February Reading Update

      These are the books that I read in the month of February:

 

Persuader by Lee Child. I really enjoy the Jack Reacher novels, though I've found recently I might be enjoying thrillers a little less. I like how action packed these novels are and I suppose I like the fact that there is always vengeance for the good guy. In this particular novel, Reacher is hired (off the record, of course) to help take down a gun dealer who happens to be associated with a man who killed someone Reacher once worked with. I finished the book in a few days. I also just read an article about the author, Lee Child, and how he feels like he is "ageing out" of writing these Jack Reacher novels. He's passing the baton to his younger brother, Andrew. The 25th Jack Reacher novel will come out in October 2020.

 

     The Girl Who Disappeared Twice- by Andrea Kane- another thriller type. This book was a bit predictable, but I enjoyed it. It was not graphic or terribly violent. I had not read any Andrea Kane before, and I will give her another shot if I see more of her books. I would've liked to see a few more things addressed towards the end of the book, but it was alright.This completes my February Keyword Reading Challenge with the word "Girl."

 

The Blind Spot-  by Adam Barrow- Rarely do I stop reading a book. In this book, a boy is kidnapped from a planetarium when his dad accidentally falls asleep during a show. You learn about a chapter later that the boy is taken with plans to traffick him to other men. I didn't think anything edifying could possibly come out of this book, so I just stopped. Moving on...

 

The Imperfects- by Amy Meyerson. I seriously needed to walk away from the thrillers for a bit. This book is about a family who is estranged from one another coming together after the grandmother of the family passes away and leaves a piece of jewelry, which ends up being the Florentine Diamond, to one of the grandkids. It examines the lives of all the characters individually while addressing the family dynamics. I enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were interesting and their family issues were definitely relatable. There were also bits of historical information woven into this story and I enjoyed that just as much.

The Breaker Boys-   My dad lent this book to me. He apparently knows the author, or someone related to the author. It's about young boys who used to work separating coal from other debris after it had been brought out of the shaft. These boys were usually very young (8-12?) and the job itself had some very dangerous aspects. This story is about a family who relocates to a mining town after the father gets into a dispute with his dad and decides to abandon the family trade. After a short period of time, the father of the family dies and the women of the family are left to fend for themselves. One of the daughters decides to dress as a boy and become a breaker boy.
I expected the story to be a bit more linear and maybe focus on the boys more, but it was interesting. I learned a few things and the characters drew me in. Even though I might've preferred more of the story of the breaker boys, their side stories added a lot to the book. I will say that there were a few mistakes in the book that were distracting to me. Example, there is a character who is referred to as Mr. Yager and Mr. Yeager. I don't know if my dad has an edited proof, but it bugged me that that got through the publisher because it happened a lot. Other than that, I found it enjoyable

Goodreads Challenge- 10/60

Keyword Reading Challenge- 2/12