Book reviews of mysteries, historical fiction and graphic novels with a smattering of non-fiction books.
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
The Kind Worth Saving
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Lunar New Year Love Story
She was destined for heartbreak. Then fate handed her love.Val is ready to give up on love. It's led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she's pretty sure she's cursed—no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love.But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance to break the family curse? Or is she destined to live with a broken heart forever?
Yang gives us realistic characters. Valentina, or Val, grew up with just one parent, her father. When she finds out the he lied about her mother' death she stops speaking with him for almost a year. Val's best friend Bernice is also raised by a single parent, her mother. Bernice cannot stand to be without a boyfriend and within 24 hours of a break up she finds a new love. We all knew someone like that when we were growing up. Val is the complete opposite. The boys in the story are typical Chinese Americans while their parents live a very Chinese life in the U. S.
Another reason I enjoy Yang's novels is that they are the same length as a traditional novel. Lunar is approximately 350 pages. This allows him to create fully formed characters and an extensive plot. The relationships among the kids in the story revolve around lion dancing. They are all taking a class on how to dance under a lion costume, as you would normally see at the Chinese new year and other special occasions. Val's relationships with two boys generally take place while they are sharing a costume to dance under. Val cannot decide which boy she really loves. A magical dragon has given her one year to find true love. If she fails then she must give the dragon her heart and foreswear future love interests. Val believes that her family will always be unlucky in love and is not sure that she can find true love.
The illustrations by Leuyen Pham are gorgeous. She has used primarily a red and pink color pallet to fit with Val's love of Valentine's Day. There are some panels colored in blues and greens but all the colors are bright as I like them. Her character's faces illuminate their emotions so when there is no dialogue in a panel strip, the reader knows how the characters are feeling.
Lunar New Year Love Story is the perfect Valentine's Day story. It would make a great gift for both kids and adults who like comics. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.
Monday, February 5, 2024
The Silent Patient
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations―a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....
The Silent Patient is awesome! I did not see the ending coming and was totally surprised. Totally! The book was so well written that it's hard to believe that it's a debut novel. This book definitely had me sitting on the edge of my seat looking forward to finding out why Alicia killed her husband. I assumed that there was some domestic violence but I was wrong. I knew the reason that Alicia stopped talking was going to be a good one and so I read fast in order to finish the story in one sitting. Oh my, it was so good.
The author, Alex Michaelides, created some amazing characters. Alicia seemed sympathetic even though she shot her husband five times. She and Theo were both main characters. I liked Theo alot because he bent over backwards to help his patient. His boss gave him just six weeks to get her talking. With hospital finances being threadbare, the Grove faced being shut down. The boss hoped that if Alicia got better, the press about it would help keep the place open. The family members for both Gabriel and Alicia all hated her passionately. I knew there were good reasons for this and couldn't wait to find out why.
I can't think of any other book where I had to read fast in order to find out the who, what, when, where, how and why. The Silent Patient is an amazing read. Check it out if you haven't already. 5 out of 5 stars.
The Last Patient of the Night
The death of a nameless young woman in his emergency room spurs physician AJ Docker to seek answers. Together with his policeman friend and a police dog, he sets out on a quest for justice for his lost patient, but he discovers more questions than answers as he delves into the criminal world.
Last Patient of the Night is an action packed thriller interspersed with lighthearted stories from the emergency room, featuring a cast of interesting characters.
Gary Gerlacher’s experience as an emergency physician lends authenticity to the ER culture. His debut novel is the first in the AJ Docker series, and will leave you turning pages late into the night.
The back cover blurb states that this book is a mystery but with alot of information on working in an emergency room (ER). This is 100% accurate. It seemed to me that the author wrote a book on the ER and then tried to throw in a murder. The ER setting was more prominent than the mystery. While the setting provided was interesting, the book is supposed to be a medical thriller. However, it falls short of the thriller category description. The author is an ER physician himself which is why he has numerous anecdotes about the ER. I can understand the desire to put everything you know about a setting into a novel but Gerlacher should have pulled back.
