Josie Reads

All Is Not Forgotten

unlikelymagic September 15, 2017

All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

3/5 Stars

This story takes place in a small town in Connecticut where a young girl is attacked at a party and her memories of the event are then erased by authoraties by an experamental new drug in an attempt to protect her from the trauma. A warning about the subject matter however, if you are sensitive to descriptions of sexual assault this book could be extremely triggering and difficult to read at times, it does not shy away from discussion of assault and its effects on victims and family.

I found this story fascinating as it explored the different effects of trauma on your mind and behaviour, and the fact that remembering those events and working through them is part of the process of healing.

The suspense in this book was fantastic and kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing whodunnit. The addition of a psychologist as narrator was an awesome choice and I loved following the story through his eyes. The process of recovering Jenny’s memories was so interesting, and I was so fascinated by the effects of erasing the memories of the event and how traumatic it was to not remember.

The ending was a bit too fast a neat for me, but in the end I would recommend this if you are the mood for a phycological thriller.

Non Fiction

Lab Girl

unlikelymagic September 13, 2017

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

4/5 Stars

This chronicles the life of the author a paleobiologist (she studies plants) and her struggles with working in a field dominated by men and her trying to balance her life between her work.

I thought this was wonderfully written. It had the perfect balance between fascinating scientific facts that taught me so much and the compelling and sometimes heartbreaking story of her life. The way she talks about plants and trees you could really feel her love and admiration of them, and began to feel a connection to them through her words. I finished and wished that I had a yard to plant a giant oak tree in. I also really appreciated her honest portrayal of her life and struggles. What it was like to struggle through a profession where you are seen as less capable because of your gender and passed over for opportunities, grants, and recognition because you are a woman. I loved her relationship with her lab partner and the humorous camaraderie they shared. Her honest portrayal of living with mental illness was very thought provoking and the portion during her pregnancy was truly heartbreaking.

If you have an interest sin biology or just love plants I would highly recommend this. I listened to the audiobook edition of this as it is narrated by the author and I would very much recommend it.

Manbooker 2017

Manbooker 2017 Shortlist

unlikelymagic September 13, 2017

So its finally arrived the manbooker 2017 shortlist! I must say I am pleasantly surprised by a few on the list. Lets get right to it, here they are:

Elmet

I am quite pleased to see the first three on the list as I actually enjoyed them! I am pulling for Lincoln in the Bardo, or History of Wolves for the win! They were both so atmospheric and really pulled me into the story. I think Lincoln in the Bardo might be slightly ahead for me since it was a bit more experimental and unique so it stands out a bit more. I am quite sad that I wasn’t able to read Elmet by Fiona Mozley as it has not yet been published her, the synopsis is very intriguing and as she is a debut author I am automatically pulling for her! As for 4 3 2 1 and Autumn I just roll my eyes. Of course they are there, they are popular well respected authors, Smith has already been nominated four previous times and I am left with a feeling that this is like the academy awards where you have to “put in your time” before you win….though I certainly hope not. Even among those who have enjoyed these two novels and are fans of these authors work, it seems to be the general consensus that these are not the best of their work. I can’t help but hope that the judgments will be on these current works alone and not the cumulation of their bodies of work. I think far more interesting and engaging stories were told by other authors on the list who deserve their time in the spotlight. I am very surprised that Days Without End (Days Without End/Reservoir 13) didn’t make it on the list as it has received so much attention in the media lately. Which ones did you like? Is there any you think should have been on the list and didn’t make the cut? The winner will be announced Tuesday October 17th.

http://themanbookerprize.com/news/man-booker-prize-announces-2017-shortlist

Days Without End/Reservoir 13

unlikelymagic September 11, 2017

I’m just going to combine these two into one post since I didn’t really like either of them and I am getting a bit tired of writing negative reviews. I didn’t by any means hate either of them, I was just extremely bored by them and recognized they were not for me.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Tells the story of a seventeen out. year old Irishman who signs up for the American army during the time of the American Civil and American Indian Wars. This book was just “fine” for me, I don’t have strong feelings about it either way. I didn’t like the narration style or voice that was present. I felt very distanced from the characters and found myself very apathetic to their situations and the whole story just felt a bit hallow to me. Many people have absolutely loved this one, just wasn’t for me.

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

A young girl goes missing in a small town, this story chronicles the lives of the inhabitants of this town over the next 13 years.

