Tropical Girl Reads

History Review—Book Review The Tattooist At Auschwitz

Hey all! Fridays are going to be historical fiction day. To be honest, I love reading books related to 1930s, holocaust and World War II era so most of the historical fiction books I read are based on those topics. Today I will be doing a review on The Tattooist at Auschwitz by Heather Morris.

Image result for the tattooist of auschwitz

In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.

Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.

One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.

A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

Heather Morris is a native of New Zealand, now resident in Australia. For several years, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter in the US. In 2003, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who ‘might just have a story worth telling’. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Their friendship grew and Lale embarked on a journey of self-scrutiny, entrusting the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust to her. Heather originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Though the work is a fiction, it is based on a true story of Slovakian Jew named Lale Sokolov who comes to Auschwitz camp in 1942. Due to his ability to speak in many languages, he becomes a Tatoweirer meaning tattooist where he will tattoo the numbers of the prisoners coming to Auschwitz. Despite the darkness and atrocities that is happening around one of the well known concentration camps in, there is also a love story that was blossoming between Lale and another Slovakian Jewish girl named Gita Furman.

I have always been fascinated with the stories of Holocaust survivors and so this is no exception. I truly enjoyed reading this book–even admired the bravery and courage of Lale, who smuggled gems and jewelry in exchange for some food like chocolates and sausages. This story is a story of courage, brave and how to survive in a place filled with death and darkness.

I enjoyed reading this book and give it a five star rating!

Book Review– Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat

Hey all! Today is Romantic Review Day and so I decided to a book review on Half Girlfriend, written by Chetan Bhagat. So here goes my review!

Once upon a time, there was a Bihari boy called Madhav. He fell in love with girl called Riya. Madhav didn’t speak English well. Riya did. Madhav wanted a relationship. Riya didn’t. Riya just wanted friendship. Madhav didn’t. Riya suggested a compromise. She agreed to be his half-girlfriend. From the author of the blockbuster novels Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, 2 States and Revolution 2020 comes a simple and beautiful love story that will touch your heart and inspire you to chase your dreams.

Series: D9 Shops (Book 10)
Paperback: 260 pages
Publisher: Rupa Publications; 3rd edition (September 30, 2014)
Language: English
Genre–contemporary/romance

Chetan Bhagat is the author of nine blockbuster books. These include seven novels—Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008), 2 States (2009), Revolution 2020 (2011), Half Girlfriend (2014) and One Indian Girl (2016) and two non-fiction titles— What Young India Wants (2012) and Making India Awesome(2015). Chetan’s books have remained bestsellers since their release. Four out his five novels have been already adapted into successful Bollywood films and the others are in process of being adapted as well. The New York Times called him the ‘the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history’. Time magazine named him amongst the ‘100 most influential people in the world’ and Fast Company, USA, listed him as one of the world’s ‘100 most creative people in business’. Chetan writes columns for leading English and Hindi newspapers, focusing on youth and national development issues. He is also a motivational speaker and screenplay writer. Chetan quit his international investment banking career in 2009 to devote his entire time to writing and make change happen in the country. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anusha, an ex-classmate from IIM-A, and his twin boys, Shyam and Ishaan.

So I have always thought of reading one of Chetan Bhagat’s books since I have seen most of his books turned into Bollywood blockbuster movies (kind of like Nicholas Sparks) so I would say he is the Indian version of Nicholas Sparks. I got this book at the book fair and so thought of reading the book. I even saw the trailer of the movie and it looked OK.

So let me list out a couple of things that I liked in the book.

Really love the style of Bhagat’s writing–it makes the reader engrossed in to the book. The vocabulary and English is simple and understandable.
The story is interesting to read and I manage to finish reading the book in a matter of few days!

So here are the things that I did not like

The story is way too predictable–we know that someday, Madhav (SPOILER ALERT!) will one day reunite with Riya Somani so it is a typical cheesy Bollywood styled themed romance.
I hate to admit it but I did not like any of the characters in the book. Madhav is a star-struck lover who refuse to move on without Riya ( even though Riya like dumped him twice) and I feel his love is more obsessed and stalker love–as he continues “stalking”her.
I slightly got confused as Chetan Bhagat mentions himself in the book as that writer where Madhav talks to and since the first person narrative is used in the book, I had a hard time at first identifying who is talking who.

Overall it is an OK book. I think I will give three stars for the book.

Has anyone watched the movie with Arjun Kapoor as Madhav and Shraddha Kapoor as Riya? Check out the trailer below.

Thriller Tuesday– Book Thoughts Flower Girls by Alice Clark Platts

Hey all! Tuesdays mean thriller day! So today, I am going to be doing a book review on a psychological thriller, a debut book of author Alice Clark Platts.

