jenbsbooks's reviews
2260 reviews

I'd read the first book, Moloka'i back in August, and I liked it ... but didn't feel compelled to continue on. This hadn't been intended as a series, and this book was written years after the first, and is more of a companion, than a continuation. Much of the story is happening in tandem with Moloka'i, and some of the final scenes there, are repeated here, then expanded. Honestly, I didn't really remember a ton from the first story, and that was okay. 

I had this in all three formats. I'd picked up a physical copy (thrift store or library sale, for my Little Free Library) and that brought it back to my TBR. I borrowed the audio and Kindle copy from the library (Libby, but also on Hoopla) and went primarily with the audio. Here, I think the audio added to the ambience with the accents, better than my imagination would have. I like having the Kindle copy for reference, and I pulled it up several times to make notes/highlights, look up words, and check out the extras ...

One of the things that pushed this to a 5* for me, was the extras. There was a map, and photographs (by Ansel Adams), a Q&A with the author that was super interesting, extensive author's notes with a lot of additional information (clarifying some of the factual events/people), discussion questions. It really added to the whole experience.

Per the "conversation with the author" ... this had "a perfect three-act structure to Ruth’s life: her childhood in Honolulu and California; her internment during World War II; and the final third of the novel, Ruth’s meeting with Rachel and her 22-year relationship with her birth mother" and it was divided into three parts, with chronological chapters running throughout. 

This really brought to life the experience of the Japanese, forced to leave their homes and move to internment camps. I had read "They Called Us Enemy" (hadn't realized it was a graphic novel when I downloaded it) ... but it had presented this situation very well also. I think this part of the story was the most heavily "historical" part, where lessons on history and life, could be learned. There could be many interesting discussion topics on this, comparisons to the Jews in Germany, to Muslims in America after 9-11, to views on immigrants today. 

Another recent read of mine was [book:The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality|61327479] - stories from a vet. Here, Ruth has a strong love/connection to animals, and wanted to become a vet, but that path wasn't open to her at this time in history. There was a strong focus on animals and the part they play in lives ... and a satisfying circle in the storyline (I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say Ruth's daughter becomes a veterinarian). 

It would have been interesting to read the books back-to-back, to see if perhaps some portions might have been too repetitive, or if the overlap wasn't that much. Honestly, I don't remember more than the basics of the Rachel/Ruth reunion in the first book. 

There were two uses of proFanity - other words I noted (either I had to look up the meaning/unfamiliar, or just not as common, enough that I highlighted them) ... swath (this was the Wordle word and my son had just asked me what it meant, when bam, there it was in my book!), caromed, quiescent, susurrus (love this one), bellicose, kayoed (I thought it would be KO-ed, knocked out) ... in the author's notes; indefatigable (love it!) and canard (hadn't heard that before).

 I liked this, but I'm a self-admitted sucker for "what if" alternate life-choice type stories. I'd had this on my list for a loooooong time, but while my library had the Kindle copy, no audio available there. It was on Audible, but I wasn't committed to PAYING for it, using up a precious credit. When I found a hardcopy at a thrift store, I picked it up (end goal, for my Little Free Library) and that brought it back to my attention. With an Amazon purchase, came a 3-month free AmazonMusic subscription, and recently, one free Audio borrow a month was included with that so ... I grabbed this as my February freebie (I don't even know that I'll listen to any music, just got the deal to get three audiobook borrows *Ü*).

For some reason I had it in my mind that this was about dancing ... maybe just the title? Silly me. No ballerina here. Paranormal, little group with abilities set apart from the "normal" world. Our MC can "see the future" sort of. Only for herself, and only when faced with a choice, and she can "search" to see what would happen as a result of that decision, either way. Interesting set up.

The use of "tense" here was interesting ... the first two chapters are past tense (first person, Addie's POV) as her "choice" is set up, to stay with Mom in the community, or go with Dad out to the normal world. Then, most of the book is her "search" of these two possible paths, and it switched to present tense for this. The two different paths weren't really defined by a header or anything, but they were still fairly easy to keep straight (whether she was still in the community with Duke/odd numbered chapters, or outside, with Trevor/even numbered chapters). In the TV series "Awake" had a basic premise similar, two "lives" ... one with his wife, one with his son, and he would wear a colored band to help him/and us, the viewer/ to keep them straight. The film also had a slightly different colored tint. I liked that). I wondered if it would revert to past tense when the search was over, but it stayed present tense to the end. 

