The Best Kind Of People by Zoe Whittall

My Rating: 2.5

Beloved teacher, husband and father George Woodbury is arrested for sexual impropriety sending his whole family reeling.  Each member vacillates between wanting to believe in his innocence and fearful of his guilt.

This explores the emotional impact each family member feels...in excruciating detail.  The writing is at a mediocre level and the plot doesn't even try for the same level. This has the feels of a bad made for television scipt.

Bookmarks Magazine - Mar/Apr 2018

Just when I wasn't very excited about anything in my reading queue, my Bookmarks Magazine arrived - perfect timing!!!  I spent a decadent evening, reading reviews and adding books to my queue. Here are the ones I selected. Let me know what you are reading of, if you get Bookmarks what books I missed.

      


       

     

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 4.8

Ruth is a labor and delivery nurse with over twenty years experience and is very good at her job. Ruth gets banned from caring for a baby as she is Black and the baby's parents are White Supremacist.

I always enjoy books told from alternating viewpoints but, I felt Turk was very shallow, stereotyped and one dimensional. I know he wasn't supposed to be likable but I really wish he would have been more realistic and complex. I loved Ruth and Kennedy and thought they were both very well developed and relate-able. The active vs passive racism really gave me thought - wow. I didn't see the ending at all. Overall, I thought this was an excellent thought provoking book and am looking forward to the upcoming book club discussion.

The Girl In The Tower by Katherine Arden

My Rating: 3.8

This is the second novel in this Russian fairytale series. The heroine Vasilisa grew up in the Russian wilderness being told fairy tales around the fire. Vasilisa’s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko—Frost, the winter demon from the stories—and together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost’s aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch.

While this was extremely well written, it felt like it needed more editing. There were many times when I almost abandoned this but kept with it as I enjoyed the first book so much. Unfortunately, this didn't measure up for me. I don't know that I will continue on with this series.

The Woman In The Window by A.J. Finn

My Rating: 1.5

Anna Fox lives alone, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times--and spying on her neighbors. When a family moves in across the way and Anna looks out the window one night to see the unfolding of a horrific scene...things unfold from there.

I am in the minority but I found this book a boring struggle to get through. The protagonist is an unreliable drugging alcoholic with a plot that is based on various old thriller movies. I have no idea how this is deserving of the high ratings. I felt that this was over-hyped and a mishmash of old thriller movies.