Inspiring and informative, while of course, also heartbreaking at times.  I thought it was well written and extremely thorough. While many parts were hard to read/listen to with the horrendous treatment and circumstances black people endured in the South (and sometimes North) pre-civil rights movement, I learned a lot and enjoyed doing so. 

There were oddly some parts that were a bit repetitive and sometimes either events or situations there repeated almost verbatim in different sections of the book, but for the most part it was well rounded and laid out, not only the facts of historical events but following the lives featured in the book to personalize it. 

The book seemed to have very little about the American Daughters, and was instead fully about Ady herself. I think it would have been fine if it was presented that way, but instead felt like it went in a very different direction. 

The story was interesting and well told, and I did like the little I did learn about the American Daughters. I just wish there was more of it. I also liked reading about Lenore and the free black Creoles and business owners. It must have been such an odd and conflicting situation for them.  

I will say I had a hard time reconciling Ady and Sanite’s boldness without much retaliation based on everything else I’ve read about the dominant and violent treatment of slaves by slave owners when they aren’t completely subservient. And there wasn’t much either when they were caught as runaways, which was typically horrific. It just didn’t feel like it lined up accurately, and made it hard for me to sort of feel invested. 

Also, I didn’t understand the constant full phrasing of “slave labor camps also called plantation”. It got a little bizarre that each time it was referenced it was literally the whole phrase rather than just picking an alias and going with it once it was introduced. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

The book was well written, and interesting from a historical standpoint. I picked it up because it was a little out of my typical choices. But I think I just lost interest because it was so detailed and lengthy, especially regarding the courtroom battle, which the whole book centered around, and mostly was about the politics and brutality of the time. There were so many characters I lost track of who was who doing what often. 

It was a hard one for me to get into as well because it was just steeped in constant brutality and betrayal. And it probably was just that time period but good Lord, all these people are awful if this is accurate. It just made it hard for me to connect with or like anyone in the book. 

I have read some reviews talk about the lack of historical accuracy but I know next to nothing about this time period so I can’t really speak to that. And as a fictionalized version, I would assume license has simply been taken, so that didn’t factor in for me. 

It was an interesting book but not one I can say I enjoyed. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

I think I liked this one more than Fourth Wing. The plot sucked me in and had me super invested. Also it was hardly predictable like some of Fourth Wing felt. Admittedly after I finished it I went down giant rabbit hole on the ending lol. I really enjoyed the friendships in this a lot, and how everyone worked together and had each others’ backs. 

I will say that while it’s understood that the content would be all around graphic, the constant F-words felt really excessive and unnecessary. It typically doesn’t bother me to have swearing in books, but after awhile it just felt almost like a lack of effort in finding some other adjectives or expressions, and felt repetitive and annoying.

RE-READ update: second read was for book club and seriously - the book is still brilliant even on the second time thru when I knew what was going to happen. Loved it. 

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Really fascinating premise. It’s natural to want to work a problem backwards and try to figure out clues to what you missed, or what’s really important, only Jen does it for real. By halfway thru I had figured out what was basically going on and liked how all the pieces finally fell into place to flesh it out. 

I thought it was great introducing what mothers are always worried about - am I screwing up my kid, am I doing enough? And really exploring that in a hindsight sort of way. Also how sometimes the best scenario is a little grey and not so easy to define because it’s not perfect. Really enjoyed it.

It was an informative look at Japanese-American life after being released from the internment camps during WW2 and moved to Chicago, tho the writing felt a little stiff. I’ve read about the internment camps in the past so I felt like it was a little confusing how Aki’s family was moved out of the camps without much explanation in the book, or maybe it was just because all those transitions happened within minutes in the book. 

Whether it’s his books or his preaching and teaching, Pastor Steven is just so good at explaining and walking you through practical, God-centered principles and concepts for every day life. He not only gives you a handle on how to find God in your circumstances, but apply biblical truths to something that you’re facing in the real world to build your faith and then use it. 

In the book, Do The New You, Pastor Steven breaks down 6 concepts that are digestible and reachable - they aren’t ambiguous or lofty, unattainable or over-spiritualized, but rather down to earth and explained in a relatable way. 

He outlines how, what we do and who we are starts with how we think, and changing our mindset can change how we can apply God’s word and his heart to our situation and enable us to take the next step at becoming who God intended us to be, rather than feeling stuck or not knowing how to move forward. Each mindset deals with a specific way that many (and I would argue, most) of us either struggle to get past or allow to be an excuse to grow to our potential. 

I appreciated so much Pastor Steven’s vulnerability as he related each of those mindsets in his own life, both failures and successes, in a way that I could not only relate to but felt less alone in and more understood in, but gave me a picture of how to apply it to my daily life as well, leaving me feeling well equipped. I found so much encouragement in what I read and it’ll stick with me for some time. 

I highly recommend the book for anyone who feels stuck, discouraged, or just has a feeling like there’s more they are capable of, to supply practical steps to help them with a way through, providing an opportunity to grow into who God created us to be. 

There was so much going on with this - 5 characters and 2 timelines! - that it was hard to keep track of who was whom doing what for awhile, and then once I had it, with so many changes to the focused character it didn’t have enough time to develop. 

The idea was nice - a garden that spanned multiple generations with pieces of history missing - but it just felt a bit flat or the characters felt inconsistent becuase they changed quickly or felt a little out of character with so little information. 

Really fascinating. I don’t usually read nonfiction history books but this was so well written and so interesting, I really enjoyed it. 

While the Bethnal Green tube station is mostly known for the 1943 Tube Disaster, the Underground Library is a cool little fun fact that also apparently happened there, along with all sorts of entertainment and other facilities to make it better night after night. I  thought that information was interesting and enjoyed a new item to learn. 

However, I didn’t really feel that I connected with the characters. Maybe it’s because with 3 women and so much happening, I couldn’t get a good hold on being invested in their stories before it switched up again, and it also felt a little too easy and perfectly tied up in the end. 

Also, mandatory clothing stars for Jews in Germany were discussed but not introduced until 1941, not 1939, so while probably a dumb pet peeve, it was brought up a few times and it was not accurate. The author talked about a couple changes she made to events but that seemed to be overlooked. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.