en-US Sat, 05 Apr 2025 10:08:22 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 11797285 389 Bentley Little 0451236378 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 3.51 2012
author: Bentley Little
name: Jade
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 57354961 If your house were on fire, what one thing would you save? Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park explores different answers to this provocative question in linked poems that capture the diverse voices of a middle school class. Recipient of four starred reviews!

"[Park's] message is We don't need a great blazing tragedy to determine what we hold most precious in our lives; we can define what's vital through our thoughts and memories, always at hand, in our heads and hearts--safe, where the flames don't reach."--New York Times Book Review

When a teacher asks her class what one thing they would save in an emergency, some students know the answer right away. Others come to their decisions more slowly. And some change their minds when they hear their classmates' responses. A lively dialog ignites as the students discover unexpected facets of one another--and themselves.

With her ear for authentic dialog and knowledge of kids' priorities and emotions, Linda Sue Park brings the varied voices of an inclusive classroom to life through carefully honed, engaging, and instantly accessible verse. Elegantly illustrated with black-and-white by Robert Sae-Heng art throughout.]]> 83 Linda Sue Park 0358526019 Jade 5
If your house is on fire, and your loved ones are safe, what is the one thing you'd take? Size doesn't matter. I really had to think about this one before deciding on grabbing my wallet. Not for the money. For the photograph, $2 bill, and 10+ year old fortune from Panda Express that's inside. My good luck charms, as I like to think.

The photograph is the only one I have of my late grandfather. The $2 bill is a gift from my grandmother, with a message she wrote for me. And the old fortune tells me Wednesday is my lucky day - and I truly believe that.

The One Thing You'd Save is a book to read again and again when you need a reminder of what matters most, and to weed out the superficial things in life.

"Things that you can't go buy another one, that's what you gotta save."]]> 3.92 2021
author: Linda Sue Park
name: Jade
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/12
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: from-the-library, to-read-again, to-recommend
review:
A book you can read in less than 20 minutes yet a book to think about for a long time.

If your house is on fire, and your loved ones are safe, what is the one thing you'd take? Size doesn't matter. I really had to think about this one before deciding on grabbing my wallet. Not for the money. For the photograph, $2 bill, and 10+ year old fortune from Panda Express that's inside. My good luck charms, as I like to think.

The photograph is the only one I have of my late grandfather. The $2 bill is a gift from my grandmother, with a message she wrote for me. And the old fortune tells me Wednesday is my lucky day - and I truly believe that.

The One Thing You'd Save is a book to read again and again when you need a reminder of what matters most, and to weed out the superficial things in life.

"Things that you can't go buy another one, that's what you gotta save."
]]> 60324202
You can either take your thoughts captive or be held captive by them. The choice is yours.

Scripture declares we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Manny Arango describes this process as God washing our brains, and it is the surest way to overcome anxious thoughts, self-doubt, bitterness, and other mental struggles. But how can we experience this healing power?

This book is a biblical roadmap for winning the battles in your mind. Identify faulty ways of thinking and learn how to take every thought captive under the authority of Christ.

"Sometimes we all allow trauma and pain to determine how we journey through life and relationships. Brain Washed is a clear guide to get the right perspective." --CHANDLER MOORE, Maverick City Music

"A timely and relevant book to help the body of Christ find lasting freedom from toxic thought patterns." --PASTOR ROBERT MADU, Social Dallas]]> 208 Manny Arango 0764240692 Jade 0 4.40
author: Manny Arango
name: Jade
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: christian, from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 52471722 An addictive literary thriller about a crime as shocking as it is commonplace

When Katie Straw's body is pulled from the waters of the local suicide spot, the police are ready to write it off as a standard-issue female suicide. But the residents of the domestic violence shelter where Katie worked disagree. These women have spent weeks or even years waiting for the men they're running from to catch up with them. They know immediately: This was murder.

Still, Detective Dan Whitworth and his team expect an open-and-shut case--until they discover evidence that suggests Katie wasn't who she appeared. Weaving together the investigation with Katie's final months as it barrels toward the truth, The Keeper is a riveting mystery and a searing examination of violence against women and the structures that allow it to continue, marking the debut of an incredible new voice in crime fiction.]]> 336 Jessica Moor 0143134523 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 3.45 2020
author: Jessica Moor
name: Jade
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 33028015 God has given us a specific, compelling reason for each of the four seasons of relationships: singleness, dating, engagement, and marriage. This book unlocks each season's God-given purpose and shows you how to thrive within it.

