Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley was a book that I heard about on a podcast.  The woman mentioned that the ending was a shock and made her cry.  She said it was an amazing book.  Therefore, I thought I'd give it a try.  She mentioned that it was about a survivor of a private plane crash, but that was all I new.  I would describe it as basically a mystery.  The entire book is focused around solving why the plane crashed.  There are intrigued, scandal, and well-developed characters in this book.  The main character is a recovering alcoholic painter who appears to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  However, the book takes you through the last days of all of the passengers' lives while trying to come to the truth about the accident.  I liked this book.  The mystery was opaque enough to keep me interested.  The characters were interesting.  The plot was pretty good.  Despite being a very common conclusion as far as who and why, I didn't feel as though I'd read this story a thousand times.  I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day

The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day was a decent book.  The main character is a woman who escaped an abusive relationship after her boyfriend almost killed her.  She spends 13 years "running" from him with their son that he does not know exists.  Having never been in  a situation like hers, I don't really relate to her.  Some of her decisions didn't make sense to me.  She's kind of likeable as a character.  I spent the duration of the book wanting her to get things together in her life and make decisions that make more sense for her son.  She spent so much time running that she just lost sight of what was in front of her.  I can't really say that I would recommend this book.  I give it 2 out of 5 stars.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is a book of Norse mythology written basically in novel format.  If you enjoy Norse mythology but don't enjoy the dry way the stories are usually told, then this book is for you.  I've never read a mythology book where it read like a novel.  It was quite enjoyable.  If you are a huge fan of Thor as a character in the recent Marvel movies, you may want to pass on this book.  He is portrayed as being a bit unintelligent, which the author claims is how he was truly portrayed in the stories passed down through the decades.  It was a little annoying, but I didn't mind it enough to not read the book.  I really liked it... the story of Thor's hammer, how Odin lost his eye, how Loki deceives the gods.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah is a story of his life growing up.  I don't think you have to be a fan of the television show that he hosts to enjoy the book.  The book paints a picture of what it was like for him growing up as a biracial kid in South Africa during apartheid.  His mother is quite the character and incredibly resilient.  Noah jumps around throughout time making some of his material a little confusing.  One minute he's in middle school, the next he's six years old, then he's graduating high school.  His transitions were not always smooth enough, in my opinion.  I would need a minute to place the puzzle piece into the timeline that I was trying to keep in my head.  Overall, I did enjoy it.  It was eye-opening about what apartheid was like for him.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh

I'm going to give away a little of the story in I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh.  If you don't like stories about domestic violence, then this book is not for you.  I, personally, can handle those sorts of stories.  I really liked this book.  It was well written.  There was a mystery that you knew was there, but it wasn't the complete center of the story.  The main aspect of the story was intriguing in and of itself.  It was hard to understand why the main character was making certain decisions, but she was a likeable character.  I was on her side, so to speak.  There were twists and turns in the story that weren't always expected.  However, the ending was a little obvious, but still good.  There was one main part of the plot that I totally didn't see coming.  So, that was nice.  Overall, I liked this book.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

American War by Omar El Akkad

What can I say about American War by Omar El Akkad?  It's set in the future around 2075.  There is an American civil war going on.  Global warming has submerged a large portion of our country.  The concept intrigued me.  I felt as though the author could have done so much with the story.  However, he didn't really.  It was basically just a story of revenge.  Revenge that begets revenge to be more specific.  The ending was especially disappointing to me.  I just really saw no purpose to the book other than the revenge angle.  It was annoying for me, but if you like a good revenge story, then maybe give this one a try.  For me, it was a 2 out of 5 stars.

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy

I did not like The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy at all.  I added it to my "to read" list because it was someone's #1 must read for the summer.  I skimmed over the synopsis, and it seemed like it could be decent.  I was mistaken.  It's a true story of the author's life.  I get that life can stink sometimes.  I just didn't like her attitude toward things.  When a gay, married woman gets angry with people because they call her female spouse her wife, that just makes no sense to me.  I get that she sees herself as the wife and not her spouse.  However, getting angry at people about this is just absurd in my opinion.  I say cut people some slack just like you'd wish they'd cut you some slack about certain things.  It just really summed her up as a person it seems.  She did not seem like someone with whom I would be friends.  I feel for her because she went through some very horrible experiences, but to always look on the dark side doesn't help anyone in the end.  I give this book 1 out of 5 stars.