Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Requiem

Requiem
by Lauren Oliver


Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis:  They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancĂ©e of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.
From GoodReads

Review: Let me start by saying that I was not planning on reviewing this book but I had a totally different reaction to it than Marcie, so I had to review and rate this book.  I was expecting not to like this book based on Marcie's review of the book.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I liked this book the best out of the three books.  The first two books were too romance-y for me and I felt very ambivalent about them.  This one I liked! This one did not focus much on Lena's relationships with the boys in her life, it centered around the rebellion against the society that decided to get rid of love.  I really loved the alternating points of view from Lena's and Hana's perspectives.  It was interesting to get inside the mind of someone who had been cured and see what they still can feel.  I didn't have any problems switching back and forth because their lives were so different!  I know a lot of people had a problem with the ending but somehow I loved how it ended.  It leaves me with hope that society will be rebuilt and that Lena will be happy.  I also felt like the resistance had hope. While I think that the ending came up awfully abruptly, I honestly think the ending made the book as good as it was.

Rating: 4 stars

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Allegiant

Allegiant
by Veronica Roth


Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis:  The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered-fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal.  So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's know, Tris is ready.  Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind.  Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless.  Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves.  And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature-and of herself-while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.
From the book jacket

Review:  I could not wait to get my hands on this book because I loved the first two so much.  I read this book in less than 3 days so clearly it was engaging and a quick read.  At first I was thrown off by the switching point of views.  It really took adjustment after the other 2 books being written just from Tris's point of view.  After a while it got easier.  But this book lacked depth both in the plot and in the characters.  I did not like the character of Four as much in this book and I wonder if that is because we can see his inner workings due to chapters being told from his perspective.  He lost his strength and became like a lost little boy.  The other characters lost their depth as well and became very one dimensional.  There was a big rebellion in this story but the preparation of it and the actual rebellion was such a short part of the book.  I'm not sure what they did the rest of the book!  Well actually I do know, Tris and Four made out quite a bit which was completely unnecessary-you can skip over those parts without missing anything!  The whole story line didn't seem to fit in with the other two books for me.  I expected something totally different to be outside the walls.  The ending was wrapped up neatly-there are no loose ends which is something that always bothers in my books and for that I am thankful that they author did that.   But I just wanted so much more from this book! 

Rating: 3 stars

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Gift from the Sea

Gift from the Sea
by Anne Morrow Lindbergh


Genre: Inspirational

Synopsis:  In this inimitable, beloved classic-graceful, lucid and lyrical-Anne Morrow Lindbergh shares her meditations on young and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and contentment as she set them down during a brief vacation by the sea.   Drawing inspiration from the shells on the shore, Lindbergh's musings on the shape of a woman's life bring new understanding to both men and women at any stage of life.  A mother of five, an acclaimed writer and a pioneering aviator, Lindbergh casts an  unsentimental eye on trappings of modernity that threaten to overwhelm us; the time-saving gadgets that complicate rather than simplify, the multiple commitments that take us from our families.  And by recording her thoughts during a brief escape from everyday demands, she helps readers find a space for contemplation and creativity within their own lives.
From the book jaceket

Review: To be honest, I was not mentally ready to read this book.  I was unaware of how thought provoking this book was and how dedicated you had to be to read this book.  While this book is very short, it is not a fast read.  You have to have no distractions to absorb all that you can from this book.  Lindbergh really does have great insights and uses beautiful metaphors to help us understand what she is talking about with life, womanhood, marriage and more.  But you have to be ready to take something away from this book.  You have to be open to change. And you also have to be focused and dedicated to deciphering her metaphors-many parts of the book are not easily understood.  You must put thought into this book.  As stated in the forward by Lindbergh's daughter, she reads this book at least once a year.  I could understand that because I think you would take away different advice in different stages of life.  It is a good reminder of simplifying your life, which is much easier said than done, and of living in the now.  Perhaps had I known the type of book it was before reading and found a time where I could dedicate to giving this book my all, I would have gotten more out of it and liked it better.

Rating:  3 1/2 stars (but this most likely will change when I am open to reading the book again)

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Memory Thief

The Memory Thief
Emily Colin

The Memory Thief

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Reminiscent of On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah, readers will adore Emily Colin’s unique and beautifully written debut novel, where one man’s promise to return drives an exquisitely passionate, unforgettable tale of love lost and found.

