The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich- Book Review

I seem to be on a true story/biography kick recently. With Hunger, Al Franken's book, and a few other essay books, I was in the mood for Fact of a Body. It had been staring at me from the floor because I received it from a Goodreads contest. I also kept hearing about it on All The Books, so I wanted to read it. I just didn't know what I was in store for.

This book is two stories put together. One is the story of a pedophile and a murderer named Ricky Langley. Ricky had killed a boy by strangling him to death. The boy stayed in a closet for 2 days while the rest of the family lived normally and as the search for the boy happened. There was a taped confession and Ricky was on death row, then not on death row. The odd thing about one of his trials is the mother of the young boy testified on Ricky's behalf.

The other story is Lesnevich's story as she becomes a lawyer with this trial. As she sees Langley's confession, she is brought to her own past where she and her sister were molested by her grandfather. She remembers no one wanting to talk about it, but making moves to prevent her molestation from continuing. She now must defend Langley.

This was a mixed book for me. One the one hand, the book was well written, the stories we so well thought out with a lot of heart and care, but the exploration of the lives of two pedophiles was a tough pill to swallow. The book explores- how does one defend a pedophile/murderer with one's own history? The book also looks at the mother, not only testifying against Ricky and for him at the same time. How could someone do this? Much of it revolves around the history of how a pedophile becomes a pedophile and whether or not the death penalty is the only answer.

You walk with Lesnevich's struggle throughout the book, as this hits really close to home. In the book she is laying out the case for Langley from his birth, where he is conceived while his mother is in a body cast and filled with drugs to his life, where he had multiple victims yet sought help regularly to his trial. As she explores Langley, she is also exploring her life and how people treat victims of molestation, especially within the family system. This makes this read very difficult, especially if you find it hard to feel sorry for pedophiles. The challenge is a good challenge and no one had to face it more than Lesnevich.

I wound up giving this one 3.5 stars. The topic was a tough one for me and at times I wish she didn't give the outcome before telling the story. There were several instances of this happening. It is still a great read, so I see where the high praise comes from.

Hunger by Roxane Gay- Book Review

I am going to start with a few disclosures. The first is I am a Roxane Gay fan. I was introduced to her work about 2 years ago with Bad Feminist and have read all the books she has published.

The second disclosure is I am a fat guy, who got skinny for a bit, but then got fat again after being diagnosed with heart disease which tampered my exercise habits. I disclose that because a lot of what she writes in this book, I can completely identify with- the self hatred, the ad telling you one is not great unless they are skinny, the constant struggle knowing you are fat and the desire to want to stop being fat are all there.

This is not an easy book. My dad asked me this weekend how the book was, as he wants to read it too, and I had a hard time recommending it. It was difficult to recommend not because of the writing, as the writing is incredible, but rather because of the content within the book.

Gay opens the book in the second chapter with the notion- this is not going to end with a picture of her standing next to oversized jeans and everything is happy now that she got skinny. This is definitely not that book.

What this book is, is a very raw and emotional look at the life of a fat women (her words not mine) both internally and externally. This book looks at trauma, at internalized hurt, at self abuse, at physical abuse, at want, at conflict, at sexuality, and lays it all out there. It is almost journal like in that you are getting her inner dialog and secret story laid out there and I was so appreciative of her willingness to write this that I wrote to her on Twitter.

For those with trigger warnings, she does talk about rape and being abused. Part of her story was being gang raped by her then boyfriend and his friends in the woods. As stated earlier, this is a raw book, so it goes into detail. I actually put the book down after reading those chapters as I needed a small breather. She will also keep coming back to this story and others as she talks about why she started eating the way she did.

I cannot begin to state how amazing this book is. I could identify with so much of this book. It was also a pain filled book with deep psychological hurts and healings. This is why I pause when recommending this book a bit. Be prepared.

I gave this one 5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Hunger by Roxane Gay

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas- Book Review

What do you think of when you see the words: Thug Life?

Is it a statement that is scary because it is associated with gang members? Is it a rap/hip hop call for people to gather together? Is it a "black" thing? Or is it an acronym for "The Hate U Give Little Infants F**ks Everyone?"

How you read the words "Thug Life" is a portion of this book as the book seems to revolve around this statement.

