jenbsbooks's reviews
2274 reviews

I grabbed a paperback copy of this ... big, deckled edges. The audio and Kindle copy were available from my library. I went primarily with the audio. The music at the start/end was AWFUL. Luckily it didn't last long and wasn't throughout. Honestly, just 2.5 stars for me, as so much felt improbable, and the entire time I wondered why this title was chosen (as I had it stacked next to The Orphan Keeper and The Orphan Train in my personal library). This was much more about the circus, and the two women, than "the orphan" ... there are already SO many books out there with such a similar title. 

Told in first person, present tense, alternating between two POVs ... Astrid and Noa. There is a prologue, it's one of those  "mysterious" ones ... we don't know when or WHO it is (we are told it's "Paris" )  but this intro didn't add anything (but annoyance) for me. Chapter 1 is Noa/Germany 1944. Chapter 2 is Astrid/Germany 1942 ... I can't remember if the POVs stayed alternating consistently (while the POV is marked at the beginning of each chapter, it was not included on the Table of Contents in either Kindle or Audio, the physical copy doesn't even offer a TOC).  It must have doubled up somewhere, as spot checking didn't always have Astrid only on even chapters. 

Overall - it wasn't bad, it's just not a story where I really connected with the characters, enough to be emotionally involved. I didn't feel like I learned that much. I didn't have any passages I wanted to note/highlight/discuss, although I did appreciate the included discussion questions, author's notes and Q&A with the author (included in the Kindle/physical copy, not audio).

Quick mention of the Lebensborn program ... I just read The Sunflower House. 

Just a few things, possible SPOILERS 

just the coincidence of this young girl, forced to give up her baby, happening to find a baby about the same age. Happening upon a circus and being taken in, and without any discussion, said they'd teach her to be an aerialist. Sure. Of course, she happens to have a history of gymnastics. That's convenient. The Visa and the money ... the "you go" "no you go" ... the fire, the deaths ...

I didn't really care for the ending.

No proFanity, one sex scene that while not really explicit, was more than seemed to fit with the rest of the story. 

Once upon a time, I loved finding a good series, committing to several books in a fictional world. Now, with a TBR a mile long, I'm more picky. There are so many series where I've read the first book, but don't choose to continue on. It says something when I see a series through to the end (even if it is just a trilogy).  And this series is AudibleExclusive, so I had to PAY for it, which I did (there was a great sale). 

This is such an interesting world Shusterman has created. The elimination of disease, injury (can still happen, but repairable), death ... and the issues this new world has (overpopulation, marriage "to death do us part" not really an option) and the introduction of Scythes and their service.  The nanites which in addition to physical repairs, can change metabolism (weight loss) and emotion (depression). The Tone cult. Gender fluidity. 

The unexpected humor ... "short people, they have no reason to live" or "no soup for you" ...

There are a TON of characters, and different settings, and the story switches between the various storylines and it can be a little hard to keep track of everything. All 3rd person/past tense for most (some Thunderhead is more present tense/first person). Single narrator throughout the series (Greg Tremblay) and he does a good job. 

I have yet to read the short stories - Gleanings, but it's next on my list ...
For 600+ pages, this went pretty quickly. 

I happened upon a physical copy of this book while doing some thrift store shopping (for my LFL) and saw this book had high reviews. Audible only ... but there was a sale, so I purchased the audio and was able to borrow the Kindle copy from the library. I went primarily with the audio, narrated by the author.

I was not familiar with the author - I've seen an episode or two of Orange, but it was a while back. I needed a non-fiction for the month, and I'm interested in immigration stories.

This felt a little like two books - one part following the struggle of her/her parents as they stayed in the country illegally, knowing that being caught and deported was always something that could happen. The mother was taken and deported once earlier in the memoir, somehow made it back (we don't know exactly how) before both parents were taken, leaving the young Diane alone. 

She did have a friend/neighbor who took her in, and was able to visit her parents, and talk by telephone after they were deported to Columbia. But, she was struggling through the school system and life mostly alone, hiding the truth (just not sure what people would think), dealing with depression .

The second "storyline" is more about her pursuit of a career. 

It kept my interest, and I felt I learned a little more about how things work (or don't), some of the struggles that I'm lucky enough not to have personal experience with. The author was a good narrator, very animated. The writing (with Michelle Burford) was easy and conversational. 

The Kindle and physical copy had pictures. They were interspersed, at the end of each chapter.  Having listened to the audio edition, and just flipping through the text, I would have preferred the pictures to all be together at the end, for easier viewing (although had I been reading on my own, I might have preferred this picture placement). 

17 chapters, with an introduction and "Call to Action" (physical copy had a TOC) - I do think she makes some very good points in the "Call to Action" portion.  Checking out the other covers (Kindle) one has a picture (of her) as a much younger child, maybe 6 or 7 ... which I think is a bit misleading (she was just 14 when her parents were taken, yet that IS a different visual). The new cover recreates the pose in adult form. It looks like the book was re-written for middle graders too ... it would be interesting to check it out and see how it compares (likely missing the language/proFanity x12) and some of the heavier and more titillating stuff? More just the immigration portions instead of her work in the industry?

First person/past tense - per usual for a memoir.

I must admit, it's been ages since I read Little Women. I'm not a hardcore fan. I'm not sure which is better in this case ... is the connection to that book the hook and draw, or will readers be a little disillusioned by the harsher look at war, and the imperfections of Mr. March (and Marmee). 

While checking out thrift stores for books for my Little Free Library, I found a paperback copy and picked it up. Having a physical copy will move a book up my TBR, even though I still go with digital options overall. Here, I went with the audio BUT ... as Part2 started, I had to switch to reading. It was the same, male narrator, who had been voicing the first person Mr. March thus far, now suddenly he is Marmee? The same voice? First person, being read by a man, the same man/voice we already associate with Mr. March????? I don't care if it costs more to bring in a second (female) narrator. Do it! If it was third person ... okay, but not first person. I don't want to hear a man's voice reading about straightening her dress and caring for her husband. The final two chapters switched back to Mr. March's POV ... and I switched back to the audio. I was glad I had been able to borrow this from the library (although my main/local one didn't carry it). If I'd purchased this from Audible, I would have tried to return it.  I'm going to select the Kindle copy for my format recorded here on Storygraph!

In addition to that audio "error" (in my opinion) - I was frustrated with the Table of Contents, it was difficult to switch between formats, as the breaks weren't consistent. The TOC in Kindle was just the most basic chronological listing. There were chapter headers, I don't know why these were not included on the TOC. The physical book, per usual for today's publications, doesn't even deign to provide a TOC. I did like that the chapter headings were printed along the top of the pages. Still, trying to find a specific spot requires a lot of random flipping, rather than knowing exactly what page a chapter/part starts on. While there were headers, they weren't super informative (Bread and Shelter, Scars, Yankee Leavening ...) When there was the switch to Marmee's POV, I would have appreciated a note indicating that. Not that it was that hard to figure it out, but there were moments of confusion. I had to stop the audio, pull up the Kindle copy, see if I'd missed something (especially as mentioned above, because it was the exact same voice/narrator). 

As for the story itself  - it was very bloody, lots of death and violence (it IS war), huge focus on slavery - which did have some enlightening moments. SO many words that aren't really used regularly today, some I'd want to stop and look up, highlight (espaliered, caducity, encomium, serried, alluvium, apogee, nadir, catarrh) ... there were lots more, those were ones I just stopped to record. Others that I know but notice - hectored, sibilance, desultory, excoriation.   I made more notes in the Marmee section, I guess just feeling some connection to thoughts and feelings. 

I feel now I should probably re-read LittleWomen. 

I'd read the first book, Moloka'i back in August, and I liked it ... but didn't feel compelled to continue on. This hadn't been intended as a series, and this book was written years after the first, and is more of a companion, than a continuation. Much of the story is happening in tandem with Moloka'i, and some of the final scenes there, are repeated here, then expanded. Honestly, I didn't really remember a ton from the first story, and that was okay. 

I had this in all three formats. I'd picked up a physical copy (thrift store or library sale, for my Little Free Library) and that brought it back to my TBR. I borrowed the audio and Kindle copy from the library (Libby, but also on Hoopla) and went primarily with the audio. Here, I think the audio added to the ambience with the accents, better than my imagination would have. I like having the Kindle copy for reference, and I pulled it up several times to make notes/highlights, look up words, and check out the extras ...

One of the things that pushed this to a 5* for me, was the extras. There was a map, and photographs (by Ansel Adams), a Q&A with the author that was super interesting, extensive author's notes with a lot of additional information (clarifying some of the factual events/people), discussion questions. It really added to the whole experience.

Per the "conversation with the author" ... this had "a perfect three-act structure to Ruth’s life: her childhood in Honolulu and California; her internment during World War II; and the final third of the novel, Ruth’s meeting with Rachel and her 22-year relationship with her birth mother" and it was divided into three parts, with chronological chapters running throughout. 

This really brought to life the experience of the Japanese, forced to leave their homes and move to internment camps. I had read "They Called Us Enemy" (hadn't realized it was a graphic novel when I downloaded it) ... but it had presented this situation very well also. I think this part of the story was the most heavily "historical" part, where lessons on history and life, could be learned. There could be many interesting discussion topics on this, comparisons to the Jews in Germany, to Muslims in America after 9-11, to views on immigrants today. 

