A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Classic.  I have enjoyed trying classics out since I was never forced to read them in high school or college, well not the cool ones like Bronte or Austen or Dickens.  This year it so happened that I didn’t have anything to read the week of Christmas and I realized that I had never read A Christmas Carol, a classic in all sense of  the word.  I have seen so many adaptations of this story in film version that I cannot keep count, but I have never even attempted to read the book.  I have seen it live, a somewhat poorly performed musical rendition in Branson MO many years ago.  I have watched the Mickey’s Christmas Carol, The Bill Murray’s Scrooged, and within the last year or so I saw Jim Carey’s A Christmas Carol, animated, sort of.  I have grown up around this story, but never read one of Dickens’ words and I have not known the story from reading it with my own eyes. 

I loved it.  It is the story of redemption, a story of second chances.  I think of all of the wasted years, Scrooge missed all sorts of chances throughout his life and will have to make up for all of his poor decisions late in life, but he got a second chance.  When I think about it, we all get a second chance each morning when we wake up.  We have another chance to live life to the fullest and how many of us waste it.  We waste it by being lazy, not thinking of others, or our search for money, career, or possessions.  I think that Dickens’ gives us a great reminder that even if we are not visited by spirits in the night, we can still wake up and live each day like it’s our last.  Keep Reading my Friends!

Bible Based Friendship

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Meet Denver, a homeless man in Dallas Texas and then meet Ron Hall an international Art dealer that allows God to move through himself and his wife to make a new friend.  Seeing both sides of the story, Denver grows up as a modern day slave in Louisiana that as an adult hops a train to escape and ends up in Texas.  He is homeless for eighteen years when in walks the Hall family in the local homeless shelter to volunteer their time.  Debby Hall is a prayer warrior who listens to God and pushes her husband to cultivate a friendship with Denver.

I don’t want to go into any detail of the story.  This book was an excellent read.  I laughed and cried and it made me think.  I couldn’t believe how things turned out, but as a Christian I have to believe that God is in control even as hard times come and life hands us all sorts of events that we don’t know how to react.  This thought provoking story was well worth the read and I would suggest it to anyone.

My favorite section of the book is where Denver is asking Ron about why white people go fishing and they “catch and release.”  Denver explained that when he has gone fishing, it was for food not for fun and Ron quickly realized he was not only talking about fishing, but Denver was concerned that Ron was going to catch Denver’s friendship and when he was finished with him he would release him.  I thought this was an excellent picture of what a pity friendship looks like.  I have seen it happen before and I have probably been guilty of this act of catch and release friendship.  A thought provoking concept. 

This was my last book club choice for Olive Books Book Club and everyone who read it, loved it.  What did you think?  Have you read it, or do you want to?  Keep Reading my Friends!

Team Jem or Team Will?

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Tessa Gray longs to know what she is.  She has a unique ability to become anyone in the world as long as she is in possession of a personal object of the person’s.  As she has taken refuge from the evil Mortmain with the Shadowhunters she has learned more about their way of life.  Of course there is a love triangle between Tessa, Will Herondale and Jem Cairstars.  She is attracted to both of the Shadowhunters even though Will is a pompous, egotistical punk and Jem is slowly dying.  As the story continues, the destiny of the Institute, the refuge in London for any Shadowhunters, hangs in the balance, Charlotte, Henry, Jessimine, Will, Jem and Tessa fight to find the location of Mortmain and work to discover his plans.

Of course if you look back on my previous blogs you will find that it is no surprise that I love Cassandra Clare.  I have read all of the Mortal Instruments and now the Infernal Devices.  Her writing captures and forces the audience to fall head over hills for her characters.  I can tell you anything you want to know about Jace and Clary.  They are exceptionally written and I can’t wait until their story comes to an end and then again I want her to continue the series forever.  Jem, Will and Tessa are much the same.  The characters are so developed and the plot is wonderful so I not only read these books, I devour them.  Who doesn’t want to read about half human half angel beings fighting demons so we mundains can have a demon free world?

I love Tessa, she is a reader and that is always fun for other readers to enjoy. 

This book’s conclusion is heart wrenching.  I could not believe everything that took place at the end.  Without spoilers, there is death, celebration, reconciliation, misery, surprise.  I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.  If you are any sort of fan of fantasy or Young Adult literature, Cassandra Clare’s series come highly recommended from me!  Keep Reading my Friends! 

There are Definitely Perks

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a part of the everyday life of a boy who is a freshman in high school?  This book is a set of letters written to an unknown recipient that “Charlie” pours his soul to during the course of his first year of high school.  We experience a lot of his firsts, his first kiss, date, new friends, drugs, and alcohol and the audience grows to love his character throughout the entire book.

I loved Charlie.  He was an excellent, honest, true character.  Although I could not relate to any character in the book I still found myself routing for Charlie, wanting what’s best for him and hoping that nothing bad ever happens to him.  I loved his friendships and the person he became through his relationships with his new friends, his teachers and even his family. 

This book reminded me a lot of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, that is a book in a different style, but about a girl going through a horrible time starting high school and feeling that she has no voice in her struggles.  This had the same tone, but entirely different take. 

I also loved how it was a 90’s book.  I remember going to my oldest cousin and my step-brother’s high school graduation in 1993.  I remember the style of the clothes and the attitude of the students and I can picture these parties and dances and everything Charlie was talking about I could see it through his eyes even though I was quite young during that time.  Rocky Horror Picture Show was a consistent section of the book.  I also remember loving RHPS about this time even though I was too young to know what was actually going on. 

