Hold Tight (Harlan Coben)

This was a book club pick for me. It took me a little while to get into it. I was fascinated by the premise of parents concerned about their teenager and monitoring his on-line activity - but I was also a little afraid to get too into it and find out what was going on. I think partially, I know I don't monitor my teenager's online activity very well and I was afraid to read about awful stuff happening and having to wonder if that could happen to my kid. Once I got into the story though, it was hard to put down. It was definitely a page turner.

I had trouble keeping all the characters straight. There are A LOT of characters in this book. I should have written them all down. Instead I kept them in this loose net in my mind, with some slipping through.

It made for a great discussion at book club. There were so many difficult and controversial topics: perfectionism, teenage suicide, teenage privacy versus monitoring, family secrets, etc.

I should probably read it again and see if I see hints dropped here and there that I didn't see the first time around.


Goodreads says:

Harlan Coben delivers a #1 New York Times bestseller that asks how well parents really know their children—and puts them on a technological roller coaster of their worst fears.

“We’re losing him.” With those words, Mike and Tia Baye decide to spy on their sixteen-year-old son Adam, who has become increasingly moody and withdrawn since the suicide of his best friend. The software they install on his computer shows them every Web site visited, every e-mail sent or received, every instant message. And each keystroke draws them deeper and deeper into a maze of mayhem and violence that could destroy them all... 

The Wild Robot Escapes (Peter Brown)

Who would think a J fiction book could pull such emotions out and be so entertaining! This book is a beauty. After I finished The Wild Robot, I went to the library that day and got the second book. I had to find out what happened to Roz. I think there could even be a third book. I hope there will be! In this book, Roz meets her maker (like her real maker...the person who made her) and they are very different from each other. Roz is soft hearted and loves her child (a goose), but her maker has spent her entire life alone. I loved how Roz got to know her and didn't judge her.

The author's story of writing the book is a thrill to read as well.

March 2, 2020:

I read The Wild Robot to my class this year and really didn't intend on reading book two. I thought I'd inspire them to go off and find the book themselves - but no. There was no talking them out of it. We HAD to read The Wild Robot Escapes together. 

This really is an amazing book and reading it aloud brought all sorts of new emotions (who cries in a robot book?! Me!) and they loved it. This book would make a GREAT movie and we sure would LOVE to read a book three. 

Roz on how she survived: p. 240 "Although I could speak to the animals, they still do not trust me," said Roz. "So I tried to win them over with kindness. Animals ran frm me and laughed at me and attacked me, and I always responded with kindness. It was a good strategy. But the real key to my survival came in the form of a gosling. When I adopted Brightbull everything changed. I was finally accepted by the animals. I was surrounded by friends and families. I was home."

p. 241: "Every problem has a peaceful solution. Violence is unnecessary."

p. 242: While talking to Dr Molovo, Roz discusses her purpose:
..."I have to imagine everything that could possibly go wrong. But all my decisions are guided by a single question: What is the robot's purpose?"
Quietly, Roz asked her Designer, "What is my purpose?"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Roz, but you don't have some grand purpose. Like all the other ROZZUM robots, you were designed to work for robots. That's it."
The robot thought for a moment, then she said, "I once suggested to a group of wild animals that my purpose might simply be to help others."
The Designer thought for a moment. Then she said, "When you put it that way, your purpose does sound rather grand, doesn't it?"

Reread October 2023

p. 243 The robot thought for a moment. Then she said, "I once suggested to a group of wild animals that my purpose might simply be to help others."

If only everyone realized that that is perhaps everyone's purpose! 

Goodreads says:

Shipwrecked on a remote, wild island, Robot Roz learned from the unwelcoming animal inhabitants and adapted to her surroundings--but can she survive the challenges of the civilized world and find her way home to Brightbill and the island?

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)

I enjoyed the talk of a bookstore and lure to the mystery of books in this story. I kind of felt like I was an old fashioned geek peering into the techno lives of 20 something's who haven't quite found their place in life yet and are wandering from odd job to odd job.  I think it's a great story, but sadly, it is my guess that it likely won't stand the test of time because it won't take too long until the references to technology are outdated. But it's a good one for right now! In one part of the story the author totally got me with the comment, "and if you're amazed at all this techno trivia you're probably over 30"....or something like that. I laughed out loud when I read that.


Mostly, I was glad Google couldn't beat a book. That's how it should be.


I started having a feeling maybe there was more symbolism to this book than i was understanding so I began googling names: Penumbra, Griffo Gerritzson, etc., as well as quotes like:  I work at the opposite of Google.  I would love to ask the author if there is something behind all that.


I read that the book cover won an award for one of the best book covers. It is cool. Mine didn't glow in the dark though. Rip off.


Good quotes:


Re: e-Readers "I have one and I use it most nights. I always imagine the books staring and whispering, Traitor!” 

"Her home is the burrow of a bibliophile hobbit."

“Walking the stacks in a library, dragging your fingers across the spines -- it's hard not to feel the presence of sleeping spirits.” 

“He has the strangest expression on his face- the emotional equivalent of 404 PAGE NOT FOUND.”

 

“Neel takes a sharp breath and I know exactly what it means. It means: I have waited my whole life to walk through a secret passage built into a bookshelf.”