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53
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| 1662500084
| 9781662500084
| B09KLL1TKX
| 3.55
| 8,115
| Sep 01, 2022
| Sep 01, 2022
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on abuse, child endangerment, violence, parental neglect, sexual abuse, psychological distress, & others. This book explores the reflective events that transpired in the lives of a group of four (4) friends in their teen years as they found themselves involved in the disappearance of Warren Ingram; an abusive drunk who filled the role of stepfather to Jane & Jason Mooney in title alone. This story is read through the dual point of view of Georgia Lee & Jane; two members of the group of four who fostered a blossoming romance for a short time before Jane put herself forward as Warren’s murderer, providing no rationale for her decision save for her belief that her sibling had indeed committed the crime. I need to give credit where it is due & therefore, I shall begin my review with praise. Ford crafts a story that could be real. All the characters in this book could be people any of us knew, they could be people we read about in the paper, they could even possibly be me or they could be you. The world in which this story takes place (Maud, Arkansas) is earnest & settled. We do not require multiple chapters to understand or appreciate where we are as Ford drew us a clear picture & I applaud her for that. While I do grant Ford praise for crafting a story that revealed its ability to present the reader with fully fleshed-out characters, environments, & conflicts; this also leads me to the part which rendered this book something more difficult for me to read. I found myself off-the-cuff hating Georgia Lee. It is challenging for me to write about situations I find in books without putting myself into the critique. I suppose this is the clause to which humanity is pinned; we view everything in the first person & everyone & everything we compare & contrast our own experiences as well as ourselves. For this reason, I was unable to garner any sympathy toward Georgia Lee. We have to read about a character who felt inclined to vocalize that she was the reason that Jane & Jason were safe from Warren’s abuse. She was the one who killed the violent man who lived in their home. She was the one who stood up against the villain. I want this to be clear; I am in no way trying to shame people who have not lived through situations in which their entire personality, well-being, & survival mechanisms were transformed due to abuse. I am not trying to say that if you had a good life, you cannot speak about things around you. What I am saying is that it was very obvious to me that Georgia Lee had never truly been afraid a day in her life. For, if she had, she would have kept her mouth shut when Warren was slurring off to her in the doorway that night. I was riddled with anxiety reading about a person who had not a single clue as to what it feels like to be afraid in your own home; what it feels like to have to be quiet in all the wrong ways so that one day you can feel safe. It’s no good talking back to someone whom you know could put your head through the drywall. What I found most aggravating about this scene was that we are meant to feel poorly for Georgia Lee. Perhaps, my inability to do so resides fully in my experiences. I could not but feel petrified for Jane & Jason because there was no way in hell that Georgia Lee was going to set right what a grown person had put wrong. The fact that she bludgeoned him while he was inebriated, with a stone was luck & nothing more. To read about a situation where things could have gone very wrong, very quickly, as though there was no possibility of that happening was sickening. I will grant Ford the benefit of the doubt; perhaps she wrote this book in a way that would lead the reader to grasp that fact for themselves. Regardless, I found it difficult to digest. I want to talk about the details of the crime. Due to this story taking place in a State within a country in which I am unfamiliar with their legal system, I found myself having to do further research while making my way through the story. I am certainly glad for a book to encourage me to further my knowledge on a subject which I was unfamiliar with prior. However, the way this story presents its obstacles is a bit frustrating. For example, when Warren is ‘found’ I was confused about how they would have known that it was him. The man had been dead for twenty-five years & his body was in warm water which one can conclude to mean, that the heightened temperature would have certainly moved forward the decomposition his body underwent. One might state that the policing body would have tested his DNA with previous medical records. Given this story takes place in the USA it’s not farfetched to assume that Warren, who spent all of his time & money remaining inebriated, was probably not working a job that granted him medical insurance. Therefore, he wouldn’t have been seeing a dentist & no medical records might have been pulled to compare to the teeth found on the skeleton. When it was revealed that the skeleton was not Warren’s, I was annoyed. I appreciate that this is a small town in a State wherein advanced justice system proceedings might not take place, however, I cannot confirm that for certain as I do not live there. Therefore, the author is asking the reader to make many leaps in their assumptions to cushion the plot reveals. Assuming that the policing body in Maud was horrendous at their jobs, they would still have to record that they found a body. We already know for a fact that there were dozens, if not more, men, who had gone missing within a specific period. Even with them being utterly horrible at their jobs, one might assume that one of the men missing was a personal friend of a police officer. In this case, that was Warren (as detailed by numerous recollections). Therefore, as a personal friend of the victim, why was no effort put into ensuring that the identification was confirmed? We are assuming that this story takes place in the current time, as evidenced by the use of Facebook, we can therefore deduce that these people knew about advanced criminal investigations & proceedings. So, why did we have to read an entire book in which the policing body had released a confirmed statement of the body belonging to Warren? Diane was the person to know that Warren was found due to Gerry telling her. She doesn’t strike me as an idiot, though she acts idiotically, so, why was she so apt to believe him if not for a supporting statement by the police? Another aspect of the proceedings that left me with questions was the stint in Juvenile Detention. Jane states that she was sent to Juvenile Detention for her crimes against Warren. Based on “Shelby John TIPTON v. STATE of Arkansas” (1998) a person would not be convicted of the same crime twice. also known as Double Jeopardy. I am left feeling confused as to whether Jane’s stint in Juvie was indeed her serving time for the crime she admitted to, given she was a minor she wouldn’t have been sent to an adult penitentiary (though this has been known to happen before). Therefore, was she convicted of the murder or did she serve time for,….being annoying? Why did she go there if not as a consequence of a conviction? If that is the case, why was she constantly worried she was going to be re-convicted? Though I did have frustrations with the crimes presented in this novel, I appreciated that we were presented with a story that took place in a town filled with people who lost men en mass & yet seemed oblivious to it ever happening; something not unlike what happens in many cities, States, Provinces & Territories around North America every day. My greatest qualm with the way the book flows is the asinine amount of dialogue we have to read which brings nothing to the story. Every chapter is filled with reflections which then result in an inner monologue which then transforms into shared dialogues of; Is this person keeping something from me? I am a protector. Did this person squeal on me? Who did this? Why would this person I know do this? We circle the same number of questions that are never answered. It made no difference how many times Jane questioned her brother’s involvement because when the book was over, nothing was revealed to us that we didn’t already know. Are we meant to believe that 14-year-old Jason was murdering all his mother’s boyfriends? The reveal of him having been sexually abused by at least one of Diane’s partners was hinted at as having happened early in the book & the fact that it is never concretely explored makes me feel as though it were utilized as some form of reasoning for him taking a baseball bat to a person. The reason I would have preferred a conclusive & well-presented ending was that we speak about so much of ‘nothing’ throughout the entire story that, when we arrive at the end; Diane lying on the sofa trying to off-herself, Jason covering for her evasion of guilt in the crimes, it all feels very shallow & rather vapid. I wish we had had some form of substantial dialogue. Instead, the entire final chapters are filled with back & forth ‘run’ ‘no’ ‘run’ ‘no’. Please, give me something to work with here, we’re standing in the room with the person we are meant to believe serial murdered dozens & dozens of adult men in his childhood, I need some form of concrete statement somewhere to clear the water because right now it makes little sense to me. This is not to say that I don’t understand Jason’s trauma response, I do. However, I would have wanted Ford to detail things more clearly. When did he snap? Where along the line did he realize violence was his means of retaliation? When did Diane realize that Jason was capable of violent crimes? What was the conversation they had between mother & son that would have resulted in Diane being completely fine with Jane hanging for a crime she knew Jane hadn’t committed? There was a lot of information missing & though it’s fine to hint at things & allow the reader to form their own conclusions, I didn’t like that for this story. The weight of the subjects broached in the plot merited some explanations. I would say particularly so as this story presents much of what many people go through in a way that sheds light on how common they are. People are swift & unquestioning when a parent states something; no one questioned whether or not Georgia Lee had Mono, for example. I think the children who were abused in this story deserved their truth to be told in a blunt & honest way. Though I acknowledge that this would rarely happen from a first-person perspective; the book would have benefited from a third-person narration. Utilizing Georgia Lee & Jane as narrators kept the story within confines that prevented the reader from learning details that would have carried weight; which would have garnered the characters' sympathy & understanding. A third-person narration would have also allowed the reader to pause, to reflect on many, if not all, of the facts presented in the story. Overall, I didn’t hate this story but it wasn’t one that I would revel in for its astounding plot. I found the characters to be shallow for the majority of the time. Though this might be true to their dimension as people, it was hard to want to continue reading when I didn’t feel any connection to any of them, nor did I anticipate any reveals because, for me, most of it was set out since the beginning. This is why I made my comments regarding the transparency of trauma/influence. I think other people will enjoy this story. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it & I do feel that it will be appreciated by some readers—particularly lovers of the genre—should they decide to give it a chance. Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, & Kelly J. Ford for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jan 09, 2022
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Jan 10, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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66
| 
| 9781954007314
| unknown
| 3.85
| 5,229
| Jan 25, 2022
| Dec 16, 2021
|
it was ok
|
It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on th
It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on infertility, body shaming, & others. This story followed Gemma as she settles herself on the decision to pursue In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in the hopes of being able to become a mother through the method of carrying her own child. This decision arises after being diagnosed with Endometriosis very early in her adult life, subsequently resulting in her being ridiculed for years on end by everyone around her who was made aware of the physical toll operations took on her body & the unfortunate decision made by her husband to pursue extramarital affairs instead of approaching his sudden decision to have children in a mature fashion. Gemma’s wild & unfounded infatuation with her brother’s best friend, Josh, results in her electing him as her desired sperm donor after sitting in a conversation with her practitioner & rather than voicing her need for a toilet break, spews lies so that she can evade the elongation of the appointment. I requested access to this story because I thought that it might approach infertility in a way that was refreshing & not doused in negativity. I find that it is often better & more enjoyable to read about a story in which someone might not necessarily have to wade through obstacles & traumas to get to the value of an experience. For example, we did not need to read phrases at end of Gemma’s mother calling her ‘fat’, we did not need for her to be constantly ridiculed by literally everyone around her due to scar tissue which formed on visually available sections of her body, we did not need for this character to be an absolute bolder-for-brains; this story could have profited of having more characters which resided actively in the current time period of medically available research, information & resources. It would have also been incredibly wonderful to not have to read about someone who experiences what many people in the real world do, in such a way as to render the reader disinterested in their well-being & development. I acknowledge that this was not a story that had me in mind as the target audience. However, that being said, I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief throughout the entirety of the story. By the 45% mark, I was incredibly uninterested in Gemma as the main character & really began to wonder how her family had failed her so utterly that she would be dedicated to putting her body through an intense exercise (pregnancy) whereas there are thousands upon thousands of children who would benefit from adoption into healthy safe homes. I wondered why Gemma was so intent on pursuing things that she had researched very little yet, which required an incredibly steep investment fee. While meeting with the support group for the first time, Gemma learns that IVF often does not ‘take’/’work’ the first round & is honestly shocked by this discovery. I was confused as to why. Perhaps this would have been the moment to pump the breaks & really reflect upon your level of understanding before tossing money at a process that has an unfortunate ‘unsuccessful’ rate amongst its users. I do not mean to be insensitive, what I mean is that Gemma seems to be approaching the personal endeavour of carrying her baby to term as though it is the only option, as well as her randomly pursuing having children for reasons which are never really explored. Gemma would benefit from some actual love; a person who would sit her down & explain to her that her value as a human being does not stem from being ‘able’ or ‘willing’ to carry a baby to term in her body but from her values, ethics, her person as is. Instead, we read about a grown adult who has been raised to feel utterly useless & rotten as a human being because she experienced a condition that was out of her control & resulted in everyone around her treating her like garbage for her entire adult life. It’s sad & I don’t particularly enjoy books of this kind because I can’t imagine having difficulty in conceiving a child, only to pick up this book & read about people chastising someone for those same experiences. I also do not feel as though any of the obstacles presented added any deep &/or revolutionary details to the story. To be honest, I found it really difficult to read about Gemma’s mom telling her that she was a piece of shit person because she was ‘fat’ & that no one wanted to be with a ‘fat’ divorcee who couldn’t birth their own children. I understand that some people do in fact live through this type of dialogue & it’s absolutely vile. However, what did it bring to the story except to propel the main character through delusions rendered into concrete action—i.e. IVF treatments to prove her worth rather than being pursued for the desire to foster love & positive healthy growth for another human being which, is a lifetime commitment. Overall, this book read as being about very immature adult people sailing through life without ever taking the time to fully comprehend the decisions & repercussions those actions would have on them & those around them. I wasn’t interested in any of the characters because I found nothing redeeming about them & could not imagine myself spending my days with them — i.e. I would not want to be friends with any of these characters, therefore, reading about their antics which might bring a child into the world was, unfortunately, exhausting. I can see why some people might thoroughly enjoy this story. There is enough exploration of topics that do affect a multitude of people, for the story to be pertinent. However, the characters lacked a great deal of depth & for me, this took away from the potential weight the story could have held. Had Gemma been someone with any forethought or grasp of life in any terms, I would have possibly been able to look past some of her antics. However, I kept having to remind myself that this person was well into their adult life & shouldn’t be so ignorantly pursuing actions that require a huge amount of life-altering preparation. Having listened to this book via audio, I want to highlight that Erin Mallon’s narration style was good & I did enjoy her take on the story & the characters. I will note that, structurally, I think this story might have benefitted from dual perspectives. It would have been interesting to read about Josh & his take on the situation & his development as a character. We read so much of Gemma’s perspective of him while they were growing up that I would have liked to know more about his first-person point of view throughout the years & especially while Gemma was ridding the mind-numbing coattails of the self-help guru. Thank you to NetGalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC & Sarah Ready for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Dec 30, 2021