The storyline wasn't what I was expecting (ballerina *Ü*) but I liked it. It felt young, it IS YA ... it was a tad darker than I had anticipated (some murder, purposeful injury). No proFanity though, a couple slight sexual situations but nothing at all explicit. 

I am interested in reading the sequel, seeing what happens next. Doesn't look like it was ever made into audio, so I'd have to read it on my own.  This audio ... I wasn't sure about the drawl in the Dad/Normal/Trevor path, just always felt a little forced to me (I am not an expert in that accent). 

I liked this ... didn't love it, as so many others seemed to. I had heard rave reviews about this, and found a hardcopy at the thrift store (that pushes a book up my TBR). While the story kept my interest, I'm not sure how much it will stick in my memory. I went with the audio, which isn't as good for stopping and taking notes, making highlights, but I never really felt that urge (I had the Kindle copy too). 

3rd person/Past tense ... broken up into five parts, with 30 chronological chapters running through. The chapters had headings - a phrase and a date. I wish this info was also included in the Table of Contents. To me, it's always interesting to look back over the heads, see what memories the headers can bring up ... both Kindle and Audio just had the basic numbered chapters. The physical book lacks a TOC altogether (I can't comprehend why physical books today leave them out). 

1. The Center/2013  
2. The Boy Who Would Change the World/1953 
3. Love How it Tangles/1953
4. Chained/1953
5. Gafe Ghanadi/1953
6. Bruised Sky/1953

I won't retype all the headers here, just enough to show the idea. Part 1, through Ch13 sticks to 1953. Part 2/Chapter 14 does an unexpected jump ... The Melon Seller's Daughter/1916 ... this shift in POV and setting/time really confused me. It finally connected later on, but I was a little lost here.  Chapter 14-15 return to Roya in 1953.  Part 3/Chapter 17 shifts to 1956/California. The next chapters move on to the next few years. Part 4/Chapter 21 threw me again, heading was Births/1958 and in print, it was in italics ... who is the POV? Again, I was a little lost, took me a minute to figure out this was Bahman. Was this a letter, a journal entry? Stream-of-consciousness?  Part 5/Chapter 23 was another "what is going on" for me ... 2013, Claire. Who is Claire? Oh yes, from the first chapter, she's an administrator at the nursing home, took me a few minutes to make that connection ...

I didn't care for these abrupt and confusing chapters added in within the main story. Yes, it all came together in the end, but it irritated me when it was happening. I didn't care for the "spoiler" at the end of chapter 20 "little did she know that her future held a bigger loss: a loss that would make the summer of 1953 look like child's play" ... I guess things moved pretty quickly in Chapter22, but I knew as soon as a baby was mentioned, that it would end in a loss ...

I never fully connected to the characters. Bahman's mother was just terrible! I liked Roya, Bahman, Walter, but still felt a little a part from all the characters. I wasn't sure how I felt about how everything tied up. 

This was clean: No proFanity, no sex. Other words I note: cacophony, ablutions

I liked this fine ... I just don't know that I'll really remember it? There wasn't anything about it that stood out to me, just another historical mystery type. Too many misleading moments, unreliable narrator, tangents and suspects (we're dealing not only with the current missing child,  but also the previous one). 

LOTS of characters POVs ... mostly past tense, but some present. I liked how that was done - the change in tense helped me keep the "present" (August 1975) separate from the past. Another unique time distinction was that ALL the time shifts were showcased at the chapter header, with the one for that chapter in bold. For example ...

1950s |  1961 | Winter 1973 | June 1975 | August 1975

This formatting didn't actually start until Part II ... There were seven parts with headers 
1. Barbara 
2. Bear
3. When Lost
4. Visitors
5. Found
6. Survival
7. Self-Reliance 

Within each of these parts, there were several chapters ... these were NOT included on the Table of Contents, nor were they labeled numerically. The POV and the date were given. I was very glad that the audio included these on their TOC. I had to refer to it several times, as I'd stop/start and forget whose POV we were in. Louise, Tracy, Alice, Jacob, Carl, Judyta, Victor. Skipping around in time from the present, to a couple months earlier, to years earlier. 

I wasn't totally content with the resolution of the story ... ehhhh. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to recommend it. I didn't save any highlights or notes. The title tied in a little (mentioned twice), although I felt it was stretching it. 

Some proFanity (x6) and sex, although nothing explicit.  

