Thanks to Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I will admit that I started this book a while ago, and I stopThanks to Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I will admit that I started this book a while ago, and I stopped reading after the first several chapters. It was like watching a train wreck as it was happening. It was clear from the first moment that Tia meets Allan. It was brutal and I wanted to stop what was going to happen the only way I knew how. I even told Netgalley that I wouldn't be leaving a review.
But...then I had a conversation in Laura Tremaine's Secret Stuff group about #tradwives. This book was brought up and later I couldn't get it out of my head. So back I went.
It is everything I thought it would be and it's brutal. Tia Levings life could not be further from my own. Clearly this was a window book and not a mirror. But it falls right into my theme of reading and watching about cults. I am not sure why I'm so drawn to that topic, other than a desire to try to understand.
Fundamentalist Christianity is a cult. Gothardism/IBLC is a cult. All those Christian books Tia reads and the ideas she is force-fed is cultish.
That said, even without evangelicalism, Allan was problematic. He clearly grew up in trauma and was re-enacting trauma. It's sad because in many ways he was seeking redemption, but Fundie Christianity would only make it worse.
I'm glad I read this. I'm glad I didn't grow up evangelical. I'm glad Tia was able to escape, although clearly her life has been impacted long after her escape. She is a strong, impactful writer. ...more
Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
This novel took me on a roller coaster ride. At first, I almost DNF'd Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
This novel took me on a roller coaster ride. At first, I almost DNF'd because it seemed like a story about a new adult with extreme confidence and esteem problems. Once she and Matthew got married, however, the pace picked up and we were climbing the arc. It stayed during Nico's story as a youth, but then began to descend again when we jumped 10-15 years to a more adult Nick. Mae's backstory in China was interesting (and now I want to read more about the Cultural Revolution), but it bogged down again when she starts explaining her relationship to Otto.
There just seemed to be too much here for me. An immigrant story. A speculative fiction story (or is it real?). A mother on-the-run story. Several coming-of-age stories. I liked parts of most of them, but together it was too much. I also wanted more details on the speculative fiction part - not a text book but a better idea of how that would really work. ...more
What a page-turner! Read this in two days. Cultish, but not black and white. All the grey areas, which I loved. The story is fictional, but clearly baWhat a page-turner! Read this in two days. Cultish, but not black and white. All the grey areas, which I loved. The story is fictional, but clearly based on David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, with a charismatic leader, a young teen caught up in it when her mother falls under his spell, and the boy she is drawn to.
Well-drawn portrait of life in the early 90s and the way that situations can become firestorms when politics and machismo get involved. I ate this book up!...more
This is a review of a copy I won in a Giveaway on Goodreads. Thanks to the site and to the publisher for the digital copy I received. All opinions my This is a review of a copy I won in a Giveaway on Goodreads. Thanks to the site and to the publisher for the digital copy I received. All opinions my own.
Reading The Street was a little like homework. This novel was written in 1946 and explores issues of race and class at that time. Although society has not become equitable in the intervening almost 80 years, there are stark differences between then and now that Petry brings to light.
Lutie is our main protagonist, but as the title suggests, it's a story about "The Street" - 116th Street in Harlem. Everyone is trying to get by and get ahead, from Lutie to Mrs. Bridges to Boots. And getting by often means using situations to your own advantage even at the expense of others.
Nearly all the characters are black with the exception of Junto, who owns bars, clubs, and properties in the neighborhood. He's almost a silent character and you never really get a direct sense of him, but he's the one moving the pieces on the chess board.
Lutie dreams of a better life for herself and her son, Bub. (Side question: Does he have a full name, or is it just Bub?) As is often the case when people have so little, she wants an almost magic ticket out of it all, and comes to believe that will come with singing in Boots' band. But Junto moves his chess pieces and that does not come to pass.
We're supposed to like Lutie and pull for her, but she is her own complicated character. She has a full-time job that barely covers their expenses, something Bub is painfully aware of. Bub is an 8-year old latchkey kid in a rough neighborhood, and therefore he is easy prey to be taken advantage of. I would have more compassion for Lutie if it ended there, but she's spends little time with Bub when she's not working. She gives him change to go see a movie. She goes out at night to escape her own hell. And then she takes the job singing for Boots that sees her out until all hours of the night. Bub is basically caring for himself and she realizes far too late that he's scared of being alone in the apartment.
