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Category: Medical

Review: Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

[ 6 ] April 5, 2012

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova

Some called Luke Warren a genius, while others considered him insane. A renowned wolf researcher and conservationist, Luke ingratiated himself into wolf packs – living with them, feeding with them (often on raw meat) and playing a pivotal role in the pack dynamics. In some ways, Luke understood the animals better than he ever understood his own human family. Following his stunt/two-year departure to live in the Canadian forest with wild wolves, Luke’s wife, Georgie, walked away from their very one-sided marriage and his 18-year-old son, Edward, ran away from home and the father who never understood him. Luke’s only connection to his family was his daughter Cara, who chose to live with him instead of Georgie and her new family.

The disjointed family is unwillingly brought together when Luke crashes his car while driving Cara back from a party. Cara is seriously injured but quickly recovers, while Luke suffers traumatic brain injuries and remains unconscious.

Georgie rushes to the hospital to be with her daughter and Edward flies home to a family he left six years earlier. He must face his mother whom he chose to protect from the truth by fleeing, and the sister who blames him for the breakup of their family. More importantly, as his father’s of-age next of kin, Edward must make difficult decisions about Luke’s life. Should he continue his father’s life support in spite of doctors’ opinions about the hopelessness of the situation, or let his father die?

I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult – as can be evidenced by my previous reviews of Sing You Home and House Rules – but Lone Wolf fell flat for me. To begin with, I had a difficult time believing the whole wolf man/Mogwli aspect of the book. However, Picoult thanked Shaun Ellis, author of The Man Who Lives with Wolves, in her acknowledgements, so I’ll acquiesce that the concept may be plausible.

The wolf man aspect aside, I could not connect with any of the characters. Luke’s chapters describing his experiences with the wolves were the most compelling, if somewhat unbelievable, but it’s sad to say that the most exciting character was the one in a coma…

Picoult’s books have always surprised me with twists that were thrown in in the end, just when I thought I had everything figured out. The “big” family secrets that were continuously hinted at throughout the book were not all that “big” when they panned out. And while some twists were still present in Lone Wolf, they were not particularly surprising, and neither was the ending itself.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Atria/Emily Bestler Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melveny

[ 2 ] April 3, 2012

Reviewed by Alisha Churbe

Regina O’Melveny’s novel, The Book of Madness and Cures, has all the ingredients for a good read: a strong-willed heroine, travels through 16th century Europe, and historical musings about practicing medicine of the time. Unfortunately, the novel itself didn’t hold up. There are a few mysterious storylines presented that are never fully resolved or realized, which is really too bad. The book had such potential, but the characters and storyline fell a bit flat in the end.

Gabriella Mondini is a woman doctor and unmarried well in to her 30s. It’s the first stretch of disbelief but easy to get past. Gabriella and her father are researching and compiling their own book of ailments and cures. When her father leaves and her license to practice is revoked without his sponsorship, instead of finding herself another sponsor, she embarks on a journey to find him.

Along the way, she encounters characters who seem interesting, but only nibbles about them are presented. Men seem to fall hopelessly in love the minute they lay eyes on her. It becomes clear she may never really know her father and the mystery of his departure begins to form. In effort to find him, she travels to Scotland, France, Germany, Holland and Morocco, following the small clues in the short, random letters he has written over the span of a decade. Although he has been absent for over ten years, Gabriella is disappointed each time she visits a town only to find he’d left years before. The elements of mystery are left relatively unexplained.

There is a small sense of danger based on the time period and the remote areas she visits. In order to travel freely, she dresses as a man on many legs of the journey and sometimes even uses a false name. She leaves home against her father’s wishes – he told her “do not follow me” – and her mother’s guidance. She leaves with a servant couple, but ends up traveling the final leg of her journey completely on her own. In spite of this, she never seems to fear anything or worry about anything except the well being of her father.

