Keppy

Disappointed

Revisado: 10-06-16

I have loved Kubica's other books, but this one just did not keep me interested. I have revisited this book about 4x to finish it, but I just don't care enough about the characters to be riveted to my seat until I find out what happens.

The writing is well done, and the narrators did a decent job, it's merely my interest level in the content.

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Not what I was expecting

Revisado: 10-06-16

I was expecting more of a story and less of a case study. This was like someone reading a newspaper article to you. It wasn't bad, just not what I expected.
The writing was good and the story was interesting. The narrator had a nice voice.

This book was given to me for free by Audioboom!

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Not bad

Revisado: 09-11-16

"And yet, Jencey understood, there were the things she wished were true, and there was what was actually true. She was learning that there was usually a great distance between the two."

Sycamore Glen, North Carolina is a small town and as in every small town, everyone thinks they know everyone else’s business. The book opens as the citizens of the town are lined up outside the city pool waiting for the gate to open for the first swimming day of the year. The entrance is covered by a giant spider web, which is symbolic of the web of lies that are woven throughout the community. And just as the spider web is torn apart and swept away, by the end of the summer, every character’s secrets will be destroyed and exposed.

As this book is full of secrets, I am not going to touch on the plot much, so as to avoid spoilers. This book was enjoyable, but it was nothing spectacular. My main complaint was probably the names of the characters. They were just a little too “soap opera” for me: Jencey, Bryte, Zell, Cailey, Lane, etc. The fact that nearly every single person in the book had some “boutique” name made the whole book less believable in my opinion.

The other main complaint I had involved one of the subplots, involving a creepy old man who lived in the neighborhood. In the end, his role in the book was actually a pretty major thing, but this entire subplot was not given near the attention I think it should have been.

During this opening day at the pool, an accident happens that pulls all the main characters together. This was done much like an ensemble cast movie, such as Magnolia, Love, Actually, Crash, 21 Grams, or Playing by Heart, where multiple seemingly unconncected storylines converge. This is my favorite type of movie, and although I normally love books like this, too, this one just didn’t do it for me. Maybe the author tried too hard to pull it off, and made a few too many storylines to deal with, I’m just not sure.

I would recommend this to readers of chick-lit, and to those who love multiple storylines. In a review on Goodreads, a reviewer said this book reminded her of books written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, and I agree wholeheartedly, though I tend to think Hyde’s books are a little stronger than this novel.

⚔️ KNIVES’ RATING REPORT
Plot ♥♥♥
Characters ♥♥♥
Writing ♥♥♥
Pacing ♥♥
Cover ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥
As I agree this book reads like a Catherine Ryan Hyde book, here are a few of my favorites by her:

Pay it Forward
When I Found You
Take Me With You
Walk Me Home

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So-So...

Revisado: 09-07-16

MEDIUM: eBook
MY RATING: 3/5
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published August 23, 2016 by Dutton
While living in her married boyfriend’s condo in the old Barbizon Hotel, Rose Lewin hears some gossip regarding a tenant who still lives on the 4th floor, Darby McLaughlin. Darby has lived in the Barbizon since the 1950s when it was a haven for women who were preparing to enter society life, either by learning a job skill (secretarial) or by meeting a man to marry. Rose learns that Darby was somehow responsible for the death of a hotel maid named Esme, and during that event Darby’s face was brutally cut, leaving a horrible scar that she covers with a veil at all times.

The book flips back and forth between 2016 and the 1950s. Most of the time, this format works out well and adds a nice layer of interest to a story. In this particular book, though, it all seems so disjointed and unnecessary. Actually, the present day storyline is rather arbitrary, bordering on uninteresting. I enjoyed the 1950s thread more, but even it was tenuous and strained at times. The two threads just didn’t flow together very well, in my opinion. I’m not sure in the real world that Rose would have cared enough about this story to devote so much time and effort to investigate it, especially when her editor wasn’t thrilled about the story, expressing it wasn’t interesting enough to publish. Which is pretty much exactly what I think about this whole story – somewhat interesting, but just not enough to make a whole book about it.

