The plot was fairly predictable, but the descriptions of the unusual setting, the weather and the seed vault made for an interesting read.

Fences is a beautifully written yet heart wrenching story of a black man and father being so affected by the past that he can’t move forward, causing him to lose control of those he loved over time. Troy, the main character of the play, is in many ways scarred from his past. He works with his hands because his father did and he knows that a skill if the only thing the harsh world can’t take away from you. Growing up in the post-civil war time period and seeing the ways in which his father and black people struggled, he refuses to believe society will ever treat black people justly and allow them a chance to pursue what they love most. This is reflected in his refusal to sign a paper and let Cory, his son, play football and gain an opportunity for college. Troy can not fathom a world which allows black people to play mainstream sports and tries to prevent the pain before it starts by stopping Cory from playing. Resentment grows in Cory and with added issues of society’s treatment of his disabled veteran brother, Gabe, Troy begins to feel stuck and out of control with his life’s path. In doing so, he cheats on his wife, Rose, with a woman named Alberta and becomes the father to a girl who he asks Rose to take in. Miserable, and pushing away all who cared about him in his life, he becomes a stranger in his own home and begins his “fight” with death until he passes 8 years later. His impact on those around him (both good and bad) lingers on. I liked the story, even with us heartfelt sad ending. It is an overall great book!

I loved this book. It was like a walk down memory lane as he describes the roles he did and his journey through Hollywood.

As a hearing person, I learned so so much about the Deaf/ASL community, culture, life, languages and more from this book. I truly recommend this book to everyone out there. It’s funny, the characters are great but at the same time there’s just so much to learn and so much I didn’t realize before. Come for the learning; Stay for the plot and characters. So great!

This book had me in tears by the end of it. It was almost like I could feel the pain of the characters seeping through the pages. By far one of the best books I have ever read.

I chose this book as part of the 2024 reading challenge for July, a book by an author born outside the Unites States, and it was also in the "New Fiction" area which I always peruse. This was an excellent read by the author who lives in Japan and who had this work translated. The chapters of the book were tales of life stories with life lessons and interconnections told in a very interesting, unique, and moving way. Every tale had a central figure, Mrs. Komachi. She was the local community center librarian with a penchant for felting and selecting just the right book for her patrons. Mrs. Komachi's felting materials were kept in a Honeydome cookie tin which was central to the book. I could continue to write more about how I liked this book, but suffice to say, it really made me think and reflect, and I will be looking for more books by this author if translated!

i think it’s a good book i really like it and i really like how dr seuss rhyme i really liked how the pictures are drawn and my favorite character is sam i am

Cute & funny read for my 4 year old!

Was my summer reading book and I had low expectations going in but I actually enjoyed it! It’s a very dramatic play about the Salem witch trials so it’s fun to see references to actual historical things. It’s also very strong and thematic. The author intended it to compare to the red scare going on at the time of the book, but I think it can be related to really any point in time. Some parts are iffy, but honestly I got hooked by the end!

I fell in love with the characters of this book. I could not put it down and finished it in less than a week. I immediately wanted to start the next book of the series.