Bracken Library Book: Three Stations by Martin Cruz Smith

"Three Stations"

By Martin Cruz Smith

GROUP READ for: Authors, Authors on Shelfari

There are times when you start reading a book and you have to question that if your own train of thought is disjointed or if it the way that the author tells the story. I recognized while reading "Three Stations" that Cruz Smith's writing at times did feel disjointed, but it works for his particular brand of storytelling. He sets the story in Russia and this disjointed nature contributes to the feeling of it being authentic.

"Three Stations" is a police procedural mystery book that starts with the abduction of a baby. This is, however, not the main plot though. It is about a body found by the investigator. This takes the story on a disjointed rump where you are left wondering what one scene had to do with the last one. Often in books this doesn't work because the reader is left wondering where the heck the book is going, but for some reason it works with "Three Stations." You do not want to put it down because you recognize it is a rather short read and you want to know how the child will reunited with the character of Maya. I won't reveal if the child ever does because you need to read it for yourself.

If you are a mystery enthusiast I would recommend this book, but for those of you wanting something a little more light-hearted I don't think this is the book for you. There are scenes of violence, explosions and cursing that feels a bit overdone at times. For me, a mystery fan, it was the right cup of tea. To each their own and I recognize that. You really need to go into this particular novel knowing that it isn't a fluff "The Notebook" type of book, but one that is disconnected, violent, and a damn good read for seeing how an author can craft a story.

The mystery aspect of the book felt a little bit predictable, but I think when you start reading mystery over and over again you start to see the basic formula naturally. He does however throw in enough side characters that could have done it that you are left wondering if you could be way off base on what your assumptions are. Then you recognize that some of the side characters are actually a side story, which adds a bit to the depth of the story. It makes it feel more organic and like it is set in the real world because for most people they have multiple things going on at once instead of a normal story that focuses so heavily on the one particular plot.

The three faerie points for this novel is mainly because of the disjointed storytelling, but also because there are moments where you are suddenly thrust with characters that you have no idea why they are being showcased. It isn't until the end of the chapters that you find out why they are being mentioned and in this particular book it just doesn't work the way that Cruz Smith wanted. Outside of those things this is a worthwhile book to read. 

Kindle Book Review: "The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow" by Joyce Magnin

"The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow" by Joyce Magnin
3 Faerie Points

Joyce Magnin's Bright's Pond series, which "The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow" is the first book of this particular series, interweaves faith, death, and love all within the pages of its cover. This particular book is told from the viewpoint of Griselda Sparrow, Agnes's sister. The majority of the story deals with the fact that Agnes is seen as a miracle worker whose prayers often go answered by God. This story takes you on a journey through what it means to have actual faith.

My main gripe with this book is the sheer shock that happens during on particular part of this book. There was no real indication that this was going to happen in the book, but sometimes this is how life is. I don't feel that Magnin wrote any redeemable characters in the series for the most part, each of them are flawed. Here the flawed nature of the characters feels a bit undercooked because in many spots it feels like someone should be saying something to these characters that simply is not being said for some reason. "Why didn't someone ever truly speak up until near the end of the book?" is what the reader is left wondering. It doesn't leave a refreshing taste in the mouth.

This book had a lot of potential to be the first christian fiction book that I have actually enjoyed, but because of many of the holes contained within the story I simply didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped based on almost the first 3/4ths of the book. The tail end of the book just came out of almost no where for me and because of this this book lacks a lot of what should have been there. The lesson of faith and trusting who we are. It is also about letting go of our past and moving on from sin, but these elements are overshadowed by the sheer hatred that some of these characters spew at the ending of this book.

Even though there were parts I didn't like in this particular book I do intend to read the next book in the series called "Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise". It sounds like it will be interesting in a way that this book was unable to live up to.

Book Review: Death in Daytime by Eileen Davidson

"Death in Daytime" by Eileen Davidson
4 Faerie Points

What a fun little mystery!! This book is not one of those high-brow stories by any means, but it is a fun little read where you are wondering for the greater majority of the book who the killer is. Unfortunately it does become quickly apparent about 3/4 of the way in who it is, but I enjoyed the book regardless of this fact because you were still left wondering why up until the reveal.

I recognize that this is the first novel written by Eileen Davidson, who is primarily an actress known for roles on Days of Our Lives and Young and the Restless, so I thought this was a rather good attempt at creating a mystery story. I think she mixes just enough of her own individual knowledge of being an actress with the threads for the mystery aspect that it comes out just right in both directions. This is a book where you have to get through the initial few chapters because Davidson has to get her footing, but once you get past that you will greatly enjoy the book. Also she adds elements as it goes along that will make reading subsequent books interesting, such as a love triangle. Also the friend/family characters that are around the main character, Alexis, do not seem forced, but natural extensions of her. They feel like people that a real actress would have surrounding her, which adds a very believable element to this story.

There is not a lot of help in discovering the killer in this particular book because I think Davidson is used to more of the dialogue of a soap opera, which doesn't necessarily help her out in the writing here, which is why I give it only four instead of five. I believe as she progresses as an author she will get better, thus I believe the subsequent books will be a thrill to read.

Kindle Book Review: "The Blessing Way" by Tony Hillerman

"The Blessing Way" by Tony Hillerman
4 Faerie Points

The mystery aspect of this book was weak in many ways because it felt that he handed us the killer on a silver platter, so there wasn't a lot of guessing as to why the characters were in the dire situations that they found themselves in, but what greatly enhances the rating of this particular book is the sheer immersion into Native American culture that it contains. Hillerman does an excellent job of making these scenes feel authentic, which is important when someone is not totally related to the culture like Hillerman (Hillerman is a white male, but was raised around the Navajo culture in his youth according to additional content in the kindle edition.)

The book tends to focus to heavily on a side character in this first book of Leaphorn, but I imagine it was because he was originally just a side character that wasn't supposed to be that prominent at all in the book but Hillerman was asked to make him a bigger character by his editor. I imagine in the subsequent novels featuring him that he has more of a role and prominence. If you can get past this fact since it is the first novel in the series then you will greatly enjoy what he produces here.

As previously stated the mystery aspect is a little obvious and the moments are not that shocking when certain revelations occur. This still makes the mystery aspect of the book fine in my opinion because not every mystery needs to be a guessing game for the reader. Sometimes it needs to be handing them all the pieces so they can focus on other aspects of the novel, which as stated I think the Native American aspects were what needed to be focused in on in this first novel in the series, so we had a grasp on what the rest of the series would look like. It wasn't the best book I have read this year, but it was a quick read that I completed in one day, which makes it a great book in my opinion because you don't have to sit with it for a long period of time. You can just have a new experience with a new culture in the matter of one day!

Bracken Library Book Review: Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum

Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum
4 Faerie Points

Baum has definitely refound his footing as an author when it comes to the Oz books. He has found a formula that allows him to tell other stories, but still have them take place in the world of Oz. Some of his issues it appeared to be previously is he didn't want to continue Oz stories, but didn't recognize that he could tell stories about other countries by just including the last part of the book taking place in Oz, which is what he has done in the last few books. In this one it appears for the majority of the book oz will not be seen at all, but then finally in the final few paragraphs we see Dorothy and many of the other favorites of the series.

This story is one of his better stories as well because it is a mystical adventure where he created magic items that are simplistic in nature but also are ingenious. In this story the Prince of Pinagree (Inga) inherits three magical pearls that give him various powers. This allows him to complete many feats that others could not and as a result he works to free his family and rebuild his own kingdom. Baum created a story of friendship between countries, people, and how one can have a simple adventure story without blood and gore.

Parents would find this series to be ideal for their children because it keeps the imagination active for a child, but also teaches them various lessons about not being mean to others, not being envious, and other important lessons that children need to have. As an adult you will take some things away from it as well, but you will take less away morally and probably be like me where I just enjoyed a great adventure story that was a quick read. I highly recommend this book for anyone just wanting some good pleasure reading.

Bracken Library Book Review: The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Scarecrow of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
4 Faerie Points

Baum's "The Scarecrow of Oz" sees two of his creations from another book finding their way to the land of oz. I personally had never been introduced to these other characters as I have never read the other book. This fact does not take away from the joy of reading this book though. In many ways it can add to it because after you are finished if you desire you can find another adventure containing them.

This book, out of all the oz books I have read to date, is probably my favorite of the series because it felt that Baum was comfortable with his own writing and also what he wanted to convey with this story about the land of oz. I have stated in my other reviews of the Oz books that there have been times that you could tell that Baum was over telling stories of this other world, but you can tell in this book that he was having fun. It seemed like a switch had finally went off in his head that he could still create wonderful characters regardless of them eventually ending up in Oz. This made this book very strong in my opinion.

The creatures while fantastical in nature, which is the point of new characters in these books to be larger than life, seemed to also be rooted in a more "real world" understanding of what a character is. The Ork is something that you would think you would see at any zoo you went to but you realize it was not a real bird ever. This contrasts to some of the creatures in the previous books that you felt could never exist in any capacity. Also these creatures seemed more geared towards a bit older generation, not adults but slightly older than a child, because he actually spends time describing things in a manner that he didn't do in the previous books that give the creatures/characters a different type of life. One that seems to again contrast with some of the other characters like the Woozy that was introduced in a previous volume that felt it was geared specifically for small children.

Baum has found himself as an author in my opinion in this book and as a result produced a book that is really wonderful to read. His books are never high literature by any mean nor do they have any particular deep message most of the time, but they are fun reads full of adventure and intrigue that are worth reading.

Challenge Read (from Shelf): Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
3 stars

Golding's "Lord of the Flies" was a book that I was never required to read in school for whatever reasons my high school felt. As a result there was always a mild curiosity about the title lingering in my mind thus I felt it was time to finally put it to rest.

I entered into the book with no real expectations other than what I had heard from others of it being a literary classic and one that everyone should read, but as I started reading it myself there was a part of me that wondered what was the point of this book. For the majority of pages I lingered hovering on the pages wondering why I decided to read it. It wasn't until I got about 60 pages from the end that I started to grasp what the book was. This book reflects what could happen to society in many aspects, but it doesn't do it well. The book doesn't work for me, but some books don't work for everyone.

I probably would have given this only 2 stars if it wasn't for the fact that I started to understand and enjoy it by the ending. I grasped that there was a more human undertone that I wasn't grasping as fully as could be, so I have to give it three stars for what it is trying to accomplish and I believe for many other reasons it actually does accomplish. Would I recommend this book to others? I would because it is still considered a literary classic and also it is a book that speaks to human nature, so others may be touched in a way that I wasn't by the story. It may help them to understand why as humans we need to learn to help each other and ultimately that we need to work together for the betterment of society at large.