Category Archives: Book Reviews

01.07.17
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Book Review #26: “Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America”

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“This is a book about a very simple idea: where the criminal justice system fails to respond vigorously to violent injury and death, homicide becomes endemic. African Americans have suffered from just such a lack of effective criminal justice, and this, more than anything, is the reason for the nation’s long-standing plague of black homicides.”

~Jill Leovy, Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America

I picked up this book less than a month ago, when I was in Barnes & Noble, deciding what to get (rather, how many books I could get) with the generous gift card that Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas.

I think this was on the “Recommended Reading” shelf – Plus, the 20 percent off sticker didn’t hurt, either.

I’ve been interested in true crime stories for a long time. It’s fascinating to see stories unfold on TV – Castle, Cold Case, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and so on. But, most of the time, the stories we see on shows like these are fictionalized. Some are based on true stories, but most are created by writers.

This book initially caught my attention because of the title. I was asking myself, “Okay, what is ‘Ghettoside?’ That sounds interesting.”

The story Leovy, a reporter for The Los Angeles Times, writes is full of twists and turns. She follows John Skaggs, a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) homicide detective, as he works to solve the murder of Bryant Tenelle. Bryant was 18-years-old when he was shot in 2007. Bryant was also Wally Tennelle’s son – A LAPD detective assigned to Robbery Homicide Division (RHD).

She goes deep into some of Los Angeles’s worst areas – Watts, south of the Ten, and so on. But, she tries to dispel some stereotypes and myths along the way. She identifies several of the worst gangs in the area, and tries to figure why black men kept killing black men. It’s evident that she’s a talented researcher, as well as a writer.

I could tell, almost immediately, that this book took a long time to write. Leovy spent years on this book. Simultaneously, she was attempting to capture and track every homicide in Los Angeles County, in real time.

Ghettoside was riveting. It has a few weak points – There were a lot of characters introduced early on, and it was difficult to keep up at first. I found that I had to stop myself early several nights, because I didn’t want my brain to be overloaded, even though my brain wanted me to keep going. The timeline flipped and flopped a few times.

I felt every emotion while reading this book. Some scenes almost made me sick; Leovy is incredibly detailed. This book is not for the faint of heart. She writes graphically at times, but only to hammer home the point at hand. She wants to emphasize how awful these homicides are. She does a tremendous job of capturing emotions from the characters involved – The LAPD, the grieving families, witnesses who are terrified to testify, and even the prosecutors.

In addition, she shines a spotlight on divisions within the police department that are frustrating to many. It’s evident there’s still work to be done.

Fortunately, progress has been made. Homicide rates in the area have fallen dramatically. Leovy appears pleased and proud of the work that’s been done. She strikes a good balance of narrative and statistics – A balance that kept me reading several chapters a night.

It would be interesting to have a follow-up book several years from now, to see what’s changed.

4 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.27.16
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Book Review #25: “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just Us Girls: 101 Stories about Friendship for Women of All Ages”

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Image Credit: amazon.com

“Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.”

~George Eliot

My beautiful friend, Diana, gave me this wonderful book one Sunday at church. I couldn’t wait to start reading it!

I’ve been collecting the Chicken Soup books ever since I was in elementary school. I think I have at least 20 of them at my parents’ house!

Just Us Girls was published in 2013, and I was excited to read some new stories. I love how these books are anthologies, and feature both new writers and past ones. I even read the writer biographies at the end!

I found that I was reading through the stories so quickly, that I had to force myself to stop reading almost every night so I could get adequate sleep.

A majority of these stories featured moms struggling to find friends when they were staying at home with their child or children. I can’t identify with that right now (Not yet, but hopefully I will be able to do that), but reading their stories made me smile, and gave me hope. All the stories contain a good dose of inspiration, and definitely laughter. It was very hard to suppress my laughter some nights while Al was asleep next to me.

Receiving this book made me want to go to my parents’ house and pick up the rest of my Chicken Soup books. I can’t wait to put all of them on my big bookcase in my office, some day soon.

I sincerely think they’re aptly named – They’re delicious, heartwarming, and each volume leaves you feeling full again.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.21.16
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Book Reviews #22, #23, and #24: “The Hunger Games” Trilogy

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Image Credit: Scholastic Media Room

“One of the reasons it’s important for me to write about war is I really think that the concept of war, the specifics of war, the nature of war, the ethical ambiguities of war, are introduced too late to children. I think they can hear them, understand them, know about them, at a much younger age without being scared to death by the stories.”

~Suzanne Collins

This is the fourth book from my 2016 Reading Challenge!

I honestly can’t remember the first time I read The Hunger Games, but as soon as I did, I was hooked. I was elated that there was a trilogy, and I couldn’t wait to read all three.

My copy of The Hunger Games is in paperback, but I decided to buy Catching Fire and Mockingjay as hardbacks. I think hardbacks hold up better, in the long run.

I re-read these books for the challenge as voraciously as I had when I first bought them. I think I’ve read the entire trilogy three times now. Katniss’s story just grabs you by the collar and pulls you in within the first few pages.

While preparing this review, I realized that I made a comparison to this trilogy in my book review on the “Divergent” trilogy, published nearly two years ago:

It’s interesting to see how young adult (YA) literature has had its trends over the years. Even more fascinating is how similar The Hunger Games and Divergent are, in terms of structure.

Like the Divergent trilogy, I planned to break down this review into the three books. Here we go!

The Hunger Games

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Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org

Like I said earlier, Katniss and her story instantly grabbed me by the collar and pulled me into the world of Panem and its districts. It made me think of war zones, and some of American history. How divided some of our countries are, and how divided our own United States appear to be, too.

Reading her story made me think of courage, honor, family, love, and bravery. I was absolutely appalled at The Hunger Games and how long they had gone on, and how brutal people could be, but at the end, I was left wanting more.

5 out of 5 stars.

Catching Fire

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Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org

Picking up at what feels like the moment that The Hunger Games ended, Catching Fire held on to me and never let me go. It was an adrenaline rush the whole time.

This is the one that I powered through the fastest because the story would not let my mind stop to put it down.I detected political waves during the first book, and it became abundantly clear here. We follow Katniss through more tribulations and tragedies than triumphs, but I’ll take it. Like the first book, I couldn’t wait to start the third after finishing this one. Collins has that power that leaves you desperate to find out what happens next.

5 out of 5 stars.

Mockingjay

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Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org

I’ll admit, the first time I read this book, I absolutely hated it. It was really hard to force myself to get to the end.

The second time through – It was a little easier. I started to understand how important this book was to the overall story. It still wasn’t my favorite book,  and it took longer to read than the other two, but I started to appreciate it more.

This most recent time – I couldn’t put it down. I think part of it is because I started Mockingjay immediately after finishing Catching Fire. I didn’t realize how much of a difference that made until now. The way Collins writes, by the end of Catching Fire, I just couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen to Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and President Snow, among others. There is quite a myriad of characters to keep up with by the time you reach this book, but I think  Collins does a great job of keeping the characters straight. I also appreciated that the narrator was consistent throughout the trilogy, and I didn’t have to deal with multiple narrators.

At the very end, I felt sad. Not because of the book’s ending, but that my journey with the books was actually over. It’s a captivating story, one that Collins created beautifully, with great attention to detail. I felt immersed in the world the entire time. It was hard to get back to reality.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

One more note: I don’t normally do this, but I think this next part is worth mentioning.

I had read all three books once when the movies began to be released. When we first saw The Hunger Games in 2012, I was blown away at how well they had adapted the books to the silver screen. It’s certainly not an easy task to do so, since other book-to-movie adaptations have been criticized. But, I think this trilogy was nearly perfect for movie adaptations, and I think the filmmakers did a great job in doing so. I wasn’t happy that they divided Mockingjay into two parts, and made us wait a WHOLE FREAKING YEAR for Part 2. However, I think it was worth it.

I usually sit and watch them when they come on TV. Plus, these movies made me fall in love with Jennifer Lawrence. I told Al recently that I can totally see why they picked her – She’s a nearly flawless choice.

I highly recommend both!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.16.16
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Book Review #21: “The Sky’s The Limit: My Journey with Maryellen”

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Image Credit: amazon.com

“By choosing our path, we choose our destination.”

~Thomas S. Monson

If you haven’t already, I recommend checking out my previous Maryellen book reviews before reading this one:

In 2014, when American Girl first announced the relaunch of their historical characters into the BeForever line, I was skeptical of their revamping of the books. For nearly 20 years, I was used to each historical character having six books that make up their story, set over roughly the course of a year in their life.