THREE CHILDREN WENT OUT TO PLAY. ONLY TWO CAME BACK.

The Flower Girls. Laurel and Primrose.

One convicted of murder, the other given a new identity.

Now, nineteen years later, another child has gone missing.

And the Flower Girls are about to hit the headlines all over again…

Product Details

Language:- English

Pages:- 352 Pages

Publisher:- Raven Books (Jan 2019)

Genre:- Psychological Thriller/ Women’s Fiction/Legal Thriller

Alice Clark-Platts is a former human rights lawyer who worked at the UN International Criminal Tribunal. She is the author of the police procedurals Bitter Fruits and The Taken, the latter of which was shortlisted for the Best Police Procedural in the Dead Good Reader Awards 2017.

I am a die hard fan of psychological thrillers and was so excited to read this book. Basically in a nutshell, the book is about two girls, Laurel and Primrose nicknamed as ‘Flower Girls’ due to their ‘flower’ names commit an atrocious crime back in 1997. Laurel was sentenced to jail while Rosie is given a new identity and lives a normal life as Hazel Archer. Nineteen years later, a five year old girl goes missing at the same hotel where now adult Hazel Archer is staying with her boyfriend and his teenage daughter. And again she comes into the public scrutiny.

So let me outline the things that I actually liked about the book :-

The characters are somewhat complex and realistic. Even the events that are happening in the book sounds realistic as well. Author has tried to make the story as realistic as possible.
The plot of the story is intriguing and interesting–especially the part where the five year old Georgie Greenstreet goes missing inside the same hotel where one of the so called Flower Girls is staying in. Is Hazel really responsible for the disappearance of Georgie Greenstreet? Or is it someone else?
Although there are no twists, the story was itself interesting and intriguing from the beginning. The author did a good job of making the reader stand at the edge of the seat.
The ending was a bit unexpected
The writing was good and understandable
Also I like how the author also involved Kristie Swann’s family (the victim back in 1997) specifically Joanna Denton Kristie’s aunt who would do anything to prevent Laurel to be released from jail.

Now let’s start with the things I didn’t really like…

The ending though it was unexpected was too abrupt as well.
This may or may not be relevant but to me, the story was a little sad at the end… (I am not giving any spoilers for those who haven’t read the book.

So overall, I would rate this book as….

Four stars! Recommend this book to anyone who loves to read a good psychological thriller.

Check this book out in Amazon. com

Literary Fiction Review! Book Review, Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Hey all!! Mondays are for literary fiction !! Today I will be doing a book review on a book called Beartown, written by a Swedish author, Fredrik Backman!

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Atria Books; Translation edition (April 25, 2017)
Language: English
Genre:- Sports Fiction

Fredrik Backman, a blogger and columnist, is the New York Times bestselling author of A MAN CALLED OVE and MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY. Both were number one bestsellers in his native Sweden and around the world, and are being published in more than thirty five territories. His latest novel is BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE. He lives in Stockholm with his wife and two children.

First of all, I wanted to read one of his bestseller books A Man Called Ove but I found this book, written by the same author and bought the book instead. Beartown is about a story of a small town where a junior hockey team is preparing for the national hockey championship. The small town has high hopes on the team but a tragic incident changed the town forever.

Now I will outline the things that I really like about this book.

P.S. SPOILER ALERT BELOW!!! If you haven’t read the book then refrain from reading it!!!

The book is emotional and sad and truthfully, the author has written the book in a realistic situation. A young girl was raped by a teenage boy who was a hockey champion and the fact that the whole town taking side of the boy instead of showing support to the girl is extremely sad and emotional. Truthfully, in reality, that is what actually happens–if a woman gets raped, the fault is found on the victim and not the rapist.
The book is well written, making the reader feel engrossed into the novel. You will feel as if you are a part of that Beartown community.
I don’t know very much about hockey so this book actually helped me to know more about ice hockey. I have been a swimming champion once so I know what is it really like when you are under pressure of winning an event.
The book is somewhat written in a different way, compared to the novels I have read so this book is actually unique in a way. In each chapter, it begins with some sort of advice or labeling out a real situation. Towards the end of the chapter, the author briefly outlines what each of the characters will face in ten years’ time.
Overall, this book is an enjoyable to read, engrossing and emotional as well. I know this book is written in Swedish and is translated into English but still I really like the form of writing.

Things I don’t like…basically nothing!

Overall I rate this book as five stars!

Parasite Movie Review!

Hello all! Yesterday I couldn’t post the blog, because I had classes till seven at night and also I watched this year’s Oscar winning Korean movie, Parasite! So I decided today, let’s take a break from the books and discuss about the movie, Parasite.

So as many of you all know, the Korean movie, Parasite won four awards at Oscar–one for Best Picture, one for Best Director, one for Best Screenplay and one for Best Foreign Film. After watching the movie, I would really say that the movie deserved its win as the best picture and the director, Bong Joon Ho deserves his win as the best director.

So here is my opinion about the movie.

OK So I am going to tell you about my thoughts in this movie.

SPOILER ALERT!!! If you haven’t watched the movie yet, then don’t read the rest.

In a nutshell, this story is a tale of two families–one is Kim family, who live in a basement in a poor neighborhood, and the other is a Park family, an affluent wealthy family. By chance, the son in the Kim family, gets an opportunity to tutor English to the daughter of the Park family. Soon, the Kim family manipulate their way into the Park family and then the story unfolds from here.

So here are the ones I like about the movie

Director Bong Joon Ho does a good job of showing the division of rich and poor in Seoul. We see the Kim family, living in a confined basement, facing the cramped shanties and road only earning money from their part time job. We see the Park family, living in a nice big house, their window facing the perfectly manicured lawn. That actually shows the division between the rich and poor of the family.
The story is realistic in some way. We see the Parks, despite treating their household servants well, still look down upon the poor people, by commenting on their “smell”. But we also see the Kim family, calling the rich people as “naive”. We also see how the Kim family forged university degree certificates and lied their way into the Park family, which does seem to happen nowadays in real life.
The tension towards the end of the movie was great–when the former house maid opens the stairway to the bunker in Park’s house where she was hiding her husband. That created the tension in the movie. Also the ending scene where Kim stabs Park was terrifying.
Throughout this movie, we see the gap between the rich and the poor–particularly the part where the Kim father, brother and sister, escape from the Park household, where the camera shows them running down the road and into the shanties where they live–away from the rich glamour to the slums.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie, and would recommend this movie. A must watch to those of you who haven’t seen the movie.

Happy Valentines Day!

Today is Valentines Day so Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!!

Valentine’s Day is perfect for romance novels so what are the books perfect for Valentine’s Day?

Here are a few…

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Image result for pride and prejudice book

Perfect book to read on a Valentines Day. I wouldn’t mind reading about Mr. Darcy 🙂

2. Dare Me by Debra Druzy

Goodreads recommend this book as a perfect read for Valentines. I haven’t read the book and so I am curious to read the book.

3. Me Before You – Jojo Moyes

One of those rare romantic books I enjoyed reading. Though the ending was a bit sad (SPOILER ALERT) I enjoyed reading this book.

4. One Day in December – Josie Silver

I think this book would have been a perfect read for Valentines Day

5. The Kiss Quotient – Helen Huang

The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)

All about romance, so this book will be perfect.

So do you have any recommendations for books perfect to read for Valentines?

Romantic Day–Book Thoughts, One New York Christmas, Mandy Baggot

Hello all! It’s time for the book review! Thursdays are going to be romantic book reviews. I don’t really read much romantic novels but I have read plenty of romantic books to give a book review!

So today, I selected One New York Christmas by Mandy Baggot. I know Christmas is long over but thought I would share this book with you all!

Image result for one new york christmas mandy baggot

Will this Christmas romance be just for the holidays?

A fun, festive romantic comedy to curl up with this winter. If you love Josie Silver’s One Day in December, you’ll love Mandy Baggot’s heart-warming festive romance.

Lara Weeks is heading to New York with best friend Susie for the Christmas trip of a lifetime.

A festive break in the snowy Big Apple visiting the tourist hotspots, not to mention the shopping, seems like the perfect way for Lara to get over her ex-boyfriend. Or maybe make him so jealous he begs for a second chance.

Enlisting the help of gorgeous actor, Seth Hunt, doesn’t quite go to plan, but there’s something about him that has Lara wishing for a different kind of happy ever after…

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Ebury Press (Fiction) (15 Nov. 2018)
Language: English
Genre :- Women’s Fiction/ Romance/Humorous

Mandy Baggot is an international bestselling and award-winning romance writer represented by Tanera Simons of The Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency.

The winner of the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK’s Festival of Romance, her romantic comedy novel, One Wish in Manhattan, was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award in 2016. Mandy’s books have so far been translated into German, Italian, Czech and Hungarian.

Mandy loves the Greek island of Corfu, white wine, country music and handbags. Also a singer, she has taken part in ITV1’s Who Dares Sings and The X-Factor.

Mandy is a member of the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband and two daughters.

Visit Mandy’s website at http://www.mandybaggot.com

This is the first time I have read Mandy Baggot’s books. I really like the cover and although I am not much of a romantic novel fanatic, I decided to try out this one.

So in a nutshell, Lara Weeks is a simple farm girl from a small town called Appleshaw. She gets a call from her boyfriend, Dan, who wants to end things with her. Heartbroken, Lara with the help of her best friend Susie, tweets to an actor named Seth Hunt and together they fly to New York to meet Seth with Lara hoping to win her boyfriend back. And what follows is the funny romantic story.