When Madeleine Kimble’s husband Aiden dies in a mountain climbing accident, Maddie can only think of his earnest promise to return to her and their young son. Aiden’s best friend J.C. feels great remorse over his inability to save him, but J.C.’s grief is also seasoned with the guilt of loving Maddie through the years. Meanwhile, across the country another young man wakes up in a hospital and finds that his memories have been wiped clean, and replaced with haunting dreams of a beautiful woman and a five year old boy whom he feels driven to find. What Nicholas Sullivan discovers upon his journey is utterly unexpected—and it will change all of their lives, especially Maddie’s.


Review: Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood to read this book, but I found it somewhat slow and a little bizarre. SPOILER ALERT: The synopsis states that Nicholas has "haunting dreams", but in reality, he is basically possessed by Aiden following Aiden's death, which leads to some unbelievable situations.  Although I'm not normally interested in books about supernatural events, I might have enjoyed the novelty of this situation if it wasn't for the unrealistic and unlikeable behavior of the main characters.  I sympathized with Maddie's feelings towards J.C., since I thought he was a much better person than Aiden, but her behavior on the night of Aiden's funeral was just wrong and caused me to lose respect for her as a character.

Rating: 3 stars

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Two Kisses for Maddy

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love
by Matthew Logelin



Genre: Memoir

Synopsis:  Matt and Liz Logelin were high school sweethearts. After years of long-distance dating, the pair finally settled together in Los Angeles, and they had it all: a perfect marriage, a gorgeous new home, and a baby girl on the way. Liz's pregnancy was rocky, but they welcomed Madeline, beautiful and healthy, into the world on March 24, 2008. 

Just twenty-seven hours later, Liz suffered a pulmonary embolism and died instantly, without ever holding the daughter whose arrival she had so eagerly awaited. Though confronted with devastating grief and the responsibilities of a new and single father, Matt did not surrender to devastation; he chose to keep moving forward-- to make a life for Maddy. 

In this memoir, Matt shares bittersweet and often humorous anecdotes of his courtship and marriage to Liz; of relying on his newborn daughter for the support that she unknowingly provided; and of the extraordinary online community of strangers who have become his friends. In honoring Liz's legacy, heartache has become solace.
From GoodReads

Review: This was a very honest memoir about coping with a loss but also having to keep on going for the new baby.  Logelin really did a great job expressing his emotions without apologizing for them and telling the story of him, his wife, their life together and their child.  I was sucked into the book from the get go and had a really hard time putting it down.  Luckily it was a quick read!  It was not a tear jerker for me until the very last chapter.  Matt writes a letter to his daughter in the last chapter and that is when the tears started forming for me.  Logelin is very honest about his feelings and about himself.  He really had to grow up after his wife died so he may come off as immature in some places in the book.   There were a couple things I disliked about that book.  One thing that bothered me is the amount of splurging he did on Maddy and about how many trips he took with her.   It seemed a little excessive for someone who just had over half the family's income removed.  But that was more about his choice of lifestyle than about the book itself.  But it did make him less sympathetic.  The thing that bothered me the most was the use of the f word.  At times it could be on any given page once or twice.  Other times it was a little sporadic.  It was unnecessary at most times.  I know he was upset but to me there are other ways to express your emotions.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars but am debating about rating it a 4 because it was so captivating

Monday, October 14, 2013

Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf

Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf
by Rachael Mortimer
Illustrated by Liz Pichon



Genre: Fairy Tale, Fractured Fairy Tale, Picture Book

Synopsis:  Little Wolf doesn't want to be a Big Bad Wolf.  But when she is sent to catch dinner and meets Red Riding Hood, she doesn't know what to do.  Together they find a solution to Little Wolf's big problem.
From the back of the book

Review:  This was a cute story about a girly wolf who loves pink and fairy tales.  But her parents are big bad wolves who make her go get dinner for them that includes a nice juicy girl.  The wolf knows she has to try to make her parents happy and so tries to be a Big Bad Wolf but just can't help herself dressing up in grandma's clothes or listening to Little Red Riding Hood read fairy tales.  I really liked the story up until the end of the book.  The ending is abrupt and doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the book.

Rating:  3 1/2 stars

The Three Horrid Little Pigs

The Three Horrid Little Pigs
by Liz Pichon


Genre: Fairy Tale/Fractured Fairy Tale/Picture Book

Synopsis:  The three horrid little pigs are so horrid, they drive their mother crazy!  So she sends them out to make their own homes.

The first two little pigs build their houses by stealing straw and swiping twigs.  While the third little pig is so lazy that he moves into a chicken coop.

