Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything
I read every kind of book from the absolute serious to the downright silly.
Hi Everybody!
I launched the Adapt Me Podcast this week! It’s available on Spotify and Amazon Music as of now. It’ll be on more in the coming future. I plan on releasing episodes on a monthly basis.
If you want to be a guest, feel free to email me here!
Hi Everybody,
I’m back with part 2 of my 3-part edition of my “Literary Travel” series focusing on my home state of Michigan. All of the photos used were the ones I took, and they can be seen at the bottom of the page.
Today, I’m going to show you my visits to a bookstore in Taylor and a library in Allen Park, both located in an area called Downriver. For those who don’t know, Downriver is the collection of 18 suburban cities and townships located south of Detroit along the western shore of the Detroit River.
Why was I Downriver? Back in July, my husband and I made a day trip to that area to meet up with his friend’s girlfriend, and he wanted to visit a Vespa dealership. We ate at the Bierkeller Eatery & Tavern – a German-inspired bar and restaurant. The food was delicious!
Afterwards, my husband and I visited Another Look Books – a local bookstore in Taylor. It opened in 1995, and it was offering some pretty good discounts to celebrate its 30th birthday as of late. Moreover, it encourages its customers to read, relax, and repeat.
It was a small bookstore, but it was packed with books both upright and laying on their backs. That certainly added to the shop’s quirkiness and call for people to read. It offered a variety of genres for both adults and children along with displays for local authors; banned books; vintage; “Golden Oldies,” which was described as “Your Hard-to-Find Favorites!”; and discontinued titles. The store also provided cute little carts and baskets for those who were looking to buy plenty.
Some shelves were taller than others, but there was enough space between that customers like my husband and I could walk around with no problem. They were decorated in fun ways. My favorite was the Outlander poster that had Jamie wearing a lei.
With the relax part, Another Look Books definitely provided spaces to do just that. At the front of the store, there were two plush chairs with backs perched by the store’s motto. In addition, the main books area contained two other pieces of furniture: a fancy bench that could hold up to two people and another chair in the nonfiction section. Both had the same dark pink upholstery as the ones at the front of the store. The book selection and seats will absolutely have customers coming back for more.
In addition, Another Look Books offers non-book items and special services. Near where the checkout was, book-related items like mugs, book chains, pens, pillows, and signs were available for purchase. I may or may not have bought a thing of that sort for a friend who’s birthday is coming up later this month.
As for their special services, they include trade centers, holds, and a wonderful perk for teachers. Trading in books allow users to receive store credit, so they can spend less on more titles. Additionally, customers can place holds on books not available at the store, so the staff can order them to be shipped in. Finally, if you’re a teacher, you get a special discount of 75% off in-store purchases without requiring trade credit. It’s hard out there for teachers, so I’m glad Another Look Books is making it easier for them.
In case you’re wondering, I bought the books The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (it was on the Banned Books display) and Love Marry Multiply by Sara Geiersbach (she’s a local author).
Throughout our time at Another Look Books, several people came up to the lone staff person working and mentioned that they were longtime customers and enjoyed its atmosphere. From what I’ve seen, I completely understand because of its relaxed, fun, and accommodating environment. You can check out that bookstore on Facebook and Instagram.
The second and last place we went while Downriver was the Allen Park Public Library. It was a quick drive from the bookstore, and we had an ample amount of time to kill before we went back home.
The Allen Park Public Library is located in Allen Park. It was originally a branch of the Wayne County Library before transitioning to a municipal library. Its mission is to “provide and support quality library services that meet the informational, educational and recreational needs of the diverse citizens of Allen Park.”
The library certainly lived up to that motto. Before we walked in, I noticed that it had a well-kept garden surrounding the building to make it look nice. It also had a StoryWalk featuring Butt or Face by Kari Lavelle around the premises. It was funny and informative for both kids and adults because I’m sure that some of the latter would be fooled as well.
Inside, the layout was simple. On one side, there’s the children’s area. On the other side, there’s the adult and teen sections. In the middle, there were a circulation desk, various displays, and a calendar showing what programs are going on each month. In addition, the library had a game out where people could guess how many eyeballs were in a jar. It was one way to keep patrons engaged.
The children’s side contained neatly organized shelves containing a variety of books, displays on the shelf ends, a nice play space, and an Imagination Station. The latter is where kids over the age of 7 can make a craft. It’s right across from the circulation desk. The children’s area also had cute visuals like the birds that hung from the ceiling. My only complaint was that the signs denoting what kinds of books (ie juvenile fiction, picture books) were placed too high. Some kids are not that tall, so they won’t notice them unless they look up. I guess the birds are supposed to help them out.
The adult and teen side was spaced out. The latter was along the wall with its reading challenges, young adult titles, and displays like the “#BookTok Made Me Read It.” The adult area contained books on tall shelves with nice displays on the end caps. It also had a spacious study area; plenty of charging stations; and a board containing information about jobs, training, and volunteering. The most impressive thing in the adult section was the DVDs. Some libraries have the cases out on the shelves, so patrons can take them to the circulation desk, where the actual DVDs are stored. At the Allen Park Public Library, they have binders that people can look through to find the movies and shows they want to check out. Once they find the titles, they have to write down the numbers to take up the desk. It’s a bit more work, but it assures that whoever wants those movies are the most respectful.
