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40x40

Rachel King (13 KP) rated Economic Meltdown: A Family Preparedness Plan for Disaster in Books

Feb 11, 2019  
EM
Economic Meltdown: A Family Preparedness Plan for Disaster
Karen McHale | 2010
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The purpose of this book is quickly understood to motivate and aid the reader to prepare for a "man-made disaster" of the magnitude that is illustrated through a fictional story that the author, Karen McHale, apparently believes is impending for the U.S.A. I won't address whether or not I believe such a disaster is imminent or not. The story takes up the first 132 pages of the book, and the remaining pages is a quick guide to self-sufficiency, with a step-by-step guide and divided by Pantry and Utilities.
What I will address is the text of the book itself, which, frankly, could use some work. I can be a stickler for grammar, and it is obvious to me that the author used the spelling and grammar check function that is found in your typical text-formatting program, such as Word. Simply having someone read over the book before publication could catch these errors. For example, starting on page 50, the word "panty" has replaced what should have been "pantry," not every time, but often enough to be obvious. Other things showed up in the text to show the author's weakness in writing fiction, such as this: "...the unspoken thought hung unspoken in the air..." (pg. 11).
The story itself is a thinly veiled attempt at teaching the reader what is already listed in the section at the end of the book. Much more of the book is devoted to detailed descriptions of these preparations than to the development of the different characters. Towards the end of the book, time speeds up as the author skips ahead several times to fast forward the plot to 2012, with snapshots of plot to show the progress of the fictional family in its preparations for the economic disaster.
Honestly, this book would have been much better written had the author spent more time developing the different characters and made them unique and interesting to the reader, as well as gotten a few extra people to read the text before publication. McHale does not even bother with last names for this "typical American household." Sadly, except for the eight page guide at the end, it is all very forgettable.
  
40x40

Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Good Riddance in Books

Apr 10, 2019  
Good Riddance
Good Riddance
Elinor Lipman | 2019
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Daphne has just inherited her mother's yearbook from the class of 1968 at Pickering High School in New Hampshire. That year her mother was not only the English teacher, but also the yearbook advisor. Mrs. Maritch has gone to every reunion and each year she has added notations to the yearbook to all of the students. Daphne has no need or room for the yearbook in her small New York City apartment, so she puts it in the recycling. A neighbor who is also a budding documentarian finds the yearbook, and is determined to make a movie with her findings. When Daphne finds out a dark secret at the 50th reunion they attend, she will stop at nothing to make sure the yearbook is not made public. With family secrets around each corner, Daphne will try her best to keep her mother's legacy in tact and her father's heart from being broken.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I remember the thrill of getting my yearbook from middle school all through high school and having all of my friends sign it. I don't think that I ever had or even wanted any of my teachers to sign it though. And I've been to one or two of my reunions and I surely didn't go back and makes notes on what everyone is up to now.

This was a quirky story that had quite a few different elements in it. A little bit of romance, some mystery, and an annoying neighbor. Daphne is newly divorced and trying to find her way in New York City. Her apartment is small and there isn't any room for much more than her. She is going to school to be a chocolatier, but that's not really working out. She tries going back to teaching at Montessori school which she did before she was married. But with the contents of the yearbook and rumors about her mother maybe reaching the public Daphne's plate seems to be overflowing. Can she keep her mom's legacy alive and keep herself from going crazy at the same time?