What horrid little pigs!  Will the big friendly wolf help them see the error of their ways?
From the book jacket

Review:  This is a cute story of a very kind, friendly and helpful wolf.  It's always nice to read a story about a nice wolf since they are generally the bad guys!  I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book and the comments that the author included in the pictures and not in the text.  This story is fun to read and fun to listen to.  Kids will get a kick out of it as long as they know the original story and they will love the end where everyone gets along!

Rating: 5 stars

Cindy Ellen

Cindy Ellen
by Susan Lowell
Illustrated by Jane Manning


Genre: Fairy Tale/Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis:  Once upon a time, there was a sweet cowgirl named Cindy Ellen, who lived with the orneriest stepmother west of the Mississippi and two stepsisters who were so nasty, they made rattlesnakes look nice! But when a fast-talkin' fairy godmother teaches Cindy Ellen a little lesson about gumption, Cindy lassos first place at the rodeo and the heart of Joe Prince....

You may think you've heard the story before-but you'll get a side-splittin' bellyache after you're through with this hilarious rendition told Wild West-style!

From GoodReads

Review: This story is a fun rendition of Cinderella set in the wild west.  My kids have read this book several times now so they must like it although I don't hear any laughs or giggles during the story.  Perhaps they don't get the wild west humor!  This book is wordy and full of vocabulary, like gumption, and idioms that they are unfamiliar with.  But they still do like the story.  I enjoyed reading a different version of Cinderella and one where Cinderella (Cindy Ellen) had to do something besides look beautiful and dance with the prince.

Rating: 4 stars

Sunday, October 13, 2013

An Undone Fairy Tale

An Undone Fairy Tale
author: Ian Lendler
illustrator: Whitney Martin

An Undone Fairy Tale

Genre: Picture Book, Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  Now, Ned and I admire how well you read. But the story will be ruined if you turn the page right now.
So please don't.
A beautiful pie-making princess is trapped in a tower. Can Sir Wilbur rescue her? And more importantly, can he do it while wearing a tutu? He's going to try! But if you read the story too quickly, Ned won't be able to make the pictures or costumes in time. And happily-ever-after may start to go a bit haywire.
Join Ian Lendler and Whitney Martin for a fairy tale that takes off into hilarious uncharted territory -- all because you won't slow down!


Review:  Not only do my girls love this book, but I thoroughly enjoy reading it, and I suspect my husband does, too!  It starts out sounding much like a traditional fairy tale, but quickly devolves into silliness as the illustrator runs out of time to complete the illustrations.  My kids thought it was hilarious that the king wore a donut crown and that the knights rode on fish, and they couldn't wait to turn the pages to see what crazy thing would happen next.  All in all, a delightful fun read with entertaining illustrations.

Rating: 5 stars

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
author: Eugene Trivizas
illustrator: Helen Oxenbury

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  When it comes time for the three little wolves to go out into the world and build themselves a house, their mother warns them to beware the big bad pig. But the little wolves' increasingly sturdy dwellings are no match for the persistent porker, who has more up his sleeve than huffing and puffing. It takes a chance encounter with a flamingo pushing a wheelbarrow full of flowers to provide a surprising and satisfying solution to the little wolves' housing crisis.
Eugene Trivizas's hilarious text and Helen Oxenbury's enchanting watercolors have made this delightfully skewed version of the traditional tale a contemporary classic.


Review:  My girls love this book - I have read it three times in the last few days.  The story is a fun twist on The Three Little Pigs, with the big bad pig finding creative ways to destroy the sturdy houses built by the three little wolves.  My kids were a bit confused by some of the games the wolves play and by the building materials and destruction methods, but we spent a while discussing those things, which was a good educational opportunity.  Perhaps this story would be more easily understood by British boys?  I loved that the story talked about the importance of generosity and forgiveness, too.

Rating: 4 stars

Cinder Edna

Cinder Edna
author: Ellen Jackson
illustrator: Kevin O'Malley

Cinder Edna

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  The famous Cinderella and her neighbor Cinder Edna each worked sunup to sundown for their wicked stepmother and stepsisters. But while Cinderella had the good fortune to be rescued by her fairy godmother, Edna was strong, self-reliant, spunky--and she lived happier ever after! "Nicely executed....This Cinderella send-up is full of kid-pleasing jokes."--Publisher's Weekly.

Review:  I thought this book was really cute and clever, and I loved the message that ordinary girls who work hard and develop an action plan to follow their dreams will get their happily-ever-after.  My girls, on the other hand, did NOT like the fact that Cinderella was painted as helpless and boring, and that her prince was a dullard.  It was also a little too wordy for them, and they generally will sit and enjoy long books.  I would have given this 5 stars, but since it is written for children, I skewed the stars towards my children's perspective.

Rating: 3 stars

Little Red

Little Red
author: Lynn Roberts
illustrator: David Roberts

Little Red: A Fizzingly Good Yarn

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  In the spirit of "Cinderella: An Art Deco Love Story," Lynn and David Roberts give the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood a new, fun historical twist.
Little Red is happily taking a basket of ginger ale to his grandmother when he stops to gather apples in the woods. Who should grab his red cape, but none other than the wily wolf, who runs immediately to the grandmother's house to devour her and wait for Little Red to be next! With a new, happily-ever-after spin on the story, the boy tricks the wolf into gulping down the entire ginger ale at once, which triggers the wolf to hiccup his grandmother out of his belly. Little Red gallantly overcomes the wolf and is the hero of the day!
A charming variation of the classic fairytale, "Little Red Riding Hood," Little Red is set in Colonial America and is filled with imaginative illustrations and historical references


Review:  My girls really like listening to this book, and they find it hilarious that the wolf belches out Granny at the end.  I think the illustrations are fun to look at, kind of a Coraline-type version of the post-Revolutionary War era.  My kids missed all the historical references in the illustrations, of course, but I thought they were fun (although did the Granny really need to show so much cleavage?).  Sure, the story is a little gory, but it's less so than the original Little Red Riding Hood. 

Rating: 4 stars

How to Bake a Perfect Life

How to Bake a Perfect Life
Barbara O'Neal

How to Bake a Perfect Life

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  In a novel as warm and embracing as a family kitchen, Barbara O’Neal explores the poignant, sometimes complex relationships between mothers and daughters—and the healing magic of homemade bread.

Professional baker Ramona Gallagher is a master of an art that has sustained her through the most turbulent times, including a baby at fifteen and an endless family feud. But now Ramona’s bakery threatens to crumble around her. Literally. She’s one water-heater disaster away from losing her grandmother’s rambling Victorian and everything she’s worked so hard to build.

When Ramona’s soldier son-in-law is wounded in Afghanistan, her daughter, Sophia, races overseas to be at his side, leaving Ramona as the only suitable guardian for Sophia’s thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Katie. Heartbroken, Katie feels that she’s being dumped again—this time on the doorstep of a woman out of practice with mothering.

Ramona relies upon a special set of tools—patience, persistence, and the reliability of a good recipe—when rebellious Katie arrives. And as she relives her own history of difficult choices, Ramona shares her love of baking with the troubled girl. Slowly, Katie begins to find self-acceptance and a place to call home. And when a man from her past returns to offer a second chance at love, Ramona discovers that even the best recipe tastes better when you add time, care, and a few secret ingredients of your own.


Review: I really enjoyed reading this story, and can easily see myself lending it to friends or reading it again.  The author explores the relationship between mothers and daughters, and I was especially drawn into the story of Ramona and her step-granddaughter.  Although the characters dealt with difficult issues like teenage pregnancy, family estrangements, serious burn injuries and a traumatic childhood with a meth-addicted mother, the overall message of the book was one of hope and love.  It read so quickly and easily, yet still made the reader think about the issues the characters had to face.  Plus, the bread recipes looked delicious!

Rating: 4.5 stars

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells
by Andrew Sean Greer


Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction

Synopsis: 1985.  After the death of her beloved twin brother, Felix, and the breakup with her longtime lover, Nathan, Greta Wells embarks on a radical psychiatric treatment to alleviate her suffocating depression.  But the treatment has unexpected effects, and Greta finds herself transported to the lives she might have had if she'd been born in different ears.

During the course of her treatment, Greta cycles between her own time and alternate lives in 1918, where she is a bohemian adulteress, and 1941, which transforms her into a devoted mother and wife.  Separated by time and social mores, Greta's three lives are remarkably similar, fraught with familiar tensions and difficult choices.  Each reality has its own losses, its own rewards, and each extracts a different price.  And the modern Greta learns that her alternate selves are unpredictable, driven by their own desires and needs.

As her final treatment looms, questions arise: What will happen once each Greta learns how to remain in one of the other worlds?  Who will choose to stay in which life?

