Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

First line of the book: 

"LOG ENTRY: SOL 6
I'm pretty much fucked."

Last line of the book: 
"This is the happiest day of my life."

Message/point of the book: Mars is not for humans, survive no matter what, humor works wonders for your mental state, science is cool, and potatoes get really boring when you eat them all day every single day.

I was happy I had the book with additional info. in the back for reading groups, interview with the author, and a note from the author. I can see why they made this into a movie, it is suspenseful and fun to read!

And so it goes...

Book Review: Defending Jacob by William Landay

Fiction. I read this novel because it was on the list for CLPL fiction book club last year (April 2014), and I could not go to it, so I was catching up.  I read it in January 2015.  This would be a good one for people who like crime novels that do not have too much gore, with a bit of mystery and thriller tossed in with the questions of how far parents will go to believe their children no matter what, and to defend them no matter what they find out.

The family in the novel consists of the father and attorney Andy Barber, his wife Laurie, and their son Jacob who is accused of stabbing another boy in a park.  There is much back and forth in this book on whether or not Jacob did it, if his parents believe him, if the court will believe him, and whether or not we as the reader, following along with Andy narrating to us, believe in Jacob's innocence or not.  At one point there seems to be a candidate who is more likely than Andy to have committed the crime (a pedophile in the neighborhood), but I constantly wavered back and forth right along with the narrator.

Like any review of a suspenseful book, one struggles with what to include and what not to include, so I will say it is worth the read, especially if you like court related drama, and I will say it has a humdinger of an ending, one I did not see coming at all.

And so it goes...

Book Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Fiction.  I read this because it is on the CLPL fiction book club list (November 2015) and I was catching up on the ones I cannot go to in-person.  This one is a little different than your average book, it has a touch of fairy tale to it, and requires a nice suspension of disbelief, but it is worth it.

A couple (Jack and Mabel) who live out in the Alaskan wilderness in 1920, and who are childless, decide one night to have some fun after another day of hard living, and create a snowman, rather a snow child.  The next day the sculpture in snow is gone, but Mabel soon starts to see a beautiful young girl scampering around out in the woods accompanied by a red fox.  Eventually the two start to talk, and Mabel comes to learn the girl calls herself Faina, and she seems to survive out in the harsh Alaskan winter all by herself.

I don't want to say too much and ruin it, but the girl starts to come by for dinners, she is always too hot inside the cabin when she is out of the snow, you do eventually learn something about her father, and one day there is something involving a marriage and another child.

I recommend this if you like watching shows and hearing about Alaska, if you like folk tales and fairy tales that are updated to more modern times and places, and if you want a little magic with your novel.  It is an intriguing but lighthearted read.

And so it goes...

Book Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Novel.  Historical Fiction.  I read this one because it is on the fiction book club list for CLPL (January 2015) and I was once again catching up with the works for the meetings I cannot attend due to my teaching schedule.  This one is a double-story, following the lives of a contemporary young girl named Molly Ayer who has been in and out of the child welfare system, and Vivian Daly who was once one of the children put on one of the orphan trains that sent children out to the Midwest to be "adopted."

I really enjoyed this book and learned quite a bit about these orphan trains, which I had previously no knowledge regarding them.  The general idea was to take abandoned or orphaned children from large cities like New York, and ship them out on these trains to the Midwest, where they could be adopted by farming families who could use the extra help.  They thought it would solve the problem of getting large numbers of immigrant children off the streets, and at the same time provide free labor to the farming families to grow food that was desperately needed in the U.S. at that time.

Vivian's story is sad and tragic, with her becoming a free labor seamstress with little food, for a couple who literally lock the refrigerator and make her sleep on the floor.  Somehow she endures and makes a life for herself, eventually as an adult in Maine, where she helps Molly serve her court time by doing little bits and pieces of things around her house, such as cleaning out the attic.  The two connect on a sincere human level, and the two stories unfold over time as you read through the novel.

I highly recommend this work, it is one of the more touching and eye-opening pieces that I have read in a long time.  You will learn about the strength of these children, the enduring human spirit, and how these two people connect to each other in a world that is often unjust.

And so it goes...