Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris

My Rating: 3.0

At age 16, Cilka ends up in a concentration camp and, when she is singled out by the Commandant,quickly learns that power, whether chosen or not, can help her survive. After the war is over and the camp is liberated, Cilka is sent to another camp under charges of sleeping with the enemy. This is her story in the Siberian Camps.

This is was about a part of history I wasn't familiar with - after WWII in the Siberian Prison Gulags. I don't deny that the author researched this part of the book very well. What rang so false for me was that, despite spending 10+ years in concentartion camps, Cilka radiated beauty, is amazingly smart and has so much compassion and patience. I am surprised she wasn't wearing wings. It felt so manipulative and patronizing for the author to put Cilka in circumstances beyond her control to gain our sympathy and then continue to wring us dry with how perfect Cilka was in every way. The writing also felt flat and didn't convey and depth - whether the Siberian cold, the hunger or guilt - so I didn't feel for Cilka. There are so many other books that have such amazing depth and capture this horrific period of time. I would recommend skipping this one

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

My Rating: 5.0

This is about a mom, dad and their four daughters. It starts with the four girls being adults and where they are in their lives today but it flashes back to the 70's when their mom and dad first met. Told through current day and flashbacks, it fills in each of their stories, to where you not only understand how they became who they are but you care for each one of them. Through flashbacks and current day, this seamlessly covers half a century of these six people's lives.

This was so well done. Every character was so well developed and you understood all the nuances that made them in to who they are today. I was so sad when this ended. How is it possible that this was the author's first book?  More importantly, when is she going to release her next book!

Normal People by Sally Rooney

My Rating: 2.5

At school in Ireland, Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers—one they are determined to conceal.

I am shocked that this was a nominee for the Man Booker's Prize. Although it was well written, the dysfunctional characters were not likable. It is a very sad and depressing novel with a flat storyline. 

The River by Peter Heller

My Rating: 4.9

Best friends, Wynn and Jack share their love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. They also encounter several people and try to warn them about the fire but soon regret this.

Wow, wow, wow. Oh Peter Heller I love you (ok, at least your writing). I loved The Dog Stars and this was just as an amazing experience. I loved all the characters, the sense of foreboding and the amazing descriptions. I love that 'nature' was one of the characters. I am moving some of your other books up to the top of my queue as you have a way of whisking the reader away and when they land after that last page is turned, all they can do is reminisce over the magical journey you just took us on. Heller captures the power of nature as well as man's vulnerabilities so well. I highly recommend the audio version of this book.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

My Rating: 2.5

The Nickel Academy is a reform school in Tallahassee Florida. When Elwood gets caught up in a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, ends up serving time. The Nickel Academy.is a grotesque chamber of horrors, where the sadistic staff beats and sexually abuses the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear "out back."

For myself, this was about horrific events that had no feeling behind the writing. The writing felt flat and, despite feeling sorry for Elwood's circumstances, I didn't care about any of the characters, The first half of the book was somewhat engaging but the last half of the book was so poorly written that I had trouble staying engaged. Horrific things happened but it felt so detached. This is not historical fiction but a work of fiction based around an actual reform school. None of the characters were real and it didn't have any fact and definitely didn't bring that horrible period to life which was a missed opportunity.I don't think authors that try to capitalize on tragic events without any quality in the writing are for me.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

My Rating: 4.0

Alice Wright marries wealthy American Bennett Van Cleve to flee from her judgmental home and family in England. She rues the day as the marriage is less than idyllic. She decides to escape the Van Cleve home by joining Margery in delivering books to the back woods of Kentucky.

If you haven't heard the controversy (I hadn't until later), Moyes came out with this book just a few months after The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Both books are about the little written about time of the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Program. For me, the similarity stops there. I felt that Moyes book was fluffy, superficial and more about the characters. This was a quick read but very romance and drama based and a little too wrapped up in a bow for my liking. I enjoyed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek more as it felt deeper and dealt with the women's struggles and joys in delivering the library books as well as the additional layer of the Blue People. I am not saying this book was bad but, with all the talk of comparison, if I had to pick only one, it would definitely be The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

My Rating: 4.8

In 1936, 19 year old Cussy Carter lives in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky. Cussy is the last of the rare 'blue people' who is so excited to get a job in the new Pack Horse Library Project.  As she travels with her mule up the trecherous mountains of Kentucky to deliver books to the folks on her route, they soon overcome their fear of her blue color and call her "Bluet" or "Book Woman" and can't wait for her visits.

I can't puzzle out why I loved this so much, but I did. I felt that this was about two different things - the blue colored people and the library delivery system - both of which were educational and fascinating. Cussy Mary was an absolute delight and I enjoyed the glimpse into the many lives in the back hills of Kentucky. This is not a fast paced book but rather, it takes you back in time to a slower pace and allows you to peek in on their lives. Delightful read.