Chasing King’s Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Assassin by James L. Swanson
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: January 2, 2018
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In his meteoric, thirteen-year rise to fame, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a mass movement for Civil Rights — with his relentless peaceful, non-violent protests, public demonstrations, and eloquent speeches. But as violent threats cast a dark shadow over Dr. King’s life, Swanson hones in on James Earl Ray, a bizarre, racist, prison escapee who tragically ends King’s life.
As he did in his bestselling Scholastic MG/YA books Chasing Lincoln’s Killer and “THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SHOT!”, Swanson transports readers back to one of the most shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history.
With an introduction by Congressman John Lewis, and over 80 photographs, captions, bibliography, various source notes, and index included.
Chasing King’s Killer isn’t just about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination and the search for his killer. The first part of the book is a biography of King and lays out what he did for the Civil Rights movement in more detail than kids, or even most adults, probably know. For instance, I didn’t know that he was stabbed at the book signing for his first book! I liked that the author went all the way through the period at the end of King’s life when he shifted his focus to include speaking out against the Vietnam War and started to lose public support. It’s important for kids to know that great leaders are not always appreciated like they should be in their own time.
The second part of the book focuses on the life and criminal career of James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated King. I would guess most people don’t know much about his early life. He was a master criminal and escaped from prison more than once.
Eventually, King and Ray’s life intersect. It’s never clear why Ray, who as far as anyone knows had never murdered anyone before, suddenly decided he needed to kill King. Because of this, conspiracy theories abound. This book does a good job of debunking them.
Although this book is intended for middle school and high school students, I found it very informative. I don’t feel like it’s overly simplistic or talks down to the reader. There are photographs throughout which added more to the narrative.
Chasing King’s Killer is a great book for kids (and adults) to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s journey as a Civil Rights leader. It’s a quick but comprehensive read that will keep kids engaged. Highly recommended.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
January 21st, 2019 in
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Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: November 6, 2018
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.
Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?
It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.
Combining all of the hallmarks that have made her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.
As you know, Liane Moriarty is one of my favorite authors. I waited very impatiently for Nine Perfect Strangers. I even tried to order it from Amazon Australia because it came out in October there. No dice.
I am happy to report that it was worth the wait! Nine Perfect Strangers is about nine very different people who are thrown together for a week long retreat at Tranquillum House, a health spa run by the somewhat out there Masha. The longer the week goes on, the weirder Masha and what she wants the spa guests to do get.
Every person at the spa has a secret that is the reason behind why they came to the spa. Moriarty uses her standard method of beginning in the middle of the story. The book starts as the guests are arriving on the first day and she goes back and forth, slowly revealing what the guests’ backgrounds are and what they are hiding.
I don’t mind that most of Moriarty’s books follow the same basic structure because she does it so well. She is excellent at building suspense and adding twists. My only quibble with this book is that the ending felt a bit rushed. Everything is wrapped up nicely though, with no loose ends, which I appreciated.
I’m so glad that Liane Moriarty consistently releases books every year or two so I won’t have to wait eons for her next one. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to the second season of Big Little Lies, which is supposed to premiere sometime this summer.
Other Liane Moriarty books I’ve reviewed:
The Last Anniversary
What Alice Forgot
The Husband’s Secret
Big Little Lies
Truly Madly Guilty
January 16th, 2019 in
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The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: June 19, 2018
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is about to pull off an amazing coup, bringing in an extraordinary collection of 1920s paintings as a gift to the gallery. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDS epidemic grows around him. One by one, his friends are dying and after his friend Nico’s funeral, the virus circles closer and closer to Yale himself. Soon the only person he has left is Fiona, Nico’s little sister.
Thirty years later, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. While staying with an old friend, a famous photographer who documented the Chicago crisis, she finds herself finally grappling with the devastating ways AIDS affected her life and her relationship with her daughter. The two intertwining stories take us through the heartbreak of the eighties and the chaos of the modern world, as both Yale and Fiona struggle to find goodness in the midst of disaster.
The Great Believers is about a group of gay men in Chicago in the 1980s and how their lives are devastated by the AIDS crisis. It also flashes forward to the present day and the life of Fiona, the sister of Nico, one of the men in the group who succumbed to the disease. She was good friends with all the men in the group and watched a lot of them die one by one. That experience profoundly affected her life and she still grapples with it. At the same time, she’s on a mission to find her adult daughter, who ran away to join a cult.
The main character in the 1980s is Yale. He’s the type of man who is so sweet and kind that it made my heart hurt anytime something even remotely bad happened to him. He works for an art museum and is trying to get an elderly lady to donate her art collection without her greedy relatives interfering.
This book is a sweeping epic with many intricately intertwining threads. The characters were complicated and well-drawn and there were a few surprising twists. The author did extensive research and although the story is fictional, the events surrounding the evolution of the AIDS epidemic in Chicago are real. It’s heartbreaking how horrible victims were treated back then, even by health care professionals. If Rebecca Makkai’s previous novels are even half as wonderful as The Great Believers, then I will gobble them up. The Great Believers is a National Book Award finalist and is on all sorts of best books of 2018 lists. It deserves it all. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
January 9th, 2019 in
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My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: November 20, 2018
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead.
Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her “missing” boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.
Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she’s exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola’s phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she’s willing to go to protect her.
Sharp as nails and full of deadpan wit, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s deliciously deadly debut is as fun as it is frightening.
Ayoola has always been the beautiful sister, her mother’s favorite. She seems perfect from the outside but she does have one flaw. Her boyfriends keep dying in her company. Each time, she claims self-defense. Luckily, her protective older sister Korede is willing to literally clean up her mess time and time again. Korede, a nurse, is secretly in love with one of the doctors she works with but he has no idea. When Ayoola visits the hospital one day, he is immediately taken with her and her beauty like every other man she’s ever met. Now Korede has to decide where her loyalties lie because chances are that Ayoola’s relationship with the doctor will end like all her others.
This book was very suspenseful! I honestly couldn’t figure out what Korede was going to do about the situation with her sister and the doctor. And oh my gosh – the sister was so vapid and selfish! I wanted to yell at Korede to quit protecting her. I guess that’s what big sisters are for.
This book is a short read that’s fast paced and fun. There’s some dark humor in it that makes it not as morbid as it sounds. Take a close look at the cover – creepy! Recommended.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
December 27th, 2018 in
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The Magic Misfits: The Second Story by Neil Patrick Harris
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 25, 2018
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Growing up in an orphanage, Leila was bullied for being different. She turned her hardship into skill by becoming an escape artist–a valuable trait when belonging to a group of magical best friends. But when a famous psychic comes to town, Leila and her pals won’t be able to escape the big mystery heading their way. Whether chasing mad monkeys or banishing ghosts from haunted hotels, these six friends will do their best to keep Mineral Wells safe–but can they still protect themselves in the process?
Join the Magic Misfits as they discover adventure, friendship, and more than a few hidden secrets in this delightful new series. Whether you’re a long-time expert at illusion or simply a new fan of stage magic, hold onto your top hat!
…have more questions? I thought you might. Here’s some answers:
WHERE? A sleepy town in New England. Within the town is a magic shop, run by the friendly but mysterious Dante Vernon–the gang’s caped and top-hatted mentor.
WHO? Carter, who can make things vanish. Leila, who can escape from anything. Theo, who can make things levitate with the aid of his violin bow. Ridley, who can invent anything. And of course twins Olly and Izzy, who can make anyone laugh.
WHY? Because together, these six magical misfits will discover adventure, friendship, and the town’s long-hidden secrets.
The Second Story is the second book in Neal Patrick Harris’s The Magic Misfits series. Book 1 of the series was Carter’s story. This book is Leila’s. Leila spent many years being bullied in an orphanage before she was finally adopted by Mr. Vernon and his husband. One day, a famous psychic comes to town and their lives are turned upside down. Who is Sandra really and what does she want?
This time around NPH does not interrupt the flow of the story by defining big words that kids probably already know anyway. He must have read my review of Book 1! Speaking of Book 1, I think it will be easier to understand The Second Story if you have read the first book.
The story was okay, HOWEVER, it was completely overshadowed for me by how the adoption storyline was handled. As an adoptive parent myself, I found it disturbing. My eight year old daughter (who is adopted) hasn’t read it yet and I don’t know if I want her to. If you are the parent of an adopted child, I highly suggest reading this book to see what you think before you let your child read it.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
November 27th, 2018 in
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Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist by Franchesca Ramsey
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: May 22, 2018
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In this sharp, funny, and timely collection of personal essays, veteran video blogger and star of MTV’s Decoded Franchesca Ramsey explores race, identity, online activism, and the downfall of real communication in the age of social media rants, trolls, and call-out wars.
Franchesca Ramsey didn’t set out to be an activist. Or a comedian. Or a commentator on identity, race, and culture, really. But then her YouTube video “What White Girls Say . . . to Black Girls” went viral. Twelve million views viral. Faced with an avalanche of media requests, fan letters, and hate mail, she had two choices: Jump in and make her voice heard or step back and let others frame the conversation. After a crash course in social justice and more than a few foot-in-mouth moments, she realized she had a unique talent and passion for breaking down injustice in America in ways that could make people listen and engage.
