Trapped in Iran: A Mother's Desperate Journey to Freedom by Samieh Hezari and Kaylene Petersen

Trapped in Iran: A Mother's Desperate Journey to Freedom, by Samieh Hezari and Kaylene Petersen
Publication: August 21, 2016, by Indiana University Press
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Pages: 216
Format: ARC
Source: BEA/Publisher
Rating: ½

In 2009, Samieh Hezari made a terrible mistake. She flew from her adopted home of Ireland to her birthplace in Iran so her 14-month-old daughter, Rojha, could be introduced to the child's father. When the violent and unstable father refused to allow his daughter to leave and demanded that Samieh renew their relationship, a two-week holiday became a desperate five-year battle to get her daughter out of Iran. If Samieh could not do so before Rojha turned seven, the father could take sole custody--forever. The father's harassment and threats intensified, eventually resulting in an allegation of adultery that was punishable by stoning, but Samieh--a single mother trapped in a country she saw as restricting the freedom and future of her daughter--never gave up, gaining inspiration from other Iranian women facing similar situations. As both the trial for adultery and her daughter's seventh birthday loomed the Irish government was unable to help, leaving Samieh to attempt multiple illegal escapes in an unforgettable, epic journey to freedom. Trapped in Iran is the harrowing and emotionally gripping story of how a mother defied a man and a country to win freedom for her daughter.

My Thoughts:

Trapped in Iran by the phenomenal Samieh Hezari is phenomenal. It's a read that definitely requires a lot of patience and strength since it is based on a tough, sad subject. I am obsessed with books that are about the things a person will do to save their children. There was a movie that I watched like year, Not Without My Daughter, which is so similar to this — which made me realize that the Iranian Revolution is such a powerful topic that I need to read more about. Samieh Hezari's story needs more popularity; more people who are able to fall in love with all of this.

This is a story that is so jam-packed that I couldn't believe it. It just seems as good as any movie's plot. However, it was all real, and I was able to feel the deepness and emotion in every word Samieh wrote. I was fortunate to meet her at BookExpo America in 2016, however I had not learned much about her story at that moment so I was only able to pity her a little. Now? I understand all of the struggles she faced and I can see why she felt like she needed to release this story and share it with the world. 

Trapped in Iran is brilliant. It is about a mother's struggle in saving her daughter and herself from the harmful Islamic regime which does not grant women any right to support her children if the father does not allow it. Men have a greater importance, and it kills me to see that this journey of Samieh's only occurred a few years ago. Not Without My Daughter, the famous film, occurred decades ago (with the film arising soon after), but this? This is recent. This is so heartbreaking.

In the beginning of the book, I was frustrated with Samieh's situation to the extent that I wondered why she didn't do anything else. It got me a little upset here and there, definitely affecting my rating. Everything eventually made so much sense and I was able to see desperation in Samieh's writing. My experience of reading this book was fabulous to the point that it took me two sittings to read. If I read this in one sitting, I would have had to stay up all night, indulging in the gorgeous writing and brilliant story. I spent the whole time through crossing my fingers and praying that everything will be alright in the end. But like many instances in life, it is not about the outcome or the ending, but about the journey in between.

This is an emotional roller coaster. You get hooked on it instantly, and as the plot moves forward, you become so obsessed with the story that you NEED to know what is going to happen. PLEASE BUY IT ASAP. 

*A review copy was provided by the publisher via BookExpo America in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What is the last emotional book you read?

Invincible Summer by Alice Adams // DNFed. Ugh.

Invincible Summer, by Alice Adams
Publication: June 28, 2016, by Little Brown and Company
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 308
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Four friends. Twenty years. One unexpected journey.Inseparable throughout college, Eva, Benedict, Sylvie, and Lucien graduate in 1997, into an exhilarating world on the brink of a new millennium. Hopelessly in love with playboy Lucien and eager to shrug off the socialist politics of her upbringing, Eva breaks away to work for a big bank. Benedict, a budding scientist who's pined for Eva for years, stays on to complete his PhD in physics, devoting his life to chasing particles as elusive as the object of his affection. Siblings Sylvie and Lucien, never much inclined toward mortgages or monogamy, pursue more bohemian existences-she as an aspiring artist and he as a club promoter and professional partyer. But as their twenties give way to their thirties, the group struggles to navigate their thwarted dreams. Scattered across Europe and no longer convinced they are truly the masters of their fates, the once close-knit friends find themselves filled with longing for their youth- and for one another. Broken hearts and broken careers draw the foursome together again, but in ways they never could have imagined.
A dazzling depiction of the highs and lows of adulthood, Invincible Summer is a story about finding the courage to carry on in the wake of disappointment, and a powerful testament to love and friendship as the constants in an ever-changing world.

