Weapons of Math Destruction~Cathy O'Neil | Review

Title: Weapons of Math Destruction
Author: Cathy O'Neil
Genre: Nonfiction
Length: 272 Pages
Release: September 2016

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review

This book was not exactly what I was expecting, and I think that had a negative impact on how much I took away from it. The beginning was really promising, but it never really delivered on what it promised. 

With Cathy O'Neil's background in math, I expected to get more information on the algorithms in the various models she was exploring and actual statistics. Obviously she doesn't have all of the numbers and can't access information from big companies and organizations, but I still expected more on the math side of things. An exploration of how the big data is really being used. In some ways that was presented, but it never delved very deeply below the surface. 

For someone unfamiliar with the topics being discussed, who agrees with O'Neil's political stance on many of the issues outlined, this might be more informative. It made me think and gave me some new things to consider, but didn't really shed that much light on topics with which I am unfamiliar. The style of writing was also rather slow and the information somewhat scattered. O'Neil never clearly stated a viable solution to the problems the world is facing with big data. 

This was an interesting read in a lot of ways, but not what I expected.   

Code Red~Janie Chodosh | Review

Title: Code Red (Faith Flores Science Mysteries #2)
Author: Janie Chodosh
Genre: Young Adult Mystery
Length: 250 Pages
Release: February 2017

I receivevd a copy of this novel from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review

In this second installment in the Faith Flores series, Faith continues to use science to solve the mysteries that others have written off. She's observant, eager to learn, and ready to face a challenge. 

In Code Red Faith is away from home for an internship when a girl she meets at a party dies of a drug overdose. When Faith gets dragged into the middle of the events, she can't let it go. A newly found relative was also drugged and things have gotten personal, so Faith uses the skills she's learning through her internship to run her own investigation. 

This follow-up to Death Spiral is not nearly as dark as that first book, which make parts of it easier to read and more enjoyable. But it also loses some of the intimacy of the first book, since the investigation is not as closely tied to Faith as her mother's death was. Still, the lighter tone helps this one be more accessible to a wider audience of readers. 

The family dynamic in this novel, while not quite what I was hoping for, was very interesting. I wanted more Aunt T--the aunt who took Faith in when her mother died--but instead we find out more about Faith's father and the side of the family she knew nothing about. While I thought that some more explanation about Faith's parents would have been nice, it was good to see Faith opening up to a new set of people and learning how to be part of something bigger than just a duo. 

Janie Chodosh has done an excellent job of making this series both science centered and understandable. Everything seems plausible and it only requires very basic knowledge of science to follow this aspect of the story. It doesn't get overly technical but it also doesn't completely gloss over everything concerning GMOs and genetically altering plants and what people can do with this. I particularly liked that it gave two views on genetically modified organisms and had Faith feeling conflicted--both sides contained logic and both sides believed their arguments. 

There are a few things I was not particularly happy about with this. One of them is Faith herself. A majority of the time she didn't feel like the same character from Death Spiral. I know several months have passed, giving her time to change, but it felt too drastic. She was too open with people, too friendly. It didn't feel like the Faith I came to know in book one. 

I was also very disappointed with the romance aspect of the novel. And unfortunately this often overshadowed the parts that I really enjoyed with the mystery and the family aspect. The relationship that Faith develops with Clem didn't feel natural, nor did it feel like something the Faith first introduced would have done. It made complete sense for her to question her relationship with Jesse. But having a second love interest was not a good way to handle these questions. After what happened in book one Faith's seeming lack of connection with Jesse was a big disappointment. And Clem himself didn't ever feel real to me like Jesse always did. He felt like a character on a page; Jesse felt like a person. 

I am hoping that more stories with Faith are on the way because I would like to see what direction she takes next. It would be great to see more exploration of relationships introduced in these first two books, particularly those involving Anj, Jesse, Aunt T, and her newly found Flores family. 

This is a fun, well researched, nicely paced series and I look forward to more adventures with Faith in the future. 

You can find all of the buy links for Death Spiral and Code Red on Janie's website: Janie Chodosh

Interview with Janie Chodosh, author of the Faith Flores Science Mysteries

Janie Chodosh is author of the Faith Flores Science Mysteries series which follow titular character Faith as she uses her love of science to solve mysteries that others have written off as closed.

You can find out more about Janie and the Faith Flores series by visiting her website: Janie Chodosh

Today I bring you an interview with Janie where she opens up about her stories, her life, and the writing process. Come back tomorrow for my review of Code Red, the second book in the Faith Flores series.

Interview

      Describe Faith Flores in 5 to 10 sentences. 

In the start of the series Faith has major trust issues. Her mother died of a supposed heroine overdose and she never met her father, so she feels quite alone and abandoned. Faith is vulnerable. She wants to be close to people, but she is terrified. Faith is also smart and curious, and like many teens I have met, she has a great sense of humor with a strong dose of sarcasm.

 Who or what first inspired you to write?

