Book: The Sun Does Shine

 Book: The Sun Does Shine

Author: Anthony Ray Hinton

Pages: 368

This is my 74th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama.  Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.  But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution.  He spent his first 3 years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence - full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death.  But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row.  For the next 27 years he was a beacon - transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, 54 of whom were exected mere feet from his cell.  With the help of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.  This is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times.  Destined to be a classic memoir of wrongful imprisonmetn and freedom won, Hinton's memoir tells his dramatic 30 year journey and shows how you can take away a man's freedom, but you can't take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

This was a good book.  It is terrible what happened to him and as anyone who is wrongfully charges - unimaginable what it was like for him and continues to be like for him even after his release almost a decade ago.  His lawyer - Bryan Stevenson - wrote Just Mercy - a fantastic book about his work with ciminals wrongfully accused.  He works to get Anthony off Death Row for over 15 years, which is incredible dedication.  The story of trying to get him out of jail was aggrevating on how long things took.  What I didn't like about the book is how much time was spent on minute details and not more on the overall feeling of what it was like to be on death row for 30 years.  Large gaps of time would pass without us getting much of an idea of what was going on in those gaps.  Overall - a solid read, and it will leave your seething about the justice system.

Stars: 4

Book: The Bad Muslim Discount

 Book: The Bad Muslim Discount

Author: Syed Masood

Pages: 368

This is my 73rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

It is 1995, and Anvar Faris is a restless, rebellious, and sharp-tongued boy doing hi best to grow up in Karachi, Pakistan.  As fundamentalism takes root within the social order and the zealots next door attempt to make Islam great again, his family decides, not quite unanimously, to start life over in California.  Ironically, Anvar's deeply devout mother and his model-Muslim brother adjust easily to life in America, while his fun loving father can't find anyone he relates to.  For his part, Anvar fully commits to being a bad Muslim.  At the same time, thousans of miles away, Safwa, a young girl living in war-torn Baghdad with her grief-stricken, conservative father will find a very different and far more dangerous path to America.When Anvar and Safwa's worlds collide as two remarkable, strong-willed adults, their contradictory, intertwined fates will rock their community, and families, to their core.  

This was a pretty good book.  It stars out strong, and I found the writing quite good.  I like the characters and how the two main characters meet.  There is a lot of historical background intertwined in the fictional story of these two families moving to America.  Safwa's story is the harder of the two to read, but it ends postively.  It is a story of immigration to the United States in the wake of 9/11 and I am glad I read it.  Good flow and good story.

Stars: 4

Book: American Gods

 Book: American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman

Pages: 560

This is my 72nd read for the year

What Amazon says:

Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down.  His wife has been killed; a stranger offers him a job and Shadow, with nothing to lose, accepts.  But a storm is coming.  Beneath the placid surface of everyday life, a war is being fought - and the prize is the very soul of America.  An inspired combination of mythology, adventure, and illusion, American Gods is a dark and kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an America at once eerily familiar and utterly alien.  It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece.

This was a good book.  It is LONG.  I listened to it and it was 20 hours of listening.  I love Neil Gaiman's books.  He builds incredible worlds.  I liked a lot of the characters - especially the main character.  It is imaginative and the story flows well.  There are a lot of characters and I had to make sure I was listening to the book when I could really be listening.  No fluff here.  I did have a few remaining questions, but not a lot.  Overall a good read.

Stars: 4

Book: Fiddler on the Roof

 Book: Fiddler on the Roof

Author: Joseph Stein

Pages: 168

This is my 71st read for the year

I read this book as part of the Rory Gilmore challenge.  It is the play in book form.  It is one of my favorite Broadway plays and it was fun to read the script.

