B. J. Neary

Teen love

Reviewed: 10-14-24

Jason Reynolds has done it again! With awesome narration the story of Neon & Aria meeting one another - funeral & runaway dog was funny, sweet & real. Their worlds of family, school & community will grab teens & keep them turning those pages!!! Highly recommended.

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Life for unwed mothers

Reviewed: 04-17-24

I loved the narrators for Eleanor & Ruby; this was a tough but needed historical fiction & what young girls (black & white) went through when they became pregnant at young ages during a time when it was a secret, not spoken of & the ramifications. A must read!

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Family, friends, acting

Reviewed: 04-02-24

Meryl Streep’s narration was spot on, and her voice had me listening until the final word. I felt like I was one of Lara’s daughters getting the scoop on Duke & “Emily” in their mom’s acting days.

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Historical Fiction at its best

Reviewed: 02-18-24

I loved this narration of Chicken Hill in Pottstown PA beginning in the 1920s with the Jews, Blacks & whites living together with Shonna as the heroine who called out racism & bias when she saw it & with her husband, took in & loved Dodo. A must read!

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Crushing at Christmas

Reviewed: 12-09-23

The narration was excellent, the characters totally believable & the plot had me crushing on this story from start to finish!

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1 person found this helpful

More than a romance novel!

Reviewed: 12-18-22

Whelan’s narration is perfect with this sisters & work driven protagonists that drive each other nuts, until they don’t!!! Loved this book so much!

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Love in Chinatown during the Red Scare

Reviewed: 02-25-22

This book deserves all the awards: National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2021), Michael L. Printz Award Nominee (2022), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2021), Teen category, Walter Dean Myers Honor Award. Awesomely narrated by Emily Woo Zeller; this story takes place in 1954 Chinatown where high school student Lily Hu lives with her family, with an annoying, an overbearing best friend, and the Red Scare has taken her doctor father's Naturalization Papers because of a patient her saw. When Lily begins to realize she has feelings for Kath Miller as a result of sneaking out to the GAY bar to see a female impersonator, the reader follows Kath and Lily's friendship turn to relationship and how their world blows up. Thoroughly researched this a must read for YA readers on the history of the Red Scare, life in Chinatown, and the growth of lesbian movement.

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2nd in The Deep Deep Snow series by Brian Freeman

Reviewed: 02-25-22

Awesomely narrated once again by January LaVoy (loved The Deep Deep Snow); Rebecca Colder is a detective in a town that seems to be VERY backward and hates most of the women ---men want the jobs in the mine and hate the women who take those jobs from them. The same happens with Rebecca, as the only woman on the police force but I did not like her allowing the officers to annoy her, grope her, and demean her (she had people who would believe her). Also, as the story unfolded with Rebecca's marriage to Ricky torpedoing--how could everyone see what a loser he was and Rebecca did not? I am not a fan of UNRELIABLE NARRATORS and I was becoming convinced Rebecca was unreliable in almost every facet of her life. Why would she not tell Brian who was an Ursulina hunter that she saw it when she was 10 yrs old? Why would she take Ricky's awful abuse and not let the law/Daryl put him in jail. Why would she not admit while questioning with Daryl she was in full blown labor?!? Don't get me wrong I loved the book; just not a fan of Rebecca and now I am back to listening to The Deep Deep Cold AGAIN and love Shelby's POV!

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Little known historical heroine

Reviewed: 02-25-22

Awesomely narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, I could not stop listening to the compelling story of Eliza Lucas, who as a 16 year old in 1739 in South Carolina, is called upon by her father (who seeks to run for office and fight in Antiqua, their old home) to run their 3 plantations as he continues to mortgage against them. I loved her personality, Like Eliza, I rebelled against the lot of women at that time; the way they were treated, talked to and told what what expected of them--be quiet and marry. Eliza may have been alone in her situation but she men (friends of her father and mother) who were able to guide her, help her and offer aid when needed. The horror of slavery was revisited time and time again in this amazing story based on Eliza Lucas' letters and research. Once Eliza hears about growing and producing Indigo as a means to save the plantations, she works single-mindedly and tirelessly to learn from slaves the secret to indigo dye making. A must read about a little known but famous young woman who against everything pursued a new avenue to help her family (and others) survive and succeed in South Carolina.

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Loved the audiobook; hated the ending

Reviewed: 06-18-21

MANY SPOILERS so do not read if finding out about the awful ending! I loved this audiobook so much; tremendously Narrated by Julia Whelan. but oh did I hate the ending... it says in the Goodreads summary it is a book about hope---certainly the ending with Elsa's death--shot by a Welty hired gun, had no hope for this reader at all!!! I loved Kristin Hannah's books and find them all redemptive, BUT NOT THIS ONE!!! Taking place before the Dust Bowl and then going into horrid Dust Bowl--her husband has left her, then beacuse her son Ant becomes so ill the doctor recommends leaving Texas because he has sand and dust in his system and it will kill him if he stays. Once Elsa and her children head toward California which is being touted as a land of hope with lots of jobs (Rafe's parents were going but decide at the last minute to stay with their farm) another devastating reality hits---the mass migration to California has produced Hoovervilles, tent towns that breed disease and death as well as the town people calling them Oakies and driving them away all the time. Yes Elsa has many issues since her family raised to her with no love, telling her she was sick and ugly, and did not want to hear from her---she tries to be brave like her grandfather told her but more often she tries to be invisible hoping everyone understands where she is coming from. We all know this does not work---her daughter hates her, blames her for her father leaving and blames her for not becoming a Communist and fighting for better pay. Along comes Jack who is a union organizer and over hard times and conversations they fall in love and she becomes this woman who will speak her mind, fiercely protective of her children, but wanting better for them all. As the situation on the Welty cotton farm becomes desperate Elsa with her daughter's pushing becomes a spokesperson for her friends in the fields. I felt like I was eating dust the whole time and crossing my fingers for Elsa, rooting for her and what does Kristin Hannah do? Kills her off---I would have loved so much more of the new family unit they were becoming with Jack---why not kill off someone else or wound Jack or Elsa but they recover?!? So no hope at all with this ending---this key protagonist was needed---a redemptive, hopeful ending was needed, not what poor Loreda, Ant, Jack and Rafe's parents have to live with-- a deep aching hole for Elsa's absence. Again, I loved the book, hated the ending---it could have been better and different!

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