Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the chance to read this book. Below is my honest opinion.

A girl is found murdered on the school playground. It’s a small community and everyone is talking about it and playing armchair sleuth to figure out who murdered Lucinda Hayes. This book isn’t really about her murder or who actually killed her, however. The book follows three unique characters: Cameron, Jade, and Russ.

Cameron is the so-called weird kid at school. He cannot follow social norms. He loved Lucinda in his own way. Jade used to know Lucinda. They used to be friends. But friends grow apart. Russ is a cop in this little town. He is married to Ines who happens to be the sister of the man who found Lucinda. These characters are the real story in this book, and Lucinda’s murder is only an afterthought.

I think many readers will find the writing in this book beautiful. For me? I didn’t enjoy it. Each time the author was close to getting to a point related to what I thought was the story line we were whisked away to another flowery story that was unrelated to the murder. This wasn’t a wholly unenjoyable book; however, it was not the thriller or mystery that I thought it was going to be. If you’re looking for a character driven book with prose that is a bit fancy then you’ll probably love this book.

What's your favorite murder mystery? Comment below!

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Excavation: A Memoir by Wendy C. Ortiz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was tough for me to read. Wendy is 13 years old when she first meets Mr. Ivers, her English teacher. He's more than twice her age. And it doesn't take long for them to begin a relationship. An unhealthy relationship.

Wendy was a wild child growing up during the late 80s. Her parents divorced, her mom drank, and it would seem she was able to take any risk that could possibly be presented to a young person. I'm certain my preteen years were sheltered compared to Wendy's which may not make me the best reader for this memoir. This entire book (view spoiler)[ (sex with a teacher, drugs, drunken driving, cheating, lies, verbally abusive relationship) (hide spoiler)] was far from informative, enjoyable, or halfway pleasant to read.

It seems Wendy Ortiz is a talented writing. Unfortunately I didn't care much for her subject matter. A relationship, particularly one that isn't very loving, is often only interesting for the two people in the relationship. I had trouble finding any interest in the relationship that was presented in these pages.

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