Search

Search only in certain items:

Lithium
Lithium
Asina C | 2018
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lithium by Asina C is not the typical book style that comes to mind when I think about a fiction book based in Chernobyl. Normally I would expect such a book to be full of zombies or mutants who go around terrorizing a group of tourist that get lost but that is not the case with Lithium. Instead, this book mixes truth with science and a little bit of fantasy and gives readers a different type of story altogether. This book also talks about the Red Forest in Chernobyl and it sparked an interest in me to look up some pictures of the forest. I also did not notice too much that widely away from the actual facts about Chernobyl, though I would by no means consider myself to be well informed on the subject.

Zurin has lived with her mother for all of her twelve years in a small shack in Pripyat. Her mother has always kept Zurin inside her home for fear of radiation sickness and being seen. This is in part because the area in which they live is believed to be uninhabitable because of all the radiation still in everything following the explosion. Zurin has always been obedient to her mother’s rules until one day when her mother goes to get supplies and Zurin decides to step outside for the first time but may have been seen by someone.

Then one day, shortly after her birthday Zurin wakes up to find her mother gone and blood on the floor. Zurin then ventures out into the Red Forest in search of her mother but gets extremely lost and succumbs to radiation sickness. Luckily she is found by a young couple who work for a travel company and snuck into a restricted area of Chernobyl to take pictures for their website. The couple takes Zurin to the hospital and adopts her once she gets better. As fate would have it months later Zurin returns to Pripyat in search of her mother yet again and finds herself in an abandoned hospital. It is in this hospital that she learns the truth about her mother and her life up to this point. Her only hope is to team up with a doctor she is not completely trusting of, the young couple, and a man she has never met before.

What I liked best was the idea of people still being able to live in a highly irradiated area such as Pripyat with few side effects was interesting. The book also offered some mystery as to who Zurin and her mother are and why they chose to continue to live in an isolated area such a Pripyat. What I liked least was a little more complicated. I understand the fact that people exposed to nuclear radiation and or uranium may mutate both physically and/or mentally if they survive. What I did not understand was Nikolav’s goal by purposefully mutating the patients who survived the explosion but were trapped in the mental ward of the hospital.

This is definitely a young adult book, but for many, after high school, I feel like it would quickly lose its strong appeal. It is a good book but I feel like it would need to be a little more detailed, making the book a bit longer in order for it to have more of an appeal to adults. I ended up rating this book a 2 out of 4. This is because while I enjoy books set around Chernobyl (especially if mutated people or zombies are involved because it offers a plausible explanation for it) this book fell short of my expectations. One of the main issues I had was how the book fails to give solid reasoning and jumps from one topic to another.

https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/lithium
  
When the Men Were Gone
When the Men Were Gone
Marjorie Herrera Lewis | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Sport & Leisure
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
There was something about the synopsis of When the Men Were Gone by Marjorie Herrera Lewis that really reeled me in. Perhaps it's because this story takes place in Brownwood, Texas which is a place I've visited and loved. Perhaps it was because it was based on a true story and about a woman rising up to a challenge to take on a man's role back in the day when things like that were unheard of. Either way, I must say that I really enjoyed this book.

Tylene Wilson loves football. In fact, football is all she's ever really known since she was a very little girl thanks to her father. When both male football coaches for the high school she works at go off to war in the Autumn of 1944, she desperately tries to find another male coach to take the job. If she doesn't, the Brownwood Lions football season will be over before it even began, and all the senior boys will more than likely end up enlisted fighting in World War II. After struggling to find a suitable coach, Tylene decides to coach the football team herself. When word gets out that a woman will be coaching a football team, people in and around Brownwood let it be known that they are very opposed to the idea. Even Tylene's close friends snub their nose at the idea. People try to get the Brownood Lions' football season cancelled, but Tylene will not let that happen if she can help it. Will Tylene be able to convince everyone that a woman can coach football just as good as a man?

