Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The World's Strongest Librarian - Arianna's review


The World's Strongest Librarian
Josh Hanagarne
4/5
16101121

Published 2013

First Sentence
"Today the library was hot, humid, and smelly."
Publisher's Description:
Josh Hanagarne couldn’t be invisible if he tried. Although he wouldn’t officially be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until his freshman year of high school, Josh was six years old and onstage in a school Thanksgiving play when he first began exhibiting symptoms. By the time he was twenty, the young Mormon had reached his towering adult height of 6’7” when—while serving on a mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints—his Tourette’s tics escalated to nightmarish levels.

Determined to conquer his affliction, Josh underwent everything from quack remedies to lethargy-inducing drug regimes to Botox injections that paralyzed his vocal cords and left him voiceless for three years. Undeterred, Josh persevered to marry and earn a degree in Library Science. At last, an eccentric, autistic strongman—and former Air Force Tech Sergeant and guard at an Iraqi prison—taught Josh how to “throttle” his tics into submission through strength-training.

Today, Josh is a librarian in the main branch of Salt Lake City’s public library and founder of a popular blog about books and weight lifting—and the proud father of four-year-old Max, who has already started to show his own symptoms of Tourette’s.

The World’s Strongest Librarian illuminates the mysteries of this little-understood disorder, as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries. With humor and candor, this unlikely hero traces his journey to overcome his disability— and navigate his wavering Mormon faith—to find love and create a life worth living.
Dear Reader,

Let me first point you to Amber's review, which was super.

Now, for my take on the book:

I just finished and am writing with the book fresh in my mind, which has gotten more rare for me these days.  I hope that will make for a better review, though.  Even though I am itching to get on to another book...! :)

Let's see - well, this book is certainly a librarian's dream!  I think it was like a guilty-pleasure librarian book, because Hanagarne drops so many book references in, after each which I would go "oh, I know that one, too!" and grin all goofily.  Yup, I'm certainly a book geek.

Hanagarne is also just so passionate about libraries, which is another reason I enjoyed the book.  Here are some quotes which I particularly enjoyed:

p. 3: "I...work here because I love books, because I'm inveterately curious, and because, like most librarians, I'm not well suited to anything else.  As a breed, we're the ultimate generalists.  I'll never know everything about anything, but I'll know something about almost everything and that's how I like to live."  -- I say this ALL THE TIME.  Okay, maybe not in those exact words, but the part about knowing a little bit about everything I possibly can, because I know enough to know I can't know everything about anything?!  I love it.

p. 4: Libraries are "a breeding ground for curiosity."

There were plenty more scattered throughout the book, but I got caught up in it & forgot to note more down, I'm sorry!  But, I guess that just means you'll have to read the book for more!

I also want to remind you, Dear Reader, that my first experience with Mr. Hanagarne was when he came to speak at the Hartford Public Library; Amber and I attended his talk.  It was, coincidentally (and, I didn't realize HOW importantly, at the time) the same weekend as Stephen King's talk at the Bushnell, which meant Hanagarne got to meet his idol and favorite author.  I included the photo below, because my guess is, it was taken shortly after his talk at the HPL:


As you can see, Hanagarne is fun and irreverent, and yet also serious and a great pleasure to read.  The heartwarming stories he tells of his childhood with a loving - if charmingly imperfect - family, and of his continual battles with and acceptance of Tourette Syndrome were both moving and inspiring.  He writes with a friendly voice, and you often feel as if he is sitting beside you, relating what happened to him last week.  I am sure I loved the memoir even more because Hanagarne ultimately became a librarian - which seems like a shocking choice for someone with what many consider a disruptive disorder, although his love affair with books and the order found in libraries from a young age does certainly help explain how he found his calling.

I don't think I would have picked this book up had it not been about a librarian, but I feel I learned so much about the Mormon faith (which plays a huge part in the book, but don't let that put you off if you are not generally interested in religious books) and the ability to live with this extra ghost always hovering over your shoulder.  Hanagarne handles the funny and the difficult with wit and aplomb.  I highly recommend this one.

Yours,
Arianna

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Burial Rites


Burial Rites
Hannah Kent
4/5


First Sentence
"They said I must die."
Publisher's Description:

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

Dear Reader,

Before I go into my review, I wanted to share with you how I came across this book. I don't think I've mentioned my subscription to a local bookstore by me, every month they send me a book (selected carefully) that has been signed by the Author... all for the price of only the hardcover. You don't pick the book, which can make this a wonderful surprise or somewhat disappointing. I look forward to that time every month when the package comes in. I slowly open the carefully shipped parcel to reveal this months selection, hoping it'll be something I'll like. Most of the time the book sounds vaguely familiar, sometimes the title is completely unknown to me but every now and then I receive a book that is one on my "to-read" list that I've been anticipating greatly. This was one of those and it didn't disappoint.