Another reason I had a tough time with this book is because I could not connect with any of the characters. Rose was not especially well rounded or absorbing enough to really truly care whether she succeeded in her quest for answers or not. Young Darby was mildly entertaining but needed to get a backbone and start thinking for herself – though maybe this was an intentional character trait to highlight the mindset of most young women in the 1950s, leaving most of the “thinking” to men… I just don’t know. Esme was the most interesting person in the novel, yet even she was a rather flat, predictable character.

What I did find quite interesting was the history of the hotel. The Barbizon was a real hotel, and the building still exists with most of the rooms having been converted into condos. The Ford modeling agency really did house its girls there, as did Katherine Gibbs College. In fact, many famous women lived there throughout the hotel’s heyday: Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Candice Bergen, Cybill Shepard, Liza Minelli, Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale, Joan Didion, Rita Hayworth, Sylvia Plath, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, and Cloris Leachman!

Long story short, this wasn’t a winner in my opinion. It didn’t hold my interest, and as a result, I can’t really recommend it with much confidence.

This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

More historical fiction books:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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Another hit by Shusterman

Revisado: 09-06-16

Bruiser tells the story of a 15 year old boy named Brewster “Bruiser” Rawlins, who is a loner, and has no friends. The kids at school bully him, even giving him the title “The Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty”. But there is a very real reason why Bruiser can’t make friends, when he cares about someone, mysterious things begin to happen.

Brontë and Tennyson are twins who attend school with Bruiser. (They are children of Literature professors, as if that wasn’t obvious enough already). Brontë begins dating Bruiser, and at first Tennyson is adamantly against the two of them hooking up, but after getting to know Bruiser a bit, he changes his mind

There is a unique paranormal aspect to this novel, and Shusterman pulls it off nicely. I can’t really share much about it without risking spoilers, but Bruiser has a unique ability that is a mixed blessing to both him, and those he cares about. As the mystery becomes revealed, the reader is drawn in, and can’t help but feel both compassion and sympathy for all effected.

I recommend this book to anyone who reads YA Fiction, and even to those readers who usually only read adult fiction, as the book is not overly simplified for a younger audience.

This is the fourth book I have read by Neal Shusterman. I have read two books in the Unwind Dystology, as well as the first book in the Skinjacker Series. To me, his writing is witty, sharp, and entertaining. His characters are always sassy, and I love that.

More great books by Neal Shusterman:

Unwind Series
Everlost: Skinjacker Series

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Not unlike other TEOTWAWKI books

Revisado: 09-06-16

This was a typical “TEOTWAWKI” (The End Of The World As We Know It) book. The story involves John and Laura Monroe who are traveling by train when an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) takes place wiping out all electronics and basically sending the world centuries back into the middle ages. This concept is not new, and unfortunately, Hawk did not add anything original or exciting to this genre which is bursting at the seems these days, it seems.

The audiobook was narrated by Kevin Pierce, and as he narrates a large portion of the “end of the world” genre novels, it made this book kind somewhat indistinguishable from all the others that he narrates. His voice is very nice, though, I will definitely admit that. But after listening to more than a couple “end of the world” books narrated by the same narrator, they all start to run together in my head.

I recommend this to anyone who likes books in the “TEOTWAWKI” or “SHTF” (Sh*t Hits The Fan) genre.

This book was given to me for free by Audioboom in exchange for an honest review.

There are a ton of EMP, SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, and prepper-type books out there, but in my opinion, only one REALLY needs to be recommended:

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

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Love time travel

Revisado: 09-06-16

I am a sucker for time travel books, so I especially loved this one. Lynne McBriar acquires a 1937 vintage camper trailer from an elderly neighbor she has befriended. When she takes the trailer out for an overnight something unexpected happens – she wakes up to a day in the 1960s! She chalks this up to some weird dream or imagination until it happens again after she has begun renovation on the trailer and ends up in an even earlier decade.

The plot is simple and the book is an amazingly quick read (or listen, as I listened to the audiobook). Lynne and her daughter uncover some clues about the elderly neighbor along the way, and help to solve a little mystery regarding him.

This isn’t great literature, and it honestly isn’t even particularly original, but that doesn’t even matter to me because I really loved it, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel!!

Highly recommended for anyone who wants a simple beach read, or just loves time travel books like I do!

The narrator, Valerie Gilbert does a fantastic job with this audiobook, too.

I received this audiobook from Audiobookboom in exchange for an honest review.

More books involving time-travel:

11/22/63 by Stephen King
Doomsday Book: Oxford Time Travel Series by Connie Willis
Time and Again: Time Series by Jack Finney
Timebound: The Chronos Files Series by Rysa Walker
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Just One Damned Thing After Another: The Chronicle’s of St. Mary’s Series by Jodi Taylor
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
A Discovery of Witches: The Allsouls Triology by Deborah Harkness
Off To Be the Wizard: Magic 2.0 Series by Scott Meyer
Passage by Connie Willis

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Should be required for middle schoolers

Revisado: 09-06-16

George is a 4th grade student who knows deep inside she’s really a girl. The story revolves around this during a school play the class is going to perform of Charlotte’s Web, in which George wants to play Charlotte, but is unable to because she’s a boy. But her best friend Kelly has a plan!! Will it work, or will George be disappointed once again?

This book was amazing. It should pretty much be required reading for all kids in grade school at some point, in my opinion.

The transformation from George through the story is beautiful. The struggles and fear that she faces as she tries so gather courage to let others know about her true self are honest and real.

The audible version is narrated by Jamie Clayton, who is transgendered, and this adds a wonderful level of authenticity to the story.

This genre is still pretty new, and books are coming out all the time, but one excellent non-fiction book you should checkout about raising a transgendered child is:

Raising My Rainbow by Lori Duran

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A Little Slow...

Revisado: 08-19-16

MEDIUM: Audiobook

READ BY: Jake Urry

MY RATING: 2.5/5

Published March 3, 2015 by CreateSpace

This is a novella about the very wealthy aging Lord Alfred Willoughby, who is displeased with his son, Matthew. As a result, he has decided to make some changes to his will. Instead of the usual documents, though, Willoughby leaves behind a self-recorded film explaining how he has prearranged a sort of scavenger for his son and his lawyer to play against each other. The one who finds the hidden item first will gain the inheritance.

As with most mystery stories, I cannot give much more plot information without spoiling anything. There are a couple of great twists at the end, though, that I did not see coming at all!

I found this book to be sort of slow. I finished the story, as it wasn’t very long, but the characters and the action were both somewhat flat. I listened to the audiobook version of this, and although it is only approximately four hours long, it took me a few days to get through it, partially because Jake Urry’s voice is very relaxing and when I listened at night I fell asleep quickly.

Readers who like classic, traditional mystery stories may enjoy this more than I did, though the twist at the end did just about make up for the monotony in the rest of the book.

Like reading about people changing their will without telling anyone? (Sorry, I had trouble coming up with more than one of these lol).

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

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Ok, but nothing earth shattering

Revisado: 07-08-16

Sixteen year old Finn has chosen the educational track to become an Enforcer, which in the walled off dystopian society he lives is a sort of policeman of the community – an enforcer of the law. Enforcers are always on the lookout for “agitators”, who the governing bodies consider to be threatening to the status quo. Problems arise when Finn realizes that he might not want to be an Enforcer after all.

Many Native American legends are intertwined in this novel, centering on nature, animals, and the whole concept of the way people and nature work together.

I was not a big fan of this book, because I could not really relate to the main character, and the telepathy between humans and animals seemed strange to me. It was an interesting concept, and I think someone who loves the paranormal dystopian genre would really like it.

Zachary Johnson did a great job narrating. His voice was perfect for Finn, and I would listen to other audiobooks that he narrates.

This audiobook was given to me for free from Audioboom in exchange for an honest review.

Here are some more books involving telephathy between animals and humans:

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness
Dead Until Dark: The Sookie Steakhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
Assassin’s Apprentice: The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

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