Tumbleweird Book Reviews

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Tumbleweird Book Reviews

Created by Sarah - Updated on June 04th 2020

Have you been following The Book Report in Tumbleweird? Maybe you missed an issue or want to find what I've been writing about most recently? Here are the books I've reviewed!

The only woman in the room

Benedict, Marie, author.

From the Publisher

"Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star. But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist....

It ended badly : thirteen of the worst breakups in history

Wright, Jennifer (New York Observer columnist)

From the Publisher

"If you are lying in bed right now, a pint of ice cream in one hand, a bottle of scotch in the other, and this book clenched between your teeth (one tooth is missing from last night's bar fight), with tears streaming down your face over how much you loved, loved, loved your ex, let me commend you on how well you are coping. You could be doing so much worse. So much worse. You could be beheading your ex, or castrating strangers, or starting an exciting new life with a sex doll. YOU ARE A HERO....

Year one

Roberts, Nora, author.

From the Publisher

"It began on New Year's Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed--and more than half of the world's population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing...

Station eleven : a novel

Mandel, Emily St. John, 1979-

From the Publisher

One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production. Jeevan Chaudhary, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur's chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside as life disintegrates outside....

The power : a novel

Alderman, Naomi, author.

From the Publisher

In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there's a rich Nigerian kid who lounges around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power - they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly.

The tattooist of Auschwitz : a novel

Morris, Heather (Screenwriter), author.

From the Publisher

"In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism--but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged...

Every note played : a novel

Genova, Lisa, author.

From the Publisher

A once accomplished concert pianist, Richard now has ALS. As he becomes increasingly paralyzed and is no longer able to live on his own, Karina becomes his reluctant caretaker. As Richard's muscles, voice, and breath fade, both he and Karina try to reconcile their past before it's too late.

The library book

Orlean, Susan, author.

From the Publisher

Orlean re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history and delivers a love letter to the institution of libraries themselves.

Inheritance : a memoir of genealogy, paternity, and love

Shapiro, Dani, author.

From the Publisher

"The ... author of Hourglass now gives us a new memoir about identity, paternity, and family secrets--a real-time exploration of the ... discovery she made last year about her father, and her struggle to piece together the hidden the story of her own life"-- Provided by publisher.

Stay sexy & don't get murdered : the definitive how-to guide

Kilgariff, Karen, author.

From the Publisher

"The highly anticipated first book by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, the voices behind the #1 hit podcast My Favorite Murder! Sharing never-before-heard stories ranging from their struggles with depression, eating disorders, and addiction, Karen and Georgia irreverently recount their biggest mistakes and deepest fears, reflecting on the formative life events that shaped them into two of the most followed voices in the nation. In Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered, Karen and Georgia focus on...

The Nickel boys : a novel

Whitehead, Colson, 1969- author.

From the Publisher

Follows the experiences of two African-American teenagers at an abusive reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.

Keeping Lucy

Greenwood, T. (Tammy), author.

From the Publisher

The heartbreaking and uplifting story, inspired by incredible true events, of how far one mother must go to protect her daughter.

Recursion : a novel

Crouch, Blake, author.

From the Publisher

"Memory makes reality. That's what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome--a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. Neuroscientist Helena Smith already understands the power of memory. It's why she's dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious moments of our pasts. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to...

Auschwitz lullaby

Escobar, Mario, 1971- author.

From the Publisher

"The story of Helene Hannemann--a woman who sacrificed everything for family and fought furiously for the children she hoped to save"-- Provided by publisher.

The girl with all the gifts

Carey, Mike, 1959-

From the Publisher

A little girl who is detained by the military, restrained in a wheelchair, and goes to school while heavily guarded doesn't truly understand why she is special until it is up to her to save the world.

Talking to strangers : what we should know about the people we don't know

Gladwell, Malcolm, 1963- author.

From the Publisher

The podcast host and author explores how people interact with strangers and why these exchanges often go wrong, offering tips for more accurate and productive interactions.

Thirteen doorways, wolves behind them all

Ruby, Laura, author.

From the Publisher

"When Frankie's mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary - just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That's why she is not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket. Now Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans, two young, unwanted women doing...

Ninth House Leigh Bardugo

Bardugo, Leigh

From the Publisher

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a mesmerizing tale of power, privilege, and dark magic set among the Ivy League elite. Galaxy "Alex" Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some...

Catch and Kill Ronan Farrow

Farrow, Ronan

From the Publisher

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers, and a cabal of powerful interests hellbent on covering up the truth, at any cost. In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from...

She Said Megan Twohey

Twohey, Megan

From the Publisher

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters who broke the news of Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment and abuse for the New York Times , Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the thrilling untold story of their investigation and its consequences for the #MeToo movement For many years, reporters had tried to get to the truth about Harvey Weinstein's treatment of women. Rumors of wrongdoing had long circulated. But in 2017, when Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey began their investigation into the prominent...

The Girl with the Louding Voice Abi Daré

Daré, Abi

From the Publisher

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by PopSugar , Marie Claire , Essence, Electric Literature , Red Magazine, Stylist, Daily Kos , Library Journal , The Every Girl, and Read it Forward ! "A bold new storyteller...Abi Daré's fearless debut is a celebration of girls who dare to dream and those who help unfurl their wings so that they might soar." — Imbolo Mbue, New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club pick) A powerful, emotional debut novel told in the...

Get Well Soon Jennifer Wright

Wright, Jennifer

From the Publisher

A witty, irreverent tour of history's worst plagues―from the Antonine Plague, to leprosy, to polio―and a celebration of the heroes who fought them In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days later, and soon thirty-four more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had been stricken by the mysterious dancing plague. In late-nineteenth-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the...

The Book of Lost Friends Lisa Wingate

Wingate, Lisa

From the Publisher

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new novel inspired by little-known historical events: a dramatic story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its vital connection to her own students' lives. In her distinctive voice, Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in...

The Book of Longings Sue Monk Kidd

Kidd, Sue Monk

From the Publisher

"I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus." So begins the new novel from the number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings , an extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny in a time of great despair and great hope. In her fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the...