Book Reviews: August 2015

This months books range from amazing to meh.  I had a lot of feeling about each of these books, though, so be prepared for longer reviews.

This is a book that I picked up randomly at the library.  I decided to read it because the only things I've ever read about Afghanistan were books by soldier's about the war, so I thought it would be interesting; and the author is a news correspondent and spent five years living in Afghanistan.  I loved this story.  I think it gave us a real look at a culture we don't always understand.  It's amazing how much cultures can differ! In this story the girl is basically cast out because she talked to a male friend of the opposite sex whom she'd been friends with her whole life - and they were alone.  At their age, that is not allowed.  There were several times while reading this book that I felt like someone punched me right in the stomach.  It was completely heartbreaking, yet beautiful at the same time. I really liked the ending because it wasn't wrapped up nicely with a pretty bow, it was realistic. This book is definitely not for everyone but I really think it's worth reading.  I found myself wanting to educate myself more about Afghani culture after reading this.  

I gave this book a 5/5 on my GoodReads.

To be blunt, I hated this book.  I almost didn't finish it.  First, you should know that I hate cheating/cheaters; I told Josh before we started dating that cheating was one of two unforgivable things that would immediately end our relationship.  The whole premise of this book is a man who cheats on his wife, and in the end she takes him back.  The worst part was that the story was told from the perspective of the two women and the girl he was cheating with just didn't seem to care; she knew he was married and just didn't care.  I'm sorry but I just couldn't like this book.  The characters were weak and I was mad throughout the whole thing.  Ugh.

I gave this book a 2/5 on my GoodReads.

When I picked up this book, I honestly wasn't sure if I'd like it but I read it because everyone was talking about it.  Well now I am one of those people who can't stop talking about it!  This book was fantastic!  The writing alone was enough to make me want to give it four or five stars - the imagery was just incredible.  The characters were also amazing and I loved how they developed throughout the whole book.  It's just an amazing story about how war can change you and can tear apart a childhood.  I can't say enough about this haunting and beautiful story!   The book does skip around a lot so if you're a person who doesn't like that, this book may not be for you, otherwise I highly recommend it.

I gave this book a 4/5 on my GoodReads.

This is another book that I picked up because it was being talked about so much.  I really thought I would like it a lot more than I actually did.  A lot of people loved this book but I really didn't find anything special about it.  I didn't like any of the characters, especially not the main character (and can I just say how much I don't like that Emily Blunt is playing her in the movie because I really like Emily Blunt) and I found it to be a bit slow.  I also may be one of the few people who figured out who the bad person was, so the mystery part wasn't even all that exciting for me.  This book was just OK and the only reason it's getting three stars instead of two is because I did think the writing was good and the idea was good.

I gave this book a 3/5 on my GoodReads.