The Light Between Oceans

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I give this book a solid 3 star rating. I would give it more if I enjoyed the family, love-y dove-y , tear at your heart strings type of book it was but that is just not normally the book that I reach for willingly and devour. None the less I will give it a decent review for a variety of reasons. The author took me to the various shores of Australia in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Gave beautiful descriptions that if you closed your eyes you would swear you were there and you could hear the waves crashing around you and the salt leaving a print on your skin. I was very impressed with the author's attention to detail, and not just with landscapes but right down to the description of what was in Lulu's box, especially the map. As important as the map was to the story as it was to certain characters, the author is very consistent with the dynamic that is meant to be shared and had between characters. Some you don't realize how strong the bond is until later in the story while others it is quite evident how glued together the characters are even when there are doubts about whether they should be or not. This book slightly reminded me of the Notebook, as there were parts of it that were just so comparable, even though the situation may have been completely different. This book stands strong on its character development, plot and descriptions which are a long lost art in most literature these days. Although the book does deserve a higher star rating I just cannot give it that based on my taste, but I know many people that would devour this book right up and give it a 5 star rating easily. For a first book this will be a hard act to follow but I would definitely read what is next.




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Daddy's Little Earner

Daddy's Little Earner: A Heartbreaking True Story Of A Brave Little Girl's Escape From Violence by Maria Landon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

note - some may find my rating and review of this book harsh but I feel that as a person giving my 2 cents worth of a review I should be truthful and critical of everything. ( I am with every other book so why should I turn soft with this book?) If you don't like it leave it in the comments and I may/not read them. Freedom of speech is a right and what a perfect place to exercise that right than on a book review site...moving on.............

As the reviews before me have stated it was heartbreaking and sad and blah blah blah blah blah... cry me a freakin' river. Sure you feel horrible for the author her father sexually abuses her, treats her like a living piece of garbage and all she wants is to be loved by her father. It's depressing. Brings your mood down. Makes you think what kind of an asshole her father really is... Also, introspectively makes you think what are the social services doing to help this girl. They are bouncing her around from place to place hoping she will stay but they are not providing any therapy or help to resolve the hidden daddy issues that keep the author running. If you ask me this is a perfect example of a broken system trying to help a broken child. While the book did have a lot of sensitive material in it, some of it was ruined by the fact that things were repeated over and over and over again (a HUGE pet peeve of mine). There were quite a few editing errors that should have been picked up because they were clear as day. While I believe the ending of this story has something to be said for the author's story and her journey, I feel that she needed to polish her work more. It was almost like she was trying to write a Cathy Glass story but came nowhere near except in content. I gave the book a 2 star rating for the author going the distance and trying to write her story in a way similar to Glass, but mostly the stars go to her journey and recovery. She made a huge turn around with her life and kudos to her for being strong enough to do it. Writing about the journey is one thing, living it is the hardest thing.

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Panic In Level 4

Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science by Richard Preston
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Disappointed does not even begin to explain how let down I was by this book. I was expecting interesting, slightly disgusting and disturbing stories about viruses that had ravaged people, similar to Preston's book the Hot Zone. Man did this ever fall short. While the 'stories' are actually essays which means they are written in a totally different style, which some people may consider the first point of contention, the MAJOR point of contention for me is that not all the essays are related to matters involving issues that would be considered a biosafety level 4 issue.

Ie. The Mountains of Pi - is about 2 guys trying to find the ending numbers for Pi....
A Death in the Forest - is about a bug native to China that is killing Hemlock trees in North America....
Blood Kiss- is about Ebola (which is a biosafety level 4 infectious disease so that fits the title)
The Human Kabbalah - is about reading human genomes and determining what is missing etc......
The Lost Unicorn - is about the Unicorn Tapestries from the 1800's and their preservation....
The Self-Cannibals - is about Lesch Nyhan disease while not biosafety threat quite interesting

So now that I have named what the essays are about are you wondering why, as I am, the book is titled to be more scary then it really is.

WHY RICHARD PRESTON WHY!!!

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Zoo

Zoo by James Patterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a RE-READ but I guess I have not done a review for it.