Despite her role, I think Mrs. Hedges is something of a heroic character. She takes a hard, hard life and turns it around. It does mean she has to be in cahoots with Junto, but she has some sort of triumph, some sort of control over her own life, and, I think, does her best to care for "her girls," and even Lutie and Bub.
This book goes in a direction I didn't anticipate, and one that I rail against. I understand Lutie's anger. She's clearly depressed and it comes to a head. That is understandable. But her next move is, for me, shocking and unacceptable.
Ann Petry was clearly a brilliant writer of her time. But I can't say I enjoyed this dark, almost noir, novel....more
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy of the novel in return for my honest opinions.
This was a personal yet journalistic view of Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy of the novel in return for my honest opinions.
This was a personal yet journalistic view of what it was like to grow up in and later leave an evangelical church. Although that was not at all my background, like other cult-related books, I'm strangely fascinated by it.
McCammon, a reporter for NPR, thoughtfully describes her own experiences, what she learned - and importantly didn't learn - growing up in this culture. She has interviewed lots of people from all different walks of life about the ways these churches demanded absolute alignment with their views and questions were not permitted. She also draws lines to where we are as a country and how evangelicals have become so interlinked with conservative politics to the point that it's hard to separate the two.
This book would pair well with Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes DuMez....more
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher. This is an honest review reflecting my opinion of the novel.I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher. This is an honest review reflecting my opinion of the novel.
Laura Tremaine has recommended David Joy so I knew he had to be good since I respect Laura's opinion and her taste. This was the first David Joy novel I've read but it will not be the last!
On one level, this is a police procedural set in the mountains of North Carolina. But this novel is so much more than that. The story explores race and the turgid history of slavery and the Civil War, the undercurrents of which we've yet to fully address as a country. The characters in this story truly grapple with the trauma left behind from that dark period of history.
The story is told in multiple third person POVs. The reader gets a view into the very different ways race and racism are experienced by many in this small community, and Joy does a tremendous job demonstrating how the White population could overlook the deep scars and wounds left behind by slavery and its aftermath. It's always easier to be the default, the population in power, when everyone plays the game. When artist Toya spends the summer with her grandmother, however, she lays bare the undercurrent of hatred and indifference that have existed for centuries. ...more
Phew! I feel as though I have been listening to this book forever. I really have to stop doing fiction audio books because I really just do not enjoy Phew! I feel as though I have been listening to this book forever. I really have to stop doing fiction audio books because I really just do not enjoy the experience.
This was a WSJ+ giveaway book from when the newspaper was doing that. I still have so many audiobooks and also ebooks on the Glose app from that.
This novel was really more of a 2-1/2 star read but I'm bumping it up. So much of it is repetitive. How often did I have to hear that Ruth regretted her decision? In fact, I didn't really like anyone in this novel. Xavier loses his crap because his wife didn't tell him she gave a baby up for adoption. Seriously? The grandmother does all kinds of stuff never telling the grandkids she's raising. Midnight's family considers "sending him" to Louisiana. On and on and on. No one in this novel ever made a good decision seemingly. And everyone flagellates themselves over everything endlessly.
There are good messages here - about the differences in how Black children, especially boys, grow up. How they have to walk the straight and narrow if they don't want to get caught up with the law and run the risk of being killed. The message is a little overdone, and I didn't like the idea at the end - that Midnight would be "just fine" because he's a white boy. Midnight is not at all in a good situation. Lena is a great grandmother, but how long will she live with her chronic health issues and the way she doesn't take care of herself. His father is racist and out of work and not very interested in improving their situation. And his aunt is barely functional herself. Plus he's got an arm that's of not much use to him. He's got a real chance in getting lost to drugs, crime, or just plain stupidity.
Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher for an ARC of this book. This is an unbiased review.
I was kind of meh about The Ten Thousand Doors of JanuaryThank you to Goodreads and the publisher for an ARC of this book. This is an unbiased review.
I was kind of meh about The Ten Thousand Doors of January. I had been so excited for it, but it was never as exciting or adventurous as I had expected. As a result, I was hesitant about Harrow's next full-length book. I was especially hesitant because people I trust were DNFing this book.
Oh, my god, I loved this. Perfect for fall. Amazing characters. Beautiful, descriptive, immersive writing. The setting is so well drawn I was there. And the plotting? Top notch. Dark, mysterious, but with heart and great characters.
Opal is a wonderful protagonist. Tough, hard-scrabble, determined. Snappy dialogue. Arthur is a perfect foil. I also loved Bev and Charlotte.
I was all in on this book. I reach 170 pages of it in one day. (Thank you, mini beach trip.)
And thank you, Alix Harrow. You've created a whole world. ...more
Huge thank you to Goodreads and the publisher for a copy of this novel. This review is my honest opinion.
LOVED this book! It started slow and at firsHuge thank you to Goodreads and the publisher for a copy of this novel. This review is my honest opinion.
LOVED this book! It started slow and at first I was unsure. The novel did not reveal the backstory all at once and for the first maybe four to six chapters I was really unmoored. I couldn't quite figure out what the conflict was that began fourteen years early. But with patience, I was rewarded.
This story involves magic and witchcraft but it's not really spooky and definitely not silly. This is authentic(?) witchcraft. Connection with the natural world. Spells and "recipes" handed down for generations - through the women.
It's told in multiple first-person POVs, which isn't always my favorite. (I typically feel there should only be one first-person POV.) But the multiple perspectives really worked here. Even the island - Soairse - has a perspective in one chapter.
The story is deep and very layered - going back long before those fourteen years. It's a slow burn and a slow build, but with a very satisfying payoff.
I loved it. Loved the characters, the story, the setting, everything....more
This is audiobook that I got as a Wall Street Journal+ member (a membership through my university). I was a little skeptical at first and the style ofThis is audiobook that I got as a Wall Street Journal+ member (a membership through my university). I was a little skeptical at first and the style of the book didn't quite match with what I like, but the author, Jennifer Heisz, does have some really interesting research to share. Some of the issues aren't ones I share - like anxiety or addiction - but others - like sleep and focus - were ones I was interested in. Plus she talks about avoiding dementia and who doesn't want to do that.
I need to get my hands on the downloadable pdfs that go along with it. Most of her recommendations are very doable and I like her approach to use exercise to overcome a lot of common problems.
My one main annoyance with the book is how often she uses a style of asking and answering questions. She'll write: Blah, blah, blah, you ask. Something something something, I reply. She does this over and over and over again. But I could overlook that with the good info she provides. ...more
I tried, I really tried. I want to love this book, but it just annoyed me so much I had to dnf. It's very acaI won a Goodreads Giveaway for this book.
I tried, I really tried. I want to love this book, but it just annoyed me so much I had to dnf. It's very academic, but with examples that feel ridiculous. It's also l o n g. I think I might've liked it and finished it if it had been cut by half, and could've been. ...more
I think this book is defined as speculative fiction but I think this would fit better under magical realism. This story is clearly in our time, but wiI think this book is defined as speculative fiction but I think this would fit better under magical realism. This story is clearly in our time, but with one magical element.
I like the concept, but the execution fell a little short for me. While I understand that we might not get the full "why," I would've liked to have better understood the rules of the magical element. It seemed as though it would be fairly easy to stumble across and be broadly known.
I also found that critical moments in the story were rushed, such that I didn't get a good sense of what was going on. When Nell is at the library event and is hit on the head just before they enter the map door, where was everyone else? They seemed to be right there? Same thing with the fire when Nell was young. Everyone was there, yet...one of them seemingly perishes. These are just two examples.
I also never felt compelled by the villain's story/reasoning. I also guessed who it was loooong before it was revealed.
And what was with over and over alluding to the Junk Box Incident. I get how it plays into the story, but it felt like every few paragraphs we had to be reminded of the Junk Box Incident.
And despite a complaint of scenes going slowly, I would've liked an overall zippier pace. This could've been a real thriller, but so much time was spent in backstory dumps....more
This is the first of Madeleine Albright's memoirs that I've read, and it will be the last. Not that it was bad, but this book seems to encompass her wThis is the first of Madeleine Albright's memoirs that I've read, and it will be the last. Not that it was bad, but this book seems to encompass her whole life and I feel as though I've covered all of her other books. This book is long and also expansive. Albright covers so much: most of the presidents before, during, and after her service as secretary. Her parenting, her consulting, her speaking. Foreign affairs and the state of world. The internet and social media. Friends. Even the end of her life.
