Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

Title:  Warriors:  Into the Wild

Author: Erin Hunter

Read by:  MacLeod Andrews

Publisher: HarperCollins - HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 29 minutes

Source: Overdrive through the Kewaunee Public Library 

My fourteen-year-old son, Kile, has been obsessed with the Warrior series for the past four years.  Years ago, I read the first two books and enjoyed them.  When I heard there was now an audiobook version, I thought this would be a good audiobook to listen to on a family trip.  Kile was very happy to listen to the audiobook and share the story with his family.

Rusty is a housecat who longs for something more.  He discovers wild cats in the wood outside of his home and joins their clan, renamed Firepaw.  He learns the way of the clan and soon figures out that there is a threat to the clan from within.  Will Firepaw be able to save his clan?

My fourteen and twelve-year-old sons were into the story, but my 9-year-old daughter was not captivated by it.  She listened to it at times, but it did not capture her imagination.  Kile and I both agreed that we preferred reading the book rather than listening to it, but it was interesting.  Warning, there is cat violence and death in this book which would make it not for younger listeners.

The narrator did a good job of having a different voice for each of the characters.  The way he interpreted the characters kept us very entertained on the journey. 

Overall, Warriors: Into the Wild is an action adventure that entertained our family on a recent trip.  The narrator had great voices for the characters. 

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Title: Mrs. Everything

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Read by:  Ari Graynor & Beth Malone

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audio

Length: Approximately 16 hours and 45 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Shuster Audio.  Thank-you!

Mrs. Everything is an ambitious novel by one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner, that tells the story of two sisters and the hurdles they faced growing up in the latter half of the twentieth century.   Jo and Bethie are two very different sisters growing up in 1950’s Detroit Michigan.  Jo is an athletic tom boy that constantly fails to meet her mother’s expectations, while Bethie is a perfect girly-girl who seems to have everything going for her.  When a series of events changes their world, the girls find themselves on different paths finding their way through life.  The novel follows their lives from the 1950s to present day.  What challenges will they face and how will their relationship fair?

Mrs. Everything was an excellent family drama. I liked the complicated look at motherhood through the years.  It was interesting that Jo had such problems with her own mother only to have her daughter have difficulties with her.  The novel also looked at sexual violence and the effects it can have through the years.  The book also showcased the difficulties that Jo faced as a lesbian woman unable to live the life that would fulfill her emotional needs.  There were a lot of heavy topics in this novel, but good topics to discuss.

 I liked that the names of the two main characters, Jo and Bethie – are names reminiscent of Little Women.  I’m assuming that is on purpose as their personalities even fit. Jo is the boyish one who wants to be a writer.  Beth is the more docile daughter that follows her mother’s wishes until a few tragic events change the course of her life.

This audiobook had two narrators to go with the alternating chapters and viewpoints, one for Bethie and one for Jo.  It worked very well. Narrators act out the conversations that take place in the audiobook and I greatly enjoyed that. I don’t think myself too prudish, but the sex scenes in this book were very descriptive so be forewarned.  I just find it really odd to listen to such scenes on audiobook. This book is set in the 1960’s and 1970’s so there is excessive drug use besides the very descriptive lesbian sex scenes.  The sexual violent scenes were also hard for me to listen to.  It was disturbing, but I think this would be a great book to discuss at a book club.

I loved the Detroit Michigan setting.  I am from Southwest Michigan originally myself and didn’t actually spend any time as a youth in Detroit, but my ancestors are from there.  In fact, my Great-Grandma was a model at Hudson’s, where Sarah works in the novel, in the 1920’s.  I enjoyed shopping there are a teen and young adult until the store sadly closed.  We just drove by the old store in Battle Creek when we were in Michigan visiting earlier this month and I was saddened to see how abandoned it looked. Having the constant Michigan references in the book just made me really happy listening to it.

 Overall, Mrs. Everything is a great novel that explores what it is like being a woman growing up in the Baby Boomer generation.  Women have had to face a lot of expectations and life doesn’t always go the way you have it planned.  It was a good book to ponder and I think it would be an excellent book club book.  This isn’t as light of a read as some of Weiner’s previous novels, but it was a great book to read as a woman.  I enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

Title: Me Before You
Author: JoJo Moyes

Read by: Susan Lyons, Anna Bentinck, Steven Crossey, Alex Tregear, Andrew Wincott, and Owen Lindsay
Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: 12 CDs, approximately 14.5 hours
Source: Review Copy from Penguin Audio.  Thank-you!

Me Before You is the February pick for the FLICKS Book and Movie Club.  This worked out perfectly as I had an audiobook version awaiting review on the top of my pile from Penguin Audio.  It was a great book to listen to; it kept me fascinated during long and snowy drives home.  It also had me in tears driving home the last day; luckily it was not during a snow storm!

Me Before You looks like a standard chick lit novel, but it is anything but.  It starts off as a unique meet cute story, but turns into a story on the topic of euthanasia.  It was a very thought provoking novel, and one that I’m sure should spark some lively discussion during book club this month!

Louisa Clark (or Lou) is a twenty-six year old woman living in a small village in England.  She has never left her village, still lives at home, has a steady boyfriend (aka Running Man), and works in a small café.  After losing her job when the café closes, Louisa looks for new jobs.  Finding herself unqualified or unwilling to do most (being a poll dancer is not in her future), she takes a job as an assistant to a paraplegic thirty five year old man named Will Traynor.  

Will had a large life before his accident, women, wealth, a great job, and high flying adventures all over the world.  He is barely civil to Louisa when she first starts, but Louisa refuses to treat him any different and tells him exactly what she thinks about him.  She is the first person to ever treat Will this way and he likes it.  The two develop a close friendship and then Louisa makes a stunning discovery.  I won’t go more into it to ruin the book for someone else, but it is riveting.

The story is told from the point of view of Louisa, but there are a few random chapters told from another point of view (but never Will’s) throughout the book.  Each one had a new narrator, which I liked, but I didn’t like the change all of the time.  The one I did really like was the first new narrator, Mrs. Traynor, Will’s mother.  She seems like a cold woman to Louisa, but when you get her point of view, you realize how much she loves her son Will, but that she is not an outwardly emotional woman.

I highly recommend this novel. It was wonderfully written with unforgettable characters and an unforgettable story.  This book will keep me thinking about different issues for years to come.  I think it would make a great book club pick for other clubs as I’m sure this is going to lead to great discussions this month – especially as it seems most of the club has finished it (and not just me!).