Now, they’ve condensed the shorter six books into three longer books.It still covers roughly a year in their life, and the number of pages are pretty close between the two.

The main difference is the third book in each collection is a choose-your-own-adventure style, where girls of today dive right into the historical girl’s world.

Although immensely skeptical, I was also immediately intrigued. I wanted to read them!

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Maryellen’s stories are the first complete collection in the new format that I have completed. I’m planning to do the same with Melody soon – See Book Review #13 and Book Review #14 for more!

Going in, I knew the story started with a girl of today being transported into Maryellen’s world because of the sneak peeks in the previous books.

To my surprise, I found that you can read this book without necessarily having to have read the others, which is neat. But, I appreciated having read the three others first. Actually, I recommend it.

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Our modern girl is a skier from the mountains of North Carolina. Suddenly, with the watch she wins from her race, she finds herself in sunny Daytona Beach. Bewildered, she meets Maryellen and her siblings. The adventure commences quickly, and soon the modern girl, and the reader, are swept up in the 1950s and carried away.

I enjoyed being able to choose my path along the way – It made me excited to see what could happen next. I appreciated the blending of both worlds as well.

The only criticism I had was there was a very small section toward the beginning of the book (just a few pages) that required you to skip several pages ahead and then go back to that part later, if you happened to choose that path. I recognized the intent of the author, but it was annoying and a bit confusing. I can see how it could be frustrating to younger readers.

However, despite that slight annoyance, it was a fantastic book. I quickly devoured the different stories and journeys in the span of one night! It’s a breezy read, and I enjoyed the style. I applaud the author, and American Girl, for this ambitious idea for their dolls. Plus, it’s a new spin on other books like this.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.15.16
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Book Review #20: “Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood”

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Image Credit: amazon.com

“I’d written Smashed not because I was ambitious and not because writing down my feelings was cathartic (it felt more like playing one’s own neurosurgeon sans anesthesia). No. I’d made a habit–and eventually a profession–of memoir because I hail from one of those families where shows of emotions are discouraged.”
― Koren Zailckas, Fury: A Memoir

Like other books that I’ve reviewed on the blog, I picked up this book in a thrift store. I can’t remember when, but I was drawn to it almost immediately.

This is one of those books that I will keep forever. I think I first read it in high school, but it’s been a good one to re-read.

Koren takes us through her journey with alcohol. She started drinking at age 14, and stopped at 23. I applaud her courage to attain sobriety!

Three words come to mind when I think of her writing: Raw, unapologetic, and real.

Reading this book in high school, I remember thinking to myself, “Well, when I go off to college, I won’t be like that. I won’t go crazy and drink a lot. I might join a sorority, but I’ll be careful.”

Oh, high school Laura Beth. You ate your words.

Let’s back up a bit. I was raised in a family that always had beer and wine in the fridge. Dad usually drank a beer every night after work. Mom enjoyed a glass of wine most nights.

I had my first sip of beer at age 10 in my parents’ kitchen. I was curious, and Dad said I could taste it. Mom was appalled. It was one sip of Natural Light, and it almost made me puke. Despite Mom getting upset, I’m glad that Dad gave me that chance, because after that I told myself I didn’t want to taste that again until I was 21. (In college, I instantly recognized the true nickname of “Nasty Light,” although most frats had it on hand because it was super cheap).

I was allowed small amounts of wine before I turned 21 in the presence of Mom / Dad. It made feel good, and I started to understand how Dad having a beer was a method of relaxation and unwinding after a hard day’s work.

When I first went off to college, alcohol was not on my personal radar. The school was/is very strict about alcohol, with a three-strike policy and education courses if violations occurred. Plus, I knew Mom and Dad were footing most of the bills, and I didn’t want to jeopardize any of that.

However, under the influence of John for three of my four college years, alcohol was involved. My university has a bit of reputation as a party school, being in a small-ish town, and a good majority of students are in sororities and fraternities.

I remember re-reading Smashed at least twice while in college, once before I joined Alpha Sigma Tau (AST), and once afterward. It was a striking experience, to say the least. Through Koren’s words, I started to realize how sororities, fraternities, and alcohol mixed and blended together.

