Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab

Happy Summer!  

This year my summer reading theme is horror/paranormal.  

First up, Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab.

This was donated to WHHS as part of the large donation facilitated by our Rotary Club and Scholastic.

I did not know this was book #3 in a series until a bit in.  I could still follow, but some background info was lacking.  I also didn't realize it was written by VE Schwab, who wrote Addie LaRue, which I reviewed here previously.  Schwab uses VE for adult books and Victoria for YA.  Upon opening, the font is ginormous.  And the content is definitely middle grade, but was still enjoyable as an adult and would be for high school.  There are a ton of Harry Potter references, and honestly some would be lost on a reader who has not either read or watched the HP movies (I gave up on the movies after Azkaban, so not positive on if they're sufficient reference material). 

In short, Cassidy Blake survived a near-death experience, and now can see ghosts.  She helps those stuck in-between life and the afterlife move on.  Her sidekick Jacob is a ghost himself.  The story takes place in New Orleans, which is on my bucket list to visit someday.  

This is a superfast read (it would be a novella if not for the big font).  I do think one should read #1 and #2 first before this one, which I'll be adding to our wish list shortly. 

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Well, Tuesday marked the end of the 22-23 school year and the wrap on New Title Tuesday.  17 new books in 18 weeks for the WHHS Library!  Of course, this one won't be added to the collection until we return to school as I didn't start it until teachers were let out.  

This HEFTY work was recommended to me by a friend.  I mean it's BIG.  It's 770+ pages.  I read this sporadically over the past three days between my annual cleaning, as Ms. Marcella calls it "The Annual Cleaning Rampage".  

I have a mixed review.  The story begins in 1900 on the West Coast of India, in a Christian village called Parambil. A 12 year old is married off to a wealthy 40 year old widower, more to be a caretaker to his toddler son.  Eventually she grows to love her husband and they have two more children.  However, there is something of a curse on the family that each generation loses someone to drowning.  As time passes, new British settlers arrive, along with doctors and nurses.  The caste system is alive and well, even in the Christian areas, and the systemic classist differences in treatment are evident.  The story continues over 80ish years. 

Now, I absolutely LOVED the parts of the book set in Parambil.  Our young 12 year old main character grows from a timid child not much older than her stepson to a formidable matriarch grandmother who controls significant wealth for the area.  We see her come to terms with the ever present spirit of her husband's late wife.  We watch her playful interactions with the family elephant Damo.  We cry with her after a miscarriage.  We can almost taste how her curry and other recipes change with time and maturity. 

What I didn't like was the excruciating details on the backgrounds of the minor characters.  The reader is forced to read chapter upon chapter of unnecessary fluff about what brought some of the white men to this area including one doctor's mother's history in Glasgow. If all of the unneeded info was cut, this would be a MUCH shorter novel that would be easier to read.  I admit to skipping some of it. 

Well, there it is.  My next post will be after I finish The Cleaning Rampage and will tell you my Summer Reading theme for 2023.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Before I say anything else about this book THE DOG DOES NOT DIE!

As soon as I started reading this, I was absolutely terrified I was going to read the dog dies and actually sought out the answer before I continued.  Thankfully another reader who did not want to read the dog dying posted a spoiler.  Dog lives. 

I loved the premise of this book: Emma is housesitting with her dog (a Golden!).  There is only one neighbor nearby.  She passes the time reading and posting reviews on her blog.  One of these reviews is negative, and the author takes the review to heart and starts threatening her.  

OK, so as someone who quite literally reviews books on a blog as part of her job, I'm honestly spooked a little to write this negative review (maybe that's the point? *laughs nervously). I like the idea, and some parts were really gripping thriller writing.  In places it was very Pike and Stine like creepy YA horror of the 80s and 90s.  Which I loved.  BUT, I really struggled with the alternating viewpoints via the changing font of what was said, narrated, appeared in print on the blog or articles, etc.  It made it very difficult to read physically, as I had to move the book back and forth to get my eyes to focus in the right spot, and it just made the storyline more confusing than it needed to be.

