What Are We Currently Reading?

[SmithW6079]

Just finished Long Haul by Finn Murphy. It's a memoir of a man, raised in upper middle class Connecticut, who decides he wants to be a trucker for a living. It's quite well-written, with many interesting stories about moves he's done over the years. It's part travelogue, part philosophical ruminations about the state of the trucking industry, the working man, and economic disparity. It's another confirmation of my belief that not everyone is cut out to work in an office, and we ignore that fact to our own detriment and that of our children's and the future of the country. There were sections that brought me to tears (but I'm also a sap), and there's one section that seems like it was made up, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I recommend it.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Still on a Kate Morton kick, this time it's her latest, The Clockmaker's Daughter. Solid so far, though I think she overdid with the number of characters, intersecting plot threads, etc. 

[ursula]

I just finished the Inheritance Cycle by N K Jemisin. What a ride. I hope Netflix or HBO make it into a movie because it could give GOT a run for its money. 

[truthaboutluv]

I just completed The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas. It was pretty good. I'm actually interested enough to check out her other two books which according to the comments I saw for The Cheerleaders, were apparently even better than the latter. I figured out the guilty person midway because 

Spoiler

I didn't see what other purpose there was of including him in the story and adding the seemingly unrelated storyline of the main character hooking up with him and getting knocked up. Speaking of which, one of the things I found very strange about the book, is how the author seemed to determinedly avoid saying the words "pregnant" and "abortion". Seriously, anyone else who has read the book, tell me if I'm wrong. She seemed to skirt around and allude to the whole thing in the first five chapters without ever saying the main character got pregnant after hooking up with this older guy and had an abortion. They just talk about the pain she's in, the medication she was taking, her regret about "that night", etc. It was strange. Like for that part of the book at least, I was reading a book written by some puritan Christian who wouldn't use the words. 

What I did love the most about the book is how in the end, the cheerleaders' deaths turned out not to be related and instead it really was just a very unfortunate series of events. Ginny's dad ran the two girls off the road because he was drunk, Brandon murdered the two girls and Jen really did kill herself. The latter was the one "twist" I did like, sad as it was. That it wasn't some elaborate murder scheme by the stepfather and instead simply that the main character's sister was depressed and killed herself. I think the author was smart to do this rather than try to create some evil mastermind who killed all these girls. The conclusion made sense and all worked very well. 

[Hanahope]

I finally got Unhinged by Omarosa from my Kindle lending library.  I'm only a couple chapters into it so far, but I must say, I'm impressed.  It is very well written. I don't know if she used a co-writer, and she is very educated, so maybe not.   It started with her firing by Kelly and then backtracked to her own history growing up, college, initial employment in Wash DC with Al Gore and Bill Clinton (which made her sour on politics - at that time), and then meeting trump via the Apprentice, and her initial fame afterwards.  

I never watched the Apprentice (I've never been a trump fan - I always found him misogynistic and an asshole), I only read/heard a bit about it and that mostly consisted of Omarosa as "the villian."  At least as she tells it, she wasn't "a villian", but she definitely acted more masculine in business than feminine, and we all know that men are assertive, women are bitches.  She also explains that at least at the time, trump was admired by many people as a very good businessman, and she thought it would be good to encourage a professional relationship with him.  I can't say I blame her at that time, and it did open a lot of doors for her.

Omarosa definitely was aware of trump's flirting and likely relationships with women while married to Melania (which have since been proved), but as she puts it, it wasn't any of her business at that time to stick her nose into his personal relationships.

I'll keep you posted as it continues.

[Joe]

I'm reading the second Malazan book, Deadhouse Gates. And it's just... too much. 960 pages. Three sets of characters just became four sets. I keep forgetting what the characters were up to last time I saw them. This book isn't even the longest in the series, that would be Toll the Hounds at 1,300. While there are certainly many good parts, and I don't feel the book is padded at all, I just like shorter adventures. When I finish this, I don't know if I'll go on with the series.

[HazelEyes4325]

I'm reading Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse.  I'm only about 20% into it, but it is wild!  I really enjoy novels by Native American writers and this one not only doesn't disappoint but is completely surprising.  Now that I've gushed about it, I hope the remaining 80% holds up!