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Dec 30, 2021
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Audiobook
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77
| 
| 4.12
| 56,436
| Feb 01, 2022
| Feb 01, 2022
|
it was ok
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on graphic violence, racially motivated crime, financial insecurity, racial slurs, psychological abuse, physical abuse, parental neglect, & others. The frequency with which Slocumb incorporates racism within this book was exceedingly high. This book is a story & the purpose of putting forth a work of fiction is ultimately to lead the reader through a tale that has been weaved with profoundness & forethought as to where the ending may conclude. It is to the detriment of every person who has been at the forefront of racially motivated hatred to read a story in which every other interaction presents a repeated act of racism without gifting Ray, the main character, with any depth to his person; there is nothing happening in between these acts of violence which leave the reader with the sentiment that this story has a plot. Rather, this book reads like a retelling of horrible things, none of which I deny have happened. When one reads a situation of fictionalized work that incorporates aspects of realism without necessarily branding the work as magical-realism, the web, known as the plot, may easily become mangled in an effort to sustain legitimacy & credibility. Objectively speaking, racism is wrong—I am not arguing the contrary. What I am saying is that presenting a story of the struggles encountered by a Black musician seeking to find his place in the world of classical music, while simply littering the book with racism; his grandmother saying that he needs to work harder; his mother being an abusive slog; his immediate family being complacent in his mother’s abuse; & little else to classify this book as anything but a familial drama, there is little left to lead the reader to feel any level of the desired sympathy for the main character. How did Ray make it through so many years of his life without being made aware that Black people in North America experience acts of racism? Was he not present when any singular member of his family might have encountered a similar situation to the one he had at the music store? Did no one in his family think to talk to him about the experiences he might have had growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina? This feels absurd. I am not assuming that the stress & anxieties lived by adults in the world should be imposed on children but, I cannot help but wonder that Ray lived freely in North Carolina without encountering a single racial slur up until he was 18/19 years old. As I have no tangible life experience in this domain as stated in the introductory paragraph, I shall leave these questions to be posed & answered by people of the community who may better speak on such things. Bordering on unbelievable, this story takes place in modern times & by modern I mean that it could be taking place in the same year as I wrote this review as well as it could the year prior. I have a particularly difficult time forgiving judicial ineptitude in books that take place in modern times as there is practically no excuse for things not to be resolved. I appreciate that the real world is seldom like the one we read about in books but, seeing as this story incorporates so many aspects of realism within the plot one would anticipate seeing a thorough police search take place when an authenticated Stradivarius violin insured for $10 million is stolen from under Ray’s nose. I acknowledge that policing bodies are not always as wonderful as one would hope. However, Nicole being the thief of the violin & not being followed or questioned in depth is ridiculous. Any person who has spent an afternoon watching any criminal show on television can readily tell you the spouse is almost always the culprit. This is not a far-fetched notion. Nicole, being someone who was present in the room when the violin went missing, who had all the motive in the world to take it, who had a history of romantic relationships with a person who was questionable legally speaking, walked out of the hotel room & away from police questioning without so much as a scratch on her record. This feels ludicrous, to say the least. How moronically boring it was to read about all the policing efforts being placed on a person who was surely an undocumented inhabitant of the United States whilst Nicole roamed around scot-free. Leaning on a popular belief behind that saying I would like to focus on Leon. The beloved ‘PopPop’ of Grandma Nora, who played the Stradivarius violin until his passing in 1935; left the Plantation that saw him under the ownership of a Master Thomas essentially without any hesitation or qualms by the Master of said Plantation nor from any other person involved in the business aspect of running such a place. Though I would love to believe that this was a common occurrence, one that I might believe to be true, I cannot rightly say that it was. I must admit that I felt rather disgusted with the route the author decided to take in terms of stringing together the moral of the story to the historical aspects that held weight both in the book & in reality. Reading that the Marks’ family was related to the slave owners that held Leon & many other Black people captives, & had travelled willingly on a boat from Italy to the United States only for them to hold the desire to become slave owners was wickedly stupid. I respect that many parts of history are hidden from us should we not know where to look. However, I do. The Italian people who immigrated to the United States were not regarded with any dignity or respect by the American people. Anyone who was not, shall we say, Germanic looking or bred was a stain on the human species & this included the Irish, Italians, Greeks, Chinese, & so on & so forth. As found in “The Book of History: United States” (1923): “[…][O]nly once before 1854 did the number in any year reach a thousand. […][T]he number increased, varying somewhat from year to year until the hundred thousand mark was reached in 1900.”(pg. 6321) This citation highlights that the number of Italian immigrants making their way to the United States was minimal at best. It would be implausible to assume that the small number of those people came to this new country & were gleaming to take part in slave ownership when many times they were also Indentured. Within the same book, there is noted that the percentage of Italian immigrants from the South (i.e. the reputably poorer part of the country) who spoke English was 55% which leads one to the conclusion that these people were not, in fact, jumping on a weeks-long journey to a country where they could statistically not communicate with the inhabitants with great ease. A search through census records would lead one to record that Italians were often marked as ‘Black’ given both the pigmentation of their skin & the derogatory opinions held towards them by those running the Census. Therefore, how would these same people have been taken seriously? Is it possible that Italian immigrants came to the United States & held social weight to put themselves in the slave trade & ownership—chances are slim but not impossible, after all, we as a species have bore witness to many a mind-bending occurrence. Yet, I cannot rightfully conclude that members of a group of people, whom the inhabitants of the United States despised, would have been able to make their way to the South, a less than welcoming location, put themselves forth to own a property outright, been taken seriously in their purchase of slaves & then have run a ‘successful’ Plantation. We come to the part in the story wherein Leon has played the violin for Master Thomas for a greater portion of his life. It has been hinted that Leon is a child born from the rape of his mother by Master Thomas yet, we’ve no reason to focus on that for very long as, before we know it, Leon is standing at the death bed of his humanitarian violator & being told that he will be granted whatever he wishes for because ‘he didn’t try & run away.’ What an incredible stroke of luck. Especially if we are to believe that Master Thomas was an Italian immigrant he would certainly have more to prove than any of his fellow American slaveowners & therefore have little reason to show kindness to anyone, ever. Yet, in a letter that Leon forced Grandma Nora to write when she was nine (9), we are led to the moral of the story which has left me with revulsion. In his recollections, Leon says that he asked to be a free man & voilà, wish granted. He asked for the freedom of his mother but, given that the Lady of the house had poor opinions of the victim of alleged rapes, she would be trapped at the Plantation. But, Oh! What other fairy dust has been sprinkled over the life of Leon, he is allowed to take the family heirloom, known to Ray as the Stradivarius, on his route with him to freedom. This comes from the same man we read about who amputated the body parts of those he had enslaved for the sake of ensuring that they never felt able to revolt or seek freedom. How on earth am I meant to believe that this makes sense? But wait, there’s more. Leon tells Grandma Nora that even though Master Thomas was a mean man, though he was a cruel man, Leon always treated him with respect. Leon never treated Master Thomas poorly & so, Grandma Nora should know that even if she is treated badly, she should treat everyone with respect. Am I meant to deduce that Leon treated Master Thomas with respect because he was a respectful person & not say because Master Thomas was performing horrific acts of violence & abuse against everyone on the Plantation? The moral of the story cannot possibly be to link the survival mindset of someone who was enslaved to the racism experienced by someone in the 1930s. Clearly, there is a disparity in what is being presented & I cannot help but wonder that no one questioned why this letter that Grandma Nora wrote was not edited to reflect better light on the moral of the story. I am sure that Leon felt better within himself by acting in a way that saw him attempt to be true to his values. However, he was enslaved. It does not matter that he was respectful to a person who owned slaves; this person does not care about the well-being of a person they are keeping as a slave. At the end of the day, it did not matter what Leon did, he could have had his limbs cut off for simply being a Black person. It’s nice to want to encourage a young person to be true to themselves even in the face of cruelty but to say that treating a slaveowner with respect was taking the moral high ground versus simply performing acts in an attempt to not be mutilated, abused or killed, is absurd. Leon could have drawn a conclusion to his life working in the music scene, where he most certainly experienced prejudice being a ‘free man’ in a world that believed only White Americans were truly free. As a final thought, I would have regarded this book more highly had it been branded as a drama. This is not a thriller. To put this book amongst those that riddled the heart with murmurs & leaps is to do it a great disservice. This is a story that seeks to highlight the racial inequality felt by Black people who are attempting to breach the classical music scene. This alone is enough. One did not need the ploy to steal the violin as it brought down the quality of the book significantly. A story about classical music artists & the struggles they overcome to be the best at their craft would be wonderful to read. Even more so from the perspective of a person who did so themselves. The author would have done well to write this book as non-fiction. I truly appreciated all the details regarding orchestra performances, practices, compositions of the Greats, etc. I would have enjoyed this story very much. Yet, when I have reached the end of this book I wonder that we should regard Grandma Nora so highly when she raised Ray’s mother—his abuser—& did nothing to quell her abusive behaviour. I wonder that the Marks family terminated their lawsuit because they were worried that the letter Grandma Nora penned as a child might reflect poorly on their family, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it would have already been known that they had slaveowners in their family. I wonder that none of the characters held much depth in a story that revelled in recollections; I don’t even know who Ray is at all, he plays the violin & that’s all that’s written. I wonder at many things & yet, I shan’t remember to wonder tomorrow, so little this story did impress upon me. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Apr 05, 2022
|
Dec 28, 2021
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
71
| 
| B08LDY63RX
| 3.95
| 28,216
| Aug 17, 2021
| Aug 17, 2021
|
liked it
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on animal abuse, sexual violence, sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor, violent crime, & others. This is a story that I had been looking forward to reading for some time. I have not read any of Chizmar’s other works & so had no expectations going into this one. I acknowledge that as a seasoned Horror reader, it is difficult to impress upon me a plot that leaves me unsettled, uncertain & perturbed. I think it is important to highlight this because when everything is said & done with regard to my review, this was a good book & one which I would encourage others to read. My reason for highlighting my experience with the genre is that this book was not one which presented me with an antagonist that I could not predict. I will also attribute my clear vision of the plot to my habits. I, alongside Chizmar’s character in the novel, enjoy podcasts, documentaries, books & horror stories of the faltering human consistencies. That being said, I did not find that my accurate prediction took away from my overall enjoyment. Chizmar is a good author, he is a good writer & one who is swiftly able to incorporate genuine human emotions & tones into his story. Very quickly upon starting my read, I understood who this character was—Richard Chizmar being the main character & narrator of the story as well as the author in question—& was familiar with his quirks, his qualms & his overall sense of self. The main character felt familiar to me in a way that places him among the people I know in my life. In my opinion, is it most important to praise an author who beholds the seamless ability to transport fictional characters into the world of the reader. Even as Richard becomes a character that I do not find myself in agreement with, his choice of actions fits his personality. Of course, he would withhold important information & evidence from police; how else would we move forward in a story which sees him becoming overly involved in a series of brutal murders for which he could realistically be responsible? It is in full part thanks to Chizmar’s writing that I found myself finishing this book. Once it was stated that Natasha had not been sexually assaulted I clocked her brother as the assailant. Of course, one can state that there was very little reason to look to a sibling as being the perpetrator of such heinous violence however, as I stated earlier, this is a topic with which I have become overly familiar. I am in no way stating that reading fictional accounts of violent crimes is the same thing as experiencing them in real life. I do not seek to take away from the weight that these crimes pose on the people whose lives they affect. Nor am I saying that my third-party experiences on the subject matter render me a flawless expert on the subject. What I am saying is that there was little reason to believe that anyone other than Josh Gallagher murdered Natasha. I was truly hoping that my second theory would come to fruition. With the introduction of local lore into the story as a crafted backdrop to what we come to know as the familiar town; I felt that there was more of a connection between the disappearances of the children in the 1960s than the characters were choosing to acknowledge. Should the assailant in those cases have been the same person who was returning to commit other crimes against youth there were many things that would tie the cases together. I do acknowledge that victim type is a present factor in criminology. Seeing as the ages of the children in the 1960s differed significantly from those of the victims in 1988 one might state that there is little reason to suspect a continuation of criminal activity. However, for argument’s sake, it was irresponsible of the police force to not regard the history of criminal activity in the region nor was it satisfactory to simply regard the inclusion of a male child victim as a reason to discount the possibility that the assailant would be one and the same. I enjoy a story that requires me to look further into the subject matter at hand & this story did see me questioning many of the decisions taken & therefore, researching the topics to further my knowledge. This primarily ensued after we were told that the assailant was biting his victims. Why was bite mark evidence not taken? Why was no imprint or analysis of the bite done, whatsoever? Forensic Odontology was first introduced in 1898 & has been highlighted as a controversial practice in recent years. I acknowledge that not every community of people will have the most up-to-date knowledge or capabilities at hand when conducting an investigation but, Josh was imprinting clearly defined bites onto the bodies of his victims, this