The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde- Book Review

As I stated in my last book review, I have been on a roll recently with YA novels thanks to some really helpful recommendations. One of the books recommended to me was Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, which is currently in my TBR pile. On a Book Riot podcast though, one of the podcasters stated- I think the Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde is just as good if not much better than Riordan's books. I had read some Fforde, but didn't know he wrote a YA series, so I immediately downloaded it and read it. Was it worth it? Hint- Super yes!

The story is about Jennifer Strange who is an orphaned indentured servant and current acting director of Kazam. Kazam utilizes magicians, who are no longer the power agents they once were, to now help people with their plumbing problems, wiring problems, finding lost things, etc. Strange keeps things running and helps the magicians keep their egos in check, even when at least one of them feels superior to Strange.

Strange has two more years with Kazam before she is thrust out into the real world and is now in charge of training her possible replacement Tiger, also an orphan and indentured servant. As she is training Tiger, some of the magicians tell her they have had a premonition that the last dragon is about to die on Sunday by the hands of a dragon slayer. Should the dragon die, the dragon lands are open to the other kingdoms and all out war will happen. Strange, it turns out, is the last slayer and must do her duty or face severe consequences. 

The premise of the unlikely hero is one that we have read before several times, but Fforde plays with that a bit. Strange isn't just an unlikely hero, but the unlikeliest of unlikely heroes. She is sarcastic to a fault, is a servant, yet understands the power of her actions, should she decide to do her duty.

Fforde's characters are the charm of this book. All of his characters are developed well and full of life. The magicians Strange interacts with are all so much fun and just a joy to be with. Strange herself is placed in a no win situation and to see how she contemplates what to do without changing her character was just great.

This isn't just a great book for teens, but this is a great book for all ages. Yes, there are some "simple" aspects of this book, but it is still worth the read. I gave this one 4.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

Jackaby by William Ritter- Book Review

Any regular reader of this blog knows I am not a huge fan of YA novels. It isn't that they are written well, but rather there tends to be a lot of drama-very quickly, love interests happen even faster, and everything gets wrapped up in a neat bow at the end. More modern YA books involving youth struggling with their sexuality also tend not to really have struggle as gay characters come out and are often quickly embraced, but that is another topic for another book.

With this said, I will readily admit that I have been on a roll recently with YA novels. In the last month, I have read at least 4 that I would hold up, not just as good YA novels, but pretty great fiction as well. The Jackaby series by William Ritter are examples some of those books. While I am going to focus on the first book in this blog post, I have read through two of them and a short story that was free, while eagerly ready for the 3rd book, which probably will not change my opinion of the series so far. 

Jackaby is the main character of this book and he is a cross between Doctor Who and Cumberbatch's Sherlock with a bit of X-Files thrown in for good measure. He is a wise ass, makes people feel small while praising them, and investigates cases that the police cannot figure out because they tend to deal with trolls or vampires or other strange phenomena. Jackaby is incredible smart and observant and can pick up certain things that most humans cannot.

The book itself is told from the perspective of Abigail Rook, who has just arrived in New England and happens to answer an old ad. She doesn't know quite what to think about Jackaby, but is in desperate need of money and housing that she follows along. 

Rook meets his old assistant, who happens to be a duck at the time and Jackaby's live in ghost. Rook follows along Jackaby as he solves his first case with her at his side- a murder where there is no blood, yet the body is ripped apart. She will meet all sorts of characters and learn what is real and what is out there.

I honestly didn't know Jackaby was a YA novel, it was that well written. It isn't PG in any sense of the word and the characters are complex. While the drama quickly happens, it is because of the nature of the book, instead of a teen in trouble who is overblowing how big of a mess things are. I actually thought this was a book for adults, until I saw the publishing company was for young adults. It is that good!

I will venture into the second book for just a moment, as I was glad to have the characters back, but I had wished for a bit of relationship building between Rook and Jackaby. I am not talking about a romantic relationship, but rather Rook and Jackaby's relationship seemed exactly the same in the first book as in the second.

Jackaby is a great character and Rook is written well as the straight woman. Their partnership is well developed as Rook tries, while Jackaby makes fun while showing his superior intellect. If you know Doctor Who, you know the type of making fun that I am describing.

I enjoyed the series, so far, but really loved the first book. I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Jackaby by William Ritter

Crosstalk by Connie Willis- Book Review

Connie Willis has a huge book catalogue, but I have not read any of her books until this one- Crosstalk. From what I understand, she has a huge following as well, so I was a little hesitant to write this review as I didn't want to write the wrong thing. It was a fun book, but I thought it needed a bit of trimming.

The story takes place in the near future, where everything is pretty much broadcast on Twitter, Facebook, texting, or any other media. People have somewhat lost privacy as news gets out quickly.

Briddey is in love with her boss/boyfriend Trent, whom she has been dating for six wonderful weeks. She and Trent have decided to move forward in their relationship by electing to implant an EDD, which all the stars are doing. This will allow one to be open and feel their partner's feelings. Only a few people have done this experimental procedure.

Briddey's semi nemesis CB has warned her not to get this experiment. He is a tech developer and knows about some of the side effects of this surgery. Briddey gets it and sure enough has a few side effects, including being now able to communicate with CB telepathically!

This was a fun read and a really fun premise. Her characters are well developed and fleshed out. I did wonder a bit why Briddey loved Trent so much when he seems to ignore her for half the book, but I wrote it off to young love.

As stated earlier, I did think there was a lot happening that could have been trimmed a bit. There are lots of parts with Briddey's family popping in and out with the idea that they are nosey and over the top, but there was a bit too much popping in and out. It also isn't until about the 200th page out of 400+ that we start getting into the main portion of the story. It just felt like a lot of filler and facts about telepathy/voices in your head.

I really did enjoy the commentary about our world and what is to come. The idea of hearing what people are really thinking could be easily translated to the comments section of blog posts. I really enjoyed that parallel.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Crosstalk by Connie Willis

* I want to thank NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read this book early. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

And Then The Sky Exploded by David Poulsen- Book Review

When I picked up And Then The Sky Exploded by David Poulsen from NetGalley, I must have missed this is a book designed for middle school aged readers, so I am going to review this on a curve. I am going to think back to younger me and ask- would I have enjoyed this book?

The story begins Chris at his great-grandfather's funeral. As the family is traveling to the gravesite, Chris sees protesters off to the side calling his "GG" a killer and a murderer. Chris researches why the protesters would do this and finds his GG was part of the Manhattan Project and was responsible for the creation of the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki.

This is also the story of Yuko, who was a school aged child when the bomb was dropped. She was badly injured, but survived the bomb. We read about her story throughout the book in bits and pieces.

Chris in his struggles decides that he would like to travel to Japan with his school's travel club. After a small battle, the club heads to Japan, where Chris begins to see an image of a little girl in a school uniform following him around. Will Chris find what he needs to be able to forgive or change his ideas about his great grandfather?

The main story of the book is really well done. Chris really does struggle with what his GG did. The question of a past generation's actions reflecting on the present generation is greatly focused on in this book. Chris struggles with his own image of his GG and this new information. We can see the information begins to taint Chris' view of his GG. 

The trip to Japan was also well done. One can feel Chris' need to get to Nagasaki to see what happened. His trip to the Peace Park was well done and well written about. The closure he gets was also an incredible scene.

I called the above, the main story because there is also a lot written on football. Chris is part of a 9 person football team, along with his best friend. The book uses a lot of chapters to talk about his football games and the "big game" where Chris has to play a position he is not used to. During these chapters, I wondered why they were in there, other than to flesh the book out and to connect with younger readers. The big moment in the big game doesn't really grow Chris as a character or change what he is going to do in Japan, so I was left wondering what the purpose of this information was other than to have Chris do something other than research.

My main complaint was the end. I had a review copy and I am going to implore the editors to remove the ending I read. There is a very pivotal scene in Japan which changes Chris' life. It is the perfect ending, along with the opening lines of the chapter that follow. Right there, the ending is great and closes a well told story. It goes on to state that Chris and his darker skinned girlfriend go for a walk and are held up by skinheads who don't like the color of Chris' girlfriend's skin. It is so out of place, as race has not been an issue in any part of the book. I simply did not understand the inclusion of this scene and I really hope in the final edit, the scene is removed and the ending is re-written, as it has a perfect ending with the pivotal scene in Japan.

As a kid, I probably would have enjoyed this book. It was quick and well written. It was a good story and I liked the contrast of the two players in Chris and Yuko.

