Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I had really high expectations for this book. Maybe too high! The problem for me is that one of my favorite books of all time (and that's saying a lot!) is The Sparrow, written by Mary Doria Russell. The subject is similar: sending people to a newly discovered planet to contact an unknown species. It was such a powerful story to me - as well as the sequel, Children of God, and written so beautifully, that I kept comparing the stories in my mind. To be fair, I read The Sparrow over 20 years ago, and I should probably read it again to see if I still feel the same way. Certain memories get elevated in a person's mind, and maybe that's the case here.

Anyway, Project Hail Mary is certainly interesting and funny. The characters are engaging. Ryan Gosling will be an excellent Ryland Grace in the upcoming movie, which I will definitely see. I loved how the story unfolded. We don't know the full story of how Dr. Ryland Grace ended up on this mission of discovery in space - a mission which has no return - until the end of the book. The story alternates between the initial discovery of the "Petrova line" on earth and Grace's experience in space. The Petrova line appears to be made up of some sort of life form (that Grace names Astrophage) that seems to be eating the sun, or at least eating its energy output. The Astrophage is destroying the sun at an accelerated rate, which will destroy all life on earth in a short amount of time. In a very simplified explanation, the mission is to discover what Astrophage is, why it affects some planets but not others, figure out if it has a predator, and if it does, how can it be captured, contained, and used to save our sun, which in turn will save life on earth. Since this mission has no return, there are four pods on the ship that Grace can send back to earth with his discoveries.

This mission is expected to take four earth years just to arrive at their planetary destination (Tau Ceti). Ironically, the spaceship is fueled using Astrophage, since it's such a powerful energy that is continually multiplying. The scientists on the mission were put into a medical coma for the four years of travel. They were fed, and their muscles exercised, by robots during the four years. Upon arrival at (the atmosphere) of Tau Ceti, the scientists would wake up and investigate why the Astrophage weren't destroying it like they were other planets. One known delay was that when they woke up, they wouldn't have their memories of where they were or what they were supposed to do. Grace's memories came back over time, which is why we don't know what actually happened on earth since Grace wasn't even slated to go on the mission himself. He was just the "expert" on Astrophage on earth. 

Grace eventually discovers an unknown species from another planet that is also investigating the Petrova line in order to try and save its own planet. "Rocky" becomes Grace's friend in space. They end up working together to try to save both of their homes.

As much as I did enjoy this book, I found some of the "science" of it all a tad boring. It's actually quite scientific at times, which really isn't in my wheelhouse, so to speak. Other than that, it's quite entertaining.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Drop by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #15. Harry is back in the Open-Unsolved Unit. Harry's partner is David Chu. Harry & Chu handle the "special cases". They are handed one that the Lieutenant (Gail Duvall) wants investigated quietly. Apparently, the recently-tested DNA on this cold case comes from a "suspect" that was only eight years old at the time of the murder. If the original investigators messed up by submitting the wrong DNA to the lab (or the lab mislabeled or mis-handled it), it would look bad for the department and then all other cases would be suspect. That's why Duvall wants Harry to look into it. 

Then, Harry is suddenly assigned a new case, on the order of his nemesis: Councilman Irvin Irving. Irving's son was found dead after he jumped (or was dropped) off the balcony of the top floor of the Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip. The original cause of death was determined to be suicide, but Irving doesn't believe it and that's why he wants Harry to investigate his son's death. He doesn't like Harry (and Harry certainly doesn't like him!), but he knows Harry won't stop until he uncovers the truth. Obviously, this new case has to be Harry's priority, but he keeps working on the cold case in the background, having Chu do some of the legwork.

It would be very difficult to be Harry's partner. Harry is always doing his own thing and keeping details he discovers close to the cuff. Chu, like most of Harry's partners over the years, doesn't like Harry's style and wants a new partner. Harry has a tough time trusting his partners too. But to be fair, his partners have not always turned out to be trustworthy, including Chu. Sometimes people make stupid decisions, not understanding what the potential consequences could be.

On the home front, Harry's daughter, Maddie, is growing up. He actually talks through some of the details of his cases with her. She is observant and always shares her opinions with him. She wants to follow in his footsteps. Harry also becomes instantly infatuated with the psychotherapist (Hannah) of the young sex offender he is investigating on the cold case. He jumps into a relationship - and then of course has regrets. He really doesn't do anything slowly or halfway!

The title of this book has a double meaning. Irving believes his son was "dropped" from his hotel balcony - and Harry finds out they are giving him 39 more months to work for them. He had applied for an extension on his DROP. He had asked for five years, the maximum, and received three and a quarter years. What will Harry do then??

Wendy's Rating: ****

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

One incredible talent that Fredrik Backman has when writing his stories is that he can make you fall in love with his flawed, unhappy, quirky, unbalanced, lonely, grumpy, but loyal characters. He also has an interesting way of telling a story. He doesn't tell this story in a linear fashion. He doesn't even introduce one of the main characters in the book until Chapter 17. Not only do the chapters rotate between the summer when the kids are 14 years old and 25 years later, but the story jumps around within these chapters. And yet, it's easy to follow, which is amazing. He just makes it flow.

This is a story of four friends: Joar, Ted, Ali, and "the artist". You don't find out the artist's actual name until the end of the book. They live in a town by the sea. They are all poor and they each come from disturbingly dysfunctional families. Their personalities are extremely different from each other. But they love each other - deeply. What's even more important is that they believe in each other. One of the messages in this book is that a person's life can veer off into a completely different direction just by one person saying to another, "You are good enough. I believe in you." It's a very powerful message.

Despite each of these kids having a family to go home to, at the heart of it, they only have each other. Joar's father is an extremely violent, abusive man who beats up on his wife and son relentlessly. Joar always returns home to try to protect his mother, who loves him deeply. Ted's father has been seriously ill with cancer for so many years that he doesn't really even know the man he used to be. His mother has a difficult time expressing love, and Ted's older brother beats up on him - and hangs with a really tough crowd. (Plus, Ted is gay, and all his family wants for him is to be a MAN.) The artist's mother is an addict and his dad works on the wharf with all the other tough men (like Joar's father). Ali moves around a lot with her father because he is always in debt and is always running from the people he owes money to.

We hear about the summer these kids are 14 through Ted (25 years later) telling Louisa. Louisa meets the artist (and through him, Ted) when she is 17 turning 18. Louisa has run away from her last foster home and runs into the artist in an alley behind a church. Louisa spray paints the walls of the church and the artist sees how talented she is. The artist believes in her the way Joar believed in him all those years ago.

Truly, this is a story of friendship, loyalty, and unconditional love. I laughed. I cried. I connected to these characters that lived lives so differently than my own. That's great storytelling.

Wendy's Rating: *****

Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel

This is one of those books that I simply had to "power through" for the first 125 pages. I'm one of those people who finish every book I start, hoping it will get better if I keep reading. I'm glad I didn't give up on this one. Quantum physics fascinates me at a superficial level. Meaning, I like reading about time travel, but I don't really want to read about the science of it. I'm also disinterested in art such as paintings & sculpture - unless it's tied to a good story. So, since two of the main characters (Noah & Maya, husband & wife) are a quantum physicist and an artist, I didn't think I could get through it! Fortunately, between pages 125-150, the story turned more personal in nature rather than scientific, and I finally got engaged.

Noah and Maya have been married for three years. Noah had previously been married to Eileen (they were together for 16 years) and they had a daughter who died suddenly at the age of 4. Noah and Eileen ended up divorcing after their daughter's death. Noah has never moved on from his daughter's death - or Eileen - even though he really seemed to love Maya. When he is offered an opportunity by a billionaire to work on a secret project in quantum physics, he jumps at the chance and Noah & Maya move to the project site in Texas. The project involves traveling back in time. Noah trains his mind to focus on a memory, blocking everything else from his mind, injecting himself with a "product", entering a "bath" naked and then reliving the memory. He practices by going back in time just a number of minutes. Once he gets the hang of it, he starts going back in time to see his daughter, Serena, before she dies. He eventually figures out that Klein (the billionaire) wants to prove causality and he is using Noah as a test subject.

