While I was quickly swept away in the story, my involvement and engrossment quickly dissolved into me simply reading to finish the story. The book was quick to engage and quick to disengage.
My first issue was with the character Hedy. She had no depth, no development, no engaging characteristics. She was a one-dimensional, uninspiring character, which was incredibly disappointing considering Hedy Lamarr's life. Even when Hedy begins developing the plans for the torpedoes, she remains seemingly impassive and unattached to her story. I believe this was due to some weak character sketching of the author. The character didn't seem to care about what was happening in her life, so I didn't either.
While the events in the book were wrought with suspense, the book was not. Marrying a powerful political man at the start of WWII, and then planning an escape after discovering his true character should be thrilling, and that's not including all of the politics involved in Hedy's life. However, I was left disappointed after a quick page summarized the escape attempts. When the escape was successful, there were no details as to how Hedy got to where she was. Readers are expected to guess? Or to not want to understand how Hedy succeeded. It makes a very real story sound very unreal, which leads to a very boring story.
The book feels to be in chunks: before marriage, marriage, crumbling of marriage, success in Hollywood, torpedoes. Each chunk seems like a separate book, and the only thing connecting each one is a page or two, which isn't enough to carry readers through the story of Hedy's life.
I'm sure trying to write a book about a real person who had real-world impact while keeping the book under the "Fiction" category is incredibly hard and time-consuming. An author can't make too much up about the character because she existed in the real-world. This is where artistic license comes in. I think much more could have been done to make Hedy's story more enjoyable, educational, and exciting had the author attemped to delve more into the person of Hedy.
As I read, I was keeping in mind this challenge, trying to figure out what prompt I could put it under. When I finished, I read through the acknowledgements where the first sentence is "The opportunity to share the incredible legacy of Hedy Lamarr, both historic and modern..." This led to me Googling Hedy Lamarr and discovering that she was indeed a real person! Color me surprised! I had never heard of her before. The most disappointing part of this book was that I learned more about Hedy through her Wikipedia page than I did in the book. However, I was glad to learn that this book was based on a true story, so that I could count it towards my reading resolution!
Saturday, June 8, 2019
An Anonymous Girl: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (A book by two female authors)
This was a page-turning thriller, and I was kept enthralled throughout the whole story. I was very happy with the pace of the novel because it never really slowed down enough for me to be bored. I was appreciative of how quickly the story picked up; the start-up wasn't long or drawn out, and it was very easy to get swept away quickly.
The writing was very engaging, especially the change in perspectives of alternative chapters. I appreciated the perspective of Dr. Shields that was so removed, as a psychologist's notes would be. It was distant and removed from the plot, and that distance somehow added suspense, thrill, and drama to the story.
The biggest set back I had of the book was the characters. While Dr. Shields was not necessarily well-developed, she was a very intriguing character, and her lack of development didn't take away from my appreciation of her character. Jessica's character was well-developed, but she wasn't as exciting of a character as she could have been. I was especially not thrilled with how she ended the story, as what she did just seemed way out of character, or way out of the character that I was led to believe she was. After the end, I found it very difficult to sympathize with her on any level. Thomas was a character who I wanted more development on. His story was not intriguing enough to warrant the lack of development he received. He was just like a soggy old wet blanket on the story. At certain points, I thought, "This is Thomas' moment! He's going to shine and step out of the shadows," but he never does, which is disappointing for me. I think his character had a lot of potential.
This is the first book I've read by Hendricks or Pekkanen, and I'm very interested to read The Wife Between Us, their first book. I enjoyed their writing, and I would like to see if there other book is as page-turning as this one.
The writing was very engaging, especially the change in perspectives of alternative chapters. I appreciated the perspective of Dr. Shields that was so removed, as a psychologist's notes would be. It was distant and removed from the plot, and that distance somehow added suspense, thrill, and drama to the story.
The biggest set back I had of the book was the characters. While Dr. Shields was not necessarily well-developed, she was a very intriguing character, and her lack of development didn't take away from my appreciation of her character. Jessica's character was well-developed, but she wasn't as exciting of a character as she could have been. I was especially not thrilled with how she ended the story, as what she did just seemed way out of character, or way out of the character that I was led to believe she was. After the end, I found it very difficult to sympathize with her on any level. Thomas was a character who I wanted more development on. His story was not intriguing enough to warrant the lack of development he received. He was just like a soggy old wet blanket on the story. At certain points, I thought, "This is Thomas' moment! He's going to shine and step out of the shadows," but he never does, which is disappointing for me. I think his character had a lot of potential.
