★★★☆☆ With its portrait of a stoic woman enduring terrible circumstances, Home Front is a difficult read. Just as her marriage begins falling apart, Jolene Zarkades, a mother to two girls, is deployed to active duty as a helicopter pilot in Iraq. Jolene, her husband, Michael, and their daughters are each tested in different ways while she is away and again when she returns.
Tag: book blogger
The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee
★★★★☆ This memoir gives insight into what it was like to be a young woman born and raised in North Korea and the challenges she faced after impulsively crossing the border into China as a teenager.
Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks
★★★★☆ Colby Mills takes a break from running the family farm to play a few gigs in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida. While relaxing during his working vacation, he meets Morgan Lee, and the two have a nearly instant connection. Meanwhile, in a seemingly disconnected storyline, Beverly, with her young son in tow, goes to great lengths to flee an abusive husband.
We are the Weather by Johnathan Safran Foer
★★★☆☆ We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast discusses the impact of what we eat on the climate. I came into this book believing the climate crisis is real and urgent and that large-scale changes in human behavior are our best hope in solving the challenges. This book identifies what one of those changes needs to be to reduce our negative impact on the planet.
Wildland by Rebecca Hodge
★★★★☆ When breast cancer survivor Kat Jamison finds out her cancer has returned, she heads for the hills to decide what to do next. Before she can spend much time reflecting, Kat ends up with a cabin filled with two dogs and two children, Lily and Nirav. When lightning strikes and ignites a wildfire, Kat, the children, and the animals are forced into the wilderness on foot to escape the deadly situation.
The Coworker by Freida McFadden
★★★☆☆ Dawn Schiff is an accountant at Vixed, a nutritional supplement company. While a little quirky and turtle-obsessed, she’s a reliable employee. One day, the always-punctual Dawn doesn’t show up for work.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
★★★☆☆ This book was complete fluff and escapism wrapped in a brainy package. The action starts when Stanford Ph.D. Candidate Olive Smith randomly kisses Professor Adam Carlsen in the hallway to convince her friend Anh that she is dating someone.
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
★★★☆☆ Radical Candor by Kim Scott says most behavior by bosses falls into one of four quadrants: ruinous empathy, radical candor, manipulative insincerity, or obnoxious aggression.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
★★★★★ A book that pays homage to Little Women and references Michael Jordan. Yes, please! Hello Beautiful is a well-told family saga about the relationship between the four Padavano sisters and William Waters, a young man haunted by his upbringing.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
★★★★★ With its message of gratitude and reciprocating gifts, Braiding Sweetgrass was an excellent choice to read during the Thanksgiving season. Using the braiding metaphor, the author, trained as a botanist, weaves scientific, environmental, cultural, and spiritual knowledge to teach readers a different way of seeing the world.