BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Erin J. (Milwaukie, OR)

Romantic Comedy: A Novel
by Curtis Sittenfeld

Seeds of love planted in the Before Times bloom during lockdown (6/8/2024)

I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of TNO (The Night Owls--i.e. the thinly veiled SNL), and it was completely believable to me that Sally would be confident in her professional abilities as a comedy writer, yet insecure in her personal life. This story …more

Fly Girl: A Memoir
by Ann Hood

Fascinating look at the history of commercial airlines (5/13/2022)

I was in preschool the year that Ann Hood began her career as a flight attendant for TWA, but I do remember a little bit about what it was like to fly at that time, though I most definitely never got to experience the luxuries of flying first class. Her memoir is a …more fascinating look at what it took to become and remain a flight attendant in the years when the airline industry was undergoing massive upheaval both culturally--the sexism is nauseating in the extreme--and financially, with deregulation bringing both positive and negative changes, and corporate greed causing widespread devastation.

My favorite parts of the book were the ones focused on her personal experiences and growth. Hood's recounting of her time at the Breech Training Academy in Kansas City was captivating. I wasn't surprised that they were trained to do all the obvious things like demonstrate how seatbelts and life vests work, but I had no idea the breadth and depth or complexity of their training, from how to carve chateaubriand (they used to do that on airplanes?!) to how to deliver a baby, and a million other responsibilities big and small. I don't know how many of those tasks are still part of modern-day flight attendant training--I'm assuming the meat carving isn't a thing any more--but I have a whole new appreciation for the men and women who have patiently offered me drinks and hot towels on past flights.

I also found the history of the airline industry itself to be fascinating, though I struggled with the lack of coherent timeline. Actually, that's true for some of her personal recollections as well--she tends to go off on tangents during anecdotes sometimes. All of which are interesting, but the non-linear detours did make it difficult for me to figure out when various events took place. The overall story arc moved chronologically, but the individual threads zigzagged.

One thing that surprised me was that for all the stories of what life was like as a beautiful, young, single woman with an adventurous spirit, and her tales of dating or refusing propositions, there is virtually nothing about meeting or marrying her husband. I thought that's what she was alluding to with her recollection of meeting 47F, but alas, no. Perhaps that means meeting her husband was unrelated to her time as a flight attendant? Perfectly fine to keep that story private, but I admit I was a little disappointed.

All in all, I very much enjoyed reading this memoir. 3 1/2 stars, but I'll round up. Many thanks to BookBrowse and the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. (less)

The Last Chance Library
by Freya Sampson

Enjoyable but for the cliches (7/27/2021)

What I loved best about this book was that the author correctly identifies June as a library assistant and NOT a librarian. Becoming an actual librarian involves earning a bachelor's degree in any field AND a master's degree in library science. June hasn't been to college …more at all and therefore cannot be a librarian. Most people who work at libraries are assistants, and not librarians. Doesn't mean June isn't good at her job; it just means her training and experience is different.

I also loved getting to know the quirky characters, despite them each being well-known stereotypes: the homeless man, the brilliant child, the elderly curmudgeon, the outspoken voracious reader who hates all the books, the teenager seeking a quiet place to study, and the recent immigrant trying to make a go of it in her new home. I loved the way June's fantasies merged into Mrs. B's rants or queries from other patrons. I enjoyed watching June take steps into the world and cringed when she crumpled or was crushed by the Mean Girls. And I appreciated that the plot took a few zigs and zags to keep things a bit less predictable. Also June's impromptu scheme to kill two birds with one stone by redirecting Rocky away from the "hen do" and toward the FOCL rally cracked me up.

What I could have done without were the cliches--like her curly hair being pulled into a tight bun, her uber-lonely life with books as her only true friends, or the fact that despite working in a library for TEN YEARS, she seemed to have never read anything written in this century. I get that June's mom dressed her in random stuff from thrift shops, and she was a nerdy kid, but there is simply no way she was that isolated or clueless. Hurt by her best friend's betrayal, yes, but to the point of never ever making another friend? That just feels like the author is belittling the intelligence and social capabilities of readers, which sets my teeth on edge.