As usual, I will start with the ones I like about the book.

As I said, I am not much of a romantic novel fan and so certainly, this book is not really my cup of tea. However, I enjoyed reading this book and didn’t want to end the book.
All the characters in the book are likable. I don’t think there’s a character that I didn’t like in the book.
It was actually fun and enjoyable to read and the reader will actually find themselves to be enjoying Christmas in New York.
I also like the part about finding Seth’s biological mother and also his relationship between him and his adopted family.
This book is cheesy and of course there is some drama involved in the book.
some parts in the book was realistic. For example, Seth Hunt is actually a struggling actor and shows how he struggles to find a role.

Now about the parts where I didn’t like in the book.

To be honest, there is nothing in this book that I didn’t like about. The only negative thing about the book I can tell is that some parts of the book are unrealistic.

Overall, I rate this book as five stars! I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read a good cheesy romantic book!

Harry Potter Day

Wednesdays will be dedicated to Harry Potter…yup so for those of you who don’t know me, I am a huge Harry Potter fan! I have read all seven books and watched all eight books and Harry Potter for me will never get old.

So on every Wednesdays, I will post something about Harry Potter, whether it’s about the books or in general stuff about Harry Potter.

So today I am going to be talking about my favorite Harry Potter books!

Today I will be talking about my favorite Harry Potter book, out of the seven books and why I liked the book.

My favorite Harry Potter book is Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which is the sixth book of the series.

Image result for harry potter and the half blood prince

Why is that book my favorite book?

This is the part in the book, where you can actually learn more about Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldemort.
This is also one of the sad books, where Dumbledore dies.
I like Harry’s growing romantic relationship with Ginny Weasley.

So what is your favorite Harry Potter book and why? Leave a comment below!

Three Psychological Thriller books I want to read…

Tuesdays are for psychological thrillers! I have made a list of books I want to read or dying to read all belonging to psychological thriller genre.

The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides

2. You Are Not Alone – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekannen

Image result for You Are Not Alone: A Novel

3. The Other Mrs. – Mary Kubica

There are many more but wait till next Tuesday for more!

Tuesdays Book Thoughts–Believe Me by J.P. Delaney

Hello all! First blog post! Today is Tuesdays and Tuesdays will be the day for psychological thrillers, which is actually my favorite type of Genre!!! So on Tuesdays, I will be doing a book review on a psychological thriller book I have read and I will also share some of the psychological thriller books I want to read and get my hands on!

So let’s get to my first book thought–Believe Me by J.P. Delaney!

Claire Wright is desperate. A British drama student in New York without a green card, she takes the only job she can get: working for a firm of divorce lawyers, posing as an easy pickup in hotel bars to entrap straying husbands. But then the game changes.

When one of her targets becomes the suspect in a murder investigation, the police ask Claire to use her acting chops to lure him into a confession. From the start, she questions the part she’s being asked to play: Is Patrick Fogler a killer? Or is there more to this setup than she’s being told?

Claire will soon realize she is playing the deadliest role of her life.

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 24, 2018)
Language: English
Genre: Psychological Thriller

JP Delaney is a pseudonym for a British writer of psychological suspense who has previously written best-selling fiction under other names. THE GIRL BEFORE was an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller and was published in over 40 countries. The follow-up, BELIEVE ME, was also an international bestseller. THE PERFECT WIFE will be published summer 2019. For more information, go to http://www.jpdelaney.co.uk or follow @jpdelaneywriter on Facebook.

In a nutshell, the story is about a British drama student named Claire Wright, who is without a green card and is working for a law firm, acting as an undercover to investigate the straying husbands. However when one of those customers become a prime suspect in a murder investigation, Claire is hired by the police to act as an undercover to lure the suspect into confession.

As usual, let’s start with the ones I like about the book.

I really enjoyed reading the book–it was actually a good psychological thriller
The chapters were short, making it easy to read and the book was quiet fast paced.
The situation about the students (international students) in the U.S. is actually realistic–I mean I was also an international student back in the U.S. long time ago so what Claire is going through, I can actually understand.
There were unexpected twists in most of the end of the chapter and also the ending of the book was unexpected.
The writing was good and was easy to read.
I like the author’s style of writing as well–some of the dialogues are written like in a script format just to show how the protagonist is comparing the situation like in the movie.
I also like Claire’s collaborations with the police as well.

Now about the ones I didn’t like in the book.

Some chapters were a bit confusing.
Ending was also a bit confusing and it took my sometime to get the ending!

Overall, it was a good psychological thriller book–it was good, fast paced and I simply couldn’t put the book down! Five stars!