VIRTUAL Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020 discussion

I'm currently in the middle of 4 books for the Mount TBR challenge, but as soon as I finish one of those I will start one for this mountain.

1. The Unwinding: Gin's Story
It was interesting, although I might have enjoyed it moreif I knew more about string theory. Even so, it would probably make a good movie. A woman is separated in time and space from her family due to an improperly expanding universe.

2. Brentwood's Ward Michelle Griep The story was entertaining, but not great. It is what I term a mild Christian bodice-ripper--the type where virtue is in grave danger, but the hero comes just in type to stop things from going too far, at least on-stage. The care for the sick sister and a few other elements made it readable.



POSSIBLE SPOILERS:


The redemption of one of the evil-doers seemed awfully facile. Not, perhaps, impossible, but not presented all that plausibly.

3. The Words Between Us Erin Bartels This was interesting. It was a Christian book, but very subtly so. There is one Christian character who is rather peripheral. Nevertheless, the theme of forgiveness is prominent. All in all, a good book, and a good book for bibliophiles, as many other books are referenced and a bookstore is involved. One thing near the end seemed to happen too easily, but that is my only quibble.

4. Secret Soldiers: How the U.S. Twenty-Third Special Troops Fooled the Nazis Paul B. Janeczko I did not hear about the deception used in WWII involving inflatable tanks, false radio transmissions, recorded sounds, etc., when growing up. That is perhaps not surprising, as I found out that it was kept secret for a good while after WWII. I first heard it mentioned a few years ago and found the idea fascinating. So when the opportunity came up to borrow this audio-book for free, I was all over it. And it is an exciting story, although I did get a little lost with all the unit numbers and such--real military history buffs would get more out of it, I'm sure. But it is interesting to see how different talents can be put to use, and to hear about the degree of detail they had to consider in order to make a good deception.

5. Marley's Ghost Harvey Kurtzman This is an adaptation of A Christmas Carol in graphic novel form. I believe it was well drawn. I will have to re-read the original, but I feel a few more liberties were taken right before the end than in other parts of the story. The interesting thing is the afterward, which explains that this was conceptualized around the time of the Classics Illustrated series, but could find no publisher because graphic novels weren't a thing yet. I loved Classics Illustrated as a kid, but even the old conceptual art for this project is of a higher quality, and the story is less compacted.

6. The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives Dashka Slater
This is on loan, although it is a very long loan. It is a book that I never would have picked on my own, but it was well-told and I am not sorry to have read it. Besides a more accurate description of why the crime took place, there were also interesting comments on the juvenile justice system and possible alternatives to "doing time." It is important not to do harm to people even if one does not agree with them, and important to think through the consequences of any action.

7, Symphony of Secrets Sharon Hinck The main character occasionally grated on the nerves, but in general the book kept me reading. The musical details were interesting, and the chapter headings were clever. The mother-daughter dynamic and the guilt the mom felt were well handled, I thought.

8. Monday's Not Coming Tiffany D. Jackson Another book I would probably never have picked up on my own. I would not want a young teen reading this, and and older teen only with good conversations going on. This is because of the theme, the language, and the casual talk about sex (although thankfully there's more talk than action). And yet I realize that this is life for lots of kids, and they might not think anything of it. The story is an important one--people slip through the cracks. How involved do you/ can you get? What if the authorities don't /can't deal with the situation? Looking at reviews, some people found the time-line off-putting. It could be a little confusing at times, but it did eventually all make sense. I thought the story was well told, in general. I cared enough to keep listening despite my quibbles.

9. Stalking Jack the Ripper Kerri Maniscalco I didn't own the book when I listened to it, but the "boxed" set came on sale on Kindle shortly after, so I guess I do own it now. Anyway, it was good enough I decided I'd like to read more. The ending was a little fantastic, but as no one knows who the Ripper really was, I suppose the author is free to make up the scenario she does. I did appreciate, however that the author enumerated in an afterward the historical liberties she did and didn't take.

10. Picture Us in the Light Kelly Loy Gilbert Although there was an element in the book that I did not like, the story was well told. I wanted to find out what had happened in Danny's family, and somehow never put the pieces together until it was revealed. Some of Danny's choices reminded me of A Separate Peace, one of my least favorite assigned books in high school. Yet regarding both books, I do realize that an impulsive choice can have grave consequences for others. And really, everyone around Danny showed him a lot of grace, now that I think of it. The author did a great job of introducing important information through flashback scenes.

11. The Crescent Stone Matt Mikalatos I felt this book did a good job of world-building. Although there were hints, perhaps, in the material at the beginning of each chapter, it also did a good job of changing the reader's perspective of things as the book went along. I appreciate that the author was able to introduce elements that made the reader think about the problem of racism that seemed natural to the story and not like the author was using his work as a platform just to express his views. In story it is sometimes easier to see our errors.

12. And finally! The last book on this climb was The Heartwood Crown Matt Mikalatos This is the sequel to the Crescent Stone. Again, the world-building is great! And there were some new surprises. Some of the racism elements were perhaps a little more obvious agenda-wise than in the first book, but one thing I really appreciate is that he manages to explore the problem from several angles and to show it as the complex problem that it is. He also introduced the problem of self-perception (not necessarily in the context of racism) and how it can affect our relationships with those around us. And all this while telling an exciting and entertaining story! I am looking forward to the next book, which does not appear to be out yet.