A Musing Reviews

IMM (1/29/12)

2012-01-28T02:49:00.000-07:00

From RJ at Book Soulmates R.A.K.

Thank you, RJ!

Just to warn you of upcoming contests that you are going to LOVE:

And a little further in the month:

I'll keep trying to get copies for contests. We love books! If we didn't have to eat, we'd probably have more books!

Have a great week!

Young Adult Giveaway Hop

2012-01-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's a short hop so get on your hopping shoes!

Do you remember when I reviewed The Queen of Kentucky? I loved it so much I asked the publisher for review copies. She's sending me some ARCs. I expect them any day.

Did you miss my review? Bummer.

Because I love you, I've included a link.
I know, I know. I am simply too kind. Go ahead and tell me so in the comments. Or witty, beautiful, snarky, awesome, odd, graceful... Your pick.

Oh, and enter to win! 2 copies available. Ends January 31st.
Fill out the form below or click HERE.

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More great blogs included in hop are right here:

Faith: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh

2012-01-26T01:29:00.010-07:00

Faith: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Set in Boston during the 2002 priest sexual abuse scandals, Faith challenges us to look beyond the crimes to examine how human interactions change after the accusations. Sheila McGann, the novel's main character and narrator, is the half-sister of Arthur Breen, a once-popular cleric now ensnared in charges of abusing a young boy. Returning to her family, with whom she has difficult relations, Sheila attempts to support her embattled sibling, but everyone, including Art himself, seems unwilling or emotionally unable to cooperate. Ultimately, this powerful novel is about how one family responds to a devastating crisis. A provocative choice for book clubs.

My take: This is the kind of book you put down and feel viscerally moved and thinking, feeling, and mulling over the book. At first blush, it appears to be a simple story. Art, part of the Boston Diocese, has been accused of sexually molesting a child. Yet the book begins with Arthur's mother, shortly after Arthur was born. She's alone in the house, waiting for her long overdue husband. Her mother-in-law, who never accepted her, is dead and her marriage is not looking much better. She shamelessly chased the man who is her husband, found herself pregnant, quickly married by an uncle priest, and now shady characters are looking for her husband.

The story is revealed by Arthur's half sister, Sheila, told through her investigations and first person. It is not simply a quest for innocence or guilt, but a quest for understanding of the family dynamics, how each person plays a part in the saga, and the historical drive. Each character is flawed but not broken. Each character is complicated and not easily summarized. Aiden, the alleged victim plays a surprisingly small part.

It is feast for a book club. So many issues are addressed. Although not Catholic, I believe one theme that could be explored is the requirement of celibacy. Also, a discussion of severity of sins. Then the purpose of love, family dynamics, societal need to demonize the accused, and, of course, a discussion on the true victim(s) of the book.

A couple of nuggets:

"The adult who preys on children is, to the rest of us, a frightening enigma. Of their inner lives we know little, and a little knowledge is more dangerous than none. While it is true that most pedophiles were themselves victims, it turns out that the correlation is weaker in the other direction. Not all victims grow up to be predators." p. 316

"...each new love is built from the wreckage of the loves that came before... We love those who fit the peculiar voids within us, our hollow wounds. We love to fill the spaces the old loves left behind." p. 314

A deeply moving and articulate book.

And here's your chance to win a copy! Fill out form HERE. Contest ends 2/9/12

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Home Front by Kristin Hannah Review

2012-01-25T06:00:00.002-07:00

Home Front by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.

All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family.

At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.

My take: Jolene had a tragic childhood which ended far too soon. Because of the tragedy at the end of her childhood, she takes control of her life and enlists in the army where she becomes a Black Hawk pilot. It is in the army that she meets her best friend, Tami, her rock and the one who calls her on her crap.

Now she's 41 years old and the past is put behind her. She lives in the now and she chooses happiness with all of its platitudes. She's switched over to the Guard and is a full-time mother to 4 year old Lucy and 12 year old Betsy. She is married to Michael, a criminal defense lawyer and shares a close relationship with her mother-in-law. All is going well until one day, Michael announces that he doesn't love her anymore and wants to separate.

Before this can be addressed, she is deployed. Michael seethes in resentment. He's always hated the military and her career. He's a rather selfish man, actually. Jolene prepares her daughters and her husband by saying all the right things like she'll be in safe places, yada, yada and then she flies away.

From the book description, the reader knows that something happens to Jolene in Iraq. Her helicopter is shot down, some of her crew die and/or are seriously injured. Jolene is seriously injured and loses some of her physical capabilities. Hannah details how Michael is told about the accident and how the Army, media, and Tami's husband, Carl, respond. Michael is still carrying resentment for Jolene's choices, although he has changed a great deal in the past few months. He flies to Jolene's side.

In Hannah style, there is not a happy little reunion where all is forgotten like a Disney channel movie. In fact, we're only halfway through the book. Hannah juxtaposes Jolene's recovery and all of the losses she has experienced, along with her guilt, anxiety and depression, to Michael and Jolene's resolution. It's not neat or pretty.

With raw honesty, Jolene's injuries are described as is Michael's reaction to it, Michael's coping mechanism, and Jolene's fury and resentment to both her injuries and her perceived death of the marriage.

Speaking of honesty, Hannah's description of the middle age marriage hit far too close to home. I kept having to put the book down to have a good cry. It was painful yet liberating to not feel alone. I wish I had this book a few years ago, although it is better late than never.

This book is for anybody who loves Kristin Hannah's books. It's for the middle age woman (35-55). It's for every mother and wife. It's for anybody who has ever heard the words, "I don't love you, anymore." If you haven't heard them, you're too young or your spouse isn't being completely open with you. It's for anybody who needs a good dose of hope.

Best line might be a spoiler, but here it is: People change.

5 + stars

Forbidden by Syrie James Review

2012-01-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

Forbidden by Syrie James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Syrie joined forces with her talented son Ryan to co-write her next novel, Forbidden. The book is about a 16-year-old girl who comes into unusual powers, only to discover that she's half-angel... and her entire existence is forbidden.

Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson Academy as the ideal hiding place where he could escape and be normal for once. He hadn't factored Claire Brennan into his plans...

Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the threat to Claire's life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

My take: Syrie James and her son team up on this book. Perhaps they take turns telling the story from the point of views of Claire and Alec. Alec is a Grigori tasked with hunting down the dangerous half bloods or Nephil. But Alec is tired of his job so he squirrels away savings and goes to hide out in a prestigious academy where, lo and behold, there is an emerging half-blood and he's falling in love with her.

Of course, Alec needs to hide her so she isn't discovered but it might already be too late.

I have no complaints about the story, book or writing. I simply didn't connect with the characters and the story has been hashed and rehashed by different authors for the past few years. The angel or Fallen Angel falling in love with the regular girl or girl who happens to be part angel is told and retold. I didn't find anything about this story to differentiate with the other books except that I didn't care about the protagonists which actually makes them less likely to be remembered.

It's a good story. If you like angels and part angels engaging in a forbidden love story, this is it. I'm already invested in a few other series and trilogies.

IMM (1/22/12)

2012-01-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and just try to copy, paste and post IMM on a tablet computer without saying a few swear words. Ummkay~ I'm off to church now.

Tempest Giveaway

2012-01-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has agirlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Want it? Thought so. You know the drill.
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American Sniper by Chris Kyle GIVEAWAY and review

2012-01-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

Goodreads: From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. Iraqi insurgents feared him so much they called him al-Shaitan ("the devil") and placed a $20,000 bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, fighting alongside them in the streets, as well as protecting them from rooftops and stealth positions. Through four combat deployments, he was awarded seven medals for bravery, including two Silver Stars. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle's masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.

My take: I read Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and really enjoyed it, albeit the detailed blood and gore. He told a good story, remained objective while including some of his own thoughts and ideas. It was engrossing and the story itself sung of the heroism of him and his SEAL team. This book wasn't as cohesive or objective. I had a difficult time following Kyle's line of thinking. He included a lot of interpretation, little emotional insight, and random situations. One of the random situations is that he met Marcus Luttrell and counts him as a friend. That's it. He doesn't reference Luttrell's experience in Afghanistan. If a reader did not know the background to Luttrell's story, it wouldn't be extraordinary. I also didn't like the arrogant manner Kyle referenced himself or the short answers he gave. Basically, if you don't know how hard it is to be a SEAL, join the Navy SEALS. If you don't know what kind of guy Chris Kyle is, ask one of the SEALS. The writing was somewhat defensive and style pedantic.

I did not finish the book, therefore, I can only report on my first impression of the first 100 pages or so. The book is not without merit. Kyle is a great soldier and admirable in his service. My problems are with the writing style, not the subject or the author. He has interesting stories to tell. The telling however, lacks clarity and cohesiveness.

Subject is interesting and mindset of the military makes the book worth reading.

If you want to read this book, I can offer two copies to two lucky readers!

Fill out the form HERE or below:

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The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren

2012-01-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

The Shadow of Your Smile
By Susan May Warren
Published by Tyndale House
December 16th, 2011

About the book: A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage.

After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce... just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember?

Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future? Read the story behind the story here: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/books/the-shadow-of-your-smile.

About Susan: Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

Susan is celebrating the release of The Shadow of Your Smile by giving away a prize pack worth over $200 from 1/9-1/28.

One grand prize winner will receive:

A $200 Visa Gift Card (Use that to rekindle a little romance, treat yourself to a spa day, snap up those shoes you’ve been eyeing, or purchase a few great books!)

The entire set of Deep Haven Books

The winner will be announced on 1/30/12 on Susan’s blog, Scribbles! Just click one of the icons below to enter and tell your friends about Susan's giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Click HERE for more information.

Blog tour stops can be found HERE.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This book is a refreshing break from the serious books I've been reading. Tied loosely to Cinderella, Cinder is a foster daughter/slave in the Eastern Commonwealth on a planet plagued with a new sickness that strikes quickly and is always deadly. Complicating matters is the planet (earth) is always on the cusp of war with the Lunars, a fearsome race living on the moon who tend to have magical powers and the ability to control thought.

So Cinder is the slave laborer, the unwanted child that is merely tolerated but always excluded. So she ends up meeting the Emperor's only son and develops feelings for him. It appears he is somewhat smitten as well. The problem is that, although Cinder doesn't seem to have the plague, she is part mechanical, due to an injury suffered in the childhood she can't remember. Meaning that, like Cinderella's glass slipper, she might lose a body part at any time.

It is not a mere retelling of the classic fairy tale, thank goodness, but an original idea including the politics of the Lunar ruler and the handsome prince. Add in the cyborg components, the deadly plague, spies, and the mysterious programmer introduced at the end of the book, and you've got a fun and original read. It also doesn't hurt that Cinder is a strong protagonist that (slight spoiler here) doesn't wait for Prince Charming to save her.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

2012-01-17T06:38:00.001-07:00

Title: Hallowed

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publish Date: January 17, 2012

Pages: 416

Publisher: Harper Collins

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Described by Richelle Mead as “utterly captivating,” Unearthly received outstanding reviews, garnered accolades from New York Times bestselling authors, and was named an Indie Next Pick. In this heart-wrenching sequel, Cynthia Hand expertly captures the all-consuming joy of first love—and the agony of loss. This beautifully woven tale will appeal to fans of Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Aprilynne Pike.

My take: Once again, Cynthia Hand has written an excellent book for this trilogy. At the end of the last book (without giving any spoilers), Clara exited from a forest fire, but there were actually two. One started by the Dark Wing, the other a big question mark. Clara is struggling with her purpose and free agency. She's living in Jackson, Wyoming and ready to start her senior year. Her mother has secrets. Oh, lots of secrets and I have a feeling they have not been appropriately addressed. I have a guess about one of them and I think she sort of lied in Hallowed. Clara's brother is sullen and disappears mysteriously. Tucker is her boyfriend. Christian is finally paying attention to her but she is Tucker's girlfriend.

Open scene: Clara begins her senior year. Her glowing blonde locks will no longer take hair color so her hair causes a stir when she starts school. She spends a lot of time arguing with herself over Christian vs. Tucker which annoyed me. I know there's the purpose and all but gee, two really great guys vying for her attention.

I almost called this book a filler book for the series but then stuff happened. Revelations were made, although nothing earth shattering. Clara is being pursued by the Dark Wing which adds some interest to the story. Clara's mother admits that he is part of her 120 year history but I don't think she told the whole truth. Angela continues to be quirky and curious and uncovers disconcerting information. More angels are revealed but Clara's purpose does not become any more clearer. What is revealed happens more to the end of the book and it's pretty important. Clara is much more valuable to the scales than she imagined.

It's a quiet book. The action is more internal, although I believe the third and possibly fourth book is being clearly set up with the information. Angela went to Italy last summer and she's going this year, too. Clara will be accompanying her. My guess is that Angela's father will be revealed. Then I'd guess a fourth book is forthcoming for Clara's first year of college.

It's going to get really interesting.

4.5 Stars

First You Try Everything: A Novel by Jane McCafferty

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

First You Try Everything: A Novel by Jane McCafferty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Prize-winning author Jane McCafferty delivers a wry, engrossing, and provocative tale of the radical chances an anguished woman will take to try to save her crumbling marriage. As love’s loss and the death of dreams push Evie to the edge of obsession and to a spectacularly outlandish scheme, one which will have unexpected consequences for all involved. Following her acclaimed debut novel One Heart, which Elizabeth Strout, author of Amy and Isabelle, calls "a lovely book, full of surprises, with characters that stay in your heart long after the book has been put down," McCafferty’s First You Try Everything is a piercing, surprising, and sympathetic look at the emotional fallout of divorce and the unforeseeable changing tides of love.

My take: I don't even know how to describe this book. The story is told from two different viewpoints. Actually, three because Apu gets a small part, as well. Ben and Evvie have been married for 16 years. Their history is quietly revealed but, essentially, Evvie is a quirky character very much in touch with her Freudian Id. She is endearing and at times frustrating. Yet she is very easy to relate to. She is insecure and feels her husband slipping away. She buries herself in animal rights activism while fighting the societal norms.

Ben was drawn to Evvie for her free spirit and easy way of relating to anybody. She listens to Ben and allows him his feelings. Together they were street vendors in order to stay free from the constraints of middle class. Eventually he found a middle class job and started wearing a suit. His eyes wander and he meets another woman who is completely different from his wife. He enjoys the conversation, the organized way of her life and emotions and allows himself to wander down that path.

The real meat of the story is the exploration by both parties of their emotional journey. Ben feels guilty and torn. He struggles with systematically painting his years with Evvie using the emotions of today then remembering how happy he felt in a certain situation with her. He also feels protective of Evvie from his new lover because he understands Evvie so well. At the same time, he doesn't want Evvie to know about the other woman in order to protect the current relationship, believing it has nothing to do with his cheating on his wife. He was unhappy before. His rationalizations are fascinating, infuriating, and sad. He makes valid points and the reader feels empathy for him to some degree.

Evvie, not knowing what unraveled the marriage, continues being her quirky self. Inside her head we see her wrestling with her feelings, her past, and possible reasons for the marriage problems. Again, the reader empathizes as the author articulates the confusion and the sudden interpretations from past events, coloring the previous 16 years. It is heart breaking and turns into a train wreck where I simply could not look away. Evvie's quirkiness, endearing at first, begins to slowly spiral into areas of insanity. It progresses logically (insanity and logically can be used in the same sentence) and it is evident why she desperately will do anything to get Ben to return to her.

There is an ultimate conflict and it is just the train wreck reaching maximum velocity and the situation gets out of control. Maybe a little on the ridiculous side and I was left wondering what happened to the other players but ultimately the real conflict was whether Evvie's pure soul could live with her manipulations. I wasn't crazy about the ultimate conflict or resolution. I found the story, itself, to be compelling. The author artistically articulates the feelings and thought processes of both parties of a middle-aged marriage.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

2012-01-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What Ashton accomplished with the writing of this book was a seamless integration of Greek mythology with an Egyptian mythology twist. She also created a love triangle of questionable equal parts. In other words, how much can Cole really feel?

Above all, Ashton integrates my alma mater, Utah State University. It's a mere page or two but I she is endeared to my heart for that alone.

The story's organization is well thought out as Nikki is introduced as a recent Return. She is one of the lucky (?) ones who actually survive the Feed. It's not necessarily heaven and hell but simply an Everneath, a plane beneath the earth's crust, near the Rivery Styx where a shell of a person spends a century feeding off one person's emotions, getting recharged and leaving the mortal being a shell of her former self, thrown to the Everneath's Tunnels to act as an Energizer Bunny until she fades into oblivion.

Quite painful.

But the story is based on mythology and differing interpretations. Like Orpheus, another possible hero from mythology. Between Nikki and Jack, they are bound to find a resolution where Nikki is not sucked back down to the Everneath. At least that is the hope.

The ending is a cliff hanger although like Pandora's box, hope is still remaining. Sets up the next book well.

Tempest by Julie Cross

2012-01-12T12:55:00.001-07:00

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Read the first 4 chapters of TEMPEST by Julie Cross now HERE.

Girl Land by Caitlin Flanagan GIVEAWAY

2012-01-12T07:00:00.004-07:00

Title: Girl Land
Release Date: January 12, 2012
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books (Hatchette Book Group)
Hardcover
Pages: 224

Caitlin Flanagan's essays about marriage, sex, and families have sparked national debates. Now she turns her attention to girls: the biological and cultural milestones for girls today, and how they shape a girl's sense of herself.

The transition from girl to woman is an experience that has changed radically over the generations: everything from how a girl learns about her period to how she expects to be treated by boys and men. Girls today observe these passages very differently, and yet the landmarks themselves have remained remarkably constant-proof, Flanagan believes, of their significance. In a world where protections of girls' privacy and personal freedom seem to disappear every day, the ultimate challenge modern parents face is finding a way to defend both.

Caitlin Flanagan's GIRL LANDis perfect for moms revisiting their childhoods and moms whose daughters have or will experience the same life stages, recounted in Flanagan’s frank, provocative, and undeniably womanist voice.

Caitlin Flanagan is a former high school teacher who became a writer; she has been on staff at The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal. A winner of the National Magazine Award, she has also written for Time, O, The Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. Her work has been widely anthologized in, among other publications, The Best American Essays and The Best American Magazine Writingseries. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

I have three copies up for grabs! Fill out the form below and smile!

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The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker

2012-01-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Fourteen-year-old Kentucky girl Ricki Jo Winstead, who would prefer to be called Ericka, thank you very much, is eager to shed her farmer's daughter roots and become part of the popular crowd at her small town high school. She trades her Bible for Seventeen magazine, buys new "sophisticated" clothes and somehow manages to secure a tenuous spot at the cool kids table. She's on top of the world, even though her best friend and the boy next door Luke says he misses "plain old Ricki Jo."

Caught between being a country girl and wannabe country club girl, Ricki Jo begins to forget who she truly is: someone who doesn't care what people think and who wouldn't let a good-looking guy walk all over her. It takes a serious incident out on Luke's farm for Ricki Jo to realize that being a true friend is more important than being popular.

While I was reading: I thought this was a cute book that had all of the elements for a great after school special. Plain country girl, wants to be popular, meets hot new guy, gets in with popular friends, best friend is a guy, makes cheer squad and everybody knows that in the end she'll get burned and go back to her roots, right? Maybe not exactly like that but something similar. The truth is that it was extremely painful for an author to relive my freshman year for me in detail, hitting my own popularity quest spot on sans Wolf and alcohol. I didn't do the drinking thing.