While Tracy Palmer was dead on arrival at the ER, she was never mentioned again. Another woman by the name of Jenny Smithton seems to have taken her place. There was no mention that they were the same person but I figured it out from their character descriptions. Another odd part of the book is that it begins with Docker performing a tracheotomy on a ski slope. I thought it would be connected to the plot but it wasn't. I am assuming Gerlacher was introducing the reader to his main character.
AJ Docker is a smart ass character. He is arrogant and gets away with plenty of shinnanagans. He is our amateur sleuth. I have never before read a book where a man was an amateur sleuth and it was awkward for me. Also, amateur sleuth mysteries tend to follow a particular cozy mystery formula. Last Patient of the Night does not do this. In addition, while Docker was performing his investigation he killed 3 men on three separate days. The two officers that were in charge of the official investigation were aware and never arrested or charged him. This just isn't realistic.
This book had many problems and the more I think about them the more disappointed I am. I am rating it 1 out of 5 stars.
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Open Borders
The publisher's summary:
American policy-makers have long been locked in a heated battle over whether, how many, and what kind of immigrants to allow to live and work in the country. Those in favor of welcoming more immigrants often cite humanitarian reasons, while those in favor of more restrictive laws argue the need to protect native citizens.
But economist Bryan Caplan adds a new, compelling perspective to the immigration debate: He argues that opening all borders could eliminate absolute poverty worldwide and usher in a booming worldwide economy―greatly benefiting humanity.
With a clear and conversational tone, exhaustive research, and vibrant illustrations by Zach Weinersmith, Open Borders makes the case for unrestricted immigration easy to follow and hard to deny.
The book was entertaining and informative. Before reading this novel I had no idea that there was an economic factor to immigration. The author writes to the layperson so you don't need to know much about economics in order to understand what he is saying. What Caplan says about the economics is that people who emigrate will get jobs and pay taxes. Their children will be well educated and contribute to society. He believes that this is a win win for everyone even if it costs you something up front when they first arrive.
Some of the author's arguments seemed preachy. In the middle of my read, I realized that he has footnotes at the back of the book for every argument that he makes. However, there is no notation on the page advising that these notes exist or where he obtained his facts. I ended up re-reading the book in order to get his, and my own, facts straight. His data comes from good sources and his arguments for open borders are compelling. Caplan mainly argues that low-skilled immigrants should be allowed unrestricted entry into the U. S.
5 out of 5 stars.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
The Waitress
Anne Marie’s life isn’t easy. She’s a single mom in a dead-end waitressing job with a beater car and bills to pay. Adding to the pressure, her teenage son, Dave, is out of control, and no matter what she does, Anne Marie can’t seem to get through to him.Then, out of the blue, Dave completely changes. He’s kind, he’s thoughtful, he helps out around the house and looks after his mom. Anne Marie can’t believe her luck.Until she discovers the reason for her son’s sudden transformation – he’s done something really awful and he’s terrified he’ll be caught. Even worse, someone out there knows about it and they’re blackmailing him.Anne Marie is desperate to protect her son and knows she has to somehow stop the blackmailer. But how?As she considers her choices, Anne Marie realizes she may be taking the first steps on a path that will lead her straight to the gates of hell.How far is she willing to go to save her only child?
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Ancestry Standards for Data Integrity
I have been using the ancestry.com website for my own research and I am happy to say that, according to the author's tips, I covered all my bases well. This book is basically a primer on how to accurately do online geneological research. Elcik gives tips on what you should do to ensure the accuracy of your research as well as what not to do. As such, this book is a must read for anyone just starting out looking into their family tree. With the book being so short, I don't want to give details on what those tips are. Let me just say that I wish I had this resource when I started out with my research.
5 out of 5 stars.
Friday, January 5, 2024
The Map Colorist
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
2024 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge Author Edition
6) There are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z Reading Challenge.
A – Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the authors with the book you read to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find authors/books to fit.
OR
B – Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet.
7) There is a group on Facebook for the challenge where you can share the books you have read and converse with others taking part in the challenge. Alphabet Soup – Author Edition – Challenge – You can share your accomplishments throughout the year there.
The challenge host is asking everyone to sign up using Google Forms. Sign Up Here.