I read this based on a colleague's recommendation. That recommendation was spot on!
- For a story loaded with creepy characters, it is charming.
- Additionally, for a story loaded with broken characters, it is charming.
- The character isn't about who is good or is bad. It is about the grey area in between.
- As a former Baton Rouge resident I loved revisiting the unique atmosphere of the city. I especially loved the scene set on the LSU campus after a major football victory.
I wanted to like this book. I really did.
- However, it seems to have the theory that if a substance isn't an everyday word you shouldn't eat it.
- This book is equal parts preaching and scare tactics.
- The Ikea satire started out strong, but lost steam at about 60% of the way through.
- All the Ikea-esque names peppering the text were both distracting and confusing.
- The characters were flat and stereotypical.
I picked up this book because the experiences of miners trapped underground without contact with the outside world intrigued me. However, that is not the most interesting part of the book.
- The book covers immediately before the collapse of the mine, the time the miners were underground, and the year or so following their escape.
- The story consists of primarily of three themes: the psychological experience of the miners, the experiences of their friends and family, and technical details of the mine. It is relatively light on the technical details.
- Religion, specifically Catholicism, plays a huge role in experiences of the miners and their families. A significant portion of the book is devoted to this .
- The experience of miners buried underground for nearly 70 days reminded me of the cushiness of my chosen profession, librarianship.
- I listened to this as an audiobook and enjoyed the narration.
- Warning: Multiple points in the book brought me to tears. There were at least three times I checked my eyes to see if they were bloodshot before leaving my car. There were other times I turned it off because I didn't want to show up to work crying.
Graeber combines an in depth history of debt in numerous cultures with his political ideology.
- Graeber clearly presents his bias in the first few chapters with his attacks on the IMF.
- Debt fails to recognize the complex differences between consumer and national debt.
- Overall, the informative value of Debt is devalued by an overzealous personal agenda.
- I felt like I had already read it as I was reading it.
- It is well written with complex characters.
- Overall, Shepard brings nothing new to the subject matter or genre.
After hearing the author speak at ALA Midwinter, I decided to read this novel.
- It is written for middle grade readers.
- Gemeinhart deals with the complexities of childhood cancer in an approachable way that captures the complexities of emotions surrounding it.
- There is adventure, and a dog.