Magically atmospheric, achingly romantic, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells beautifully imagines "what if" and wondrously wrestles with the impossibility of what could be.
From the book jacket

Review:  I saw this book several times in the library before I actually checked it out.  It sounded intriguing to me but yet I was hesitant because I tried to read another book by the author that I just couldn't read.  Luckily I was right in picking up the book!  The story took me a while to get into but once I kept reading I really couldn't wait to see what was happening in the 3 time periods.  The same cast of characters are in all 3 time periods and was fascinating to see how similar most of them were.  I really enjoyed reading about the various people that she interacted with but I didn't like Greta as much as the other characters.  When Greta jumps into the 2 different time periods, she tries to do things that will make her happy, her 1985 self.  She doesn't seem to stop and think about what her 1918 or 1941 self would want.  I can understand that at first because she was struggling with depression and for her to see her brother again and her lover that she would do whatever she wanted to do.  But sometimes she took her meddling a little too far.   The author really tries to make you do a lot of thinking in this book so at times I just skimmed through the deep thoughts and questions so that I could keep going with the time traveling!  I was satisfied by the ending but it wasn't the ending I had thought would happen.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

A Breath of Air

A Breath of Air (Dryad Quartet #1)
by Katie Jennings


Genre: Fantasy/Mystery

Synopsis:  Her name was Capri, and she was Air. 

She was born with a gift she didn't understand. A gift so strange, so remarkable that she had kept it secret for as long as she could remember, despising that it made her different when all she wanted was to be normal, to belong. As an orphan, belonging to someone, anyone, would have been an incredible blessing, one she would have given up all that she had just to get a taste of. 

But the truth was that she didn't belong in the orphanage in Virginia, or even in the United States. In fact, she didn't belong with human beings at all. Because she wasn't one of them, not really. She was something much more extraordinary. 

She could shift the direction of the wind, create billowing clouds out of nothing, and charm birds into dancing on her open palm. She belonged to an elite group of beings, responsible for preserving the balance of nature and the safety of Earth from an underworld that deserved to be feared, and needed to be controlled. 

And after years of being lost, she had at last been found, and now the truth of how she had ended up so far from home was becoming horribly clear to her. 

But there’s someone who doesn't want her to return; someone who knows Capri was the only witness to an act of heinous treason and violent murder. And when she begins to search her memories for details of the night she was taken from her home, details that will implicate a killer, she finds herself the unwary target of an otherworldly dark force intent on silencing her by any means possible.
From GoodReads

Review: This book was picked for an online book club and it was not my first choice of books.  Fantastical stories are generally not up my alley.  I labeled this book fantasy because the world in which the characters live is one that does not exist but other than the characters being charged with controlling nature and the presence of demons, this does not read like a fantasy book.  This book is more about Capri trying to figure out who she is and learning to be who she was born to be with some mystery and romance thrown in.  The book is written in an easy to read way and sometimes it's a little too easy to read.  I felt that at the beginning the dialogue was quite cheesy but it get better by the end.  I saw on GoodReads that some people categorized this as young adult fiction which would account for the writing style.   Capri also didn't seem believable to me at the beginning and she seemed very young.  She jumped into her new world without looking back and with very few concerns. But the book got better as it went on.  I am intrigued to read the other 3 books in the series but I'm not going to rush out to get them (or keep the book I have since all 4 books are in one).  I may eventually get to them but I also will be OK if I don't read the rest.

Rating: 3 stars

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Rachel Joyce

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Harold Fry is convinced that he must deliver a letter to an old love in order to save her, meeting various characters along the way and reminiscing about the events of his past and people he has known, as he tries to find peace and acceptance.

Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn't heard from in twenty years. She has written to say she is in hospice and wanted to say goodbye. Leaving his tense, bitter wife Maureen to her chores, Harold intends a quick walk to the corner mailbox to post his reply but instead, inspired by a chance encounter, he becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie--who is 600 miles away--because as long as he keeps walking, Harold believes that Queenie will not die.

So without hiking boots, rain gear, map or cell phone, one of the most endearing characters in current fiction begins his unlikely pilgrimage across the English countryside. Along the way, strangers stir up memories--flashbacks, often painful, from when his marriage was filled with promise and then not, of his inadequacy as a father, and of his shortcomings as a husband.

Ironically, his wife Maureen, shocked by her husband's sudden absence, begins to long for his presence. Is it possible for Harold and Maureen to bridge the distance between them? And will Queenie be alive to see Harold arrive at her door?


