To be fair

allow me to post some links to the praise that History of Wolves has gotten from well respected sources.
The New York Times
NPR
Kirkus Reviews
As for me,
wow
that was terrible.
And I LOVE books set in Minnesota!
And this was set in Northern Minnesota!
And I love Northern Minnesota!  Though I am not sure if "n" should be a capital there or not.
And it even mentions Grand Rapids!
And you-know-who was born in Grand Rapids!
But wow.
The main character is such a jerk.  So unlikable that she is not even a good main character in the sense that being unlikable makes her real.  I mean, I know there are people out there like she, but wow.  What a self-centered jerk.  As a child and as an adult remembering her childhood.
Thing is, I hate writing a bad review of any book.  I acknowledge that this book is well written.  I acknowledge that the author, Emily Fridlund is a zillion times more talented than I.  But man, this book just wasn't for me.  I didn't understand it.  So maybe that is why!  I mean, this was for sure, literary fiction and I am not very literary.  I am not a bright bulb.  I readily admit that, so maybe I am just not smart enough to understand HOW.  I put those links on there so that you can see what folks FAR brighter than I had to say about HOW and I would love to hear your take on it.
I was really bothered by the depiction of the pedophile as a sympathetic character, even though I know he was probably a pedophile because someone molested him, and even though I know we are not to judge.  But man, anyone who hurts our children or our elderly, among the most vulnerable in our society...man, man, man...I just have a super hard time having a kind thought for them.  And that is on me.

Maybe I Just Didn't Hear It

For ages I have heard high, high praise for Zusak's The Book Thief.   I started it a long time ago but couldn't get into it, but I think I will try again because I really, really loved I Am the Messenger.  I haven't heard the urgent " You NEED to read this" about IATM like I have for TBT, but man, I really, really loved IATM!  So if TBT is even better, then I really need to try it again. Really good book.  I am not sure how to categorize it though.  The labels will be hard on this one.  For sure a mystery.  Realistic fiction?  Magical realism, but yet there isn't really magic as we know "magic" to be.  Great mystery and a great character study.

Thought-provoking

The Sunflower:  on the possibilities and limits of forgiveness is a book I won't forget, recommended to me by one of the kindest and most beautiful souls I know.  This is some book.  I listened to it, so I wasn't sure who all of the respondents were, but wikipedia has a nice listing of them, that was very helpful.
Simon was asked by a dying Nazi to be forgiven for the crimes he had committed, well, one specific crime, one that kept him up at night.  Simon refuses to give an answer and he wonders if he did the right thing.
He asks the question, "what would you have done?" and at first, and actually, at second, I am just floored by the people who felt they could answer this question.  Granted, many who did answer the question admitted that they didn't really feel like they COULD answer the question, but they tried.
It just seems to me that I don't know what I would have done if I were Simon in this horrific situation. I can say with certainty that what Simon did was the right thing.  If he had chosen something different, that would have been the right thing, too.  I feel like he had every right to do what he felt led to do, with no comments that I or anyone could make being fair or worthy or moral.
While I have had great respect for the Roman Church in the past, I admit I am troubled by how many Roman Catholics felt the need to vote for now President-Elect Donald Trump because he is "pro-life."  While Mr. Trump may very well be anti-abortion now (he was pro-choice in the past)  he is not pro-life for Muslims, African Americans, Mexicans, and those of the LGBTQ community.
Additionally, I have been very outraged by the Reichskonkordat.  Of the 53 respondents, 10 said "forgive."  Of those 10, half were Roman Catholics, 2 were Tibetan Buddhists, 2 Protestants and one listed no faith.
10 people were "uncertain," among them were 3 Jews, 3 Protestants (one of Jewish ethnicity), 1 Muslim, and 2 who listed no faith.
The 43 others all said to "not forgive."  19 Jews, 3 Roman Catholics, 2 Protestants and 9 who listed no faith.
So 55% of the Roman Catholics said "forgive."
33% of the Protestants said "forgive."
100% of Buddhists said "forgive."
100% of Jews said "do not forgive."
I simply can't say that I would be able to forgive.  There is no way, no way that I could presume to put myself in that horrible, horrible position.  All I can say is that Wiesenthal did the right thing.  Not that he needs my approval, indeed, I think it is even presumptuous of me to say as much.  So instead, I will just pretend that I am at least more "moral" than the Roman Catholics who suggest that Mr. Wiesenthal should have forgiven the Nazi.  (Delusional, yes, but I am angry right now, and at least I know that most priests would forgive me, right?)
I had to give this 3 stars because the "forgive" responses troubled me so very much.  For Wisenthal's part- a 5 all the way.

Was it the Reader?

Honestly I don't know if Would You Kill the Fat Man:  the Trolley Problem and What Your Answer Tells Us about Right and Wrong was a good book or not.  I bought the audio after seeing it at my alma mater's bookstore.  And it was a very bad, bad, bad, decision. I really should have just bought the book there.   The audio was horrible in that the narrator ended everything with a big, giant!!!!
I know he was really trying to make the most of his British accent, but this was ridiculous.  It ruined the whole thing, completely.  I couldn't wait for the book to end.  Thankfully it wasn't very long.  I do feel bad because it could have been interesting.  It might have been interesting.  But man, man, the reader just ruined, ruined, ruined it.
I had heard of the Trolley Problem a long time ago and so it piqued my interest.  It was on a display that said, "Books that Make You Think" and so yeah, that sounded great!  I am lucky because I am a fat woman and so I could replace the fat man, stopping the trolley and saving the people tied to the track down the line!
It is an interesting question to ponder, but there are a lot of problems with it.  My biggest problem with the book was the narrator.