I went to several fraternity parties during my four years in school, before and after turning 21, and before and after joining AST. (I turned 21 in August 2009, and joined AST that fall.) As I got older, however, I realized that I didn’t need alcohol to be sociable. Eventually, I started to feel immense disgust at these parties because everyone was getting drunk, wasted, and being incredibly stupid. It was unattractive. I usually remained sober so that I could keep an eye on my younger sisters and make sure no one got into serious trouble. It was embarrassing.

Throughout my college experience, I learned a few things along the way:

  • Liquor is cheap, and it’s super sweet.
  • I’m definitely a lightweight.
  • I never truly blacked out at all, but there was one sorority party where I was asked to leave (I learned later it was mainly because of the friends with me, and not me personally), and I passed out cold in my bed. I woke up 12 hours later.
  • I was the designated driver for one Saturday night for AST as a senior, and I vowed to never do it again. Seeing several of my sisters wasted was something I did not want to see.
  • I can clearly see the attraction to alcohol, and it almost makes me sick.

Now, nearly six years removed from college, I can clearly see a culture of alcohol. Not only at my university, but at most other colleges and universities across the U.S. It’s tough to swallow.

Sure, going away to college is a rite of passage, and alcohol is usually involved at some point for nearly every student.

However, I don’t like the idea of getting drunk. To me, it’s sloppy and irresponsible. Also, too many innocent people get hurt or die every day because of drunk or intoxicated drivers.

I do drink, but only occasionally. Alcohol is expensive, and I rarely justify having it in our house. Al doesn’t drink, and that’s been a great thing for me. I usually indulge during parties or social events, but I always have Al drive. If I do drink, I make sure that I eat plenty of food and have water with me. Alcohol does relax me, but I believe that I know my limits.

I like certain beers and usually don’t discriminate with wine, but I stay clear (run away almost) from the liquor and mixed drinks – Too many painful college memories. Plus, it’s too sweet for me.

Reading Koren’s words at age 28 was also a different experience. I’m glad that I’ve read this book multiple times. It’s made me reflect on different aspects of my life, and how I’m grateful that my own drinking has never truly spiraled out of control. However, I’m glad that Koren had the courage to write this book, tell her story, and help others. I’m glad that she has achieved sobriety, and that she is a successful writer.

Koren’s memoir is one that will always be relevant to me, even though it was published 10 years ago. She’s a gifted writer, and I look forward to reading Fury: A Memoir some day soon.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

10.24.16
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Book Review #19: “Go Set A Watchman”

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Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org

“Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends.”
― Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchman

This is the third book from my 2016 Reading Challenge!

I bought this book almost immediately after it was published.

To Kill A Mockingbird is near the top of my all-time favorite books – One that I re-read almost every year. When this manuscript was discovered and then published, I knew I needed to get my own copy.

I was immediately attracted to the cover. It’s gorgeous, classic, and something that I think will stand the test of time.

Please note: I will do my best to limit spoilers in this review, but this is your formal warning.

I’ll admit, I read too many articles surrounding the publication of this book in the summer of 2015 – Something I don’t normally do.

There was one significant character detail, surrounding Atticus, that was a bombshell. To me, it came completely out of left field, especially given the events from Mockingbird.

It’s so significant, that I choose to not reveal it here.

However, after I bought the book, I tried to shelve that bombshell and read it with an open mind.

It took me over a year to sit down and read it, but better late than never.

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Go Set A Watchman reintroduces the characters of Atticus, Calpurnia, Hank, and Scout, now referred to as Jean Louise Finch. Lee takes us along for the ride with Jean Louise, as she travels from New York to her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama. She visits for two weeks every year.

I could see how the passage of years had changed everyone, and not necessarily for the better.

I was immediately immersed in Jean Louise’s world. She’s 26 now, and I saw the image of Scout fading and her womanly image forming throughout the book.

Having always enjoyed historical fiction, I appreciated Lee’s take on a typical Southern town, struggling to accommodate the black community and start to accept their burgeoning civil rights. The NAACP and Brown v. Board of Education are prominently mentioned, giving me the impression that the story is set after 1954.

Lee paints certain scenes so well that I felt like I was right there, listening to the local gossip in the livingroom during the Coffee. I could hear the train whistle. I could almost smell the marsh when Hank and Jean Louise go for their swim at Finch’s Landing.

