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Book Review: The First Four Years

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The First Four Years
Little House #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
read by Cherry Jones

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s historical classic

I can understand now the claims that this book is so vastly different from the rest of the series. The main thing I noticed is that there is a lot of hardship, just like the rest of the books have, but while the rest of the books also make sure to talk about the happy things mixed in, this one barely does. I get the feeling that Laura Ingalls Wilder, or perhaps her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, who edited the previous works, intentionally included those happy moments to soften the difficult ones. No one did that for this manuscript. Not that there weren’t a few happy moments, but they were meager compared to the loss of crops time after time, the bad weather, the fire, the sickness. And Almanzo comes across pretty terrible in this book. He convinced Laura to give farming 3 years when she tells him that she doesn’t really want to live a farmer’s life due to the hardship (which she was absolutely correct about, obviously) before they were married, so it’s not like she waited until afterward to tell him she didn’t want him to farm, and that, if farming isn’t so much a success for them that she’s okay with continuing, he’ll quit. After 3 years of losing their crops every year, though, he talks her into “just one more year.” To me, that sounds like a man who has no plans to ever give up his own way. I haven’t read Wilder’s diaries from after this time, and I don’t plan to at this time, but I do hope that he wasn’t as manipulative as he seems in this book.

For this whole series, my enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by the audiobook narrator, Cherry Jones, who does a fantastic job. If you’ve ever considered reading this series, or have already read it and have occasion to listen to the audiobooks, I say do it!

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Book Review: Click Here to Start

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Click Here to Start
by Denis Markell

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade mystery, adventure, fantasy

Twelve-year-old Ted Gerson meets his namesake, his great-uncle Ted, for the first time shortly before the man’s death. At that meeting, his great-uncle asks about his penchant for escape-the-room video games, and then makes him promise to never stop looking for answers. This cryptic message is followed by Ted being given all of the contents of the great-uncle’s apartment after his death. But then Ted discovers that the newest escape-the-room game on his computer is set up just like his great-uncle’s apartment and that the clues in the game are in the apartment in real life!

I really wanted to love this book for more than one reason. First, my daughter is the one who recommended it to me, which is always a special situation. Second, I’m an escape room player (real life games more than computer ones though), worked as a game master and game builder for a while, and still make escape room-type games for my job now. You might say they’re a big part of my life. But it’s probably because of that second reason that this book wasn’t so great for me. The main story about Ted’s great-uncle, whose history Ted got to know through the hunt, was interesting. The sub-plot with the mysterious person who is on Ted’s trail and clearly lying about being a reporter named Clark Kent wasn’t bad, though the reveal and conclusion were underwhelming. The three main characters—Ted, his best friend Caleb, and new girl Isabel—left a bit to be desired, but that didn’t really bother me much.

However, one of my pet peeves involving games that are included in TV shows, movies, or books was a huge part of this book. The way some of the escape room elements were solved just made no sense. There is NO way someone, especially a kid, could have figured out some of these puzzles. Some of them were just huge logic leaps that can absolutely ruin a game for players. Throughout the story, a new online escape room game will present itself to Ted, and it will be exactly what he needs to progress in his mystery. While this is, of course, a stretch, I can accept it as a fantastical element to the story (though, spoiler alert, it is never explained how this happens or who is behind it). However, the first of these games that Ted plays, he plays for 5 hours, then gets stuck, then goes to the apartment and walks through the same steps in a very short amount of time. Yes, he had already done the solving when he’d played the computer game, but 5 hours? To solve what took maybe 10 minutes to get through in real life, and some of that time was spent trying to give the others a chance to feel like they were solving it? I don’t buy it. Then, later in the story, somehow a book that is part of Uncle Ted’s mystery ends up being a clue to the home alarm system of someone completely unrelated (literally and figuratively) to Uncle Ted. How does that make any sense? 

It’s certainly difficult to translate something like escape room puzzles to a novel, though several authors have tried. Sometimes it works okay (the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series is an example of it working okay, though it’s fairly light on the puzzles), but sometimes it doesn’t. In this book, it doesn’t. And unfortunately, for me at least, the rest of the book wasn’t enough to make up for that. For people who aren’t quite as into escape rooms as I am and just like a good puzzle-light mystery in the middle grade category, you just might find this a good read. If you’re a major escape room enthusiast, I don’t recommend it.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Added to my Shelf Because of Top Ten Tuesday

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It’s time for another Top Ten list from That Artsy Reader Girl, and I’ve poked my head back in just time to thank my fellow TTT’ers for their recommendations! I can’t tell you who recommended each of these for sure, and some were in multiple posts, but they’re all books that I know I learned about because of a past TTT post. The first six in this list I’ve read and are ordered from lowest to highest ratings (by me), and the last 4 are on my TBR, but I haven’t gotten to them yet. I won’t say much about any of these, but I’ll post links to my reviews for those I’ve read. Though they didn’t all become favorites, I never regret any book I read, no matter the rating I give, and am always thankful for recommendations that help me expand my reading horizons.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
My rating: 1 / 5 stars—see my review here.

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
My rating: 2 / 5 stars—see my review here.

A Seven Letter Word by Kim Slater
My rating: 3.5 / 5 stars—see my review here.

Sadie by Courtney Summers
My rating: 4 / 5 stars—see my review here.

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham
My rating: 4 / 5 stars—see my review here.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
I’ve already read this twice and recommended it to my 12-year-old daughter, who also loved it. My rating: 5 / 5 stars—see my review here.

The Pawn by Steven James
I’ve read one book by this author and look forward to trying another.

Book Love by Debbie Tung
Comics for book lovers? Count me in!

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
Maybe a book about the decline of proper pronunciation will turn out to be pretentious, but I’m still intrigued.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
One of many movies I’ve seen and liked that I found out later was originally a book, I learned about this one from a TTT post and plan to read it soon.

Have you read any of these? What’s on your list this week?

Book Review: A Spy on the Home Front

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A Spy on the Home Front
American Girl Molly Mysteries #1
by Alison Hart

My overall rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s historical mystery

Having just read the main Molly series, I read the first Molly mystery to follow it up. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really have the style and heart of the main series. No one from the main series, besides Molly herself, is in this book, and Molly’s summer friend Anna doesn’t really have much of a personality. I do like the historical information regarding German-Americans placed in internment camps, the pro-Nazi Silver Legion, and the WASPs, of which Molly’s aunt is one. This book also has a “Looking Back” section like the main series books, which goes into detail more on each of these points. The mystery in the book, which involved tracking down a Silver Legion member who was sending anti-American propaganda flyers out via planes at a local airfield, was not terribly complicated, but it was a decent vehicle for the history, keeping the book from feeling dry. Molly’s strategic and slightly manipulative personality from the main series does continue here, making it a decent follow-up for anyone who has read the main series, though it could be read as a stand-alone too.

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July in Review

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I read 23 books last month, shattering my old record by 5. That number is mostly owing to quite a few short kids’ books, which I read to get my Goodreads goal back on track, considering it’s been a rough year for reading so far. Still, my page count for the month is only a few hundred behind my record, so short books or no, I still read a lot (for me).

Here are the books I read in July:

The Novice
39-4
jeeves-3
tcw-20
ralph-3
mockingjay
facing
mcgee-5
tcw-21
little-house-8
molly-1
ramona-4
mv-5
signs
sherlock-case-book
39-5
royal-christmas
mohicans

The Novice by Taran Matharu (4 / 5)
Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson (5 / 5)
Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun (5 / 5)
Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (4 / 5)
Back to the Drawing Board by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
Facing the Enemy by DiAnn Mills (2 / 5)
The Cat Who Saw Stars by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4 / 5)
Meet Molly by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans (3 / 5)
Molly Learns a Lesson by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Molly’s Surprise by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Happy Birthday, Molly by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Molly Saves the Day by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Changes for Molly by Valerie Tripp (4 / 5)
Signs of Life by Creston Mapes (3 / 5)
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (4.5 / 5)
The Black Circle by Patrick Carman (4.5 / 5)
A Royal Christmas by Melody Carlson (4 / 5)
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, adapted for younger readers by Eliza Gatewood Warren (4 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 1 re-read. It was really hard to pick one favorite from this many books, but my favorite book from July was Ramona and Her Father. I started 2 series, continued 8 series, and finished 2 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: The Last of the Mohicans (adapted for younger readers)

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The Last of the Mohicans
by James Fenimore Cooper, adapted by Eliza Gatewood Warren

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Classic, children’s

It’s difficult to know whether to rate books like this based on the story or on the adaptation. I’ve never read the original book and only vaguely remember seeing the movie when I was younger (I remember my dad watching it a lot). The only thing I really remember is some romance and a cave behind a waterfall. Anyway, in an adaptation like this, it’s no surprise to find a lot more telling than showing, as the adapter not only needs to shorten the story but also explain things in simple language. I think it gets the overall story across fine, though without the depth the original would have. And most likely without some emotion. In the end, I felt like the main thing that was lacking was a real connection between Hawkeye and Chingachgook, considering that the ending makes a big deal out of their friendship.

What is especially difficult about reviewing or recommending this book, though, is that it’s meant for kids, yet it’s full of violence and death. I’m sure the original is more so, of course. But I can only imagine the illustrator’s remarks about some of the illustrations he/she was asked to draw: “You want him being shot?” “So the knife should be bloody in this one?” “How many will be lying dead on the ground in this scene?” “Oh, she’s about to be scalped? Taken away to be forced to be his wife? Sure, no problem.”  So in the end, I think I’d recommend this book be read with your kids, so you can talk about the harsh reality of life during wartime.

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Book Review: A Royal Christmas

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A Royal Christmas
by Melody Carlson

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian Christmas fiction

Adelaide Smith is ready for a change in her life, but her plans didn’t include being found by the father she never knew, learning that he is the king of a tiny country in Europe, or being asked to travel there to meet him. Simply stepping foot into the country puts her in the crosshairs of someone who doesn’t want her there.

This was a short read, but I really liked it. Adelaide’s lawyer mind and down-to-earth qualities give her a level head (though to be honest, I have a hard time believing she isn’t goading the queen when she asks her father about the nativity scene, when she knows it was the queen who didn’t want it out). There is a bit of romance, but it doesn’t take over the story at all. The story doesn’t go the predictable route that it easily could, and I liked the common theme of “God’s plan in God’s time.” I appreciated Adelaide struggling with the darker traditions this small country has related to Christmas (though I really wish more people could at least see the possible problems with Santa Claus/St. Nicholas traditions, too). In fact, I think my favorite aspect of the story was the way Adelaide was sort of trying to put to rights the changes the queen had made away from Christian values more toward paganism. I may be exaggerating it a little, but I think that could have been expanded on into a larger story, and I would have been all for it.

Small things that bothered me were several repetitive spots that I noted and my utter bewilderment over the way the rulership turned out. It would probably be a spoiler to explain, so I won’t, but I think that either the author didn’t explain the way it all went down very well or this kingdom has some peculiar laws of succession. Overall, though, I was quite happy with this novella. It contains a lot of Christmas charm, and I think that anyone looking for a feel-good faith-based read this Christmas that isn’t too over-the-top sappy should pick up this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Revell for providing me a copy of this book to review.
Publication date: September 5, 2023

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Book Review: The Black Circle

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The Black Circle
The 39 Clues #5
by Patrick Carman

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.

A cryptic telegram leads Amy and Dan Cahill to Russia without the one adult that’s had their backs in the clue hunt so far. Palaces and lost treasure looted by the Nazis pale in comparison to the promise of learning more about their parents, but are Amy and Dan walking into a trap?

Five books in, I’m starting to feel like every time I’m ready to read the next book, I should re-read all the ones before it again to remember the important details. I know some of that is my own memory problems, but there’s just so much happening over the course of these books. It’s hard to keep up with who might be bad, who definitely is bad, and who seemed to be good but double-crossed someone else. Little hints that aren’t followed-up on right away get lost in the greater story. The fact that this bothers me probably means that I’m enjoying the series, though, and I am. I just may have to start taking notes about what’s going on. 

Somehow I knew that when, in my review for the previous book, I said that a future book might give me a different look at the Holts than the family of meatheads they’ve been portrayed as so far, it would end up happening soon, and I was right. Though really, it’s only the eldest son, Hamilton Holt who has a bit of character development here. I thought it was weird that after receiving actionable intel, he takes part in some kind of family capture-the-flag game before telling his dad that they need to get moving. Makes little sense. I also didn’t really get how the black circle was a big enough deal in the book to be put in the title. But overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to continuing the series.

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Book Review: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

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The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes #9
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Read by Ben Werling, Kevin Theis, and Sara Nichols

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

I think this has been my favorite collection of short stories in this series so far. I almost didn’t read it, thinking to skip this and His Last Bow and just reading The Hound of the Baskervilles to finish up my foray into Sherlock Holmes. But then I found an audiobook version that intrigued me, and I really can’t say that it wasn’t the reason it was my favorite. But even outside of liking the narration (more on that later), I was more engaged throughout this book. Most of the mysteries were intriguing (except for the one where the woman literally just tells everything to Holmes; there’s nothing for him to solve at all—I did like the very end of that one though), and I particularly liked the villain Baron Gruner. I’m surprised we don’t hear of him at least as much as Moriarty; he’s in only one less story than Moriarty (who is only in two), but he has more “screen time” and is also clearly quite clever. I am not sure how I would have felt about the stories narrated by Holmes instead of Watson if I weren’t listening to them read by Kevin Theis, but overall, I enjoyed my time listening to this book.

Regarding the audiobook, this version was narrated by Ben Werling, who also voiced Watson, and Kevin Theis, who voiced Sherlock. They both also performed various other male characters, and Sara Nichols voiced any female or child roles. I wasn’t impressed by Ben Werling who was a little odd with some of his dialog tags. He commonly put full emphasis on both words in the tag, “said Holmes.” with more of an exclamation point than a period after them. It was strange. But Kevin Theis, who I have gotten used to as the voice of Bertie Wooster, was great as Holmes. I would go back and listen to every single Holmes book, even the ones I didn’t care for much, if he was narrating them. Sara Nichols I don’t really have anything to say about, but I didn’t have any issues with her.

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Book Review: Signs of Life

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Signs of Life
by Creston Mapes

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Christian thriller

Investigator Wayne Deetz has the distinction of interrogating the perpetrator of a mass shooting, trying to get the answers about why, how, and possibly with what help. Months after the shooting, Tyson Cooper, whose wife was killed during the event, struggles to move on with his life and begins to question what right the shooter has to live. Deetz’s and Cooper’s stories are told in alternating chapters, with Deetz diving into the interrogation mere hours after the event and Cooper’s starting 10 months later.

I wasn’t entirely sure what the core of this story would be—a psychological dive into the mind of a mass killer, a look at the aftermath of his victims? I didn’t really see how it could be an action-packed race to stop a terrible event from happening, considering that the synopsis makes it clear the mass shooting has already happened. In the end, though, there was some of that as well as the look at the aftermath of the victims, in the form of more than one person who lost someone that day. I can’t really say there was much psychology on the killer’s side shown, which is not a problem, partly because it would have made the book much darker than I would prefer and also because it’s not really said to be about that. The story starts out pretty slowly and continues that way for more than half of the book. Then suddenly, it’s super tense and hurtling toward a major climax. The pacing could have been better, but I’ll admit that I was pretty caught up in the book in the last third.

A lot of my problems came in small bits and pieces here and there. I didn’t have any issues with the writing style (other than the aforementioned pacing), though there were several places that I’m certain a proofreader should have caught an extra comma here or there, or one spot where a couple of sentences at the beginning of a chapter were literally repeated at the beginning of another, 2 chapters later (this book was self-published, fyi). But for example, why, in a book set in pretty modern times especially, did the author choose to have one of the characters make the distinction that his son’s girlfriend was black (but he and his wife have decided they’re are okay with it) and that he worried what family and friends might think? Why was there such a large focus on violent video games as the catalyst for the shooter’s rampage, when literally a quick search online shows that there really isn’t any correlation (maybe unless the perpetrator is already mentally unstable). I have a few other examples that I marked in my notes, but I don’t want to unbalance the review.

The Christian angle in this book is overall pretty good. Cooper and his late wife were Christians, but he has decided that God is not what He claims to be in the Bible, if he could let such a wonderful woman as his wife die (actually, I think he’s in danger of putting her on a pedestal, unless she really is as perfect as his reminiscences would have us believe). Deetz is an unbeliever but is introduced to Christianity by his son, who attends what sounds like a mega-church. Two different starting points lead to some interesting conversations about God. In the end, I wish I had liked this book more, but I didn’t dislike it either. It’s clear that plenty of fans of the genre liked it more than I did, so if you’re interested, definitely check it out. I have another Creston Mapes book on my shelf, given to me by a friend, so I’ll be interested to read another book by this author.

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