The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

Amy   

 

fiction

 

The Water Knife is Paolo Bacigalupi's dismal picture of a future where water is so scarce that cities hire mafia-type "water knives" to cut off the flow of water into other upriver cities in order to direct the water to themselves.

 

Amy's Review

 

Sorry, Paolo. I am familiar with your writing--you write dark stories. I don't have a problem with that generally--especially when your creativity is shining through and is the highlight of your novels. However, the Water Knife painted such a deplorable picture of humanity in the future, that I simply could not enjoy it. Yes, I liked your main characters and their spirit. Yes, I don't doubt that a situation where the water runs dry in the desert is possible. But, the disregard for human life shown by your characters and their willing destruction of entire cities was just too harsh for me to abide. I know what you're thinking--that I'm too idealistic and not tough enough to survive in your water knives' world. I don't deny that. I'm not sure that I will remain a member of your audience if your next book turns out to be another downer like this one.    

The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe

 

Amy 

 

women's fiction

 

The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe tells the story of five women who belong to a book club.  Each has a different family situation, each has their own difficulties and lifestyles, and they all support each other through thick and thin.

 

Amy's Review

 

The Book Club is my book club book this month. Cute, huh? I knew nothing about this book other than it was in the women’s fiction genre. This had me nervous since I only tend to like about half of the women’s fiction I read. But, I did enjoy this. 

It’s a book about friendship and approaching middle-age, so I can relate. Monroe did not do this “friendship story” as well as Liane Moriarty does friendship stories, but still managed to keep me interested. The characters seemed real to me and the situations were familiar. The author cleverly tied each chapter to a novel being read by the book club members. It could get long-winded at times but not habitually, thankfully. I think it will generate a nice discussion at our meeting.

Yes, The Book Club is my book club book this month. Cute, huh? I knew nothing about this book other than it was in the women’s fiction genre. This had me nervous since I only tend to like about half of the women’s fiction I read. But, I did enjoy this. It’s a book about friendship and approaching middle-age, so I can relate. Monroe did not do this “friendship story” as well as Liane Moriarty does friendship stories, but still managed to keep me interested. The characters seemed real to me and

The Hurricane by Hugh Howey

Amy   

fiction

The Hurricane tells the story of Daniel Stillman's life and experiences immediately before, during, and immediately after Hurricane Anna hits his city in South Carolina. 

Amy's Review

This proves that even spectacular authors like Hugh Howey don't always write great books. The Hurricane can best be described as tedious. The beginning illustrates the tedium of high school when you happen to be an unremarkable loner. The middle illustrates the tedium of all the helpless waiting while hunkered down in a bathroom with your family when the eye of the hurricane goes through your town. The ending illustrates the tedium of cleaning up after a hurricane. Sure, there was some conflict and troubles of the human variety thrown in. But none of it was really gripping or overly interesting. It tried to be a family drama at times, but it wasn't dramatic enough. The small romance was cute but felt like some sprinkles on a pile of liver. The detailed section about removing the tree on the roof made me want to rip my ears off. If I were reading the book instead of listening to the audiobook, I would have skimmed over it. But, I couldn't do that. TORTURE! And, while on the subject of the audiobook, why select an older British gentlemen to read a story centered around an American, southern, teenage boy? It was a poor choice and was distracting. In fact, I probably wouldn't have finished listening to this novel if I had any other available audiobook to accompany my walking around the neighborhood. And I'm sure I wouldn't have finished reading it if it was in book form.

You would think with a title of The Hurricane that it would have been a harrowing story of the terror and destruction from the storm. But the hurricane itself plays a minor supporting role in this novel and doesn't pack any of the punch I was expecting. It serves, simply, as a setting. I will say that the final conversation between Roby and Daniel was the best part of the entire book. It was funny. I was glad that the story ended on a high note. I only wish that there had been more personality to enjoy throughout the story.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Amy   
Lynnie


young adult, romance

In Anna and the French Kiss, Anna is sent away by her parents to spend her senior year of high school at a boarding school in Paris.  She misses her best friend, her almost-boyfriend, and her little brother back home.  She makes new friends, explores Paris, and learns to love coffee.  Relationships happen.  Teenage drama occurs.  There's a happy ending.



Amy's review

I would never have cracked this book open based on the title. While I adore the young adult genre, I typically stay away from typical teen love stories. I am drawn to young adult novels for the adventure and playfulness, the satisfaction of a young person discovering they are stronger than they thought they were, the boldness and resilience of youthful, unjaded characters, and the beauty of teens realizing previously unknown realities in their world. And, sure, I always enjoy the trip down memory lane with a little teen romance. But I typically do not find the average teen love stories appealing because they are just filled with silly hormonal gushes and awkward stumbles and mean girls and troubled students. I especially would not normally want to read teen romances with no fantasy element involved. BUT, I happened to volunteer for the Decatur Book Festival in September 2014 and was given the privilege of assisting the author of this novel, Stephanie Perkins, while she greeted fans and signed their books. Her line was the longest of all of the young adult genre authors that were gathered at the teen tent for this particular cycle—at least twice the length of any of the others. She herself was young, vibrant, beautiful, witty, and well-spoken. But, she also happened to be truly appreciative, open, and forthcoming with her fans and seemed thrilled to meet them. She stayed until the very last person in line was greeted. Several fans told her how her novels had changed their lives by making them feel they were understood and that they could be themselves and it would be okay. Some told her how her books got them through some rough period. And, after my time by her side, I had decided I had to give this novel, the first in a series, a try. I’m only sorry it took me almost a year to get to it.

I do enjoy novels that take place at boarding schools—it makes for a rich setting since the kids develop such close relationships by living and “working” together. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor are my two favorites that come to mind but both are also fantasy novels. And, reading about Paris in such detail through the eyes of a young, appreciative observer was a treat. But, outside of that and the typical parental issues that are rampant in the young adult genre, it really was just a well-conceived and entertaining teen romance. And I liked it! (Although, I don't know ANY teenager that would have simply taken it without fighting when her parents decided to send her away to another country for her senior year of high school.) 

Stephanie’s writing was very clear to follow and was injected with the right mix of humor, remorse, and teenage angst. I found myself compelled to continue reading so I could find out what happened next to these lovable characters. Sure, there were a few places where I wanted to slap some sense into these clueless teens—but that happens a lot for me in young adult novels. I’ll read the next one!


Lynnie's review

This book is adorable- there's no doubt about it. Sometimes though, it's distracting in it's quest to be cute.

Anna is our heroine & more than once I wanted to strangle her. She's a bit whiny, generally self-obsessed (though aren't most teens?), & naive to the point of silliness. Generally I preferred her when she was interacting with others.

We're supposed to be swoony over her best friend/crush St. Clair & at times he was incredibly endearing. I kept wondering though why everyone adored him instead of recognizing him for the indecisive jerk he was. I get it, they're young & haven't learned to make hard decisions yet, and tend to communicate through meaningful stares rather than actual conversations, but it was hard to cheer for him when he spent the majority of the book being such a pain in the arse.

Still, it was a cute little romance, the descriptions of Paris were really wonderful & most of the time I enjoyed it. I definitely think the high school girls will enjoy it & will likely appreciate all of the characters more than I did. Overall, it's an easy end-of-summer read.