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mpurdy's reviews
223 reviews
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Bound by Treason by Eliza Tilton
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
4.0
The ending ripped my heart out and I am not sure I will recover.
Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
My 2nd audio book of the year was one I have been wanting to check out for a while. As someone who grew up watching various shows on TLC, I frequently watched 19 kids and counting. As an only child, I couldn't wrap my head around having 18 siblings.
As an adult, I still can't fully wrap my head around it. Seeing various things that have come out about the family. I found myself wanting to understand how the kids impacted felt and how they had grown. We all have read and seen discussions about how being recorded constantly during the developing years can be traumatic and how extreme religious lifestyles can affect those (specifically women) involved.
I felt it took a lot of courage to write this book and for Jillian to share very intimate and hurtful moments. I do feel like she still has a lot of trauma that needs to be dealt with. Though I can also see how that can be hard when her and her husband have strict religious views deeply ingrained in them. When leaving a cult and having to leave loved ones who don't view their lifestyle as hurtful, they bring unique barriers in itself.
As an outsider looking in, it feels easy to be irritated that Jillian defends her parents. I felt as if it was black and white and that cutting them off specifically, Jim Bob was a necessary step. He made choices that I felt were unforgivable, but each person's journey is unique, and we all deal with our trauma differently.
I don't normally rate memoirs, so in this case, my 4 star is based on the quality of the audio book and the outline the story takes. I feel Jillian did great reading in the audio version. The outline was easy to follow. I just wish we had more talk with her siblings. Maybe there wasn't really any. I just wanted, I think, more commentary on the dynamics. Especially with the treatment her eldest brother received given the life choices he made. I wanted to have more insight on why Jim Bob stood by him. Was his motivation really all for the show?
As an adult, I still can't fully wrap my head around it. Seeing various things that have come out about the family. I found myself wanting to understand how the kids impacted felt and how they had grown. We all have read and seen discussions about how being recorded constantly during the developing years can be traumatic and how extreme religious lifestyles can affect those (specifically women) involved.
I felt it took a lot of courage to write this book and for Jillian to share very intimate and hurtful moments. I do feel like she still has a lot of trauma that needs to be dealt with. Though I can also see how that can be hard when her and her husband have strict religious views deeply ingrained in them. When leaving a cult and having to leave loved ones who don't view their lifestyle as hurtful, they bring unique barriers in itself.
As an outsider looking in, it feels easy to be irritated that Jillian defends her parents. I felt as if it was black and white and that cutting them off specifically, Jim Bob was a necessary step. He made choices that I felt were unforgivable, but each person's journey is unique, and we all deal with our trauma differently.
I don't normally rate memoirs, so in this case, my 4 star is based on the quality of the audio book and the outline the story takes. I feel Jillian did great reading in the audio version. The outline was easy to follow. I just wish we had more talk with her siblings. Maybe there wasn't really any. I just wanted, I think, more commentary on the dynamics. Especially with the treatment her eldest brother received given the life choices he made. I wanted to have more insight on why Jim Bob stood by him. Was his motivation really all for the show?