I loved the suit.  The secret santa gift from Patrick.  I loved that Charlie wore it to school and was teased without mercy but his friends thought he looked great.  I loved that he got everyone a gift that Christmas and it matched their personality perfectly because Charlie was an excellent Wallflower.  He knew them all and he had these great perceptions about all of his friends that made sense and even if they didn’t know it was something they needed or wanted it would sting them down to their bone marrow because that’s just how Charlie was.  He knew them through and through. 

I have no criticism about this book.  I loved it.  I read it in 24 hours and I wish that I could turn around and re-read it immediately, although I cannot because I have my ever growing shelf that can get out of control if I don’t do something about it.

Thanks for reading and I hope this blog makes you want to read this book immediately.  Keep Reading my Friends!

               

Perfect Girls don't Exist.

Pretty Little Liars: Perfect by Sara Shepard

Perfect is the third book of the series.  Things are getting worse for the 4 ex-best friends that were separated after their best friend Ali’s disappearance.  With Aria she’s been kicked out of her house, Spencer is having black outs that have been happening since she was very young.  Hanna’s best friend Mona now hates her and is spreading all sorts of rumors about her, and Emily has just been shoved out of the closet.  There are a lot of misdeeds going on, hopefully the girls can figure out who A is or there will be nothing left of their lives to continue to live for.

I have a hard time relating to any of the girls in this series, I guess if I’m forced to it would be Hanna, she’s confident, yet not and she’s got the same insecurities that most teen age girls have about her weight, and other issues.  I can see my teenage self in her, and I hope that a change is coming for her, she seems to be making a good change with Lucas. 

This is a fun read, but there is not a lot to say about it.  I would not read these novels if you are trying to enhance your reading and intellect, but if you want a fun YA read then these books are perfect.  Keep Reading my friends.

How will Oscar Die?

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

I liked Oscar and I hated him.  What a crazy life.  One characteristic of Oscar that I liked is even though he was a sad and lonely creature he found escape in sci-fi books, Comics, and other nerd culture.  He found other gamers and even tried to draw others like him, but to no avail, he was always alone.  I loved his sister and no matter what was going on in her life, she always loved Oscar and wanted him to have the best life.  She still traveled and did what she wanted in life, but always kept a close eye on Oscar through friends and staying in touch. 

It was immediately apparent that the author of Oscar Wao was in academia.  The introduction that explained a Fuku, which was the theme of the entire book and also the footnotes throughout the book carried the story line and gave interesting facts on Dominican history.  If these two stylistic features alone were not enough proof of Diaz’s background, the short blip about the author on the back explains that he is a professor at MIT. 

I was very confused by the narrator and the point of view pretty much the entire book.  Every time a chapter began I didn’t know who it was about until almost a page into the book or who was telling me about the chapter.  This was a good thing and a confusing thing.  It kept me on my toes, but also made me want to scream.  Each chapter took on the attributes of the characters within that given story and I enjoyed them all until it got to Oscar’s grandfather’s story.  That was the longest most boring chapter, but necessary to explain why Oscar’s mother was the way she was.  Even now, I do not feel confident in my reading and understanding to say who I believe the true narrator was, was there one?  Was there two?  I am unsure so I will not even disclose that information. 

When asked by a fellow book club member if I liked the book, I told her that it was better than a kick in the head.  But I could not say that yes I loved it or no, I didn’t like it at all.  I had mixed emotions about how I felt at the end of the book.  I will just say that it stretched me and it made me dig way back and try to remember some of my Spanish from high school and college. 

Keep Reading my Friends!

 

The Dark is Something to Fear

Fear: A Gone Novel by Michael Grant

This was by far the best of the Gone novels up to now.  I would be lying if I said that I didn’t like this series, but I haven’t LOVED it like I thought I would.  It has been interesting and that is why I have continued to read and buy these books.  If I’m being completely honest (and why wouldn’t I be honest in my own blog) at some point after each book I have contemplated giving up, but I’ve wanted to know how it all ends, so I continue. 

What I liked about this book, compared to the first four books is that we know what’s going on outside of the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone- an anomaly that appeared that we now know dispersed everyone over the age of 14 out of the 20 mile bubble that has trapped the children of Perdido Beach, California).  I liked knowing that Connie Temple, Sam and Caine’s mom has been tirelessly working on getting her sons back and freeing the other children from the bubble as well. 

What I did not like was I feel like I have even more questions than before I knew what was going on outside of the FAYZ.  What happened to all of the kids that have made the jump on their 15^th birthday?  We heard about 2 of them, Mary being one of them, who when she made it out was so unrecognizable the hikers that found her called animal control.  There was mention of the twins, but Connie Temple never said if they were ok when they came out on the other end. 

I also did not like the baby becoming the Darkness or the gaiaphage.  The idea of a baby growing up really fast, even in the womb, and standing upright and walking on day 2 of life has been done before.  It was weird even then, when the audience had an explanation, with Breaking Dawn, Book 4 of the Twilight Saga, we found out that half human half vampire babies grow very fast and get to a certain age and stop growing.  Doesn’t make any sense, but the audience gets over it because we love the characters and want what’s best for them.  With Fear, even Diana is scared of her unborn child and therefore the idea of a fast accelerated pregnancy and birth is not good. 

