Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

I am not sure where to start in reviewing this book. It's a biography but that is putting a label on it that is limiting because it is so, so much more than that. World War II story? Yes, it is that. Overcoming adversity story? Absolutely. Inspiring tale? Beyond a shadow of a doubt. And yet all of those descriptors still don't do it justice.


Unbroken is the story of Louie Zamperini, a runner who made it to the 1936 Olympics despite himself. Louie was a bit of a wild child growing up, and even once he dedicated himself to his running, he had to work to keep his effervescence in check. At uncertain odds after the Olympics, Louie joins the Army Air Force, washes out, and then finds himself back aboard when World War II calls. He is stationed in Hawaii where he sees combat, often losing friends and colleagues to the reality of war. But it is once his own plane goes down over the Pacific that the real story begins: Louie and two other men find themselves adrift on the ocean in nothing but a life raft with almost no resources. Their experiences are something out of a horror movie, and it is only just beginning to get bad when the men are captured by the Japanese after nearly 6 weeks. The stories of Louie's and the other POW's inhumane treatment as captives of the Japanese are too horrible to imagine, with many not making it out alive. So why Louie? Why should he survive the carnage, the brutality, the deprivation?

There is so, so much more that could be said about this unbelievable story, and I am convinced that others have stated its worth much more eloquently than I could. Looking at this book from a writing standpoint, I don't think the story could have been told in a more compelling way; Ms. Hillenbrand did her research and brings the life of Louie Zamperini alive with her words. I found myself thinking about this book all the time while reading it, asking others if they had read it and sharing how profoundly it has affected me with anyone who will listen. The incredible journey Louie faced, not just through his POW years but beyond, has left me reeling with the ability of a human spirit to recover from unimaginable evil. I will treasure this book and continue to refer to it, especially when my own life takes its trivial downturns. I just cannot recommend it highly enough. Read it; savor it; give it to everyone you know. And then do it again.

~taminator40

And Now For the Beauty Queens Review...

Well, well, well...what to say about Libba Bray's young adult novel, Beauty Queens? Tongue-in-cheek? Check. Laugh out loud at times? Check. Teens learning to be themselves? Check. Over the top? CHECK. Different? Oh, heck yeah, CHECK. Interesting? To say the least...check, check, check.

I first picked this novel up back in August and it didn't click at all. The exaggerated stereotypes of Miss Teen Dreamers seemed to be trying too hard and I just couldn't get interested in what these superficial bimbos were doing and saying. But when it started calling to me in late January, I figured it was time to give it another try; like many readers, sometimes it's all about the timing. And this time, it clicked. I was engaged in the stereotypes, the survival, the silliness...at no time did I ever take this book seriously as it explored humanity, beauty, sexuality, and pirates, but it was FUN. There were moments when I did get a little weary of the undercurrent of "learning to love yourself"-ness running throughout, but as these young women learned they could rely on themselves, I got very attached to them. And even Adina, who seemed to be in the pageant solely to destroy it, came around in a different way, and all of the girls recognized the good, the bad, and the ugly within.

So, yeah, the storyline is goofy but I could totally see this novel working as an Austin Powers type movie. Ms. Bray's wit is laugh out loud funny at times and even a bit poignant. Don't be fooled, though; these girls are open and up front once they get rolling, and nothing is off-limits (and hilariously so). I could have done without the "commercial breaks"--they really didn't add much and were often forced. But I would definitely recommend this very different, very layered book to those with the sense of humor to appreciate it. Don't take it too seriously, build your hut, decorate it, and observe the fun.

And....It's Clicking!

Ever have a book that, for whatever reason, just fails to click even though you like the premise and even the author?  For me, that book was Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. When I first picked this book up last summer, it *seemed* to be one I'd love--snarky, humorous, young adult--but I only got ten pages or so in before I set it aside. It just wasn't working, and I wasn't interested.

And then...for some reason when I finished my latest read, The Rebel Wife, Beauty Queens started calling to me from its place on the shelf near my bed. Not sure why, but my thoughts kept traveling back to the premise and the fact that Libba Bray wrote a marvelous trilogy (The Gemma Doyle books) that I really enjoyed a few years back. So last night I decided I needed to go back to this over-the-top novel of Miss Teen Dream contestants stranded on an island after a plane crash, and it was obvious within those same first ten pages that this time, it was gonna click. I'm so thrilled--I dislike giving up on a book unless it's terribly dreadful, and I never thought Beauty Queens was that. It was just the wrong book at the wrong time, and for whatever reason, the reading stars have decided that now is the time it's going to work for me.

Have you ever had this happen? Have you ever gone back to a book after giving up and found that now it's going to click? Any theories on why this is? I suspect it's just life--maybe I'd read too many young adult books before and needed a change, or maybe it was my yearlong slump of 2011 or maybe my snark-o-meter was not set high enough. Whatever it is, I'm so glad that I can finally get into this one and get it read and reviewed for Amazon Vine. I'm feeling pretty darned pleased with myself...and with Beauty Queens.

~taminator40

The Rebel Wife

Not sure what I was expecting precisely from The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites, but it's not what I got. Which, honestly, isn't really a bad thing; this story is certainly more complex, and definitely more thought provoking than the one I'd anticipated. I just wish I hadn't spent half the book frustrated with Augusta's shallow blind devotion to her cousin Judge.

The Rebel Wife is the story of August Branson, proud daughter of Southern roots who made the fatal mistake of marrying a Union sympathizer (for money and security and at her family's urging) after the Civil War. It's ten years on and Gus now has a young child when her husband Eli dies unexpectedly of a mystery illness. It's at this point that Gus discovers, through her very controlling cousin Judge, that Eli's money is mostly gone or tied up in the mill he owned. Gus is a lot of things, but a woman with a backbone she is not; she listens to Judge and his equally smarmy son Buck, and believes that her dead husband was blackmailing and misusing many of the townspeople. Though it seems apparent to the reader that Judge is attempting to take Gus's money, she doesn't see it for a loooooooong time; until, that is, Simon, one of her servants, starts revealing Eli's past, slowly bringing Gus to the realization that she can stand up to Judge. Maybe.

There is a mystery involved: sometime around the time Eli got sick, a saddlebag containing $5000 disappeared, and Simon is determined to find it for Augusta and himself. Judge seems equally determined, and even Gus's ne'er do well brother Mike wants it. As time passes, Gus finds herself aiding Simon and listening more and more to her servants who have seen what's been going on and are determined to escape the prejudice of former slavery. I just wish she'd figured things out sooner...because up until the last 70 pages or so, I was seriously thinking she needed a good whop upside the head.

Minor spoiler.....The final climax is very thrilling, and well worth the frustration of the earlier pages; Gus finally, FINALLY comes into her own and takes charge. The Rebel Wife? What on earth did she rebel against for the first two thirds of the book? And her husband never really seemed much of a Rebel for the south, either. Oh well. I never did buy Simon in general; he seemed pretty shady and his speech was highly unrealistic for the time period. And it's written in present tense...which I detest, particularly in historical fiction. But Polites has definitely done his research and the entire book is filled with historical accuracy for the period. That coupled with the climax bumps this review up to 4 stars from the 3 I'd originally planned.

~taminator40

Mt. TBR...One View

Sitting here on my bed (favorite spot in the house) and I thought...why not share my view? So this is Mt.TBR, the side of the bed version. I really need to sort through it again and get rid of some books I now know I'll never read, but it's just such a big.undertaking.  I can't force myself to do it.  I'm so weak willed, I can't even stop new books from coming into the house! Arrrrrgh.

Anyway, Angus loves lording it over the outside birds and the books, using his regal pose to show he's king of the house.

~taminator40

2Cellos...How Have I Not Known About These Guys?

When I saw a preview for this week's Glee, I was blown away by the music for "Smooth Criminal." Daughter K casually says she's known about this group for a while and I might like them...so I checked them out on iTunes and ended up buying the entire album. Welcome to the Jungle and Where the Streets Have No Name by 2 mad cellists? Yes, please. Give me more! ~taminator40

Hallowed

I was so pleasantly surprised when I read Unearthly by Cynthia Hand; in a sea of young adult paranormals, that one rose to the top with its superior writing, engaging characters, believable narration, and quick paced plot. So I was eagerly looking forward to its sequel, Hallowed, though of course I was a little nervous because we all know about the follow ups that just don't measure up.

Relax. This one's as good as the first, if not better.

Hallowed follows our heroine, Clara, through her senior year of high school. Clara's got the perfect boyfriend (Tucker! What a dream!), a couple of good friends who are also angel-bloods (Christian and Angela), and a close knit family, but there's still plenty of turmoil with the threat of Samjeeza, the evil Black Wing, still there and Clara's doubts over her failed purpose continuing to gnaw at her. Though her mother is beginning to share more of her secrets about being an angel, Clara is still frustrated; she knows there's more to all this and she's anxious. Add in the usual angst about going to college, and leaving your boyfriend, and you have a story that is both engaging and realistic, even if we are talking angels here. It's one flaw is the pacing at times seems a bit slow, at least in perhaps the first third.

The true beauty of this book, however, comes after Clara and her brother learn a disturbing revelation about their eager, vivacious mother, and it's there that the story picks up steam and tears at the heart strings. Clara has to be strong while her world collapses; she faces the awful truth with just the perfect amount of dread, denial, and depression. It's here that the big revelations come and they are huge; it's here that Clara must grow up unwillingly, face the Black Wing, and make decisions that will come with huge costs.

Ms. Hand does an outstanding job of pulling the reader into Clara's thoughts through her first person narrative, so much so that I could feel what she was experiencing with every word. The emotions are strong but Clara is stronger. This is a series that is well thought out and truly well written, and I'm hooked. Highly recommended.


~taminator40

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Hmmmm...still trying to dissect precisely what I feel about Michelle Hodkin's young adult novel, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Unbecoming is a very interesting word choice for a paranormal title, and could be interpreted several different ways, and I'm still not sure exactly what the author is trying to convey with its use, though my best guess is that it is akin to Unraveling or Undoing. If nothing else, how Mara acts throughout is indeed Unbecoming in all senses of the word.

Mara Dyer is not an easy character to like. Though she's been through a major tragedy with her best friend and two others (including her boyfriend, though his loss seems to be not that great really) being killed in the collapse of an old asylum the four were "investigating", she's still not a very nice person. Almost every word out of her mouth is defensive, and the fact that her entire family actually moved to a new state for her to start over doesn't really bring out the best in her at all. With her entry into a new, elite school, Mara has difficulty making friends and she does little to change that status. Of course she is dealing with Big Things: since the accident, which she doesn't remember, Mara has been experiencing increasingly bizarre and frightening hallucinations, seeing her dead friends alive, watching her classroom collapse, seeing artwork turn into branches encroaching on her from all sides. When she finally agrees to therapy, she's hopeful that she can put all the weird behind her. But naturally that's not so, especially when death continues to follow her.

There's a romance in The Unbecoming, with mysterious, handsome British guy Noah almost instantly taken with Mara upon her arrival in his school; Noah's got a player reputation and Mara does her best to put him off, but Noah won't take no for an answer. As the story progresses, so does their relationship, and it soon becomes apparent that Noah's got some major secrets, too. Though I liked Noah, I'm still not sure I buy into the romance as it just seems so unlikely, even given what happened to Noah "before"...but he and his endless supply of money do move the story along conveniently, and he does add to the mystery.

Overall, I liked The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, though it was less about Mara than the other characters and the mystery surrounding her. The book takes a while to set up the story and drags Mara's condition out irritatingly until about midway. In fact, I had to think carefully before giving this one a 4 star rating, but the mystery is interesting and Mara's descent into possible madness was worth the ride. I'm in for the series.


~taminator40

Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman

So...I reviewed this wonderful novel a while ago for the Historical Novel Society, but couldn't post it until the review went to print. And now is the time to share my thoughts! It does take a bit to get into the novel, and a knowledge of history would help, but this one is a wonderful take on a fascinating, often misinterpreted Ruler. Keep reading:

The title of Sharon Kay Penman’s highly anticipated new novel, Lionheart, says it all: This is the story of Richard Plantagenet: king, soldier, count, mother’s favorite, crusader. Yet it hardly comes close to actually describing the depth and breadth of this chronicle and the lyrical way Penman brings this legend vividly to life.

Lionheart encompasses the time immediately after Richard and his fellow king, Philippe of France, embark on a crusade to free Jerusalem from Saladin’s rule until Richard’s ultimate decision to return to rescue his kingdom from the machinations of younger brother John. Richard is portrayed as headstrong and arrogant, yet justifiably so since his military prowess was ferocious. Penman writes Richard with all his faults yet also his strengths, but the story is at its best when Richard’s sister Joanna takes the stage. Joanna is truly her mother’s daughter and her scenes ripple with conviction and personality. She, along with other secondary characters, both real and fictional, serves to give us the most intimate look at the Lion who is equal parts myth and truth.

Lionheart is not an easy book to read, as it is filled with an author’s nightmare of similarly named people and a good deal of information building necessary to illuminate the story. The beautifully described settings and the character interactions are simply outstanding, however, and this reader was enthralled by Penman’s gift of placing you directly inside the story to experience all of the grittiness of war. Richard was a complex man who often polarized those who knew him into two camps: you either loved him or you hated him, but there was no middle ground. With Lionheart, I predict that there will be many more who will feel the enigmatic pull of Richard’s personality; Penman has written a tour de force that has me ready for the sequel right this minute. Highly recommended.

~taminator40

Ashes: Blood, Guts, and Zombies...Oh My!

Creepiness. Wandering. Healing. Hurt. Deception. The Changed. And much, much more, all in Ilsa J. Bick's spine tingling new young adult novel, Ashes. While it is, at times, formulaic and even a tad predictable, it is on the whole a book that captures your interest from the first Electric Magnetic Pulse and won't let go, even after you close the last cliffhanger page. 

Alex has had a lot of tragedy in her life recently, including the deaths of both her parents and the long battle against the monster, otherwise known as the brain tumor slowly taking her life. So she's had it; with a phone call to her guardian aunt, Alex is off into the wilderness to reclaim her life and make decisions for herself. She expects to be alone on her quest, so she's taken aback to run into a grandfather and his granddaughter, though they seem all right. It is while Alex is talking with the grandfather that the world changes; there is a loud noise, everyone falls to the ground, blood pours forth, and very few are alive when the moment passes. The grandfather is dead and Alex finds herself unable to abandon his surly eight year old granddaughter, Ellie, but she believes they can make it to the ranger station and all will be fine. But the truth is, nothing will ever be fine again. And that is just the very tip of the iceberg that is Ashes--there's so much more going on, with so many twists and turns that it would be impossible to summarize it all in this review. The book could actually be divided quite nicely into three segments: Pre-EMP, the Tom/Ellie segment, and the Rule segment, but that would be leaving out how the stories overlap and the progress Alex makes. 

Ashes is a zombie-pocalypse, and it's not easy to read. There is gore and plenty of it, in squeamish, stomach churning detail. There are hard life decisions that you wish you could take back immediately, and there is even a touch of romance (but that is very, very secondary to all the terror and strangeness). Things are Not Right, and it's not just because those at puberty and just beyond have turned into flesh eating monsters, while Alex finds herself among the Spared. The town of Rule adds a whole other level of weird to a story that is filled with people leaving, dying, and betraying, and the odd way dogs seem attracted to Alex has got to mean Something. That killer cliffhanger of an ending had me immediately looking online to see when the next installment comes out.


Ashes started just a bit slowly for me, but once it took off, I found myself totally immersed in the dystopian world in which Alex finds herself. I was often reminded of the television show The Walking Dead; there are similarities in the stories and both offer frightening looks at the horror of running for your very life. Of course this genre of books does stretch believability at times, and the story does take an odd turn with Rule. But I'm on board because this one has enough imagination and interesting characters that I'm vested in the outcome. Be forewarned that you'll need a strong stomach for Ashes, but the excitement is worth the adventure.


~taminator40