In a society where everyone is supposedly more connected, why do people feel so lonely? Even as marriage rates decline, recent studies find the overwhelming majority of single adults still hope to get married. But how can we navigate life and love in this disconnected culture? Has social media eroded the institutions that brought us together--and the deeper emotional intimacy they provided?

Pastor and bestselling author Ben Stuart will help you navigate through the four stages of a relational life and show you how to look at the truths and intentions God has established for each.

As you embark on this journey, you will discover how to:


Use singleness to make an impact for the kingdom of God
Pursue dating with clarity and purity
Use the season of engagement wisely to prepare for marriage
Maximize your life as a married couple for shared ministry
Continually seek God and His will throughout each stage
Discover how to embrace God's design, invest your life in what matters most, and find meaning in whatever season of life you're in.]]> 272 Ben Stuart 0718098439 Jade 5 4.42 2017
author: Ben Stuart
name: Jade
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/01
date added: 2024/08/02
shelves: christian, books-to-buy, from-the-library, to-read-again, to-recommend
review:
Truly solid Christian advice. A must read for any Christian wanting to date (and marry!). I have to buy this book so I can mark it up and refer back to often.
]]> 213753
Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.]]> 337 Susan Beth Pfeffer Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 3.89 2006
author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
name: Jade
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/22
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 60277011 A gripping debut novel about a survival reality show gone wrong that leaves a group of strangers stranded in the northern wilds

 Four strangers and six weeks: this is all that separates Mara from one life-changing payday. She was surprised when reality TV producers came knocking at Primal Instinct—the survival school where she teaches rich clients not to die during a night outdoors—and even more shocked to be cast in their new show, Civilization. Now she just has to live off the land with her fellow survivors for long enough to get the prize money.

Whisked by helicopter to an undisclosed location, Mara meets her teammates: The grizzled outdoorsman. The Eagle Scout. The white-collar professional. And Ashley, the beautiful but inexperienced one who just wants to be famous. Mara’s unusual, rugged childhood has prepared her for the discomforts and hard work ahead. But trusting her fellow survivors? Not part of Mara’s skill set.

When the cast wakes one morning to find something has gone horribly wrong, fear ripples through the group. Are the producers giving them an extra challenge? Or are they wrapped up in something more dangerous? Soon Mara and the others face terrifying decisions as “survival� becomes more than a game.

A provocative exploration of the comforts, rituals, and connections we depend upon, Small Game is a gripping page-turner and a poignant story about finding the courage to build a new life from the ground up.]]> 288 Blair Braverman 0063066173 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 3.45 2022
author: Blair Braverman
name: Jade
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/22
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 59345230 New York Times bestselling author T. J. Newman—whose first book Falling was an instant #1 national bestseller and the biggest thriller debut of 2021—returns for her second book, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a commercial jetliner that crashes into the ocean, and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped inside, and the extraordinary rescue operation to save them.

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors—but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.

More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.

Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent—Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife—who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.

There’s not much time.

There’s even less air.

With devastating emotional power and heart-stopping suspense, Drowning is an unforgettable thriller about a family’s desperate fight to save themselves and the people trapped with them—against impossible odds.]]> 304 T.J. Newman 1982177918 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 4.10 2023
author: T.J. Newman
name: Jade
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/22
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 24833566
Except that the lonely old man may not have been who he seemed. And when you take $1 million that isn’t yours, it can cost you…way more.

Acclaimed author Jonathan Stone’s pulse-pounding thriller takes readers from the darkest corners of New York’s financial empire into a shadowy hierarchy of wealth and power. The Teller follows the money—and takes readers along for the wild ride.]]> 285 Jonathan Stone 1477828656 Jade 1 from-the-library
I couldn’t recommend this to anyone.]]> 3.15 2012
author: Jonathan Stone
name: Jade
average rating: 3.15
book published: 2012
rating: 1
read at: 2024/02/29
date added: 2024/02/29
shelves: from-the-library
review:
Good premise - bank teller stealing a customer’s money. Had me in the first part. Yet, part two begins and this story just gets weird. And I mean *weird* in an unbelievably bad way.

I couldn’t recommend this to anyone.
]]> 46041199 A fierce international bestseller that launched Korea’s new feminist movement, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 follows one woman’s psychic deterioration in the face of rigid misogyny.

Truly, flawlessly, completely, she became that person.

In a small, tidy apartment on the outskirts of the frenzied metropolis of Seoul lives Kim Jiyoung. A thirtysomething-year-old “millennial everywoman,� she has recently left her white-collar desk job—in order to care for her newborn daughter full-time—as so many Korean women are expected to do. But she quickly begins to exhibit strange symptoms that alarm her husband, parents, and in-laws: Jiyoung impersonates the voices of other women—alive and even dead, both known and unknown to her. As she plunges deeper into this psychosis, her discomfited husband sends her to a male psychiatrist.

In a chilling, eerily truncated third-person voice, Jiyoung’s entire life is recounted to the psychiatrist—a narrative infused with disparate elements of frustration, perseverance, and submission. Born in 1982 and given the most common name for Korean baby girls, Jiyoung quickly becomes the unfavored sister to her princeling little brother. Always, her behavior is policed by the male figures around her—from the elementary school teachers who enforce strict uniforms for girls, to the coworkers who install a hidden camera in the women’s restroom and post their photos online. In her father’s eyes, it is Jiyoung’s fault that men harass her late at night; in her husband’s eyes, it is Jiyoung’s duty to forsake her career to take care of him and their child—to put them first.

Jiyoung’s painfully common life is juxtaposed against a backdrop of an advancing Korea, as it abandons “family planning� birth control policies and passes new legislation against gender discrimination. But can her doctor flawlessly, completely cure her, or even discover what truly ails her?

Rendered in minimalist yet lacerating prose, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 sits at the center of our global #MeToo movement and announces the arrival of writer of international significance]]> 163 Cho Nam-Joo 1631496700 Jade 5 4.17 2016
author: Cho Nam-Joo
name: Jade
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/28
date added: 2024/02/28
shelves: from-the-library, to-recommend
review:
“Do laws and institutions change values, or do values drive laws and institutions?� A powerful, heartbreaking book on what it means to be a woman�
]]> 89724 Shirley Jackson's beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family's dark secret.

Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate. This edition features an afterword by Jonathan Lethem.]]> 152 Shirley Jackson 0143039970 Jade 4 3.93 1962
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Jade
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1962
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/02/01
shelves: from-the-library, to-read-again, books-to-buy
review:
I did the opposite: I watched the movie, then read the book - and I love both!!! While it can be hard at times to follow along with Merricat's perspective, it's wonderfully written and eerie. I'd love to read it again but I'll have to buy it. Seems to be a hit at my library and always has a weeks to months wait.
]]> 157993
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince, presented here in a stunning new translation with carefully restored artwork. The definitive edition of a worldwide classic, it will capture the hearts of readers of all ages.]]> 96 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 0152023984 Jade 1 from-the-library 4.32 1943
author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
name: Jade
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1943
rating: 1
read at: 2024/01/23
date added: 2024/01/23
shelves: from-the-library
review:
I mustn’t have understood this. Found it boring and hard to follow.
]]> 58957160 What is motherhood in the midst of uncertainty, buried trauma, and an unraveling America? What it’s always been—a love song.

Our narrator is a gifted photographer, an uncertain wife, an infertile mother, a biracial woman in an unraveling America. As she grapples with a lifetime of ambivalence about motherhood, yet another act of police brutality makes headlines, and this time the victim is Noah, a boy in her photography class. Unmoored by the grief of a recent devastating miscarriage and Noah’s fight for his life, she worries she can no longer chase the hope of having a child, no longer wants to bring a Black body into the world. Yet her husband Asher—contributing white, Jewish genes alongside her Black-Japanese ones for any potential child—is just as desperate to keep trying. Throwing herself into a new documentary on motherhood, and making secret visits to Noah in the hospital, this when she learns she is, impossibly, pregnant. As the future shifts once again, she must decide yet again what she dares hope for the shape of her future to be. Fearless, timely, blazing with voice, Blue Hour is a fragmentary novel with unignorable storytelling power.]]> 160 Tiffany Clarke Harrison 1593767498 Jade 2 from-the-library 3.81 2023
author: Tiffany Clarke Harrison
name: Jade
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/17
date added: 2024/01/17
shelves: from-the-library
review:
Not for me. Tries to be deep but came off boring. Was hard to follow.
]]> 28587698 305 Allen Eskens 1633882063 Jade 5 from-the-library 4.14 2016
author: Allen Eskens
name: Jade
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/16
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: from-the-library
review:
Wow. Just wow. I need to sleep after finishing this. Perhaps I can form words in the morning. Let me just say one thing: read this book!!!
]]> 56868996
…or the beginning of a beautiful collaboration.

