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Tag Archives: Politics

The Fixer (The Fixer #1) ~ by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – 4.5 Stars

02 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Alzheimer's Disease, Conspiracies, Family Relationships, Friendship, Mystery, Politics, YA Fiction

9781619635944_p0_v3_s300x I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis ~ Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather’s Montana ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems. 

And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess’s classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting–and complicated–for Tess.

The Fixer has been described as a mashup of Scandal and Veronica Mars and after reading it I have to agree. Tess has lost both her parents so she’s been raised by her grandfather. When it’s discovered he’s suffering from Alzheimer’s, her older sister Ivy swoops in and brings her to live in D.C. The sisters have never been close and there’s a lot of emotional baggage between them. On her very first day of school, Tess unintentionally becomes a Fixer. It’s not something she wants. Indeed, she does everything she can to stay away from other people’s problems, but somehow trouble finds her anyway. When the grandfather of a classmate dies unexpectedly, Tess is reluctantly talked into investigating, and to her surprise, she discovers that there is something sinister going on which involves some highly placed people in the government. 

I know I mention plot twists quite frequently, but there’s nothing like them when they’re done well. This book is basically one enormous plot twist! Just when I thought I had the villain, motive, etc. figured out, the story would go in a completely different direction. Jennifer Lynn Barnes does a fantastic job piling on the surprises. And the peek into politics and all the attached power plays, backstabbing, and hidden secrets is delicious.

Tess is a fantastic heroine. She’s smart, loyal, and passionate about what she believes in. She also has a sassy sense of humor which is quite enjoyable. That’s not to say she doesn’t make mistakes, especially when it comes to her sister Ivy. After their parents died, Tess wanted nothing more than to be with her sister, but despite promising they’d be together, Ivy mysteriously changes her mind. Because of this there’s a layer of suspicion and distrust between the two sisters that winds up putting both their lives in danger.

The secondary characters are equally important. Tess wouldn’t be successful in her endeavours without her Scooby gang of Vivvie, Henry and Asher. They all have their strengths which compliment Tess’s and the solving of this mystery takes all of them working together. Despite the book’s description, there is no love triangle, at least none that involve Tess. There’s actually no romance at all, which with everything going on in the story, I think was a wise decision on the part of the author. I honestly think it would have been a distraction.

The ending neatly ties everything up, yet makes it apparent that this is going to be a series. Because of the way the characters are written, I definitely want to read more about them. No, The Fixer doesn’t feature the most realistic plot or characters, but it’s so much fun you just have to leave your scepticism at the door. 

The President’s Shadow (The Culper Ring Bk. 3) ~ by Brad Meltzer 4.0 Stars

17 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 31 Comments

Tags

Adult Fiction, American History, Mystery, Politics, Thriller

9780446553933_p0_v2_s300x  I received this ebook from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

~ It seems as though Beecher White has a perfectly ordinary job working for the National Archives in Washington D.C. He has a much more secretive role however, that only a few know about. Beecher is a member of the Culper Ring, a 200-year old spy organization founded by none other than George Washington. One of their main functions is to protect the Presidency at all costs. When the First Lady stumbles across a buried severed arm, the President and his team turn to Beecher for help. It’s soon evident though that the arm and it’s enclosed message isn’t for the President, but for Beecher himself.

When I first requested this from NetGalley I didn’t realize that it was the 3rd book in a series, but despite some references to events in the previous two books, I was able to follow along.

The action begins immediately with the discovery of the severed arm in a small garden adjacent to the White House. As Beecher begins investigating, he discovers that what ever is going on, it’s tied to the mystery of his father’s death, and a long-held, closely guarded conspiracy. From there, you’re taken through twists and turns involving the President, the FBI, and the military. The story switches back and forth from the present day, to when Beecher’s father was in the military, but I was never left feeling confused. Linking both timelines is the deranged murderer who no one seems to be able to catch.

Beecher is a likeable character who, because of the events which took place in the previous two books, shoulders a lot of responsibility for someone only in his twenties. He’s a little too trusting, but he’s determined to uncover the truth. The problem is, it’s difficult to know who to trust in this thriller, as everyone seems to have their own hidden agendas, from the President, to Beecher’s childhood friend. This makes you root even more for Beecher, as he desperately tries to uncover a conspiracy hidden for over two decades, and protect the people he cares about. 

