Review: Go Set A Watchman

Title:  Go Set A Watchman
Author:  Harper Lee
Rating:  2.5/5

Summary:

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch--"Scout"--returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.

Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past--a journey that can be guided only by one's conscience. 

Review:

I was so very stoked for this book to come out as soon as I heard the manuscript was found after Harper Lee's sister died.  I'm not sure I've really ever been so disappointed in a sequel before.  To Kill A Mockingbird was one of my ultimate favorite books, so naturally I was skeptical (as well as the previous excitement) about a book with my favorite characters that had apparently been previously rejected by the publishers.

I hate to say it, but they were right to originally reject it.

Whoever edited this (because come on, we know Harper didn't have a huge part in this decision or edit) did not do a stellar job.  I'm sad that this was the last book she released before her death.  I honestly wish it hadn't been found.

What did you think?  Am I being to harsh about it all?  And rest in peace Harper Lee.

2016 Reading Challenge: A Book Published This Year

A Book Published This Year

I thought it would take me a few more months to find a book published this year that I liked enough to review and include in this challenge, but that's not the case.  Read my review of the book here.

Title: The Girl Who Fell
Author: S. M. Parker
Rating: 5/5
Published:  March 1, 2016

Summary:

His obsession. Her fall.

Zephyr Doyle is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and attending her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things.

Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.

Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and…

Terrifying?

But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.

So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.

If she waits any longer, it may be too late.

Waiting on Wednesday #2

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title:  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Parts I & II)
Author:  J.K. Rowling
Expected Publish Date:  July 31, 2016

Summary:

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play by Jack Thorne, is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. It will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on 30th July 2016 

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.

My Thoughts:

I'm so torn over this because I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan.  I've read all of the books multiple times, and seen the movies of course.  However, I hated the epilogue, I wish J.K. Rowling had never written it.  I'm also one of those who thinks she should stop writing the tidbits on Pottermore.  Here's my reasoning:  she included what she did in the books and left it there, either write books like the couple little "textbooks" we have about things, or let it go.

I want to read this book because I can't not, it's part of the Harry Potter franchise.  However, I'm not holding out hope about it, and I don't want it to ruin things that I've built up in my mind about the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Author Spotlight: Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury

Website:  http://karenkingsbury.com/

Biography: 

USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s #1 inspirational novelist. There are more than 15 million copies of her award-winning books in print, including several million copies sold in the past year. Karen has written more than 40 novels, ten of which have hit #1 on national lists. 

Karen has a true love for her readers, and she has nearly 100,000 friends on Facebook along with more than 7,500 followers on Twitter. The popular social networking sites have allowed Karen daily interaction with her reader friends.

Karen is best known for her Life-Changing Fiction (TM) and for creating unforgettable characters. When speaking before women's groups - some with more than 10,000 in attendance - Karen makes audiences laugh and cry with her compelling story-telling. She likes to tell attendees they have, "One chance to write the story of their lives," and her talk focuses on reminding women to live every day loving well, laughing often, and finding true life in Jesus Christ. Karen routinely speaks before more than 100,000 women each year.

Karen is also a public speaker, reaching more than 100,000 women annually through various national events. Karen and her husband, Don, live in the Pacific Northwest with their six children, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. (from goodreads.com)

Some Favorite Books:

A Thousand Tomorrows - Cody Gunner has no use for real love. Abandoned as a child by the person he needed the most, he swears he will never allow himself to love again. Ali Daniels denies love as well. Carrying a terrible secret, she lives life to the fullest, taking risks and refusing relationships. When Cody and Ali meet, their first instincts are to hide behind their emotional walls, seemingly doomed to repeat the patterns they have established for most of their lives. But their attraction is too strong, and soon they're doomed in another way, for neither can avoid falling in love, regardless of the consequences. Only after three years--a thousand tomorrows later--do they realize at what cost their relationship comes. In the end, they must decide if love is worth the ultimate price.

Just Beyond the Clouds - Still aching over his wife's death, Cody Gunner can't bear the thought of also letting go of his Down's Syndrome brother, Carl Joseph. Cody wants his brother home, where he will be safe and cared for, not out on his own in a world that Cody knows all too well can be heartless and insecure. So when Carl Joseph's teacher, Elle, begins championing his independence, she finds herself at odds with Cody. But even as these two battle it out, they can't deny the instinctive connection they share, and Cody faces a crisis of the heart. What if Elle is the one woman who can teach Cody that love is still possible? If Cody can let go of his lingering anger, he might just see that sometimes the brightest hope of all lies just beyond the clouds.

Like Dandelion Dust - Kingsbury delivers a powerful new novel about two parents' love for their child and the surprising lengths they will go to keep their family together when a judge rules that their adopted son must be returned to his biological father.

Follower her on twitter:

https://twitter.com/KarenKingsbury

Review: The Girl Who Fell

Title: The Girl Who Fell
Author: S. M. Parker
Rating: 5/5

Summary:

His obsession. Her fall.

Zephyr Doyle is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and attending her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things.

Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.

Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and…

Terrifying?

But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.

So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.


If she waits any longer, it may be too late.

Review:

A book about relationship abuse and control.  I had my reservations at first, but after the first two chapters they were completely gone.  I saw a lot of reviews on Goodreads saying people didn't like it because it wasn't realistic; I imagine they meant because Zephyr is a smart young girl and just because her father left doesn't mean she should have fell into the trap that Alec set.  However, take it from a smart girl who almost fell, it can happen.

This is a subject that girls, and guys, need to be a lot more aware about.  A significant other is not the end all-be all.  Never give up your dreams.

I recommend to all! (Over the age of 16).