If there’s one thing Priya Gupta wants, it’s to land the collection of the year for her family’s NYC auction house, gaining the approval of her father in the process.

Running an extremely close second? For a very small sinkhole to open up under the feet of Gavin Carlyle, her childhood rival turned auction-house competitor, so she never has to see his smug, irritatingly handsome face again.

Neither of those options seem likely, especially since Gavin is dead set on winning the same collection—and his pockets are as deep as his family's extensive art world connections. Plus, he has charm to spare. Though Priya would walk over hot coals before ever admitting that.

When they are both invited to a posh country estate to spend the week wooing the prospective client, their longtime rivalry creates sparks, all right, just not the kind either Priya or Gavin ever expected…]]> 339 Suleena Bibra 0369717937 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 3.65
author: Suleena Bibra
name: Jade
average rating: 3.65
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/29
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 50993
When he discovers that he has terminal cancer, retired heart surgeon Ben Givens refuses to simply sit back and wait. Instead he takes his two beloved dogs and goes on a last hunt, determined to end his life on his own terms. But as the people he meets and the memories over which he lingers remind him of the mystery of life’s endurance, his trek into the American West becomes much more than a final journey.]]> 279 David Guterson 1400032652 Jade 3 from-the-library
(I perhaps think, though, that I wasn't the right audience for this. As beautiful as it was, I found it boring and slow.)]]> 3.62 1999
author: David Guterson
name: Jade
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/16
date added: 2023/12/16
shelves: from-the-library
review:
A beautifully written story about an old man facing death. I read it in under 2 hours, so quick read!

(I perhaps think, though, that I wasn't the right audience for this. As beautiful as it was, I found it boring and slow.)
]]> 60417459 Love isn't always by the books in this charming romantic comedy about a bookseller discovering how to be the main character in her story.

As a self-proclaimed book hater and a firm believer that the movie is always better, Drew Young didn't anticipate inheriting her grandma's bookstore, the Book Nook. She's in way over her head even before the shop's resident book club, comprising seven of the naughtiest old ladies ever, begin to do what they do best--meddle.

Bestselling author Jasper Williams is a hopeless romantic. When he meets Drew at his Book Nook signing event, he becomes determined to show her the beauty of reading. He curates a book bucket list in exchange for her help exploring the local Denver scene for his current manuscript. From river rafting to local restaurants, Drew begins to connect with Jasper in a way she only thought happened in fiction.

When messy family ties jeopardize the future of the Book Nook, Drew is caught between a bookshelf and a hard place. She's reminded that real life isn't always big dreams and sweeping romance. But Jasper is the plot twist she never saw coming and he's writing a happily ever after just for them.]]> 336 Alexa Martin 0593337220 Jade 2 from-the-library
But it's a "romance" poorly written like a Colorado tourist guide that just doesn't know how to sell.

The steamy scenes were not steamy ("Then I drop my towel." I laughed). The language throughout the book gave me second hand embarrassment. "This is big facts" and "hot-mess-girl summers" and Birkenstocks and CrossFit. The literal use of the abbreviation AF. Not to mention that Jasper was just *so* beautiful and stunning that EVERYONE had to stop to stare and swoon. Gah!

One star because it made me laugh (although, it really shouldn't have). Another star because at least the grief storyline was nicely done.

Do I recommend? No.]]> 3.38 2022
author: Alexa Martin
name: Jade
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2023/11/16
date added: 2023/11/16
shelves: from-the-library
review:
The one thing Alexa Martin gets right in this book is grief. In fact, the book seems to be more centered around Drew Young's grief than it does of any romance. It didn't read like a romance. There was romance in maybe 15% of it. Perhaps this was just fiction or even "coming of age." If Better Than Fiction was written about a young woman trying to navigate life after a major loss without any attempt at romance, then this would be a 5 star read.

But it's a "romance" poorly written like a Colorado tourist guide that just doesn't know how to sell.

The steamy scenes were not steamy ("Then I drop my towel." I laughed). The language throughout the book gave me second hand embarrassment. "This is big facts" and "hot-mess-girl summers" and Birkenstocks and CrossFit. The literal use of the abbreviation AF. Not to mention that Jasper was just *so* beautiful and stunning that EVERYONE had to stop to stare and swoon. Gah!

One star because it made me laugh (although, it really shouldn't have). Another star because at least the grief storyline was nicely done.

Do I recommend? No.
]]> 42975172 The Handmaid's Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her--freedom, prison or death.

With The Testaments, the wait is over.

Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than fifteen years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades.

"Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in." --Margaret Atwood

An alternate cover edition of ISBN 978-0385543781 can be found here.]]> 422 Margaret Atwood Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 4.16 2019
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Jade
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/15
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 34273236
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned � from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren � an enigmatic artist and single mother � who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother–daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town � and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .]]> 338 Celeste Ng 0735224293 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 4.05 2017
author: Celeste Ng
name: Jade
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/24
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 59651553 It will take the frosty terrain of the Arctic to show these rival scientists that their chemistry burns hot.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn�

Hannah’s got a bad feeling about this. Not only has the NASA aerospace engineer found herself injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station—but the one person willing to undertake the hazardous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

Ian has been many things to Hannah: the villain who tried to veto her expedition and ruin her career, the man who stars in her most deliciously lurid dreams…but he’s never played the hero. So why is he risking everything to be here? And why does his presence seem just as dangerous to her heart as the coming snowstorm?

To read Mara and Sadie’s stories look for the novellas Under One Roof and Stuck with You available now from Berkley!]]> 112 Ali Hazelwood 0593437837 Jade 1 from-the-library
Not to mention the poorly written sex scenes. Great example is, for one, them not exactly screwing at NASA. The other? Ian comparing to her body to Mars. I -

The plot gets completely lost in all the NASA mentions in various forms. JPL, AMASE, etc…it’s mentioned more than Hannah’s name. Is this supposed to be a nerdy love story or a “look at me, I work at NASA�?

I suppose as a quick and easy read, this book is okay. But in general, it’s bland and lacks excitement and everything else you’d expect of a “fall in love and reunite years later� book. Hannah just wants sex! Ian just wants love! Hannah didn’t deserve Ian. Or I guess, Ian deserved better than Hannah. Total sweetheart and gem.

I was under the impression this would be a well done book given the popularity of Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis. Perhaps that book was much more well written than this one. I’ll have to give it a read.

Would not read again. Don’t exactly recommend. ]]> 3.57 2022
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Jade
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2023/05/29
date added: 2023/05/29
shelves: from-the-library
review:
Not as “fall in love and reunite years later� as you’d think. More like main character, Hannah, labels herself “emotionally unavailable� while wanting everybody (especially Ian) for sex and treating the people in her life not so well. You know, the good old “I’m trying to save your life, Hannah.� and the casual response of “F- you, Ian!� He literally had trekked through a snow storm in the North Pole to save her? But like she didn’t exactly deserve it?

Not to mention the poorly written sex scenes. Great example is, for one, them not exactly screwing at NASA. The other? Ian comparing to her body to Mars. I -

The plot gets completely lost in all the NASA mentions in various forms. JPL, AMASE, etc…it’s mentioned more than Hannah’s name. Is this supposed to be a nerdy love story or a “look at me, I work at NASA�?

I suppose as a quick and easy read, this book is okay. But in general, it’s bland and lacks excitement and everything else you’d expect of a “fall in love and reunite years later� book. Hannah just wants sex! Ian just wants love! Hannah didn’t deserve Ian. Or I guess, Ian deserved better than Hannah. Total sweetheart and gem.

I was under the impression this would be a well done book given the popularity of Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis. Perhaps that book was much more well written than this one. I’ll have to give it a read.

Would not read again. Don’t exactly recommend.
]]> 34346848 WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

In this intimate memoir of survival, a former captive of the Islamic State tells her harrowing and ultimately inspiring story.

Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon.

On August 15th, 2014, when Nadia was just twenty-one years old, this life ended. Islamic State militants massacred the people of her village, executing men who refused to convert to Islam and women too old to become sex slaves. Six of Nadia's brothers were killed, and her mother soon after, their bodies swept into mass graves. Nadia was taken to Mosul and forced, along with thousands of other Yazidi girls, into the ISIS slave trade.

Nadia would be held captive by several militants and repeatedly raped and beaten. Finally, she managed a narrow escape through the streets of Mosul, finding shelter in the home of a Sunni Muslim family whose eldest son risked his life to smuggle her to safety.