O’Melveny’s writing is good and the subject matter and storyline have a lot of potential. The bits of this novel are worth being picked through, but on the whole it doesn’t hold together well. For some, it would be be worth the read, if only to explore the mythical 16th century diseases and cures sprinkled throughout.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

Part-time fiction writer, Alisha Churbe lives in Portland, Oregon. In the rare instances when you can pry her away from books, Alisha can be found travelling in foreign countries, cooking, or hiking with her husband Michael and dog Euro.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Little, Brown and Company. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: A Slender Thread by Katharine Davis

[ 5 ] September 18, 2011

Reviewed by Krista Castner

A Slender Thread explores how family dynamics shift after the linchpin in the family is diagnosed with a serious degenerate disease. It’s not a lighthearted romp of a summer beach read. Instead, it’s a thoughtful exploration of what could happen in any family when a loved one is struck by a serious illness. Even though the subject may not be the most upbeat, I liked the book.

Margot Winkler always relied on her older sister Lacey. Lacey helped her navigate the emotional turbulence of a childhood with an alcoholic mother. Lacey helped her disengage from a bad marriage. Then the roles are reversed when Lacey is diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia. This disease is a form of frontotemporal dementia. The patient slowly loses the ability to use language – first the use of speech, and later the ability to understand language, read or write. How will Margot cope with the potential loss of her sister? How will Lacey cope with the eventual loss of her ability to communicate?

Lacey and her husband Alex have twin daughters, Wink and Toni, who are in their senior year in high school when Lacey’s difficulty in finding words while trying to speak is diagnosed. She wants to keep the diagnosis from her daughters so they can enjoy their last year in high school. Alex wants to tell them so they understand what their mother is dealing with. The story also shows how their marriage is strained as Alex and Lacey deal with the prognosis in very different ways.

Margot lives in New York City with a rather self-centered artist named Oliver. She works in an art gallery and neglects her own urges to become a painter. Alex keeps pulling Margot into his family decisions and discussions with his daughters. When she falls in with Alex’s decisions, she alienates both Lacey and Oliver. Will she learn to make more adult decisions without outside influences? Will her relationship with Oliver survive this process? Will she emerge as a painter in her own right?

I enjoyed how the author cleverly subtitled each chapter with appropriate weaving definitions. Lacey is a weaver, so it was interesting to see how the author included the weaving terminology and weaving scenes into her story. Sometimes things do hang in the balance by a single thread.

While there were some slow spots in A Slender Thread, and once in awhile I wanted to shake Margot and tell her to make her own decisions already; ultimately I thought the book was worth the time I invested to read it. It made me wonder how I would handle things if either I or someone close to me was diagnosed with this disease.

Rating: 3.5/5

Krista lives just outside the urban sprawl of Portland, Oregon. Lamentably, her work as a technical writer and business analyst often interferes with her reading which is a true passion.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by NAL Trade. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: White Sleeper by David R. Fett & Stephen Langford

[ 7 ] July 21, 2011

Reviewed by Joanne Lakomski

White Sleeper is a quick read at 260 pages. There is a story here – and, if you have a copy of the book and an afternoon at the beach and want something fast to read, this may be the book. Personally, I found it to be a bit like a beverage you might have drunk for the buzz in high school; it had an alcoholic content but was not really a good drink.

The book’s premise is timely; bio terrorism in the US.

The characters involved a brilliant and alcoholic doctor with the CDC (one author is a practicing ophthalmologist so the medical detail rings true), an FBI agent burdened by her Middle Eastern heritage, and then a slew of minimally drawn stereotypes. These included an oft-let down estranged wife, a lame CDC bureaucrat, and a good and teddy-bear-like friend trying to keep the doctor sober. And, of course, the terrorists.

What are the odds that a white supremacist would arrive in New York City from Idaho and move into an apartment building housing a sleeper cell of terrorists? Furthermore, what are the odds that they would join forces? Fiction is supposed to engage the reader in suspending their disbelief. The suspension of my disbelief was severely taxed!

As I read, I was repeatedly surprised by the unlikely coincidences that shaped the story and influenced the characters. White Sleeper has been described as fast-paced. I felt instead that the events and actions occurred at an unlikely pace, not supported by the reader’s knowledge of the characters and situation.

As I read, I found myself making up stories about the two authors – that this is their first book. That writing for a novel is different than writing television (Langford has a TV background.) That maybe they listed the various components and characters of a thriller on a white board and then crossed them off as they included them in the book.

I am guessing that Fett and Langford have the creativity, interest, and breadth of experience to write a fine thriller – next time. If you need a quick-read buzz, this book will be fine. If you are looking for something a bit more satisfying, I suggest you keep looking.