Well this is book five, one more to go, the next book is called Light.  The first positive title so far, maybe, just maybe good things are coming to the kids of the FAYZ, for a while there I wasn’t so sure.  Light will be here in April 2013.

So, have you read this series?  Are you in love?  Keep Reading my Friends!

no adults, check! no food, check! deadly virus, double check!

Plague by Michael Grant

As the Gone story continues with Plague, there is so much going on.  Diana and Caine are still on the island with supplies, Perdido Beach is quickly running out of clean water supply, and now there is a deadly virus going around that makes the children that are left cough up their lungs literally and there seems to be no cure.  There are dangerous bugs that can infect a person, grow within them but cannot be destroyed.  These of course are from the Darkness who is using Brittney and Drake to do his bidding.  Like I said, there is so much going on and it is not looking good for the kids that have been left behind. 

This series is quite good.  I’m sad to say that I read through them so quickly and did not write my blogs directly after I finished the book and therefore I have forgotten a lot of details.  I have been reading this series with my friend Renae after I picked Gone as a book club choice.  As the books continue, the titles get darker and we are worried for our Gone Kids.  The next book which is the second to the last book is called Fear. 

Sorry for the short blog.  I finished this book in December of 2011 so that is why I am having a hard time remembering any details.  Keep Reading my Friends!

Where Popularity Rules the World, Being Extra is a Death Sentence

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

The final book in the Uglies stories.  Aya Fuse is an extra, extra meaning she is purely in the background.  Where you get everything in your life through merits and earning credits from cleaning your room and going to school for an ugly under the age of fifteen, to being popular and the more popular you are the more merits your receive.  As her face rank doesn’t seem to move, Aya is always looking for a way to move up in the ranks.  She primarily tries this by kicking stories, as she falls into the story of a lifetime, Aya has probably bitten off more than she can chew with not only sudden popularity, but also a deadly adventure that will take her, her brother Hiro, his best friend Ren, and her crush Frizz out into the wild and hopefully they can return to kick the story of a several lifetime.

Who is Aya and what have you done with Tally Youngblood?!?  That was my first question when I picked this book up.  I loved reading Uglies, Pretties, and Specials.  Tally was an excellent main character that I enjoyed reading her perspective and loved how the changes she went through grew her and changed her life.  Then I pick up the fourth book and boom, new character, new city, new circumstances, ahhhh!  Well I charged on and read through it.  I was happy when I got near the middle of the book.  Even though this book continued suit I found the action boring and I was tired of the book by the end.

Throughout the entire first half of the book I did not realize that the characters were speaking Japanese to each other, until outsiders came into the picture and said, “In English please.” Then I understood and from then on the author had to inform the audience in what language the characters were speaking.  Looking back I do remember Aya bragging to her brother that she spoke better English than he, but I just thought I didn’t understand the comment.    

There is no way I would have been able to not read this book after I loved the first three so much, and so therefore I am glad I read it, but in other ways, I wish there was a disclaimer that came with Extras that stated: “Warning: not as good as the first three!”  Oh well, on to the next book, Keep reading my friends!

Tally has Always been a Special Circumstance

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Special Circumstances is a rumor of a sect of humans that are placed to keep Pretties bubbleheads and absolve any problems with Uglies that don’t stay in line.  They are chosen, trained, and enhanced to be the strongest, humans alive.  Most pretties don’t ever see a Special during the course of their mediocre life, Tally  Youngblood has known about them since she was fifteen when she became a Special Circumstance and has many run ins with Dr. Cable.  With their bizarre looks, Tally has always been frightened of Specials, now she has become one.  As a Special she is engineered to find the New Smoke and destroy it and everyone who lives there.  During her journey as a Special all she really wants to do is have Zane join her new clique the Cutters so they can be together.  There’s only one problem, there is a part of her that remembers all of the times in the wild, times with David and Zane, she remembers and it triggers emotions that should have been removed from her with her Special surgery. 

Specials continues right where Pretties ends.  The audience has followed Tally through being an ugly longer than she bargained for, turned pretty, and now she is special.  Part of Special Circumstances, she acts just the way they want her to act.  She is a hunting, killing machine.  Special Circumstances just doesn’t think through her being herself.  She is trouble, it doesn’t matter if she is the ring leader or not, trouble will find Tally. 

I enjoyed how her inner-voice changed again.  While she was Pretty, she was Pretty headed and now that she’s Special, she has changed her tone again.  I also like how she changes throughout the story back to herself somewhat gradually.  Tally is a very interesting character.  I can’t wait to enjoy Extra’s, the last book of the series, thus far.

My mind has still not changed when it comes to the love triangle.  I love Zane and no matter what comes, I know that he was best for her.  I hope that things work out for her, and I truly wish that she could get her teeth fixed, I can’t imagine David looking at her every day with those gross sharp teeth.  You know what I’m saying, it’s gross to think about someone with razor sharp teeth filed into points.  I can get over the flashing tattoos that move with her heart beat, the scars that she cut on herself, but the sharp teeth and finger nails have got to go. 

