Book Review: The Light Between Oceans

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

This was such a beautiful book. It was touching, heart-wrenching, and enthralling. It will have you feeling conflicted from the very beginning.

This book is especially applicable to parents, but it is also a beautiful love story.

I love the writing! In many ways, this book reminded me of the writings of Charles Dickens. I love how Stedman introduced one set of characters, made us fall in love with them, and then brought in another set of characters, told their story, and weaved to two sets together. Also similar to Dickens was Stedman's beautiful use of imagery. She didn't just tell you that men went off to war and didn't come back. She showed you, and she made you feel it.

There was one section at the beginning of Chapter 2 that I especially love for how eloquently it is written. Here is just a snippet:
"Like wheat fields where more grain is sown than can ripen, God seemed to sprinkle extra children about, and harvest them according to some indecipherable, divine calendar.
The town cemetery had always recorded this truthfully, and its headstones, some lolling like loose, grimy teeth, told frankly the stories of lives taken early by influenza and drownings, by timber whims and even lightning strikes. But in 1915, it began to lie. Boys and men from across the district were dying by the score, yet the graveyards said nothing."

That's just a part of the section I love the most. The writing is just masterful. There's so much more about this book that makes it good, but you just have to read it to see for yourself.

This is one I think I need to buy.

Book Review: Henry and Beezus

Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Probably 3.5 stars. I think I liked this one a little better than Henry Huggins. My daughter hasn't finished reading it yet, but I went ahead and finished. I like the many sticky situations Henry gets into, and I liked that Ramona is more present in this book. She makes an adorable little sister character.

[Some spoilers ahead] I like that this book was realistic in the sense that Henry had to try to save money for the bike he wanted; his parents couldn't just buy a bike because he wanted one. Even though everything amazingly worked out in the end, I like the aspect that kids have to learn that sometimes their parents can't afford the expensive toys they want, and they may have to work for it themselves. I realize the ending where everything basically falls into Henry's lap takes away from that a bit, but I don't care. It's a children's book, and I love a happy ending.

I also noticed that this second book seemed to have less of the negative language I noticed in Henry Huggins. I think Scooter called the dog dumb a few times, but that was about it.

Partial Review: The Red Tent

I haven’t really posted book reviews unless I have something particularly good to say about the book, but I decided I just want to be honest with my opinion. I don’t want to get too controversial or upset anyone who may have loved a book I didn’t. I realize we all have different tastes and sensibilities. I just want to share my opinion, and I’d love to hear yours if you have one.

As a preface to this review, I went into reading this book knowing that it was a historical fiction. And because of that, I made it a point NOT to read the portion of the bible portrayed just before reading the book so I could enjoy it for the fiction that it is without comparing it to the story and fussing over details. That being said, I think there still ought to be some level of reverence put into writing about biblical times, even if it’s for a fun work of fiction.

Without further ado, here is my honest review of the portion I read:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I was supposed to read this for book club, but I am just done! I normally have a compulsion to finish a book even if it’s terrible because you just never know if it could turn around and get better. I have no such hope for this book.

Each time I set the book down, I just felt uncomfortable. I kept weighing my options whether I wanted to miss out on socializing with my friends at book club so I wouldn’t have to finish it. Finally, I decided that a book that gives me that many second thoughts just isn’t worth my time—especially when I have so many good books I want to read with so little time to do it!

What’s wrong with this book? Well, in my opinion, the story was just way too sexualized. I only made it through 66 pages of the book, and I’m ashamed to admit I read that far. I understand that there was a lot of sex in the bible, but the bible certainly doesn’t take the time to describe each individual experience like this book did. I can only suppose that it was a New York Times bestseller for one reason: sex sells. I certainly don’t want to have those images and descriptions in my head the next time I read the bible!

I also agree with other reviews of this book that said they disliked how Jacob didn’t teach his wives about Jehovah, and they continued to worship idols. And I didn’t find Jacob to be nearly as faithful and devout as I would have liked him to be portrayed. I’m not going to continue reading this book. Maybe someone can let me know if I gave up after the worst part and it was actually worth finishing. I doubt it, but I’d be interested to know.