This is the first book I've read by Hendricks or Pekkanen, and I'm very interested to read The Wife Between Us, their first book. I enjoyed their writing, and I would like to see if there other book is as page-turning as this one.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
The Gifted School: Bruce Holsinger (A book about a hobby)
I was pretty excited when I won this book in a giveaway. This was one I was excited to read about.
Holsinger brings up thought-provoking ideas of education, friendship, family, parenting, and so on that helped keep me reading until the end. All along I was waiting for these people to do "the right thing," but as I finished, I realized that I wasn't even sure what "the right thing" would be for each family.
I think the main question is "To what extent do parents go to see their child succeed, and at what point have they gone too far? Or can they go too far?" I haven't been a parent, so I struggle to answer that question, and I have a hard time asking myself what I would do in this situation. I like to think that I wouldn't push that hard, but with the pressure of my best friends as well as all of society, it would be hard to stop myself, I think.
Holsinger has five families, each one with several different problems, and while the problems are pretty stereotypical of a middle-age, middle-class, white family, by interlocking the separate families, he helps shake the stereotypes he brings up. And by dropping in this gifted school, he helps the story not be stereotypical by having such a unique problem. The story could have been very bland, very boring, and very "usual," but Holsinger does a nice job turning the stereotypes into unique situations.
I must admit that I didn't like the ending. I thought Xander's project was a bit too out there, and the results were too guessable. That's where he fails to add in a unique touch, and keeps it stereotypical. I would have liked something a bit more new and fresh, but that's okay.
I do wonder if such a school has existed, and I'm sure it has, and so I wonder how those communities handle such a school. I can see this being a very real thing in our society, as every parent wants his child to succeed. Such a school would tear a community apart, and I'm not sure the resolution would be as perfect as Holsinger's resolution was.
I'm stretching it a bit to fulfill the prompt, because it's not fully about a hobby, but each child has his or her own hobbies, and those hobbies play a big role in the plot, soccer, chess, horses, etc. The hobbies are important and take up a lot of pages, so I figured this was a stretch I could pull off.
Holsinger brings up thought-provoking ideas of education, friendship, family, parenting, and so on that helped keep me reading until the end. All along I was waiting for these people to do "the right thing," but as I finished, I realized that I wasn't even sure what "the right thing" would be for each family.
I think the main question is "To what extent do parents go to see their child succeed, and at what point have they gone too far? Or can they go too far?" I haven't been a parent, so I struggle to answer that question, and I have a hard time asking myself what I would do in this situation. I like to think that I wouldn't push that hard, but with the pressure of my best friends as well as all of society, it would be hard to stop myself, I think.
Holsinger has five families, each one with several different problems, and while the problems are pretty stereotypical of a middle-age, middle-class, white family, by interlocking the separate families, he helps shake the stereotypes he brings up. And by dropping in this gifted school, he helps the story not be stereotypical by having such a unique problem. The story could have been very bland, very boring, and very "usual," but Holsinger does a nice job turning the stereotypes into unique situations.
I must admit that I didn't like the ending. I thought Xander's project was a bit too out there, and the results were too guessable. That's where he fails to add in a unique touch, and keeps it stereotypical. I would have liked something a bit more new and fresh, but that's okay.
I do wonder if such a school has existed, and I'm sure it has, and so I wonder how those communities handle such a school. I can see this being a very real thing in our society, as every parent wants his child to succeed. Such a school would tear a community apart, and I'm not sure the resolution would be as perfect as Holsinger's resolution was.
I'm stretching it a bit to fulfill the prompt, because it's not fully about a hobby, but each child has his or her own hobbies, and those hobbies play a big role in the plot, soccer, chess, horses, etc. The hobbies are important and take up a lot of pages, so I figured this was a stretch I could pull off.
The Wise Man's Fear: Patrick Rothfuss (A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore)
Holy smokes! This was great. I didn't have high hopes for this sequel because usually the second books don't go very well, but boy was this good.
