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Book Review: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

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The Bluest Eye CoverBook: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Published July 2007 by Vintage|143 pages

Where I Got It: checked out the e-book from the library!

Series: None

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction/African-American Literature

Check out The Bluest Eye on goodreads

Goodreads Summary: 

Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for normalcy, for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in.Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison’s virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterized her writing.

What I Thought:

I’ve been on a Toni Morrison kick lately, and so I picked up The Bluest Eye.  It is what I’m coming to expect from a Toni Morrison novel, well before we knew Toni Morrison.

I liked The Bluest Eye, and I felt like this one, more than any of the other books I’ve read (except for Home) was about…life.  The one thing that I keep noticing with Morrison is that I pay much more attention to the writing than the actual story.  It’s weird, because the actual writing is something I almost never pay attention to.

But with Morrison, it’s all I seem to pay attention to, and The Bluest Eye is no exception. There are several different narrators of The Bluest Eye, and they all come together to tell the story of Pecola.  Honestly, it took me a while to realize that there were several different stories of some of the people in Pecola’s life, and I found myself having to go back and re-read certain parts of the book, because it was starting to not make sense to me.  It’s definitely one of those books that you have to read carefully.

I did like reading The Bluest Eye after reading some of her other books, because her writing style- which has grown and changed- is still relatively the same.

Let’s Rate It: 

While I only liked the story (and found the narration to be a bit all over the place), it’s hard to not like The Bluest Eye. Morrison really does know how to tell a story.  The Bluest Eye gets 3 stars.

Audio Book Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

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School Spirits CoverBook: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins, Narrated by Cris Dukehart

Published August 2013 by Dreamscape Media|6 hours, 57 minutes

Where I Got It: Audible.com

Series: School Spirits #1 (or quite possibly a stand-alone, I can’t really tell)

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find School Spirits on goodreads

Goodreads Summary: 

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy’s mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who’s always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt? 

What I Thought:

After listening to Hawkins’ Hex Hall series, I knew I had to read School Spirits, the Hex Hall spin-off focusing on Sophie’s prodigium-hunting cousins.

I liked School Spirits and I liked seeing Izzy work on a case, but at the same time, there was part of me that wished I had listened to Hex Hall again, just to get back into this world.  Still, it’s not necessary to read that series in order to read this book (but I will say that it may help).

I did like that Izzy got to be a normal girl, who went to school and had friends and a crush on a boy.  I was amused that her mom got her some t.v. shows and movies set in schools so that Izzy could learn what school was like.  That really seem liked something Hawkins would do, because I felt like she writes some great paranormal books while also poking at them a bit.

There is the mystery of the ghost, and I was kind of kicking myself for not figuring it out before, but it is one of those things that wasn’t too surprising.

I’m not too sure about how I feel about Dex and Izzy.  I mean, I guess I get it, but I also don’t really have strong feelings either way, and it does seem like things for them are pretty resolved at the end of the book.

Speaking of the end of the book…I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a series or not.  If it is a series, it looks like there’s no 2nd book in sight (understandable, since Hawkins likely has other books she’s working on) but at the same time, it does stand on its own pretty well.  And the ending, while resolved, does leave things open for the possibility of a sequel.  I’m hoping it happens, because I want resolution with what happens to her sister.

I think my favorite moment of the entire book was when Maya insisted on helping Izzy because Izzy didn’t have to do things alone.  It reminded me of that moment in Spell Bound when Sophie had a moment of being just a 17-year-old girl, and wondering how she was going to save the world.  I can see how easy it is for Izzy to feel like she needs to do everything herself, and prove that she is worthy of being a Brannick, but I also like that she had help from people who insisted on helping her.

And Cris Dukehart, narrator of the Hex Hall series, is back narrating this book!  I really like her as a narrator, but I have mixed feelings about her as narrating this book.  Mostly because she’s ingrained as Sophie, and it was hard to get used to her as Izzy.  But…ot was nice having her narrate a world that she’s familiar with.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked School Spirits, but not as much as Hex Hall.  Still, it was fun to listen to, and I think Hex Hall fans would like School Spirits.  School Spirits gets 3 stars.

