Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

Title: Tiger Rising

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Published: 2001

Genre: General Fiction

Grade Level: 6th-8th Grade

-Trigger Warning: Grief

-Features: Psoriasis-a skin disease that causes red, itchy scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp.

Blurb (from goodreads): 

Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger—a real-life, very large tiger—pacing back and forth in a cage. What's more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things—like memories, and heartaches, and tigers—can't be locked up forever.

My Scores:

Writing Style: Solid

I don’t feel the novel has a very strong beginning, but the writing gets better and better as the book goes on. 

By the half-way mark, I thought, “That’s the DiCamillo I remember.” Since I had read three of her previous works, Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, I felt I had a pretty good understanding of her specific tone of voice. 

Characters: Absolutely Amazing

The characters in this novel are incredibly impactful, especially for such a short novel! They are all so well-crafted, complex, and realistic that I can feel their presence in the room and smell the smoke coming off their cigarettes. 

I love how DiCamillo treats the adult characters with just as much respect as her child characters. So many times in children’s literature, the adult characters are conveniently absent or else don’t (realistically) act like adults. 

Plot: Slow Burn

Come on, you know it’s a slow burn going in, it’s Kate DiCamillo after all! Her style is all about the slow build to a dramatic and tear-jerking ending! So don’t be afraid to bring out the Kleenex, you’re gonna need ‘em! 

Overall: Enjoyable

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! I may or may not have shed a few tears because DiCamillo is just that good at making me care about fictional characters. But anyway, if you’re looking for a quick, impactful read I would highly recommend it. 

Messaging: Grief affects everyone differently.

Goodreads Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Asylum by Carol Minto

Title: The Asylum

Author: Carol Minto, with Ann & Joe Cusack

Published: 2021

Genre: Memoir

Grade Level: Adult

-Trigger Warning: Child sexual abuse

-Movie Rating: R

Audiobook:

Narrated by: Fiona McNeil

Length: 8hrs 40mins

Recommend: Yes, but the Scottish accent took some getting used to

Blurb (from goodreads): 

For 46 years, Carol Minto has quietly gone about her life, carrying with her the most extraordinary and heartbreaking secrets.

Born into poverty and with mostly absent parents, Carol helped to raise her nine siblings. But when she was just 11 years old, her older brother began to sexually abuse her. After four years, Carol managed to escape – and ran away from home.

Disclaimer: My review of this memoir is not in any way a reflection upon the author or their life. I am a book reviewer, I review books… not people.

My Scores:

Writing Style: Solid

Because the memoir takes place in the UK and the author is originally from Scotland, I needed to adjust to the narrator’s accent and a few new sayings. 

Characters: Memorable

(I know they're real people. I’m referring to them as character’s anyway.)

Oh my gosh, this cast of characters had me reeling. I had no idea that a person could suffer so much! I had failed to grasp the depth of human depravity… and I’ve read quite a few memoirs. I haven’t been this shocked since I read Scared Speechless, which is an epic, mind-blowing read.

The MC, Carol Minto, is such a sympathetic character! Between her sadistic brother, narcissistic mother, and corrupt psychiatrist care-taker, I expected her to be jaded, vindictive, or at the very least dispassionate. But no, much like Jaycee Dugard, she kept her compassionate nature despite everything. She may have had to regain her identity once she attained her freedom, but she never lost her ability to empathize. 

Plot: So Many Plot Twists

The pacing is spectacular! Normally in a memoir, the pacing is far from consistent, but this memoir gets increasingly more interesting. 

This novel actually challenged my views on the statutory limitations on rape allegations, as in I don’t think there shouldn’t be any. 

Overall: Totally Obsessed 

I would highly recommend this novel and challenge you to complain about anything ever again! 

Messaging: Do not stay silent!

Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Title: Monster

Author: Walter Dean Myers

Published: 1999

Genre: Crime Drama

Grade Level: Young Adult

-Movie Rating: PG-13 for vulgar language and mature subject matter 

Blurb (from goodreads): 

Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout.

Guilty or innocent, Steve becomes a pawn in the hands of "the system," cluttered with cynical authority figures and unscrupulous inmates, who will turn in anyone to shorten their own sentences. For the first time, Steve is forced to think about who he is as he faces prison, where he may spend all the tomorrows of his life.

As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred and his vision obscured until he can no longer tell who he is or what is the truth. This compelling novel is Walter Dean Myers's writing at its best.

My Scores:

Writing Style: Good

The novel is written in a “found-footage” type of style, it’s a combination of a script, diary entries, and photographs. The author most likely chose this style to make it feel more realistic. 

Personally, I’ve never enjoyed this style because I think it takes away from the character development. However, this is the first novel of its kind that I have read all the way through, so it gets props for that. 