The story is loosely based on an actual account of a woman sent to death in Iceland around the early 1800's. The woman was real, the setting is real but the Author took justices with the story since she had only small stories and documentation to go on. She did a wonderful job coming up with a believable tale and you can tell she really did her research on Icelandic tradition and landscape. This book even included a map, any book that includes a map gets an automatic star for me! As I was reading, I felt the cold temperate climate of Iceland, the lack of warmth even under my own covers in bed. She really brought you right into this book with her descriptions. I think that might have been the biggest plus to the book.

The story itself was extremely sad but understandably, the topic of death or waiting for death can't be anything but depressing. However, I was charmed by the book so much that I kept forgetting it was such a somber story. When I did turn back to the sadness, it was deep and thoughtful and also very heartbreaking. At first, you don't really quite know what to think of Agnes... is she guilty? Is she innocent? As the story unfolds you get a deeper understanding and you start to empathize with her situation. What would it be like to know death is coming? Even worse... to not know the date of your own execution? To live out your days under a roof of strangers who don't trust you. The reality is extremely harsh.

The Author brings many things to think about with this book. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if she didn't bring a little philosophy and religion into it. If you hate novels with sadness that can make you cry, I would say READ it anyways but grab the box of tissues. I'm very curious to see what others thought about this book, any comments... please leave them!

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

Friday, October 18, 2013

Havisham


Havisham
Ronald Frame
4/5

Published 2013

First Sentences
Prologue: 

"Four loud blows on the front door."

and, Chapter 1:

"I killed my mother."
Publisher's Description:
IN THE TRADITION OF WIDE SARGASSO SEAHAVISHAM IS THE ASTONISHING PRELUDE TO CHARLES DICKENS'S GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

Before she became the immortal and haunting Miss Havisham of Great Expectations, she was Catherine, a young woman with all of her dreams ahead of her. Spry, imperious, she is the daughter of a wealthy brewer. But she is never far from the smell of hops and the arresting letters on the brewhouse wall—HAVISHAM—a reminder of all she owes to the family name and the family business.

Sent by her father to stay with the Chadwycks, Catherine discovers elegant pastimes to remove the taint of her family's new money. But for all her growing sophistication, Catherine is anything but worldly, and when a charismatic stranger pays her attention, everything—her heart, her future, the very Havisham name—is vulnerable.

In Havisham, Ronald Frame unfurls the psychological trauma that made young Catherine into Miss Havisham and cursed her to a life alone, roaming the halls of the mansion in the tatters of the dress she wore for the wedding she was never to have. 
Dear Reader,

I suppose the first question should be: does one have to have read Great Expectations before one reads Havisham?  The answer, largely, is "no", but I think that you can't really get as much enjoyment or understanding out of the book if you haven't.  Plus, Great Expectations is just SUCH a good book, why NOT read it?! :)  However, much in the vein of Wicked alongside The Wizard of Oz, there will be plenty of characters and situations you will recognize almost like old friends if you know the story beforehand.  Clearly both writers of these "prequels" were terribly familiar with the texts from which they wrote; they had to be!  There are so many diehard fans who would take exception if they weren't.

It certainly did help that I read the Dickens classic only about a year ago, which kept the characters and their stories fresh enough in my mind.  A little brush-up on the plot via Wikipedia certainly helped me recall some of the details, though.  I'd recommend that to anyone who might not know Pip's story like the back of their hand.

Anyway, I do love these books, these explanations for how things might have gone down to put the characters into the situations they are in for the more famous novels.  One truly wants to know the back-story of Miss Havisham, and how she might have wound up such a loveless, lonely, and disturbed woman.  And I think this book did a very good job of introducing you to the young Miss Havisham (the author assigned her the first name "Catherine", which I thought fit her quite well).  I loved the premise that, while she was a brewer's daughter, she was schooled in the ways of society by being sent off to live with an old-money family.  Her father wanted to raise her above the station she was born into, and as a single father, he found that most fitting.  Catherine's interactions with that family, and her experiences with high society, were quite enjoyable to read.  Frame does a great job describing the parties they attend and the people with whom they interact.  He also gives the reader a great back-story for Arthur, Catherine's half-brother, and thoroughly explains the friction which exists from the start between them.  The family portrait Frame paints is really a wonderful explanation of what puts Miss Havisham where she is when Pip first meets the woman.