When I was finished: I realized the book was a carefully disguised book about bullying and societal tolerance. I was totally swept up in the Ericka story and the painful reminders that I only put the pieces together at the end and recognized the brilliance of it. The book carefully addresses different kinds of bullying, the way society tolerates it, and the way one person can make a difference. Just to clarify, Ericka/Ricky Jo does not do the stand-up-at-a-school-assembly and give a shame-on-you speech. It's not cheesy like that.

Traditional domestic bullying involves Luke's father. He's an alcoholic and it is established early on that he beats Luke's mother. The children are all uncomfortable with this arrangement but, in the past, they've all been too powerless and small to make a difference. It is ignored. Ricky Jo recognizes what it is and takes her cues from Luke.

Symbolic bullying that mirrors a couple of the situations is the Gumbel's dogs. They are wild and ferocious. When they are not chained up, they attack random people. Ricky Jo is instructed to never show fear. They can smell fear and, as a pack, might attack. There is foreshadowing as Ricky Jo rides her bike to Luke's and finds herself pinned under the bike as the dogs circle. She is saved by Luke who hears the ruckus and beats them away. Again, many people know about the dogs but hesitate to rock the boat because the Gumbels are so mean, themselves. Without giving away the story, this situation escalates and damage is done before it is resolved. More foreshadowing, by the way.

On the first day of school, Ricky Jo/Ericka finds herself with a group of pretty and popular girls who are all cheerleaders. She's just a redneck but they take her on as a project. Note the pack-like behavior. Then Wolf saunters in. He's beautiful, athletic, rich and a royal pain in the butt. He has his good qualities but these are hidden in his obnoxious attempts to look cool (and fit in, like the rest of the grade). Wolf's antics embarrass and humiliate. It is interesting to watch how he bullies and manipulates through his many antics and how he is so quickly forgiven by many because he's "cool." At the same time, the reader sees through Ricky Jo's eyes how insecure he really is and how he does see areas not having to do with himself with incredible clarity.

The best examples of intimidation, manipulation and bullying are within the Fab Frenemies. There is feigning of a BFF club, guilt, giving special treatment to the "project," hiding cruel comments in back-handed compliments, ganging up on one, engaging in peer pressure to invoke behavior against her better judgment and beliefs, playing the best friend to someone's face while stabbing them in the back.

The story also redefines courage and friendship for Ricky Jo. The hero of the book is Luke. He recognizes the underdog and does whatever it takes to take a stand or step into the middle of the dogfight. I can't say more than that without explaining how he did this in different situations. He stands up for what is right both metaphorically and physically (he's the one who steps into the real dog attacks). He stays true to himself, never wavering, regardless of the cost.

As for Ricky Jo (one small spoiler), she saves herself.

Best nugget - In order to be a best friend, one has to first be a good friend.

This could be used in a high school literature class to demonstrate different masks of bullying.

Swearing - mild/moderate
Violence - moderate
Alcohol use - moderate
Sex - mild implied

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? GIVEAWAY

2012-01-10T13:02:00.002-07:00

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?: Trick Questions, Zen-like Riddles, Insanely Difficult Puzzles, and Other Devious Interviewing Techniques You ... Know to Get a Job Anywhere in the New Economy by William Poundstone

Format: Hardover
Publish Date 1/4/12
Price: $19.99/$21.99
Pages: 304

You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and thrown in a blender. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do? If you want to work at Google, or any of America's best companies, you need to have an answer to this and other puzzling questions.

ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO WORK AT GOOGLE? guides readers through the surprising solutions to dozens of the most challenging interview questions. The book covers the importance of creative thinking, ways to get a leg up on the competition, what your Facebook page says about you, and much more. ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO WORK AT GOOGLE? is a must read for anyone who wants to succeed in today's job market.

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2012-01-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened. Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

The book is interesting in that it combines images with the story. Min is writing an explanation to her ex-boyfriend. She is dropping a box off at his house that includes the sacred relics of their short relationship. Each picture represents something significant to Min about the relationship she had with Ed.

The book is written the way a teenage girl talks. She rambles, repeats herself, she doesn't finish sentences and she makes connections where no connections can be understood. She is obsessed with old theater which few people are. In other words, the reader is always on the outskirts of an inside joke. So I felt perpetually lost in the run-on sentences of a teenage girl, trapped in her angst and not understanding the segues she had with specific old movies and actresses. My guess is that it is symbolic but I just felt lost.

Language: Strong
Dialogue: Strong
Sex: Strong
Violence: None

Immortal Beloved and Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

2012-01-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

Cate Tiernan, author of the popular Sweep series, returns with an engaging story of a timeless struggle and inescapable romance, the first book in a stunning new fantasy trilogy.

My take: I think that Immortals are the new Vampires and, frankly, few people can do them well. I've already read a number of Immortal books and I just can't see them ever ending. They're immortal. Their story will go on forever. Unless someone cuts off their head or something.

That said, I think it's obvious that I had some preconceived prejudices (redundant, I know) when I started this book. I read #1 and #2. I read the book description and gave a little yawn then started in. Then I stopped yawning and started laughing. Cate Tiernan is well versed in how a girl talks to herself inside her head. By "girl," I mean, a really funny one who is not an angsty teenager even though she looks like one.

The premise is that Nastasya is 459 years old. Her parents were Immortals and they had 5 children. They are all dead. They were killed by very bad people 450 years ago. Nastasya wandered around for a few centuries then finds her group of friends where they live a thoughtless, self-centered existence until one night (at the beginning of the book), her best friend, Innocencio performs dark magick and scares Nastasya to begin a change.

The thing about Immortals is that they all possess at least a little bit of Magick. Nastasya doesn't practice it and those around her rarely do, either. It's just some old black Magick that she doesn't want to tap. Then one night in the 1920's, she meets River, another Immortal that seems different and tells Nastasya that when she's ready to change her ways, find her in a podunk town in Massachusetts. And so she does.

Now I can go on and tell about the conflict and stuff about the book, but that's not really the best part. It's the protagonist. She's hilarious. She grows in ways she didn't know she would or could, she taps into her power without getting into the dark stuff, and she loves/hates this Viking like god named Reyn who looks familiar and just might have a connection to her past somewhere. But he's offish and socially awkward, serious, and seriously hot. And there is sexual tension. Lots of that.

Nastasya is not innocent. The author doesn't write her as innocent or perfect. She is flawed with a lot of mistakes in her past. Although she looks to be in her late teens, Nastasya has the experiences that would curl anybody's hair and toes. Although she is experienced in chemically induced highs, sexual prowess, etc., the story doesn't go there. It's indicated but not dwelt upon.

Above all, Tiernan writes a strong protagonist who is steeped in her own habits and crud and has been for centuries. She can't change, can she? She doesn't get all philosophical but she's pretty sure that Immortals are dark beings and are incapable of being anything else. River, the woman who runs the rehab, tells her something else.

The book is full of nuggets of hope. Not cheesy by any stretch, a little racy but not dirty, Tiernan's characters have strong personalities that can be used for good instead of evil.

Sex - mild/moderate
Violence - moderate
swearing/dialogue - "f" words used in one scene.

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?

My take: I can't imagine reading this book without having read the first book. Not that the reader can't catch up because the story of the first book is reiterated in this one. I just so enjoyed the development of the relationships and revealing of Nastasya's past and connection with other characters (Reyn) which sets the stage so very well.

Once again, Nastasya's strong personality is the selling point. Her internal dialogue makes me laugh out loud. If you've read it, shout out if you remember 'Rock and a hard place' or the metaphor about the Titanic and blowing a whistle in the dark. I just laughed. That's all there is to it.

This book is darker than the first. It picks up where the first left off where Nastasya is still hiding from Innocencio and being snarky with Reyn when she really is drawn to him and me to him, too. I mean, and him to her.

This flawed, funny, snarky girl, against her better judgment, does return to her old ways so Innocencio can show the reader and the protagonist what his intents are and who he really is. Again, the overall theme is the power to choose and to choose over and over again.

Sex - mild
Swearing and dialogue - mild/moderate
Violence - Severe

IMM 1/8/12

2012-01-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's 10:30 at night and I am posting In My Mailbox!

Did you hear a faint drum roll?

Sunday, dinner, church, 4 kids, sick husband, dear parents, I love them all.

But I want to read.

I know. I'm selfish.

American Dervish GIVEAWAY

2012-01-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes.

Mina is Hayat’s mother’s oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shah’s doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayat’s skeptical father can’t deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the family’s Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Mina’s side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher.

When Mina meets and begins dating a man, Hayat is confused by his feelings of betrayal. His growing passions, both spiritual and romantic, force him to question all that he has come to believe is true. Just as Mina finds happiness, Hayat is compelled to act — with devastating consequences for all those he loves most.

American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America. This is an intimate, personal first novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.

About Ayad Akhtar

Ayad Akhtar is an American-born, first generation Pakistani-American from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He holds degrees in Theater from Brown University and in Directing from the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University, where he won multiple awards for his work. He is the author of numerous screenplays and was star and co-writer of The War Within, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and an International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Picture – Drama. American Dervish is his first novel.

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Little Princes by Conor Grennen Review and GIVEAWAY

2012-01-05T06:52:00.005-07:00

From Publisher: In need of some fun and adventure, 30-year-old Conor Grennan traded in his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Orphanage in war-torn Nepal. But what began as a lark became a passionate commitment that would transform the young American and the lives of countless others.

Within minutes of his arrival, Grennan was surrounded by a horde of gleeful boys and girls showering him with warm welcomes. Yet as he soon learned, the children’s cheery smiles belied years of pain and abuse, for many of the boys and girls at Little Princes were not orphans at all, but victims rescued from human traffickers. Moved by their plight, Grennan vowed that when his trip was over he would return to the children of Little Princes and eventually reunite them with their families—a promise he would risk his life to keep.

Little Princes is the powerful story of a soul’s awakening and a reflection of the noblest and darkest of human intent. It is a heartwrenching true tale of the power of optimism, love, and dedication to overcome greed, violence, and hate. And it is an unforgettable account of children, families, and one man whose decision to take a stand makes the world a better place for all of us.

