Audio Book Review: Free Cyntoia by Cyntoia Brown-Long

Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System by Cyntoia Brown-Long
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: October 2019



At the age of 12 Cyntoia Brown began a downward spiral that she couldn't get out of. Thinking she was finding love, she was trafficked until the age of 16 when she killed a man. She claimed self defense, but was charged as an adult for murder. Serving a life sentence Cyntoia is determined to turn her life around and get out of jail.

I had heard a lot about this book from many different people. I didn't really know her story though until the book came out.

Cyntoia was a troubled young lady. Her biological mother was into drugs and so she was adopted. Her adopted family loved her and did everything they could for her, but there was still something inside her that made her act out and do things she shouldn't have been doing. At a young age, she was pimped out by men who she thought loved her.

It took a long time for Cyntoia to love herself and stop being so destructive with her life. In the end, it was a long hard road, that she made it to the end of. Today she is still fighting for women's rights in sex trafficking.

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Review: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: 2018

Georgina Shaw has everything going for her in her life in Seattle. She's in a top position at work and she is engaged to one of the wealthiest men in the city. So why is she being arrested for the murder of her best friend, Angela Wong, 14 years earlier? Geo(as she likes to be called) didn't murder her friend, but she was there when it all happened and kept this secret for this long. There are so many secrets from that night, that need to come to the surface, but one Geo will keep hidden for as long as she can.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Geo is sentenced to 5 years in prison for her actions on the night her friend was killed. After she is released, more murders similar to what happened with her friend that night begin to happen. Geo's friend who was also friends with Angela, Kaiser Brody is now a police officer and is working on this case. But is it too much for him considering his feelings for Geo in the past. He believes, Calvin is responsible for these murders since he's escaped from prison, but there is something different about these that has everyone stumped.

I was on the edge of my seat while reading this book. It's impossible to read this story and not become fully engrossed. Geo is really the kind of girl that you would probably be friends with. She is pretty down to earth and knows how to get what she wants. My heart went out to her during the whole book, I wanted to jump in and try to save her. But the ending will have you thinking to yourself, "What the hell just happened?" I recommend this to anyone who likes a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat.



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Review: An American Cage by Ted Galdi

An American Cage by Ted Galdi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Danny Marsh is serving time in a maximum security prison in Texas. His cellmate, Phil Zorn, along with his good friend Monty Montgomery all decide to make an escape from prison and head to Mexico. But, as these things go, the plan did not go as it should and quickly decisions had to be made on the fly. Will the trio make it to Mexico, or will they be caught and forced to spend even more time behind bars?

Thank you to Ted Galdi and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the second book I have read by Ted Galdi. His first book, Elixir, was very good as well.

For most of his life Danny Marsh has run from his problems. But one night, he makes a mistake that he can't run from. Even though Danny is only charged with a minor crime, he is sent to a maximum security prison in East Texas. This is not a place Danny is doing well. When his cellmate, Phil come up with the plan for escape, Danny agrees so that he can get out of this place. But Danny learns a lot more about his "friend" once they are on the outside. Taking matters into his own hands, Danny finds a way to make it through the situation his been forced in to, alive.

This book is very hard to put down. I got through it quickly and I could feel myself right there along with Danny trying to find the place between right and wrong and good and evil.

Highly recommended.

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Review--Shakespeare Saved My Life by Dr. Laura Bates

Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura  Bates
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Dr. Laura Bates is an English professor at Indiana State University.  She is given to opportunity to teach inmates in Indiana's Correctional System.  She decides that she is going to teach them Shakespeare.  She was discouraged by others thinking that Shakespeare would be too much for inmates to handle.

Dr. Bates was surprised at how well the inmates were able to, not only understand the material, but also apply it to their own lives.  One inmate in particular, Larry Newton, took the material and really changed(saved) his life.  Larry was really able to relate to Shakespeare's works, especially MacBeth.  He used the material to look back on the choices and decisions he had made and was able to better understand the right choices to make.

When I saw this book as part of the Big Library Read, I was very excited.  It seemed like an interesting book that would hold my attention.  These days, I tend to do a lot of reading before bed.  Even though the chapters were no more than a few pages long, I fell asleep frequently.  I thought I would have been able to finish this book in a week because the subject matter was so interesting.  But, I felt as though it continued to go over the same thing.  I enjoyed the subject matter, but I thought I would be a little more engaged.


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Review - Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's Labor Day weekend and Henry needs new clothes for school.  His mother, Adele, rarely leaves the house anymore, since the divorce from Henry's father. They go to the local store and pick out a few things.  There they meet Frank, a recently escaped convict.  Frank has them take him to their home and stays with them through the long weekend until he can move on.

Henry and Adele aren't really sure what to do, but they do their best not to be too afraid so they can make it through.  When Frank turns out to be more than they bargained for, they are in for a lot of surprises.  This is a story about love.  Love lost, love shared and new love.  What happens when love is lost or gone forever.

Joyce Maynard has put together quite a great book.  Filled with different kinds of love without being a romance novel.  This book teaches you that you can never judge a book by its cover and that the world is full of surprises.

Henry is your typical teenage boy going through all of the strange changes that happens to a boy at 13.  His mother has been so shut off from the world since losing her father and a baby, that Henry often has to play the role of husband as well as son.  When Frank enters their lives, it's an interesting change for them both.  Adele seems to have come out of her depression and Henry has a relationship with a man, that he has been unable to get with his own father.

Together these three bake, dance, and try not to get caught during the long holiday weekend. This is a must read for anyone who is in love with love.


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