Have you read this series?  What do you think?  My favorite book was Pretties, which one did you like best?  Keep reading my friends!

being Pretty is not all that it's cracked up to be

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Tally Youngblood has now received the surgery.  Growing up as a Littlie all she ever wanted was to become Pretty, to go to the Pretty parties and live her life according to plan.  She did some tricks as an Ugly, but she never wanted to go to The Smoke to rescue her friend Shay, she never wanted to fall for David, an Ugly that didn’t grow up in the city, but whom grew up in The Smoke.  But for some reason, being Pretty minded was not all that she had bargained for and as she receives a letter from herself explaining exactly what the Pretty surgery had done to her, she has to face a choice that will change her life forever.  As this story unfolds, the Specials seem to be one step ahead of The Smokies and Tally as a Pretty.  She has to continue her journey and take chances that she never wanted.  She also falls for Zane, something she never thought would happen especially while she was in the Smoke with David. 

I enjoyed this book very much.  The first book in the series was action packed from the beginning to the end, where Pretties started fairly slowly.  It took me the entire first section to get used to the change in Tally Youngblood’s inner voice.  The audience knows from the end of Uglies that she changes to a Pretty to be the guinea pig of the cure.  

The ending took a turn that I should have expected but didn’t.  She has a confrontation with David in front of Zane and it brought up some very interesting feelings within me.  I couldn’t believe how wrapped up I was in this girl’s love life.  She had to make a decision and I was horrified and relieved in how she reacted to the situation that was before her.

I’m about to start Specials.  I wonder how Shay is going to be a player in this next book of the series.  I wonder if they will change Tally to a creepy Special and how this storyline will play out with the Zane and David love triangle.  There’s only one way to find out… Keep Reading my Friends!

The End of the Inheritance Cycle

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

The End.   The end of a cycle, the end of the story of Eragon and Saphira.  As the story concludes the Varden are still battling their way across Alagaesia to overcome the evil usurper king Galbatorix. 

It is hard to give a synopsis of such an incredibly large book.  So much takes place not only in the last book of the Inheritance Cycle, but throughout the story the audience watches Eragon and Saphira mature and come to be a Dragon and Rider to be reckoned with.  This has been a wonderful journey to experience with all of the characters of Alagaesia.  This blog is primarily for readers that have finished the series and enjoyed it, so from now on, please do not read on unless you want to read spoilers.  Again, SPOILER ALERT.  I’m about to talk about the book and all the details that I want to talk about.

Of course if you read my blog on Brisingr you’ll remember how upset I was about Arya and Eragon not hooking up.  At the very end of Inheritance, I cried, I could not believe that Arya took up the post of Queen of the Elves, surely she understood that it would end the possibility of a future with Eragon.  Then Eragon realizes that he has to move out of Alagaesia forever therefore, nailing the last nail in the coffin of no love with Arya.  That was the saddest ending that I could have thought of. 

I loved this series, of course it was easy to see the common themes between Harry Potter, which I have talked about in previous blogs and even Frodo from the Lord of the Rings, especially with Eragon’s decision to leave with the elves.  In the Lord of the Rings, after Frodo rids the world of the evil of Sauron he decides that this world is not for him and he is invited to spend the rest of his long life with the Elves.  As with Eragon, he will go with the Elves and protect the unhatched dragon eggs along with the Eldunari of the older dragons.  As dragons hatch and riders are chosen by their dragons Eragon and Saphira have chosen to leave everything behind to train up the next generation of Riders.  It is a noble quest, but very sad.  The parallels between Harry Potter and Eragon are quite obvious to me, but just in case you missed it.  The epic battle is very much the same; a larger than life evil villain against a kid that has become something great from hard work determination, his attitude, personality and the overall good versus evil, good will always overcome.

Well I hope you enjoyed the book.  Have you read the Inheritance Cycle?  What did you think of the last installment?  In my opinion it was the best book of the series.  Thoughts?  Keep Reading my friends!

Have you Seen Amy?

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Amy Elliot Dunne is missing.  The audience starts the book on the day that Amy goes missing and we follow Nick Dunne’s story along with excerpts from Amy’s diary.  As we venture through the story, Nick is the only suspect in his wife’s maybe murder especially when all clues lead back to him. 

I can’t tell my readers much about the plot without ruining some great surprises.  This was our September book club pick and it has been one of the only books that all members have liked.  We all pretty much had the same consensus about the book.  All parties involved were crazy. 

I had a few thoughts that I would like to share with you all in this blog, first sometimes a book will trigger a song.  It’s like the theme song for the book.  This book triggered Britney Spears, If you Seek Amy.  Yes, I know it’s a horrible song, but Amy is missing and so, one thing leads to another and I’m singing a dirty Britney song.  The song that it immediately led to after that was Britney’s Womanizer, depending on which character I was reading.  Just thought I would share that little tid-bit of information.

The next idea I had was just how many levels this book had.  It was like an onion.  The audience had to constantly peel that onion to get to the bottom of the story to the real truth.  I loved how every time I thought I had figured it out, there was an even bigger surprise than the last chapter.  I felt as I read the book I would start to understand the character and what was going on within the story and then the last sentence of the chapter would change everything.  A little sentence like “And that was the seventh time I lied to the cops.” Would sneak its way right at the end of the chapter and my mind would ask: What?!?!  I thought Nick was being absolutely honest and then Flynn drops that bomb on us.  I loved it!  This book was full of surprises and I loved how shocked I was at every turn. 

I don’t want to share too much, just let me know if you liked it.  Keep Reading my Friends!

   

How do you hide when everyone can hear your thoughts?