My take: I simply can not rant and rave enough about this book. I was immediately drawn to this story because of one of the children in this picture. No, not the alarmingly handsome and strapping boy eating the neon green sugar ball the size of his own head(although, he is one of my favorite people in the world), but his darker skinned counter-part, who happens to be his half Nepalese cousin.

Don't worry. He's not an orphan. He belongs to my brother and his American wife. In fact, she became a full citizen one year ago this week. 5 years ago she stepped onto her first airplane and said goodbye to the only culture she had ever known. She said hello to a crazy family who were loud, couldn't understand her English and looked at her blankly, and ate something green (lettuce) at every meal on vacation.

She cried a lot that first year.

I am often stunned by the beauty of this family. I'm in there. I'm the pretty one.

Please also note that within all those blonds and reds, there is another darker skinned teenager. He is my 100% American nephew. Two years ago he was an orphan in Katmandu. The only child of Sita's sister, he fell into her care when his mother and grandfather died in a tragic bus accident when he was a small boy. Fortunately, he had a loving aunt who quickly took him in as she had been taken in years ago by a distant relative when her mother died. At the time, she lived as a slave. Another distant relative came to visit and found a skinny 10 year old girl doing all the cooking, cleaning, and shopping. He was enraged and took her home with him.

Nepal is such a small country and has little to boast besides an entrance to the world's tallest mountain. When my brother informed us he had married a woman while in Katmandu, we had to scramble to even find it on the map.

Nepal has also been in the throes of civil war for about a decade. Between the Nationalists and the Maoists, Nepal has been in constant upheaval. The terrain of Nepal is often difficult and isolated. Villages dot the mountainsides where simple people live simple lives. But then the Maoists arrived in those villages and began recruiting the children. In an effort to preserve their children, parents gave their children to men who promised a good education and safe childhood for a price - often resulting in all they had. Child trafficking was born.

The author is a fantastic story teller. His humor never wanes. He recalls interactions and conversations in great detail and describes the first children with so much fondness, I fell in love with them, too. Being an overgrown child, Conor quickly fit right in. Three months is all he planned to give and then he was off to travel the world, return to the states, and be a grown up in the corporate world. Instead, he is drawn again to the orphans where he discovers that at least two of them are not really orphans. At the same time, he meets 7 more who are dangerously housed and exposed. He secures a safe orphanage for them and is assured of their placement. With rising political tensions, Conor leaves the country again. Once home, he discovers that the 7 children had disappeared and didn't make it to the orphanage.

Naturally, Conor returns to Nepal where he is introduced to a political climate that is dangerous and unsteady. A culture that is starkly contrasted to one where bureaucracies are in place to protect children. Child slavery, human trafficking, illegal orphanages, and complete poverty and starvation are not uncommon. At the same time, a warm, brotherly relationship develops between the author and the boys from the original orphanage. Their interactions elicited loud laughter from this reader.

I loved this book. It was touching, hilarious, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and life changing.

You can read more about Conor Grennan's work at http://www.nextgenerationnepal.com/What_We_Do
and Conor Grennen

The paperback version of this book includes a lot of photos!

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2012-01-05T00:16:00.000-07:00

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Goodreads: A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

My take: The story, from what I understood, is that Diana, a witch, is doing research in Oxford and pulls up a heavily bewitched text called ASHMOLE 782 which has been enchanted for a century and a half. She touches it and it opens. She takes her notes then puts it back. She then realizes she is being watched and followed by other witches, vampires and daemons. The point is that Ashmole is important but the actual content is never revealed. She is threatened and protected by Matthew, a very old vampire.

I am yawning through this. Diana is also a brilliant historian, like the author. I love reading history but the historical tidbits are so random and out of context, my head was spinning. Add to this the art of alchemy without knowing the projected outcome of the change and not knowing what the ASHMOLE text contained that is so important, I was just frustrated.

Turns out that Diana is a very powerful witch who has been fighting her true nature since the death of her parents. But then Matthew, her fated lover enters her realm and her powers are unleashed. However, those powers are so random and unpredictable, I wondered if they were part of the story or an impulsive additive. I didn't see connections.

Speaking of random and unpredictable, situations would arise that were unclear to both the reader and the MC. For instance, Marcus called Matthew to tell him he would come to tell Diana something but didn't tell Matthew what it was. Matthew met Marcus with undue fury way out of proportion for not knowing his news. When the news is revealed, again, the import is not understood, Diana faints. Actually, she does that a lot.

So I finished the book not knowing why Ashmole text was so important that creatures would kill Diana for it but knowing that even the creatures did not know what was in it. I still do not know the significance of Diana's parents being brutally murdered except they were protecting Diana because she is powerful and whatever is in Ashmole. I totally did not understand why the couple did not consummate their marriage - I read the words of Matthew saying it is about intimacy and they still had time yet they did everything else and it surely seemed like they shared intimacy there. It seemed a flimsy ruse to put off the possibility that she might get pregnant, although it is commonly believed that vampires can not procreate that way.

Fortunately, I am in the minority about the book. It has received rave reviews by many readers. For me, it was too random and disconnected.

.

The Yoga Club by Cooper Lawrence Review

2012-01-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Yoga Club by Cooper Lawrence

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Goodreads: In the bestselling tradition of Paula Froelich and Candace Bushnell comes a dishy novel about the secrets of the rich and privileged, featuring four yoga friends who stumble upon a murder at a tony Greenwich, Connecticut party—and have to solve the crime or be implicated themselves.

When Coco Guthrie and three other Greenwich locals appear at THE Halloween party of the season, they’re chagrined to discover that they’ve all come in the same costume—Sarah Palin. But that’s hardly the worst thing to happen that evening. While exploring the grounds of their hostess’s estate, they stumble upon two people engaged in a struggle. Before they know it, the fight has turned deadly—and the attacker is revealed to be a local politician! The four Palins return to the party, swearing each other to secrecy, but when each of them receives a mysterious warning the next day, it becomes clear that they were spotted—and are in serious trouble.Now the unlikely foursome must work together to uncover the truth behind the murder—and where can four people from different social circles mingle unnoticed? At an early morning yoga class, of course! Each member of the 8:30 Yoga Club is hiding secrets of her own, but they soon discover that good friends can protect you from even the nastiest of scandals.

Breezy, witty, and filled with juicy straight-from-the-society-page gossip,The Yoga Club makes for a delicious read.

My take: Wow. I hate writing a negative review. Fortunately, Cooper Lawrence already has a lucrative career as a celebrity reporter and radio show host.

Although the title indicates Yoga is a big part of the story, it is not. The story and conflict is weak and doesn't drive the story. Character development is shallow and stereotypical. The basis of the story is that Coco Guthrie, a successful marketer of her slimming cream, Butt B Gone, finds herself at a costume party dressed as Sarah Palin. Then she finds herself standing with three other Sarah Palins and they suddenly decide to go check out the mayor's monstrosity. While peeking in the windows, they see the mayor, Mayor Quilty (looks like Guilty) in an S & M garb dragging around what appears to be a dead woman dressed in similar garb. He gets a look at the Palins, sees their pictures in the paper and they each get an anonymous government issue stationery blackmail. The other thing they have in common is that they are in the 8:30 yoga class.

Here are the players:

Bailey: Stereotypical rich girl growing up with old money. She's a gossip reporter and dishes on celebrities. She's also a bit of a slut. She has slept with just about all of Hollywood. Her character gives secrets about stars, interviews, and the ins and outs of the rich and famous.

Olivia: Stereotypical scientist and single mother. She is absent minded yet highly intelligent but poor social skills. She is estranged from her mother and raised by her father with her brother. She has no fashion sense, she's shy and likeable.

CJ: Stereotypical gay guy. He knows all about fashion and critiques everybody's choices. He is not completely "out" yet he engages in A LOT of sexual activity while claiming to be secretive since his father is running for governor. He makes the most disgusting, lurid, and sexually explicit comments and jokes. He is a man's man whore.

Coco: Like Chanel? Really? From New York, poor girl makes it big.

The bulk of the book is sexual dialogue, occasionally discussing the case. They seem to be sexually experimental Scooby Doo gang, working a case between sexual conquests. In detail.

Who would like this book: A quick, easy read, providing light insight to the rich and famous and then those from Greenwich who are ultra so. Also written for the sexually curious. I didn't find it tintillating but I guess someone else might. Anything goes and all taboo subjects are fair game.

I found it highly disappointing. Not my kind of book.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer Teaser Trailer

2012-01-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Cinder

Marissa Meyer

387 pages

Feiwel and Friends

Release: 1/3/12
Even in the future, the story begins with Once Upon a Time…. Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

2012-01-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

My take: Jennifer Smith cleverly addresses difficult life situations through Hadley's quick trip to England to (grudgingly) be part of her father's wedding. Hadley's parents split up when her father went to Oxford for a semester to teach poetry. He didn't come home. Instead, he fell in love with Charlotte. Hadley has not forgiven him for breaking up her family and impacting not only the relationship her parents had, but the relationship she had with each parent. Now her father is marrying a fellow Oxford professor, the woman Hadley plans on hating. Her mother has moved on and is dating someone else and claims it is better now. Hadley begs to differ.

So Hadley misses her airplane and is relegated to the next flight, cutting the time before the wedding to minutes. It is on the flight that she meets Oliver, a clever, witty Yale student from Paddington. Oliver hints that his relationship with his own father is also troubled but does not go into detail. But there's a commonality and a connection.

At first glance, it looks like a cute little love story. It is but it is also a book that addresses loss, grief, forgiveness, letting go and moving on. It also addresses the need for communication and negotiation. Hadley finds that, after the rage, she still loves her dad and is open to negotiating a new relationship with him and his new wife. This does not give away the ending. I know the real interest is what happens between Oliver and Hadley.

