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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was actually pretty disappointed with this book. I've LOVED the last two Rainbow Rowell books that I listened to on Audible, and this one just fell flat with me. I listened to it pretty quickly mostly because I just wanted to know what happens so I could move on. So I was interested enough in the story line, but I just didn't love this book. I guess I didn't hate it either, so there's that.
I didn't enjoy the narrator of this book. Since the majority of the actual story line was from the perspective of the male character, Lincoln, I think having a male narrator--at least for Lincoln's parts of the story would have made MUCH more sense. I also found the e-mail segments between Beth and Jennifer to be annoying at times. Perhaps, if I had read the book in print, it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but having a narrator constantly saying "Beth to Jennifer" or "Jennifer to Beth" after short one line emails got pretty irritating. It was like having someone read the script to a play while reading each character's name before speaking. While I also understand that this is fiction, I found the ending to be a bit ridiculous and far-fetched.
I did enjoy some of the interactions between characters in the book. The interactions between Beth and Jennifer actually reminded me of myself and a friend. I did have a few moments where I briefly laughed aloud at some of the things that the characters said and did, but ultimately, I didn't feel truly invested in them.
I went with three stars instead of two because I think some of my dislike of this book was due to it being the audio version, so I felt like it was a bit too harsh to go with two stars.
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am currently searching for a nonfiction novel to add to my 6th grade classroom repertoire for the coming school year. Freedom Train by Dorothy Sterling is the first book that I have read, and it is DEFINITELY a contender.
I enjoyed reading the story of Harriet Tubman. Of course, I have heard of Harriet and her role in helping slaves escape along the Underground Railroad, but there was so much about her that I didn't know! She played a major part in not only helping slaves escape but in the Civil War. I found this book to be incredibly interesting, and there are so many possibilities for making this an exciting and enriching experience for my students!
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
If I could, I would give this book 3.5 stars. I was torn between a 3- and 4-star rating on this one, and I think that 3.5 is EXACTLY how I feel about it.
I did enjoy this book, but I didn't love it. As I neared the end of the book, I became much more interested to know what happens to Werner and Marie-Laure, and I finished it very quickly. If you want a true World War II story, I don't know that this one really qualifies. It's more about what is taking place with each of these characters that happen to be living in Europe during WWII. I did like both of these characters and wanted to know how things would turn out for them.
One of the things I did not like was that the book jumped back and forth a lot. Not only are chapters switching between the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner, but they are also jumping back from the present setting of the book (1944) and things that happened leading up to that point. Sometimes, I got confused and had to go back to find out what year I was reading about. I think I might have enjoyed it more with a more chronological telling of the story.
View all my reviews
What did you read this month?
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2 comments:
I hated All the Light. However, I can't even really tell you why. I just did.
I did enjoy Attachments. I don't generally like books that take place in the 90s (again, no idea why) but I liked the characters.
I read sixteen books in February. The best was If I Run by Terri Blackstock. She is one who never fails.
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