Tuesday Book Review

Five-star review of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

After seeing the animated movie version of this story in the theater, I wondered how much it differed from the original book series. It is aimed at children, of course, but the story of a robot named Roz stranded on the beach of an island in the middle of a vast ocean and eventually adopting a gosling she names Brightbill is charming and full of adventures. Some of the language used might not be easy for young readers and even younger children who are read to but that adds to all that children might learn from the book about kindness and friendship, nature and technology. The story does differ somewhat from the movie but was moving and engaging. A quick and easy read for an adult and an enjoyable one for a child.

Tuesday Book Review

Four-star review of Drop Dead Sisters (The Finch Sisters Book 1) by Amelia Diane Coombs

The Finch sisters have been estranged for years, or rather the narrator, Remi, has been estranged from her much older sisters Maeve and Eliana partly because of her interpretation of their childhood together. But when a family camping trip, complete with quirky relatives including their parents, turns into a murder mystery involving them all, the three sisters must work together to investigate what happened. Remi hates camping and hiking, she hates her job, she has trouble making relationships work, etc., and her whining about her past is a bit too much, but her sense of humor, the weird and even weirder situations that occur, and even Remi’s moments with the hot ranger made the story enjoyable.

Tuesday Book Review

Five-star review of Code: Elephants on the Moon by Jennifer Bohnhoff

I didn’t immediately get into this book, but it is a compelling story about one girl in a small French town during World War II. The writing became much surer as the story unfolded and I was there with Eponine as she felt the ostracism of the Norman girls because of her red hair and freckles yet felt more loyal to France than those who went along with the Germans occupying the town and nearby area. The amount of research that went into making the reader understand and learn about this difficult time for everyone  in France and, in fact, all of Europe is evident. Eponine’s eyes were gradually opened to all her mother and their house guest were doing and then did her part along with her horse. Excellent for children ten or eleven and up.  

Tuesday Book Review

Five-star review of Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Linda See

Lady Tan is based on a real female doctor (in both senses) in 15^th Century China. The story of her life allows us to learn about the medical practices, expectations of women, customs, food, clothing and social classes and many other aspects of Chinese culture of the time. Everything is described in detail using beautiful and not so beautiful language. Tan Yunxian came from a prestigious family and married into another. Trained by her grandmother to treat women throughout the stages of their lives, she was initially forbidden by her mother-in-law to practice, she proves how much she can help the females of the family compound. I learned so much from this book as See made it all interesting.

Tuesday Book Review

Four-star review for Fatal Intrusion by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Moldonado

 

This first book in a new series introduces readers to the team of Homeland Security agent Carmen Sanchez and Professor Jake Heron, whose special field of study is intrusion theory. Carmen is particularly determined to lead the investigation of a seeming series of murders after her estranged sister is attacked. The case, or cases, took many twists and turns and through it, the relationships among the characters changes. Deaver and Moldonado  have written another interesting thriller that takes the reader to an assortment of Southern California locales.

Tuesday Book Review on Monday

Five-star review for Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

This long novel starts with the premise of what would happen if something caused the moon to shatter into seven pieces (not the reason for the title) and those pieces further break up, bombarding the earth with large fragments that somehow make it through the atmosphere. The book is as long as it is because Stephenson has to explain every engineering detail of the human reaction to this as he can in infinite detail, but even all this telling is interesting.

Spoilers ahead: the first part describes what happens after the moon fractures, the second covers the attempts by humans to survive. The third, almost as long as the first two put together, takes place five thousand years later and reveals the divergences of different human groups but that they still have the same tendencies of humans today and in the past. It could have been a second book in a duology and continued to tell how the thirteen or more groups rebuild, together or apart, since the story could use that instead of a epilogue.

It was a quick read despite the length with interesting characters in each part. I almost didn’t want it to end. 

Tuesday Book Review

 

Five-star review of Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg

This fascinating memoir by the NPR commentator on the friends she’s made over the years, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, stressed the importance of long friendships through the good and bad events on our lives and how those friendships can form over good meals and good conversation. I learned a lot about the court as well as the people covered in the book. I particularly appreciated the examples of how hard it was for women to advance, to earn as much as men for the same job, during the 20^th century. People need to be reminded of that to fully understand what an accomplishment it was for Ruth to become a supreme court justice. I read this for a book club and was glad I did.