Book #62 in 2025
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
I listened to this as an audiobook and the author is the narrator. I enjoyed reading about the author’s plight with leukemia. It’s sad, yet positive at the same time. The author shows a lot of resilience with all that she had to go through.
Book #61 in 2025
2.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
Maybe it is because this is a young adult novel, but I felt like it didn’t have much depth and was simple. I’ve read plenty of other YA novels and not felt this way.
A teenage girl is found by the side of the road. She doesn’t remember anything about how she got there or who she is. At the police station a man comes in with her identification and says that he’s her father. She goes with him but over time starts to wonder about things.
At the same time a teenage boy is accused of killing his girlfriend. Drew’s girlfriend has gone missing and presumed dead with many thinking he had something to do with it. On his own, with the help of a couple of friends, seeks out to figure out what happened.
There are some twists and turns and at times the plot isn’t too bad, but overall I wasn’t exactly motivated to keep reading. Other reviews talked about a shocking ending and twist that is well worth it. I think by the time I got there I didn’t care enough.
Book #60 in 2025
2.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
I was hoping for more from this book. I felt like I didn’t learn as much as I wanted about the nine women and their plight during the war. I was left wanting to know and learn more.
Book #59 in 2025
3.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
This wasn’t one of my favorites by this author. I loved that it was about space but I didn’t feel drawn in by the characters. I felt like I could predict a lot of what was going to happen too. I wanted to like this more than I did.
The plot describes the life of the main character as she goes for her dreams of being an astronaut. Being a woman in the 80’s trying to accomplish this is even harder. There are also other things in her life that contribute to how hard she has to work to achieve her dreams.
Book #58 in 2025
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
I listened to this in audiobook format. It was long at 17 hours, but I found it to be interesting. While there were a lot of details and backstory, I didn’t find them to be overbearing as in other books.
The book follows the seven astronauts prior to the launch as well as decision making that took place from those on the ground on whether it was safe to launch. There’s also discussion about the investigation that took place after the crash.
Book #57 in 2025
3.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
This wasn’t one of my favorites by this author. I wasn’t a fan of the characters, which was probably part of the point. In the beginning, I had a hard time keeping the three main characters straight. Nothing about them really stood out to me. I didn’t care about any of them.
Still, the plot made me want to see what would happen. The book starts out with someone in the middle of a bonfire. From there, you’re taken back months before the incident. Margot, Anna, and Liv consider each other friends, but their relationships seem rather fake. As you learn about each woman, you realize that they all have secrets.
I felt like I was reading an over-the-top soap opera or reality TV show. Some of the twists I figured out before they happened. Others didn’t have as much shock value because of the way the three women were presented.
It was an interesting read, but I’ve liked others by this author a lot more.
Book #56 in 2025
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
This was a fun book to listen to. It’s made up of emails and letters written to and by the main character, a woman in her 70s. You learn about Sybil’s life and how she’s dealing with going blind. She reflects on her past and looks to whatever her future may hold.
Book #55 in 2025
2.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
I felt like this book just went on and on. There were too many details. Too much backstory about the history of the area. I wanted to read (or listen to) about the murder and the circumstances around it, not about who owned what land hundreds of years ago.
By the time there was information about the murder of a boy in a barn I no longer cared.
Book #54 in 2025
3.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
This wasn’t a bad book, but compared to When Breath Becomes Air, which I read right before this I didn’t like it nearly as much. I picked up this book because the husband of this author and the wife of When Breath Becomes Air met and I believe even dated for a bit after their spouses passed away.
The messages behind the words are ones to remember. Live life. Accept and deal with even the bad parts of life.
Book #53 in 2025
5.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)
I’m very stingy when it comes to giving a book 5 stars. It has to move me. It has to really resonate with me. This book did that. Not because of an amazing page turner or necessarily the main characters. It was the story itself.
The author was a neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with lung cancer. Doctor becomes patient. One who is all too familiar with dealing with cancer patients. The author is down-to-earth and relatable. He has a good bedside manner as a doctor and really wants to help people. He has a realistic view of his own fate.
He’s the type of person that people would say was taken too soon and would wonder what good things he could have done with his life.
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