Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It's a bit scary how plausible this all seemed. It was so well written it felt more like a memoir than fiction. It's very sad how easy it is for us to take blame that doesn't belong to us, it can ruin our entire life and ultimately destroy us. The part of this book that really stood out to me was the story that explained the title of this book. I'm not sure it's a true story (probably is) but it's just heartbreaking, in its context and its simplicity. I was excited to read this book as it kept popping up in "best of" lists. I don't know if I'd go that far but it was very good and I would recommend it to anyone. It's a fast read and very believable.

This review is based on a free e-book received from NetGalley.com.



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The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story by Lily Koppel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a really interesting subject. There are so many different aspects that taken together make for such an interesting place in time. I can't even imagine being in the shoes of these women. I just wish that there had been more consistent detail in the story-telling. I think that will make it a good tv show. In order to make the series last, they can fill in some of the gaps that would have just made this book too long.



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Lucky Us by Amy Bloom

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Another book that has been getting a lot of hype and great press and just did not wow me. It was well-written and actually a very nice story about family, those we chose and those that chose us. I just didn't see what the big deal was. I think I need to stop reading reviews, otherwise this may have impressed me more.

I received a free ARC from the publisher.



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California by Edan Lepucki

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book got a lot of hype thanks to Colbert and I was expecting something spectacular. It was pretty much just another relationship book disguised as a dystopia. Don't get me wrong, it was well written but it was nothing phenomenal. The ending was awkward. It seemed like it was leading up to a sequel and then it felt like the author changed his mind and just kinda wrapped it up. It was refreshing though to read a dystopian fiction that was targeted at adults. It seems like most novels of this sort are aimed at the young adult audience. I think White Horse is the last one I read that was worth the bother.

This review is based on a free e-book from NetGalley.com.



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38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End by Scott W. Berg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was very interesting for me because it involves the history of my home turf. The precipitating events that sparked off this story occurred very close to where I grew up and Little Crow was killed not far from where I live now. I thought this was a pretty fair telling of events. No one was blameless for what happened and it's really important to remember the mistakes that were made. The author did a really good job of intertwining the events of the Civil War that were also going on at the same time. I think this would interest a lot of history buffs, Minnesotans in particular.



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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm not really sure what to make of this book. I don't have any strong feelings about it either way. I thought it was going to be much more compelling, considering it's subject matter. Perhaps it jumped around too much in time. Perhaps there were too many characters. It just seemed like I should have felt more of an emotional reaction and it just didn't come to me. The book was well written and interesting but not emotionally engaging.

This review is based on a free e-edition received from NetGalley.



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