My Thoughts:

DNF @ 60 pages

I had extremely high hopes for Alice Adams' Invincible Summer. I expected a read that would be the perfect beach and summer story that would never leave my head. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the story, even though it took me over a year to actually pick it up. I must admit that I'm a sucker for friendship stories, and what's better than reading a story about a group of friends who are continuing their friendships (romantic or not) after college? The 90s setting also captivated me, and I heard many good things about the progression of the story, showcasing how the characters' lives change throughout.

However, once I began reading, I was the opposite of captivated or intrigued. This was just plain boring and meaningless. I found that I wasn't able to form a connection with any of the characters - even though they were supposed to act a little more mature because of their age (they are adults, away from their college years, come on!), they were too crazy. This seemed like a teenage romance novel gone wrong. I love YA, and I find that there are thousands of books that have left a major impact on me instead of this... catastrophe. I just didn't enjoy it.

I gave up on reading it at sixty pages because I couldn't care less about what was going to happen. It was just nothing special, and I really am now looking for adult books that are cute and heartwarming... featuring a nice set of characters. This lacked all of that and more.

Meh. Invincible Summer has ruined the summer I was supposed to call invincible. Okay, I'm over-exaggerating, but it was an unimpressive read that I don't recommend. *cringes a little*

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What is the last book you DNFed?

Popular by Maya Van Wagenen // The Cutest Memoir Ever!

Popular: How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence, by Maya Van Wagenen
Publication: April 21, 2015, by Speak
Genre: Memoir, Contemporary
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at “pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell.

The real-life results are hilarious, painful, and filled with unexpected surprises. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence, along with a better understanding of what it means to be popular.

My Thoughts:

Popular by the fabulous, inspirational Maya Van Wagenen is just a beautiful memoir. I wish that someone handed this story to me when I was in eighth grade, struggling with friendships and being a newly-turned teenager. This is the realest an inspirational story can get, and I loved it. Maya's input of her personal struggles and story was absolutely amazing, and I am begging all of you to read this and see what is making the whole world fall in love with her writing. 

Maya is quite similar to me and she faced similar struggles as I did as a tween so this was really heartfelt. She is also such an AMAZING writer, making her story feel so organized and captivating. You can feel the passion she has of writing throughout the story as she explains each and every one of the important details of her life. The whole book was so easy to read as I knew that it is all opinionated. Maya just has a real voice and I loved reading about her and her uniqueness. She was inspired by Betty Cornell, a former model who wrote a book about how to become popular, and the fact that Maya followed all of Betty's recommendations proves the uniqueness of this "popular project" after all.

If you're looking for a quick read, GRAB THIS. Even if you did not struggle with many issues involving popularity as a child, you'll still find something relatable in Maya's story. Her writing is light, special and meaningful. I can now label this as the CUTEST MEMOIR EVER. I haven't felt this happy and excited with a memoir/autobiography for a long time. This shows you something.

Popular is actually a really POPULAR memoir, and I can totally see why. (See what I did there?!) Anyone will find something they enjoy here. I cannot wait to see what Maya Van Wagenen has in store for us readers!

What is your favourite memoir?

Factory Girl by Josanne La Valley // Not My Kind of Read

Factory Girl, by Josanne La Valley
Publication: January 10, 2017, by Clarion Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 256
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: ½

In order to save her family’s farm, Roshen, sixteen, must leave her rural home to work in a factory in the south of China. There she finds arduous and degrading conditions and contempt for her minority (Uyghur) background. Sustained by her bond with other Uyghur girls, Roshen is resolved to endure all to help her family and ultimately her people. A workplace survival story, this gritty, poignant account focuses on a courageous teen and illuminates the value—and cost—of freedom.

My Thoughts:

Josanne LaValley’s Factory Girl seemed like a kind of read I needed to get my hands on. I’m usually reading mysteries, thrillers or contemporary romances, so this was actually a new kind of story for me that I was quite interested in. It has a new setting — the mountains of China — that no other author has really wrote about before in the Young Adult genre, so I was quite excited to request this from the publishers. Although it originally seemed to be something I might be interested in, this was a disappointing read that is making me regret picking it up.

