Review: Mists of the Serengeti, by Leylah Attar

Mists of the Serengeti by Leylah Attar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Telling the story of two people brought together by an unspeakable act of violence, ‘Mists of the Serengeti’ proves to be a heartfelt and emotional read. Listening to the Audible edition, I found it difficult to motivate myself to get out of my car once my commute was over. I lost myself in this story.

Rodel Emerson and Jack Warden meet in the wake of a terrorist attack. When a shopping mall in Africa is bombed, Jack’s young daughter and Rodel’s sister are among the dead. This prompts Rodel’s trip to Tanzania to collect her sister’s belongings and lay her to rest.

While going through her sister’s things, Rodel stumbles across unexpected information. Always one for an adventure, her sister had agreed to help transport children safely across the country. In honor of her sister’s memory, Rodel commits to complete the work that her sister started.

Soon she realizes that her sister was involved in a dangerous cat and mouse game. She was helping rescue albino children, who are highly sought after because it is believed that they possess special powers. They are often murdered and their body parts sold as key ingredients for witchcraft. These children are even sold by their own families because of the money that they can bring in. It was a horrifying reality that Rodel was not prepared for.

When Rodel ends up at Jack’s home with a young girl in tow, his grandmother offers them sanctuary until the weather clears up. Unbeknownst to them at the time, this is the beginning of a great adventure. Despite his gruff demeanor and all-consuming grief, Jack’s character won’t let him send Rodel and the girl out into the African wild without protection. He knows that this foreigner is in over her head and has no idea of the danger that she’s in.

Gradually, Jack and Rodel’s attraction grows. They help each other through their grief. Each has to face their feelings of survivor’s guilt and the what-ifs that haunt them. Meanwhile, they are on a life or death mission to try and save these hunted children, since they could not save their own loved ones on that tragic day.

‘Mists of the Serengeti’ was a touching and highly emotional story. I listened to the Audible version and it was well-narrated. The imagery was beautiful. I could envision the plains of Africa as if I were right there with Jack and Rodel.

Although there was plenty of tragedy, I was impressed with the author’s ability to address such subject matter without letting it affect the overall mood of the book. It is easy to imagine the dreary, depressing book that this easily could have been. Instead, it was inspiring and heartfelt.

With a slow-burn romance and plenty of action/adventure, this book kept me fully engaged. It was heartbreaking at times, but I fell in love with this story and it’s characters. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an heartfelt romance with mature characters.

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Review: Wonder (Wonder, #1), by R. J. Palacio

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! I am so glad that I finally got around to listening to this story. ‘Wonder’ had been sitting on my TBR list for a really long time, but I had been waiting for a time to listen to it with my daughters. That time finally arrived last weekend, when we had to spend a full day in the car on a trip.

I had read many great reviews for this book, so I had really high hopes going into it. In fact, I was worried that I would be disappointed, as I often am with a book that is surrounded by so much hype. However, I can say that this book did not let me down in any way. In fact, it exceeded every expectation that I had. I absolutely loved this story!

‘Wonder’ tells the story of a young boy, August Pullman aka “Auggie”, who is going to begin attending school for the first time ever. Auggie has been homeschooled for years by his mother because he was born with severe facial deformities, requiring multiple operations over the course of his young life. Despite the myriad of surgeries that he has undergone, he still lives with significant facial disfigurement. Now, Auggie will be entering the fifth grade at Beecher Prep.

Told from multiple POVs, this book provides a thorough account of Auggie’s experiences. I was especially impressed with the raw honesty of his sister’s POV. Growing up with Auggie wasn’t easy, as she always came second to his needs. She struggled with resentment and guilt over having those feelings, as she truly loved her brother but craved the attention of her parents also.

Auggie’s POV was also brutally honest. He was well aware of how other people viewed him. Yet, no amount of awareness can make a child immune to the stares and cruel words. His story was heartbreaking, but inspiring.

It was also easy to relate to the POVs of others, including Jack, the boy who befriends Auggie at school. Although some of his actions were upsetting, he was only human. I had to remind myself that he was just a young boy, battling his own insecurities and trying to fit in at a very impressionable age. Even good people do bad things sometimes.

As a parent, I both admired and sympathized with Auggie’s mother. My heart went out to her. I could only imagine how difficult it would be to enroll your child into school, wanting to provide as normal a life as possible, while also wanting to shelter and protect him. I don’t know what I would’ve done in her shoes.

Not surprisingly, this was an incredibly emotional story. At times, it was downright depressing. However, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Auggie and his resilience. This story broke my heart, but it also inspired me.

Most importantly, this story will make you reflect on your views and behaviors. This story highlights the cruelty of people’s actions, bred from ignorance and fear. Never have I read a story that so effectively prompts readers to examine the impact of their actions and words. For children, this was a wonderful lesson in empathy.

This book prompted some thoughtful discussion with my daughters (5 and 10) about bullying and the “golden rule”. Although some of the story went over the head of my 5 year-old, who was primarily hung-up on the hilarity of the “farting nurse”, my 10 year-old didn’t miss a beat. I have no doubt that this story will stick with her and make her more considerate and empathetic toward other children.

‘Wonder’ is the type of book that should be required reading in schools and I’m glad to hear that it is in some schools already. Just like ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ (Anne Frank’s Diary), this book is a book that guides you to be a better, more thoughtful, person. It is beautiful and engaging. No doubt about it, this book left it’s mark on me. I highly recommend this book to everyone, young and old!

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Review: Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding, #1), by K. A. Linde

Avoiding Commitment by K.A. Linde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! I am still trying to get my emotions – mainly anger – under control after reading this one. I have not wanted to pummel a hero like this in a long time! Ugh! I’m not sure I can articulate how furious I am with Jack, but I’m going to give it a shot.

The story begins in present-time, with Lexi receiving an unexpected phone call from an old friend, Jack. It is very apparent that Jack broke Lexi’s heart and that there are some unresolved feelings lingering. Clearly, the two had an intense history and Lexi never recovered from whatever Jack did to her.

Almost immediately, I wanted to strangle Jack. I didn’t know who this guy was exactly at this point in the story, but I couldn’t believe his audacity. With the obvious heartache that Lexi was still harboring, he calls and asks her to convince his new girlfriend that he is capable of commitment. Say what? I was like, “This guy has some damn nerve!”

Ultimately, Lexi caves. She agrees to do this “favor” for her old “friend”. I knew that it would play out that way, but I was still like “Oh, hell no!”. After all, the story had to go somewhere.

As I’m sure you can guess, Lexi and Jack together results in a flood of sexual tension and unresolved issues. It is so obvious that neither one has ever really gotten over the other one. You know that you’re in for a lot of drama and angst.

The girlfriend, not surprisingly, ends up being a royal bitch. I loathed Bekah. Honestly, if she weren’t so despicable, I might have felt bad for her. After all, she loved Jack and he was messing around with Lexi all the time. The fact that Bekah was such a horrible person really made it easy to overlook Jack and Lexi’s indiscretions…which was crucial to enjoy this story.

Like Lexi, I began to fall for Jack’s charm and it was so easy to see how she got sucked in again. However, Jack’s sketchy behavior and indecisiveness has Lexi being jerked around. As their story unfolds through repeated flashbacks, it becomes clear that this is a long-standing pattern of behavior between Jack and Lexi.

Lexi and Jack meet in college and always seem to find their way back to each other. From their first date, Lexi is hooked. She can’t get enough of him. The feeling is mutual, but there’s a problem…Jack has a girlfriend!

When the cat’s finally out of the bag, Lexi is outraged. She, rightfully, walks out on Jack and tells him exactly what a scumbag he is. Yay, Lexi! At this point, I’m totally with her. I was feeling all indignant and high on my “girl-power” mojo. (Picture me walking around my kitchen with my headphones on, drinking a glass of wine and cursing Jack while making dinner.)

Unfortunately for Lexi, that isn’t the last time she will cross paths with Jack. Through mutual friends, their lives are intertwined. Lexi eventually begins to date one of Jack’s friends, which leads to more “chance” encounters between Jack and Lexi.

This is where I started wanting to shake some sense into Lexi. You know that saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…”? Never has it been more applicable to a situation than it was to Lexi’s. No matter what this guy did, she caved and fell for his charms again and again. It was incredibly frustrating. At the same time, I couldn’t help but want Lexi and Jack to end up together. I guess I kind of fell for his charms too.

Jack is definitely a character that I loved to hate. He was irresistible, even though your brain tells you that he’s bad news. There were so many times that I wanted to scream as he repeatedly broke Lexi’s heart. At the same time, I was incredibly conflicted because she did her fair share of harm to others in her pursuit of Jack.

Part of me questioned whether or not Jack ever truly cared about Lexi at all. After all, his actions sure didn’t show it. Maybe I’ve deluded myself as much as Lexi did, but I just can’t believe that he didn’t really love Lexi.

Regardless of what my heart says, my brain says that Lexi should have some self-respect. Honestly, the things that Jack did were inexcusable. Not that he spent much time groveling, but I’m not sure that there would be enough groveling – ever – to make up for the way he treated Lexi. Lexi’s best move would be to pack up and move somewhere far, far away.

The ending of this book really threw me for a loop. I could not believe it! I wanted to throw a temper tantrum.

That being said, I could not pull myself away from this story. I immediately jumped into the next book in the series and have marathon read the entire series in a couple of days. It was like watching a bad wreck unfold in front of my eyes. I couldn’t stop watching as their sordid lives played out for me.

I don’t think I’ve read a cheating book that was this angsty and had me tied in knots like this since reading S. C. Stephen’s ‘Thoughtless’. Holy hell! It’s painful, but I’m hooked.

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