Stars: 4

Book: Cemetery Boys

 Book: Cemetery Boys

Author: Aiden Thomas

Pages: 350

This is my 70th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Bestowed by the ancient goddess of death, Yadriel and the gifted members of his Latinx community can see spirits: women have the power to heal bodies and souls, while men can release lost spirits to the afterlife.  But Yadriel, a trans boy, has never been able to perform the tasks of the brujas - because he is a brujo.  When his cousin suddenly dies, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo.  With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.  However, the ghost he summons is not his cousin.  It's Julian Diaz, the resident bad boy of his high school, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death.  He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves.  Left with no choice, Yadrield agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want.  But he longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

This was a pretty good book.  I liked the characters, and the magic.  I loved the mix of Spanish and English throughout the entire story.  I liked the family traditions.  It is a very important book for its target audience.  But it is YA and lately I just cannot get into that level of book.  Why did I read it?  It came up continuously for a reading challenge, so I read it to tick some boxes and felt that the overall feel of the book was something I would normally read.  But I am tired of reading about immature teenagers.  I live that every day.  There is so much to like about this for the target audience and I see the draw.  Because it wasn't for me does not mean that it isn't a good book.  So I cannot give it a low rating.  

Stars: 4

Book: Cheshire Crossing

 Book: Cheshire Crossing

Author: Andy Weir

Pages: 128

This is my 69th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Originating as fan fiction is a journey through classic worlds as you've never seen them before.  Years after their respective returns from Wonderland, Neverland, and Oz, the trio meet here, at Cheshire Crossing - a boarding school where girls like them learn how to cope with their supernatural experiences and harness their magical world-crossing powers.  But Alice, Wendy, and Dorothy - now teenagers, who've had their fill of meddling authority figures - aren't content to sit still in a classroom.  Soon they're dashing from one universe to the next, leaving havoc in their wake - and inadvertently, brining the Wicked Witch and Hook together in a deadly supervillain love match.  To stop them, the girls will have to draw on all of their powers - and marshal a team of unlikely allies from across the magical mutliverse.

I want to say that Andy Weir is a favorite author of mine.  The Martian remains to this day one of my all time favorite books.  Apparently he wrote this one BEFORE he wrote the Martian (which was also fan fiction) and this one for me was a miss.  He had a good idea, and I was drawn into it - a cross over world among fairytales.  But the dialogue fell flat and I just could not engage in the story.

Stars: 2

Book: Prodigal Summer

 Book: Prodigal Summer

Author: Barbara Kingsolver

Pages: 464

This is my 68th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Over the course of one humid summre, as the urge to procreate overtakes the lush countryside, this novel's intriguing protagonists - a reclusive wildlife biologist, a young farmer's wife marooned far from home, and a pair of elderly, feuding neighbors - face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flore and fauna with whome they necessarily share a place.  Their discoveries are embedded inside countless intimate lessons of biology, the realities of small farming, and the final urgent truth that humans are only one piece of life on earth.

I liked this book.  I am a Kingsolver fan and think she is an amazing writer.  I liked the characters and how the main characters all wove together in the in.  It did get a little predictable, but not not terribly so.  It does get a little steamy as well, but not on the level of YA these days, so it was fine.  The story flowed well and I liked the ending even though I assumed this was how it would wrap up.

Stars: 4

Book: Sunrise on the Reaping

 Book: Sunrise on the Reaping

Author: Suzanne Collins

Pages: 400

This is my 67th read for the year

What Amazon says:

As the day dawns on the 50th annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem.  This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.  Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathyis trying not to think too hard about his chances.  All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.  When Haymitch's name is called, he can fell all his dreams break.  He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three oher District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.  As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fall.  But there's something in him that wants to fite - and having that fight reverberate far beyond the dealy arena.

This was a good book.  I was so excited to read the next prequel in the Hunger Games world.  This one got an extra star from me purely for nostalgia - Haymitch's back story was one that was a good one to tell.  And a lot of characters from the original Hunger Games books make an appearance.  The story flows pretty well, but there really isn't anything fresh here.  It is a lot of the same old story - bits and pieces from the first Hunger Games books and the first prequel.  It felt a bit rushed meaning that she wanted to churn out another book for her waiting fans without really putting a lot of effort into making a unique tale.  And maybe I am being too harsh - maybe this was her idea all along.  I just kept waiting for something to grab me, but it never did.  I did like the Epilogue.  I won't spoil it, but it was a nice wrap up to the story and made me wonder if she is done with this world.