One of my biggest problems with Frame's story of Miss Havisham, though, is that there is barely a single mention of the Pocket family!  The Pockets were some of my favorite characters from Great Expectations, and they certainly played a key role in the story of Havisham (they are in fact relatives; isn't everyone, it seems?), and yet they get NO mention.  That I found to be quite disappointing.  (I am correct in recalling that Matthew Pocket, Catherine's cousin, does try to warn her against Compeyson, right?)

Also, Frame's ending doesn't square with Dickens' ending, if I recall correctly.  I believe he used the original ending Dickens wrote for Great Expectations, not the one which ended up in the published work.  That is something slightly odd, but it does seem to work, especially if the reader has NOT read the classic -- OR doesn't want Pip to win out in the end.

Otherwise, though, I liked the period piece, replete with authentic vocabulary that might have been used at the time (I don't know, myself, but my guess is Frame did quite a bit of research on that, as well!).  The story was good, but I don't know that I would have liked it half as much if I weren't already a Great Expectations fan.  If you want to read something based in that time period, there are plenty of other great works to read first: specifically, any Dickens!  Right?  But, I have a soft spot for these prequels that people have dreamed up to explain characters and their situations from famous works, so I certainly am glad I read it!  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a big fan of Pip Pirrup and his story.

Yours,
Arianna

Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Valley of Amazement - upcoming!



Dear Reader,

Wahoo!  I just won a first-read giveaway of the new Amy Tan book on Goodreads!  I will be sure to read it as soon as I can once it arrives, and get to the review quickly! :)

Yours,
Arianna

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

People of the Book


People of the Book
Geraldine Brooks
4/5

Published 2008

First Sentence
"I might as well say, right from the jump: it wasn't my usual kind of job."
Publisher's Description:

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, the journey of a rare illuminated prayer book through centuries of war, destruction, theft, loss, and love.
Dear Reader,

This book was just beautiful. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it (I hadn’t read any of the publisher’s blurb; this was another serendipitous library Overdrive discovery), but it surprised me in such a lovely way. I audiobooked it, and of course the first thing I noticed was the heavy Australian accent of the reader (Edwina Wren) - it was very enjoyable to listen to, I thought! And her later voices -- accents from Serbian to British to American -- were also very impressive, at least to my untrained ear.

In any case, the book itself was this gorgeous narration which wove back and forth between Hannah’s (a book restorer) and the book itself’s story, intermingling like the rich plaits of a thick braid. Hannah has been hired to work on the Sarajevo Haggadah, which is a real book, and is truly surrounded in mystery and intrigue: both regarding its survival through the ages (through numerous Jewish persecutions) and its contents. However, it is important to remember that Brooks’ story is only a fiction she has crafted around the questions which the book raises. Still, she devises a very clever explanation of the book’s travels and experiences, and it is a joy to listen to her storytelling. Brooks knows her history, particularly that of Eastern Europe, and I found it fascinating to learn more about the histories of the people who lived in the area from the mid-fifteenth century all the way up to the present day. While keeping in mind it is a novel, it was still chock full of historically-specific details. Brooks’ characters truly came to life for me.

One of the main surprises in the book is the truth about Hannah’s own past, which she discovers as she follows the trail of the book’s history through several countries. While I certainly didn’t see the twist coming, I also thought it interesting that the revelation didn’t change the way Hannah interacted with the book, or make her quest for the truth more dear. I thought it improbable that things didn’t change more significantly for her.

One truly lovely thing about this book was how its point wasn’t simply to explain the Haggadah’s origins, but also to build bridges between nationalities, religions, and backgrounds of all sorts. I felt that the Haggadah’s story represented peacefulness and connection, both in its flashback stories as well as in Hannah’s present story. Books are, at their heart, about communicating between people, even if those two people live in a very different time and place. Thus, the novel did a great job of that, as did the religious tome within. This was truly another book for book-lovers. I’ve been devouring a lot of those recently; some recommended favorites are Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan) and A Novel Bookstore (Laurence Cossé).

My most favorite part of the book, though, might have been the dedication: “For the librarians”! Hurray!

Best,
Arianna

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Crossed


Crossed
Ally Condie
5 out of 5


First Sentence
"I'm standing in a river."
Publisher's Description:

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy.

