Review: Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood

Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood

Published: August 6, 2019

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Dover, Massachusetts, 1969. Ginny Richardson's heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, born with Down Syndrome, was taken from her. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded." Ab tried to convince Ginny it was for the best. That they should grieve for their daughter as though she were dead. That they should try to move on. 

But two years later, when Ginny's best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth--its squalid hallways filled with neglected children--she knows she can't leave her daughter there. With Ginny's six-year-old son in tow, Ginny and Marsha drive to the school to see Lucy for themselves. What they find sets their course on a heart-racing journey across state lines—turning Ginny into a fugitive.

For the first time, Ginny must test her own strength and face the world head-on as she fights Ab and his domineering father for the right to keep Lucy. Racing from Massachusetts to the beaches of Atlantic City, through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to a roadside mermaid show in Florida, Keeping Lucy is a searing portrait of just how far a mother’s love can take her.

My Thoughts

Keeping Lucy is the touching tale of Ginny who goes to lengths to try to get her daughter Lucy back. It’s the late 60’s and Ginny is giving birth when she wakes up she finds out her daughter Lucy has been taken away from her. She later finds out that Lucy has Down Syndrome and given the time there was no other option but to put children who they consider “different” away in orphanages. Ginny was also told Lucy had other problems health wise and this was the best for everyone involved.

A couple of years pass and Ginny finds out that Lucy isn't in the type of place she thought she was. The place isn't fit for anyone and Ginny and her best friend decide to visit Lucy and take her for the weekend but once she is there and sees things for herself she decides Lucy will never go back and from there on it's Ginny and Lucy against the world.

They go on a road trip and Lucy soon begins to open up but only after Ginny sees how Lucy has suffered in that place. She begs her husband and his family, who are very powerful back home, to help but Ginny soon sees she might have to do this alone. Since she didn't have a choice, in the beginning, she takes a stand now and chooses the love for her child over everything and everyone.

Keeping Lucy made me an emotional wreck. The storyline is amazing and touching about a mother whose child was literally taken from her without her permission. She worries if Lucy will even know who she is. However, once they lock eyes Ginny’s heart is complete and Lucy knows this is her mama. This shows us the lengths a mother will go for her child and no matter what others think about Lucy, Ginny cares and will fight for her. If you want a heartwarming read look no further than Keeping Lucy.

Review: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Published: August 6, 2019

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.

Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unraveling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.

It was everything.

She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is. 

My Thoughts

I’ve always had an iffy relationship with Ruth Ware, I’m always excited by her new reads but sadly they don't live up to the hype. Now maybe it's just me who hypes them up so high but her books just never “get” there for me. Well, all that has changed with her newest book The Turn of the Key, this book is just...spectular!

The Turn of the Key is told through letters from the main character Rowen to a lawyer she hopes can help her. All we know is that she is accused of murder. We met Rowen who comes across an ad as a nanny so she goes for an interview to this massive home which is all decked out tech-wise. When she meets the kids things don't go well but somehow she gets the job and strange and scary things begin to happen.

She is soon left with the children while their parents go away and Rowen tries her best to get along with the kids but they are a handful and one of them continues to tell Rowen that she should leave or bad things will happen. The fact that Rowen begins to hear things and suspect somethings aren't right doesn’t help matters.

While Rowen does have reason to fear, she’s isn't so innocent we start to learn more and more about Rowen as the book goes on and soon her secrets are relieved and the real reason she came to this house. As things unravel Rowen’s real story doesn't help her case and she is left to defend herself. 

This book was just amazing to me, you get this story that straight up opens with a murder and a suspect already in jail. If that wasn't enough we get this huge mansion with a ghost or something and nannies that keep disappearing. Then we find out Rowen’s secrets which was a huge plot twist and lastly, we get a second plot twist at the end! Ruth Ware doesn't disappoint with this thriller it is one that pays off dividends! If you want a great page-turner of a book look no further than this one….it’s the ultimate read!

Review: Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

Published: July 30, 2019

Publisher: William Morrow

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it--teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy's sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.

Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it's naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way--a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.

When they're alone, Roux tells her that if she doesn't give her what she asks for, what she deserves, she's going to make Amy pay for her sins. One way or another.