Stars: 4

Book: The Answer Is No

 Book: The Answer is No

Author: Fredrik Backmann

Pages: 68

This is my 66th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai.  Peanuts are a must.  Other people?  Not so much.  Why complicate things when he's happy alone?  Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell.  And Lucas's solitude takes a startling hike.  They deman to see his frying pan.  Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucs suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party.  But their plan backfires.  Colossally.  This story is a portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won't leave him alone.

This is a great book.  I am a Backman fan and this one did not disappoint.  It was a free short story from Amazon first reads, which was a total score.  It is a funny, clever, goofy, and touching story all rolled into 68 pages.  I liked the characters.  I laughed out loud at a few parts.  I feel Lucas in my soul.  The story is well developed and wraps up nicely.  Check this one out.

Stars:5 

Book: When We Were Friends

 Book: When We Were Friends

Author: Jane Green

Pages: 44

This is my 65th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

By all accounts, Lucy's handled her divorce well. She's finally in the cozy, plant-filled house of her dreams.  And although she doesn't fit in with the other divorcees - all busy looking for their next ex - she's excited to get down to earth and savor the small joys of life.  When Lucy meets Elle, a hip younger woman who shares her same passions, their connection is instant.  Taking a chance on kismet, Lucy forges a friendship that fills her days with meaning.  She and elle are inseparable, from sunup to sundown, enjoying the immediate ease and familiarity of each other's company.  But as Lucy introduces Elle to her circle, a new side of her friend appears.  And try as she might, Lucy can't ignore her misgivings.  Who is Elle really?  And can their all-consuming friendship survive closer inspection?

This book was terrible.  I will say it started out okay.  I liked where it was heading.  Then it just derailed.  It is only 44 pages and it went quickly downhill.  The characters became awful.  The writing was awful.  It was a free Amazon short reads, so I read it, but I would never recommend it.

Stars: 1

Book: The Consuming Fire

 Book: The Consuming Fire

Author: John Scalzi

Pages: 304

This is my 64th read for the year

what Amazon says:

The Interdependency - humanity's interstellar empire - is on the verge of collapse.  The extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible is disappearing, leaving entire systems and human civilizations stranded.  Emperox Grayland II of the Interdependency is ready to take desperate measures to help ensure the survival of billions.  But arrayed before her are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth - or at the very least an opportunity to an ascension to power.  While Grayland prepares for disaster, others are preparing for a civil war.  A war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as it will between spaceships and battlefields.  The Emperox and her allies are smart and resourceful, as are her enemies.  Nothing about this will be easy - and all of humanity will be caught in its consuming fire.

This was a great book.  It is a second book in a trilogy by this author.  I really enjoy his books.  They are not overly complicated, but they are clever and they have a bit of underlying humor that always makes an enjoyable read for me.  This is a nice continuation from the first book.  I like the characters that you are supposed to like.  The story flows nicely and it ends where you could either keep going to see what comes next, or feel satisfied to just stop if you wanted to.  I am looking forward to reading the last book in this series.

Stars: 4

Book: The Change

 Book: The Change

Author: Kirsten Miller

Pages: 480

This is my 63rd read for the year

What Amazon says:

In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, three different women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment.  After Ness Jame's husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, she's left alone in a trim white house not far from the ocean.  In the quiet of her late forties, the former nurse begins to hear voices.  It doesn't take long for Nessa to realize that the voices calling out to her belong to the dead - a gift she's inherited from her grandmother, which comes with special responsibilities.  On the cusp of 50, suave advertising director Harriett Osborne has just witnessed the implosion of her lucrative career and her marriage.  She hasn't left her house in months, and from the outside, it appears as if she and her garden have both gone to seed.  But Harriett's life is far from over - in fact, she's undergone a stunning and very welcome metamorphosis. Ambitious former executive Jo Levison has spent thirty long years at war with her body.  The free-floating rage and hot flashes that arrive with the beginning of menopause feel life the very last straw - until she realizes she has the ability to channel them, and finally comes into her power.  Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio of women discover a teenage girl whose body was abandoned beside a remote beach.  The police have written the victim off as a drug-addicted sex worker, but the women refuse to buy into the official narrative.  The investigation into the girl's murder leads to more bodies, and to the town's most exclusive and isolated enclave, a world of stupdenous wealth wher the rules don't apply.  With their newfound powers, Jo, Nessa, and Harriett will take matters into their own hands.

