The Last Town by Blake Crouch

Book #3 in the Wayward Pines Trilogy. I got a lot of my questions from the first two books answered in this one, thankfully!  Before the answers, however, we get to read about many, many gruesome deaths at the hands (actually claws and fangs) of the abbies. They are monsters in the truest form of the word. They have taken over the town of Wayward Pines, thanks to David Pilcher. He watches the death and destruction of his beloved town on the security cameras from the safety of his (fortress) home. Pilcher sees himself as God. He is the creator of this town and these people; the savior of humankind. But as he loses control of the town after Ethan announces the truth to the townspeople, he is also its destroyer. Pilcher, as "God", sees Wayward Pines as his Garden of Eden. "Adam & Eve" were Ethan and the townspeople. Pilcher believes, "[t]hey had brought this reckoning to bear. They had demanded full knowledge, knowledge they were ill-equipped to stomach. And when faced with the truth from Ethan Burke, they had revolted against their creator."

This book also answers my questions about the relationships between Kate & Ethan; Ethan & Theresa; Kate & Harold; Theresa & Adam. I had questions about which of these relationships were most authentic - and how they could each genuinely love two people. My questions were definitely answered in a satisfactory way.  Some of the deaths were devastating though. So many good people died.

In order to beat the abbies - at least within Wayward Pines, Ethan had to convince Pilcher's people (who were ignorant as to what had happened when Pilcher turned off the electric fence and opened the gate to the town) that Pilcher was evil; that he had lost his sanity. Ethan shows Pilcher's key people a video of Pilcher brutally murdering his own daughter as his proof. They join forces - and use Pilcher's weapons - to kills all the abbies in town. They are able to turn the electric fence back on and shut the gate.

Ethan finds out that life in Wayward Pines is not sustainable long-term however. Pilcher knew this as well, but refused to acknowledge this truth. Their options are limited - and risky and dangerous. Ethan gathers all the survivors and tells them the truth and the options. I was surprised by the option they chose! These three books were incredibly engaging. They were difficult to put down. As in most dystopian novels, the truth sets them free - but it is not a happy tale. I really loved it though!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Wayward by Blake Crouch

Book #2 in the Wayward Pines Trilogy. Now Ethan is the Sheriff of Wayward Pines. He is walking a fine line between David Pilcher and his own belief that the townspeople should know the truth about where they are, how they got there, and what's beyond the electric fence. The one key thing I can't quite understand in this book is why Pilcher would trust Ethan. A fete was called to murder Ethan, but since he escaped, Pilcher makes him the Sheriff and kills one of his own key people that was there at the inception of  Wayward Pines? To me that doesn't make sense. Why would Pilcher ever trust Ethan? I suppose it could be about "keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer" kind of thing, but it doesn't seem like that.

We find out that Pilcher's daughter, Alyssa, is also in Wayward Pines. She was put on a mission to infiltrate a resistance group. She is found brutally murdered one night by Ethan. Pilcher asks Ethan to find out who murdered her. He blames the resistance group, mainly Kate, Ethan's former Secret Services partner/lover. Ethan sets out to find the truth. He seems to be playing both sides of the fence. He doesn't believe that Kate would murder anyone, but he seeks her out and convinces her to "let him in". Her condition is that he needs to cut out the microchip in his leg so that he can't be tracked. Pilcher agrees to this idea, but for only one day. Again, pretty risky for Pilcher to allow this!

We are also introduced to Tobias. Tobias was one of the people who left Wayward Pines in search of other human survivors. He's been gone for 3 1/2 years and he is believed to be dead, just like all the others who left on this same mission. He is actually making his way back to Wayward Pines, however. He is coming back with "news", but we don't find out what it is in this book.

Ethan and Theresa begin to develop a husband/wife relationship again - and he decides to tell her the truth about their lives. She is devastated by the truth. Ethan decides that the townspeople should also know the truth. This revelation results in utter destruction. Pilcher leans into his deepening madness and unleashes the abbies.

The writing is incredibly fast-paced and gripping. It's like watching a thriller movie. You want to watch, but you are holding your breath. So many people die, you really don't know who will survive. The abbies are not the only monsters in this story.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Pines by Blake Crouch

This was definitely an interesting (and quick) read. As a huge fan of the X-Files and dystopian novels, this was right up my alley! This was the ultimate page-turner because I truly couldn't read it fast enough trying to figure out what was going to happen next. In fact, sometimes my eyes raced ahead and then I forced myself to stop and go back to reading the current section.