To protect herself and her family and save the life she's built, Amy must beat the devil at her own clever game, matching wits with Roux in an escalating war of hidden pasts and unearthed secrets. Amy knows the consequences if she can't beat Roux. What terrifies her is everything she could lose if she wins.

My Thoughts

In Never Have I Ever we met Amy who lives a pretty ideal life, she married a man who loves her, stepmom to a teen and new mother of a baby boy. She has a good circle of friends and one night during book club the new neighbor makes her presence known. Roux is unlike any of the other moms on the block, but she came to play and Amy is her target. Unknown to anyone else Roux has a secret about Amy that could truly blow up Amy’s life but little does Roux know that Amy isn't one just to lay down and be exposed.

Amy has made a new life for herself after years of running from her past. She did something in her teens she isn't proud about and someone else took the blame for it and she hasn't gotten over it. She has made it her mission to help and protect the ones she hurt and although she wants to do right she doesn't want her past to claim her present.

Roux has come to town with the sole purpose to ruin Amy’s life. She has something that Amy has and she wants it now. However, Roux has no idea that Amy is doing a little background check of her own and soon she discovers who Roux really is and the devastating secret(s) Roux has. Roux is sick, twisted and a master manipulator but she has met her match with Amy who isn't backing down and wants Roux to pay for all her wrongdoings.

Never Have I Ever is pure genius, this book had me on my toes from the first page. I love the banter between Roux and Amy and how they always one-upped each other. Just when one thought they were winning the other comes back with something stronger. This is a game that at the end no one really wins, but the reveals are masterpieces. Joshilyn Jackson has outdone herself with this novel of twist and turns and with each revelation, you are bound to be amazed. If you want an honest to god amazing read look no further than this jaw-dropping story.

Review: Because You're Mine by Rea Frey

Because You’re Mine by Rea Frey

Published: August 6, 2019

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Single mother Lee has the daily routine down to a science: shower in six minutes. Cut food into perfect squares. Never leave her on-the-spectrum son Mason in someone else’s care. She’ll do anything—anything—to keep his carefully constructed world from falling apart. Do anything to keep him safe.

But when her best friend Grace convinces her she needs a small break from motherhood to recharge her batteries, Lee gives in to a weekend trip. Surely a long weekend away from home won’t hurt?

Noah, Mason’s handsome, bright, charismatic tutor—the first man in ages Lee’s even noticed—is more than happy to stay with him.

Forty-eight hours later, someone is dead.

But not all is as it seems. Noah may be more than who he claims to be. Grace has a secret—one that will destroy Lee. Lee has secrets of her own that she will do anything to keep hidden.

As the dominoes begin to fall and the past comes to light, perhaps it's no mystery someone is gone after all.

My Thoughts

Because You’re Mine is like no other psychological thriller I have ever read before. It all starts out simple: Lee who has a child, Mason, on the autistic spectrum has her life on a strict schedule because of him but she wouldn't have it any other way, he is her world. However, she misses having a relationship and soon finds herself with a crush on her son’s teacher, Noah and she can't help herself and she has to tell him. With her crazy routine her best friend, Grace, demands that Lee join her and their group of friends on a girls getaway and even though Lee doesn't want to let her son she knows she needs and deserves it.

Grace has been a savior when it comes to Lee and her son. She is the best friend anyone could ever ask for and she has a bond with Mason that can't be explained. She helps with Mason when she can and she even has become his legal guardian if anything happens to Lee. But Grace has a secret she has been hiding from Lee one that can break her heart and end their friendship. However Grace isn't all she's cracked up to be, she isn't so nice and innocent either and her secrets are ones that can destroy a friendship and other things beyond anyone’s imagination.

Noah seems like a nice and sweet guy who loves and cares for Mason. He is patient with him and teaches him that he can live without limitations. However Noah has some things in his past that he tries to forget but like all things his past is about to catch up to him and what he has done, and he is about to pay for.