Today, Nadia's story - as a witness to the Islamic State's brutality, a survivor of rape, a refugee, a Yazidi - has forced the world to pay attention to an ongoing genocide. It is a call to action, a testament to the human will to survive, and a love letter to a lost country, a fragile community, and a family torn apart by war.]]> 13 Nadia Murad 0525493212 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 4.45 2017
author: Nadia Murad
name: Jade
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/12
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 3636 208 Lois Lowry 0385732554 Jade 5
My heart ached for Jonas. My heart ached for Gabriel. For The Giver. For all the people in Sameness who will never experience life.

The moment where Jonas learns about Release haunts me. It’ll surely haunt you, too.

And once again, because I just have to say it, The Giver is an absurdly beautiful book you have to read. Maybe more than once. ]]> 4.12 1993
author: Lois Lowry
name: Jade
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/12
date added: 2023/05/12
shelves: from-the-library, books-to-buy, to-read-again, to-recommend
review:
Wow. Just wow. An absurdly beautiful book that you have to read at least once.

My heart ached for Jonas. My heart ached for Gabriel. For The Giver. For all the people in Sameness who will never experience life.

The moment where Jonas learns about Release haunts me. It’ll surely haunt you, too.

And once again, because I just have to say it, The Giver is an absurdly beautiful book you have to read. Maybe more than once.
]]> 60835840 Part memoir, part speculative fiction, The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be explores the often surreal experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee.

Dream Country author Shannon Gibney returns with The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be, a book woven from her true story of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee and fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth, a child raised by a white, closeted lesbian.

At its core, the novel is a tale of two girls on two different timelines occasionally bridged by a mysterious portal and their shared search for a complete picture of their origins. Gibney surrounds that story with reproductions of her own adoption documents, letters, family photographs, interviews, medical records, and brief essays on the surreal absurdities of the adoptee experience.

The end result is a remarkable portrait of an American experience rarely depicted in any form.]]> 256 Shannon Gibney 0593111990 Jade 5 3.87 2023
author: Shannon Gibney
name: Jade
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/24
date added: 2023/04/24
shelves: from-the-library, to-recommend
review:
Such a beautiful and yet sad book. Couldn’t put it down. Anyone who seems “split� between two identities could easily find themselves wondering if it was a book they had written themselves. If you’re thinking about reading this, I greatly recommend it. Left me with a heavy heart. Absolutely beautiful.
]]> 57067988 Perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Megan Abbott, Lynne Reeves' The Dangers of an Ordinary Night is an exploration of the explosive family secrets that are often hidden in plain sight.

On a chilly fall evening at the prestigious Performing Arts High School of Boston, best friends Tali Carrington and June Danforth go missing after auditioning for a play. They're last seen in grainy, out-of-focus surveillance footage that shows them walking side-by-side. Two days later in a town south of Boston, Tali is found disoriented and traumatized by the ocean's edge, while June is pronounced dead at the scene.

Tali's mother, Nell, is so bent on protecting her daughter from further emotional harm that she enlists the help of Cynthia Rawlins, a renowned therapist for families. Meanwhile, Detective Fitz Jameson is assigned to the investigation and dives into the lives of high-performing students who may be harboring dark secrets.

As Nell, Cynthia, and Fitz confront their own contributions to the tragedies and scandals that beleaguer them, their lives turn out to be more deeply intertwined than they'd ever imagined. And they must decide what lengths they're willing to go to protect the people they love while also saving themselves.]]> 282 Lynne Reeves 1643858653 Jade 0 from-the-library, to-read 3.30 2021
author: Lynne Reeves
name: Jade
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/17
shelves: from-the-library, to-read
review:

]]> 22557272
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 336 Paula Hawkins 1594633665 Jade 5
The storytelling of Rachael - a drunk - was quite the perspective. It was lovely to read her inner struggles as she struggled with the world around her. And talk about that ending! I don't know who I thought was the culprit, but it surely wasn't them.

The Girl on the Train was recommended to me, and I can't wait to recommend it to someone.

A book you have to read!]]> 3.97 2015
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Jade
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/18
date added: 2023/03/05
shelves: from-the-library, to-recommend
review:
Absolutely beautiful. I couldn't put it down - read in a day!

The storytelling of Rachael - a drunk - was quite the perspective. It was lovely to read her inner struggles as she struggled with the world around her. And talk about that ending! I don't know who I thought was the culprit, but it surely wasn't them.

The Girl on the Train was recommended to me, and I can't wait to recommend it to someone.

