Ralphie Rough Road

The last three books I read were female based and for the most part pretty good. Lately, I have made my way through these books without taking the time to post. Now its time to play catch up in one post.

In my opinion, these books were decent, nothing too special here. Again my opinion, so if you loved any of them, I mean no offense. I am listing them in the order I read them not by my ranking order. All three are works of fiction.

“The Child Finder” by Rene Denfield

At 272 pages it was a quick read. Overall I thought it was a good book. The story is told from alternating characters, an adult who is known as the child finder and the child who has gone missing. I found it hard at times to follow because of the child’s narrative.  It included a fairy tale she told herself to survive her abduction. However, the ending brought everything together nicely.

As a warning, there is implied molestation but it is never described in detail. I personally appreciated the author’s way of handling this sensitive subject.

This book was a page-turner at times as the reader follows the child finder during her search. I found myself cheering for her character in finding the young girl.

“The Secret She Keeps” by Michael Robotham

This book was certainly a page-turner. I finished its 368 pages in a little more than a week, a bit faster than the previous book. This novel is crime meets crazy meets misguided meets emotional upheaval.

Honestly, at first I thought of it like a soap opera but as the book went on I became attached to both of the main characters. Both of whom are pregnant at the same time and both with secrets of their own. The book was well written with great character development.

Despite the level of crazy depicted by one of the characters I found myself feeling a bit sorry for her. Ironically, this novel also has some molestation which is depicted but not in an overly graphic way.

“Gather the Daughters” by Jennie Melamed

This was the book I was the most excited about yet the most let down with the story. It had such potential to be a great book. At times it was. Following the narrative of several of the girls from the island, it was hard to follow at first. As the chapters went on things started to make more sense. I would say the first half was better than the second half. I found myself reading to find out more.

However, the ending left me wanting more. To avoid spoiling the book I will leave it at that. This book has a Handmaid’s Tale feel to it. Others have compared it to The Giver and Never Let Me Go.

This book also had implied molestation throughout the book but nothing described in detail.

Overall, I felt on the fence about this book. With a cult-like society living on an isolated island I knew it would be a dark book. The way the women are treated is sickening. Makes me grateful to live the way I do.

I leave it to you to decide if it’s a good book or not.

Note: Unintentionally, I picked three books that eluded to molestation. This was by complete accident. I did appreciate how each author handled this sensitive material. For those with a history of sexual abuse proceed with caution.