I am on a roll for reading books in January about strong, intelligent women! It's funny how books group-up like that, albeit unintentionally.
Stephenie Meyer wrote the Twilight series, but she also wrote The Host, which I loved. There is no doubt that she is an entertaining storyteller. The protagonist, called "Alex" for the majority of this book, is a woman who used to work for the US Government. She has been on the run since her partner, another expert in their field of expertise, was murdered. She trusts no one. She kills when her safety is threatened. She is a trained interrogator, but I love how she tortures not only through the use of chemicals, but also with the suggestion of torture by simply staging tools of the trade that she never plans to use. (I don't mean to say that I love that she tortures people - just that an added element to her interrogation techniques involves psychological methods). Not sure if that explanation makes what I said more palatable or not! Ha!
This is a fast-paced story that involved twin brothers - one kind and one not - and a complicated plan to escape a death sentence that is being implemented by her former handler. Alex has to learn to trust other people along the way - and teach the "nice" twin to NOT trust everyone he meets - and correct his mistakes along the way.
I love the use of dogs in this story as well. The "evil" twin trains dogs to serve and protect those he assigns them to protect. Alex bonds with some of these dogs, which helps in her journey from hunted ex-agent to a person who is not afraid to build relationships with other people.
I will continue to read whatever story this author deems to tell!
Wendy's Rating: ****
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
I love novels about strong, intelligent women. This book falls in that category. The story centers around two women with a strong friendship that develops over time. They really don't even see each other that much - with both of them having different jobs during WWII. Maddie is a pilot, fighting her way through a man's world of flying. She is fearless and persistent though, which serves her well in the end. The majority of this story is written from Maddie's perspective, although she is not the narrator. That is just one twist in this story. "Verity" is a spy - an incredibly intelligent and beautiful spy who speaks three languages fluently.
How these two women support each other in the worst of times is a testament to true friendship. Since one woman narrates 3/4 of the novel and the other 1/4, the story unfolds but the reader doesn't understand the nuances of what the first narrator is saying until the second narrator sheds light on the events from her perspective. There are definitely several twists to the story that I don't see coming.
Usually I feel free to reveal spoilers in my posts - people are warned about that, after all, in the heading of my Blog - but this time I don't want to ruin the impact of the true depth of this relationship. I read a lot of novels about World War II - but not to read about the evil of Hitler and the Nazis. I read them because I am fascinated by the incredibly strong and brave men, women and children who fought against Hitler - just because it was the right thing to do. Maddie & "Verity" are both strong characters, but there is no one stronger than "Verity". Loved her.
Wendy's Rating: *****
How these two women support each other in the worst of times is a testament to true friendship. Since one woman narrates 3/4 of the novel and the other 1/4, the story unfolds but the reader doesn't understand the nuances of what the first narrator is saying until the second narrator sheds light on the events from her perspective. There are definitely several twists to the story that I don't see coming.
Usually I feel free to reveal spoilers in my posts - people are warned about that, after all, in the heading of my Blog - but this time I don't want to ruin the impact of the true depth of this relationship. I read a lot of novels about World War II - but not to read about the evil of Hitler and the Nazis. I read them because I am fascinated by the incredibly strong and brave men, women and children who fought against Hitler - just because it was the right thing to do. Maddie & "Verity" are both strong characters, but there is no one stronger than "Verity". Loved her.
Wendy's Rating: *****
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church
This book held a lot of meaning for me - on several levels. Love can certainly be a weight that you bear, but it can also provide meaning by opening you up to life's possibilities.
Meridian is an incredibly intelligent young woman who falls in love with a brilliant physicist. She falls in love with his intellect - and he hers. She sacrifices her individuality to marry him and support his scientific journey. I can't remember who says it, but I keep thinking about the comment made about people who can adapt have a higher IQ. I guess Alden adapts to the changes in his own work - but he really can't adapt to the changes he senses in Meridian as she starts to become an individual, separate from him. Although he adapts to Jasper without a second thought, which I found interesting - and shocking. Meridian adapts to all the changes in her life: leaving Chicago; leaving school; moving to Los Alamos; becoming a "housewife" in place of an intellectual sounding board for Alden; the whirlwind friendship of Belle - and her tragic death (did NOT see that coming!); Clay; Alden's slow death; the death of her precious crows; the death of her intellectual pursuit. All of these things just make her stronger in the end. She adapts and she moves forward. She leaves a legacy.
Alden infuriated me. I kept reminding myself that he was much older than Meridian and those were different times, but he still could have brought more meaning to her life just by simply communicating with her like he did when she was his student. Then, finding out they were millionaires and he leaves her a pittance to live on after he dies. How insulting is that?! It was incredibly satisfying that she fought the estate plan in the courts!
I had some misgivings about Clay. There was a huge age gap between Alden & Meridian - and look how that turned out. I was concerned (as Meridian was) about the age difference and life experiences between Meridian & Clay. I do believe they truly loved each other though. Clay opened up a whole new world for Meridian. I thought it was admirable that he respected her wishes and never tried to get her back after Alden died. Now that is love. I also think that Meridian did the right thing by letting him go. That showed her love for him. She didn't want to do to him what was done to her. At the same time, it made me sad. His birthday gifts to her were amazing. Her final gift to him really demonstrated that there are all kinds of ways that people can love each other.
It was satisfying to me that Meridian realized that she had married a "crow" and that it was unfair of her to expect him to be anything different than a "crow". Very insightful. I love that she took care of him to the bitter end.
I really loved this book - and I really loved the message.
Wendy's Rating: *****
Meridian is an incredibly intelligent young woman who falls in love with a brilliant physicist. She falls in love with his intellect - and he hers. She sacrifices her individuality to marry him and support his scientific journey. I can't remember who says it, but I keep thinking about the comment made about people who can adapt have a higher IQ. I guess Alden adapts to the changes in his own work - but he really can't adapt to the changes he senses in Meridian as she starts to become an individual, separate from him. Although he adapts to Jasper without a second thought, which I found interesting - and shocking. Meridian adapts to all the changes in her life: leaving Chicago; leaving school; moving to Los Alamos; becoming a "housewife" in place of an intellectual sounding board for Alden; the whirlwind friendship of Belle - and her tragic death (did NOT see that coming!); Clay; Alden's slow death; the death of her precious crows; the death of her intellectual pursuit. All of these things just make her stronger in the end. She adapts and she moves forward. She leaves a legacy.
Alden infuriated me. I kept reminding myself that he was much older than Meridian and those were different times, but he still could have brought more meaning to her life just by simply communicating with her like he did when she was his student. Then, finding out they were millionaires and he leaves her a pittance to live on after he dies. How insulting is that?! It was incredibly satisfying that she fought the estate plan in the courts!
I had some misgivings about Clay. There was a huge age gap between Alden & Meridian - and look how that turned out. I was concerned (as Meridian was) about the age difference and life experiences between Meridian & Clay. I do believe they truly loved each other though. Clay opened up a whole new world for Meridian. I thought it was admirable that he respected her wishes and never tried to get her back after Alden died. Now that is love. I also think that Meridian did the right thing by letting him go. That showed her love for him. She didn't want to do to him what was done to her. At the same time, it made me sad. His birthday gifts to her were amazing. Her final gift to him really demonstrated that there are all kinds of ways that people can love each other.
It was satisfying to me that Meridian realized that she had married a "crow" and that it was unfair of her to expect him to be anything different than a "crow". Very insightful. I love that she took care of him to the bitter end.
I really loved this book - and I really loved the message.
Wendy's Rating: *****
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