I finished Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee yesterday.  It was one of those cases where there was much I admired about the book (the writing style, the development, etc), but ultimately didn't enjoy the book.  I might read more by him, based on the positive attributes of the book but, if I fall into the same situation again, I'll have to put him on my "do not read" list.

[Neko]

I am now on the second book of the Earth's Children series, The Valley of Horses.  I didn't think I would read the second book, but I really wanted to know what happened to Ayla, and what the Cro-Magnon people were like, in the universe Auel created.  I'm actually liking this book more than the first one; it's slower, but there isn't nearly as much violence as the first book.  And I like Ayla and Jondalar teaching each other about little things, like making tools and clothes.  I have no idea if I will read the third book, yet...I'm kind of waffling, TBH.

[Jenniferbug]

Anyone have thoughts on the Kindle November books? I'm trying to decide between 3 of them- Bleak Harbor and Rapid Falls both sound interesting and a lot like books I normally read. The Frame Up sounds like it will either be fun to read or terrible. 

[Danny Franks]

I just finished Manhattan Beach, by Jennifer Egan. Really well written, and it started off very promisingly, but seemed to lose focus in the last third, and everything resolved itself too neatly. The entire subplot with

Spoiler

Dexter and his gangster lifestyle, and Anna's attraction to him, just felt unnecessary, and shifted focus away from her striving to become a diver, and then finding her father.

[LilWharveyGal]

20 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

Bleak Harbor and Rapid Falls both sound interesting and a lot like books I normally read. 

I was torn between these two, too.  Maybe check your local library.  Mine had Bleak Harbor, so I downloaded Rapid Falls.

[Jenniferbug]

@LilWharveyGal, great idea! Thanks! I'm at the library all the time, so I don't know why that didn't occur to me. 

[DearEvette]

On 10/31/2018 at 10:27 AM, Joe said:

I'm reading the second Malazan book, Deadhouse Gates. And it's just... too much. 960 pages. Three sets of characters just became four sets. I keep forgetting what the characters were up to last time I saw them. This book isn't even the longest in the series, that would be Toll the Hounds at 1,300. While there are certainly many good parts, and I don't feel the book is padded at all, I just like shorter adventures. When I finish this, I don't know if I'll go on with the series.

I had to peace out of Malazan after book 5  -- just too much happening.  Usually I love deep history and detailed world building and the idea of the pantheon of Gods represented by a deck of cards is fascinating.  But this series has too, too much.  I mean, Book #5 has a 200 page prologue about a never before mentioned character going back a couple hundred years before the book catches up to present day. So yeah, too, too much.

The other thing is the story from book to book isn't linear.  Book #3 Memories of Ice picks up where Book #1 left off.  Book #2 Deadhouse Gates spurs off into a different storyline and picks up again in Book #4 House of Chains. 

That said, Book #3 Memories of Ice is fan-freaking-tastic, imo. 

[Black Knight]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I had to peace out of Malazan after book 5  -- just too much happening.  Usually I love deep history and detailed world building and the idea of the pantheon of Gods represented by a deck of cards is fascinating.  But this series has too, too much.  I mean, Book #5 has a 200 page prologue about a never before mentioned character going back a couple hundred years before the book catches up to present day. So yeah, too, too much.

The other thing is the story from book to book isn't linear.  Book #3 Memories of Ice picks up where Book #1 left off.  Book #2 Deadhouse Gates spurs off into a different storyline and picks up again in Book #4 House of Chains. 

That said, Book #3 Memories of Ice is fan-freaking-tastic, imo. 

Is it possible to read books 1 and 3 in a row, and then books 2 and 4? Or are there crossover issues that make it not a good idea?

And is the Malazan series done yet?

I've only read book 1, and I liked but didn't love it. I certainly wasn't inspired to carry on. I've been told though that later books are better.

[Joe]

3 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I had to peace out of Malazan after book 5  -- just too much happening.  Usually I love deep history and detailed world building and the idea of the pantheon of Gods represented by a deck of cards is fascinating.  But this series has too, too much.  I mean, Book #5 has a 200 page prologue about a never before mentioned character going back a couple hundred years before the book catches up to present day. So yeah, too, too much.