This project, which consumes Noah, puts a significant strain on his marriage to Maya. She leaves him to return to Japan, her home country, to visit her parents and take a break from Noah and their marriage. Meanwhile, Noah calls Eileen and asks her to come to Texas so she can "see" Serena with him. These three individuals make discoveries about themselves and it's interesting to watch how they change the way they think about things - in the past, present, and future. These are highly intelligent characters, but they have to be reminded that people's minds are unreliable. Memories are faulty & inconsistent. Memories are not just an "event", but a collection of things. Eileen tells Noah, "That's what memories are like. Living things made up of your experience, plus my experience, plus Esther's experience. All of it happening at once, the truth of it somewhere in the middle, the objective truth not even important at all." Noah asks Eileen what is important and she responds, "That you heard me say what you needed to hear. I heard myself say what I needed to hear. That's the truth." Later on in the book, Maya's mother tells Maya, "You know, it is possible for two people to have two different memories and experiences of the same thing." Noah learns in the end that he was looking for the wrong thing. He was looking for a way to "reverse the irreversible, instead of finding the permanence."

One more interesting thing that was discussed in the book (between Noah and his daughter). Serena says that black holes are bad because they break light. Noah explains to her that being a "lightbreaker" isn't necessarily bad. He acknowledges that a black hole traps and breaks light, but when it breaks, something new develops out of it. Love this explanation, especially as it pertains to the message in this book.

Wendy's Rating for the first 125 pages: ***

Wendy's Rating for the rest of the book: ****

Last One Seen by Rebecca Kanner

Awww....writers and mental illnesses. What could go wrong? To really appreciate the layers of this story, you have to be familiar with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. I do, (since I work in the field), but even I wanted to shake Hannah to knock some sense into her. Hannah is a want-to-be writer who's biggest desire is to attend a graduate program to complete a creative writing MFA at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She gets accepted, but she doesn't get a stipend so she can't afford to go. She finds out that another applicant, Justine Updike (supposedly distantly related to John Updike) was offered a spot - and a stipend - but hasn't chosen what graduate program she will attend. (She was accepted into 10 different programs.) If Justine decides to go somewhere else, Hannah will get the stipend. BUT, Hannah is fascinated (obsessed) with Justine and wants them both to attend the program together. So Hannah figures out a way to earn the money after Justine chooses to attend Washington University. (I am extremely doubtful she could earn as much money as she did selling a trumped up health food product in that short of time, but that's how she does it.)

Hannah has been living with bipolar disorder - and was raised by a mother with borderline personality disorder. Both her mother and Justine treat Hannah horribly, but just as she craved whatever attention her mother could give her intermittently during her childhood, she craves Justine's attention. Justine is an awful person, but she is idolized by others in the program, including Hannah. Hannah's one true friend in the program is Claire, who tries very, very hard to help Hannah (reminding her to take her meds, not drink or do drugs, focus on something other than Justine), but Hannah manages to alienate her as well because of her behavior and poor choices. Then enter Eli, the handsome, mysterious, man who Hannah falls for after she sees him with Justine. Hannah cycles through manic episodes, blackmails the director of the creative writing program, gets accused of theft, driving under the influence, etc. Her life is a mess. Then someone is shot and killed with Hannah's gun. Hannah is not sure who did it since she experiences blackouts (due to drugs/alcohol she willingly or unknowingly ingests.)

This book is a rollercoaster ride. Since Hannah doesn't know what's real and not real, the reader doesn't really know either. Honestly, the only character in the book that I really liked was Claire! (And Luke, the bartender at Hannah's previous job before she moved to grad school.) Claire talks about "observer bias" in one of the groups' writer's workshops. She states, "We're all unreliable narrators...Everything that's written is just someone's perspective...We are distorted by observation...We filter everything through our own biases." I love that!

