Book 35 Speak

  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson fulfilled the category “Book with at least a 4-Star Rating on Goodreads” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. As of this post, Speak has a rating of 4.02 based on almost 500,000 ratings and a well-deserved score. I couldn’t have chosen a better book for the category. It blew me away, and I have no idea why it’s not a perfect 5 on Goodreads.

I had heard about the novel from several sources. I mostly read romance, horror, cozy mystery. Young Adult is great too, but I stick to fantasy inside the genre. When one of my two teenage daughters was having issues with depression, a teacher recommended Speak as a read for my girl. Unfortunately, neither girl read it, nor did I until this prompt. Now I wished I had pushed it on both kids. Every child in middle school should read the story, experience the pain and isolation, and see depression and PTSD are real problems with today’s youth. The same goes for reading The Hunger Games, but that’s another discussion.

Speak is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl who is raped by a classmate at a party. And she shuts down. The novel is told in the first-person point of view and really gets into the meat of the feelings the teen experiences and her PTSD. The tale goes way-down deep. I cried so much. We feel for this girl so deeply, we almost become her. Huge kudos to Ms. Anderson for her adeptness in portraying the anguish, fear, and loneliness that comes with dealing with such an enormous issue all on her own.

I listened to the book on audio and for me, I think it made the story hit a deeper note. Hearing the reader speak with the girl’s voice, when she had none of her own, was a moving experience. Reading text might have also invoked a deep connection as well since the words would’ve been in my head. But hearing it aloud made me confront some issues from my own life, and my children. My girls and I had several long talks as I read the book. I also bought the graphic novel version for my youngest. She has trouble visualizing and it makes reading difficult. I wanted her to experience the tale and a graphic version made that possible.

The story will stay with me for a long time. I plan to read the sequel but can totally see myself rereading Speak once a year until my girls are older. And I hardly ever reread books.

I know this post is short for such a poignant, relevant novel. All I can say is go read it, make your children read it, and then talk about the book. 

I give Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Five Stashes of Art Supplies (and a thousand stars more).

 

Book 34 Doing Harm

 

Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons fulfills the category “Medical Thriller” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. At first, I read Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw for the blog. I enjoyed the story of a doctor caring for supernatural creatures and the spin on the mythology regarding those beings—vampires, mummies, ghouls, and the like. But Dr. Helsing’s medical knowledge, though interesting, didn’t solve the case. I still recommend the book, but Doing Harm was a better choice for the prompt.

Oh, so many spoilers ahead.

Dr. Steve Mitchell is a resident at University Hospital in Boston. He’s on the fast track to a distinguished career as a surgeon. But one mistake causes a cascade of problems resulting in a patient death. He’s in hot water, desperate, and “accidentally” has an affair. (It’s not quite rape, but he’s certainly manipulated.) Then the woman from the affair reveals she’s actually a psychotic killer. She’s murdering patients to help make the hospital more efficient and safer, ironically. Does he want in? What follows is a race against time to save patients, stop the killer, and save his career, family, and ego.

A medical thriller, for sure.

The problem was, I hated the protagonist. He was the most arrogant asshole I’ve ever read. (And I’ve read American Psycho.) His selfishness and ego left little sympathy for the character. I never wanted him to win.

Nope, not once.

I kinda laughed when the author revealed the med student was setting him up. I was like “Ha.” Though the book was fast-paced and had a good premise, I had a hard time enjoying it. Steve Mitchell was a dick to his coworkers, his wife, and kids, and to that med student. There was some transition toward the end to a more sympathetic characterization. People don’t change their stripes, at least not overnight. At the finale, even when he saved the day, I didn’t like him one bit.

I stayed with the story because the medical element ran throughout, fulfilling the prompt. Steve had skills as a hacker, and his helper Luis (who would have made such a better hero) had military/spy skills. In the end, medical knowledge and skill won the day. It’s abundantly clear the author did her research and gave us the right amount of technical knowledge on the med side. I understood most of it, never felt overwhelmed, or spoken down to. It was like watching House, except I can forgive House his arrogance because he’s Sherlock.

And I LOVE Sherlock.

As I mentioned, the medical aspects were great, the thriller component well-thought-out and interesting, but other things niggled at me. I had a serious problem with Steve as a father. He was practically indifferent to his children until they were threatened. Then he’d give a token “Not my kids” response. That didn’t win me over. Also, the main character was male, and the story was in first-person point of view (so told with I, instead of he/she). I could tell a woman wrote the novel. The lingering descriptions of the male characters pointed to a female author, especially his friend on the Safety Team. I sensed a bit of bromance when Steve described his handsome features and cut body more than once.

Bow-chicka-wow-wow.

That love story might have made the personal part of the story more interesting, says the romance author.

I can forgive a jerk hero. I mean, I love Peter Quill from The Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Wizard of Once by Cressida Cowell (read by David Tennant) has an arrogant fool of a hero. But a jerky doctor (not House) that’s so full of himself that he almost kills patients? Nope, can’t do that.  

I give Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons Three Medical Syringes.

Book 33 Burn the Dark: Malus Domestica #1

 

Burn the Dark: Malus Domestica #1 by S.A. Hunt fulfills the category “Book About or Involving Social Media” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. The novel highlights YouTube as a medium for earning money while hunting witches. Good work, if you can get it.

Robin is a young woman on a mission. She knows there are dark things in the world, and she wants them dead. Even at the young age of twenty, she’s become a formidable witch hunter. The witches of her universe prey on the people and the surrounding towns, sucking all the happiness away and living on the misery.

She films her escapades/adventures with her cell phone and posts them to YouTube. Her vlog (video blog) not only chronicles her life but earns money through sponsorship. (My daughter explained that part for me. Popular YouTubers can get sponsors for the number of views. It’s all complicated and algorithm-ey. But it’s a real thing that works for our character.)

The book jumps back and forth between Robin and the family who have moved into her old home. Robin is on her way back there to deal with the problem that killed her parents. Unfortunately, it seems another witch she dispatched placed a curse on her. Something is following her, intruding in her dreams, and popping up in real life too. Robin must battle with these supernatural forces on two fronts with a team of kicky preteens, a friend from high school, and a teacher.

I enjoyed this novel until the story ran out. It was well-written, action-packed with so many good emotional moments. The adventure was plausible with the supernatural elements well thought out and integrated. It has a kick-butt female protagonist teamed with a family of color.

But then it ended.

The tale just petered out. I realize it will be a series. The author left some plot issues for the next two books, but there was no resolve. It just stopped mid-story. We had a somewhat climactic scene in toward the end, but it didn’t feel like the end. No answers, no good feelings, no sense of accomplishment. I was angry.

I write in series. But I ensure each book ends with some sort of finality. If a reader walks away and never picks up one of my books again, at least they had a happy ending. (Romance must have that happy ending.) I’ve read so many sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy novels that follow that model. They end with “Hey, the whole story isn’t over. But this one is complete.” Look at Charlaine Harris, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jim Butcher, Laurell K. Hamilton. The novel ends with satisfaction. (Well, except the latest Harry Dresden by Jim Butcher. It was the same as Burn the Dark, finishing with “we got this other stuff that’ll be in the next book.”)

Cliffhangers are fine, a tried and true way to tease the reader. It’s a great way to keep people reading and get them excited, talking, speculating. But Burn the Dark ended with a fizzle.

I’m not saying don’t read this fast-paced, fun, interesting, well-done urban fantasy. Just wait another month. Book two dropped in July and number three will be out in September. If you read it, you’ll want to autobuy the next one. (But I haven’t yet…I will…eventually…) 

I give Burn the Dark Malus Domestica #1 by S.A. Hunt Four Cell Phone Cameras.

 

 

 

Book 32 Deadly Notions

 

Deadly Notions by Elizabeth Lynn Casey fulfills the category “Book with a Pun in Its Title” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. It is the fourth in the Southern Sewing Circle series. For punny titles, I could’ve gone with either with a cozy mystery or a romance. I’d considered one of Sarah MacLean’s books for this prompt but chose a cozy. I’ll probably still read The Rogue not Taken, anyway.

If you aren’t into sewing (or didn’t work at a craft store in your youth), notions are all those little things that fill sewing baskets. Notions include items like buttons, needles, fabric tape, zippers, thread, clasps, pins, needle threaders, etc. Since the series revolves around a sewing group, the title is perfect. In the story, everyone thinks they knew who committed the crime. They all have some ugly ideas about what to do about Queen Karen, I mean, Ashley Lawson, the victim. Deadly notions. Love the puns.

In the small town of Sweet Briar, trouble is raising its head. Our sleuth, Tori Sinclair, the librarian, helps one of her sewing buddies with her kid’s birthday party. Melissa is deeply concerned that the party will not be perfect. Once again, Tori invites her friends to use the library and her revamped Children’s Room to save the day. One mom at the party is a nasty piece of work. She criticizes everything, including some of the children. She leaves the group hurt and grumbling. In fact, many of Tori’s friends have complained about her, saying what they’d like to do to her.  Later, Karen, I mean, Ashley is found dead in her car after the party, and everyone is suspect.

Our librarian, once again, works to help solve the crime with her library and sewing skills. Also, being nosy and asking questions as amateur sleuths should. It’s a cute little book, and the ending is rather predictable. There is a rather tired subplot of Tori fighting for man. But the characters are lovely.

This is why I like a cozy mystery. The story doesn’t tax the brain, and we get to know the population. I’ve read a few cozy series through—Diane Mott Davidson, Lilian Jackson Braun, Alan Bradley, two of Charlaine Harris’s. These books are why series perpetuate. Readers love to feel like they are coming home. We know the characters, and we root for them, even if the plot is not the best.

The story spoke to me in a quirky way. I’ve had Melissa’s experience with the snobbish, overbearing Ashley-type. Some of the women in the town I live in use peer pressure like a vice. Every kid had to have a birthday party every year, and the entire class needed to be invited. Moms had to volunteer in the school and be dressed to the nines for any event. I received many a wrinkled nose and stink-eyed look for not toeing the line. The push to be perfect was intense. I think Ms. Casey’s portrayal of Melissa accurately demonstrated the pressure on a mom with elementary-school-aged kids. It’s insane to expect perfection at every turn, but here we are. Now that I have teens, and am older, I can let all that roll off me. But back in the day, it was palpable and ugly. (Of course, not from everyone, but as in this novel, it only takes one bad apple.)

A cute short read.

I give Deadly Notions by Elizabeth Lynn Casey Four Birthday Balloons (regular ones, nothing fancy, or maybe one fancy one…)