I gave this one 3.5 stars, but it would have been higher without that skin head scene.

Here is your Amazon link- And Then the Sky Exploded by David Poulsen

I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn for the book. I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review.

A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston- Book Review

This is a difficult one for me. When I was notified that A Life in Parts was available to download*, I jumped around excited to read this one. Would it be a tell all? Would there be tons of behind the scenes stories about Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle, or Seinfeld? Would it be part his life, but more story? What was this book going to be?

Cranston wrote a wonderful book. It is insightful, one learns about the rough beginnings of his life, how he hustled and grew up quickly, and the many parts he has had to play in his life.

This is where the difficulty comes in. Each "part" is only a few pages long (ebook version) and he treats one equally. His story on how he got the part to play a Mars bars spokesman got almost as many pages as how he got the part to be on Malcolm in the Middle or Seinfeld. Walter White gets a bit more, but not much more. I kept sensing there was more story out there, but the focus of this book is more about the role itself and how to play it, rather than behind the scene stories. It is more about the acting method he has and less personal stories about the actual role. This was a bit disappointing as a reader, ever though the story he is telling is a good one. If I were an actor, I would probably enjoy this a lot more, but I am a pastor who is a fan of Cranston and I was looking for a different book, I think.

I would say that if you want to get a taste of what it is like, jump to the chapter on Seinfeld, rather than reading from the beginning (although the opening is a great opening), and just read those 3 pages or so. That is what the book is like. If you enjoy it, then you will love the rest. If you were like me saying- wait, that's it? You might not like it as much.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston

*I want to thank Edelweiss and Scribner for the opportunity to read this book early. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman- Book Review

There is a part of me that didn't think I needed to review A Man Called Ove because so many people have read it at this point, but I have talked to a few who have not, hence my desire to write this review.

I will admit that I am entirely on the Ove train!

The book is about a man, named Ove, who is the angry neighbor that we all seem to have. He complains about everything, has put up signs around his neighborhood with rules about what should and shouldn't be done, and feels there is a proper place for everything. He is not a friendly guy to say the least.

Into his life walks or rather drives a family who are to be his new neighbors. He doesn't bother to get to know their names and calls them the pregnant one and the lanky one. After an accident with the lanky one, Ove is forced to help this family, complaining the entire time.

Throughout the book Ove also speaks to his wife, complaining about the neighbors, the rule breakers, and how much he misses her (very minor spoiler). During interludes within the narrative, we read about how Ove became Ove. I will say by the end of the book, a bunch of dust was flying around the room and some got into my eyes.

The first thing to write is this book is funny. Ove is quite the character and how he treats people is hysterical. He just doesn't care what he says or how he says it. He simply wants order in his world and has lived that way for all of his life. The way he expresses himself becomes incredibly funny.

It is also a tragic story. Backman interweaves the two (funny and tragic) quite well and doesn't make it overly heartwarming. This could have easily become a book with the sentiment that we don't know people's past, so don't judge them, but it isn't. Ove is an ass in his past too and sometimes with reason. Backman keeps it level with just enough to make the reader fall for Ove.

The great thing is this is a book that pretty much anyone and everyone can (and will) enjoy. I recommended this one for book clubs and discussion groups. Grandmas will like this as well as middle aged men. Ove is simply a good book.

I gave this one 5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- A Man Called Ove

Rockets versus Gravity by Richard Scarsbrook- Book Review

I don't think I have read a book* quite like Rockets versus Gravity by Richard Scarsbrook, but it was such a fun ride that I would do it all over again.

Normally, I would give a small plot summary in this section, but the book is a bit different so I cannot do that. It does open with a story about Stan and Sheila. Stan has a habit of losing his wedding band; in fact he has lost it four times, although Sheila thinks it is only 3 times. Each band has the engraving "Forever More." Stan has lost the ring while working, in a poker game, and in a few other ways and Sheila yells at him each time.

From this point on, the book will follow all sorts of people and different objects will show up in each story, such as Stan's missing wedding rings. Background characters in one story will show up as a main character in another story. A book will show up on several people's coffee tables and we will hear a bit about the author of said book. Each story is a short story, but tied together with common elements from the previous short story. Some characters we will follow for  quite a bit of time and will get several of their stories, such as James Yeo, but others will stay a side character even though they may appear in other people's stories, such as Rhymin' Simon.

