Lauren
4.5 stars and rounding up.
As someone who isn't part of the Church, I still found much of this book resonated with my world view and the importance of becoming involved in your community to invoke real change.
I found this to be a very insightful examination of the social justice call many people have found themselves experiencing over the past 18 months between the pandemic, police brutality incidents, and oppressive legislation that has been passed across the nation.
A lot of the examples in the book focus around homelessness, and I found it very inspiring to hear the different ways in which people have been helping those living on the streets not only get access to things they need, but also to be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
My big take away from this book is...find the thing that drives you to change and focus on that thing. We all have a role to play and we can't do everything ourselves. It takes a village, and you have to start your journey with that first step.
I'll leave you with these quotes:
“Find your inspiration. Unsurprisingly, many people who undertake social justice work have been affected personally by the issues they get involved in. It is incredibly powerful to see someone who has come out on the other side of addiction, step into the role of a counselor, or an advocate for someone else who is currently facing the very same struggles.”
“Your fight may be found in what makes you burn with frustration, or what lights you up with joy. Yet, even with a desire to help firmly in place it's natural to feel a bit nervous about the process of becoming involved in justice projects. My hope is to empower you to move beyond your fear.”
This was my first experience with a Middle Grade mystery/detective story, and while it's a quick read, I felt it was good adaptation of the police procedural for younger readers.
It's a good mix between teen drama/angst and learning the important lessons that teens don't actually know everything they think they do, and that their actions have real world consequences.
I really appreciated there was a balance between being pro-police and pointing out the flaws that exist within the system. The main character, Ali, stands more so on the pro-police side since his father is on the force, but at school he constantly challenged by kids who demand that changes are needed. It was great to see young adults getting encouragement to take pro-active steps in creating the change they want to see in the world.
Loved the dual narration from own voices Zeno Robinson and Wayne Carr. They were great choices for this father and son duo.
***Thank you to Hachette Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
As a history lover, this was thoroughly entertaining to me.
It's the perfect book to listen together to as a family on a long car ride or even as a resource for homeschooling.
The chapters are short enough to consume quickly, but long enough to give a well rounded synopsis of the topic. I can see it as a great jumping off point for further discussions with kids and a great way to discover different areas of history that might interest them to dive further into.
The audiobook is a perfect example of when an author is a great choice for the narrator. Christopher Lloyd was very engaging, like many great teachers are.
***Thank you to Publisher Spotlight Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.
3.5 and rounding up.
I've read quite a few graphic novel memoirs this year and find that it's a very compelling way to read about someone.
While reading about young Magali who is in 7th grade in the 90's, I could see myself in her. How fixated/obsessed I could get about one thing in particular and that one thing could easily become something that would not only be an escape but also relied on to get me through difficult times in my adolescence.
The biggest drawback for me, was the cursive font that was used for the majority of the storytelling. I found it difficult to read and often had to zoom in on the digital copy I was reading in order to really see the text clearly. Also, if the cursive was all handwritten I'm equally as impressed that she has such nice penmanship even when writing in such small spaces!
SPOILERS:I do wish we had gone further into her mental health struggles. It was good to see she was in therapy, but she states about halfway during her year of homeschooling and therapy she stopped having things to say to her therapist. At that point in the story she has withdrawn deeply into herself and was spending all of her time alone or in her own world. Then one day she just decided to stop doing that and went back to school and all was well again. It just felt like an unrealistic resolution to someone struggling with anxiety and possibly some other underlying mental health issues. Just would have liked to dive deeper into the mental health side of things.It was great to see that her parents supported her and helped her find a better learning environment so that she wouldn't be struggling with her anxiety about school performance.Thank you to Europe Comics and Magali Le Huche for providing me with a copy of the eBook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
3.5 rounding up
This is the first police procedure I've listened to since early 2020, and despite having always been a fan of the genre, I really struggled with this given the nature of everything that has happened the last 18 months. I think it's a solid police mystery if that's your thing.
Kathleen McInerney gave an excellent performance and if I ever get into the series, I know I will enjoy listening to her narration.
The rest of my review is going to contain spoilers and my issues with the book, so beware.
SPOILERS
I'm jumping into a series as a first time reader, with no attachment to these characters, and while I found Kate very likeable, her inherent biases and the responses by other cops were incredibly frustrating, and potentially triggering to a reader.
Defending questionable police behavior and dismissing the claims of women who were deemed unreliable is difficult to root for. She also struggled with believing anything negative of anyone who chose to stay in the Amish life and even upheld/justified their patriarchal mindsets.
In the end SHE believes the victims which I want to acknowledge as a credit to her character. But I just found the whole story to be a lot of justifying of other officer's actions and clearly I am not in the right headspace for this book at the moment.
So long story short, even if you are a fan of police procedurals, you may want to consider keeping this one on the shelf until you are ready to deal with cops not wanting to believe their fellow officers are capable of using their position of power to hurt others.
***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
This middle grade book explores family secrets and their impact.