Anyone who likes thrillers and crime will like this, IF you can get past the aforementioned issues.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Please don't find me Mr. Adams...

Whiskey Women by Fred Minnick

Now before anyone gets a little put-off by the title, this is a history book.  You really can't talk about American history without mentioning Prohibition and its repeal.  And while the bootleg running men of Appalachia are always what's portrayed, it was many women who actually distilled in their basements and barns while distracting law enforcement with good manners.  

I first saw this book on display at a local distillery.  Unfortunately, it was a limited print.  Amazon told me it would be back in stock soon, so I regularly checked and finally it was last week.  

This is a great book to examine women's history in America (along with Ireland and Scotland) through the lens of spirits as an extension of the kitchen and domestic responsibility then up the ladder to corporate leadership.  As I consider where to shelve this, it could find its home in History, Crime & Punishment, or Women's Studies; all topics which frequently demonstrate the intersectionality of a woman's place in our history.  I could see excerpts being used in several courses.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

    

The Island by Natasha Preston

I HATED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!

I am so angry I spent even the discounted price.  I am angry I stayed up to read this, hoping it got better.  

It was terrible.  I don't even want to add it to the collection.

Full Tilt is one of my favorite books, and Clue is one of my favorite movies.  So a whodunit set in a creepy amusement park?  Perfect.

Not.  There was zero character development, the plot jumps so bad you have no idea who's doing what and has more holes than Swiss cheese, and the ending was a cliffhanger that made no sense.  I stayed up an hour past my bedtime to chuck this book so hard it woke the dogs up.  

One of the worst books I have ever wasted my time on. 

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

 

Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

This was recommended to me by Amazon, I guess because I like horror and stories of the craft.  I will call it "readable".  

I have to say, after digitizing Donnie Darko for a teacher, I was definitely a little apprehensive of the creepy bunny on the cover.  But, this was not scary.  

In the present day, in a typical white American suburb, Ivy has always felt something was "off" about her mother, long suspecting clairvoyance or special knowledge of herbs, etc.  But as things get weirder as Ivy and her older brother grow, they start understanding their mother and her best friend Fee are witches.  We flash back to when Dana was a teen herself in a very urban and poor city, learning about her abilities.  There are several witches who come into Dana, Fee's, and Ivy's lives throughout their stories, and the reader must determine, for lack of a better way of describing it, who is Good Witch and who is a Bad Witch.  All whole navigating typical teenhood like cliques and homework, societal norms in wealth and poverty, and a lot of dead bunnies.

Why I rate this readable and not good is the changing point of view, not just in flashback/forward.  It changes from 1st to 3rd within the time periods.  So sometimes Ivy or Dana narrates their own story, sometimes an omniscient narrator is telling the story.  I wish the author chose one and stuck with it.   

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.    

Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

Yesterday afternoon and evening were a very quiet time in my home.  My husband was spending the night in Massachusetts for work.  Our puppy Shyne was spending the night at the vet after her spay. And my son was studying for APUSH.  My old girl Shandy and I curled up the on couch with a blankie to finish this week's book.  

I loved The Museum of Ordinary Things and Incantation, but I'm not sure why Amazon decided to recommend this, which was published in 2004, to me last week...

This is a short novel, a novella, like Hoffman's Green Heart.  Also like Green Heart, it is several stories that are united but were previously published piecemeal.  There is also a supernatural element, which is typical of her work.  

The stories are mostly set in Cape Cod, centered around an old farmhouse and fertile plot of land.  The home is inherited, sold, bought, gifted over two centuries.  As I myself love old homes and the stories about them (mine being built in 1930; we are only its 3rd owners), this was very touching.  It was sad, but also beautiful.

A very quick read that I definitely recommend.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.