This was such a fun read for the reasons stated above. The stories all work with one another, even though they appear to be completely random. Actions taken in one narrative will change another person's story in a later chapter. The rings that Stan lose will have different meanings to different characters- to one it is a lucky ring and to another it is a bad luck ring. Each story weaves from one to another and it is fun putting them all together.

I will write in one review, someone mentioned this is a YA novel, and I will warn that it is not that at all. The cover is playful, but there is a lot of sex and a lot of swearing in this book as well as a few mature subjects. It is not a YA book at all.

I really enjoyed this one and gave it 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Rockets versus Gravity by Richard Scarsbrook

*I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn for the opportunity to read this book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore- Book Review

Before I begin the review for today, I did want to add a little note to my readers. First, thank you so much for reading my reviews! I have watched each month as my numbers ticked up and I thank you for spreading the word.

The other note is that my career is in full swing again. I usually get a small lull in my workload during summer which allows for more reading, but now that it is Fall again, I have a fuller workload. This means that my reviews more than likely will not be daily anymore, my apologies. I am also teaching a class in October which I am prepping for, so a lot of my reading is also work related. I will still post reviews, but they may go back to being every other day, rather than daily. Thanks for understanding.

I received June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore* without really knowing what to expect. I had sort of read the blurb, but forgot about it after receiving the book and finally getting to it, so I went in cold. What I got was a quite enjoyable ride.

June takes place in two time lines- the modern timeline focuses on Cassie who is living in a crumbling mansion called Two Oaks. It was once a beautiful house, but due to time, it has started to fall apart. Cassie is broke and hanging on by a thread with the house being her only real possession left. She gets a knock on the door letting her know she has just inherited millions and millions of dollars by a famous actor. The actor's daughters are contesting the will and Cassie is offered a million dollars to walk away rather than receiving the millions upon millions which will come with DNA testing and years of lawsuits.

The other timeline takes place in the same town with the same mansion, but Hollywood has come to town! June and her sister are enthralled with the Hollywood lifestyle and quickly become part of the shoot. On this shoot is Jack Montgomery a very famous actor, who June (Cassie's grandmother) has started getting attached to. 

What happens when these two timelines begin to come together? What is the connection between Cassie and June and Jack?

This was a quick and fun read- a perfect "summer" novel. It moved fairly quickly and flowed quite smoothly. It was a good mix of storytelling, mystery, and murder. Nothing too deep, but simply a good read.

I really enjoyed that the house gets a narrative as well. The house will often tell of its history and its place in the story. It was a good break in the narrative and helped fill in the blanks.

As stated, this is one of those books one picks up, reads on the weekend or on the beach, and just has a good time with it. I really liked this one for the entertainment. Great storytelling.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- June by Miranda Beverly Whittemore

*I wish to thank BloggingForBooks and Crown Publishing for the chance to read this book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

Hag Seed- by Margret Atwood- Book Review

There has been an ongoing series of famous authors reimagining Shakespeare plays called Hogarth Shakespeare. Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood* is the latest within this series as Atwood reimagines The Tempest.

Felix was a top notch director at his local theater. His take on Shakespeare were always the best, but his demands have started to become greater and greater, especially with his latest interpretation of The Tempest, so much so that he gets released and is "exiled" within his community. His mortal enemy is given his place as director too!

After 12 years and a new identity, Felix has his opportunity with a prison education program. He teaches Shakespeare to prisoners who can barely read, don't necessarily want to play fairies, and due to Felix's rules cannot swear except in Shakespearean language. 

After a few successes and as his former partners who have now become political figures, he plans to unleash his plan for revenge. He will put on his greatest and long lost version of The Tempest. It will be magic!

At this point in Atwood's career and in her books, it is kind of silly to review things like her writing style, her format, etc, so I am not going to. Atwood is incredible in my book and can almost do no harm, even her misses are better than most.

What I will write though is this is funny Atwood. Even though there is humor in some of her books, I found this one really funny. There is sic-fi Atwood, dystopian Atwood, drama Atwood, etc, but this is funny Atwood. I loved the prisoners trying to curse with Shakespearean language and even the whole idea of getting revenge through a prison play is pretty outrageous as a premise. I loved the play within the play concept too, which could have gone off the rails, but it really worked.

