"Inside the O'Briens" by Lisa Genova (Effects of Huntington's Disease)

Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova is about a Catholic Irish family living in Boston.  Joe, a cop, loves his wife, Rosie and his four grown children but starts acting strange.  He is diagnosed with Huntington's Disease (HD) but still tries to do his job without telling anyone.  When he is told it is a genetic disease, he is afraid for his children. 

I finally decided to read this book because my husband kept saying how good it was.  Inside the O'Briens informs the reader about HD through the life of Joe and his family.  We see how it doesn't just affect the person who has the disease, but everyone around him.  I liked Joe and felt sorry for him and his wife, and his son JJ the firefighter and his family; however, I did not care for the other three children much at all.

There is a blood test that can be done to see if a person has HD even before the symptoms show up so the big question in the book for the children is if they want to know.  It is thought-provoking because the reader can't help but question what they would do in this situation.  Would you want to know if you were going to have this disease in your future?  I don't think I would want to know ahead unless I was thinking about having a baby.

I did not care for the rough language throughout the book, nor for the lifestyles of Patrick and Katie which caused me not to like these characters, two of his grown children.  My husband loved this book, but I found it to be sad, depressing and was very disappointed in the ending that left me hanging.  I liked this author's other books much better:  Still Alice and Left Neglected.
(Karen's review, 2 stars)

See also my blog post inspired by this book:  Just sayin' We Should be Humane to Humans Too! 

Gerard's review 4/24/15, 5++ stars:
Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova is about Joe, a Boston policeman.  He has been having some health issues and his wife wants him to see a doctor.  He thinks it is nothing, but agrees to go.  It turns out he has Huntington Disease!  You find out all about it when you read this book--trust me, you do not want this disease!  Not only that, but his kids are at risk of getting it too.

Lisa Genova's books are always top notch and this is no exception.  I loved the interaction between Joe and his wife and kids.  This book had me from page 1.  Make sure you read the "Call to Action" part of this book as well.  The ending is perfect!  I LOVED this book and highly recommend it and her other book too:  Still Alice and Left Neglected.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Lilac Girls" by Martha Hall Kelly

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly is told by three different points of view.  During World War II, Kasia is a Polish teenager and will do what she can to help her people fight Hitler and his army.  Herta is a German doctor and wants to prove that she is as good as a man.  Caroline works in the French Consulate in New York and when Hitler sets his sight on France, her world changes.

Kasia's story is the one I enjoyed the most.  She is a brave girl!  Her story alone makes this a "must read" book.  Herta's story came in second; I could not believe her thought process!  Caroline's story was okay and got better at the end.  I think The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is better; however, that being said, this book is very good too!  When you are done reading this, be sure to read the Author's Note too!  This is my best read for this month!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Defender" by Graham McNamee

Defender by Graham McNamee is a creepy mystery about family secrets that Tyne and her friend, Stick accidentally discover and proceed to figure it out.  Tyne is the building superintendent's high school daughter who is really tall and plays center on her basketball team.   When Tyne find's a dead girl's cut up body hidden in her basement wall, she thinks her dad knows something about it or had something to do with it.

This is a very quick read that I liked okay.  It is creepy though but had a good ending.  To me, this came across as a bit unrealistic that Tyne and Stick could put together the pieces to the mystery so easily.  (Karen's review, 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teasers: 5 This Week

Gerard's:
The thought of administering a lethal injection was too abhorrent to dwell on.  Would we inject into the arm?

From page 119 of Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly.

She saw lightning clip a ridge to her left--south and west of the cafe.  Alarmed, she called 911.

From page 61 of The Fire Line by Fernanda Santos.

They were shocked by the mud; it looked far worse than the newspapers described it.  When the celluloid Exterminator crossed the finish line and trotted to the winner's circle, tossing his head as the roses were wrapped about his neck, they responded with exuberant applause.

From page 76 of Here Comes Exterminator! by Eliza McGraw.

Karen's:

He walked forward, out of the glare, then stopped abruptly, staring at me.  I blinked in surprise, and found myself staring back.

Page 33 of Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson.

"What if you just confront him?  I mean, show him that finger and say 'Here's the proof.  I saw what I saw.'"

From page 41 of Defender by Graham McNamee.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading. 

Happy Reading!

"Here Comes Exterminator!" by Eliza McRaw

Here Comes Exterminator--The Long-Shot Horse, the Great War, and the Making of an American Hero by Eliza McGraw is a non-fiction book is one of those books that tell about somebody or someone I have no knowledge about that I find very interesting.  These are some of my favorite books to read.

Exterminator was a fantastic race horse.  He won the most money of any race horse ever!  He won the Kentucky Derby in 1918 and from then on Americans had a love affair with this great horse.  Ms. McGraw tells the story really well and I got to know how it was back then.  I enjoyed this book very much!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!