The Suicide Shop by Jean Teule- Book Review

There are some great books with absolutely terrible covers. I am going to put The Suicide Shop by Jean Teule into this category*. This book is a translation of a 2012 French book of the same name, but in French obviously. It was also made into an animated motion picture in 2012. The book is also wickedly funny and I am glad we are getting this one in English.

The world has gone dark and people are looking to end their lives by the hundreds. The Tuvache family has exactly what people are looking for and are specialists when it comes to suicide. Want to die like Cleopatra, they have poisonous asps delivered in fig baskets for you. Want to die after eating exquisite chocolate, they have just the thing 1 out of 2 of their chocolates are quite deadly.

They are also a family who gets along, mostly. Sadly, their son Alan, named for Alan Turing who ate a poisoned apple that supposedly inspired the Apple logo, is quite happy. He sings songs, wishes people well, and has a smile on his face. Wherever did Mishima (his father) and Lucrece go wrong? What happens when Alan's happiness starts spreading?

I will begin by saying this book is very French. I love French film and some French books and there is a style that goes along with these genres. I will warn that if you read this, it has a very French ending, which is not a bad thing, but sometimes American readers don't understand the French mindset.

I will also say that I found this quite funny. I am a big fan of the Addams family, both the New Yorker cartoon and the 60s TV show. This book has that type of humor. The Tuvache family takes pride in what they do and speak about death quite casually, which may make some uncomfortable, but it is done with a wink and a nod, like the Addams family. If one lets go, it becomes really funny.

As stated, I wish the cover were better. It doesn't accurately portray the book and I think people will pass by this wickedly funny book. If you have a dark comedy sense of humor, do yourself a favor and read this one, but recognize it is French.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Suicide Shop by Jean Teule

*I want to thank NetGalley and Gallic Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of the book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison- Book Review

I started reading The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison without knowing much about it. I knew I had requested it from NetGalley*, which is why I had a copy of the book, but had forgotten the premise. This was one of those books that when I started it, I just didn't want to put it down. It also was one of those books that when I finished it, I went on Facebook to make sure all my friends were ok. That is how deeply drawn into this book I became.

The story is a plague has wiped out most of the world's population so much so that men outnumber women 10-1. A nurse wakes up after getting the plague and doesn't know how much time has passed or what is going on, except that most of her hospital is dead and the number of babies born had been decreasing. 

Throughout the book as she discovers the world, she realizes that the plague was far worse than she thought and women are in trouble. She grabs years and years worth of birth control because if a woman is impregnated, it will mean death for the woman and the child. She ventures out into the world which is filled with danger for her. Men have become no more than animals who use women for sex or trade. After being almost raped, she realizes she must traverse the world as a man, while still looking to help women in the world stay alive.

I am going to end the summary as this is the first part of the book. The book will also be about the people she meets and how she chooses to survive in this world. It is a gritty and harsh world she lives in and Elison pulls no punches when it comes to describing the world our protagonist walks. There is always a sense of danger and it doesn't let up, except for a few parts here and there.

One of the major things I appreciated about this novel, besides how well it was written, was we get conclusions to minor characters stories. For example, our protagonist will travel a small while with a former bar girl from Las Vegas. They will part ways, but rather than just let the bar girl ride off into the sunset, a few chapters later we get what happens to her and where she winds up. Elison does this with almost all the characters, which is not something that happens in many of these types of books.

To put it bluntly, I was blown away by this book. It was great sci-fi and an incredibly engrossing story. Nothing seems out of the realm of reason in that world. I also found it an incredible look at feminism and could extract so many parallels in the feminist movement. 

I gave this one 4.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

*I want thank NetGalley and 47North for the advanced copy of the paperback edition of the book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Untouched Crime by Zijin Chen- Book Review

The editing will drive you a big buggy. The sentences are pretty rigid. The repetition will make you want to cry a bit. You will also know who the murderer is pretty quickly. With all that, The Untouched Crime by Zijin Chen was still a fun ride and an interesting look into investigations in China.

There is a murderer who has been killing people the same way- a jump rope, a cigarette in the mouth, and a sheet of paper that reads- "come and get me." These murders have been going on for 3 years and all done in the same way (although a few pages read 5 years, hence the editing comment). Try as they might, investigators cannot find who is committing these murders.

In another part of town, a noodle shop girl accidentally kills a local gangster with the help of her admirer who followed her to keep her safe. Luo Wen, also a noodle enthusiast, witnesses the whole thing and vows to keep the shop girl and her admirer safe. He covers up the crime for them and tells them what to say to the police.

What do these two, seemingly different, murders have in common? This is part of the fun of the book. When you find out, the book transfers from a who done it to a battle of wits. 

I fear whenever someone sees a 3 star review the thought will be- this must not be any good. In this case, this is a good book with a series of problems, but it was still a fun ride and a solid 3 star book. It isn't mind blowing, it won't make you think about life, but it will entertain more than anything and keep you occupied for a few hours.

There are quite a few problems within this book, but I think it is because of translation to English from Chinese. I stated a few of them above, but there are also some regionalisms that get in the way in addition to the problems stated above. The sheer amount of repetition might be fit for a Chinese audience, based on Chinese movies I have seen, but it doesn't read well. For example, when Wen tells the plan to the noodle girl and her accomplice, he will state the plan, the girl will repeat it word for word with a question mark at the end- Wen- Lie to the police. Girl- You want me to lie to the police? Wen- Yes, lie to the police if you are comfortable doing so. Guy- You want us to lie to the police? That is not a direct quote, but there is a lot of dialog like that.

Even with all the problems, I kind of enjoyed the book and wanted to see how it played out. The killer isn't a Hannibal Lector genius, but he (or is it she?) is quite clever and you get into his head quite well (ok, it is a he). 

I also enjoyed how people interacted with the police and how the police did their job from a Chinese perspective. I am not sure how well researched the book is, but police take people at their word and people don't lie to police. There was a type of dishonor to do the wrong thing from either side. There are also no giant shoot out scenes, as might have happened in an American book.

This is a solid 3 star book. It isn't great, but it isn't terrible either. It would be great for an airplane or a waiting room or something along those lines.

Here is your Amazon link- The Untouched Crime by Zijin Chen

*I wish to thank NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for the advanced copy. I received the book in exchange for an honest review.

Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don't Belong To by Lillian Daniel- Book Review

In 2014, I read a book called "When Spiritual But Not Religious Is Not Enough" and thought it was intriguing for the idea that the idea of spiritual, but not religious is not only mainstream now, but also there will come a point where there will be a need for something deeper. As I read reviews and saw some blog posts by the author of that book, I saw she was on to something. 

This is why I was excited when I received* Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don't Belong To by Lillian Daniel to read for review. This is a follow up of sorts to her previous book, but focusing on the rising group of the "nones." The nones are the people who have checked the word "none" under religious affiliation. 

Daniel further subcategorizes the nones into 4 different types- no longer, no way, never have, and not yet. She looks briefly at each group and talks about how churches continue to do the same thing to attract these groups, yet don't really understand who they are. She uses a great analogy of a lifelong baseball fan talking to someone who doesn't like baseball or hasn't gone to a baseball game as what the church does for the nones.

Daniel also goes into a type of history of how the nones have begun to emerge throughout all of history. She mixes this history along with her own personal history. This was a good section to bring her theory home.

There were only a few critiques I had about the book, but they were not major. At times I found Daniel got into preacher mode which isn't a bad thing, but it drew away from her point. The other critique was this was super short. We are talking about 130 pages (ebook version). I thought she could have expanded a bit longer on her 4 sub categories.

I should also note that I am a liberal preacher. I make note of this because she is pretty critical of the evangelical conservative church. I wanted to warn my conservative readers about that one.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don't Belong To.

* I want to thank NetGalley and Faithwords for allowing me to read this advanced copy of the book. I received it from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson- Book Review

I have been jumping for joy for the last two days! Not only did I get a chance to read Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst, but I followed it up with Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (and Birdie by Tracey Lindberg to be reviewed later). Three really great books back to back!

This was my introduction to Woodson's work, even though she is well written. I had heard so many good things about this book that I had to read it and I am so glad I did. 

In short, this is about August who sees her childhood friend and begins to reminisce about her childhood in Brooklyn. It begins with innocent and fun times of going to Coney Island, playing in the sprinkler, and just having childhood fun.

There was also the other Brooklyn aka Another Brooklyn, where innocence ends. In that Brooklyn, there are men who pray of girls, drug dealers, and the mystery of a mother who has disappeared (also in Birdie BTW). 

As good as the story is, it is the writing that is the draw of this book. Woodson writes in a lyrical prose that is just a joy to read. She says so much in so few words and that is what is so good about this book. It is also a short book due to this writing style, but don't let that put you off as this one is well worth your time. The book deals a bit with race, the loss of innocence, and even the re-writing of memories. The reveal of what happened to her mother is also really well done. I loved this book!

I gave this one 5 stars!

Here is your Amazon link- Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst- Book Review

I read a lot of books. I am about to catch up to my record of 160 books read in one year in about a week. There are many books that I like and will praise, but know that I probably won't re-read them, but they were fun at the time. There are a few books in my many read books that jump to the list of mind-blowing books. Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst is one of those mind-blowing books. This is one that needs to be read.

The story is told from three perspectives- Alexandra- the mother from the past, Iris- the youngest daughter from the present, and Tilly- the eldest daughter who has a non diagnosable autism from somewhere in the future.

It tells the story of a family that has come to the end of its rope with their daughter Tilly, so much so that they are willing to leave their life behind and join a camp led by Scott Bean. In the camp, they are connected with two other families who have children with other type of needs.

Tilly has a special type of autism where she is extremely intelligent, but she also doesn't know the difference between appropriate and inappropriate. She is also spontaneous and will often break out into violent bursts. She has been kicked out of every single school she has attended. This camp is her only option at this point in her life.

As the families remain in the camp, Scott begins to become unhinged a bit and things are not what they seem.

I have been telling people this is a dark book. I find that important because I have been finding that many books that have autistic characters or deal with autism as a whole start to fall down the path of- we have problems, but we are happy and everything will be fine in the end. I find these books are somewhat unreal and don't really address what it is like to live with an autistic child, at least according to parents I have spoken with.

This isn't that type of book. Tilly isn't going to get "better" and her parents really struggle with what to do with her. At one point she screams- "Your lives would be better if I wasn't around" and Parkhurst gives us the insight that as much as the parents want to say that isn't true, there is a piece of them that believe what she says. This is real.

As for the camp portions of the story, we know something will go wrong from the beginning, so it isn't a spoiler. All I will say is- remember this is a dark story. The ending threw me for a loop and I did not see it coming at all. I actually found the camp portions more tedious than hearing about the past with Tilly, but by the end I saw the purpose of the camp. The parents even know the camp doesn't seem right, but there is literally no where else they can go and just need someplace to go. This is the story of desperate parents.

Take your time with this book. I was not familiar with Parkhurst's writing, but after this book, I want to read everything she has written. She is a phenomenal writer who gets into the head of a couple who want to do the right thing as well as a daughter who wants to love her sister, but finds her difficult to live with.

I gave this one a solid 5 stars. Read this one!

Here is your Amazon link- Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst

Dust by Mark Thompson- Book Review

I had received Dust by Mark Thompson for review from NetGalley* and went into it completely cold. This has to be one of the fastest, slow moving books that I have read in a bit. The strange thing is that it is due to come out in September, but has disappeared from Amazon's release date, isn't on Edelweiss, and isn't listed on Litsy, so something may be up.

This is set in 1960s NJ and centers on the friendship of JJ and El Greco. It begins with JJ and El Greco setting a forest fire which almost kills a bunch of elderly people, but that barely gets resolved.

We also see El Greco almost die from leukemia, but he also seems to get better as he enters into remission.

There is also a car trip which helps change their perspective on life and how they view the world.

I know my summaries usually are a bit fuller, but this is how the book read. At a scant 200 pages, it moves very quickly and there are snapshots of life between the two boys. Things are not too developed and even some of the drama goes away very quickly, which also made for a quick and frustrating read. I wish Thompson had taken some more time with his story telling. I wasn't sure is this was supposed to be a YA book or a book for adults, but I am leaning toward YA as many of the items move too quickly.

I wanted to like this book, but I wish it were a bit longer as a few of the issues JJ deals with are big issues. A story simply around El Greco and JJ as El Greco battles leukemia would have been a deeper story or even the story about the fire they set would have been a deeper story. Instead we got a book that simply brushes some deep issues.

I gave this one 2.5/3.0 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Dust by Mark Thompson

*I want to thank NetGalley and RedDoor Publishing for allowing me to read an early copy of the book. I received the book for free to review in exchange for an honest review.

The Fireman by Joe Hill- Book Review

I just returned from the first part of my vacation. On this part of my vacation, I brought only one book with me and that was Joe Hill's The Fireman. This was the book that has been haunting me all summer. I purchased it when it released in May and it has been sitting on my shelf taunting me with its 700+ pages, daring me to take the time to read it.

Last week, was the week I would finally do it. I started it on a Monday in Vermont, took it to Montreal for two more days, and finished it in NY on a Thursday. I am not sure how many hours it took, but I know I was jumping up and down for doing this feat. I normally have book ADD, so I am jumping between books like crazy, so sticking to one book was quite an achievement. So, how was it?

There has been a plague which has wiped out much of the human population. This plague called Dragonscale causes people to start to smoke and then eventually catch fire. The more people gathered together, the bigger the fire to the point of monuments disappearing.

Harper is a nurse who becomes pregnant with her husband Jakob's baby. Harper wakes up one day with Dragonscale. She has made a pact with Jakob that if she has it, she will kill herself. With a new baby, she changes her mind and runs from Jakob.

While in exile, she learns about a commune of people who have learned how to control the Dragonscale, so they do not catch on fire. One of their people, John, has learned how to control it so much that he can set parts of himself on fire without burning.

As things move forward, there is a group led by the Marlboro Man who is out to hunt and kill all those with the disease. There is also a division beginning in the commune that is loosely held together by their spiritual leader. When he falls under an attack and is injured, the commune starts to come apart at the seams. Can John step in as the rightful leader or is he too focused on his past? What about Harper as she learns about this commune and a member who left their community, what will she do as the group divides?

I have been describing this book to friends as a giant summer block buster movie in book form. It is a bit long, has a lot of background characters that don't get developed, has some parts that simply don't make sense (why shoot flaming arrows for fun while two groups are looking for you?), but is one of the summer block busters that are a lot of fun and well worth your time. 

I think the only negative, besides the length, is that the main story of the commune is one that has been told many times- the rightful leader won't be leader because he is struggling, so a zealot takes over tearing the camp apart, but that also may be a good thing in that the story doesn't get in the way as the characters are developed.

This is a great adventure story and wound up being a lot of fun. There is a bunch of action and even though there are unbelievable moments, it isn't something out of the realm of a big action book. It is a mammoth though.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Fireman by Joe Hill

The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney- Book Review

I am just getting back into the country after being in Montreal for a few days and where I read only one book, which will be reviewed Monday, but I finished The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney right before I left and it is a book that stuck with me the entire week.

I have passed by this book in the bookstore several times. I would pick it up, read the back, and for some reason would put it back on the shelf. The next week, I would pick it up, go back and forth, and then put it down. When I saw it on Blogging for Books, I figured I would give it a try as it was now fate. When I started the book and even when I finished it, I didn't much care for it. It is a really IRISH book. I don't write that in a derogatory way, but many Irish books and movies are dark in tone with a bit of black comedy running throughout. The characters are often working class with troubled lives. Irish books are often more real in a world where escape is usually in order.

This book is a very Irish book in that sense. We are in Cork a working class town, where Jimmy is a big mobster and he has just put his mother Maureen into a house he owns. The house used to be an old brothel where Georgie, a 16 year old run away now prostitute who is hooked on drugs used to work. Georgie winds up in a religious commune after her boyfriend/pimp/drug dealer disappears. There is also Ryan a 14 year old who sells drugs because he doesn't want to wind up like his father who is an alcoholic.

The story is Maureen has accidentally killed an intruder with a holy stone. The intruder is now dead in her kitchen and she has to call her son to help clean the body up. The body is the connecting point to all the stories as Maureen accidentally learns the victim's name. She feels the need for penance for what she has done. She goes to a priest (a very funny scene), but winds up feeling the need for more.

The writing in this book is so good. The book has won many awards for McInerney's writing and deservedly so. As stated earlier, it is both funny and dark at the same time. The world of Cork just comes to life as these characters begin interacting with one another and nothing seems out of place.

The tone of the book though is difficult. I started it on a bright day in summer with birds singing and big fluffy clouds overhead and I am reading about a 16 year old who gets dragged into prostitution after simply wanting a place to sleep and being offered a bed to sleep in. I am reading about Ryan who doesn't see a way out of his life, except through drug dealing, and doesn't believe his father as his father attempts to clean up his life. For these characters, there are few places for upward mobility. This might be the best life they are living and that is so difficult to read about. It stuck with me though to the point that I will probably want to re-read it in the future. It simply is a book that one has to be in the mood for though and I don't recommend a fluffy cloud day for this one. As stated, I didn't enjoy it at first, but the more it settled, the more and more I liked it.

Overall, I gave this one 4.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Glorious Heresies by Lisa Mcinnerney

*I want to thank BloggingforBooks and Tim Duggan Books for the opportunity to read this. I received a review copy of this for free in exchange for an honest review.

Hooked by John Franc- Book Review

Let me preface this review of Hooked by John Franc with this- this is a book for mature audiences simply due to the topic rather than what is contained within. I write this with the warning that I will have to discuss in this review what is contained within the book. A simple warning.

Hooked reads like a giant dream sequence. There are no chapter breaks, no spaces between paragraphs, time doesn't matter as we move forward days or months or years, girls flow into one another, and places blur into one another. Most of the book (except the last 2% or so) is written in first person plural. Yes, you read that right, first person plural.

It tells the story of a group of men who begin their journey into brothels. At first they are tentative, they stumble, they dare each other to go first, and they kid each other after.

One brothel turns into another, which turns into another, and a journey of traveling from brothel to brothel from one country to another begins. The prices vary, the girls vary, and the experiences change. They spend extreme amounts of cash to experience 30 minutes of pleasure.

In the meantime, they also have families. Either one or each has a wife with three kids- one teen, one pre-teen, and one child. The further they delve into their life, the further their families become. They start mistrusting their wives as their wives mistrust them. They lose their relationships with their children. 

This all builds until one of their sisters-in law shows up stating one of their wives has not been heard from in several weeks and one of the friends have disappeared. Even in the midst of this they continue to visit brothels, although the visits begin to lose their luster. What happened to their friend and their friend's family?

What I found interesting about this book, besides the first person plural, is there is very little sex within this book about brothels. In fact, as I am trying to remember (I am writing this a few days after reading it), I am not sure there is one sex scene. It is as if the sex doesn't really matter to these men as the experience of picking the women and the anticipation of sex matters more. The sex is just one more thing, until the next time they can get to another brothel.

This book is one of the reasons I love Tin House books. Even with the subject matter, which may be a turn off to some, the amount of depth in this little book is astounding. A few days later and I am still thinking about the book and the messages around desire, lust, and ultimately addiction. Plug in drugs and you can still write the same book. Plug in gambling and it is still the same book. Brothels are these men's drug of choice.

Much has been written on the choice of the first person plural as representing all men. In fact, as this group go from one to another, they see other groups of men and they are always in a group. It is always a plural.

