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The Brothers Karamazov

My gosh. I can’t believe I finished this book. It took me months! I’ve been reading off and on since the spring, and today, I sat down, knocked out the last 25 pages, and completed this beast!

Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it several times. I’ve taught it several times. I truly think it is a masterpiece. That said, it doesn’t even begin to hold a candle to this one. These brothers are something on an entirely different level.

The book is over twice as long as Crime and Punishment, with good reason. There is a lot of religious commentary in it, but none of that drags. It’s fascinating, honestly, and I would love to do some research into Dostoevsky to see what his religious beliefs were. This book is also a reflection of Russian politics and criminal world. About halfway through the book, a murder is committed. The second half is dedicated solely to finding the killer, the confession, the trial, and the sentencing and aftermath on all the parties involved. Learning about the Russian jury system, prosecution, and trial procedure of the time was really interesting.

If you are new to Russian literature, get your feet wet with C&P. It’s a lot more reader friendly. And once you are hooked, grab this monster and enjoy.

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No One Knows

I managed to get a lot of thrillers from Netgalley, including this one. I like a good mystery, especially one that is unique, has a great plot twist, or leaves me thinking. And up until the last few pages, I was ready to give this book four stars. However, the forced plot twist at the end dropped it to two stars. I was really disappointed by the time the book was over.

Without giving too much away, the main character, Aubrey, is mourning the death of her husband. He went missing five years ago and, since so much time has passed, he has been declared dead. Aubrey has spent much of this time either incarcerated, drunk, or barely hanging on. She was suspected of her husband’s murder, given the amount of blood found in their home, but was found not guilty due to the lack of evidence. She drank a lot just to numb the pain. But after hitting rock bottom, she cleaned herself up, got a teaching job, and is putting her life back together. Until a man, looking much like her husband, enters her life.

I really was okay with the majority of this book. Is he dead? Did she do it? Did his mother, due to inherit a lot of money? Did his jailbird father? What about his mystery man who seems to know a lot about Aubrey? All of this, thankfully, is resolved by the end of the book, and there are a few plot twists along the way, but the final one just did me in. It was so unbelievable completely out of the realm of possibility given the rest of the book, that it just infuriated me. I have pretty high standards when it comes to plot twists. Even if I see them coming, that’s fine, but it has to be plausible. That’s my one requirement, and this book failed it, miserably.

 

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The Moon Dwellers

I might have hit the wall with YA dystopian. Not necessarily because of this book in particular, but I just don’t really enjoy it anymore. Stuff is too watered down and predictable. The two of the three series (Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games) that revolutionized YA and opened new doors for writers are worth reading. I hated Twilight, but I admit that it did shake things up in the paranormal romance dept. And each series just has so many spin offs (some worth reading, most worth skipping) and I feel like I’m done with this particular one. Maybe because I’m not a young adult.

The Moon Dwellers isn’t anything new. Set in the future, a young girl doesn’t know what has come of her family, but she has an electric connection with a young man who is the president’s son, but the son doesn’t want to be like his dad, so he runs away to find this mystery girl, so on and so forth.

A few YA dystopian books come to mind that *are* worth reading: The Legend series, The Chaos Walking series, and the Red Rising series. Other than that, the rest are just mediocre spin offs that are good for quick mindless reads. There is a place for these kinds of books. Sometimes I just want something simple to escape into. And, again, I’m not a young adult, so maybe the appeal of this kind of book is different for the target audience.

I have the rest of this series on my Kindle, as well a few other YA books, but for the most part, I think I’m on a YA break for awhile.

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Treasure Island

For my “book that takes place on an island” I just went with the obvious choice. I’ve started this book a few times and just never got into it. However, this time around, reading was a breeze and a joy! I can’t believe we don’t teach this book more often. It’s really kid friendly. It has enough destruction to keep the attention of most kids, but is also easy enough to read and understand.

Basically, a kid whose family owns a tavern comes across a pirate who dies while living with them. The kid and his mom go through the man’s belongings to see what mysteries he was hiding. Bad guys come for the kid because he learned the secrets. The kid gets on a boat that is destined for mutiny, all to find the dead man’s treasure. Or something along these lines… Ha! I finished it a couple weeks ago and just haven’t had a chance to blog, so the details are a bit muddy already.