A book you have to read!
]]> 60320867 A collection of mystical practices and exercises, Luminary is a one-of-a-kind guide to mindfulness and self-care for teens to support a life of empowerment, confidence, and, of course, magic!

Self-care is not only necessary, it’s magical! Your road to self-care can be a mystical journey that leaves you feeling more confident, determined, and ready to accomplish all those bucket-list items and dreams you have scribbled in your journal. So why not start that journey now?

Find both mystical and practical tools to help deal with stress, depression, and other challenges in this gorgeously illustrated and highly designed guide offering different creative ways of living a heart-centered, mindful, and magical life through concrete tools for self-care and advice from a diverse group of practitioners in areas like tarot, astrology, energy work, and much more.

]]> 368 Kate Scelsa 1665902345 Jade 4 from-the-library
I grabbed this as an ebook from my library but hope to eventually grab a physical copy to add to my bookshelves. I think I would enjoy a physical copy more so.]]> 3.87
author: Kate Scelsa
name: Jade
average rating: 3.87
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/01
date added: 2023/03/01
shelves: from-the-library
review:
I will, first off, admit to having skimmed the book. I will, secondly, say that from the parts I read and focused on, it’s an interesting read. One of those reads where you jump around and look back to from time to time. It introduces different aspects of spiritually while holding in depth conversations with various people.

I grabbed this as an ebook from my library but hope to eventually grab a physical copy to add to my bookshelves. I think I would enjoy a physical copy more so.
]]> 38447
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.]]> 311 Margaret Atwood 038549081X Jade 4 from-the-library
Some people seem to not realize that the world in which Gilead exists can happen. In some small factions, it has already happened. We see parts of it here in the States with the attack on women's reproductive rights. The Handmaid's Tale is a haunting look, what is written in the past, into the future if we are not careful.

Remember, even Serena Joy has some dissent with the world she so wanted.

In regards to the show, I do find that easier to follow along than the book. I'm glad I read the book, though. I'm waiting for The Testaments (sequel to The Handmaid's Tale) to become available at my library.]]> 4.15 1985
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Jade
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/01
date added: 2023/03/01
shelves: from-the-library
review:
A haunting and painful story that you have to read at least once.

Some people seem to not realize that the world in which Gilead exists can happen. In some small factions, it has already happened. We see parts of it here in the States with the attack on women's reproductive rights. The Handmaid's Tale is a haunting look, what is written in the past, into the future if we are not careful.

Remember, even Serena Joy has some dissent with the world she so wanted.

In regards to the show, I do find that easier to follow along than the book. I'm glad I read the book, though. I'm waiting for The Testaments (sequel to The Handmaid's Tale) to become available at my library.
]]> 42982284
With Brexit looming, A.I developing, social media draining and a sense of community dissipating, the public are looking for permission to hunker down with those closest to them in a warm, safe and cosy environment. As the world gets bigger and more intimidating we are seeing value in the small things that make us feel good and matter to us in the UK. The Book of Cosy is a celebratory guide to living your cosiest life and Laura deciphers why it is that that the notion of cosiness is having a moment and how reconnecting with a simple, cosy life is replacing the hassle of adventure and costly material pleasures.

The Book of Cosy is a wonderful, comforting acknowledgement and antidote to feeling overwhelmed in modern life - a celebration of our quaint and quirky traditions, habits and loves, new and old and an examination of why this zeitgeist is more relevant than ever.

Chapters include: HOME & HEARTH, TEXTILES, PASTIMES, FOOD and WEATHER - with beautiful, charming line illustrations throughout.]]> 224 Laura Weir 1473696224 Jade 4 3.38 2018
author: Laura Weir
name: Jade
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/18
date added: 2023/02/23
shelves: from-the-library, to-read-again, books-to-buy
review:
A neat book to remind you that sometimes all you need is a cup of tea.
]]> 53450790 Would you defend your husband if he was accused of killing his mistress?

Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in Washington D.C. At 33 years old, she is a named partner at her firm and life is going exactly how she planned.

The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He is a struggling writer who has had little success in his career. He begins to tire of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working.

Out in the secluded woods, at Adam and Sarah’s second home, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers.

Then, one morning everything changes. Adam is arrested for Kelly’s murder. She had been found stabbed to death in Adam and Sarah’s second home.

Sarah soon finds herself playing the defender for her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress.

