Review: What the Night Sings

What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Loved reading this fictional account of what life was life after the surviving the concentration camps for teenagers. Young Gerta was being trained to become an opera singer before the war, but now she just plays her father's viola. She's floundering like so many of the survivors--what do you do when you have no family left? What do you do when you return to your hometown in Poland only to be spit on and beaten up?

Ugh...the hatred for the Jewish people worldwide during/after the Holocaust is sickening. I can just hear German people saying "fake news!" and "I didn't know what those camps were like!" and "it's not our fault!" just like all the Trump supporters are saying now about "those brown job stealers." Ugh. Compassion, folks. Get some. And give books like this to kids before they are hardened like their parents.

This is more of a lower YA book--there's violence, periods, and making out, but not much else.

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Review: Grey Sister

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't like this as much as Red Sister, the first book in the series. I was never in a rush to read it--I kept putting the book down, watching Netflix, and finding other things to do with my time. The kickass female character is still here, along with her kickass nun friends that are trying to save the world and rescue the shipheart, but I wasn't as vested in this title. I think I'm finished with this series for now.

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Review: Then She Was Gone

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had to finish this audiobook (great production and narration) because I was hoping for a spoiler or something at the end, but no luck. This isn't a psychological thriller or much of a mystery--I wish it weren't marketed as such. It's really more of a family drama about mourning and mother/daughter relationships and trust. The police were noticably (and unbelievably) missing in most of this book, and there were several plot holes that I had a hard time with. But I feel like I know Laurel, the mother and main character, very well. I understand her loss about when her smart daughter Ellie never came home, and I understand how her sister was always in the shadow of her missing sister. But, really, readers find out the "mystery" very early on, so that's why I think this book is mis-marketed with the wrong cover.

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Review: The Music Shop

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a love story to vinyl, so music freaks will enjoy it. Frank refuses to stock CDs or cassette tapes because nothing is better than vinyl. With hints of magical realism, Frank can look at a person and recommend the perfect record to help him or her out, but he can't manage to work that magic on himself when his own life goes downhill. The mysterious woman with an accent is the love of his life, but he is just darn frustrating with her. All works out in the end--this is quite the cozy story.

However, I had some issues with the audio version. The narrators voice sounds a bit shadowy at times, and Aretha should never, ever sound like a country music singer. The low voice was almost too low--it vibrated a bit in my car at times. On Disk 2, Track 11 at 0:47 there was a skip. On Disk 3, Track 5 at 1:00 there was an unusual loud stress on "DAMPening with water" that sounded odd. On Disk 6, Track 11, there was a skip at 2:04.

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Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Too many characters and too many twists and turns--you need sticky notes and a spreadsheet to keep it all straight. In the meantime, you don't care enough about the characters to even care about who killed Evelyn Hardcastle.

If you like complicated mysteries or the closed house/creepy manor mysteries, this is for you.

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Review: How to American: A Narcissistic Memoir Disguised as an Immigrant Story

How to American: A Narcissistic Memoir Disguised as an Immigrant Story by Jimmy O. Yang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've never heard of this guy, but I enjoyed his autobiography of his young life (he's only 30 or so now). Raised in Hong Kong, his parents moved the family to L.A. for better colleges and all the good stuff America offers. Jimmy did what his parents wanted and got that economics degree, but then decided to chase the American dream and become a comic. I've never seen his HBO show Silicon Valley, I've never been a fan of stand-up comedy (I don't find about 99% of them funny), I've never seen That Patriot or Crazy Rich Asians. But, hey, I still enjoyed his immigrant story.

He did work as a DJ at a strip club (I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I know someone locally who had this same job).

He narrated his own audiobook really well--I felt like he was standing up on stage the whole time. Disk 2 of my audiobook didn't play in my car, but luckily I had the digital download of the book, too, so I switched to it.

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Review: Turning Pages: My Life Story

Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonia Sotomayor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What???? I had no idea that Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayer is a Type I diabetic! This children's autobiography is a librarian's dream and a love story about books. What can you grow up to be? Anything if you love to read! But then I feel bad for all the kids who don't go to story time at the local public library. This is illustrated by a Pura Belpre honoree--wonder if this will see some honors/award action in January 2019?

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Review: The Wall in the Middle of the Book

The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can hear kids screaming, "Watch out! The water is rising!" and "Watch out! The big fish is coming!"

This is a great interactive "meta" book (like my childhood fave The Monster at the End of this Book) in which a knight thinks he's on the "safe" side of the wall in the middle of the book, but maybe he isn't? Could lead to a discussion about perceptions and risk taking for older kids. I don't read many picture books, but this ARC reminded me of This is Not My Hat.

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Review: Greener Grass

Greener Grass by Caroline Pignat
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'll read anything about Ireland, but this just wasn't that great. Several leaps of faith (and plot) that didn't fit with the rest of the storyline. Decent enough historical fiction that shows young readers what the potato famine was like, and the desperation that went along with it.

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Review: Belle Epoque

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've had this autographed Morris Honor winner sitting on my home bookshelves for years and realized that I never read it! Since I'm going to Paris later this year, I decided that I should read some novels set there to learn more about the city. I was thrilled to see the author's note at the end because this book did seem familiar--I have a feeling I read Emile Zola's short story about this agency for ugly and plain girls years ago. What a concept, eh? But it sounds like something the rich would do.

This wasn't the best written book, but she created a good enough 1880s French world that was easy to escape to.

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