Mandi

First of all, I have to say that I really enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook version. She did a great job with the southern accents and differentiating between the characters' voices. I'm generally a book “reader” not a “listener” but I've started listening to an audiobook during my evening commute to take my mind off the traffic and am really enjoying it.

Now that I've got my audiobook review out of the way, on to the book itself. Kristin Hannah is a great writer and you can tell she did an immense amount of research on the time period and the various difficulties the characters encounter. But it's one of the most depressing books I've ever read. It's the Depression in the Dust Bowl. The hardships are numerous, even more so for the main character, it seems. I got so sick of the dirt, heat, deprivation, and starvation. I also found myself crying in my car on several occasions while listening to a particularly sad part. I'm glad I read it, but I'm glad it's over too. Honestly, if it hadn't been for book club I may not have stuck it out and finished it because of how depressing it was.

I have a hard time with books set in the future, as this one was. I think it's because the story doesn't usually flow as easily from the book into my imagination with all of the new terms that the author creates for the story. This one, however, wasn't too difficult to keep up with and once I made it about a quarter of the way through I understood what the “Lost” where, what a “Luddite” was and how it differed from a “Post” and the the story flowed much easier. I enjoyed the characters, and just when I thought it was a predictable young adult love story, the author threw in a little surprise that I didn't see coming. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

This was my first book by Molly Harper and I thoroughly enjoyed Jane's sarcasm and humor. The narrator for the audiobook was fantastic and her voice combined with Jane's wit had me laughing aloud in the car. It actually had me looking forward to rush hour when I could continue the story. I had the “bad guy” figured out fairly early on but I didn't mind. I can't wait to start book 2!

I don't often feel the need to write reviews on the books I read but this was one of the best books I've read in a long time. I just finished it and am feeling the need to tell someone about it so tag, you're it :) First of all, this wasn't the first book I'd read by Backman. I read Ove several years ago and loved it, so I went into this knowing I liked Backman's writing style and his wit. Also, this particular book was a little unusual for me because I just started a new job a few weeks ago and decided to try listening to this audiobook during my commute. I don't typically listen to audiobooks and wasn't sure if I would like it, but the free Audible trial made it risk free. It was fantastic all around...the narrator, the story, all if it. I found myself wishing my commute was longer once I arrived home so I could listen longer. The characters were quirky and lovable...even Zara lol...and I became completely immersed in each one of their stories. Sometimes the way the timeline jumped around interrupted the flow of the story for me, but I did like the way that we're fed each story a bit at a time until we see how it ends for each character. Overall it was a fantastic book and I can't think of a reason why anyone shouldn't read it.

I bought this from a used bookstore months ago and am just now getting around to reading it. I'm sure I read the description before I bought it but didn't read the inside cover before I picked it up to read it the other night. I'll start out with my loves...

I love the setting. I love Scotland and I love the history so I was especially pleased that the author described so much of the Scottish landscape and delved into the histories of the areas. When I read a good book I see it in my mind as if I'm watching a movie and I had no trouble picturing Gemma's surroundings. It wasn't just the landscape and the history either...I really enjoyed the local folk stories that were woven throughout the book.

I love it that Gemma didn't need to be constantly rescued. Sometimes she got herself into situations that I wanted to slap her silly over, now that I'm no longer a teenager and prone to hormone-induced dramatics, but she wasn't always being rescued by a man. She did depend on the kindness of strangers, but as a young person that's to be expected and isn't the same as waiting for a knight in shining armor.

Now for the things I didn't especially love...

As I mentioned, I didn't read the dust jacket prior to beginning to read it. It didn't take me long to see the similarities between Gemma and Jane Eyre, which I enjoyed at first but got old as the story went on. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite novels and I couldn't bring myself to love Gemma the way I love Jane. I just didn't connect with Gemma as a character in the same way that I connected with the setting of the story or with Jane Eyre as a whole.

Something about the end of the book just felt...incomplete...to me. I actually reread the last few pages several times trying to wrap up the story in my mind and I just couldn't.

Overall it was a decent book. I don't know that it's one that I'd read again and I'm not sure that I won't sell it back to the used bookstore to make room on my bookshelf for something else, but it was an enjoyable read.