This book was fine.  There were a lot of things I liked.  I liked the three main characters.  I liked the magic.  I liked the little bit of humor that appeared every now and then.  And I understood the point.  I know - as a woman how hard it is for women.  Especially as women continually climb higher and higher up the ladder passing their male co-workers for more and more leadership roles.  However - sometimes the vile they write related to men in books like these to pull women higher - I don't get it.  Can men be awful to women?  Of course.  We see that all the time.  But sometimes I feel like it is over the top to make a point.  That would be my only criticisim of the book.  It just felt like too much in my opinion.

STars: 3.5

Book: Black Woods Blue Sky

 Book: Black Woods, Blue Sky

Author: Eowyn Ivey

Pages: 496

This is my 62nd read for the year

What Amazon says:

Birdie's keeping it together; of course she is.  So she's a little hungover, sometimes, and she has to bring her daughter, Emaleen, to her job waiting tabls at an Alaskan roadside lodge, but she'e getting by as a single mother in a tought town.  Still, Birdie can remember happier times from her youth, when she was free in the wilds of nature.

Arthur Neilsen, a soft-spoken and scarred recluse who appears in town only at the change of seasons, brings Emaleen back to safety when she gets lost in the woods.  Most people avoid him, but to Birdie, he represents everything she's ever longed for.  She finds herself falling for Arthur and the land he knows so well.  Against the warnings of those who care about them, Birdie and Emaleen move to his isolated cabin in the mountains, on the far side of the Wolverine River.  It's just the three of them in the vast black woods, for from roads, telephones, electricity, and outside contact, but Birdie believes she has come prepared.  At first, it's idyllic and she can picture a happily eve after: Together they catch salmon, pick berries, and climb mountains so tall it's as if they could touch the bright blue sky.  But soon Birdie discovers that Arthur is something much more mysterious and dangerous than she could have ever imagined, and that like the Alaska wilderness, a fairy tale can be as dark as it is beautiful.  

I didn't really like this book that much.  It was okay - not great.  I read The Snow Child earlier this year, and when I saw it was the same author, I should have walked away.  It was fine - the writing is fine, the characters are fine.....it just didn't draw me in.  

Stars: 3

Book: The Truths We Hold

 Book: The Truths We Hold

Author: Kamala Harris

Pages: 368

This is my 61st read for the year

What Amazon says:

The daughter of immigrants and civil rights activits, Vice President Kamala Harris was raised in an Okaland, California, community that cared deeply about social justice.  As she rose to prominence as one of the political leaders of our time, her experiences would become her guiding light as she grappled with an array of complex issues and learned to bring a voice to the voiceless.  She reckons with the big challenges we face together.  Drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values as we confront the great work of our day.

This was a great book.  It was written before she became vice president and talks mostly about her childhood and her work as a senator.  It is well written and weaves stories from people she met with her work in public service.  She is well spoken and passionate.  How I wish she was in the White House right now.

Stars: 4

Book: The Hotel New Hampshire

 Book: The Hotel New Hampshire

Author: John Irving

Pages: 432

This is my 60th read for the year

What Amazon says:

"The first of my father's illusions was that bears could survive the life lived by human beings, and the second was that human beings could survive a life led in hotels".  So says John Berry, son of a hapless dreamer, brother to a cadre of eccentric silbings, and chronicler of the lives lived, the loves experienced, the deaths met, and the myriad strange and wonderful times encountered by the family Berry.  Hoteliers, pet-bear owners, friends of Freud and playthings of mad fate, they drime on in a funny, sad, outrageous, and moving novel.

I did not like this book at all.  It didn't start out strong, and it got worse from there.  I didn't like the characters, the writing, and honestly - any book for me that has a lot of sex and incest in it - it is just not for me.  This is my opinion, but I could not get into it.  I liked a few of Irvings other books, but this one was not for me.

Stars: 2

Book: Carry On

 Book: Carry On

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Pages: 528

This is my 59th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen one who has ever been chosen.  That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.  Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire.  His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face.  Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.  This is a ghost story, a love story, and a mystery.

