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Showing posts with label Euthanasia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Euthanasia. Show all posts
Monday, November 11, 2019
So-So Family Drama Clunky, But Ultimately Compelling
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Trying to write my own plot summary for If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman is not going well, so here's the back cover version:
For fans of This Is Us comes a story of a family divided and the secret that can possibly unite them – a life-affirming novel with a twist will break your heart and an ending that will put it together again.
A secret between two sisters.
A lifetime of lies unraveling.
Can one broken family find their way back to each other?
Audrey’s dream as a mother had been for her daughters, Jess and Lily, to be as close as only sisters can be. But now, as adults, they no longer speak to each other, and Audrey’s two teenage granddaughters have never met. Audrey just can’t help feeling like she’s been dealt more than her fair share as she’s watched her family come undone over the years, and she has no idea how to fix her family as she wonders if they will ever be whole again.
If only Audrey had known three decades ago that a secret could have the power to split her family in two, and yet, also keep them linked. And when hostilities threaten to spiral out of control, a devastating choice that was made so many years ago is about to be revealed, testing this family once and for all.
Once the truth is revealed, will it be enough to put her family back together again or break them apart forever?
This novel has gotten really mixed reviews. My reaction falls somewhere in the middle—I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. The book's a sad, depressing read that tries to cover a lot of territory in a relatively short space. The tackling of such heavy subject matter, combined with a slow-building plot and characters that are immature and not all that likable, results in a story that is clunky, but ultimately compelling. Beckerman strings the reader along with promises of a juicy secret to be revealed. And I totally took the bait. Even though I saw the Big Reveal coming, I still wanted to know for sure, a curiosity that kept me reading. Overall, though, I found If Only I Could Tell You to be just an okay read.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (no F-bombs) and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of If Only I Could Tell You from the generous folks at William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Monday, December 31, 2018
Loosey-Goosey Structure Makes New Thriller Not So Thrilling
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When her fiancé's private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, 31-year-old Allison Carpenter is left alone on a remote mountaintop. With little food, no shelter, and no way to communicate with the outside world, she must figure out how to survive. It's not just the elements that are plotting against her—she's harboring an explosive secret that powerful men would kill to keep under wraps.
Maggie Carpenter hasn't seen or talked to her only child in two years. When she receives the news that Allison is presumed dead after a plane crash, the widow is filled with sorrow and remorse. Also a niggling hope. Allison's remains have not been recovered. Although everyone urges her to accept the fact that her daughter is dead, Maggie refuses to give up. After finding some disturbing information about the life Allison's been leading in the years since Maggie saw her, Maggie starts digging into her daughter's secret past. What she discovers convinces Maggie that her daughter's "death" was no accident.
In a desperate race to save themselves and each other, both women will have to use all their strength and tenacity to get to the bottom of a disturbing conspiracy that its perpetrators will do anything to keep quiet.
Told from dual perspectives, Freefall by Jessica Barry (available January 8, 2019) is an adrenaline-fueled page turner that kept me riveted despite the novel's loosey-goosey construction. The plot gets cliché and melodramatic while not making a lot of logical sense. I saw its big twists coming from too far away. Allison is difficult to relate to—her cash-centric decisions make little sense and leave her looking like a greedy, self-centered gold digger. Although I did want to know how this novel ended, overall it didn't feel like a very satisfying read. I wanted a tighter, more sensical plot; better developed characters; and some surprising twists to keep the story fresh. Maybe next time.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't really think of anything. You?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for strong language, violence, blood/gore, sexual content, depictions of illegal drug use, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Freefall from the generous folks at HarperCollins. Thank you!
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Emotional Me Before You Impossible to Get Out Of Your Heart and Mind
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
At 26, Louisa "Lou" Clark is more or less content with her life. She has a steady job she enjoys, a long-time boyfriend with whom she's comfortable, and a close family that drives her crazy but provides her with a stable, loving home. Everything is fine until the owner of the café where Lou works unexpectedly decides to close his business and move. Money is tight at home; Lou can't afford not to work. Try as she might, however, she can't find gainful employment in her tiny English village.
At the end of her rope, Lou interviews for a job as a caregiver to a young, quadriplegic man. Although she has no experience, her bright personality and positive attitude win her the position. After all, Will Traynor already has a personal trainer to help him with his physical difficulties—what he needs (according to his mother, anyway) is someone to lift his spirits, to improve his emotional well-being. Lou isn't one to back away from a challenge, but when she meets the acerbic Will, she's tempted to quit on the spot. At first, it's only the obscene amount of money she's being paid that keeps Lou coming back. Gradually, however, she comes to understand and care for moody Will.
When Lou makes a shocking discovery, she launches a desperate plan to show Will that life is worth living. As she blunders along, she makes myriad mistakes, costly errors that only reinforce Will's view of his life as pointless. Can Lou convince him he's wrong? Can she prove to him how meaningful his existence can be? Will her love be enough to save him?
Despite all the rave reviews I'd seen for Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, it took me a long time to actually get to this novel. I don't know why, since the story grabbed me right from the beginning and still hasn't quite loosened its hold. It's a heart-wrenching tale (I bawled through the last 1/4 of the book), but one that is oddly life-affirming. For a story that deals with very serious subjects, it's also surprisingly funny and tender. Me Before You is one of those books that makes you think about things in a new way, making it a perfect book club read. Even though the ending made me mad, I loved this book. It's an emotional roller coaster ride that I still can't get out of my heart and mind. I recommend you read it with a box of tissues standing by—trust me, you'll need it.
(Readalikes: Reminded me of One Plus One by Jojo Moyes and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language, sexual content, and brief references to the use of illegal drugs
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Friday, September 19, 2014
Comfort or Cold-Blooded Murder: What Really Happened at Memorial During Katrina's Aftermath?
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
As Hurricane Katrina barreled toward New Orleans in late August 2005, residents braced for impact. Many headed for Memorial Medical Center, a sprawling hospital in the heart of the city that had, for generations, provided sturdy shelter through violent storms. When the hurricane hit, around 2,000 people—including patients, doctors, nurses, other hospital employees, and their friends/family members (many of whom brought along pets)—sought safety inside its walls. Although the hospital suffered some damage from the storm's initial battering, it continued to operate, surviving as it always had.
When floodwater began to rise, swamping the city and causing widespread panic both within the hospital and without, the staff at Memorial started to realize they may not be as safe as they had previously thought. With complete power failure becoming increasingly likely, the evacuation of Memorial's nearly 200 patients become necessary. Stranded people all over the area were in dire need of rescue. With few vehicles available, hospital staff had to make some tough decisions: Which patients should be evacuated first? The tiny babies in the NICU? The sickest adults? The patients who were healthiest? A decision that seemed simple at the time, but later became critical, was made: patients with Do Not Resuscitate orders would be taken out of the hospital last.
Those in charge at Memorial believed the hospital would be emptied completely within a matter of hours. This did not happen—and would not happen until September 11th, when coroners removed 45 corpses from Memorial's chapel. What occurred to the more than 100 patients who remained after the hospital's initial evacuation during the five harrowing days between August 28, when the storm hit, and September 1, when all living patients were rescued from Memorial? Why did so many people, more than at any other medical facility of comparable size, perish? As the power died, causing the failure of lights, air conditioners, and life-saving medical equipment, conditions inside the hospital became unbearable, not just for patients but for the doctors and nurses who were rapidly losing hope in the promise of rescue. With no end to anyone's misery in sight, those in charge at Memorial made a critical choice—to make suffering patients "comfortable." Were those decisions merciful acts or cold-blooded murder?
Five Days at Memorial, an epic work of investigative journalism by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sheri Fink, presents the chilling facts, allowing the reader to come to his/her own conclusions about what really happened at the hospital. Well-balanced and exhaustively researched, it's a haunting account that asks important questions about disaster preparedness; medical ethics; end-of-life care; and the responsibility of doctors toward their patients, especially when under extreme stress with their own lives in danger. At just under 600 pages, Five Days at Memorial looks intimidating, but it's actually very readable. It didn't bore me in the least. Eye-opening and thought-provoking, the book is an intense, compelling piece of non-fiction that should not be missed.
For a shorter, but just as riveting account of the situation recounted in the book, click here to read "The Deadly Choices at Memorial," an article Fink published in The New York Times Magazine on August 25, 2007.
(Readalikes: Although Five Days at Memorial is different than anything else I've read about Hurricane Katrina, it does remind me of fictional accounts of the storm, like Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes and Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for strong language, violence, and intense scenes/situations
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Promise of Stardust A Thoughtful, Decent Read
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Astronaut Elle McClure walked away from a threatened space mission unscathed—Matt Beaulieu is pretty sure his fearless wife can survive anything. But when Elle suffers a traumatic brain injury after falling off a ladder, she slips into a coma from which, experts say, she's unlikely to awaken. As much as he hates to let her go, Matt knows Elle had strong opinions about prolonging the lives of people in vegetative states. She didn't want to suffer a slow, agonizing death, the way her mother did. Maybe Elle never put her wishes in writing, but Matt is 100% sure his bright, adventurous wife would not want to waste away in a hospital bed. And he's prepared to honor her wishes, however difficult it might be for him to take her off life support.
Then, Matt receives news that changes everything: Elle is eight weeks pregnant. After suffering through multiple life-threatening miscarriages, the 38-year-old is carrying a baby who appears to be healthy. Matt knows there's only one thing that would have made Elle reconsider her desire not to have her life lengthened by artificial means—the chance to bear a child. It was the one thing she wanted above anything else, the one thing she longed for, hoped for, would have sacrificed her own life for (and nearly did). Matt knows this and he's determined to make the decision in her place, no matter what anyone else thinks of his choice.
Living with himself, though, is an entirely different thing. As Matt watches his wife's body shut down, he's wracked with torment. How can he do this to the woman he's loved since childhood? It doesn't help that his plight has turned into a media circus, bringing all kinds of journalists and protesters right to his front door. Even his mother doesn't trust his judgment. With a court case looming, Elle's body shutting down, and Matt's emotional state becoming more fragile by the hour, it's a race against time to save the person that matters most to Matt—but is that his wife or his baby?
In her debut novel, The Promise of Stardust, Priscille Sibley puts her characters into an impossible situation. Through them, she examines complicated themes like love, family, and the rights of comatose people and unborn children. Hot button issues, all. As a neonatal intensive care nurse, Sibley obviously has strong feelings about the issues, as well as the knowledge and compassion to address them in an open-minded, yet sensitive manner. Still, the situation felt a little unconvincing to me. The characters who opposed Matt's decision to keep Elle alive came off as callous and cold-hearted. Maybe this comes from the story being told by only one narrator (Matt), but I found myself unable to sympathize with anyone but him (and Elle, of course). And I didn't even find Matt particularly likable! So, yeah, I would have liked a better rounded story with a cast I cared more about. Having just read Lone Wolf, a Jodi Picoult novel with a similar premise, I've decided I like Picoult's multiple-narrator approach a lot more than Sibley's Matt-only format. The former just provides a fuller, more thought-provoking story.
So, what did I think of The Promise of Stardust, overall? It's decent. The characters didn't do a lot for me, the writing's a little bumpy and the main situation just didn't seem all that convincing to me, BUT the novel was still thoughtful and interesting. It definitely kept me turning pages. Did it knock my socks off? No, but it held my interest well enough. For the most part, it's a decent read.
(Readalikes: Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult)
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language and mild sexual content
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Promise of Stardust from the generous folks at Harper Collins. Thank you!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
"Wolf" Book Is Still Vintage Picoult
(Images from Barnes & Noble)
It's no secret that I love Jodi Picoult. I mean, it says right on my left sidebar that she's one of my very favorite authors. And it's true. Her books speak to me—they don't just keep me entertained, they also force me to consider polarizing issues from all sides. They make me think. Still, when I spied the hardcover version of Lone Wolf (see below), I hesitated. Wolves? The plot summary sounded Picoult-like, but I just wasn't sure. I mean I like animals and all, I just don't always enjoy reading whole books about them. So, I stalled on this one for most of 2012. Then, one day, I was in a Picoult kind of mood and I decided to give Lone Wolf a shot. And, guess what? While the plot does sort of revolve around wolves, the novel is really about how tragedy affects a family. In other words: it's vintage Picoult.
The story goes a little something like this: When Luke Warren—a wolf expert known for his unorthodox ways of studying the animals—is severely injured in a car accident, it throws his already-fractured family into a tailspin. His ex-wife, Georgie Ng, left him several years ago when she realized she would never mean as much to Luke as his beloved wolves. Edward, Luke's 24-year-old son, had it out with his dad six years ago and hasn't seen the man since. Seventeen-year-old Cara knows Luke's not the most traditional of fathers, but she loves him fiercely and can't bear to see the most alive man she knows in a coma. When it comes to a decision of whether or not to take Luke off life support, each member of the family has a different idea. Ultimately, it's up to his children, who disagree vehemently on what their father would have wanted. As they duke it all out in the hospital and in court, Edward, Cara and Georgie reflect on the enigma who is Luke Warren. Which of them knows him best? Did he really care about any of them? And, most importantly, who's the most qualified to decide Luke Warren's fate for him?
Will the fight draw the broken family together again or tear them apart forever?
I know some readers have tired of Picoult's story "formula," but, like I said, it works for me. It is, in fact, the thing I like most about reading her. Picoult always forces me to empathize, to see things from other people's perspectives, to open my mind and heart while considering how different issues affect different people. Both character- and plot-driven, her books always move at a swift pace, remaining tense and suspenseful until the very end. Lone Wolf is no exception. It's not my favorite Picoult book ever, but it still provided vivid reminders of why I love this author so much. She's just that good.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of other Picoult books, especially Handle With Care)
Grade: B
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, sexual content, animal violence/gore, and depictions of underage drinking/partying
To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of Lone Wolf from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Polio Story Compelling, Disturbing Look At A Life-Saving Iron Monster
(Image from Barnes & Noble)"And moving thro' a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear..."
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson; The Lady of Shalott
Ever since polio broke out across the U.S., 11-year-old Georgie Mason's been fascinated with the disease. She's read up on its history, causes and treatment. New deaths are chronicled every day in the newspaper, statistics she carefully records in her notebook. As much as she blames polio for the incredible boredom fest that is the summer of 1952 (no swimming pools, no movie theaters, no public events, no nothing), Georgie's obsessed with the epidemic. So, when her family moves next door to a girl in an iron lung, she can hardly believe her luck. Whe
n the girl turns out to be a beautiful teenager who welcomes visits from Georgie and her brother, well, Georgie's pretty much over the moon with delight.
According to Georgie's good friend Noah (as in, Webster), an iron lung is "a device for artificial respiration in which rhythmic alternations in the air pressure in a chamber surrounding a patient's chest force air into and out of the lungs" (from Merriam-Web
ster online). To Georgie, it's a tentacled, glinty-eyed beast straight out of a sci fi film. Even though she knows the contraption is breathing for her new friend, Phyllis, it looks to all the world like the wheezing monster has swallowed her whole. Georgie's as intrigued with the machine as she is repulsed by it.
Georgie's teenage brother, who doesn't notice anything he can't find through a telescope or shoot through a hoop, is suddenly showing a whole lot of interest in not just the artificial lung, but its occupant. It's easy to see why - Phyllis is bright, pretty and as flirtatious as any high school girl. She may view the world only as reflected through the iron lung's mirrors, but she sees clearly enough, apparently, to know what she wants. Since Emmett's a lot smoother on the court than off, Georgie's all for this "starter kit" romance. That is, until the couple stops including her in their star-gazing sessions. Her jealousy makes her tune into things she never noticed before, like how Emmett's completely at Phyllis' beck and call; how, despite the girl's condition, she's got a chilling hold on the people around her; and how her seemingly innocent flirting has a decidedly sinister feel. Is it just the envy talking or is Phyllis up to something? The Kellers' give their daughter everything, so what is it that Phyllis wants from Emmett? Maybe it's just teenage lovey-dovey stuff, the kind of thing Georgie loves to read about in her Archie comics, or maybe it's something much, much more frightening ...
Polio's a disease about which I know very little, so Chasing Orion by Kathryn Lasky fascinated me from the get-go. Lasky's description of the panic that spread along with its outbreak is unnerving as is her depiction of the not-so-helpless Phyllis. As horrifying as the idea of living life in an iron lung is, it's Phyllis' calculating manipulation of the people around her that makes the story so disturbing. Although the book is recommended for ages 9 and up, I would never hand a tale so dark to someone that young. While the book discusses issues that are important for everyone to contemplate - What constitutes a life? Is it right to keep someone alive by artificial means, if all it means is prolonged suffering? Whose happiness is more important - the patient's or her family's? - they're questions that confound even the aged. So, while I recommend this book for the compelling subject matter and skilled writing, it's not something I would pass on to every reader. I'm not even sure how I felt about it. Riveted, yes, but horrified, too. And so very, very relieved to be living in 2010.
(Readalikes: A little like We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg)
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for mild language, vague sexual innuendo, and mature topics (see discussion in last paragraph of review)
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Chasing Orion from the generous folks at Candlewick Press. Thank you!
Iron lung image from Wikipedia.
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