Book Report #4

Books 15-20 in my 52 book reading challenge:

Me Before You - Jojo Moyes: A 28-year old woman still living with her parents, takes a job as a caretaker for a quadriplegic. Her life changes as she tries to help him remember what it is like to live. It was an interesting look at a horrific and debilitating injury and the choices that people make based on how they want to live their life. I like Moyes writing style, very fluid and easy to read. I'll definitely read more of her stories.

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel: I really liked this book. A post-apocalyptic story that is nothing like all the others (no zombies). It is a vivid story spanning decades and following a variety of diverse characters from before and after a virus ravages the world. The collection of characters, and the uniqueness of their connections makes this story really fun to read. Highly recommended!

A Thread of Grace - Mary Doria Russell: One of my favorite books is The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell, so I was eager to read more of her books. This one was good, but not a favorite. Where The Sparrow was a science fiction story, this book was a historical fiction set in Italy during WWII. It showed amazing attention to detail and according to the official review, she researched this period for five years, which shows. Her writing is very impressive but I felt this story had too much going on it was hard to keep track of everyone and to feel connected to any of the characters. I still think she is an amazing author and will continue to read her books and I would definitely recommend her.

About Grace - Anthony Doerr: After loving All The Light We Can Not See by Doerr, I picked up this story, which was significantly different, but just as beautiful. This is a story about a unique man who experiences premonitions of the future, and eventually a vision of his infant daughters death. It is a long, winding story. It is not a quick read, it has a lot of science and nature in it, which slows down the plot, but it is a extremely well written, and I felt connected to the main character and his burdens. I would highly recommend this book.

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins: This book got a lot of hype, it has a "Gone Girl" feel to it, but I didn't feel it was on the same level. The main character drove me nuts, I really disliked her. She is a lonely, unhappy person and really has no redeeming qualities. So having to read much of the book from her perspective didn't make it appeal to me. It was a quick and easy read, and I definitely wanted to finish it to see what the twist would be in the end, but I would recommend Gillian Flynn's books over this one.

I welcome recommendations if you have any!