Where the Sidewalk Ends

 I sat down the other afternoon and reread a childhood favorite by Shel Silverstein.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the funny poems I remember well from growing up.  There were also many I didn't remember at all but found so fun.  Who will ever forget Sarah Sylvia Stout who would not take the garbage out.

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Mount TBR   #MountTBR2021  Book #15
2. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #151
3. Humor  Book #7
4. The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge  #TMARC21  #29 Childhood favorite
5. BooklistQueen   #35 Childhood favorite
6. A Pretty Mess Challenge #13 Childhood favorite
7. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2021 #45 purchased years ago
8. Bookworm  #3 Reread a book that makes you happy  
9. Magic in the Books 
• Book 3 #5  reread a favorite
10. Pick your Poison #8-4 A children's book about body parts 
11. 52 books in 52 weeks # 3-1starship 
12. Unruly Reader Bingo  #8 instant classic 

Carry On Simon Snow

 I selected this book in order to fulfill the Chosen One prompts in several of my challenges.  I discovered this book when I read Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl last year.   This is a spinoff of sorts from that book.  In Fangirl the characters write fanfiction about a fictional character named Simon Snow and Baz.  This book brings those characters and their world to life as the center of the story.  It is a similar story to Harry Potter with a bit more frenemies and romantic tension than those books have.   I did enjoy this book even if it took me quite a while to read it.  I had to turn it in to the library and then got busy with other books as I read and renewed the kindle book from the library.   If you are looking for a fantasy book with a bit of a twist at the end this book would be a great read.  

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

magical thriller

Generally not the gene I read but I thoroughly enjoyed this boon. The frenemies relationship between Simon and Baz grows through the book. Although there are similarities to Potter this book is very different and intense.


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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #124
2. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #134
3. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #148
4. Around the Year in 52 Books #30 A long book
5. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #45 A Coming Of Age Novel 
6. The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge  #TMARC21  #5  The Desolation: about a Chosen One

7. BooklistQueen   #25. Coming of Age Story 
8. NJM Book Challenge  #NJMBookChallenge2021  #10 over 500 pgs  
9. Bookworm  #40. Read a book that uses the "Chosen One" trope  
10. Magic in the Books Book 6 #6 Includes the Chosen One trope
11. Pick your Poison #23-1 A book with the word "snow" in the title
12. Bloggers Bookshelf   #bloggersbookshelf #22.  500+ pages  
13. 52 books in 52 weeks  #6-2 swords and sorcerers 

The Four Winds

 This is the second book I have read by Kristin Hannah.   She does a wonderful job of capturing historical settings.  This book is set in the Texas Panhandle during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s.  Her characters, Elsa, Tony, Rosa and Rafe, all represent the strength and frustration of the human spirit during an unbelievably challenging time.  

Character development is a strength of Hannah's talent.   It is easy for the reader to put themselves in the story and to feel attachment to the characters.  As you read, it would be difficult not to feel sorrow and frustration just as Elsa does during the saga.  Hannah develops her as a strong female character who truly does not believe in her own strength and resilience.  Her's is a hard life, but she soldiers on and does what is necessary for her family.

It is easy to envision the scenery and the strife that the farmers and other residents of the Great Plains experienced in this unbelievable period of time.  Hannah's descriptions are vivid representations of the hardships and the terrain the people of the time and region suffered.  Her ability to draw a reader into her story is amazing.

This novel is a very engrossing read and I look forward to reading more of Hannah's works;  I have The Great Alone on my shelf and may prioritize it now that I have read this work. I had previously read The Nightingale and it is also a great demonstration of female strength and resilience.  

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kristin Hannah's ability to draw you into the lives of her characters is an amazing talent. As I read it was easy to visualize myself in the place of the characters. The angst and the heartbreak come through in her writing. Her descriptions of the terrain in Texas and CA is vivid and moving. I truly cannot imagine what it was like to live during the Dust Bowl or to have experienced this level of uncertainty for your own survival. Hannah's ability to tell a story that draws you in continues in this latest work

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  TX
2. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #61
3. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #73
4. Historic Fiction  #histficreadingchallenge   Book #8
5. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #21 Book By Kristen Hannah
6. BooklistQueen   # 51. Borrowed from a Friend
7. A Pretty Mess Challenge # 4. Borrowed from a friend
8. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2021 #24. BETWEEN 460 - 495 PAGES
9. Bookworm  #51.) Read a book with the word "wind" in the title
10. Pick your Poison #17- 1 A book with a primarily black cover
11. Diversify your reading #DYRC21  May: History & Biography

Confessions on the 7:45

 I had this book by Lisa Unger on my to read list for a bit of time while waiting for the library hold to become available.   The title caught my eye and then the summary captured my interest as well.  While waiting for the book, I read several blog reviews and online chatter that gave the book mixed reviews. It seems to be an either you love it or you don't kind of book.

