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mrs_a_is_a_book_nerd's reviews
456 reviews
Fascinating, beautifully written fictional tale of a true scandal and an infamous woman named Georgia Tann, who stole hundreds of infants and children from the 1920s to 1950 and adopted them out to wealthy families for exorbitant fees. It is told alternately between 12-year-old Rill, who is stolen with her brother and sisters in 1939, and modern-day Avery, who discovers her privileged, political family has connections to a secret past none of them could have imagined.
Wren is a train wreck. She's out of control: in with the wrong people, using pot and alcohol, stealing, delivering heroine, and destroying her family and her life. So her parents turn to a last-resort solution: a survival rehab camp in the middle of the desert. She's collected by surprise from her bed in the middle of the night, escorted across the country, and finally deposited with a group of other campers and counselors in the desert. Instead of tents, they have tarps and cording; there are no matches--she'll have to learn to make fire by friction; there's no latrine, unless you count the hole the campers have dug in the ground; in short, she has to learn to do everything for herself--the hard way--to survive the desert conditions, endure the hikes between campsites, and face down the truth about her actions and who's to blame for them.
Beautifully written, I enjoyed Wild Bird to the very last page.
Beautifully written, I enjoyed Wild Bird to the very last page.
I was hoping for this to be an "Ove," but it really isn't-- at least not to the point where I quit. The story moves as slowly as one would imagine Harold walking. I'm still curious about what would inspire Harold to try to walk 600 miles for Queenie Hennessey... just not curious enough to keep reading.
Wow. Just wow. This YA page-turner was a fascinating read accompanying Mickey Catalan in her journey from promising star softball catcher to patient desperate to recover from a potentially-sport-ending car crash, and the slow decline from using Oxy prescribed to her, to Oxy prescribed to others, and finally to heroin. This novel made it easy to see why opioid addiction has blown up in this country, and why we need to get a handle on it. Read this book.
Straight poetry is not one of my genres. This tells a story, of sorts, much like a photo album full of snapshots does. There are moments of gorgeous verbal beauty and raw, honest pain. Those who love poetry and narrative/memoir will likely appreciate this book.
Rash was clever, inventive... I laughed out loud in parts... There were elements I saw as allegorical/satirical... Still, for the most part, the book lacked forward motion for me. There was little "what's gonna happen next" factor for me...at least none that I really cared about. I'd hand it to a student with a dry sense of humor, who maybe likes running or football...
Loved this book--adventure, survival, mystery, a bit of romance, cool Pandora creatures...can't wait to read #2!
3.5 This was a decent mystery, though there were a few disjointed parts. It's in the family of One of Us is Lying by McManus, but not as good.
This book was disturbing, enlightening, overwhelming, and unbelievable. I'm really grateful for the understandings I gained from this, and many chapters warrant a second read to digest.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The multi-narrator pov made for interesting suspense points. I can't decide if this is more a YA book or general fiction, but I think a wide variety of readers will enjoy it because the narrators are diverse.