This was a pretty good book.  And a fun book.  I liked it right from the start.  I listened to it and highly recommend it - it was well done.  It has charm, and a bit of fun, and a romance, and magic, and monsters.....it ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of readers.  It is YA, but it actually was enjoyable for me.  It is the first book in a series, and I hope to get to the others - not sure I will this year.  But I do want to keep going.  There is good character development and the characters are likeable.  Great writing - I have always been a Rowell fan.  Glad I read this one.

Stars: 4

Book: Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

 Book: Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

Author: Roselle Lim

Pages: 320

This is my 57th read for the year

What Amazon says:

At the news of her mother's death, Natalie Tan returns home.  The two women hadn't spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef.  Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco's Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moing out.  She's even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother's restaurant.  The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant's fortune in the leaves.  Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother's cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed.  Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around - she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up.  But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along.

This book was okay.  I listened to it and it passed the time.  It is a fluffy read that is a bit underdeveloped.  The love story was not necessary - that character could have been left out all together.  And I agree with other reviewers who found it odd that Natalie has not spoken or seen her mother (who was a recluse) for 7 years but comes back and announces to everyone who will listen that she misses her every day?  It didn't make sense.  I liked a lot of the side characters.  I liked that the story included the diary entries from her mother and that she got to see what her mother was going through.  I loved the recipes.  Just overall - not a strong read.

Stars: 3

Book: Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

 Book: Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

Author: Rob Sanders

Pages: 48

This is my 58th read for the year

What Amazon says:

In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginning in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilber Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today's world.  

This was a good book.  I knew the story of Harvey Milk and have seen the movie they made on his life.  I read this book for a reading challenge.  It is of course a very surface look at his life and his work, but a good introduction to Harvey for young children.  Glad I read this one.

Stars: 4

Book: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

 Book: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Author: Susanna Clarke

Pages: 864

This is my 56th read for the year

What Amazon says:

In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars in 1806, most people believe magic to have long since disappeared from England - until the reclusive Mr. Norrell reveals his powers and becomes an overnight celebrity.  Another practicing magician then emerges: the young and daring Jonathan Strange.  He becomes Norrell's pupil, and the two join forces in the war against France.  But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wild, most perilous forms of magic, and he soon risks sacrificing his partnership with Norrell and everything else he holds dear.  

This was a pretty interesting book.  What a tome!  Even me reading 120 pages a day, it still took me over a week to tackle it.  Susanna tried to put about 3 books/stories into one book here, and I could see the benefit of spreading it out some.  This is not a difficult read, but a long one, so it takes patience.  I felt at times I was not in the right mindset to read it.  I have read quite a few fantasy novels this year already - some books part of series - and I had trouble getting into this one and figuring out the world building.  I found it lacking. And I am not a big fan of the early 1800s time period books.  It is a personal problem.  I did like Mr. Norrell and Mr. Strange the characters - actually I liked a lot of the characters.  It was nice to read an adult fantasy book for a change. And overall, Clarke is a good writer, I would be anxious to read another of her (shorter) books.  

Overall - a solid read.  If you like magic, a bit of humor, adult fantasy, and 1800s London - this book is for you.  Check it out.

Stars: 4

Book: The Colorado Kid

 Book: The Colorado Kid

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 208

This is my 55th book for the year

What Amazon Says:

On an island off the coast of Maine, a mna is found dead.  There's no identification on the body.  Only the dogged work of a pair of local newspaperment and a graduate student in forensics turns up any clues, and it's more than a year before the man is identified.  And that's just the beginning of the mystery.  Because the more they learn about the man and the baffling circumstances of his death, the less they understand.  Was it an impossible crime?  Or something stranger still?

This one was okay.  I listened to it, which was probably a mistake.  I didn't like the narrator - his voice was a bit distracting, so this one would probably have been better as a straight read.  It is a short book/audio.  Feels more like a short story, and plays out like one as well.  Ending wasn't great - it just kind of ends.  I liked the characters, but I was left wanting more.

