aprillynn's reviews
154 reviews

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

3.0

While the story line was decent enough, it did not flow smoothly at various points. There were several times the story would jump mid paragraph to a completely different thought without warning. I'm assuming the author did this because the main character was a 15 year old girl and I know when I was 15 my thought process was much the same. I will probably be reading the second installment solely because this one ended with a cliff hanger of sorts.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

4.0

This was my 3rd or 4th reading of "The Secret Life of Bees" (it's been at least 10 since I read it last) and once again I was not disappointed. I first read this book in high school (2007) and have kept this copy since then so it is well loved as it has moved to and from college with me, to 4 different appartments/houses, and has been handled by at least all 4 of my kids a handful of times. 

The Secret Life of Bees is definitely a read that'll stick with you for years after you finished.  

The Voice on the Radio by Caroline B. Cooney

3.0

What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney

4.0

This is the 4th book in the series and honestly my favorite one so far. There were still some random thoughts/actions, but it was written so much better than the first 3.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

3.0

 An old man went out to sea to fish... the fish he caught drug him further out to sea than anticipated... and it pretty much was a inner monolog for the entirety of the book... not my favorite read, but also not the worst I've read.

Whatever Happened to Janie? by Caroline B. Cooney

3.0

I decided to read this book after reading The Face on the Milk Carton and it left on a cliff hanger. This installment was a bit better than the first, but it had some graphic lines about what the Springs want to violently do to certain people. It was so random and did not really fit the full feel of the book. Was it worth the read? Yes. Am I going to read the next installment? Yep, sure am.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll by Philip Martin McCaulay

5.0

My children and I actually listened to this as a audio book on the way to appointments today.

We truly enjoyed the story and the way the audio brought it alive for me and the kids. While I've watched several renditions of Alice in Wonderland, this is the fist time I've ever listened/read the book and I'm so glad I did ❤

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

3.0

I've had this book on my shelf FOREVER and just finished it as part of a July Challenge. While I didn't TOTALLY hate it, it definitely isn't my favorite read. J.R.R. Tolkien writes beautifully, but at times I found myself wanting to skip pages since at some points the scenery was overly set. Definitely worth the read, but more than likely not one I'll repeat.

Circe by Madeline Miller

4.0

I read and enjoyed Song of Achilles so decided to give Circe a try as I enjoy Greek mythology. I was not disappointed. The story is beautifully written with some nods to Song of Achilles so I'd advise reading Achilles before reading Circe.

I will say, though I enjoyed this book, there was a LOT of repetition of describing "walking along the sand" and describing nature thar could possibly have been left out.

The Wave by Todd Strasser

5.0

I've been carrying around this book in my bag for a while with intention to read it MONTHS ago. I decided to pull it out yesterday and made my way through it fairly quickly. While it is a short read (138 pages), it is a very informative read. It shows just how easily it is for history to repeat itself if you're not paying attention and not intentional. I will also be watching a short 45 minute video on this "experiment" I found on YouTube once the kiddos are in bed and I can better pay attention to it.