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt is 30 days away from becoming a man.  Every boy in Prentisstown becomes a man at the age of 13 with 13 calendar months.  He doesn’t know what all it entails, but as the last boy in Prentisstown he knows it’s a big deal.  Not only is he the youngest in the town, there are no women in Prentisstown.  In New World, everyone can hear everyone’s thoughts and the noise is overwhelming and not only can you hear the men’s thoughts, but the animals talk and have noise just as loud as men.  One day Todd and his dog Manchee stumbles upon silence.  Like a whole in the Universe.  When this secret silence is discovered, Todd must leave the only settlement in New World to hide and escape.  The only problem is whoever is after Todd can hear every thought he has.

The Knife of Never Letting Go was a high thrills young adult novel that was action packed from start to finish.  When I began the book I knew that it had a cliff hanger ending.  My friend Kathy lent me her copy and said, “Here is the biggest cliff hanger ending of any book I’ve ever read.” Wow, thanks Kathy!  She said it was well worth the read though and I have to completely agree. 

I enjoyed the style in which the book was written.  Ness writes the book in Todd’s voice, it sounds just like it would if he were speaking.  The audience only knows what he allows himself to think and speak, we are in his inner thoughts as well as everyone else in the story.  I enjoyed when characters would interact with the unspoken words and of course correct his horrible grammar in his mind.  I also loved Viola and the relationship that buds between her and Todd.  I loved learning with Todd about a whole world that he knew nothing of.  I want to continue to read the series just to find out what was written in Todd’s mom’s journal and find out what’s going to happen with Todd and Viola. 

This is not a book that I think I would have ever come across if Kathy had not handed it to me.  I’m thankful that she did and I look forward to continuing the series. 

Do you ever borrow books from people and are so thankful for the chance to read it?  What books have you read that you borrowed and didn’t want to give back?  Twilight was probably my first borrowed book that I didn’t want to give back.  Keep Reading my friends!

Something Blue

Something Blue by Emily Giffin

Spoiler Alert for Something Borrowed!  If you have not read Something Borrowed first and plan to, do not continue this blog.  If you have read it and do not plan on reading either books, continue on!  Enjoy! 

 

Darcy Rhone, best friend of Rachel White and ex-fiancé of Dexter Thaler has been wronged.  She knows that she can never be second place, but somehow Dex is caught in the closet of Rachel on the day that their wedding is cancelled and Darcy had no idea.  Darcy has never come in second place especially not to Rachel.  Now she’s pregnant, alone for the first time in her life and has nowhere to turn because Rachel and Dex are dead to her.  So she does what any pregnant single woman would do, she escapes to London to stay with her childhood friend Ethan.  As her due date draws closer and she learns more about herself than she ever wanted to, changes take place that would surprise anyone who knows Darcy, especially Darcy herself. 

I enjoyed this book so much.  I loved Giffin’s writing, and her character development.  We met and got to know Rachel in Something Borrowed, of course Darcy is the bad guy in the first book so I was concerned starting Something Blue that I was going to hate Darcy throughout the book knowing all that I knew about her from book one.  I knew as Giffin was building her reputation and character that I was not going to enjoy her point of view.  I knew that there was going to have to be a redemption moment of some type and I waited patiently.  As the story continued there is a salvation moment and every once in a while the old Darcy would spring up, but the new Darcy would beat her back into submission. 

I loved the symbolism that Giffin used both in Borrowed and Blue.  With Something Borrowed, Rachel was going to be the loaner of a lace handkerchief in Darcy and Dex’s wedding.  Not only was the handkerchief borrowed, but also Rachel borrows the groom.  She literally goes throughout the entire book planning on giving Dex back to Darcy like she had just borrowed him for a short time.  Of course we do not lose any sentiment in Something Blue.  Darcy uses a piece of her blue baby blanket at the end of the book that has a lot of symbolism.  I love that it all ties together, maybe not everything is happy, so I wouldn’t call it a happy ending, but I would say that the books tied up nice and neat in the end.

In Something Blue, we knew that Darcy was pregnant, at the beginning of the book she just knows that the baby is a girl.  Well the audience should be bright enough to know that the baby is a boy with the title being “Something BLUE.”  No surprises on gender.  I will leave a few surprises for anyone who did not heed my warning of spoilers and you’ll just have to read the book to find out what happens. 

So, what do you think?  Have you read other Emily Giffin books?  What did you think of Borrowed and Blue?  Keep Reading my friends!

The Groom is Usually not the Something Borrowed!

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Rachel White is an independent attorney that works and lives in Manhattan.  She is an easy going, dependable, ever present friend and if someone was to describe her while growing up the phrase “goodie two-shoes” might have been used.  Rachel turns thirty and her best friend Darcy throws her a huge party to celebrate, Darcy also gets wasted and has to leave the party a little early.  Dex, Darcy’s finance and Rachel’s Law school study partner and friend stays behind to keep the birthday girl company, one thing leads to another and Dex ends up in Rachel’s bed.  Rachel immediately regrets her actions and longs to put the one night stand behind her, but Dex has feelings deeper for Rachel than either one of them bargained for.  As the wedding date gets closer and Dex and Rachel’s hidden relationship grows more intense, Rachel is overcome with jealousy of Dex and Darcy’s real relationship and regret for what she is doing behind her longest closest friends back with her fiancé.  You’ll have to read it to see how the web of lies and deceit grow thicker as the novel moves forward.

