DECEMBER 2016

"RESIST" (BREATHE BOOK 2) by Sarah Crossan/ YA / ** / Kindle
Oh man what a nightmare.  The first one was just okay.... but okay enough I decided to find out how it ended.  At first I was like, "WOW good choice on my part". The story got original and exciting and moved along really well. And then the last half of the book was like a slap in the face - but with a limp fishy clammy hand.  It bordered on ridiculous.  I am sorry I wasted my time on this one.


"Vinegar Girl" by Anne Tyler / A / **** / Kindle 
This book had Anne Tyler's trademarks of charming but eccentric characters, a slightly dysfunctional family, witty dialogue, humorous situations, and a great plot with an appropriate ending.  The main character, Kate, was outspoken and strong willed; which surprised me that she would go along with her fathers harebrained schemed to marry his Russian lab assistant whose green card was about to expire. But Kate, tired of her life, moves forward and of course the rest of the story is just quirky and fun.  This book was surprisingly short, only 240 pages.

I found out after I had finished the book that Anne Tyler was asked to participate in a project that re-writes Shakespeare plays for a "modern" audience. This book was the re-telling of "Taming of the Shrew".  I haven't ever read or seen the play, so I can't judge it as far as that part.  But I enjoyed the story... I wanted to know what happened next.... and now I want to read the play. So mission accomplished, I guess.



"The Summer Before the War" by Helen Simonson  / A / **** / Kindle
This novel focuses on several occupants of the English village of Rye in the months before WWI begins.  It explores their idyllic summer where adventures are had and friendships are created.  The novel then proceeds into the beginning of the war and the actual affect it had on people's lives, especially as the thrill of patriotism and marching bands wore off and grim reality set in.  I really enjoyed this book. I reaffirmed my desire to spend a summer in the English countryside.  It was set in the same years as "Downton Abbey" so it was easy to picture the clothing, estates, and countryside. It also had the same themes that war not only changes boundary lines of countries but also class boundaries. It was a great "fix" for those like me that are sad the show is over.

 "Monday, Monday" by Elizabeth Crook / A / *** / Kindle
On August 1, 1966 Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower at the University of Texas and proceeded to shoot 49 people before being killed by police.  This book tells a fictional story of a victim and the men that risked their lives to save her, and how their lives became intertwined.  I loved the first part of this book. I couldn't put it down.  I could totally picture the plaza; the brilliant blue sky, the shimmering summer heat, the shots ringing out from the tower.  
The story continues years into the future, becoming a tribute to how the people in our lives can become like family. 
The last part of the book was just ho-hum to me.  I didn't enjoy it as much. It just felt like the author was trying to fill up pages.

"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead / A / ***** / Kindle
This book tells the story of Cora, a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia.  Having already incurred the wrath of her new master, she decides to accept the offer of escape with the help of the Underground Railroad. The rest of the book tells of Cora's terrifying travels and trials in her search for freedom.

The most interesting thing about this book is that the Underground Railroad is conceptualized as an actual train with a secret network of underground (literally) stations and tracks and conductors.

This book is hard to read as there is just so much horror in the whole slave experience. This book was a joy to read as you just had to appreciate Cora and her will to survive. This book also gave tribute to all the brave people that were willing to put their lives on the line to fight back against the accepted way of thinking of the day. 

This book was powerful, gut wrenching, and compelling.

"The Girl In the Red Coat" by Kate Homer / A / ***
Carmel is an independent eight year old that doesn't want her overprotective mother to treat her like a baby. She hides from her at a local storytelling festival, only to be abducted by an older man who tells her that he is her estranged grandfather.  The man tells Carmel that she must live with him now, as her mother has been hurt in a car accident.
The story alternates between the story of Carmel and that of her mother and her desperate search to find her. The old man is a religious fanatic, who has determined that Carmel has "healing" powers.  He is sure that she is going to heal him, as well as heal others (and make him a lot of money).  He takes Carmel around the United States to different revivals.

The story gets a little confusing as there are a lot of unanswered questions... for example I was not really ever sure if she really DID have some type of paranormal powers or if this was another of the man's delusions.

The power of this book is that it makes you care and it makes you terrified. I almost couldn't enjoy the book as I was waiting for the time when grandpa goes all pedophile - he doesn't but I was on egg shells dreading it.  


"Spark Joy: An illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo / A / **1/2 / Kindle
This book is the follow-up to Kondo's book on organizing that has literally changed my life.  It was a fun little read but not as overwhelmingly hilarious as her first book.  The only really funny thing in this one was that she talked about how we need to give our silverware a flat place to lie because they get dizzy going back and forth from our plates to our mouths.  HAHAHAHA. You gotta love it. Despite the quirkiness, I really do love her theology that if you don't use it or love it, it doesn't belong in your home.  I do NOT follow her folding methods, but did reorganize my closet to follow her method and I have liked it. This guide-book is entirely unnecessary to be successful using the Konmari method, and for being in illustrated guide there were surprisingly few illustrations (maybe because it was on kindle?).  It did make me motivated to get back to work on de-junking my home.

The Place My Words Are Looking For selected by Paul B Janeczko / JF / **** / Hardback

I found this book at Grandpa Taylor's house while waiting for the BYU game to start.  This is a selection of poems for younger readers. Every so often there will be some advice or inspiration from one of the poets about their experiences as a writer. It was an enjoyable read with some being funny, some being serious, and some just capturing the human experience.  I enjoyed it.


Our Souls at Night - Kent Haruf / A / *** / Kindle
This one was interesting... it was the story of two neighbors in their 70's who have each lost their spouse. The woman asks the man just to come over every so often and spend the night (in a platonic way) and talk to her in the dark so she doesn't feel lonely. They of course start caring for each other. It is interesting how their children start freaking out about the whole thing. Anyway, it was an interesting story line.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson / A / ****1/2 / Kindle
This is my third ship wreck book in the last few months. I didn't consciously do this, but it was fun to make comparisons, especially as they all happened within years of each other. I like Erik Larson. He does in depth research of real events and then tells them as a fascinating story - that is all true.  I annoy people when I read his books as I'm constantly saying, "Did you know that _(fill in the blank with a fascinating but basically useless historical fact) ___?".  Anyway, this one was a good one.