The writing style of this just did not mesh with me. It felt like we were just being given lists of events in the town with nature passages in between. There was no personality or feeling here, there was just so many people that it was impossible to connect, it may have made more of an impact if the focus had been on fewer people. The fact that there is no resolution just left me disappointed like I made it all the way to the end and there was no reward.

Manbooker thoughts there is so much hype surrounding Days Without End I’m fairly certain it will be on the shortlist.

Manbooker 2017 9/13 + 10/13

The Night Garden

unlikelymagic September 10, 2017

The Night Garden by Polly Horvath

2/5 Stars

Set in a rural area in 1945 our orphan Fanny together with her guardians must learn to cope with caring for a neighbour’s children as their mother goes to stop her husband from doing something terrible. We follow their adventures and the mysterious Night Garden which they are forbidden to enter.

To be fair, I really think I am not the target audience for this Tale. I enjoy children’s fiction, but it has to be very well written and extremely engaging. The story seemed like it was trying to be a mashup between Anne of Green Gables and A Series of Unfortunate events. The author was trying so hard to make her characters quirky and unique it just ended up feeling strained. The conversations were so unrealistic, especially the dialogue between adults and children. Everything was so nonsensical….and I mean every single character. This is not generally a writing style that I prefer and therefore struggled through this book. If you enjoyed Tahereh Mafi’s Furthermore you might enjoy this more than I.

A copy of this ebook was provided to my through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Smile

unlikelymagic September 10, 2017

Smile by Roddy Doyle

2/5 Stars

This follows our protagonist Victor as he flashes between events of his childhood and his new life as an adult bachelor.

I enjoyed the idea of this book, but not quite the execution of it. It felt like we didn’t ever get into the story and the character, we were always just skimming over the top. It didn’t always quite make sense and I struggled the whole time to really see where the story was headed.

The very start of the book has a very sinister tone and suggests at a mystery. Then we make an about face and discuss victors relationship with an attractive TV personality, get to know his buddies at the pub, and watch scenes from his childhood. So it all begins to feel a bit like a family drama, then in the very last few pages we make an abrupt turn again and it is a whole different story. The “surprise” end felt so out of place, which is a shame because it could have been an interesting topic to explore as it very much shadows a piece of classic literature (I hesitate to say which as I don’t want to spoil the end). It all happened so fast and there were so many holes in the story. I would have enjoyed more time actually getting to know the two characters better and seeing more of their lives. We spent sooooo much time on his romantic (wink wink) encounters with Rachel it all just began to feel a bit gratuitous, there was so many far more interesting facets of his life to explore. Victor began to feel just like a static character almost caricature and not a real person at all. And absolutely no time was spent on Eddie so we really didn’t have much context for the ending. I did enjoy the dialogue, it was witty and entertaining and you really felt like you were experiencing an Irish pub. The rest of the story lacked cohesion and there was often parts that didn’t really seem to fit in. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, I think it just missed the mark….by quite a bit….

An ebook copy of this book was provided to me through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

historical fiction

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

unlikelymagic September 8, 2017

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

3/5 Stars

Henry Montague was born to be a gentleman….but he would rather just have a really good time.

This story was just a wonderful romp of fun. It was so entertaining and was so compulsively readable. It follows our main character Monty the son of an Earl, his sister, and his best friend Percy as they head out on their tour of Europe. This tour is meant to be Monty’s last chance to prove himself to be a gentleman worthy of inheriting his fathers title and to rid himself of his thoroughly earned roguish reputation.

I was so impressed by how much character development actually happened and the important topics that were discussed and actually handled very well. The romance is written so well and not overplayed which I really appreciated. She made you work hard for that kiss that had you melting in your boots… and no insta-love…can I get a hallelujah, standing ovation, I tip my hat to you madam!

Their swashbuckling adventures were over the top and ridiculous in the most fantastic way and I was entertained the whole time. I loved all our characters and enjoyed how realistic they were written. They all developed as the story progressed and learned about themselves and each other. The only thing I think I would have changed was the one part of the conflict with supernatural like elements, it felt a little out of place and I don’t think the story needed it, we had plenty of conflict without it, I would have preferred it to be proved to be a myth.

Overall this was so entertaining and funny and I would definitely recommend it for an entertaining romantic romp of a read. Looking forward to more by this author.