Review: I Keep My Worries in My Teeth

I Keep My Worries in My Teeth by Anna Cox
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Strange

I am not exactly sure what I just read. This has got to be one of the strangest books I have ever read. In the town of Lead, Ohio, a pencil factory exploded and has a pretty big impact on the entire community. The book follows three women, all with quite interesting issues. Ruth has lost her husband some time ago and still mourns his death. Frankie is the daughter of the owner of the pencil factory and takes a pencil to the throat during the explosion, is a member of a boy scout troop, and is obsessed with her boyfriend. And then there is Esther, oh, Esther. She is quite the quirky one. She likes to bite or chew on things and is the quality assurance tester for the pencil factory. She is not content unless she has something in her mouth, preferably made of wood.

The chapters rotate back and forth between characters with not much intertwining of the characters themselves. I think that the book has a good concept but it just really didn't go anywhere. Again, I'm really at a loss for words about this book.

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

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Review: In Five Years

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It all started with a simple question - “Where do you see yourself in five years?” - in an interview for Dannie’s dream job. Then her boyfriend, David, proposes to her that same night, and after much celebrating she has a dream, premonition, look into the future, or whatever you wanna call it five years into her future and it doesn’t include David but some other man, in another apartment, with a different ring!

However, you think that’s going to be what the book is about, right? Well, I am not going to give anything away, you’re going to have to read it and find out for yourself, but I have to say, it definitely was not what I was expecting at all. And maybe it is the social distancing and everything going in the world today, and how I am weepy all the time anyway, but I would highly recommend having tissues ready while reading this one for sure!

This is my book club’s pick this month and I am anxious to see what everyone thinks about it.

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Review: The Five Days of Christmas

The Five Days of Christmas by Maria Cassano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Christmas Spirit

This is a sweet little book to get you into the holiday spirit. I absolutely loved the five days of traditions leading up to Christmas. That is just so much fun! Although it is a short book, the characters were well developed and relatable. I didn't like the boyfriend, Jonathon all that much, but I think that's the point. This book read like a Christmas Hallmark movie, it was a quick, easy read, perfect for the holiday season!

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

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Review: Beyond the Higher Ground

Beyond the Higher Ground by Thomas A. Brigger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that just makes you go - hmm. Mason is called to head up the construction of a prison in the mountains of Virginia and rents a house not too far from the location. He gets caught up in the history of the locals once things start happening to him on and off the property that he has rented. It has been determined by the DEA that the prison construction site is being used to filter drugs. So with that being found out and the things happening to him, Mason does a lot of digging, spying, befriending, and sticking his nose into things, but does he really want to know the answers to what he is looking for?

It is a pretty powerful story, although sometimes confusing as it flips back and forth between the past and present, or character to character pretty quickly. Also, the writing gets lost on me sometimes because it seems the author tried to use these big powerful words in each sentence, which was not necessary. With that said, the delivery could have been better but the story, although disturbing, was great. This was not a fluffy quick read, this was one that makes you think and realize that there is an issue out there, and all it takes is one person to care and to help make a change.



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Review: Deputy: 35 Years as a Deputy Sheriff from Upstate NY to LA

Deputy: 35 Years as a Deputy Sheriff from Upstate NY to LA by Cliff Yates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting

I am a true crime junkie. I love anything to do with 48 Hours, 20/20, or anything of that nature, so I was super excited to dive into a book of real life experiences from a 30 year veteran cop turned comic! With that said, the experiences and stories were extremely entertaining, some more than others, but interesting nonetheless. The writing style was a little off in some chapters, jumping around quite a bit making it a bit hard to follow. And with me being a transcriptionist/editor, I found quite a few typos, grammatical errors, and repeated sentences.

This is definitely a quick easy read with an interesting subject matter, just a few hiccups

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

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Review: Cracker

Cracker by Jacci Turner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What if...

This is definitely an eye opening, role reversing book in where white people have been slaves and are the minority. It takes place in a high school where a new white student, Ann, faces bullying while trying to make changes that some are just not ready for, and yet others are all too willing to lend a helping hand.

Although a short book not allowing enough time to go too terribly deep into each event that happens, it discusses quite a few heavy topics - discrimination, equality, bullying, sexuality, suicide, interracial couples, religion, peace. I found this book to be quite emotional and feel that it could definitely be used as a good discussion tool for teens today. In fact, there are discussion questions included at the end Of the book, which I am sure would lead to some fabulous conversations. I did enjoy this book. It was well written and did put a nice perspective on a "what if" scenario.

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

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Review: Where The Hell Is Tessa Ryker?

Where The Hell Is Tessa Ryker? by R.E. Conary
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Don't judge a book by its title!

I know they say don't judge a book by its cover, but have you ever judged a book by its title? This book has been on my to read list all year and I just kept putting it off because I thought -- what kind of title is that? Well, once you dive into this book the title speaks for itself.

Tessa, a 14 year old girl, who just happens to play hooky from school, walks in on her family having just been murdered, and sees the murderer leave the house and drive away. Since she knows this person she flees in the family pickup truck leaving behind all kinds of questions in her wake, one of them being -- Where the hell is Tessa Ryker? Because she now has everyone looking for her including law enforcement and even the murderer.

This book takes you on a wild ride! As a mother of a 13 & 15 year old, I could never imagine my girls on the journey that Tessa took! I'm not saying that they're not smart, but the lengths she goes to to hide is quite creative and effective. Very entertaining book with just the right amount of suspense.

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

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