Review: Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published: September 2018

Mattie and Sadie are sisters. Sadie does her very best to care for Mattie. Their mother is no help. When Matties is found dead, Saide is determined to find her killer and get revenge. When Sadie's car is found with everything, but her inside, her neighbor May Beth gets concerned. The police will not help, so she turns to West McCray, a radio personality with a true crime podcast to help find Sadie. Told from two points of view, Sadie's and West's serial podcast, we find out more about each girl, especially Sadie and what drove her to the point she is.

This is another book I couldn't put down. A lot of people have suggested that this is a great audiobook to listen to. I tried that, but I got confused when listening to the podcast part since there are a slew of characters that are portrayed during those parts and I got confused.

Sadie is a young woman, who I don't think has even reached her 21st birthday. Her mother is a drug addict and after practically raising herself, she has to also raise her younger sister. After their mom disappears, Sadie is sure that she will be able to keep a better hold on her sister, but it proves to be harder and harder. Sadie does her best and is devastated when her sister is killed. Having to grow up way too fast, she shows the strength all women possess to care for what is most important to them.

I highly recommend this book. I gave it a 4 rating because I had so many questions at the end that need answers.

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To learn more or to order a copy of this book, click the links below(affiliate links):

Amazon

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What 'Cha Readin'? Book Club!

 

So I want to start a Book Club.  I know we all may already be in a book club.  I am in one that was meeting once a month until COVID hit.  We are still meeting via zoom, which gave me this idea.   

I want this book club to be a little different though.  I don't want to have a set book that we read each month, that's a lot of pressure for me.   What I would like to do is get to know my readers and others in the bookish community better, by just getting together maybe once or twice a month and just talk about the books we are reading, any books we may be looking forward to, books we recently DNF'd.  

If this is something you would be interested in, let me know.  This isn't limited to people just where I live, I'm hoping I can take this international.  I would do the meetings on Google Meet or maybe Zoom.  If you're interested, let me know by leaving a comment, or send me a message(you can find my email under the contact me tab), or you can click here link to join.

I hope this works and I look forward to hearing from you all.  

Happy Reading!!

Review: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: June 2019
 

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is the story of a young man, writing to his mother. His mother is Vietnamese and she herself is suffering from PTSD, but she would never admit it. The letters are to be a way of letting go of the pain since his mother is not able to read. She calls him Little Dog and is frequently abusive to him. To top it off, Little Dog is small for his age and is often teased and bullied in school. He also is gay. How do you deal with all of these things when no one wants to listen to what you have to say.

This was a deep and moving story that touched me from the very beginning. You want to reach in and just give him a hug. You just felt sorry for him. This is supposed to be a novel, but it read more like a memoir.

One of my favorite quotes from this book was "Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey." This quote hit me deeply.

If you are looking for a moving story that will grip you from the start, this is a great story!

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To learn more about this book, or to order a copy, click the book cover below:

Review: The Round House by Louise Erdrich

The Round House by Louise Erdrich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: September 2013



Joe is thirteen years old and he and his family live on a reservation in North Dakota. When Joe's mom is attacked, she goes into lockdown in their house refusing to eat or speak to anyone about what happened. Joe doesn't think the adults are working hard enough to find out what happened to his mother, so he takes it upon himself to find out what is going on. Will Joe be successful in his attempts or will his mother stay shut down forever.

This was our book club selection for April. I have seen this book before, but wasn't really something that I was interested in reading.

I can't imagine what I would do if someone were to hurt the person who I loved most in the world. I remember one time when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old and I was staying with my grandmother for the day. She got a call from my mom that she had been in an accident and would be late picking us up. This was long before the days of cell phones. So when I finally saw my mother, her clothes were all ripped up from were the paramedics had checks for any external injuries. I was so scared I didn't know what to do.

Joe enlists the help of his friends and other members of the reservation to help find out what happened to his mother. This journey takes him from a boy to a man in ways he never would imagine. At the beginning of the book he's picking small trees from the cement outside of his house and by the end he's driving across the country with friends.

While this book wasn't the best for me, I encourage you to read it just for Joe's story.


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To learn more about this book or to order a copy, click the book cover below:

Winning Wednesday--Bookish Giveaways!!

Bookish Giveaways to get you over the HUMP!!

Good Day to my fellow bookish friends.  I hope your Wednesday is going well.  Here close to Washington, DC we have cloudy skies and threats of rain.  A good day to stay inside and read.  

Summer Thriller Giveway  brought to you by Penguin Random House.  Enter for your chance to win the Ultimate Summer Thriller Stack!!  Titles include: 

All of these look like books I want to read.  I've read Look For Me by Lisa Gardner(click the title for my review)

Open to US Residents Only--Ends July 16th

Enter for your chance to win an Advance Copy of The Intermission by Elyssa Friendland.  Brought to you by Penguin Random House.   Have you ever had a secret so gut-wrenching you couldn’t tell anyone, not even the person who shares your bed? Told from the alternating perspectives of a husband and wife who both have something to hide, this incisive novel pulls back the curtain on a seemingly-happy marriage, posing the question: how much do we really know–and how much should we want to know–about the people we love the most?

Open to US Residents only--Ends June 16th

Enter for your chance to win a copy of All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth.  Brought to you by Harper Collins and Goodreads.  A young woman haunted by a family tragedy is caught up in a dangerous web of lies and deception involving a secret society in this highly charged, addictive psychological thriller that combines the dishy gamesmanship of Gossip Girl with the murky atmosphere of The Secret History.

Open to US Residents only(you have to also be a member of Goodreads)--Ends June 12th

FREE FOR ALL

Click here to get a free, full-length audiobook download of Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider—anytime from now until 6/7 at 7am ET! Extraordinary Means is one of two audiobooks available this week for FREE as part of AudioFile Magazine's #audiobooksync18 program. Bonus: The download also includes an excerpt from Robyn's brand-new audiobook, Invisible Ghosts!

I think anyone can get this book internationally.  Keep this link handy as the book changes every Thursday at 7amEST  

Enter for your chance to win 1 of 10 Advanced Copies of Timeless by R. A. Salvatore.  Brought to you by Harper Collins.  Giveaway is on Facebook  so you have to be signed in to enter.    At long last, New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore returns with one of fantasy's most beloved and enduring icons, the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden, in an all-new trilogy full of swordplay, danger, and imaginative thrills.

Open to US Residents Only--Ends June 25th

Enter for your chance to win 1 of 10 copies of Tonight I'm Someone Else by Chelsea Hodson  Brought to you by BookRiot  From graffiti gangs and Grand Theft Auto to sugar daddies, Schopenhauer, and a deadly game of Russian roulette, Chelsea Hodson probes her desires in these essays to examine where the physical and proprietary collide. She asks what our privacy, intimacy, and bodies are worth in the increasingly digital world of liking, linking, and sharing. This tender and jarring collection is relevant to anyone who’s ever searched for what the self is worth.

Open to US Residents only(excluding US Territories)--Ends June 8th

Enter for the chance for your bookclub to win a Skype visit with author Sarah Miller, plus ten copies each of Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Caroline, the historical novel it inspired!  Brought to you by Harper Collins 

Open to US Residents only--Ends June 11th

Enter for a chance to win one of ten copies of MURDER GAMES!  Brought to you by James Patterson  Also published as the book Instinct 

Open to US & Canadian (except Quebec) Residents Only--Ends June 14th

Underlined is having a Birthday!! Underlined is Penguin Random House's newsletter for Readers and Writers.  Enter for your chance to win their birthday Prize Pack which includes:

• An Underlined Beach Towel
• An Underlined Tote Bag
• An Underlined Accessory Pouch
• An Underlined Portable Charger
• A Tank Top from Out of Print that says "Book Nerd"

Open to US Residents Only--Ends June 15th

 Enter for a chance to win a prize from one of 17 amazing Romance Authors. One grand prize winner will receive a Kindle Fire 7.

Giveaway ends 6/30/18 Midnight EST! Winners will be randomly selected and announced on July 1st in ME + YOU Summer Romance Reader Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MePlusYouSummer/

Enter for your chance to win the Ultimate Crafter's Prize. Prize Includes:

Cricut Explore One™ and starter bundle, plus copies of these must-have crafting books (courtesy of Clarkson Potter) Brought to you by Borrow Read Repeat

Open to US Residents Only--Ends June 8th

I don't know about you guys, but I'm really excited to see the new movie Book Club with Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen.

Enter  for your chance to win a Book Club Prize Pack.  Brought to you by Landmark Theaters. Two winners will receive:

•  A Fire HD 10 Tablet
• Set of 4 Wineglasses
• One T-shirt
• One Booklight
• A Totebag
• Puffer Jacket

Open to US Residents Only(except Florida)--Ends June 15th

Book Riot Giveaway Page -- Click here

Giveaways from Goodreads

**These giveaways are not sponsored by What 'Cha Readin'?. Please see each giveaway for official rules.**