Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Hardcover, 367 pages Published May 2007, Riverhead Hardcover
Source: purchased/gift
This book has been on my bookshelf since December 2008. I received it for Christmas after just finishing reading The Kite Runner and loving it. This book, however, just never called to me to be read. I couldn't put myself into the mindset to read it. Not quite sure why I had such a block towards it for so long. 
I placed it on my list of to read books for Roof Beam Reader's TBR Challenge to make me finally read it and it luckily for me it was chosen for my book group this month. So happy to have finally read this. It was an amazing novel that had me bawling silently in a hotel room trying not to wake my sleeping two year old. 
from GoodReads :

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years, from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding, that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives, the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness, are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Initial thought on finishing:
Wow. Just, wow.
Such a moving, tragic and heart-wrenching story. Beautifully told and so much more harder to read as a mother. Don't think it would have resonated as much had I read before having the little girl. 
Having given the book some thought for awhile, what stood out the most to me were the sacrifices and sufferings of the mothers. So many different types of mothers, but all trying to do their best for their children the only way they knew how or were capable of. 

6/12 books

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Review: Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry Source: purchased
I bought this book a few years ago at a used book store in San Francisco. The cover was why I picked it up. It has quite the creep factor, right? I took it home, put it on the bookshelf especially for TBR books and there it stayed until I signed up for the TBR Challenge this January. 
I don't know why I waited so long. It was really quite entertaining and a great take on the zombie novel. 
Zombies are engineered by Amirah, a brilliant woman in a bunker in Afghanistan for her terrorist husband, El Mujahid, with the funding of a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical heavy weight for the purpose of releasing them in America. The terrorists have one plan for them and the billionaire another. It is the job of the DMS and their new recruit, Joe Ledger, to figure out their plan and prevent a terrible plague from being released. If they aren't successful, it will be a true zombie apocalypse just like they have seen in the movies.
Lots of action, interesting science and really, scary zombies and bad guys. The good guys are mysterious and flawed but very likable. This made for a great vacation read. Fun, fun.

5/12

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Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped by Megan McCafferty
I bought this book awhile ago when it was at a special price for iBook. I wasn't too sure about it, the premise sounded odd- teenagers are paid to have sex and get pregnant by adults for the babies. You see, in this world that McCafferty has created, a virus causes people to become sterile once they hit adulthood. The only way to have children is to have a teen "bump". Crazy, right? 
I thought so, too. But is it really all so improbable? Right now, money is being made by showing young teens dealing with pregnancy and motherhood on television. 
Anyway, the real story here is about Melody and Harmony. Twins separated at birth and raised in completely lifestyles. One raised to be a paid teen surrogate, and the other raised with God and the plan to be a teen bride and mom. Both are not happy with their lots in life and with the help of each other and some friends they realize that maybe they don't have to do what their families have planned for them.
Interesting story, interesting new teen language (which I thought was a lot of fun) and an unresolved ending that left me wanting more. So different from the Jessica Darling series, but just as fun to read.
Source: ebook purchase

4/12

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Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
I have been wanting to read this book for quite awhile. It has been on my bookshelf for so long. Finally got a chance to read and I am glad that I finally opened it. The photos alone were pretty cool. Even cooler, they are actual photos found by collectors. I love how they have been taken and woven into a very creative and entertaining story.
Jacob has never been quite sure if he believed his grandfather's stories about his childhood. Tales of children with peculiar gifts and monsters hunting them. One night, Jacob gets a glimpse of one of these monsters. His parents thinks he is losing his mind, and he is not sure if he isn't.
In search of answers, Jacob and his dad travel to the island where his grandfather lived as a child. Here, Jacob discovers the secret and the truth his grandfather kept and shared with him and a very interesting group of children still living in Miss Peregrine's home.  Source: purchased

3/12

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Review: The Likeness by Tana French

The Likeness by Tana French Detective Cassie Maddox, gets a call from her boyfriend to come out to a crime scene. The panic on his voice tells her this isn't going to be just any crime scene. Inside an old abandoned cottage, the remains of a young girl are found with a stab wound and a very familiar face. She could be her identical twin.
An unlikely undercover investigation into the murder of the girl, puts Cassie in a unique situation- Living the life of a the girl amongst many possible murderers. Who amongst her four housemates know that she can't possibly be still alive?
Another great story by Tana French. I was completely engrossed in the lives of Lexie Madison and her odd group of friends. It was a little hard to believe that such an investigation would actually be legal or done, but it did make for an entertaining read. Very interesting "sequel". Yes, Detective Maddox is back, but she is in a completely different place than in the previous book and it really is the state of her psyche after the events in In The Woods that are continued into The Likeness. 
Can't wait to get started on the next book which follows another character that was introduced in this one.
Source: purchased

Republic of Ireland

2/12

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 FTC Disclosure: Clicking on book title and/or image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Review: 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

Temperance Brennan wakes in pain and in a dark tomb. She has been left for dead and can't remember anything about how she found herself in this situation. While trying to break free and awaken her memories, we get to begin the story from the beginning...

Brennan is being threatened, her work questioned and four bodies of elderly women to examine and determine how they died. With the help of Ryan and an old childhood friend, Brennan searches for answers. And we discover how she came to buried alive and by whom.

Aww, much more to what I expect of a Reichs' book. Good mystery, good science, interesting plot and many possible bad guys. I couldn't put it down.

Source: BookMooch


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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on book title and/or image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

I found the best Challenge for the new year. I have not had a chance to read any of my own books for such a long time and the pile has grown so big. So, I will be taking a break from review books and return to reading my own books. So, here are the books that I have chosen to read for this challenge:

1. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (2003)

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2006)

3.Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)

4. A Thousand Pleasant Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007)- read in August

5. Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry (2009)- Read in May

6. 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs (2009) - read in January

7.The Van Allen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz (2009)

8. The Likeness by Tana French (2009) -read in January

9. Faithful Place by Tana French (2010)

10. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (2011)

11. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (2011)

12. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (2011) - read in April

I forgot my alternates! Here they are:

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman (2011)

Bumped by Megan McCafferty (2011) - read in May

Do you have a large TBR pile, too? Join the challenge! Head on over to RoofBeamReader and sign up. Let's see if we can make a dent in our piles.

Happy Reading! _________________________________________
FTC Disclosure: Clicking on book title and/or image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.