I don't want to give anything away, since the main character is trying to figure what is going on for most of the book. But, the premise is that Ethan Burke, an agent for the Secret Service, wakes up with significant injuries after being involved in a car accident that happened when he and his partner were arriving in the small town of Wayward Pines. He initially doesn't remember who he is, where he is, or what happened. His memory starts to return, but this doesn't clear up the confusion in his head. He knows that he came to town with another agent to see what happened to two other agents that disappeared in this same town over 10 days previously. The agent he arrived with was killed in the car accident. Ethan doesn't know where his wallet, phone, or ID is and no one seems to know where his things are. He can't get a hold of his wife or his boss.

So, Ethan is injured, tired, hungry and without any resources. Most people don't want to take him at his word that he will pay for food and a hotel room the next day, but he does manage to finagle a hotel room for one night and a meal. Ethan knows that something is wrong with this weird little town and the always "happy" residents. Then he finds one of the agents he was sent to find brutally murdered in an abandoned house (that he was directed to by a mysterious person, whom no one seems to know after the fact). Soon after that, he sees the other agent (who he had had an affair with that nearly destroyed his marriage), but she is substantially older. He pursues her, and she acknowledges who she is, but tells him she just needs to keep living her new life.

I was fascinated by this storyline and all the twists and turns as Ethan tries to figure out who he can trust and how to escape this town. I'm also impressed by Ethan's ability to keep going despite his injuries, which he continues to receive for various reasons! I knew it was a trilogy when I started this book, but at one point I had to stop and make sure Ethan was even in the second book! What a survivalist! I enjoyed this "ride" very much!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

This is the second book in the Empyrean series. Cadet Violet Sorrengail is now in her second year at the Basgiath War College. I have to admit that the first couple hundred pages were super frustrating to me! Violet is constantly angry at Xaden because of the secrets he keeps - and yet she keeps secrets too. She goes on and on about it. She shuts him out of her life. She refuses to tell him that she loves him because he won't tell her his deep, darkest secrets. Honestly, it was too much and I definitely was going to rate this book 4 stars and not 5 stars like Fourth Wing because I was so annoyed. Meanwhile, Dain steals her memories by touching her and reports them to his father. This event results in Violet and Xaden being sent to their deaths - or at least that's what the intent was. Violet continues to be angry at Xaden though for not being honest with her. Seriously?? If someone can easily steal her memories, then SHE should understand that having more knowledge could potentially kill them all. Super frustrating.

Violet gets taken and tortured for days by Major Varrish, under the pretense that it's another "War Game". They are supposed to practice not giving up information to the enemy. In Violet's case, it's true torture. She's been cut off from communicating with her dragon, Tairn, and Xaden. No one can get to her and she believes that she will die. She is beaten and broken and she still refuses to give Varrish the information he requires. Oddly enough, it's Dain to the rescue (finally!)

After this experience, Violet's way of thinking eventually starts to mature. She still acts like a brat at times, but she also starts acknowledging that some information is simply too dangerous to share. When Violet and Xaden are sent to their presumed deaths, she realizes that the "stories" her dad read to her were actually true. He was trying to warn her. Venin (dark wielders) and their wyvern are real threats, not simply fairy tales. The only thing keeping them out of Navarre are the wards. The wards prevent venin from using their powers. Violet's mother, the General, has covered up this information - and allowed venin to kill innocent citizens who live outside the protection of the wards for years. Once Violet finds this out, she joins the "rebellion" with Xaden and her brother, Brennan. Violet & Xaden go to Basgiath to announce the truth of what's happening and ask people to join them and leave Basgiath. The people that are loyal to Violet, leave with them. They settle in at Xaden's homestead, Aretia.

Then the real fun begins! Violet is subjected to Xaden's former "betrothed", Cat, who despises her. The cadets are forced to start working with the gryphons, who were believed to be the enemy until Violet realizes that it's all part of her mother's lies. (Xaden's father was executed for helping the gryphons fight the venin by smuggling out weapons for the gryphons to use against the venin.) Violet tries to figure out, by interpreting a journal, how to raise a ward to protect Aretia. The venin prepare to attack and a variety of people have to join forces to try to save as much of Naverre and it's citizens as possible.

My summary is a very basic description of what happens in this book. This story is very complex with lots of layers, details, complicated relationships and emotions. It is very well written. I thought it was a trilogy when I started the series, but now I know there is a fourth book planned. So I might wait awhile to read Book 3. I don't want to wait two years for the ending of this story, so I will drag out my experience in this fascinating world.

