National Doctors Day

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National Doctors Day

In 1991, President George Bush designated March 30th as National Doctors Day. This year, that’s taken on an even more special significance, and I’d like take this opportunity to say Thank You to all the doctors, and nurses, and other healthcare professionals who are right now putting their lives on the line to save as many people as they can.

Pandemic Parodies ~ Jamiroquai

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”Let’s Dance”, ”Lockdown”, David Bowie, Jamiroquai, Pandemic Parodies

I have to admit I never heard of Jason Kay and Jamiroquai, until I became friends with Pete at https://beetleypete.com. He’s written several entertaining posts about this British band starting with this one: https://beetleypete.com/2016/09/04/whatever-happened-to-jamiroquai 

I’ve shared a few creative song parodies over the last 2-3 weeks, but when I saw that Jamiroquai had reworked David Bowie’s classic Let’s Dance into a coronavirus anthem called Lockdown, well I knew I had to share it. This is for you Pete!

 

 

 

I Killed Zoe Spanos, by Kit Frick ~ 3.0 Stars

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Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 2nd, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: What happened to Zoe, won’t stay buried…

When Anna Cicconi arrives to the small Hamptons village of Herron Mills for a summer nanny gig, she has high hopes for a fresh start. What she finds instead is a community on edge after the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who has been missing since New Year’s Eve. Anna bears an eerie resemblance to Zoe and her mere presence in town stirs up still-raw feelings about the unsolved case. As Anna delves deeper into the mystery, stepping further and further into Zoe’s life, she becomes increasingly convinced that she and Zoe are connected—and that she knows what happened to her.

Two months later, Zoe’s body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter. But Anna’s confession is riddled with holes, and Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, isn’t satisfied. Did Anna really kill Zoe? And if not, can Martina’s podcast uncover the truth?

Inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Kit Frick weaves a thrilling story of psychological suspense that twists and turns until the final page.

As soon as I read that I Killed Zoe Spanos was based on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, I knew I had to request it, and although I didn’t find it a perfect read, there were parts I found quite clever and entertaining.

I liked the spine-tingling plot and the creative insertion of podcast transcripts, but in addition to Anna (who I liked), there were too many characters and I had to work to keep track of all of them. Maybe this wouldn’t have been such an annoyance ordinarily, but given my distracted state of mind lately, this definitely took some enjoyment away. My biggest issue though was with the ending. Yikes! Too many things, some completely thrown in seemingly out of left field, made this a rushed, messy, and somewhat confusing finale.

Overall, I think I Killed Zoe Spanos is creative and original, but doesn’t quite live up to its potential. That said, I do think this is a tale that many teens will like. It’s an intriguing mystery with an unreliable narrator, and that mixed with the podcast and soap-opera drama, makes this a fun, if not memorable read.