Book Reviews 2015

Well, a year has come and gone, and here I am to tell you about all the books I've read in 2015.  I set a goal to read 30 books this year and have met that goal!  I'm thinking my goal for 2016 will be 33 books.  I'll divide things up the same way I did last year (all the books, favorites, and ones I didn't finish).

All Teh Books!
All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I LOVED this book!  It is historical fiction set during WWII.  The story trades between the perspectives of a blind girl whose father is a high up museum worker in France and a young German orphan who attends one of the Nazi schools.  There are some difficult sections (because, Nazis), but it is a captivating read!

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
I also loved this one!  I read The Secret Life of Bees a long time ago and really enjoyed it.  This story trades perspectives between a southern white girl and her black house slave.  I found it particularly interesting because the white girl stutters.  The story is based on the lives of two real sisters.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
This one was pretty good.  It is set between Australia and England and flips between different decades and several character perspectives.  The main storyline is a granddaughter and her grandmother discovering how the grandmother ended up on a dock in Australia as a young girl.

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist
Lots of cheese to this Christian fiction, but overall enjoyable.  It's the story of a mail order bride who traveled from New England to developing Seattle believing she was being hired as a cook for a lumberjack.  Romance ensues.

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is a phenomenal writer.  The book follows the life of a slave in Haiti from childhood on.  She lives through the Haitian revolution and travels to Cuba and Louisiana.  I didn't particularly enjoy the descriptions of voodoo rituals, and there is some graphic content, but it was interesting learning about a place and period in history that I did not previously know much about.

The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport
This was a thorough, in depth look at the Romanov family starting with the childhood of Alexandra, to her courtship and marriage to Nicholas, to the births and lives of each of their children (particularly their 4 daughters).  It was comprised of narrative descriptions compiled from various sources, as well as letters between the family members.  I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been a little less detailed, it was a very long book and became monotous in many places.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I enjoy reading at least one classic every year.  This also fits into the category of "books I should've read a long time ago".  I liked it.  Jane Austen's wit and style of writing are very fun to read.  I'm definitely not one of the Austen-obsessed girls who now eats, sleeps, and breathes for her books, but I will read more of hers in the future.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein
I read Fellowship of the Ring and half of The Two Towers in high school, but got stuck somewhere in the middle and never finished.  I still need to read Return of the King.  There were many parts I enjoyed, and the drags less than the movie, but I still like Fellowship of the Ring best.

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Wall
Loved this one!  It was a quick read too.  This is the true life story of the author's grandmother, but it reads like a novel.  It is incredible all the things the main character did, from raising horses to flying airplanes and teaching school.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Wild is the account of a woman hiking the Pacific Crest Trail through California to Washington.  What I liked about the book was hearing about her experience on the trail and the other hikers she met.  I did not like the side accounts about her life prior to setting out on the trail (destroying her marriage and getting into heroin).

The Heist by Janet Evanovich
Best description for this book: super cheesy rip off of the show "White Collar" with romantic tension between the female FBI agent and white collar crook.  When I say cheesy, I mean eye-rolling, groan-inducing lines and sections.  I love "White Collar", and the story was intriguing enough, but I have no plans to read more of the series.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
Set during WWII in a small town in Massachusetts from the perspective of the postmistress, the doctor's young wife, and a female radio journalist.  This was a big disappointment.  The story never really went anywhere, and I still don't know what the message or theme was supposed to be.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
About an Irish girl who becomes an indentured servant to a southern plantation owner and grows up in the kitchen house with the slaves.  Sounds like a great premise for a book huh?  And it was great, until it went incredibly dark and plummeted to a crash and burn ending.  Another big adisappointment of a read.

Unspoken by Dee Henderson
This was nice light reading after the two disappointments I read before it.  Christian novel that actually wasn't bad on the cheese level.  The wealthy owner of a coin shop meets an intriguing woman with a mysterious past and finds himself falling for her.  The book is mostly about relationships, but it does have a couple exciting action scenes to it.  It also has lots of descriptions of collectible coins and lots of daily life descriptions (like exactly what they ate for dinner on many nights).  I could see myself reading more Dee Henderson.

Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin
A good quick read.  It involves two mysteries. 1) the origins of a mute boy found along railroad tracks 2) a murder, robbery, and betrayal between two brothers from years past.  The story is heavily about relationships and what makes people family.  Some very sad parts, but it has a good ending.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
Ever seen "Fifty First Dates"?  This was like the drama version of that concept.  Every night when the main character goes to sleep, all of the events of that day are erased from her memory.  She begins keeping a secret diary at the recommendation of her doctor, and some suspicous things start to reveal themselves.  There were a few difficult places to read, but it was well written and certainly kept my interest the whole way through.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Francis Chan is a dynamic speaker.  I always enjoyed his messages in chapel at Biola, but had never read any of his books.  I'm so glad I finally did!  His writing is as engagin as his speaking.  Crazy Love is about meditating on the amazing, crazy love God has for us (that we take for granted) and how we should be loving God and others.