Rating: 2.5/5

Joanne is an organization development and human resources professional with a business background living in Ohio. She has lived in Europe, Africa (including her Peace Corps service in South Africa), and arround the United States. She loves to plays volleyball, read, write, and has a cat named Ender.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review & Giveaway: Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister

[ 156 ] June 19, 2011

Please join Erica Bauermeister, author of Joy For Beginners, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Reviewed by Poppy Johnson

In Joy For Beginners, the main character, Kate, meets up with friends after recovering from cancer and finds she is in need of an adventure. Kate and her friends – Caroline, Marion and Daria (sisters), Sara, Ava and Hadley – each tell their own perspective throughout the book. From these separate chapters, the reader gets a glimpse into the lives of the women. They all agree to go on a white water rafting trip in the Grand Canyon, and the book describes the fears and joys they discover on the trip.

Each woman’s story is poignantly told. There are quite a few heartfelt moments as they share their joys and sorrows without apology for the raw feelings the emotions bring up. The courage of the women never wavers, as they manage their houses and families, break off on their own to explore a vacation in a foreign land or allow new expressions to flow through their veins. The women push past their collective fears to live their lives in a full and robust way, including the famous rafting trip, which is described in detail near the last third of Joy For Beginners.

By the end, Kate comes to terms with her feelings over her past illness and with accepting her body after the cancer. As she shows others her scars, she allows the fears to leave her and a new acceptance to take the place of pain and fear. I recommend Joy For Beginners to anyone interested in survivor stories and stories of women who can find courage after an illness.

Rating: 5/5

After a decade of working in several NYC law departments and teaching, Poppy decided she enjoyed writing full-time. She currently works as a freelance writing consultant, and lives with her husband and sons on the East Coast.

Giveaway:
I have 1 copy of Joy For Beginners to give away!

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This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on July 8, 2011.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Putnam Adult. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer

[ 7 ] December 26, 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer R.

The Last Surgeon is Michael Palmer’s latest medical thriller. This book kept me intrigued and creeped out at the same time! A psychopathic serial killer is out to get random victims in the name of “work” for which he is highly compensated. The killer has medical skills of his own which only compound his ability to senselessly murder innocent people and, yet, keep himself clear of any accusations.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nick Garrity, a young war vet suffering from a severe case of post traumatic stress disorder is running a mobile health clinic to help those with less resources receive the medical care they need. Nick is battling with the demons of PTSD on a daily basis. His situation is made worse by the fact that his best friend, Umberto Vasquez, who also saved his life from a suicide bomber, mysteriously disappeared four years ago. Nick makes it his mission to find Vasquez as he feels he owes his life to this man.

In the midst of the story, Nick meets Jillian Coates, a psychiatric nurse, who is investigating her sister’s recent death — a death that was ruled suicide but which Jillian believes was, in fact, murder. Her investigation leads her to Dr. Nick Garrity and in order to help her find out what really happened to her sister, she has to help Nick solve the mystery of Umberto’s disappearance. Using her inside connections at the hospital, they race to find out what happened to their loved ones before they are targeted by the killer.

The Last Surgeon was another great thriller by the prolific author, Michael Palmer. It was a horrifying but smart mix of murder and medicine and I found myself completely disgusted and creeped out by the killer. The reader knows who the killer is and what he is doing from the very beginning. The mystery lies in trying to find out who hired him and why he’s killing these people. The creepiness is in the fact that this character is completely evil and soulless and enjoys using his knowledge of medicine to kill.

I found myself sometimes frustrated by Nick’s inability to live his life fully due to his PTSD, but that frustration may have lent to the credibility and “realness” of his character. There were one or two things about the storyline that I thought were sort of convenient, – such as the person behind the secret company, Jericho – but they still made sense in the storyline. All things considered, I really enjoyed this thriller. It had mystery, action, thrills, and a little dash of romance. Any fan of this genre will enjoy The Last Surgeon!

Jenny is a social worker in her late twenties who lives with her husband and Jack Russell Terrier in the central Florida area. In her “free” time she loves reading books of all genres. She also reviews books on her book blog TakeMeAway.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Michael Palmer. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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