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The Liberation of the Camps: The End of the Holocaust and Its Aftermath
History
Yale University Press
2015-04-21
288
Seventy years have passed since the tortured inmates of Hitler’s concentration and extermination camps were liberated. When the horror of the atrocities came fully to light, it was easy for others to imagine the joyful relief of freed prisoners. Yet for those who had survived the unimaginable, the experience of liberation was a slow, grueling journey back to life. In this unprecedented inquiry into the days, months, and years following the arrival of Allied forces at the Nazi camps, a foremost historian of the Holocaust draws on archival sources and especially on eyewitness testimonies to reveal the complex challenges liberated victims faced and the daunting tasks their liberators undertook to help them reclaim their shattered lives.
Historian Dan Stone focuses on the survivors—their feelings of guilt, exhaustion, fear, shame for having survived, and devastating grief for lost family members; their immense medical problems; and their later demands to be released from Displaced Persons camps and resettled in countries of their own choosing. Stone also tracks the efforts of British, American, Canadian, and Russian liberators as they contended with survivors’ immediate needs, then grappled with longer-term issues that shaped the postwar world and ushered in the first chill of the Cold War years ahead.
Review:
“The Liberation of the Camps” is a book that manages to make itself unique in a history genre that can feel a bit crowded at times.
What sets the book apart is the liberal use of primary sources from a variety of different situations that occurred after liberation. Many of them, including the fact that many Survivors were kept in the camp for a long period after the actual liberation, are unknown to many people. It’s a very comprehensive resource for those with an interest in Holocaust history.
The one major flaw is that it can be dry at times. It’s definitely by an academic and meant for those with a scholarly interest in the Holocaust, but even by those standards it can be dry. I have a degree in history, so feel like I have seen both sides of the “dry history” spectrum. This one is not awful, simply dry in the medium range on the spectrum. Not enough to be boring, but not something to be consumed in large doses.
Overall, the content and primary sources make “The Liberation of the Camps” worth the time for those with an academic interest in the Holocaust. However, for anyone else it would probably be a bit of a bore. Four stars are given for the wealth of information provided, not the writing itself.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
As this is an adult and non-fiction title, there are no content warnings.
The Wicked Will Rise
The Wicked Will Rise
Dorothy Must Die, Book 2
HarperCollins
May 31, 2015
Hardcover
304
In this sequel to the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die, who is good—and who is actually Wicked?
My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
After a tornado swept through my trailer park, I ended up in Oz.
But it wasn't like the Oz I knew from books and movies. Dorothy had returned, but she was now a ruthless dictator. Glinda could no longer be called the Good Witch. And the Wicked Witches who were left? They'd joined forces as the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and they wanted to recruit me.
My mission?
Kill Dorothy.
Except my job as assassin didn't work out as planned. Dorothy is still alive. The Order has vanished. And the home I couldn't wait to leave behind might be in danger.
Somehow, across a twisted and divided land, I have to find the Order, protect the true ruler of Oz, take Dorothy and her henchmen down—and try to figure out what I'm really doing here.
Review:
I don’t even know where to begin with “The Wicked Will Rise”, but to give you fair warning, this review will include a lot of gushing.
Picking up immediately where “Dorothy Must Die” left off, “The Wicked Will Rise” begins with action and only allows you to catch your breath a couple of times in the entire book. Building on the Oz created by Frank L. Baum, Danielle Paige writes with an obvious love for the source material that shows through in everything addressed in both books of the series. It manages to be both totally different and familiar at once. It’s almost as though she has summoned some old magic in the process.
There are some new characters appearing in Oz in “The Wicked Will Rise”, along with the return of Amy Gumm. She’s as tough and hilarious as in the first, and the new ones can be described as wonderful in all ways. They’re true to the world of fairy tales and could easily become confused with the characters from the original Oz books.
I recommend it to everyone who loves Oz and it old enough to handle some scary things, which if we’re being honest, is exactly what real fairy tales contained in the first place. It’s a lot of fun, a quick read, and will leave you wanting the next one immediately. No sophomore slump for Danielle Paige in “The Wicked Will Rise”!
Content Warning:
Language, Mild Sexual Content, Violence, Animal Death
The Little Paris Bookshop
The Little Paris Bookshop
Crown Pub
June 23, 2015
Hardcover
400
“There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.”
Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.
After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.
Review:
A true romance about the love between people and books, “The Little Paris Bookshop” will delight anyone looking for a “literary” read.
The idea that not every book is meant for all readers, or even for a large audience, is true of this novel. If you’re looking for a fast-paced plot, this is not the book for you. To enjoy it you need to be willing to meander and to take the time to allow yourself to slowly sink into the world of Monsieur Perdu and friends. It’s a slice-of-life read with beautiful imagery and lyrical writing. Meant to be savored, do not be afraid to put it down and come back later. Some things are meant to be savored. “The Little Paris Bookshop” is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy the types of novels I’ve described, it is one of the best out there. It reminds me of “The Whistling Season” by Ivan Doig, which is an extremely high compliment.
All of the characters are wonderfully quirky and full of depth. Each has a backstory that is revealed in layers through both observations and dialogue. And the dialogue is excellent! Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, there are no wasted words. It all furthers what you know about their past in addition to giving hints to their future. I want to be friends with them and would love for “The Literary Apothecary” to be an actual place I could visit.
There is one flaw that so many good books often have: the excessive epilogue. While I enjoyed how their lives turn out, the book had a natural ending in the last chapter. A small epilogue would have been nice, but there was so much crammed in that it would have been better served, if the author felt it necessary, to have been split into a couple of actual chapters.
“The Little Paris Bookshop” is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy the types of novels I’ve described, it is one of the best out there. It’s a balm for the soul, to paraphrase Monsieur Perdu.
This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
As this is an adult novel, there are no content warnings.
The Memory Hit
The Memory Hit
Hachette Children's Books
June 4, 2015
Paperback
352
On New Year's Eve, Jess's life is unrecognizable: her best friend is in the hospital, her boyfriend is a cheater. A drug-dealing cheater it would seem, after finding a stash of Nostalgex in his bag.
Nostalgex: a drug that stimulates memory. In small doses, a person can remember the order of a deck of cards, or an entire revision guide read the day before an exam. In larger doses it allows the user detailed access to their past, almost like watching a DVD with the ability to pause a moment in time, to focus on previously unnoticed details and to see everything they've ever experienced with fresh eyes. As Leon, the local dealer, says 'it's like life, only better.' What he fails to mention is that most memories are clouded by emotions. Even the most vivid memories can look very different when visited.
Across town Sam Cooper is in trouble. Again. This time, gagged and bound in the boot of a car. Getting on the wrong side of a drug dealer is never a good idea, but if he doesn't make enough money to feed and clothe his sister, who will?
On New Year's Day, Jess and Cooper's worlds collide. They must put behind their differences and work together to look into their pasts to uncover a series of events that will lead them to know what really happened on that fateful New Year's Eve. But what they find is that everything they had once believed to be true, turns out to be a lie ...
Review:
“The Memory Hit” is an old-fashioned thriller for the young adult crowd. Think “Scream” type thrills with a drug-dealing setting.
If you’re looking for romance, “The Memory Hit” is not for you. There are some brief moments of it, mostly through memories, but that is all. One of my favorite things about the book is the fact that there is an abusive boyfriend who is not portrayed as some misunderstood hero and a girlfriend whose thoughts are shown both before and after she realizes he is abusive. Those portrayals are rare, and I like to point out any time a book treats abuse realistically and doesn’t in any way condone it.
The characters are well-developed in the way that you expect from a standalone thriller. There are strengths and weaknesses in all of them, with realistic reactions to some really terrifying things going on around them. There are several moments that had me jumping out of my seat and an overall atmosphere of general creepiness. Add in the mystery of “whodunnit” and it makes for a fun and fast read. Readers will feel thankful that nostalgex is not a real drug by the end of the story.
I recommend it to upper middle grade readers and up who enjoy a good scare and are looking for a quick read.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
Language, Very Mild Sexual Content, Violence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Denton Little’s Death Date
Denton Little's Deathdate
Knopf Books for Young Readers
April 14, 2015
Hardcover
352
Denton Little’s Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day on which they will die. For Denton, that’s in just two days—the day of his senior prom.
Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle—as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend’s hostile sister. (Though he’s not totally sure—see, first hangover.) His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton’s long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters. . . . Suddenly Denton’s life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.
Debut author Lance Rubin takes us on a fast, furious, and outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager’s life as he searches for love, meaning, answers, and (just maybe) a way to live on.
Review:
Seeing as I just finished reading “Denton Little’s Deathdate”, I can only hope that I stop laughing long enough to write a coherent review.
The plot is one of the most unusual I have read in a young adult novel, especially one meant to be funny while dealing with a guaranteed date of death. It throws in a lot of curveballs as well, and it keeps you on your toes. There isn’t really an easy way to describe it, or fit it into one genre, and it’s very possible that it managed to create its own category.
All of the characters are well-developed and act realistically. Well, as realistically as the circumstances allow. Denton is especially endearing, and the dialogue had me sounding like I was recording a sitcom laugh track. I’m pretty sure even the dogs think I’ve lost what little was left of my mind.
I highly recommend it for around eight grade and up, but only if you’ve willing to risk spontaneous urinary incontinence.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
Excessive Hilarity, Language, Sexual Situations, Violence
Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys)
Juvenile Fiction
Poppy
2015-04-14
320
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist meets Easy A in this hilariously realistic story of sneaking out, making out, and playing in a band. After catching their bandmates in a compromising position, sixteen-year-old Los Angelenos Riley and Reid become painfully aware of the romance missing from their own lives. And so a pact is formed: they'll both try to make something happen with their respective crushes and document the experiences in a shared notebook. While Reid struggles with the moral dilemma of adopting a dog to win over someone's heart, Riley tries to make progress with Ted Callahan, who she's been obsessed with forever-His floppy hair! His undeniable intelligence! But suddenly cute guys are popping up everywhere. How did she never notice them before?! With their love lives going from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye, Riley and Reid realize the results of their pact may be more than they bargained for.
Review:
“Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys)” is exactly what it intends to be and nothing more: a lighthearted romance.
The plot is very cute, though predictable, and is told through the very amusing voice of Riley. The other characters are pretty much relegated to romance novel tropes, but in this case that isn’t a bad thing. The teenagers act in a realistic manner, speak in a realistic manner, and think in the same realistic manner. In other words, in case you didn’t catch on, even though it’s predictable it is realistic, and I always respect authors who aren’t afraid to show how it really is.
I recommend “Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys)” for anyone high-school age and above who is looking for a quick, easy read that also makes you laugh.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
Language, Sexual Situations, Underage Drinking
Humber Boy B
Humber Boy B
Mystery
Legend Press
April 1, 2015
Digital
304
A child is killed after falling from the Humber Bridge. Despite fleeing the scene, two young brothers are found guilty and sent to prison. Upon their release they are granted one privilege only, their anonymity.
Probation officer Cate Austin is responsible for Humber Boy B’s reintegration into society. But the general public’s anger is steadily growing, and those around her are wondering if the
secret of his identity is one he actually deserves to keep. Cate’s loyalty is challenged when she begins to discover the truth of the crime. She must ask herself if a child is capable of premeditated murder. Or is there a greater evil at play?
Review:
As a lover of mystery, procedurals, and books that expose flaws in prison systems, I had quite a bit of hope for “Humber Boy B”. Unfortunately, what was a promising premise fell completely flat.
The plot began decently enough, but became burdensome after a while. I did enjoy the way flashbacks were intermingled, but they were the most interesting parts. By the end, several subplots had been introduced that were rather large and important, only to be left unresolved. I know this is how life works, but the author could have made them a less important part of the story and focused more on the main storyline, which most definitely needed expansion. There will be a second book in the series, but as it is written there will be no opportunity to clear up most of the loose ends. I think this bothered me the most because between the flashbacks, two different types of narration (first person and third person omnipotent), and a long length, there was no reason not to essentially finish the story being told.
Some of the characters are well-developed. Other characters are basically caricatures of mystery tropes that you get the feeling you are supposed to like but are the exact opposite of likable. On top of that, the two main characters have been developed through many perspectives and still make decisions that are completely out-of-character and unexplained. I came to downright despise the female protagonist, and considering the series will revolve around her, I can only hope the author redeems her in a major way, because there really was potential.