Have you read part or all of this book? What did you think? All opinions are welcome here; let’s just keep it a civil discussion, please.

Book Review: The Trouble with Chickens

The Trouble With Chickens by Doreen Cronin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I put this on hold at the library based solely on a picture of the cover I saw. I thought it might be fun to start reading chapter books to my oldest, and she loves books involving chickens. I read it myself before trying to read it with my daughter. The inside flap said ages 8-12, and I could see why. There was nothing offensive in the book, but the dog had a sort-of snide, sarcastic attitude that my 5-year-old probably wouldn't understand that it was meant to be comical.

I went ahead and read the book. It's not like it was a difficult book to read. I might consider reading it with my kids when they are older. It's basically a kidnapping/hostage situation except with animals instead of people, using the animals as comic relief to keep it from getting too tense. It didn't seem to teach any lessons or have much literary value. I'm sure there are better books, but if you're just looking for some "fluff" for your kids to read, this one would be fine.

What are you reading with your kids these days?

Book Review: The Devil in the White City

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a book review here, so I thought I’d share.

 

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book started out really slowly for me, but it was accounting events in history. It isn't my usual type of book to read, and I never really poured through history books in school, either. Once I got past the beginning, though, Larson really did a good job of fleshing out the key players in the story. This book was packed with interesting facts about products and inventions that came about during the time period. I felt like I learned so much while reading this book, and I was eager to share with anyone near me what I was learning.

I found myself routing for the architects and all the workers who took on such great feats to create such a magical world's fair in such a short amount of time. At the same time, I was wishing that someone would stop the evil Dr. Holmes. Toward the end of the book, I was feeling discouraged on both points, but I’m glad I kept reading.

While I love a good crime drama, this was extra creepy since the events actually happened. It left me feeling so grateful for modern forensics! Larson doesn’t go into a lot of gory detail about the killings, although he does describe the feelings of the victims in some situations and in what condition the bodies were found. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to learn about history or the private dealings of a murderer. As long as you don’t let your imagination run wild and terrify yourself, you should be okay.

Have you read it? What did you think? Are you reading anything good right now? Let’s chat!

I’m Finished

I just finished reading Mockingjay yesterday, the third book in the Hunger Games series. If you haven’t read them, you must. I’m not going to post my review here because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. I hate spoilers. I basically lived with blinders on until I finished this book (amazing, reading with blinders on) so I wouldn’t have anything spoiled.

I am curious to know what others thought of it now that I’m done, though. Did you like it, love it? Were you disappointed, surprised? Leave me a comment, and tell me what you thought. And if you haven’t read it, you can avoid reading the comments on this post. But you can also leave me a comment if you want to say, “hey.” I’m equal opportunity like that!

Book Review: A Girl of the Limberlost

A Girl Of The Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third book I have read by Gene Stratton-Porter, and for me, she never disappoints. Her stories have quirky, loveable characters, and there’s always at least one with a good deal of spunk. She put much of herself in her books, filling them with information about plants, birds, and bugs that she studied near her home and using her books to instill a love of God and good values. Stratton-Porter’s books have ideal characters that are often very exemplary in their decisions.

A Girl of the Limberlost is a delightful tale about Elnora, a young girl who starts school in town in her search for more education. She faces many challenges, among which is the harsh treatment she receives from her mother who is still bitterly mourning Elnora’s father who died the day she was born. I liked the kind neighbors and people in town Elnora met, along with one mischievous orphan. I loved the detail about gathering moths in the swamp. I loved the themes of forgiveness, hard work, and patience.

While I wished I had read Freckles before reading this because it seems to be a companion book based on a previous time period, I still really enjoyed it. I would suggest getting a copy by a different publisher than this one. I started out with a paperback by Indiana Press from the library. The formatting was great, but the spine was broken which drove me crazy to try to hold the book together and read it at the same time. So I switched to this version by Kessinger Publishing, and it just felt like a textbook. While all the words are the same, the font and format of the paragraphs and chapters just felt very detached. I never knew there would be so much difference between publishers, but it felt like the difference between a web version in print compared to the original book.

I would think that anyone who enjoyed books like Anne of Green Gables would like A Girl of the Limberlost. I look forward to reading it with my girls when they are older.


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