Review: This Much Country

This Much Country by Kristin Knight Pace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The author is a hell of a woman. She grew up going to outdoor camps, and made a pretty big mistake when she ran off right out of high school to marry an older man in Montana. When they divorced, her heart was broken, but by then she knew even more about living on her own in the mountains. She decides to "run away" to Alaska, and falls in love with everything about it--being alone, the close friendships with neighbors, the scenery, and the sled dogs. I love a great sled dog memoir, and this is a good one. She's so independent and falls in love hard, which I admire since I don't. Loved reading about her relationships with the dogs, too. Read this in print instead of the audio.

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Review: The Chelsea Girls

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I kept thinking I had read this before, but I searched lists of books set in the famous NYC hotel and none of the titles looked familiar. Hmm.

Anyway, this novel tells the tale of two women who befriend each other overseas in WWII as they are performing for the troops. One ends up a playwright, the other a famous movie/tv star. Their friendship is troubled, of course, and the whole Red Scare/Hollywood thing is involved.

I didn't connect to the Maxine at all, but maybe we're supposed to hate her? And even Hazel ticked me off because I didn't think she would fall for Charlie.

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Review: Hollow Kingdom

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hilarious apocalyptic adult novel, told from the point of view of the animals who exist while the humans run around eating each other.

ST, or Shit Turd, is the usual narrator and he's crow who is in love with the MoFos (humans). His expert human watching helps him exist after the end of the world, and he bands together with other critters, like Those Who Open Doors, to rescue those animals who are trapped in MoFo houses.

I laughed and cried and giggled--this book is so punny! Very clever phrasing all over the place. Every once in a while there is a chapter told from the POV of a Scottish cow or snotty poodle and those just worked perfectly.

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Review: The Dragon Republic

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I stopped on page 311. I do love Rin, but this book was so freaking long and I felt like the plot wasn't going anywhere. I didn't want to read to page 658.

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Review: Never Have I Ever

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book lasted forever and was full of the suburban mom intrigue that I just didn't care about.

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Review: John Dies at the End

John Dies at the End by David Wong
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I stopped on page 79. Just not in the mood for this type of book, although I would have loved it when I was younger.

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Review: Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday

Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday by Natalie C. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tons of action--this reads like a spy movie, with a teen Somalian boy as the main character. Abdi has been coerced into infiltrating a Somalian gang's crew so that he can pass information to the Americans. Plenty of blurred lines about who is "good" and "evil" in this novel, which is probably (?) what it is like in the war-torn African countries. Will teens stick with the back-and-forth chapters? (I know had teens who hated those.) Or will the length scare them? If not, I think they will enjoy this roller coaster of a ride.

The author is writing outside her comfort zone (she's never been to Mogadishu, Somalia), so I'm glad she admits that in her author's note. But I won't fault an author for writing outside of her world--that's how many stories get told. And she has worked with refugees for years, so this books makes sense.

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Review: Mistress of the Ritz

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love historical novels like this where I feel like I really learned something cool about history. I had no idea that the Ritz manager and his American wife both helped the Allies during the French occupation of WWII. Love the Paris setting (of course) and the ups and downs of their marriage.

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Review: All the Bad Apples

All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a sucker for magical realism and books set in Ireland, so this is a win-win for me! Chapters switch back and forth between Deena's contemporary life (well, 2012, which is contemporary enough), and various years in her family history. Her family seems to be cursed with women who are "bad apples" and she is determined to break the curse with the help of her two older sisters. Lots of unreliable narration and twists and turns. And banshees! Road trips, mysteries, a healthy dose of feminism, women's rights, and trying to separate Church and schools in Ireland--a lot packed into this little book, but I loved it. And her The Accident Season.

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Review: Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football

Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football by John Urschel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Love how his mother knew what she was doing with all those puzzles and mindgames they played together when he was little! The chapters rotate--one about football and one about math, and it's freaky how compartmentalized he kept each important part of his life. I still find it hard to believe how long he played football, knowing how dangerous it was to his brain--his bout with the concussion proved that.

One thing that irked me with the audio, which was otherwise outstanding--the pronunciation of the home of WIU--Macomb, not MAYcomb.

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