I loved writing about my 52 Books in 52 Weeks and sharing mini book reviews on the books I've read. I'm still going strong in 2015 - I have finished 4 books so far. The beginning of January is always a good time to get some reading done! I'm on a roll so far; all the books I've read have been really, really good. I had a lot of good feedback on my 52 Books post, so I thought I would continue the book reviews as I go through my reading list for 2015!
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - ★★★
I loved this book but I also recognize that it probably won't be for everyone. This one is about 3 men who stumble upon a feminist utopian society. They end up staying and observing the way this all-female world works and how it has become far superior to our own. I found this very interesting, but not for the usual reasons. The plot was okay - it didn't grab my attention and leave me wondering what's going to happen next, but the reason I got through this book so quickly was because I found the idea of a feminist utopia so interesting from a psychological and sociological standpoint. If you're interesting in psychology, sociology, even anthropology, I would recommend this to you. It's a good story, but rather than falling in love with the characters and being captivated by the plot, I was most interested in the inner working of the society and how their way of live worked so uniquely for them. Very interesting and also a quick read, so if it's not your cup of tea, it won't take you long to get through anyway.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - ★★★★★
I loved this book. The beginning was a bit confusing and it took me some time with the characters to understand the story. Also, the author jumps from one character's point of view to another's in each chapter, and he also jumps around in different time periods from chapter to chapter. At times, I had to take a minute to figure out what year it was and which character I was hearing from. I wasn't so confused that I couldn't figure out what was going on and I actually liked all the shifts, it's what kept me so interested. The story is told mainly from two points of view - a young, blind, French girl living with her father in Paris, and a young, orphaned, German boy in an orphanage with his sister. The book jumps from before, during, and after World War II and shows the two contrasting lives of a French girl trying to understand the war and stay alive, and the German boy trying to fit in with the other members of Hitler's Youth while still trying maintaining some sort of moral compass. It was was very emotional and beautifully written. All throughout the story I was waiting for the moment when the two stories would finally intertwine and I was not disappointed. Loved this!
Defending Jacob by William Landay - ★★★★
I'm not usually into courtroom dramas, but I really enjoyed this and was impressed with the plot twist at the end. The town's DA is investigating the murder of a middle school boy when he is suddenly removed from the case. As it turns out, his own son is being suspected of the murder and is set to be tried in court. The father has his own secret and will stop at nothing to protect his son. Just when you think the story is over, Landay hits you with a huge twist that totally changes the outcome of the story. I couldn't put this down. Also, it was so entertaining that instead of worrying about whether or not Jacob was guilty, I was just enjoying the story without trying to think ahead and solve the mystery. The writing isn't astounding, but the story is very entertaining and unique. Definitely a story you'll remember and would make a great movie!
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grisson - ★★★★★
This is by far my favorite of this year, so far. I have to warn you, it's incredibly sad, in the same way that My Notorious Life by Kate Manning is. I would call this historical fiction, although I use the word historical loosely. It doesn't incorporate a ton of historical information, but it is set during the late 1700s to early 1800s and so it provides some (fictional) accounts of slavery, indentured servitude, and the role of women during that time period. Books about slavery, civil rights, and racism in early America are nothing new, but I do find them to be very interesting, although terribly sad, but this book takes on a whole new perspective. I've read several books from the point of view of the slaves (maids, servants, whatever they're referred to during that time period) like The Help by Kathryn Stockett & The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (a couple of my favorites), but this story comes from the perspective of a child who finds herself as an indentured servant. She was immigrating to America from Ireland and is now an orphaned, indentured servant for a white family in the South on a big plantation. Since she is serving out her years, she lives with the "house slaves" and comes to view them as her family. She is raised by these men and women and has an extremely strong emotional bond with them. When she grows up, however, her servitude ends and now that she is free, she is viewed as a normal white woman. She is expected to marry and, through her husband, own her own slaves. She finds herself in an extremely difficult situation that she struggles to understand. Some part of this were very hard to get through - reading about the atrocities of slavery is never easy - but there are certain storylines in the book that were so heartwarming I was moved to tears. Get your tissues ready, I was crying before I had even reached 100 pages. It was such a good book, I fell in love with the characters and was sad to see the story end. I read this in about 2 days as I could not seem to put it down. I would say this is a must-read of 2015.
Please share your opinions and your own book reviews with me below. I am, as always, accepting recommendations for 2015. My reading list is always growing!
Until next time! xoxo