But is Adam guilty or is he innocent?]]> 337 Jeneva Rose 1913419657 Jade 3 from-the-library
It starts off great. There's mystery, suspense, even a bit of thrill. Who killed Kelly, right? The quality then starts to dwindle. Too many characters/suspects are introduced and it becomes hard to keep track of them all. There comes to be a million people at the sheriffs office and then enter Kelly's brother's uncle's best friend's goldfish - or something.

None of the characters are likable - which is fine, they don't have to be. I did enjoy not liking any of them. Clearly, Sarah and Adam should have divorced years before the story even starts. Adam was particularly insufferable, though. "Are they having an affair? If they were, would I even have the right to be mad? Of course, I would. She's my * wife..." Like? Didn't you just have an entire affair?

Spoiler: The killer is, truthfully, unexpected and doesn't make sense. Well, it does make sense a slight bit (although I would simply resort to a divorce if my husband was ever unfaithful), but the over explaining by Sarah - about Kelly, her mother, and Adam - takes away the shock factor. It makes the last bit unnecessary. If the book ended at Chapter 63 right after Sarah reveals to Adam she did it, maybe it'd have a lot more shock factor after a drag in the middle of the book. But to have Sarah go on to explain killing not just Kelly, but her mother and plot Adam's death? Just didn't add up for me and took me out of the book. Especially marrying Bob, AKA Kelly's brother's uncle's best friend's goldfish and naming their daughter Summer? What?!

There's also a quote in Chapter 45 that *does not* hit right at all. "...decided to go Rodney King on a respected defense attorney and now looks more like Mike Tyson than a distressed widower." I had to reread that an unimaginable amount of times. Was Adam really comparing that to Rodney King? Jeneva Rose really thought it was a good idea to write that? Wild.

So, yeah. It's a good book to pass the time, but nothing extraordinary.]]> 3.90 2020
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Jade
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/18
date added: 2023/02/18
shelves: from-the-library
review:
A good book to read to pass the time, but just not worth all the hype.

It starts off great. There's mystery, suspense, even a bit of thrill. Who killed Kelly, right? The quality then starts to dwindle. Too many characters/suspects are introduced and it becomes hard to keep track of them all. There comes to be a million people at the sheriffs office and then enter Kelly's brother's uncle's best friend's goldfish - or something.

None of the characters are likable - which is fine, they don't have to be. I did enjoy not liking any of them. Clearly, Sarah and Adam should have divorced years before the story even starts. Adam was particularly insufferable, though. "Are they having an affair? If they were, would I even have the right to be mad? Of course, I would. She's my * wife..." Like? Didn't you just have an entire affair?

Spoiler: The killer is, truthfully, unexpected and doesn't make sense. Well, it does make sense a slight bit (although I would simply resort to a divorce if my husband was ever unfaithful), but the over explaining by Sarah - about Kelly, her mother, and Adam - takes away the shock factor. It makes the last bit unnecessary. If the book ended at Chapter 63 right after Sarah reveals to Adam she did it, maybe it'd have a lot more shock factor after a drag in the middle of the book. But to have Sarah go on to explain killing not just Kelly, but her mother and plot Adam's death? Just didn't add up for me and took me out of the book. Especially marrying Bob, AKA Kelly's brother's uncle's best friend's goldfish and naming their daughter Summer? What?!

There's also a quote in Chapter 45 that *does not* hit right at all. "...decided to go Rodney King on a respected defense attorney and now looks more like Mike Tyson than a distressed widower." I had to reread that an unimaginable amount of times. Was Adam really comparing that to Rodney King? Jeneva Rose really thought it was a good idea to write that? Wild.

So, yeah. It's a good book to pass the time, but nothing extraordinary.
]]> 36954709 A powerfully moving graphic novel by New York Times bestselling author Eoin Colfer and the team behind the Artemis Fowl graphic novels that explores the current plight of undocumented immigrants.

Ebo is alone.His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life--the same journey their sister set out on months ago.

But Ebo refuses to be left behind in Ghana. He sets out after Kwame and joins him on the quest to reach Europe. Ebo's epic journey takes him across the Sahara Desert to the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and finally out to the merciless sea. But with every step he holds on to his hope for a new life, and a reunion with his family.
]]> 144 Eoin Colfer 1492665827 Jade 5 from-the-library 4.29 2017
author: Eoin Colfer
name: Jade
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/13
date added: 2023/02/13
shelves: from-the-library
review:

]]>