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

This is a true story about a teenager, Enrique, who leaves his home in Honduras to find his mother in the United States. His mother had left him and his older sister when they were 5 and 7 years old respectively. He was left with his biological father & grandmother; his sister, Belky, was left with her aunt. His mother left because they were all starving. She saved up money to pay a smuggler to get her to the US illegally. She was abandoned by the smuggler as soon as she arrived in the US however, so her life was not an easy one. She left Honduras so that she could find a job to send money back home so that her children would have more than she did. She kept telling Enrique that they would be together again "soon", but she never returns to Honduras. So, by the time he was 16 years old, he had spent years feeling abandoned by his mother. His dad didn't really care for him, so he bounced around, spending most of his childhood with his grandmother. He got involved with drugs, alcohol and sniffing glue. He had a girlfriend, Maria Isabel, who was pregnant when Enrique decided to follow his mother to the US.

This book was extremely informative. I had no idea that so many parents, mostly mothers, left their families to find employment in the US so they could send money back home. Often times it was the grandmothers that raised these children. They also survived on the money sent home from their daughters. Enrique attempted to reach the US 8 different times - only being successful the 8th time. It was super dangerous because leaving Honduras meant they had to travel all the way through Mexico, just to get to the Rio Grande. Then they had to find a way to cross the Rio Grande without being caught. These kids were beaten, raped, robbed, killed. They traveled by hopping on trains and riding on the top of them. They had nothing and had to find food along the way. Once they are caught, they are deported back to Honduras. Enrique was caught and deported 7 times - and just kept trying. Enrique believed that finding his mother would solve all his problems.

As educational as this book was for me (the author did years of research, including first hand experience) while writing this book, I found myself getting really frustrated at the level of hypocrisy shown by Enrique! I just couldn't seem to work through it, even though I know he was emotionally damaged by his mother leaving him. When he finally reaches his mother in the US, he treats her horribly after their "honeymoon period" of being together again is over. He goes back to alcohol and drugs. AND not only does he leave his pregnant girlfriend back in Honduras, he tries to convince her to leave their baby daughter in Honduras with her mother so that she can come to him in the US. WHAT??

This is not a heartwarming story. It's a story of perseverance. It's a story of hardship. It's a story of endurance. It's a story of resilience. I am impressed that the author spent the time and effort to literally retrace Enrique's journey from Honduras to the United States. Very, very brave.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi

I enjoyed this read. I ordered it for my Book of the Month, not having heard of it before, or the author. The underlying messages would be: "People are not always what they seem" and "You don't know anyone as well as you think you do." Sona is 23 years old, unmarried, and a nurse at a hospital in Bombay. She is half Indian and half British in the 1930's when India is seeking their independence from Britain. She is a half-caste and referred to as a Chee-Chee or a Blackie-White, which are derogatory labels. A famous and talented artist, Mira Novak, arrives at the hospital as a result of a miscarriage. She is in a lot of pain, which is treated with morphine. Sona connects with her instantly. She loves how friendly and full of life she is. Mira tells Sona about her life and the people who are important to her. The one person she doesn't talk a lot about is her husband, Filip, who is rarely at the hospital and when he is, seems very distant.

As Sona is drawn into Mira's life, in six short days, she is suddenly given a huge responsibility to deliver paintings to the people Mira has said she values the most. She has designated a painting to be delivered to Petra Hitzig in Prague, a fellow painter who was mentored by Mira; a painting to Josephine Benoit in Paris, who used to represent Mira (sell her paintings); and a third painting to Paolo Puccini in Florence, another painter that Mira loved. Sona lived with her mother and has led a sheltered life, protected by her mother. Sona's father left them when Sona was three years old to go back to his family in Britain, which Sona's mother didn't know about! It's a traumatic event that stays with Sona into adulthood. So Sona is ill-equipped to take this journey on her own. Fortunately, she had developed a relationship (paternal in nature) with an older gentleman, a retired doctor, who she was talking care of at the hospital. He stepped in to support her in her journey, with his presence, financial assistance and moral support.

Sona learns a lot in her travels. The first important lesson was that she couldn't necessarily trust strangers that she meets. She also discovered that the relationships that Mira shared with her were not as they were presented to her. Thirdly, she learned that people make mistakes; they hurt each other; and they lack courage when asking for forgiveness from the injured parties. She also fell in love. It was like a coming of age story for someone finally growing up in her 20s.

Wendy's Rating: ****