en-US Thu, 03 Jul 2025 17:10:45 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7707650960 Thu, 03 Jul 2025 17:10:45 -0700 /review/show/7707650960 Janet gave 4 stars to Forget Me Never (Kindle Edition) by Susan Wittig Albert
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]]> Review7685226791 Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:06:02 -0700 /review/show/7685226791 Janet gave 4 stars to Best of All Worlds (Hardcover) by Kenneth Oppel
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Not my usual genre, but I like Oppel and wanted to read it. It was okay. I did engage with it. I thought the ending was clever, and that as a whole it gave a good "picture" of how people of different beliefs could find a common ground. I did like the characters. While not a rousing review, it is worth reading, especially since it's a quick read. ]]> Review7673887694 Sat, 21 Jun 2025 20:19:45 -0700 /review/show/7673887694 Janet gave 5 stars to Sisters in the Wind (Hardcover) by Angeline Boulley
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First, I felt very honored to have received the advanced reader copy. Thank you, Angeline Boulley. Secondly, it was a "stay up until I finished it" book that is leaving me in both happy and sad tears. It was nice to get to continue the stories of Daunis and Jamie and to get to meet Lucy. I love Boulley's flawed but strong characters. While the location of the book (and the other two books) is Minnesota, when I read them in my mind's eye, they are taking place in New Mexico, probably because I am more familiar with the tribal lands there as we drive through them almost every time we're in New Mexico. I kind of wish that I had reread Firekeeper's Daughter before reading this book at least partially because I so love the book and it's been several years since I read it, but there was enough of the back story that it really wasn't necessary to the enjoyment and understanding of the relationships in the book. I won't go into the plot--that's easy enough to find in other places, but want to say that it's one of my two absolute favorite books of the year.
Thank you again. ]]> Review7668635190 Thu, 19 Jun 2025 18:55:54 -0700 /review/show/7668635190 Janet gave 4 stars to The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, #2) by Nita Prose
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So nice to have a feel good, lightweight mystery to counter Compound Fracture! I love Molly. I also find it interesting that both this book and the other book have characters who are on the spectrum and high functioning. As with the first book, I had to finish it although it would have lasted through another waiting for appointment. I'm looking forward to Book 3, and what path Molly decided to follow in the next book. ]]> Review7666065972 Wed, 18 Jun 2025 19:44:22 -0700 /review/show/7666065972 Janet gave 5 stars to Compound Fracture (Hardcover) by Andrew Joseph White
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I hated this book, but I loved this book. It was so brutal; so truthful. The treatment of the trans characters was so terrible, but today the Supreme Court upheld the band on health care for trans youth. Trump and the sheriff could be twins. The people who were being hurt the most were the ones who had the least resources to do anything about it. Retaliation was not over stated. It also touched on a lot of the history of West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio. When we lived in PA, just across the Allegheny River was a coal mine that was the source of some of the same issues as the one in the book. When we lived there, coal mines and steel mills were being shutdown and the economic situation for many was bleak. It took me a couple of weeks to read the book because I could only read a little bit at a time, but I knew it had to be finished. Miles is an unforgettable character. I'm glad to see such a strong autistic spectrum character who doesn't let it control who she is. If you are in a public or high school library, I consider this a must read even though you might not be allowed to keep it on the shelf. (It was the kind of book that back in the mid 1990's when there was a lot of book banning going on and although I had a fantastic principal, he was very conservative, so I kept some books that were important but problematic in my office and would if the situation warranted it, would "loan" books as "part of my personal collection." Probably still would do it. ]]> Review7639901551 Mon, 09 Jun 2025 03:09:00 -0700 /review/show/7639901551 Janet gave 4 stars to The Witch of Willow Hall (Paperback) by Hester Fox
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I'm not really a fan of supernatural or romance, but this book was a fun read that I pulled from one of the boxes leftover from two Alex Committees. I liked Lydia, the main character, and the fast pace of the book. Definitely a good book for recuperating from a minor procedure on my throat that left me very tired. The supernatural was downplayed and not the main focus of the book. The romance was important, of course, but was balanced by the relationship of the sisters. All in all, not a bad choice. ]]> Review7629707809 Thu, 05 Jun 2025 06:49:54 -0700 /review/show/7629707809 Janet gave 4 stars to The Body in the Ivy (Faith Fairchild, #16) by Katherine Hall Page
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Page is always a fun, relaxing read. The book had overtones of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (originally Ten Little Indians) which she quickly acknowledged. I did have a slightly difficult time keeping the characters straight, but that could partially be because I read the book while waiting for appointments (until this morning when I wanted to finish it) which made it difficult to keep all the characters straight. Would recommend book for sometimes when you want a quick book "binge" to help keep everyone straight. ]]> Review7625107415 Tue, 03 Jun 2025 13:40:01 -0700 /review/show/7625107415 Janet gave 4 stars to Very Bad at Math (A Very Graphic Novel #1) by Hope Larson
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I just wish that there had been so many great middle school/middle grade graphic novels when I was teaching 6th grade reading and was a middle school librarian. These are such a gift for the reluctant reader, the artist, those needing reassurance that a problem is not the end of the world, or those who just love to read graphic novels and/or anything else. This one brought back memories for me. While there was no reason why I didn't do well in math (well, maybe hiding a book in my lap and reading rather than listening may have had something to do with that), it just made me relive those years. Even now, while I can add two numbers without really thinking about it, divide easily in my head, figure percentage "off" when shopping, if you go beyond simple math, I'm a real dud. Don't even talk to me about geometry.
Anyway, I really loved this book. And thank you Hope Larson and all the other great graphic novel authors and artists for making reading so accessible for so many readers. ]]> Review7623257743 Mon, 02 Jun 2025 20:35:24 -0700 /review/show/7623257743 Janet gave 5 stars to The God of the Woods (Kindle Edition) by Liz Moore
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A very satisfactory read--stayed up past my "bedtime" to finish it--and well worth waiting for the 21 people in front of my in the library with a Hold on it (still 11 in line for it). Except for several authors whose books I've been reading for years, I've been trying to get most books form the library or read ones from tbr piles.
It was a good mystery. I didn't guess the ending which is pretty unusual for me. It was a nice mix of likeable/unlikeable characters. The going back and forth in time with a nice time line at the top of each chapter was a nice touch. Mostly it was just a good story. I was intrigued from the very beginning. I like mysteries, and this one was definitely better than most.
You know me, as usual this is commentary rather than review with plot summary, but you can get that anywhere.
I do highly recommend this book. ]]> Review7613282050 Fri, 30 May 2025 14:10:50 -0700 /review/show/7613282050 Janet gave 3 stars to Tell Me What You Did (Paperback) by Carter Wilson
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Mixed review. I was initially intrigued by the format of the podcasts. I generally like thrillers. This one was just a bit more brutal than I particularly care for, and I could only read it for short periods of time before I'd had enough. That being said, I had to see how it ended. The ending was satisfactory, a few semi-surprises, bloody but fitting with the book itself. Plot was tied up nicely and in a way that worked. ]]>