The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I very much enjoyed my first Agatha Christie experience. Poirot is a fun character, and I'm looking forward to reading more mysteries featuring him. I enjoyed how the narrator kept doubting Poirot and jumping at the same conclusions that I wanted to jump at, which told me how much I was missing. It turns out all the pieces were there, I just forgot about some of them, or didn't see how they fit together. It's always fun to read a mystery where I don't guess correctly, but it all clicks at the end.

The Blight of Muirwood - Jeff Wheeler

The Blight of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I remember enjoying the first book of Legends of Muirwood but not being blown away by it. It was entertaining, and I thought I'd most likely get to the sequel at some point. I'm glad that I finally did, because this second book really stepped it up, both in world and in characters. I finished it quickly, and moved onto the last book right away. It is overall a solidly enjoyable medieval fantasy series, even though it's not so detailed and highly developed as the best of the best are. I was pleasantly surprised to be sucked into it so much.

Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this time travel adventure, and that's in spite of the high body count. Who knew that being a historian could be so hazardous? Many of the deaths are sudden and meaningless. I'm a little nervous at what that means for characters in future installments, but for now I'm happy that the ones I actually cared about made it.

The book was not without issues, but I found them easy to overlook and just went along for the ride. For example, there is a period of four years that pass at one point, and it wasn't completely clear at first that so much time had gone by since Maxwell's training. That means character and relationship development during those four years were skipped and just told about later on. I missed getting a real feel for the dynamics that developed over time. It also made it difficult to understand why some characters acted the way they did.

But, as I said, I didn't really have a problem with this while reading because I was swept along by the action. It was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the next book with some trepidation.

Revelation - Carol Berg

Revelation by Carol Berg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been terrible about writing reviews lately, so I'm going to do a quick summary of thoughts instead. It's better than nothing, right?

I enjoyed this quite a bit less than the first book, which wasn't hard since that one was amazing. This is the second book in a trilogy, so everything had to get all messed up. It was dark. Seyonne pretty much could do nothing right, alienated everyone possible, went through immense pain, doubt, and hell, and I felt terrible for him most of the time. I could have used a bit more hope, or at least one source of light in the darkness, but we really didn't get anything to lighten it up at all.

I also felt like the middle part of the book dragged on a bit too long. It was dark and bleak, and I wanted it to move on. Once it did, it was so good! The last third of the book was very difficult to stop reading, and I ended up loving how it all came together. Everything Seyonne went through did have a purpose. I can't wait to see how it all gets resolved in the final book. I'm just hoping it won't be as dark as this one was.

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds - David C. Pollock

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, Revised Edition by David C. Pollock
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been an Adult-TCK for almost 20 years now, and only wish I'd found this book years ago! If you are a TCK (child or adult), or a parent, significant other, or even the confused friend of one, you should read this book instead of just stumbling around in the dark. We have very specific identity and relational challenges because we went through developmental stages differently, and this book helps it all make sense.

If you've not heard the term before (which is likely), a TCK is someone who spends any of their developmental years living in another country besides their passport country, or in a different culture/country than that of their parents. This most often includes kids whose parents are involved in international missions, military, or business, but there could be other reasons they became expats.

One immediately useful part of the book is on figuring out a strategy to answer the dreaded "where are you from?" question, which still freezes me almost every time (it turns out that's not the best time to have an identity crisis). I'm still working on that one!

Beyond those basics, I have finally begun to to understand how I am and why, and to get better at explaining that to other people. This is huge. I had given up trying to explain myself to others within a year of trying to integrate into 'normal' life. Sad, but it's true.

I now understand how my patterns of developing relationships differ from people who grew up monoculturally. It's a big help for me to be mindful of that when interacting with people that I don't know very well. I'm learning to strike that balance between engaging with people and not scaring them off (well, trying anyway). It's not easy, but now at least I know why and I'm more determined to keep trying.

I highly recommend this to any TCK, especially those now living back 'at home' or about to do so. I'd also recommend it for parents of TCKs so they can understand what their kids will be going through and how it will affect them later in life. I've given a copy to my brother, sister, and parents because it's still so relevant for all of us.