I have always loved to write. I don’t think anyone or anything inspired me as much as writing is just a part of who I am. In first grade I remember writing my teacher a song and then singing it to her! (I am a terrible singer.) In sixth grade I wrote a play and got together a cast of elementary school actors and performed it for my school. I have always kept journals and when people still wrote letters, I would write long expressive letters to anyone who would read them! Recently a former high school friend told me she still had a five-page note I wrote to her!

Was there a fictional character that you identified with most as a child or teen?

I loved Dorothy from the Oz series. I loved her adventures in fictional lands and all the characters she met. I loved the fantasy world created by Frank Baum—not just in the “Wizard of Oz,” but throughout the whole series. I loved books that transport me and I still do. Dorothy is an intrepid explorer and she is unafraid of taking risks and standing up for her friends. I’m not sure if anyone still reads those books, but in my opinion, they should.

What is one thing you hope readers learn/remember from reading your books?

Great question. I hope they remember my characters. I love writing character, and Faith is close to my heart. She is real and damaged and in many ways the odds are stacked against her, but she does not give up. She does not take no for an answer. She does not let a dead end stop her. I also hope readers will connect with her love of science and the fascinating world of genetics and the idea of pursuing your passion.

Are any characters based on real people?

No characters are based on any one person, though I guess I could say that in some ways, since they come from my mind and my understanding of the world, they are all based on me! But that would be really boring to have a book of  “Janie’s” so I love taking what I know and think about and fictionalizing and imagining the world for the character. I love creating and dreaming and imaging who these people are, giving them voice and making them real.

What inspired the locations for your stories?

I wanted “Death Spiral” to be an urban story and I needed an urban center close to big pharmaceutical companies. I also wanted there to be a university. I came up with Philadelphia for these reasons, but also because half of my family is from the Philadelphia area and I had spent time there as a child. It was a place I was familiar with, and met all the requirements for the setting. However, authenticity is important to me, so since I am not there, I did tons of research. I decided to set book two, “Code Red” in Santa Fe, where I have lived for the past seventeen years, and which I know intimately. I wanted to capture subtleties of place I could not capture in book one. Plus, Santa Fe is a pretty unique place, and I thought Faith, coming from a big east coast city, would have a strong reaction to the high western desert. It was fun seeing Santa Fe through her eyes and imagining her experience of it.

Do you listen to music while writing?

I am so easily distracted that music would just be too much of a distraction. I really do prefer it to be quiet while I write. Listening to music works for some people, but for me, I have enough going on in my head. I need to stay one hundred percent focused on that.

Do you enjoy book to movie adaptations?

I do enjoy movie adaptations, especially when they are done well. However, I do love it when I have read the book of a movie first, because I like to understand the author’s vision and understand all the nuances that don’t necessarily make it onto screen. Seeing a character come to life and seeing a filmmaker’s interpretation of a book is very exciting. I would love to see Faith Flores brought to film. Many people have told me the books should be made into films or an Amazon series. I have no idea how to do this, and there is so much competition out there, so I am not sure this will ever happen. However, I think Faith is a character so many people can relate to and the plots of both books are pretty fun, so I do think they would make great films.

 Favorite books?

I have so many favorite books, and I tend to say whatever I am reading at the time is my favorite book. However, “To Kill A Mockingbird” has always stayed with me as a favorite and I have never stopped loving Scout. I love “The House of Spirits” by Isabel Allende, which I am currently trying to read in Spanish. That will take me about ten years. My Spanish is not that great!

If you could visit anyplace in the world where would it be?

I love to travel, and I have been fortunate to so far travel quite a bit. I love adventure. I love culture. I love learning. And I love nature, so a lot of my travel has been nature based. I was recently in Chile and I really want to go back there, especially to the southern part of the country. But gosh, one place? I have a big list of places I would like to see. I also love staying at home and getting to deeply know the place where I live. I spend a lot of time taking walks and learning about the local natural history of my home, and while I love traveling and seeing the world, I love being grounded in a place.

Towers of Midnight~Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson | Review

Title: Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time #13)
Author: Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Genre: High Fantasy
Length: 843 Pages
Release: November 2010

Review

This has been my favorite book in the series to this point. There was not a dull moment, everything building beautifully together. A few things annoyed me, but overall it was an excellent book. I will give some highlights, but won't go into much detail on the plot since this is a latter installment in the series. Everything is still building toward the same end. 

The Characters were wonderful in this. Aside from Elayne and Gawyn (who I personally think should have been written out of the entire series), a few scenes with Morgase, and portions of our time with Egwene, I was very pleased with all of our characters and what they are up to. 

Rand: Not much time was spent here, but we did get to see some of what he's up to. Honestly, I love how he's changed through the series. I find him quite fascinating at this point. We also got to see a little of him with Nynaeve and the friendship that has developed there. And some of his interactions with Min, which were nice. 

