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evaseyler's reviews
541 reviews
Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This came up as a recommendation on Libby and it looked intriguing so I checked it out. The mystery is on the dark side (we are talking preteen girls kidnapped, so the threat of abuse/murder hovers over the whole book as we wait to find out what happened to them). The main detective characters, a freelance missing person finder (Vega) and former policeman (Cap) are both very dynamic and well developed. I love Cap's relationship with his fabulous 16yo daughter. The other characters are well-drawn as well.
The setting is small-town Pennsylvania, and the premise is that a tired, frustrated single mom is taking her little girls to a birthday party and has them wait in the car as she runs in to grab a present for the birthday girl, but when she comes back they're gone. In addition to the police working the case, an aunt hires Vega from California and Vega in turn hires Cap (a local) because she can use his connections. They make a great team.
Content warning: there is a character who is a pedophile. There is nothing graphically described as far as what goes on with said character and their victims, but the point is not skirted around, either. The denouement is sad and disturbing but inasmuch as this kind of story can have a "happy ending", this one does.
I almost didn't read this one because of the narrator. Tavia Gilbert was one of the readers for Lost Roses, a book I didn't like anyway, and she was so histrionic sometimes I could hardly stand it. But I'm glad I gave it a chance anyway. She's still not a favourite, but she was way less over the top here and for the most part I was able to just let her be the vehicle for the telling.
The setting is small-town Pennsylvania, and the premise is that a tired, frustrated single mom is taking her little girls to a birthday party and has them wait in the car as she runs in to grab a present for the birthday girl, but when she comes back they're gone. In addition to the police working the case, an aunt hires Vega from California and Vega in turn hires Cap (a local) because she can use his connections. They make a great team.
Content warning: there is a character who is a pedophile. There is nothing graphically described as far as what goes on with said character and their victims, but the point is not skirted around, either. The denouement is sad and disturbing but inasmuch as this kind of story can have a "happy ending", this one does.
I almost didn't read this one because of the narrator. Tavia Gilbert was one of the readers for Lost Roses, a book I didn't like anyway, and she was so histrionic sometimes I could hardly stand it. But I'm glad I gave it a chance anyway. She's still not a favourite, but she was way less over the top here and for the most part I was able to just let her be the vehicle for the telling.
The Janes by Louisa Luna
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Book two of the Alice Vega series. The titular Janes are two unknown young Mexican girls found dead, apparently murdered, along with others like them who are being trafficked as soon as they try to emigrate.
Again we're dealing with a situation where underage girls are being bought and sold, which is gross. We're also dealing with drug lords. The plot is incredibly complex and although it doesn't drag at any point, there's a lot that feels like "i am writing a six-part miniseries and inventing ways to keep the watchers riveted". I guess I felt the book could have been two hours shorter and still been satisfactory, not to mention less complicated.
This author has this thing of using a word that is similar to a more accurate word, like dissipated instead of dissolved, which I find a little jarring.
I didn't hate it, and I definitely plan to read book 3, because the characters are solid and I like them (and also because book 3 appears to NOT be about pedos and sex traffickers, barf).
Again we're dealing with a situation where underage girls are being bought and sold, which is gross. We're also dealing with drug lords. The plot is incredibly complex and although it doesn't drag at any point, there's a lot that feels like "i am writing a six-part miniseries and inventing ways to keep the watchers riveted". I guess I felt the book could have been two hours shorter and still been satisfactory, not to mention less complicated.
This author has this thing of using a word that is similar to a more accurate word, like dissipated instead of dissolved, which I find a little jarring.
I didn't hate it, and I definitely plan to read book 3, because the characters are solid and I like them (and also because book 3 appears to NOT be about pedos and sex traffickers, barf).
Written In Bone: Hidden stories in what we leave behind by Sue Black
dark
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson
4.0
This was very good, obviously well-researched. Not as exciting a read as, say, Walk in the Woods or Lost Continent, but very educational. I learned a lot about our language and other languages that I never would have known otherwise. I learned that poppycock comes from an old Dutch word meaning "soft dung". I made the mistake of sharing this factoid with my 12-year-old brother.
I think the most interesting concept I picked up, however, was this: English is in a constant state of change. The rules we use are often absolutely ridiculous. So, while it's important to speak and communicate clearly, we shouldn't be so uptight about things like using "hopefully" in a non-adverbial way or ending a sentence with a preposition.
I think the most interesting concept I picked up, however, was this: English is in a constant state of change. The rules we use are often absolutely ridiculous. So, while it's important to speak and communicate clearly, we shouldn't be so uptight about things like using "hopefully" in a non-adverbial way or ending a sentence with a preposition.