My Five Book Book Review. Reading is a great CoronaVirus Diversion!

(There is an Amazon link to each book.  If you are interested in a bit more information, just click on the link.  I am an Amazon Affiliate.  If you click on the link and buy anything at all, I get a percent of the sale with no cost to you...thanks:-)

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Book 1 
Flu
by Gina Kolata

Genre: History, Non-fiction, Science, Medical, Health

Good Reads Rating-3.91/5

I would have to rate this book on two scales.

Reading Experience for casual reading 2/5

More of a textbook style read 4/5

I am not even going to put up the Amazon version like I usually do.  It is outrageously expensive.  Is this because of the CoronaVirus Pandemic we are in now?  I don't know, but the prices are crazy.  I got mine from The Book Outlet before we were in our own pandemic and it was a discounted price.

Overview I found on GoodReads

In 1918 the Great Flu Epidemic killed an estimated 40 million people virtually overnight. If such a plague returned today, taking a comparable percentage of the U.S. population with it, 1.5 million Americans would die.

Scary thought considering we are in our own pandemic now. 

 Quote

““But the flu was expunged from newspapers, magazines, textbooks, and society’s collective memory. Crosby calls the 1918 flu “America’s forgotten pandemic,” 

Gina Kolata

My Thoughts Before I Read the Book

I bought this book after reading the Poisoners Handbook by Deborah Blum.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Poisoner's Handbook.  It was all about the early 1900s and the experience of not only poisons but prohibition, WWI,  and many other events of that time.  When I finished the book I wanted to know more about that time period and so I decided to pick up Flu. 

My Thoughts After I Read the Book

I found this book to be more the facts and less about the human face of the disease. The focus of this book seemed to be more on epidemiology then people's lives which was what I was expecting.

I felt this book read more like a textbook.  It is filled with a ton of scientific information.  All good info but a bit too dry for me.

I can't give you much more because I did not finish it.

My Final Thought

The reason I did not finish the book was that it was focused more on facts then on people.  There was no character development.  Writing about the experience of the people touched by the pandemic would have been far more interesting than a book filled with mostly science.  I think if they would have included both it may have held my interest.

Movie

I could not find a movie based on the book or a book trailer.

I did find a documentary on the 1918 flu.  If you are interested check it out.  It gives a good history along with photos from that time.  It may be hard to watch knowing we are in our own pandemic.

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Book 2

Nevermoor, The Trials of Morrigan Crow

by 

Jessica Townsend

Genre-Fantasy, children's middle grade, fiction, young adult

4.38 stars on Goodreads out of 5 stars
I would give this book 4/5

                                                                                                                           

Overview From the Book Jacket

"A cursed girl escapes death and finds herself in a magical world-but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor."

Quote 

“Death is boring. Life is much more fun. Things happen in life all the time. Unexpected things. Things you couldn’t possibly expect because they’re so very… unexpected.” 
― Jessica Townsend, The Trials of Morrigan Crow

My Thoughts Before Reading the Book

I was intrigued by the description on the book jacket as well as the photo on the cover.  I also wanted to read a fantasy so I decided to read Nevermoor.

My Thoughts After Reading the Book

Morrigan was cursed, at least that is what everyone said.  Why was she cursed you ask?  Because of the day she was born. Along with all of the negative things that happened to anyone in the town being blamed on her and her curse,  she was also destined to die at an early age because of this curse.  

 Everything changed when she was invited to the elusive Wundrous Society.  

She is saved from her fate, at least for the moment, and somewhat guided by Jupiter North.  He introduces her to this new world and helps her as she is tested to see if she will be able to stay in this new world or go back to her fate in her home town. 

I enjoyed the fantasy, the talking animals, the dragons, the shadows that came to life, and the bedroom that changed based on your mood.  As in any good book you will find good vs evil.

It is a fun ride, magical, funny, and entertaining.

This book is book one in a series.  It does stand alone but it can easily move onto another book in the series.  I did order book two and it will be interesting to see if it is a stand-alone book or one where you would have had to read book one to understand what is happening. 

Is there a Movie?

It seems a movie may be in the works but it was not really clear.  I think it would make a good one.  Here is the book trailer for you to watch...

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Book 3

"Rebecca"

Daphne DuMaurier

Genre-Classics, Fiction, Mystery, Romance

4.23 stars on Goodreads out of 5 stars
I gave this book a 2.5-3/5

From Good Reads

"The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave."

Quote

“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.” 
― Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca

My Thoughts Before I Read the Book

I know, now, that this book is a classic.  I had not heard or Rebecca until I read a re-make of the book called The Winters.  After reading the Winters I thought why not read the original book so I ordered it on Amazon.

