books_with_tutusandsons's Reviews (438)

In The Clearing has everything a good thriller needs to have: an interesting storyline (this one is about a cult kidnapping kids), unreliable characters, multiple pov's and lot of twists. That being said, it made me - the world's slowest reader - so intrigued that Ive finished it in two days!

But it did make me wonder how many weird people lives in this world. The cults fascinate and scare the shit out of me at the same time. And apparently the premise of this book was based on a real cult that operated in Australia from 1960' till 1980's, so it made it more real and more scary overall.

Shuggie Bain

Douglas Stuart

4.0

3.5*

It seems to be proving that any kind of book reward winners dont sit well with me. This book was a struggle. If there wasn't my lovely buddy readers group, I think I would never finish it. They kept me motivated to go through even though I was always behind, and ofc that now I am the last one to write the review.

Anyhow. I could talk to you about the beauty of the prose and discuss the effect of country's politics on Scotland in 80's to people's lives. I could talk to you about the masterful characterisation and honesty, about the amazing ways that Stuart has portrayed alcoholism, family issues and the thin line of love that ties a kid to a parent, making him need to be a grown up and still be a child.

But I wont. Many people have gone through detailed analysis of this book and there is a certainly a lot to discuss about it. I will tell you about me struggling with Scottish dialect in dialogues. I will tell you how this book is raw and a window to a hell called addiction. And I will tell you how I mind the way that people were portrayed so black and white except Shuggie who was a ray of sunshine. I was raised in 80s and I had not much more than Shuggie did in the book. But people around me were honest people trying to work for the living and spent the rest of their days caring about their families. Douglas portrayed poverty as a perfect soil for substance abuse and wasting days, with women being superficial and lost without men, which he shown as mostly shelfish pricks doing whatever in the world they wanted - coming and going, staying, leaving and having wives and kids all around the town. Sorry, but even I do know there are some people like that, I still want to leave my pinky glasses on and see the world as a more nicer place. And it makes me angry to see how poverty and lack of possibilities author equalizes with bad personal traits. I know poor people with more heart, pride and values than many of the richest ones. My family used to be one of them.

Lies We Tell Mothers: A True Story

Suzy K. Quinn

4.0

I really loved this book. Although my kids are now 6 and 3.5 yrs old, I still can remember the horrors of childbirth, the long and sleepless nights, and the whole hurricane of emotions that only new mothers can know. I loved authors honesty and realism, but also a feel good end of the novel. It really does get better with time, and although you may never ever be the person you were before kids, you actually never have to be. You will be improved, the parts of old you will eventually come back, but with some extras...And that is wonderful.

I recommend this book to all moms-to-be, new moms and moms with older kids...whether to be a guidance, an insight of how we all go through similar things, or just a reminder of what a big change we mothers go through.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my personal opinion.