Book Review: Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton
Publication date December 4, 2018
Read courtesy of NetGalley.com

FAN-TAS-TIC!!!!

There was a tadd* of a thread throughout this book of consecutive stories. Amazingly well done and thoroughly enjoyable. I will definitely be getting this for my library! 

Each story could be a stand alone, but they are also smoothly interwoven... and thought provoking. The first vaccine, first heart transplant, and first clone (remember Dolly the Sheep?) perpetuated the human ability to dream of a stronger, faster and more beautiful human. Dayton has helped us imagine some of the future possibilities, and some we'd like, while others we'd find quite disturbing. And that's the point.... to consider what our tinkering could mean to our future. Butterfly effect, ripple effect, call it what you want, but Dayton masterfully creates realistic what-ifs (realistic what-ifs: is that an oxymoron?) 

I  enjoyed every story in here. None of it felt redundant, repetitive, or reused. The uniqueness of each possible inevitably (another oxymoron) kept me turning those pages. Bravo, Ms. Dayton. I accept the challenge to work through these oxymorons in the hopes that it keeps humans from simply becoming morons.



*intentional spelling 👍👌

Book Review: The Prodigy

The Prodigy by John Feinstein
Publication Date: 28 Aug 2018
Read courtesy of Netgalley.com


Can reviews have dedications? If so, I dedicate this review to my husband, whose passion for golf rubbed off on me enough to understand this story 😀

Since I'm not a sports enthusiast, I'm pleasantly surprised how much I liked this story. Feinstein provided this reader with a fun time: fictionalized famous golfers (McIlroy, Spieth, Mickelson, etc.), sportsmanship and cheating, the lure of money, and loyalties. I was especially pleased that I was tricked into thinking I knew who the bad guy was at the end. I was wrong, and it amused me to find out I was wrong.

Feinstein knows the game of golf well enough to explain to a non-golfer just enough to follow the main character's journey without being bogged down in the game instead of the action. Characters were well developed and provided a believable plot with realistic emotions.

I'm looking forward to having this book on my high school library's shelves this Fall.

p.s. My H.S.'s golf coach is an avid reader. I'm going to get his take on the story, and I'll then update this review...