This is obviously not a book for everyone, but I found it well worth the read as I continue down my Tin House rabbit hole.

I gave this one 4 stars. Give it a try.

Here is your Amazon link- Hooked by John Franc

Siracusa by Delia Ephron- Book Review

Siracusa by Delia Ephron was a book that completely snuck up on me. I had heard about it from a few friends, the cover kept catching my eye, and then when I saw it was a Book of the Month pick, I knew I had to read it.

Plug Time- In the month of August, Book of the Month is doing a great deal. Use my link and the code "read5" to get one month of Book of the Month for just $5! You can get this book for just $5! 

Siracusa is the story of 4 friends- Michael and Lizzie (M is a famous writer and L is a non working journalist) and Finn and Taylor with their daughter Snow. The five travel to Siracusa to rekindle relationships, grow their friendship, and to see Italy.

Michael has a plan though. He is cheating on Lizzie with a young 20 year old waitress. His plan is to get Lizzie to sleep with Finn, as they were once young lovers, so he can divorce Lizzie and run off with his new woman. Finn and Taylor are having problems as Taylor is a high maintenance wife who has changed dramatically since having Snow. Finn is a laid back, hands off dad who thinks Taylor just needs to lighten up a bit.

Things get very interesting when Michael's plan goes awry when something unexpected happens while the group is in Siracusa.

When I started this book, I just was not into it at all. For some reason the story and the characters just were not grabbing me. I found the pace a bit slow, the idea a bit far fetched, and it just wasn't working for me. 

Boy was I wrong! About a quarter way through the book, even before the group hits Siracusa something clicked. I found myself tearing through the book and became resistant to finishing it even though I wanted to find out what happened. The ending was one that I did not see coming at all.

The whole book is told from alternating points of view immediately after another character finishes speaking. Dialog overlaps in each chapter as we get into the head of the other person. While one character may feel he/she has successfully tricked another character, we read in the very next chapter that it not only hasn't tricked, but has made the other more suspicious, for example. It was a great way to tell this story.

I really wound up loving this one as it is not only a great mystery, but also a look at what really happens within relationships. Ephron plays with the characters well, so they remain believable even as they bumble a bit. I will admit it is hard to like these four people as they are all flawed, but the story holds them together.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Siracusa by Delia Ephron

Heartbreaker Stories by Maryse Meijer-Book Review

Do me a favor and look at the cover for Heartbreaker Stories by Maryse Meijer. You may notice the cover to this collection of "love" stories pictures a car on fire. Not just on fire, mind you, but engulfed in flames. Keep that in mind should you decide to read this collection of short stories.

This is a collection of "love" short stories. You may notice I put the word love in quotes. Most people think of love stories as boy meets girl (or boy) or girl meet boy (or girl) and they fall in love. Most people don't think about boy meets feral girl, raises her, until ultimately she stabs him to death or boy loves fire so much so that fire actual becomes his girlfriend and he treats it as such even to the point of jealousy. Yes, those are a few of the stories one will find in this collection.

I am not entirely sure that Meijer isn't a crazy person who happened to get a book published. I am kidding, of course. Her stories are so creative, but also so far off on left field that one would not even begin to think about a story like the one she created. This is one of her great strengths as a writer.

I also felt it was also one of blocks. I don't want to say weakness or growth area because it isn't what I mean. I use the word block because even I had a hard time connecting with some of the stories that I felt a little icky after reading them and I have read every book written by William Burroughs. There was just something a little too off about some that they were hard to digest- not due to disgust level, but just off aka slightly too weird.

Do I think people need to read this one? Absolutely! Do I think most people will enjoy this one? No. That is what makes this one so hard because Meijer is an incredible writer and has a ton of talent.

I gave this one 3 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Heartbreakers Stories by Maryse Meijer

The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward-Book Review

There are certain books that I think should be required reading, especially around certain topics-race for example. The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward is one of those books to read right now!

This is a collection of essays all told from the black perspective in America. The essays range in topics from poetry to questions about identity through a DNA test to James Baldwin to the white response to black protests. The essays are broken out into Past, Present, and Future, but many contain the past woven throughout the essay. As Ward points out- it is too difficult to remove slavery and/or civil rights from the equation. Each essay is a unique voice around the same topic- race, especially those who are black in America.

Like any collection of essays, there will be some that hit and some that miss or don't connect. There were several in this collection that I have been talking about to my friends since I read the book such as the one on James Baldwin. I have also found the one on White Rage as an essay that I want to study in a room filled with white men and women to get their take on it. It blew me away.

I am not summarizing the essays because many are fairly short and cover only a few pages, but they are still thought provoking. What I have been wondering is whether or not this essay collection will hold up against time? Baldwin's classic (to which this is a response/continuation) holds up as timeless, while this essay collection has a lot of contemporary topics which I wonder if, in 10 years, people will remember their feelings? This is why I have been pushing my friends to read it now. 

We are in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, we remember our feelings around Katrina and saw the people being forgotten about because they were black, and we have seen black men shot and left in the street. This essay collection hits those feelings now and this needs to be read now.

I gave this one 4.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward

The Fifth Beatle- Book Review

This is my second graphic novel review! I didn't know what to expect when I downloaded* The Fifth Beatle, but I was glad I had the opportunity to read it.

We all know about The Beatles and the amazing way they took over England and the US with their music. There was a man behind the scenes helping them with their success, their manager, Brian Epstein aka the Fifth Beatle. This graphic novel is really his story as the Beatles are present, but take a semi side stage in the book.

Epstein was a closeted homosexual man due to the way gay men were looked at in the 60s, especially in England. Throughout the novel, Epstein worries what would happen to him if he is found out, yet his desires constantly come to the forefront in the novel and will cost him dearly at a few points.

Epstein was also hooked to pills throughout much of his career as the Beatles manager. The novel explores his start with pills as a way of curing his homosexual urges, but eventually he becomes hooked to them, which will also cost him dearly.

This is the main thrust of the book, as well as his relationship with The Beatles and his need to clean up their image as well as clean up their messes. We see many of the Beatles highlights, but through the eyes of Epstein. For example, we know they will be on Ed Sullivan, but Epstein must negotiate with Sullivan who is talking and will only answer through a puppet. Epstein gives Sullivan The Beatles at below cost just to help them break big in the US.

The artwork in this book is so beautiful. I received my copy digitally and had wished I had a paper copy as much of the artwork spans two pages, which in my e-reading couldn't be formatted properly, so I had to pass from one page to another to admire the beauty of the work. I definitely recommend grabbing the paper version if you are interested in this book.

Overall, it was an interesting and largely untold story of The Beatles, but also what it means to be a gay man in the 60s. It is a quick read, as many graphic novels are, but worth the read at least once.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Fifth Beatle

*I want to thank Edelweiss and Dark Horse Comics for the ability to read this book. I received it in exchange of an honest review

Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan- Book Review

As stated on other reviews, I am a part of Litsy and love reading the feedback from other people who love books. When I saw I had The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan for review*, I gulped a bit when I looked it up on Litsy as many of my fellow readers put "Bailed" around this book, meaning they stopped reading it. Was it that bad?

If you had asked me what The Sunlight Pilgrims was about before I read it based on the back cover description, I would have said it was- post apocalyptic, yet hopeful, about a mother and daughter, and a sort of love story. Based on the back cover description, I can see why people bailed because this is not what this book is about at all.

Yes, it does contain a world where the winter has gotten progressively worse and worse to the point that people freeze in the street and there is a question of whether or not there is an apocalypse.

There is also a mother and daughter- Constance and Stella, but I need to hold up here and I will come back to them in just a moment. There is a love interest/main character who comes into town after the death of his mother-Dylan. Dylan is going through his mother's home, when he happens upon Constance who comes out of her home to "polish the moon" and he is stricken with her. Dylan though is trying to figure out who his mother was.

Let's come back to Constance and Stella again. Stella is the main character of this book and she is a transgendered girl (pre-pubescent). Stella is trying to figure out how to stop her boy parts (beard, deep voice, etc) from coming in, so she can stay the girl she wants to be. Doctors won't give her pills yet and she is in email communication with her friend in Italy who is her support. Stella watches as Dylan and Constance grow closer and wishes for love as they have love.

I wrote on Litsy- if you had asked me if this was a book about a pre-apocalyptic transgender story about about identity, I would have looked at you like a dog listens to a dog whistle. I was not expecting this book to be about this topic, but it very much is. Stella is quite sure who she is. Dylan is trying to figure out who her mother was. Constance is trying to figure out her new life with a love who wants nothing from her. It all takes place during a second ice age because the ice caps are melted and are refreezing. I hate to write it, but I can see why some bailed.

Not much happens in this book at all and even the ending is somewhat ambiguous, but I felt it was very much about finding one's identity within the confines of the apocalypse. I think I liked it slightly more than my fellow Litsy readers, but it was a tough read if I am being honest. I think it is being marketed in the completely wrong way and might be trying for too many messages- love story, environmental responsibility, transgendered, etc.

I gave this one 3.5 stars as I loved Stella as a character, but I can see people not enjoying this one, sadly.

Here is your Amazon link- The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan

*I want to thank NetGalley/BloggingforBooks and Hogarth for the opportunity to read this book. I received it for free in book and ebook form in exchange for an honest review

Mammoth by Douglas Perry- Book Review

When I saw* Mammoth by Douglas Perry, I knew I wanted to try it- the premise was so good and I had read his Girls of Murder City and really enjoyed it. By the end of the book, I was wondering- what happened?

The book begins with a few stories all around an earthquake that happens in the town of Mammoth- a bank robbery occurs and people are killed "accidentally," the robbers make their escape into the mountain, there is an all girls camp stuck in the mountains unaware of what happened with the earthquake, two police officers are already on their way into the mountain to evacuate the girls camp, and the townspeople have all abandoned the town.

By the end of the book, the two police are chasing after two kidnappers/rapists who they think did the bank robbery, but instead kidnapped the sheriff's wife, which the two police officers found by accident.

I am not sure at which point the book got away from the author, but as a reader, I was left wondering how we got to the point we got by the ending of the book. Some of the stories just kind of disappeared and were left behind (such as the girls in the girls camp) for many chapters or were simply used as a plot device to get us someplace else. 

I'll give you an example from the book- the police find the bank open in the abandoned town of Mammoth, they go to find the two people they believe committed the crime, they find the sheriff's wife who has been kidnapped, they hear people are returning to town, and the sheriff himself states in the book that he forgot about the dead bodies in the bank and is now worried that the town will see the bodies. That is right, the sheriff left the bank open, the dead bodies on the ground, and left the scene and essentially forgot about it without taking care of anything there first. This isn't the worst part though. The worst part is this takes a few chapters to pan out and we jump between a few narrators in the midst of this story. What happened?

I think the story simply got away from the author as the book itself is really well written and engaging. I was pulled in from the opening moments of the book and there is an ominous feeling throughout the book. The problem is that feeling never quit pans out to be much of anything and some plot lines that could have been great, never happen. I was left wondering in the very beginning- what would have the book looked like with the police and the bank robbers in the mountain with the girl's camp, where one of the girls is the bank robbers daughter? That is tense! Instead the robbers decide they are going to evacuate the girl's camp to clear out the camp and the robber's daughter is left alone in the camp. I just sat scratching my head at lost potential.

I wish this was a different book as Perry has the writing chops to make a really great book. Sadly, I think Mammoth was too big and something got lost.

I gave this one 2.5 stars, quite sadly.

Here is your Amazon link- Mammoth Douglas Perry

*I wish to thank NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for allowing me to read this book in advance. I received it for free from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Problems by Jade Sharma- Book Review

I have to admit that when I started reading Problems by Jade Sharma, I almost immediately put it down. My sister a few months ago died of a heroine overdose and my mother has MS. Within the opening pages, Maya describes her heroine addiction and how her mother has MS. It was a difficult opening for me. I kept going though and was glad.

Within the book, we are introduced to Maya who had a heroine and pill addiction. She is married to Peter, but cheating on him with her college professor. Maya's life is unraveling.

After a trip to Peter's home during the holiday season, Maya recognizes how much her life is a mess, how much the rest of the world doesn't seem to care about her, and how she must now face the world alone. Peter leaves her, the professor dumps her, and she is laid off. Maya now must make some choices in her life about where to go.

It is almost too easy to write- this is not a book for everybody. I even wondered, while reading it, if it was a book for me. Maya is funny and sarcastic, but isn't very likable and is barely redeemable. She is a junkie, a cheater, and pretty much only thinks about herself, but also recognizes she has flaws and is at times unlikable. She recognizes this within herself, so it is difficult to put her down further. 

Maya won me with her inner monolog and her outlook on life. As stated earlier, she is funny and I was roaring internally throughout the whole scene where she visits Peter's parents. She is trapped in her own personal hell as she is with people she doesn't like and who don't like her, she can't smoke, and she is trying to detox (unsuccessfully). She hates Peter's sisters, except she realizes there is a dark edge to some of them. Maya's monolog throughout this time was pretty funny.

Sharma's writing was a back and forth for me. She wrote well, but there are just passages that are really too crude, even for Maya. Maya is a cheeky and horny minx and really likes sex, but sometimes the way Sharma writes about it, it seemed about the level of a 5th grader writing about sex. She does this a few times, where Maya will have a witty outlook or a really deep one, but then revert back to this 5th grader. It was a difficult read for that reason, at least for me. 

So should you read it? Tough one. If sex (and there is a LOT of it), drugs (lots of drugs, but not as descriptive as the sex scenes), and a messed up life is your cup of tea- absolutely. If not, you probably want to avoid this one.

I gave this one 3.5 stars. I just wish the language didn't slip here and there.

Here is your Amazon link- Problems by Jade Sharma

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix- Book Review

If you are a child of the 80s, like teen dramas, and are way into the exorcist, My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix is your dream book!

This is the story of best friends Abby and Gretchen, who meet each other at a roller derby ET birthday party when they are the only two there. Instantly they become best friends and grow up together.

Most of the book takes place in High School in the late 80s. After a party where Abby, Gretchen, and their two other friends take acid, Gretchen runs off into the woods nude and alone. Hours later, they find her, but Abby notices she is different, she doesn't know why, but there is something off.

As the story progresses, Gretchen becomes dirtier and smellier, she starts throwing up white bile and feathers, and she keeps complaining that someone is touching the back of her neck. Things continue to get worse and worse, until one day Gretchen shows up perfectly normal, except a lot meaner.

As Abby and Gretchen's friendship begins to fall apart, a traveling Christian body builder group comes to Abby and Gretchen's school. One of the body builders notices a demon inside of Gretchen and swears he can help Abby totally kick the ass of the demon. What will happen as the demon takes more control of Gretchen and as their friends also begin to fall apart?

It is hard not to love all the 80s references in the book. The design of the hard cover is that of a year book complete with signatures and messages from friends. Each chapter is an 80s song title and there are many references about 80s pop culture within the book. The one I kept wondering when it was going to get mentioned was The Exorcist. Hint: It is only mentioned at the end.

As for the book itself, it is fun and playful with some gruesome scenes in it. It isn't scary, but more horrific. It is also a very slow burn, almost too slow. It is a 330 page book with the first show of something weird on page 96 with major things happening around page 250 or so. It takes a long time to get to where it needs to be.

I have to add that I loved the exorcist as a Christian Body Builder. I loved it because I once took a youth group to one of these shows when I was a younger pastor looking for entertainment for a youth group. Ripping phone books in the name of Jesus, lifting heavy things with a semi Christian message, and an underlying homosexual/sexual undertone were all part of the real show. It was fun seeing that in the book rather than the old priest stereotype.

I did enjoy the book, but due to the slowness of the book, I rated it a little lower. It kind of plods a bit and focuses more on the teen drama rather than the occult. There are also many plot problems within the book, but it was still fun.

I gave it a 3.5. Give it a try.

Here is your Amazon link- My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Omani by Laura Gallego- Book Review

Omnia by Laura Gallego was a book I picked out on NetGalley* on a whim, but was glad I downloaded it.

The book is about Nico, who travels to Omnia's headquarters after he accidentally donates his sister's favorite stuffed rabbit. Omnia is a giant company, like Amazon, that sells every single thing any person could want. 

When Nico arrives, he finds a whole new world filled with aliens, robots, humans, and an unlimited warehouse filled with things and humans are banned from entering. The only problem is that now Nico has arrived on the island, he cannot return home. Nico is bound a determined to find the rabbit and make his way home, no matter what it costs him.

This is one of those stories that is simply a lot of fun to read, but has so many plot problems that it will drive the reader bonkers. There were many times I sat scratching my head a bit as one plot point contradicted another plot point, but then reminded myself- the book is ultimately for young readers or readers who just want to go along for a ride. If you are interested in reading this, I would remind you of this point- don't worry about plot problems, just enjoy it.

The book is a translation of a Spanish novel, so there were a few items that might be geared toward a Spanish reader, but they were few and far between. It is an incredibly quick read. I read it in two sittings, but could have done it in one if desired.

I gave this one 3 stars. It was a fun adventure.

Here is your Amazon link- Omnia by Laura Gallego

*I wish to thank NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for allowing me to read the book. I received it for free in exchange of an honest review.

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner- Book Review

I love hated The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner. It was one of my Book of the Month picks last month and I am both glad I read it, but also wish I had not read it at the same time. See below for a great Book of the Month Club deal.

This is Wariner's memoir about her life growing up in a polygamous Mormon farm in Mexico and a few other places. She is surrounded mostly by her family only as they live in barely livable conditions and has little interaction with her step father's other families except in church, which her father founded before he was killed by his brother, and in school, where Wariner is taught in Spanish almost exclusively.

Even though life is difficult and as she was growing up two of her elder siblings had disorders of some kind- one mental and another physical, as well as her younger brother having a mental disorder due to malnutrition, her family life was playful and times were ok. They knew they were not like other families, but they made it work.

Unfortunately, it is also the story of Lane, Wariner's step father. He treats Wariner's mother like a baby machine, is abusive, and molests children that aren't his including Ruth. Although that small rule would be broken later in his life. Lane would visit Ruth at night or ask her to sit on his lap during the day or take some of the younger girls (and later boys) on trips for a long time. At one time, he wanted to take Ruth's 2 year old sister on one of his work trips. On these trips, he would touch them and sexually molest them. 

There were lots of moments when I was actually yelling at the book, such as when Ruth finally told her mother, her mother and the other mothers made Lane apologize and promise not to do it again. Of course he did it again. Another was when her mother finally escapes the situation, is living a good life with her parents, and then decides she needs to go back to Lane and brings the family back. There are a ton of these moments in the book, so prepare yourself.

What kept me reading was Wariner's ability to tell story. Even though this is her freshman book, she had a way of telling her story that brought the reader in and even made her mother's sometimes foolish decisions make sense. She didn't paint her mother as a religious zealot, but as a mom who didn't really know what to do, had religious values, but was stuck and frozen by these values so much so that she couldn't see the harm that was happening. Many things happen to her mother that are heartbreaking including the end. She is a very tragic figure.

I gave this one 4 stars and highly recommend it, but take it out of the library. I will also warn there are lots of trigger warnings for those who have issues with rape/molestation. If you are a person with those triggers, avoid this one like the plague.

Here is your Amazon link- The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner

Want to give Book of the Month a try? How about this? A one month subscription for just $5! Click my link and use the code "read5" This month's picks are incredible- Dark Matter, Siracusa, The Woman in Cabin 10. You can get one for these for just $5! Here is the link- Book of the Month.