I'm not telling.
Passes the Mom-o-Meter with flying colors.
Dialogue and swearing: Mild to none
Sex: None
Violence: None

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

2012-01-03T08:00:00.002-07:00

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers abarbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY

The first book in a captivating trilogy, Veronica Rossi’s enthralling debut sweeps you into an unforgettable adventure

My take: This is one of the best dystopias I've read in a very long time. The characters are well fleshed out and the subtle coming of minds is not forced but logical. The love story aspect is sweet and realistic. Rossi does an excellent job of describing a world that is no longer safe for human habitation. The "smart" ones entered pods generations ago that were self-contained. Small, yes, but the holographics more than make up for the lack of space. There is always food to eat, air to breathe, and entertainment to be had. And it's safe. Nobody really gets hurt.

On the outside world, there are savages that live in tribes. The pod dwellers have genetically mutated DNA that does not tolerate the fire storms that rain down. I'm guessing this is due to the huge holes in the ozone. I might also add that it has been a couple of weeks since I read this book so I am not using the correct nouns and adjectives but providing my own interpretations. Also, the DNA has naturally mutated in the savages to make them more adapted to the world outside.

So there is a catalyst that is violent and alarming (although not inappropriate for teenagers) where death follows and Aria finds herself outside the pods against her will. She's been dropped off in the desert. She expects death but is willful enough to not take it lying down. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Perry, is having troubles of his own. Gifted in mental and kinesthetic ways, he and his brother, the equivalent of a chief butt heads and Perry finds himself outside the tribe for the time being. Aria and Perry join forces and the adventures begin.

The journey they embark upon has meaning (although they are chasing different objectives). The people (?) and creatures they meet are intriguing and dangerous. Both protagonists discover things about themselves and each other. Rather than being two completely different people coming together, they are two different people who find and make commonality between them, taking on the dangers in the world and growing as individuals. There are a lot of surprising twists and turns and the fight scenes are well described.

It's not yet Hunger Games love, but it definitely could be depending on the next two books.

Gun Games by Faye Kellerman

2012-01-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

Gy taken Gmes by Faye Kellerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 384
Release Date: January 3, 2012

Goodreads: LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep—witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory’s mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen—evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student—a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.Before it’s over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return.

My take: This is is the first book I have read by Kellerman. Her name is synonymous with mystery, thriller, and crime lit. so I had high expectations. So I fault myself mostly for being underwhelmed. The story itself is comprised of two stories. There is Gabe, a fifteen year old child prodigy of questionable background who has been a star in previous Kellerman books. Although he is the most interesting to read about, I felt like I walked into the middle of a movie. It doesn't take long to catch up to the basics of his story but I didn't like having to catch up. Still, my own fault and Kellerman does seemless catch up.

Then there are the Deckers who are sort of parenting Gabe. Staunchly Jewish,he is also a captain on the police force. A new crime is reported having to do with a gunshot suicide. The mother of the teen doesn't think so. So the police investigate and find a few interesting facts which eventually intersect with Gabe and his new Persian love, Jasmine. This story progresses at a snail's pace and finished with a fizzle for me. Ultimately, it was really an education on bullying which I appreciate but it could have been told in about 200 less pages.

Gabe's story is more interesting and sweet as he navigates new waters of first love and stuff. Yes, I purposely said 'stuff'. I am convinced it is even more intriguing for those who have been following Gabe's story. I will remember Gabe and his life at this time. The other part of the story, the crime, I will forget.

swearing and dialog - heavy
violence - heavy
sex - moderate

Between Interruptions by Cori Howard Review and GIVEAWAY

2012-01-02T01:00:00.002-07:00

Between Interruptions
Cori Howard
Key Port Books

About Between Interruptions: 30 Women Tell the Truth About Motherhood Paperback: 328 pages Publisher: The Momoir Project; First Trade Paper Edition edition (May 5, 2009) Between Interruptions is a remarkable collection of original and heartfelt essays about the process of becoming a mother. Written by a wide range of mothers – from a Hollywood celebrity to an immigrant domestic worker, the book explores the transformative experiences in our journey as mothers. Provocative, honest and emotional, the stories focus on the impact motherhood has on our identity, sexuality, ambition and relationships. Laid bare in this collection are the vivd, gut-wrenching and exhilarating true confessions and secret longings of mothers across all ages, cultures and classes. Whether it’s a story about a journalist going to war and missing her baby, or a mother finding perfection in autism, or a mother struggling to breastfeed through post-partum depression, or a mother learning to let go of her dream to stay home with her children because she has to work, there’s a story in this collection for every mother.

Cori Howard is the founder of The Momoir Project, an online writing centre that offers memoir writing classes, workshops and workbooks. She’s also an award-winning journalist whose work in newspapers, magazines, TV and radio has taken her around the world. Her stories – many about motherhood – have appeared in publications including Reader’s Digest, Elle, The Independent, among many others. She lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her family.

Why I loved this book: This is a compilation of essays by women who know how to write an essay. They are divided into categories, each addressing different aspects of motherhood. Many of the essays resonated deeply, others, not so much. The women walk all the paths of life yet express themselves in ways that a fellow mother understands. Perhaps there was a writing prompt that said something like, "Describe how motherhood changed you" or "Contrast life before and after" or "How well were you prepared for motherhood?" What struck me was the raw honesty of these women. Most were ill-prepared for the reality of motherhood. Many are still teetering atop the pyramid of motherhood and career, precariously attempting a balancing act. I loved the way one author described how motherhood has no clear edges or primary colors. Parts of life can no longer be categorized or checkmarked. Motherhood seeps into all the compartments that were so neatly built before. Another beautiful writer expressed her delusions as she gave birth to her second daughter then jumped into an evening gown and took over a magazine only to discover that she found her ceiling and her fall was long and hard. I loved that raw honesty. Because motherhood is not one thing or another. It is beautiful, fulfilling, worthwhile, spiritual, uplifting, and divine. It is also thankless, neverending, exhausting, hellish, and someone-needs-to-stop-this-ride-so-I-can-get-off.

The simple truth of motherhood is that it can't be taught. You will never reach such highs or lows until you are a mother. You will never be stretched so thin and feel so contentedly satisfied until you are wholly responsible for the fruit of your womb. It's an exclusive club but anybody with estrogen can join. It's not the same as tending your nieces and nephews or having a friend who has a child. It is all consuming and women all over Canada and the U.S. are sharing their stories of growth. This is the first installment. I hope there will be more.

This book is part of a TLC tour and the publisher agreed to 5 giveaways for the tour. And I won the lottery! I get to host one! Check out the other stops on the tour along the way but remember, I have a giveaway! Because I'm Mrs. Quick Fingers and asked fifth! I feel so lucky! You will love this book! I do. And I'm not giving up my copy!

Fill out the form below or click HERE

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Monday, January 2nd: A Musing Reviews

Wednesday, January 4th: Acting Balanced

Monday, January 9th: Seaside Book Nook

Wednesday, January 11th: Overstuffed

Thursday, January 12th: Just Another Mommy Blog

Monday, January 16th: Juggling Life

Wednesday, January 18th: Get Healthy with Heather

Thursday, January 19th: There’s a Book

Monday, January 23rd: Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Tuesday, January 24th: From Tracie

Wednesday, January 25th: Red Headed Book Child

IMM (1/1/12)

2012-01-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

To start out the new year, I've included books I have received for review, bought, stolen, or given as gifts:

YA

Mystery and Thriller

Non-Fiction

Historical Fiction/and Little Princes (the best book ever)

Literature

I have 2 giveaways to post this week so watch for them! One of them is Little Princes.

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

2011-12-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark. But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

There are a number of reasons why I immersed myself into this book and finished satisfied. The story itself is well written and planned out. Although it is a fantastic jump from a suburban household to Paris to Prague, it doesn't feel forced or contrived.

I loved the writing style. The beginning sentence grabs the attention of the reader immediately. It begins with blood. Nora is covered in her best friend's blood as he lays in a puddle, dead. Her other best friend is catatonic, also covered in blood. Her boyfriend is missing. But then, she explains, it always starts with blood but that's not really true. That's the middle; the gravitational pull, the vortex. That's the event that signifies BEFORE and AFTER. Then she backs up and tells the reader what led up to the events of Chris' death. Then the book continues as Nora's senior trip to Paris turns into sneaking off to Prague to find her boyfriend. It could happen.

Nora is a great protagonist. Although not perfect and sometimes a little stupid (like why even like Max?), she is intelligent and articulate inside her head. That is the other part of the writing style that I loved. Wasserman is a collector of words. She uses them in beautiful sentences that articulate feelings I have had but only with her articulation do I understand them. She also uses descriptive words that feel delicious saying inside my mouth. I'm kind of weird about words. Still, it isn't WHAT she says but HOW she says it that had wowed. It clicked and felt right.

Back to the story, the reader and Nora don't know who to trust, although Nora trusts Max far past what I, as the reader, would have trusted Max. Nora feels alone at many points in the book and succinctly describes those feelings. To add interest to the book, the author juxtaposes a historical figure and writes letters from the figure to her brother describing her struggles and secrets - much of it mirroring Nora's experiences although not in obvious ways.

Good read.

Violence: Moderate
Swearing and language: Mild and mostly in Czech
Sex: Implied

Situations Matter by Sam Sommers Review

2011-12-30T02:09:00.005-07:00

Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World by Sam Sommers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An "entertaining and engaging" exploration of the invisible forces influencing your life-and how understanding them can improve everything you do. The world around you is pulling your strings, shaping your innermost instincts and your most private thoughts. And you don't even realize it. Every day and in all walks of life, we overlook the enormous power of situations, of context in our lives. That's a mistake, says Sam Sommers in his provocative new book. Just as a museum visitor neglects to notice the frames around paintings, so do people miss the influence of ordinary situations on the way they think and act. But frames- situations- do matter. Your experience viewing the paintings wouldn't be the same without them. The same is true for human nature. In Situations Matter, Sommers argues that by understanding the powerful influence that context has in our lives and using this knowledge to rethink how we see the world, we can be more effective at work, at home, and in daily interactions with others. He describes the pitfalls to avoid and offers insights into making better decisions and smarter observations about the world around us.