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake. Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Dear Reader,

I feel like this shouldn't be classified as young-adult literature. Only because I found it so mature and serious; two words that don't describe my teen years. However, I would love it if all teens read this series because it demonstrates how people should act and question the way their society is. The main characters Cassia and Ky and Xander are all 17 years old and yet they are intelligent, grave and above all; honorable. Cassia, Ky and Xander respect and help each other even though they are trapped in a love triangle.
Since I'm on the subject, I am surprised by the lack of sex in the series so far. These are teenagers, and they are in unsupervised, stressful situations, exacerbated by the crazy, first time love throes. How are they not releasing tension together? I found myself chanting, "Do it, Do it, Do it..." in the car as the listened to the audiobook. Leaving any descriptive love scenes out just makes me think that the author doesn't intend to make this seem like a real story. Is it too profane?

On another note, I am continually impressed with the poetic style of Ally Condie. It reminded me so much of my beloved, creative writing classes in college that I recommended the book to my creative writing professor. 'Frost blooms along the step...' and , 'my tears taste like the sea, and I cannot see the shore.' Additionally, Cassia muses over writing her own poem to Ky as she journeys, or crosses the distance from her work camp to where Ky is escaping the war zone in the outer provinces.  Having written a bit of poetry myself I can relate to her internal poetic construction on a deeply personal level.

I like that the drama of the narrative is heightened by having Cassia's perspective interlaced with Ky's narrative. Since I was listening to the audiobook version, the fact that Ky's voice was read by a male actor enhanced my experience. Also in Crossed there's an element of mystery and the unknown when compared to book one in the series. This book really is about crossing, in all it's literal applications. Cassia is crossing into the unknown on her journey to find Ky in the outer provinces. She is crossing from society into The Rising. She is crossing into her adulthood by making serious caste-system choices. She is also crossed in being double-crossed in the deception from Ky's map burning and Indy's repetitive theft.

Adding the Indy character into the mix was good choice by the author because she was mystery-incarnate. I really couldn't guess if she couldn't be trusted, adding to the intrigue of the plot. It turns out she lied about hiding the micro-card, she lied that she had nothing to hide on the air-ship and then she secretly obsessed over Cassia's match, Xander. She represents young, female strength in this society in a different wild way from Cassia's quiet, sorting strength.

My negative comments are on the overly dramatic descriptions, mostly, in Ky's narrative. I don't know if that's because of the actor's theatrical choices in the audio book. For example this bit comes from a commonplace exchange between Ky and Indy in the canyon,
 'Indy stands perfectly still.' 
'Indy stares straight into my eyes.'
Then when the five characters are leaving the canyon, Ky's internal monologue,
'The sun beating down on the boat makes it hot to touch. My hands turn red and I hope she doesn't notice. I don't want to think anymore of the day she sorted me. What's done is done. We have to go forward.'
Every sentence is spoken slowly and drawn out. Is that writer-failure or was it the way the actor said it?

*Spoiler Alert*
Crossed resolves with Cassia, Indy & Ky in The Rising, assigned to job functions that will best help the rebellion (ahhhhhhh we can exhale.)
This is perfect place to cliffhang the reader into book three. What will happen to Ky & Cassia? Will Cassia reconsider her romantic choice once she finds out that Xander is also in The Rising? Will the rebellion happen soon? Will Cassia find her family? Will Ky and Cassia have a love scene?
Tune in next time.

Yours,
Marsha

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Horns


Horns
Joe Hill
3/5


First Sentence
"Ignatius Martin Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things."
Publisher's Description:

At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

But Merrin's death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .

Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It's time for a little revenge. . . . It's time the devil had his due. . . .

Dear Reader,

I've been devouring Joe Hill's work ever since I discovered him. He fills a void that I've been missing within the horror genre. Maybe I need to take a break from him for a year because he is so distinctly like his father (Stephen King) in many regards, the main one being that it's very easy to overdose on his work. I used to do the same thing with King when I was younger and over the years as I aged, I knew that King is much better in small doses. The problem is... both him and his father pump out books like a crazed teen screams for their idol. I can't keep up, and nor should I. So which to read? I guess that might be the reason people review books right? To help others determine where to go next with their reading endeavors. If someone were to ask me about Horns, I might suggest this book... but only if they've stayed clear of Hill AND King for awhile.

Getting to business, the plot follows Ig (short for Ignatius) after he wakes up from a black out drunken stupor and finds horns growing from his temple. We shortly learn that he has experienced a very recent tragedy involving his girlfriends murder and to take things to the next level, Ig is secretly blamed by almost everyone in town... including his loved ones. The great thing about Hill is his imagination and he doesn't fall short with this book. Ig starts to gain powers that seem to originate from his horns, and he utilizes these to come to terms and learn the truth over his girlfriends death. The story is quite plot driven but also very lengthy (another one of the characteristics of a King/Hill book). A few parts of the book started straying away from the interesting and went a little too far into the bizarre, and I usually LOVE bizarre. I guess sometimes if the strange isn't done well, it doesn't give the story much strength.

