“Wish”
Overview I found on Amazon.
A touching, New York Times–bestselling story about a girl and her dog, perfect for young animal lovers.
Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets
Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.
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Amazon Link below…
You’re riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, “You are going to die.”
Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.
From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, “Which of these people should we save?…And who should we kill first?”
I thought the premise was a good one. Here you have people in self-driving cars all headed to the same location told through the car speakers they are going to die. I was curious how and why they came to find themselves in this situation, what diabolical mind would put this together, and of course, I wondered who would die.
My Thoughts After Reading the Book
I listened to this book on audible. The narrator was good, and the book was OK. I never lost interest in the content of the book, but on many occasions, I found my mind wondering. You follow the people trapped in the cars as they realize the dilemma in which they find themselves. The reaction of each passenger was interesting. Their fear and confusion were all televised for the world to see, and people were actually placing bids on who should live or die on social media. Overall it was a good book, just not one of my favorites.
I gave this book a 4.75/5
My Thoughts Before I Read the Book
I was looking for a Christmas themed book for the holiday, and I came across The Christmas Doll. This book received excellent reviews, so I thought I would listen to it on Audible.
My Thoughts After Reading the Book
I loved it! The story begins with two orphaned sisters in a workhouse in London in the late 19th century. Not only do the girls have to endure the dire conditions of the workhouse, but they are also dealing with a highly contagious disease that is killing kids in the home. The youngest of the sisters, Glory, becomes ill and is taken to the infirmary, and because of this, the older sister Lucy is convinced she will never see her sister again. At this desperate time for the sisters, Lucy decides to rescue her sister and escape the Work House.
The question is, do they escape and find themselves on the streets of London? Do the girls make friends along the way? Are there dolls involved in the story, and do the dolls bring hope? Do they meet an amazing lady that may or may not help them? I can’t tell you, or it would be a spoiler. I will only say that I loved it and I would recommend it.
After listening to the book on Audible, I decided to buy the book on Amazon to put in my library. I was going to get the hardbound copy, but it was selling for $107.00. I decided to get the paperback for $10.95.
I gave this one 4/5 stars.
Amazon Link Below….
Or so she thinks.
Not only does her job bring her face-to-face with both her mortal enemy and her ultimate crush, but Jamie also encounters a territorial patron, an elderly movie fanatic, a super-tall painter who loves to bake, and a homeless dog. Over the course of the summer, as Jamie gets to know the library and the people in it, she finds—and gives—help where she least expects it.
And she just might find herself along the way.
My Thoughts Before I Read the Book
I am always on the lookout for a good middle-grade book, and this one looked like a good one, so I decided to check it out.
My Thoughts After Reading the Book
Our main character Jamie has done something she knew was wrong, and now she is suffering the consequences of her actions. She did this misdeed in school, and everyone knows about it, and so she is embarrassed. Her punishment is that she has to spend her summer working as a local public library volunteer. I loved the main character and all the interesting people she met in the library. Jamie’s library experience is where she finds herself. Excellent middle-grade book.
Is there a movie?
I could not find a book trailer or any info on a movie related to this book.
I give this book 4.5/5
Link to Amazon Below…..
A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined
Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix up their own marriage. There’s a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world.
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My thoughts before reading the book
I loved the book A Man Named Ove, so I thought I might enjoy this book by the same author.
My thoughts after reading the book
It has been several weeks since I read this book. As I read over the synopsis, it seems to lack what I saw as a thread that linked most of the book’s characters. There is a man you meet early on in the book. This man stood on the edge of a bridge, ready to jump due to his circumstances. In some way, this man is connected to most, if not all, of the characters.
The story plays out with a want to be bank robber taking several people hostage. The bank robber is only acting on her seemingly unsolvable problems. You get to know the bank robber, the hostages, and the police officers involved in the case.
This book is slow to start, and I think I am not going to like these people. Backman has a way of turning things around wherein you slowly get to know and love the characters. This book is well written and a fun, character-driven read.
Is there a movie?
I could not find a book trailer. I did see that Netflix is going to do something with his book. I am not sure if it is a show or a movie, but it should be good.
Check out my YouTube Video below