Mini Reviews

In the months of January and February I read a couple of books that while I like didn't do enough for/to me to warrant a whole review so here are just some short thoughts on them

Anne Of Avonlea
L.M Montgomery
#2 In the Anne Of Green Gables Novels
Click here  to read the synopsis on goodreads
Click here to see it on Amazon

I read Anne of Green Gables sometime in 2012 and unfortunately I was underwhelmed. I say that because I had my expectations super high maybe too high. I absolutely unabashedly love and adore the Anne of Green Gables miniseries with Megan Follows. I watched that when I was a very little girl and fell head over heels in love with everything about it especially Gilbert Blythe. So I had my expectations unrealistically high and the books were bound to be at least a bit of a let down.
Anne Of Avonlea picks up right where Gables left off. I won't say much as it's a sequel and could ruin some plot points for people. The bottom line is these books are sweet. Maybe too sweet in fact. I think the problem is how earnest Anne is which isn't a bad thing especially considering when they where written it's just so in your face that it becomes a teeny bit annoying at times. I will continue on with the series because I love the idea of Anne and Gilbert and I want to know how the book ends their story. I think this is a case of reading the books at the wrong time in life. I know that had I read these when I was in grade school or before I watched the miniseries I would feel differently. I feel like I missed out on what these books could have been to me and that makes me kind of sad.

Outside Beauty
Cynthia Kadohata
Click here  to read the synopsis on goodreads
This is one of about 4 books I have read in the last 2 months that deal with both not so great parents and that is classified as a coming of age book This deals four sisters and their beautiful mother and a family tragedy of course. Theirs is not a good mother or an attentive mother she in fact is just plain bad at being a mother. Each girl has a different father each father is completely different from the others. Their mother spends most of her time collecting and then discarding men. She is obsessed with being beautiful and having men  fall in love with her and give her things. The story is really about these four girls and the unshakeable bond they have with each other. As with most coming of age stories there is a family tragedy that shakes up the world these girls live in and tests the bonds they share with each other and their mother. This was entertaining and had some really great side character's. One of the girls fathers was an interesting and likable character and I would have loved to have more of him in the book. I really enjoyed the book but the end kind of fell flat for me it was tied up to neatly.  Overall I enjoyed the book and I will probably pick up other books by Cynthia in the future.

Book Review #3 Recruited (Alias)

Recruited (Alias) 

An Original Prequel Novel Based On The Hit TV Series Created By J.J Abrams

Written By Lynn Mason

Published 2002 By Bantam Books 

 

I love the TV series Alias in fact I fan-girl hard core for all things Alias (and all things Jennifer Garner). I watched the series beginning to end and even though I never got all my questions answered during the series ( umm hello "Deep Throat")  it was so good it really didn't matter. So when I stumbled upon a couple of Alias books at my local goodwill I snapped them up without even reading the back. I found books 1&2 in this particular prequel series. Book #1 Recruited takes place when Sydney Bristow is a Freshman at UCLA and has only been friends with Francie for what seems to be less than a year. Recruited is all about Sydney's life right before and shortly after she is recruited by SD-6. The only series regulars that make an appearance in this book besides Sydney are Francie, and Sloan (although he is only in the book for a very brief scene). Jack Bristow Sydney's father is mentioned throughout the book but never makes an actual appearance and Will is not on the scene yet. To me this is a book for serious Alias fans. Fans who have imagined what things were like before Sydney learned that SD-6 wasn't really the CIA.  I did have some problems with the way Sydney was written. In the TV show Alias Sydney is a confident and self assured and can take out almost anyone without help and with no hesitation. I think because I am so used to confident butt kicking Syd I didn't exactly know if I bought the shy, confidence lacking Syd that was in the first 1/2 of the book. However as the book progresses and Sydney begins to move up with in SD-6 you see her confidence grow and I began to accept the depiction of Syd before SD-6. This first book is short on action which is what Alias is known for but that is understandable considering most of the book takes place before she is an official SD-6 agent. There is one action scene at the end of the book and it was pretty well played out. Of course you know Syd is going to make it out so there isn't any suspense but it does a good job of showing what newbie agent Sydney would be like. Overall I enjoyed the book and I plan to read book 2 fairly soon and I will be trying to get my hands on the other books in the series. 

I gave this 3 stars on goods reads

Until Next Time

Book Review #2 The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

Written by Heidi W. Durrow

Published in 2010 by ALGONQUIN books

I came across this book at a local goodwill. I picked it up because the cover was interesting and I bought it because the synopsis on the back although short was intriguing. The story centers on Rachel the daughter of a Danish mother and black father growing up in the early 80’s in the aftermath of a family tragedy. The story is told in both present and past tense going between 3 different narrators including Rachel, her mother’s former boss and a young boy who witnesses the tragedy. The story begins with Rachel going to live with her father’s mother after she is the sole survivor of an accident. This accident takes the lives of her mother, brother and sister. The details of the accident unfold slowly throughout the book and, there is a twist regarding it that I didn’t see coming. The synopsis on the back of the book says this is about a girl who has to cope with society’s ideas of race and class in the face of a family tragedy. In my opinion it is much more than that.  This is ultimately about the ideas that surround race. Ideas we have about our own race and the ideas other people have about our race and how we react to those ideas. In the end you find out that the tragedy in this book is a direct result of people’s ideas about race. I don’t know if the fact that I am the child of a white mother and black father is why I connected with this book I just know I did connect. 

I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads and I will be looking out for more from this author

Book Review #1 Deadly Gamble

Deadly Gamble is the 1st book in the Charlie Parker Mystery Series By Connie Shelton. The book was first published in 1995 and is 240 pages long. Linda Evans narrates the audiobook.

 

 The story revolves around Charlie Praker who owns a private detective agency with her brother. She is the accountant for the agency and her brother does the actuall private eye stuff. The book takes place in Albuquerque , NM and was a major selling point for me.

The main plot consists of Charlie taking on a small task for an old friend when her brother is out of town. The task quickly turns into a murder investigation and predictabley lands Charlie in some hot water although nothing too major. I found this to be a sort of Kinsey Millhone "light".  The book is a bit formulaic and predictable in some ways but still really enjoyable. Charlie was an interesting enough character to keep me engaged and I would like to see where she goes as the series progresses.

 

 I listened to the MP3 on my Kindle Fire and the major downfall was the production value. Most of the time when I pick up a murder/mystery book it's in the audio format. I listened to the entire V.I Warshawski series, and the entire Kinsey Millhone series on audiobook and  Deadly Gamble just dosen't compare. At times the narrator seemed unintersted in the story and I could hear the pause in her voice when she was flipping pages. At times I even heard the pages themselves being turned. Even though I didn't love the narration it didn't detract so much from the book that I disliked it.

Over all it was a fun quick read and a series I will probably continue with the series.

 

I gave this a 3 out of 5 stars on Good Reads

 

goodreads.com/gglitz4