Book Reviews

One would think that with my children getting older and more capable of doing things for themselves, I would have more time to read; however, the opposite is true. Finding time to read seems like such a luxury these days.  Reading is probably my number-one favorite activity, next to eating chocolate, and when I can do both together, even better.  On Monday, I finished reading the book The Return by Nicholas Sparks.  Who doesn't love a good Nicholas Sparks book?  Okay, I admit he isn't everyone's favorite as he is pretty predictable.  Always a romance story, always some kind of conflict, and either the couple makes it in the end, or someone dies, leaving you in a puddle of tears.  I kind of like that predictability.  I like that they are an easy read, and with all that is going on in the world, it can be nice not to have to overthink something. The Return is about a returning vet who suffers from PTSD and has to move forward from his past life after sustaining injuries that leave him no longer able to do his previous job. Trevor, the main character who has just lost his grandfather, goes to his home in North Carolina to put the estate in order and, in the process, meets a local deputy sheriff whom he finds rather cute.  Anyway, you get the picture!  I liked the book.  

The next book I read was The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan. I found the book on social media and had no clue what the book was about!  Set on the East Coast, Frida a young newly divorced mother sleep-deprived and potentially depressed makes a decision to leave her sleeping child at home alone to run and get a cup of coffee.  This event changes the course of events.  The book has us asking ourselves what a good mother is and who determines that.  This book is also an easy read, but definitely more complex than The Return.  While I certainly would never agree with leaving your young child home, I did find myself having sympathy for the main character of this book, and the injustice she faces from society, and the double standard of being a woman plays a large role in what happens to her in this book.

Lastly, Prisoner B-3087, written by Alan Gratz, is set during War War II.  I read this book with the insistence of my daughter, Addy.  She read this book at school and loved it.  The book is very much written with young readers in mind.  The story is about a young Jewish boy who manages to survive the war despite being in a concentration camp.  Based loosely on a true story, I found it a disservice to the story that the writer did not stick more closely to the real story.  While he may have wanted to educate the reader about concentration camps, he also made the storyline unbelievable.  A young reader would not pick up on this, as they are most likely not educated enough in the war to know that events in the story were not possible.  Even at best, as a book for young readers, I would rather my child read something more historically accurate, like the Diary of Anne Frank, than mislead them into thinking some facts were true.

Well, I'd better run.  The girls will be home soon from school, and I need to get busy making dinner as we have Karate tonight.  I am starving.  Have a great week.