Salt to the Sea

 This was the second book I have read by Ruta Sepetys and I enjoyed it as much as I did The Fountains of Silence.  This book was about a lesser known maritime disaster that occurred during WWII.  The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was something I was unfamiliar with but it was an intriguing aspect to this historical fiction book.  I appreciated the variety of the characters, including some you did not like.

I enjoyed how the book was written in chronological order but was told by alternating narrators.  Sepetys does a wonderful job of revealing each of the narrators' back stories and secrets.   The ending had a twist to it that was intriguing and wasn't all sunshine and roses which made for a more realistic outcome.  

I will definitely continue to work my way through Sepetys' catalogue of works as I enjoy her blending of historic facts and a fictional story.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this historic fiction book based upon the little know sinking of the Wilhelm Guatloff. Sepetys writes a good YA book that appeals to adults. Her characters are well developed and have aspects to their personality that make them like able and unlike able. The story is well written by different narrative voices while on the same timeline. There is a nice build up to the back stories of each character and a nice twist at the end. There is a good balance of happy ending with tragedy as well. Rather than everything coming out perfect it mixed both outcomes. I look forward to reading more by this author

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

Possible prompts

I will decide as the year goes along which prompts I use it for on several challenges since it meets multiple criteria within the challenge.

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #39
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Prussia
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #47
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #53
5. Historic Fiction  #histficreadingchallenge   Book #6
6. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #6 A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title 
7. Around the Year in 52 Books #6 a love story
8. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #28
9. Monthly Book Awards #AwardReadingChallenge  Audie winner 2017
10. Book Voyage  #bookvoyagechallenge  yes Prussia
11. Beyond the Bookends    Read/listen to Audie Winner
12. Backpacking Bookworm  #bbReadingChallenge2021 teaches you something new 

One of Us is Lying

One of Us is Lying is an intense YA book by Karen McManus.  It has been on my To Read list for over a year and I am very glad I finally made sure to read it.  It is a fairly high paced thriller set in High School.   Think of all the worst things about High School you can remember and now add onto that cell phones (cameras/videos) and Social Media.  It makes high school in the 80s feel tame.  

McManus does a magnificent job of capturing teen angst, insecurity, selfishness and immaturity.  This book has been described as Breakfast Club and that is apropos in my opinion.  The eclectic mix of student types that are all serving detention together sets the stage for a very strange occurrence.   The reader then witnesses the ensuing chaos through the eyes of the different characters in the novel.  These characters hit the stereotypes of high school and capture much of the emotions and concerns of a typical teenager.

It is easy to find oneself rooting for the unlikely heroes and relationships in this novel.  The unlikely friendships that form are based on actually getting to know the real people, not just the outward stereotypes and appearances that are given off by a teen trying to fit into a certain role/group.  The twists and turns are well written and feel very real and accurate.  While I did suspect the outcome before it was revealed it still had some crazy twists that left me stunned.  I am very excited to begin reading the next book in the series, One of Us is Next.  

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great thriller with YA romance and angst

I really enjoyed this book more than I expected to. It is definitely Breakfast Club meets social media. The story captures so much of high school accurately. No matter how much time has passed the drama is all the same. Only it’s amplified with social media and cell phones. The twists and turns are well done and I look forward to reading the next book

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #32
2. Beat the Backlist #BTB2021  #2 dragons OR lizards
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #40
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #45
5. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #32
6. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #5. A dark academia book
7. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #1 Set In A School
8. BooklistQueen   # 45. A Book About Technology
9. What's in a Name   #1-  "ONE"
10. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2021 #29. ROMANCE OR YA 
11. Bookworm  #13.) A book from https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com
12. Magic in the Books  Book 6 #4 set in a school
13. Pick your Poison # 4-4 A book about dealing with suicide
14. Monthly Book Awards #AwardReadingChallenge  South Carolina Book Award Young Adult (2020),
15. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #72  Shot #1

 

Monthly Award Challenge #AwardReadingChallenge

 Once again I am going to try to do the monthly award challenge hosted at GirlXOXO.    I made most of the months last year so I am going to try to get all 12 in 2021.  

Jan IDEA: The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton Costa Book Award for First Novel (2018),

Feb IDEA: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys   won  California Young Readers Medal for Young Adult (2018)

Mar 

• READ: One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus South Carolina Book Award Young Adult (2020),
•  Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/20/21

Apr IDEA:  Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis by Patti Callahan  won 2020 Alabama Fiction Award

May IDEA:  TBD 

Jun IDEA:  Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)  by Marissa Meyer won Golden Duck Award 2013

Jul IDEA:  The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1) by Angie Thomas Walden Award in 2018

Aug   

• READ:  Binti by Nnedi Okorafor  Hugo winner 2016
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 9/3/21

Sep IDEA:  Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty  Davitt 2015

• READ:The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron  won Barry Award 2005
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 9/20/21

Oct IDEA:  A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James won Booker 2015

Nov IDEA:  TBD

Dec IDEA:  Goodreads winner TBD