The Allen Park Public Library was simple, but most effective in catering to its diverse citizens. Along with their website, you can check out the library on Facebook and Instagram.
And that concludes the thirteenth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. Next month, I’ll focus on the bookstores and libraries I visited in Petoskey, Michigan.
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Content warning: this review discusses the Holocaust.
The Holocaust was one of the most tragic events to have ever taken place on this very Earth. Eleven million people, including six million of Jewish faith, perished under Nazi orders. And yet, there were those who lived to tell the tale. One of them was Elie Wiesel, who was in the concentration camps for about one year of his life. He wrote his 1956 memoir Night about this period. It’s a profound book which proves one doesn’t need to sensationalize the Holocaust because it was already shocking and horrifying.
Translated from French by his wife Marion Wiesel, Night describes Elie’s time in the concentration camps during World War II. Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania (now Romania), Elie was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and later to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of his memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and the despair as a deeply observant Jewish person confronting the evils of man. This story proves that this horror should never be allowed to happen again.
I can’t imagine how difficult it was for Wiesel to write about his experiences. He recalls exactly how it was and lists the things he did. If I went through something like that, I would tell it in a similar way. A reviewer that I know rated this as three stars because of this listing, but that’s the point. This is the way Wiesel chose to process what happened to him in the concentration camps, and he lived with that trauma for over 70 years until his death in 2016. It always bothers me on how people are so desensitized to violence that they want to see more abuse in horrific situations as a way to up the stakes, even in actual historical events. Yes, Wiesel witnessed many horrible acts like watching guards beat up fellow prisoners, but the most horrendous aspect was the fact that they were in the concentration camps with the very real fear of being “selected.” As he said to Oprah Winfrey years later, they were living inside death. Isn’t that enough to show how terrifying the Holocaust was?
Wiesel thankfully doesn’t focus too much on the abuse. Instead, he emphasizes his survival and thoughts. He took advice from those who had been in the concentration camps for a while. Some of this meant lying about his age, but it was all to avoid getting “selected.” He also tried to stay by his father’s side and vowed never to leave him. Additionally, he studied Kabbalah prior to the Nazis rounding his family up. However, during his time in the concentration camps, he started questioning his faith and why God would allow these atrocities to happen. As a result, he began to lose trust in religion through this horrific episode.
One of the most impactful aspects of the memoir is how haunting it can be. There are several moments that shook me to my core. One was in the beginning when Elie’s tutor Moishe the Beadle disappears. He soon comes back to warn the town about what the Nazis are doing, and barely anybody believes him. The other was at the very end when Elie and the other prisoners were liberated by American soldiers. It could’ve stopped there, but it does when he finally sees himself in a mirror for the first time in about a year. Even though he survived, I wasn’t sure how he was going to live afterwards.
Night by Elie Wiesel is a powerful memoir about the author’s experiences in the Holocaust. While his writing is dry, short, and straight to the point, it was no less haunting. His story proves that one doesn’t need to sensationalize this horrifying episode in world history because it’s already terrifying, especially to those who survived it. I don’t say this often, but Wiesel was incredibly brave for sharing his experiences. I would recommend it to everybody who hasn’t read it yet. Memoirs like these demonstrate that not only did the Holocaust very much exist, but it also left a deep scar to those who made it out alive.
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Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Book Publicity Services in exchange for an honest review.
It can be difficult for memoirs to stand out. I’ve been fortunate to have read ones that are able to distinguish themselves. Today’s memoir is no different. Since that genre is essentially a biography that focuses on one specific life-changing event and contains some sort of message, what if the subject’s life is shrouded in mystery? That’s the conflict Sandra Schnakenburg writes about in The Housekeeper’s Secret. With International Housekeepers Week coming up on Sunday, September 13, I wanted to read it. It’s a great story that focuses on what the housekeeper Lee meant to her family even if Sandy knew very little about her.
The Housekeeper’s Secret is about one woman’s journey to uncover the revelations about her family’s housekeeper. When Lee Metoyer is hired to be the new housekeeper, she has no idea that she’s going to be the anchor in an abusive patriarch’s home. This sets a mystery in motion that will take decades to uncover. Then at age, 72, Lee’s on her deathbed and asks Sandy to write about her life. The problem is that Sandy doesn’t know the story. She embarks on a quest to honor the woman’s final wishes, and it unveils shocking truths not only about her housekeeper, but also her upbringing.
I’m usually a slow reader, yet I managed to read this book in about a week, and I’m not just saying that because I had a cat on my lap for part of it. I knew I was going to like this memoir when I read the first few pages. The first half of this book is about the author’s life while growing up. It begins when Sandra visits her mom and Lee in 1994 when the former is dying. Lee instructs her to write a story about her life, but soon after, she dies before she can tell. After the prologue, the book opens with Sandra’s mother lining up the three-year-old and her siblings to meet Lee for the very first time. They want to know what the new housekeeper is going to be like. Both the prologue and the opening beautifully set the scene.
