Book Review #42: "All the Ugly and Wonderful Things"

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to review the book "All the Ugly and Wonderful Things," by Bryn Greenwood. This book is hot off the press as it is published today August 9, 2016 by St. Martin's Press: Thomas Dunne Books.  For those of you who would like to purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE. This book is about a young girl Wavy, who is raising herself and her younger brother because of her meth addicted parent's neglect. Wavy comes to meet a troubled older man, and forms a serious relationship with him. They come to both rescue each other. This book shows the depth of love and how far one will go in the name of love.

     Overall I rated this book three stars out of five. While this book was well written, I did have a hard time reading this book. At times it got uncomfortable reading the details of the sexual narrative. However, I do commend this author for writing this piece of fiction, because in life there are always going to be things that make us uncomfortable. It is a matter of exposing oneself to these things in order for us to understand and feel comfortable. I love how the end of this book tied everything all together, in that a family is what you want it to be. Love is love and all love is real. 

     I would like to thank Netgalley, Bryn Greenwood, and St. Martin's Press: Thomas Dunne Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #41: "Patient H.M."

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to review the book "Patient H.M: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets,"  by Luke Dittrich. This book is hot off the press as it is just released today August 9, 2016 by Random House Publishing Group. For those of you who are interested in purchasing a copy of this book CLICK HERE. This book is an intimate story of the author's grandfather and his famous patient Henry Molaison. It is about Henry Molaison a young man who had a lobotomy due to his frequent seizures. Naturally this book discusses the prevalence of lobotomy's mostly performed on the mentally ill. Henry Molaison was important because the lobotomy of his brain allowed scientists and researchers to make many new discoveries about the mapping of the brain, memory, how memory works and how it is stored. It also talks about the ethics regarding performing brain surgery, and what kind of consent is needed for research. 

     Overall I rated this book four stars out of five. This was an in-depth look into the life of Henry Molaison. This book is extremely well researched, and it is apparent how much the author invested in writing this book. I really did enjoy reading it, especially its descriptions of the various different settings that this book took place in Connecticut. Being that I grew up in Connecticut this story was all that much more interesting to be able to imagine the backgrounds of where this story took place. I did feel that this book could have been shorter, in that there were sections that could have been cut out. And that this book could have been organized better in that it often went off in many different tangents, that it was sometimes difficult to see how they played a part in this story. I was amazed how the author being the grandson of one of the main characters, how he wrote an unbiased, and fair account of this story. And this is one story that needed to be told, so I am very happy I got the chance to read this book.

     I would like to thank Netgalley, Luke Dittrich, and Random House Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #40: "Dark Matter"

Hey Everyone,

    I am going to review the book "Dark Matter," by Blake Crouch. This book is hot off the press being published today July 26, 2016 by Crown Publishing. For those of you who would like to purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the author Blake Crouch, he is best known for his book called Pines (The Wayward Pines Series). And as you know this book has been made into a TV series on FOX network. "Dark Matter" is about the choices we make in life and how all the choices we make lead us into different paths. It is about how far we will go to make the best choices. Jason Dessen is a physics professor with a wife and child he loves. Jason ends up discovering a way to time travel back through important moments in his life where, through this time traveling he is able to make different choices. And then of which he is able to see his present and future of what would happen if he made a different choice. It is a story of regret but in learning how to make choices he will not regret. 

     Overall I rated this book four stars out of five. This was one mind bending book. My mind, thoughts was constantly going. This review is not going to do this book justice because there is no good way to describe it. This book is as mind bending as trying to tell a child how to put a concrete value on infinity. This book took place in a world where there is infinite amount of choices we make throughout our lives from choosing the clothes we wear to choosing whether or not to have kids. This book examines each of our choices and how our lives would have played out with every different choice we make.  This book had my mind churning, the whole time, even when I was not even reading it. I love books like this, books that light the fire in our brains. I love it when I find a new author and a good book.  It was so intriguing that I am looking forward to reading the Wayward Pines series.

     I would like to thank Netgalley, Blake Crouch, and Crown Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #39: "The Punishments"

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to write a book review for the "The Punishments," by J.B. Winsor. This book was published on June 1, 2016 by Boulder Digital Publishing. To purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE. This book is about a world where religion is law, where religion and the government are intertwined. A world where we follow biblical law.

