Slap Happy Fun Time

Vox - Christina Dalcher 2/5 stars                                                                      Sometimes you hear about a book and you instantly think, yeah I need to read that. When I heard about Vox there were a lot of comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, but the sad part is that Vox isn't in the same ballpark as any of those books. It wants to be, and it tries really hard, but all it has going for it is the theme of government gone amok and it could in a way happen anywhere. There is that small percentage of people who will tell you that the book is controversial, but when you read a book like this you kind of expect that. These are women are allowed to speak only one hundred words a day which sounds insane, and it is, but this is what happens when you want to change in politics and vote the wrong way. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? 1984 was a frightening book that changed the way we looked at our government, changed the way we viewed the world and the lan

When The Lights Go Out - Mary Kubica 5/5 stars                                                                       When Jessie's mother suddenly dies of cancer strange things begin to happen and then insomnia settles in and odd things begin to happen. A simple act sets off a chain reaction of events that force Jessie to question not only who she is, but everything she knows. Kubica has a knack for writing books that hurl a lot at you. While Jessie's story in itself is compelling you have her mother's journal adding other layers to the story and there comes a point where you really think you have it all figured out, but then you suddenly realize you were wrong. There are clues sprinkled throughout the story but they don't all fall into place until the end. It's a novel that keeps you guessing until the very last page. When The Lights Go Out seems like your normal, average suspense thriller, but Kubica is not the type of writer who seems content to be just a