The First Counsel

Review by: Samantha M. Chandler

 

Hey friends! First of all, before you read this awesome review that I have worked on, I would love it if you could push the blue follow button to the right of this review, maybe even add your email address to get updates, and share with a friend you think may enjoy this (or your social media of choice). I would greatly appreciate it. 

 

Also, below at the end of the article is a comment box. Feel free to leave comments. Let me know what you loved, any questions you might have or if you would like more clarity, or if you have something to add! I love learning. Please be positive and friendly to our writers. I try my best to post on the first of the month! Enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading, sharing, and becoming a part of this reading community!

 

QUICK SUMMARY:

 

Michael Garret is a lawyer that works for the executive branch in Washington D.C. He has a best friend named Trey that works in the newsroom and his girlfriend happens to be the First Daughter of the United States. While on a date with his girlfriend, he sees his boss in a situation that he shouldn’t have. 

 

THE REVIEW

 

The genre is legal thriller and boy was it definitely that! There were twists and turns and sometimes information overload (on purpose) that tried to distract the reader into thinking that the enemy was someone completely else. If Scooby Doo has taught me anything it’s that the person that is most obviously the suspect, is not the actual perpetrator. That being said, I was able to guess who the suspect was, but I never knew the why until near the end of the book. For the most part, the book was fast paced and most chapters had me staying up until 1:30 in the morning just to finish it. You know, the famous line of “one more chapter.” 

 

Once again, Brad Meltzer is great at world building and character development/relationships. The book spends a lot of time at the OEOB (Old Executive Office Building) which today is known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. This seemed to be the meeting place for many of the lawyers that handle the everyday business of the president. The main relationships that Michael has in the book are Nora (First Daughter), his best friend Trey, Simon (his boss), and Pam (a coworker). There is also a very strong relationship between Michael and his father as well. The relationships are all complicated (especially with Nora) but also with Michael as he seemed to have trust issues with everyone in the book except his dad. 

 

If you read my review of The Tenth Justice, I am going to say something similar here. Enjoy the thrill of the read.

This book is a must read for anyone that likes thrillers, mysteries (who dun its), and character development. This is for all of you problem solvers out there, or the for the people that love books that push you to really think outside of the box. Also, this book is for anyone that tends to say just one more chapter but ends up reading 12 more. Most of the chapters end on a cliffhanger and make you want to read more, and more, and more. This book has a lot of twists, turns, and dead ends that leave you wondering what the hell is actually going on. Also, the whole time along the journey you are trying to figure out who the Sam hell is the murderer. Is it one of his friends? Pam? Is it his boss, Simon? Could it be a sketchy drug dealer named Vaughn? Every chapter you are given more clues to try and figure it out, and trust me, your answer changes so often because of all the new information that is continually thrown at your face. As much as it is frustrating, it’s also nice to use the clues and guess who the culprit may be.

 

This book was one to just sit back, drink my water, and binge read with the dog near me. This story was so engrossing that I just could not put the book down. I needed one of these “sit back and keep flipping the pages because you are too invested” types of books because The Count of Monte Cristo is needing my devoted attention when I read it. 

 

I would give this book a 4/5. Part of the book is Michael not trusting anyone around him, which is so frustrating, but understandable because he doesn’t know who he can actually trust. The other frustrating thing about this book is that Nora seems to be battling herself a lot and does crazy irrational things that frustrate Michael and sometimes me. When you finish the book though, you kind of understand why she was the way she was. (I don’t want to give too much away, but it is hard to let other people in when they just want to marvel at you; especially when you have high expectations on your shoulders at all times, you’ve been through trauma, and you really don’t have people you can trust because the people who you are supposed to trust, have let you down). The other thing is that I felt like this book was pretty similar to his writing style in “The Tenth Justice” which isn’t a good or bad thing, it just felt a little repetitive sometimes, like I have read it before. 

 

IN CONCLUSION, READ THE FRACKING BOOK!

 

Up Next: Noughts and Crosses

A Polish Doctor in the Nazi Concentration Camps

Review by: Samantha M. Chandler

 

Hey friends! First of all, before you read this awesome review that I have worked on, I would love it if you could push the blue follow button to the right of this review, maybe even add your email address to get updates, and share with a friend you think may enjoy this (or your social media of choice). I would greatly appreciate it. 