I didn't dislike this ... I just felt like it's already been done, and been done better? At least a little more realistically (Man Called Over, Britt-Marie was Here, How the Penguins Saved Veronica, Remarkably Bright Creatures ... and there's more). The original connection with the mouse was believable, but then I felt like it was too over the top, which just impacted the my perception of the book as a whole. And even in the end, it didn't seem like our MC wanted all the people over (was she just not feeling well?)

Fredrick Backman can write 3rd person/present tense in a way that doesn't annoy me (that I don't really even notice) but here, I was always aware of the tense. It felt awkward.  The chapter set-up was interesting ... listing the day of the week, with a few chapters (then a couple where the day didn't even have a chapter, just time passing). 

I wasn't sure about the ending either ... cute idea, but ... really?

Admittedly, this isn't my usual genre. I tend to like "thrillers" like this in a movie/tv series, but struggle a bit with it in books. Here, there were too many characters/names to try to keep track of, several settings and a lot going on. I had picked up a physical copy at a library sale. This had been a "Reader'sChoice" book. I was able to grab the audio and Kindle version easily. I went primarily with the audio. 

I think I comprehended the story overall ... all 3rd person, past tense. 82 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue. I guess Brian Rhome would be considered the MC, the titular "Wolf" per se. There was another character later on, Ryder, and I have this bad habit of just remembering the first letter of a person's name (in real life, and in books, especially in audio). So ... I got Rhome and Ryder a little mixed up (even though Ryder is female).  We have a female president (Angela Buchanan) and Princess Amara is another main characters. So many POVs to track though!  The setting would shift mainly from the US (various locations) to Saudi Arabia and then other locations in the middle east. A "Green Accord" signing was what much of the story circled around. 

There were a few deaths/injuries ... that we are in that person's POV as they are shot, just not always a POV a reader gets (as they die). 

ProFanity x36 ... I think I had heard the word "chyron" before (the word banner on a news report), it was used four times. Dais, roiled, cacophony are other words I note.

I didn't have anything particularly negative about the book ... just a little hard to follow with all the flipping around (locations/people). Nothing where I wanted to stop and highlight/make notes, not really one I'd recommend - but I will offer up the physical copy I bought in my Little Free Library. 

I liked this a lot ... it wasn't really what I was expecting, and it's a little hard to talk much about it without giving things away. 

First person//Present tense, two parts, with chronological chapters running (11 in part 1, 7+ an epilogue in part 2; although a few of the chapters were SHORT. Chapter 15. Sixteen. Seventeen. These are a little more impactful in print I think (having listened, then seeing the pages, and the white space). There was a "reader's guide" with some  Q&A and bookclub questions included in the Kindle and physical copy. I had this in all three formats. I went primarily with the audio, checking in with the Kindle copy to make a few notes/highlights and for review afterward.  

As I picked up this book, it's the start of 2025 ... ironically I just had my own second bout with Covid last month. Neither time I got very sick. While my family and I experienced the scare of the pandemic, schools/stores closing, we weren't really all that affected. Even having heard stories of the extreme situations, it was a little "ahhhh" to read about it in this fictional setting, even years afterward when things have calmed down. I definitely don't think I could have read this much earlier. 

SPOILER ...

the TWIST caught me totally off guard. As she was drowning, then waking up and I realized that the whole Galapagos storyline wasn't real (or was it?) I was pretty surprised.  I know I have very vivid dreams, that feel real, until I wake up, and then they fade, and if I think about them, they really don't make sense. Super tender moment, having been so sad not being able to be there for her mother when she died ... in the "dream" storyline, and then realizing that hadn't happened and things could be different here (although, in the end ...) I had really liked the relationship with Beatriz. I wasn't sure how I felt about the "real" life and Diana giving up on Finn ... although it is slipped in that he is happily engaged in the end, so I guess we can't feel too  bad for him.

Some quotes that resonated ...

You don't have to be afraid of dying, when you're already dead.

You can't grieve something if you don't let yourself get close enough to care.

You shouldn't stay with someone because of your past together - what matters more is if you want the same future.

There was proFanity (x33).  Some other words/phrases I noticed ... Hubs and I had just started watching AP Bio on Netflix. In the book, Diana references her AP Bio class (I just thought that was coincidental). Also "arcane" ... (I'm watching that while walking the treadmill). Ornithologist ... that's been in more books that you'd think! "a zephyr of boys" was interesting imagery/description.

I picked up a physical copy (or two) at a library sale. This had been a "Reader's Choice"  book, so our library had multiple copies. I had it on my TBR for a while. I'd really loved Herriot's books growing up. This felt a little less "fun" although there were still some lighter tales. This dealt a lot with some of the harder issues ... animal injuries, sicknesses, death, the training, the depression that vets can face themselves. Some family just had a dog diagnosed with cancer ... I'm not sure if this book would be something the would "like" ... relate to, find comfort in, or if it would hit too close to home.