As soon as I found out this was a series, I ran out and got the other two and now cannot wait for some of the future ones! If you are going to read this one, do recognize the series aspect and that it isn't in the Atwood cannon of books. 

I gave this one 5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

*I want to thank NetGalley and Hogarth for the opportunity to review this book early. I received the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Wonder by Emma Donoghe- Book Review

I will admit that I only know Emma Donoghue from Room. Even though she has written a ton of books, I picked up Room on a whim, read it in December after it was published, and was blown away by it. When I saw The Wonder pop up to request for review*, I knew I wanted to read it.

The Wonder is the story of Lib Wright, who is a nurse under Florence Nightingale's Crimean campaign. She is called to the side of eleven year old Anna who has stopped eating since her birthday, except for a tablespoon of water a day. 

Anna quotes scripture, prays regularly, and has become a miracle child in her hometown. People come from as far as the US to come see her. She states that she lives on the manna from heaven.

Lib is there to disprove Anna. She is skeptical, thinks food is being slipped to her secretly, and continues to test Anna in all sorts of ways. What happens though when Lib starts to believe that Anna is the real thing?

I have to write up front that I wasn't blown away by this book, but I also have to write that it may be because I was too hyped up for it. I was perhaps too eager for this book and wanted to devour it, while it is a book that takes its time, and moves slowly. It moves slowly because it needs to build trust and build a relationship between this girl and this nurse.

Even though I wasn't blown away by the book, I still thought it was an incredible read. Once I got used to the pace, I saw a book that explores the tension between science and faith, reason and theology, and the rational and myth with the question- can the two co-exist on the same realm? There seemed to be throw away items about fairies and other mythical creatures, but those topics were there to balance the fantasy and this seemingly real deal fantasy. It was a brilliant move on Donoghue's part.

At this point Donoghue knows her writing voice and is quite comfortable with it. Even though I didn't have much experience with her, one can tell she is an accomplished author. Her writing style was on point and she controlled the pacing of the book, where to slow it down and when to build it up. It was incredibly well written.

My worry is exactly what happened to me. She is now knows for a world renowned book, as well as movie script. She is now a famous author and people will pick up her book because they loved Room. I worry that they will be turned off because it isn't Room 2. Only time will tell on this one.

I gave The Wonder a solid 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

*I wish to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for allowing me to read this book early. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer- Book Review

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer is one of the picks for this month's Book of the Month Club. If you would like to give Book of the Month a try, click the link or banner and use the code "read5" to get one month for just $5! That means, you can get this book for $5! Who can beat that?

 I remember a friend of mine had tickets to see Amy Schumer do her standup. Being a fan of her and knowing the person, I asked- Have you ever seen her on TV? His reply was- No, but it is comedy. Knowing he was a bit of a straight laced guy, I stated- You know her act is pretty raunchy right? He was unfazed and knew he would have a good time. 

 The next day, he came back to me with a shocked look on his face. I asked how the show was and his mouth hung open as he said- I had to leave. She was so dirty. I didn't know a female comic could be so dirty.

 I am a fan of Schumer's comedy. Yes, she is raunchy, but she is also deeply insightful in the midst of her playfulness. I was so excited when I read she was going to write a book that I pre-ordered it, which is not something I normally do.

 Last weekend, I tore through this book! The book is a biography mostly, but also articles about life through the eyes of her comedy. What was interesting, at least to me, was that it wasn't the really filthy Schumer of her stand up act or TV show, but a really approachable and introspective look at life.

 When I told friends about it, I said there are funny parts and heartbreaking parts at the same time. She has dealt with a lot in her life- her father was diagnosed with MS and lost control of some of his muscles, her mother cheated on her father with Amy's best friend's father, and Amy was sexually assaulted or raped (if you don't want to put a nice spin on it) by her boyfriend at the time. It was after that chapter that I had to pause my reading for a bit because it was so heartbreaking.

 There are also incredibly funny chapters about sleeping with guys, the biggest d**k she has ever seen, and other such bits. It was just the right mix of comedy and tragedy. She writes with a conversational tone that drew me, as the reader in. She wasn't talking at me, but rather it seemed she was talking with me as one might do over a cup of coffee. The only little nitpicking point was that she uses- JK (just kidding) a whole bunch in her writing. It kind of took away from the humor, but that is being really nitpicking.