Overall, I would say this is a solid book with a very compelling and exciting plot. Hill produces many interesting aspects to the theme of doom and death that had me thinking. He missed the mark on a few parts that had me wandering, which in the end hurt the rating. I might have liked this more if I didn't overkill the genre recently, this needs to be said for those who enjoy horror and might enjoy this more than a three star book. The last thing I want to do is dissuade someone from Horns because of my three star rating, I would actually recommend this as a good place to start with Hill.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Relic: The Books of Eva


Relic
The Books of Eva
Heather Terrell
2103
3.5/5


First Sentence
"Eamon throws his axe into the ice above his head."
Publisher's Description:

The truth will test you...

For fans of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games: high fantasy and dystopia meet in this high-stakes tale of a civilization built on lies and the girl who single-handedly brings it down.

When Eva’s twin brother, Eamon, falls to his death just a few months before he is due to participate in The Testing, no one expects Eva to take his place. She’s a Maiden, slated for embroidery classes, curtseys, and soon a prestigious marriage befitting the daughter of an Aerie ruler. But Eva insists on honoring her brother by becoming a Testor. After all, she wouldn’t be the first Maiden to Test, just the first in 150 years.

Eva knows the Testing is no dance class. Gallant Testors train for their entire lives to search icy wastelands for Relics: artifacts of the corrupt civilization that existed before The Healing drowned the world. Out in the Boundary Lands, Eva must rely on every moment of the lightning-quick training she received from Lukas—her servant, a Boundary native, and her closest friend now that Eamon is gone.

But there are threats in The Testing beyond what Lukas could have prepared her for. And no one could have imagined the danger Eva unleashes when she discovers a Relic that shakes the Aerie to its core.  
Dear Reader,

I have to admit, I was a bit put off by this book's description. Yes, as Amber mentioned in her review of another YA dystopian-fantasy book: Here we go again, right?  This is like the spate of vampire novels we saw spawn off of Twilight, or the many imitations of Fifty Shades.  Enough already, right?!

The thing is, though, I also have to admit that I kind of like these dystopian-fantasy books.  All of the ones I've come across since The Hunger Games have featured strong, smart, independent female protagonists whom the reader watches grow from child to adult over the span of the series.  I have enjoyed the authors' ideas of future worlds -- the things which just might actually happen if we continue to live our lives or steer our societies the way we currently do.  Some I like more (*cough* Divergent ) than others (*cough* Matched ), but whatever the book, they've all had that strong theme running through them all, and that can't be bad for all of those impressionable pre-teens and teenagers reading those books and identifying with such a good role model, right?

So, to speak specifically to Relic, of course you already know the overarching premise: a girl who is forced to grow up, to test her own limits, in a dystopian society which was caused by the result of a cataclysmic societal reorganization.  She must break wide open the secrets and unreasonable rules which these seemingly-strong societies are, in truth, teetering upon.  Etc., etc., etc.

But, this one was definitely its own take on the matter.  In the first place, it's set in the Arctic north, which radically limits its people to the protection their society can offer from the cold and the wild outside the city walls.  They are the only people left on Earth, following an epic flood.  They live austerely; they are Luddites, live off the land, and many cannot read.  And they believe society used to worship a false god called Apple.  This last point annoyed me to no end: clearly, Apple would not  be the company which every single person eventually "converted" to!  But, I did like how the biblical connotations (the apple with a bite taken out, the flood) were all interconnected, and the author sufficiently explained her choice of imagining a Steve Jobs-inspired empire later on in the book.  But I found that detail distracting for most of the novel, because I couldn't figure out if Terrell meant the company Apple, or the original-sin apple, and was confused every time she referred to it.

In any case, the society that had been set up post-apocalypse fascinated me; I would have loved to have learned more about it.  Perhaps the other novels will reveal more of this society the author imagined.  Additionally, I was very intrigued by the prelude to the book, wherein Eva loses her brother.  A mystery is presented to the reader there which is actually never resolved by the end of the first book, and might be the one reason I'd sincerely want to continue reading the rest of the series.

This book read quickly, and took me on quite a ride -- a journey over the tundra on dogsled, a perilous climbing and excavation expedition, and even a secretive flight through Inuit territory.  I enjoyed the constant exposure to nature all around Eva, and the survival skills that are touched upon.  There were some things I felt could have been a little more fleshed out, and the characterizations certainly weren't the best I've ever seen, but, all in all, this was a fun little adventure.

Happy reading!,
Arianna
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