My April Reads and Reviews
The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Aushwitz by Jeremy Dronfield
This is my second Holocuast book in two months, and both are stories recorded from actual survivors. This book however, has extensive historical references, and even pieces of dialogue are exact wording. I can only image how Dronfield painstakingly put together so many first hand accounts to create this novel, it truly is a work of art.
The story itself follows a Jewish family in Austria, but narrows in on the father and son who are taken to Buchenwald very early on. It was interesting to me that the Nazi’s allows families to send letters, packages, and even money to their loved ones in the camps. I always operated under the assumption that once they were gone they never had contact with their family again, but that was definitely incorrect.
This tale of father and son clinging to each other for survival is heart-wrenching. I don’t want to go too far into detail and spoil the book, but it is such an important lesson in the importance of family, human interaction, and hope. Definitely a page turner.
A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
I love a good mystery, and the queen of mystery is Agatha Christie. I have a number of her books, and I try and pick one up every so often. I was in a dry spell of new reads, and wanted something that was equal parts entertaining and quality. Some books are high on the entertainment factor, like a beach read, and others are up on the quality scale, like Charles Dickens. I wanted to read quality writing with an interesting story, and Mrs. Christie always seems to strike that chord for me.
This novel is one that begins with a murder being announced in the town newspaper, claiming at 6:30pm that evening a murder will take place at a certain residence. Since this takes place in the 1950s the townspeople come be believe it is some sort of murder mystery game, and of course, show up in time to “play”. As you can imagine, what was thought to be a game turned out to be something quite real, and the detectives, with the help of Ms. Marple are on the hunt for a killer in a small town.
It only took a few days to read, but I enjoyed it, and if you love mystery Christie is your girl!
i have had this book for quite some time, but somehow it got shoved to the back of the bookshelf, and it wasn’t until I dug around in search of a new book that it was found. I am a huge fan of self development, as well as the psychology of human behavior, and more specifically the psychology of those who are high achievers or perceived as successful in society.
This book has all of that.
I’m always interested in the minds of high achievers, especially as I inch closer to parenthood. Also, there were many topics in the book such as flow and growth mindset that I have read about elsewhere and found interesting in how those things come together in the perfect formula within the day to day lives of high achievers.
Overall, this was not a boring read, and I actually got through it pretty quickly. It is definitely heavy on the research, but Duckworth discusses interviews with famous athletes and coaches, so even though this is definitely a heavy content read, it was relatable because I was able to make connections to some of the individuals in the book. I think this is a great option to add to anyone’s reading list, whether it’s to gain skills for yourself, or as a parent for your children.
Something She’s Not Telling Us by Darcey Bell
So, I started this book while taking a bath the other night, and I got so addicted I stayed up until 12:30am to finish. It’s not odd for me to get addicted to a book, but it is odd for me to stay up all night long to finish.
With that being said, obviously the storyline is addictive. This story focuses on a missing child, and the actions or events that MAY have led to her disappearance. I love a good mystery. The perspectives change from Charlotte, the child’s mother, to Ruth, her brother’s new girlfriend. Honestly, I enjoyed the contrast between their points of view. I think this type of writing is a trend in the novel world, and I’m here for it. This time, it was especially interesting to read because the narrators were not necessarily on the same timeline, nor were their recollections of events the same.
HOWEVER, I do not recommend this book because of the ending. If plot holes won awards, I think this one be in the running for first place. I RARELY have negative things to say to the point that I do not recommend a book, but there are so many unanswered questions that I was unable to fall asleep afterwards because I trying to puzzle out all of the answers.
Yes, a lot of things in novels can be left to the reader’s imagination, but holy crap, this is a bit overkill. I was disappointed, and honestly, I think things could have been answered in one more chapter. I think the open endedness of this novel just fell flat for me. Highly disappointed, but willing to give the author another chance.
This was a bookclub choice, and something I wouldn’t normally pickup. This novel is a satirical view on racism in America, more specifically in a small community in California.
The main character, the Sellout, embarks on a journey to bring his disappearing town back to life, but his methods a far from traditional, and in the view of some, ethical. With his Little Rascal sidekick, Hominy, who calls himself his slave, he begins his journey to re-segregate the town of Dickens.
The catalyst for this being the death of his father, or more the murder of his father by police. Both the narrator and his father are not what some may classify as the stereotypical black man, as they own and operate a farm, ride horses, and study psychology extensively, to the point that most research studies conducted in the home wouldn’t be approved by many boards due to the use of a young child in traditionally unethical experiments.
Overall, the book was really interesting, and I noticed myself feeling uncomfortable reading parts, which means the author was hitting his mark exactly. I’m excited to dive into this with my book club, and I’m looking forward to hearing and discussing everyone’s thoughts and ideas.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments, and especially with any book recs! A few of the books I tend to review are yet to be released, but I’ve come to notice they are usually worth it.
Happy Reading!
Love,
Lilly