Review: This is a deceptively simple story of a man who decides to walk across England.  Along the way, he discovers some truths about himself and his family, as well as humanity in general.  I found the end of the novel to be moving and inspirational, and it's possible that I'll return to this review in a few days and give it another star after I've thought about the book for a while.  But I found some of the earlier story a little on the boring and repetitive side, and parts of Harold's personal life were intentionally confusing, which bothers me.  The popularity of Harold's pilgrimage reminded me of Forrest Gump deciding to walk across England in his late 60s.  

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Hunger

Hunger (A Gone novel)
by Michael Grant


Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis:  It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ.  Three months since all the adults disappeared.  Gone.

Food ran out weeks ago.  Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution.  And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers.

Tension rises and chaos is descending upon the town.  It's the normal kids against the mutants.  Each kid is out for himself, and even the good ones turn murderous.

But a larger problem looms.  The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins  calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ.  Calling to them, guiding them, manipulation them.

The Darkness has awakened.  And it is hungry.
From the book jacket

Review: I can't decide if I like this series or not.  It certainly has me hooked as I really want to know what caused the FAYZ and I want to know if they ever get out of the FAYZ and everything goes back to normal.  I was really intrigued by how they would solve the problem of running out of food.  What I had trouble with was all the fantasy aspects of this book.  I really couldn't picture what the "darkness" or "gaiaphage" was or looked like or what was happening when that character was in the book.  I must not have the right mindset to visualize that.  I am left intrigued by the next books so I most likely will read them.  I am disturbed by the mentality of some of the kids but I imagine that would naturally occur in a stark situation like this one.  

Rating: 3 1/2 stars



The Kitchen House

The Kitchen House
Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.


Review: This story about family relationships paints a dark picture of slavery in the south around the turn of the 19th century.  While I loved reading about Lavinia and Mama Mae's extended family, the constant trials and tribulations faced by the slaves and the white women got a little depressing.  I understand that the tragedies they faced were likely common during that time, but I wish something good had happened to someone, or that the story had ended with some hope.  Lavinia was a little naive and weak, but perhaps that was a reflection of her lack of true family.  And I found the narrations by Belle to be a little distracting.  At the same time, I couldn't put the book down, and read eagerly to see what would happen next.  I found myself caring deeply about the characters and appreciating the glimpse into life on a Southern plantation.

Rating: 4 stars (maybe 4.5 stars)

Home Again

Home Again
Kristin Hannah

Home Again

Genre: Romance

Summary (from Goodreads):  Madelaine Hillyard is a world-famous heart surgeon at the top of her game. Her personal life is far less successful. A loving but overworked single mom, she is constantly at odds with her teenage daughter. At sixteen, Lina is confused, angry, and fast becoming a stranger to her mother—a rebel desperate to find the father who walked away before she was born. Complicating matters for Madelaine are the vastly different DeMarco brothers: While priest Francis DeMarco is always ready to lend a helping hand, his brother, Angel, long ago took on the role of bad boy. Years earlier Angel abandoned Madelaine—and fatherhood—to go in search of fame and fortune. His departure left Madelaine devastated, but now he reappears and seeks help from the very people he betrayed—as a patient in dire need. With Home Again, New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah has written a moving, powerful novel about the fragile threads that bind together our lives and the astonishing possibility of second chances.

Review: This book felt very dated to me, not only in the clothes, music and decorating taste of the main characters, but also in their attitudes towards careers, pregnancy, organ donation, and car safety.  When I checked this book out, I thought it was a true new release of Kristin Hannah's, and I was so excited to read it.  Turns out that it's a reprint of a book originally published in 1996.

Looking past that, the story was all right, and the female character development was okay, but not up to Hannah's current standards.  The changes that occurred in Angel's character were too quick and too unbelievable to enjoy.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Wild

Wild
Cheryl Strayed

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Genre: Memoir

Summary (from Goodreads):  A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again.

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.


Review: I don't often read memoirs, but the story of a single woman hiking the Pacific Crest Trail was too intriguing to pass up.  I wasn't sure I would like Cheryl, since she was a messed up, promiscuous heroin user, plus she was completely naive and unprepared to go backpacking on her own.  But her story drew me in, and I enjoyed reading about how she grew and changed during her adventure.  The writing was fluid and easy to read, and the descriptions of the vistas along the trail made me want to go hiking -- with a lot more preparation and care than Cheryl! 

Rating: 4 stars