should have been looked into. We see the policing body literally use dental stone powder to take an imprint of the boot mark outside a windowsill but we never see anyone think to regard physical alterations made onto the victim directly from the body of the assailant. This was very frustrating for me. As well, I acknowledge that many forensic practices cannot be relied upon as flawless indicators, such as composite sketches. Bravo to the young girl who found herself able to escape The Boogeyman thanks to the pepper spray her mother had given her but, it was, again, frustrating to read about her testimony being relied upon so heavily. I am not saying that her memories of the attack & assailant are untrustworthy but with the asinine levels of stress & bewildering levels of adrenaline, it would be reasonable to suspect that she was unable to accurately recall everything that she saw, felt, smelt or did. She is also a kid, so the fact that her recollections were put at the forefront of a criminal investigation felt wrong. I’m not a man but I have enough knowledge of shoe sizes to know that a size 10 shoe probably did not belong to someone towering above 6 feet. Basing the stature & height of the assailant on the testimony of a child who was about to be murdered, who was lesser than 5’5, who was fighting for survival in the dark, was lazy investigative work. There was too much uncertainty & yet every head of the investigation never thought to regard those facts as relevant. Of course, a child will think an adult is bigger than they are, every adult is enormous until you become an adult & then everyone isn’t so daunting after all. Of course, a child isn’t going to be able to give accurate height measurements, there are few adults who can do that. Why were her descriptions of the earthy smell of the body of the assailant not looked into further? Who in the town is working with lumber, soil, or, the Trades, etc.? This would severely narrow down the list of possible suspects. When a character purposefully withholds information or questions whether or not to involve the investigative teams, especially during a murder spree, I feel irritation that I cannot put into words. Wouldn’t it have been swell if Richard had simply *69 the calls he had been getting? For any younger person reading this who is possibly unaware of what that means; the function of pressing the star (*) key followed by the numbers 6-9, on a telephone permits the receiver to redial the last number that called their phone. Would it also not have been fantastic if Richard told the Detective that he had been hearing vocals during those phone calls rather than simply saying that he heard breathing? I highlight Richard’s behaviour because I find it quite funny when characters who proclaim to have hobbies that see them invested in such practices ignore everything they would recognize as the ‘right’ decision when it comes time to act in real life. Then again, who is to say how one might react when presented with the subject matter one reads about in fictional stories? There remain aspects of the story which I found tiring to read about such as the amount of time it took the Detective to clue into the fact that The Boogeyman was a local. As well, Richard never tells the Detective that he saw The Boogeyman wandering the streets at night in a mask. So on, & so forth. However, I enjoyed this book. The slew of characters we see on the pages was wonderful in their own right; they fit well with each other, they functioned to their full potential in the story, they were detailed & real & I enjoyed meeting them. I appreciated the writing style & I appreciated having the author visualize himself in a fictional account of a real-life terror. That is to say, though The Boogeyman might not be Josh, he has been other people. We see this reflected in dramatizations of crimes; the lurker in the night, the axe dangling silently, the creaking of windows, the riddled freezers, the stench, the fear; these have been real people. Chizmar sees them reflected in this story just as he sees the hope, strong will, love & force that the families of those victimized hold true through the pages of a story that seeks to sprinkle some form of faith at the promise of an extension of all things positive, from the corners of our innermost beliefs of optimism, throughout the years of a lifetime. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Mar 17, 2022
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Dec 27, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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52
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| unknown
| 3.81
| 50,283
| Sep 28, 2021
| Sep 28, 2021
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on distorted body image, eating disorders, distorted eating, & others. I will preface my review by stating that Romance is not my preferred genre. I, more often than not, find it difficult to enjoy & am usually left disappointed by tropes & storylines; employed simply for their idealization of situations which should not be romanticized. I continue to try books found within the genre because, deep down, I am a romantic at heart & I want to find a cozy story that reflects honest & true romance. Unfortunately, this was not said book. I enjoyed the first couple of chapters of this book as the plot was introduced & we got a feel for the small town in which Ivy had just settled herself, after a divorce which left her feeling disheartened & jaded. Once we pass the initial introduction of the characters, their quirks, & the ways in which they fit into the storyline, I was not impressed with the direction the book took. I want to touch on the introduction of eating disorders into this story. I will take full ownership that my feelings towards said subject matter are influenced by my actually living through the illness & it being something that unfortunately remains present in my life through a process of continued recovery. Therefore, when stories brazenly introduce a character as having an eating disorder or tendencies which are taken lightly, I find it very overwhelming to continue moving through a book. This may not be the case for everyone. When we are reading about Ivy’s friend (whose name I really cannot for the life of me, remember) not eating for days/weeks, & her claiming she still has x-amount of pounds to lose before she can meet the man she’s been in a virtual relationship with, I was automatically put-off. Why did this need to be part of the book? I think what’s important to remember when incorporating topics such as eating disorders or even, disordered eating tendencies, is to ask oneself: what does this bring to the story? If you are simply introducing disordered eating because it seems to add ‘edges’ to the character, please do not do so. If you are adding it so that the topic is explored in a way that sheds light in a healthy format while stimulating character-to-character discussion regarding the horrific repercussions of disordered eating, by all means, proceed. The reason we should be asking ourselves questions when introducing heavy topics is that when we do not; when we simply give someone an ‘arch’ because they need something ‘more’ to them than simply being (in this case) a cat-fishing dud; we are not doing justice to the actual subject matter & are therefore adding to a negative dialogue. There was no need for the character in this book to have disordered eating. The lady was a catfish & was forcing her friend to answer for her rude behaviour. Her starving herself brought nothing to the story except reinforce the thought/dialogue that another person’s weight is the primary indicator of attractiveness. Therefore, having this aspect in the story added nothing to the plot, nothing to the character’s development or depth. It should not have been brazenly introduced. Because this was such a very short story, I feel that I didn’t really waste my time. The narration of the audiobook by Kathleen McInerney was so well done, that I was able to make it through the story without feeling as though this was a terrible mistake. However, I really wish that there was more depth to each of the characters. Ivy felt so naive & young; someone who really had no clue about anything. A lot of the dialogue felt introduced for the sake of continuing the story without reason. Her visiting Mr. Jones (I cannot remember any of their names…) was nice & added something sweet & diverse to the events of the story. However, his dialogue was riddled with embarrassment. Their conversations felt forced, as though there weren’t a thousand things to talk about with a person who had lived such a full life. Yet here we were reading about them discussing Ivy’s cheating husband. I digress, I know this advances the plot but, it’s annoying to read. All-in-all, this was an OK book. If you are looking for a read which is something like a Hallmark Christmas movie, look no further. The story is very cheesy, cozy-Christmas-y. There isn’t a huge amount of depth to the story which might make you feel overwhelmed by the conflicts. I can see why so many people have enjoyed this book & that’s great but, it wasn’t for me. ...more |
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1
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not set
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Dec 23, 2021
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Dec 24, 2021
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Audiobook
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138
| 
| 4.26
| 6,248,077
| Jul 11, 1960
| May 23, 2006
|
it was ok
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on racially derogatory language, defamatory statements against Black & Indigenous Peoples, extreme violence, incest, sexual abuse, child endangerment, religious extremism, racially motivated crime, parental neglect, the death of an animal, suicide, financial insecurity, judicial violence, & others. It is always fascinating when folks rely on time to forgive them for their misgivings. Some people say that things happened because it was a different time, others excuse the behaviour because that was just the way that it was during that time. In either case, they are wrong. For some people, time grants an allowance of insight. After years of hearing the plights of the brutally beaten, enslaved, murdered, tortured, & degraded they begin to understand—through the grace of some higher being, I suppose—that these things are wrong. It does not often lead them to turn over their shoulder & ask for forgiveness for the actions perpetrated during the times when they believed otherwise because, the clock has been ticking & to them, this is not a necessary action. Yet even when the times were different, when the clock hadn’t yet reached the hour, for those for whom violence was actioned upon, for whom life was a thing to overcome; time has remained the same. Lee endeavours to explore a reality I will wager that she is acutely unfamiliar with. I make this assumption after taking note of multiple catchphrases & intonations which are specific to certain groups of people but which are employed at leisure throughout this plot. All the while, the folks on whom this story is meant to focus, are absent from the narrative. In the first case, we have the elusive character of Arthur (“Boo”) Radley. This character is described as being a recluse yet, reading this book as an adult highlights that Boo was in fact a victim of religious extremism & abuse, leading him to become so disconnected from the world around him that he could no longer engage with it, in any capacity. When Boo was a younger man he began to find friends among people who did not believe in the same religious principles as he did; people from the neighbourhood, the community, & folks that were experiencing their youth to the extreme. Because of an action that was deemed uncouth, the boys were sent to a school where they were given diligent attention & a proper good education. Boo’s father, being a religious extremist who seldom allowed his own wife off of the property, decided that this was not acceptable & was entrusted the care & punishment that would befit the casual prankster’s crime. This punishment was seclusion in a basement which stunted Boo’s growth to the point where he became a ghost within himself. We can certainly look upon this sequence of events as what Lee is casually attempting to present. We cannot know the truth behind every closed door & some people are different in public than they are in private. Yet, Mr. Radley was the same person inside & out; a bigot against a tide different than the one he believed to be the only path to salvation. Throughout the entire book, it is made apparent that the adults of the town know that Boo is alive in the house. They seldom talk about him because his situation is none of their business whereas it should have been—a theme overly present within the plot. In place of explaining that some people view their religious beliefs via a spectrum that exceeds those of others, Lee presents Boo Radley as a simple man who lives a couple of houses down & minds his business & everyone should respect that. This is ridiculous. Is it meant to be ironic that the town allows a White man to allegedly wander around at night & stare into the windows of women whilst a Black man is shot 16 times? Why is Boo Radley granted the freedom of his illusion? Why did no one care about his well-being when everyone in the town meddled in the affairs of each other? We return to my original point. It might be easy to state that times were different & people didn’t understand religious abuse, let alone the consequences of it, but that is untrue. Boo understood it & other members of the town, such as Maudie, understood it. Why then, was there such a distinct lack of action? When Tom Robinson is introduced it is by proxy of a court case that Atticus Finch had been assigned by the local courts. Tom is not properly welcomed into the narrative until he is granted his rapid-fire testimony which is cut to the quick as the main character, Scout Finch, leaves the room & the reader is given no more from Tom than to be informed that he felt hopeless from his conviction. The book’s reputation leads readers to believe that Tom’s story plays a greater role in the plot than it actually does. The majority of this story focuses on Scout, her brother Jem, & the neighbour child, Dill, who comes to visit every summer. None of this entails the reality of a Black person. I will highlight that I think every narrative deserves its day in court; everyone should be able to write what they know. Lee does not know the reality of Black people & she has not written under the guise of having that knowledge. What she has done, however, is write a story about Black people that is absent of Black people, except as legitimate shadow figures in the woods who cannot read, write, speak ‘properly’, or understand anything about the world. This is not an uncommon approach to the inclusion of Black folks in stories nor is it a unique take on Black people point-blank. There is an entire scene where society women are discussing the barbaric practices of Tribal people & religious missionaries, which Scout thinks is interesting & wonderful; a duty worth exploring. Where are the people worth exploring in this book? Every scene is riddled with contradictions. One minute we are meant to believe that putting ourselves in the shoes of others allows us a more well-rounded perspective of their reality. This can certainly be true. Except perhaps in the case of the main folks who are bemoaned in this plot because according to the narrative, they are savages who wear no shoes. I am not ignorant to believe that the irony of this plot would not be lost on the majority of the characters. Scout wonders why her teacher ‘hates’ Adolf Hitler but stands for the murder & enslavement of Black people. As the teacher herself said, Jewish people have brought so much to society—every society in which they live—unlike, those who have been enslaved from their societies & berated into being the scum of the earth. A simple White v. Black coin flip of compassion & care. We go in circles here because I do not think that Lee quite understood the tree that she was barking up. Much of racial prejudice, racism, is permitted because somewhere along the lines of—the 15th or 16th century—someone decided that a nose shaped in a certain way was indicative of a certain kind of people, & a skin tone of a certain shade was representative of a certain kind of people, etc. Just as Aunt Alexandra wanders around town explaining that there is a streak in every family, so too does the town view the image they see in the mirror as the epitome of ethnically superior. It is the plight of the ignorant, or perhaps the one of every human being, to be unable to look upon themselves & see that which they lack; the mistakes they have made. Easy it is to point fingers, it does seem that that is what they are for. When I read this book as a child I cried when I learned of Tom’s death. I was horrifically sad that an innocent person would be murdered. I did not grow up ignorant of racism or the brutality of the imbecilic adult world. I have always been aware of that which surrounds me. Yet, I could not grasp how this logically made sense; how can you kill an innocent person? Tom was a father, he was a husband, he was a man trying his best in a world that wanted to see him fail. It’s almost as though he was brought there to be the scapegoat for the inabilities of the White men of the town. I do not say this out of naivety, I say this out of truth; everyone knew that Ewell folk were in a bad way & yet they took their side so, where does the title of the book come into play? The rules of the game are simple if you are in the lead. Do not kill animals on Sundays, do not shoot at people because you will harm them, do not swing guns around to avoid injury, do not be unkind, & do good to others. The innocent deserve a chance to remain so, per the rules of the game & the one they are playing by themselves. The final scenes of this book see Mr. Ewell stabbed to death by Boo Radley as he maneuvers himself in the darkness of night to save the Finch children from death. The sheriff concludes that Mr. Ewell fell on his knife because he will not stand by & let the innocent shy nature of the shadows be brought to court to be eaten alive. Yet, he did just that with Tom Robinson. He says that we should let the dead bury the dead. Why did anyone need to die? The innocents of this book are the game players. I understand that this is how life works; something, something, history is written by the victors & all of that. However, we have to read about how wonderful it was that Atticus was doing his due diligence in the Tom Robinson case, which mind you was ongoing for nearly 2 years; only for everyone to be low-key supportive of that fact to then vote against him in court & convict Tom to a sentence of death. If you form the majority & the majority wants to change, change there shall be. It is not enough for Maudie to say that people were supportive of Atticus, they needed to act that way too. Is that the lesson here? Are we to be reminded that the reader should be as they are in private in public, & vice versa? Because there is little substance to the events that take place the generous nature of Lee’s decision to include the N-word bogs down the narrative. There is little discussion of what this word means nor what the word means when it is employed in different ways. Scout fights people who call her father an “N-word lover” but she doesn’t know what it means. Does she think it’s bad to like Black people? Does she understand what her father does for a living? Does she understand the society in which she lives? Does she understand that Calpurnia is a person before she is a housemaid? No, she does not. She is a young child for the entirety of this story but, no adult ever sits her down to explain things. They allow her to be privy to the conversations without granting her the deliverance of an explanation. Because of this, the story stalls. We read so much about the casual summer activities of Scout, Jem, & Dill with little of anything else to lead the reader to believe that the book was about the reality of the racial divide in 1935 Alabama. Instead, this story reads as a juvenile account of the Great Depression—something that made it so some people never bathed but those folks never took what they couldn’t pay back so, shoutout to them. The whiplash that accompanies this story is bludgeoning & dull. The reader learns about the construction of the city, the history of the court house & the reason why Atticus’ law office is in the bank but there are never any conversations or background about racial inequalities. There is no information about why people believe that certain folks are ‘just that way inclined’. None of the praise that precedes this book in reputation can actually be found within it. This story does not set the tides to right, does not calm treacherous waters; it is a story about a White child who antagonizes others (because she is a child) & watches her father lawyer a case barrelled to be lost. At no time does the narrative explore the incestuous abuse of the Ewells. Never does the story present the trenches of domestic abuse. These are intended as small blimps of reality, barely forming a whole. How did the Ewells have so many “young children” running around if the matriarch had long since passed? Why was no one questioning these facts? I cannot say for certain that these details are meant to paint the picture I find myself looking at but, despairing is the portrait that colours the world where the sexual abuse of children is not as important as blindly killing an ethnicity of people you deem problematic. I am not someone who enjoys confrontation. I am a person who understands the value of words. I relate to Atticus in many ways. We both enjoy reading more than almost anything else; our favourite hours of the day are to be snuggled in with phrases on a page. Yet, his teachings are troubling & naive. It is in fact okay to hate Hitler. It is okay to not agree with someone to the point where it troubles you inside; engages you in action. It is not okay to placate those who are aggressors; going into their homes to read to them after they were brutally unkind. We do not need to surf the waves of water with limp bodies waiting for the confrontational sword bearers to sling their weapons & shift the winds. We can encourage change by saying that something is not okay. The moral of this story reminds children that we do not know everyone’s story. Those who are loud & aggressive might be going through something difficult. However true that might be, it is also no excuse to be racially violent. If the innocent are as appreciated & welcome as the Mockingbird, why have some people decided that a bird of a different colour feather need not sing? The reality is that much of what is written in this book was in earnest. People have certainly hated folks from other races, & they still do. People encourage their children to abandon their instincts to be in the company of adults to save face. Some folks are dirt poor & have nothing to their name but the letters that form it. Therefore, let me ask again; what about the time has changed? ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Dec 24, 2022
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Nov 27, 2021
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Paperback
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47
| 
| 9781427221742
| unknown
| 3.90
| 98,358
| 2004
| Jul 31, 2012
|
it was ok
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I have struggled with my review since finishing the audiobook. When I started listening to this story I hadn't any inkling as to what the plot was abo
I have struggled with my review since finishing the audiobook. When I started listening to this story I hadn't any inkling as to what the plot was about & after enjoying the first couple moments of the narration, decided to pursue the entire book. I cannot say that there was any specific moment which stood-out to me as being particularly astounding, memorable or thoroughly enjoyable. Neither was there anything that was particularly disagreeable, horrendous or unpleasant. This was simply a book that I read & that is that. If you are seeking something which isn't too much of any which thing; a plot which has characters who are not very incredibly explored but, at the same time, seem to reflect interesting particulars of real life human beings - this might be a story you will enjoy. My main point of contention with the story was the lack of any communication at all, amongst almost every character. Everyone was written as being decent human beings but then, when it came time to express something, to communicate something - everyone fell flat as though that had never been something which had arisen for them in the years spent amongst other people. I can understand a couple times but, having a conversation with the child you love, raised & spent 18 years adoring, regarding their adoption is not the time for filler words when the truth should have been put forth but, who am I to speak on being an adoptive parent. In any case, not a terribly wonderful nor horrible book. Simply a well-narrated & quaint story. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Nov 18, 2021
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Nov 18, 2021
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Audiobook
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67
| 
| 1503934713
| 9781503934719
| 1503934713
| 4.09
| 202,648
| Jun 01, 2016
| Jun 01, 2016
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did not like it
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**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on sexual assault, rape, abduction, physical violence, psychological abuse, & others. Inara, also known as our unreliable narrator, is an insulting character to read about. I want to preface what I am about to say by highlighting that I acknowledge that every single person will experience, express & live the repercussions of trauma in differing ways. I am in no way seeking to remove the validity of a person’s (in this case, a character) lived experiences. With that being said, I would like to know what the author had in mind when they went forward with crafting Inara. Was the intent to cause a ripple throughout the story? Was this a character whose purpose was to shock & bring a reader to anger? Throughout the first half of the book, I was truly grasping at straws seeking to find ways & reasons to empathize with Inara. She treats everyone around her like stale urine only for us to read about her ‘guardianship’ role amongst the other captive girls, as well as being the singular person that The Gardener trusted. What would incite a serial murderer, rapist, tormentor & overall abuser to sit alongside one of his captives & begin to recount events from his life? Why would he have done that? I did not feel as though reasons were clearly given to cushion the reasonings behind his decision-making. Though The Gardener was described as being ‘paternal’ to his victims, this does not lead me to believe that this person was seeking companionship. Certainly not to the point where he would disregard his actual family to pour his soul out to a person he had abducted. It is not far-fetched to believe that no one girl pushed for a rebellion against the singular captor. Some of the people kept in seclusion were there for years at a time & were often kept totally isolated save for the moments in which they were being abused by The Gardener. I can appreciate the frustration that might be felt while reading through this book because, truly, the obvious question remains; why could 20 people not overthrow a singular person? For argument’s sake, I did a bit of mental math to determine The Gardener’s age & subsequently the likelihood that young girls might feel they had a fighting chance at escape. The Gardener explains that he began abducting women when he took over the family business & was finishing post-secondary school. Therefore it would be appropriate to clock his age at somewhere near 20. He utilizes dated vocabulary & has two (2) fully grown adult children. When we look at Lorraine we note that she is over the age of 40. Given his preferred age range at which time he seeks to abduct his victims, we can place Lorraine as being several years his junior, therefore we might confidently clock The Gardener as being in his 50s if not further along in age. We read about the worries that plague The Gardener with regard to the possibility that the girls attempt to commit suicide. However, much of this train of thought makes no sense. Why would he prevent them from the use of treadmills yet, sit by & watch them climb trees? Our antagonist is a parent to two children, least we forget; it’s parenting 101 to be wary about children climbing great heights knowing the risk of paralysis or death, should they fall. The story also includes scenes in which the girls are wandering around the compound which would grant them access to items that, if splintered or broken, could easily inflict injury. The Gardener seemed to abduct the girls when they had their wallets with them but, I wanted to know how he was certain of their ages before making his move. Was he doing background research? Even if he was a great guesser, there’s no way to rely on that skill to be certain. Had he been relying on ID cards to confirm their ages I want to pose the very probable scenario that is, fake IDs. This is particularly pertinent as Inara was pursuing work in an industry that was age monitored, as a minor. In any case, Inara wasn’t who her ID cards said she was & yet he seemed to be content to believe whatever it was that was written, which leads me to believe he wasn’t particularly strict with regard to upholding his own rules. The entire situation with Sophia left me with many unanswered questions. If we are to assume that The Gardener is detail-oriented, as one would hope to be should one be keeping 20 people captive at a time? One can deduce that it wouldn’t be outside his abilities to figure out what happened to Sophia once she escaped. Therefore, why risk exposure by showing up at her place of work (the restaurant)? How did The Gardener validate his spending on his Tax forms? He was stealing merchandise from his place of business, had funded a stranger’s educational path through nursing school. A person who, mind you, would have had to maintain an active licence. The same person had no proof of prior education given that she was being held captive by a psychopath for the entirety of her formative & subsequent years. I digress. All of these technical inquiries aside, this story fell incredibly flat. There was no ambiance to add to all the terrible things being tossed into the plot; no build-up, no tension. It felt as though the author brainstormed horrific things & simply added them into the book one by one. The things that were included in the story to induce sentiments of horror are inherently horrific, we as the reader recognize that to be true without needing to read about them happening. If you are seeking to write horror; a story that will leave people feeling uncomfortable or afraid, you need to properly layout the story to allow those feelings to fester. When all is said & done I would not recommend this book. It would have benefited from the efforts of a diligent editor & some restructuring of the storyline. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Nov 14, 2021
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Nov 14, 2021
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Paperback
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45
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| 0062890050
| 9780062890054
| 3.37
| 18,910
| Sep 24, 2019
| Sep 24, 2019
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** As a seasoned reader, I have come to learn that I prefer stories that incorporate some relevant, factual, & truthful information int
**spoiler alert** As a seasoned reader, I have come to learn that I prefer stories that incorporate some relevant, factual, & truthful information into the plots of books which take place in our world. That is to say, books that are not dealing with Magical Realism but very much the plain old mother earth that we know & love. I am also very much aware of the fact that I am not someone who enjoys Romance novels. I will continue to make efforts to find the sub-genre of Romance that does not leave me feeling annoyed or off-put but, until such a time as I find what I am hoping for, here we are. I have no first-hand experience with natural disasters that do not involve snow. I was looking forward to reading a story that dealt with a geographical location & subsequently its meteorology, in a way as to leave me with more knowledge than I had previously. Rather than find myself rooting for a character who made rational decisions I found myself reading about Bree, the protagonist, who was so beyond nonsensical that it made me question whether or not I was reading a satirical piece. In all honesty, I could not make it over the halfway mark. The series of events that transpired up until the middle was preposterous. I found Bree's decision to refuse to evacuate to be ludicrous & her blatant dismissal of government imposition bizarre on a multitude of levels. How, as a pet owner, do you decide to use your pet as a scapegoat; a reason to stay behind during a natural disaster in which you most certainly will perish? This made no sense to me. Knowing that she had an elderly animal who was triggered by any changes to their environment, Bree decides to stay in town so that her pet does not have to feel the stresses of travel. All this while a Hurricane is looming. It is your responsibility to ensure the safety & well-being of your animal. That does not include keeping them hostage while you sacrifice yourself to a Hurricane. Bree's reasoning behind refusing to evacuate was that she did not want to 'run away' anymore. She found herself living in this town because she had 'run away' & now that something was threatening her stay she refused to be the victim of her stale personality. This doesn't need to be said but, a natural disaster is not the same thing as personal struggles. You can leave an area of geography in the hopes of surviving another day & still learn to communicate in a healthy way to ensure that you feel comfortable & confident in the place you are at in life. People were constantly bending over backwards to assist Bree. What really boggled my mind was her inability to show her gratitude. She acted as though every single person in her environment were an antagonist. I understand that Bree had gone through some less-than-stellar situations in the past. I am not trying to say that anyone who has experienced trauma should be quick to trust any stranger. However, this is a person who is in their mid-twenties. At some point, you have to decide that you want to live a life you enjoy & not be bogged down by the horrors of your past. You have to give yourself the chance to enjoy & trust & love. To put it plainly, the people in this town have been there for years, in some cases decades. When they tell you that you need to evacuate, please believe them. How are you going to come at me straight-faced & say that it's smart for you to ride your scooter around town on the eve of an impending Hurricane? That is simply bewildering. I will applaud Piper Goodeve for her stellar narration of this audiobook. I was hooked instantly, though the plot left much to be desired. I would not suggest this book. There's no real depth or intrigue to the story & more often than not, things made little to no sense & were ultimately frustrating to read about. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Oct 22, 2021
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Oct 22, 2021
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Audiobook
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42
| 
| 9781250832764
| 3.85
| 103,786
| Mar 18, 2021
| Sep 2021
|
did not like it
|
If I can clock the twist in the first two (2) pages of a book, along with the entire layout of the plot-it is certainly not a book worth reading. I si
If I can clock the twist in the first two (2) pages of a book, along with the entire layout of the plot-it is certainly not a book worth reading. I simply do not have the energy to describe how dreadfully disappointing this book was for me.