Factory Girl almost put me in a reading slump. I don’t think I need to say more — that’s quite negative. I decided to pick this up during the school year, and I couldn’t find myself getting into it because it is a heavy, deep read that needs time to get through. When the school year ended, I decided that I would pick this up once again and see how good it really is.

I was disappointed yet again. This book is extremely boring and I couldn’t find any emotion in the writing. LaValley is a great writer, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that I felt that the premise was the main focus of the story, including the setting, but the deep messages and characters were just another aspect that needed to be written about.

“The taste of a few peas and nuts leaves a gnawing hunger in my stomach. For food. For home. For my life as it was” (32).

I kind of wish that I DNFed this because I expected that the ending would be phenomenal. But instead, it was extremely predictable and nothing special. I wanted this book to be a new favourite, a new outlook on the way contemporary stories, but I just felt that this was SO slow-paced. Agh.

In conclusion, Factory Girl featured a promising story about a girl named Roshen who is forced into slavery due to her social status. She has a life set for her, wanting to be with a man who she loves, however, everything changes when her family is unable to purchase her freedom. It’s a sad story, but something was definitely missing from this being a great story. I wish it was more interesting and unpredictable. I felt like I knew of all the answers and solutions.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What is a contemporary story similar to this?

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware // Mind-Warping and Enriching

The Lying Game, by Ruth Ware
Publication: July 25, 2017, by Simon and Schuster Canada
Genre: Adult Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister...
The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”
The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).
Atmospheric, twisty, and with just the right amount of chill that will keep you wrong-footed—which has now become Ruth Ware’s signature style—The Lying Game is sure to be her next big bestseller. Another unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

My Thoughts:

Every summer, I find that a common tradition for me is to read Ruth Ware's latest mystery/psychological thriller. It has been like that every year. Last year, I was SO fortunate to read The Woman in Cabin 10, which was phenomenal. I was so excited to see The Lying Game pop up in my mailbox, and I knew I had to read it instantly. This was a story that I can easily classify as "messed up," in a good way of course. It was just so warped and creepy that it haunted me for a few days afterwards. If you enjoy mysteries and suspense stories that do not reveal the truth to you until you reach the end, then this is the right book for you. Ruth Ware failed to disappoint for a third time, and I love the premise of this story and how realistic it was.

Ware mixed in so many creepy things and threw them together to form a mystery story. We had a friendship of four girls, including our protagonist, Isa, who were all so rebellious and who share a secret past. We have secrets, a creepy British town that is right beside a lake/body of water (that forms the creepiness for me), a baby (Isa's daughter), a suicide and so much more. Everything was just thought out perfectly. I cannot even imagine what kind of planning took place to form this kind of story. It's just phenomenal.

So - you may be asking yourself, "what is this mystery story even about?" Well, it is all about the Lying Game, a game that four best friends formed back when they were teenagers in a boarding school. There are various rules to this game that are revealed throughout the novel, and we cannot help but wonder what will happen and why these women are suddenly brought together again. Well, it seems as if their past has come to haunt them again. Our protagonist, Isa, is a woman on maternity leave as she cares for her daughter in her London home. She is living a good life until one of her old friends, Kate, contacts her, telling her that she needs her. It's awfully mysterious and suspicious. The four girls are then spiralling into their past again, discovering answers to the questions that they buried deep.

At first, I was wondering why Isa did what she did. Why she decided to go help Kate again. But, it then hit me, showing me that this book secretly is about the powers of friendship... and lies. This book definitely gives us a lesson that our pasts will never leave us and could come haunt us at any given moment. This story as a whole had a deeper meaning than what we originally assume. Once you reach the ending, you'll fall into a state of shock that'll keep you from reading something else for a little while. Trust me.

The pacing of the story was disappointing. I found it to be really slow and uneventful in the beginning, causing me to give this a lower rating. I didn't feel captivated for the beginning part until Isa returned to Kate for the second time. This was the weakest point in the novel, but it definitely wasn't a part that made me want to regret reading it. Afterwards, everything sped up and the real suspense began, making me feel unable to put it down.

I also must admit that I loved each of the characters. Everyone had their own specific personality that made them stand out from each other. I found that having Isa as a protagonist was the best choice. I cannot imagine having Thea or Kate (the other friends), as our protagonist as I wasn't interested in their thoughts. Because Isa was a stronger woman mentally, and because she has a daughter, I felt that her character provided the most depth and development. She is a special character who displayed her strength throughout the whole story. At times, it seemed that she didn't really know what she wanted, but by the end, she figured out that her lying ways are part of who she is, and that she needs to keep her friends close. 

The Lying Game was practically everything I was searching for in a mystery story of Ruth Ware's. I wish she could release a new novel every six months instead of every year because THEY'RE ALL SO GOOD. I completely recommend this one, and I appreciated reading it so much because of the suspense, fabulous ending and unpredictability of it all. It's definitely going to be a book of the year for many people.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

Have you read any books by Ruth Ware before? What is your latest favourite mystery story?

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray // A Sad DNF

Defy the Stars (Constellation #1), by Claudia Gray
Publication: April 4, 2017, by Little Brown BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science-Fiction, Romance
Pages: 503
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

She’s a soldier.
Noemi Vidal is seventeen years old and sworn to protect her planet, Genesis. She’s willing to risk anything—including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.
He’s a machine.
Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel has advanced programming that’s begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.
Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they’re not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they’re forced to question everything they’d been taught was true.

My Thoughts:

DNF @ page 150

I really feel bad to write this review because I am even disappointed in myself. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to love this book. Claudia Gray is one of my most favourite authors without any doubt - her Firebird trilogy definitely has a piece of my heart, and it always will. I was stoked, ABSOLUTELY THRILLED to see that she has a new series coming out, however, I'm not really the dystopian-science fiction type of chick. I expected to enjoy this because the ONE AND ONLY Claudia Gray has written it, however, I was extremely disappointed with the outcome, and I was forced to stop reading it around page one hundred and fifty.

Defy the Stars just seems like a book that was put together with bits and pieces of other YA stories. Cinder, These Broken Stairs, Illuminae... I enjoyed all of those books SO much, and this was just a blend of them all. And I saw that immediately when I began reading. The fact that this was unoriginal and boring makes me feel depressed, because I'm pondering whether it was Claudia Gray's writing or my tiredness of this genre that made me not enjoy this.

Everyone seems to be giving this positive reviews, however I stand as a black sheep. This was slow-paced, and I couldn't feel any depth in the story. It was just a romance novel disguised as a science fiction story with a premise that I couldn't care less about. It's kind of a Romeo and Juliet story, where our two characters, Noemi and Abel, are basically forbidden to be together because they stand on two opposite sides of the social ladder in space. I did, however, find the setting to be extremely interesting. Spaceships and planets we never have heard of sound extremely cool, but the book as a whole was a bore.

Defy the Stars was sadly unoriginal and boring, prompting me to put it down and not finish it. I couldn't care for the ending and whether there would be plot twists or if Abel and Noemi's relationship strengthened. This was just a complete disappointment.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What genre has disappointed you lately?

Mind = Blown: Amazing Facts About This Weird, Hilarious, Insane World by Matthew Santoro // I Love Facts!

Mind = Blown: Amazing Facts About This Weird, Hilarious, Insane World, by Matthew Santoro
Publication: August 9, 2016, by Penguin Canada
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 256
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Matthew Santoro's originality and humour has attracted millions of fans, making him a beloved YouTube star. His weekly videos on amazing and little-known facts are eagerly anticipated by his many subscribers and followers around the world. In his first-ever book, Matthew's love of weird and wacky knowledge explodes with new facts and stories from around the planet, and beyond. Surprising, and always entertaining, Mind = Blown offers even more of Matthew's unique take on this hilarious, crazy world:
The most ridiculous laws from past and present
Crazy doppelgangers of people, places, and unexpected things
Historical wizards who actually lived
Real-life animal avengers
And a special section: Japan Blows My Mind!
From shin-kicking competitions and beer pong-playing robots, to enormous fire-balls shooting through space, you won't believe what you'll discover in Mind = Blown. But beware: there is too much astounding trivia for any one mind to contain!

My Thoughts:

Mind = Blown is one of the most interesting non-fiction books I have read. I normally only read non-fiction for school, for research papers and whatnot, but in this case, I was more than excited to request YouTuber Matthew Santoro's fact book and give it a go. It has been sitting in my shelves for the longest time, and I decided to pick it up because I wanted a quick read. A read that is satisfying enough that wouldn't make me bored. Or make my head hurt. This definitely had its span of ridiculous facts, however it was funny and entertaining (for the most part) at the same time. I will certainly remember some of the weird things for a long time.

This took me about two sittings to finish, and I admit that the four star rating exists because I had to skip over some chapters that did not interest me. I am not the biggest fan of mythology, so, naturally, I skipped over that chapter after trying to give it a go. But, I must say that the most memorable one was the one about pets and how they understand more than we humans do. Ah. The perfect way to describe this book is it being a perfect amount of everything we are searching for.