Characters: Fully Developed

The only character we really get to know is the MC, Steve Harmon, through his diary entries. The entries are masterful in taking the reader through the prison system as a young inmate. This aspect is why this novel has remained a classic. 

It’s my feeling that the author wanted Steve Harmon to be a universal symbol, and that’s why we don’t know much about him outside of his emotional experience in the prison system. 

Plot: Slow Burn / Enjoyable

The plot hinges on whether Steve Harmon will be found innocent at his trial. Will he spend the next 20 years in jail? Or will he get to finish out high school? This plot device never gets old, especially for a true-crime junky like me. 

What is interesting is how often the narrator points out the mundane conversations of the adults around him, the lawyers and guards. To have that contrasting against his emotionally raw and heart-breaking diary entries just adds a new layer of sadness and frustration. 

Overall: Enjoyable

It was an extremely quick and suspenseful read that remains as relevant as ever before. 

Messaging: Everybody lies

*Yes, it’s from House M.D., but it fits!*

Goodreads Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

Series: Wolf by Wolf Series (Book2)

Link to review of Book One: https://www.krwardbookreview.com/2022/04/wolf-by-wolf-by-ryan-graudin.html

Title: Blood for Blood

Author: Ryan Graudin

Published: 2016

Genre: Historical Fantasy…?

Grade Level: YA

-Trigger Warning: Deals with childhood grief and childhood trauma

 
Audiobook:

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Length: 12 hrs 24 min

Recommend: Yes

 

Blurb (from goodreads):

There would be blood. Blood for blood. Blood to pay. An entire world of it.

For the resistance in the Third Reich, the war may be over, but the fight has just begun. Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against Hitler’s army, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.

But in the midst of the chaos, Yael’s past and future collide when she comes face to face with a ghost from her past, and a spark with a fellow rider begins to grow into something more. Dark secrets reveal dark truths and one question hangs over them all—how far can you go for the ones you love?

My Scores:

Writing Style: Top Notch

 

Characters: Memorable

I felt so many emotions for these characters! Nothing in their life was simple and it made for deep thoughts and complex decision-making that was very engaging to read.

Talk about your complicated romance! As much as I came to adore the love interest, Luka, with all of my heart, I also wanted someone with more integrity for the MC. I’m a little tired of the “bad-boy turned good because he fell in love” trope.

 

Plot: So Many Plot Twists

There was so much action in the book, the climax just kept building and building. Graudin didn’t give any of her characters a break! Sheesh!

And what can I say? I didn’t predict that ending. It wasn’t the happy ending that I am accustomed to reading at the end of novels. It felt like driving home from a funeral, when everyone’s really quiet, and you’re just left with the memories of the person who passed. 

 

Overall: Totally Obsessed

I had a lot of fun reading this duology. It was full of action, betrayal, romance, and undercover missions to defeat Hitler, who could ask for anything more?

 

Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Title: A Stolen Life

Author: Jaycee Dugard

Published: 2011

Genre: Memoir

Grade Level: Adult

-Trigger Warning: Sexual assault of a minor

-Movie Rating: R

 

Blurb (from goodreads): 

On 10 June 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in Tahoe, California. It was the last her family and friends saw of her for over eighteen years. During her time in captivity, at the age of fourteen and seventeen, she gave birth to two daughters, both fathered by Garrido.

Dugard's memoir is written by the 30-year-old herself and covers the period from the time of her abduction in 1991 up until the present. In her stark, utterly honest and unflinching narrative, Jaycee opens up about what she experienced, including how she feels now, a year after being found. Garrido and his wife Nancy have since pleaded guilty to their crimes.

Disclaimer: My review of this memoir is not in any way a reflection upon the author or their life. I am a book reviewer, I review books… not people.

My Scores:

Writing Style: Good

The structure of Dugard’s sentences were all rather simple, which made for a very fast read, but I can only imagine how much better her prose would have been if her education hadn’t stopped around the 7th grade. Despite her circumstances, she wrote a well-organized, engaging, and emotionally raw memoir. 

 

Characters: Fully Developed

I did want more physical descriptions (of everyone) throughout the novel, especially how they might have changed over the span of 18 years. 

Instead, Dugard focused most of her attention on how her mental and emotional well-being was impacted by the unusual events of her life, which I found riveting. Even though unspeakable horrors had happened to her, she still maintained an incredible amount of empathy (especially towards the animal kingdom). I only wish the best for her and her daughters now that they are free. 

 

Plot: Absolute Page-Turner

The ending is obvious from the outset. Of course she escapes captivity in order for her to publish a book, that’s not the interesting part of the novel. “A Stolen Life” is not another news story, it’s Dugard’s personal account of everything that happened to her, that’s the interesting part. 

 

Overall: Obsessed

I am trash for these kinds of novels because they are proof of the indelible strength of the human spirit. Sometimes these stories just help me make it through another day of my normal life with normal struggles. For anyone looking for a little hope and a little gratitude for their normal life, I would recommend this novel. 

 

Goodreads Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Series: Wolf by Wolf Series (Book 1)

Title: Wolf by Wolf

Author: Ryan Graudin

Published: 2015

Genre: Historical Fantasy…?

Grade Level: YA

-Trigger Warning: Deals with childhood grief and childhood trauma

 

Audiobook:

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Length: 10 hrs 31 min

Recommend: Yes

 

Blurb (from goodreads):

Her story begins on a train.

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.

The resistance has given Yael, a death camp survivor, one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year’s only female racer, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin’s brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael’s every move.

But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

From the author of The Walled City comes a fast-paced and innovative novel that will leave you breathless.

My Scores:

Writing Style: Top Notch

Graudin is (of course) a top-notch writer! The way she builds suspense throughout the novel is masterful.

Characters: Memorable

I fell in love with the characters right from the start. Even though the plot of the novel through me for a loop, I decided to keep reading because I had to know what was going to happen to these characters. (My love for the characters is also what drove me to finish the sequel, Blood for Blood, so quickly.)

Plot: So Many Plot Twists

This plot is unlike anything I have ever read before and I’m not sure I would have given it a try if I hadn’t gone in completely blind. I was relying heavily on my love for the author’s previous work, The Walled City (which is a fabulously dark historical fiction novel).

Wolf by Wolf takes place in a historical time that almost happened. In this novel, the US never joined in WWII, and the Nazis are still very much in control of much of the world. (It’s actually quite scary to realize how close Hitler came to ruling the world, but in any case back to the review.)

I believe that the proper genre for this novel is historical fantasy because the MC has freaky sci-fyi powers given to her by the Nazis awful experimentation on Jewish children. I loved this idea, it sounded like an awesome origin story for the next marvel superhero.

 

Overall: Totally Obsessed

I had so much fun reading this novel! I went in completely blind, but I’m so glad I gave it a shot. It was full of suspense, plot twists, and memorable characters. If you’re looking for something a little different, I highly recommend this novel!

 

Messaging: Survival is the best revenge.

Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie

Title: You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me

Author: Sherman Alexie

Published: 2017

Genre: Memoir

Grade Level: Adult

-Trigger Warning: Child sexual abuse, child neglect, grief, and addiction

-Movie Rating: R, language, child sexual abuse, and other adult topics

-Features: Bipolar Disorder

 

Audiobook:

Narrated by: Sherman Alexie

Length: 12hrs 9min

Recommend: No

 

Blurb (from goodreads):

A searing, deeply moving memoir about family, love, and loss from the critically acclaimed, bestselling National Book Award winner.

When his mother passed away at the age of 78, Sherman Alexie responded the only way he knew how: he wrote. The result is this stunning memoir. Featuring 78 poems, 78 essays and intimate family photographs, Alexie shares raw, angry, funny, profane, tender memories of a childhood few can imagine--growing up dirt-poor on an Indian reservation, one of four children raised by alcoholic parents.

Throughout, a portrait emerges of his mother as a beautiful, mercurial, abusive, intelligent, complicated woman. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me is a powerful account of a complicated relationship, an unflinching and unforgettable remembrance.

 

Disclaimer: My review of this memoir is not in any way a reflection upon the author or their life. I am a book reviewer, I review books… not people.

 

My Scores:

Writing Style: Flowery

Even though Sherman Alexie is a poet, I didn’t really expect poems to carry so much of the narrative in his memoir. This may not be a problem for readers who are fans of poetry, but since I am not I honestly felt a little cheated. It felt like he used the poetry as filler or as a way to simplify difficult topics or situations.

 

Characters: Underdeveloped

(I known they're real people. I’m referring to them as character’s anyway.)

After reading Alexie’s children’s book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I expected the characters in his memoir to have at least the same amount of depth and complexity… but again I felt cheated.

 

Why didn’t Alexie get along with his mother? He’s not sure.

What is it like living day-to-day on a reservation? Not great.

How did he make it on his own after he left the reservation? Just lucky, I guess…

 

Not real compelling answers…

 

Plot: No Plot

Maybe Alexie was being vague on purpose… That’s a likely possibility. What person wants the whole world to know your business? I’m just so used to reading memoirs with shockingly detailed information that this novel was just boring.

 

Overall: Boring

I learned more about Sherman Alexie reading his children’s book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, than I did reading his memoir.

 

Goodreads Rating: 2 out of 5 stars