Icon Tag: heart-breaking

Anne Frank Remembered

June 3, 2023 Whitney Review 2 Comments
Anne Frank Remembered

I originally read Anne Frank’s Diary when I was eleven or twelve years old. I remember her view of the world, during a horrendous time in history, and around my age left a huge impact and, like so many other girls is the reason I started a diary however, I’m sure my middle school ramblings […]

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A Man Called Ove

November 14, 2018 Whitney Review 3 Comments
A Man Called Ove

Reasons to Read A Man Called Ove If you love character-driven, heart-warming reads A Man Called Ove is a must Ove is a rarity as he is a loveable curmudgeon and his story is like an onion, with each layer invoking more emotion. Fredrik Backman has a very subtle sense of humor that could bring […]

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The Real Lolita

October 29, 2018 Whitney Review 2 Comments
The Real Lolita

Quick Impressions Had I done to Dolly, perhaps, what Frank Lasalle, a fifty-year-old mechanic, had done to eleven-year-old Sally Horner in 1948? The Real Lolita is eye-opening and a fascinating true crime novel.  While the novel does switch between Nabokov writing the book and the horror of Sally Horner “the real Lolita” I felt that […]

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

April 5, 2018 Whitney Review 0 Comments
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Review The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah had languished on my kindle for two years. It mocked me each time I turned on the device to delve into something else. Finally, finally I got around to reading it. The reason I dragged my feet was because after reading one of Kristin Hannah’s earlier novel, Winter Garden […]

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

April 21, 2017 Whitney Review 4 Comments
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

I typically don’t read young adult unless it is in the form of Harry Potter. However, a new-to-me young adult book usually gets me out of a reading slump and A Monster Calls was my pick up of choice. It is a depressing book, dealing with the impending death of a child’s mother, but “happy […]

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Mischling by Affinity Konar

March 28, 2017 Whitney Review 2 Comments
Mischling by Affinity Konar

Mischling by Affinity Konar is a historical fiction novel on a subject that is rarely touched in this genre — Josef Mengele. The Holocaust is filled with many, unimaginable horrors but “the zoo” in Auschwitz is repulsive. The “experiments” preformed were enough to make one ill. However, the main story is not of blindness but […]

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The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff

March 8, 2017 Whitney Review 2 Comments
The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff

The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff could easily have been yet another novel about surviving WWII. At first, I was nervous as it seemed to mirror Water for Elephants and while that in itself is a good story I found the ending to be disappointing. Therefore, I hoped for a different result. Fortunately, I was […]

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Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova

April 10, 2015 Whitney Review 0 Comments
Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova

Fond Of   The most important aspect of Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova is that it brings awareness to Huntington’s Disease. Being epileptic, I understand how important it is to “get the word out there” and admire the novel for that. Lisa Genova creates an emotional roller-coaster and has imagined characters that touch with […]

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Review: Prayers For The Stolen

February 2, 2015 Whitney Review 0 Comments
Review: Prayers For The Stolen

Fond of: Having gone to Mexico in the past the location of the novel is what first intrigued me, then it was the subject matter.  The plot not only focused on the actual taking of a girl in the village but the aftermath and effect it had on those even years later which I found […]

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Review: The Almond Tree

September 23, 2013 Whitney Review 1 Comment
Review: The Almond Tree

Recently, my dad asked what I was reading and I replied “The Almond Tree”.  His response was “That sounds boring”.  He could not be farther from the truth.  You should never judge a book by its title. From the start, it is made clear that The Almond Tree is a dark, heartbreaking story of adversity, […]

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