book review

☕ Book Break ☕ | The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Posted on by Donna Stone

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

 

This nonfiction book gives an account of the 1986 fire that gutted the Los Angeles Public Library. Exactly what happened remains a mystery.

Orleans researched the fire, the suspect investigators settled on, and in addition gives an interesting history of the library. This compilation of information is highly entertaining.

The book covers much, but somehow it fits together. If you love books, mysteries, or libraries, this is one to check out.

I was fascinated by the various characters’ stories. At times I felt it did ramble a bit, but I liked the material and the author’s easy to read style so much it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. I’d love to read similar books about the history of other public library systems. 

 

Interesting

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Informative

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Entertaining

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

☕ Book Break ☕ | The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Posted on by Donna Stone

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

I finally read this little book, and I’m glad I did!

It has all the hallmarks of the familiar cozy mysteries, but a unique voice. Precious Ramotswe is the owner of the only private detective agency in Botswana. 

What follows is a variety of cases, some easier to solve than others. I liked the narrative. I felt it had an easy-going style. Besides the various cases she takes on, we learn bits about Mma Ramotswe’s history throughout the story. I found it to be a quick read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this charming mystery. More, please.

 

Cute.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Easy to read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Charming characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Entertaining.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

☕ Book Break ☕ | The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

Posted on by Donna Stone

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld is a psychological thriller/mystery that deals with child abduction and abuse.

Naomi has a gift for finding lost children.

Three years have passed since a little girl disappeared and her desperate parents hire Naomi to find their child. The story is told from alternating points of view, Naomi as she investigates the disappearance, and the little girl, Madison.

This book was recommended to me as a novel that was deeply affecting. It is that. It’s dark and gripping without going into details. We know that horrible things are happening, but the descriptions were not over the top in my opinion. It was hard to read at times due to the subject matter. 

The story examines the cycle of abuse, and that was my least favorite part of the book, although the exploration of the physiological aspects of how Madison survived had me quite enthralled. Very evocative and emotional. All the ends of Madison’s, story/mystery tied up, but we are left with our main character’s issues, including the thing that drives her to investigate missing children. It’s labeled as a book one, so I assume a series is in the works. Beautiful, seamless writing and a haunting story.

Thanks to Sharon Peterson for recommending this book.

☕ Book Break ☕ | ~Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler~

Posted on by Donna Stone

~Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler~

‘Beware against the sweet person, for sugar has no nutrition.’

Kate Battista  still lives at home, and runs her father’s house even though she is an adult. Besides dealing with her eccentric father, a scientist who spends his days in his  lab, she contends with her younger sister, Bunny. Despite her abrasive personality, her young charges at the daycare she works at love her. The parents and staff do not.

Dr. Battista cooks up a plan to wed Kate to his lab assistant, Pyotr. Pyotr must get married to stay in the country, and both men are agreeable to the plot. They neglect to consult Kate on the matter.

I love Shakespeare and Shakespeare adaptations. Anne Tyler has written a witty and well done retelling. Kate was multilayered and I felt myself liking her more and more as the story went on. Anne Tyler is a wonderfully skilled writer.

Having this familiar story reimagined in a modern day setting made me think about the attitudes towards women during the time of Shakespeare and today. The treatment of Kate in parts of the story sparked a lot of discussion around our house.

I’ve been involved in productions of The Taming of The Shrew and watched television adaptations, but, oddly, this is the first time I read a novel based on the story as far as I can remember. I plan to read more of these retellings in the Hogarth Shakespeare series.

There is some language in this book, and having it right at the start felt jarring to me. I kept reading because I read Anne Tyler before and liked her other work and because I like Shakespeare.

Humor

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Storytelling

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

☕ Book Break ☕ | A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Posted on by Donna Stone

 

~A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness~

“Many things that are true feel like a cheat. Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers’ daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving. Quite often, actually. You’d be surprised.”

Coner wakes one night to find a monster peering into his bedroom window, but it’s not as scary as the nightmare he has every time he goes to sleep.