I found the plot for When the Men Were Gone to be solid. As I've stated previously, this book is based on a true story. I had never heard of Tylene Wilson until I read Marjorie Herrera Lewis' book. I found it extremely interesting to have a glimpse into what Tylene Wilson may have had to go through. Lewis does a fantastic job at imagining what Tylene's life was like and what life in the small town of Brownwood would have been like around 1944. I could not find any fault with the story telling. In fact, I felt like I was transported into the book and was amidst all the action watching the story unfold. I will admit that I did not understand most of the football jargon though, but that didn't really take too much away from the story. As with most historical fiction novels, there were no major plot twists, but all my questions were answered. There was not cliffhanger ending.

I enjoyed the character of Tylene. Lewis did an amazing job at making me feel as if I knew Tylene. At times, I felt like I was Tylene. I could feel how stressed she was at times and how much her students and football meant to her. Tylene was such a strong female character. I just loved her and her determination! Moose was another character I loved. I admired his loyalty even though he was aware of the backlash. Jimmy was another interesting character to read about. I was intrigued to read about his struggles to play football for a "lady coach." On one hand, he admired Tylene and knew that she knew her stuff when it came to football. On the other hand, he was still a teenage boy open to peer pressure living in a time when woman were doing the traditional roles.

The pacing for When the Men Were Gone starts out a bit slow. There were a bunch of character names thrown out in the first few chapters which left me feeling confused about who was who. However, I quickly caught on, and the pacing picked up decently.

Trigger warnings for When the Men Were Gone include sexism, bigotry, misogyny, drunkenness, and some war violence.

All in all, When the Men Were Gone is a short read that packs a huge punch! Based on a true story, this novel has a fantastically strong female lead and plenty of drama that will definitely keep its reader hooked. I would definitely recommend When the Men Were Gone by Marjorie Herrera Lewis to those aged 15+ who enjoy football and love a story with a very strong female lead. I would give this book a 4 out of 5.
--
(Thanks to the Marjorie Herrera Lewis for providing me with a paperback of When the Men Were Gone in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
  
Killing Beauties
Killing Beauties
Pete Langman | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Killing Beauties is about the female spies (She-Intelligencers - isn’t it funny how they could make even that sound like an insult 🤔) who worked for the exiled Charles Stuart during Cromwells reign. Charles Stuart himself sends two female spies back to England to turn Cromwell’s Secretary of State, John Thurloe, into their accomplice using their feminine wiles and training. This is actually based on the true story of two female spies - not something that any of us are usually taught in history lessons at school (perhaps due to their methods!). This is a story with heaps of subterfuge and betrayal, and women who are determined to do the best job they can for their King and their secret society. It was quite amusing in places, which was a little light relief in an otherwise tense story. There’s loads of great historical detail too - think sights, smells and sounds.

It’s a really fun book - fast-paced and with a feeling of danger. I loved it!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising the book, and for Pete Langdon for commenting along with us readers!
  
40x40

Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated The Hunger in Books

Jun 5, 2019  
The Hunger
The Hunger
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Hunger by Alma Katsu is based on the true events of Donner Party tragedy where a party of pioneers travelling west came to a crossroads and the leader, George Donner had to make a decision to take the well documented but longer route across the desert towards California, or to take the untested path, which was rumoured to be far shorter. His decision could mean life or death to the families travelling with him.

It’s kind of funny that the first time I heard of the Donner Party was on one of my favourite horror films, The Shining, written by Stephen King and directed Stanley Kubrick. Jack Nicholson acting as the character Jack Torrance, mentions the Donner Party and it’s how the name came about for the Donner Pass on Interstate 80 in Northern California. Since hearing about this in the film I was eager to look it up, so when I read the synopsis of The Hunger, I had to read it!

This book is broken up into monthly sections starting from June 1846 to April 1847. The latter of which is actually the prologue and supplies the details of the findings of one man, Lewis Keseberg, the last known survivor of the Donna Party event. This makes for an intriguing hook for the rest of the book and I couldn’t wait to see what had happened. Why had no one else survived?

The Hunger is an atmospheric re-imagining of the Donner Party disaster, which blends true horror with the supernatural and is ideal for historical, paranormal and even dark horror fans! It’s full of drama, mystery, intrigue and is downright spooky. The tension Alma Katsu adds, it amazing! I really sympathised for the families, those that had no idea what was going on, and even those that were forced to survive the only way they knew how. I don’t think I’ve ever read a story about Westward migration that is so chilling! This is a study of human endurance tested to its very limits – and beyond. How far would YOU go in order to survive?