Perfect People....You can't always get what you want

Perfect People by Peter James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Perfect People…You can’t always get what you want

3.5*

THE Low Down

If you could guarantee that your child would never have to suffer from incurable illness, or die at too young an age, would you do it? What if you could go ever further and guarantee them intelligence, ambition, athletic prowess and the looks of a supermodel? What about then? Those are the questions that face John and Naomi as they come to terms with the loss of their 4-year old son to a genetic disorder that they have a 1-in-4 chance of passing along to any future children. Unable to accept the possibility of losing another child, they reach out to Dr. Leo Dettore, a renowned and often ostracized former child prodigy, who is pushing the boundaries of human genetics and promises the possibility of a healthy child, completely free of the feared genetic ailments that cost them their firstborn. While John and Naomi go into the process simply wanting a healthy child, Dettore opens their eyes to genetic possibilities far beyond what they could have ever imagined, putting them at odds with their beliefs and questioning the very thing that brought them there. After making a few small “adjustments”, they go forward with the process. Unbeknownst to them though, there are other factors at play that go farther beyond what they thought they were getting themselves into.

MY Low Down

You CANNOT read this book without getting lost in thought, as well as questioning those thoughts and those of the characters. The concept of “designer” babies has, and likely always will be, a hot button and controversial subject, and Peter James excels at bringing up multiple viewpoints, along with the many positive and negative aspects of them all. You do not get a feeling of his opinion, which allows your imagination to run wild. What would I do if I were John and Naomi? Would I take the chance to give my child a life of guaranteed help? Some say it is playing God, but for those who believe in God, wasn’t it he/she who gave us the ability to do this in the first place? These are all thoughts either outright discussed or elicited from this story that keep your mind moving in every direction at every moment.

Told primarily from the perspective of John and Naomi, with a few others thrown in for good measure, the story flows and keeps your attention throughout. I was poised to LOVE this book until near the very end, when I watched the loose ends flap in the breeze without so much as a twist together, let alone a good tie. First, the thriller aspect was never present at all for me – sure there was some tension interspersed about, but quite frankly the lurking threats seemed as though they were thrown in with the thought of making it a thriller but never really materialized to feel as though they melded with the story. They were a side plot that just never lived up. Second, the culmination of the story was a seemingly random offshoot of the entire thriller aspect that had no foreshadowing and no tie to the thriller portion of the story up to that point. While I appreciate the route the story took, it was not tied well to the earlier storyline and felt disconnected and incomplete. Sadly, the last quarter took it from a LOVE to a LIKE. Still a strong LIKE, but a LIKE nonetheless…..

*NetGalley ebook edition*

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The Sinners and the Sea: The Untold Story of Noah's Wife - Biblical History Without Being Preachy, Creative Without Being Cheeky

The Sinners and the Sea: The Untold Story of Noah's Wife by Rebecca Kanner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*NetGalley ARC*

Even the most challenged in knowledge of biblical history such as myself have heard the story of Noah’s Ark, but Rebecca Kanner takes the story much deeper by imagining the actual personalities of Noah and the sons who are typically mentioned only in brief, and introducing us to the wife who, until now, we have been left to wonder about her actual existence.

Told through the eyes of Noah’s wife, left unnamed by her family due to a birthmark on her face that was considered by the people of that time to mean her marked by a demon, she lets us join her life from her scorned childhood through the aftermath of the flood. The hardship of life in biblical times is not glossed over, and each and every character is portrayed with a strong sense of self and purpose. Noah comes across as brash, the sons all unique in their personalities ranging from loving and caring to methodical and brutish and “Wife”/”Mother”, as she is called in absence of a name, is entirely honest about all of it. There were several times that I very much disliked some of the characters, but I always still cared for them because they seemed truly human.

The biggest downfall to this book though is unfortunately the beginning and first impression. The story starts out much too slowly, as though Kanner had not found the rhythm yet. It also came across as quite preachy - I doubt this was her intention, but my earliest impression was unfortunately to wonder whether this book I thought would be along the genre lines of The Red Tent was actually a Christian novel. I mean not disrespect to the genre of Christian novels, but it is not my preference and was not what I expected when I picked up the book. Chance was on my side though, and in an unexpected spare 15 minutes I decided to give it one last chance to catch my attention and that little amount of time took me just far enough.

But please don’t be dissuaded by the roughish start, it is definitely a worthy read!

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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My first instincts are that this book is beyond description to me, so I'll have to settle for "amazing", "awe-inspiring" and "phenomenal". And settling is putting in mildly. Aside from in being a well written and captivating book, the subject matter got to me at a deep and personal level that I don't even know how to describe. I live just 75 miles from Bozeman, MT, where the Central Asia Institute is located, and I quickly lost count of the number of times this book made me want to get in the car and drive to "town", begging on hands a knees for a job within this amazing organization.

Books, not Bombs. Education for girls in a society so commonly stereotyped as being anti-female. An American man having tea with the Taliban and becoming a most trusted adviser, ally and colleague within Islamic nations that so many have been led to believe are driven by terrorism and hatred, and proving to all who will listen that that stereotypes are just that...stereotypes taught and accepted by those who are either uneducated, unwilling to listen or unwilling to open their minds. Through this amazing story of humanitarianism, courage, loyalty, passion and strong will, Greg Mortenson has crossed borders and boundaries that so many have tried and failed at. The difference seems to fall entirely within the truth of his heart and convictions to do the right thing by the people he has grown to respect and love, rather than the desire to promote his own beliefs.

I could go on and on, but right now it's time for bed....it may be an early morning if I don't talk myself out of skipping work and driving to Bozeman in the morning. I'll be proud and honored to send pictures of myself groveling on the sidewalk :o)



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