Lost and Found - Brooke Davis

Another book club pick.  I've had a dismal book club record as of late and I was determined to make up for it by actually reading the book this month.  Which I did, but I am not a better person for it.

This one tells the tale of an abandoned child, left at a department store in Australia, who is picked up by a couple of elderlies and ferretted across the country to find her mum.

The author did a great job of writing in three distinct voices for the three separate narrators.  She also did an exceptional job of making the little girl, Millie, very lovable - you really cared about poor motherless Millie.

All of that said, this was a super boring read.  For a book about a cross country adventure, it was either annoying or dumb or boring.  I honestly didn't care about anyone, aside from the little bit of pity I felt for Millie.  Nothing exceptional happened and I couldn't have cared less about what was next for the three travellers.  I read it to say that I did.

So, despite poor motherless Millie, I give it one and a half mannequin arms out of five.  Happy it's done, already forgot about it.

A Drop of Night - Stefan Bachmann

This book showed up on my holds list last week when I picked them up.  I have no recollection of putting it on hold or why, which is kind of weird.  It's not really something I would have necessarily picked up on my own so I can't really say why it was there, but I read it anyway.

This was a strange little YA book that was equal parts unbelievable in it's plot and a bit ridiculous in it's storytelling.  That aside, I kind of liked it?  Centered around five teens who get tricked into travelling to a secret underground Revolution-era chateau in France for nefarious reasons, this book has everything:  Creepy science experiments, deadly booby traps, zombies, artificially grown human-esque creatures and a heroine with a sad backstory.

Almost all of this is completely ridiculous - from the abusive history of the narrator to the undead footman to the murderous, unending palace.  It's super dumb.

And yet, I read it.  And I had fun.  So it is what it is I suppose, I read dumb shit sometimes.  It sure as hell isn't Shakespeare but it was fun for what it was.  Two and half crazed frankenmothers out of five.

Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty

Another day, another mystery.  I've heard a lot of good things about this book, but I had originally started it last year and quickly lost interest.  I picked it up again on a whim at the library, and I can understand why it's so popular.

Big Little Lies was very artfully structured and the characters really decently depicted - it managed to have them be bigger than life without being caricatures, which surprised me.  I don't have kids but it really seemed to nail schoolyard politics and the dynamics between parents, class and all the crossovers.

The centre mystery is really about three separate questions:  Who died and why, what is the trauma/parentage of one little boy, and which kid is bullying which?  They sound trite (I suppose the murder isn't) but all are equally important and the climax of the book brings them all together.

In the end, the solve isn't important and that is what makes it a successful novel - you care more about the story than the payoff at the end (I guess like good sex, haha).  Anyway, four mysterious bruises out of five.

The Widow by Fiona Barton

Apparently I have some sort of unidentified blood lust, because I am all over dark mysteries lately (and true crime documentaries).  I wonder what that says about me...

Regardless, if you like long books about child molesters and missing children, this is the book for you.  Which isn't to say that it was bad, it was pretty decent actually.  This book dragged a bit but the crime was pretty intriguing - you knew the bad guy was a bad guy but it took a while to understand exactly what took place and why.

I could have used some more action overall and more character development - you knew the people were who they are because you are told so, but there was a lot of room for improvement.

Again, I got what I needed - interesting enough crime read.  I am actually a bit concerned about my mental health though, looking at this list and the six hours of manson murder documentaries that I watched last weekend.

Anyway, three solid creepy internet porn cafes out of five.  Fun, ultimately unmemorable.

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Recommended by a friend with great taste, I needed something that could cleanse my palate after reading about a massacre all week.  I love a good mystery, and I especially love a good British mystery, so this was exactly where I needed to be.

Taking place deep in the woods, it tells the story of a semi-reclusive woman in her 20's who spends her time either writing crime novels or running.  That's it.  So when she gets invited to a bachelorette party for a friend she hasn't seen since high school, for some reason (?) she goes and shit goes down.

This wasn't a particularly exciting book, nor was it a tightly crafted mystery with all sorts of twists and turns and a shocking conclusion - the whole plot was pretty standard.  What made it better than most was the characterization and writing - I enjoyed it, I related to it and it was very readable - it was a great fun read that didn't ask too much of me.  So, I'll give it four Brazilian Best Friends out of five.

A Mother's Reckoning by Sue Klebold

Well.  This was slightly less fun to read than the last book.  The Columbine Massacre happened when I was in grade 11 and I was a year younger than the killers themselves.  It's a very strong memory for me - I remember where I was when I heard about it and I remember how much we discussed it in my own high school in the days after.  It, for me, was a marker in my life.  Kind of like knowing where you were when Princess Diana died.

This was not an easy read but I have to give Sue Klebold props.  What could have been a sensational book about what it was like to live through the events from he inside, it was more about raising children, dealing with loss and grief and understanding and recognizing what may have contributed to the events.

Sue Klebold talks about it at great length and I think it's valid, but there can be no one cause for something like Columbine - it's a series of events, illnesses and circumstances that add up to a horror show.  People want there to be one reason so that it's an easy problem to solve, but life doesn't work like that.

Her narration of her son's life was a bit terrifying to me - he had a nice life, with better than average (albeit according to Sue) parents who raised him progressively and were involved.  

That said, there are some gaps - things were brushed off as typical teenage behaviour that were not and no one understood the depths of despair that Dylan was in.  There were a few warning signs that were overlooked but honestly - I don't know that I wouldn't have also chalked them up to the same things that Sue and her husband did.

I think the take away that is the scariest is that this could really happen in any family, if situations aligned themselves.  It makes me terrified to have kids (not that it's on the table right now) and I don't know how people do it and books like this don't help that anxiety.

This book is all from the perspective of one person, but I think that credit is due to Sue Klebold - she doesn't try to explain away her son's actions or justify anything.  She does search for answers and consults with many experts on mental health to understand how something like this could have been spotted.

Overall, this was a well researched, heartbreaking book.  I'm glad I read it but I don't know if I'd recommend it - it's a hard read and I don't know if you learn enough at the end for it to be worth it.  I guess the biggest takeaway is that you can never know, so watch and ask when you notice something off.  And then ask again, and again and again.  

Urg.  I don't know how to rate this one.  I guess four early interventions out of five?  With so many caveats and astrixes.  I definitely need a palate cleanser now.

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

You guys.  I love this series.  Yes.  It's a YA series and it's super confusing with everyone's names but I don't even care.  I read the first one, Red Rising, two years ago on a trip to Toronto and I was obsessed - it was dark and funny and epic.  the second book in the series, Golden Son, was uber confusing since I couldn't remember who the hell anyone was.  Still, once i got the hang of it, again epic.  This third and final chapter came out in mid-February and I dropped what I was reading to be able to start this one right away.  Thankfully at some point in the last few months I had re-read the first two so I wasn't as bewildered as I could have been.  

I honestly can't believe that one author could keep so many little pieces of plot going - everything has significance and it all ties together.  At times it's a bit frantic and it's 90% ridiculous but I was so into it, it worked.  

I think part of what is so excellent about this series is that it's so political and it's realistic (or as realistic as a futuristic scifi novel can be) as to the give and take of diplomacy and war.  You can't be 100% good in wartime - sacrifices are made.

At one point, I actually had to put the book away.  I thought a key character had been killed off and I just couldn't handle it emotionally.  That alone speaks to the readability of this series - I'd recommend it to anyone who likes scifi but loves an epic tale.  Seriously, so fun.  I kind of want to read it again.  Five enslaved human races out of five, and let's hope the aryan race never rises again.