life_full_ofbooks's reviews
2518 reviews

4.75 stars rounded up to 5. I read this because my 18 year old daughter had to read it for AP Lit and I like to read what my daughters read.
The only word I can think to describe this book is haunting. This book is based on the actual boys reform school in Florida called Dozier School for Boys that was located in the panhandle of Florida. It was opened in 1900 and was shut down in 2011 and in 2014 more than 50 bodies were found in a makeshift grave. It makes me sick to think this school was open for more than a century, it was funded by the state of Florida, and the boys were abused and tortured.
Mr. Whitehead does a phenomenal job telling the story of these boys and keeping facts while the characters were fictional. My one caveat is the jumping back and forth in time from chapter to chapter without distinction of time. I had a hard time figuring out the time period of the chapters that took place outside of the Nickel School.

This is the second book I’ve read by Emily Henry and while I liked it far better than Beach Read, I found it to be predictable and just meh. I was very much looking forward to reading it because I heard some pretty great things about it, but it just wasn’t for me. While I love the concept of an annual vacation with the same person, I found both Alex and Poppy to be a bit over the top with the character traits Ms. Henry gave them.
I do think the character development was fantastic because Alex went from a character I hated to one I marginally liked. I can’t help but wonder if my issue is the fact that I’m Gen-X and both Alex and Poppy are Millennials. I likely have more in common with their parents than I do with them and I probably would have enjoyed this more if the book was actually about them.

I normally don’t do suspense and thriller books but I heard so much about this in the novel The Reading List that I knew I had to read it. Published originally in 1938, it’s pretty tame as far as suspense and thrillers go. I expected a lot more out of it and kept holding my breath during certain moments, just to let it out like a deflating balloon.
I loved the visualization Ms. du Maurier provided and I was instantly transported to the beautiful estate of Manderly. What I found to be the neatest experience was as I was reading this and experiencing the mystery and beauty of Manderly on my own, I also saw it through the eyes of the character from The Reading List, remembering his thoughts on it. I’ve never had that experience before and it made The Reading List feel even more real.

I am a huge fan of Liane Moriarty but I have heard mixed reviews on Nine Perfect Strangers, so I didn’t jump to read it. I’m glad I finally did. The characters were richly developed and they all had a great amount of growth. Ms. Moriarty writes in such a way that you are completely immersed in the story. I kept expecting something sinister to happen, and when the twist ended up being something completely different I actually wasn’t disappointed. I fell in love with most of the characters and while I like how Ms. Moriarty tied up the different storylines, I wish there was more to the ending.

I read this the first time 7 years ago and while I remembered I loved it, I couldn’t remember what it was and or why I loved it. When I saw it was mentioned in The Reading List I knew I had to read it again.
Khaled Hosseini does a wonderful job recreating Afghanistan before the Taliban. His stories are rich in culture and emotion, and The Kite Runner is no different. This truly is a coming of age book, of sorts. I love that we get to see Amir grow from young, immature boy, to an adult with more wisdom than one might think. This book is definitely one of Mr. Hosseini’s best.

This is the second time I’ve read this book. I usually don’t reread books but this was mentioned in the book The Reading List and I decided I needed to read it again.
I gave it 4 stars the first time around and I’m giving it 4 stars again. The first 1/3 is quite slow. Parts are entertaining, but it doesn’t really move. At the 30% mark that all changes. The story really takes off and is an astounding telling of a 16 year old boy and his determination to survive. What I find so remarkable about this book is Mr. Martel’s talent to write a fictitious story that reads like a true one. This book is truly a treasure and shouldn’t be missed.

I feel bad giving this 2 stars because I know so many people loved it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I read it because my 12 year old is reading it in school and I enjoy reading what it kids read, so we can discuss it. I guess I’m just not a huge fan of fantasy. When I was reading it, I didn’t hate it (up until the last 2 chapters) but it didn’t fully hold my interest and when I wasn’t reading it, I found myself doing other things to not read- never a good sign. If you’ve never read this, this review probably isn’t the best on which to base your decision as to whether or not you should read it.
The amount of imagination JRR Tolkien had was amazing and the imagery was good, it just wasn’t that interesting to me.

This is the 4th or 5th time I’ve read this book, but the first time I’ve listened to it and I love it even more every time I read it. I know it’s controversial because of the language used, but that’s just the surface. When you dig deeper you see the true story is that of a family in Macomb, Alabama who are some of the few non racist citizens, and how 2 children see the unfairness of the situations at hand. To Kill a Mockingbird was written in 1960 but takes place in the 1930’s, so the language that has put this book on the banned book list wasn’t used out of hate, but rather keeping it within the time period. Instead of banning it, this should be used as a teaching method. This book isn’t simply about race issues, but rather about looking past someone’s appearance, or rumors of someone, to see them for who they truly are. That’s a lesson that should still be taught today.

3.5 rounded up to 4:
My husband is a huge Jack Reacher fan and mentioned about a month ago that he thought I’d like the Reacher books too, in addition I thought I might like the new show on Amazon Prime, and it’s a genre I don’t typically read, so it fulfills my goal of reading something outside my comfort zone.
I have to be honest, the first 60% of the book didn’t hold my attention. I had to keep reminding myself to read, which is never a good sign. It finally picked up and I definitely enjoyed the last 40% more. I saw the first episode of the series and so far I’m liking it more than I liked the beginning of the book. I will definitely try the second book in the series since I know what to expect with Mr. Child’s writing now.

I really enjoyed the majority of this book. I especially loved how it doesn’t hide mental illness away like a taboo subject, but brings it to light, and I loved the representation of the LGBTQ+ community. The love story that unfolds is so beautiful, charming, and heartwarming, and I think it’s perfect for today’s day and age.
That being said, I found 90% of this to be extremely predictable. I don’t know if it was meant to be (I knew things about one of the protagonists even before he knew them) or if it was just weak planning, and there’s one bit towards the end that seemed to be tied up a little too neatly.
I truly enjoyed the author’s note at the end of the book. Ms. Cochrun gives so much insight into her work and honestly it’s what bumped this up from 3.75 stars to a solid 4 for me.