This novel is told in past and present chapters and the characters are so rich with layers that continue to peel and give us a storyline I NEVER saw coming. We have all these characters and how the past relates to the present. And the ending? WOW!!! Is all I can say, that ending is what made me give it five stars. The last few chapters when everything wraps up and comes to a head is what made this book for me. I never saw that ending coming and it totally shocked me, which I loved! This novel took it to a place I could have never imagined! Simply put if you want fast-paced interesting read definitely check out this one, you will not regret it.

Review: Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Published: June 11, 2019

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Do we change or does the world change us?

Jo and Bethie Kaufman were born into a world full of promise.

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, they live in a perfect “Dick and Jane” house, where their roles in the family are clearly defined. Jo is the tomboy, the bookish rebel with a passion to make the world more fair; Bethie is the pretty, feminine good girl, a would-be star who enjoys the power her beauty confers and dreams of a traditional life.

But the truth ends up looking different from what the girls imagined. Jo and Bethie survive traumas and tragedies. As their lives unfold against the background of free love and Vietnam, Woodstock and women’s lib, Bethie becomes an adventure-loving wild child who dives headlong into the counterculture and is up for anything (except settling down). Meanwhile, Jo becomes a proper young mother in Connecticut, a witness to the changing world instead of a participant. Neither woman inhabits the world she dreams of, nor has a life that feels authentic or brings her joy. Is it too late for the women to finally stake a claim on happily ever after?

In her most ambitious novel yet, Jennifer Weiner tells a story of two sisters who, with their different dreams and different paths, offer answers to the question: How should a woman be in the world? 

My Thoughts

Jo and Bethie are sisters but their lives followed different paths. Bethie is the wild child, growing up in the free lovin' 60s she enjoyed and partook in all that the decade offered. She was the one who always gave her mother trouble but no one really knew why. What was it in Bethie that made her this way? We see why later in the story, how she experienced some pain and tragedy in her childhood. 

Jo, on the other hand, had her secret knowing very early on she was gay and in love with her best friend but decided to never let anyone know. She went on to get married and have children, never letting her true self be happy and living the life she wanted and deserved until later on in life.

We see both these sisters lives evolve and how they each went from kids to adults and trying to find their niche in this world. Neither one had an easy life, both having hard lives and never really coming into their own until they were grown. This book was rich in storylines, the way we see these sisters go through decades is amazing and seeing them struggle at times pulls at your heartstrings.

Mrs. Everything is a well-written story with its focus on family, love and coming into your own with elements of feminism. I loved that it has strong female characters that many of us can relate to, and while some of the topics touched upon in this book can be tough to some, I believe its things that can help some people also. This is one book that I highly recommend for anyone who wants an honest to god amazing read.

Review: All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

Published: July 17, 2018

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: via Overdrive

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

My Thoughts

This was my first Colleen Hoover experience and boy I so want to see what else she does!

In All Your Perfects we met Quinn and Graham we see a couple on the verge but we don't know why or how exactly they got there. In alternating chapters of now and then we see how they are now and slowly we discover what is happening. In the then we see how they met and how their love story came to be.

I won't go into details because I feel this story is so touching and gut-wrenching that to give any details would be spoiling it for anyone who hasn't read it. However, as much as I love this story Quinn made me mad so many times. I didn't like how she treated Graham at times and I wished she shared her hurt and pain more with him. With that, I loved that their journey ran the emotional scale like nobody’s business. I enjoyed how we were given their story, I liked the back and forth aspect of it. Most importantly I liked how Colleen Hoover showed us flawed characters and she didn't put the blame on any one character. My heart broke for both of them at different points of the story and wasn't sure where they were headed by the end. I didn't know if their love for one another was enough. Sometimes love just isn't enough but I was rooting for them and at the end, I was in tears.

All Your Perfects shows us the good, bad and the ugly that can happen in a marriage. Even if we love one another so much sometimes even that isn't enough, but at the same time, we might have to hit rock bottom to see what’s really at stake. This novel will yank at your heartstrings but in the end, it is definitely worth it.

Review: Sugar by Bernice L. McFadden

Sugar by Bernice L. McFadden

Published: January 2, 2001

Publisher: Plume

Format: via paperback

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

The novel opens when a young prostitute comes to Bigelow, Arkansas, to start over, far from her haunting past. Sugar moves next door to Pearl, who is still grieving for the daughter who was murdered fifteen years before. Over sweet-potato pie, an unlikely friendship begins, transforming both women's lives--and the life of an entire town.

