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Lila and the Crow
This book is beautifully illustrated, and the story it tells is heartwarming and lovely as well.
Lila is new in town and is so excited to start school and make many new friends. Once she gets to school, though, she quickly becomes the victim of bullying, and her dream has been shattered.
This ebook was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Knives Boone
Gabrielle Grimard
Small Great Things
Ruth Jefferson is an African American labor and delivery nurse with twenty years of experience under her belt, raising her teenage son, Edison, alone after her husband was killed while fighting in Afghanistan.
One fateful day, she meets Turk and Brittany Bauer, and begins performing a routine examination of their newborn son, Davis. As she hands the baby back to Brittany to try to help get Davis to nurse, Turk gets angry and asks her to leave and wants to talk to her supervisor, whom he expresses his wish that no African American staff be allowed to touch his son while brandishing his White Supremacist Confederate Flag on his forearm.
A few days later, when an unrelated medical crisis occurs shortly after Davis’s circumcision, Ruth is the only one left to attend to the baby, and he crashes while in her care. Although a team of doctors and nurses rush in to try to save him, Davis dies. Turk immediately blames Ruth for the death of his son, and soon Ruth finds herself on trial for murder. Will Ruth end up in prison for the murder of an innocent baby, or will she be acquitted?
This book was “traditional” Jodi Picoult. She returned to her formulaic courtroom novel format. Usually when an author follows a formula, after one or two novels, it becomes boring and even monotonous – not so in the case of Jodi Picoult. She always manages to bring such fresh new situations into each of her books. Her courtroom novels never come across as “same old, same old”, or worn out. Small Great Things is no different, it is exactly what one would expect from this author – twists and turns, and events that are never expected.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The one thing that could have made this book better for me, would be if the change in Turk had not been so immediate and complete. Although I think this is the appropriate ending and what ultimately needed to happen in order to solidify his character growth, sadly, in the real world people usually don’t change that much that quickly.
**END SPOILER**
Race is most definitely at the core of this novel. At times it is raw and uncomfortable. Words and phrases are used that will make the reader squirm in their seats now and then. Situations develop that make the reader really question his/her own prejudices. As I was reading this book, I stopped numerous times to Google things mentioned, and learn more about real life people referenced. I learned a great deal about how real White Supremacy still is in this country, unfortunately, as well as how although we like to THINK we don’t see color, in reality we do. We all do.
Potentially Offensive Content:
Sex – I do not recall any overtly sexual situations
Violence – infant death is discussed, including a short description of the autopsy, hate crimes abound – numerous attacks on innocents by white supremacists, brutal physical attacks on people of color, verbal abuse, verbal assault
Language – Nearly every racial slur imaginable, there were many swear words and other potentially offensive language sprinkled throughout the entire book. The “F” word is used multiple times.
I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who has ever thought about race, anyone who thinks they are not prejudiced in any way, and anyone who thinks they don’t “see color”.
“It just goes to show you, every baby is born beautiful. It’s what we project on them that makes them ugly”. (Jodi Picoult)
This ebook was given to me for free by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Keppy Boone
Jodi Picoult
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea
This book was amazing. Not only will I be purchasing a few of these for Christmas gifts this year, I will probably have to buy myself a copy to read to my future grandchildren.
First and foremost, the fact that there was a reference to The Beatles’s song Octopus’s Garden sealed the deal for me. But honestly, I both chuckled to myself and laughed out loud at both the wonderful writing, which was amazingly witty and snarky for a kid’s book, and the illustrations, which were just perfect. And there are quite a few interesting narwhal facts included, so you’ll learn something, too!
This little book would most definitely be enjoyed by kids of any age, as well as adults. Sometimes reading the same style children’s books to your little ones gets a bit boring, but adding this in the mix will induce giggles from everyone.
This book was given to me for free by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Knives Boone
Ben Clanton
Leave Me
Maribeth Klein is a 44 year old stressed out mother of young twins, who has recently suffered a heart attack requiring emergency bypass surgery. As she has been unexpectedly confronted with her own mortality, she begins to take stock of her entire life, decided to leave her husband and twins behind in New York to hide out in Pittsburg – presumably to unwind and relax a while.
Once there, she meets people who help her understand herself in ways she hadn’t even thought possible. Will she return to her husband, or stay in her new found safe space in Pittsburg?
Although I enjoyed the book, and it’s pro-adoption message, I felt a little disappointed by some unanswered questions at the end. I am not a reader who demands that all loose ends be tied up neatly at the end, but a huge question that permeated through the book remained unanswered, taking away from my satisfaction with the book as a whole.