Overall, I found The President’s Shadow to be an exciting, if at times, convoluted mix of history, politics, and good old-fashioned thriller. It’s left me wanting to read the first two books while awaiting the next book in the series.

9781455561391_p0_v3_s300x                         9781455561407_p0_v1_s300x

       Culper Ring Bk. 1                                             Culper Ring Bk. 2

The Silence of Six ~ by E. C. Meyers -4.0 Stars

14 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Computer Hackers, Conspiracy Theories, Contemporary Fiction, Politics, Social Media, Teenagers, Thrillers, YA Fiction

9780996066624_p0_v1_s300x This review is for an ebook provided by NetGalley and Adaptive Books in exchange for an honest review.

0

“WHAT IS THE SILENCE OF SIX, AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?”

These are the final words of Max Stein’s best friend Evan as he hacks into a live stream of a Presidential debate taking place at their high school. Shortly after, he tragically kills himself. Armed only with some cryptic information Evan has sent him, and not knowing who he can trust, Max now finds himself on the run, a victim of a conspiracy that has far reaching implications. Will he be able to uncover the plot in time to save not only himself but the two people who are trying to help him? This is an exciting and timely conspiracy thriller set in the time of Julian Assange and Eric Snowden and the ever growing world of social media. I zoomed through it in two sittings. Even though it’s got a lot of hacker and technical computer terminology, I had absolutely no problem following the plot, which for a technically-deficient person like me is really saying something! The characters are interesting, if a little too good to be true. For example, seventeen year old Max is immediately able to successfully evade capture using his neglected hacker skills, outwitting some extremely powerful people, with only two teen sisters to help him. Also, I felt the dialogue was a little bit stilted in places. Overall though the pros far outweigh the cons. I recommend reading the ebook version as it provides links to click on which take you to the news blog of Courtney Garcia, Max’s girlfriend, at http://fullcortpress.tumblr.com and a conspiracy theorist blog Fawkes Rising at http://www.fawkesrising.com This just adds to the fun and uniqueness of this book.  I think teens and adults will enjoy this fast-paced novel especially if they’re into computers. If you want to check out the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diptk5Q9ziM

SOS  And finally, if you want to get an idea of what this is all about, check out “SOS” the prequel to The Silence of Six on Wattpad at http://www.wattpad.com/story/25238632-sos-a-prequel-to-silence-of-six

September 11th ~ 13 Years Later

11 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by By Hook Or By Book: Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Heroism, History, Murder, Politics, Terrorists

tumblr_nbpj1zMEAd1sqck6co1_500

It’s amazing to me that it was thirteen years ago when the most despicable attack on our country was made by evil individuals whose twisted agenda, made a mockery of a peaceful religion. I was still a children’s librarian and was setting up before we opened. The phone rang, shattering the silence. It was one of my colleagues who worked on the circulation desk on the main floor. She told me to go on AOL because a plane had just crashed into one of the WTC towers. I immediately went online and watched, horrified as the smoke and flames poured out of the building, never guessing that this could be a deliberate act. I went upstairs where everyone was gathered around the computer. Then the second plane hit. I heard gasps, then people crying including myself. I felt as though someone had just punched me in the stomach. Okay, one plane, maybe the pilot had a heart attack, but two? How could this happen? We were the United States. Who could possibly hate us this much? As the unimaginable events continued to unfold throughout the day, our Assistant Director set up the tv in our meeting room so we were able to take turns watching the news coverage. It was surreal. You didn’t really want to see the horrific images, yet you felt like you had to bear witness to what was happening, especially the incredible heroic actions of firefighters, police, and even ordinary citizens. No matter how many years pass I will always remember everything regarding the events of that day. My husband calling to check on me. Which library patrons came in. The conversations. The reactions. For me, September 11th was the day we lost that secure feeling that as terrible as the fighting was in the rest of the world, particularly the Middle East, it would never touch us here at home. That our foreign policies could never inspire such hatred and resentment that people would actually want to kill as many American citizens that they could. September 11th, 2001 was the day our country lost it’s innocence.

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