For the target audience, I felt this was a good entrance into the idea that parents hide things from their children, and that when things aren't shared openly it can lead to kids feeling distrustful of their support system and uncertain of how to navigate that. There were a lot of complicated feelings that would have been nice to see explored further.
A short read that resolves itself unrealistically easily, but at the heart of it, it encourages families to share the truth even when it's hard, which is a good practice to learn.
***Thank you to Harper Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
As someone who loves THE GREAT GATSBY, I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling from Jordan Baker's perspective. Natalie Naudus was an excellent narrator choice for the voice of Jordan Baker and gave a phenomenal performance.
I found Nghi's version to be just as compelling and heart-wrenching as the original.
The added BIPOC, queer and magical elements felt like they fell easily in line with the dreamy, enchanting quality that is evoked in F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing and storytelling style. Would have loved to seen even more of it, especially the magical aspect. Very intriguing.
It's been well over a decade since my last re-read of GATSBY, but so looking forward to diving into it after being swept up into the world again.
***Thank you to Macmillian Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
A powerful narrative of a Two Spirit/2SQ who leaves the Rez to start a new life.
Jonny has always lived in abject poverty and continues to even after moving to the city where they make just enough money to get by day to day as a sex worker. We hear about the few close and meaningful relationships that have carried them through their young life so far. This will be one that will stick with me for awhile. I will always be wonder about how the rest of Jonny's life would have played out.
Looking forward to reading more from Joshua Whitehead.
***Thank you to ECW Press Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
A masterclass in how unbelievably HOT consent can be.
This book was an absolute delight. As my first Talia Hibbert book, I was thrilled to see such wonderful representation in this, which I hear is true of the others in this series!
I loved how both Eve and Jacob were able to truly see one another and rather than change to be together, accepted and loved each other because of WHO they are, not who they wanted each other to be.
This has the recipe for everything I like in a domestic thriller.
A main character with a past, a partner you may not be able to trust, a creepy home atmosphere, and cliquey neighbors.
However, while I didn't dislike our protagonist, her choices were exasperating. Overly trusting, and needy to be liked and loved. A difficult combo to read and root for.
Didn't hate it, didn't love it. If you like the genre, it's an easy, quick read.
The narrator Olivia Dowd was lovely, and her narration also was understandable at 1.25-1.5 speed.
***Thank you to Macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
A powerful memoir about parenting, dealing with the effects of your childhood as an adult, transitioning and the struggles of LGBTQ+ parents.
Krys's incredible honesty about all of these topics was very relatable. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author. It's always hit or miss as to whether I will enjoy an author reading their own book, but in this case, I felt like I was reading Krys's journal and it was nice to hear their voice telling me the story.
I do think I would recommend a physical copy of this book over the audio simply because of the writing style. It switches back and forth from first person narrative to speaking to someone else as if in a letter/reflection regularly and I found it a bit jarring every time it happened and scrambling to figure out who was being spoken about. There are also some legal documents near the end that would have been easier to absorb the contents of if I were viewing it rather than listening.
***Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
I feel like the there was a missed opportunity to dive further into the dark academia side with the Maidens. Would have definitely liked to see that aspect explored further.
As someone who reads (and usually figures out) a lot of mysteries, the goal for me is to always feel a little unsure of my hypothesis. This book certainly achieved that. While I had guessed the ending, the ride to the reveal was intriguing and kept me on edge waiting to see what would happen next.
One of my favorite tropes is the dual narrative that features the killer. Listening to the audiobook version of this was a great, atmospheric experience. It built a lot of tension, and definitely had me wondering if there was anything lurking in the shadows while I listened.
***Thank you to Macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
Wow, wow, wow! The tension in this book is non-stop. I loved the dual narrative, was totally enthralled with the mystery and both of the audiobook narrators were fantastic. Loved seeing the LGBTQ+ rep.
Gossip Girl meets Get Out is an apt description for this, and I would highly recommend checking it out.
***Thank you to Macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
Even if you're not a fan of the show (which I'm not) it's a fascinating look into the production world of reality TV and the entertainment industry. I think if you have been a long time fan of the show, you'll enjoy hearing about how the sausage is made so to speak because while we know that reality TV isn't necessarily real life, there is still a lot of drama not only on screen but behind the scenes.
While I think Brian's narration is fine, 9 times out of 10 I'd prefer authors to not read their work.
In this case, I would have enjoyed a different narrator better, but it certainly didn't stop me from wanting to hear the story.
***Thank you to Macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
I listened to the audio version and found the narration by Cassandra Campbell very pleasant. I felt her distinction between characters was clear without being distracting.
I'd like to start by saying I am not the audience for this book as a mid 30s lady. Though I did enjoy the witchcraft element and the friendships of the supporting characters, there was just too much melodrama for my tastes. I felt there was a lot of promise, and I probably would have been more into it if I was a teen.
However, I was VERY surprised by the explicit sex scene considering the target audience, but I haven't read a ton of YA so I'm not sure if this happens a lot.
One thing I really struggled with was the nervous habit one of the main characters had of picking/chewing her nails/cuticles. By the end of the book I was dreading the description of it and found it very grating and uncomfortable (which I imagine was the intention).
