In episode 12, we review dystopian classic The Giver by Lois Lowry.
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Book Review Podcast Episode 12
Author: Kristi
Book Review: Who Let the Dog Out?
Who Let the Dog Out?
Andy Carpenter #13
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner
My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Mystery
When a dog is stolen from Andy Carpenter’s dog rescue organization and the thief is found dead with the dog still in his possession, Andy surprises himself by taking an interest in the case of the man accused of the murder. The accused man knows nothing about the dog theft, so Andy knows there has to be something else going on, and who better than Andy’s team to track down a conspiracy?
This was not my favorite book in the series, but not my least favorite either. It was still a fun listen—Andy is as witty and sarcastic as ever, and I love it. but the grand conspiracy that is the most common formula for these books is a little too loose this time. There were a lot of people who were involved for weak reasons. What bothered me most in this story, though, is how Andy treats his son. He’s always been very immature in his relationship with his wife, Laurie, but she’s mature enough to ignore and actually see past his idiocy. But Andy full-on pushes his favorite sport on Ricky, who flat out tells his dad he doesn’t enjoy it. I get that Andy had a son kind of dropped on him, so maybe it makes sense that he wouldn’t be the best dad, but I expect better from this series than a cliché like this. Overall, I enjoyed my time listening to the book, and I recommend the book (especially Grover Gardner’s narration) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.
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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: I See You’ve Called in Dead
I See You’ve Called in Dead
by John Kenney
My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Contemporary fiction
After a failed blind date, obituary writer Bud Stanley gets drunk and publishes an outlandish, completely fictional obituary…for himself. The company he works for suspends him and then finds out they can’t fire him, because the system thinks he’s dead. Meanwhile, Bud starts to attend funerals of strangers, prompted by an intriguing young woman who suggests that it might help him learn how to live.
I requested this book on NetGalley because it was listed as humor/satire. Between that and the premise, I thought it would be somewhat lighthearted (or at least darkly humorous) and involve a lot more of what would happen in a situation where his job wanted to fire him but couldn’t. Neither of these things is true. There are a few witty or snarky comments here and there, and I did note at least one scene with satire, but overall, the book is mostly slow and depressing. And his job is so in the background that he only goes there a few times throughout the book. I know that I am the absolutely wrong audience for this, though, so I am not going to spend a lot of time describing what I didn’t like about it. Bud is reeling from a nasty divorce (his wife cheated on him in a particularly bad way), which explains his mental state. However, he’s surrounded by pretty good friends who are giving him some great advice. Yet he mostly just floats through life, not really taking charge at all. His mom died when he was a teenager, which is also something he doesn’t seem to have fully processed and dealt with, even though he went to therapy for a while. Maybe he stopped too soon.
The book is full of introspection and discussion about deep topics, during which Bud often responds flippantly and makes me want to smack him. There’s also a lot of description, which I tended to skim. Overall, the book is about someone halfheartedly trying to find the meaning to life, so if that interests you, you might like this book a lot more than I did. I know, though, that looking for the meaning of life without God (not that there’s never any mention of God in this book, but He certainly isn’t seen as the answer to Bud’s problems) is completely pointless. And, though there were a few decent moments, “pointless” pretty well sums up how this book felt to me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Zibby Publishing for providing me a copy of this book to review.
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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: The Sisters of Corinth
The Sisters of Corinth
The Emissaries #2
by Angela Hunt
My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Biblical fiction
The new provincial governor’s son is an eligible bachelor, and the chief magistrate’s daughter, Prima, is intent on catching his eye. Unfortunately, Marcus prefers her step-sister, Mariana, who, as a new Christian, knows that it would be a bad idea for her to marry a man who worships the Roman gods. While she struggles with her options, Prima is determined to convince Marcus that she is the right choice after all.
For as much as I loved the previous book in this trilogy (I gave it 5 stars as well), this one even tops that! First of all, we have a sort of take on a marriage of convenience but with a twist, which is a trope I generally love in Christian fiction. The backstory of how Mariana and her mother became followers of Yeshua (Christ) is really interesting, and there’s the added suspense of their faith not being accepted by those in authority around them. Prima’s side of the story is shown alongside Mariana’s, and Hunt doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life during this time period—violence, idol worship, sexual immorality, etc., so let this be a warning to any who would have a difficult time with that being included.
There’s so much more that I liked about the story, but too much of it would involve spoilers. I’ll just say that I both cheered and cried while reading this book. It seems like it’s not nearly often enough these days that I’ll read a book that I get completely caught up in and don’t want to leave, even when it’s over, but that happened with this book. Another warning—it does end on a cliffhanger, but fortunately for me, the follow-up book is already out, so I can read it very soon! Overall, I earnestly recommend this book for those who enjoy biblical fiction, especially from the time after Christ.
Find out more about The Sisters of Corinth
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: The Fugitive
The Fugitive
Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files #10
by Pittacus Lore
My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi
Spoiler notice: The following review may contain spoilers for the main series, starting with I Am Number Four.
Upon learning the whereabouts of Sarah Hart, Mark James heads to New Mexico to mount a one-man rescue, all the while trying to stay out of the hands of the Mogadorian-allied FBI.