Billed as the first Black Lives Matter YA book, the story is about Starr Carter, a 16 year old African American girl who goes to a posh private school outside of her neighborhood. Her father is a former King, a local gang, who got out after serving jail time, but now runs a local store where he looks to help other gang members looking to get out. She has half brothers and sisters who connect her to King and their leader.

Starr finds herself at a party where she runs into an old childhood friend Khalil. She has not seen him in years, but they find themselves talking when a fight breaks out at the party. As they leave, Khalil is pulled over for a broken tail light. While the officer is checking Khalil's license, Khalil moves toward his front door to check on Starr, when three shots ring out. Khalil is killed by the officer with Starr as the only witness.

As Starr decides to participate in the investigation, she finds the system is a rigged against Khalil as a story breaks that he was connected to the Kings. Khalil is turned into a drug dealing thug, even though Starr knows he did nothing that night. As things progress and as a trial begins, tensions begin to form in Starr's lives- her hometown life and her life in her private school where she is one of the few African American students. What happens when all her worlds collide and as justice begins to sway against Kahlil?

From the beginning, we know how a portion of the story will end. We know exactly how it will end, but rather that being bad writing, it reveals what we know about the justice system. In the book, it takes a long time for that story to end though and the tension just builds and builds until it comes to a breaking point when the ending we all know will happen, happens.

There are lots of stories in this book and I liked how the book slightly revolves around the idea of "Thug Life" and what that means. There are "thugs" in the Kings, Starr is seen as a "thug" simply because she is a black woman in a white world, Kahlil is seen as a "thug" even though he was completely innocent, but the main point is when there isn't justice for everyone, it hurts everybody. There is a great speech by the father to Starr as he explains this phrase and the importance of education and opportunities from birth to death, especially for those who do not have privilege.

If there is a critique, it is the book is a bit long and gets a bit lost within all the story lines. It is a big ambitious book which is great, but I think it was just a tad bit too big. There were also some characters who become caricatures of themselves. I didn't mind though and that is being a bit picky.

I found this to be a book that I will recommend to many people. I think it is worth reading by a large group, especially in these times. It tells the BLM from the perspective of an African American woman who is in the center of everything.

I gave this one 4.5 stars.

Ragdoll by Daniel Cole- Book Review

At the writing of this review (June 12 2017) Ragdoll is only $1.99 on Amazon, which is well worth the price.

I wouldn't call this a great book, but I would call it a fun book. There are a few leaps, a few head scratching moments, but overall it is a good mystery that will have the reader guessing a bit until the reveal.

Wolf and his partner Baxter were involved in a high profile case, where Wolf fixed some of the evidence to try to bring a killer to justice. Due to Wolf's actions, the killer was set free by a judge only to be attacked by Wolf in the courtroom. After Wolf's arrest, the killer, kills again and is caught red handed, Wolf was right the whole time, but due to his own desire for justice let a killer get the best of him, so it drives him a bit crazy.

This is how the book opens. The rest of book takes place several years later. Wolf and Baxter are once again teamed up because a body has been found, but it is no ordinary body. The body is made up of several different victims with the head of the body being the killer in Wolf's high profile case. The problem is no one knows who the other victims are.

At the same time, Wolf's former wife, receives a letter with a list of victims and dates. The dates are all in the future and the victims are still currently living. On the list, at the bottom, lies one name she knows well- Wolf's.

Thus begins the story of Ragdoll. It is not only a who did it, but who was it done to? Why the first set of victims and why the next set? How will they prevent people's deaths especially when they know who will die and when? This is part of the fun of Ragdoll.

The book has such a great premise and a great narrative with some detective story tropes- the slightly insane head detective, the partners who should have gotten together but didn't, the jealous ex wife, etc. The fun of knowing who the next victims were and the police trying to save them became part of the joy of reading the book and created moments of head scratching. One particular death seemed to have needed months of planning, but only happens within hours an example is two chemicals combine and are applied in a very strange way to kill one of the victims.

All that aside, it was a fun romp. I figured out one part of the who done it fairly early, but the good news is it is not the whole story. This is a great vacation/beach read that will entertain and bring about 400+ pages of fun. Enjoy the ride.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery- Book Review

To begin the review, I have to paint a small picture. On Friday, my dad and I went to the bookstore. Often times, I will pull books that I think he will like, but every so often he recommends one for me. Please note he is an college English professor, so when it comes to books, he is the expert although I tend to read more within the year, so it is a good balance.

