Review: Scrappy Little Nobody

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I rather enjoyed this audio book. It was fun to listen to Anna Kendrick read her own thoughts. I'm a big fan of Anna's and love her tweets on Twitter. I found the book to be very similar, full of wit and wry humor. I laughed out loud several times throughout the book. It's not all laughs, however. Anna does a nice job of balancing the humor with what I believe to be an honest telling of her experiences in Hollywood. I look forward to future books from Kendrick.

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Review: And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a beautiful little story about a grandfather and his grandson. It's about life, love, loss, and the power of memory. There is an unexpected little twist at the end that gives the story a very "full circle" feel. I rather enjoyed this story and it made me tear up a bit.

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Review: Britt-Marie Was Here

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Britt-Marie Was Here is a sort of spin-off of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry but it can be read as a standalone. It is an incredibly sweet story. While in My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie is a busy-body nag, in this novel her character is much better developed. It turns out that she is so much more than she appears. Her relationships with the people of Borg made me laugh, cry, cheer, and everything in between. It is a story of loss, hope, second chances, resilience, and self-discovery. I enjoyed this story from start to finish.

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Review: The Chemist

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Chemist is certainly a departure for Meyer from her other YA novels. I think this novel had a lot of potential but I don't think the execution was entirely successful. For me, this novel was so full of contradictions and odd juxtapositions that it wasn't entirely believable. Granted, it is a fiction novel, but the best fiction does have some basis in reality.

The main characters, Alex and Daniel, both were developmentally flawed. Alex was this awkward, socially inept, Mary Jane character. Yet, I was also supposed to believe that she was this ruthless interrogator? She had a split personality that just didn't quite mesh for me. How can one be both ruthless and naive at the same time? Daniel was too everything - too good, too forgiving, too trusting. They fell in love too quickly. It just made the story unrealistic and unbelievable at times.

At over 500 pages, the story was in need of some serious editing. There were times when the narrative dragged and lulled, which caused the suspense and drama of the story to lag and wane. There were whole scenes that could have been removed that would have moved the story along at a better pace. In the end, this one was just okay for me. I would really give the novel 2.5 stars.

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Review: All the Light We Cannot See

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is quite a lot of hype behind this book and I had to wait a long time to get it from the library, so I went into this novel with some high expectations. For the most part, they were met.

The book is centered on two main story lines: Marie-Laure, a young, blind girl living in Paris with her father and Werner Pfennig, a young boy seeking to escape his coal mining town by joining the Hitler Youth. There are also several other parallel stories that are woven together and branch off from these two main stories, some which are atypical of a World War II novel. There is the story of Marie-Laure's reclusive uncle who takes her in and his faithful servant who leads a resistance movement in seaside Saint-Malo. Or the story of Frank Volkheimer, a ruthless Nazi soldier known as "The Giant" who loves classical music and has a soft spot for Werner. Frederick, Werner's best friend at school who doesn't quite fit the mold and suffers the consequences. Reinhold von Rumpel, a Nazi officer on a mission to collect valuable for the Reich and hunt down a fabled gem known not only for its value but mystical powers. All of these stories weave together to drive the convergence of Marie-Laure and Werner's stories towards the end of the novel.

At first, it can be a little difficult to track these seemingly divergent story lines, but once you get used to the structure it becomes easier to see how the stories are all pieces of one story. The narrative is sad and there are many broken pieces, but war stories rarely have happy endings. I thought the book was well written and deserving of the praise it has been receiving. It was worth the read.

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Review: Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This third installment of Pottermore material focuses on Hogwarts. Again, I feel like most of this material has been previously released on the Pottermore website, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy another diversion into its hallowed halls. I am still waiting for my acceptance letter, after all. :)

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Review: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In this second installment of Pottermore material, we get more details on Umbridge, Quirrell, Slughorn, past Ministers for Magic, and Azkaban. Once again, I feel like some or most of this material has been previously published on the Pottermore website, but if you like reading more about the history of Rowling's wizarding world, it's worth a read.

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Review: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Any chance I have to venture into the wizarding world that J.K. Rowling created, I'm going to jump at the chance. One thing that I love about the Pottermore website is that it offers readers a chance to dive into the history of the places and people of this magical world. This collection of short stories gives readers a taste of the Pottermore experience.

My favorite stories from this collection would be the histories of Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin. These are two of my favorite characters from the Harry Potter series and I enjoyed learning more about their lives before.

It is not an extensive collection and much of what's in it can probably be found on the Pottermore website, but if you are a fan, you will enjoy this quick little diversion.

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Review: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second novel by Fredrik Backman and I think he is becoming one of my new favorite authors. This novel has such a wonderful mix of misfit characters! The characters are what make this novel so special. I loved the parallels between the fairy tale characters and the "real" characters living in the flats in Elsa's building. I found myself wishing that I could live in the building, too. This book had me laughing out loud, tearing up, cheering, and everything in between. It is a beautifully written novel about loss, family, and love. It was excellent.

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