Book review: How to make herself agreeable to everyone, by Cameron Russell

A compelling look at the seamy underside of the fashion industry, told from the perspective of a vulnerable young person who had more of a backbone than most right from the beginning but was still manipulated and abused. Instead of letting herself remain a victim, she used her visibility became an advocate for others in order to help change the system. This book will also go a long way in doing that. Thank you, Cameron Russell, for sharing your experiences in what must have been a very painful memoir to write.

Scarcity Brain

This highly readable self-help book delves into our addictive behaviors — what they are, how they originated and how to understand and ultimately overcome them. I like the way that each chapter is a vignette with Michael Easter going to people and their experiences that personify the issue. For example, with overeating, visiting a remote tribe where no cardiovascular problems exist, or when discussing gambling, visiting the scientists involved in transforming mechanical slot machines into video-gamified ones, and how this video-gamified model has been applied to so many other areas of our lives. Readable, refreshing and helpful. Thank you, Netgalley and Rodale books, for the ARC.

Book review: Fifteen Lanes

Fifteen LanesFifteen Lanes by S.J. Laidlaw
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an utterly absorbing novel that forced me to read it pretty much non-stop until I was finished.

Dual first-person narratives, both teen girls in Mumbai, but they couldn’t have come from more disparate circumstances. Noor is the daughter of a sex worker and the novel opens with Noor sleeping under her mother’s bed as men are being serviced above. Grace is a wealthy privileged student at a Mumbai International School. Both are bullied and shamed at their respective schools and their stories intersect when Grace volunteers at an NGO that assists the children of sex workers.

In less deft hands this story could have read like a sermon but S. J. Laidlaw writes with well-researched clarity and passion. Her portrayal of Noor’s appalling life circumstances is precise but never pandering. You’d think that any problem Grace could have would be overshadowed by Noor’s, but there’s actually a good balance. The systematic bullying that Grace suffers will be instantly familiar to North American teen readers. The juxtaposition of the two girls’ problems works very well.

I won’t tell you what the ending is, but I will tell you that it’s satisfying, and not in the expected way.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Better than Bond

The Dead Don't BleedThe Dead Don’t Bleed by David Krugler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A rollicking enjoyable spy thriller set in Washington DC just as WWII ends. Lt. Voigt, a navel intelligence officer, goes undercover to solve the murder of one of his colleagues but soon stumbles upon something much bigger — a Soviet spy cell secreting bomb info from Los Alamos. Many unexpected twists and turns and some really great characters. A fun read.
Thank you Netgalley for providing the ARC.

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Elizabeth is Missing

Elizabeth Is MissingElizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was an interesting choice to reveal a story from the perspective of a woman with progressive dementia and I had high hopes for this novel. It disappointed slightly — the ending was entirely predictable and I don’t think the author quite nails Maud’s interior world. That said, it’s a brave debut.

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Book Review: The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg

The Hidden ChildThe Hidden Child by Camilla Läckberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you haven’t discovered Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg yet, you are in for a treat.

Her first three books, in order are:

The Stonecutter
The Preacher
Gallow’s Bird

Had I known, I would have begun with the trilogy in order, but the first book I happened upon was Gallow’s Bird, then I found The Ice Princess, her fourth. Both have recurring characters and it doesn’t really matter what order you read them in as the crimes/mysteries stand on their own. The crimes are intriguing and original and the characters are so realistic that you get sucked into the minutiae of their lives.

The Hidden Child was every bit as good as the others I’ve read. This one connects an incident in World War II with a current murder and a mysterious trunk found in the attic.

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