#COLLABOREADS: A Book Set in the Summertime
If you are new to the whole #Collaboreads deal, here's the short summary: for the month of August, Amber and I decided the topic would be "a book set in the summertime," and anyone who was interested could choose one, read it throughout August, and then today, they'll publish their review (we gave an acrostic of R.E.A.D.S. that everyone can use for this!) and link-up with us at the very bottom of this post or on Amber's. WOO! It's so fun. Join us any month or every month!
This month, we even have a GIVEAWAY. Just head on down to the bottom of this post to enter!
This month, I finally read something by Barbara Kingsolver. I have had her books on my to-read list for ages, and was so excited to finally get into this one. It's not her most famous book by any means, but I absolutely loved it and can't wait to read more of her work.
Here's a brief intro to Prodigal Summer: "Barbara Kingsolver's fifth novel is a hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself. It weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives amid the mountains and farms of southern Appalachia. Over the course of one humid summer, this novel's intriguing protagonists face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with which they necessarily share a place."
And now, here's my review:
Riveting.
What part of the book could you NOT get enough of? These characters live a life that is SO incredibly different than mine, and I absolutely loved that. I can't imagine living totally on my own in the Appalachian mountains, without any power or connection to the outside world like one of the characters. I can't imagine marrying into a huge farming family. I can't imagine having my livelihood based on bringing an extinct species back to life. I couldn't get enough of their lives and everything that was part of them!
Elements.
How did you relate to/care for the characters? I surprisingly loved these characters. The three main characters are strikingly different and nothing like me or anyone I've ever known, but I was so intrigued by each of them and how interesting and unique their lives were.
What's your thought on the plot line and twists and turns? This book kept me reading and reading and reading. It switched between characters smoothly and not too much or too little. The plot kept moving at a perfect speed without too much drama or suspense but enough to keep me engrossed. Basically, Kingsolver is a master novelist and this book was just incredibly well-written.
Associate.
What other books are like this one? This questions stumps me every time. I honestly have no idea. The content matter was unlike any other book I've read, but the structure of switching character POVs was similar to other novels.
Design.
What did you think of it? It was simple but evocative of the storyline, with the setting being the wild nature of Appalachia. I loved it and picked it out from the crowded shelves of my favorite used bookstore, so that says something.
Stars.
How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend? This book gets all five stars from me. I was so enamored with it, so interested in each character, so engrossed in the plot and progression, and just couldn't stop reading it. I've already recommended it to several friends!
WE HAVE A GIVEAWAY JUST FOR YOU.
This is SO much fun. You've probably seen me post all over social media about the beautiful things that come from Amber's Etsy shop...but I'm just obsessed with all of it. And YOU COULD WIN SOME. That is the most exciting news! All you have to do is enter right here and we'll pick a winner next week!
LET'S LINK UP NOW.
Share your post here, and go leave love in the comments for everyone else!
And finally, for NEXT MONTH:
The topic for September is "Back to School" and we hope you'll find a book, read it throughout September, and link up with us again on September 28! (Ps-- take this theme however you want-- a fiction book about college, a story that has some element of a school in it, a book about education (here's a list of those!), WHATEVER.)