It’s book review time! For all your book lovers out there, this post is for you! If reading isn’t your thing and you’re into traveling instead, I’ve got a “how to pack for a ski trip” post coming up on Monday. 🙂
This month I finished 8 books. I’m surprised I was able to get so many in, but several of them were super quick reads, plus I had time to kill while sitting on jury duty (spoiler alert…more time is spent out of the court room than in it! #wastedtime #ourjusticesystemisslow
I read two biographies, a number of fiction books and I even had time to squeeze in an apocalyptic style novel. My number one favorite was an easy pick. Take a look at my February book review.
Handmaids Tale by: Margaret Atwood
Honestly this book was pure torture for me to read! I know it is supposed to be SO good…a classic…yes, yes, I know I was supposed to love it and feel moved and feel outraged. But really I only felt angry that I wasted my time with this drivel. The story jumps right and seems to make an assumption that you know what led to this new, sad world where women are thought so little of and treated so cruelly. It’s only through snippets that you figure out what happened. I never felt connected to any of the women and was just annoyed that my month got started off with such a dud. ZERO stars.
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by: Bryn Greenwood
Now this was a good book. It’s going to make you feel stuff. Possibly pity, probably warm fuzzies and most certainly anger. The main character, Wavy, is the daughter of a meth dealer. Her mother is checked out most of the time. As a young girl (like 8 years old) she makes friends with a much older man (like 18 years old). They come to rely on each other and things happen as they age. Controversial things. Things you could argue for and against. This book is not black and white and for that reason (if even I disagreed with some of the choices made), I give it 4 1/2 stars. This would make a great book club read.
Magic Hour by: Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah is the author of The Great Alone…a book a named one of my favorites from 2018. This time she tackles a feral girl who seemingly shows up out of nowhere out of the Olympic National Forest. She doesn’t speak and offers no clue as to her identity. A renowned child psychiatrist steps in to try and muddle through the mystery. I’m giving this one 3 1/2 stars. Mostly because when I went to write this review I couldn’t even remember what this book was about! Once I looked it up I did recall that it was a pretty decent read. But a book doesn’t stick with me in some way then it can’t rank any higher.
The Stolen Marriage by: Diane Chamberlain
This one would fall under historical fiction. It takes place in 1944 in Baltimore as well as North Carolina. A young nurse named Tess makes one wrong decision that takes her from the bustling city to the middle of nowhere with no family and no friends. If this was the story line alone it would have been nothing special. But it takes place during the polio epidemic and our nurse ends up on the front line of a very interesting (true) part of history. Most of the time I wanted to smack Tess for her stupid decision but when I had finished this book, I quickly went on line to read more about it’s locale and history which for me salvaged the book. For that reason I’ll give it 3 1/2 stars.
Good Me, Bad Me by: Ali Land
A serial killers daughter goes to live in annoynimity with a foster family before testifying against her mother. This book is creepy and ultimately pretty disturbing. It includes a rape attempt, child abuse and murder, as well as molestation. Talk about trigger warnings! Now, I will say the descriptions of all the above are more often than not vague, but still, this book way be too much for a lot of people to handle. I would have probably liked it (and ranked it higher) but I predicted the ending pretty early on. That coupled with an abrupt, untidy ending, I’m only giving it 2 stars.
The Dreamers by: Karen Thompson Walker
Every once in a while I find an apocalyptic style book that grabs my attention. In this case we’ve got a small, very isolated, California town where an unknown epidemic has taken over. Residents suddenly fall asleep and nothing can wake them up. Is this a virus…is this chemical weapons…or is it all a hoax? I stayed totally absorbed in this book, I had to know what was going on. There aren’t any actual main characters, instead you get little bits and pieces of a number of the towns residents and while you don’t get to know any one person really well…it’s interesting to “see” this story line from many perspectives. It’s an easy, QUICK, read. I give it 4 stars.
Rabbit by: Patricia Williams
Hold onto your hats with this one! OMG. There were many times, while reading about Rabbit (the nick name of the author) that I had to remind myself that what I was reading actually happened. That this then young girl went through all these things. I mean she ends up with two kids by the time she’s 15! yikes! This is definitely a “pull yourself up by your boot straps” kind of story. You’ll likely be amazed at what this girl makes of herself and how she gets there. Easily a 5 star read.
The Only Girl in the World by: Maude Julien
I picked this book out on a whim. I knew it was about a girl who was raised in some terrible environment (apparently I was on a roll with this theme this month!) but I hadn’t clued into the fact that it was autobiographical. The things this girl endured…It’s a wonder she made it to adult hood. Apparentley her father was training her and bringing her up to be a “super-human being” (whatever that means!) There are so many, many times you’ll want to climb into the book and strangle her “parents”. I was conflicted as to a star rating on this one. The story line, while dark and disturbing, was a good one. There’s plenty of things pulling you along, wanting to find out what happened to this poor girl in the end. But there was also a fair amount of “literary” writing that was kinda boring. I found myself skimming over the parts where she compares herself to a character in one of the many books she is forced to read. In the end I give it 3 1/2 stars.
Whew! That’s it for my February book review. Did you find your next (possible) great read? What have you been reading lately? Chime in below in the comments.
Looking for more book reviews? Here they are!