...more
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Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Oct 03, 2021
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Oct 03, 2021
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Paperback
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51
| 
| 1496725557
| 9781496725554
| 1496725557
| 3.80
| 3,312
| May 28, 2019
| May 26, 2020
|
did not like it
|
This book would stand out as a decent read for those who are not overly enticed by or exposed to the Mystery genre. As for myself, I have been a seaso
This book would stand out as a decent read for those who are not overly enticed by or exposed to the Mystery genre. As for myself, I have been a seasoned mystery reader for some time so, was not able to fully appreciate this book for what it might mean to others. I found my mind wandering. I was stuck in a vicious loop of working very hard to remain focused on what I was reading only for my subconscious to decide that whatever was on those pages was really not worth paying attention to. I suppose the main reason I had such difficulty retaining my enthusiasm was that there was a lot happening within the plot which dealt with circumstantial descriptions rather than actual plot advancement. For example, every time a character performed an action or a character was introduced to a scene, we were given stage descriptions which left me feeling bored, it was as though we were circling the point. I definitely appreciate the details attributed to world-building but before I knew it, I felt we were focusing too heavily on this aspect rather than presenting characters who were fleshed-out & distinctive. McKenna did have a clear idea about the scene she intended to set & I will acknowledge that I had little to no difficulty in imagining the world in which the story took place. My main qualm with the enumerable details was the fact that we returned to a set of characters that felt very flat & boring once everything was described at length. I don’t enjoy using the term ‘boring’ because truly, what does it mean, however, each & every one of the people in this story did absolutely nothing to entertain the notion of them being useful to the plot or the general story, in the least. We circle & circle, & come back & circle some more; their use of the same inner monologues: is __ making fun of me, people are teasing me, horses horses horses horses, we get it. Show me an aspect of each character that is not bogged down with superfluous tendencies. Neither main character (Lyndy & Stella) was enjoyable to read about. Both seemed incredibly disconnected from the real world & yes, I acknowledge that both lived in wealth & luxury but, I digress. The main characters were duds; they were sullen & sulky, entitled & snobbish, dull & dumb, & ridiculous. I kept waiting for something to stand out, for some aspect of their characters to intrigue or entice me. I was hoping for even just a small aspect that would render their desire to involve themselves in a murder mystery in 1905 logical but, that never happened. There were, as I said, too many other things happening for the mystery to be the main focal point. I appreciated the multiple genres employed in this book but, near the end, I was annoyed at the marriage being a focal point of the plot because Stella wallows in her shock that her pompous abusive, money-hungry, delirium-ridden excuse for a father, would trade her off into marriage, as though that wasn’t obviously what men of his style in such a time period would & had been doing. In any case, I was left feeling disappointed. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Dec 09, 2021
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Oct 02, 2021
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Paperback
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97
| 
| B00ANW13U6
| 3.77
| 567
| Jan 01, 2012
| Dec 18, 2012
|
it was amazing
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on the death of an animal, gore, the death of a child, substance use, suicidal ideation, grief, & others. Sam Hatch was once a member of a prestigious field, he was a doctor. Aspects of reality doused in facts settled him in his quotidian & left him feeling pleased with all he was given. A lovely wife, whom he adored, & their consummated love born into the child they cherished. Sam was pleased, he was content & the aspects of life that nagged those around him inhabited the bodies of those who had space to house feelings of anxiety & dread. Yet, when the New Year chimes, Sam falls asleep at the wheel as he drives his family home. His wife, Annie, & their daughter, Marley, suffered graphically in their final moments; succumbing to deaths often left unspoken for the terrible imagery they produce in our minds. Novellas showcase an author's raw talent; one needs few words to get to the point of something & when one comes upon such a story as this, one is left simmering over the events for days afterward. The aspects of this story that are particularly horrible, terrifying, & sombre are those that reside in relatability. Though we might not have lived through the crash that produced death upon the members of Sam’s family, we have come close to feeling as humbled in shadow as he has felt. Perhaps we have even felt exactly as Sam does. Perhaps our house has morphed into an edifice that crumbles under our touch; the touch of someone at once the driver & the passenger doomed by actions we cannot think to control. How many layers of insulation, drywall, & wallpaper must one concave to come to an end? Where within the structures that house us do we find the person we lost in grief, chaotic in the familiar cavities of cement securing wooden beans where we lay? There is a distinctly enthralling aspect of Sam that led me to feel intrigued by his character while maintaining my reader’s distance. He is presented as a person at once at odds with himself & someone who was never truly sure of who they were, to begin with. The presentation of grief within Sam’s life moulds itself into a sticky goop that suffocates his cells; rendering him lost within his body, morphed by the hallucinations of longing & fear that trepidate the corners of his ailing consciousness. I was eager to watch him make his choices, keeping my fingers crossed that he might find his way out of the sickly house that nibbles at the physical body of its visitors & transports them through a zigzagging timeline out of this reality. There was never a moment throughout this story where I felt confident that Sam might escape himself; might escape the sadness that festered in his bones; walk away from this invisible haunted house that caressed him with everything he longed to see again. To escape his grief would have been contrary to who we believe this character to be & yet, it is still sad to read about his demise. Does any person deserve to be consumed by their regrets? Should anyone see a decrepit loved one meandering the halls of a dreary old home, bleeding blood onto the floor of a sacrilege space lined with decorations from moments of happiness? Does anyone deserve to perish in their sadness? Who amongst us has not felt that the sorrow might last forever; might never leave; a lifetime in Peter Pan’s shadow, sown onto the soles of his feet? The imagery that Malfi produces in his works is riveting, it is vivid, & it produces a colossal mountain to climb in so few words. The prose is direct, distinct, & worrying. There is no doubt where the character resides; no place to hide in his writings; everything is presented tangibly; this person could live among us & certainly does. This is the aspect I appreciate the most about the author’s work. The scene which is set leaves one with a niggling sensation at the back of the neck; this place could be the country road lain by gravel many of us have known. The diner, though dingy & grey, is just the same as the one we ventured into that one time. Everything is real, even the monsters that creep along the creaking floorboards at night. The evocation of grief within Sam is monstrous. One cannot help but feel sad. It is easy to turn away when faced with a mistake; this could never have been us, & we wouldn’t have allowed it to happen. Yet, our world is filled with errors & missteps, transgressions & mistakes, regrets & apologies; things we have all confronted & emotions flooding the heart with shame & pain. This novella approaches the commonality of communal sentimentality; this is the life we all lead. In all, I appreciate the totality of this story. I adored reading about Sam, I was sad for him & hoped against reason that he might not lay down his guard to be consumed by the unnamed. I wanted him to escape. I wanted for him the peace in life that was so close to his grasp. But, when he was gone, to be found no more; returned to the state where we all turn to in the end; a pile of grimy sand; time had moved forward too quickly, & I realized it seemed he never stood a chance. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
|
Jun 2022
|
Sep 24, 2021
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
40
| 
| 1982180226
| 9781982180225
| 1982180226
| 3.36
| 78,744
| Jun 01, 2021
| Jun 06, 2021
|
it was ok
|
**spoiler alert** Allow me to, first & foremost, praise Harris for their writing ability. As their first published work, this book demonstrated their
**spoiler alert** Allow me to, first & foremost, praise Harris for their writing ability. As their first published work, this book demonstrated their ability to weave a story. It was very easy to believe these characters to be real people; that the setting was a real publishing house & that the social events actually transpired. This is a great feat to achieve as, this book does reflect, in part, experienced realities. It is important to be able to craft a story, however, filled with ludicrous or honest ideologies, realities & events, to ensure that the reader steps foot into this world & that they are present throughout the reading experience; bravo to Harris for achieving that. That being said, I was not entirely enthralled with the story. This was another case of a book being put into an inappropriate genre as there was nothing suspenseful or thrilling about the plot. I can appreciate that some stories are more daring for some people than for others but, the bulk of this one reads like a general drama. Situations which were, I assume, meant to induce some mysticism into the story did not achieve any sense of dread; the change in perspectives while granting few details of value or substance prevented me from actually engaging with the mystery that we were creeping towards in the final 30 pages of the story. Had we been granted opportunities to read about past events with relevant details I might have felt that we were working towards something heinous. Unfortunately, it seemed as though I were missing details to a plot & subplot which would never be revealed to me & therefore, left me feeling disconnected. For example, the extra-marital affair between Richard & Diana—how did that come about & why did they decide to work together to seek the complicity of Black women in the workplace? What would have prompted Diana to venture to speak to Richard about a product that would remove the social stress inflicted on Black women by the violence happening around them? How long had this project been in the works for them to feel comfortable trying it out on Kendra? Why was Richard the ideal perpetrator of this product? How was this plan set in motion? How were the results of the chemical product tested to achieve the ideal results—i.e. complacency, high achievement, stress-free social living & interactions, etc.? As well, what did Richard have to gain on a personal & professional level to be involved in this project? I ask this last question because even in his own company, he was not able to host positions for BIPOC people at more than one person at a time. I feel conflicted about my rating of this book because I enjoyed the writing but, every few chapters I became annoyed with the decisions that Nella made. She read as a deeply insecure person; someone who was never fully prepared for any venture but expected to reap the benefits of whatever she wanted to participate in. While she was explaining how difficult it was to grow within the publishing house she lists a salary of ‘twenty-something’ dollars an hour as being what the employee would remain at, should they not become an editor. I’m not sure what she was expecting as a wage when entering publishing but, where I live, any salary within the ‘twenty-something’ range is great & far higher than minimum wage. We spend a great portion of the story reading about her dislike for the difficulties of the corporate world. She even lists Sophie as being a passive leech; waiting for her editor to retire so that she can take her place. In reality, most corporate jobs include a certain amount of ‘waiting’. You have to cultivate your skills, you wait for your turn just as those above you waited for theirs, etc. However, Nella seems unable to clock her own privilege in being able to have made it to a place where she feels comfortable even applying for a job (with the help of a friend who had inside connections) which she was not entirely qualified for. I know we’re meant to take Nella’s side but, very early in the book I became distanced from any empathy I might feel towards her. We follow her as she makes rash decisions which are followed by very detailed flashbacks. Though I did not dislike having details given to us to set the tone for the characters, we circle back to Nella in the present tense & see her react with no foresight in any situation. She is always rash in her decision making whereas her inner monologue attempts to convince the reader that she’s very disciplined. This is never proven to be true. Perhaps, reading about Nella’s regression was meant to entice the reader into understanding why she would be targeted by the network of people trying to ‘alter’ Black women’s lived experiences. She wasn’t my favourite & but, maybe that was the point. What I found to be the most frustrating aspect of this story was the secret societies. On the one hand, you have a group of people who are working towards trying to figure out who is being targeted by the chemical-inducing alteration group. What I found to be most strange was that they never do anything. They appear throughout the novel as we near the conclusion & I had hope that we would have some deep reveal as to why they started their group, why they kept so quiet & what their intricate goals were; given they were never able to speak to anyone but the people who were approved to join. What was the point? They could have ‘saved’ Nella but they refused to reach out. How many other women could have been saved from being ‘altered’ but weren’t because these people never made their move? If they were seeking to understand their rivals why collect data on so many victims only to never intervene when another potential victim was about to be affected? It felt wrong to me that we were meant to view this group as the ‘good guys’ while they remained complacent in their negligence towards any woman they knew was in trouble but did nothing to save. On the other hand, we have those who are forcing chemical alterations on people who either chose to participate or did not. I want to ask what their studies were before deciding that anyone could participate because, logistically, there seems like there could be some flaws in their plan. What would happen if the person had mental