Book Chatter

Fierce Kingdom
By Gin Phillips
Penguin Books, 9780735224520, July 2018, 288pp.

The Short of It:

A tense, gripping story about a woman and her young son fighting to stay alive during an active shooting situation at the zoo.

The Rest of It:

After a lovely day at the zoo, Joan and her four-year-old son Lincoln, slowly make their way to the exit when shots ring out. At first, the sounds do not make any sense. Fireworks? At the zoo? At the end of the day? As Lincoln chatters away, Joan sees the first body. She’s barely had time to process what’s she’s seen before she is picking Lincoln up and running for their lives.

This book will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. I chose it for my birthday read but it was far from relaxing! Phillips does an awesome job of setting the scene. It’s the zoo, after all and while reading I could “see” all of the animals, the foliage, the enclosures and I could “smell” everything too. I was right there with Joan and Lincoln and let me tell you, it was like I was living it myself.

The entire book is Joan and her son trying to survive. As you can imagine, keeping a four-year-old entertained and quiet is hard on any day but when you are trapped in an enclosure and every sound could give you away, finding ways to keep your son happy becomes a priority. Lincoln is a great kid but he gets hungry, thirsty and needs to go to the bathroom. He doesn’t understand what is going on or why they have to hide even though he’s clear who the bad guys are. It’s all an adventure to him but for Joan, she is beside herself with worry. Will they make it out alive?

I really enjoyed this book. It gave me such anxiety to read it but I read it in one sitting and it just seemed so authentically written. The mom stuff, the kid stuff, and the setting. With so few characters, I’m sure the challenge was how to keep it going but Phillips did.

If you want to spend a few hours totally riveted, then pick up a copy of Fierce Kingdom. It’s been picked up for a movie adaptation too.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Sunday Matters

We are midway through September and it has me feeling pretty good even though some things in my world are stressing me out. I just feel better once fall hits. I start to think about the holidays and special meals and everything that goes with that part of the year.

Right Now:

My Sundays are pretty set. Not much different this morning except that I went bowling last night and my body hurts all over. Yes, bowling does that to me since I do it so infrequently but volleyball had a fundraiser so all four of us went.

This Week:

The Girl is still benched but she has been cleared to begin the phased protocol that takes place before her return to play. She won’t be able to play games this week but I still have to work the snack bar for one of those games.

I have life group on Tuesday. Flu shot clinic on Saturday.

I didn’t mention it last weekend but I was invited by Kaiser to join a pilot nutrition program called Omada. We are placed in teams of 16, we track our food with photos (interesting), weigh-in daily and have a personal coach. Every time I weigh-in, this smart scale sends it right to my coach. No way to fib. I committed to four months. I want to lose at least twenty pounds. We’ll see.

Reading:

I am about to finish The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses): A Novel.

For my next read, I want something really good. Any suggestions?

Watching:

Still watching Fear the Walking Dead but once again it’s petering out and a lot of nothing is going on.

American Horror Story started up again this past Wednesday and I really don’t know what to think.

Making:

With this new program I am on, meals have been pretty simple. I’m still craving seafood. I just cannot get enough of it. Salmon and sushi have been faves. I don’t make the sushi but you get the idea. I am probably lacking some vital nutrient for me to be craving so much seafood.

Grateful for:

I’m happy that fall is coming. I love all of it. The football, the holidays, everything.

Tell me something about your week? Anything you are looking forward to?

Chatting with friends about books and life…