Month: September 2015

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

~ SamanthaWho ~ 6 Comments

The Storied Life of A.J. FikryThis is a really sweet story. A few pages in, I wasn’t sure whether to stick with The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin because the main character is a snobby bookstore owner. I can’t stand people who think that they are superior because their reading tastes are “more advanced” than others and that’s what I saw in this character. At least, that’s what I felt at first.

Just a quick heads up, there are a few small spoilers ahead.

A.J. Fikry, a grumpy isolated man, is in a dark place in his life until a baby girl is abandoned in his bookstore with a desperate mother’s note asking for help. A.J. ends up connecting with the child and takes her into his home. This baby brings him back to life and her arrival changes him, making him open up to let in the world around him. He allowed the people in his community to become a part of his life as well, turning the bookshop into a central meeting spot.

The scenes between the two were funny as well, A.J. googling the different aspects of childrearing like how to run a bath or change a diaper, and the child’s view of the bookstore. This is a pretty quick story, only a couple hundred pages long, and I recommend it!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

~ SamanthaWho ~ 15 Comments

The Nightingale by Kristin HannahThis one is absolutely incredible! The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a story that must be shared and read over and over again. Hannah shares with us the story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, young women living in France during WWII. Hannah has done a fantastic job here, the book has great character construction and many different dynamics running throughout.

The elder sister, Vianne, has always been the weak one. When her husband is drafted for the war she has no choice but to stay strong for her daughter. Through Vianne’s story we get a glimpse into the life of a mother trying to survive through German occupation, while starving, freezing, and hosting German officers in her home.

Isabelle, the younger sister, is wild and has few thoughts for the consequences that her actions will cause. All her life she has felt unloved, a motherless girl being pushed away from a father and sister who cannot cope with the loss, kicked out of every boarding school she’s attended. When she joins the resistance against Germany she finds herself right in the center of it all.

The Nightingale is a beautifully written story and so terribly sad. These women are so brave, and although they are fictional, they represent very real people. I loved this book and highly recommend it to everyone, not only historical fiction lovers.

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez

~ SamanthaWho ~ 5 Comments

The Book of Unknown AmericansThe Book of Unknown American, written by Cristina Henriquez, focuses on the lives of immigrants from South and Central America living in the United States. I was drawn into this story because of the multiple perspectives that Henriquez writes from. Readers look through the eyes of children and adults, citizens and undocumented residents and learn of each of these character’s frustrations.

While the book contains narratives from many characters, the main story follows Maribel, a girl who has suffered a traumatic brain injury; which causes her family to move to the US in an attempt for a better life and a school with supportive programs. She meets a boy living in the same apartment complex and when she seems to be improving after spending time with him, they find an unexpected connection between them.

To be honest, the ending of this book disappointed me. While I felt that the story was interesting, I felt like the final scenes strayed from that main topic and became unfocused. I wish Henriquez had gone further with her characters because I would have liked to learn more about them.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book for the perspectives of multiple immigrants living in the U.S. and for the insights into the hardships experienced while looking for a better life.

Beloved Book Settings: Scotland

~ SamanthaWho ~ 19 Comments

Edinburgh CastleOne reason why fictional stories are so powerful is because they transport the reader to another place or time. I have found myself drawn to books set in certain locations over and over again, the settings coming alive in my head. One of my very favorite fictional book settings is Scotland.

Some of the books that have brought the countryside of Scotland alive for me have been:

  • The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
  • At The Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen
  • The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

The wild greenery and the rolling hills of the countryside hold a certain draw for me. Maybe it’s the sense of adventure that comes with wide-open spaces, like a scene in Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings. Maybe it’s the rocky coastal beaches and windswept seashores that pull me in. It could also be the Scottish characters. A lively bunch the scots are, a proud and generous people. I also really enjoy reading the phrases of Gaelic mixed in with heavily accented English.

I was lucky enough to travel to Edinburgh last year, where I fell in love with cobble stone streets of the old town lined with pipers and pubs. Now that I’ve seen a piece of Scotland for myself, I can feel these stories even more vividly than before.

Whatever the reason, when I read a book description that is set in Scotland, I am much more likely to pick the book up and take it home with me.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

~ SamanthaWho ~ 14 Comments

The Night CircusThe Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is an enchanting story centered on a young girl and boy, Celia and Marco, who are unknowingly bound together. Their mentors have each entered these “special” children into a magical challenge that plays out over the course of their lives. The arena for this challenge is none other than a night circus, a traveling group that shows up unannounced across the globe.

The circus becomes completely intertwined with the challenge, filled with tents full of magic and fantastical illusions. Morgenstern did a good job of illustrating the challenge with stunning descriptions that help the reader imagine the unknown.