My take: Through social scientist maneuvering, the author studies context by creating situations and plugging it into some scientific algorithm. Okay, I made up the algorithm part. Still, Doogie Howser (he is a very young Ph.D) brilliantly plays with social situations and watches reactions, recording them. He then changes the context and finds the reaction is different. It is a fascinating read, particularly if you are a sociological nerd. Which I'm not. I just couldn't put the book down to finish any other task for a day or two. Well written, interesting content, and quite funny, in a professor kind of way.

About the Author: Sam Sommers is an award-winning teacher and researcher of social psychology at Tufts University outside Boston. His research specialties include how people think, communicate, and behave in diverse settings, as well as psychological perspectives on the U.S. legal system.

At Tufts Sommers is known for his engaging lecture style and has won multiple teaching awards, including being selected by the Student Senate as the Professor of the Year in 2009. (His wife would insist on mentioning that he was also voted by the student newspaper the "hottest" male professor on campus; however, being well-versed in the power of situations, he'd note that the honor had less to do with him than with the anything-but-fierce state of the competition.)

Sommers has given talks at dozens of colleges and universities, including Harvard, Yale, M.I.T., Dartmouth, Cornell, Emory, UMass, and Rutgers. His research has been featured by a wide range of media outlets, and he has testified as an expert witness in criminal trials in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Oregon.

In his free time, Sommers enjoys hanging out with his wife and two daughters, blogging on the Psychology Today website, batting lead-off for the vaunted Tufts Psychology summer softball team, and exerting more effort than he probably should editing Seinfeld and Daily Show clips for use in the classroom.

I beg to differ. Anybody who can segue into a Seinfeld episode in a psychology class really must continue doing so. It would be criminal to stop.

2011-12-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change by Winifred Gallagher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Exploring our unique human genius for responding to the new with curiosity and creativity, the bestselling author of Rapt shows us how to embrace our changing world while living a fuller, saner life.
In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the mind-boggling number of new things-whether products, ideas, or bits of data-bombarding us daily. But adapting to new circumstance is so crucial to our survival that "love of the new," or neophilia, is hardwired into our brains at the deepest levels. Navigating between our innate love of novelty and the astonishingly new world around us is the task of New: helping us adapt to, learn about, and create new things that matter, while dismissing the rest as distractions.
With wit and clarity, acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher takes us to the archaeological sites and neuroscience laboratories exploring our species' special affinity for novelty. All of us are attuned to things that are new or unfamiliar because they convey vital information about potential threats and resources. As individuals, however, we vary in how we balance the sometimes conflicting needs to avoid risk and approach rewards.
Some 15 percent of us are die-hard "neophiliacs" who are biologically predisposed to passionately pursue new experiences, and another 15 percent are "neophobes" who adamantly resist change.
Most of us fall squarely in the spectrum's roomy middle range. Whether we love change, avoid change, or take the middle path, neophilia plays a crucial role in all of our lives. No matter where we sit on neophilia's continuum, New shows us how to use it more skillfully to improve our lives.
At this time of unprecedented change- when the new information we handle daily has quadrupled in the past thirty years, with no sign of slowing-we must look beyond such secondary issues as voracious consumerism, attention problems, and electronics addiction to refocus on neophilia's true purpose: to learn about and create the new things that really matter. This big-picture perspective has long been missing, and New will jump-start that discussion by offering the tools we need to control our love of the new-rather than letting it control us.

As Homo Sapiens, we are hardwired to seek change and adapt. From our very first ancestors on the African continent, through the changes of the earth's and climate cycles, they adapted or faced obliteration. The Neanderthal, our cousins, had large brains and knew how to use tools. However, they were resistant to change and traveled little more than 15 kilometers during their lifetimes. When water dried up or the climate changed, they refused to change with it and died off. Meanwhile, our African ancestors, upon meeting the same challenges, migrated and eventually found themselves on every continent linking each of our human family together with this capacity to seek out new and better for the sake of survival.

Today's homo sapiens share the innate desire to survive but no longer need the skills of days of yore (that's a long, long time ago). The author deconstructs the different studies done by sociologists, anthropologists, and psychologists while providing modern day (within the past couple hundred years) examples of neophiles. While the societies consist of approximately 15% neophiles (actively seeking new thrills or change), 15% neophobes (resistant to change), the majority of people lie somewhere in the middle. The author explores the biological, cultural and individual reasons for our places on the continuum.

This is not the most interesting book for a person without leanings toward anthropology, psychology or sociology. On the other hand, there were parts that I found fascinating although much of it is theory and not hard science (hence the above stated studies). I enjoyed it in the way that I am a neophile in regards to sociology, anthropology and psychology. Always seeking the next thrill, I am. Kind of like a college professor. Just a thrill a minute.

If you are looking for a book to answer the questions of how much is too much and discuss the evils of technology and techno-addicts, this is not the book you want. The book simply discusses the way we seek out new information and why along with application to our own lives.

Well written and researched.

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

2011-12-29T04:03:00.001-07:00

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts.

Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

My take: This is a simply fun book that contains all the elements of an enjoyable read. Let's go through them:

Likeable protagonist. She could be anybody. She isn't any "type" of person. She also isn't a blank slate. She has a personality but can't be pigeon-holed.

Possible love interest: Three dimensional. Not Mr. Popular. Not Mr. I'm-So-Bad. His name is Nathanial because it sounds so proper. So Isobel calls him "Nate." Just to be contrary.

Dialogue: Told first person from Isobel's perspective, it is snarky, clever, and ever so witty. This is my favorite type of humor. Her internal dialogue cracks. Me. Up. Very funny.

Genre: Mystery/Contemporary YA/Paranormal but I promise there are no vampires or werewolves.

How it all meshes: Excellent. What Isobel has is a seriously creepy stepfather with issues, an estranged father since his psychotic break and her mother's prodding of estrangement, possible ghost sightings, the Mean Girls group interested in her hot stepbrother, hot stepbrother which makes things a little on the weird side if they are, indeed, attracted to one another, mother who doesn't seem terribly supportive of her only child's needs, and the child may be going crazy like her dad OR she may be seeing ghosts. Neither sounds preferable.

Long-term message: There actually is one, even if it is somewhat peripheral. Isobel eventually confronts the fact that her father is mentally ill and he does not have the plague. This is addressed in a very appropriate manner and well articulated.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. There are a couple of "f" bombs but swearing and dialogue are not extreme or distracting. The writing is clever which I always love. Humor is snarky which I understand. Story is creepy but not disgustingly so. Just enough to maybe want to sleep with a nightlight.

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler Review

2011-12-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life...and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last....

My take: I started out wondering how the elements of this book would pull together and if there was anything beyond a cute story. I don't mind a cute story but I like some meat, too. I was pleasantly surprised.

Hudson is a closet ice skater. She used to compete and was incredibly good then something happened three years ago where she felt responsible for the breaking up of her parents marriage and she purposely blew a major competition. The fallout included a divorce, her dad took a clean break, the house sold, they moved into a small apartment with mom, little brother and Hud, and poured their life into Mom's diner, Hurley, while Hudson buried herself in a new hobby; making cupcakes.

Meanwhile, Hudson lost her best friend and the sport she used to love that lost its sparkle. So she keeps a secret from everybody except her new best friend, Dani, that she goes out on Lake Erie and skates on her breaks. Where she runs into, literally, Josh, co-captain of the hockey team who asks her to teach him how to skate better. At the same time, she finds out a major competition with scholarship money attached is upcoming and she sees a way out of her current life.

So the story continues with these odd elements of Hudson and the hockey team, Hudson and Josh, Hudson and Will, Hudson and her cupcakes, Hudson and her Dani, cameo appearances by her former best friend, Hudson and her little brother and Hudson and her mom. Where is this going and how do they relate?

Well, in the end, they do.They tie together with the comings and goings of the train and the seagulls. There are lessons to be learned about appreciating what you have and prioritizing. There are also lessons about substantial goals and choosing the best parts of life. Hudson wants to get out of the town and away from Hurley's. But she doesn't know what she really wants to do when she leaves. Leaving is her goal and is reflected by the comings and goings of the train, the seagulls, and her wanting to skate to Canada. Ultimately, she has to step back and figure out who and what is important to her and what the costs are.

It's an excellent teen book.

Language - relatively clean
Swearing - Moderate but nothing strong.
Sex - Some implication of possibilities but only if the reader has an active imagination.
Dialogue - relatively clean
Violence - Hudson's crashes on the ice.

Sleepwalker by Karen Robards

2011-12-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sleepwalker by Karen Robards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s not that Micayla Lange is afraid of the clinking she hears coming from the first floor of the empty McMansion she’s housesitting for her uncle Nicco. She’s a cop, after all. It’s just that finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her was enough drama for one night. Now she’s alone on New Year’s Eve, wearing flannel pajamas and wielding a Glock 22 as she zeroes in on the unmistakable source of the sound: Uncle Nicco’s private office. Jason Davis steals things for a living, so unexpected developments are a natural part of the job. Getting caught red-handed by a hot, pigtail-sporting police officer in what is supposed to be a gangster’s deserted house is just one more twist in the game. Kind of like finding incriminating photos in Nicco Marino’s safe, only to discover the cop — and the security cameras — have gotten a real good look at his face. Unfortunately for Mick, she also got a good look at the damned pictures. Her “uncle” might love her like family, but if he knows she’s seen evidence that implicates him in the murder of a city councilman, she doesn’t like her chances. Which is why she’s having a hard time reconciling her professional instincts with what she is rapidly concluding is an inescapable fact: She’s about to help a criminal get away with a suitcase full of stolen money. And she’s going with him. Mick and Jason’s race for their lives hurtles them through the dangerous Michigan wilderness on speedboat and snowmobile. As their adventure heats up and their enemies close in, Mick is torn between her duty to the force and the combustible passion engulfing her and her unlikely partner in crime. She’ll have to turn Jason in sooner or later . . . if they survive. But will they ever get a second chance at love?