health issues? What happens if the person is not able-bodied? I should hope for them to be equitable to gender-non-conforming people but, what would they do then? How do they gauge who to give the grease to? Do they categorize mixed-race women as being their target audience as well? How would they calculate the chemical alterations in the brain to find data which would support them being successful in their quest? What happens if the person is on medication? Would medication specific to mental health concerns prevent the chemical from taking effect? I understand that this is a fictional story but, I am left feeling confused about how this approach would be profitable & so easily achieved. To glaze over Nella’s seemingly blatant inability to understand how evidence works & her not reporting what she very clearly defines as a crime (abduction of Shani); the ending was frustrating. I do not say this in terms of the open-ended-ness of it all but simply, again, logistically I have questions. Why would the group send someone to go after Shani knowing that it didn’t work the first time with Hazel? Why would they send Nella, whom she saw & communicated with? Why would they not send someone who was not so obviously a reoccurring character? Logistically, how can there only be one Black woman per corporate space? If the goal is to remove social stresses on the chemical makeup of the brain why would they ignore the importance of social interaction & positive reinforcements of human connectedness on the brain? To remove social aspects from the equation is to seek failure in their goals. I know that it was said that the formula was rethought so that the need for women to be the ‘sole’ beneficiaries of corporate success was removed but, why would that have been a consequence? Numerically, you cannot be the only one if everyone is getting an equal piece of the pie & because every Black woman would theoretically be receiving chemical alterations to their brain then, every Black woman would have an equal shot of achieving success & therefore more than one Black woman would be found in the corporate sector. This review has run its course & is very long so, I will end it here. I’m sad to say that I would have appreciated Hazel being written a bit better. It was sad to know she was obviously being pined as the ‘bad guy’ while Nella was simply not ‘reading the room’ half the time. I wanted to know what became of Owen & Malaika. Where did their relationship leave off? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera… ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Sep 09, 2021
|
Sep 09, 2021
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||
41
| 
| 1501133527
| 9781501133527
| 1501133527
| 3.59
| 140,970
| May 05, 2020
| Apr 06, 2021
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** I am confused as to how I am supposed to feel about this book. The story is split into three (3) parts. The first is the one I enjoy **spoiler alert** I am confused as to how I am supposed to feel about this book. The story is split into three (3) parts. The first is the one I enjoyed the most, though, that isn’t saying much. I quickly found there to be plenty to dislike about the main character, Daphne. In a few words, my main issue with her is that she is someone who lives (immersed) in the past while subsequently degrading the people around her who encourage her to be present & live in the moment. All while she perpetrates a false personality online to lure people into the body-positive community to support her for monetary gain & narcissistic validation. Daphne is a character who is read as incredibly insecure & immature. I thought that this was perhaps going to be utilized as a point for growth but, that was not the case. Instead, we read about Daphne emphasizing the physical appearances of all the people around her in such a way as to make them shadows of themselves; shadows that subsequently grant her the permission to feel better about her own self. I appreciate as someone who struggles with their self-image this is not a far-fetched practice. However, Daphne never becomes self-aware. In fact, we read 353 pages of her maintaining her insecurities & self-involvements. We never read about her growing into her own. When the reader is introduced to Darshi, Daphne’s so-called best friend with whom she shares an apartment in New York, we are given very few details about her as an individual with substance. Instead, we are given superfluous information; she is completing her Ph.D., her parents will not acknowledge her as an actual accomplished Doctor because she went to Columbia, she is South Asian, & she fears revealing her sexual orientation to her family knowing that they might not accept it & she is in a long-standing relationship with Carmen. We also learn about her being treated very poorly (harassed & severely bullied) by Drue in elementary & high school. That’s it—that is all we are given regarding the person with whom the main character is, in theory, the closest. Daphne is constantly telly Darshi that she should tell her parents that she is bisexual & in a relationship with Carmen, regardless of how much first-hand knowledge Darshi has of her own family. I appreciate wanting your friend to live their truth, but that is what she is doing. Therefore, it is in no way Daphne’s business to continuously force the narrative of ‘coming out’ to your family. Let people do what they feel comfortable doing & stay in your lane. Ultimately, it frustrates me when straight people push the narrative of living ‘out in the open’ as though there really aren’t any existing hardships to be felt. Reading about her being a legitimate friend to Daphne for years on end while Daphne treats her like a dirty washcloth was sad. While speaking of secondary characters, the supposed love interest, Nick, was unbelievable as a suitor. The sex scene came out of the left field. We were reading about Daphne being self-deprecating & not believing that she would find someone with substance. The next minute she’s having sex with someone she just met in a hot tub. I did not see the transition here from wanting to be genuinely liked for who you were, to having hookup sex. The reason I highlight this is because there was a scene following this where Daphne expresses fear that she was a one-night stand rather than a genuine love connection for Nick. Pardon me but, you just met. What is wrong with having a one-night stand? Just because you shared some laughs at a bonfire does not mean that it was a lifelong love connection. He never even told you about who he really was—you do not know this person. Yet, we have to read a story written as though we are meant to pity Daphne because she’s fat, so obviously who would want to be in a relationship with her? Read the room. You hooked up with someone, they were gone when you woke up. That can be construed as pretty standard. Overall, I did not think there was any legitimate chemistry between Daphne & Nick. Every interaction felt as though they were meeting for the first time but saw Daphne regard him as the love of her life while Nick really just floated around following her wherever she went. I would have enjoyed learning more about the man who was supposedly so wonderful & profound & insightful. Before moving on to the murder mystery part of the book (which made no sense) I would like to highlight the very obviously poor representation of South Asian people. Keeping in mind that all the secondary & tertiary characters were vapid & shallow, the representation of the South Asian characters was brutal to read. It was as though the author thought it was enough to describe some religious & cultural pieces found in these characters' homes & then to say they had strained relationships with their families because what else is there to South Asian peoples? It was embarrassing that Weiner tried to incorporate some diversity in this novel only to turn one of the diversity-carded characters into the murderer, apparently at the last second. It was bizarre to me that the man that Drue was said to have a genuine love connection with was described as being an ugly non-White person. Why couldn’t he have been handsome? Why was he awkward? Why was Nick, the former child that lay next to his mother’s dead body, normal, well-acclimated & cool while the intellectual South Asian character was a total loser? On a more structural note, this book had many flaws. Before reaching the second part of the story I had noted three (3) errors that should have been caught by editors. Upon reaching the end of the story I noted more. Among these: character names were incorrectly written, punctuation was incorrect, general formatting, etc. To add to this, the constant flashbacks which, in theory, were to help build the story, did nothing but confuse the timeline. By the time that Daphne was going to her apartment to reveal to Darshi that she would be attending Drue’s wedding, I was confused about how much time had actually elapsed since their meeting at the Doctor’s house. Now for my ultimate & most favoured part of the story, the murder plot. As many other people have already expressed, this was a poor attempt at incorporating two genres. There was enough drive in the first part of the story for Weiner to develop an interesting plot, she did not need to delve into a murder mystery. This resulted in the whole book feeling very juvenile & poorly constructed. Why did Daphne pretend to be wait-staff? Even if there were 400 guests in attendance, not all of them were staying at the house. What was the point in pretending to be a member of the staff when the chances of her running into the family members again were obscenely high? She also gained nothing but speculation during her moments eavesdropping on conversations putting herself in a position to be highlighted to the police for suspicious behaviour. Given the general size of the property, the guests in attendance, the novelties found on the grounds & the house value, one might reasonably assume that there would have been cameras on site. Lest we forget that everyone was seemingly streaming every moment of the event & that there were dedicated film crews around to capture every moment. Therefore, why didn’t the police simply start by reviewing the tapes? This crime also transpired in 2020—it’s not far-fetched to think that there would have been key moments captured on film. Daphne pursuing her own investigation of the crime made little sense to her character. She was not someone with much common sense from the get-go so why was she written as suddenly being this modern-day Holmes who could go around & solve a literal murder? Not to mention, she encountered no roadblocks whatsoever. Every time she needed to reach a conclusion she miraculously thought up what the answer was she could go meet someone, come across the murderer, the reasons for the crime & find hidden people without even batting an eye. So much of the murder speculation appeared mindless & childlike. I really felt as though this book might have benefitted from some restructuring. Had this been written with younger folks as the target audience I might not be so off-put but, the mind-numbing travels, conclusions & interrogations were subpar at best. Why did we have to read about events twice? We were told that Drue was poisoned then, & we had to re-read that same piece of information again with other characters as though it were being revealed to us for the first time. This is more of an editing point because redundancy ran high in this book but, given it took place during the Scooby-Doo-Wanna-Be-Crew’s investigation, I am putting it here. Reddit is an anonymous forum. You do not have access to viewing what subreddits people follow or what they like & unless a person had their legal name as their handle, there is no real way (unless with access to their devices) that you could find their user. So, the whole scene with them scrolling through the Reddit profile should have been scrapped. If Daphne was a real & true suspect she wouldn’t have had free rein to move around everywhere. If she really thought she was being suspected of murder, why did she involve herself so heavily? Why wasn’t Daphne the first to be interrogated? Her bedroom shared a bathroom with Drue & she was the only person to have gone to her room to give her three different beverages. Knowing that she was poisoned, it would have been expected that the police might put some weight on her confessing to bringing so many liquids to her room. Why weren’t the glasses in Drue’s room tested for remnants of toxins? If she had been poisoned by a drink made at the bar, it would have been easier to track down a suspect if they had tested the glasses of which there were four in her room (a champagne flute, two tequila shots, lemon water). This would have quickly eliminated almost everyone except for Daphne & the bartender. Had there been more details given to the actual crime we might have had some suspense & build-up. However, the hour of death was never revealed therefore we have no idea when Drue ingested the poison; or why she would have walked into the balcony & lain in the hot tub. Also, why was she in the hot tub? What was the purpose of that? Given she was alone in her room, & the person who poisoned her drink was bar staff, would that person have walked up to her room at night to put her body there? Why was Leela inside Daphne’s house? What was the purpose of that whole scene? It would have been more impactful had the events which lead to Leela’s demise (her expulsion from school, her family disowning her, etc.) been told to the reader in the third person. It felt so weird to have the ‘master mind’ sit there & tell a random person all about her plan to kill someone. Why did Daphne tell everyone that Drue was her best friend? Why was she the one who went to see the Rabbi? You hadn’t spoken to this person in over five (5) years. That is creepy. Why did Daphne assume she was going to be the receptionist of the sum of money from Drue’s estate? What was the purpose of that at all? Writing Daphne as being the only one who ever knew Drue was stupid—Daphne didn’t even know herself. In conclusion, this was not a good book. There were many structural flaws that might have been ironed out had an editor taken the time. The characters were shallow, stupid & self-involved. I felt no sympathy or care towards any of the characters. I wish that my feelings were different but this book missed the mark, severely. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
|
not set
|
Sep 23, 2021
|
Aug 15, 2021
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||
43
| 
| 0062959921
| 9780062959928
| 0062959921
| 3.68
| 39,648
| Aug 04, 2020
| Aug 04, 2020
|
did not like it
|
Stating the obvious, it was the cover art that drew me to this book. I knew that there would be a high chance that I didn’t adore this story because I