This was a “beach read.”  This is the term I give chic lit usually, but mainly it was a fun book with great characters that give you enough depth to get to know the characters, but you don’t need a dictionary to understand half of the dialogue.  I enjoyed Rachel’s point of view and I’m always a fan of first person books. Rachel and I had several similarities and therefore I was able to connect easily with her character.  She was passive and allowed Darcy to walk all over her because Rachel could always see the good within her friend.  Rachel is a giver and therefore when she found that she was frustrated with her self-induced situation, it was hard for her not to give Darcy or Dex whatever they needed or wanted from her.  I also felt that Rachel knew herself.  She may not always understand or know why she was doing something, but she knew her thought process behind her actions and generally knew all of the possible outcomes.

I found the friendship dynamics interesting.  All girls know a Darcy, we may not have been friends with her, but we all know someone who is just like Darcy in every way.  I also know people who are not absolutely like Darcy, but maybe have several of her bad attributes, I find these people are usually selfish and do not have a lot of self realization, they usually don’t think anything is their fault and always find blame with others.  For this reason, I have a hard time relating to people like this and I am not exactly looking forward to Something Blue since it is from Darcy’s perspective. 

I am slowly trying to get through my stack of borrowed books, Something Borrowed is mine, but Something Blue is my friend Leighanne’s and therefore I am anxious to get it back to her since I’ve had it for quite some time.  

What’s on your “to read” book shelf?  Do you borrow more books than you can read in a year?  Keep Reading my friends!

Sometimes Freedom Comes after You go to Hell and Back

Witch and Wizard: The Fire by James Patterson and Jill Dembowski

The Fire, the third book of the Witch and Wizard story, is a story about a sister and brother duo that tries to save the world, one magical spell at a time.  There is a prophecy about Whit and Wisty that says they will prevail over The One Who is the One, the evil world dictator.  This same dictator considers himself deity and wants to control all elements in his war for power.  He has outlawed all music, art, books, anything that could distract you from your current suffering.  In this last book he also has struck all problem children with a “blood plague” that has Wisty sick and on her death bed.  It seems that all that can go wrong has, but to what end?

This being the third book, I have invested some time and money, unfortunately, in this series.  I have read and forgotten most of the details about Witch and Wizard and The Gift and now I am quickly writing as much as I can remember about The Fire before I forget all of these details as well.  Although this series was a quick read, easy to follow and has some fast paced action packed scenes, the characters are pretty well developed, but it is what it is, a young adult book written by James Patterson.  I feel like my writing has gone downhill after reading this book and I also feel that I need to read something that will heighten my intelligence now.  I cannot say that I will continue this series if he decides to write any more, I probably will, but there was a good enough ending to complete the story and not pick it back up, but he did leave it open to where it could continue, let’s hope not. 

I have only read one other book series from Patterson and it is about mutated kids with bird DNA in them.  I read the first few of this series and stopped.  I never decided if I was going to continue, but the last book of the series is about to come out in a few weeks and now that I know it is ending, I’m kind of curious about what happens to these bird kids.  Isn’t it funny how I can dislike a book but if it’s a series I feel like I have to continue to give it a chance, especially if I see an end in sight?  Craziness. 

Have you read this series?  What have you thought?  Keep reading my friends!  

The King Wanted Them Both, but Who Did He Love?

                                                                                                           

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

This was an excellent read. I enjoyed it from the time I picked it up until the last page.  This was my book club pick for the July.  Of course with all book club books, I was on a schedule and had to read every waking moment to get it finished on time, but I didn’t mind.  The first notion that you have to accept with this novel, is that it is just that, a novel.  It was written in 2001and was never said to be a biography or historical document in any way.  This is a novel and you have to read it as such.  I have read some critical reviews that people are upset by the storyline not staying 100% true to historical facts.  Who cares, it’s a fictitious story about real historical people.  In regards to this blog, I will not be talking about anything historical, but only straight from the novel itself.  Ok, I will step down off of my soap box and start my blog.  There are some things in this blog that could be considered spoilers, but if you know any history about Henry VIII, then it will not spoil the story at all. 
I first started this book and thought, doesn’t Henry the eighth behead Anne Boleyn?  I also remembered hearing that Anne Boleyn had six fingers on her right hand, I googled it and I’m not sure of the 100% accuracy of that rumor, but it was out there but not mentioned in the book. 

I enjoyed the book being from Mary Boleyn’s perspective.  It was interesting to see the rise to power that her family received from Mary’s relationships with the King and especially from Mary’s thoughts.  She loved the King and desired to make him happy, but as soon as Anne moved into the spot light, I could see how the King changed.  With Mary, Henry seemed tender, loving, and caring, but with Anne he seemed mean and almost evil.  Anne was potraid in this book as a horrible selfish character that did what best suited her needs and Mary was always putting herself in the best interest of her family.  If Anne did what she was accused of, then maybe she did deserve her ending, but she was a horrible character in this book and I wasn’t at all sad that there was an end to her. 

Another part of Mary’s character that was enjoyable to read is how even though her life did not seem to ever turn out how she expected, she still found love and still enjoyed life to its fullest.  Whenever she was put aside from the King, she was able to go back to her husband, when that didn’t work out, she found that William Stafford had loved her since the first time he laid eyes on her.  She was such a great character that she was well loved and someone was always looking out for her. 

This book was easy to read, fun, and enjoyable.  I would suggest for readers with any literary taste.  Keep Reading My Friends!

When Beauty Dies, What Remains?