I read this short book in one sitting. Everything else I was doing had to wait while I read this masterfully woven tale of fantasy and a crushing truth that is oh-so-hard to bear. It is a frightful and tender story of grief. Coner has to grapple with his monsters, real and imagined.  Patrick Ness captured Coner’s mixed up feelings and inner turmoil perfectly. This one is going to stick with me for a while. Sweet and sad. The story is fantasy, but the emotions are raw and real.

A story about coming to terms with grief unlike anything I’ve read before.

When I picked the physical book up, it was surprisingly heavy. The illustrations are dark and dramatic, and the story heartbreaking. I felt the combination was artistic and effective.

 

Characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Page Turning

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Setting

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emotion Provoking

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

☕ Book Break ☕ | ~Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu~

Posted on by Donna Stone

~Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu~

Moxie Girls Fight Back is the motto of these high schoolers who are fed up with being groped, talked down to, marginalized, and assaulted while those in authority turn a blind eye.

There’s a contrast between Viv’s reality and her grandparents, and that showing quite well without disrespecting either generation. The same sensitivity is shown when talking about people with different political backgrounds and belief systems.

As I was reading this I relived incidents from my own junior high and high school days. I think this book is a call to action. It’s not enough to just make it through until you graduate because the problem is never going to go away. It is a pervasive attitude that is passed down and tolerated unless boys are taught better.  

This book is set in a realistic high school environment where there is language, assault, and stuff that kids encounter. I would hope that most administrations would not be as blatantly anti-female as the one depicted in this book, but it reads as if it could be true. This is a book with feminist characters, and a simplified definition of feminism.

There is a bit tossed in hinting about two girls in a relationship. This encompassed all of a few sentences and felt a little odd, but I can see it playing out in real life that way.

This is a book about empowering girls to insist on an education and the right to walk the halls without being groped or worse. It’s a book about girls demanding accountability from authority. It’s fresh and thought provoking.

Well written and relevant. LOVED Viv and the portrayal of her family. Splash of romance. Besides being a compelling and well told story, this is a thoughtful book that could be used as a starting point for good discussions.

I definitely see the need for this type of book. This issue is not going to go away and I think novels can open our eyes and help us understand the world better.

☕ Book Break ☕ | Clock Dance by Anne Tyler

Posted on by Donna Stone

~Clock Dance by Anne Taylor~

This story follows one character and told from one point of view, but it tells about different, life-changing periods of Willa Drake’s life.

Willa settles into her later years until one day she receives a frantic phone call from a total stranger, a neighbor to an ex-girlfriend of Willa’s son. The neighbor, after finding Willa’s phone number on an emergency contact list, mistakenly thinks that Willa is the grandparent to an unknown child.

Willa, not the assertive type, is unable to explain to the woman that she is not related. Over her husband’s protests, she decides to fly out to see if she can help.

The characters could’ve been my neighbors. Extraordinary storytelling about ordinary people. I felt a camaraderie with the main character as she slowly became more self-aware. The ending felt a little abrupt to me because I wanted to keep reading about Willa. I wanted her to find happiness and I wanted to share in it.

This is a story about a woman finally taking control of her life in a quieter way. I’ve known so many women who remind me of Willa. Society has taught us to go with the flow, get along, and fulfill our expected roles. I felt like this was a quiet rebellion after a long period of smothering a woman’s spirit.

Lovely, believable characters. Heartwarming and bittersweet at the same time. Satisfying conclusion, even if left me wanting more. I’ve added some of her books to my TBR pile. Amazing writing.

Characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Storyline

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Charming

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

☕ Book Break ☕ |~Protected by Claire Zorn~

Posted on by Donna Stone

~Protected by Claire Zorn~

“Books are especially useful if you have no one to talk to; they give the illusion that you choose not to talk to anyone, as opposed to the fact you simply have no friends.”

Protected is a novel about grief, bullying, and coming to terms with tragedy. Hannah has lost her older sister Katie in a car crash. The same crash has left her father with injuries that cause him daily pain and make it difficult for him to walk.

The story is told in scenes out of sequence, hopping back-and-forth in time. I honestly don’t know how she managed to write the story this way and keep the clarity of the storyline. I never got confused. I listened to this on my Kindle with no line breaks or anything to tell when the time shifted and had no problem keeping oriented.