Another recent read of mine was [book:The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality|61327479] - stories from a vet. Here, Ruth has a strong love/connection to animals, and wanted to become a vet, but that path wasn't open to her at this time in history. There was a strong focus on animals and the part they play in lives ... and a satisfying circle in the storyline (I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say Ruth's daughter becomes a veterinarian). 

It would have been interesting to read the books back-to-back, to see if perhaps some portions might have been too repetitive, or if the overlap wasn't that much. Honestly, I don't remember more than the basics of the Rachel/Ruth reunion in the first book. 

There were two uses of proFanity - other words I noted (either I had to look up the meaning/unfamiliar, or just not as common, enough that I highlighted them) ... swath (this was the Wordle word and my son had just asked me what it meant, when bam, there it was in my book!), caromed, quiescent, susurrus (love this one), bellicose, kayoed (I thought it would be KO-ed, knocked out) ... in the author's notes; indefatigable (love it!) and canard (hadn't heard that before).

 I liked this, but I'm a self-admitted sucker for "what if" alternate life-choice type stories. I'd had this on my list for a loooooong time, but while my library had the Kindle copy, no audio available there. It was on Audible, but I wasn't committed to PAYING for it, using up a precious credit. When I found a hardcopy at a thrift store, I picked it up (end goal, for my Little Free Library) and that brought it back to my attention. With an Amazon purchase, came a 3-month free AmazonMusic subscription, and recently, one free Audio borrow a month was included with that so ... I grabbed this as my February freebie (I don't even know that I'll listen to any music, just got the deal to get three audiobook borrows *Ü*).

For some reason I had it in my mind that this was about dancing ... maybe just the title? Silly me. No ballerina here. Paranormal, little group with abilities set apart from the "normal" world. Our MC can "see the future" sort of. Only for herself, and only when faced with a choice, and she can "search" to see what would happen as a result of that decision, either way. Interesting set up.

The use of "tense" here was interesting ... the first two chapters are past tense (first person, Addie's POV) as her "choice" is set up, to stay with Mom in the community, or go with Dad out to the normal world. Then, most of the book is her "search" of these two possible paths, and it switched to present tense for this. The two different paths weren't really defined by a header or anything, but they were still fairly easy to keep straight (whether she was still in the community with Duke/odd numbered chapters, or outside, with Trevor/even numbered chapters). In the TV series "Awake" had a basic premise similar, two "lives" ... one with his wife, one with his son, and he would wear a colored band to help him/and us, the viewer/ to keep them straight. The film also had a slightly different colored tint. I liked that). I wondered if it would revert to past tense when the search was over, but it stayed present tense to the end. 

The storyline wasn't what I was expecting (ballerina *Ü*) but I liked it. It felt young, it IS YA ... it was a tad darker than I had anticipated (some murder, purposeful injury). No proFanity though, a couple slight sexual situations but nothing at all explicit. 

I am interested in reading the sequel, seeing what happens next. Doesn't look like it was ever made into audio, so I'd have to read it on my own.  This audio ... I wasn't sure about the drawl in the Dad/Normal/Trevor path, just always felt a little forced to me (I am not an expert in that accent). 

I liked this ... didn't love it, as so many others seemed to. I had heard rave reviews about this, and found a hardcopy at the thrift store (that pushes a book up my TBR). While the story kept my interest, I'm not sure how much it will stick in my memory. I went with the audio, which isn't as good for stopping and taking notes, making highlights, but I never really felt that urge (I had the Kindle copy too). 

3rd person/Past tense ... broken up into five parts, with 30 chronological chapters running through. The chapters had headings - a phrase and a date. I wish this info was also included in the Table of Contents. To me, it's always interesting to look back over the heads, see what memories the headers can bring up ... both Kindle and Audio just had the basic numbered chapters. The physical book lacks a TOC altogether (I can't comprehend why physical books today leave them out). 

1. The Center/2013  
2. The Boy Who Would Change the World/1953 
3. Love How it Tangles/1953
4. Chained/1953
5. Gafe Ghanadi/1953
6. Bruised Sky/1953

I won't retype all the headers here, just enough to show the idea. Part 1, through Ch13 sticks to 1953. Part 2/Chapter 14 does an unexpected jump ... The Melon Seller's Daughter/1916 ... this shift in POV and setting/time really confused me. It finally connected later on, but I was a little lost here.  Chapter 14-15 return to Roya in 1953.  Part 3/Chapter 17 shifts to 1956/California. The next chapters move on to the next few years. Part 4/Chapter 21 threw me again, heading was Births/1958 and in print, it was in italics ... who is the POV? Again, I was a little lost, took me a minute to figure out this was Bahman. Was this a letter, a journal entry? Stream-of-consciousness?  Part 5/Chapter 23 was another "what is going on" for me ... 2013, Claire. Who is Claire? Oh yes, from the first chapter, she's an administrator at the nursing home, took me a few minutes to make that connection ...

I didn't care for these abrupt and confusing chapters added in within the main story. Yes, it all came together in the end, but it irritated me when it was happening. I didn't care for the "spoiler" at the end of chapter 20 "little did she know that her future held a bigger loss: a loss that would make the summer of 1953 look like child's play" ... I guess things moved pretty quickly in Chapter22, but I knew as soon as a baby was mentioned, that it would end in a loss ...

I never fully connected to the characters. Bahman's mother was just terrible! I liked Roya, Bahman, Walter, but still felt a little a part from all the characters. I wasn't sure how I felt about how everything tied up. 

This was clean: No proFanity, no sex. Other words I note: cacophony, ablutions

I liked this fine ... I just don't know that I'll really remember it? There wasn't anything about it that stood out to me, just another historical mystery type. Too many misleading moments, unreliable narrator, tangents and suspects (we're dealing not only with the current missing child,  but also the previous one). 

LOTS of characters POVs ... mostly past tense, but some present. I liked how that was done - the change in tense helped me keep the "present" (August 1975) separate from the past. Another unique time distinction was that ALL the time shifts were showcased at the chapter header, with the one for that chapter in bold. For example ...

1950s |  1961 | Winter 1973 | June 1975 | August 1975

This formatting didn't actually start until Part II ... There were seven parts with headers 
1. Barbara 
2. Bear
3. When Lost
4. Visitors
5. Found
6. Survival
7. Self-Reliance 

Within each of these parts, there were several chapters ... these were NOT included on the Table of Contents, nor were they labeled numerically. The POV and the date were given. I was very glad that the audio included these on their TOC. I had to refer to it several times, as I'd stop/start and forget whose POV we were in. Louise, Tracy, Alice, Jacob, Carl, Judyta, Victor. Skipping around in time from the present, to a couple months earlier, to years earlier. 

I wasn't totally content with the resolution of the story ... ehhhh. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to recommend it. I didn't save any highlights or notes. The title tied in a little (mentioned twice), although I felt it was stretching it. 

Some proFanity (x6) and sex, although nothing explicit.  

I didn't dislike this ... I just felt like it's already been done, and been done better? At least a little more realistically (Man Called Over, Britt-Marie was Here, How the Penguins Saved Veronica, Remarkably Bright Creatures ... and there's more). The original connection with the mouse was believable, but then I felt like it was too over the top, which just impacted the my perception of the book as a whole. And even in the end, it didn't seem like our MC wanted all the people over (was she just not feeling well?)

Fredrick Backman can write 3rd person/present tense in a way that doesn't annoy me (that I don't really even notice) but here, I was always aware of the tense. It felt awkward.  The chapter set-up was interesting ... listing the day of the week, with a few chapters (then a couple where the day didn't even have a chapter, just time passing). 

I wasn't sure about the ending either ... cute idea, but ... really?

Admittedly, this isn't my usual genre. I tend to like "thrillers" like this in a movie/tv series, but struggle a bit with it in books. Here, there were too many characters/names to try to keep track of, several settings and a lot going on. I had picked up a physical copy at a library sale. This had been a "Reader'sChoice" book. I was able to grab the audio and Kindle version easily. I went primarily with the audio. 

I think I comprehended the story overall ... all 3rd person, past tense. 82 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue. I guess Brian Rhome would be considered the MC, the titular "Wolf" per se. There was another character later on, Ryder, and I have this bad habit of just remembering the first letter of a person's name (in real life, and in books, especially in audio). So ... I got Rhome and Ryder a little mixed up (even though Ryder is female).  We have a female president (Angela Buchanan) and Princess Amara is another main characters. So many POVs to track though!  The setting would shift mainly from the US (various locations) to Saudi Arabia and then other locations in the middle east. A "Green Accord" signing was what much of the story circled around. 

There were a few deaths/injuries ... that we are in that person's POV as they are shot, just not always a POV a reader gets (as they die). 

ProFanity x36 ... I think I had heard the word "chyron" before (the word banner on a news report), it was used four times. Dais, roiled, cacophony are other words I note.

I didn't have anything particularly negative about the book ... just a little hard to follow with all the flipping around (locations/people). Nothing where I wanted to stop and highlight/make notes, not really one I'd recommend - but I will offer up the physical copy I bought in my Little Free Library.