My first and not last Karen Robards book is Sleepwalker. The time period of the main story is three days. Maybe less. The first part is a flashback of Mick and Jenny's mother's murder when Mick was 11 and she was killed in front of their eyes. Now 27, Mick has nightmares every few months and she sleepwalks, sometimes waking up to her own screams. Which is how Mick finds herself out of her bed on New Year's Eve while house sitting for an old family friend.

While returning to her room, she hears a sound. Now a Detroit cop, she runs to her room, grabs her Glock and interrupts a robbery in her "uncle's" safe. There is some good butt kicking and kicked butt and then the game changer when Mick comes across incriminating evidence against her "uncle." She's smart enough to realize she's in deep doo-doo and allows herself to be taken hostage and helps the thief escape. She plans on arresting him later.

I'll go ahead and let slip one nugget. Uncle Nicco is big time mob. Sorry if I spoiled it for you but you figure it out pretty quickly. Cop and robber become grudging allies while Nicco's thugs (and he has a lot) look for them.

Action packed, intelligently written, well researched. It's a great thriller story with a couple of surprises thrown in. Sexual tension is not a surprise because it was definitely there. So it's a thriller with cops and robbers. It's a romance with strong attraction and sex. Not overboard sex but enough to get the gist and vicariously enjoy.

This is not a children's book.

Overall, an enjoyable read with a strong storyline and well written characters. Loved Jason. Oh, how I loved Jason.

Fun Filled by Renee Stephens (6 Week Weight Loss Plan)

2011-12-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Through her Inside Out Weight Loss program and seminars, along with podcasts downloaded more than 3 million times, Renée Stephens has helped countless people free themselves from emotional eating to achieve the body and life they’ve always desired. Now, in her first book, she shares the breakthrough lessons of her popular work and develops them into a complete, step-by-step program: Full-Filled: The 6-Week Weight- Loss Plan for Changing Your Relationship with Food—and Your Life—from the Inside Out.

With Full-Filled, you will gain freedom from dieting as you use some of the world’s most advanced mind and behavior-changing techniques. An intuitive and easy weight-loss program, Full-Filled will open the door to bigger transformations in your life. Not only will you drop excess physical pounds with Renée’s expert guidance, you will get to the root of why you eat and you will lose your spiritual weight—by identifying why you eat the way you do and finding better ways to satisfy your true hunger without food.

A former food addict, Stephens is a leading weight-loss coach who works with women and men who have spent years trying to free themselves from their weight struggle and to regain control of their lives. Women, Food and God led millions to spiritual insights; Full- Filled turns those insights into practical steps in an easy-to-follow program that will permanently change how you think about and behave around food.

The Full-Filled program will identify and heal your underlying food issues and provide you with the specific tools to create new habits that will make you slim and healthy for a lifetime. This isn’t about what foods you should and shouldn’t eat (although Renée does share some of her favorite recipes to make weight loss happen faster and easier). Filled with personal success stories and a whole bag of transformative tips and tricks, Full- Filled will set you up for significant weight loss and provide the no-fail techniques for keeping the pounds off permanently.

Lasting weight loss has nothing to do with what you eat, but why. Yet knowing why is not enough to make you slim. Internationally recognized behavioral weight loss expert Renée Stephens used to be so emotionally addicted to eating that she would pull food from the trash. But she searched within and discovered not only what was motivating her food issues but developed specific techniques to combat them. Soon her successful methods were working for people around the world! Her Inside Out Weight Loss audio program is the most popular weight-loss podcast on iTunes, with more than 3.5 million downloads! And now in FULL-FILLED: The 6-Week Plan for Changing Your Relationship with Food—and Your Life—from the Inside Out (Free Press; December 27, 2011 $26.00), Stephens not only helps readers discover the underlying causes of their weight struggles, she offers specific, step-by-step exercises to release the emotional pain tied to their unwanted eating habits so they can create new, healthy behaviors that last a lifetime.

Mid-winter's Eve Giveaway Hop and Hidden Wives

2011-12-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jessie Harrell from Oasis For YA & The Daily Harrell for co-hosting with Kathy of I am a Reader not a Writer.

I have, just for you, 5 copies of trade copy of Hidden Wives by the illustrious, intelligent, and extremely articulate, Claire Avery! Just to clarify, Claire Avery is not one person but 2! I mean, they were when they wrote this book but now Claire Avery is down to one person. Mari and Michelle are sisters who grew up in a fundamental environment, although not FLDS. Still, they did an AMAZING amount of research for this book and really captured so many of the subtle and obvious effects of living this life of isolation, polygamy, and patriarchal priesthood abuse, particularly in light of the Warren Jeffs case in Southern Utah/Texas. I read this book when it came out last year and LOVED it. You can read that review HERE.

Go ahead and read the first chapter. Go ahead. I know you want to. Click HERE.

Book Description: Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car--but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah's secret polygamist Blood of the Lamb community. Having long since reached the "age of preparedness," they will soon be married off to much older men chosen by the hidden sect's revered Prophet.

As Sara, chosen to become her uncle's fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life. But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested.

When Rachel's future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever know...before it's too late.

Claire Avery has woven a stunning tale that could be ripped from today's headlines. Shocking and empowering, Hidden Wives is a page-turning debut that will stay with the reader.

Here's how you enter:

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Magic of the Moonlight by Ellen Schreiber Review

2011-12-26T06:12:00.001-07:00

Magic of the Moonlight by Ellen Schreiber

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads:
Beware of a bite under a full moon…
it will complicate your love life.

Celeste has more to worry about than a secret romance with a hot guy from the wrong side of town. That guy, Brandon, is a werewolf. With gossip and hostility swirling at school, it’s time to find a cure for his nocturnal condition, and perhaps the one person who can help is his scientist father. But what if a “cure” makes things worse and Brandon becomes a werewolf full time? And with rumors circulating that there are werewolves in Legend’s Run, is it possible that there is another among their classmates?

To keep Brandon’s secret safe, Celeste must hide her relationship with him from her best friends, but with the Moonlight Ball approaching, she must make a choice. Her dream is to go with her one true love—Brandon. But once the sun goes down, the clouds separate, and the full moon appears, could she really walk into the dance on the arm of a werewolf?

In this installment of the sumptuously romantic Full Moon series, Celeste faces her fears and her friends and finds out whether she’s strong enough to stand up for herself and her one true love.

My take: It's a sweet read for a romantic teenager who finds hairy teenagers attractive. There are no vampires in this book and Jacob Black does not playfully romp around. The werewolves are more human looking than a real wolf and seem to emanate pheromones, rendering the female species helplessly in love.

The plot is predictable and the characters are shallow. If your preteen or teen asks for a copy of this book for Christmas, get it. Besides some make-out scenes, the book is clean and the sweet (but hairy) love story will appeal to them.

It's better than getting a puppy.

The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

When her boyfriend breaks up with her on the first day of sophomore year, Lucy has no idea how she’s going to make it through homeroom, let alone the rest of her life. Enter three stunning girls with a magical offer Lucy can’t refuse. All she has to do is get a guy to fall in love with her in the next seven days, and then…break his heart and collect one of his brokenhearted tears. As the girls teach Lucy how to hook a guy (with the help of a little magic), she quickly discovers how far she is willing to go—and who she is willing to cross—to get what she wants.

Fans of Lauren Myracle, Jodi Lynn Anderson, and Meg Cabot will love this tale of breakups, friendship, new crushes, and magic. Told with wit and charm, The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers is sure to be one of this winter’s most irresistible reads!

I'm conflicted about this book. I've never read this author before but I will tell you that her writing is GOOD. Her understanding of the art of love, flirting, playing on heartstrings, and the deeper issue of fear is EXCELLENT! Honestly, there were some incredibly good nuggets of wisdom within the pages. The writing style is clear, humor written well, heartbreak and other feelings very well described, and the objectivity in describing matters of the heart is absolutely phenomenal.

Why the conflict? I just didn't like the story. I can't pinpoint why. Maybe it's the idea of an exclusive club that offers promises with nothing to show they have the goods. Maybe it's the social hierarchy that made me a little tired. Lucy, the protagonist, was fine. I liked Gil and didn't hate Liza and Olivia. I found Alex uninteresting and a waste of time. I wanted to get to know Tristan better but he was peripheral yet became central. Every dialogue with him made him more likeable. Which then proved to me that Lucy was kind of an idiot. On the other hand, what 16 year old isn't, at least at times?

The ending indicates it will be a trilogy or some kind of series. It didn't necessarily leave the reader hanging, although the power of the Heartbreakers is not yet known to the reader. The power of four is significant and it is intimated that there is more that Lucy doesn't know.

Bottom line is that I loved the author's writing. I loved her ideas and perspective. I just didn't completely love the story.

Clean-o-meter

Swearing - strong. "F" words used
Sex - Peripheral and implied; Lucy starts the book announcing to Alex she is ready to lose her virginity. She does not and nothing is described.
Underage drinking - present

Worth reading? Yes.

