Book Review - Teresa Sullivan's Mikey and Me: Life with my Exceptional Sister

Thank You to She Writes Press for providing me with an advance copy of Teresa Sullivan's memoir, Mikey and Me: Life with my Exceptional Sister, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - In her memoir, Mikey and Me: Life with my Exceptional Sister, Teresa Sullivan recounts growing up with her older sister, Micky, who is blind, non-verbal, and has brain damage. Although her entire family loves Mikey immensely and they do everything possible to make Mikey's life better, caring for Mikey takes a toll on everyone. Sullivan's memoir explores the impact of Mikey and how having a special needs sibling shaped her life.

LIKE - I couldn't put Sullivan's memoir down and I read it in one sitting. The specifics of Sullivan's story and her willingness to share her life in a raw, honest manner, made her memoir a page-turner. I just kept reading, because I had to know if Mikey and the rest of her family were going to be okay. It's an intense and uncertain read.

Although they try their best to keep Mikey at home, an incident occurs where the courts get involved and Mikey is placed into a facility against her families wishes. They visit her at every opportunity, including visits where she is allowed to come home for the weekend, but Mikey's placement in a facility forever changes Sullivan's family. A piece is missing without Mikey and they all feel guilt in their inability to protect her, especially when they discover that she is being abused in the system. Sullivan turns to drugs and wild behavior in her teen years, her mother gambles and has an affair, and her father turns to alcohol. The entire family dynamic breaks down. It's heartbreaking, especially the horrific abuse Mikey suffers.

Mikey and Me made me feel shattered. I finished it last week and couldn't manage to write the review until today, because I'm still deeply affected and upset by what I read.

DISLIKE- Nothing. The subject matter is tough to read, but Sullivan has written a beautiful tribute to her sister. There is so much love that she has for Mikey.

RECOMMEND- Yes. Mikey and Me is a devastating memoir, but also an important one. Although, as a society we have come a long way in understanding and integrating people with special needs ( especially during the 60's/70's where a bulk of Sullivan's memoir takes place), there is much more than should be done. Sullivan shares not only her experiences with her sister, but she speaks for other families with loved ones who have special needs. She speaks to a need for not only showing compassion and protecting, but to also inclusion for vulnerable members of our society. She also speaks for siblings, who often transition into a caregiving role as their parent's age and pass away. This is an important memoir. 

Book Review- Danya Kukafka's Girl in Snow

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance copy of Danya Kukafka's debut novel, Girl in Snow, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - A Colorado suburb is rattled by the mysterious and brutal death of high school student Lucinda Hayes. No one is sure who has committed the crime, but as it is being investigated, suspicion falls on several people in the town. What happens when evidence is flimsy, no one seems to have a real motive, yet odd behavior casts suspicion?

LIKE- Kukafka isn't just a debut author, but she is also a very young debut author. She is currently in her early twenties, but she started writing Girl in Snow at sixteen. I'm blown away and a tad envious of her talent. What stands out the most is her writing style. She writes in a direct manner with amazing sensory descriptions that avoid being flowery. On top of that, her descriptions are unusual and creative. I love the way her mind works. She packs a punch with her prose.

Speaking of her words, the title is pitch perfect. Rather than the obvious "Girl in the Snow", Girl in Snow is succinct and it plays into Cameron's artistic inclinations. His obsession with Lucinda is artistic in nature and when she breaks the third wall to interact with him, he almost doesn't know how to handle her. Girl in Snow sounds like the title of a painting. It's perfect.

Perhaps because Kukafka wrote Girl in Snow as a teenager, she has a knack for writing the teenage characters. Kukafka writes them in a way that instantly brought me back to my high school years. It's affecting and even a little unsettling. Girl in Snow is told through three perspectives : Cameron: an artistic high school student from a troubled family, Jade: a high school outcast who was childhood friends with Lucinda, and Russ: a police officer with connections to Cameron's family.

I was most intrigued by the character of Cameron, who is immediately a suspect because of several factors that are beyond his control. Cameron's father was once a police officer and Russ' partner on the force, but he was put on trial for murdering a woman and when he wasn't convicted, he left town, abandoning his family. Cameron is extra sensitive; a kid who sees and feels everything. He is also very much an outsider, and prior to Lucinda's murder, one of her friends openly labeled Cameron as a kid who would bring a gun to school. Cameron doesn't help himself by exhibiting odd behavior, such as staring into his neighbor's houses at night, watching them, including Lucinda's house prior to her death. Cameron has black-outs, rendering him unsure as to whether or not he may have actually killed her. Cameron is a character who has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

DISLIKE- I don't often read mysteries, but I was disappointed that I could figure out the culprit from the first time they are introduced. I'm not going to spoil it, just to say that it was heavy- handed enough to figure out. I was hoping that I would be wrong, but when it was revealed, it was not a surprise. The best mysteries are the ones that you can't anticipate. 

I thought the plot was a little messy, especially with the character of Russ and his wife. It was all wrapped up in the end, but I wasn't convinced or engaged with where it was heading through most of the story. Perhaps because it distracted from the mystery of Lucinda. I thought it bogged down the pacing. The pacing was very strong for the first 2/3 and then it lagged in the last 1/3.

RECOMMEND- Yes, primarily due to Kukafka's marvelous writing. Girl in Snow is a solid mystery, but beyond this first book, I'm certain that Kukafka will have a bright career as a writer. I will definitely read her next book. 

Book Review- John Bateson's The Education of a Coroner: Lessons in Investigating Death

Thank you to Scribner for providing me with an advance copy of John Bateson's book, The Education of a Coroner: Lessons in Investigating Death, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- John Bateson explores the career of coroner Ken Holmes, who worked for California's Marin County Coroner's Office for over thirty-six years. 

LIKE- Death and the business of it is fascinating. My aunt's first husband was a coroner in Los Angeles County and although I didn't know him, I heard of stories from his career via my aunt. Those stories are a big reason that I was drawn to The Education of a Coroner. 

Bateson explores many of the cases that Holmes worked on during his career, including tough cases to crack and those that remain unsolved. Included are celebrity cases, suicide jumps from the Golden Gate Bridge, and even a case involving a cult. The Education of a Coroner is not gratuitous, but it does include details of death, which can be gory. I know that some readers would not be able to handle the details. They will definitely live in your mind for awhile. Bateson covers all areas of the job, including crime scene protocol, autopsies, trials, and behind the scenes office work. I learned that in many counties, the coroner is an elected position. It should probably worry the general public that in some parts of the country, the coroner is not even required to have any medical experience. With basically zero experience, anyone could be a coroner, even if they shouldn't be. It's scary.

Some of the cases were fascinating, especially the way that Holmes worked with the evidence to eventually solve a crime. Truly, no two cases were alike. I appreciate that the book touches on the sensitive subject of how Holmes spoke to the families of the deceased. I can appreciate that the job of a coroner is someone who wears many hats and speaking with loved ones must be among the toughest parts of the job; certainly not something that everyone would be able to handle.

DISLIKE- The pacing was occasionally sluggish, which I attribute to my unequal interested in all of the cases. Perhaps Bateson included too many cases, as not all were equally interesting or impactful. Less could have been more. 

RECOMMEND- If your curious about the job of a coroner and if you like reading about various cases, then I highly recommend Bateson's The Education of a Coroner. It's not for the squeamish, but if you can stomach it, it's an important look into a profession that greatly impacts our society.