 I wound up really enjoying this one and would recommend it to those who don't mind her comedy. It is also a good book even if you don't like her comedy. I gave this one 4 stars.

 Here is you Amazon link- The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

The Long Room by Francesca Kay- Book Review

If you have read more than one review on my blog, you may have noticed I have a thing for the publishing company Tin House. I have found almost all of the books I have read published by them intriguing to say the least. They have topics that are worth discussing and make one think.

The Long Room by Francesca Kay is no different. This is a book that can be discussed, taken apart, examined, and I still think there will be things to be found in it. While I will admit that at times it was a bit slow, the overall premise is what pulled me in.

Stephen is a listener in the 80s. His job is to listen to conversations that have been recorded in people's houses to listen for any talk of espionage. His subjects always have code names to keep from allowing bias.

Stephen is also routine oriented. He has his days planned out he does the same thing day in and day out, and he is a loner.

One day, he gets an assignment to listen to a husband and wife, yet he can only hear the day time portion and not the night time portion. The more he listens, the more he starts to connect with the wife Helen. He becomes so connected, he starts creating a narrative for this couple that may or may not be true. His curiosity becomes obsession and he starts to do things he would not normally do. How far will Stephen take it?

As stated above, Tin House has a way of publishing books that make people think. The whole time reading Kay's book, I kept wondering about conversations, people I knew, and how much I really knew about them. Stephen is in a place where he only gets a piece of the whole, yet creates a whole dialog which is a tiny bit based on truth, but mostly upon his own read into things. At one point, he dismisses a portion of dialog because it didn't fit his narrative.

I also kept thinking about how people approach politics and the idea of narrative. I don't think Kay chose the 80s without reason. It was a time of line drawing, heavy politics, and the beginning of the major split between conservative and liberal. It was the beginning of the political narrative that was taking place in London as well as the US. 

What is truth and what is fiction, when you only hear one piece of the story?

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this one, but as stated, it is slower than most of their books. This is a simmer book rather than a boil book. It takes time, but once Stephen's world starts to become unraveled, it takes off.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Long Room by Francesca Kay It releases on November 1st, but you can get an import copy now.

*I want to thank Tin House publishing for the ARC of the book. It was given with the intent of receiving an honest review*

The Wangs vs The World by Jade Chang- Book Review

I know The Wangs vs The World by Jade Chang will sell well. I know this because it has early hype, I  have seen ads for it already, it is well written, and it has a The Nest vibe. Even knowing all of this, I really struggled with the book, but I am going to make a promise to myself.

The book is about a very rich family- The Wangs, who's father Charles, made all of their money through women's cosmetics, but then lost all of it when the market crashed after some bad investments.

Charles is going to gather his kids up one by one and go on a cross country trip to see his daughter Saina who is a successful artist and is hiding out in Upstate NY. Each child now has to not only deal with the fact that they were once rich and are now poor, but also have do deal with each other throughout this trip. Hilarity ensues. 

The book itself is extremely well written and very funny. There are lots of comedic scenes that hit the mark and some that I will simply not forget. The writing itself is so good and the Chang's sentences move the story along well. 

It took me a long time to get to the point when the book became enjoyable though, which is why I struggled. I almost quit reading it several times because of the way The Wangs are portrayed in the beginning chapters. I just did not like them and didn't really connect with them, but that is not the author's fault. I have been becoming weary of the dysfunctional family genre recently and I believe that is why I struggled. From TV shows to several recently published books, the only family seems to be the dysfunctional one, which makes for good comedy, but also over saturation. I think this was my problem with the book, hence the promise to myself.

When the book comes out officially, I am going to read it again. I now know the characters and know their quirks. I am no longer looking for story, but rather how the family interacts with one another. I want to give The Wangs another shot because I know this is such a good book. I see it in there, but where I am right now, I just couldn't connect with The Wangs, so it seemed to drag until about New Orleans, which is pretty far in the book. I am going to give it another shot though when it isn't a galley and I can read it strictly for fun.

Even with everything, I am going to give the book 4 stars. I know it is good, but I had a hard time.

Here is your Amazon link- The Wangs vs The World by Jade Chang

*I wish to thank NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read the book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

Fractured by Catherine McKenzie- Book Review

Fractured by Catherine McKenzie was a book* that I thought would completely go one way, but swerved another way and it completely worked! 

Julie (and family) have moved into a nice residential neighborhood to get away from it all- the big city, her adoring fans, and her stalker. Julie, a former law student, wrote a best selling book which may or may not be fiction on the perfect murder. Her stalker followed her around, sent threatening emails, phone calls, and did a bunch of other creepy things to Julie and her family. They are miles away now and safe. She can run, her twins can go to school, and she can have a normal life where no one knows who she is, even though the book continues to sell in the millions.

John and his family live across the street. He is a former IT guy who is an expert on firewalls, websites, etc. For several weeks, he has been standing by his window watching Julie leave for her morning run, timing when she comes back, and at times has put on running sneakers himself. He knows exactly who Julie is and has read her book several times. He Googles facts about her, notices her firewall is down, has found her new novel, and wants to be friends with Julie and her family.

I am going to stop with the description here because you are probably thinking this book is about what I was thinking about- John is a creep who will either become her new stalker or just be a creep. Let me give a slight spoiler and say the book is not about that at all! There are things that happen between John and Julie and there are creepy moments, but the creepy neighbor idea is out.

The story is told from two perspectives- John's and Julie's. It is also told through a countdown starting from a year out to "now." The now parts are taking place in a courtroom and a trial is going on- Julie is nowhere to be seen, John and Julie's wife are separate, and some of the neighbors are testifying. We don't know what the trial is about until the end, so no spoilers here.

The countdown parts take place in the neighborhood and are the stories being told in the courtroom at the moment. We jump between now and the next section of the countdown. As things start well and innocently in the neighborhood, we will wind up with cameras all over Julie's house (not a spoiler). Things just seem to progress and get worse and worse for Julie the more she tries to acclimate to the neighborhood.

I have been describing this book as fun, yet very serious at the same time. What I mean by that is the writing just flows and there are some humorous parts as well as some fun parts. The story itself will start playful, but get very serious toward the end, it seemed as if the writing style changed too. The tone is darker and becomes a different book in a way. It works too! I read this over the weekend and just had a blast!

I gave this one 4.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

*I received this book for review from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott- Book Review

I always like to be honest with you, my reader, so allow me to be honest for a moment. I had requested this as a galley* about two months before it was published, but didn't hear anything. I wound up buying the hardcover, but had it sitting on the shelf. I saw it went on sale as an ebook for $1.99 for two weeks a few weeks after it was published and I gulped a bit as that isn't usually a good sign, especially for an accomplished writer. The book sat on my shelf longer. A few days ago, I was approved for the galley and I figured- what do I have to lose? So, I started reading the book with a chip on my shoulder. I couldn't keep the characters straight, I don't really watch gymnastics, and I figured it was an older woman cheats with younger guy story and there are so many of those. So, I almost quit You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott. I am also glad to say I am so glad I didn't quit because by the last few chapters, I couldn't put it down!

Devon is a gymnastics prodigy. After a lawnmower accident as a baby, the thought was even though she enjoyed gymnastics, she would never compete because she had lost two toes. It turned out she was a natural and coaches took notice. One coach had a plan- to get Devon to the Olympics. Katie, her mother, and Eric, her father were on board and sacrificed so much for Devon to make it to qualifiers. After a mishap on one of the qualifiers, the decision was to build the best gym ever. This is when a boy walked into the picture.

I will end there with the addition- this isn't what you think, but this is a murder mystery and a good one at that.

As stated earlier, this one took me quite a bit to get into as it seemed to want to go down one path and it was a path that had been traveled so many times. Abbott though is a good storyteller. For example, I felt a party scene took too long to explain in the beginning of the story. This party scene will come into play in someway throughout the book, so it wound up not being a wasted scene as I thought. It was a great story teller telling a story with a slow build up.

While the main characters are pretty well developed, some of the more minor character who play a main part aren't too well constructed which helped take away a bit and led a bit to my beginning confusion, but as they start to fall away and move back to the background, the story really takes off. This wound up being a very fun and page turning read. Pick this one up and don't let it disappear off of your radar.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

*I want to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for a copy of this book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.