Clair (5 KP) rated More Than This in Books
Sep 29, 2017
The story is full of good ideas and tackles issues which will resonate well with teens. The characters are written well. The book also uses dream sequences to fill us in on the back story. I've certainly not read anything else quite like this - a unique idea, basically addressing what happens when we die (but with a twist!)
Clair (5 KP) rated My Sister's Bones in Books
Sep 29, 2017
Kate Rafter is a journalist who works in some of worst places in the world, seeing some of the world's worst atrocities. She returns home on the death of her mother. Her sister Sally has never left Herne Bay and is an alcoholic, who hates Kate. The book is split between the main events of the story and scenes in a police station where Kate is being assessed on her mental health. We know that Kate keeps hearing and seeing a young boy in the family garden - but her experiences in Syria which have left her traumatised means that no one believes her.
Marketed as a rival to The Girl on the Train (I wish they wouldn't do that), I enjoyed this book and would ideally have given it 3.5 stars.
Negatives first...I didn't think it was that well written, there were plot holes that annoyed me and I found the characters one dimensional.
BUT the story was fast moving and intriguing and then there is a major twist which I didn't see coming which made me gasp.
Set in a world where you are punished for making ethical or moral mistakes. If you are found to have made a bad decision, have lied, have stolen, have been disloyal or have stepped out of line, you are sent to trial and if are found guilty are branded with an F on various parts of your body depending on your error of judgment. From then on, the persons life is controlled by whistle blowers and the rules they in force. It's a good setup and I've sped through it - it's not the best written YA book I've come across but something about it has meant I haven't been able to put it down.
Clair (5 KP) rated The Essex Serpent in Books
Sep 29, 2017
Set in 1893, Cora Seaborne finds herself a widow after her controlling husband dies. She and her son Francis and companion Martha leave for Colchester in Essex as she is a keen amateur naturalist and hopes to explore the area looking for fossils.
On arrival she hears rumours of the mythical Essex Serpent that has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter and she sets off to explore. She is introduced to William Ransome, a vicar who doesn’t believe in the Serpent but on meeting the pair find they have a connection.
There are many characters in the book, and this is for me what kept it interesting. Its meanders quite a bit but once I got used to the style, I ended up quite enjoying the story, and the historical and mystery elements were interesting.
I read it for my book club (my recommendation) and I have a feeling they may have enjoyed it more than me. I much prefer contemporary novels, but I’m glad I read this.
Bird (1700 KP) shared Books Editor 's list
Sep 29, 2017
Nonfiction recommendations this week will set you off on a journey, whether retracing the steps of the “Odyssey” with the memoirist Daniel Mendelsohn, or the senior-citizen workampers of “Nomadland.”
An Odyssey: A Father, a Son and an Epic
Book
From the best-selling author of 'The Lost', a deeply moving tale of a father, a son and the lessons...
Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream
Book
The dramatic true story of two brothers living parallel lives on either side of the U.S.-Mexico...
Politics social issues
The Misfortune of Marion Palm: A Novel
Book
A wildly entertaining debut about a Brooklyn Heights wife and mother who has embezzled a small...
Fiction
Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change
Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 FINANCIAL TIMES AND MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR | NAMED A BEST FALL...
Business biography technology
The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World
Oona Hathaway and Scott J. Shapiro
Book
A bold and provocative history of the men who fought to outlaw war and how an often overlooked...
History politics
and 6 other items
Bird (1700 KP) shared Books Editor 's list
Sep 29, 2017
The votes for the 2017 Not the Booker prize have been counted and The Guardian have six books are going through to the shortlist stage of the competition.
Anything is Possible
10.0
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Book
An unforgettable cast of small-town characters copes with love and loss from the No. 1 New York...
Man with a Seagull on His Head
Book
Under the intense summer sun on the Essex coast a gull falls from the sky and strikes an unassuming...
The Threat Level Remains Severe
9.0
Rate It
Book
A new colleague and a mysterious admirer make life infinitely more interesting for House of Commons...
Mystery fiction
The Ludlow Ladies’ Society
Book
Connie Carter has lost everybody and everything dear to her. To help nurse her grieving heart and to...
Fiction
Dark Chapter
Book
'Deftly written, pacey and unflinching, I could not put it down. Winnie Li is a rare talent with an...
and 1 other item