I haven't researched the state of British libraries, so I cannot speak to the likelihood of closures like this where over half the council seems oblivious to the obvious benefits to society of having a functional, funded library, or where greedy council members push a nefarious agenda, but it was reminiscent of both The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan and The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy, so maybe it's a trend in the U.K. & Ireland?

Overall this book was a solid 3 stars out of 5 for me. I liked it, but it had serious flaws also. (less)

The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
by Katherine Sharp Landdeck

Practicality vs sexism (2/11/2020)

Katherine Sharp Landdeck's detailed account of the day-to-day experiences of the women who flew for the Army Air Forces and the long-term machinations and political maneuvering involved in the evolving alphabet soup of acronyms is riveting. Her extensive research included …more

Father of Lions: One Man's Remarkable Quest to Save the Mosul Zoo
by Louise Callaghan

Survival in a war zone doesn't come easily (11/23/2019)

Father of Lions is a fascinating glimpse into life in Mosul before, during, and after ISIS (Daesh) control. Until the last quarter of the book or so, it focused far less on the zoo and the few animals struggling to survive than it did on the humans, however. I hadn't …more

The Volunteer: One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz
by Jack Fairweather

Thoroughly researched (6/1/2019)

History buffs looking to learn more about Auschwitz and how it evolved from a brutal concentration camp for Polish prisoners to the efficient genocide machine that murdered millions of Jewish men, women, and children will find The Volunteer fascinating. Witold's widespread …more

Vox
by Christina Dalcher

How far would you go to protect those you loved? (6/8/2018)

If you could speak only 100 words per day, what would you choose to say?

Jean used to be apolitical, never imagining a fringe movement could gain such power. Now she's fighting for the lives of everyone she loves as part of an underground resistance network. Her tension, …more

Young Jane Young
by Gabrielle Zevin

Nuggets of an interesting story get lost among the rambles (8/22/2017)

I am what is known to Nancy Pearl fans as a "character doorway" reader. Since this novel definitely has character as its primary doorway, I expected to really enjoy it. However, I never really connected with any of the characters, and the structure of the story didn't quite …more

Rise: How a House Built a Family
by Cara Brookins

Fascinating book--wish it were longer (11/30/2016)

Cara Brookins' tale of rebuilding her family by building a house from scratch with her children was inspiring and riveting. She told the tale in alternating Rise/Fall chapters, and I could only read it in the daytime thanks to her vivid portrayal of the domestic violence …more

The Secret Ingredient of Wishes
by Susan Bishop Crispell

Great choice for a book club selection (7/16/2016)

This is a good choice for fans of Sarah Addison Allen, as it had a similar feel and concepts (semi-sentient fruit trees, anyone?). There were quirky and engaging characters, a charming town, and magic in the air. A delightful read, to be sure.

It would make an excellent book …more

The Forgetting Time
by Sharon Guskin

Haunting and unforgettable (1/30/2016)

It took me a couple of chapters to really get into the story and figure out what was going on, but once I did, I was hooked. Haunted, really, and not in the "scary-ghost" sense of the word, but in the "can't-stop-thinking-about-it-long-after-lunch-breaks-ended" sort of way. …more

The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs
by Matthew Dicks

Moments that nudge or snap us (10/26/2015)

Don't we all have a moment or moments in our childhoods that shaped us, nudged the trajectories of our lives just a little bit, changing the course of who we would become? For Caroline Jacobs, a meek mouse of a woman, these included losing her father, her best friend, and …more

Make Your Home Among Strangers
by Jennine Capó Crucet

Not the right book for me (6/9/2015)

I hate to post a negative review here, but I find myself making excuse after excuse not to pick this book up to finish it because I just do not like the main character. She lies and makes stupid choices all the time and for no good reason, doing all kinds of unnecessary …more

First Frost
by Sarah Addison Allen

A lovely choice for a chilly fall/winter afternoon (12/4/2014)

Sarah Addison Allen's book, Garden Spells, is one of my all-time favorite novels, so when I had an opportunity to win a free Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of First Frost from Bookbrowse in exchange for my honest review, I jumped at the chance. First Frost picks up the story …more

That Summer
by Lauren Willig

Good choice for a book group (5/1/2014)

This would make a great book group selection. When I finished reading, I desperately wanted to talk it over with someone, to discuss and analyze what really happened back in January of 1850.

The story alternates between 1849 and 2009, primarily, and I found myself getting …more

The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
by Saira Shah

Emotionally heavy subject matter (7/2/2013)

I received this as an Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) from Bookbrowse.com, and when I started reading it, I questioned my sanity in requesting it in the first place. Not because it's a terrible book--it's not. Rather, because a woman in her late 30s, six months pregnant for the …more

A Murder at Rosamund's Gate: A Lucy Campion Mystery
by Susanna Calkins

I found a new historical mystery author to follow (4/4/2013)

I received a free advance reading copy (ARC) of this book from Bookbrowse.com, and I'm excited to discover a new mystery author to follow, for this is the first in a new series by debut author Susanna Calkins. I really appreciated the Historical Note at the end of the book, …more

The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War
by Daniel Stashower

History comes to life (12/23/2012)

There is no mystery how this book will end: Lincoln survives his journey and is inaugurated as President of the United States. And yet somehow Daniel Stashower has turned historical fact into a nail-biting thriller. I was expecting essentially a biography of Lincoln's time …more

The Woman at the Light: A Novel
by Joanna Brady

Haunting love story (7/13/2012)

Nearly two years ago, my husband and I honeymooned in the Florida Keys. Joanna Brady's vivid descriptions of Key West--the heat, humidity, and history of "wrecking" (the practice of salvaging goods off wrecked ships for profit)--had me feeling like I was right back on the …more islands. Of course, that may have been due to reading most of the book while sitting in the hot sun of the terrace during my lunch breaks, but I prefer to think of it as "sensory immersion."

There really were female lightkeepers back in the 1800s, primarily widows or daughters of lightkeepers who died or became incapacitated. Emily Lowry is a fictional member of that sisterhood. When her husband vanishes without a trace, she takes over as lightkeeper of Wrecker's Cay, struggling to raise her three young children and another on the way. One day an escaped slave washes up on shore during a storm, and her children persuade her to let him stay and learn to be her assistant keeper. Emily's views on slavery evolve over the course of the next couple of years, as Andrew shifts from being a mistrusted stranger to the love of her life. But storms of all sorts blow across the islands, and nothing lasts forever. Deception and harsh social realities of the 1840s pull her family apart, and loss shadows her every turn.

I am very thankful to have read this novel in the sunshine. The constant specter of death and grief often left me feeling melancholy as it was, so I'm glad gloomy weather did not magnify that effect. I am also grateful for the times of joy and peace which balanced the mood.

What kept my rating from being five stars were the anachronisms that jerked me back out of the story, thinking, "Huh?" For example, the part where Emily notices 10-year-old Martha starting to develop breasts. It wasn't until the last two or three decades that girls starting hitting puberty so young. Before concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) began giving growth hormones to cows, chickens, and pigs and spraying everything in sight with petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers, girls did not enter puberty until they were, on average, 12 to 14. Possibly as old as 16. So Martha growing breasts at age 10 seems highly improbable.

Likewise, when a visiting lightkeeper collapses on the tower stairs due to a bad heart, and he has Emily hand him his medicine, I was confused by the implication that she gives him a nitroglycerin pill to put under his tongue. Really? In an age where doctors still tried to bleed patients and balance their "humors," they had nitroglycerin pills? I sincerely doubt that.

And what was up with the random pot-smoking? I could understand the first time as being a plot device to break down inhibitions, but why continue? What did it have to do with anything else in the story? It added no value, in my opinion. Rather, it lowered my opinion of the characters who partook. And of the author.

Still, it was a delightful book overall--a haunting love story, set in a unique time and place.

For readers' advisors: setting and character doorways are primary. Story is secondary. There are a few scenes with sexual content but nothing especially graphic. (less)

The Kitchen Daughter: A Novel
by Jael McHenry

Immersed in the life of a foodie with Asperger's Syndrome (4/25/2011)

I'm nothing like Ginny--I don't much like to cook and I'm very social--but while reading _The Kitchen Daughter_ it was like I was inside her head. I don't personally know what it is like to be anywhere on the autism spectrum, but now I think I have a much better …more

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Reviews by Erin J. (Milwaukie, OR)

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