Stating the obvious, it was the cover art that drew me to this book. I knew that there would be a high chance that I didn’t adore this story because I am not someone for whom the Romance genre entices. Regardless, I continue to hope that I will fall in love with a romance book as so many other readers have done. This book centres around two (2) television stars, Ashton & Jasmine, who come together to film a series that they hope helps them reinvent their careers & subsequently their public perceptions. Though I adored the inclusion of Spanish dialogue & had hopes for the level of potential that this story held, everything went nowhere fast. What is most jarring about this story is the fact that the two main characters are over the age of thirty (30) but, act as though they’ve just hit puberty. The struggles they encounter & the way they approach resolving issues were uncomfortable to read about because neither character held any type of emotional maturity. It was confusing to me to read about a grown man who didn’t know how to approach his feelings towards another person with any depth & was rather physically enamoured by someone, with that being where it ended. Jasmine also read as someone who had never been exposed to any type of real-life situation before. It’s cute to have a ‘leading lady plan’ if you’re a pre-teen trying to set yourself up for a big dream but, as a thirty-year-old adult who had been working in the industry for some time, the entire premise of having to stick to a plan because you’ve no emotional maturity to take time in relationships was sad. There was also no chemistry between either character. For the better half of the story, I felt as though I were reading about two individual realities. Nothing that is written expresses people who are actually developing feelings for another person. Both characters become enamoured by physical characteristics & are subsequently shocked that the other person is about as profound as a puddle. It was distressing to see this story be presented as a romance—nothing is romantic about grown people who have no ability to communicate nor is there anything enticing about people who are surface-level losers. I wish that Daria had taken more time to develop the characters. They both have families filled with personality & love, yet each main character felt like they stumbled out from under a rock & fell ‘in love’ with the first person they saw. I will also add that the chapters written to describe actual scenes of the show were a waste of time. I skipped each one because it did not add anything of substance to the story given we recapitulated the actual scenes in breakdowns throughout other chapters seen through the point of view of the main characters. I would not recommend this book. It’s shallow, underdeveloped & underwhelming. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
|
Oct 06, 2021
|
Aug 15, 2021
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||
85
| 
| B09BTQ9HW6
| 4.13
| 1,153,802
| May 03, 2022
| May 03, 2022
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** When reading romance novels—a practice I have never been in the habit of doing—I find myself wondering who this book is for. Why wou
**spoiler alert** When reading romance novels—a practice I have never been in the habit of doing—I find myself wondering who this book is for. Why would someone want to read about Nora who is in her thirties & unable to sleep at night because she is having post-traumatic reactions linked to a situation she refuses to acknowledge because she was never guided to be open & honest with herself, let alone her closest confidant (her sister)? What is appealing about following her antics through dialogue that is riddled with repulsively trite attempts at sarcasm, coy rebuttals & an over-saturation of repetition linking back to her first relationship that she saw fit to blame entirely for the ensuing faults that arose within intimate relationships she pursued, including the one she held with herself. Every single page of this book felt like a satirical effort to intertwine the plot with pieces of fiction that odyssey through molten mountains of dredge & weeds until the effort of such a steep climb gifts reprieve to both the reader & the characters in as blissful an encounter as a sea breeze during a humid summer day. Henry has previously proven with her novel “Beach Read” (2020) that she possesses the skill to intertwine the degrading human experience while seedling the sentiment of hope. She has all but abandoned the abilities we saw crafted in “Beach Read” to present the reader with a vapid slew of characters who pursue activities that no right-minded adult would do, let alone an entire cast of them, to find themselves at the end of a book that gifted them no development nor depth. To have read & thoroughly enjoyed a book of Henry’s is to appreciate that this author has a gift for creating stories that are not overly complicated but play on the non-fictional in such a way as to leave one feeling a connection with the fictional world within the pages. When an author endeavours to present subject matters that are often overwhelming & debilitating for those who live through them in real life, one must recognize that due diligence should be completed. It is not enough to simply hint at the passing of a parent, we will all experience that—some of us in more than one way. One needs to specifically yellow-brick-road the connection between the main character & this angelic figure that held the parental role they so long to see returned to them. Exploring the topic of death does not need to be done with distinct prose but one must put effort into highlighting why such a passing would leave the main character debilitated for all of their adult life. I can surely empathize & understand what it is to live a life that holds you back; being caught in the crossfire of your mistakes & fears; witnessing your nightmares play out repeatedly in the waking world. Yet, what I cannot empathize with is a person who ignores their own well-being to maintain & sustain these terrors. No one deserves to be riddled with nightmares every single night of their life. This is not healthy nor is it OK to simply ignore the fact that you are sunken into fear during the periods of time when you are at your most vulnerable (asleep). Why would Nora not think that this was a problem? She’s not a dumb person & yet, this one example is the precipice to a slew of other poor decisions & wilful ignorance that she maintains so that she can boast of being a parental figure to her younger sister. Do not mistake me, I recognize that we are not always in a position to sit with ourselves & list out the very tangible ways we have been festering poor habits—whatever these may be. However, Nora is a person who peruses life with the intent of posing guardianship over her sister who went through an outward mourning period & which Nora describes as something she never wants to see again. It’s not a bad thing to be incredibly sad when someone you love dies. So, why are we reading about Libby’s mourning period as though she were mentally unstable & Nora has had to sacrifice her entire well-being to ensure that Libby never lived through her emotions ever again. What good would this do? By the time this story is taking place, there are hundreds of stories exploring grief & the multitude of ways it presents itself. One would think that Nora, being a bibliophile & literary agent, might have been familiar with at least one of them. Perhaps, she might have even gone out of her way to look into the reasons for which she was not able to connect with her emotions in any way. Nora thinks so poorly of herself that she views her person as a simple ‘romance novel trope’ & nothing more. She does not view herself as: a daughter, a sister, an agent, a New Yorker, someone who enjoys museums, or a lover of Katherine Hepburn; she is simply an empty trope & Henry ensures that this is maintained throughout the entirety of the book. Though I find all of the characters in this book absolutely ridiculous, the author is to blame when it comes to a lack of depth for any part of this story. Why was Nora not given the ability to grow past her perception of self to attribute a grander sense of her own worth? Why was Libby so immensely immature that she made a checklist & remained hellbent on her sister dating someone against her will? I won’t delve into the moral conundrum of dating someone who wants to get married in their small town, while Nora herself knew she would be jetting back to New York & had no intention of pursuing a relationship with this man. What is the appeal of doing that? Why is the topic being approached in such a blazé way? This book would have done well to undergo some further brainstorming. Given that the majority of the book focused on the relationship that Nora & Libby had, it would have been beneficial for Nora to come to the realization that being bogged down by her regrets regarding the sudden passing of her mother over ten (10) years ago, does not mean she needs a new man to waltz into her life to coo niceties in her ear, convincing her that her phone is fully charged. I don’t believe that the subject matter was touched on in a healthy nor brilliantly positive way. Nora spent over 10 years ignoring all social interactions because she was worried that if her sister needed her, she might be ‘distracted’. She plagued herself with the memory of her first, & only, stable relationship because she wasn’t fully focused on her family every second of the night & day. Does it suck that your ex-boyfriend didn’t know how to be there for you after your parent died? Certainly. But you were young & neither one of you was approaching this in a healthy way. Burrowing yourself into your sister’s shoulder does not prevent her from encountering problems in her life & it won’t stop her life from moving towards its end. Where was the conversation that revolved around forming healthy relationships? I have never subscribed to the idea that you need to be with someone romantically to be your best self nor do you need to be in a relationship to move forward from the past. Nora should have been encouraged to seek therapy to work through the issues that were literally plaguing her every second of her life. Again, no one deserves to live that way. Yet, the focus is on her finding happiness in a romantic relationship. This is someone who cannot even sleep through the night because she thinks their sister might die without their knowing or being able to be there. Having sexual encounters with a boyfriend is not going to solve this issue. It would have been so nice if Nora & Libby would have been granted some depth to their characters. To have a story centre on the love of sisters who grew into their own through tragedy; making their way in the world while coming to terms with their coping mechanisms; finding each other again in a healthy way would have been superb. There is lots of love to be shared amongst people who genuinely want the best for each other. Intimacy does not equate to sex; where is the story that explores this? With that being said, I enjoyed the New York scenery. I enjoyed revisiting memories of Nora & Libby’s childhood wherein they spent afternoons watching old movies or perusing the shelves of a small book shop. I love being transported to a different place by reading & I will acknowledge that the atmosphere of the geography was well done in this book. I see people adoring this book, as they have every other book Henry has written & I am always glad that people find the stories they click with. This one was not one of mine. Should you come across this review & decide that you did not agree with any of what I wrote, power to you—enjoy the book! We should be finding stories that bring us pleasure & those that allow us to divulge parts of ourselves, which is an added bonus that is uncompromisingly splendid. At the end of the day, I wished for a better conclusion for all of the characters than what I saw transpire. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
|
May 09, 2022
|
Aug 06, 2021
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
39
| 
| B08Q5X6W6H
| unknown
| 4.17
| 137,939
| Apr 06, 2021
| Apr 06, 2021
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on chronic illness, terminal illness, childhood abandonment, & others. This is difficult to review because I can understand what Jimenez might have been trying to achieve in writing this story. However, the way that the book evolves into a story that uses very traumatic, oftentimes debilitating situations, encouraging people to live their best, one-time-shot, life felt wrong. I will speak on the aspect of this story that is a personal one for me. When Vanessa learns that Adrian had experienced childhood abandonment she doesn’t seem to experience any of the emotional depth that would be required when deciding to broach the topic. Up until this point in the story, there were moments that made me feel as though Vanessa was a less than stellar person; not having a leg to stand on half the time, inserting herself into conversations that did not concern her inexperience. I wanted to believe that the subject matter wasn’t going to be used as trauma-baiting. In other words, I wanted to read about someone who, though they dealt with severe aspects of the human condition had chosen/worked very hard at being able to go about life in such a way as to feel liberated from the weight they carried & that they had genuinely given it their best shot at enjoying their existence, without being irresponsible towards themselves. Unfortunately, once I hit the point in the story where Adrian reveals that his mother had remarried his father, i.e. the parent who abandoned him as a child, any hope I held out of this being a good story flew out the window. Let me say this, it is in no way the child’s responsibility to rebuild a relationship with a parent who abandoned them. It also does not matter what the reason was behind said parent walking out, it is never the responsibility of the child to mend a relationship with a grown person who decided that they didn’t want a relationship with them (generalizing). Jimenez approaches this topic with such a great lack of awareness. How are you going to write about a character who deals with the trauma inflicted by childhood abandonment through therapy & other coping mechanisms, only to have their supposed love interest turn around & tell them to ‘let it go’ & ‘get over it’. That is exceedingly inappropriate. I’m not here to say that it’s healthy to hold on to resentment caused by past traumas. What I’m saying is that it’s good to seek help in working through these events so that you can live a life that is as wonderful as you deserve it to be. To have a fictional character written as simply ‘holding on to grudges’ against their parent because said parent was decidedly absent from their life as a child was mind-blowing to me. Every time Vanessa made an argument as to why Adrian should throw his apprehensions about having a relationship with his father out the window, I was bewildered. We’re talking about walking back into the life of someone in adulthood who hasn’t properly apologized for what they did to you in your childhood. Regardless of the fact that Adrian’s mother decided to engage in matrimony with this person again, that’s not Adrian’s responsibility. His own mother is a lunatic for holding out on him being able to have a relationship with her & his grandmother if he can’t magically forget about the fact that his dad abandoned him. It’s ok to want to live your best life & not carry the hurt you have experienced but, it is not your responsibility to throw your self-respect out the window because no one around you takes your feelings seriously. From that moment onward I was validated in thinking that Vanessa was not on her rocker. She goes so far as to assume that Adrian would abandon Grace if Vanessa died because he would throw himself into his work. That was horrible. How dare you write about the trauma that is involved in childhood abandonment only to call that person a potential threat to their own child because they work hard to help them ease the tensions that they have little first-hand control over. Being a child whose parents