February 2022 Book Review
Here are the books we read (or listened to) in February 2022. Please note that these are all our personal opinions we do not intend to insult anyone by criticizing an author or book you like or complimenting a book or an author you do not like. We are out here just enjoying our lives and we suggest you do the same. Thank you, Tayler, my wife, for helping to write these. I love you.
Bennion’s Books:
1. The Awakening By Nora Roberts
Summary: A middle school teacher named Breen, who does not like her job, finds out she is a millionaire thanks to her estranged father leaving behind money that was hidden from her by her mother. Breen goes to Ireland to find her father but learned that he is dead and that she is part of this magical kingdom. To make matters worse someone is trying to kill her so she learns magic, horseback riding, and fighting to defend herself. In her spare time, Breen writes novels and immediately is picked up by a major publishing company in new york.
What I Didn’t Like: Most of it. There was a lot going on. The bad guy is barely present so the main conflict comes from Breen deciding between staying in this realm and being a famous author with millions of dollars and a great book deal or going back to the fantasy world. I just didn’t connect with very much at all.
What I liked: I really respect the idea of making the audience wait for it. A slow boil can produce some amazing results, and Roberts is doing that with the fight between Breen and the bad guys. The problem is that you also need to give the audience enough to remain interested. I think that Roberts fell on the wrong side of that balance here. I did not feel like very much happened in terms of narrative, and almost too much happened for exposition.
2. Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
Summary: The story of Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division in World War 2. This follows the company from training and deployment to the end of the war and the survivors’ lives after. It is an account told through interviews, letters, and journals.
What I Didn’t Like: There is a lot of military jargon that can be hard to get through as a civilian reader.
What I Liked: This is an amazing and humbling read. If you enjoy war stories this will be exactly what you are looking for. I believe that there is an HBO show based on this book, but I like reading because it feels more honest. Please be warned that this is raw, so there are some gruesome stories. I think that people should do their best to read true stories like this on a regular basis.
3. Vicious by VE Schwab
Summary: Victor and Eli set out to discover how to make superheroes but end up pitting themselves against each other. Eli sends Victor to prison, and when he escapes Victor seeks revenge.
What I Didn’t Like: The story bounces around the timeline a bit so I got confused for a second, but it balanced out by the end.
What I Liked: This is one of the best books by one of the best authors. With the success of Marvel movies, a story like this feels original and different. Schwab does an amazing job building tension so I felt desperate to know how the story ends, and when I finished I could see the complex lines she had been weaving and building from the beginning. VE Schwab is turning into one of my favorite authors and I cannot wait for more.
Tayler’s Books
1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Summary: The story follows Kya, who is a young girl from North Carolina who is left to raise herself in the marshlands. You follow her from childhood into becoming a woman. Her story is full of love, life lessons, and mystery centered around a murder trial.
What I didn't like: The book moved a little slow at times for my liking. This is done on purpose by the author, who gives plenty of details about Kya’s life that help draw you in. The downside to that tactic is that it can slow the story.
What I liked: Holy plot twists! The ending of the book left me with my mouth hanging open in shock. It truly is a beautiful “coming of age” story and it is so full of life and adventure. The voice of the story is fun and all-immersive. You really feel like you are in the South expiring life through Kya’s eyes.
2. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson Format: Hardback
Summary: This book is the hypothetical story of four characters who live within a maze. Their main objective is to find cheese. They do this by running through the maze until they find their prize. When the cheese disappears, the story follows the characters and how they respond to this change. Some find the cheese again and some shrink away from the challenge.
What I didn't like: This isn’t really a storybook or a novel. It is meant to be allegorical to teach readers how to respond to adversity, so really there isn’t anything I didn’t like.
What I liked: This book teaches you how to respond to challenges in life. When you are faced with something difficult you always have two choices, to step up or to bow out. This helps you to see the power in facing challenges head-on.
3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Summary: The story follows Nora, a 35-year-old woman, who lives a very ordinary, monotonous life. She is so unhappy in her current situation that one night she decides to end her life and ends up in the midnight library. There she is able to sort of review her life and see what could have been if she made different choices at key moments in her life. The story shows that even our simplest
decisions can make a distinct impact and that there is always something worth living for.
What I didn't like: The story is a bit of a downer! It seems like every choice she makes, she would end up having similarly sad results, which felt repetitive. For a story focused on mental health I would hope there would be more resources or helps for those going through similar experiences.
What I liked: The moral of the story was a good one even though you have to wait till the very end to know what that moral is. It was interesting to see all the changes and different lives Nora could live with each choice she makes. The idea is incredibly creative and thought-provoking.