jenbsbooks's Reviews (2.41k)

I don't normally read/review/record picture books, but as this is part of the Wonder collection, which I've hit this month, I figured I'd include it too. While the ebook was available from the library, and I could check it out ... I couldn't figure out how to actually open it. I ended up getting the hardcover from the library for my read through. I noticed this was an audiobook too ... but seriously? It's three minutes long! The little voice narrating it WAS great though. 

Aimed (obviously) at younger readers, this is a younger Auggie, who hasn't yet gone through everything he will in the Wonder story. I'd say this is about Kindergarten age? Super quick and simple, it's a little lesson I wonder if Auggie has really learned yet (basically "I can't change how I look, but maybe I can change how people see me" ... and "we're all wonders" ...

I must admit, I struggle with the "we're ALL ..." mentality. Whenever I see one of those quotes that are supposed to be affirming and uplifting "you are enough, you are wonderful" ... if they are just floating out there, and apply to EVERY SINGLE PERSON ... then anything special about it is gone. If we are ALL wonders, then being a wonder is ordinary. I do realize the point, perhaps we're all wonders in different ways, but still, it just leaves me feeling generic and UNspecial.  Just like growing up LDS ... "I am a child of God" ... just like every single other person who is on Earth, who has ever lived or will live ... so basically you could say "I am a homosapien" and the underlying meaning is the same. 

Still a little unsure about the "one eye" association with Wonder (original artwork) ... I did some Googling and all I could find was that it was representing a difference while leaving it to the imagination. 

I don't know that THIS book could really stand on its own without a background from the original story (I could be wrong ... maybe littles love this who haven't heard of the main book). As an adult, I think I only liked it because of the association, otherwise it just would have been a little weird. 

After doing a re-read of Wonder, I felt compelled to look a little further. I watched some clips from the movie (which I had seen at some point), I checked out some author interviews and Q&As. I found it a little funny that she insisted there wouldn't be a sequel ... yet then there were some "companion" bitty books that arrived on scene. I was glad I was able to find a compilation of the three short stories: The Julian Chapter, Pluto, and Shingaling. The first features a closer look at Julian, who played a major role in Wonder (and then has it's own companion piece, a graphic novel about Julian's grandmother ... I also checked this out of the library). Pluto is Auggie's childhood friend Christopher's perspective (just mentioned in Wonder, but didn't really play much of a part), and then Charlotte's POV. 

All were told in first person, very conversational tone. While not directly addressing the reader, it was as though these characters were just telling their story. Julian's covered quite a bit we already knew, from Wonder, but gave more background, and then continued to address the time after Julian had exited the scene in the first book. Christopher shared some past history, and then a "present" timeline, a day in his life. Charlotte's covered some of what we already knew, but veered much more into the girl drama that had little to do with Auggie at all. 

I really enjoyed these add on stories - I don't know if these could really be appreciated without having a relationship with the original Wonder book, and they aren't necessary, but a nice addition. Just a little more insight into the Wonder world and some of the characters that didn't get the spotlight in the first book. Anyone who was a fan of Wonder would like these too I think. 

I liked this a lot ... just for me to give a 5*, it needs that little extra something (saving profound quotes, things I'd like to discuss, definitely recommend, want a copy to keep). At 700+ pages, this totally kept my interest, I'm moving on to the next book ... there were a few times I'd mention something in the book to those around me (my book is talking about during the apocalypse, they were happy they'd just stocked up on toilet paper and "butt wipes" ... reminds me of Covid and your comment about wipes/TP). 

I've read this author's The City trilogy, and have the Until The End Of The World series on my list and already have them in my Audible library. I seem to recall The City series being duet narration (one male one female narrator, female narrator doing all female voices, male doing all male). This is basic multi-person narration, each narrator handling a POV. There's Rose, Tom, Clara and Craig. 

One pet peeve ... the chapters in the table of contents do NOT include the POV, they are just a chronological listing. How hard is it to include the header/POV?  If I want to go back and look up something, and I remember whose head I was in, the TOC with POVs listed can be a lifesaver. Looking at book 2, I can see that they have remedied this in that publication. Thank you. 