 

Also, below at the end of the article is a comment box. Feel free to leave comments. Let me know what you loved, any questions you might have or if you would like more clarity, or if you have something to add! I love learning. Please be positive and friendly to our writers. I try my best to post on the first of the month! Enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading, sharing, and becoming a part of this reading community!

 

QUICK SUMMARY:

Wow. I... Just wow. This book was amazing. I absolutely loved this true story of a Polish Doctor that endured 3 concentration camps. I am just stunned at how well this book incorporated historical context to back up the author's mother's survival, struggle, outlook on life, as well as what happened before she ended up in the camps to where the story concludes with the eventual death of her mother. But Jadzia's story will now live on forever. Also, this book has images to really help you understand the situation that Jadzia was going through at different stages of her life. 

THE RUN DOWN: 

Okay so first off this was a very delicate read for me. I slowed down, processed, analyzed, and breathed this book for the last week and a half. I wanted to know all of the wisdom and knowledge that Barbara Rylko-Bauer could give to me. As I mentioned earlier, this book follows Jadzia's life- childhood, medical training, life as a concentration camp physician, and her life after World War II. All of this is done surrounded by what was happening in the moment of her life. Jadzia tells her story to her anthropologist daughter, Barbara, who recorded hours and hours of Jadzia's life. I am really trying hard to not give any spoilers away!

I was amazed at Jadzia's skill, knowledge, luck, and ability to try and thrive no matter what came her way. As Barbara Rylko-Bauer travels back in time with her mother, we learn of the hardships that female concentration camp prisoners faced. The struggle doesn't just end there. It continues into her post war years when Jadzia tried to rebuild her life. She was a refugee doctor and then an immigrant to the U.S. I had no idea of the struggles immigrants had during this time period so I learned quite a bit. Like many immigrants during this time, Jadzia had hopes of making new connections and continuing her career as a physician. However, for various reasons (personal, economic, and social obstacles to receiving a United States medical license) she was unable to obtain that goal. She ended her career as a nurse’s aide at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan.

I think Rylko-Bauer did an amazing job of capturing her mother's story. Jadzia's story is created with historical research and conversations with her daughter. I could hear both voices in the writing. It was interesting to see what Jadzia would say, how she would react, how Rylko-Bauer would react, and the research to corroborate what Jadzia had said. The result was a book about struggle, survival, and displacement helping the reader to understand a brutal time in history and the aftermath struggles of Polish immigrants in the United States. 

I will never be able to do this book the justice it deserves by writing this review. It will be a book I will hand out to anyone and eventually discuss with my own family. I have had the amazing chance to meet Barbara Rylko-Bauer. She was very kind and it was so amazing to hear her speak to at the Great Lakes Conference held at Grand Valley State University.

It was interesting that her family settled in the same state I live in! The only complaint I had was that sometimes the abbreviations took away some of the story for me because I was busy trying to look up what they meant (felt like I had short term memory loss)! With that said, I still would give this book a 5/5 star review!

IN CONCLUSION, READ THE FRACKING BOOK!

Up next: The First Counsel by Brad Meltzer

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Review by: Samantha M. Chandler

 

Hey friends! First of all, before you read this awesome review that I have worked on, I would love it if you could push the blue follow button to the right of this review, maybe even add your email address to get updates, and share with a friend you think may enjoy this (or your social media of choice). I would greatly appreciate it. 

 

Also, below at the end of the article is a comment box. Feel free to leave comments. Let me know what you loved, any questions you might have or if you would like more clarity, or if you have something to add! I love learning. Please be positive and friendly to our writers. I try my best to post on the first of the month! Enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading, sharing, and becoming a part of this reading community!

 

QUICK SUMMARY

 

Stephen King typically writes horror books, but this one is a fantasy novel. This book follows Charlie Reade as a 17 year old boy that helps his stubborn and crochity old man of a neighbor out because he fell off his ladder and broke a leg. The old man has a dog named Radar that Charlie also helps take care of (if you like animal companions in a story, this one is definitely for you). Charlie inherits keys to a hidden portal world and finds himself battling evil and trying to help the forces of good shine through in a broken new to him world.

 

THE REVIEW

 

Told by Charlie as a 26 year old, this coming of age tale starts out with Charlie being a 7 year old boy. It goes through the trauma of how he lost his mother and how his dad had become an alcoholic afterwards. Charlie had to grow up and learn to take care of the house and his father at a very young age. At the age of 17, Charlie meets his neighbor, Mr. Bowditch, because Mr. Bowditch becomes injured. Charlie takes on the task of taking care of Bowditch and his dog Radar. He ends up finding the other world portal which is where the fantasy part of the novel really kicks into high gear. 

 

Another wonderful aspect to the American version of the book are the amazing illustrations throughout. They are stunning, help put the story into perspective, and are just beautiful. I love it when adult books have illustrations because we are just big kids and love to see what the author envisions. 

 

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

 

If you are someone that likes the day-to-day comradery of solid relationships being built, you are going to love the first half of this book. The characters have realistic character interactions and relationships. King spends a lot of time developing Charlie and his relationships with his dad, Adrian Bowditch, and of course the animal sidekick, Radar. Charlie and Mr. Bowditch’s relationship building was a lot of fun. Bowditch is a grumpy old man stuck in his ways and very anti-social while Charlie is the new age of technology and could win his way into anyone’s heart. One of my favorite memories from reading the book is when Bowditch comes home from the hospital and Charlie is trying to show Mr. Bowditch how certain technologies work. For example, Mr. Bowditch had a tube tv which didn’t get the greatest reception even with the antennae, so Charlie showed him the TV show he liked on his computer and Mr. Bowditch was amazed at the clarity of such technology. It just reminded me of my grandma who is not technologically advanced and me showing her pictures of things on my phone. She is amazed at how fast something can be spread on the internet. I love the shared interest of reading between the two of them as well. The unique thing about this book is it isn’t just from Charlie’s perspective, but also from Radar’s. King does a great job with giving an invisible voice to Radar by demonstrating her reactions, barks, and body language. That was something I was not expecting. 

 

EASTER EGGS

 

Stephen King refers to a few of the books he has written throughout the novel. No spoilers from me though, gotta read the book yourself! However, there are many other references to the Grimm’s fairy tales, Lovecraftian works, and even Ray Bradbury. There are other references to other pop culture from the last 50 to 60 years throughout the book as well (some of them shows my grandma watches and enjoys). Throughout the entire book are hints at childhood fairy tales you may have grown up with. There are of course references to other authors that have had an influence on King as he wrote this book. For example, H.P. Lovecraft’s work is referenced a lot and some of the book reminds me of creatures that you would see in Lovecraft’s works. You don’t need to read any other book to enjoy this book though (although I would recommend H.P. Lovecraft because I love his work). 

 

FANTASY WORK

I love how the fantasy novel starts out very much in what we would call the real world (dysfunctional family, alcoholism, death, relationships- all things that were relatable to me and to many others) and then slowly creeped into the fantastical world. It just allows me to sink into the book and feel like this could really happen to anyone. Harry Potter was the same way for me. I like the real element that just makes you feel like this is an ordinary day for any human being. 

 

The ending was a fitting fairy tale ending that wrapped up most of the story well. However, I have so many more questions about some of the characters and how the other world was doing. I wanted Charlie to go back and give me more answers!

 

LOWER THE SCORE

 

The one thing I absolutely love is a good book with character development. The relationships in the beginning of the book were so strong, yet in later chapters the book didn’t really pride itself on that as much. I know that introducing so many people would have been a hassle, but with some of the characters that Charlie did spend time with, I wanted to know more. I needed to know more. King spent so much time developing the relationship with Charlie and Bowditch and I wanted that special connection with him and the other people/creatures he met along the way. 

 

SCORE

 

If I had to give this book a score out of 5, I would say it is a 4.5. Overall it was a fun read, but I just needed more character development and I honestly wanted more of the book (but I understand Charlie’s decision). 

 

IN CONCLUSION, READ THE FRACKING BOOK!

 

Up Next: A Polish Doctor in the Nazi Camps by Barbara Rylko-Bauer