Escape From Virtual Island

 An Audible Original /Fiction by John Lutz

https://www.audible.com

This scripted audio performance looked like it would be quirky and fun, so I bought it to listen to on a road trip with my husband. Unfortunately, it was quite terrible.

The good news is: Audible.com will exchange audiobooks you hate for books you want. So YAY!

To sum up, the thumbs-down below is for this particular book. But audible.com gets two thumbs way up from me!

I also read recently from Audible Originals: Ghostsitter: A Crazy Inheritance

Between You and Me

Subtitled: Confessions of a Comma Queen

Nonfiction by Mary Norris

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

So... this is a book about English grammar that's meant to be funny.

Obviously it's not for everyone; however, I thought it was kind of fun.

Famous

Fiction by Blake Crouch.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lance is a loser who still lives with his parents at 38 years old, but he happens to have the same face as a certain movie star. He's saving his money and has studied how to act just like a famous person, and so when he gets fired from his job he decides to put his plan into action. 

What happens next is a real surprise!

I also read recently by this author: Pines

Ghostsitter: a Crazy Inheritance

An Audible Original

Fiction by Tommy Krappenweis

https://www.audible.com

The story is about a boy who inherits an old amusement park filled with bunch of ghosts and monsters from his crazy great uncle or something. But the ghosts and monsters are all nice and friendly. Sort of...

This is a scripted audio performance with several voice actors, and is supposed to be meant for family listening. My son (12) and I listened to it together. I'd say it was okay, but not great. It was mildly interesting to the kid and super weird to the adult.

I also read recently from Audible Originals: Andrea Vernon and the Center for Ultra Human Protection

The Friend Zone

Fiction by Abby Jiminez

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was fun romance story with some really funny moments as well as some drama.

The focus is on Kristen and Josh, a meant-for-each-other pair who feel like they can't be together because of circumstances. The story suffers a bit from "I-Can't-Tell-The-Truth-Or-The-Story-Will-End -Here Syndrome,"** however, the writing style is fun and readable enough for me to overlook it.

**I-Can't-Tell-The -Truth-Or-The-Story-Will-End-Here Syndrome

(See After the Lie by Kerry Fisher)

This shows up in romances quite a bit, in which a main character withholds some vital piece of information from his/her love interest for flimsy reasons, making it obvious that the author is using the device to further complicate the plot and lengthen the story.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Fiction by Kim Michele Richardson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I heard about this book because of its supposed similarity to Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes, which was published around the same time.

Apparently there were allegations of plagiarism because this book (by a lesser-known author) was released in May of last year, and Giver of Stars, released in November and written by a big-name author, are both based on the "Packhorse Librarian" project in 1930's Kentucky.

I will say that I don't think there was any real plagiarism involved, although there are similarities between the books. Still, the characters are so very different that I don't think this is more than coincidence. 

Cussy Mary, the librarian in this story, is a rare Kentucky Blue Person, which apparently is a real genetic condition that cropped up in the hills of Kentucky. These folks had skin that actually appeared blue, due to some blood deficiency they inherited, but were otherwise quite healthy. The problem for them, as you can imagine, is the reactions they encountered from others due to their "oddity." 

For Cussy Mary, being a Blue pretty much defines her. The Packhorse Library project gives her a way to help other people see past her color, as well as a way to make a living. This character and her story are completely unlike the English girl Alice in the JoJo Moyes book, who struggles with an unhappy marriage and sees the library job as an escape.

This was a good book, and one I probably wouldn't have heard about if it hadn't been for the controversy. I'm not the only one who read it because of that, either, so I'd say this author came out ahead here.

The Boy from the Woods

Fiction by Harlan Coben

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

Thirty years ago, a boy of about six was discovered living in the woods with no memory of having ever been anywhere else. Papers called him a "Real-Life Mowgli," and the case received a lot of attention. Still, no one came forward to claim the child, and his origin remained a mystery. Soon everyone forgot about the boy called Wilde.

Fast forward to the present and we have Naomi and Matthew, a girl who is picked on and bullied every day at the high school and a boy who feels guilty about not intervening. Then when Naomi disappears, Matthew is determined to find out what happened to her. 

Can Matthew make amends for ignoring Naomi's plight? Where has she gone? And what does this all have to do with the boy --who is now a grown man-- from the woods? All will be reveled in time!

This was a great thriller!

I also read recently by this author: Darkest Fear