The other thing is the story from book to book isn't linear.  Book #3 Memories of Ice picks up where Book #1 left off.  Book #2 Deadhouse Gates spurs off into a different storyline and picks up again in Book #4 House of Chains. 

That said, Book #3 Memories of Ice is fan-freaking-tastic, imo. 

Okay. If I find Memories of Ice second hand, I'll try it.

17 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

Is it possible to read books 1 and 3 in a row, and then books 2 and 4? Or are there crossover issues that make it not a good idea?

And is the Malazan series done yet?

I've only read book 1, and I liked but didn't love it. I certainly wasn't inspired to carry on. I've been told though that later books are better.

The core series is finished, but there are still prequels and sequels being written.

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

Is it possible to read books 1 and 3 in a row, and then books 2 and 4? Or are there crossover issues that make it not a good idea?

And is the Malazan series done yet?

I've only read book 1, and I liked but didn't love it. I certainly wasn't inspired to carry on. I've been told though that later books are better.

I haven't read them in years, but I remember feeling that is how I wanted to read them in retrospect.  1 -3 and then 2-4.  But iirc, the events of books 2 and 3 run simultaneously with some characters from book 1 spurring off into book 2 events and some spurring off into book 3 events.  My overall memory is that the series is a poster child for grimdark fantasy and each book seemingly gets a little darker than the last.

Edited November 2, 2018 by DearEvette

[Haleth]

I just finished Beartown by Fredrik Backman.  It started out as a lovely story of a small town obsessed with hockey, sort of a Friday Night Lights with nicer people, then halfway through bang!, an incident occurs that pits the people of the town at each other's throats.  Manoman, if it wasn't timely! 

Spoiler

What happens is the star hockey player, an up till now nice 17yo boy who was coddled and praised but never got into trouble, gets drunk and rapes a 15yo girl at a party.  The whole situation is so much like the Kavanaugh/Ford incident it's creepy.  At first no one believes the girl and her whole family faces the backlash, terrible things are done to all of them.  If anyone questions why a 15yo girl would not tell, this is precisely why.

I really enjoy the way Backman writes and am now reading the sequel Us Against You.

[Pachengala]

On 10/31/2018 at 8:20 AM, HazelEyes4325 said:

I finished Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee yesterday.  It was one of those cases where there was much I admired about the book (the writing style, the development, etc), but ultimately didn't enjoy the book.  I might read more by him, based on the positive attributes of the book but, if I fall into the same situation again, I'll have to put him on my "do not read" list.

I read this while on a Booker-winners kick and felt the same as you. But I try to read at least two books by any author before I write him/her off forever, so I later read The Childhood of Jesus; I felt the same about it—all style, no substance—and washed my hands of Coetzee. 

I’m currently reading The Bear and the Nightengale by Katherine Arden and have no idea what it’s about, at about 15% in. I can’t remember why I put it on my goodreads but it was available for kindle at my library so I grabbed it. Hopefully it’ll start gelling for me. 

Im also reading The Mighty Fitz about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I love all nautical disaster books; they’re like comfort food for me—they make me appreciate the cozy security of my life and home—but this one is a bit more disturbing. I think it might be because it took place in basically modern day, and in a lake, not a hundred years ago in the Arctic or something. It feels recent, and touchable, and it’s upsetting me more than these stories normally do. 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Pachengala
Clarity

[Haleth]

7 hours ago, Pachengala said:

I’m currently reading The Bear and the Nightengale by Katherine Arden and have no idea what it’s about, at about 15% in. I can’t remember why I put it on my goodreads but it was available for kindle at my library so I grabbed it. Hopefully it’ll start gelling for me. 

I loved this book, the fairy tale aspect of it.  The third in the series is coming out soon.

[Spartan Girl]

Just got done reading The Winters by Lisa Gabriele, a contemporary retelling of Rebecca. For those like @Wiendish Fitch who hated how the husband was portrayed as a tragic hero in the original might like this version better:

because he turns out to be the evil gaslighting villain all along

Edited November 4, 2018 by Spartan Girl

[starri]

Used my Audible credit this month to pick up Deborah Blum's new book The Poison Squad.  Her Poisoner's Handbook is one of my favorite true crime books, and this is also about chemistry, albeit relating to food safety at the turn of century.    This probably would have worked better on the page, but the first chapter is just a list with short biographical sketches of most of the major players in the story.  It just kept going and going.

[Pachengala]

5 hours ago, Haleth said:

I loved this book, the fairy tale aspect of it.  The third in the series is coming out soon.

That’s encouraging, thanks! I don’t normally go into a book this blind, but am glad to learn it’s a series—I love series.

[buffynut]

On 10/31/2018 at 1:43 PM, Sweet Summer Child said:

I am now on the second book of the Earth's Children series, The Valley of Horses.  I didn't think I would read the second book, but I really wanted to know what happened to Ayla, and what the Cro-Magnon people were like, in the universe Auel created.  I'm actually liking this book more than the first one; it's slower, but there isn't nearly as much violence as the first book.  And I like Ayla and Jondalar teaching each other about little things, like making tools and clothes.  I have no idea if I will read the third book, yet...I'm kind of waffling, TBH.

The Valley of Horses  is my favourite of the series. I loved Alya's communication with Whinney and Racer.

[nodorothyparker]

Woolly mammoth sex in whichever book it is not withstanding, back in the bad old pre-internet days the Earth's Children books got passed around a lot as caveman porn.  It was so much more explicit than the euphemistic Harlequin romance novels most teenage girls were relegated to reading at the time.

[HazelEyes4325]

12 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

Woolly mammoth sex in whichever book it is not withstanding, back in the bad old pre-internet days the Earth's Children books got passed around a lot as caveman porn.  It was so much more explicit than the euphemistic Harlequin romance novels most teenage girls were relegated to reading at the time.

Exactly!  I read all the books (except wasn't there another one that came out rather recently?  I haven't read that one..) and I cannot tell you a single plot point, but I can tell you that I learned A LOT from those books!

[littlewonder]

Just finished This Is Day One by Drew Dudley.  I very rarely delve into self-help/motivationbal books but Drew is an aquaintance of mine and he sure knows how to tell an anecdote so I gave it a shot and liked it.

Started Watch Me by Jody Gehrman yesterday.  I knew nothing about ti but it caught my eye at the library.  I was hooked from the first page.  So rare that the suspence is there for the very beginning.  (What is it about late fall / early winter that makes us want to curl up with a mystery?)

[Minneapple]

Back on a YA kick, I read The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas. Decent mystery and generally good, likeable characters. It's not really a "LOOK AT THIS AMAZING TWIST AND ANOTHER TWIST" kind of mystery, which I kind of appreciated since that's pretty much all we get out of mystery/thriller novels nowadays.

I have The Clockmaker's Daughter on hold at the library. Excited to get that one started.

On 10/26/2018 at 12:21 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I finally got a copy of Spinning Silver at my library, and while I like it so far, the constant POV changes are giving me whiplash.  The author doesn't even have a name heading at the start of each section/chapter, let alone a font change, to show who is narrating, and it's a little hard to keep up.

I didn't have this problem with Spinning Silver, though I did find it a bit weird that it started with two main POVs and then suddenly two more seemingly unrelated POVs started like halfway through the book. And I did wish we got more of Irina's POV. But overall I loved this book, it was one of my faves of the year. 

[Jenniferbug]

I ended up deciding on The Frame Up for my November Kindle first read, as I figured it was the one my library would be least likely to get. I'm halfway through, and I'm really loving it so far! It's very saturated in nerd/geek culture (Star Wars, Harry Potter, gaming, comics, etc) so if you're not fairly familiar with that stuff, it might detract from the book. But speaking as someone who is pretty well immersed, it is a really enjoyable read. Fun mystery, fun characters, fun references, fun feminism. I'm excited to keep reading and happy that it appears it will be a series (based on it saying book 1 after the title).

[Squirt]

I do audio books and I am currently listening to the Lisa Lutz book The Passenger.

[Epeolatrix]

I'm just finishing Aestheticism, Evil, Homosexuality, and Hannibal: If Oscar Wilde Ate People by Geoff Klock. It's a scholarly tome applying Oscar Wilde's quote that "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all." to Bryan Fuller's tv series Hannibal. The book goes into great detail about Fuller's fanfic presentation of the Hannibal stories as beautiful evil / evil beauty (the aestheticism and evil), and then also about the homo-eroticism of the series (homosexuality and Hannibal). It was on sale on Amazon for $30; I most certainly did not pay $90. Although it's a dense academic read, I really enjoyed it.

[festivus]

On 10/31/2018 at 11:43 AM, Sweet Summer Child said:

I am now on the second book of the Earth's Children series, The Valley of Horses.  I didn't think I would read the second book, but I really wanted to know what happened to Ayla, and what the Cro-Magnon people were like, in the universe Auel created.  I'm actually liking this book more than the first one; it's slower, but there isn't nearly as much violence as the first book.  And I like Ayla and Jondalar teaching each other about little things, like making tools and clothes.  I have no idea if I will read the third book, yet...I'm kind of waffling, TBH.

The third book is the best one. I won't get into it as it would be spoiling it for you, but I really loved it and I will read it from time to time without reading any of the others in the series. The fourth book is decent, but the series goes to hell after that IMO.

[Snow Apple]

I'm reading Redder Than Blood. A collection of fairy tale retellings by Tanith Lee. A few hits. A few misses.

[ALenore]

On 11/1/2018 at 2:55 PM, Danny Franks said:

 

I just finished Manhattan Beach, by Jennifer Egan. Really well written, and it started off very promisingly, but seemed to lose focus in the last third, and everything resolved itself too neatly. The entire subplot with

 

I agree with this. I enjoyed the first half of the book quite a lot, but I didn't really like to spoiler tagged part either.  It sort of ruined the book for me. 

Edited November 8, 2018 by ALenore

[truthaboutluv]

On 11/5/2018 at 8:06 PM, Minneapple said:

Back on a YA kick, I read The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas. Decent mystery and generally good, likeable characters. It's not really a "LOOK AT THIS AMAZING TWIST AND ANOTHER TWIST" kind of mystery, which I kind of appreciated since that's pretty much all we get out of mystery/thriller novels nowadays.

I just recently completed that one and made a post about it a few posts above yours. Curious what your thoughts were on some of the spoilered parts I mentioned.

[Minneapple]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

I just recently completed that one and made a post about it a few posts above yours. Curious what your thoughts were on some of the spoilered parts I mentioned.

@truthaboutluv, I totally skipped right past your post!

Okay so here goes:

Spoiler

I figured Brandon would have something to do with it, but I wasn't certain that he was the killer. I thought Ginny was *very* suspicious, her seemingly random interest in the mystery. But then part of me chalked it up to nobody ever really taking an interest in Ginny or wanting her to be their friend before. 

And yes, I also thought it was weird that the author didn't use the words "pregnant" or "abortion." I waited for her to say it, like in the beginning she's alluding to it and then she'll reveal the mystery about how Monica got pregnant and had an abortion. But nope. Since there are many other YA novels that don't shy away from pregnancy or abortion, I can't figure that out as a literary choice. 

 

 

I do plan on checking out Kara Thomas' other novels. Her teenagers were well-written and not annoying like "oh my God these teenagers are so exhausting someone kill them all." Monica wasn't an idiot and there was no issue of a compromised POV, like she wasn't constantly drunk or on drugs all the time. And, it felt like high school. Like high school with the stupid school activities, assemblies, dances. It brought me back to the mundane life of high school in suburbia, maybe more than any other YA novel I've read recently.

[HazelEyes4325]

I'm just about finished with Trail of Lightning.  This isn't my normal fare, but I loved it.  I will definitely be reading the second book when it comes out in April.  I had started reading Fall of Poppies on Veteran's Day (because it seemed appropriate), but I think I'll put it aside for a bit since Michelle Obama's Becoming just showed up on my doorstep!

[Captain Carrot]

I'm in the middle of 'Indianapolis' by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic. So for it's an amazing read regarding the event itself, and the quest to absolve the captain the navy used as a scapegoat. However, I might have to put it down for a little bit. The ship just sank, and I'm dreading the next section.

[alias1]

On ‎11‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 8:31 PM, Squirt said:

I do audio books and I am currently listening to the Lisa Lutz book The Passenger.

I loved that book.  I read it so I don't know how the good the audio version is.

[proserpina65]

On ‎11‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 11:57 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Just got done reading The Winters by Lisa Gabriele, a contemporary retelling of Rebecca. For those like @Wiendish Fitch who hated how the husband was portrayed as a tragic hero in the original might like this version better:

  Reveal hidden contents

because he turns out to be the evil gaslighting villain all along

So I would hate it, then, because I think Rebecca is a terrific novel and have no need of a contemporary retelling which changes something so big.

[MaggieG]

I'm currently listening to Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage. It's about a mother locked into a battle of wills with her 7 year old daughter. The daughter refuses to speak and constantly throws tantrums. Basically, the little girl is a sociopath. It's told from the POV of the mother and the daughter. I'm pretty intrigued to see where this is going. 

I just finished watching You on Lifetime and now I really want to read the book so that is next on my list.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Just finished Everything I Never Told You, the other book by Celeste Ng. It's emotionally brutal (don't read it if you're easily depressed), but was strongly written filled with complex characters with understandable motivations. In fact, I'll even go out on a limb and say it's almost like a Jodi Picoult novel... if Jodi Picoult had real talent, a moral compass, and didn't dump ice water and pig's blood on readers' heads with a shitty ending.

[Neko]

I'm reading The Leaving, by Tara Altebrando. I just started it, but it's pretty freaky.  I'm interested in seeing where the story goes.

[truthaboutluv]

23 minutes ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

I'm reading The Leaving, by Tara Altebrando. I just started it, but it's pretty freaky.  I'm interested in seeing where the story goes.

Read that one last year. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you my feelings about it. Will be interested to see what you think when you’re done.

[Browncoat]

I just finished "Dragon's Code", a new book about Pern, but this time written by Anne McCaffrey's daughter Gigi, instead of her son.

If you love Pern as I do, and are as familiar with the established canon as I am, don't waste your time.  The story is about Piemur, but she changes some fairly major things, and rehashes other things that we know.  Granted, some of the originals overlapped a bit, but Gigi changes some of the timeline, too.

The story itself isn't horrible, but I can't recommend it at all.  Mostly I'm glad I got it from the public library.

[AngelKitty]

On 11/16/2018 at 1:44 PM, Browncoat said:

I just finished "Dragon's Code", a new book about Pern,

I have loved the Pern books and was quite excited to see there was a new one. But man, oh man, I am having a hard time getting into it, so thank you. I am not going to feel guilty about not finishing it. I actually put it down because the next Kate Daniels book, Magic Shifts, had become available and the lure was too great to resist.

[Browncoat]

I'm now rereading the original two Pern trilogies as a palate cleanser.  I highly recommend those!  Michelle Obama's book is on deck.

[Spartan Girl]

I am now reading Michelle Obama's book. Very candid and great so far! I especially loved how she and Barack got together. The story of how he proposed to her is priceless.

Edited November 19, 2018 by Spartan Girl

[Neko]

Okay, I finished The Leaving, and I want my money back.

Spoiler

This book has a great premise, but completely falls apart once you realize it's basically a YA love triangle disguised as a thriller.  Six kindergartners are abducted from a playground and five of them return eleven years later, with no memory of who they were with, or what they were doing, all that time.  They set out to discover what happened to them, and to find out what happened to the kid that never came back.  Sounds pretty good, right?

Yeah, it isn't.  Almost immediately after the kids come back, we have two of them wonder whether or not they were a couple, because it feels like they were in love.  We get A LOT of that.  Then, the sister of the kid who is still missing decides she loves the guy in that couple, after having one, brief conversation with him.  So, we get a lot of huffing and puffing from her any time the guy acts lovey towards the girl, and she even stalks the girl out of jealousy, at one point.  At this time, I would like to remind you that this is the sister of THE KID WHO IS STILL MISSING.   You would think bigger things would be on her mind, but nope, she just wants some dick.

So, after 400 pages of this, we finally get the big reveal that the kids were taken by the army after a horrible shooting occurred at their school, and their memories were erased so they could grow up without trauma.  The kid who was still missing the whole time died of an asthma attack, and they buried him in a yard.  That's it, that's the big reveal.  I'm not kidding.

On top of the anticlimactic ending, we have NO characterization, to speak of (the book is told through three POV's, and their voices are NOT distinct), and a desperate attempt by the author to make things interesting by a lot of back-slashes and different font sizes, whenever the kids remember something, because...art?  IDK, but it just doesn't work.  I usually don't mind that type of thing, if it's done well, but this was just a mess.  It didn't add anything to the story, and it took up WAY too much space.  You could have shaved the book down by 200 pages if you cut all that crap.  Also, we only hear from two out of the five kids who come back; the other three disappear from the story, and we never get their POV's.  Why?  Why not cut the dickmatized sister's POV and include the other kids who are trying to remember who they are?  It's THEIR story, right?  Who made this decision?

Oh, and the parents and siblings of the kids who come back hilariously don't care about their return, like, at all.  One mom immediately starts pushing a book deal, and one brother says he's not even sure he likes his brother, or wants him back.  Nice.  I know that's how I would act, if a beloved family member returned after having been gone for years, and years.  Totally rings true.

Anyway, I did not like this book.  The premise had so much potential, but the execution was terrible.  The author thanks a friend "for the idea" at the end of the book, so that answers a lot of questions.  Ugh.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

Okay, I finished The Leaving, and I want my money back.

  Reveal hidden contents

This book has a great premise, but completely falls apart once you realize it's basically a YA love triangle disguised as a thriller.  Six kindergartners are abducted from a playground and five of them return eleven years later, with no memory of who they were with, or what they were doing, all that time.  They set out to discover what happened to them, and to find out what happened to the kid that never came back.  Sounds pretty good, right?

Yeah, it isn't.  Almost immediately after the kids come back, we have two of them wonder whether or not they were a couple, because it feels like they were in love.  We get A LOT of that.  Then, the sister of the kid who is still missing decides she loves the guy in that couple, after having one, brief conversation with him.  So, we get a lot of huffing and puffing from her any time the guy acts lovey towards the girl, and she even stalks the girl out of jealousy, at one point.  At this time, I would like to remind you that this is the sister of THE KID WHO IS STILL MISSING.   You would think bigger things would be on her mind, but nope, she just wants some dick.

So, after 400 pages of this, we finally get the big reveal that the kids were taken by the army after a horrible shooting occurred at their school, and their memories were erased so they could grow up without trauma.  The kid who was still missing the whole time died of an asthma attack, and they buried him in a yard.  That's it, that's the big reveal.  I'm not kidding.

On top of the anticlimactic ending, we have NO characterization, to speak of (the book is told through three POV's, and their voices are NOT distinct), and a desperate attempt by the author to make things interesting by a lot of back-slashes and different font sizes, whenever the kids remember something, because...art?  IDK, but it just doesn't work.  I usually don't mind that type of thing, if it's done well, but this was just a mess.  It didn't add anything to the story, and it took up WAY too much space.  You could have shaved the book down by 200 pages if you cut all that crap.  Also, we only hear from two out of the five kids who come back; the other three disappear from the story, and we never get their POV's.  Why?  Why not cut the dickmatized sister's POV and include the other kids who are trying to remember who they are?  It's THEIR story, right?  Who made this decision?

Oh, and the parents and siblings of the kids who come back hilariously don't care about their return, like, at all.  One mom immediately starts pushing a book deal, and one brother says he's not even sure he likes his brother, or wants him back.  Nice.  I know that's how I would act, if a beloved family member returned after having been gone for years, and years.  Totally rings true.

Anyway, I did not like this book.  The premise had so much potential, but the execution was terrible.  The author thanks a friend "for the idea" at the end of the book, so that answers a lot of questions.  Ugh.

The premise of the book sounds exactly like something I would read, but I'm glad I read your spoiler because the rest of it does not. I'll pass.

[Jenniferbug]

On 10/27/2018 at 4:50 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Still on a Kate Morton kick, this time it's her latest, The Clockmaker's Daughter. Solid so far, though I think she overdid with the number of characters, intersecting plot threads, etc. 

I'm reading this now. I'm about 200 pages in, and I still feel like there's a lot of plot lines to bring together. Honestly, I keep wanting her to cut it out with reviewing the girl's past and focus more on the artist colony at the house in 1862. It feels like a lot of treading water...enjoyable for now,  but no real momentum.