The Walking Dead, Vol. 8: Made to Suffer by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thanks to Kindle Unlimited, I get to read this series. It is fun to see the differences between the graphic novels and the show. Mostly, I find the television series better. The comic seems far more brutal. This is so different from how it is usually. Most of the time I like novels far better than shows. Still these are worth the read. I can’t wait to read number nine.
Emily, Gone by Bette Lee Crosby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Bette Lee Crosby writes good stories. This did not disappoint.
At least this mystery wasn’t about murder. I knew that could be done. Still, it is about a kidnapping. It was interesting to see the crime from all sides. The characters are well developed. They keep you reading to see what each person was going through, how would they solve their personal problems. The book showed how love could make their choices harder, or drive them mad in trying to live with it all. Still, it was a hard book to put down.
Though a spiritual path is evident, it isn’t overdone. The characters believe a certain way and it is part of their journey.
By the way, this was free through Kindle Unlimited. Though I like reading Ms. Crosby’s work it is usually more expensive than I can afford, so I am glad they made this one available this way.
As a genre, I think that this could be called a cozy mystery sans murder. I think women may find it better than men, though the men in this book are strong and level headed. But the stories are more about birth and baby loss, so it might be hard for those who have lived through this kind of circumstance.
Otherwise, try it, you might like it!
Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Can I give this book ten stars? I loved it so much that from 60% I couldn’t get up to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, turn off the fan (I was getting cold!). I barely moved! I was so immersed in this book!
As a writer, unpublished, I hear that a book needs lots of tension. I didn’t feel that in this book, at all! All I can see is that I loved the characters, right from the start and adopted them into my heart. Then I didn’t want to leave their world.
I usually don’t read books with the main character male. Especially a teen. Since I entered my sixties I go for strong fems by fem authors. That is because most of my life I was subjected to only males by males and I want to see more people like me in books and movies. All I heard growing up when I asked about that, was that boys needed encouragement to read. Then why I would ask as an adult, did those non-readers, lower grading people get better jobs? Why did the world circulate around the males?
But this book didn’t center on a male of privilege. This seventeen-year-old had none of the usual adolescent angst. When would that girl give it up to me; didn’t seem to be on his radar. Rather he was more anxious about his family where he felt he didn’t belong, or how he didn’t even feel he fit in his skin. He only seemed to have one friend and that one is leaving as we meet this guy. And he is sweet to a little kitten. Heart won over!
Then our protagonist befriends an elderly blind woman. Both characters are so well built that they feel like family members to the reader.
The author, Catherine Ryan Hyde, is a genius! She keeps the reader engaged. I should mention, she is the author of Pay It Forward. I loved that book, too, and the movie. Well, I love the concept but it was an extreme tear-jerker. This one was more heart-warming (fewer tears more cheering the characters on) with a similar message of how positive life can be by being kind and caring for other people. I may need to actually buy this book and study it!
By the way, I got this book through Kindle Unlimited along with the Whispersynched Audible. The narrators brought the book to life.– I just looked up the book on Audible and it seems there is only one narrator! Michael Crouch. That was a surprise! I don’t normally like male voices doing females. But Mr. Crouch did an amazing job! I actually thought there were about three narrators acting it out! Wow!
Maybe this should be required reading for the world?!!! I highly recommend it! In case you haven’t noticed.
The Walking Dead Vol. 7: The Calm Before by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, the title of this one tells it all. The Calm Before… Very little tension, often boring.
A lot happens including birth and suicide. Very different than what happened on the show. I rarely say this about books. But the show is so much better! Still, I love seeing the original and how it all happened ‘for reals’.
I’ve been reading these graphic novels through Kindle Unlimited. And I love the Kindle version better than the paper because I can double-tap the frame and enlarge it so I can see the artwork and fonts better. AND if the font still isn’t large enough I can reverse pinch it.
Can’t wait for the next one!
The Book of Flora by Meg Elison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was the Kindle Unlimited version with the accompanying Audible Whispersynched. I’m glad I got to read the final book in the series.
I love the diversity that this series presents in a post-apocalyptic story. This last one gives the LGBTQetc. ignorant a bit of education of differing sexual leanings and desires told through characters who experience life differently than many of us. It gives us insight into how others feel and need to live made ever more complicated by dystopian life.
Etta’s story continued in Flora’s book, making book two have a little better ending. But in many ways, what worked in books one and two didn’t work here as it got far too complex in the many characters and past and present times within journals and now.
The vocal narrator did help by modulating his voice so as to help the reader know who was talking. but there were times even that didn’t help and I had to back up and figure out who’s who and what’s what.
Even though it is a lower rating than I like to give, it seems a good one for others to read and learn from while still being a fictional tale.
The Book of Etta by Meg Elison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Once again, I didn’t write the review before moving on to the sequel. So now I have to remember this last book.
Kindle Unlimited is excellent in that I not only picked up the Kindle version it came with the audio whisper-synched. The narrator was a good, changing voices per character. It added to the reading experience in this dystopian world.
I don’t like to include the book blurb in any of my reviews. If you want to know what it is all about, follow the title and read it to see if it is a book for you.
I do love that it has a different take on the apocalypse. Women and childbirth are rare. That gives the imagination a rush. What would happen? What if the world is more advanced and accepting of different? Or if violence and old views remain in places?
I love this series. Each of the books is from a different character at a different part of the continuous disaster. It is nice to see the diversity this author was able to pull into these books. Etta/Eddy was a fun character to get to know as she/he learns who they are. I did love how they found their balance in each part of themselves. I know that sounds confusing but imagine being that person! But could you believe that you, too, have the yin and yang and can find your balance in a world that worships or rapes females? You might put on male clothing and attitude to keep yourself safe. You might still not want to be a breeder as that isn’t for you either.
Great series, great book! My only complaint is the way these books end. It leaves that character and moves on without a chance to say goodbye to that new friend. That is my lowered rating from a 5 to a 4. Still, worth the read!
Wunderland by Jennifer Cody Epstein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This should be required reading for everyone. Especially now.
It was difficult for me at first as I thought maybe I was reading pro-nazi propaganda. But the people who suggested this read for me would never have recommended that kind of book. So I continued reading.
The book was written through differing points of view and differing times. It feels like a memoir at times as it gets quite personal.
Instead of it being propaganda, the author gives us an inside look into how a person/nation becomes less free-thinking, how certain biases become bigotry and hatred. She shows us how group-think and gang-mentality forms, even in the most loving people. Peer pressure and lack of trust promoted by the people in power move all the people into fear. I think that was my take away.
I would have given this book five stars but my experience with text-to-speech with this back and forth in time and differing personalities was difficult to figure out who was talking and when. Without eyes on the text, I would get lost.
If you can, please read this book. I think I may want to read it again and take notes. Maybe I’ll give more stars next time.
The Walking Dead, Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gruesome! That’s the first word that came to mind about this particular volume. Okay, sure. I know this is about the end of the world and zombies and all. But the horrid things that happen to people at the hands of other people. Ugh!
Look, I know there are bad people out there and they do awful things and if the world ends that may be one of the biggest issues we would have to worry about. Not the monsters, but who do we trust to take care of others rather than use this chaos as their own ladder. (Nod to Little Finger of Game of Thrones.)
As I usually compare the show to the book, I am shocked that once again that I appreciate how all this was depicted on the show more. The governor gets his payback good and square. Michone shows her stuff. But as the title of this particular issue states: This Sorrowful Life. Yeah. What a sad state of affairs our friends are in.
As ugly as it got, I can’t wait to read more in the series. I love reading the comic on my Fire or on my tablet as I can zoom in on pictures and tiny font. Glad I could obtain a copy through Kindle Unlimited. What a fun way to explore more books than I can possibly afford!
The Walking Dead: The Best Defense by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Most of the time I like a book far more than a show. But in this case… Without giving spoilers may I say this is far more gruesome and I’m not talking about the zombies. They are equally yucky.
The governor is far worse. There, I’ve said it.
And I fear the author was a young nerd at the time and not aware that women were made for more than rape and abuse. I’m glad the show writers took more time and found other things to do with this particular part of the story. Maybe the author has learned that half his audience would like him better for taking a slightly different point of view.
Another point for comics on Kindle! It is far better to be able to close in on the artwork or the fonts that I wouldn’t be able to read in the paper copy. This is how I will read the rest of the series as I can with Kindle Unlimited.
The Walking Dead, Vol. 4: The Heart’s Desire by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m a Walking Dead fan. As opposed to how I read/watch other stories and come up with the book winning over the show, this book loses. Had I read it long before the show, I think this one would have made sure I was NOT a Walking Dead fan. Nor would I have been impressed with Robert Kirkman.
This book was not about the Heart’s Desire. It was about male testosterone! The Hard’s Desire! The males fought and tried to kill each other because they were just part of the “No Girls Allowed” Spanky McFarland boys club.
Many bits of this book were used in the show but it gets confusing when so much of it isn’t a part. I can see why it was left out of the show. If you want fans you have to remember that 50% of the world’s population are women! And even when this was written the author must have been in his basement not aware the women’s movement had already happened and even in the Zombie apocalypse women needed to be talked to and included and all responsibilities shared.
I would give this book less than three stars but I love reading comics on Kindle. This was a Kindle Unlimited freebie by the way. On Kindle you can tap on the frame of the picture or talking caption you want to see better and it will enlarge it and you can take one frame at a time. You can look over the whole framed picture and see what you might miss on the paper book. Oh, and this book gives the series its name.
I hope the books get better. Michone needs to show grrls are tough!
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