From there, Sandra shows what kind of person Lee was. She was quiet, devoted, and a life-long Chicago Cubs fan. In addition, she helped the family in more ways than one. These include encouraging Sandra’s mom to stand up to her narcissistic husband and caring for Sandra mentally and emotionally after she’s struck by a car. The latter hit me because this is what I wanted from people when I was young. Growing up neurodivergent, people wanted to see me communicate and not be socially awkward, yet they didn’t ask me why I struggled with those to begin with. Because Sandra’s face was disfigured after the accident, her family checked on her to see if she could communicate. It destroyed her self-esteem because no one inquired on how she was on the inside. Only Lee did, and she helped her, particularly with puzzles to build up her patience. These actions bridge the gap between when the author first met the housekeeper and when she’s asked to write her story.
Since the book is called The Housekeeper’s Secret, it doesn’t fully go into that until the second half. Schnakenburg shows her journey with researching and lays out her reactions to discovering certain parts of Lee’s background. What the author finds is extremely devastating. This all helps Schnackenburg to understand why the housekeeper did what she did, which makes her all the more grateful. What she does with the information about Lee is very touching.
The Housekeeper’s Secret by Sandra Schnakenburg is a great ode of gratitude to a family housekeeper. While it’s tough to write the life story of a person without knowing much of their background, the author makes it truly work by placing her relationship with Lee at the fore-front. Schnakenburg is clear that the housekeeper did so much for her family that it couldn’t be repaid while portraying her as human. The way she writes about this made me fully invested in seeing how the story will develop and knowing what the secret is. I would recommend it to all readers regardless if they grew up with a housekeeper. People like Lee deserve love and respect at all costs.
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Full disclosure: I was given an electronic advanced reader’s copy of this book from PR By the Book in exchange for an honest review.
This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks. Last year, I reviewed the memoir The Road to Yesterday: A Memoir by Maryellen Donovan, which details her journey to overcome her grief after losing her husband in the September 11, 2001 attacks. This year, I’m covering another memoir that involves 9/11 but in a different way. It’s The Soldier That Left: The Untold Story of Loose Change by Korey Rowe, which details the author’s life as a soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the making of the documentary Loose Change. The memoir tells a fascinating story even though I never heard of the film prior to reading it.
The Soldier That Left: The Untold Story of Loose Change traces the author’s journey from soldier to fugitive to unlikely producer of one of the most controversial documentaries of all time. Korey enlisted right before September 11, 2001 and went on two brutal combat tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, where he witnessed the violence, futility, and corruption in America’s wars. Disillusioned by lies about weapons of mass destruction and trapped by a stop-loss order, he faced a moral crossroads. Instead of returning to Iraq, he chose desertion – a decision that branded him a criminal, but preserved his conscience.
While on the run, he reunites with his best friend Dylan Avery, who has been developing a movie that questions the government’s official narrative on 9/11. What began as a creative experiment evolved into Loose Change – a low-budget Internet documentary that exploded into a global phenomenon. Hailed by Vanity Fair as “the first internet blockbuster,” the film spread virtually through torrents, DVDs, and video-sharing sites. Additionally, it ignited the 9/11 Truth Movement, forcing millions to question the official story. Rowe’s memoir intertwines the making of Loose Change with his own battles against the U.S. Army, addiction, media backlash, and his search for identity beyond the uniform. He reflects on the cost of speaking out, the burden of notoriety, and how a documentary made by a handful of young outsiders altered the conversation about truth, power, and history in the 21st century.
As I mentioned earlier, I knew nothing about Loose Change until I read this memoir. It’s a series of films from 2005 to 2017 that argue in favor of conspiracy theories related to the 9/11 attacks. I was coming into the Internet age when the first movie dropped, so I was young-ish. Even my husband, who’s a few years older than me, never heard of it, and he saw tons of videos of the Taliban beheading people being passed around in school. Additionally, I’m not into conspiracy theories. At my day job, I research materials found in the archives, and that consists of primary and secondary resources, in other words, concrete evidence. From what I’ve seen, conspiracy theories tend to be based on hearsay, feelings (even ones based on fact), and misinterpretations of known facts. At the same time, there have been ones that turned out to be true like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932–1972) and the Watergate Cover-up scandal. I also empathize with people who feel frustrated by the government’s lack of transparency and action, especially how they ignored pre-attack warnings.
That’s why the sections involving the documentary were my least favorite parts of the memoir. Despite this, I appreciate reading how Korey and Dylan updated the movie with new evidence and eliminating ones that didn’t make sense anymore. In addition, it was interesting to hear how the documentary mustered up interest from various celebrities. For example, Charlie Sheen was in talks to narrate one of the versions, but the deal fell through. Moreover, radio host and infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was one of the executive producers of Loose Change: The Final Cut (2007). Rowe had a lot to say about him.
My favorite parts were Rowe’s time in the military and him trying to rebuild his life after desertion. At first, he thought that he was making a difference while serving. However, once he realizes that the government is not telling the whole truth based on what he saw in Afghanistan and Iraq, his frustration and depression set in. Rowe provides excerpts from journal entries during those tours. I could feel his sadness and anger in fighting conflicts that were essentially pointless. Furthermore, he tried to build a life outside the military while working on Loose Change. I enjoyed how he wanted to be a snowboard instructor, but he had little experience with the sport, and yet, he still landed the job. During the entire time I was reading the book, I was rooting for him to find stability and his identity outside the military.
The Soldier That Left: The Untold Story of Loose Change by Korey Rowe is a good memoir that deals with one man’s journey to reclaim his self-identity after the military and while producing a controversial documentary. Again, I never heard of Loose Change until this memoir, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should. At the same time, I liked reading about the author’s time in the military, why he deserted, and when he was attempting to rebuild his life despite many struggles. I would recommend it to not only those who were fans of the Loose Change documentary, but also to readers looking for other 9/11 memoirs to read. The Soldier That Left: The Untold Story of Loose Change is out now, so grab it wherever you get your books.
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Content warning: this reviews discusses sexual assault.
On Monday, I looked at the 1967 novel Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin as my 300th review. Today, I’m going to continue diving into this universe with its 1968 movie version directed by Roman Polanski. It’s a faithful adaptation of the story in all the right ways, despite its baggage.
When I talk about adaptations, I start with how different they are from the novels. In this case, the film Rosemary’s Baby is extremely true to the text. Almost every bit of dialogue and story beat in the book made its way to the script. Even Rosemary seeing Minnie Casavet through the peephole is in the novel. There are only two differences. The first is when the baby is born. In the book, the infant arrives on a specific date in August 1966, while in the flick, it comes in June 1966. This change makes it easier to understand why the occult is obsessed with the child since the latter is literally 666. The other alteration was the omission of a major scene, in which one of Rosemary’s sisters, Margaret, calls and tells her that she senses danger and urges her to stay home. That’s the night Rosemary gets drugged and raped.
This is all to say that it’s one of the most faithful movie adaptations I’ve seen. The only other one that includes so much from the source material is the 1943 film For Whom The Bell Tolls, which was based on the 1940 book by Ernest Hemingway. But, there’s a major difference between the two. For Whom The Bell Tolls is a vastly dull flick because the pacing is slow, and director Sam Wood and screenwriter Dudley Nichols either watered down or eliminated the book’s nuance and major points (ie, which side of the war are the main characters on again?).
In Rosemary’s Baby’s case, director and screenwriter Roman Polanski completely understood the gist of the source material. How so? He saw that the novel was about motherhood, specifically about the lengths one woman willing to go to protect her unborn child even when nobody believed her. It would’ve been easy to emphasize the occult and Satanism aspects of the novel, but it would’ve prettied up the window dressing, which is not the point. Every decision he makes sets up what Rosemary or what she thinks she discovers about the apartment building and its tenants. This includes the nonchalant ways she notices certain aspects like how the secretary blocks one of the closets while on the tour of the apartment she and Guy eventually move into or how they hear chanting in the next room. One doesn’t think of those things at first, but they come into play later on. Most importantly, viewers never see the baby in question. This leaves more room for interpretation about Rosemary’s mental state. These are the reasons why I’m happy that his screenplay received an Oscar nomination.
Speaking of Polanski, I have to address the elephant in the room. This movie about a woman with no control over her body was directed by a man who was charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old in 1977. He soon fled the United States afterwards and hasn’t returned. Since then, many women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against him. I don’t condone his actions. At the same time, this is a good example of separating the art from the artist. Polanski adapted Rosemary’s Baby nearly a decade before he committed that heinous crime. In addition, Mia Farrow, who plays Rosemary, has defended him on multiple occasions. Furthermore, who knows if he would have done that if his pregnant wife Sharon Tate wasn’t murdered by the Manson Family in 1969. Again, this is no excuse for what Polanski did. While it’s a lot of baggage to deal with, knowing this didn’t affect my watch of Rosemary’s Baby because his direction is effective in telling the story, and it seemed that he was on Rosemary’s side. If this is a deal breaker for you, I completely understand.
Let’s go back to the movie, and discuss its two other highlights: the music and performances. The score is creepy, especially the lullaby sung at the beginning and end. The jazzy music is more atonal and chaotic as the story progresses. It culminates as Rosemary runs from Guy and Dr. Sapirstein in the apartment building.
The acting was spectacular. Sidney Blackmer is enchanting and devilish as Roman. Ruth Gordon plays Minnie – a role that won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She’s nosy and OCD about cleaning in all the right places. John Cassavetes portrays Guy – Rosemary’s husband. He’s charming, but increasingly insensitive to Rosemary’s pleas. It helps that Cassavetes has a punchable face, which made me want to throttle him even more.
The star performance belongs to Mia Farrow as Rosemary. She holds the film together with naivety, increasing desperation, and later confidence. I loved her acting inside the telephone booth, while she’s confronting the cult after the baby is born, and the sheer horror she has when she looks at her infant for the first time. Her look is also iconic with her short hair. It makes her appear like a skeleton, especially during the scenes where Rosemary is experiencing stomach pains. It’s a shame that she was infamously snubbed at the 1969 Oscars. She would’ve been a great nominee for Best Actress.
