenes or bad language. While this book is probably considered tame by many people’s standards, I was disappointed to find that this book didn’t follow the same standard of decency I’ve come to expect in Debbie’s books.

THE WRITING: Excellent! Good character development. I felt like I had a good feel for all the people living in Buffalo Valley.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? – Though this book is part of a series it doesn't leave you hanging. You can stop after one book.

BOTTOM LINE: I can’t recommend it. The story line is good, but like I said, I’m not a fan of the sex and language in the book.

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Great Middle School Read

Revisado: 09-12-19

Cammie Morgan goes to the Gallagher Academy for exceptional young women. IT’s your typical boarding school, except it’s where girls go for spy training. This book is geared towards middle school readers but every now and again an adult could just use a fun, light read, that’ll make her laugh. At some points in this book I felt like I was listening in to a group of 15-year-old girls and their typical angst which, when it’s not you or your daughter, is pretty funny to listen to. In “I’d Tell You That I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You” Cammie meets a “townie,” a boy that lives in the nearby town of Roseville. He’s her first crush and she uses her sleuth skills to sneak out of the boarding house (also referred to as a mansion) to see him, forgetting that her mother, who also happens to be trained as a spy and is the head master at the school, has some pretty amazing sleuthing skills of her own.

BLUSH FACTOR: There is discussion of “getting to second base” and kissing, etc. but I’d let my daughter read it (if I happened to have a middle-school aged daughter), perhaps with a discussion of appropriate behavior and what it means to get to second base.

THE WRITING: This is the second Gallagher Girl book I’ve listened to and I found it to be well-written. Ally Carter captures the essence of teenage behavior well and like I said, I found the book extremely humorous. This book is written from Cammie’s perspective.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING: Though this book is part of a series, it has a solid ending.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Well done.

NARRATOR OF THE AUDIBLE VERSION: Very well done. The narrator sounds like a teenage girl except when an adult voice is needed.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

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Pleasantly surprised

Revisado: 11-09-18

I was leery to buy this audio presentation because I don't like stories with a lot of language, and well, Billy Crystal. (Sorry, Billy.) And, there were a few words I wish had been left out, but it wasn't excessive and the story line was delightful. It was funny, thought-provoking, and even had an awesome message. I very much enjoyed it and will listen again.

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