Becky's Book Reviews

Monday, December 27, 2021

Signing Up for My Own WW2 Challenge

2022 World War II Challenge
Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up here)
Dates: January - December 2022
Goals: Read, Watch, Listen, Share WWII related stuff

Books

1) Road of Bones (Billy Boyle #16) James R. Benn. 2021. [September] 312 pages. [Source: Review copy]
2) The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. Jennifer Ryan. 2017. 371 pages. [Source: Library]
3) The Kitchen Front. Jennifer Ryan. 2021. 408 pages. [Source: Review copy]
4) In Harm's Way (Young Reader's Edition): The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Story of Its Survivors. Michael J. Tougias and Doug Stanton. 2022. 240 pages. [Source: Library]
5) Yours Cheerfully. (The Emmy Lake Chronicles #2) A.J. Pearce. 2021. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]
6) The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. Jennifer Ryan. 2022. [May] 432 pages. [Source: Review copy]
7) Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis. Susan Hood. 2022. 352 pages. [Source: Library]
8) Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves. L.M. Elliott. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
9) When the Sky Falls. Phil Earle. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
10) Front Page Murder. (A Homefront News Mystery #1) Joyce St. Anthony. 2022. [March] 304 pages. [Source: Library]
11) Death on a Deadline (Homefront News #2) Joyce St. Anthony. 2022. [November] 304 pages (guess). [Source: Review copy]
12) American Shoes: A Refugee's Story. Rosemarie Lengsfeld Turke and Garrett L. Turke. 2022. [February] 352 pages. [Source: Library]
13) Meet the Malones. (Beany Malone #1) Lenora Mattingly Weber. 1943. 282 pages. [Source: Borrowed from a friend]
14) My Own Lightning. (Wolf Hollow #2) Lauren Wolk. 2022. [March] 320 pages. [Source: Library]
15) Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II. Lia Levi. Illustrated by Jess Mason. Translated by Sylvia Notini. 2022. 144 pages. [Source: Library]
16) Long Way Home. Lynn Austin. 2022. [June] 391 pages. [Source: Review copy]
17) Magic of Ordinary Days. Ann Howard Creel. 2001. 304 pages. [Source: Library]
18) From the Shadows (Billy Boyle #17) James R. Benn. 2022. [September] 336 pages. [Source: Library]
19) The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz To Warn the World. Jonathan Freedland. 2022. [October] 400 pages. [Source: Library]
20) Flying Fillies: The Sky's The Limit. Christy Hui. 2022. [July] 202 pages. [Source: Library]
21) Making Bombs for Hitler. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2012/2017. 191 pages. [Source: Review copy]
22) Five Decembers. James Kestrel. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
23) Great or Nothing. Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]
24) The War Below. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2014. 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]
25) Stolen Girl. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2010. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]
26) Prisoner of War. Michael P. Spradlin. 2017. 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Thursday, December 23, 2021

152. A Taste for Love

A Taste for Love. Jennifer Yen. 2021. 322 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mother in possession of great wisdom, must be in want--nay, in need--of a daughter who will listen.

Premise/plot: A Taste for Love is a YA romance that puts a contemporary twist on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Liza Yang, our heroine, is tired of her mother trying to set her up on dates and find her the perfect (according to her Mom's standards, not hers) Asian boyfriend. Her love life--or lack thereof--is on her. There's definitely tension between Liza and her mother. However, that's not the only relationship with some tension...

So her mom (who owns Yin and Yang bakery) has had a baking contest for five years...this year Liza is involved as the technical judge. Her mom *may* have selected the participants solely to "help" Liza find a boyfriend. Once Liza realizes that she has been set up...well...she's not pleased! But two new friends step up and apply--Ben and James. Ben and James are cousins, best friends, near brothers. Ben is dating Liza's best friend... James is...many, many, many things. But is he a baker too?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I did. It was a light Austen retelling. (Which may just be the right way to approach it.) It is set in Texas. Most of the characters are either beginning or ending their senior year of high school. There is some talk of choosing colleges and planning for future careers. I like the focus on baking. The contest definitely reminds me of Great British Baking Show...if it was done for a local cable channel. Still, it was fun to see that as a hobby and interest.

I liked seeing Liza with her friends. I wasn't crazy about Liza's older sister. If Jeannie--the sister--is supposed to be anything at all like Jane, it's a total failure. But I don't think that was the intention at all. I don't. I think they gave the role of Jane to one of Liza's friends--the one dating Ben. The thing that bothered me about Jeannie was her reluctance to believe Liza (and her friend whom she would have known for years) over her current "boyfriend." Still I guess the book needed a bad guy??? I don't know.

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

151. All He Knew

All He Knew. Helen Frost. 2020. [August] 272 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Henry comes here on a Greyhound bus.
Slow, along the bumpy road, his mother
in the seat beside him, sitting straight
and tall, her nostrils pinched, her words
held deep inside. She understands by now
that Henry cannot hear them.

Premise/plot: All He Knew is Helen Frost's newest verse novel. It is inspired by her own family history. (Though the book is fictional.) Henry, our hero, has been deaf since an illness when he was a toddler. He is able to talk--though he often chooses NOT to talk--but he is unable to hear. The novel chronicles his time at a home for the "feeble-minded." Henry is NOT "feeble-minded" but he's been deemed "unteachable" by the powers that be. His family hands him over to an institution.

All He Knew is set in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Most of the novel is set at the institution--Riverview. Over half the novel is told through Henry's perspective. (He's very observant and kind despite being treated cruelly for years.) But part of the novel is told through the perspective of Victor a new attendant who is a conscientious objector to the war. As the war progresses, more and more attendants are replaced. The residents--including Billy and his friends--are treated with more respect, dignity, and care.

Will Henry--who still thinks of his family and his home--ever get to leave Riverview?

My thoughts: I would give this one a million stars (out of five). It was an incredibly compelling read. I loved, loved, loved Henry. I loved his sister, Molly. I loved Victor. I loved the smidgen of a hint that a romance may, may, may develop between the two--when the time is right. I thought the characterization was excellent and the poetry well crafted.

I would definitely recommend this one.

2022 Georgian Reading Challenge

Georgian Reading Challenge
Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up here)
Dates: January 2022 - December 2022
# of books: 4 minimum

What counts:

Novels, poems, plays, short stories, novellas, letters, diaries, essays, nonfiction published in Great Britain (or its colonies) during the Georgian era. (1714-1837) or (1714-1830)
Nonfiction books published about the Georgian era. Including, of course, biographies on the royal family.
Historical fiction set during the Georgian era.
Books, e-books, audio books.
Movies and television series set during this period--if you review them--can count. But try to keep things balanced.

You may make a list if you want to plan ahead...or read according to your whimsy.

Sign up by leaving a comment. No blog is required--no review either. But if you do have a blog, I'd love a link to it. Same with GoodReads if that is where you review books. (Comment moderation is turned on.)

2022 Victorian Reading Challenge

Victorian Reading Challenge
Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up here)
Dates: January - December 2022
Goal: To read 4 books (minimum)

All books must fall into the "Victorian" category being either a) books originally published between 1837 and 1901 b) books originally written (but not published) between 1837 and 1901 c) general nonfiction about the Victorian era (the times, the culture, the people, the events) d) biographies of Victorians.

Once you have met your four book minimum, any book set during the Victorian period can count towards the challenge.