This quick read was not a bad way to re-visit the world of the Garde and Mogadorian threat. I didn’t care for Mark in the first book, but he grew on me when he joined the cause. He was always in the background though, so it was interesting to see him more front and center here. Of course, I never much cared for Sarah as a character; I don’t feel that the author really created her in such a way that it makes sense for both John and Mark to pine over her, but that doesn’t really affect this story. Since I have read the whole Lorien Legacies series, I already knew the outcome of this novella, so the big reveal wasn’t news to me and cliffhanger wasn’t particularly thrilling. Again, this isn’t any fault with the story itself. Overall, the story was decent but not super exciting for me. Maybe it would have been different if I’d read it at the place it occurred in the series, instead of after it was all done, but oh well. You definitely wouldn’t want to read this if you haven’t read any of the series. If you have and liked the series, you might want to read this as well.
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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: The Unbreakable Code
The Unbreakable Code
Book Scavenger #2
by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade adventure
Spoiler notice: The following review will contain spoilers for the previous book, Book Scavenger.
At a party at Hollister’s book store celebrating the release of a lost book by Edgar Allen Poe, Emily witnesses her teacher, Mr. Quisling, stealing something out of a purse. Before she can decide whether to confront him or not, he drops it, and she and James decode a message that starts them off on a new quest to learn more about something called the Unbreakable Code. But when they begin to realize that an arsonist is involved in the same quest, they’re not sure who to trust.
I loved this book almost as much as the first one. Emily and James (and Steve), and at times Matthew, still make a great team. The Book Scavenger game is a fun addition to the plot, and the Unbreakable Code angle was really intriguing. Though the code itself is fictional, the author includes a lot of real San Francisco history that I think made the story come alive. One thing I noted while reading this book is that, unlike several other series I’ve read similar in genre and age group, for the most part, these kids aren’t getting up to things that kids their age would never be able to do. I’m not saying everything is 100% realistic, but I think it was moreso than even the previous book in the series. Bertman does a great job of keeping it real.
I only had a few issues with one particular plot hole and with the fact that…well, the entire arson angle felt unnecessary to me. Fortunately, the rest of the story was so enjoyable, those things barely detracted from the rest of the book. I highly recommend it to kids aged around 10-14 (my 14-year-old daughter loved it as well) but also for teens and even adults who enjoy books and puzzles.
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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: Death in the Clouds
Death in the Clouds
Hercule Poirot #12
by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser
My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery
I don’t have a whole lot to say about this book, partly because I’m getting behind on my reviews due to being so busy right now and partly because this wasn’t a standout installation in the series for me. It was another locked-room-type setting, albeit it an interesting one. Other aspects of the story seemed a little too similar to previous books in the series as well. I did suspect some of the solution, but like normal, I was missing a lot still by the end. There were some slight twists, but overall, I wasn’t super engaged in the story. However, since I’ve started to enjoy the series a lot more than I did early on, I’ll just consider this a bump in the road of my trip through the series. And I still appreciate the narration by Hugh Fraser.
Find out more about Death in the Clouds
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review Podcast Episode 11
In episode 11, we review Nightfall, a dark YA suspense novel by Jake Halpern & Peter Kujawinski.
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Book Review Podcast Episode 10
In episode 10, Lena reviews a self-published romance titled One Summer on Mackinac by Alana Robin, and I review middle-grade, speculative-fiction book Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson.
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Book Review: No Compromise
No Compromise
by Melody Green and David Hazard
My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Biography
Keith Green died a few months after I was born, so though his music wasn’t a huge part of my childhood, I do remember my mom liking his music when I was younger. I don’t generally base my rating of a biography on the content, because what the author chooses to provide about his/her (or in this case, her husband’s) life is really their choice. Based only on the writing and style here, the book is easy to read and gives some really interesting insight into the lives of both Keith and Melody Green before, during, and after their conversion to Christianity. She doesn’t sugarcoat their drug use and time spent following New Age or eastern mysticism practices as they both searched for spiritual truth. Lyrics of various songs written by Keith Green (again, before and after he became a Christian) as well as quite a few snatches of writing directly from his hand in the form of journal entries pepper the pages.
I have to admit that I didn’t agree with a lot of his philosophy or his approach to evangelism, but I appreciate how on-fire he was for God. As his own wife noted, when he became a believer, he didn’t hide away somewhere to learn about God before then presenting himself to the world as an evangelist. Maybe he should have, though, because some of the way he treated his audiences, both believers and nonbelievers, may have been more harmful than helpful. Going to a church, for example, and assuming that everyone there was a lukewarm Christian and needed to be confronted from the stage to repent of hidden sins really shocked me. I suppose if there were people in attendance who truly were right with God, they may not have been guilted by Green to confess unnecessarily, but it seems to me that Green made the assumption that every Christian he encountered (except select people he met in person and looked up to) was either a fake Christian or at least an apathetic one, simply because he could see that those types did legitimately exist in Christian communities.
Overall, I’m glad I read this book. Despite my concerns about both Keith and Melody Green’s understanding of God and the Bible, it was an interesting insight into the mind of someone who sought God before understanding exactly what it was he was seeking. Keith seemed to be working out his belief and understanding through his music, which might be a legitimate way to do so, except that by becoming more and more famous, he wrapped others up in his confusion. I do recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in biographies of famous musicians, especially fans of Keith Green, because I think knowing how he thought and believed might be an important lens through which to view his music.
Find out more about No Compromise
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
A Journey of Words 