When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

August 29, 2018August 25, 2018 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Description

A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

I love Mary Kubica’s writing. It’s always suspenseful and has a high “can’t put down” rating for me. This novel was no different. I really liked the character of Jessie, though I felt badly for her as she’d had a tough time with her mother’s death and then struggling to figure out her identity (truly her identity, as in, she had no SSN or legal birth certificate).

I don’t want to give away too much, so I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that I had figured out one part of the novel, but had another part — one the author pretty much leads you to (possibly as a red herring) incorrect. I liked this story and will look forward to Ms. Kubica’s next one!

Thank you for my e-copy from Net Galley!

Teen Reading: GOLDFISH by Nat Luurtsema

May 29, 2016May 28, 2016 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

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I have come across the perfect summer read for the middle schooler in your life (high schooler, too)!

I started GOLDFISH two days ago, not knowing what to expect.The description on Net Galley was fun but a tad vague:

Description

I am Lou Brown:

Social outcast, precocious failure, 5’10” and still growing.

I was on the fast track to the Olympic superstardom.

Now, I’m training boys too cool to talk to me. In a sport I just made up. In a fish tank.

My life has quickly become very weird.

Nat Luurtsema’s YA debut is side-splittingly funny and painfully true to anyone who’s just trying to figure out how they fit into the world.

*****************************

I can’t express how much I loved this book. Lou (Louise) is a character that any reader can’t help but love. She is a bit of a misfit and definitely awkward with the hyper self-consciousness that only comes with adolescence, but SO funny that I laughed until I cried in parts of this book. Seriously!

Poor Lou doesn’t make the cut to go to a special training camp for the Olympics so she must reinvent herself, so to speak. No more swimming and training every day. No more being part of the team. Unfortunately for her, her best friend DOES make it, so she is floundering a bit at high school without her BFF anchor and her swim star identity. One thing leads to another and Lou ends up helping to choreograph a swim routine for a group of boys determined to get on “Britain’s Hidden Talent”. What ensues is hilarious yet serious, ridiculous yet touching.

Love, love, love.

I’m buying my almost 13 year old a copy for her birthday this summer. Can’t wait to share this story with her.

It releases on June 7.

Thank you for my review copy!

Kids’ Review: GEORGE by Alex Gino

October 6, 2015April 17, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Can we talk about this book?

When I was at BEA this spring, I received a copy of GEORGE by Alex Gino. Actually, the young man from Scholastic who was presenting the book to us gave an emotional appeal for people to read it and love it and support them as they felt the story would come under controversy.

GEORGE is about a 4th grade named George who, while a boy on the outside, is a girl on the inside. George wants to be Charlotte in the class’ upcoming production of Charlotte’s Web, but only girls can audition. George hides the fact that internally she is female, especially from her family, but ends up telling her best friend.

This is a very touching and sensitive story about a child struggling with their gender identification. I absolutely loved George. I felt the story was written from the heart and sensitively portrayed a young person in the midst of establishing their identity.

My challenge with GEORGE was when I think about what age to recommend it for. It is written for middle grades (3-6) but I’m not sure that age could appreciate and understand it (reading it on their own) unless it is something in their own experience. It’s more of a middle school read in my opinion. That said, I have several adults that I will recommend it to.

I’m sure some will take issue with this story. I’m sure some won’t like it. But I think it’s a lovely and sensitive portrayal that deserves to be read and shared.

Review: SWEET SONG by Terry Persun

May 29, 2013July 4, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I was recently contacted by a publisher to see if I would read and review a copy of “Sweet Song” by Terry Persun. I enjoy historical fiction of this time period (1870’s), so I said yes.

In “Sweet Song”, Leon, the mixed-race son of a landowner and his black servant, seeks to find (and create) his identity. A violent interaction causes him to run away from his home and he takes this opportunity to recreate himself. Leon, who looks and passes for white, decides to define himself as white, and this leads him to explore racism and views on society from a different perspective than he had before (when he had lived with his mother and black father in the tenant’s cabins on the property). Leon has many struggles and several things he is running from. His story is a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance.

To be honest, I really wanted to like this book, but I found it slow-moving; and Leon began to annoy me. I wanted to root for him, but instead I felt like he was passive and weak and things just happened to him (until the end – which I liked). I have to say there were some really disturbing things in this book (SPOILER ALERT!) which I’m still not sure why they were there. Leon is in a sexual relationship with his half-sister, which he is seduced into by her. Also Leon suffers for years as a child, being physically and sexually abused by his mother. I racked my brain and while I could say that the relationship with his sister would be the catalyst for him running away (but did it have to be his sister??), I found no literary reason for this horrible experience with his mother. I would have thought this could be a good YA book with good discussions on identity development and race, but I can’t recommend it for the younger set due to the (disturbing) sexual content.

Thank you, Emily from Booktrope, for the chance to review!

Here is some information sent to me about Mr. Persun:

Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction / fantasy. His novel, Cathedral of Dreams is a ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year finalist in the Science Fiction category. His novel Sweet Song received a Silver IPPY Award last summer. His latest novel is, Doublesight, the first book in an epic fantasy series. Find Terry online at TerryPersun.com and @tpersun.

Quick YA Review: “It’s Not All Black and White – Multiracial Youth Speak Out” by St. Stephen’s Community House

August 20, 2012July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I downloaded the electronic version of this book through Net Galley into my Adoble Digital reader.

This book is a compilation of short papers, poems, interviews, etc. of teenagers who are biracial or multiracial. They write of their experiences, their journeys to identity, their run-ins with ignorance and prejudice, and, basically, their innermost feelings of who they are. This was a great read, in my opinion, and one which I think many young people (and adults for that matter) would find interesting and eye-opening.

FYI – St. Stephen’s Community House is located in Toronto.

Thanks, Net Galley and Annick Press, for my free copy!