Well, I found myself really liking the book.  At first I thought I was going to give in and put it aside as I had difficulty keeping the characters straight at the beginning.  There are quite a few characters and they take turns as the narrator.  In addition to the different points of view, the book also jumps around in time between present day and the past.  The timeline in the past moves forward quickly and ends up being brought forward 3 years or so.  The present day portion is only set over the course of a week or so.  This can be a bit tricky to follow at times.  That being said, I really liked the story and the suspenseful nature of the narrative.

Unger builds the characters in such a way that you feel strongly toward them.  I felt invested in their stories, particularly Selena's and wanted to see her succeed in finding a happy resolution.  There are plenty of twists and turns to the plot during the story.  Even though I thought I had figured out the big mystery, there were still surprises right up until the last chapter.   I appreciated Unger wrapping up all the different story and character threads.   You finished the book with a feeling of resolution, even if you were left wondering how on earth people could behave the way they did in the story.  The characters are far from perfect but it is easy to find empathy and some understanding in most of the characters and the relationships that evolved during the story.

If you like psychological thrillers with lots of plot twists then you should enjoy this book.  If you don't care for multiple timelines mixed with multiple point of views then you might want to steer clear of this one. 

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Intense til the end

This is a suspenseful thriller that keeps the reader on the edge til the bitter end. Once you are able to settle into the story and keep the characters straight the story flows quite well. If you don’t like books with changing points of view and timeline jumping then this is not a book for you. Under does a wonderful job of maneuvering through both. It is easy to relate to how torn Selena would feel in the circumstances and your heart aches for her little boys. The relationships between characters are well developed and there are twists and turns til the end. Even when you think you have it figured out there are more twists. I appreciate the fact Unger tues up all the loose ends and tells you where characters and relationships stand at the conclusion of the book. Great read if you like psychological thrillers

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #30
2. Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  "U"
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #38
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #43
5. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #30
6. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #25 A Book With Multiple Character POV
7. The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge  #TMARC21  #38. Gerry: about ghosts/MC is a ghost
8. BooklistQueen   # 43. Psychological Thriller
9. Bookworm  #50.) Read a book about orphans
10. Magic in the Books Book 2 #3 Includes a haunting
11. Pick your Poison #11-1 A horror story or thriller
12. Medical Examiner Challenge  3 Toe Tags
13. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 55 Shot #1
14. 52 books in 52 weeks  #34 all aboard

Nazi Officer's Wife

 I have been intending to read this book for quite a while.   My mother has been recommending it for quite some time.   This piece of non-fiction reads a lot like a historical fiction novel.  I think I especially related to the book after assisting my son to study for modern world history last school year.  I learned more about the Russians and Bolsheviks than I had previously known.  This book talks about the Kristallnacht as a real experience, not just a concept.  It was quite interesting to read about history in first hand rather than by history books.  

I found it amazing how the German citizens were only provided news and stories that presented the Reich in a positive manner.  It is amazing how unaware they were to what was going on during the war.  I must admit it does give me a bit of a fear when the news media in the US seems to be reporting narratives rather than facts in the current era.  It seems like it would be very easy to have a similar experience here today if citizens did not chose to listen to both sides of the narratives and other countries perspectives as well. 

The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith Hahn Beer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars 

This story is amazing and is written like a historical fiction novel. Edith Beer provides an enlightening account of her experiences living as a Jew in Germany during WWII. Her story vividly describes the experiences and emotions she and others like her experienced during that horrific time. There are some amazing revelations of how in the dark the Germans were about what was going on around the world. 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Literary Escapes-  Austria
2. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #16- Borrowed from a friend
3. Book List Queen #25-  Recommended by a Family Member 
4. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 NF #18 a wartime book
5. Beat the Backlist #BeatTheBacklist2020  book rec from a friend
6. 2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge #4 friend recommendation 
7. TBR Book # 58  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
8. Memoir    #16 Written by someone from a country different from your own
9. Historical NonFiction  Book #4