There’s a mystery surrounding what exactly happened. Hannah knows, but she’s not telling. Her dad doesn’t remember. Listening to this book made me anxious to find out.

The death of Hannah’s sister has caused a complete reversal in many areas of Hannah’s life. Previously, she was bullied horribly at school.

Much in this book is disturbing. The bullying was extreme. The complicated family dynamic made my heart ache for Hannah. Her sister, Katie, isn’t a very likable character and I wanted to quit this book more than once because of it, and yet I kept reading.There’s quite a bit of language and it does deal with serious topics. It does end with a satisfying resolution.

If my teen read this book I would want to read it along with them and talk about the issues that come up.

 

2015

Children’s Book Council of Australia Award Nominee for Older Readers

Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for Young Adult Fiction

Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction

The Inky Awards Nominee for Gold Inky

☕ Book Break ☕ |~Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine~

Posted on by Donna Stone

~Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine~

 

“I don’t like the word soon because you don’t know when it’s going to sneak up on you and turn into NOW. Or maybe it’ll be the kind of soon that never happens.”

 

Caitlin depended on her older brother, Devon, to help her navigate the world. But when he is one of the victims of a school shooting she has lost her guide. Her father, overcome by grief, is of little help. Functioning in an environment that is not friendly to her was difficult already, and now she must deal with the fallout of her brother’s death.

 

The story is told from the point of view of an 11-year-old girl with Asperger’s Syndrome. Even so, the descriptions of Caitlin’s world and attitudes of those around her came through clearly. I could tell what her counselor was thinking at times, the surprise you feel when a kid on the spectrum makes a pronouncement, in all innocence, that smacks you in the head and makes you do a double take.

 

This novel stirred up so many emotions in me. My heart cracked open every time Caitlin tried to figure out “closure” and how to get it. A beautifully written, emotional read with an important message and a satisfying ending. This book touched me.

 

This novel was written with a tremendous amount of sensitivity. It’s on the short side but is not light weight. It covers heavy topics. There are no graphic descriptions or extreme bullying, but the characters do struggle with the issues stemming from school violence.

 

Very relevant to the situation in our schools and culture today. I was of two minds about a book that dealt with both the issues of special needs with school violence. Too many people have wedded these. It’s a complicated issue. I felt like this novel did a beautiful job with the topic while honoring storytelling.

 

One thing I hope everyone can agree on is that empathy and understanding can go a long way in helping all humans deal with the tragedies life throws our way.

 

If you’re looking for a book about the power of friendship, relationship, and the struggles of grief, this one might fit the bill.

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All the Feels

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Character Interaction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Relevant

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Storytelling

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

☕ Book Break ☕ |~Kindred by Octavia E. Butler~

Posted on by Donna Stone

~Kindred by Octavia E. Butler~

 

“Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of “wrong” ideas.”

 

Twenty-six year  old Dana lives in California. The year is 1976. She has recently moved into a new home and is suddenly caught up in a mysterious time portal that transports her to 19th century Maryland. In this alternate time, she saves a boy from drowning. He turns out to be her white, slave-holding  ancestor.

 

The plot  has depth to it, exploring the complexities of Dana’s relationship with her white husband and her own feelings about her family history. This is a complicated story, one to read and think about. The writing is so good the story pulls you along, but be warned, parts in the narrative are disturbing. Dana is thrust repeatedly into a world where she is a slave and repeatedly has to save her ancestor, regardless of her feelings.

 

This novel is incredibly well written, the storytelling superb. The writing feels fresh. I did not realize it was written in the seventies until after I finished the book.

 

Kindred is a unique book. Even if you never read fantasy or sci-fi, you should get this book. I’m not sure who recommended it but I’m glad they did. Part historical fiction and part sci-fi, this novel written by Octavia E. Butler is one I think everyone should read.

 

This novel is firmly in my notable books pile. If this had been on my radar when I was homeschooling the kids I would have used it in a unit study for my older students.

 

This book convinced me it is okay to write prologues! Read it and you will see what I mean.