 It's hard to read about a person's downward spiral due to bad decisions and manipulations by others. The end is satisfying however.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen

This novel really hit home with me. I think anyone who has experienced a family member with Alzheimer's would find value in this story. Not only does it share one way an Alzheimer's diagnosis affects a person and their family/caregivers, but it also explores feelings of guilt that people hang on to deep into their lives, even if the reason they feel guilty was actually beyond their control. A quote from the book summarizes it really well. "'I was convinced it was my fault. Like I said, guilt is conniving. It befriends your ego and tries to convince you that everything's about you - the past, the future. But it's just not true. The only thing we ever have is the present, and we do the best we can with it.'"

Cricket is a 27 year old that is a lost soul. She quits her job suddenly after acknowledging that she simply can't do it anymore. She has been at her boss's beck and call for the last two years and it's far from meaningful to her. She is a college dropout who blames herself for the death of her (former) boyfriend when they were 16 years old. She is drifting through life. She hasn't been to her hometown for ten years, and there is a disconnect between her and her parents, as well as her sister, Nina, even though they all communicate with each other. Cricket & Nina's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and Nina has spent the last four years living with him and taking care of him. (Their parents divorced four months after the death of Cricket's boyfriend, so that just adds to Cricket's feelings of guilt. She blames herself for that too.)

Nina is offered a job of a lifetime in Sweden so she tells Cricket that they need to move their dad into a memory care home. Cricket has to return to her hometown in the Adirondacks to tour the options. Once there, Cricket makes the decision to stay and take care of their father on her own. Nina is definitely skeptical, to say the least. Nina is the responsible, disciplined, detail-oriented, controlled older sister. Cricket is the lost, free spirit. Since Nina only plans to stay in Sweden for a year, or possibly two, they both see this as an opportunity to allow their father to stay in his home a bit longer though. So, the plan is made.

This is a story about people's hearts "regenerating". "...[M]aybe our hearts don't ache because they're scarred or broken or because something is wrong. Maybe they ache because they are shape-shifting." Our hearts make us, "quake with change". "Not our final selves, or our best selves, or even our improved selves, but just our next selves." People don't need to be told what their future holds for them. They need to be told what their future could hold for them. Wonderful story.

Wendy's Rating: *****

9 Dragons by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #14. So this book included some twists that I was most definitely not expecting!  Harry's life is messy. He has his strengths, but he can also be judgmental and pigheaded, which drives me crazy at times. He doesn't really do a lot of "perspective taking".  There are three substantial things that happen in this story that changes his life dramatically. I am thinking he will be forced to look at certain things differently going forward. Time will tell.

Bosch and his partner, Ferras, are sent to Fortune Liquors (located in a bad part of LA) to investigate the death of the owner. He is found shot to death behind the counter of his store. The murder is assumed to be a robbery gone wrong. After watching a couple of saved videos from the store camera, Bosch suspects that the owner, John Li was paying the triad, a Chinese custom of protection, and that it was the triad that had him killed. A detective, David Chu, from the Asian Gang Unit (AGU), is called in on the case as well. He speaks Chinese and acts as an interpreter for the Li family. John Li had a wife, a daughter (Mia) who lives with them and takes care of them, and a son (Robert) who owns and runs a second (nicer) Fortune Liquors store in a nicer area of LA.

As Harry digs deeper and deeper into this case, his frustration with Ferras builds. He wants Ferras to be "actively" committed to the job, rather than always wanting to stay behind and do the paperwork and other desk-related tasks. Ferras also has a wife and three young children he is responsible for. Harry just doesn't get Ferras' perspective on the job or life in general. Harry is also suspicious of detective Chu. Harry is suspicious of everyone involved with the case actually, which is par for the course with him. He definitely made me suspicious of everyone too! Anyway, his investigation leads to Hong Kong after he receives a video from someone who abducted his daughter, Maddie, who is now 13 years old and has spent the last six years living in Hong Kong with her mother. (Eleanor Wish, Harry's ex-wife) Harry connects with Eleanor (who I'm still not a fan of!) and her significant other, Sun Yee, to find Maddie. Harry suspects that a member of the triad who killed John Li is Maddie's abductor.

There are several twists and turns which are surprising. You never know what's going to happen in these stories. That's what I love about them!

Wendy's Rating: ****