My Thoughts After Reading the Book

The story starts off in Monte Carlo with a young woman working a job she really does not like for a woman she also does not like. Well, as fate would have it she meets an older man, a rich older man and falls head over heels in love.  She and Maxim marry and head off to his estate where her life is turned upside down.

Maxim's first wife has died but her presence is felt, in the form of her memory, throughout the book.  This presence causes our no named protagonist to dwell on what is described as Rebecca's perfections.  She spends most of her time comparing herself to this deceased woman almost to the point where I wanted to yell at her and say stop!

You will meet good people and also people who have a strong allegiance to Rebecca and have no patience for our narrator and just want her gone.

I could not get into this book.  I did a lot of skimming and just wanted it to end.  I only gave it a 3 out of 5 because it was a classic.  

Many people love this book.  I don't know if it was the writing style or the slowness of the story but it just did not work for me.

Is there a movie?

Yes, there is a movie.  It too is tedious.  The movie is from 1940 and produced by Alfred Hitchcock. 

Here is a clip from the movie

Note: This physical book was awful.  The font was difficult to read and it was a chore to hold the book open.  I even tried to break the spine of the book but I could not make it happen.  

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Book 4

"The Braid"

by Laetitia Colombani

Genre-Fiction, Contemporary Cultural,

3.92 stars on GoodReads out of 5 stars.
I gave this one 4/5 stars.

                                                              

                                                               

Quote from Good Reads,

"In this unforgettable international bestseller, three women from very different circumstances around the world find their lives intertwined by a single object and discover what connects us—across cultures, across backgrounds, and across borders."

Quote

"If you didn't talk about it, it didn't exist"

My Thoughts Before I Read the Book

I did not select this book it came to me in a book subscription box called The Book Drop. This is one subscription box that I really enjoy.  I have liked every book they have sent me.
I love the cover.  It was interesting how these women's lives could "intertwined" like a braid.  I could not wait to see how it all played out.

My Thoughts After Reading the Book

This is a story of 3 different women in 3 different countries each with a different set of challenges. 

Smita lives in India.  She is considered to be untouchable based on the caste system she was born into.  Smita's goal in life is to make sure her daughter has a better life then she has.

Giulia lives in Sicily. She has a good life working for her father.  Her family is close.  Suddenly her father becomes ill and Giulian is unexpectedly in charge and she finds that the family business is failing.  She has to find a way to turn things around. 

Sarah lives in Canada.  She is a successful lawyer, a divorced mother of three kids.  Her life seems to be on track when cancer strikes and her life seems to be in pieces. How will she overcome it?

They never meet but their lives are touched by one another.  I really enjoyed this book.  I felt a connection with the characters.  It was a good ending but I wanted to know more about the lives of these remarkable women.

Is there a movie?

There is not a movie that I could find related to this book.
I could not find a book trailer either.

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Book 5 

"Step Sister"

by Jennifer Donnelly

Genre-Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Fairy Tales

4.10 stars on Goodreads out of 5 stars
I give this book 5/5

                                                                   

Quote from the Book Jacket

Isabelle should be blissfully happy shes about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isnt the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the princes heart. Shes the ugly stepsister whos cut off her toes to fit into Cinderellas shoe ... which is now filling with blood.

Quote

“The wolves in the woods have sharp teeth and long claws, 

but it's the wolf inside who will tear you apart.” 
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

My thoughts before reading the book

The quote was enough to suck me in.  What a premise. You have the so-called ugly stepsister literally cutting off her toes so that her foot fits into the slipper that would win her a ticket to the prince and his throne.  

My thoughts after reading the book

This book begins where the Cinderella story of old ends.  The prince is in search of his princess. Before he finds his true love he comes across Isabelle and Octavia, the "ugly stepsisters.   

Isabelle is our protagonist.  She believes there is only one way to happiness and that would be to be beautiful like her stepsister Ella.  She did not think this way when she was a little girl but society has clouded her vision of what beauty and strength are.  Her mother did not help her on her path to being who she really was she only pushed her in an attempt to make her become someone she is not.

Is there a hope that Isabelle will find herself?  Maybe. She does have some interesting characters along the way that wish the best for her but also some who want to see her destroyed. 

In this book, you will find magic, spells, war, good and evil, hope and despair, fear and courage.  You will learn that beauty comes in all forms and also that even when someone seems to be perfect they probably aren't. 

Initially, I thought I would not like Isabelle.  After all, she lies, she pretends to be someone she is not and she cuts off her toes to deceive the prince in an attempt to get what she wants. 

I was wrong.  I ended up loving Isabelle, her sister, their friends, and Ella.  What a fun ride.

Is there a movie?

It does sound like a movie is in the works but I could find very little on this.

Here is the book trailer.

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I would love to know what you are reading.  If you have read any of the above books did you enjoy them?  Drop me a note in the comment box.

Take care and happy reading!

KathieyV:-)