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Reviews by Lorraine D. (Lacey, WA)

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The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story
by Pagan Kennedy
The Secret History of the Rape Kit, A True Crime Story - A Remarkable Revelation (10/27/2024)
To say that The Secret History of the Rape Kit, A True Crime Story is captivating is to say the least. It is a revelation of how things were, and likely still are in some locations, and the importance of truly observing, listening, and taking action. Martha "Marty" Goddardmore
The Bog Wife
by Kay Chronister
Roots – family roots; Stories – family stories; Heritage, family heritage – How Deep Do They Go? (8/20/2024)
Roots – family roots; Stories – family stories; Heritage, family heritage – the substance and glue of perpetuation of family tradition. How deep and how valid are those ties that bind? The Haddesley family were about to experience the shock and awe of discovery. Theirmore
The Naming Song
by Jedediah Berry
The Naming Song, Music to the Ears (7/2/2024)
The stages I experienced in reading this book went from "resistance" to the verbiage, to "peaked interest", to "can't put this book down". The Naming Song is a tumultuous, imaginative ride through a different time, place, and meaning. Jedediah Berry's creative use ofmore
The Gifts: A Novel
by Liz Hyder
Mystical, Tense, Capitvating (2/24/2023)
"The Gifts" by Liz Hyder is a mystical, tense, captivating glimpse into the lives of four women whose diverse paths or stories fatefully cross. The events occur in19th century England when women had few rights and male status and competition was supreme. "The Gifts"more
Pieces of Blue
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
A Captivating, Humorous Story of A Family Trying to Re-Invent Themselves (2/7/2023)
A determined mom with three very different children, two teens and a gifted younger child, decides to totally re-invent their family after a catastrophe takes her husband. From the time they make the big, poorly planned move to their Hawaiian island paradise to the blusterymore
Moonrise Over New Jessup
by Jamila Minnicks
A Story of Struggle, Joy and the Challenges Inherent In Progress (12/23/2022)
"Moonrise Over New Jesssup " by Jamila Minnicks is an awakening to the many mindsets around the complexities of desegregation. She presents the nuances of the movement that history books fail to capture. There is drama, tension, and joy in the telling. The events gentlymore
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
by Colleen Oakley
Coming of Age at Any Age - Mystery, Flight,Risk,Adventure and More (10/8/2022)
This book is more than just a "coming" of age story; it is also a "becoming" of who I am, or was, story (if there is such a thing), or a rebirth. When Tanner, an unsettled college drop-out, has repeated issues with her parents, she is told to leave and find her way. Theymore
River Sing Me Home
by Eleanor Shearer
Revelatory Story of Courage, Tenacity, and Love (8/25/2022)
“River Sing Me Home” brings to life and awareness the depth of emotions and the true impact of slavery on victims. It is a close-up experience of the despair, desperation, and, in this case, the determination of a mother to locate and retrieve her taken children, wherevermore
The Poet's House
by Jean Thompson
Quality, Emotion, Humor - The Poet's House Exudes It All (6/12/2022)
What a delight it was to read this book! It has it all. Jean Thompson's characters, each distinct from one another, provide an understanding of poets, poetry, the lives of artists in general. One gets a front row seat and view of the life styles, emotions, competitiveness,more
Activities of Daily Living: A Novel
by Lisa Hsiao Chen
A Refocusing on What Is Important (1/22/2022)
Activities of Daily Living is a recounting of everyday experiences of a freelance writer as she pursues what she regards as projects. One of these projects is to trace the unusual and challenging career of performance artist, Tehching Hsieh, whose works are performed inmore
Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey
by Florence Williams
Heartbreak - A Resource For Overcoming Divorce and Other Significant Lossess (11/27/2021)
In her new book, Heartbreak, Florence Williams turns her personal heartbreak from a divorce into a pilgrimage in pursuit of discovery and healing. This remarkable journey is propelled by her desire to understand the nature of heartbreak itself. Why is her body reacting asmore
Appleseed
by Matt Bell
Timing May Be Everything (2/14/2021)
I confess that I could only get through 200 pages of this book. I was interested in it and am in agreement with its statement on climate change and industrial abuse, but the timing for reading it is not good, at least not for me. It is a very "heavy" read and these timesmore
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke
An Emotional, Suspenseful Journey Back to Reality (8/27/2020)
Curious about the name, Piranesi, I looked it up and discovered an Italian artist, Giovanni Barista Piranesi (1720-1778) whose etching were said to depict "cavernous imaginary prisons" (The Free Dictionary - Piranesi). This definition so well defined the houses that Susannamore
The Madwoman and the Roomba: My Year of Domestic Mayhem
by SandraTsing Loh
The Madwoman and The Roomba - Comical Relief (4/11/2020)
If you need a light, easy read, an uplift in spirit, or just a good laugh, then this book is the thing for you. It is a fast-paced unweaving of one mom's stories as her life seemingly unravels through the year, conveniently knit across seasons and the calendar. Youmore
The Paris Hours: A Novel
by Alex George
THE PARIS HOURS - A PAGE TURNER THAT TOUCHES EVERY EMOTION (2/17/2020)
I lost a lot of sleep due to this book and loved every minute of it. I read at night and my reading sessions were up to 2 a.m. I couldn't put the book down.

The Paris Hours is not only captivating, it is so beautifully written. Vivid and visual depiction of variousmore
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Atwood has done it again! (12/17/2019)
If you liked The Handmaid's Tales, you will speed through Testaments. The chapters are short and pass the story back and forth between Aunt Lydia and the girls. Some of the description is more painful than Handmaid's Tales if you can imagine that. Atwood has such amore
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