Very interesting premise for a novel. Totally outside of Patterson's realm of murder/mystery genre. Loved the topic of Human-Animal-Conflict. Compared to other stories this was considerably graphic when Patterson was describing death scenes and animal attacks but it was so fitting for the type of story that he was trying to tell. This is actually one of my most favourite James Patterson books of all times because it is different. The ending is a little rough and short but I think that Patterson was running out of steam at that point because things were just so darn good. I will cut a little slack for that. Patterson truly grasped the humanity factory in that humans are very greedy and will do anything at the risk of getting their needs, wants and desires fulfilled, even when it will cause detriment to a society or more.

LOVE THIS BOOK. GIVE IT A CHANCE. YOU WILL BE SURPRISED!

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My Horizontal Life, A Collection of One-Night Stands

My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

RE-READ

I read this book a long time ago and added it to my 'read' list but when I was looking today I did not give any comments or feedback so I thought I would do it the second time around.

If you are looking for a book that will have you laughing in any situation this is your book. If you are looking for a book that has outrageous sex stories this is your book. If you are looking for a book that you wished emulated your non-existent party life so that you could live vicariously through the author/main character this is your book. If you are looking for a book to take story telling to a new adventurous and creative level this is your book. Basically this is your book in so many ways that you should already be going to the store and buying it, ordering it on whatever book website you use or downloading it already. Prepare yourself to laugh out loud, laugh till you cry and maybe even laugh till you pee a little because it's going to happen.
LOL

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The Bear

The Bear by Claire Cameron
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

NOTE - this book is written from the perspective of a 5 year old, but it is not that believable because Cameron doesn't fully grasp the thought processes or language styles of a 5 year old.

Prior to writing this review I looked up what other people thought about this book. I don't really know why I did that but I was shocked to find that many people were giving it 4 stars and upwards. They were also comparing it to Emma Donoghue's The Room, which I think is and insult to Donoghue. I am giving the book a 2 star rating but in actuality it deserves a 1.75. It baffles my mind how this book got so much hype when it really wasn't that good.

This book was about a 5 year old girls' survival skills to keep herself and her brother alive and safe until someone comes to their rescue or they come to the demise of the villain of the story known as the BEAR. I found the story very disjointed. There was a lot of flashbacks in time to various stages of their life in Toronto, playing with the neighbour's dog, playing with Barbies, etc. The only thing that I will give Cameron complete credit for is that she did a fantastic job describing the loneliness of the situation and the desolation of the environment. Algonquin Park did not seem like the ideal camping spot that most people seem to portray as,especially after reading this book. Even Cameron's flash forwards into the future were disjointed and not flowing. After reading how she came about writing about the subject matter and what was her inspiration and drive I kind of felt like saying, "Really? And that's the best you could come up with?" Now I will fully admit that I am not an accomplished writer and I do not have the Globe and Mail shouting praise for my latest work but I know it would be better than The Bear.... and that's all I have to say about that.

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Answering 911, Life In the Hot Seat

Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat by Caroline Burau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

NOTE - This book was poorly edited and there are countless spelling mistakes and errors.

NOTE - This book really could have only been 156 pages long the last 47 pages were not really crucial to the story and were more of a tirade/rant about the pros and cons of being a 911 dispatcher. I think this subject matter is demonstrated clearly in the stories and encounters the author shares with the readers.

At first when I started reading this book I was thinking of changing careers and that this was something I could go to school for and learn how to do. I was unsure of all the complexities and roles that the job truly entailed until reading this book. Now that I have read the book there is NO ABSOLUTE WAY IN HELL that I could ever do this job. It is high stress, high octane 100% of the time. The author showed when you are at work you cannot think enough about work and when you are away from work you can't think enough about work. Some of the situations, although incredibly real, were mind blowing to say the least and even the smartest individual may not have an idea as to how to handle the situation. There were a lot of good mini stories that captured various parts of the job of a 911 dispatcher that made this book worth reading, so if you can excuse the editorial mistakes and the extra filler pages please give this book a try it's very interesting at the core.

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