Review: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After finishing the book, I determined I couldn’t wait to see the show. This was quite intriguing. I think Cassandra Campbell’s narration was perfect. There were many nights I couldn’t stop reading. It was well after 3 AM that I would force myself to put the book away.

I was lucky enough to pick up the audio version from the library app Libby.

Most of the time, I don’t include the author’s blurb, but this time I think it might help.

“For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.

Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.”

Worth the read!

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Review: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, I just remembered why I write reviews. So I would look up the book and know if I read it before. But guess who didn’t read the review below? Yep. Me. But I’m kind of glad. I just got to listen to the Audible version of the book with Bailey Carr as the narrator. It felt like a new story to me. Is that because of a different reader? Time? It was several years ago. At any rate, it was an enjoyable ‘read’ even though about a tough time in American history. The funny thing is, it is far easier to relate to now since America has dealt with Covid19. Anyway, I highly recommend the read, again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Here’s the review from 2015~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I finished this masterpiece a couple of days ago. It was part of my anti-depression about my husband being in the hospital while I was home with fibro flare. In this case, I would say misery loves company. Or… at least things aren’t as bad as it was then.

This was a birthday present from me–to me! I had picked up the whisper sync for voice also, so I was able to listen to Emily Bergl’s narration. I have to admit she is not my favorite narrator. But once she was into the story, I felt drawn in and forgot that there was a narrator.

Laurie Halse Anderson always amazes me with her works. This book is no exception. Wow! The amount of research that she dug through to write this fiction is overwhelming! This is based on a real epidemic that happened just a few years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Yellow Fever takes over. But no one knows yet that it is due to mosquitoes. Medicine was still in its infancy. Through Ms. Anderson, we get to see what could have happened to a young girl, her family, and her community.

Okay. Confession time. I have never been a history buff. I did have a fabulous professor in college that made me appreciate it a bit. That class was when I was in my forties. So imagine how long it was that I hated history. I think with books like this, I might have been able to relate to historical events as a middle grader. This younger generation is so lucky to have such writers as Laurie Halse Anderson!

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Review: The Woman With the Cure by Lynn Cullen

The Woman With the Cure by Lynn Cullen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Have you ever wondered about the vaccines for polio? I remember lining up for shots in grade school. I think those were for smallpox, where they left a big scar by poking your arm repeatedly. Then we went to another school as a district to get sugar cubes. We had already gotten shot for polio, but I guess we needed the other one, too. What do I know? I was a kid.

This book was good as it gave me more of a history of the polio vaccines. We get to know the scientists. We meet the woman who might have had the most to do with this nearly sacred health benefit of baby boomers.

Hillary Huber (Narrator) made this story come to life. She played each character with distinction.

The author wrote a good story though it was full of duplication. The most annoying for this pianist was hearing Moonlight Sonata mentioned repeatedly. I don’t mind it as a piece. I love playing it, but there had to be other pieces of music you could have thrown into the story.

Overall, it was a good story to listen to.

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Review: Rose Among Thornes: an inspiring World War II historical fiction by Terrie Todd

Rose Among Thornes: an inspiring World War II historical fiction by Terrie Todd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a bit of a surprise. Though a Christian fiction, it was uplifting, not preachy, and often about church music. That has always been my favorite part of church. The main character is a pianist, so I could relate in many ways to her need to practice when there was no piano around.

The above theme runs through the book set in WWII, Canada, and then Japan. The bigotry towards the Japanese since Pearl Harbor is shown to us through Rose and her family. That is another theme.

Though this is fiction, I heard enough stories from my dad and other WWII vets that this felt quite true. And for those who like romance, there is a little of that. Not sickeningly so, just something positive to look forward to.

I enjoyed the book. Maybe you will, too!

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Review: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you like a romantic tale of the victorian era, Mimi Matthews has written one for you. Not for me. And though Lydia Hanman (Narrator) did a good job reading for her part, Vidish Athavale was horrible. I always hate males doing female parts. He didn’t even do well for the male he was supposed to portray. But then he tried to read for his counterpart, which threw the whole story.

It just wasn’t my kind of story. But I thank Libby for letting me read it.

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Review: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve gotten behind on my reviews. But after thinking about this book, I remember a lot more than I thought I did. My first thought was how the teen daughter had so much to say about life here and elsewhere, Cuba, for example.

Then I remember the historical references and am so glad I read this book.

The author narrated it. She did an excellent job keeping the story and characters separated and believable.

I highly recommend reading this book. Since it’s been a while, I will leave you to read other reviews of the book. I still have good feelings about it and wouldn’t mind rereading it. I was able to read it through Libby, the library app.

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Review: Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly

Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though I can see that this book was full of history and the overall story felt true, it was long and hard to read, even with text-to-speech. It might have been easier to read than listen to the robot voice trying to pronounce the Irish words. I would have loved this with a narrator who might have known how to say the Gaelic verbiage.

On the other hand, I loved the main character and her family. She painted a realistic picture of 19th-century Ireland during the potato famine. After all the Outlander taught me about Scottish life, this is more of an eye-opener of how the English treated people. It showed that we haven’t grown in any way with how we all treat people, looking for those who represent ‘the other.’

I think I would like to read this again with narration. It might make a good series as we follow this young girl through old age.

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Review: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me a while to figure out who was who. And until that lightbulb went off over my head, I found the story boring. Suddenly, there was the clue, and it all fit together. My biggest problem was not reading to see if I was right. That need to know for sure seemed to pull me more than the plot or characters.

Still, in the end, I was deeply caring for all the characters and hoping for their best endings.

Above and beyond the story is the truth of the story that this happened and continues to happen in real life. The cruelty to children and poor parents that cannot have their own true lives. That money can buy others’ lives for their own purposes.

This book is worth the angst it brings as you dive into the story. The awareness of how it can happen will be with me forever. As it should. Oh, and Emily Rankin’s narration was acted out like a full-blown movie. It made every chapter come to life.

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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite an interesting read. Even though I read these out of sequence, reading book two first, I found I like both stories. They were very similar, and with the same narrator, Katie Schorr, I felt both main characters were the same. Still, when I took a moment, I found my way back to the current person. Her voice fits the characters and keeps the story going.

Until these stories, I don’t think I remember hearing about the blue-skinned people of Kentucky until these books. But what doesn’t surprise me is the bigotry of the willfully ignorant. Though the main character does everything in her power to help others, some see a minor issue as something to hate a person for.

What is fun is watching the main characters of the two books grow in their abilities as librarians, teachers, women, and riders of an onery mule.

This story is worth reading, even if you have to read this out of order.

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Review: In Falling Snow: A Novel by Mary-Rose MacColl

In Falling Snow: A Novel by Mary-Rose MacColl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Despite my brain’s inability to go with the author, Mary-Rose MacColl, and Orlah Cassidy (Narrator) between past and present for the characters’ present embodiment, I still loved this book. No matter past or present, the characters were exciting and lovable.

Maybe if you have the written word to look at and help orient whose point of view and when this story
progresses might be more accessible. Ms. Cassidy did vary her voice to inform the listener. Even still, I had managed about 50% of the story when I felt so totally lost that I started over. I found myself confused. But I relaxed, let the story take me where it would, and soon, I found the end. I hated that it was over. I did love the characters and voices so much!

It was interesting to read about the women of the first world war. I highly recommend this read.

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