Anyway, the kid gets all wrapped up in the mutiny, has to choose sides, changes loyalty (or does he??) and has many adventures along the way. Thoroughly enjoyable quick read. I have taught Jekyll & Hyde, which is a great book, but much more challenging than this one. I also enjoyed that one, but in a different way. Treasure Island is just a really fun read.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns

Originally published 2010 on another site

Again, this one has been on my list for awhile, and the seniors my school read it this past year, so many of them were talking about it. After having the ending entirely ruined by one of them (I didn’t teach her, so I didn’t feel like I could properly chastise her for posting a spoiler) I kind of dreaded reading it because I hated knowing where the book was going. I was still really pleased with the book, despite having it told to me in advance.

Miriam is an illegitimate child growing up with her mother, barely managing to survive. Her weekly visits from her father mean the entire world to her. Miriam, in a fit of desperation, runs away from her mother, begs to live with her father, but he turns her away. Miriam returns to find her mother has hung herself, so now her father has no choice. At a young age, Miriam is married off to a much older man and is taken away from all she knows. This man does not treat Miriam well, forcing her to cook, clean, stay hidden in the house, and punishes her for small things. Needless to say, she’s miserable.

Down the road is a young girl named Laila. She’s beautiful, smart, and is loved by her neighbor boy Tariq. Her father is an educated man, but her brothers are at war, so her mother remains in a state of depression, no matter how much Laila tries to please her.

Miriam and Laila’s lives converge in an instant, and this is where the story truly began for me. I found it interesting that I would entirely forget that the story isn’t set in America. You just get so wrapped up in the story, that the setting becomes less important. Then at other times, you realize how desperate Afghanistan was for many, many years and the setting smacks you in the face again.

I have also read The Kite Runner, by the same author, and would easily recommend both of his books. **update- I’ve read all three of his books, now, and they are all amazing. **  They bring life to a part of the world that is only referred to negatively these days. He captures Afghanistan’s glory days, but juxtaposes them with war, drought, hunger, misery, and survival.

Beautiful stories, but heartbreaking as well.

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The Accidental Tourist

A friend recommended this book ages ago and has been hounding me ever since. Honestly, I knew it was a movie, but had no idea it was a book. And to meet my “book from a library” category, I used this one. Granted, it was an ebook, but I still checked it out, so it counts.

I really don’t understand what’s great about this one. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. The main character, Macon, has lost a lot. His son died, his wife left, he broke his leg, his house has flooded, and his dog is attacking people. In walks, Muriel, the dog trainer, who might be the most annoying character ever. Okay, hyperbolic, but still! I just couldn’t understand why anyone would want to be with her. Macon lives with his sister, temporarily, who is just as bad. The family is just so set in their ways that nothing can alter their routine. And even though Muriel does just that, Macon is such a flat, dry character that we never really learn whether or not he appreciates Muriel’s craziness.

Unfortunately, the next book I have from the library is another book by this same author, completely by coincidence. It’s the only book with my profession that I could find and that wasn’t a “how-to” manual about being a mother. I’m not looking forward to it, now. But maybe it will be better than this one. Fingers crossed.

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Sarah’s Key

A few friends recommended this book to me last year. And for my 2016 book challenge, I needed a book set in Europe. I’m not a big historical fiction fan, but books about WWII and the Holocaust are too important to avoid, so I took the plunge and read this book, even though I was told that it would rip my heart out.

And let me tell you. It didn’t. At a couple points in the book, I thought, “Oh, that’s sad,” but that’s about it, honestly. Partly because the big reveal that usually happens toward the end of the book happens in the middle. I wasn’t invested enough in the story to be truly emotionally hooked. That said, I’m not like post people. I don’t cry about books, really. But if you are looking for an emotional upheaval, this book probably fits most people.

A good chunk of the book is told in alternating chapters, past and present. I enjoyed the present day ones more, but I really don’t have a reason why. The main character is writing a story about a particular event in Paris history,  (The Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup ),  but people aren’t talking. So she has to do some investigative work. The story from the past is Sarah’s, who was one of the children picked up in the roundup. Why she has a key is a particular tragedy, and one that is eventually resolved in the book.

Overall, this was a good book. Not as good as others, but still worth reading. I’m happy to report that I do not need therapy (as was suggested) after reading it.

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Conversion

For my “book recommended by someone you just met” I walked into Barnes and Noble and asked the first employee I saw. He was probably in his early twenties and his name was Tristan. My only caveats were that I needed a book I hadn’t read before, and a book that wasn’t in the middle of a series. He first recommended Troublemaker by Leah Remini, but I already had that on hold from the library for my ‘book written by a celebrity” so I asked for another. He lead me to the YA section and handed me Conversion by Katherine Howe.

I used to teach HS English, so this book was right up my alley. Girls at a boarding school start to have mysterious illnesses ranging from verbal/facial tics, hair loss, headaches, coughing up pins!!!, etc. The girls just recently read The Crucible, also. In between modern day chapters, we meet Ann Putnam, in Salem, while she tells her story and involvement in the Salem Witch Trials.

This book *should* have been really great. It had all the right ideas. But I just never could get into it. The mystery disease is thought to be one thing, then another, then another, and finally a diagnosis is given. However, you are never fully sure that an illness is truly behind all the girls’ ailments. This story does take place in Danvers, Mass, formerly known as Salem.

And at the very end the author’s note is where I was completely irritated. This story isn’t her own. Not that she plagiarized or anything, but a case like this really happened a few years ago. She pulled details from that news story and made a fictionalized account merging the current story with the Salem story. I’m not a fan of ripped from the headlines Law & Order. It feels too much like fan fiction for the real world. And this book felt much like the same.

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Harry Potter books 2-4

I’m making my way through the series, yet again. I haven’t read them in 7 years, and with the new book/script out, I thought I should revisit these. I have the script, but am waiting to finish the series, first.

A few things have occurred to me as I’ve been reading. The first two books really could have been edited down into one longer book, but I guess the two separate tasks (Sorcerer’s Stone and destroying the diary) really needed their own books. But I felt like each book wasn’t complete. Maybe Rowling just was getting the hang of things, much like the first couple seasons of a tv show, but once you get to the third book, things start rolling. Sirius is my favorite character in the series, so I really love the books he is in. Sadly, he isn’t in the fourth book much, and is mostly referred to in the third, but I still get a good feel for his character, which is a testament to Rowling’s writing ability.

I did something I’ve never done before at the end of the 4th book. I cried a little bit. I’ve always gotten choked up when Mrs. Weasley hugs Harry after the tournament and he comments on how it’s the most motherly hug he’s ever gotten. But this time around, that got to me. Probably because this is the first time reading the series after my children were born. Last time I read it, I had just gotten married, so the parenthood emotion didn’t exist. That said, I know I’ll be a goner in the last book when Harry sees his parents again.

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Knights of the Hill Country

For my “book from your hometown” 2016 book challenge, I had to fudge a bit and go with my home state. Last year, I read Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now for a book of the same category, so I thought I would stick with him again this year. I liked The Spectacular Now a little bit. The main character just isn’t the best guy, even though, he is trying, but even though he is given the opportunity to change and grow and evolve, he doesn’t. I rarely see a main character in a young adult novel who doesn’t learn anything at all. But, I was willing to give Tharp another try.

I disliked this book even more, though. The main character is a good kid who is the star of the football team, but longs for something more. He realizes football and popularity isn’t all that meaningful. He meets an unpopular girl who sees him for who he really is. This is just about the same plot as The Spectacular Now. The only difference is the main character in this book has awful grammar. So awful that I could barely read this book because it was so distracting. And books with bad grammar are my pet peeve. I understand giving characters voice and authenticity. However, a “dumb jock” from small town Oklahoma  with bad grammar is just a stereotype that does not need to be perpetuated. When kids read books like this, do they really need bad grammar reinforced? Do we really have to keep making kids dumb (as the main character saw himself) to make them relatable?

Even though this book was short, I could only read it in short spurts because the grammar was so hard to get through. I eventually skimmed a good chunk of it just to get the plot points. Maybe I’m being too hard on the author, or expecting too much, but I just don’t think we need to expose kids to improper grammar more than they already get from society.