A Super Short Book Review: A Shade Of Vampire by Bella Forrest

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A Shade Of Vampire CoverBook: A Shade Of Vampire by Bella Forrest

Published December 2012 by Smashwords|149 pages

Where I Got It: the Kindle store

Series: A Shade Of Vampire #1

Genre: YA Paranormal- Vampires

You can find A Shade Of Vampire on goodreads

Goodreads Summary: 

On the evening of Sofia Claremont’s seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.

A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.

An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? …or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

What I Thought:

Like most of the books I read (especially lately, it feels like), I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started A Shade Of Vampire. I was definitely surprised, and I really liked what Forrest did with her vampires.  A coven on an island, full of really powerful vampires, where the sun never shines, and they look to a royal Prince, who just awake from a coma that lasted centuries.

I liked A Shade Of Vampire, but honestly?  Trying to talk about why I liked it almost 2 weeks after finishing it…I’m finding that it doesn’t really stand out to me as a book.

Why Sofia’s blood is so important was interesting, but that’s basically the one thing I can remember.  Oh, and she manages to get off of the island, but I can’t remember if she stays or goes, because I feel like she wasn’t sure about what she wanted to do. I do remember feeling pretty meh about the romance, because they didn’t really have any chemistry- it really did feel bland to the point of being pointless.

To be even more honest, I am not sure what else to say about A Shade Of Vampire.  Although…I can imagine a group of vampires being called a shade.  Like, a parliament of owls, but with shade and vampires?  On second thought, maybe that makes more sense in my head…

It is pretty short, and I know there are a ton of books in this series, and it does make me wonder if all of the books are going to be around 150 pages.

Let’s Rate It:

I do like A Shade Of Vampire, but unfortunately, it’s a book that is proving to be not memorable a couple of weeks after finishing it.  Still, A Shade Of Vampire gets 3 stars.

ARC Book Review: When by Victoria Laurie

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When CoverBook: When by Victoria Laurie

Expected Publication: January 13, 2015 by Disney Hyperion|Expected Number Of Pages: 338

Where I Got It: an ARC from netgalley, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: none

Genre: YA Contemporary with a paranormal twist

You can find When on goodreads & Victoria Laurie on twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.

Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client’s young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.

Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie’s whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it’s too late?

What I Thought:

I liked When!  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect or where the story was going, but I was surprised with where the book went.

I thought that Maddie’s ability to see your death date is an interesting, even though it doesn’t quite work.  I don’t know how to explain it but maybe it’s because we only see her do it for a handful of people.  And there’s the fact that people pay her so they know when they (or someone they care about) will die.  People are very cautious around her. and she does get treated differently because of it.  I don’t blame them, but at the same time, it’s something she has no control over.  Personally, I wouldn’t want to know, because I would never be able to think of anything else, you know?

But it’s people wanting to know that gets Maddie into such a big mess.  I totally get why law enforcement turns to her, and why they don’t believe her.  And yet, her uncle is pretty resistant to them giving her a test to see she’s really not making things up. This would eventually led to me wanting to slap Maddie upside the head for her stupidity (there were other times when she did some pretty stupid things, but one moment in particular…just…there are no words.

I don’t know how I feel about the murder mystery.  Maddie knowing people’s death dates made her a likely suspect (alongside her best friend) and the person behind things was unexpected.

What was most frustrating was the fact that the FBI would not her or Stubby alone- but especially Maddie. Things were really circumstantial, and while I understand their focus on her, I think they definitely took it too far.

I did like the link between the disappearing kids, which, now that I think about it, should have been able to figure it out.  And I liked that it was something people knew, which is a nice change from keeping it hidden.  I really liked that her uncle was there for her, and that she had Stubby.  And her one neighbor was such an awesome person who looked in on Maddie and made sure she was okay.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked When, because the idea is interesting, and it was hard for me to put down at times.  But I’m also torn, because the mysteries combined with her abilities didn’t completely work (but I think Laurie did make a really effort).  When gets 3 stars.

Book Review: Home by Toni Morrison

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Home CoverBook: Home by Toni Morrison

Published May 2012 by Knopf Doubleday|160 pages

Where I Got It: the library

Series: None

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction/African-American Literature

You can find Home on goodreads

Goodreads Summary: 

The latest novel from Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.

An angry and self-loathing veteran of the Korean War, Frank Money finds himself back in racist America after enduring trauma on the front lines that left him with more than just physical scars. His home–and himself in it–may no longer be as he remembers it, but Frank is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from, which he’s hated all his life. As Frank revisits the memories from childhood and the war that leave him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he thought he could never possess again. A deeply moving novel about an apparently defeated man finding his manhood–and his home.

What I Thought:

I really liked Home!  I read Sula and Beloved a few years ago, and while I liked them, I wasn’t completely into them.  But I figured it was a good time to give Morrison another try, and I’m actually really glad I did.

I really liked Frank, and how he had to deal with memories and what happened in Korea.  And he goes on a journey to help his sister, who went through some horrible things herself.  I really like seeing his memories and how he got to be the person we see at the beginning of the novel to how he became the person we see at the end of the novel.

I was struck by how Frank was trying to deal with everything that’s happened, and how he was trying to find his place after coming home.  You could tell how hard it was for him, and it’s something that still rings true today- with all of the stories of soldiers coming back with health issues and PTSD, and all of the recent events in places like Ferguson, you see how we’ve changed a lot, but at the same time, it’s still something that we’re dealing with.

Home is short, but Morrison makes every word count.  It’s simple and beautiful and this is one of the very rare books where I’m more interested in the actual writing than the story (even the story is great too).  Seriously, if you want to study writing, Toni Morrison is such a great place to start.  She can write, and she does it so well.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked seeing Frank have to deal with so much, and even though his story takes place after the Korean war, so many things (like racism and PTSD) are still relevant today.  It’s also a simple but beautifully written book, and of the 3 books I’ve read by Morrison, I think this is a really good one to start with if you’ve never read Morrison.  Home gets 4 stars.

Mini Book Review: On The Fence

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On The Fence CoverBook: On The Fence by Kasie West

Published July 2014 by Harper Teen|293 pages

Where I Got It: I own the paperback!

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find On The Fence on goodreads & Kasie West on twitter and her blog

Goodreads Summary: 

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she’s spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can’t solve Charlie’s biggest problem: she’s falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

What I Thought:

On The Fence is such a cute book!  I really did love it!

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about it at first, but as I kept reading, I found that I really started to love it.  I really liked Charlie, and how she changed throughout the book- going from a tomboy who feels like she doesn’t know how to be a girl, to be a tomboy who’s still a tomboy, but a little less so.  I really could relate to that, because sometimes, the world of make-up and clothes seems so overwhelming and confusing.

I also really felt for Charlie, who lost her mom as a small child, especially since she was in the car when her mom committed suicide.  I don’t blame her brothers and dad for not telling her, because she didn’t take it well the one time she tried.  I also totally understand Charlie’s reaction too.

I LOVED the relationships that Charlie has with her brothers.  It’s so clear that they look out for each other, and I like that Charlie was included in so many things her brothers did.  While I’m not completely in love with Braden and Charlie, they are cute together, and I really liked their middle of the night talks by the fence.  I did like that Braden was part of their family. And the people that Charlie meets because of her new job!  I liked seeing her make some new friends, and that she decided she wanted to keep working at the boutique.

Let’s Rate It:

On The Fence was such such a cute, fun and heartwarming read.  On The Fence gets 5 stars.

Book Review: Teardrop

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Teardrop CoverBook: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Published October 2013 by Random House Children’s Books|304 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Teardrop #1

Genre: YA Paranormal/Re-telling

You can find Teardrop on goodreads & Lauren Kate on twitter, facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

An epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic…a world where everything you love can be washed away. The first book in the new series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series

Never, ever cry…Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth…and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.

What I Thought:

I was really intrigued with Teardrop, and I like that it’s a modern re-telling of Atlantis.  Raising Atlantis is pretty unique, and while I feel like it’s come up before in books I’ve read, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything where Atlantis comes back.

There’s a lot going on, and there were times when things didn’t make a lot of sense, but as the story unfolded, everything started to fall into place, and you begin to understand why people did the things they did, particularly Ander and Brooks. I really liked that Ander and Eureka were on opposite sides, but that he did everything he could to protect her and keep her safe.

There is a love triangle in Teardrop, and unlike most books that feature love triangles, there is no clear love interest yet.  I actually really like that it’s not clear who she’s going to end up with (since move LT’s are super-obvious) and that it could go either way.  Given the love story between Leander and Selene that caused Atlantis to be banished, and that it very much connects to Ander and Eureka…and even Brooks connection to everything…I honestly don’t know which way I want it to go.

While we don’t get too much on Atlantis in this book- only why Atlantis disappeared, and the people it left behind- I really hope we see more of Atlantis and what kind of place it was in the coming books.  And I want to know more about the Sandbearers and Selene’s line!  I have so many things I want to know.

I really was surprised by so many things that happened, and Kate did a great job at revealing things at the right time.  It kept me guessing, and I liked that I wasn’t completely sure what was going to happen next.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Teardrop, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!  Teardrop gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Curtsies And Conspiracies

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Curtsies & Conspiracies CoverBook: Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Published November 2013 by Little Brown Books For Young Readers|223 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Finishing School #2

Genre: YA Steampunk

You can find Curtsies & Conspiracies on goodreads & Gail Carriger on twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia’s first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won’t Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers’ quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship’s boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot–one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this bestselling sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail’s distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

What I Thought:

I really liked Curtsies & Conspiracies!  It really is a Gail Carriger book, and it was a fun book to read!

Sophronia has quite a few adventures in this book, mostly because the school goes to London!  We see quite a few characters from her Parasol Protectorate series, and I really liked seeing them well before the start of that series.  I really do like Sophronia, who is such a great, adventurous person.  She has a lot to deal with, like being ignored by her friends, and realizing that she really does need them around her in order to do well as an intelligencer.

I have to say that I loved seeing an appearance from Lord Akeldama- he is the Lord Akeldama that I know and love from the Parasol Protectorate, and I’m glad he (so far) hasn’t changed much.  I really hope we start to see more of a connection to that series in some way.

I’m not completely in love with the characters, even though I really like them, especially the relationships that Sophronia has with Vieve and with Soap.  I already know where Vieve’s story is headed, but I still like seeing her before she becomes the Vieve that we see in the Parasol Protectorate.  And I really want to see where Soap’s story is headed, because I find him so interesting!

I really do love the combination of steampunk and paranormal, and Carriger does it so well.  Especially in this book, where we get more about this world- all of the inventions, and things that all of these different groups want.  I also love that we see fashion and etiquette, and it gives the book a very historical feel.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Curtsies & Conspiracies!  I have no idea where this series is going, but I am glad to be along for the ride, because this is such a fun series to read.  Curtsies & Conspiracies gets 4 stars.

Mini Book Review: Beauty

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Beauty CoverBook: Beauty by Nancy Ohlin

Published May 2010 by Simon Pulse|118 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy/Re-telling

You can find Beauty on goodreads & Nancy Ohlin on twitter, facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Ana is nothing like her glamorous mother, Queen Veda, whose hair is black as ravens and whose lips are red as roses. Alas, Queen Veda loathes anyone whose beauty dares to rival her own, including her only daughter. And despite Ana’s attempts to be plain and earn her mother’s affection, she’s sent away to the kingdom’s exclusive boarding school.

At the Academy, Ana is devastated when her only friend abandons her for the popular girls. Isolated and alone, Ana resolves to look like a true princess to earn the acceptance she desires. But when she uncovers the dangerous secret that makes all of the girls at the Academy so gorgeous, just how far will Ana go to fit in?

What I Thought:

I liked Beauty!  It’s such an interesting take on Snow White, and it makes me want to read more re-tellings featuring Snow White.

I was struck by what Ana did to stay plain in order to earn her mother’s love, and what her mother did to stay beautiful, including sending away her own daughter to an Academy and giving out orders to have Ana killed. It definitely makes you think about how obsessed with beauty and youth some people are, and what people will do to retain that beauty and youth. Potions and pills and sending away girls to the Academy, only to give them pills that make them beautiful before making them sick.  Queen Veda really will do anything she feels she needs to, even it means taking the beauty and youth from the girls at the Academy.

I also liked the Academy, which wasn’t what it seemed- the Academy was interesting but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

The one thing about Beauty that made it hard to love (or even really like) was the length.  It’s not much over 100 pages, and I felt like the idea, the world and the characters weren’t as fleshed out or as detailed as I would have liked.  It seemed like nothing really got the attention it deserved, which is sad, because the story itself is really intriguing and different.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Beauty, and while it does make you think, I also wish it were a little longer, because not a lot was explained.  Beauty gets 3 stars.

Audio Book Review: Crow

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Crow CoverBook: Crow by Barbara Wright, narrated by J.D. Jackson

Published July 2013 by Listening Library|Run Time: 7 hours, 28 minutes

Where I Got It: from audible.com

Series: None

Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

You can find Crow on goodreads & Barbara Wright on twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

The summer of 1898 is filled with ups and downs for 11-year-old Moses. He’s growing apart from his best friend, his superstitious Boo-Nanny butts heads constantly with his pragmatic, educated father, and his mother is reeling from the discovery of a family secret. Yet there are good times, too. He’s teaching his grandmother how to read. For the first time she’s sharing stories about her life as a slave. And his father and his friends are finally getting the respect and positions of power they’ve earned in the Wilmington, North Carolina, community. But not everyone is happy with the political changes at play and some will do anything, including a violent plot against the government, to maintain the status quo.

One generation away from slavery, a thriving African American community—enfranchised and emancipated—suddenly and violently loses its freedom in turn of the century North Carolina when a group of local politicians stages the only successful coup d’etat in US history.

What I Thought:

I am so glad I listened to Crow!  I didn’t even know that there were race riots in Wilmington in 1898, or that it was the only successful coup d’etat in U.S. history, and I really want to know more!

What I really like about this book is that it takes place a generation after the Civil War.  As far as civil rights and politics go, it’s definitely an unusual time period- at least, in my experience with middle grade/YA historical fiction.  I really love it when historical fiction focuses on something I’ve never heard about, because I also want to learn more, and this book is no exception to that.

I don’t know much about the South during that time period, but I really liked seeing how Moses dealt with his family, friends, and people in Wilmington, and how aware he was of what had happened, and what was going on.  It really is a good look at what someone’s life might have been like during that time.  I could picture everything so well, and there is a lot of detail.

It did start off slow, and it took awhile to get to the actual riots and events of what happened that year.  It made it hard to get into at first, because I wasn’t sure where things were going, but I did like that we saw what things were like before this happened.  I also LOVED that there was an author’s note at the end of the book, explaining what happened and where the author got her inspiration for the book.  It doesn’t seem too common in middle grade/YA historical fiction, so it was nice to hear it.

I thought it was fine as an audio book, and the narrator…he fit, and yet he didn’t.  I did feel like there wasn’t much variation in his tone- there was something sort of monotone about his voice, and I couldn’t listen to it in the car, because something about  his voice was very soothing, and kind of made me want to sleep, which isn’t good when you’re trying to drive.  Yet I could picture him as a 12-year-old boy.

Let’s Rate It: 

Overall, I really liked Crow, and I feel inspired to learn more about what happened in Wilmington in 1898.  I have mixed feelings about the narrator but overall, I liked the narration too.  Crow gets 4 stars.