In her first book, Ramsey uses her own experiences as an accidental activist to explore the many ways we communicate with each other–from the highs of bridging gaps and making connections to the many pitfalls that accompany talking about race, power, sexuality, and gender in an unpredictable public space…the internet.
WELL, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY includes Ramsey’s advice on dealing with internet trolls and low-key racists, confessions about being a former online hater herself, and her personal hits and misses in activist debates with everyone from bigoted Facebook friends and misguided relatives to mainstream celebrities and YouTube influencers. With sharp humor and her trademark candor, Ramsey shows readers we can have tough conversations that move the dialogue forward, rather than backward, if we just approach them in the right way.
Franchesca Ramsey worked as a graphic designer and had a YouTube channel with a small following on the side. Remember when the YouTube video What Girls Say went viral? Franchesca decided to make a response video called What White Girls Say…to Black Girls. Her video was edgier than What Girls Say because the things white girls say to black girls can actually be pretty racist. The truth of the video made it literally an overnight viral sensation. Franchesca found herself suddenly thrust into the position of being a spokesperson for black people on the subject of race and racism – something she didn’t bargain for when she posted her video and not something she originally wanted to be.
However, she plunged in headfirst and took that role on. She quickly learned that she couldn’t engage with every person and troll who contacted her via social media and set some boundaries for herself. That’s what most of the book is about – mistakes she made while engaging with people online and the lessons she learned from them.
Eventually, she landed the role of the host of MTV’s Decoded, an online show with episodes such as Will Multicultural Kids End Racism and Do All Muslim Women Wear a Hijab? I’ve watched several Decoded episodes and have found them enlightening and informative.
Franchesca takes her position as an online activist very seriously. However, I feel like she’s a little too worried about hurting someone’s feelings and can be too apologetic at times. (And this criticism is coming from a bleeding heart liberal.) Overall, I liked the book, especially her section on calling someone out vs. calling someone in. I appreciated her brutal honesty. She is not afraid to share her missteps and owns them all. This is a great book for people engaged in social media of all types. Recommended.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
November 15th, 2018 in
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Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Paperback Release Date: May 10, 2016
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Lost in Wonderland . . .
A fairy-tale dream that became a nightmare, and a woman whose strength helped her find a way out to the other side
At 21, small-town Oregon girl Holly Cullen became Holly Madison, Hugh Hefner’s number one girlfriend. But like Alice’s journey into Wonderland, Holly’s plunge down the rabbit hole took her to a world where all was not as it seemed. The fairy-tale life inside the Playboy Mansion—which included A-list celebrity parties and starring in a number one television show—quickly devolved into an oppressive routine of strict rules, manipulation, and battles with ambitious, backstabbing Bunnies that nearly drove Holly to take her own life.
Down the Rabbit Hole is her introspective account of her time inside the Mansion: the drugs, abuse, infamous parties, and Holly’s real behind-the-scenes life with Bridget, Kendra, and Mr. Playboy himself. It is also her chronicle of healing and hope. By telling her story, both a cautionary tale and a celebration of personal empowerment, Holly reminds us of the importance of fighting for our dreams—and of finding the life we deserve.
Down the Rabbit Hole is Holly Madison’s memoir that is mostly of her life living in the Playboy Mansion as Hugh Hefner’s number one girlfriend. It’s fascinating how a smart woman like Holly – she has several college credits – could be manipulated into staying at the Mansion under Hef’s strict rules for over six years. It wasn’t for the money – contrary to popular belief, he did not give his girlfriends a lot of money. They each got a relatively small allowance for clothes and beauty treatments and that was it. In return, they lived at the Mansion and had to be in a 9pm every night and were not allowed to spend even one night away from the Mansion without Hef.
I really liked reading all of the behind the scenes info Holly shared about The Girls Next Door the E! reality series that Holly starred in with two of Hef’s other two girlfriends at the time, Kendra and Bridget. I loved that show when it was on. I figured there’s some editing trickery and whatnot in reality TV but I didn’t realize how much! There was a lot in The Girls Next Door. Now I want to find old episodes and watch them again to see if there are any clues about what was REALLY going on during that time at the Mansion.
When Holly finally breaks free of Hugh Hefner’s hold, she immediately takes up with famous magician Criss Angel, who turns out to be even crazier than Hef! I love that Holly tells all in that relationship too, the good, bad and ugly.
The book ends with Holly finding ostensibly true love with her husband Pasquale Rotella. Ironically, just as I finished the book, she and her husband announced they are divorcing. Could another memoir be in the works? Sign me up – I want to know what happened!
Holly is surprisingly intelligent and incredibility honest. If you like celebrity memoirs, you’ll like Down the Rabbit Hole.
