mrs_a_is_a_book_nerd's reviews
456 reviews

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

5.0

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

4.0

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

4.0

This book was unique in its narrative style and very engaging in its storyline. I struggled a little with the shifting back and forth between characters and time frames, but the characters were multi-dimensional and dynamic enough, and the plotline engaging enough, that it was worth flipping back and forth to re-orient myself periodically.

All that said, while I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I found myself wondering what made it worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. It was a very enjoyable book, and certainly offered interesting perspectives on an historical era I enjoy reading in, but other titles like The Book Thief, and --in other genres--A Thousand Splendid Suns or And the Mountains Echoed--were superior in craft and impact.

It's definitely a worthy read, and one I will recommend to others.

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

3.0

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

5.0

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

4.0

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

5.0

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

4.0

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

4.0

I am a white woman, and this book was not written for me, necessarily. It is an unapologetic rendering from a black man to his son of what it means to be a black male in the US. As such, this was a challenging read for me, and I had to read in small portions, to allow my mind to wrap around the ideas. Still, it was an important, a humbling, an enlightening, and a shameful experience for me to read it. It makes me question whether there was ever something admirable and valiant in the Dream of America, or if it has always been a string of power and abuse of power to retain it.

The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck

5.0