At first, I sympathized with Jean Louise. She’s grappling with visiting her hometown that is struggling with so much change, while trying to keep her wits about her. The same condition that killed her mother has now killed her brother, Jem. She is horrified by her father’s actions at a Citizens’ Council meeting in town. She begins to lose her faith in everything that she thought she knew.

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Most of the time, I wanted to keep turning the pages. It’s definitely a dramatic novel, exploring Jean Louise’s actions and reactions to her hometown and all the changes around her. She’s changing as a woman, as a daughter, and as a friend, plus trying to adapt to the world that is in flux.

However, toward the last section, it felt like Jean Louise’s two weeks in Maycomb were more like two years. There was so much dialogue, along with multiple large chunks of inner monologue and stream-of-consciousness, that got very muddy and tough to wade through.

To make sure I was following along correctly, there were several times where I had to pause and re-read some lengthy passages, and I didn’t appreciate that at all.

Also, there were several instances where the speaker or character wasn’t clear, and I had to review the previous passage or even the whole page of text to see who was being referenced. It was immensely annoying, frustrating, and made my head hurt. I kept reminding myself that the main focus of the novel is on Jean Louise, but, as a reader, it’s no fun having to try to figure out the character from page to page.

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Overall, Go Set A Watchman is a decent sequel to a landmark novel such as Mockingbird. It clearly illustrates the struggles of the time, and how a 26-year-old woman would potentially adapt to so many changes in a short time period.

It has several excellent qualities – Love, family, friendship, morals, and balancing acceptance. I believe it accurately portrays the attitudes of those white, and black, of the time period, in the troubled South. It was an intriguing novelization of the deep South that made me consider how I would react if I had been in Jean Louise’s shoes.

However, it felt about 75 pages too long. Lee could have done without multiple pages of Jean Louise’s murky thoughts and memories. By the end, some of her outbursts and interactions with others appeared overly dramatic, immature, and frustrating. It was almost too heavy with her characterization, and I found myself wanting more of other characters, particularly Atticus, Hank, and even Calpurnia.

It’s a decent addition to my bookshelf, but not one that I will constantly praise and applaud for years to come.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

09.03.16
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Book Review #18: “The Finders Keepers Rule: A Maryellen Mystery”

Maryellen Mystery - amazon

Image Credit: amazon.com

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates loot on Treasure Island.”

~Walt Disney

After reading the first two volumes in Maryellen Larkin’s collection, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her mystery book.

If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading my first two posts before moving forward with this one:

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Maryellen’s story continues in December 1955. Daytona Beach is busy preparing for its annual dance, and excitement is in the air.

I could almost hear “Rock Around The Clock” in my ears throughout the book. The music of the fifties is amazing!

As Maryellen practices dance steps with her sister Carolyn, and Davy practices football plays, there’s more excitement along the shore. There’s several secrets, a mysterious ring, and a sense of treasure afoot!

This book gripped me by the shirt collar and never let go. I couldn’t put it down! For being a book meant for ages 8 and up, it almost felt like a classic Nancy Drew mystery. There were twists, turns, a bit of danger, and several suspects!

I was happy to see a spotlight on several other characters: Maryellen’s sister Joan, Joan’s new husband, Jerry; and more of Davy.

Once again, this standalone novel proves that 10-year-old kids are just as smart and clever as adults. I was actually sad to get to the end!

If you like the thrill of discovering treasure, history, and a bit of suspense, I definitely recommend this book. This is a new favorite of mine!

To finish out Maryellen’s collection, I will be reading The Sky’s The Limit: My Journey with Maryellen (Choose-your-own-adventure). I hope to have that review published very soon!

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.16.16
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Book Review #17: “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child”

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Image Credit: amazon.com

“Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.”

~J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

After quite a bit of skepticism, I bit the bullet and purchased a copy of my own on Monday, August 8th. I took the day off from work to celebrate my birthday. My first stop when I arrived at MacArthur Mall in Norfolk was the massive Barnes & Noble.

The first chance I got to really start reading was on Sunday, August 14th. I needed to put my feet up for a while after cleaning the house from top to bottom, in preparation for having family over for the first time for a real meal!

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I took a photo of the cover, posted that to Facebook, and promptly dove in.

About 45 minutes later, I had to resurface (with great reluctance!) to the real world to make the final preps for our guests, but in that short period of time, I had already flown through 135 pages. At that point, I was almost at the end of Act II.

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Yesterday, Monday, August 15th, I desperately wanted to make more headway after a very long day at work.

After dinner, by the time 8:00 p.m. rolled around last night, I was finished.

I was astonished.

I had plowed through all 308 pages, all four acts, in a little over two hours.

As I called out to Al that I was finished, I was stunned.

He sat down on the living room couch, looked at me, and said, “How was it?”

Okay. You’ve made it this far.

SPOILER ALERT!

If you haven’t yet read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, I would strongly advise / encourage you to scroll down, until you reach the place where I indicate the spoilers have ended.

Look for an image of a wand.

Okay?

Here we go!

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—

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I didn’t dislike it.

I certainly didn’t hate it!

I was shocked at how fast I read through it.

But, it is a script. It’s not a novel.

I liked how the writers formed the script. I was very happy that the story continued, virtually seamlessly, from the end of Deathly Hallows.

As I started, I found myself overcome with memories – Memories of first reading the books. Memories of seeing the movies.

I was transported to those magical worlds again, and they didn’t let me go. I couldn’t put it down. Despite several challenges and objections to plot points, I wanted to keep reading, to find out everything that was going on.

—

My only true preconception going into this experience was I thought I had figured out who “The Cursed Child” was.

I originally thought it was one of Harry and Ginny’s children, or possibly Ron and Hermoine’s child, Rose.

Boy, was I mistaken.

I wasn’t fully expecting Voldemort to return, let alone for Delphi to be his DAUGHTER.

But it was a wonderful mistake, in a way. It made the magic even more magical, if that’s such a thing.

—

In attempting to vocalize my feelings with Al, almost immediately after reading “The End,” I didn’t quite know how I felt about all of this.

Thinking about it in a broad sense, I enjoyed the story. Overall, I liked what they did with it.

I’m very glad it wasn’t just Rowling who was involved.

It had similar amounts of action, dialogue, drama, tragedy, and happiness as the previous stories.

That said, it was not one of Rowling’s novels. That was actually refreshing. It was nice to fly through a script so quickly, rather than sometimes being buried in detail-laden chapters that seem to never end.

I appreciated the attention given to the characters, both old and new. I was very pleased, and surprised, that Scorpius Malfoy was featured as a central character. As much as I hated Draco’s character in the earlier books and movies, I was happy that Scorpius, Draco, and Astoria were so prominent in this story.

The twists and turns were fun, although frustrating at times. Facing dark and light were expected, and the writers certainly delivered.

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My main complaint with the script was attempting to keep up with all the flashbacks, and dream sequences, and time-turning. It seemed constant. It was tough to keep up.

There were multiple instances where I had to slow down, re-read several passages, and find my footing again before continuing. It happened more than I would have liked, and it got annoying very quickly.

However, I appreciated that each scene had its appropriate header. If I ever got truly confused, I had that ability to turn back a few pages and find my footing with the scene heading. I didn’t like that, though.

I wasn’t thrilled with the idea that Albus and Scorpius were hell-bent, determined to save Cedric with the Time-Turner. But, that’s what happens when two kids get ideas in their heads that they think are good and brilliant. However, I liked, toward the end, when the two of them admitted that those ideas were absolutely ridiculous.

—

I felt sad when I closed the book, but I also felt feelings of warmth and happiness.

As I pictured the last scene in my head, the story just ended. But, remembering that it’s a script, and being performed as a play, I appreciated the image of Harry and Albus, together, remembering Cedric.

Part of me wants more stories in the future, but part of me is also satisfied with this script. It was a sunset ending. It was tough to swallow at first, but stories like this can’t always be carried on for forever.

In terms of waiting so many years for this script to be released, it feels a bit lacking. However, with that said, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, and I was skeptical from the time that the announcement was made – Despite being a huge fan of the original books.

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SPOILERS END.

Merchandise

Image Credit: universalorlando.com

—

Final Thoughts:

Overall, it was a good read.

I’m happy that I decided to ignore the skepticism and read it for myself.

It was a good story, and I’m glad it was written and shared. Part of me wants to see the play, but I’m also satisfied with having the chance to read the script.

I look forward to sharing this experience with my husband, and then my future child/children.