In short, I can’t recommend “Humber Boy B”. I wish the author the best and hope she finds her rhythm.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
This is an adult book, so there is no content warning.
The Haunting of Sunshine Girl
Sunshine Girl, Book 1
Juvenile Fiction
Weinstein Books
2015-03-24
320
Based on the wildly popular YouTube channel, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl has been described as “ Gilmore Girls meets Paranormal Activity for the new media age.” YA fans new and old will learn the secrets behind Sunshine—the adorkable girl living in a haunted house—a story that is much bigger, and runs much deeper, than even the most devoted viewer can imagine…
Review:
I have to say that “The Haunting of Sunshine Girl” is one of the most interesting horror novels I have ever read. It has an unexpected blend of ghosts, romance, teen angst, and plot.
I really enjoyed the characters and their arcs. Sunshine especially is a great and likable character who reacts to the extraordinary paranormal situations in a way that most of us would. That being disbelief quickly followed by fright. I won’t give away what else she goes through, but needless to say it isn’t something most of us would encounter. At least I hope not. I do like to sleep on occasion.
My first thoughts were this isn’t too scary, which quickly progressed to being afraid to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (which is when I was foolish enough to read a horror story), and finally ended up with “my significant other needs to read this”. That last bit is the most telling, as she is what could be called a horror connoisseur. She likes terrifying things and “The Haunting of Sunshine” fits that requirement at many points.
Oddly enough, the book can be classified as clean as long as someone is ok with paranormal violence. There is no bad language, only the vaguest of sexual references, and no drinking or drug usage. Therefore, I can easily recommend “The Haunting of Sunshine Girl” for any age provided they are comfortable with books by authors such as R.L. Stine. It’s a lot of good old-fashioned ghost story fun.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
Ghosts, Violence, All-Around Creepiness
Wicked Women
Biography & Autobiography
TwoDot
2015-01-20
224
This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West s most egregiously badly behaved female outlaws, gamblers, soiled doves, and other wicked women by award-winning Western history author Chris Enss offers a glimpse into Western Women s experience that's less sunbonnets and more six-shooters. Pulling together stories of ladies caught in the acts of mayhem, distraction, murder, and highway robbery, it will include famous names like Belle Starr and Big Nose Kate, as well as lesser known characters."
Review:
“Wicked Women” is a fun read that also includes a wealth of little-known history. It’s obviously well-researched and written from a point of love of the wild west. The stories feature a wide variety of women whose stories will have you laughing and horrified, sometimes both at the same time.
I definitely recommend “Wicked Women” for anyone with an interest in women’s history, the wild west, or even history in general. It’s an easy read that can appeal to anyone.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
As this is a book meant for an adult, there is no content warning.
The Duff
Juvenile Fiction
Poppy
2011-06-07
280
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper starts sleeping with Wesley Rush, a notorious womanizer who disgusts her, in order to distract her from her personal problems, and to her surprise, the two of them find they have a lot in common and are able to help each other find more productive ways to deal with their difficulties.
Review:
When I began reading “The Duff”, I thought I would find a somewhat typical teen romance. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case at all.
Bianca and her two best friends are inseparable, and on one of their nights out Bianca is told by the school’s resident that she is “The Duff” of her group of friends. Duff means “Designated ugly fat friend”, and along with some other major issues occurring in her life, the term completely ruins her self-esteem. The internal feelings are something most of us can relate to, both male and female. Bianca’s internal dialogue is witty and self-deprecating, revealing to the reader the things she cannot see for herself.
What really hooked me is the ultimate conclusion to her cycle of self-hatred. While I cannot elaborate without spoiling the story, I can say that it is something that every single person needs to hear, young and old, male and female. The overall message is one of empowerment and awareness. I am not ashamed to admit that part of it made me cry from the memories of my own time in high school.
I wholeheartedly recommend “The Duff” to all older high school readers. While the message is good for everyone, the content is explicit (and very realistic), making it a book best saved for when middle readers get a little older.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
Explicit Sexual Content, Language, Minor Violence, Alcohol Abuse
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