Expecting Adam

Expecting Adam

by Martha Beck

Genre: Memoir

Synopsis: John and Martha Beck had two Harvard degrees apiece when they conceived their second child.  Further graduate studies, budding careers, and a growing family meant major stress-not that they'd have admitted it to anyone.  It was hard enough to admit it to themselves.  As the pregnancy progressed, Martha battled constant nausea and dehydration.  And when she learned her unborn son had Down syndrome, she battled nearly everyone over her decision to continue the pregnancy.  She still cannot explain many of the things that happened to her while she was expecting Adam, but by the time he was born, Martha, as she puts it, "had to unlearn virtually everything Harvard taught [her] about what is precious and what is garbage."

from the back of the book

Review:  I had a really hard time getting into this book because of the pretentious and arrogant nature of the author at the beginning of the book.  Perhaps I had such a hard time with her attitude because things were so different 20 years ago in terms of how women, abortion and children with disabilities were viewed.  Perhaps I had a hard time because I am in the education field and work with students on a daily basis who have disabilities.  I'm not sure the exact reason why Beck got under my skin so much but the beginning definitely set me on edge.  I also was disgusted by how she used the word retarded quite often.  The book was published in 1999 and perhaps the movement for getting rid of that word had not happened yet but it was certainly hard to read.  I do have to say that I applaud Beck for being so honest.  She did not hold anything back about her feelings and thoughts about being pregnant at that particular point in her life nor did she apologize for them.

Then Beck started talking about this paranormal sixth sense that she would get.  She referred to it as The Seeing Thing and the Bunraku Puppeteers.  I just couldn't buy into this at all and this came up throughout the entire book.  It even got stranger when she and her husband "heard" their unborn child talking to them.  Just too bizarre for me.

I'm not sure why I couldn't abandon this book.  I didn't care at all about it.  I didn't care for the author's way of writing when she tried to "talk" to the readers.  I thought this book was going to be more about Beck learning from her son and learning to look at life differently.  She did look at life differently but she learned that through her "visions."  The last chapter was more about what I was looking for and I really wish the whole book could have been like the last chapter.

Rating: 1 star

Unravel Me

Unravel Me

by Tahereh Mafi

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis:  Tick tick tick tick tick it's almost time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point.  It is a place for people like her-people with gifts-and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam.  But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

Haunted by her past and terrified of her future, Juliette knows that in her present, she will have to make some life changing choices.  Choices that may involve choosing between her heart-and Adam's life.

From the book jacket

Review:  I could not wait to finish this book and that is not a good thing.  I got so bored with this book and I just couldn't keep reading it.  I almost abandoned it after about 380 pages but I figured I might as well finished it.  The last book, Shatter Me, ended with me wanting to find out what happens next.  This book did not end that way.  I can't read another book where the figurative language takes over and turns one paragraph into pages of metaphor after metaphor.  I also can't read another book with more cross outs.  The last book started out with a lot of figurative language and cross outs but got better so I had hoped that this book would be better but it was definitely NOT!  The first half or more of this book was just a romance between Juliette and Adam and less about the powers they have and the resistance that they were planning.  There was hardly any action in this book and a lot of pity parties.  I will most definitely not read the third book.

Rating:  1 star

Good Little Wolf

Good Little Wolf
Nadia Shireen

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  Once upon a time there was a wolf called Rolf - a good little wolf who liked baking cakes and was always kind to his friends. But real wolves aren't supposed to be good - they're supposed to be BIG and BAD.

Can a good little wolf still be a real wolf?

And will Rolf discover there's something big and bad lurking inside him after all?

Review: This started out as a cute little book about a wolf who chooses to be good, and refuses to be influenced by the big bad wolf who tries to lead him astray.  As I was reading it, I was thinking how it was a nice lesson in being yourself and not giving in to peer pressure.  The pictures are very cute - Mrs. Boggins reminded me of the Grandma from South Park!  But the ending ruined the story for my family.  While many kids would probably find the ending funny, my two sensitive little girls HATED it, and actually told me that we should never read this book again and take it back to the library as soon as possible.

I should add that I thought the ending was funny in a twisted kind of way, and it actually made my husband laugh out loud when he read it.  But I base my picture book reviews primarily on how my kids reacted to it, hence the low rating.

Becky, your kids (and Brian!) might really like this!

Rating: 1 star

Bollywood Nights

Bollywood Nights

by Shobhaa De

Genre: Women's Fiction

Synopsis: Bollywood is no place for a vulnerable, small-town girl like Aasha Rani. But that doesn't stop her mother from pushing her into a world of exploitation and bedroom casting calls. Aasha has no choice but to thrive-despite the vicious circles of starlets, pimps, and celebrities who want to see her meet her end.

But the day she meets Bollywood's leading man, everything she's worked so hard for is jeopardized. Because she may be falling for Akshay Arora-and there's no room for love in a business where it's the stranger under your sheets holding the key to your success. With her innocence stolen and nowhere else to turn, Aasha knows her downfall could come as quickly as her rise to fame. And letting herself love might just be the most fatal career move of her life...

Review: I really wanted to like this book.  I often want to read books about cultures that are foreign to me so I can learn something and get a glimpse into how other people like, work, and play.  Bollywood is fascinating to me as it seems so different from Hollywood.  I thought this book would be great for looking into the culture.  It's too bad that this book wasn't good.  It was vulgar at times.  It was full of Hindi phrases without translations so I had no idea what they were talking about in the book.  It really was a hindrance rather than a help to immerse myself in the culture.  I think the author made a huge mistake in not translating the phrases she used.  I don't know what kept me reading but I did finish the book.  The second part was better than the first as it was not vulgar but the author added this ridiculous storyline in one of the last chapters that was so unnecessary.  The main character, Aasha Rani, is not likable in any way shape or form but the author tries to make the character likable in the second half but by that time it's too late and she continues to be so dumb.  None of the other characters are likable either and their motivations seem to be lacking.  All of a sudden the characters would do something that seemed totally out of their character that they had no motivation for.  It was not a well written book and I would not recommend reading it.

Rating: 1 stars

A Place in the Country

A Place in the Country

Elizabeth Adler

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): Fifteen-year-old Issy, and a newly-single mother, Caroline Evans, are struggling to find their way alone, as well as together.  At thirty-eight, Caroline is coming to terms with this new life, even though she has little money and all the responsibility for the two of them.   When she decides to leave their well-off lives in Singapore (and her cheating husband and his long-time mistress and powerhouse),  she ends up living in an English village pub, cooking dinners to earn enough to get by on; meeting unexpectedly quirky people, and making friends.  But Issy still adores her father and secretly blames her mother for their change in life. When Caroline’s dream of restoring an old barn into a restaurant finally begins to come true, her chance at happiness hangs in the balance as whispers of murder and vengeance find their way to her.  When Issy, hovering in that limbo between girl and young woman, begins to make some dangerous choices, the stakes are raised even higher.  A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY is filled with emotions that every woman will recognize as Caroline and Issy make their way in the world and do battle with those who would wish to see them lose their chances to gain their hearts’ desires.  Love and hate, blame and responsibility, deception and trust all collide in this novel that is Elizabeth Adler at her page-turning best.

 Review:  I admit I chose this book because of the cover, with a photo of a girl walking on a rustic path in a beautiful garden full of hydrangeas (I'm a sucker for hydrangeas).  The description sound like something I would enjoy, too: a single mother of a teenage daughter moves to the English countryside to open her own restaurant.