     Overall I rated this book four stars out of five. I really did love the premise of this book. This book chilled me to the bone, made the hairs on my arm stand up. Although this book is not a horror story, it read like one in the way that this story is so realistic, and has a high potential of what our future may look like. The storyline was so well perceived by the author. The only thing was I wanted more. I wanted more character depth, more detail, more story so I was a little disappointed in the end, only because I had just finished a good book. Reading this book was like instant gratification. But I will say some of my favorite books are ones that the book's reality is not that far off from the reality that we live in. Because of this I highly enjoyed reading this book. It is a very quick read, it had my attention from the first word to the last.

     I would like to thank Netgalley, J.B. Winsor, and Boulder Digital Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #38: "The Sunlight Pilgrims"

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to review the book "The Sunlight Pilgrims," by Jenni Fagan. This book is hot off the press being published today July 19, 2016 by Crown Publishing/Hogarth. Many of you might know the author who is best known for her novel "The Panopticon," of which I just purchased. For those of you who are interested in reading more about the author you can read her blog The Dead Queen of Bohemia. And to purchase a copy of "The Sunlight Pilgrims CLICK HERE. This book is about three people coming  together in a time where the world is freezing over. Dylan who is grieving over the loss of his mother and grandmother goes on a mission to bury them, in their homeland. On his way he ends up in a small caravan town, where he comes across Estella and Constance, a mother and daughter who are prepared to survive during this cold winter. Dylan's presence in their lives will bring on new emotions and change the perspectives of everyone involved in this story.

     Overall I rated this book three and a half stars out of five. This book was so beautifully, artistically and creatively written. It had drops of dystopian, apocalyptic descriptions, love, transgender,  fantasy and local folklore of which fit in this book perfectly. The characters in this book were strong, especially Estella, who you can't help but fall in love with her by the end. There were times in this book that I felt it was too wordy with description of which made some parts read slower. But it was the beauty of the language of which this story was told, is what I most appreciated. This book is not one that I would normally pick up and read, but I am glad that I expanded my horizons in choosing to read this book.

     I would like to thank Netgalley, Jenni Fagan, and Crown Publishing/Hogarth for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #37: "The Last One"

Hey Everyone,

    I am going to review the book "The Last One'" by Alexandra Oliva. This book is hot of the press, as it is published today July 12, 2016 by Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine Books. To read an excerpt from this book CLICK HERE. And to purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE.  This book is about a contestant Zoo who joined a reality TV survival competition show. During this show where Zoo is struggling to survive off of the land, some sort of apocalyptic event occurred. But whereas this is a reality TV show, Zoo must figure out what is real and true and what is part of the TV show. 

     Overall I rated this book three stars out of five. This book started out really strong, I was getting really excited reading it. I loved how it addressed the topic of the media and how it can distort reality. It showed how strong our minds are, and how our minds help us survive and deal with trauma. This book has a lot of promise. I was disappointed in that I was expecting this book to go in a different direction. Zoo's character was somewhat unlikable. However, this book has a really good premise, and I am looking forward to reading more from Alexandra Oliva.

     I would like to thank Netgalley, Alexandra Oliva, and Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #36: "The Wicked Boy."

Hey Everyone,

     

     I am going to review the book "The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer." by Kate Summerscale. This book is hot, being published today July 12, 2016 by The Penguin Group: The Penguin Press. To purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE. This book is a true story based on a 13 year old boy killing his mother in 1895 in London. 

     I rated this book three stars out of five. It was a detailed in-depth description of a mother's murder committed by her son. This book was jam packed with information. It was definitely well researched. It also was an interesting and intriguing story. It painted the picture of the crime well. This book was good, however it could have been so much better. This book lacked emotion. It read like you are reading a newspaper article. This book covers a serious subject, but yet doesn't convey any emotion. It would have been so much stronger if it had. However, I still enjoyed reading this book because it was so very well researched. 

     I would like to thank Netgalley, First to Read, Kate Summerscale, and The Penguin Group: The Penguin Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill