Book Review: "The Witness"

The Witness

by Nora Roberts

Goodreads Summary: Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.
 

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems--and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something--and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed. 

Review: For the most part, I always know what to expect with Nora Roberts' romance thrillers.  She has a strong and independent heroine, a strong and reliable hero, and a fairly compelling plotline with unique side characters and love-to-hate villains.  This latest installment had all of that, and a bit more, but was different from her usual romance thrillers.  First, the pacing felt right in place with the setting of the novel, which takes place in the sleepy town of a small town in the Ozarks of Arkansas.  Second, while the villain is present in the novel, it's the secondary villain that is more prominent.  The primary antagonist does not play a huge, direct role in the book after the initial encounter.  I found this interesting since this is different from Roberts' previous books.  Third, and perhaps the reason why I enjoyed this book more than the others, is her heroine, Abigail.  Like all the other heroines in her book, Abigail is strong and independent with a kind and caring nature.  However, unlike her other heroines, Abigail is much more different.  She certainly was very capable, but also had many vulnerabilities.  In other words, she was a puzzle.  I loved her quirkiness and found her absolutely endearing, especially in the way she spoke.  

I was a bit disappointed that Nora Roberts didn't go much into how the witness protection program really works, as well as a bit skeptical about all the things that Abigail could supposedly do.  Abigail's quirky personality made up for it though, so all in all, I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Book Review: "Hungry Monkey"

Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's 

Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater

by Matthew Amster-Burton

Goodreads Summary: Hungry Monkey is the story of one man’s coming to realize that kids don’t need puree in a jar or special menus at restaurants and that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience. A restaurant critic and food writer, now a stay-at-home dad, Amster-Burton writes of the highs and lows of teaching your child about food—the high of rediscovering how something tastes for the first time through a child’s unedited reaction, the low of thinking you have a precocious vegetable fiend on your hands only to discover that a child’s preferences change from day to day. Sharing in his culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself, who makes huge sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilis, and even helps around the kitchen sometimes.

Review:  Part of my job responsibilities is to monitor the Parenting Collection at my library branch, so when new Parenting books come in, I leaf through them very quickly to ensure that they are right for the collection.  While going through a stack of books one day, I happened upon this one.  I'm not a parent (yet), but both my husband and I love to eat, so imagine my curiosity when I saw this book.  I was instantly hooked - one of the biggest fears my husband and I have about our future kids is that they're going to be picky eaters and we'll have to give up all the yummy and sometimes strange foods that we love.

At first, I really enjoyed Amster-Burton's stories about his young daughter, Iris, and her forays into the world of eating.  They were humorous, and had some ideas that I thought might really work with molding a small child into one that is willing to eat whatever the adult would want to try.  But then we hit Chapter 10, which is about 100 pages into the book.  At this point, Iris has hit her picky eating stage, and Amster-Burton, unfortunately, has run out of tips and advice for us.  Instead, he turns the second half of the book into a forum for him to talk about food and the things he has tried; Iris is only a secondary character for the rest of the book.

Another point of criticism is that Amster-Burton does not have a regular day job like most people.  He's a writer and therefore has ample amount of time throughout the day to make stuff like empanadas for a preschool snack or duck ragu for dinner.  While it was fun to read, it wasn't very realistic for most parents.  I did like his recipes that are scattered throughout the book; in fact, I made his Thai salad dressing tonight for dinner and it was amazing.  

Ultimately, if you're a foodie who happens to like kids, then this is a great book for you.  But if you're a parent looking for advice, try elsewhere.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Book Review: "Crossed"

Crossed

by Ally Condie

Goodreads Summary: Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by the Society to his sure death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of a rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices every thing to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.
 

Narrated from both Cassia's and Ky's point of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever.

Review: I enjoyed the first book of the series, Matched, quite a bit.  The setting that Condie creates in intriguing and makes for good discussion: in a world where Society dictates every part of your life and takes away all choices because they say they know what's good for you, how far would you go to break free of that?  If they say it's perfect, is it really perfect?  Would you be content living in a world where everything - where you live, what you wear, what you eat, where you work, who you're married to, how many children you have, when you die - is dictated, yet it supposedly gives you the contentment of life that you need?

With Crossed, Condie continues Cassia and Ky's love story.  Unfortunately, I feel like the entire book could be summed up as "not much happens".  Not many, if any, questions are answered, more questions are introduced, and the entire book felt like a bridge for the third book.  Not to mention, the alternating voices between Cassia and Ky (something new in this book) made it fairly confusing at times to read.  Fortunately, I still liked the book because Condie has a wonderful, lyrical way of writing that is a joy to read.  And, although this is quite shallow of me, I love the cover art of the books (the third one is in red!). 

I would recommend both the first and second book for anyone who enjoys dystopian novels.  Be aware though, this isn't action filled like The Hunger Games or Divergent; instead, it's mostly a love story.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Book Review: "Out of Sight, Out of Time"

Out of Sight, Out of Time

by Ally Carter

Goodreads Summary: The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

Review: The latest installment of the Gallagher Girls series is much, much darker than any of the previous books.  Cammie comes back a changed person; she's stronger and scarier, doing things that she previously never knew how to do before.  Carter does an amazing job at conveying Cammie's thoughts and emotions.  She's confused and scared, but still has a strong core that ultimately pushes her to do things she never done before in order to protect her friends and family.  However, the humor and wittiness that marked the previous books does make its appearance in this one.  I have always highly recommended the Gallagher Girls series for something that's a little bit different from any other teen book series, and Out of Sight, Out of Time is no exception.  Just be prepared for a darker novel.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Review: "Cinder"

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads Summary: Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She’s reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen—and a dangerous temptation.

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth’s future. 

Review: I love fairy tale adaptations, so when I found out this was going to be about a cyborg Cinderella, I was immediately interested.  Unfortunately, I didn't love this book as much as I thought it would.  While the premise was original and the main characters were likable, it felt like the author was trying to tackle too much.  First, there's the original Cinderella story.  Then, it was layered with a futuristic world where cyborgs, androids, and hovers exist on Earth that is completely different from what it is now (the story itself takes place on New Beijing, where there is an emperor that rules).  Third, there's tension with Queen Levana, ruler of the Lunars who live on the moon and have the power to manipulate people's thoughts.  And on top of all that, there's a deadly plague that's killing hundreds of people quickly with no cause or reason, and there's no cure.

Meyer was certainly ambitious with where she wanted her story to go, but I felt like it was too much.  None of the different aspects were really explained or detailed in a way that made me feel satisfied.  Instead, it almost seemed like Meyer was afraid that the reader would lose interest if there wasn't action in every page.  As a result, she sacrificed a lot in details and explanation about the world, characters, and background that would have made it more real to me.  It was enjoyable, but not very satisfying.  

Overall Rating: 3/5