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Growing up, my absolute favorite Disney movie was Beauty and the Beast.  I knew every song by heart and even today I own the blu-ray and can sing almost every word 20 years later.  The Disney story gives us background to the Beast and how he became a monster, but primarily the story follows Belle and her journey to the Beast.  Of course with that story being one of my all time favorites, Beastly has been on my to-read list for quite some time.  When the movie came out last year, I was excited and knew that I had to read it before I invested in seeing the movie. 

Set in modern times, Kyle Kingsbury is handsome, rich, popular, had it all in the ninth grade.  He was going to the dance with the hottest girl at their exclusive private school.  He was royalty at his school, with potential to be voted Prince of the dance, he had it all and he knew it.  He knew he could get away with anything that he wanted.  Of course the story picks up when he picked on the wrong outcast and she cast a spell on him, he now has 2 years to meet someone who can love him without his good looks to remove the spell. 

I enjoyed the book to a certain extent.  I thought maybe the book was written in 2000, the very opening scene is a chat room discussion with mythical characters, which I know that no one has joined a chat room, except pervs and 10 year olds in at least 10 years.  When I saw that the copyright date was 2007, I thought, dang, this author did not do her homework.  The interspersed online chatting throughout the book was a poor choice in how to get the story to keep moving. That almost in itself ruined this book for me. 

It was a cute book, but I’m not sure I will read anything by this author again.  This idea was great, it just needed to be written a little better.  I went to Books A Million after reading this book and picked up Cloaked by Alex Flinn, no worries, I put it back on the shelf. 

Have you read Beastly?  What did you think?  What was your favorite Disney movie growing up and would you like to see it turned into a Young Adult movie?  Keep Reading my friends!

Who Do You Trust When You Can't Remember Anyone?

Before I go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

Another book club read.  This is the August book chosen by Sam Taylor.  It is a British novel about an amnesiac that whenever she goes to sleep, Christine cannot remember what happened the day before or even 20 years before.  She wakes up “today” and is learning about her life and from her husband and a young doctor that wants to complete research on her rare condition.

My absolute favorite thing about this book was how it was written.  The audience starts the book on “today” and as she learns about her past from her husband Ben and Dr. Nash she is disturbed by how she is unable to trigger any memories of her day to day life or how she is unable to remember how she got to be like this.  When she meets with Dr. Nash he gives her the journal that she has consistently been writing in for a few weeks now.  If she misses a day, that would be a day lost forever.  As we read her journal with her, the audience is learning all about what’s been going on and her flashes of memory that have been documented in her hand writing.  Although she does not know who she can trust, as the story continues and we return to “today,” Christine understands that maybe she should trust no one but herself.  This was an intriguing journey of an amnesiac that had to start over every day. 

I enjoyed this book very much.  It was a fast pace book that was suspenseful and had great twists and turns throughout the book.  I enjoyed how Watson kept us on the edge of our seats while we discovered Christine’s life along with her.  What a great read.

There is not a whole lot to talk about with this book, I don’t want to give any spoilers.  It was easy to me to guess what was going on, but I still enjoyed the ride.  This book did not take very long, I guess I read it over the course of a week, but I had a little more time this last week than usual. 

I would absolutely recommend this book to any adult readers, there is some language sprinkled throughout, so I wouldn’t recommend to anyone under the age of 17 or so.  But to each his own.  Happy Reading!

Anyone Normal is Ugly

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

I loved this book.  From the very beginning to the very end I enjoyed the journey that we went on with Tally.  I loved how she introduced us to the uglies and the pretties.  Uglies starts with Tally completing a “trick” that no Ugly has ever completed before.  She went to a Pretties party.  She really went to find her long lost best friend Peris who not so long ago was ugly too.  Since he moved to New Pretty Town and became pretty himself, she has been lonely and just wanted to see him.   During this trick she meets Shay.  Shay isn’t satisfied with the status quo and is not excited about surgically becoming pretty like society has deemed necessary.  This starts the domino of Tally’s life when all she ever wanted was to become pretty and live her life the way she is supposed to.  The question becomes, what are they changing when their patients are under the knife?     

Ok, so now I’ve lost all of my readers in my intro paragraph.  Here’s the deal.  The book was very good.  As my readers know, I love young adult fiction and this was sci-fi –ish, which I love as well.  Therefore, with all of the times I saw other bloggers praising this book, I decided to read it and I’m glad I did.  Of course I got it from the library, but the next book in the series was unavailable and I bought Pretties, the second book in the series at Half Price Books (love that store!).  I plan on getting the rest of the series from the library and of course I will keep you posted on how they are going. 

My favorite character in the book is Tally.  I loved how she was such an incredible character that has all of these great attributes and she cannot see them for herself.  David comes into her life and shows her all of these great abilities that she has and how she can use them for the greater good and she can hardly believe it herself.  I enjoyed the relationship that developed between David and Tally.  He was sweet to her and got to know her even though she couldn’t understand why he would even care with her still being ugly.  Of course disarray takes place and they are separated from family and friends and their relationship grows stronger during this time.  When the crap hits the fan, will he want to stay with her?  I guess we won’t know until the next book.  Keep Reading my Friends!

REM had it right, It is the End of the World as we KNOW IT!

The Island at the End of the World by Sam Taylor

The song that comes to mind after finishing this book is “It’s the end of the world as we know it.”  This is a post-apocalyptic journey about a family surviving in the wild after the world as they know it was destroyed by a flood.  Eight years later everything in this perfect world that Ben, the father of this family, is compromised as a stranger is washed up on the shore of their island. 

This book was a first for me.  I have never read a published book by a person that I know.  Sam Taylor is a member of the Olive Books Book Club and married to Kathy, a charter member of the club.  So, I was excited to finally read one of his books.  I have to be honest, I am so glad that I liked the book, because I would be horrified to either tell him the truth that I didn’t like it or lie and tell him I liked it.  Thankfully it was an excellent read and the characters were well developed and the plot was complex and riveting.  I loved how the story was written from several perspectives.  I enjoyed Finn’s inner voice the most.  At first it was very hard to read Finn’s perspective because it was written like a ten year old would write it.  Everything is very phonetically written and so my eyes did not want to read the word that was meant to be read, but instead my brain wanted to read the correct spelling of the word.  During part 2 of the book, I missed Finn very much.  I longed to read his innocence that was lacking from Alice’s point of view.

The book was divided into two sections, up to part 2 we have a father and his three children living life.  They have chores and daily projects that must be completed in order for the delicate balance of their lives to stay that way.  In part 2, two stories collide and the truth comes out, but not necessarily for the betterment of the island and its inhabitants.    

Within the story, Sam would have no ending to his sentences, especially as the story concludes.  I enjoyed this because no ending to sentences, created suspense and the need for the reader’s imagination.  I didn’t know what the character was thinking and therefore I had to fill it in with my thoughts, which can be a crazy place to get the missing pieces from.   

At the very end of the book, I have so many questions.  I want to ask Sam what his thoughts are about the ending.  What really happens?  No worries, I’m not going to give spoilers, but next time I see him, I’m going to make sure that I ask him what happened, I have only one big question, and I guess I can believe whichever way I want, but I want to know what he intended when he finished the book.  What was the ending?  Also, am I the only person that is highly disturbed that Will shows up, he knows his relationship with the last surviving family, yet…disturbing. 

Go buy Sam’s book The Island at the End of the World or any of his other great novels.  I have already received The Amnesiac, and I can’t wait to get it read.  Keep Reading my friends!

Harper Connelly Mysteries Part1

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

First word that comes to mind is, BORING! It took me 2 weeks to read this book, just because I didn’t want to read it after I started it.  The main character Harper Connelly has a strange ability to sense when she is near dead people, she developed after being electrocuted by lightning.  The story is an interesting idea, I have not read any books with this concept before but it was just not developed well. 

Harper travels with her step brother Tolliver who is a strange character that I think the audience is supposed to relate to since there is not a lot to relate to with Harper, but he falls short on a loveable character.  Plus their relationship is a little weird, I thought at any moment they were going to jump into bed together, thankfully that did not happen.  I have read most of the Sookie Stackhouse books by the same author, but where Sookie is a fun loveable character with a strange ability, she is relatable and well written, Harper is boring and uninteresting. 

The reason I read this book in the first place is because I borrowed the second and third book from a friend and I’ve had them for years. I am working through my borrowed books and thought, this will be a fast read before the next book club book.  Well I was wrong, it was not a quick read and I never got to the book club book.

Well I am not going to go into any more detail about this book because it just is not worth my time.  But true to character, I am going to try and read the borrowed second and third book of this series, if I don’t get to it, no lost sleep will happen.  Keep reading my friends!

For you, a thousand times over

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner reads like a memoir, but is actually a novel.  It is an intriguing book set mainly in Afghanistan and covers the course of a young man’s life from childhood to adulthood and the different struggles he went through to accept the path that his life choices made.  We journey through Amir’s life and learn about his friendship with his servant’s son, his constant wish to be loved by his father, and his struggles to learn how to become a good person.

This book was great.  It was eye opening in a way that the news can’t be.  His perspective of what he grew up in, going from a rich home where everything was provided for him when the monarchy ruled Afghanistan to destitute and escape when Russia took over his mother country to the struggle of going back and seeing the death of his country during the Taliban’s rule.  He and his father escape to America before the Taliban takes over and he returns to a world he did not know existed except through media. 

I enjoyed this book very much.  It was well written and kept my attention locked in for the course of the 371 pages.  I read this book fairly quickly and I wanted it to last and last.  I borrowed the Kite Runner from a friend and I have also borrowed A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author and I am excited to read it.  I have to take a break and process my thoughts before I jump into another book by the same author.  Although I loved this story, it has opened my eyes to a life that I did not know existed either in America or across the globe.  We are extremely spoiled as Americans and it’s hard for me to keep the world in perspective when I have my comfortable job and my wonderful home and my 2 paid for vehicles. 

I loved Amir, he was a character that I could relate too.  He makes a decision early in life and he regrets it for many years, but he learns to live with it.  He was a great character to grow up with too, hearing how he felt as a child sitting on his Baba’s knee, yearning to be loved, it is heartbreaking.  We watched what decisions made him into the man that he became.  As he became an adult, and fell in love, I enjoyed reading his relationship with his wife Soraya, it was traditional Afghani yet American at the same time.  I wonder how many couples must live this way in America, open and free under their roof, but drastically different under the eyes of their elders.

I know that I’m a few years behind, this book rocked the Bestseller lists many years ago, but have you read it?  What did you think?  Did you read A Thousand Splendid Suns?  Keep Reading my friends!