Review of Shots Fired by C. J. Box

This book is my first introduction to the writings of C.J. Box and I was quite taken with his stories. Box conveys the atmosphere and characters of Wyoming very well. All of these stories except for one involve a death whether intentional or accidental. Life is physically hard in the environment that these stories take place in. I could feel the bone chilling cold of winter in several of the stories. Box describes place and environment very well. Many of his characters are rugged individuals who seem more comfortable being alone than with other people and have their own take on the world. I highly recommend this book. I will be looking for other C.J. Box books to read.

Review of Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch

This book takes place in a futuristic United States where people have implants in their heads that keep them always plugged into a network that gives them VR feed back where ever they go or even think. It's not a nice place to live. The protagonist, Dominic, is an investigator of cold cases. He can't forget about his wife who was killed 10 years earlier in a blast that destroyed Pittsburgh. He uses drugs to ease the pain of her memory. He is obsessed with one case of a murdered woman he is investigating. After he loses his job, Dominic is hired by a wealthy man who asks him to find out what happened to his daughter whose images have disappeared from the Archive. The link between this daughter and the murdered woman slowly unfolds over the course of the story. I found this book a bit difficult to read because of some of the gruesome scenes depicted, but I found it worthwhile at the end.

Review of The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai

I found the first third of the book not all that engaging. I didn't like any of the characters in that part of the book that much. I almost considered giving up on reading the whole book until I got near the end of the first section where a surprising secret is revealed. After that, the rest of the book was hard to put down. I wanted to know what had happened in the past that resulted in the present day situation. All the questions brought up are resolved neatly in the end. It is quite an interesting story along the way.

Review of Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

This book kept me reading to find out what would be revealed with each chapter. It explores the hopes and fears of the parents whose daughter was found drowned at the bottom of a lake. The parents ultimately put all their unfulfilled dreams onto their older daughter and ignored their son and younger daughter. The older daughter tried to do and be whatever her parents wanted - in the case of her mother, to eventually become a doctor and in the case of her father, to fit in and be accepted socially. The older daughter relied on her brother to shield her from her parents over involvement in her life. But when her brother is accepted into Harvard and about to move away from home, she can't take it any more. I won't spoil the ending by revealing how the book concludes.

Review of Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok

I enjoyed this story about a young woman who finds out that she really can achieve her dreams by persevering. She doesn't have an easy road because of her traditional Chinese background, but her cultural roots also provide the strength she needs. The interaction between Charlie, the main character, and her family contrasts with the people she works with at a dance studio. Charlie feels the need to keep that part of her life a secret from her father because she thinks that he would disapprove. Eventually though he realizes that she has become an accomplished professional ballroom dancer and is proud of her.

Review of Denali's Howl by Andy Hall

This account of the Wilcox expedition made me feel all the hardships and mishaps that climbing a big mountain entails. It also documents other climbing parties on Denali in 1967 and how they were involved in the aftermath of the tragedy. The book also examines the response of would-be rescuers and what could or could not have been done. Ultimately, the super storm that hit Denali while the Wilcox expedition was on the mountain was something that was highly unusual and could not have been anticipated.

Review of The Untold by Courtney Collins

The book is set in the Australian outback in the 1920's. It tells the story of a woman horsethief. The story unfolds in scenes from her early life to the present day 1920's as she is being hunted by the law and vigilantes. The evocation of the hard life lived on isolated homesteads in the outback is done well. I was drawn into this story of a strong, female character and wanted to know how it would end. I won't spoil the story by revealing the ending. Suffice it to say that she uses all her wiles to survive as best she can.

Review of Invisible Ellen by Shari Shattuck

Invisible Ellen is the story about a young woman who had an abusive childhood and as a result tries to keep herself out of the eyes of people. She seeks solace in junk food and is very overweight as a result. She has a disfiguring scar on her face which makes her even more reticent about engaging with people. She spends her non-work hours observing the people around her including the residents of the apartments in her building which is in a bad neighborhood. Her life changes when one day she saves a young blind woman from muggers. Ellen slowly opens up to the possibilities of being emotionally close to someone and actively doing things to help them. The story moves along at a good pace. I found the book hard to put down because of the interesting characters and developments.

Review of The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker

This was a fantastic book - well written with plot twists galore. The first half of the book seemed to be a straight-forward whodunnit concerning the 33 year old murder of a teenage girl, but just as the mystery seemed to be resolved new information is revealed. The second half of the book was a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns as the plot moves forward to it's final, unexpected resolution.

Review of The Keillor Reader by Garrison Keillor

I could hear Garrison Keillor's voice as I read this book. Many of the stories were familiar to me from A Prairie Home Companion. I liked the personal anecdotes that preceded each piece. They gave context to the writing of each piece. Highly recommended.

Review of Listen to the Squawking Chicken by Elaine Lui

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The author tells stories about how her mother influenced her to become who she is. The mother's life history is slowly revealed throughout the book. Her mother has a lot of traditional Chinese beliefs which affect her outlook and actions and how she raised her daughter.

Review of No Book But the World by Leah Hager Cohen

I enjoyed the story as it developed through flash backs to the childhood of the narrator. The relationship between the narrator, her parents and her younger brother are slowly revealed as the novel progresses. The book deals with the difficult issues of allowing children freedom to learn by themselves or imposing rules on them.