#43: In Case of Emergency

In Case of Emergency for Courtney Moreno was one of the books from my McSweeney Book Club.  It's about a girl named Piper who is trying to become an EMT.  She starts on the shift and doesn't fit in right away, but tries her best to do good at this job.  Along with starting to be an EMT, who also learn other details about Piper's life such as her love history, parents' separation, brother's love, etc.  Piper starts a new love interest with someone who has some of the same social issues as Piper.  It was interesting to learn about medical terminology and the things EMTs and other rescue crews deal with.  It is understandable that Piper would have trouble sleeping while dealing with this job.  I could barely sleep just reading her story.  Other all, it was a pretty good story for Moreno's first novel.

Up Next:  Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

#42: Uncharted

I just finished Uncharted by Angela Hunt.  I have difficulties in deciding whether or not I like this book.  It's the story of 5 friends from college who get stranded on an island with little hope of rescue.  I do want to say that I got sucked in by the characters and wanted to see what would happen, but I don't feel the writing was the best.  Spoilers ahead....

The friends end up on the island after another college friend dies in a car accident.  At the funeral the man's wife asks the 5 friends to go to the Marshall Islands with one of the college professors to help build a school that he was planning to build.  On the way to the Marshall Islands, the friends all decide to take a boat over to the islands instead of waiting for a plane due to bad weather.  They shipwreck and the Captain, his son, and the professor don't make it to the island.  Once on the island weird things start happening.

On the back of the book, it says this story is comparable to Lost.  I would say it is a little like Lost based on the ending, but no where near as exciting as Lost.  I was really disappointed in the ending.  I understand the basic message, but have lots of questions.  Sometimes "religious" themed books just have you questioning more at the end than you did at the beginning.

Up Next:  In Case of Emergency by Courtney Moreno

#41: A Thousand Acres

I finished A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.  This was the YMCA book club for this month and I finally got to go to a meeting again.  :) 

I have never read King Lear, but another book club member said it is very similar to the story of King Lear.  This is the story of 3 daughters of a farmer and the dad giving the farm signing the farm over to his daughters and their husbands.

This book took me a while to get into.  It felt really slow.  Once the Jess Clark character came around, I knew some excitement would be added.  I also liked that I could pick out a lot of the names, cities, and locations since the book takes place in Iowa.  In the beginning I felt sorry for Ginny and really wanted happiness for her, but after the Jess incident, I could only feel sorry for Ty.  Things got out of hand really quickly in the book and just started getting worse and worse. 

It's hard to talk about the book without giving anything that happens away.  Things just kept getting worse and it made me so angry.  I just wanted something good to happen, but nothing did.  Overall though, I really liked the book and was glad to read an Iowa book/author.

Now I kind of want to read King Lear....

Up Next:  Uncharted or In Case of Emergencies

#40: 'Til the Well Runs Dry

'Til the Well Runs Dry by Lauren Francis-Sharma was on the new books shelf at the library.  I hadn't heard of it before, but for some reason was drawn to it.

The beginning of the book had me interested, but I somehow got distracted a little ways in.  Once I got about 100 pages in, I was really interested again. 

It's the story of Marcia Garcia of Trinidad and Tabago.  She is a seamstress who meets an Indian man named Farouk Karam.  They "fall in love" and have children.  From the beginning of their relationship, the entire world seems to be against them.  Marcia has always had a bad life, but when she meets Farouk, her two boys are taken from her.  Farouk begins to have bad luck as well.

The book covers the story of hardship that they face through their lives together and apart.  Lots of sadness and trials of learning what is really important in life.

Some parts of the book I loved and some I didn't.  Overall it was a pretty good story, but things didn't end the way I would have liked.

Up Next:  A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley