July, 2015

"Red Death: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller" by D.L. Robinson         

When Tara and Lee's neighbors become sick, and word of Ebola begins spreading around the community, Tara decides to stock up on food and supplies.  Lee takes vacation from work and the two hide out in their house, expecting the worse.  As more and more people become sick, martial law is declared, and a nearby area is turned into a barracks where those who are sick disappear.         

This was a quick easy read.  The characters were super optimistic and never complained, which seemed a bit unrealistic to me.  Otherwise, I thought it was an interesting twist on a doomsday scenario.  Overall, highly recommended. 

"The Pedestriennes" by Harry Hall         

In the late 1800's, a new sport of endurance walking swept through America.  The Pedestriennes, a group of women walkers, have now faded into obscurity.  However, during their time, they were household names.  This book outlines how the sport evolved and ultimately died out.  The author combined storytelling with the facts, which made for a very interesting read.  I googled some of the women's names after reading the book and could find very little out about them.  I am amazed that the author was able to dig up all of the information that he did.  Overall, well worth picking up.

"Black-Eyed Susans" by Julia Heaberlin         

Tessa was found in a field of black-eyed susans, the only survivor of a serial killer.  A man was caught, arrested and convicted.  Now, it is years later and he is about to be executed.  However, Tessa begins to question and doubt, was he really the killer?  This book alternates between the past and present, filling the reader in a little bit at a time.  I have to admit that I couldn't put this book down.  It was riveting!  This is definitely one of the best books I've read all year.  Highly recommended.

"The Scorpion Rules" by Erin Bow         

In a system set up by an artificial intelligence, in order to keep the peace among the nations, the children of world leaders are held hostage.  If a war starts, then these "children of peace" are killed.  For the most part, the system has worked and has prevented wide-scale global conflict.  Greta, a princess of the Pan Polar Confederacy, is willing to go to her fate calmly and peacefully.  However, when a new boy, Elian, is brought in kicking and screaming, everything seems to change.  When Elian's country invades the compound, they formally declare war on Greta's country, hoping that torturing her on camera will cause her parents to concede to their demands.  However, they didn't count on Talis, the ai, to come rushing in and save the day.

Overall, this was a pretty interesting premise.  The children of peace seemed a little lackluster at times and could have used more personality.  Throughout the book it seemed as if the author forgot the younger children held at the compound and only periodically brought them up.  Not a bad book, it could have used more personality.  I would be interested to read a sequel or another book set in this universe.

"The Sisters of Versailles" by Sally Christie         

Four of the five Nesle sisters became mistresses to King Louis XV.  Their stories are usually shadowed by his other mistresses and the subsequent rule of Louise XVI and Marie Antoinette.  However, this book brings them to the forefront of history.  Louise, the eldest sister, became his mistress first, until years later when Louis grew tired of her.  Pauline, the second mistress, brought to Louise a sense of fun and adventure, with her slightly irreverent manner.  Marie-Anne, the third mistress, used every device she could to gain power, money and influence, including her sister Diane.

     Overall, this was a fascinating and intriguing book.  These were historical figures that I knew nothing about.  It was interesting to read about this period in history and the buildup to the French Revolution.  Overall, highly recommended.

"The Search for Anne Perry" by Joanne Drayton         

I hate to say this, but this book was practically unreadable.  The author spent most of her time describing the plot lines of Anne Perry's books.  At not in an insightful or reflective manner.  Every once in a while she would throw in a paragraph saying that the novel showed some parallels to Anne's crime or psyche.  Overall, a bust!

"Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline         

When Molly is forced into community service, she decides to help an elderly lady clean out her attic.  The story alternates with the lady, Vivian's story.   An Irish immigrant, once Vivian is orphaned, she is put on an orphan train to the Midwest.  The train stops at various places along the way, allowing people to choose an orphan to take in.        

I knew nothing about the Orphan Train situation before reading this book.  Discovering a new piece of U.S. history was fascinating.  I didn't really connect to Molly's story line and wished the book had only focused on Vivian.   However, this was an excellent book and a quick read.  Overall, highly recommended.

"Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century" by Peter Graham         

In 1954 Anne Perry (Juliet Hulme) and Pauline Parker murdered Pauline's mother Honora.  Authorities quickly arrested the teenagers, making headlines across the world.  During the trial, homosexuality and insanity were brought to the forefront by the prosecutor and defense team.  Convicted, the two girls were sent to two separate prisons.  After being released, the two were given new names.  Juliet, took the name Anne Perry and became a famous writer.  Pauline drifted off into obscurity.         

I thought this was an interesting and thought provoking read.  I enjoyed reading some of the psychology takes on their behavior.  I would have liked to have read more about Pauline, but I understand that she refused to cooperate.  Overall, this one is much better than some of the other books out there about the crime.  Highly recommended!

"Thieving Forest" by Martha Conway         

When the 5 Quiner's sisters are orphaned, they are left with the decision to continue and run their parents store or return to the big city.  Before they can make a choice, 4 of the sisters are kidnapped by Indians.  Susanna, the sister left behind, decides to pursue the Indians herself and try and ransom her sisters.  One of the sisters, who has a mild fever, is scalped and quickly left for dead by the Indians.  2 of the sisters are traded to another group of Indians and the 4th is ransomed to a group of religious settlers.          

Overall, this book felt pretty slow.  It seemed that all of the action happened in one or two chapters and the rest was tedium.  I did enjoy reading about the captive's experiences, as this is the first book I've read from that viewpoint.  Not a bad book, but not a quick fun read either.  Overall, I would rate it 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

"The Search for Bridey Murphy" by Morey Bernstein         

Morey Bernstein, an amateur hypnotist, undertakes a journey to bring back memories of past lives under hypnosis.  Under hypnosis, hi subject became Bridey Murphy, an Irish woman who lived a rather mundane life.  I thought this was a pretty interesting read.  I immediately found myself goggling this topic to find out what happened after the book ended.  My only criticism is that Morey spent too much time leading up to Bridey and spent too much time outlining his own skepticism.  Otherwise, this was a great book, 4 out of 5 stars.

"Unfinished Symphony" by Bernard Hellreich Ingram         

I absolutely hate giving a holocaust survivor story a bad review.  However, I felt that this book was really hard to get into.  The author had a detached writing style which was more clinical than storytelling.  The author also seemed to jump from time-to-time and place-to-place.  The jumping combined with the clinical writing style made me struggle to pay attention to the story.  I hate to admit this, but , I just couldn't finish the book. 

"Ruby" by Cynthia Bond         

Ephram has long had a crush on Ruby Bell, a much gossiped about woman in their small Texas town.  I had a really hard time getting into this book.  It just felt so tedious.  I did enjoy the author's writing style, but time seemed to screech to a halt throughout the book.  Overall, a bust.

"Our Orbit" by Anesa Miller         

When 9 year old Miriam's mother dies and father is arrested, she is take away from her deeply religious world into a foster home.  Rick and Deanne quickly grow to love Miriam, and encourage her to let go of some of her more outlandish beliefs.  They also encourage her to maintain a relationship with her siblings, and soon begin to look out for Rachelle, her older sister.   I don't want to give any spoilers, but I thought this book was pretty sad.  It involved a fairly depressing topic and did not try and hide the frustrations and emotions of the characters.  The author gave her characters depth and real personality.  Overall, a good (but sad) read.  4 out of 5 stars.

"The Cherry Harvest" by Lucy Sanna

This review contains SPOILERS!!!  

After sending their only son off to war, Charlotte and Thomas struggle to keep their cherry farm running and their teenage daughter fed.  Kate, a typical teenager, raises rabbits to earn money and dreams of becoming a writer.   When German POW's are enlisted to help with the cherry orchard, there is must consternation and grumbling among their neighbors.  Thomas befriends a prisoner, Karl, who begins to tutor Kate in math.   Towards the end of the story their son Ben returns, minus a leg.  Ben absolutely hates the Germans.         

At the very end of the book, Ben attacks Karl, they struggle, and Ben is shot and killed.  With very little buildup, Charlotte goes crazy, and is sent to the insane asylum.  The emotional scenes at the end with Charlotte felt very powerful.  However, I thought there should have been some signs throughout the book that she was losing it.  Again, sorry for the spoilers, but I didn't feel I could write an honest review without mentioning Charlotte's breakdown.  Overall, well written, engaging and well paced.