Rose seems to be the main character, with Tom a close second (the most chapters). Clara gets a few, and Craig doesn't even start up until ... well, I don't know, because I can't tell from the TOC and I'm not willing to go through every chapter to look. 1/3 of the way in? It was a bit of a shift to suddenly switch to this guy in California that we (the reader) didn't know, didn't know the connection (had I missed his name being mentioned, I remember Rose wanted to get in contact with her friend but hadn't zoned in on the name to realize he would be a character later on).  It was interesting to watch Craig's development. 

Pretty gruesome in parts (I mean ... can it NOT be, being a zombie apocalypse?). There is some language (f x 143), some slight sexual content (talk, an interaction, and all types of relationships addressed, gay, asexual).

Text available in KindleUnlimited (which I do have at the moment) and I bought the Audible during a sale. This is an Amazon only ... not available at libraries. 

I'm NOT a birdwatcher ... this book popped up in a discussion in a Facebook book group, and it was available in KindleUnlimited  (also at the local library) and was short so I figured I'd give it a try. Normally I love digital for books, but with the illustrations and such here, I think a hardcopy might be preferable (of course then I need to put on reading glasses and pull the book close). 

Just okay for me ... some background info on birdwatching, and on birds. Completely snarky tone and loaded with language. I'm sure this would appeal perfectly to some people, I'm just not really one who quite clicked with it. I wanted the REAL name of the bird, not the punny/fowl/foul language version (the real was was printed after in very small lettering). 

One of the other reviewers seemed to say the illustrations were bad - I thought they were quite good (if not in a finished/professional way). I read in the Kindle app (had to enlarge and move portions around) but that was better than the Cloud reader (the illustrations were so tiny there, and didn't enlarge). My paperwhite wouldn't have been in color, and I think I needed these illustrations in color. 

I didn't really feel like I learned much about the birds. There were a few facts, but it was mostly snarky commentary. Ironically, I had some bread out in the garden that the birds have been coming to pick at. I watch them from the kitchen window. My son happened to ask "what kind of a bird is that one?" and my brain said "probably either a stupid sparrow or a dumb-ass finch" ... my mouth didn't say the words, because I don't talk like that, but it was totally there on the tip of my tongue! I think it was a sparrow, but I'm still not sure. 

This book is likely a hit or miss depending on the personality of the reader. I can absolutely see some loving it, while others being totally turned off. 

Magpies were missing - just a common bird around here I would have expected to make the list.

I liked this a lot. I'm a fan of P&P fanfiction and have read a lot, so many twists and additions. This is the first of a "dream premonition" type. Not timetravel, although it has a bit of the same feel, as Lizzie has "seen the future" and now will that help it to come true, or will that knowledge now change things, can things be changed, does she want things to be changed (the future looked pretty dang good). 

At one point, a dream "in bed" ... I was afraid this was going to shift to the smutty side, which I don't care for in generally, and especially not with P&P. P&P is just too wholesome to cross into that for me. This came a little too close.  Interesting to think about ... SPOILER

Mr. Darcy, now believing in Elizabeth's dreams, afraid she doesn't want to expound on their physical relationship because (paraphrasing here because I didn't highlight it and I'm too lazy to look it up) "what if I'm a terrible lover, if I'm not tender and good ..." Kudos to him for even considering that, when Lizzy is just a bit embarrassed (understandably so) and she actually went into more detail in her dream diary writings than I think I would have. This did cause me a moment of sadness though.   Just personal reasons.

This was a short book, and it kept my interest, but still took me a little longer than one would think to get through. My "eyeball" reading just doesn't happen as much anymore ... I don't have the time, when I do, my eyes are tired and I don't last as long. 

3rd person/past tense (true to the original) although it doesn't stick with only Lizzy's POV. We also get a peek into Darcy's brain, and also a little into Jane's (she's a perspective who isn't featured much). There was an interesting look at Mr and Mrs Bennet, a perspective about them, not often acknowledged (here the father gets a more critical look and the mother more understanding). 

There are pros/cons to reading reviews/looking into a series before you start. I'm often afraid of spoilers ... but I wish I'd known coming into this trilogy that the three books ARE connected and a continuation, but that the main character switches for each book. The three girls Ismae, Sybella and Annith are all introduced in the first book, and all make appearances in all three (and they should be read in order), but the first book is Ismae's story, the second Sybella's and this third and final book is Annith's. Also ... historical fiction with a strong fantasy feel. I mean, we're dealing with DEATH here, in a physical form. 

At the end of this book, there was an author's note which was very informative (stating how this was historically based, some events/persons taken from real records, although something shifted/timelines, etc). I so appreciate author's notes (and am grateful when they are included in the audio edition, it's a disservice when they are left off!). There is a Q&A that was only in the Kindle (I went with audio, but was able to grab the kindle copy as well). 

These are very much "romances" as well - nothing super sexual (although there is some action). No profanity. Death, literally, plays a large part ... so there's that/violence (these are nuns assassins). 

I'd read the first book in this series and liked it ... but hadn't continued on (not carried at my library at the time, not an issue anymore). Re-read the first book so that I could continue, but I didn't get it in back-to-back (a month+ in between). I wasn't remembering the first book that well, but this was a shift, in MC, in narrator (for audio - just noticed there are two different versions/narrators for the first book). 

Whereas Book 1 featured Ismae, Book 2 features Sybella. Her history was introduced in the first book (tiny/paragraph recap here), and we (the reader) and thrust right into the action from the first page. I went with audio again, but was able to snag the Kindle copy. There, there is a listing of "Dramatis Personae" as a review of characters and a map of the area. This is historical, battles between Brittany and France, but it feels fantasy. Touch of paranormal with the whole "daughters of death" thing, and the while some is training, there are some special abilities (Ismae is immune to poisons, Sybella can "hear heartbeats" and sense those around her). 

Each book is also a romance - a little "beauty and the beast" here (she literally calls him "Beast" and says he's not very good looking). I think it wasn't really until the romance started that I really realized this book was a different MC than the first (oops!) and figured that the next one would feature the third main girl introduced in the first book (I re-read my original review, and I had realized it then, that was just years ago and I hadn't remembered). 

So - I liked this. Honestly not really sure how much it will stick in my memory though. I AM moving on to the 3rd book as my next book. 

I'd read the first book, Wolf Hollow, as part of a book club earlier this year. I really liked it (5*), more so for delving a little deeper (looking for things to discuss, save, etc). I'd heard there was a sequel, and figured I'd give it a go here to finish up the year. 

This had quite a few references to what happened in the first book ... although that was mainly to set the scene for a relationship between Annabelle/her family and the boy Andy, who with Betty, in book 1, had gone beyond bullying. I was wondering if the time past between books would be an issue for me, but it wasn't. There was quite a bit of "remembering" to refresh the reader as to the earlier events. Really though, all one needed to remember is that Annabelle and her family and Andy have a rocky past.

Unlike the first book, this had some magical/mystical aspects. Our MC, Annabelle, is struck by lightning. It almost (in fact did?) killed her. Someone gave her chest compressions to restart her heart and got her to a safe place ... and after this, she can "understand animals".  Not really having full fledged conversations with them, but she can understand what they want, and they her. 

This whole thing (magic/gifts) and the basic language of the book ("I reckon I'd been distracted by might-have-beens and if-onlys") made me think of the book Savvy - another young girl with an accent and a gift (the whole family there has gifts that come when they turn 13). It also reminded me of [book:The Wake Up|35122155] - which I read June2019 (so over four years ago). I don't remember all of the story, but there too, a man is gifted a communication with animals. The term "wake up" was used here too.  It was a little odd to have the storyline take this supernatural turn, it just didn't really match the first book, and didn't even last the entire book here. Was it supposed to be real? Otherwise how did she know certain things?

There is a bit of a mystery of missing dogs ... I think the reader is lead to expect one thing, when it's really something else, and some aren't even related. I read a couple other "dog" books this December. I might just be a bit dog-booked out. 

The underlying idea here though is one of forgiveness and being able to see someone/something for what it really is. Of taking chances. I really liked it. It never quite got to the same point as the first book, but I liked that I was able to easily just step back into this world, to immediately know the characters and setting right as I started up (even though there were new characters introduced). 

I like the title tie-in and cover. 

Not sure how I feel about this one ... I think I would have been quite captivated had I read this in my younger years, before the overabundance of teen girls/dystopia that hit the market. I'm not sure if it's readers/publicists or the author herself creating comparisons between "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Lord of the Flies" ... there is a quote from both books here to start this one. To plant the similarity if someone hadn't thought of it on their own (which granted, they likely would). I'd throw in "The Giver" as well, with the colored ribbons designating age/duties, the assignment of work & marriage.