Maribeth’s character seemed a bit self-centered to me, as well. I couldn’t easily relate to a mother who just seemingly on a whim leaves her family, just for some time alone, even if it’s to deal with some personal demons of her own. Her husband also seemed way more forgiving than most men would in a similar circumstance.
POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE CONTENT
Violence: Very brief reference to a battered wife
Language: Strong language is used sporadically throughout, including the “f” word.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes to read quick, easy fiction. This book has no heavy content, without an abundance of romance, which would have completely taken away from the main focus of the plot.
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This book was given to me for free by NetGalley exchange for an honest review.
Knives Boone
Gayle Forman
The Day I Became A Bird
A young boy falls for a girl in his school, Sylvia, who is an avid bird lover. When he decides to wear a bird costume to school, will the other kids make fun of him? Will he catch the eye of his bird lover?
The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, as is the writing. The story is so amazingly sweet and captures all the emotions of trying to garner the attention of a first crush – fear of failing, nervousness about putting one’s self “out there”, hope that things will turn out as anticipated.
I received this e-book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Knives Boone
Ingrid Chabbert
Claiming Noah
What if your child belonged to someone else?
Catriona and James Sinclair are a happily married couple who experience infertility, and end up using IVF to successfully get pregnant. The process resulted in four embryos: two were lost in unsuccessful IVF attempts, one resulted in a successful birth, and one was donated for adoption.
Diana and Liam Simmons also were having infertility issues, and decided to adopt an embryo so that Diana could still enjoy the mother-infant bonding experiences of pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding that a typical adoption can’t offer.
Shortly after a horrific birth experience, Catriona realizes that something is wrong with how she feels towards her son. It turns out, she has postpartum psychosis and is institutionalized. As Catriona is recovering, one of the babies is kidnapped, unraveling all of their lives.
Many questions are raised about adoption, biological parents vs legal parents, ethics of embryonic adoption, etc. As so many people are able to conceive using fertility treatments available today, I think pondering these ideas are important.
***MINOR SPOILER ALERT***
My main issue is that in a traditional adoption, once the parents sign away their legal rights, they never have any way to try to get that child back, so why would embryonic adoption be any different?
***END SPOILER ALERT***
The character growth for both Diana and Catriona is very strong, and I think their actions were very believable. It’s the men in the novel whose actions are questionable. All three male characters (both husbands, and the best friend of Catriona’s husband) are pretty unlikeable. In all three cases, they get worse as the novel goes on and the reader learns more about their true nature. Whereas the female characters actually grow and become better people in the end.
I think most readers of chick-lit, women’s fiction, and contemporary fiction will enjoy this, as would anyone who has dealt with infertility, though a few of the scenes may be a bit triggering.
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This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Other books dealing with infertility:
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Knives Boone
Goodreads
Learn more about Amanda Ortlepp
Amanda Ortlepp
The Couple Next Door
How well do you know the couple next door? Or your husband? Or even—yourself?People are capable of almost anything. . .
A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors—a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . .
One of my favorite types of books to read is a thriller full of twists and turns and unexpected events. This book has all of that and more. Many books are touted as being “twisty” and such, but in my opinion Shari Lapena delivers.
Marco and Anne Conti appear to have it all – a nice home in the right part of town, a loving marriage, and a beautiful baby girl, Cora. One night after attending dinner at their next door neighbor’s house, Annie and Marco are distraught to find their baby girl has been kidnapped from her bed, despite having brought along the baby monitor and checking on Cora every half hour.
Things are not what they seem, though, as the investigation into the kidnapping progresses. As readers, we learn from various sources information that other characters in the book aren’t privy to, and as the saying goes, “what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”. It soon becomes clear that not one of the characters in the story is without secrets. This novel begs the question of how well do you really know anyone?
The writing is nice and tight. There is very little padding and fluff. Lapena sets a quick pace from the beginning, and the tension doesn’t let up until the very last page. Twists and turns pop up all throughout, so just as soon as you think you’ve figured it out, you learn that you were being led completely astray.
As much as I enjoyed this book, and it’s twisty-turny goodness, the book is not without flaws, especially concerning some of the actions of both Marco and his father-in-law. This is fiction, so there is always some level of which you have to suspend belief, but in a few situations I think in real life things couldn’t have possibly happened they way they are portrayed.
With that being said, though, I highly recommend this to readers of thrillers and suspense, though, honestly, I think most anyone would enjoy this book.
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This ebook was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
More books involving abduction/kidnapping:
Room by Emma Donoghue
Into the Light by Aleatha Romig
Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Knives Boone
Goodreads
Learn more about Shari Lapena
Shari Lapena
Shelves of Knives 