by: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Dates Read: April 21-28
Pages: 325
Source: own it
Why did I read it?
This book was the talk of the town when it came out in 2013. They said it was one of the best YA romances of all time. I can't stand to read books in hype like that so I waited 7 years until I found it in a thrift store for $2.
Eleanor has just moved back in with her mom after a year of living elsewhere because her stepdad kicked her out. Her stepdad is decent to her four younger siblings, but hates her and does not hide it. They all share a two bedroom house and living there is like walking on egg shells for Eleanor. Park lives in a wealthy neighbourhood and is a bit of a loner. His parents met in Vietnam during the war and he holds just enough status to not be bullied because of his race, but not enough to be popular. When he sees Eleanor for the first time he pities her. However, when she gets on the bus on that first day there is no where but beside him to sit.
Eleanor is different. She wears weird clothes and doesn't fit in. They start reading comic books together on the bus. Then Park shares his music with her. They become friends. Then they become more. Except Eleanor can't let her family know because she knows her stepdad would kill her for it.
This was a good book. It followed real characters with real stories. It gave you an opportunity to glimpse just a little into the darkness in which some young people live. A life that you don't notice until someone finally breaks and shares what it is like. Since working with kids and youth in similar situations has been my job for seven years, I enjoy reading stories like this. It's more insight. It's more affirmation that sometimes you just can't tell until someone is brave enough to open their mouths. It's proof that it is not as easy as just leaving. I feel these are important stories for people to read, especially if they never experienced something like this in their lives (which I hope they didn't but the reality is that it's all around us).
The writing was overall very good. It switches perspectives from Eleanor to Park so you know what is happening in both of their heads as they experience love for the first time. It also helps us understand why a boy like Park would love a girl like Eleanor and vice versa. It was very nice. However, I had to constantly remind myself that these are 16 year olds. First I would find myself frustrated. A reaction or a feeling or a thought would be too big or too dumb and then I'd remember they are 16 and this is how 16 year olds think. Maybe that's just what happens when you read teen novels in your late 20s. Nevertheless, this just proves the good writing even further.
Rating: 4/5
There were times I knew it was time to stop reading, but couldn't stop so kept on anyway. I would say that's the sign of a good book.
Recommendation: Honestly, a good read. I do think it should be a more mature reader, maybe 16 at the youngest, but an important read.
Friday, June 26, 2020
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Little Women
by: Louisa May Alcott
Publisher: Bantam Classic
Dates Read: December 25, 2019 - April 21, 2020
Pages: 529
Source: Own it
Why did I read it?
The short story: the new Greta Gerwig adaptation was coming out and I (of course) wanted to read it before I saw it.
The long story: When you were a kid did you feel like every character with your name was like a piece of you? Well, when I was young and watching friends and Rachel spoils what happens to Beth when Joey reads Little Women, I just didn't want to read about what happened to me/Beth. I couldn't face it.
Little Women follows the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. Meg is beautiful and dreams of love. Jo is a writer and a free spirit. Beth is shy and quiet. Amy is spoiled and dreams of fancy things. Laurie lives next door with his wealthy grandfather and becomes like a brother to the girls.
Honestly, I feel as though I can't really go into plot with this one because the book legitimately spans something like 12 years. It's a classic so just know this: it is a classic for a reason.
This is an incredibly well written book. Each of the girls is so well written and grows in a natural way. The character of Jo is fantastic. It's a timeless story of sisters and friends and it just can't be wrong. It can't.
I feel as though I need to explain why it took so long for me to read. I was still like that little girl afraid about what happens with Beth. I just kept putting it off and putting it off because if you put something off it can't happen. An excellent lesson about living your life in denial. And when it did finally happen, I put my book in the freezer just like Joey.
Rating: 4/5
Honestly, it could be a 5. It really could, there were a few times when it was a little slow. And, I know times were different, but what happens with who Amy marries just made me feel a little weird.
Recommendation: Everyone should read it. Everyone. Everyone.
Publisher: Bantam Classic
Dates Read: December 25, 2019 - April 21, 2020
Pages: 529
Source: Own it
Why did I read it?
The short story: the new Greta Gerwig adaptation was coming out and I (of course) wanted to read it before I saw it.
The long story: When you were a kid did you feel like every character with your name was like a piece of you? Well, when I was young and watching friends and Rachel spoils what happens to Beth when Joey reads Little Women, I just didn't want to read about what happened to me/Beth. I couldn't face it.
Little Women follows the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. Meg is beautiful and dreams of love. Jo is a writer and a free spirit. Beth is shy and quiet. Amy is spoiled and dreams of fancy things. Laurie lives next door with his wealthy grandfather and becomes like a brother to the girls.
Honestly, I feel as though I can't really go into plot with this one because the book legitimately spans something like 12 years. It's a classic so just know this: it is a classic for a reason.
This is an incredibly well written book. Each of the girls is so well written and grows in a natural way. The character of Jo is fantastic. It's a timeless story of sisters and friends and it just can't be wrong. It can't.
I feel as though I need to explain why it took so long for me to read. I was still like that little girl afraid about what happens with Beth. I just kept putting it off and putting it off because if you put something off it can't happen. An excellent lesson about living your life in denial. And when it did finally happen, I put my book in the freezer just like Joey.
Rating: 4/5
Honestly, it could be a 5. It really could, there were a few times when it was a little slow. And, I know times were different, but what happens with who Amy marries just made me feel a little weird.
Recommendation: Everyone should read it. Everyone. Everyone.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
The Friday Night Knitting Club
[Audiobook]
By: Kate Jacobs
Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Dates Listened: March 10-23
Length: 12 hrs 36 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
This was the last book in my monotonous work phase. I chose it because I'm 83 inside and like to knit and wanted to read fiction about people who knit.
Georgia is a single mom who owns a knitting shop in New York City. A group of women start gathering in the shop on Fridays after closing to work on their knitting projects and talk. This brings in a mess of other characters: an older woman who works in the shop part-time, a woman in her 40s who has decided to have a baby on her own, a loud middle-aged woman who has decided to go to law school, a young purse designer, and a feminist who joins to write her thesis on women participating in antiquated practices.
The plot is all over. Georgia gets hired by her former high school best friend to knit her a gown even though they haven't spoken in 15 years. The father of Georgia's twelve year old reappears after years with little or no contact. Georgia falls in love, she goes to Scotland, and other life-changing events take place (no spoilers). Plus the plots of all the other woman in the club. It was all just too much. I listened to the book so maybe it was written better but all of a sudden we would be following the story of someone else with no warning, not even a pause, and I would be so confused about what was going on. Too much happened in this book. I would think we were reaching a nice place for it to end and then I would look and still see there were 5 or 9 or however many chapters left. I saw there is a second and third book and thought "HOW?!" because way too much already happened in the first.
The writing was not great. In the book Georgia's daughter, Dakota, is 12 and eventually 13. She sounds NOTHING like a 12 or 13 year old. As someone who works with kids for a living, I would have believed her to be 8 or 9. She was both written poorly and read poorly. The words alone made her young, but the narrator made her sound even younger. Not only did the jumping character to character with no warning make the story hard to follow sometimes, but she referred to her parents in the narrations by their first names. There is a point when she is talking to her mom and I thought another woman only to find out minutes later that the woman is her mom. Why would you say "said Suzie" instead of "her mother said"? Because you want me to struggle?
The narrator was not great. Sometimes there would be no change at all in her voice/tone when reading different characters. This is especially confusing when 8 women are having a discussion while knitting - you could not tell who was talking! She also pronounced some words really weird. They went to a Seder dinner, but it took me a moment to figure out what they were doing because she pronounced it 'cedar' like the tree. She also pronounced culinary like 'que-linary'. I get it, there are accents and dialects out there...but it made it really difficult to stay on track in an already mish-mashed book.
I did like that there was some knitting terms and metaphor included. As an inner old lady, I really enjoyed that part. It wasn't a lot, so if you don't knit you're not lost the whole time. It was just a nice touch for us old souls.
Rating: 2/5 -- It's just not a good sign when near the end I hope for something bad to happen and when it does, I stand and cheer. I was in my office literally cheering for what happens and the end and when I told my coworkers what I was so happy about they thought I was crazy.
Recommendation: I don't know that I would really recommend this book to anyone. If anyone really wanted to read it I would say to physically read it to avoid the narrator. But honestly, you don't need to waste your time.
By: Kate Jacobs
Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Dates Listened: March 10-23
Length: 12 hrs 36 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
This was the last book in my monotonous work phase. I chose it because I'm 83 inside and like to knit and wanted to read fiction about people who knit.
Georgia is a single mom who owns a knitting shop in New York City. A group of women start gathering in the shop on Fridays after closing to work on their knitting projects and talk. This brings in a mess of other characters: an older woman who works in the shop part-time, a woman in her 40s who has decided to have a baby on her own, a loud middle-aged woman who has decided to go to law school, a young purse designer, and a feminist who joins to write her thesis on women participating in antiquated practices.
The plot is all over. Georgia gets hired by her former high school best friend to knit her a gown even though they haven't spoken in 15 years. The father of Georgia's twelve year old reappears after years with little or no contact. Georgia falls in love, she goes to Scotland, and other life-changing events take place (no spoilers). Plus the plots of all the other woman in the club. It was all just too much. I listened to the book so maybe it was written better but all of a sudden we would be following the story of someone else with no warning, not even a pause, and I would be so confused about what was going on. Too much happened in this book. I would think we were reaching a nice place for it to end and then I would look and still see there were 5 or 9 or however many chapters left. I saw there is a second and third book and thought "HOW?!" because way too much already happened in the first.
The writing was not great. In the book Georgia's daughter, Dakota, is 12 and eventually 13. She sounds NOTHING like a 12 or 13 year old. As someone who works with kids for a living, I would have believed her to be 8 or 9. She was both written poorly and read poorly. The words alone made her young, but the narrator made her sound even younger. Not only did the jumping character to character with no warning make the story hard to follow sometimes, but she referred to her parents in the narrations by their first names. There is a point when she is talking to her mom and I thought another woman only to find out minutes later that the woman is her mom. Why would you say "said Suzie" instead of "her mother said"? Because you want me to struggle?
The narrator was not great. Sometimes there would be no change at all in her voice/tone when reading different characters. This is especially confusing when 8 women are having a discussion while knitting - you could not tell who was talking! She also pronounced some words really weird. They went to a Seder dinner, but it took me a moment to figure out what they were doing because she pronounced it 'cedar' like the tree. She also pronounced culinary like 'que-linary'. I get it, there are accents and dialects out there...but it made it really difficult to stay on track in an already mish-mashed book.
I did like that there was some knitting terms and metaphor included. As an inner old lady, I really enjoyed that part. It wasn't a lot, so if you don't knit you're not lost the whole time. It was just a nice touch for us old souls.
Rating: 2/5 -- It's just not a good sign when near the end I hope for something bad to happen and when it does, I stand and cheer. I was in my office literally cheering for what happens and the end and when I told my coworkers what I was so happy about they thought I was crazy.
Recommendation: I don't know that I would really recommend this book to anyone. If anyone really wanted to read it I would say to physically read it to avoid the narrator. But honestly, you don't need to waste your time.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Dear Mrs. Bird
[Audiobook]
By: AJ Pearce
Narrated by: Anna Popplewell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Dates Listened: March 4-10
Length: 9hrs 48 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
This one just looked interesting at a glance. Plus I was down for listening to a British accent.
Dear Mrs. Bird follows Emmy in the midst of World War II. Emmy volunteers as a telephone operator for the Auxiliary Fire Services, taking calls during the many bombings over the city of London. She dreams of being a war correspondent and takes an interview with a London newspaper. It isn't until she accepts the job that she realizes it is actually a job as a typist for the editor of a women's magazine.
Her new boss, Mrs. Bird, has an advice column; however, she is very picky about the letters she responds to. Nothing containing any "unpleasantness" is to be make it into the magazine - this is most letters by Mrs. Bird's standards. Emmy finds it upsetting that Mrs. Bird leaves so many women with real problems unhelped because they're problems are there own silly fault. So Emmy decides to take their problems into her own hands, under Mrs. Bird's name, and responds to them herself.
This book does one of my favourite things, it laces fiction into history. Some big events of these books include real events that happened in London during WWII. I even Googled a few places and events to see if they had happened - they did. This was a very clever and funny book. The whole thing is quite lighthearted and charming. While it carries some of the realities of the London Blitz, it is not overbearing or gruesome.
The narrator was perfection. I will gladly look up and listen to other things she has done.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: I would recommend this to just about anyone. It was a really nice read and I would read it again.
By: AJ Pearce
Narrated by: Anna Popplewell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Dates Listened: March 4-10
Length: 9hrs 48 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
This one just looked interesting at a glance. Plus I was down for listening to a British accent.
Dear Mrs. Bird follows Emmy in the midst of World War II. Emmy volunteers as a telephone operator for the Auxiliary Fire Services, taking calls during the many bombings over the city of London. She dreams of being a war correspondent and takes an interview with a London newspaper. It isn't until she accepts the job that she realizes it is actually a job as a typist for the editor of a women's magazine.