I just felt like we (the reader) were dropped into this world without any background, and that so little information was given. It was a little hard to understand. The very first words are "no one speaks of the grace year" and that's a little hard for the reader to then understand the story! 

Everything was just abrupt and kept me disconnected. Told in first person/present tense - so much just the mind ramblings of the MC Tierney. Very limited Table of Contents - five sections ... Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer, The Return.  As I attempted (for my own sake) to write up a little recap (below/SPOILERS) ... it actually made me like the book less. Just so much didn't make sense to me, so much was easy to miss (major reveal that I hadn't even realized was a possibility). The ending ... was really like most of the book. Nothing clear, you (the reader) have to read between the lines and determine things for yourself because things are not said outright. Uber ambiguous. 

So - some spoilers ahead - this is mostly for ME to see if I can understand by attempting a recap ;)

in this community, the "grace year" is a girl's 16th year, when the community feels she comes into "magic" that can damage others. All of age girls are banished to a location outside the community for a year. Here they come into their magic, and often destroy each other in the process (killing, cutting off pieces of each other, etc) ... plus, on the "outside" their are "poachers" who want to kill them and return them to the community in pieces/bottles for payment. Any girl who simply disappears, her family back in the community will be punished. She has to return (in person or in pieces). Before the girls go out, the "eligible" boys/men of the year will select "wives" (giving a veil) and the veiled girls have some distinction over the others - will wed on their return (if they return) whereas all others will be assigned to a work duty. 

There seem to be more girls than boys in this community. Tierney has several sisters, no brothers. There's a big thing about flowers - all flowers mean something, and every flower in the world seems to be available and around and used as a language ( I never really got this).  Our MC is having dreams, visions of a young girl (this is explained at the end, totally predictable to me, but it just interrupted the flow early on).  As the girls leave to get to the place where they will spend a year, there is conflict and horror (Lord of the Flies moments), mostly inhumanity between the girls themselves. I never fully understood why they were acting this way rather than working together (there was a newstory about a 'real' "Lord of the Flies" situation, a bunch of kids stranded on an island, and they ended up working together to survive, not turning savage). Here ... it ends up that the water is poisoned, so that explains much, that and the mystery, that no one really knows what "the magic" is.

At one point, our MC leaves the compound and is rescued/captured by a poacher Ryker. Again - I never really understood the whole "poacher" thing, the "outskirts" community. Total SPOILER here, but it turns out both of Tierney's parents are working with the people on the outside. Tierney spends some time with Ryker ... and apparently they fall in love. Really, I never felt anything between them, in fact, at the end, when SPOILER it's revealed that Tierney is pregnant, um ... I totally missed that was even a possibility! Now there's closed door sex scenes, but this had been written in such a way that I didn't even realize sex had happened at all! One of Ryker's friend/brother? tells Tierney to leave or else, so she returns to the community and tries to get the girls to give up the poisoned water and come back to sanity, with some success. 

I don't know if I was distracted or just not interested enough to pay attention as needed, but I can't give a totally clear recap of next steps. Some poachers attack the girls. Tierney sets a trap ... it's Hans (a guard) but is he also Anders (the friend/brother?), Ryker is killed (how's that for a buzzkill!) and the girls make it back to the community. Tierney wants to reveal what she's learned (the poisoned water, there really isn't magic or need for a grace year, the people outside aren't all bad, the people in the community set everything/everyone up) but she has her own reveal ... pregnant belly. Her betrothed still claims her/ the child (dreams/magic). Tierney finds out her mother is "the usurper" working with the outsiders.  Tierney has the baby ... it's the little girl from her dreams. She dies, and is reunited with Ryker in death.  

So ... this one didn't do it for me. The kindle copy was available in Kindle Unlimited, but the book was also at the library in ebook and audio. I went with the audio, but had the Kindle copy for reference. 

DNF ... really I just started this (included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio) and when I came to track it on GoodReads I glanced at the reviews and ... I'm just not up for something so dark. I like books I can recommend/discuss with friends/family, and I don't think this fits the bill ...