First person, past tense, very easy, conversational tone. The audiobook was narrated by the author, and she did a good job. 24 numerical chapters, with headers. I like headers, looking over the table of contents after finishing the book, seeing if the headers bring back memories of the stories within those chapters. 

Clean - no profanity or sex. Talk of suicide and euthanasia and animal death.  

I loved The Midnight Library, and was interested in this "memoir/selfhelp" offering. I had a bit of a wait, getting both the audio (narrated by the author) and Kindle copy. Honestly ... I thought this was going to be a DNF. Between the content and the narration, the lack of a storyline (something I struggle with when it comes to non-fiction), it just wasn't keeping me connected. I'm okay with a DNF, but I figured I'd at least skim the Kindle copy. Reading it myself, I found myself pulled in more, and I went ahead and finished it. I made quite a few connections and notes ... but some of the really profound statements aren't actually from this author, but from others he's quoting (and he gives full credit, both in the book and at the end/bibliography) or just a thought from him, a regular person with depression - but I guess I do that in novels, highlight things a character says/thinks. 

This had five sections, although I don't know that I really figured out that format ... it all just blended together in short/random chapters. Some giving his history, then there were quotes from other publications, either creative or scientific. There were "chapters" that were just random lists ...  of things people say, things that make you happy. Small statements from other readers. Several "a conversation across time" with a Now and Then (a little like "My Old Ass" if  you've seen that movie). There were allusions to his novels ... a statement about being alien (The Humans), about something perhaps happening in a different universe (The Midnight Library), statements of "How to Stop Time" and "this book is impossible" (The Life Impossible).  

This set up ... I can see it absolutely appealing to some, and just feeling like random things written down without much organization to others. 

The five sections were 1. Falling 2.Landing 3.Rising  4.Living   5.Being ... I think I appreciated this set up/progression more after the fact ... it didn't really register as I was reading.  Each section had numerous (small, tiny) little chapters with their own heading. No numerical chapter listing outside of the five sections, which made it a little harder to shift between formats (I did pull the audio back up, wanting to see how "yin YANG" was pronounced, and like another recent listen, it was more "yung" than "yAng" as I've always heard it before, and would pronounce it myself). 

I think I prefer things like this in a fictional format more ... a story saying the same, or similar things. A character making a statement, rather than a person/author. For example, the author's statement "one of the things depression often does is make you feel guilt" ... is that just a basic logical statement, or would it mean more coming from a PHD as a result of a depression study? Does it matter if it resonates? 

Lots of good BOOK quotes that I connected with ... sometimes I feel a main reason for ME to stay alive is because there are so many books still unread.  This thoughts on sunshine, something I've absolutely needed of late (we had a nice stretch of sun, but the forecast now looks cloudy).  A lot was made up of his connection to his girlfriend/wife and family ... but what if one doesn't have that? The author himself says he probably wouldn't have made it through without that, but that likely is the case for many, or some, but not as strong, of a support system. British, so a different medical system than the U.S. (both have pros and cons). 

Looking back ... I made a LOT of highlights and notes. Made a lot of connections. Besides the audio just not clicking (narrated by the author, and not that he was bad at narrating, my mind just kept wandering, I couldn't stay focused), I think I needed to READ this. I needed to have the option to stop and ponder and highlight and save sections. I love that my Kindle highlights are saved, even with a library book that I've borrowed and returned. Love the Goodreads Quotes section. 

There was some proFanity (x7), mention of sex, but nothing at all explicit. 

I liked this ... really, as an adult, more of a 3* personally, but I think this would be good/enjoyed by the younger audience it's aimed at. I hadn't realized it was the start of a series when I picked it up, and didn't love the unresolved ending. I'm not planning on continuing on though, I just have too many books on my TBR. 

Super short chapters. 3rd person, past tense. I went primarily with the audio, which was fine,  but I had the Kindle copy too. I enjoyed flipping through it afterward, remembering the storyline, seeing the illustrations. 

I could see how this could have some topics for discussion ... how Roz learns from the animals, and adapts. The idea of fear (how all the animals were afraid at the start), language, of love, of family/motherhood, of helping others.

I've seen some of the previews for the movie - there's a note from the author just giving a heads up at the difference in illustration from the book to the movie. They are distinct styles.