I knew what to expect when I started reading, so unlike the first one, I was hooked immediately. I was so excited for the story to continue and to get my questions answered. Unfortunately (but really, fortunately), I've ended the story with more questions than answers, which makes me incredibly excited for the next one (please, Patrick! Write faster!!!).
I was really excited by how much this book veers off the University path. I love the University portions of the book. I'm fascinated by the classes, by the Masters and by the other students, but 1000 pages on this would get old pretty quickly. While a majority still takes place at the University, Kvote goes to many different places, and while he is really on one task for the Maer, he branches off into five or six different tasks, each one more exciting than the next. This keeps the story moving, and moving at a rapid pace. He's in the middle of a task but has to pause to fix this other task, and I'm left wondering how he's ever going to get out of that in order to finish his first task, but that cycle keeps going, which keeps me turning pages.
I was asked today why I like this book so much when I've believed firmly that I don't like fantasy of any sort (Harry Potter aside because that doesn't fit into a category), and I had a hard time explaining it. I think for me the fantastical parts of the story are so vividly explained and realistic, that I have a hard time convincing myself that what Kvote is learning at the University is unreal and impossible. It seems so possible and true, and it excites me to a level that when I'm reminded of the fantasy, I feel an acute sense of disappointment. I just want it to be real. I want to call the wind.
I think another part might be that the fantasy aspects almost seem behind the scenes. While all the magic is important to drive the story, this is a story about Kvote, not about magic or other fantastical elements. And even when he's with the Felurian, which is all fantastical, the story had a Narnian feel to it that made it enjoyable for me.
Again, I have a hard time explaining why I like this so much, when I have a hard time reading fantasy, but I think the bottom line is that Rothfuss is such an excellent writer that he makes fantasy the best of the best, and I can't help but love it. His writing, his imagination, his creativity goes far and beyond anything else I've read (sorry Rowling...).
Maybe I'm assuming too much by putting it under "A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore," but with all the folklore in the story, and all the legend passed around, with the Felurian which is such a mythological creature, it's hard to imagine there was no mythological or folklore inspiration in this book.
I knew what to expect when I started reading, so unlike the first one, I was hooked immediately. I was so excited for the story to continue and to get my questions answered. Unfortunately (but really, fortunately), I've ended the story with more questions than answers, which makes me incredibly excited for the next one (please, Patrick! Write faster!!!).
I was really excited by how much this book veers off the University path. I love the University portions of the book. I'm fascinated by the classes, by the Masters and by the other students, but 1000 pages on this would get old pretty quickly. While a majority still takes place at the University, Kvote goes to many different places, and while he is really on one task for the Maer, he branches off into five or six different tasks, each one more exciting than the next. This keeps the story moving, and moving at a rapid pace. He's in the middle of a task but has to pause to fix this other task, and I'm left wondering how he's ever going to get out of that in order to finish his first task, but that cycle keeps going, which keeps me turning pages.
I was asked today why I like this book so much when I've believed firmly that I don't like fantasy of any sort (Harry Potter aside because that doesn't fit into a category), and I had a hard time explaining it. I think for me the fantastical parts of the story are so vividly explained and realistic, that I have a hard time convincing myself that what Kvote is learning at the University is unreal and impossible. It seems so possible and true, and it excites me to a level that when I'm reminded of the fantasy, I feel an acute sense of disappointment. I just want it to be real. I want to call the wind.
I think another part might be that the fantasy aspects almost seem behind the scenes. While all the magic is important to drive the story, this is a story about Kvote, not about magic or other fantastical elements. And even when he's with the Felurian, which is all fantastical, the story had a Narnian feel to it that made it enjoyable for me.
Again, I have a hard time explaining why I like this so much, when I have a hard time reading fantasy, but I think the bottom line is that Rothfuss is such an excellent writer that he makes fantasy the best of the best, and I can't help but love it. His writing, his imagination, his creativity goes far and beyond anything else I've read (sorry Rowling...).
Maybe I'm assuming too much by putting it under "A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore," but with all the folklore in the story, and all the legend passed around, with the Felurian which is such a mythological creature, it's hard to imagine there was no mythological or folklore inspiration in this book.
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