***Thank you to Macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
Ropa may be my favorite character of 2021.
I just love her unapologetic sassy bluntness.
Set in the not so distant future of Scotland after an event called the Catastrophe.
We follow a 14 year old girl who can talk to ghosts.
Her job is basically to deliver messages to the living who then pay her for the service.
Ropa is living below the poverty line with her Gran and younger sister and is the sole breadwinner of the family. She understands the hard realities of the world, and refuses to let anyone (especially the spirits she works with) to take advantage of her. If they can't pay, she won't play. But her heart gets the better of her when she decides to help one for free.
This book takes you on a journey into the world of ghosts, dimensions, magic, and more.
I found it a delight to listen to (even if I guessed the twist about ⅓ of the way through).
As an avid audiobook listener and the occasional audiobook narrator, I especially loved hearing Ropa's hot take on the merits of a good narrator. It was totally an unexpected, but welcome commentary.
***This audiobook was provided to me free via NetGalley for an unbiased review. Thank you to T.L. Huchu and Tor Books.
WOW! Loved this.
A great crash course into Oceanic Environmentalism and climate change.
The audio feels like you're listening to a podcast hosted by your favorite college professor.
Each segment lasted about 20 minutes, and was a great overview of some amazing things about the ocean and our planet.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
I received a copy of this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
I listened to the audiobook of this and first off, I'd like to say that I think the youthful tone of the narrator was a great fit for this book.
I'd also like to mention that I'm clearly not the demographic of this book. So this review is based on my thoughts as a parent and remembering what kind of books I liked at this age.
Set in 1875 Ohio (the tail end of the Reconstruction Era), you meet Cap, a 12 year old boy who loves to invent things. Due to financial circumstances for this family, himself and his father end up doing some grave robbing to make some money to pay for his mother's medical bills.
During this time, medical schools would pay for stolen corpses in order to have fresh cadavers for their anatomy and dissection classes.
Cap feels conflicted because of the gruesomeness of stealing a dead body, but also because the justification being used is that “they are unwanted and won't be missed” which for the most part translates to Black.
There was a lot of unaddressed racism in the book, and I felt very disappointed there wasn't more commentary on it from Cap. There were multiple instances of racism and sexism that were mentioned, but we never got any thoughts about Caps feelings on them. Sadly, a missed opportunity.
I think if you are comfortable with the subject matter (grave robbing/dead bodies) then there is a decent mystery and suspense aspect that a 12-14 year old would be entertained by.
***This book was provided to me free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
If I was reading this when it was published, or even 20 years ago I feel very confident this would be a 5 star read for me.
The misogyny was one of things I really struggled with reading this in 2021. And the cruel, self preservation that David exhibited over and over.
However the heart wrenching story of these gay men struggling to exist in a world that does all it can to make it impossible for them to be themselves strikes you right to the core.
Definitely an important piece of literature and looking forward to reading more of Baldwin's work.
The art work is stunning!
This is the perfect book for any Bowie Fan with a working knowledge of his rise to stardom.
Personally as a casual fan, I would have wanted for backstory, more like an autobiography, but I understand the medium may not lend itself to it.
Definitely inspired me to seek out more about David Bowie.
Woah. This one is going to stay with me for a long time.
BELOVED is the first book of Toni Morrison's that I've read. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author. Listening to her words transported me into Sethe's life. This narrative about the heartbreaking brutality of slavery and the universal love of a parent was gut wrenching.
The poetic prose of the multiple perspective storytelling revealed the haunting layers of this deeply powerful novel.
A story that everyone should read.
The audiobook is a great way to listen to the dual narration.
As someone who doesn't read a ton of YA, I was thrilled with the representation in this book. The subjects it dealt with especially the grief, betrayal and economic disparities between the families in the US vs DR were palpable.
I love that this is the quality of stories young adults have available to them these days.
FASCINATING LOOK AT SUCCESSFUL BIZ STRATEGIES
Shel Israel explores the concept of providing customer centric service vs. business centric service and how that works in today's world.
While the regular practices of business over the last 100 years have focused on how to make the most money by telling the customer what they need to buy...Lethal Generosity is about LISTENING to the consumer and providing them with the best possible solution. Even if that means sending them to another store to get a better deal. By doing that, you lose the initial sale, but gain a loyal customer who will champion your brand.
It was also interesting to hear about some of the technologies that businesses are implementing to make the shopping experience more customizable and helpful. It'll be interesting to see where this beacon tech will take us over the next few years.
Jeffrey Kafer did a great job narrating this book. I kept forgetting that he wasn't the actual writer because the stories sounded as if they were experiences he himself had.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.
Yes...GIVE ME MORE
This is my first attempt at this genre since I tend to spook easily, but LOVE Procedurals like CSI, and boy am I glad I did try it out.
Loved it from beginning to end, and I've loaded up my cart with the rest of the series.
Great narration by Scott Brick, and thoroughly enjoyed the structure of the story telling.