Erica Rickards

I liked this book. It was a quick read. However, it could have been fleshed out a little bit more. The premise is interesting. I also liked that the hero of the story was a female who didn't let her lack of training stop her from trying to save the day. My only problem is, is that the book is set at the early 20th century but didn't read like a book from the early 20th century and the people didn't act like they were from that era. I understand that this is an alternate world with magic but it was a little odd to suddenly see dates in the 1800s and early 1900s. I am looking forward to seeing where this series is going next.

I listened to this book on audiobook and there were times that I could barely shut my car off and times when I was driving that I wished I could shut it off. This book was recommended to me because I loved The Glass Castle. What frustrated me about the Glass Castle was the way Wells occasionally slipped awe and wonder into what were terrible and dangerous situations. Westover does nothing of the sort. Her book is a harsh glance at what rampant untreated mental illness, physical abuse, mental abuse and religious zealotry can do to a family and person. So many times as Westover tried to explain away the physical abuse that she was suffering I had audible outbursts in my car, trying to warn Westover that her brother was a sociopath and tell her it was not her fault. Her tale is fascinating as she talks about how somehow she was able to rise out of a childhood where she was “educated” believing that the Holocaust was a vast conspiracy by the Jewish people, to obtaining a PhD from Cambridge. As I listened to this book I pictured an older time where computers didn't exist but was shocked to find that Westover is actually younger than myself. Absolutely gripping and fantastic.

At the beginning of this book I didn't know why it came so highly recommended. Eleanor was not initially likeable, with her awkward social skills, judgmental nature, and how she says everything on her mind. However, I plugged on with the book knowing that there was something more. Reese Witherspoon stated that this book was “incredibly funny” I did not agree with this statement. Perhaps it's because I routinely work with children who have experienced trauma like Eleanor has. I loved Eleanor's evolution, how though it was helped by Raymond, his mother, Laura, and Sammy showing kindness to her but it was largely her own doing and it was for herself that she was working on her trauma. I also liked that there was no implicit romance between her and Raymond. One thing that did bother me, the big reveal, I.e. that Eleanor was not actually ever talking to her Mummy, that her mother was in fact dead, seemed glossed over so much so that I didn't really pick up on it until Eleanor expressly stared it.

Great informative read

As someone who sort of works in social services and sees heroin and prescription drug abuse I️ was looking for a book that provided some good information about where it all came from. This provided that and more. The writer is excellent and provides a fascinating background for this epidemic all while being non-judgmental and sowing the seeds for hope. This writer has been extremely thorough in investigating this whole ordeal and while he shows this epidemic spreading like a web throughout our country he shows the growth and progression of the epidemic using a town in Ohio which reminded me so much of my own hometown and several other hometowns in states that I️ have visited. Well worth the read

I was reading this book as part of a book club and at some point I had to keep reading. Robert Jordan is masterful at keeping you off balance and never being quite sure what is going to happen next. You think you know what is going to happen or who to trust but you can never be quite sure. I can't wait to keep going to see what happens.