"The Chilren's Crusade" Review

“The Children’s Crusade”

By Ann Packer

Published by Scribner

Finished 6/7/16  -  3/5 Stars

 

When I read “The Dive From Clausen’s Pier” a few years ago I absolutely loved it and gave it 5 stars so was disappointed when I read “Songs Without Words”, which was just a 3 star read for me.  When I saw Ann Packer had a new book coming out last year called “The Children’s Crusade”, I was anxious to read it with hopes it would be as good as Clausen’s so I dove right in.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into it so I put it aside to try again another day – I couldn’t completely abandon it because I felt it had potential.  Fast forward a year and I was ready to give it another try – after all, sometimes you simply have to be in the right mindset to enjoy a book.  This time I finished it……but it was just another 3 star read for me.  I enjoyed it, but just didn’t love it.  I did like the majority of the characters (the mother is truly the worst character, no redeeming qualities) and there was plenty of dysfunction in the family to keep you “entertained” but I don’t think it quite flowed well together.  I’m not sure if it was the way it was written with chapters devoted to different characters or if the characters themselves just didn’t mesh well.  The storyline was good and the characters were well developed but I truly think if it had been written in a single point of view or simply narrated instead, it probably would have been more enjoyable.  Obviously, that’s just my opinion.  And I’m not giving up on Ann Packer – I’m sure she’s got another 5 star read in there for me one day.

Thank you to Net Galley and Scribner for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.  Granted, the “advanced” part didn’t really come in handy for me since it’s now a year later.  Sorry about that.    

"A Man Called Ove" Review

“A Man Called Ove”

By Fredrik Backman

Published by Washington Square Press

Finished 5/29/16

5/5 star read!!

I fell in love with Ove on page one and continued to love him through all 337 pages of this book.  He’s a grumpy, opinionated man who is definitely set in his ways.  He has a strong, stiff outer shell but if you can get under it you will find he has a heart of gold.  He may not come across that way, but he is one of those people who will do anything for anyone.

As the story says, Ove’s life began when he met his wife Sonja and it ended when she died.  Or so he thought.  As he begrudgingly allows others into his life, it begins to take on a new meaning.  Not that he can see that, but it does.  The story follows Ove’s life as he tries to accomplish one goal…just one…..but people, a cat, and life in general continue to get in the way of his goal.  You will laugh out loud at the way Ove’s handles himself (and others) but you will also have tears escape your eyes during touching moments as well.  And you will fall in love with Ove just like I did J

If you haven’t read it yet – go grab yourself a copy.  It’s well worth the read. 

"All the Missing Girls" review

“All the Missing Girls”

By Megan Miranda

Published by Simon & Schuster

Finished 5/25/16 – 5/5 stars

This probably would have been a 4 or 4.5 for me, however the way it was written brought it up to a full 5.  Imagine this….you are reading along, meeting the main character, having the stage set, and suddenly you jump ahead to “Day 15”.  Not a big deal, although you do feel like you’ve missed out on a lot of storyline (obviously).  At the end of that day the chapter ends with a cliffhanger…..do you get to turn the page to go to Day 16 to see what happens?  No.  Do you go back to “Day 1” to carry on from your initial reading?  No.  You go back to the morning of Day 14!  You are left hanging with the unknown.  Each day you go backwards, you get insight into the chapter you just finished reading.  And since it’s a mystery, you are pretty much changing your mind as to what happened and/or who is responsible just about each day.  It is an absolutely brilliant twist on the standard writing style with flashbacks.  Oh, and did I fail to mention that during the 2 weeks this story takes place there are flashbacks to 10 years ago as well?  Yep, it has that too.  But don’t worry, it is written well enough that you can follow along in reverse.  Knowing that was how it was written, I was actually nervous that I might get too confused but that was not the case.

This is the story of a young lady named Nic who receives a call from her brother telling her she needs to come back to their home town of Cooley Ridge, NC to help sell their father’s house.  She has spent the last 10 years trying to stay away from Cooley Ridge as much as she could so this is a request she would prefer not to accept, but she packs up and goes anyway.  When she left a decade ago, her best friend had just gone missing and hasn’t been heard from since.  Another girl from this small town goes missing shortly after Nic arrives home, bringing up the past investigation all over again.  Are the cases related or just a coincidence?  What happened to each of these missing girls are the mysteries that will unravel during the 2 weeks she is home.  I highly recommend that you read it to find out for yourself.

A HUGE thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read an advanced copy in return for an honest review.  I can’t wait for the book to come out next month so that others can enjoy it and let me know how they like it.

"My Sunshine Away" review

“My Sunshine Away”

By M. O. Walsh

Finished 5/18/16 - 3/5 Stars

Honestly, this book was just OK for me.  I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.  It’s a coming of age story, yet I don’t find it to be a YA novel.  The narrator is a man telling the story of his childhood as a young teenage boy secretly in love with the girl down the street.  When that girl is raped on her way home one evening, he becomes more obsessed with her and wanting her to love him back.  The story line itself was good, but there would be true life events thrown in there that I felt were more of a distraction and unnecessary.  I would have rather had more time devoted to the main character and his relationships with others than rehashing events related to Jeffrey Dahmer, for example.  Sorry, but I just can’t really recommend this one.

"The Hypnotist's Love Story"

“The Hypnotist’s Love Story” by Liane Moriarty

Published by Berkley

Finished 4/24/16 - 3 / 5 stars

Based on the title of this book, one would think that it the hypnotist in the story would be the narrator but that’s not the case.  The story is told in two different ways - you read the hypnotist’s story line but it’s not in her words and then the hypnotist’s boyfriend’s stalker’s story line is narrated by the stalker herself.  I would have thought it would have been reversed.  Regardless, it was a pretty good storyline.  I was disappointed with a few aspects of it, especially the ending.  There were some moments that I thought could have been elaborated more but then some side stories that didn’t really need to be included.  In all honesty, I think a number of characters could have been completely removed from the story and they wouldn’t have been missed.

Overall, I liked the book but just didn’t love it.  This was my first book by this author - I’ll definitely give another one a try.

Review of "The Dinner"

"The Dinner" by Herman Koch
Translated from Dutch by Sam Garrett
Published by Hogarth


3.75/5 stars (I just can't give it 4, although the rest of my book club did)


This is an odd book in that the first third I found very comical, the middle started to turn a little dark and made you consider your own personal values and morals, and then there is the last third of the book......it is completely dark and disturbing.  You end up hating all the characters.  There isn't one redeeming quality about any of them.


The novel takes place during a single evening, the majority of which is during dinner in a fancy restaurant.  Granted, there are flashbacks thrown in there as well.  Two brothers and their wives go to dinner and there is a huge "elephant in the room" regarding their sons recent actions.  The police have a video, but only the family knows it's them.  Should it remain that way?  Once they decide to openly discuss it.....all hell breaks loose.  The things these people say and do will shock you.


This is not a book for everyone because, as I said, parts are quite dark and disturbing.  If you are OK with that, then give it a try.  And then let me know what you would do if it were your son or daughter.

Review - "Most Wanted" by Lisa Scottoline

“Most Wanted” by Lisa Scottoline

Published by St. Martin’s Press

Finished 4/9/16

4/5 stars

I’m a huge Lisa Scottoline fan, so maybe I went into this book expecting too much but I just didn’t love it as much as I hoped to.  My issues were that at times it seemed that some of it felt a little too far fetched and that I thought the husband should have played a larger role.  I also didn’t love the ending.  You knew going into it that the ending was going to have to somehow be wrapped into a package for you,  but I think it lacked some depth to the ending.  I can’t go into details for fear of ruining it for others but the ending truly felt like it just came out of left field. 

With that all being said, I did enjoy it.  It was an interesting concept that makes you wonder how you would feel if the father of the child you are carrying could be a serial killer.  Is that a trait that can be inherited?  Some say yes, others say no.  How would it feel to raise a child that that could possibly turn on you one day while you sleep?  Could you love it unconditionally?  Could you trust them 100%?  And what, if anything, would you do to help the donor if you could?  I’m glad these are questions I don’t have to worry about personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of the ebook in return for an honest review.