"Small Great Things" Review

“Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult

Published by Ballantine Books

Finished 9/30/16 – 5/5 stars

I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult.  Every year she does extensive research on a topic and puts out a fabulous book based on that topic.  When I heard her next book was going to be about racism, I was intrigued.  It’s quite the hot topic – would she be able to pull it off seeing as how she’s a rich white woman?  I’d have to wait and see.  And then I start reading the book itself and found it to be written in the perspective of a professional black woman.  I said to myself “how on earth is she going to pull this off?”  Could she do it without a backlash from the African American communities?  Not that I don’t think authors can write in the perspective of another race, they do it all the time so that’s not an issue.  But could you truly understand them enough to be able to portray their thoughts and feelings regarding racism having never been in their shoes?  And then comes the next chapter and it is being told in the perspective of a white supremest.   Another challenge, but I knew she’d be able to pull that off – after all, she wrote a book in the perspective of a Nazi soldier at a prison camp (my absolute favorite Jodi Picoult book – The Storyteller).  So, how did she do?  Fabulous!!!  I loved this book!  Not only was the storyline great, but it makes you look within yourself.  I’ve always considered myself a non-racist but then this book points out the little things that make me stop and think – do I do that or how would I react to that if it were me?  As I said before……I love a book that makes me think.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

"Oreads" Review

"Oreads" by John F Lavelle  

Published by Roundfire Books

Finished 9/21/16 - 5/5 stars!!

Wow!  This is a beautifully written book about a difficult subject - the lives of the poor in the mountains of West Virginia.  It is the story of Cassie, a young girl trying to survive in the land she loves.  The story begins when she is just 14 years old and continues into her early 20s.  She strives to have a better life than her parents provided her.  She wants the perfect life with the perfect man, but that would require her leave the comfort of the mountains and she's not ready to do that.  What struggles must she face?  What price must she pay?  All because she doesn't want to leave her home town to try and find a better life, away from the poverty of the Appalachians.

I honestly don't know how this book hasn't received more praise and publicity.  Hopefully it finds it's way into the right hands for it to then skyrocket in popularity (maybe even be made into a movie, because it would be great).  Lucky for me, the author found my blog and asked if I would read and review it.  I'm so grateful that he did.  It is a story that will stay with me for a long time.

And by the way.....it's pronounced Or-e-ads :)  

"The Doll Harvest" Review

“The Doll Harvest” by Ron Savage

Published by Driven Press

Finished 9/15/16 – 4/5 stars

 

One can’t pick books based solely on a national best seller list and expect to read all the great books out there.  There are MANY more that don’t make that list that are wonderful books.  Honestly, I don’t even follow those lists anymore.  I’ve never been into popularity contests anyway – I like what I like.  And what do you know……I like “The Doll Harvest” by Ron Savage.  It might not make it onto a list, but it is worth the read.

The cover of this book gives the impression that it would be in the horror genre, but it’s not.  So if you are like me and don’t read horror, you’re safe with this one.  It’s not a “who done it” either – you know who the good and the bad are right from the start. It is suspenseful though and does keep you reading later than you wanted because you don’t want to put it down without knowing what happens next.  Luckily, the chapters are fairly short thus providing good stopping points.  It’s just a matter of actually putting it down when you come to one.

There are a couple intertwined story lines in this book but the main one focuses on the kidnapping of a young lady.  She’s not taken for ransom money, or sex trafficking, or even just for the pleasure of the kidnapper.  She’s taken to harvest her body parts to sell on the black market.  Disturbing right?  I hope to God there is no such thing in the real world because it would be very scary to know there are doctors and patients out there willing to pay whatever it takes for a body part, knowing it’s not something you can just grow on a farm or in a lab (although that could be the case in the future).  They have to come from someone…..someone who just died. 

Thank you to Driven Press for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.  I wish this author great success.

"Lean on Pete" Review

“Lean on Pete” by Willy Vlautin

Published by Harper Perennial

Finished 9/10/16 – 3.5/5 stars

I came across this book because an author I enjoy reading and follow on Goodreads had read it for his book club and really enjoyed it.  Prior to that, I had never heard of it before.  That is how I find out about a lot of great books though – reviews by others on Goodreads.  Anyone can find out about books on the best seller list but reviews and recommendations by others introduce me to many more wonderful books, new and old.

This novel is about a 15 year old who is pretty much on his own – he doesn’t know his mother and his father is never around.  Throw in the fact that his father moves him around fairly often and therefore doesn’t have friends to lean on, he is truly raising himself.  He finds friendship at a local race track in an aging horse named Lean on Pete.  After a tragic event leaves him completely alone, he starts a journey to find the only other relative he knows – his aunt that he hopes still lives in Wyoming because that is where he is heading.  At times the journey seems a little repetitive in what he encounters, but overall a very good story.

Although this is a coming of age story and some consider it YA, I don’t think some of the content is suited for tweens or younger teens.  I consider this more for the older YA crowd.

"The Enchanted" Review

“The Enchanted” by Rene Denfeld

Published by Harper

Finished 9/7/16 – 5/5 stars

Wow!  I fell in love with this book on the first page due to the writing.  The subject matter can be difficult at times so it’s not a book for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The story is told by an inmate living in the dungeon like cells of death row.  He’s been in the system since he was a young boy and copes with his history and new life without windows or true human interaction by becoming a mute and using his imagination to create a different world within the prison walls.  His imagination is not full of fairy tales though, rather it is insightful with a little twist of abnormal.  It’s hard to explain but trust me, it’s well done by the author.

If I could change one thing about this book it would be its length.  It’s a fairly short book so plenty of room to have expanded on the main character’s back story.  But as is, it is a great little book.

"The Cuckoo's Calling" Review

“The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith (aka J K Rowling)

Published by Little Brown

Finished 8/31/16 – 3/5 stars

Let me first say that my opinion is not affected by a comparison to the way the Harry Potter books were written.  I think I read one and then my daughters read the others on their own.  Plus, those were children’s books so I don’t really think they should be compared.  I have, however, read a great deal of mysteries and found myself comparing this book to some of those.  Because of that, I am giving this book just an OK rating.  When I read a mystery, there needs to be suspense.  I like to be on the edge of my seat multiple times throughout the book.  It needs to be a true page turner.  Not necessarily the entire time but at least some.  Not only did this book not have that, I felt that part of the conclusions came out of left field.  There is nothing wrong with a surprise ending (I prefer them), but most of those come with some foreshadowing that you just didn’t realize at the time.  For this story, I had no issue with who the guilty party ended up being, but I did have a little issue with the way the detective apparently figured some of it out.  It seemed all wrapped in a bow in which half of the bow was made of magical ribbon.

With that being said, I did enjoy the story line and the characters.  Although not full of suspense, I did want to continue picking it up to find out what really happened so there were positives within the reading experience.  It’s a good book…..just not great.  This is the first in a series in which two more books have been released so far and the average rating seems to improve with each one so maybe I’ll enjoy the others more.