Her new boss, Mrs. Bird, has an advice column; however, she is very picky about the letters she responds to. Nothing containing any "unpleasantness" is to be make it into the magazine - this is most letters by Mrs. Bird's standards. Emmy finds it upsetting that Mrs. Bird leaves so many women with real problems unhelped because they're problems are there own silly fault. So Emmy decides to take their problems into her own hands, under Mrs. Bird's name, and responds to them herself.
This book does one of my favourite things, it laces fiction into history. Some big events of these books include real events that happened in London during WWII. I even Googled a few places and events to see if they had happened - they did. This was a very clever and funny book. The whole thing is quite lighthearted and charming. While it carries some of the realities of the London Blitz, it is not overbearing or gruesome.
The narrator was perfection. I will gladly look up and listen to other things she has done.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: I would recommend this to just about anyone. It was a really nice read and I would read it again.
Friday, May 22, 2020
Dirty Work: My Gruelling, Glorious, Life-Changing Summer in the Wilderness
[Audiobook]
By: Anna Maxymiw
Narrated by: Anna Maxymiw
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Dates Listened: February 27-March 3
Length: 8hrs 29 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
I chose this one because I have also had gruelling, glorious, life-changing summers in the wilderness and thought it would be nice to hear about someone elses gruelling, glorious, life-changing summer in the wilderness.
Dirty Work is a memoir about the summer Maxymiw spent working as a housekeeper at a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario. While in her early 20s she took a job during her masters to stretch herself and grow somewhere she never thought she'd be.
I would like to tell you what happens during her summer at the lodge, but nothing really does happen. She works the bar serving stinky men who had been fishing. She cleans poop out of a shower. She sees a bear. Wow.
When a book title says "life-changing summer" I expect to hear about how the summer changed your life. It was just a bunch of stories about random stuff that happened that didn't seem to actually change her. At the end she just leaves on a boat and that's it, we are just supposed to think that her life changed with no discussion about it.
What scares me the most about this book is that she was studying for her masters in creative writing. The stories were all disjointed and random and it seemed like she just threw in big words to make herself seem impressive. I also usually like when people read their own memoirs, but this is one where someone else could have done it better.
Rating: 1/5
Honestly, it's harsh, but finishing this book was a torture. Yeah, I said it.
Recommendation: Don't read this. I think the only people who could possibly like this are people who actually worked at the Kesagami Wilderness Lodge (and still no promises there).
By: Anna Maxymiw
Narrated by: Anna Maxymiw
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Dates Listened: February 27-March 3
Length: 8hrs 29 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
I chose this one because I have also had gruelling, glorious, life-changing summers in the wilderness and thought it would be nice to hear about someone elses gruelling, glorious, life-changing summer in the wilderness.
Dirty Work is a memoir about the summer Maxymiw spent working as a housekeeper at a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario. While in her early 20s she took a job during her masters to stretch herself and grow somewhere she never thought she'd be.
I would like to tell you what happens during her summer at the lodge, but nothing really does happen. She works the bar serving stinky men who had been fishing. She cleans poop out of a shower. She sees a bear. Wow.
When a book title says "life-changing summer" I expect to hear about how the summer changed your life. It was just a bunch of stories about random stuff that happened that didn't seem to actually change her. At the end she just leaves on a boat and that's it, we are just supposed to think that her life changed with no discussion about it.
What scares me the most about this book is that she was studying for her masters in creative writing. The stories were all disjointed and random and it seemed like she just threw in big words to make herself seem impressive. I also usually like when people read their own memoirs, but this is one where someone else could have done it better.
Rating: 1/5
Honestly, it's harsh, but finishing this book was a torture. Yeah, I said it.
Recommendation: Don't read this. I think the only people who could possibly like this are people who actually worked at the Kesagami Wilderness Lodge (and still no promises there).
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Any Dream Will Do
[Audiobook]
By: Debbi Macomber
Narrated by: Laurel Rankin and Mark Deakins
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 23-27
Length: 9 hrs 17 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Did I choose this one because it shares its title with one of my favourite musical theatre songs? Yes. Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of my favourite musical theatre songs.
Shay has found herself in trouble after her brother convinces her to commit fraud for him before disappearing. After she is released from prison she finds herself sitting inside a church to get out of the cold. This is where she meets Pastor Drew. Pastor Drew is a widower with two kids and he helps her get back on her feet. The two become friends and I think you can see where the rest of this goes.
This book is told from alternating perspectives. Each chapter goes back and forth between Shay and Drew narrating. You could see where the story was going pretty well the whole time. The writing was subpar. This woman has almost 200 books under her name. So either she is writing each one in a month (which I would believe based on the quality) or other people write under her name for her.
