Book Review: The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya-Biographies/Memoir

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya.

Title: The Girl Who Smiled Beads

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Biographies/Memoir

Author: Clemantine Wamariya

Publisher: Crown

Publication Date: April 24, 2018

Language: English

Hardcover: 288 pages
Meet the Author: Clemantine Wamariya
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“The plot provided by the universe was filled with starvation, war and rape. I would not—could not—live in that tale.”

Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety—perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing inhuman cruelty. They did not know whether their parents were dead or alive.

When Clemantine was twelve, she and her sister were granted refugee status in the United States; there, in Chicago, their lives diverged. Though their bond remained unbreakable, Claire, who had for so long protected and provided for Clemantine, was a single mother struggling to make ends meet, while Clemantine was taken in by a family who raised her as their own. She seemed to live the American dream: attending private school, taking up cheerleading, and, ultimately, graduating from Yale. Yet the years of being treated as less than human, of going hungry and seeing death, could not be erased. She felt at the same time six years old and one hundred years old.

In The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine provokes us to look beyond the label of “victim” and recognize the power of the imagination to transcend even the most profound injuries and aftershocks. Devastating yet beautiful, and bracingly original, it is a powerful testament to her commitment to constructing a life on her own terms.

My Thoughts

Loved this book so much. The urgency on Clemantine's voice for her story to be heard, the power on her words, a very emotional read. Makes you see certain things in a total different way, a new perspective on life, what we might take for granted, for others is not even an option. A must read.

"This was the first time that I was told that my story, all the information I needed, was already there. I just needed to slow down and know how to look, how to listen. I needed to trust that the lingering details contained the whole history."

Wendy

Book Review: Still Me- Jojo Moyes-Fiction

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of Still Me: A Novel by Jojo Moyes.

Title: Still Me: A Novel

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Fiction

Author: Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Publication Date: January 30, 2018

Language: English

Hardcover: 400 pages
Meet the Author: Jojo Moyes
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, a new book featuring her iconic heroine of Me Before You and After You, Louisa Clark

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the superrich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life. 

As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you find the courage to follow your heart—wherever that may lead?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she discovers who she is and who she was always meant to be—and to live boldly in her brave new world.

My Thoughts

I was hesitant to read this book because I was afraid as to how the Author was going to end the story. It took me a few months to finish it. I think part of it had to do with that fear of knowing it was going to end. I loved Me Before You so much, it will always be my favorite of the three books and even though I still think book two and book three were not that necessary but have to stay after finishing Still Me that all those fears and expectations are gone and replaced with a feeling of satisfaction and happiness. 

The Author did a pretty good job in continuing what we saw on After You, giving us more of Louisa Clark, this time in New York, a new job, a sort of new beginning for her, introducing all these new characters which at the end in different ways help Louisa to finally realize a change is needed. I love how this book gives Louisa a much needed closure and perhaps  a new beginning? Hopefully that is the case. Have to say I cried a few times specially those times when Will was mentioned but that feeling of knowing he is always present in Louisa's life one way or the other gives the book that sense of familiarity that we have in Me Before You. Definitely two characters almost impossible to forget.

Overall, I liked and enjoyed Still Me a lot, a very good ending to Louisa Clark story.

Wendy

Book Review: The Favorite Sister- Jessica Knoll-Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The Favorite Sister: A Novel by Jessica Knoll.

Title: The Favorite Sister: A Novel

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Author: Jessica Knoll

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 15, 2018

Language: English

Hardcover: 384 pages
Meet the Author: Jessica Knoll
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

From Jessica Knoll—author of Luckiest Girl Alive, the instant New York Times bestseller and the bestselling debut novel of 2015—comes a blisteringly paced thriller starring two sisters who join the cast of a reality TV series. One won’t make it out alive. So…who did it?

When five hyper-successful women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, the producers never expect the season will end in murder…

Brett’s the fan favorite. Tattooed and only twenty-seven, the meteoric success of her spin studio—and her recent engagement to her girlfriend—has made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her castmates.

Kelly, Brett’s older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast. The golden child growing up, she defers to Brett now—a role which requires her to protect their shocking secret.

Stephanie, the first black cast member and the oldest, is a successful bestselling author of erotic novels. There have long been whispers about her hot, non-working actor-husband and his wandering eye, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett, former best friends—and resentment soon breeds contempt.

The Favorite Sister explores the invisible barriers that prevent women from rising up the ranks in today’s America—and offers a scathing take on the oft-lionized bonds of sisterhood, and the relentless pressure to stay young, relevant, and salable.

My Thoughts

Unfortunately, this book was nothing of what I was expecting based on the description. A promising premise, really looked forward to reading it with the expectation of a great thriller but it just was not the book for me. Had a really hard time going through it, never felt a connection with the characters, was never invested or engaged with the story.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for sending an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy