5 stars

I love Sarah Addison Allen’s books. I just know that when I start one I’m going to enjoy it. Her writing has this dreamy quality of being able to pull you in and keep you engaged throughout the whole story, and her use of magical realism is perfect. It’s so engrained in her books and it feels like it could actually be true.

This is the perfect book on dealing with grief. Everyone deals with it in their own way. There’s no right or wrong way, no time frame, and no way of knowing how it’s going to go. Even though we all deal with grief, it’s different for everyone. But not only that, it’s different each time we experience it. Each of the characters in this book are dealing with grief for a different person or situation in a different way. I loved how time was spent with each person, and how all their stories slowly unraveled to reveal more of what each was going through. I also loved the aspect of them all being so far apart from each even though they all lived in the same complex, and slowly coming together as a new found family. Sometimes we need to find our own family, even if we have one, as sharing our grief with others can help us all overcome whatever it is we’re facing. I have a lot of first hand experience with this. It took me a long time to get to the point where I could share it with others, but as a result, I have found a new family of people I know will always be there for me.

5 stars

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I expected it to be about a few people in the death industry and their basic jobs, but it turned out to be so much more. There were the jobs that usually come to mind when you think of the industry, such as embalmer and funeral director, but then there were jobs I either didn’t know about or never would have thought of, such as the death mask maker and bereavement midwife. There is so much more that goes into dying that people don’t realize, and so many people that work in that field that you never hear about. Many of these people never get thanks for their jobs or recognition for what they do, but they are still a vital and important part of the death process. I was hoping for a chapter about mummification, as I live right by the only modern mummification center outside of Egypt, but it wasn’t to be. I was also quite touched by the author’s reaction to part of what she saw. She went it totally prepared to not have any emotional reaction to one thing, only to be deeply affected by something else. It just shows that even though we think we are prepared for any inevitability, we’re not.

It’s funny; I actually finished this on the day I drove to Idaho for my uncle’s funeral. While death is sad and impacts us in different ways, I still think it’s important to talk about. We like to pretend that it will never happen, that it’s some dirty secret that can’t be spoken of. But death is the most natural thing in the world. We’ll all die someday. Talking about it helps us come to terms with that fact, and being prepared for it helps us and those we’ll leave behind.

4 stars

As a big fan of space exploration and the like, I knew most of the stories in here already. Even though, I found the book interesting and informative, with the right mix of humorous and serious stories. Reading about the different pranks and practical astronauts have played on each other was a good contrast to reading about the animals sent into space, some of whom never made it back home. I also enjoyed reading about the struggles of the women trying to become the first astronauts. It’s crazy to know that some of them were more qualified than their male counterparts, but weren’t allowed to become astronauts simply because of their gender. I am glad we have moved beyond that. The story about sex in space seemed like an odd inclusion at first, until the point is brought up about colonizing Mars or other planets, or being stuck on spaceships for extended periods of time. If we ever get to the point where humans need to leave Earth, reproduction is the only way for the species to continue, so eventually we are going to have to think about some of those hurdles.

For anyone who enjoys books about space or is interested in space exploration and its history, this is a good collection of stories to read.

4 stars

When I first started reading this, I was wondering if it was going to end up like the Eugenics Wars in Star Trek, with Logan being similar to Khan (just with less gold fishnet). It didn’t end up like that, though I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I’d read something like this before.

The premise is pretty interesting. A member of an agency that tries to stop genetic manipulation is genetically manipulated in a raid gone wrong. The first part of the book is fast-paced and keeps you wondering what’s going to happen. However, once the book gets to part two, it starts to lag. There isn’t nearly as much going on, and the little bit of action that does occur is over and done with pretty quickly. The last part of the book with the showdown between Logan and his enemies was exciting; however, I felt that things were wrapped up a little too neatly. I expected more dealing with the upgrade they were trying to release. The fact that over all this time nothing had really been done with it seemed a little odd, and Logan stopping everything and there being no consequences at all was just slightly unbelievable. Overall all I did really enjoy this and reading about the upgrades was really interesting, even if it did go over my head at times. This makes a good read for anyone who enjoys smart sci-fi.

4 stars

This is a hard book to review, as it’s very detailed, but at the same time hard to explain without giving away too much of the story.

This wasn’t what I was expecting, but that’s okay because it turned out to be a great read. I had never heard the term epigenetics before reading this, though I had heard about generational trauma, and those traumas being passed down through our DNA. The way it is weaved throughout the book is compelling, with each woman experiencing the echoes of trauma of those who came before her, even if she doesn’t realize it.

I had worried a bit about keeping track of each woman, since the book isn’t told in chronological order, but this didn’t end up being an issue as each chapter is told by a different woman, and they are all decent length with a lot of depth and characterization. I had a lot of feelings while reading this; I could feel each woman’s trauma, and I had a lot of sadness when that trauma was revealed and the chapter ended. Each story kept me intrigued and engrossed in the book; I finished it very quickly once I got into it. The ending was also not what I expected, but I was very happy with it. It gave me a sense of hope – that even though we may experience trauma and sadness in our lives, that things can still turn around for the better.