Mind = Blown really blew my mind. It's a feel-good read that everyone should pick up to take a break from our deep, hardcore fiction. Go for it as soon as possible!

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

Are there any good *different* non-fiction books around that you've read?

Before This is Over by Amanda Hickie // A Different Pandemic Story

Before This is Over, by Amanda Hickie
Publication: March 28, 2017, by Little Brown and Company
Genre: Adult Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

There is a deadly virus spreading around the world. At first it is a distant alarm bell in the background of Hannah's comfortable suburban life. Then suddenly, it has arrived on the doorstep.
The virus traps Hannah, her husband, and their young sons in their city, then their neighborhood, and finally their own home. As a formerly idyllic backyard and quiet street become battlefields, fear and compassion collide. But what happens when their water supply is cut, and then the power, and the food supply dwindles?
Chilling and suspenseful, at once deeply personal and terrifying in its implications, Before This is Over invites us to imagine what a family must do to survive when pushed to the extreme.

My Thoughts:

Before This is Over shockingly impressed me. It was an impressive story that took the subject of a horrifying epidemic and made it more real, more heartfelt. This novel is not about discovering a cure or vaccine for the virus that is focused on in the story: Manba. It is about a family's journey in saving themselves and keeping themselves sane as they are stuck in their own home, in quarantine, afraid of the outside world and their health being affected. But mostly, it is about a mother named Hannah, and the endless amount of struggles she faces as she tries to keep her loved ones safe. 

Amanda Hickie is a phenomenal writer. You can tell because of the way she has written this novel — it has a topic that is often written about in a dystopian fashion, with characters who are trying to stop the disease or hide, but she has taken a different toll on this all. Yes, her protagonist, Hannah, is trying to hide from the disease, but there's nothing hardcore about the story. However, I must admit that Amanda Hickie's writing is hardcore — it is simply brilliant, and I do not think I'll be able to get this story out of my head for a long time. I would even like to classify this under the "contemporary" genre because it just felt so real to me. I was just really satisfied with how everything played out.

You see, you're going to need to spend a little bit of time with this one. It is a slow-moving story, but I never found myself getting bored. I guess it's because I was at the edge of my seat for the entire time I read this. After this, I'm asking myself, "how is it possible that an author has written a book that is so slow-paced yet thrilling at the same time?" I don't think I'll ever get to hear the answer to that question, proving that Hickie's writing is just one-of-a-kind. Normally, I would get bored with something like this, but because the characters and situation were so real, I found myself intrigued for the whole time.

"She was crying, but not for the beaten face on the TV, or for the two boys whose parents had died. She was crying for things that might never take place. She was crying because every day, everywhere, small tragedies happened and she didn't know how to care about every single one, and so they aggregated and magnified and became incomprehensible" (85).

What I loved the most about this family's story is that aside from the virus being spread around the Sydney area, each character had their own struggles as well. Hannah, the mother, is a cancer survivor and a mother of two boys, and you can see throughout the book how this cancer, this sickness, has played a toll on her. She is panicky, anxious, and unaware that there are other things to life than just thinking about the bad things. And by the end of the story, we see her character develop into a strong woman who is willing to care for others (who are not part of her family) and love stronger. I found Hannah to be extremely annoying for the first half of the book, which definitely played a role into the four star rating. I couldn't stand the anxiety in the air of the setting. 

We then have Sean, Hannah's husband. I guess we can call him a main character, but he was iffy. Mysterious. Ominous. Whatever word that is a synonym to those. I wish we got to hear his perspective, because I felt like he was more introverted and difficult to understand compared to Hannah. It seemed as if he had something to say. But at the same time, he was a loving father who took in other children who needed his family's help during the spread of Manba. I loved his character, to be quite honest.

What is great about the setting is that we see characters of every age group. We have the adults, as mentioned, and the young boys, Zac and Oscar. Zac is a teenager, and he is a complainer and all, but he does have a soft side and cares for his family. Oscar is the adorable, innocent young boy. We can see how this situation has an effect on the whole family. It's rare to see something like that. Even though the story mainly focuses on Hannah (it is not written in her first-hand perspective, however), we learn a bit about everyone.

I truly felt like this was brilliant. It has a brilliant topic and a brilliant set of characters who are extremely memorable. I felt like I was stuck in the house with the characters for the whole time, and I kept feeling a burst of emotions every instant. I hope Amanda Hickie continues writing books like this — I'm in for more!

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

Do you know of any impressive stories involving epidemics?