Book Review: Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia

The writing in this novel was easy to follow and flowed nicely. Getting lost in the words was easy. I felt sorry for the main character Hattie. Hattie was an actress. She was a different person based on who she was around. It is sad that she felt she wasn't good enough as she is. She obviously was searching for something but didn't have the time to find it. I enjoyed the story but I figured out who did it way early on.

*Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read this title in exchange for an honest review*

Top Ten Tuesday: Five Hidden Gems I Have Read

Top Ten Tuesday is the brainchild of The Broke and The Bookish. The other Top Ten Lists can be found here http://www.brokeandbookish.com/2017/01/top-ten-underratedhidden-gem-books-weve.html

I had a hard time coming up with ten books that had very few ratings, so this week I stuck to five.

5.  Two Weeks A True Haunting by Rebecca Patrick Howard

I love this author's stories. Her writings on true hauntings are insightful and entertaining. I love a good ghost story.

4.  Deadly Night: Jenni and Katie's Untold Tale by Rhiannon Frater

As the World Dies is an Awesome Series. Jenni and Katie are kick-butt characters. If you haven't read Rhiannon Frater, what are you waiting for! No one writes zombies like Frater does!!

3.  When the Dead by Michelle Kilmer

Michelle Kilmer is Awesome!! You really need to read her! This one is such a unique take on zombies.

2.  Forgiving My Daughter's Killer: A True Story of Loss, Faith, Unexpected Grace by Kate         

     Grosmaire

This could change your mind about forgiveness

1.  Rabbits in the Garden by Jessica McHugh

Quirky, Weird, Creepy, and Strange, in a good way!!

Book Review: Finding Libbie by Deanna Lynn Sleeten

Finding Libbie is a story of love lost and love found. Emily is helping her grandmother move and stumbles upon a box filled with pictures of her father and a woman who is not her mother. Emily's grandmother tells her the story behind the pictures in the box. Emily becomes obsessed with the woman in the photos and won't stop until she finds out everything she can about her.
This story deals with mental illness, family issues, and alcoholism. I appreciated the way these issues were handled in this story. Nothing is sugar coated in the story. There is no shock value obtained here. The story is just a true to life tale of a family.
The writing itself is beautiful and insightful. This is one of the most uplifting stories I have read in years. I highly recommend this for fans of The Notebook. I would love to read more by Ms. Sleeten.

*Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher, for allowing me to read and honestly review this story*

Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Releases I Meant To Get To (and Hopefully Will Soon)

Top Ten Tuesday is the brainchild of The Broke and the Bookish. You can see all the Top Ten Lists Here http://www.brokeandbookish.com/2017/01/top-ten-2016-releases-we-meant-to-read.html


10. The Girls by Emma Cline
I sort of feel like the only one left on the planet who hasn't read this.

9. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
I have been trying to get my hands on this one for a while.

8. Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace
I have not heard much about this book. It sounds like my kind of read and has been on my wish list all year.

7.  The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
This one has very high ratings and sounds interesting.

6.  Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I have a slight obsession with Alice, so I have to get to this one!

5.  Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
I have heard good things.

4.  Shelter by Jung Yun
Who doesn't need a dose of family drama?

3.  The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
I tried to get this on NetGalley but no such luck!

2.  LaRose by Louise Erdich
A lot of my friends have loved this one.

1.  The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
I REALLY want to get to this one. Reincarnation-that's all I need to say

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my list. Any favorite reads of 2016 I need to get to?

Movie Review: Denial

  This movie is based on a true story. Denial is based on the case against Historian Deborah Lipstadt. Lipstadt was the subject of a high profile suit brought about by Holocaust denier David Irving. Irving had written a few books based around his ideas about the Holocaust, as had Lipstadt. To say they didn't see eye to eye would be an understatement.
  It amazes me that anyone could deny the Holocaust. But, there are a lot of things in life that amaze me. I personally have met a survivor of Josef Mengele's twin experiments. I do not understand how anyone could hear their story and think it is not fact. I understand that people continue to idolize Hitler, but to also deny the existence of the gas chambers infuriates me.
  Deborah Libstadt turned her case over to a few lawyers as the lawsuit was brought in Britain. It was extremely hard for Deborah to do this as she is used to doing her own research and speaking for herself. Her lawyers manage to win her case.
  The film focuses only on the case, but watch for the scenes where Deborah and her lawyers tour Auschwitz. If those scenes don't tear you up, then you must be heartless. This is an interesting look into a not talked about part of history.

                                                               

Book Review: Faithful by Alice Hoffman

I finished this one really quickly. I saw myself in Shelby. I have experienced many of these things she has had to deal with. I was really wondering how Hoffman was going to rescue Shelby and help her start over. I loved how she introduced James. The story has a fairy tale quality to it. Shelby cannot get what she needs from her own family, so she makes her family out of a friend from work and her family, a guy who is totally in love with her-but she is not so sure about, and a few dogs that she "steals". I think Shelby is raw but so interesting. I could see myself finding inspiration through some of the same venues that she did. Hoffman shows us that we can recover from something terrible, it may take time and help, but it can be done. Very inspiring!

*Thank you to Alice Hoffman, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this e-arc in exchane for an honest review*

Book Review: Orphans of the Carnival by Carol Birch

I had no idea that this was based on a true person. It really does make this a fascinating story. Although knowing it is based on a true person does make some of the writing bother me. I was appalled by a line in the book that said Julia (the main character) squirted lemon juice in her eyes to brighten them. Now, Julia was a carnival curiosity, an "ape woman" a "freak". but in reality she was just a woman with some birth defects. No human would purposely squirt lemon juice in their eye! I realize that Ms. Birch's words are fiction, but I think she could have found a better way to describe her getting "pretty".
Julia married Theo her "manager". He was a total jerk and did so many things that will make you want to strangle him! I don't want to spoil anything, so you must read if you want to realize what a creep he was! Julia spent her life being exploited by people, especially her husband. She was not even able to protect the one she loved most in the world. Even in death, she was treated like property, and treated very badly!!
This story will make you realize that the way Carnival performers were treated, was not okay. How sad for these people that they had to be treated inhumane! They were preyed upon and exploited for defects in their appearance that they were born with, and had no control over.
If you would like to read about the real Julia, you can check out this article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2277608/Ape-woman-Julia-Pastrana-buried-150-years-Body-Ugliest-Woman-World-returns-Mexico.html

The problem that I had with the story was that the modern characters were not interesting. I did not care about them. I understand why their story was told, but I also know that the story did not need them to succeed. I feel that the story would have been better without the modern part of the story. Rose's story was not nearly as well written as Julia's. That ending just made me even more sad for Theo Jr. Since we do not know this as truth, it felt even more mean spirited. Without this part of the story, this would have been a five star read, one with a few problems, but still a wonderful story.

*Thank you to Carol Birch, NetGalley, and the publisher for allowing me access to an uncorrected e-arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.