The film version of Rosemary’s Baby is a great adaptation of the novel by Ira Levin. Its copy-and-paste screenplay totally understands the book’s core. Polanski crafts the flick around Rosemary’s intuitions. Additionally, the music and performances are pitch perfect. Even though it frustrated me while viewing it again, it was still intentional, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I would recommend it to viewers who love psychological horrors and movies about motherhood. I’m happy that I was able to share my thoughts on both the book and the flick as part of my celebration of my 300th and 301st reviews!
In addition, here’s a friendly reminder to keep an eye out for a future Adapt Me Podcast episode, Matthew Anderson from the Lone Screenplay Nominee Podcast will come on the Adapt Me Podcast to discuss how we would adapt the book into a play in October.
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I can’t believe it’s here, but reader, this is my 300th review! I started reading and thinking critically of books, movies, and television shows 8 years ago, and I have never looked back. I’ve encountered a true variety of titles from a woman traveling to Antarctica to find herself to a former president of Turkmenistan’s obsession with the Akhal-Teke horse. Today, I wanted to look at a book that has remained memorable for many decades. You want to know what it is? It’s Rosemary’s Baby – the intriguing and disturbing novel by Ira Levin published back in 1967.
Rosemary’s Baby is about a woman fearing that something’s wrong with her unborn baby and her neighbors have sinister plans for them. A young couple moves into an old and elegant New York apartment house with a rather strange past. They meet several tenants in the building, including an elderly eccentric couple who dote on them. Soon, the wife Rosemary becomes pregnant with their first child. However, she begins to suspect the building harbors a diabolically evil group of devil worshippers who have mastered the arts of black magic and witchcraft. What’s worse is that she believes that this satanic conspiracy has been set to not only claim her husband Guy but also their baby. Is this true?
Let’s get this out of the way. Rosemary’s Baby is not a scary book, but it’s disturbing in many ways. Yes, there’s the devil worship and the notion of an infant being the child of Satan, but I was frustrated most with the gaslighting that several characters inflict onto Rosemary for her sake. For example, she experiences sharp pains during the early months of her pregnancy, yet Dr. Sapirstein – the physician recommended to her by the elderly eccentric Castevets – repeatedly tells her that it’ll be fine since it will go away soon. People, especially women, have dealt with not being believed since the beginning of time, and it’s still a big issue.
And, it all works because readers are on Rosemary’s side the entire time. She is a kind person who may be naive at moments. She yearns to be a mother, but what occurs is the worst case scenario. There are characters in horror that make stupid decisions. Rosemary is not one of them. In fact, every choice is smart because she listens to her intuition, and yet, she’s still backed into a corner by people who don’t believe her. This is especially true with her husband. I hated his guts at the end. Even at her lowest point, I was still rooting for Rosemary because I knew she was telling the truth. I’m glad that she asserts herself when the baby is born.
Levin is a good writer. Not only is Rosemary well developed, but the supporting characters are also. Minnie and Roman Castevet feel like the kind of old people who would nose into everything because they need something to do. In addition, Edward Hutchins is a kind-hearted man who is a father-figure to Rosemary and senses something is off with the apartment building she moves into. The writing can be dry at times, particularly with the amount of times he says that Rosemary did this or she did that. Nevertheless, when he expands on important story beats, he is in his element. He creates great tension. Yes, I knew what was going to occur because I saw the 1968 film first, but I was still surprised. I also couldn’t unhear the actors from the flick while reading the dialogue from the novel, especially Ruth Gorden as Minnie going, “OH-kay!”
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin is a great, albeit disturbing novel. The scariest aspect of this book is how people simply don’t believe the main character although she knows deep down something is wrong. Readers will root for Rosemary all the way. I would recommend it to readers who love reading psychological horror and about motherhood. I’m glad that this book is my 300th review because I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.
Now, for those who are saying, “Emily, why are you reviewing a horror novel in August? Shouldn’t you be doing this in October?”
Well, it worked better to review it now. In addition, Matthew Anderson from the Lone Screenplay Nominee Podcast will come on the Adapt Me Podcast to discuss how we would adapt this book into a play in October. Keep an eye out for the link.
In the meantime, I will be reviewing the 1968 movie adaptation starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordon on Thursday. Stay tuned for that!
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*I know that some are adaptations and original movies, but that’s besides the point.
Wow! I’ve been reviewing books, movies, and television shows for 8 years now, and I can’t believe that I’m now approaching my 300th review! I’ve been grateful to have this website and to review media of many kinds. I plan on continuing to post reviews as long as possible.
Just like before, I will rate each of the 299 books that I have reviewed on this site. These are based on the ratings that I gave them on Goodreads, Letterboxd, and IMDb, but some have changed since their initial postings.
Here is the chart that I used to rate^ them:
* = Bad
** = Meh
*** = Decent
**** = Good
***** = Great
^Note: The books within each rating are only in alphabetical order.
Now, let’s begin!
*
**
***
****
*****
And there you have it! Let me what you think via Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or email!
Join me as I post my 300th review next week! It’s a famous horror novel about motherhood from the 1960s.
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When I discussed Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly awhile back, I talked about some of the ways that one can stand out while writing stories involving World War II. It’s easy to get lost in those kinds of plots because of how vast they are in the historical fiction genre. Luckily, Kristin Harmel found a way to be distinct with a fairy tale inspired by the Bielski partisans. It’s called The Forest of Vanishing Stars, and I really liked it due to the atmosphere, how research informs the story, and the characters.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars is about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the forest to help Jewish refugees escape from the Nazis. After being kidnapped from her wealthy German parents and raised in the wilderness in eastern Europe, Yona acquired plenty of survival skills, but not much on human interactions. When her kidnapper dies, she is left alone. In addition, World War II has just begun. Her solitary existence ends when she comes across a group of Jewish people fleeing Nazi persecution. Yona vows to teach them how to survive in the forest, and they enlighten her on lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. She finds a special connection with Aleksander, the leader of the small refuge group. At first, she feels that she has found a family, but once she is betrayed, she flees the forest and stumbles onto a German-occupied village. This leads into a shocking revelation that makes her past and present collide. As a result, she must decide where to place her loyalty and trust.
Some reviewers compared this book to Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens because both books had female protagonists living alone in an isolated area, and they fall in love with two completely different men. I can definitely see that. At the same time, Yona is a little more active of a character than Kya is. And the main difference is how the environments are portrayed. In Where the Crawdads Sing, the marshes of North Carolina are depicted as lonely, but beautiful to look at (much like Kya). In addition, it could be a place that someone can book on AirBnB. In The Forest of Vanishing Stars, the Nalibocka Forest (in present day Belarus) serves as the backdrop, and there’s more of a sense of danger in that area as anything or anyone could kill a person because of one false move. Nonetheless, it’s also a giver as long as one knows how to utilize it to the best of their abilities, which is what Yona is good at.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars has a more realistic environment, for Harmel put in a lot of research. This includes finding information on the Nalibocka (now Naliboki) Forest, how people survived there during the second World War, and the Bielski partisans who saved thousands of Jewish people and smuggled them in said forest during that conflict. One can easily tell because of how informed it was. It also helps that Harmel doesn’t shove the information down one’s throat. Much like Li-yan from The Tea Girl From Hummingbird Lane, Yona learns and later teaches others about surviving in the woods at the same time as the readers. Harmel does well with providing information about the forest and how various people lived through the war while moving the story along.
Speaking of the story, I thought it was intriguing. It read like a fairytale. Yona gets kidnapped by an old woman named Jerusza. She sees danger in Yona’s life if she is left with her parents. However, Jerusza also foreshadows the child’s savior-like nature, so the former teaches the latter the tactics of how to survive in a forest. She reveals to Yona that her parents were less than stellar people. This leads to her questioning loyalty and trust. Even though Jerusza raised her, she didn’t love her like a guardian usually does and was harsh on her at times. On the other hand, Yona wonders if her upbringing would’ve been that different if she was never taken and was raised by loving, but potentially problematic parents. This was an interesting take on the typical girl-gets-raised-in-an-isolated-area-without-knowing-her-true-identity fairy tale.
The supporting cast were fascinating as well. During the novel, Yona encounters two groups of Jewish refugees who have escaped the ghettos. One is led by Aleksander, a young, charismatic man who lost all of his family members. She falls in love with him as she teaches him and the other members how to survive. However, he cheats on her. This results in her leaving the forest and going into a German-occupied village. The other group is led by Zus, a man who is dealing with his own trauma of losing his wife and daughter. He’s respectful of her space, but he deeply cares for her. Again, this is reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing with the two potential male lovers for the female protagonist, who couldn’t be more opposite of each other. Some reviewers were annoyed with the amount of romance that was present in the novel. I wasn’t bothered by this since it challenged Yona’s isolation and gave her a deeper understanding of community.
Another set of supporting characters that I have to mention are the nuns. They were based on the Martyrs of Nowogródek – a group of 11 members of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who sacrificed their lives in order to spare those who were slated to be executed by the Gestapo. They wanted to do everything that they could in order to let others survive even if that meant offering themselves in exchange. One of them engages with Yona in a lot of philosophical discussion on how God would’ve seen and reacted to the atrocities committed by the Nazis. They are expectedly portrayed as noble, yet Yona, to a degree, questions their decision to let the Gestapo kill them.
My only complaints are that there are certain parts of the novel that didn’t feel believable. One of them involves Yona being instilled that she is going to be a savior to people, but she doesn’t really do anything that would justify that. I mean, she teaches people how to navigate through a potentially dangerous forest and tells them when to move. However, she doesn’t do anything that single-handedly saves them besides one thing, but I’m not revealing any more spoilers. The other unbelievable aspect was how she was able to recognize her father. Jerusza kidnapped Yona when she was about 2 years old. Through a good chunk of the book, Yona vaguely remembers a man hovering over her while she was in her cradle. And yet, when she figures out who he is, she does this almost immediately. From what I understand, many 2-year olds don’t remember a whole lot, so the fact that Yona was able to recognize her father instantly felt unrealistic.
I also tried listening to the audiobook narrated by Madeleine Maby. She’s an actress and has narrated several books including the Astrology Self-Care series and those written by Kristin Harmel (surprise surprise). However, I was not able to finish it due to issues with the physical audiobook, so I ended up reading the rest with a physical copy. From what I’ve heard, Maby is ok. Her vocal characterizations of Yona give her strength, naivety, and vulnerability, while Jerusza has a mystical old woman voice that doesn’t come off like a caricature. Sadly, the rest of the voices aren’t as effective. The men’s vocals are similar, and every older woman that Yona comes across sounds like an offshoot of Jerusza. With this being said, I would recommend reading the physical novel as opposed to listening to it.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel is a pretty good fairy tale about surviving in a forest during World War II. The woods feel like a character in of itself with its caring nature, yet there’s always a sense of danger lurking around. Yona feels like a female protagonist in a fairy tale, but her questions regarding loyalty and trust add layers to her character. I would recommend this book to those who like stories set during World War II and involving protagonists growing up and/or surviving in isolated areas. I’m not going to mistake it for any other WWII-based novel anytime soon.
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Hi Everybody,
I’ve been traveling quite a lot within the last year all throughout my home state of Michigan. As a result, I have a bit of a backlog, but that ends with my 3-part edition of my “Literary Travel” series focusing on the Mitten State. All of the photos used were the ones I took, and they can be seen at the bottom of the page.
Today, I’m going to show you my visits to a library in Lansing area located in the southern central portion of the state and a book and sandwich shop in my hometown on the southeast side.
Back in November 2025, I attended and presented at a day conference at the Library of Michigan – the state library – for my work. I didn’t take many pictures because I was focused on the event. I have a friend who lives in the area, and she wanted me to visit the Bath Township Public Library. When I was done, I drove straight to there.
Now, the name Bath Township won’t be familiar with many of you, but there was a school bombing that occurred in that town in 1927. It killed 38 people, thus making it the deadliest massacre in US history. The 100th anniversary is coming up next year.
The library is unique because it’s located in a strip mall. The population of the town is less than 15,000 people. The library may serve a small amount of residents, but it’s still mighty.
The place was neatly organized. It contained some nice signs to indicate what kind of books are on the shelves. They also had some neat displays like for DVDs about the wild and books celebrating Native American Heritage Month. In addition, they were one of the many libraries selected for a traveling America’s 250th Birthday exhibit.
They had some cool decorations as well. For example, there’s a pole plastered with book covers right across from the circulation desk. One of the staff members created that. They also contained quilts hung at various parts of the library. One of them memoralized the bombing I mentioned earlier.
Because the library was tiny, the children and teen areas were that way too, but they still knew their demographics. The former contained plenty of picture books, easy readers, and juvenile books with a play area and coloring table. It was also pleasing to look at, especially with the painting filled with children reading, playing, and checking out books gracing one of its walls. Moreover, the teen space had books along with a lounging section where they could charge their electronic devices.
Additionally, they offered unique services like a Library of Things and allowing unhoused people to take a pack of items for free. The latter is a neat way to address the homeless issue.
Despite how tiny the Bath Township Public Library was, it was compact and went above and beyond for its patrons. Along with their website, you can check out that library on Facebook.
Flash forward to this year, and one of my other friends wanted to go to a bookstore in Rochester, Michigan called Novel: A Book & Sandwich Shop. For those who don’t know, Rochester is a city 30-35 minutes away from Detroit. I grew up in the neighboring Rochester Hills, where Madonna graduated from high school. I spent much of my childhood and young adult years going through downtown Rochester, so I was familiar with a lot of the shops. Novel recently opened up, and once my friend and I heard about it, we knew that we wanted to go.
We went back in April, and it’s such a cute place. Although it was no bigger than a dining room, the store was decorated with hand-crafted art, an otter painting, back-lit book shelves, and a tree with leaves cut out from book pages at the center display table. Stuffed animals graced the bottom of that table.
Novel had books for both adults and children, and they were organized by genre. The displays changed based on what’s going on at that time. When we were there, they had a Mother’s Day one since that holiday was coming up.
There were also tables and chairs for those who want to chill, read, and eat. All of the decor looked inviting for both adults and children.
The hallway consisted of books picked by the staff. It was in the “If you like this, try this” mode. Even though they have a small workforce, it’s clear that they love to read because how else would they have so many books on those shelves? Those are the best kind of people to work in a book store.
The main reason that we wanted to go was for the sandwiches. Rarely are there bookstores that serve food, and we wanted to try them out. However, there was a catch. You see, we went on a Sunday, and at the time, the kitchen wasn’t open on those days (since then, Novel is closed on Sundays and Mondays with limited kitchen times on the other days). Due to our work schedules, we waited one month before we came back. We went on a Thursday, and I had the Italian sandwich, while my friend had the Turkey Caprese. Those sandwiches were worth the wait.
I know I’m going to take other people to that bookshop in the future because it offered a great variety of books as well as a small, but delicious menu.
And in case you’re wondering, I bought the book Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto from there. Along with their website, you can check out Novel: A Book & Sandwich Shop on Facebook and Instagram.
And that concludes the twelfth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. Next month, I’ll focus on the bookstores and libraries I visited in the Downriver area of Michigan.
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Content warning: this review mentions physical and animal abuse.
Welcome to Part 11 of looking at various adaptations of Wuthering Heights and seeing if they can capture the spirit of the book by Emily Brontë. Today, I’ll be looking at the 2011 movie starring James Howson as Heathcliff and Kaya Scodelario as Catherine.
This is the first film version directed by a woman. Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold took the reins of this project. I wondered how long it would take to do that since the book was written by a woman. But, do you know what else I pondered about? When were we going to get a non-white Heathcliff? Behold, this adaptation answers the call. Anytime I think about this, the Hallelujah chorus chimes in!
Then, I watched the movie. This is not to say that it’s bad, far from it. It definitely has things going for it, yet it has some issues. Let’s talk about what worked. First, I love how authentically unlavish everything looks. The Wuthering Heights estate resembles a prison with its dim lights, narrow spaces, and drained colors. Thrushcross Grange has more hue, but it comes off as sterile. The outdoor scenes are well done with plenty of shots of the open fields and mud by the former estate. The nature-based soundtrack accompanies the setting very well. It all felt lived in.
Second, this is one of the few adaptations, in which almost every character is unlikeable. This is in tune with the spirit of the novel. Everyone has their flaws, even characters like Mr. Earnshaw. He wants his children to be good Christians, but he inflicts physical punishments on them, especially Heathcliff and Hindley. People might see that as un-Christian.
Third, as I mentioned earlier, this is the first version that contains a Heathcliff played by a non-white actor. While there have been great performances by a white man playing that character, it’s more believable when an actor of color takes on that role. Heathcliff is immediately singled out and abused based on his physical appearance, particularly his darker skin. For instance, when he comes to Wuthering Heights, the first thing that happens to him is Nelly stripping him of his clothes and slapping him. Later, Mr. Earnshaw tries to assimilate him into the community by getting him baptized. This ends with Heathcliff sprinting out of the church.
Fourth, the first half of the flick is young Catherine and Heathcliff running around on the Moors and developing their relationship. Even though it omits the second part of the novel, I didn’t mind it at all since it contains the most fleshed-out bond between the two. It truly shows how they want to dominate each other. This is especially true with Heathcliff grabbing Catherine’s wrist and she pulling out a clump of his hair. Solomon Grave and Shannon Beer – the child actors who play these characters – are engaging and have plenty of chemistry. Honestly, if the movie were simply those two spending time together, it would’ve been five stars.
However, the flick also has its flaws. The first reason is the pacing. While the film moves steadily in the first half, it drags in the second part. I even began to wonder when it was going to end, and it did a minute later. It didn’t help that there were so many flashbacks that I felt like I was in Inception. The second is that James Howson is not good. He’s more passive than most interpretations of the adult Heathcliff, which isn’t in the spirit of the character. In the novel, when he comes back, he has a revenge plan and acts on it. Howson’s Heathcliff reacts to what people say or do and gets emotional or violent. What’s worse is that Howson barely shows any emotions besides smugness and extreme sadness (the second when Catherine dies). Part of me feels bad for saying all of that because this was the only acting role he got, and there hasn’t been a Heathcliff played by a multi-racial actor since. At the same time, the idea of having a person of color playing that character would’ve fared better after years of whitewashing if his performance was more effective. Kaya Scodelario fares much better as Catherine. She truly understands how that character is a stubborn, spoiled brat who wants to dominate others.
Even if viewers tolerate the aforementioned flaws, this isn’t meant for everyone. While I like the cinematography since it contains some beautiful shots, there are a lot of hand-held camera movements, especially when Heathcliff is running away from something. It’s so prevalent that some people might get annoyed. And, there’s animal cruelty. The book and the 1998 Masterpiece Theatre movie have that, yet this version takes it to a whole new level. Not only is there the disturbing scene with Isabella’s dog from the novel, but also there are sections involving Heathcliff skinning a sheep (which draws blood) and snapping a rabbit’s neck. My husband, who has seen many Wuthering Heights adaptations, thankfully didn’t view this one because he has a hard time with animal abuse.
The 2011 Wuthering Heights movie has its pros and cons. On one hand, the aesthetics are great, and it displays the most developed relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. On the other hand, although it has a non-white actor as Heathcliff, I wish he was better. The pacing doesn’t help either. It won’t appeal to everyone. I would only recommend it to those watching every adaptation of Wuthering Heights and can tolerate animal abuse.
Now, let’s see how this one fits into the ranking.
We’ll see how this ranking evolves after I see all the others.
Stay tuned next month when I review the last adaptation I saw – 2022 movie with Bryan Ferriter and Jet Jandreau.
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Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything