Audio Book Review: The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: March 2018

Cassie Bowden is a flight attendant who works international flights out of JFK airport in New York City. On a flight to Dubai, Cassie meets, Alex Sokolov, a finance guy who is in town on business. They decide to have dinner after they are both settled in the city and that leads to much more. Cassie ends up spending the night with Alex, there's only one problem. She wakes up in the morning and he does not. Laying in a pool of his blood, Cassie doesn't know whether she is responsible or not. She is known for her drunken escapades, but has never encountered anything like this. Instead of telling anyone, she returns to the U.S. She will grapple back and forth with herself, her friends, family, attorney, and FBI about what really happened that night in Dubai and who is Alex Sokolov.

I have loved Chris Bohjalian's books from the first one I read, Midwives.

There was a time in my life when I wanted to be a flight attendant. I'm not sure what happened that I didn't go through with it. I would have loved to travel the world seeing different places no matter how briefly. Although I here the flight attendant life isn't as glamorous as it may seem.

This book really grabbed me from the start. Cassie liked to get drunk and make bad decisions. This time she thought she found a nice guy, but who would want him dead. The FBI thinks she may have been in on it, but she's nothing but a flight attendant, not a spy. Will she continue her wild behavior, or will this incident be a wake up call for her?

Travel with Cassie all over the world as she tries to figure out her life and where it all went wrong. Will she make it out of this situation or will she spend the rest of her life somewhere she doesn't belong?



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Review: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: July 2018

Hanna is seven years old and the apple of her father's eye. In his mind, she is his perfect little girl, his "lilla gumman". Suzette is Hanna's mother and she does all she can for Hanna, by home schooling her. But Hanna refuses to speak and has gotten kicked out of a few schools for her bad behavior. Is she not speaking because something is wrong or because she chooses not to? After countless doctor's visits, Suzette and Alex are at their wits end to find out what is wrong with their daughter. Hanna does not like her mother and will stop at nothing until it's just her and Daddy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

First, I want to say that I enjoyed this book and the story was very interesting. So, I don't know if it was me in a slump or the layout of the ARC, but I didn't find myself wanting to grab this book as soon as I could. Instead I found myself crushing candies and binge watching The Big Bang Theory.

What would you do if you had a non-verbal child who hated you? Her not speaking can not be explained by doctors, therapists or teachers. You know she has sound cause he makes weird noises and hums. But Hanna is determined to get her point across one way or another and that point is, Mommy must go. Her father is blinded by all her bad behavior since Hanna turns into an angel when he is around. When a series of events seriously harms Suzette, Alex can no longer be blinded by his daughter's niceness. Will they be able to get Hanna the help she needs or will Suzette live in fear of her own daughter for the rest of her life?  


I really enjoyed this book. I don't think I have read anything quite like this about kids and their relationship with their parents. I'm thankful I don't have a child with behavioral problems, cause this book would have me watching my back all of the time. I think everyone who reads this will be able to sympathize with Suzette. Most mothers always try to do their best for their kids and at times it's seems it's never enough. But trying to survive your kid is a whole other story. I hope you will pick up this book and enjoy it like I did.

I'd like to extend a special thank you to Zoje Stage, for taking a few minutes out of her day to answer a few questions for this review.

WCR: Where is your favorite place to write?
ZS:   I am a creature of habit and I always write at my desk - which also doubles as my kitchen table (which is convenient, you know, for snacks).
WCR: What from your life inspired Baby Teeth?
ZS: Many things really: Seeing how my women friends, once they became mothers, were subject to society's harsh judgments about everything they did or didn't do; feeling as a child like I could never make myself understood; and of course, Suzette's chronic illness is based on some of my own experiences.
WCR: What is your favorite book?
ZS: I'm going with a three-way tie because these were all influential at the moment I read them: My Antonia (by Willa Cather); The Dispossessed (by Ursula Le Guin); The Road (by Cormac McCarthy)


I have a few Advanced Reader's Copies of this book to giveaway until midnight tonight. Names will be drawn on Friday, May 11th. Use the link below to enter.

Baby Teeth Giveaway

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Review: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Quinn wakes up on Sunday morning to discover that her roommate, Esther, is gone. Quinn isn't sure what she should do. The window to the fire escape was left open, but there is no note or sign of where Esther could be. Should she go to the police or wait for Esther to return? When Quinn starts to find things that make her question the integrity of her roommate, she's not sure if she wants her to be found.

A few hours away on the shores of Lake Michigan, Alex, an 18 year old boy is on his way to work at the local diner. He's cleaning dishes, when the most beautiful girl he has ever seen walks in. It's all he can do to concentrate on his work and not watch her watching whatever it is she is looking at outside the window. Who is she and where did she come from? Alex is determined to find the answers to those questions.

This is the first book I have read by Mary Kubica. I have heard nothing but great things about all of her books. Recently, I won a copy of her most recent book, Every Last Lie, and wanted to read something else of hers to get a feel for her writing style. When I first started the book, I dove in head first, I was very intrigued from the start and wanted to know what was going to happen.

I will say, that I found out what was going to happen about a third of the way through the book, although I was surprised at the end that I wasn't completely right. That is why I gave the book 3 stars.

What would you do if you found your roommate missing? A girl who you thought was one of the sweetest people you had ever known. Then you found evidence that maybe she wasn't so sweet after all, and maybe it was a good thing she was now gone. Quinn enlists the help of her friend and co-worker, Ben, who also knows Esther to help her get to the bottom of the mystery. When stranger and stranger details start to emerge, Quinn has no choice, but to go to the police for help. But will they help, or will they just assume, Esther has gone of her own free will and doesn't want to be found.

For Alex his motive is quite different. His life is not filled with much excitement, so when a new face appears in town and can shake up his boring world a bit, he's all for taking a chance on getting to know this girl. She is quite a change from dealing with his alcoholic father and the agoraphobic woman, Ingrid, who he frequently brings food to from the diner. But this girl won't tell him her name(he calls her Pearl because of her bracelet) or where she came from or why she is here. So he makes assumptions and tries his best to get to know her and find out who she is.

Are Esther and Pearl the same person? That is the question that plagues us through the whole book. You will have to read it to find out!

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Review-In Search of Sam by Kristin Butcher

In Search of Sam by Kristin Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dani Lancaster has just found out that the father she hardly knew, Sam Swan, had passed away and left her with a few things in his will.  When she goes to collect these things from his attorney, she finds a few personal belongings that send her on a quest to find her family.  With Sam being in the foster system his whole life, finding the truth about his past may not be so easy.

This is a very touching story about finding the truth.  Most of Dani's life she didn't even know her father existed.  When they were finally united, it was for only a few weeks at which time Dani found out that Sam had cancer and not too long to live.  In her journey to find out more about her father and herself, she travels through Canada finding people who knew Sam.  When she finally discovers the truth it is a shock to her and to me as well.

This book made me cry.  It touches a place in your heart.  Even though we may know who our family is, we all have a desire to find out about our past and our ancestors.  This is the first book I have read by Kristin Butcher.  I look forward to reading more of her books starting with the prequel to this book,
 
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**I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

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