I’ll tell you what bugs me. Books that have stuff that doesn’t make sense.
As a writer, I try my hardest to eliminate plot holes, inconsistencies, and continuity issues in my books. My beta readers have pointed out things that I wasn’t aware of, like having a character walk on sharp rocks in bare feet because I forgot to have her put on her boots.
Every book can get nitpicked to death, but sometimes I’ll read something, then read it again because something wasn’t right, and when I am convinced that the author got it wrong, it sticks with me and ruins the rest of the book.
Not that Little Fires Everywhere was a great book to start with. I picked it up from the library because when I saw it I recognized the name (that’s advertising for you), and since it was a New York Times bestseller (although, doesn’t every mainstream published book have this printed on the cover? It seems so.), I decided to give it a go.
This is not the typical book for me to read, but barring the issue which I will be getting to, I did finish it. This must say something since I am very quick to DNF a book that just doesn’t grab me from the start.
OK. Here’s what bothered me. The story takes place in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights. If you think that a suburb with the word ‘heights’ in it is snobby, give yourself a point. Any way, in one of the mother’s backstory, she says her grandparents “…arrived there in 1927, back when it [Shaker Heights] was still technically a village.” Then, on the next page she writes, “By the time Mrs. Richardson’s mother was born in 1931 … Shaker Heights was officially a city; there were nine elementary schools and a new high school.”
Did I read that right? 1927-1931? Four years. They built 10 schools in four years? Well they might need them since apparently the population went from >2000 people to < 50000. But that’s a lot of construction, not to mention all the houses and businesses needed. Maybe it’s different where you live, but I know of potholes that hasn’t been fixed in four years.
Am I nitpicking? Yeah.
OK. One more. “Nobody biked in Shaker Heights … it was a town built for cars and people who had cars.” But, in a previous chapter, it says, “When the city was planned in 1912, schools had been situated so that children could walk …”
And 16 years later, it was still a village, until the growth spurt.
So, should you read this book? Why not. It’s OK. I might not have liked it but you might.
Just a reminder:
The story behind Free Book Friday:
I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. There lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Here are this week’s promos to check out:
Featured Authors:
Dale E. Lehman is an award-winning writer, veteran software developer, amateur astronomer, and bonsai artist in training. He principally writes mysteries, science fiction, and humor. In addition to his novels, his writing has appeared in Sky & Telescope and on Medium.com. He owns and operates the imprint Red Tales. He and his late wife Kathleen have five children, six grandchildren, and two feisty cats. At any given time, Dale is at work on several novels and short stories.
Kate Rauner is a science fiction writer, poet, firefighter, and engineer. Kate writes science fiction novels and science poetry, and serves as a volunteer firefighter. She’s an engineer and Cold War Warrior (honestly, that’s per the US Congress) because she worked in America’s nuclear weapons complex. Now living on the edge of the southwest’s Gila National Forest with her husband, cats, and dog, Kate says she’s well on her way to achieving her life-goal of becoming an eccentric old woman.
Free Books
Previous promos: Discover New Authors and Free Books.
Read and Review with Kindle Unlimited
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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Lines by Leon 