September, 2015
“Wolf by Wolf” by Ryan Graudin
After undergoing an experimental trial at an extermination camp, Yael has the power to skinshift, to impersonate others. As part of a plot to overthrow Hitler, she impersonates Adele Wolfe, last year’s female victor of a motorcycle race. The plan is for Yael to win the race, be invited to the after-party, dance with Hitler and kill him.
I’m not quite sure how taking out Hitler would cause the entire Reich to crumble. Wouldn't his second in command just step up? Despite this criticism, Yael was a very interesting character. The book itself was fast-paced, intriguing and hard to put down. Overall, well worth picking up.
“Imposter” by Chanda Stafford
This is the second book in the Live Once series. After waking up, everyone assumes that Mira is Socrates. She follows the plan and presents his speech to the assembly. I did not like this book. Mira was such a weak character. I’m not quite sure how Will’s point of view added to the story. Overall, the premise was interesting, but the characters were so lacking it was hard to maintain interest. Overall, a bust.
“Call the Midwife” by Jennifer Worth
Trained nurse and midwife Jenny works with the poorest of the poor in London’s East End. This story outlines some of her adventures and her memorable patients. I became interested in this book after watching the t.v. show. I wish this book contained more information about the nurses and nun’s Jenny worked with. However, I still thought it was a highly enjoyable novel.
“Shadows of the Workhouse” by Jennifer Worth
This is the second book in the Call the Midwife trilogy. It follows nurse and midwife Jenny through London’s East End. I found this book to be a bit slow and tedious. Instead of quick stories, like the first book, it spent chapters and chapters following a handful of individuals. This format just didn’t seem to work as well. Not a bad book, just not one I would reread.
“The Determined Heart” by Antoinette May
Mary, the daughter of a philosopher and feminist, is drawn to poet Percy Shelley. Despite Percy’s wife and children, the two run off with one another, determined to make the most out of life. Mary’s step-sister Claire tags along, complicating matters between the two lovers. With the ideas of free love, feminism and equality, the three-some quickly become entangled with one another, and others that they meet along the way. There was much more to the plot of this book, as it follows Mary through the birth and death of several children, the writing of Frankenstein, poverty and loss.
Overall, this book was well written and engaging. The lives of Mary, Percy, Claire and their paramours was fascinating. I really felt for Mary when she experienced loss after loss and she struggled to define who she was. A very interesting read.
“Need” by Joelle Charbonneau
When a website is launched, promising to fulfill students needs, teenagers at Nottawa High go crazy asking for cell phones, concert tickets. However, the cost of fulfilling the needs quickly rises from seemingly harmless pranks to deadly capers.
Need seemed to move fairly slowly and took forever to get started. It may have been a bit more enjoyable if the author had used fewer viewpoints. This book reminded me a lot of Erebos, a book I read in 2014. Although I have loved Charbonneau’s other books, this one was a bust.
“Lobster Boy” by Fred Rosen
Grady Stiles, Jr., known to the world as “Lobster Boy” was murdered by his family, in a kill-for-hire scheme. This book lightly touches upon his life, painting a background where you can easily image Grady as an angry, abusive and selfish man.
Overall, it was interesting to peer into the world of carnies. I felt very sorry for Grady’s family, as they struggled to live and survive in his world. Rated 3 out of 5 stars.
“The Dressmaker’s War” by Mary Chamberlain
Ada, a young dressmaker, falls for Stanislaus and travels with him to Paris. When the war breaks out, the two flee, until he abandons her. Ada travels to a convent, where the nuns take her in. However, the Nazi’s capture all of the English nuns and takes them to Germany to work. Ada is taken to a house outside of a concentration camp, where she makes dresses for the Nazi officer’s wives and mistresses. After the war, Ada travels back to London, where her family disowns her for running off with Stanislaus. Ada finds work at a café and buy picking up men at night.
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It was very well written. However, I found Ada very hard to like. She just made such poor decisions! I would definitely pick up another book by this author, just not another book about Ada.
“An Undisturbed Peace” by Mary Glilckman
Indentured to his uncle, Abrahan is a traveling salesman. During his travels he encounters an Indian woman named Dark Horse. The rest of the book is about his travels to uncover Dark Horse’s secrets. Overall, I thought this book was very slow moving. Abe was a pretty boring character. Dark Horse was interesting, but we only heard her story second hand, which took away from the impact it could have had. Overall, I would not re-read or recommend this book.
“First” by Chanda Stafford
Mira works in a farm in Texas. As one of the descendants of defeated rebels, her life is subject to the whims of the Firsts. The Firsts are a group of learned and accomplished individuals who achieve immortality by choosing a “body” to upload their minds into. When Mira is chosen by Socrates, the first First, she learns the truth of what being a second involves.
I thought this was a pretty interesting premise. However, Mira came across as a pretty weak character. Tanner did not act like a teenager in love, and some of the other characters were also inconsistent. Regardless of this, I would be interested in reading a sequel.
“A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding” by Jackie Copleton
Amaterasu survived the bombing of Nagasaki only to lose her daughter and grandson. Living in Philadelphia, she is skeptical when a scarred man shows up at her doorstep claiming to be her grandson. What follows is a mish-mash of Amaterasu relating the story of her family during the war.
The transitions between Amaterasu’s life, Yuko’s and others is a bit awkward and hard to follow. The author starts with a journal entry or a letter and then switches points of view. I think the book would have been much better if the author did this a bit differently. Overall, not a bad book, but it could have been much more powerful.