The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen
An excellent read for all Downton Abbey fans!  Julie Klassen is a Christian author who loves all things Austen.  All of her books are written in that era with Christian themes.  This novel centers on the mystery of why the previous tenants of Pembrooke Park left in such a hurry.  The mystery is topped off with some (albeit cheesy at times) romance.

Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
Meh.  This was a bestseller, and Amy Poehler is pretty funny, but I didn't enjoy this read.  It was just dull.  Maybe if I were a fan of "Parks and Rec" I might have found it more interesting.

Forgotten God by Francis Chan
Once again, excellent book!  This Francis Chan book is about the Holy Spirit, how He is frequently omitted from contemporary Christian conversation, and where He should be included.  Enjoyed Crazy Love more, but this was also a great read!

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
I'm a huge YA fan and have enjoyed Maureen Johnson's writing style in the past, so I thought I'd give this one a try. It's about a girl whose family runs an old hotel in New York.   The story kept me interested, but there wasn't much depth to it.  I'm not planning to read the rest of the series.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
This was a bestseller several years ago, and the summary seemed interesting.  It's about a British widower and his relationship with a widowed Iranian woman who lives in the same town.  The novel gives good social commentary, especially regarding intercultural relationships.  There isn't really anything hugely exciting in the book, but it is a good read with good themes.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Major page turner right here!  This is a supsense/thriller about what a woman sees through a train window one day and how she becomes involved.  One of the unique things to me about this book is that the main character is an alcoholic.  I developed a deeper sympathy for those who struggle with alcoholism through reading the book.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
I recall my mom reading this when it first came out.  The story is of a missionary family in Africa in the 1950's and is told from the perspectives of the mother and each of the 4 daughters.  The book sheds light on the importance of understanding culture in missions.  It was intriguing to me on a personal level, because my great aunt was a missionary in India in this same time period.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Having to be careful about the level and amount of violence I read/watch/hear in media, I read the version written for young adults (and was glad I did).  The audiobook I listened to had a couple sections that were actually read by Malala, which was neat.  I enjoyed reading it because it gave me a better understanding of the recent history of Pakistan and it was inspiring to hear the story of a young girl so committed to educational rights for women.

The Martian by Andy Weir
Initially I had no interest in reading The Martian, but my friend Justine posted about how much she had enjoyed it, so I gave it a try.  I'm very glad I did.  The good things about the book: unique concept, lots of humor, was very well researched to be accurate by the author.  The not so great things about the book: lots of swearing/potty language and so much math it started to feel like reading a word problem rather than a novel.  Overall, I would recommend it.  I still haven't seen the movie, but would like to, cuz Matt Damon.

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
I joined a book club this fall through Meet Up.  This was one of the previous books they had read.  It interested me because it had main characters with disabilities.  The main character, who si disfigured from a childhood accident, writes a show about a girl living with her grandmother based off her real life.  The book follows the production of the show and the main character's relationship with her coworker who uses a wheelchair.  I was disappointed.  The writing in the book is decent, but the story lacked the spark that a book needs to keep you hooked.

Food: a Love Story by Jim Gaffigan
This was the first book I read for my book club.  I enjoyed Dad is Fat last year, so I thought I would enjoy this one just as much.  I was wrong.  Most of the book is Jim's stand up bits written into book form.  Even listening to him read the audiobook wasn't enough.

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen
Not as good as The Secret of Pembrooke Park.  There is still a mystery throughout the story, but it isn't as intriguing as the other book.  The romance was far less cheesy though, so I suppose it's a trade off.  I would consider reading another of Julie Klassen's books.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The second of my book club books.  I was excited for this one.  The summary I read of it said it was about a boy whose only connection to his deceased mother is the mysterious gold finch painting that draws him into the underground art world.
The good: the writing in this book is beautiful and truly draws you in.  There is a father figure character who I absolutely adore.  There is a huge plot twist about two thirds of the way through that makes you go "holy crap!".
The bad: It's unnecessarily long.  The story drags.  There doesn't seem to be a huge point or message to the book.
The ugly: Way more than you ever desired to know about drug culture.  I don't feel like it would be an exaggeration to say that half the book is talking about taking drugs, the effects of drugs, or withdrawal from drugs.  I don't need to read about teenagers dropping acid, I just don't.

Favorites (Fiction)
All the Light we Cannot See
The Invention of Wings
The Secret of Pembrooke Park

Favorites (Nonfiction)
Crazy Love
Half Broke Horses
I am Malala

Unfinished
Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild by Kristiana Gregory
It just didn't draw me in.

A Bride for All Seasons by Margaret Brownley
Same as above.  Also, it seemed like it was going to be a super cheesefest.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
I didn't make it more than two pages.  It was just plain weird.

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers
I tried with two different audiobooks to read this one.  Both of them skip to them end a few chapters in.  maybe some day I'll get to finish it.