That Darkness by Lisa Black takes place in Cleveland, Ohio and is a work of fiction that makes one think. It is about Jack Renner, a vigilante cop who makes sure the scumbags in Cleveland who got off before do not get off again! He takes care of them himself! He justifies it by the fact that he’s saving others from their exploits. Maggie, a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department suspects him and finds herself in dangerous situations as she gathers evidence.
This book is very creepy and at first; I was feeling overwhelmed with so many dead bodies to keep track of. Then though, things settled down some and I got caught up in wondering what I would do if I were Maggie and whether I liked Jack or not. This is a book with adventure and suspense that makes you think. It is definitely not a happy little story with a predictable ending, nor is it a murder mystery. There is no mystery at all so if that's what you are looking for, you will be disappointed. I look forward to reading the sequel, Unpunished next.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)
Teaser from page 172: "That in times of crisis, morality is the first thing to go out the window. It becomes a luxury people just can't afford."
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In Scythe by Neal Shusterman, there is no war, no disease, and nobody goes hungry in the world. The only problem is overpopulation! That is where being a scythe comes into play. You fix that problem. Citra and Rowan are both picked to try to be a scythe, but do not want any part of it! However, to decline is not in their best interest.
This book was way better than I thought it would be. Citra and Rowan are both really good. The story flows well and the twists and turns are well done to say the least! Do not miss this one--it's a must read! I look forward to book 2.
(Gerard's review 10/30/17, 5++ stars)
Teaser from page 29: But a perfect world needs no improvement. Like most everything else we do, education, from grade school through the highest of universities, is just a way to keep us busy.
We both also liked Unwind by this author too and also recommend that one.
(Karen's review, 5 stars: LOVED THIS BOOK! SO GLAD I READ IT!) Scythe by Neal Shusterman is about a utopia future where humanity has overcome disease, aging, crime, and natural death. Government has been replaced with the Thunderhead that makes sure everyone in the world has what they need. It watches everything that happens and stores people's memories. (Anyway, guess we'll find out more about the Thunderhead in book two.) People can still get hurt, but what normally would kill someone like falling 12 stories from a window now makes them "deadish." They can be taken to a revival center where they get good as new in just 2-3 days and get delicious ice cream when they wake up. Since there is a problem of overpopulation, a special group called Scythes do the service of "gleaning" people on a random basis. Gleaning is just a nice word for legalized killing. The Scythdom have their own set of laws they must follow. When Citra and Rowan are chosen by Scythe Faraday to become his apprentices on the road to becoming a scythe, both reluctantly accept for different reasons. Scythes have power not only to take life, but also to grant immunity from being gleaned to people and Scythe's families have immunity as long as the Scythe lives. I was very intrigued by this book. It is well written and very thought provoking with several twists tossed in that really shocked me! I loved this book so much, I think I will actually re-read it just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Citra and Rowan come from very different backgrounds but are both smart, moral and find themselves in difficult situations. I also liked all the humor, some of which made me actually laugh out loud, and really cool things in this book like being able to "turn the corner" and go back to being any age you want, having years named after animals, and having healing nanites so wounds can heal themselves. I highly recommend this to older teens or adults who like thought provoking books about the future. This is one of my top 2 favorites of the year, the other being Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst.
SPOILER ALERT - STOP HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T YET READ THIS BOOK. IF YOU HAVE, I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THESE QUESTIONS:
(1) Exactly how did Scythe Faraday fake his own death and how did Scythe Curie know about it?
(2) Why did Citra's fingers turn really cold when Scythe Faraday let her try on his ring, but when Scythe Goddard gave his ring to Rowan to take over giving immunity to the loved ones of those they gleaned, nothing happened. Nor did anything happen when Rowan put it on after decapitating Scythe Goddard (which I really liked by the way). I thought it was funny he put it in the dirty water bowl at the monastery.
(3) I thought the ending was fantastic and was so happy it didn't end with a cliffhanger as to which one was chosen or stop before knowing if the winner gleaned the loser. What did you think about the ending?
The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff is a very interesting story about a Jewish girl, Emma, doing whatever she needs to do to survive the Nazi rule. Emma is just 19 and recently married to Jacob, a leader in the resistance movement, at the start of the book. When Jacob leaves Emma alone to work on dangerous missions for the resistance, Emma goes to live with her parents, but finds that they have been taken away to a Jewish ghetto. She follows them but with the help of the resistance, escapes to her husband’s Aunt’s house who she then lives with. When the aunt throws a dinner party for high ranking political officials, Emma takes on a whole new identity and begins to work for the Kommandant at Nazi headquarters. Will she ever be reunited with her husband? Will the Rabbi’s little boy who lives with her survive? Will he ever know about his Jewish heritage?
This book is about Emma’s journey and raises some moral and ethical questions. I liked this book and was not disappointed. The double life that Emma found herself in was very interesting and I also liked both the Kommandant and Jacob. I could easily see how Emma could be unfaithful to her husband under the circumstances. It was fun trying to figure out who Emma could trust. It would be a good one for a book club to discuss. There is lots of aspects to discuss. I highly recommend this one! I read this book because I liked The Orphan’s Tale by this author so wanted to try another one by her. (Karen's review 5/2/17, 5 stars)
Gerard's review 4/29/17:
In The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff, Emma is a newly married woman when the Nazi's take over Poland. Her husband goes underground to fight the takeover. Emma wants to help too, but when circumstances give her a chance to do her part, it is very dangerous. One false move means death for her and those she loves!
This is good stuff! The story line is very good and I felt the tension grow. The characters are very believable too. (5+ stars)
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Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee is about the girl Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird grown up. She comes back to her hometown from living on her own in New York to visit for a couple weeks. She is shocked at some of the changes she finds and is especially disappointed in her father who she idolized as a girl.
This was a big disappointment to me and I almost quit on it twice, but plowed through to the end. It was just very boring. The only parts I really liked were the few flashbacks to when Scout was a child and teenager which were humorous. I really liked her in the first book, but didn’t like her at all in this one. The theme was that everyone needs to follow their own conscience and not to judge others based on only their actions without knowing their motives. I would highly suggest you pass on this book.
(Karen's review, 1 star)
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Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell is a quick read that kept me turning the pages to see if the killer gets caught. In this book, the "Perfect Killer" is the main character. Kit was taught to be a killer by her mother for money--yes, they were both killers. The mom "retired" from killing and turned over the job to her daughter (nice, huh?). When Kit is killing, she goes by Diana, I think so she can live with herself. The killings are not real gory but there are many! It's hard to give a book 5 stars if you don't like the main character.
(Karen's review 4/29/14, 4 stars)
Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell is told by Kit, a young girl who is the "Perfect Killer." Why? you ask. You will have to read the book to find out that one. Kit was taught by her mom and taught well. Then one thing happens that will change her way of life, or will it?
I really enjoyed this book a lot! I thought the writing was very good and Kit is an amazing character. Put this on your T.B.R. list. It's that good. I LOVED it! This is the best book I've read this month so far.
(Gerard's review 4/16/14, 5++ stars)
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