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| Name : | Kathryn M. |
My Reviews
Our club gave an average rating of 3.25 out of 5
We found the book informative about the Hmong history, people and culture as well as giving a perspective on refugees and immigrating to a different country and culture. It is well worth the read.
The book is character driven and takes you into the mind and thoughts of a teenager having difficulty figuring out where he fits in. It is set in 1948 New York but is timeless in the theme and can lead to great discussions about growth, maturity, and how people handle difficulty.
This book keeps you guessing who it the good/bad character throughout. Suspenseful and surprising.
This book was challenging to many of our members. The fairy tales were not well developed and seemed to get in the way of the story in the beginning. Their merit became clearer as the book went on but for some of us this part of the book was poorly executed. There are great quotes from some of the characters and scenes in the book that make you laugh out loud.
The book was good but parts were predictable. There are 3 story lines intermixed to tell the story. This was very effective as a linear story would not have been as interesting to read. Not the best book, but an OK and easy read.
This book reads like blog entries - it is not sequential and jumps around in time and subject. Some of us liked it better than others, but we all agreed it had a good message about grief: Everyone grieves differently and it is OK if you don't know what to say to someone who is grieving, but you do need to show up and be present to them.
Well written dark comedy about a friendship developed in a week of shared tragic events. A different view of a World War II event.
Most members thought the book was good with character development and a unique way of showing events from multiple perspectives. Some found the style confusing.
Our book club overall liked the book. It was an easy read and the premise was interesting - how is a survivor perceived after an airplane accident where he rescues a 4 year old boy. Why was he on the plane? Why did the plane crash? What is his relationship with the people on the plane? How does the media portray the survivor and how does that change? Some members liked the writing style but some did not. Some felt the ending was unsatisfying whereas others felt what happened to the plane was not the point of the book. Insight into the media and how they can/could manipulate events to fit their opinion was a discussion point. We felt this was a timely subject.
It starts out so promising with a great opening chapter with good descriptive writing and then does not live up to the expectations. The author seemed to throw too many ideas into the story and some of the side stories were just distracting without advancing the narrative. The ghost story line was just too much. There was very little character development. The premise of the story did not live up to our expectations.
Well written story of a man confined to a building yet has a full life while observing the changes in Russia from the 1920's to the 1950's. A story of family formed by circumstances.
Good character development, touching story, good discussion about loneliness, nature/nurture, relationships, beauty.
Well written story that goes back and forth between past and present. Well paced and kept you wanting to know what happens next. Good discussion on families, secrets, and adoption.
An inciteful view of part of our culture where people feel helpless to improve their circumstances and one persons idea of why this is. A good book to start discussion about our country's economic and social impact on people and how your childhood affects your life decisions into adulthood.
Mixed review from our group. Some liked the unique intersections of conversations in the narrative to compensate for some of the story issues. Others felt it was not enough and would not recommend the book.
Well written, memorable characters in a story that could take place anywhere.
Our group was split on the book. Some really liked the book and some really did not. Most were OK with it. The story was interesting but not necessarily well written. We were split on the ending. The topic and discussion was very good which often happens when there are very different opinions on the story.
Inspiring and harrowing story of a woman who found her own voice after years of being told how to think and how the world operates in an isolating family.
Easy to read and informative about Quebec's policy about orphans in the 1950's through the 1970's. Led to a good discussion but we didn't feel deeply for the characters.
Historical fiction well written with interesting characters that highlights different areas of WWII through the group of core characters. The story keeps moving going back and forth in time. Great discussion book!
Beautifully written story of Malaya during WWII. Deals with family, identity, duty, separation. I highly recommend it.
A good psychological thriller that keeps you guessing.
Our book club liked this book and rated it an average of 4.5. Beautiful descriptions of the marsh. A bit of a mystery and a coming of age story. A good book about isolation also which seems appropriate during this time of social isolating.
The book was informative and one people should read to see how many people and in particular women in the world live. Melinda Gates lets us see her inner thoughts and growth and how she learned about things and how that influenced how she tries to make the world a better place for all.
Beautifully written book about a small town with people you come to care about. Character driven with sweetness and humor.
Beautifully written story of 4 orphans trying to be a family as they travel to find "home". The writing places you in the settings and time period so you experience what the characters experience. Historically informative and emotionally hopeful.
Well written, family relationships, siblings, parents, career choices. Ann Patchett is a good storyteller and writer. The audio book read by Tom Hanks is a plus.
If you want to know the story of Alicia Keys artistic gifts and her personal journey to define herself and give meaning to her life, this is the book for you. Most of us knew very little about her before reading this book and we all took away something positive and even things we can apply to our own lives.
Written with a strong character and in her own voice. Not a happy story but a hopeful story. It will stay with you long after you are done reading or listening to it.
A good mystery that kept you guessing. It was a fast read that kept you engaged. A good summer read.
Well written story on a difficult subject. It describes trauma, fear, survival, love, violence. It is a book to make you see people not "illegal immigrants" .
The story was not always easy to read, but the writing could be almost poetic at times. There were parts of the story that were confusing, or seemed unnecessary.
Compelling story that keeps you reading. A part of Australian history that is not always know.
Love the writing and characters but sometimes felt too long.
Slow start but wonderful character development. By the middle we were rooting for them.
The book is not what we expected. It is not a smooth timeline telling of a family. It is somewhat disjointed and hops from one branch of the family tree to another without context to explain why the authors chose to highlight the various people and leaving big gaps of other family members. The book emphasises the gilded age and excessive spending so if that is what you want to read about, this is a book to read.
Good concept with interesting angles to explore. Sometimes the "life" did not reflect the characters core, such as a quiet low ambitious person as a driven public figure. Was that really the same person? This book is a good starting point to think about your own life and the little things that can have a big impact on people around you.
The book is good but could be confusing. It got better as it went on, but we felt it also lacked character development. The main character wasn't very likable and there is little development of the other characters. You have to suspend belief for a lot of things to accept the world created for the book.
Well paced, suspenseful story that kept you guessing. It was good but not great.
A suspense story about what really happened. It would have been rated higher but the characters were not really likeable.
Great characters and character development. Laugh out loud in places.
Well written, gentle story of a mother and her daughters and the mother telling the girls about when she was young like them.
Lovely story of women in England during WWII. Heart-warming and uplifting. If you like cooking, the food and cooking descriptions are well done and informative about rationing.
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