Mat: A lot of people don't like how Sanderson has handled Mat's character, but I think this was one of his best touches. Mat was working his way into my good graces in the last couple of Jordan installments and continues to do so. He has an exciting story, but be very annoying, and always manages to irritate people. And yet he still makes me smile. Also, I can't wait for him and Tuon to meet up again. That should be interesting. And here he was able to help Thom on a quest that brought back an old character I've been waiting to see. 

Perrin and Galad: The previous book told us these two would meet up and we finally got to see it. Galad has been neglected through the series and I'm glad to finally get more time with him. I really liked seeing his reunion with Morgase. And how he had to rethink his initial thoughts/impressions of Perrin. 

Egwene: There was a lot going on in the White Tower and most of it was interesting. Egwene had become somewhat likable, but here she was back to being rather infuriating. And the way she treated Gawyn was absurd (even if I don't like the guy). 

Lan: We don't get much of Lan, but what we do get is amazing. His march to his fallen land of Malkier, which starts out very reluctantly (not the march itself, but the gathering of followers), was absolutely brilliant. He is definitely another character I would have liked more time with. There was so much potential that I don't think we will ever truly be able to appreciate. 

There were some snippets of time with Forsaken, people within the Black Tower, and various Aes Sedai. Many of these were very enjoyable and left me with a lot of questions. 

The conclusion to this made me want to pick up the next book right away. It was full of action and left so many open questions. I very much look forward to the final novel. 

Rescue Me~Susan May Warren | Review

Title: Rescue Me (Montana Rescue #2)
Author: Susan May Warren
Genre: Christian Romance/Adventure
Length: 336 Pages
Release: January 2017

A copy of this novel was received through Netgalley.

Review

Susan May Warren does an excellent job of weaving faith, forgiveness, and love into her stories. Rescue Me is about forgiving yourself as well as others and is a great reminder that everyone needs help in life. It can just be hard to see it at times.

Warren is able to pull you into the story, causing you to feel like you're there trying to survive along with Sam, Willow, and the youth group. I love that it really showcases the fact that sometimes you just need someone to believe in you and help you through the rough patches of life. 

Sam and Willow's story was an inspiration to read and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to continuing this series in the future. 

Still Life~Dani Pettrey | Review

Title: Still Life (Chesapeak Valor #2)
Author: Dani Pettrey
Genre: Christian Contemporary/Suspense
Length: 352 Pages
Release: January 2017

A copy of this novel was received through Netgalley.

Review

Let me first say that I enjoy the Dani Pettrey's writing. I am a huge fan of the Alaskan Courage series. Each book had its own well researched plot with great characters, a vibrant setting, and just the right blend of suspense and romance. So far, this series follows in the same vein. 

I was very excited when I found out about the Chesapeak valor series and loved Cold Shot, the first book in the series. Still Life was just as good. It has a great plot with a lot of twists, excellent characters who are learning to forgive themselves and move forward after the loss they have experienced in the past. Parker and Avery's story was wonderful and I can not wait for book three to be released.  

Death Spiral~Janie Chodosh | Review

Title: Death Spiral (A Faith Flores Science Mystery #1)
Author: Janie Chodosh
Genre: Young Adult Mystery
Length: 304 Pages
Release: March 2014

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Review

In later November I was contacted about reviewing Death Spiral and the sequel Code Red as part of the release for Code Red in February. After finishing this first installment, I am glad that I decided to give this author and series a try. 

This novel deals with some pretty heavy issues, focusing around the death of Faith's mother who is presumed to have died from a heroin overdose. So be aware going in that there will be some discussion of drug use, though it never gets very involved nor does it ever make it out to be a good lifestyle choice. 

This novel is quite well written and well researched. Everything seems plausable, even though some of it is obviously fictionalized. It is also filled with realistic characters who have struggles throughout. Faith, our first person narrator, is dealing with the death of her mother and her own inner struggles as she asks herself if drug addiction is in her genes. 

There is some exploration of the "nature versus nurture" question and I found it particularly intersting in this context, since Faith was exposed to drugs and addiction from both sides of that question. So is there any hope for her? This is a question she kind of struggles with and it's done in a very realistic manner. 

I almost always like characters named Jesse (I have no idea why) and that was the case here. Jesse is a new friend of Faith's and while he did some things that annoyed me, I could understand where he was coming from. He has his own ideas about life and when those clash with what his father expects, the results are less than desirable. 

Faith and Aunt T, her mother's sister who is now her guardian, had an intersting relationship that I would have liked to see explored more. There is an interesting family dynamic and it was unfortunate that this fell somewhat into the regular YA trope of unobservant or absent adult figures. 

The mystery aspect of this was quite exciting and full of danger. I am not sure that I would ever have the courage to do most of the things Faith was able to do. Throughout her exploration of what really happened to her mother, Faith grew a lot as a person and it was a nice development to see. 

This is a story that would be enjoyed by a wide range of people and I hope that more people will pick it up and allow this writer to continue telling Faith's story. I am excited to pick up Code Red in the coming weeks.