walked out does not indicate that they, themselves, would in turn be a flight risk. Vanessa also spends the entirety of the novel grovelling at the prospect of her having Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This is not to say that it’s not devastating but Vanessa doesn’t know that she has ALS. She also doesn’t know for certain that she will get it nor does she visit any medical professionals to ensure she’s approaching her health in a sane manner. Instead, she spends the whole book preaching about living life to the fullest, while being an able-bodied person imagining themselves as being terminally ill. I can appreciate the fact that two other members of her family had ALS & that fact alone is very horrible to have to live with—losing someone you love is devastating. However, knowing that you are investing yourself in the life of this child (Grace), the life of your neighbour (Adrian) & the very tangled webs which are the lives of your family, why not go to the doctor? Why did we spend the entire novel listening to someone preach about living every moment like it’s your last whilst this same person couldn’t face any serious situation head-on? I understand that while you have your sights set on what you might be ‘sick’ with might lead one to have tunnel vision in terms of other possible ailments; this wasn’t a really great excuse in Vanessa’s case. She spends all her time being very overly involved in everyone’s lives & then thinks about how poorly they will manage without her. That’s a bit twisted, non? It felt as though Vanessa had some kind of superiority complex because she never took ownership of her part in the story but we spend the entire narrative listening to the pitiful lives of those she ‘loves’. I would like to sidestep & say that Christine Lakin & Zachary Webber did a phenomenal job at narrating the story. They were so extraordinary in their portrayals of the characters that I was encouraged to listen until the end. Had Jimenez approached this story differently I might have enjoyed it, I might have even really appreciated it. Had she written about a person who had ALS, who was trying to make her way in a life which was being taken away; a child whom she loved as her own, a friend whom she grew to love as a partner, a family whom she cherished, I would have tipped my hat. Writing a love story from the point of view of someone who does have a terminal illness, not one they imagine themselves as probably having, would have been wonderful to see in terms of representation & awareness. People with illnesses, disabilities, pains & traumas exist & they fall in love & are loved. I would like to see stories reflect the realities they lead, I would like to hear their stories & root for them because these stories are genuine & these stories matter. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Aug 03, 2021
|
Aug 03, 2021
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Audible Audio
| ||||||||||||||
35
| 
| 0553278193
| 9780553278194
| 0553278193
| 3.97
| 15,520
| Oct 1934
| Feb 1992
|
it was amazing
|
There’s nothing quite like an old-time detective novel. I had first heard about Rex Stout from a user’s comment in a subreddit on Reddit. The commenta
There’s nothing quite like an old-time detective novel. I had first heard about Rex Stout from a user’s comment in a subreddit on Reddit. The commentators’ praise for Rex Stout seemed to garner only approval & praise from every other user in the comment section so, I thought, what could it hurt; a 1934 detective procedural that lead the genre to hold the reputation it does today, seemed like something that would be worth a shot. In this first instalment of Stout’s vast array of books within this series, the reader is introduced to two polar-opposing characters: Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin. Our two protagonists race around New York State with the intention of solving a crime of which Wolfe’s distinguished abilities have rendered him as being the desired investigator. I know that this genre of book & the time in which they were written will not be everyone’s cup of tea. I admit that the sheer number of times our beloved Archie is written as taking large gulps of his never-ending supply of milk did make my stomach feel somewhat unsettled. However, if you can look past the dated dialogue, unearthly reliance on dairy, & the long drives every which way around the State; you’ll be able to enjoy a story that is truly written in good fun. If I had to pinpoint what it was about this book that I enjoyed so much I would admit to having trouble stating just one thing. Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin work so well together as characters, I didn’t have any trouble immersing myself in the story. The plot itself wasn’t one that lead me to seek to discover the murderer—it’s pretty straightforward. Once Archie had set his sights on who it might be, things pretty well fell into place after that. Nevertheless, the entire story was enjoyable to the point that I didn’t encounter my usual drawl when nearing the end of a book. It felt as though I had been able to sufficiently suspend my disbelief, walk into the world that these characters inhabited & follow them on their tasks without needing a great deal of information. I admit that being in the proper mindset for such a book is necessary. This is not a story that is filled with car chases & incredible mystique; it’s a straightforward crime novel. If you are ready to read 286 pages of that, then I highly suggest you give this book a shot. I appreciated the bits of humour scattered throughout the story & felt that irrespective of the fact that the material wasn’t written with a huge level of terror & dread, I was able to appreciate it for everything it was worth. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
|
Jul 02, 2021
|
Jun 24, 2021
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||
36
| 
| 1984806750
| 9781984806758
| 1984806750
| 3.87
| 1,221,594
| May 11, 2021
| May 11, 2021
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** I’m a little bit shocked & a little bit not, that I did not enjoy this book whatsoever. It’s difficult to put my feelings into words
**spoiler alert** I’m a little bit shocked & a little bit not, that I did not enjoy this book whatsoever. It’s difficult to put my feelings into words because I spent the majority of this book feeling as though I were missing a major plot point, or maybe the sense of humour utilized in this book was not one I appreciated, or maybe I found the characters vapid caricatures of actual human beings, or maybe…it was a lot of things. Let me preface my review by saying that I do appreciate & enjoy Henry’s writing. I find her works easy to read & easy to immerse oneself in. Her writing style is clear & she is able to ensure that her characters come to life on the pages, these are things I appreciate & I attribute being able to make it any length into this story to Henry’s ability to write. With this said, I didn’t like the story itself. I found the two main characters, Poppy & Alex, lacking in every possible way & I was left feeling like a very discomforted third wheel during my entire reading experience. I am about the same age as the two (2) main characters & found it bewildering that they utilized such immature vocabulary & humour to ‘communicate’ with each other. We’re meant to believe that these people fall madly & deeply in love with each other but, they rarely converse. Throwing around silly phrases is not getting to know someone. Poppy’s dependency on Alex is where I want to start in my attempt to understand what there was to love about Poppy. I can appreciate that this character was extroverted, quirky & fun-loving but, in my opinion, it was at the expense of her having any likes & depth. During the car scene when Alex & Poppy first spend an extended period of time together, I felt as though we were meant to view Alex as someone who hated everything; we read an extensive list of his dislikes versus Poppy who proclaims herself a lover of all things & someone who is just happy to be included. This is great in theory but in practical life terms, it falls flat. Why would I want to invest my time with someone with no substance to their enjoyment? What is it that makes you actually enjoy the things that you do? As well, it is okay to not like things. Perhaps given the fact that I could relate to Alex on a realistic level, this made me confused regarding Poppy as a whole. She never expresses understanding of Alex or herself for that matter & we spend the entirety of the book reading about her loving someone for no reason other than they show her minute affection—that’s sad. While it was cool to read through the past vacations that the pair went on I kept feeling like I was being lied to. What prompted you to be best friends with someone you have zero in common with—zero to the point of her making fun of your ability to gauge your wants & dislikes regarding your own life? What conversation moments highlighted that this was someone you could trust? Where was the actual bonding between these two people? In my view, none of these things happened, to lead the reader to believe that these people actually know each other & actually care about the people they’ve come to understand & respect. It’s whimsical & romantic to have love at first sight but it doesn’t play out well when you have real flesh & blood people with real, complex, personalities & life experiences. What really sealed the deal for me & this reading experience, was the attempt to make the reader think that Poppy & Alex were entirely platonic friends. I’m not sure who in this world is so flamboyantly intimate with a platonic friend (of any gender or sex) but I have never known a friendship of this kind. It’s pretty clear to me, as it was since the first chapter, that there was more to the story & that I would have to read over 300 pages to get to that point—which was annoying. I was looking forward to this book & the plot had a lot of potential but for me, it wasn’t a great read. The premise of the story—summer vacations with someone you cherish, every year—is awesome & it’s what lead me to read this book in the first place. However, the more the story progressed, the more I realized these two people didn’t know each other at all & we were meant to buy into the whimsical idea that a one-week vacation once a year & quirky humour is the basis for a rock-solid friendship turned to romance. I think you will enjoy this book if you have absolutely no trouble suspending your disbelief (as I do) & you might really enjoy it if you have no trouble with stick-figure characters falling in unfounded love with each other. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
|
Jul 16, 2021
|
Jun 13, 2021
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||
29
| 
| 1549102923
| 9781549102929
| unknown
| 4.00
| 7,966
| Jul 13, 2021
| Jul 13, 2021
|
it was ok
|
There is a chapter in this book which explores a non-Indigenous person's experiences with a tribe & though the information was pertinent & relevant to
There is a chapter in this book which explores a non-Indigenous person's experiences with a tribe & though the information was pertinent & relevant to the story, the terminology was not. I understand that when speaking (or writing) about specific programs, documents or ideals which pertained to the time in which segments take place, terminology will often be dated. However, Kean often called Indigenous peoples 'Indians' & it was not necessary to do so. I actually thought he was introducing a segment regarding India when this chapter explored this part because I couldn't wrap my head around a non-Indigenous person thinking, in 2021, that using the derogatory 'Indian' was an okay thing to do. It's not. I highlight that when Kean was utilizing direct quotes, document names, programs & legislature of the time; I am acknowledging the time & place in which these were relevant & in keeping the authenticity of those titles, Kean was right to not change them. However, when continuing on with the text/thought Kean should very much have changed the indicator to one of many which are acceptable today (i.e. Aboriginal, Indigenous, etc.). For this reason, I was left feeling a bit bizarrely about the entire book. I cannot speak to personal experience for many of the other themes & segments explored & therefore felt that as I had caught an inappropriate piece in the book, perhaps someone else had noted something else, something I was not versed on. I lost my trust in the author. These points aside, this book was fascinating & an easy audiobook to get through. Ben Sullivan did an absolutely stellar job at narrating & I attribute the flow of the whole story to his ability to capture the entirety of the segments. Some other people have noted their displeasure that Kean ends segments with links to his podcast & I would have to agree with them. I would find myself engrossed in the information only to have myself jolted out of the story by the encouragement to 'find out more' in an episode of Kean's podcast. Perhaps had he left a footnote or included these at the end of the book I might not have minded. All in all, a decent read & I did appreciate the narrative covered. Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, & Sam Kean for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Jun 09, 2021
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Jun 09, 2021
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Audiobook
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my rating |
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|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
53
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| 3.55
|
it was ok
|
Jan 09, 2022
|
Jan 10, 2022
|
|||||
66
|
| 3.85
|
it was ok
|
Dec 30, 2021
|
Dec 30, 2021
|
|||||
77
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| 4.12
|
it was ok
|
Apr 05, 2022
|
Dec 28, 2021
|
|||||
71
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| 3.95
|
liked it
|
Mar 17, 2022
|
Dec 27, 2021
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|||||
52
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| 3.81
|
it was ok
|
Dec 23, 2021
|
Dec 24, 2021
|
|||||
138
|
| 4.26
|
it was ok
|
Dec 24, 2022
|
Nov 27, 2021
|
|||||
47
|
| 3.90
|
it was ok
|
Nov 18, 2021
|
Nov 18, 2021
|
|||||
67
|
| 4.09
|
did not like it
|
Nov 14, 2021
|
Nov 14, 2021
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|||||
45
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| 3.37
|
did not like it
|
Oct 22, 2021
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Oct 22, 2021
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|||||
42
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| 3.85
|
did not like it
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Oct 03, 2021
|
Oct 03, 2021
|
|||||
51
|
| 3.80
|
did not like it
|
Dec 09, 2021
|
Oct 02, 2021
|
|||||
97
|
| 3.77
|
it was amazing
|
Jun 2022
|
Sep 24, 2021
|
|||||
40
|
| 3.36
|
it was ok
|
Sep 09, 2021
|
Sep 09, 2021
|
|||||
41
|
| 3.59
|
did not like it
|
Sep 23, 2021
|
Aug 15, 2021
|
|||||
43
|
| 3.68
|
did not like it
|
Oct 06, 2021
|
Aug 15, 2021
|
|||||
85
|
| 4.13
|
did not like it
|
May 09, 2022
|
Aug 06, 2021
|
|||||
39
|
| 4.17
|
did not like it
|
Aug 03, 2021
|
Aug 03, 2021
|
|||||
35
|
| 3.97
|
it was amazing
|
Jul 02, 2021
|
Jun 24, 2021
|
|||||
36
|
| 3.87
|
did not like it
|
Jul 16, 2021
|
Jun 13, 2021
|
|||||
29
|
| 4.00
|
it was ok
|
Jun 09, 2021
|
Jun 09, 2021
|
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