Once a Potter fan, always a Potter fan.

Always.

4 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.14.16
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Book Review #16: “Taking Off: A Maryellen Classic 2”

Maryellen - amazon

Image Credit: amazon.com

“The fifties – they seem to have taken place on a sunny afternoon that asked nothing of you except a drifting belief in the moment and its power to satisfy.”

~Elizabeth Hardwick

If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading my post titled Book Review #15: “The One and Only: A Maryellen Classic” before diving into this one.

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Maryellen’s story continues as she prepares to celebrate her tenth birthday in 1955.

Three weeks before her birthday, a historic day emerges. Around the world, it’s broadcast that Dr. Jonas Salk has perfected a safe and effective vaccine for polio.

This is significant, since it was mentioned previously that Maryellen suffered from the illness during the Polio Epidemic of 1952. Fortunately, she only has two long-lasting effects – One slightly weaker leg and sensitive lungs.

As spring begins to change into summer, Maryellen experiences a bit of fame and those effects, both good and bad. She learns several lessons along the way, about fame, attention, bragging, and friendship.

Shortly before summer vacation starts, Dad brings home a silver spaceship of a surprise – The 1955 Airstream trailer. The whole family goes West and explores much of the American landscape. Maryellen gets caught in the middle of gathering ideas for a science contest, the dog getting loose, figuring out whether or not her sister Joan really wants to get married, and more.

One of Maryellen’s excellent traits is coming up with great, practical ideas, especially in times of adversity. Because of this, she’s able to help her mother, father, sister Joan, and unites her girl friends and boy friends together to form an amazing science contest team.

The two stories blend very well together. They transported me from my home in Virginia straight to Daytona Beach, the Alamo, Old Faithful, and back to Daytona Beach. I could visualize everything, and almost smell certain smells.

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In the future, I plan to explore the two other books in the Maryellen collection: The Sky’s The Limit: My Journey with Maryellen (Choose-your-own-adventure), and The Finders-Keepers Rule (Historical Character Mystery).

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

08.11.16
by

Book Review #15: “The One and Only: A Maryellen Classic”

American Girl Maryellen - amazon

Image Credit: amazon.com

“I’m drawn to the 1950s for lots of reasons – everything from the fashion to the increasing sense of freedom and modernity that builds throughout the decade.”

~Sara Sheridan

I couldn’t agree more with Sara’s quote above.

I was so excited when Maryellen Larkin was announced as the first BeForever exclusive character in the spring of 2015. I loved the cover of this book immediately. Her outfit is on point, and the stories were set in Florida. Sign me up!

I was slightly disappointed when I learned the setting was Daytona Beach (I have significant bias toward Miami, and the Gulf Coast – St. Petersburg, etc.), but nonetheless, I knew I wanted to read the books.

As mentioned in my book reviews about Melody Ellison recently, I’m deeply attracted to the time period of the 20th century between The Great Depression and the end of the 1970s.

Maryellen’s first book immerses you in a world where Maryellen, or Ellie, is trying to find her place in a huge family – One of six children!

That wasn’t unusual in the 1950s, which the author explains brilliantly at the end of the book, with the time of optimism, a stronger economy, and the baby boom.

Although the book carries quite a sunny disposition throughout, there’s always some conflict or issues sprinkled in. This one addresses the ending of World War II, the Cold War, and scenarios around friendship, bullying, and prejudice.

Maryellen’s character had me laughing, as well as shaking my head. Being stuck in the middle between two older sisters and then a younger sister and two younger brothers, it’s natural she would feel a bit underappreciated and vying for her parents’ attention and being in good graces with her siblings. As an only child, this is something that I did not have to deal with growing up!

Despite several missteps and misadventures along the way, Maryellen is bright, determined, and compassionate. There’s a new girl at the start of school, and Maryellen decides to be the bigger person and show compassion toward her, when her other friends tend to be stuck in the past.

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The first story wraps up around Christmastime, which had a strange effect on me. It was a good ending, but closing the book made my mind instantly flood with memories.

I thought of my childhood Christmases that were divided between Virginia and Florida.

I thought of the times and memories with my grandparents.

My dad’s dad is still alive, still doing well at 90. I want to go visit him again, very soon.

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So many memories.

I’m very excited to start reading volume 2 – The sneak peek promises several surprises!

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