Sugar brings a Southern African-American town vividly to life, with its flowering magnolia trees, lingering scents of jasmine and honeysuckle, and white picket fences that keep strangers out--but ignorance and superstition in. To read this novel is to take a journey through loss and suffering to a place of forgiveness, understanding, and grace.

My Thoughts

When Sugar rolls into town the whole place is turned upside down, she is a known prostitute but she moved to Bigelow to try to start over. She moves next door to Pearl who has suffered a lot in her life, to say the least. She is still mourning over the death of her daughter who was killed in the most vicious way and once she was gone Pearl just gave up. Her marriage suffered a bit but the love of her husband helped her slowly move on. With the town talking rumors about Sugar, Pearl has decided to not let that sway her opinions about her. Sugar, on the other hand, doesn't like people in her business so she isn't too keen on Pearl trying to be neighborly thinking she is just like the rest of them, judging Sugar on who she is.

With time Pearl and Sugar become friends and this friendship brings Pearl out of her shell. She is laughing and having fun again, enjoying life like she hasn't done since her daughter died. Both of them are an odd pair to the naked eye but I feel like they balance each other out. Both have experienced pain that no one could understand and I think they find comfort in that. When both are together no one is judging them and they get to be who they truly are without the thoughts of what others are thinking about them.

Both are just women who are searching for that something in life. Sugar just wants a place where she feels loved and belongs and Pearl just wants that closure and justice for her daughter. Sugar just might find that love with someone but her past is soon to rear its ugly head and that love she has for that someone is so strong she will do the unthinkable to protect him. Ironically the past is the key to her future when secrets are uncovered and we find out the missing pieces to Sugar’s life.

This is a powerful and emotional read one that will make you laugh and make you cry. Sugar’s story of how she grew up and was raised is heartbreaking. Her struggle to survive is something that only a strong person could handle and despite what others think of her Sugar is a true survivor. The fact that Sugar and Pearl were placed in each other's lives is something that only could happen on purpose. They were brought together to help each other heal and to become family. Bernice McFadden gives us characters that are raw, broken, flawed but at the same time incredibly strong. The world has given up on these women but they haven't given up on themselves and nothing is stronger than a woman who still believes she can. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants a great story with impactful characters.

Review: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Published: June 1, 1970

Publisher: First Vintage

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for normalcy, for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in. Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison's virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterized her writing.

My Thoughts

In The Bluest Eye, we met Pecola who is sent to live with some neighbors after her house was ravaged by a fire. During this time we slowly see her life unfold, she has lived a hard life, to say the least, told through multiple POV’s we get to know Pecola and how she sees herself. Pecola is raped by her father and her mother doesn't give much thought to anything or anyone else. However, Pecola sees herself as ugly and unwanted thinking that if she was another race these things wouldn't happen to her. The topics and themes of this novel are heartbreaking but at the same time very real. Race plays a great part in the world and society has this image of beauty that is so untamable that many of us think if we don't look a certain way then we aren't beautiful. This is a sad novel all about a girl who didn't have a chance in this world. She has so much stacked against her from the beginning that it just got worse as life went on. Toni Morrison is a brilliant writer who gives us tough subjects that stir up conversations that we have to have.

Review: If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Published: 1974

Publisher: Vintage

Format: via Overdrive

Rating: 5/5    

Synopsis

In this honest and stunning novel, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice. Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.

My Thoughts

In this beautifully written novel, we get the story of Fonny and Tish, two young people in love who have to fight to be reunited. Tish has grown up in a loving family who will support her no matter what. Fonny is a guy who only has his art and Tish, his family especially his mom don't’ want anything to do with him they think he is trouble and worthless and has found a new family in Tish and her family. We see he is in jail but we don't know why until almost the end of the novel. We see what all happened that led up to his incarceration, the accusations and the fight that Tish and her family will do to bring Fonny home to Tish and their baby, she found out she was pregnant when he was first sent to jail. They try to get help from Fonny’s family but they basically disowned him so Tish’s family makes it their mission to seek out justice for him.

