book review

Book Review: The Glitch

Coreena

The Glitch

Shelley Stone might be a little overwhelmed. She runs the company Conch, the manufacturer of a small wearable device that attaches to the user’s ear and whispers helpful advice and prompts. She’s married with two small children, Nova and Blazer, both of whom are learning Mandarin. She employs a cook, a nanny, a driver, and an assistant, she sets an alarm for 2AM conference calls, and occasionally takes a standing nap while waiting in line when she’s really exhausted. Shelley takes Dramamine so she can work in the car; allows herself ten almonds when hungry; swallows Ativan to stave off the panic attacks; and makes notes in her day planner to “practice being happy and relatable.” But when Shelley meets a young woman named Shelley Stone who has the exact same scar on her shoulder, Shelley has to wonder: Is some sort of corporate espionage afoot? Has she discovered a hole in the space-time continuum? Or is she finally buckling under all the pressure?

Introducing one of the most memorable and singular characters in recent fiction,The Glitch is a completely original, brainy, laugh-out-loud story of work, marriage, and motherhood for our times.

Review:

I enjoyed reading this book — it was funny and there were some great lines and observations — but it also felt a bit repetitive and there was something a bit lacking, maybe in the ending.
Shelley Stone is a high powered executive who just doesn’t get social situations and expectations. Work and achievement consume her, to the point where it’s a detriment to her life. I liked it when she met the “younger version” of herself and wish there was more of that.
It is amusing to watch this extreme character make her way through life as a commentary on current social norms. As such, The Glitch is a funny and lighthearted book that’s easy to read.
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Book Review: Zero Sum Game

Coreena

Zero Sum Game (Russell’s Attic #1)

Deadly. Mercenary. Superhuman. Not your ordinary math geek.

Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good.

The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight. She can take any job for the right price and shoot anyone who gets in her way.

As far as she knows, she’s the only person around with a superpower . . . but then Cas discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people’s minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world’s puppet master.

Someone who’s already warped Cas’s thoughts once before, with her none the wiser.

Cas should run. Going up against a psychic with a god complex isn’t exactly a rational move, and saving the world from a power-hungry telepath isn’t her responsibility. But she isn’t about to let anyone get away with violating her brain — and besides, she’s got a small arsenal and some deadly mathematics on her side. There’s only one problem . . .

She doesn’t know which of her thoughts are her own anymore.

Review:

This was such a fun book to read. I absolutely loved the protagonist, Cas — she’s a salty mercenary with a odd moral code, who is also freakishly good at math. Superhero good at math.  It was so much fun to read the scenes where she uses her mad math skills to take down those who were after her. And, even though she is a standoffish, antihero type of character, I still really liked her and wanted to know what she was up to next.
What also makes this a good book are the supporting characters — I cared about them as well and wanted to see how their story lines would work out. They were all so different and brought out various traits in Cas.
Overall, this is an exciting, fast paced read with a strong and smart heroine who is not above making mistakes. It certainly kept me turning the pages. I can’t wait to read the next book and learn more about her backstory.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book on NetGalley for an honest review.
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Book Review: The Hate U Give

Coreena

The Hate U Give

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Review:

I bought this for my daughter because I had heard about it. She raced through it, said it was one of her favourite books ever and handed it to me to read.
Wow.
This is such a well told book. It deals with big issues, but does it in a sensitive, intelligent, and even educational way.
Initially, the book was a little hard for me to get into, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are real, diverse, and authentic — and I love how they discussed their various points of view, giving the reader insights into some important issues.
The book revolves around Starr, a teen who has to choose how to use her voice. She has to decide whether or not to tell her story after witnessing her unarmed friend get shot by a police officer. This is a killing that has shaken her whole neighbourhood and there are pros and cons for Starr to tell her story publicly. She has to decide how to act as an African American girl at a predominantly white school. She has to decide who to be in her neighbourhood.  There are so many choices and they come down to how to use your voice and how to tell your story.
This is a powerful book and one that both teens and adults will get something out of.
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Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Coreena

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant. She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully time-tabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

Then everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living–and it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

Review:
I absolutely love this book, in fact, it is one of my favourite books that I’ve read in awhile. Maybe ever.
Eleanor is a fantastic character and Honeywell has portrayed her perfectly with quirky humour and dry wit. She’s a woman who insists that she is completely fine, despite the fact that she has no friends, eats the same meal every day, and drinks her way through the weekends. She doesn’t understand social cues and the glimpse we get into her mind as she navigates her world is both wonderful and tragic.
Honeywell has also done an amazing job of revealing just parts of Eleanor’s story at a time, leaving us wondering what has happened to her and why she is the way she is.
I highly recommend this book. There are lines where I actually laughed out loud, there were moments where I saw myself and my own social awkwardness, and there were times when I was cheering for Eleanor and her stripped down sensibilities.
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