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Reviews by Melissa R. (Green Bay, WI)

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Dirt Creek: A Novel
by Hayley Scrivenor
Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor (3/25/2022)
First of all, I liked this book VERY much. I'm giving it 5 stars, which it deserves. This book was written by someone who knows how to write. I discovered this wit reading the first paragraph. More than once I have put down a book because the writing was inferior. Not this one. That first page will forecast all the good imaging and voice that is to come.
The development of the story and characters comes about easily. As the mystery unfolds, each character's perspective is given in individual chapters. This is not confusing, but rather solidifies the narrative as you put the pieces together. I liked the setting of Australia. The descriptions of places and use of Australian words were interesting.
I recommend this book to all, and I'm looking forward to Hayley Scrivenor's second novel.
The Sunset Route: Freight Trains, Forgiveness, and Freedom on the Rails in the American West
by Carrot Quinn
Sunset Route (7/23/2021)
The Sunset Route is a memoir along the lines of Educated, The Glass Castle, and Hillbilly Elegy. The author, Carrot Quinn, as a child is neglected in every possible way, The father has abandoned the family and the mother is a schizophrenic who spends her time in the bedroom talking to the Virgin Mary while her children starved. At times, the neglect and poverty of Carrot and her brother are disturbing. Reading how she and her brother, dirty and hungry, would find their meals in dumpers was heartbreaking. As her story progresses, life doesn't get easier. In her twenties, she travels across the country living as a hobo, jumping freight trains, and living hand to mouth. Being a natural writer, she records in a journal every day. From this she is able to create her story. Her writing is beautiful, descriptions are vivid, and her voice is very real. Recovering from the scars of her childhood is a difficult, almost impossible thing to do as she deals with much loneliness.
The Voyage of the Morning Light: A Novel
by Marina Endicott
The Voyage of the Morning Light (6/22/2020)
For some reason, I thought the Voyage of the Morning Light was an adventure story similar to an Indiana Jones story. It's not. Sailing around the world is an adventure, but this isn't a rowdy one. The descriptions of animals, the ocean, and the sky are beautiful. Worth reading twice. The book is fiction but is based on an actual situation or a boy being purchased for four pounds of tobacco. The problem that ensued could be related to today's practice of adopting an orphan from an impoverished country and raising him in the United States.
You Were There Too
by Colleen Oakley
You Were There Too (8/18/2019)
Do you think your dreams have significance? Do you think that they can foretell the future or give you information about a past life? This is the mystery that Mia Graydon is trying to figure out.

The story takes place in the present. Mia and her husband, Harrison, recently moved to a small town in Pennsylvania from Philadelphia. She has had different dreams throughout the years with the same man in each one. She doesn't know who the man is, or if she ever met him in real life. Then, suddenly, there he is. She meets him and finds out that he has been having dreams with her in them. What does it mean? Having suffered a painful disappointment, Mia doesn't know if finding the answer to this is really important or is just a way to keep busy and keep her mind off of her loss.

I found this book to be a pleasant read. Who hasn't wondered at one time about a dream? The writer's style is fluent and the dialogue is real. Many times, I find books of this sort to have male characters that are not realistic. Not so with this. The characters actions and reactions seemed very real. There are subplots, especially with the doctor husband, Harrison, which made me think about a little about medical moral issues.

I found Colleen Oakley's book to be good entertainment on summer evenings.
The Lost Man
by Jane Harper
The Lost Man (11/12/2018)
I would classify this book as a "midnight" book. That is you are reading chapter after chapter because it is so good that you don't want to stop. You look up at the clock and see that it is midnight, so you say to yourself, "I'll read just one more chapter."
One of the more interesting things about this mystery is the role the setting plays in it. The story takes place in the Outback in Australia. Everything the characters do is affected by their environment which is very hot, dry, with an intense sun. Reading the Prologue will not only hook you on the story, but it will also introduce the importance of the setting in the story. I found the author's style to be very good, especially the dialogue. It was very natural. I think a book club would enjoy discussing the dilemmas that are presented here because morally there are more than one way to look at them. This is the third Jane Harper novel I have read, and I have enjoyed them all.
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