January 2018 Book List

El Deafo by CeCe Bell / JF / *** / Kindle
The story of , a spunky girl (rabbit?) who also happens to be deaf.
This is a graphic novel chronicling her illness that lead to being deaf, the acquisition of implants that give her limited hearing, and her search for true friendship. The heartwarming thing about the book is that is contains a lot of the things elementary school kids experience (whether they are deaf or not) as they are trying to figure out who they are. These universal type experiences helps promote the message of the book... that we are all different in some way and it is those differences that make us stronger.

The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes / A / **** / Kindle
Sophie lives in occupied France during WWI.  She and her sister Helene are tested to their limits as they struggle to keep their families fed and warm while their husbands fight at the front. 
Sophie's husband Edouard is an artist, and has painted a portrait of Sophie that hangs in their inn. Both Sophie and the portrait have garnered the interest of a German Kommandant. Sophie must decide how far she will go in order to save her husband, who has been interred in a prison camp.

Just as you are about to find Sophie's fate, the story switches to the modern day.  The portrait of Sophie is now owned by Liv Halston.  It was given to her as a wedding gift by her now deceased husband.  She is mired in grief, struggling to pay her bills, and trying to find her way through.  She receives a shock when she is contacted by a victims reparation group that indicates her beloved painting was stolen during WWI and needs to be returned.

To try and unravel the story of the painting and it's ownership, Liv works to find what she can about Sophie and what happened to her 100 years ago.

The first part of the story was very engaging, the last not as much.  I do think I have enjoyed every story this author has written as I enjoy the way the writes characters.  I also love happy endings, as long as they are not entirely implausible. This one stretched things almost too far, but I was happy with it.

It reminded me of another book she wrote called, "The Last Letter From Your Lover".  I was a bit surprised the author would repeat the the whole split narrative concept.

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum / YA / ****
A fun teen flick of a new girl in a new town, a new school, and with a new family.  Jessie is struggling to find her way in a place where she feels she won't ever fit in.  She is lonely and still grieving the death of her mother. She is a great combination of raw emotion and relatable comic wit.

The rest of the book is almost like a 'who-dunnit' as Jessie receives an email from an anonymous source offering to help her navigate the in's and out's of her new school.  Jessie decides to trust this person, and of course in the process of sharing her heart really grows to care and depend on this person.  The title, "Tell Me Three Things" refers to a frequent format of their emails.  Throughout the book, Jessie becomes more comfortable with her new situation, makes some new friends, and works to figure out who her anonymous emailer is.  Cute story.

The Circle by Dave Eggers
Wowza. It is books like this that remind me why I am so against gun control in any shape or form.

It was A Brave New World meets Animal Farm meets The Fountainhead meets 1984  (except that it wasn't as well written ). I was hoping for a realistic and engaging dystopian novel about the powers of the internet but it did fall short for me.  That being said, the warnings this book provides make it worth reading.

Mae has been hired by "The Circle" - a fantastic up and coming company that is changing the world with innovative technology that will make us more educated, more healthy, more safe, more connected, and more informed.  

There is a price to this safety including total transparency, no privacy, and no secrets.  All of your personal information will be held by the Circle.

It had such great potential but overall lacked punch. Common sense explains to me why the programs introduced by the Circle are bad even though they were explained as good, however the story didn't end up showing the real life problems of such systems. The main character, Mae, was weak and so easily influenced that you couldn't respect her. The sex scenes were just odd. The token resistance to the Circle was weak and unrealistic.  

My sister just told me that a movie has been made of this book.



The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead / YA / *1/2 / Kindle
This may go down in my reading history as the book I am most embarrassed to admit I read. It was SO BAD. It reminded me of the "Selection" series. 
Elizabeth is the member of the royal court. Bored of her meaningless life of never-ending dresses, dances, and social events and pressured to make a loveless marriage, she runs away and takes on the identity of her maid who was selected to join the Glittering Court. The purpose of this court is to raise impoverished girls to the status of ladies that can be married off to husbands in the wild lands of Adoria and have meaningless lives of never ending dresses, dances, and social events and a loveless marriage.  WHAT THE??? 

No world building. Terrible characters. Total objectification of women. Ridiculous plot lines. Token LGBTQ reference required of all teen books now. This book was just so bad.

While typing this I found out this is the author of the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series which explains SO MUCH.


Leave Me: A Novel by Gayle Foreman / A / ***1/2 / Kindle
This book totally reminded me of Anne Tyler's "Ladder of Years".  Fun quirky characters. Overworked mom that runs away from her family to find herself. I like the idea that sometimes you just need to see your life from a different perspective. 

The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull / JF / **** / Kindle
Mrs. White is not an ordinary candy maker. Her candy is magic and can help you defy gravity, become invincible, or talk to animals. It also can make you a mindless creature that forgets your life in order to get more.  Four friends have an adventure of a life-time as they become involved with - then try to break free from Mrs. White.  Fun Juvenile Fiction story that felt spot on for the audience it is intended for.  Fun read.

The Chemist by Stephanie Meyers / A / ***
Summary: Mostly fun, slightly ridiculous.
For the record I DO love Twilight. Well, I did. I can't even read it now. But in the day I read it OVER AND OVER again.
The Host is even better.
This one, not so much. I applaud Meyers for writing something else. It would be hard to write something that was a global phenomenon and have people eagerly awaiting your next masterpiece.  I think she was wise to wait a few years.
Meyers switches genres and narrative style with this book.  This is a spy-crime novel and uses a third person narrator instead of first person.  The main character, Alex/Juliana/Oleander/etc is a former government operative on the run. She is in constant danger from unknown assassins that are trying to kill her for what she knows.
The story actually starts out pretty good, but declines rapidly as soon as she kidnaps the wrong person, tortures him, and he falls in love with her. Like huh?
It then turns into this almost ridiculous litany of cool spy gadgets and expensive hide-outs owned by her new friends she meets on the road. It takes away from the emotionally bleak and gripping start of the story. 



Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan / YA / ***
Apple is in eighth grade and has a lot going on. She lives with her over-protective grandmother in England while her mother tries to get a break in Hollywood. The problem is that it has been ten years and Apple is pretty sure her mother is never coming back.  She is lonely, has issues with her image, and has a hard time making friends.  One thing she can do is write - but is scared to share her creations.
Apple's world is turned upside down when her carefree mother appears back on the scene.  Apple is even more surprised to find that she has a younger sister, Rain, who has even more issues than she does.
Apple has a lot of growing up to do as she learns a lot of hard life lessons in a short amount of time.  
It was a little clique and had the stereotypical characters but it is hopeful.