While I'm glad to be done with this book, I think I would've liked spending time with Secy. Albright. She's opinionated and believes fully in her views, but she's also self-effacing and can be quite funny. I bet she was a great dinner guest!
I learned a lot about her and definitely respect her. She made mistakes, but she did a boatload of good. She was loyal to her party and to her friends. ...more
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This review is not impacted by receiving this advanced copy.
I like Julie Lythcott-Haims a lot. I get her newI won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This review is not impacted by receiving this advanced copy.
I like Julie Lythcott-Haims a lot. I get her newsletter and have read editorials she's written. She is a voice we need to hear, and I'm currently listening to another of her books on audio.
But I have to wonder about this book, Your Turn. The book is for young adults, but I don't know many young adults who would actively spend 450+ pages reading about how they should go about adulting.
Don't get me wrong. This book is necessary. I had hoped that this would be something I could give to my 19-year-old son as he embarks on college. But I know he would take one look at this tome and say, no thanks.
My son is not a big reader, but I think it would be the rare young adult who would not be overwhelmed by the size and heft of this book. Opening the pages is not much better. The font is small with walls of text. It's forbidding. Authoritative. All-encompassing. And because of that, off-putting.
Ms. Lythcott-Haims would've done better to approach this topic in smaller, bite-size offerings. Maybe a couple of books. Or just pare down what she wanted to write to the essence. I heard her on interviews, and I know she wanted to write a book that spoke to everyone, every young adult from every demographic. The problem is that by trying to write for everyone, she wrote for no one.
I'm sure some young adults will read this book. As a young adult, I might have. But as an older adults, even one who has already read a couple of 600+ page books this year, this book puts me off....more
Conditional Citizens looks at all the ways that Americans and those living in the U.S. are not treatedI won this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
Conditional Citizens looks at all the ways that Americans and those living in the U.S. are not treated as full citizens with all the privileges of citizenship. The author is an immigrant from Morocco who came to the States for graduate school, married here, and gained citizenship, giving her a unique look at all the ways freedom is expressed or not expressed to those who live here.
Overall, her book is spot on. She talks about the negative images of immigrants by Americans whose own parents or grandparents were immigrants. How race is classified in the U.S. for both positive and negative reasons. The status of women and more. She also compares it to living in Morocco under a monarchy, where women have an explicitly second class status and the government holds much more visible power over its citizenry.
And yet...the U.S., a democratic republic, suffers from a lot of the same issues but in much more subtle, implicit, unexpressed ways. My favorite line is: Suggesting that women who live in democratic countries should be grateful for the rights they have subtly discourages these same women from trying to reach full equality with men. And so it is true for any conditional citizen. Just because it's better than that country, or that time, or that region, doesn't mean we can't strive for full equality.
Her arguments are not always perfect, but I appreciate that she is trying. She says, "As I write about equal citizenship, I find myself under the grip of a sudden trepidation, as though the desire for justice were itself fraught with danger. But I must voice this desire, because voicing it is the first step in making it a reality."
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway although it took forever for it to get to me. During the weight my enthusiasm to read it waned so it took a whI won this book in a Goodreads giveaway although it took forever for it to get to me. During the weight my enthusiasm to read it waned so it took a while longer before I got to it.
What I anticipated: a hilarious account of motherhood
What I got: a thoughtful portrait of motherhood that covered infertility, adoption, divorce, and toxic Christianity.
This book was a surprise. I have enjoyed Howerton's blogs and often found them wry and funny, often poking fun at herself. This was much deeper, much more poignant, and very real. It's not a lesson in parenting, per se (probably a good thing since my child is now 20), but more of a memoir as well as a sign of solidarity to imperfect parents everywhere. Howerton highlights how the expectations of mothers, especially in extreme Christian circles, is unattainable. No one can be the symbol of motherhood at all times, and we need to not only give other mothers but also ourselves a break.
I would definitely give this book to a new mom or a struggling mom. I think it's also very readable by non-moms, as we all go through frustration and loneliness and try to live up to unrealistic expectations. ...more
I was unsure if I was going to like this book after the first two chapters. I felt uncomfortable, and I didn't think I liked any of the characters.
ThI was unsure if I was going to like this book after the first two chapters. I felt uncomfortable, and I didn't think I liked any of the characters.
Then I kept reading. And oh, my, it reeled me in. Talk about a pager turner!
This is a story about a protagonist with demons from her past and her antagonist with even bigger demons. They match wits in a deadly game over memory, money, and family. It's a thriller, for sure, but not quite like any thriller I've read before.
Joshilyn Jackson is quickly becoming a master. Great, complex characters. Tight writing. Compelling stories.
I love reading, and I love sleeping. Despite the stereotype of readers staying up all hours to finish books, I rarely do that because sleep is so important to my daily functioning. But I stayed up last night because I had to finish this book! And thankfully the ending is completely satisfying. It could've gone a few different ways.
(view spoiler)[Now...I want a novel from Joshilyn Jackson set in the future after Davis has lived a long, happy life, but he's sadly passed away, and Amy and Tig can finally get together! (hide spoiler)]
I got this ARC through a GoodReads contest. This is my honest review....more
Thanks to GoodReads and Picador USA for this novel, which I won in a GoodReads Giveaway. My review is my own and not influenced in any way.
I do wish GThanks to GoodReads and Picador USA for this novel, which I won in a GoodReads Giveaway. My review is my own and not influenced in any way.
I do wish GoodReads allowed 1/2 stars, because this is probably a 4-1/2 star read. Actually I wasn't sure I even liked the book when it started. There are a number of characters in this novel and at first it's a little hard to sort them out. You jump right into the action, not really getting the connections among them and what exactly has happened. That ends up being the brilliance of the novel.
The story is told in several POVs, which really works. It's all centered around a hyberbaric oxygen therapy center, dubbed the Miracle Submarine. A fire ignited the oxygen and killed two people, a child and the mother of another child. The story is told as the trial unfolds with the mother of the dead child accused of the crime.
The story explores the lengths parents will go to to help and protect their children - and how those lengths are very often what destroys their relationships with their children. All the complications of parenting today are on display. The need for perfection, for keeping up with peers. The drive to succeed.
It's not an easy story and it doesn't have a tidy ending. It ends as real life often does, with longing, the desire for things to be different, and a great deal of sadness and pain. There is hope, however, and redemption for some.
I may think about this book for a long time to come....more
I forget how good Lisa Scottoline is at ramping up the suspense! Short chapters told in alternating points of view really make for a good page-turner.I forget how good Lisa Scottoline is at ramping up the suspense! Short chapters told in alternating points of view really make for a good page-turner. The story isn't entirely original (shades of I Know What You Did Last Summer and others), but it's well told. I liked the characters, each of whom had their own stories.
The ending was a surprise. I expected a surprise (view spoiler)[(I thought we were going to find out that Kyle had put the bullet in the gun after his dad talked to the media.) (hide spoiler)], but that wasn't it! And I'll admit - it's nice to be surprised.
I won this book in a Read It Forward contest. Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing it. ...more
I've read a lot of books by Kristin Hannah and have always thought she was a good writer. With the release of Winter Garden I felt she became a great I've read a lot of books by Kristin Hannah and have always thought she was a good writer. With the release of Winter Garden I felt she became a great writer, which is one of the reasons this book has disappointed me.
I honestly don't remember if I read the book Firefly Lane and perhaps if I had, I would have more affection for this book. The story here is good and touches on a lot of topics, but the telling of it was very disjointed for me. It's told in several points of view, including Tully, Marah, Dorothy, and even Kate, who has died by the outset of this novel. It's also told in both first and third person and flips back and forth between present and flashback. All those POVs and time shifts made the story difficult to follow. "Present" is theoretically heralded by a date, but I still found myself questioning whether I reading about "now" or the past.
I also found the book very meandering. So many first person accounts by Tully about how lost she feels, how anxious she feels, and why don't I take another Xanax. Two of these scenes would have driven the point home. And can I say, I didn't really like Tully? I just wanted to slap her and tell her to quit whining.
The story all comes together at the end, but that was actually too quick. I felt the story was building to a face off between Tully and Dorothy, but we ultimately got very little of that.
Perhaps I need to read Firefly Lane. I suspect there's a lot of love for that novel that prompted a revisit to those characters. In the meantime, I'll await Hannah's next book, which looks much more promising.
NB: I received this book from a GoodReads giveaway....more
Loading...