Along with these magical enchantments, I was drawn into this story because of the wacky characters with their bizarre, and sometimes stunning, acts. For me, this wasn’t a page gripping book, but it was very well written and I was intrigued all the same.

Another twist to the story comes when these challengers start developing feelings for each other…Will they fight to the finish or will love triumph all? You’ll just have to pick up The Night Circus to find out!

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

~ SamanthaWho ~ 11 Comments

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy NelsonA few pages into I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson, I was feeling a bit skeptical about the story. While my attention was instantly caught by all of the imagery and colorful descriptions, I wasn’t sure how an entire book like that would go. I had no reason to worry though because this story was pretty fantastic.

Through I’ll Give You The Sun, a YA novel focused on twin siblings, we witness the very complex relationship between Jude and Noah. While the pair is obviously deeply connected, the siblings simultaneously harbor aggressively competitive feelings that cause them to do awful things to one another. The book switches between loving interactions and vicious fights, an interesting aspect that kept me completely enthralled.

The heartfelt characters and their wild imaginations were what really pulled me into the story. Their stories made me feel for them, for their pain, their passion, their lies and their loves.

Are YA novels only for teens? Definitely not when it comes to I’ll Give You The Sun.

 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

~ SamanthaWho ~ 11 Comments

Ready Player One by Ernest ClineWhat does it mean when you’re flight’s delayed? This past weekend it meant that I had more time to read! With the extra time, I was able to dive into Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, a sci-fi novel set in the year 2044.

USA Today describes the story pretty perfectly:

“Enchanting…Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.” – USA Today

In this story, Earth has plummeted into decay and Cline paints a horrifying picture through his “stacks”, trailers that are stacked up on top of each other and are only stabilized by weak metal pipe structures.

People escape this harsh reality through Oasis, a virtual world where people can be whoever, or whatever, they want. The creator of Oasis, James Halliday, has passed away and left behind the challenge of a lifetime. Whoever can solve his highly complex scavenger hunt filled with puzzles, video game challenges, and 80’s pop culture trivia, will win Halliday’s fortune and control of Oasis. Wade Watts, an anti-social teenager, finds himself catapulted into fame when he finds the first piece of Halliday’s puzzle.

As someone who is not very savvy in video game jargon, I thought Cline did a pretty good job of keeping technical descriptions straightforward. Despite a few scenes where my mind wandered in the face of ultra-detailed descriptions, I was able to keep up for the most part.

I don’t read a lot of sci-fi books, but I enjoyed Ready Player One. The story was interesting, the dialogue was entertaining and the topics were relatable. Cline brought depth to the story by touching on issues that the world is dealing with today, including global warming, pollution, monopoly power, and the risks that technology presents to overpower our lives so much so that we forget to live in reality.

Should You Keep a Book Journal?

~ SamanthaWho ~ 25 Comments

I’ve kept a book journal for the past few years and I really recommend it to all readers out there! During high school I was having a hard time keeping track of what I had already read, the plotlines blending into one large and complicated story in my head. Writing in a book journal not only helped me keep track of what I had read, it also allowed me to reflect on those stories and see how my reading choices changed over time.

Every book journal is different, and they should be because we’re all different, but here is what I find works for me. I jot down the book title, author and a quick bio of the storyline. I also give the book a rating from 1 to 5 based on how much I enjoyed it and whether I would want to read it again. Even though I’ve enjoyed many books, that doesn’t necessarily mean I  want to re-read them all, especially when there are so many other great choices out there! Although I rate these books myself, I don’t publicly post a rating on my book reviews because they are so subjective and I want each reader to decide on a rating for himself or herself.

Do any of you keep a book journal? I would love to hear what works for you!

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

~ SamanthaWho ~ 4 Comments

The Keeper of Lost CausesWhen a friend of mine asked for a mystery book recommendation before heading out on a road trip this weekend, one story instantly popped into mind. I told her that she needed to read (or in this case, listen to on audiotape) The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen right away. Despite reading this novel a couple years ago, I still find myself recommending it to many friends asking for recommendations because it is a story that has stuck with me.

For a haunting page-turner, choose The Keeper of Lost Causes. Jussi Adler-Olsen has written a seriously excellent page-gripping story here. This is the first book in the Department Q series centered around Carl Morck, a Copenhagen homicide detective whose life had been shattered when two of his fellow cops were shot on the job.

After finally coming back to his career, he gets to work on a series of old case files before becoming stuck on one in particular. A politician, who has all but disappeared into thin air and is thought to be dead, lingers on Carl’s mind. By following a hunch he finds something that has haunted me to this day. I don’t want to give anything away, but there is such a TWISTING finish here!

An incredibly thrilling mystery novel, The Keeper of Lost Causes is fantastic!