We happened to be standing in the aisle when my dad looks at the shelf and asks if I have read this one- The Elegance of the Hedgehog? We often hear the phrase, "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," but I was completely judging a book by its cover. It looks like a kids book along the lines of Harriet the Spy or a similar title. I looked at my dad perplexed because I know he really dislikes movies and books where children are the center, so you can imagine my confusion. I picked it up anyway and said I would read it over the weekend. I didn't start it until Sunday night and proceeded to tear through the book because I simply loved it!

This is not a kids book, nor is a child the center of the book, but a girl does narrate interludes within the main story. The main story though is about Renee, who is a 50+ year old widow who works as a concierge at a swanky French hotel. She has a secret though. She is an autodidactic genius. She has a profound love of books, art, and music and really knows about them, but to the larger world she is just a concierge and she likes it that way.

She is quite content living this way until a Japanese man moves into her building. He happens to have the same last name as her favorite director and has two cats named for characters in her favorite book. He also happens to see through her false image to the world and sees Renee's true self. Thus starts their relationship.

Within the book Palmona, a 12 year old who is also incredibly intelligent, narrates her observations about the world and about the relationship with Renee. She is almost a Greek chorus of sorts.

There are two things you should know about this book before starting it- 1. You may need a dictionary while reading it. It does not cut corners with words and the main character is a genius, so be prepared. 2. Once you get over the language, you will be presented with some sentences and insights that will blow your socks off! I think some of my Facebook friends may have turned off my updates because as I was reading the book, I kept uploading pictures of whole paragraphs or sentence quotes. This book is beautifully written with a difficult vocabulary curve.

I should add one more item to my two item list making it a three item list, it is very French. My dad warned me before reading this and I said a joke to him that turned out not only to be true, but was pretty typical within French lit. I won't repeat the joke because it is a major spoiler, but beware. That is not a slam against French lit, but it does follow a certain pattern that drives me crazy every now and again.

I cannot write how much I loved this book, but I also realize this book is for a certain audience. Not everyone will love this as it does get a little snooty at times. There are certain judgments stated and Renee has a certain standard for people she will let into her life. She can be an off putting and sometimes unlikable character to some. I can understand why certain individuals may not get this book. As stated, I was raised with an college English professor, so Renee would fit into my family's world.

I gave this one 5 stars. I simply loved it.

The Hike by Drew Magary- Book Review

Have you ever read a book where after reading it, you wanted to kick yourself for not reading it sooner? That was The Hike by Drew Magary for me. This has been sitting on my shelf staring at me since it came out in August of 2016. I am so upset at myself for not reading it sooner, but boy was it a trip!

I will begin by stating this is a weird book involving talking crabs, giants, dog faced people, and one rule- stay on the path. If you go off the path you die instantly. Stay on the path and find the producer. It is a warped Wizard of Oz, but more of a journey of self discovery while fighting fleshless humans.

The wonderful thing is it begins so quickly- Ben has a family and is on his way to a conference in Pennsylvania. He decides to take a small hike behind the hotel and thus begins the book. You are on the hike within two pages.

Ben will walk on the path, guided halfway by a talking crab, will face a giant who wants to eat him, and will have to fight a big monster man at the end. The strange thing is, as he is walking, he has flashbacks to earlier moments in his life. For example, on the path he faces down a dog who bites his face where he receives a scar. Did that happen on the path or did it happen during his childhood where he imagined something else happened? The book is filled with moments like this as Ben begins to lose his grasp on his life the further along he walks. There is an ending that is a bit of a twist ending, but it was quite nice with lots of foreshadowing for it.

I did not want to put this book down. It isn't a deep book, but it is a book that knows itself in that it knows it is a strange trippy adventure, so it stays a strange trippy adventure. It doesn't pretend to be anything else. It is good sci fi.

I will state there is one moment in the book where a reveal happens that eliminated a sense of danger for Ben, at least for me. It is the same problem I have with prequel movies. If it is a prequel filled with danger, we know the ending, so the danger disappears. Something happens in the book that does the same thing. A reveal happens, but we know the ending, so the dangerous parts are no longer a threat.

I loved the endings both the big reveal and the small twist ending. They fit so well with the story and didn't seem out of place at all.

I loved this book and will probably re-read it in the future. It is one that you can go back to, not to find a deeper meaning, but just to have a bit of fun. Great summer read too.

I gave this one 4.5 stars.