I couldn't stand it!  The characters were trite and one-dimensional, and I didn't like the spoiled teenage daughter, the flirty, indecisive, weepy mother, or any of the other overly dramatic characters.  The storyline was stereotypical, yet unbelievable (the mother has three wealthy men in love with her, really?)  It was confusingly written from multiple points of view, with no concept of the time that was passing.  But most of all, I couldn't stand the author's use of either italics or quotes to accent certain words, which has to be grammatically incorrect as well as annoying.  For example, "...wondering how to put their new 'home' in order..."  or "....she hadn't really ever been a 'chef'...had she been 'a woman' first?  Or 'a wife'?"  It read like the book didn't have an editor.

Do NOT read this book.

Rating: 1 star

Goldilicious

Goldilicious

Victoria Kann

Genre: Picture Book

Summary (from Goodreads):  Being Pinkalicious is pinkatastic, especially when she's accompanied by her pet unicorn, Goldilicious. Goldie is a roller-skating, kite-flying, high-jumping unicorn who will protect Pinkalicious from the evil wizardry of her little brother, Peter. Together, Pinkalicious and Goldilicious can conquer anything!

This enchanting follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Pinkalicious and Purplicious brings to life a new and magical character that is every bit as captivating as her pinkeriffic owner. With heaps of creativity and a touch of sparkle, Goldilicious glows--from horn to toe.

Review:  Amelia chose this book from the thrift store, and I'm so glad we didn't pay more than $0.69 for it.  Here's the entire storyline in a sentence: A girl named Pinkalicious has an imaginary unicorn friend named Goldilicious; she and her brother have some fun with imaginative play, and then her mean parents tell her it's time for bed.  I liked only two things about this book: the fun and colorful illustrations, and the encouragement of imaginative play.  The biggest flaw in my mind is that the story is seriously disjointed; there are no transitions between different imaginary play scenarios so that it is difficult to read and follow.  Oh, and there's no plot!  My kids didn't understand what was going on, and I found myself having to ad-lib lines so that the story would make sense.  I'm also not a fan of kids in books behaving badly without consequences; in this story Pinkalicious used potty humor, was mean to her brother, acted bratty, called her parents names and was hardly even reprimanded.  Yes, I know the author was trying to be funny, and yes, I know that my kids aren't going to learn how to behave badly just from reading a picture book, and yes, I know not all kids' books have to have good morals, and yes, I know that Pinkalicious was just acting like a normal kid.  But really?   Where's the redeeming value in this book?  Just in the fact that the girl has a sparkly pink dress and a unicorn friend?  Surely we can do better than this.

IF I read this book again, I'll be making up a better story.

It's rare that I feel so passionately about disliking a book.  But I seriously dislike this one.

Rating: 1 star

Gone Girl

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Book Synopsis:

Marriage can be a real killer. 
   One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn. 
   On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 
   As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
   With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

From the publisher

Review:

I've heard so much about this book and it was been recommended to me by several people.  I was very anxious to read it.  Boy, was I disappointed when I started to read the book.  The beginning is quite slow and Flynn does not give you enough information to want to keep reading.  I did keep reading because I hoped the book would get better, after all it is quite a popular book.  She also does not make either of her main characters likable.  I greatly disliked them (detested might be a better way to describe how I felt about Nick and Amy!)  Actually, I didn't think most of the characters were likable.  I liked Nick's mother but I think that was it.  There is a major twist in the book but one that I thought was predictable or else the story wouldn't have gone anywhere!  I thought the twist made the characters even less likable.  Another reason that I disliked the book was that the book was filled with gratuitous obscenities and it was quite vulgar.  The middle and end of the book are better reads than the beginning but the end of the book leaves you hanging and in my mind was just horrible.  The characters were so messed up that the ending seemed horribly unbelievable and just left me disgusted.  I have to admit that mystery thrillers are not a genre that I pick up that often so perhaps this book appeals more to people who like mystery thrillers.   The book was a quick read regardless of all the things I mentioned above and it did hook me at times but I resented the fact that it hooked me with how detestable the characters were!  Not a book I would recommend.

Rating: 1 stars