This novel is very short but so powerful and heartbreaking, we see the hurt and tragedy in Tish and Fonny’s story. Despite the world, they are living in Tish and Fonny believe in themselves and their love no matter how high the odds are against them. While this novel was written decades ago it is still so irrelevant to today. How racial injustice is still happening and the way James Baldwin gives us this gritty look at life is poignant yet thought-provoking. This is one novel that has stood the test of time and sadly still speaks to today.

Review: Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published: March 5, 2019

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 5 /5

Synopsis

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now. Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

My Thoughts

Growing up music has always been an important part of my life. I remember listening to music with my mom and aunt so Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and all those '70s rock groups have always had a place in my heart. So when I heard Taylor Jenkins Reid was coming out with a new book about a rock group in the ’70s my heart was happy and I couldn't wait to read it.

We meet Daisy Jones who was known to hang out within the rock scene. She was the IT girl when it came to that, she was a rich girl who didn't matter to her parents so she found her family with the rock stars who gave her attention if it was only for one night or to party. She soon discovers she wants more and thinks she has a gift when it came to singing and writing songs and in time she puts her energy in that.

The Six is a band on the rise lead by Billy who is the Six, he writes all the music and decides everything when it comes to them. He soon meets the love of his life in Camilla a headstrong girl who sees Billy’s potential and will do anything for Billy to make it there. She wants him to do what she knows he can and when she ends up pregnant and he turns into an alcoholic she makes him chose...it’s either her or the booze...he chooses her. She knows life on the road is hard and temptations are everywhere but Billy keeps his word and stays clear of the alcohol and the women but his biggest test is when he meets Daisy.

Its a thing of fate that brings Daisy and Billy together their hatred of each is so strong you know there is definitely something more there. While they fight and bicker when they come together and make music it's... magical. Daisy is soon asked to be a part of The Six and that's when the real story begins, while Daisy and Billy fight more the songs that come out of them makes the best album of that era. You see this passion between them but Billy made a promise to his wife and he is determined to keep it and that just makes Daisy fall deeper into her vices. Billy sees her potential but steers clear of her because he knows if he doesn't Daisy will be his downfall in more ways than one.

I loved how this story was told in an interview formed. You get everyone’s side of the story and as the saying goes there are three sides to every story, yours mines, and the truth. So to hear how everyone could see things entirely differently is interesting, to say the least. I especially enjoyed the chemistry between Billy and Daisy, they have this love/hate relationship but you know there are so many more layers to them. You see this push and pull between them that you want them together but you also want Billy to stay true to his wife but at the same time, you also want to cheer for Daisy. Daisy is someone you root for you want her to be happy and get help because all she wants is love. A true love, someone who wants her simply for her and not for who she is and Billy could be that guy. Plus Daisy gave me serious Stevie Nicks vibes whom I LOVE! This is another winner from TJR who constantly give us great characters and storylines we get consumed by. She hits a high note with this one, and the fact she made me believe this was an actual group blows my mind. Plus the little twist in the end as to who was the interviewer is was a great touch. So do yourself a favor and dive into the musical journey of Daisy Jones and The Six where the real story starts when the music ends.

Review: The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

Published: March 16, 1998

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 5 /5

Synopsis

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant because, in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now.

My Thoughts

I found The Handmaids Tale quite scary. Why? Because everything that happens in this book could very likely happen. The reality of the U.S. becoming like Gilead isn't such a far fetched idea. The idea that women could be treated like this and made to do such things is frightening and unbelievable.

In Gilead, women are merely there to serve men and to solely reproduce. They are the property of higher-ups in the government and expected to bare their children and they have no voice in what happens to them. They were taken away from their families and especially their children if they had any. We get the story of Gilead by one of the handmaids, she tells us about this new world and the experiences she has gone through. We learn about her story and her life as Offred. We also get the story of her life before everything changed. We see how she had a life with a husband and daughter and how one day everything she knew crashed all around her.

This is a masterpiece without a doubt. Its written in a way that breaks by heart but also scares me like nothing else. The fact that it relates so much with this day and age definitely makes you think that this could happen. The way the government wants to decides what happens to a woman's reproductive system is something that only women should have a say in. This story is as important now more than ever and one that I think everyone needs to read.