The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

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date started: 3/19/2022

date finished: 4/2/2022

duration: 12:23

genre: fiction, mystery

from: mpl

reason: challenge

This book is more enjoyable than I expected and had many twists.  Because it is an audiobook and in Ireland, there were times I had difficulty understanding but I decided I didn't want to slow it down because I was getting the overall meaning.  Nurse (Lib) and nun have been called in to verify this child (Anne) hasn't eaten in four months.  Lib thinks someone is sneaking her food.  Her brother has died nine months ago of some gastric issue.  Lib found out that when Anna's mother would kiss her she was feeding her "manna."  Anna told her mom no more kisses and then she started fasting.  

William (the journalist) and Lib become friends.  They discover she is no longer getting manna when she goes back through her journal and find the part where she wrote she pushed her mom away.  They realize she is dying.  Lib wants to know why she is fasting.  She discovers her brother had been molesting her since she was nine.  She called him her husband and brother.  She is fasting so she can be forgiven for her sins because that is what the priest told her.  No one in her family believed her or chose to ignore her.  

Lib decides to kidnap Anne in order to save her life.  Her and William devise a plan.  She tells Anne that the milk she will give her will kill Anne and she will wake up Nan.  Anne agrees to this.  After William takes Nan away, Lib sets the house on fire.  She gets burned (unintentionally I think).  There was some sort of hearing after the fire.  The nun saw William taking Anne away but said nothing.  Lib was not convicted of anything and met up with William and Nan.  The epilogue didn't exactly annoy me...they are getting married and moving to New Zealand and hopefully Nan will survive.

 

March 2022 Wrap-Up

  

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Legend by Marie Lu

 

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date started: 3/18/2022

date finished: 3/20/2022

pages: 393

genre: ya, sci-fi, apocalyptic

from: mpl

reason: challenge

Marie Lu is becoming one of my favorites.  This was a very quick read.  Great story.  It ended too soon.  I'll probably continue the series.  I knew the friend killed Metias and he sucks for that.  I want to know why they said Day failed.  Is it because he is poor?

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

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date started: 3/7/2022

date finished: 3/18/2022

pages: 383

genre: fiction

from: mpl

reason: challenge

Sportcoat shoots Deems for no apparent reason.  His wife Hettie died (walked into the water) and he continues to walk around drunk talking to her.  They argue over where she put the church Christmas Fund.  Deems has no idea why Sportcoat shot him.  There is a warrant out for Hot Sausage for the shooting because Sportcoat and him share a driver's license and ends up, the name on the driver's license isn't even Hot Sausage's name.  He is a man with many names LOL

The Governor meets with the Elephant for a package deliver from the Elephant's dead dad.  The Elephant has no clue what the package is.  All the Elephant wants is someone to love him (he found her...the Governor's daughter).

Here is were it gets exciting.  Bunch (the drug dealer) tells Earl to take care of Sportcoat.  First he tries to beat him with a pipe and instead gets hit in the head with a baseball.

Soup is released from prison so they are having a party for him.  There is a fight at this party like all true parties.  Well Earl is trying to stab Sportcoat with a switchblade.  There is a slo-mo scene where a bottle of brandy is flying around.  It ends up knocking Earl in the head and he gets knocked out.  Then, he comes back for more.  Hot Sausage and Sportcoat are working on the generator (well Hot Sausage is...Sportcoat is drinking...as is Hot Sausage).  Earl sneaks into the basement and is about to attack Sportcoat and instead gets electrocuted.  

Bunch, fed up with Earl, hired Harold Dean.  Deems decided to make the moves on a new girl in town (one of his clients).  This horribly backfires when she ends up being Haroldeen.  She is the hitman Bunch hired.  She shot Deems, Beanie (killed him), Hot Sausage, and Sportcoat.  Sportcoat pulls Deems out of the water (I think...I was confused as to who was wearing the umpire uniform).  Everyone thought they all died.  

Sportcoat ends up dying at the end after trying to get sober.

Jesus CHEESE!  No one found the church Christmas Fund but the Elephant gave them some money.  Never found out why Sportcoat shot Deems.  The Governor found the package in Jesus's hand.

This book is simply fantastic!  It is laugh out loud hilarious.  I love this book.  The writing is funny.  The characters are so unbelievable but they are so real.  

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

 
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date started: 3/9/2022

date finished: 3/18/2022

duration: 13:21

genre: contemporary

from: mpl

reason: murakami, duh

Toru begins to write the story of him and Naoko.  There is a well (of course) but it never appears again except for at the beginning.  He goes to college and runs into Naoko (a friend from home).  There is still the ear obsession but it isn't as prevalent in this one.  She moves and he sends letters but gets no reply.  Finally she responds and says she is moving to a sanitorium and doesn't want to see him.  He meets Midori (which stands for green and her sister, I believe is yellow).  She disappears.  He gets a long letter from Naoko asking him to visit her at the sanitorium.  He goes to see her and they sort through some stuff.  I never trusted her roommate.  He continues to run into Midori.  Eventually Naoko hangs herself.

This was a HUGE disappointment.  This was nothing but whiney angst.  I get that it focuses on mental illness but the characters for the most part are extremely unlikable (especially the narrator Toru and Midori).  I liked Naoko and that is about it.  She seemed to be the only truly honest one.  There was no magical realism.  Nothing like the other Murakami I've read.  If this had been the first Murakami I read, I would not have continued reading him.

However, the writing is still beautiful.  That is the only reason I gave it two stars.  

Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gehard

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date started: 3/17/2022

date finished: 3/17/2022

pages: 288

genre: cookbook

from: mpl

reason: for fun

A lot of recipes to try!

The Storm (Trackers #3) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

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date started: 3/2/2022

date finished: 3/9/2022

duration: 7:49

genre: sci-fi, apocalyptic

from: mpl

reason: to continue the story

This one picks up where book 2 left off.  North Korea set off nukes which resulted in EMPs and radioactive fall out.  Charlize's son has been rescued.  Her brother unfortunately died a rather gruesome death at the hands of "General Phoenix" in book 2.  There is a HUGE bounty out for "General Phoenix"...something like $10 million.  Colton is back in charge.  Don (the one that replaced Colton in book 2), or whatever his name is, has been stabbing everyone in the back.  I can't remember if he died at the end, but hopefully he did.  If he didn't, then he deserves to die in book 4.  If he is already dead he deserves to die again in book 4.  Raven got shot in chest and head and I panicked.  I just knew he was dead.  Luckily he had a bulletproof vest on and part of his ear is gone.  But the way this series kills people off, I was very worried.  Creek saves Raven from getting shot again.  Much too close.  I think Lindsey is starting to have a soft spot for Raven.  Big Al finds his sister.  Some gang has captured "General Phoenix" and he keeps trying to bribe them with more than the $10 million.  Guess I have to wait until book 4 to find out what happens with that.

The first two books were, in my opinion, much better than this one.  There were several gasp out loud moments with Raven like when he got shot and I thought he was dead.  So many dead people in this one.  There were also some gag worthy moments in this one.  Overall a good book, just the others were better.