Review: The Other Woman

The Other Woman by Daniel Silva
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm so glad he has an author's note at the end to let me know what's real and what isn't in the book, because, seriously, reading this genre makes me question everything in politics and international relations. But, I guess I question everything I see online, too, so what's the difference?

My favorite Israeli spy is back when foreign spies start dropping like flies, and he gets accused of assassinating them. He didn't, but now he has to find out who did. There is a tangled web of Brits, Americans, Russians, and Israelis in this one, and I love how they all can quickly travel around the world in borrowed jets and zip through passport control. In my next life, I will be in the CIA. Or at least a librarian with security clearance.

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Review: Wildcard

Wildcard by Marie Lu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not as good as Warcross to me, but still a good followup to the continuing saga of Emika Chen and her complicated relationships with Hideo, the developer of the game Warcross, his younger evil brother Zero, and her gaming team. I felt like I had to keep having things explained to me while I read this because it was a bit convoluted. But it was a satisfying ending, which is always nice to have in YA scifi/fantasy.

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Review: Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp

Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp by Mary Cronk Farrell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love reading nonfiction about things I never learned about in school. I was a history minor in college and took a lot of military classes--I never knew that some American nurses were POWs in WWII in the Pacific. Loved the details about some of the women in the book--you see them in pictures, hear their stories, and grow concerned about whether or not they make it. The description of the Coming Home after the war fascinated me--hard to be a happy homemaker when you ate almost nothing for three years and saw war and devastation. PTSD was prevalent, but the government giving them reparations for being a POW were not. Fascinating stuff. These were tough women and set the tone for future war nurses in Korea and Vietnam.

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Review: Junkyard Dogs

Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Walt Longmire is the perfect Sunday read for me. Short, action-packed, and funny. I need to meet a Walt in my real life, please.

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Review: The Orphan's Tale

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to stop reading these popular adult books that are reviewed well on Goodreads because I just don't agree. The writing of this book was horrible--the voices of Astrid and Noa were not distinct at all. Luckily each chapter has their name on it so readers can tell.

Was it a fast, easy read? Yes. Did it have some major holes in the plot? Yes.

I won't read any more by this author, since I didn't like another by her either. This is very simplistic historical fiction--not literary at all.

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Review: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You know it's good when the credits start rolling from the audiobook and you say "What the f***?" in your car. Really loudly.

Does it seem like Hank wrote some of this based on his twitter fame? Yeppers. But I don't care.

April May makes youtube history when she discovers a statue she calls Carl in the middle of NYC. Turns out she was the first to make world history, since Carl is one of many Carls dropped in cities worldwide from some alien universe. Lots of messages her about viral posts and social media, but I enjoyed seeing those as I learned more about April May, her friends, family, lovers, and some other civilization.

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Review: Follow the River

Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Somewhere I read that this was a great example of good historical fiction so I had to give it a try. I read tons of historical fiction growing up, so I'm not sure if this is re-read or not, but it didn't seem familiar. I've read plenty of captivity narratives, including Mary Rowlandson in a college class, and Lois Lenski's Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jamison growing up. I remember owning the book club version of White Captives by Evelyn Sibley Lampman and reading it over and over when I was a kid. More recently, I read Paulette Jiles' News of the World.

But it's difficult to read a 1981 book through my 2018 eyes. It's just so "whites are awesome!" and full of Indian bashing. The main character, Mary, the woman who is taken captive, fantasizes unrealistically about her husband and kidnapper sexually, and it just seems out of place. Yes, this women walked for hundreds of miles along rivers (I'm not sure why she didn't just save time and walk EAST?) I know the novel is based on her captivity story written by her ancestors but it just feels awkward. The best bits are when she is actually traveling the river and climbing the cliffs, but it does get monotonous. The author explored the same area himself, and you can tell because the writing is very descriptive.

The dialect is written as said back then, and thankfully there isn't much of it, because it's difficult to read.

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Review: Hey, Kiddo

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lots of cuss words in this one, so fair warning, schools. Buy it anyway, but watch who you check it out to? ;)

I love the Lunch Lady graphic novels for kids, and had no idea about the background of the author/illustrator. He didn't have the best childhood, and you'll find out. Raised by his grandparents, who had their own problems, and teased because he wasn't athletic, Krosoczka drew all the time. Thankfully his grandparents paid for him to take art classes, and it really saved his life. Art saves, people!

This memoir is fairly dark--all that info is in the subtitle (How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction), but the art is exquisite. Love how he explained what he did with it at the end, too, and the "real things" that he included. It's amazing how many steps these illustrators go through--actual drawing, computer stuff, then drawing again. Crazy.

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Review: Ordinary Grace

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don't like mysteries when I know who did it very early and then have to finish the novel to make sure I'm right. That's the way this one was--the foreshadowing was very clear, which made it a slower read. I did love the setting--small town Minnesota, and the time period, 1961. The book just read odd--way too many people died in this small town during one summer, and the police force was basically non-existent. It was trying to be a Harper Lee-like novel, but didn't quite get there for me.



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Review: A Borrowing of Bones

A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is perfect for those of you who like feel-good mysteries. Can't go wrong with a war dog from Afghanistan and his reluctant new owner who loved his handler!

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Review: Artificial Condition

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How in the world can a SecUnit grab my attention like this? Love this series, and I'm not a huge scifi fan (but I see you, Firefly). I love the novella length and that fact that I can sit down for a bit and read these in one seating. Off to interlibrary loan Book #3!

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Review: Someone Like Me

Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

wtf did I just read? I've read thousands of book so I appreciate a plot I haven't read before! This thriller novel focuses on two characters who see the same psychiatrist. Liz, a good mom of two kids, has a mental break when her ex-husband beats her one too many times. Fran is a teenager dealing with psychotic episodes because she was kidnapped as a child and held in a gross motel room by a mentally challenged monster. Both are suffering from some mental illness--something like multiple personality disorder or hallucinations. Liz is fighting with her alter-ego Beth who doesn't put up with crap from the ex. Fran has a noble imaginary fox following her around to protect her from the bad guys. Their stories intertwine when Fran becomes friends with Liz's son. And, whoa, you'll be on the edge of your seat when these two characters do battle with themselves? their others? It's complicated. And there's a Abenaki Indian/skadegamutc element to the story, which fits with the Pittsburg setting.

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Review: The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's been so long since I've read and loved a fairy book! Of course, it's Holly Black who brings me back to the fey. Jude is human, but thanks to horrific circumstances, she lives in the Court of Faerie. She makes the best of her situation--learning to fight, learning family histories, and using her ability to lie to her advantage. LOTS of backstabbing and horrible things happen, like always with the fairies, and I loved it! Can't wait to read Book #2.

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Review: The House of Broken Angels

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not even quite sure of the plot of this one, but the narration was fantastic. This guy can TALK. He's the kind of narrator that you want to whisper in your ear as you're falling asleep. The book is literary, so there is a lot of telling instead of action, but the family is preparing for a funeral/death, so it's not the most exciting plot out there. But, whoa, you will want to listen to this one. The narrator manages the Spanish, metal music voice (hilarious!), and even a parrot!

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Review: Dread Nation

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alternative history post-Civil War with zombies? Yes! This was just the kind of genre-bender I love--enough historical fiction to make me happy, with a bit of a current day political theme going on, too.

Jane goes to private ladies school for African-American girls to be trained as Attendants--fighters who protect their white ladies from zombie (and men!) attackers. When she crosses the wrong person, she's sent out West to a settlement where religious extremists are in control, and everything goes to shit.

Can't wait to read Book #2!

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