November 13th, 2018 in
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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
First published in 1937
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
My 8th grade son loves all things Tolkien. He’s been after me to read the Lord of the Rings triolgy forever even though I’ve told him multiple times that I don’t care for fantasy. Plus, I’ve seen all of the LOTR movies and I didn’t understand a single thing that happened in any of them.
I agreed to read The Hobbit as a compromise, primarily because it’s shorter and would take away less of my reading time. I wanted to read at least a little something by Tolkien because I thought it was really sweet of him to want to share books he loved with me. He was really excited when I told him I’d read The Hobbit.
I’m sorry to say that reading it did not make me like fantasy more. I really liked the parts with Gollum but I found the rest confusing and it just didn’t hold my interest very well. I found myself putting it down for long stretches at a time. Regardless, I’m glad I read The Hobbit so that I have a better idea of what Tolkien is all about. I also like being able to talk about books with my son since we’re both big readers.
He recently had to read To Kill a Mockingbird for school. I reread it myself so that we could discuss it. That’s much more my speed and luckily, he liked it too.
I know I’m in a very small minority of people who don’t love Tolkien. If you like fantasy, you should probably read this book.
November 8th, 2018 in
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Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: November 15, 2016
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
A collection of humorous autobiographical essays by the Academy Award-nominated actress and star of Up in the Air and Pitch Perfect.
“I’m excited to publish my first book, and because I get uncomfortable when people have high expectations, I’d like to use this opportunity to showcase my ineptitude and pettiness and the frequency with which I embarrass myself. And while many of my female inspirations who have become authors are incredibly well educated and accomplished comedy writers, I’m very, very funny on Twitter, according to BuzzFeed and my mom, so I feel like this is a great idea. Quick question: Are run-on sentences still frowned upon? Wait, is ending a sentence with a preposition still frowned upon? I mean, upon frowned? Dammit!” (Anna Kendrick)
Anna Kendrick’s autobiographical collection of essays amusingly recounts memorable moments throughout her life, from her middle-class upbringing in New England to the blockbuster movies that have made her one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses today. Expanding upon the witty and ironic dispatches for which she is known, Anna Kendrick’s essays offer her one-of-a-kind commentary on the absurdities she’s experienced on her way to and from the heart of pop culture.
I like Anna Kendrick but I don’t consider myself a huge fan. I chose to listen to her book because she has a reputation for being funny on Twitter and I thought it would be funny. Parts of it were funny but it was full of self-deprecating humor that rang false. She paints herself as a helpless idiot stumbling through life but a person can’t make it to where she is in the entertainment industry if they are as dumb as she makes herself out to be. Weirdly, she comes off as decidedly smug at the same time. Most of her attempts at sarcasm or irony fall flat. Unfortunately, there isn’t any celebrity dirt to make up for all of that! George Clooney is so nice, Tina Fey is so nice, and so on.
I listened to the audiobook of Scrappy Little Nobody and Anna reads it herself. Perhaps that amplified her personality and I would have liked the book more in print. What I learned from this book is that sometimes it’s harder to be funny in an essay format than in 280 characters.
November 1st, 2018 in
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Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
First Published in 1818
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Frankenstein might be one of the most analyzed and reviewed books of all time. Whole books have been written about this book and its author Mary Shelley. I’m not a literary scholar so my review is going to be short and sweet. You can dig as deeply as you want to on your own time!
My book club likes to read at least one classic per year and this year’s was Frankenstein. It was our October pick because it seemed the perfect month to review a book about a monster. Interestingly, there are two editions of Frankenstein. It was originally published in 1818. When it came out, people were aghast that an eighteen year old girl could conceive of such horrors and write about them – ladies being delicate flowers and all that. In 1831 a new edition was published that Shelley had revised from the 1818 version to make the book less shocking. Almost all of my book club buddies and I read the 1818 version published by Penguin Classics. Penguin included a short overview of Shelley’s life. She had quite an eventful one and several biographies about her have been written.
Frankenstein was a lot different than I thought it would be. The monster wasn’t an inarticulate beast afraid of fire and being chased by villagers with torches. He was actually quite intelligent. Also, a fair amount of the story was about Dr. Frankenstein’s life independent of the monster.
There was much to discuss about this book. We talked about Mary Shelley’s life and how it influenced Frankenstein. There were also many ethical issues to talk about, the first being is it okay for man to create life by means other than normal reproduction. Most everyone liked the book and our discussion went well over our one hour meeting time which hasn’t happened in the time that I’ve been a member.
As far as classic literature goes, Frankenstein is accessible and easy to understand. I recommend it for anytime of the year but especially if you’re looking for a good Halloween read.
October 30th, 2018 in
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