The narrating was fine for both the man and woman. It is kind of nice to listen to these changing narration books. They keep you a little more interested, but it was not enough to boost this book any higher.
Rating: 2/5
Recommendation: My recommendation is to not waste your time. There is far better light reads to fill your time than this.
By: Debbi Macomber
Narrated by: Laurel Rankin and Mark Deakins
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 23-27
Length: 9 hrs 17 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Did I choose this one because it shares its title with one of my favourite musical theatre songs? Yes. Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of my favourite musical theatre songs.
Shay has found herself in trouble after her brother convinces her to commit fraud for him before disappearing. After she is released from prison she finds herself sitting inside a church to get out of the cold. This is where she meets Pastor Drew. Pastor Drew is a widower with two kids and he helps her get back on her feet. The two become friends and I think you can see where the rest of this goes.
This book is told from alternating perspectives. Each chapter goes back and forth between Shay and Drew narrating. You could see where the story was going pretty well the whole time. The writing was subpar. This woman has almost 200 books under her name. So either she is writing each one in a month (which I would believe based on the quality) or other people write under her name for her.
The narrating was fine for both the man and woman. It is kind of nice to listen to these changing narration books. They keep you a little more interested, but it was not enough to boost this book any higher.
Rating: 2/5
Recommendation: My recommendation is to not waste your time. There is far better light reads to fill your time than this.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
[Audiobook]
By: E.K. Johnston
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 21-22
Length: 6 hrs 27 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Again, monotonous work at work. I picked it because it was available, had an odd title, and I won't lie I like a good cheerleading story.
According to the internet Exit, Pursued by a Bear in inspired by Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. I've never read A Winter's Tale so it doesn't help with the plot at all, but it's where the title comes from.
In this book Hermione attends a cheer camp the summer before her senior year. She is co-captain and this camp serves as a sort of training camp before her last year of cheerleading and nationals. One the last night of camp she is drugged and raped and she doesn't know by who. We follow her in the investigation, how she deals with her forgotten trauma, and the road to cheerleading nationals.
This book explores some heavy topics as Hermione has to make some difficult decisions after her rape. While the topics are heavy, it is not graphic. It is an important book for the YA Fiction world. It brings some important topics to light for a younger audience and would serve well as a first dip for teens into some of these topics.
One of my favourite parts of this book is that it takes place in Ontario. Hermione lives about an hour away from my hometown. They make jokes about places in Southern Ontario and choose between Ontarian colleges and universities and it made me feel like I was home. E.K. Johnston is an Ontarian author and she used what she knows!
I will also say that I didn't love the narrator. It is hard to describe what it was. It wasn't a lisp but she talked real slow and there was just something about it that made me glad it was only 6.5 hrs of listening.
Rating: 4/5
Honestly, the end pulls me from a 5 star. They added a bow to tie it up and they really didn't need it. Kind of bugged me.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to pretty well anyone. There are some who may find it triggering, but it is a book worth reading to help open some of those doors to what is happening in the world.
By: E.K. Johnston
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 21-22
Length: 6 hrs 27 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Again, monotonous work at work. I picked it because it was available, had an odd title, and I won't lie I like a good cheerleading story.
According to the internet Exit, Pursued by a Bear in inspired by Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. I've never read A Winter's Tale so it doesn't help with the plot at all, but it's where the title comes from.
In this book Hermione attends a cheer camp the summer before her senior year. She is co-captain and this camp serves as a sort of training camp before her last year of cheerleading and nationals. One the last night of camp she is drugged and raped and she doesn't know by who. We follow her in the investigation, how she deals with her forgotten trauma, and the road to cheerleading nationals.
This book explores some heavy topics as Hermione has to make some difficult decisions after her rape. While the topics are heavy, it is not graphic. It is an important book for the YA Fiction world. It brings some important topics to light for a younger audience and would serve well as a first dip for teens into some of these topics.
One of my favourite parts of this book is that it takes place in Ontario. Hermione lives about an hour away from my hometown. They make jokes about places in Southern Ontario and choose between Ontarian colleges and universities and it made me feel like I was home. E.K. Johnston is an Ontarian author and she used what she knows!
I will also say that I didn't love the narrator. It is hard to describe what it was. It wasn't a lisp but she talked real slow and there was just something about it that made me glad it was only 6.5 hrs of listening.
Rating: 4/5
Honestly, the end pulls me from a 5 star. They added a bow to tie it up and they really didn't need it. Kind of bugged me.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to pretty well anyone. There are some who may find it triggering, but it is a book worth reading to help open some of those doors to what is happening in the world.
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