Stars: 3

Book: Happiness for Beginners

 Book: Happiness for Beginners

Author: Katherine Center

Pages: 322

This is my 54th book for the year

What Amazon says:

Helen Carpenter can't quite seem to bounce back.  Newly divorced at 32, her life ha fallen apart beyond her ability to put it together again.  So when her annoying younger brother, Duncan, convinces her to sign up for a hardcore wilderness survival course in the backwoods of Wyoming - she hopes it'll be exactly what she needs.  Instead, it's a disater.  It's nothing like she wants, or expects, or anticipates.  She doesn't anticipate the surprise summer blizzard, for example -or the blisters, or the rutting elk, or the mean pack of sorority girls.  And she especially doesn't anticipate that her annoying brother's even more annoying best friend, Jake, will show up for the exact same coure - and distract her.  It gurns out sometimes disaster can teach you exactly the things you need to learn.  Like how to keep ging, even when you think you can't.  How being scared can make you brave.  And how sometimes getting really, really lost is your only hope of getting found.  This is a story that looks at houw our struggles lead us to our strengths.  How love is always worth it.  And how the more good things we look for, the more we find.

This books wasn't great.  I did see the movie and enjoyed it, but the book just didn't capture my attention.  It was a bit boring and predictable.  A large section of the book takes place before they even get camping, which I felt was unnecessary.  It did have some interesting parts when they were in the wilderness, but the ending was super cheesy.  

Stars: 2.5

Book: The Art Thief

 Book: The Art Thief

Author: Michael Finkel

Pages: 240

This is my 53rd read for the year

What Amazon says:

Stephane Breitwieser is the most prolific art thief of all time.  He pulled off more tha 200 heists, often in crowded museums in broad daylight.  His girlfriend served as his accomplice.  His colletion was worth an estimated $2 billion.  He never sold a piece, displaying his stolen art in his attic bedroom.  He felt like a king.  Until everything came to a shocking end.

This was a very interesting book.  I did not know the story of this art thief, and that he actually stole a few pieces from various museums in Basel, Switzerland where we used to live.  It was fascinating how he stole the pieces and got away with stealing so much over the course of 10 years.  It is well written and well researched.  The author spoke to the art thief to gain the insight of the story and then built on that.  It is a page turner for sure to find out if he was going to get caught and how.  Glad I read this one.

Stars: 5

Book: A Study in Drowning

 Book: A Study in Drowning

Author: Ava Reid

Pages: 384

This is my 52nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales.  She's had no choice.  Since childhood, she's been haunted by visions of the Fairy King.  She's found solace only in the pages of Angharad - author Emrys Myrddin's beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King and then destroys him.  Effy's tattered, dog-eared copy is all that's keeping her afloat at Llyr's prestigious architecture college.  So when Myrddin's family announces a contest to redesign the late author's estate, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.  But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit house on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea.  And when Effy arrives, someone else has already made a temporary home there.  Preston Heloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin's papers and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.  As the two rivals piece together clues about the reclusiv author's legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them - and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

This book wasn't good.  I know it is YA, but I was hoping from reading the premise that I was going to like it.  And it is a beautiful book on the outside - gorgeous cover and binding.  But that is where the beauty ends.  The writing is terrible.  The story was so choppy, I should have quit reading it.  It has moments where I thought it might redeem itself - the story IDEA is a good one.  But it never did because the writing did not improve.  The main character is very weak and I did not ever feel connected to the characters or the story.

Stars: 2

Book: Not Without Hope

 Book: Not Without Hope

Author: Nick Schuyler

Pages: 272

This is my 51st read for the year

Amazon says:

This is the true story of the headline-making tragedy that took the lives of three football players: NFL stars Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, and Will Bleakly from the University of South Florida.  Told by the sole survivor of the ill-fated fishing trip, Nick.  It is an inspiring and unforgettable story of courage and strength, friendship and loss and, most importantly, hope.

This is hard to judge because this is a terrible tragedy and a terrible thing that happened to all 4 of these young men.  But the writing is terrible.  The story is poorly written and there is a lot of time spent on nonsense in the beginning of this very short book that could have been left out, or just done better.  A lot of repetitive text.  I read it for a reading challenge for a category of a book that is becoming a movie/tv show (Which this is this year), but I would not recommend it.

Stars: 2