Switched by Amanda Hocking Teaser

2011-12-23T12:46:00.002-07:00

Switched
Amanda Hocking
Macmillan Publishing

“Vampire and werewolf lovers beware; this trilogy opener offers readers a new take on an unexpected breed of mystical beings. Readers who can suspend preconceived notions and open themselves up to this new interpretation are in for a midwinter version of a good beach read.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Wendy is a flawed antihero, which helps differentiate her from the throng of paranormal-romance heroines, and the potential for development, both dramatic and romantic, should make readers anxious for the next installment of the Trylle trilogy.” –Booklist

“The romance is smoldering, the action is suspenseful, and the characters are quirky, likeable, and original. Amanda Hocking has a gift for storytelling that will grip readers and keep them wanting more…Entrancing.” –Library Thing

“Started Switched last night. I don't like this book because it made me stay up too late last night to keep reading and made me skip my dance class this morning so I can finish it!” --BookCrossing

"I started reading Switched in the evening one night and stayed up until 3 a.m. because I didn't want to put it down. I had to be at work the next day and all I could think about was going home and finishing the book. Yes, it's THAT good." --A Tale of Many Reviews

"Switched is paranormal YA with a fresh twist. It has a more deliberate pace than other YA fantasy...and more emotional thrills. I really appreciated the realistic development of the love story, and the characters feel well developed. Recommended." --I'd So Rather Be Reading

“I ate this book up I could barely put it down before bed, and was also trying to sneak time in my busy morning to read some extra sentences. This was an awesome first book in a series that I'm dying to read. Amanda please write the next one soon. I'm dying!!” –Midnight Glace Reviews

“I LOVED this book! The characters are quite likable…and there is never a dull moment. I highly suggest you take a look at this book if you want to read some fantasy that leaves you panting for the next installment.” –The Light Under The Covers

"Filled with action, suspense, and romance...I found the story completely fascinating." --A True Reality Blog

“Amanda Hocking is like a breath of fresh air in the young adult paranormal market. I’ve read countless books about vampires, werewolves and faeries, but never one about trolls…Switched was an impressive start to a series that was chock-full of excitement, adventure and attitude.” –That Bookish Girl Blog

“Switched has more intrigue and hidden secrets than the average YA book.” –Read My Mind

“An addicting, easy to digest book that can be devoured in an afternoon.” –Feeding My Book Addiction

“I absolutely loooooveeed Switched. From the first pages I found myself totally caught up stealing moments to read this book. Visually I 'saw' this book so well in my head. Just an awesome read that makes you feel for the characters.” –Novels On The Run Reviews

When My Baby Dreams by Adele Enersen

2011-12-23T06:49:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time there was a brand new baby in Finland. Her name was Mila. Mila slept a lot and her mother, Adele, grew restless. Fortunately, Adele worked as a copywriter and concept designer in advertising. Those are just big words to simply say that Adele was artistic and creative. And bored. She wanted to play with Mila! But Mila wanted to sleep. So Adele created worlds for Mila. She used Mila as her centerpiece then threw fabrics here and there so that Mila could travel all over without moving more than a few inches.

Adele says:

I used to introduce myself as a copywriter & concept designer in advertising, but that's not that relevant anymore. Right now I am a mother and a housewife, and loving it!

This blog is my maternity leave hobby. While my baby is taking her nap, I create scene around her and take quick snap photos.

I use only few minutes per picture, including creating idea, implementation and editing, 'cause I don't want to disturb her sleeping and most of my time is for my family. My camera is small and inexpensive Canon IXUS 750.

Nancy says: Why didn't I think of that? (Because I am artistically challenged)

Adele's blog is: Mila's Daydreams

Book's release date is January 3, 2012.

I can already tell you it is going to be a hit! My happy endorphins released while reading this book and enjoying the pictures. Anne Geddes took cute pictures of sleeping babies. Adele creates art in minutes around her cute, sleeping baby.

MADAME TUSSAUD: A Novel of the French Revolution

2011-12-23T01:09:00.000-07:00

In 2007, Michelle Moran published her debut novel, Nefertiti. Crafting a work of fiction around one of the most well-known women in history wasn’t easy, but with Moran’s combination of impeccable research, elegant descriptions, and vivid characters, Nefertiti went on to become a national bestseller and firmly established her as an author to watch. With her subsequent novels The Heretic Queen and Cleopatra’s Daughter, Moran’s star has continued to rise, as she has become the novelist of the ancient world. In MADAME TUSSAUD: A Novel of the French Revolution (Broadway; December 27, 2011), now available in paperback, Moran steps out of the realm of Egypt and Rome into new territory—the gilded but troubled court of Marie Antoinette—where her talent truly shines through.

While many have written about revolutionary France and its infamous players, Moran breaks away from the pack with a well-known, yet relatively unexamined narrator: Marie Tussaud. The woman better known as Madame, Marie was an eye witness to the Revolution and experienced its terror firsthand. In MADAME TUSSAUD, Moran channels Marie to provide a fictionalized account of her life and this momentous time in history.

In Paris, in the year 1788, there is whispered talk of revolution. While the aristocracy enjoys wealth and fortune, for the poor bread can only be had on the black market, and men sell their teeth to put food on their tables. Marie enjoys a comfortable life thanks to her skill creating wax figures. At her stepfather’s famed wax museum, the Salon de Cire, she has worked with some of the most influential people of her day—Desmoulins, Benjamin Franklin, and Robespierre—to craft their likenesses. Word of her gift travels quickly and soon the royal family comes to pay Marie a visit to the Salon. Impressed by her work, Marie is invited to court, where she tutors the king’s sister, Princesse Élisabeth, in wax sculpting. Living at Versailles, Marie experiences the opulence of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, but the fairy tale abruptly comes to a halt when the rumors of revolution quickly turn into all-out war. All over Paris, people are being sentenced to death by guillotine on ridiculous charges. For her relationship with the monarchy, Marie is on the list of “traitors,” but the revolutionaries allow her to live on one horrifying condition: that she use her gift to create the death masks of the beheaded aristocracy.

Spanning five years, MADAME TUSSAUD takes readers from the beginnings of the Revolution to its horrific end, as seen through the eyes of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom. Rich with history and graceful prose, Moran has vibrantly re-created the glory—and the horrors—of eighteenth-century Paris through Marie’s incredible story.

About the Author

Michelle Moran is the author of the bestselling Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, andCleopatra’s Daughter. Her experiences at archaeological sites around the world motivated her to write historical fiction and continue to provide inspiration for her novels.

____________________________________________

Madame Tussaud

By Michelle Moran

Broadway Books

December 27, 2011 * Pages: 480

Price: $15.00 * ISBN: 978-0-307-58866-1

www.MichelleMoran.com

www.CrownPublishing.com

If We Kiss by Rachel Vail

2011-12-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

If We Kiss by Rachel Vail
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: What would happen if we kiss?

Kevin led me quickly around the side of the building, then stopped. I managed not to crash into him. I tried to look calm, cool, unperturbed. I told myself not to laugh, especially not a snorting kind of laugh. "Wha . . . what did . . ."

And then he kissed me.

If We Kiss is the story of Charlotte (Charlie to her friends), who finds herself falling for a boy who is off-limits. Her best friend is in love with him, and her mother and his father are dating. Still, Charlie can't help but wonder, what would happen if we kiss?

My take: When I started reading: The first chapter threw me off because Kevin, hot-guy, kind of grabs Celeste and takes her to a corner and gives her a first kiss. So I spent the first half of the book trying to figure out why he did what he did and why she likes him. I didn't think I'd like the book.

Well into the book: I finally figured it out. Celeste is 14. She doesn't need a reason to like Kevin beyond the fact that he's cute and he kissed her. It doesn't matter why he did it and it doesn't matter that I don't find him endearing, Celeste did. Which reminded me...

Of my first kiss which was a lot like that. Exciting a gross. We block those things out when we're adults but Vail completely captures the experience of first crushes and first kisses. Did I assume I wouldn't taste him? I didn't think about it but I did. It wasn't pleasant, as Celeste describes. What's up with the tongue? Serious gross factor for the first kiss. Me? I kept my mouth closed and came away feeling like I'd just kissed a St. Bernard with his tongue hanging out.

Bottom line is that Vail captures the mentality and thinking process of a 14 year old. Why did she kiss Kevin back? Same reason I kissed Alan. He was there and kissed me. Duh. Why did she have a crush on Kevin? Same reason I crushed on most of my crushes in my teenage years. They were cute and they were there. Another duh. I can't recall a sparkling personality that drew me into the dating arena (besides my own, of course). Just cute guys with nice smiles and twinkling eyes. It's shallow and it can't be described. Yet Vail does a great job of it.

The other part so very well captures is the girl friend relationship. Best friends will do almost anything for each other. They also make each other laugh so hard over stupid things that there is no way that even a guy will stay long between them. It is more substantial simply because they have stood the test of time.

Fun read. Teenagers will love it. Parents will "get" their daughters and remember how it used to be before we got boring.

Mental Floss Review

2011-12-22T06:40:00.001-07:00

For ten years, the knowledge seekers at mental_floss have been hunting and trapping the world’s rarest facts, locking them into captivating lists for the world to admire. Thanks to their tireless efforts, Mental Floss: The Book is packed with a decade’s worth of the smartest, quirkiest stories around, including:

Five Presidential Fashion Flubs
Seven Shameless Abuses of Diplomatic Immunity
Five Units of Measurement Weirder Than the Metric System
Four Toys That Have Gone to War for America
Seven Reasons Mister Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever
Five Things Your Body Can Do After You Die
Six of Baseball’s Strangest Trades
Four Foods People Actually Die For
Seven Things Walmart Has Banned
Four TV Shows That Changed the Course of History
Ten “Q” Words That Aren’t “Q-U” Words
Four Horrifying Parasites to Keep You Awake at Night
Eight Fake Archaeological Finds
Five Articles of Clothing That Caused Riots
Four Memorable Moments in Cross-Dressing History
Five Doomsdays We’ve Already Survived
It all started over cafeteria food.

A group of intellects (freshman) at Duke University thought they could present facts in a fun manner and keep it more interesting than some of their professors. This led to a discussion with Duke's president who gave the idea a thumbs up but the name was a thumbs down. Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur did what any student would do at this point - raise money through corporate avenues.

TADA! Mental Floss was born.

This book can be used one of two ways:

Massive time killer. Read it front to back or skip around. Best to then get on the website and spend HOURS studying trivia. This might be the best way to beat Ken Jennings on Jeopardy.
Keep it close to your dental floss. It's a bathroom book or, what we intellectuals call "Squat and Chuckle." Start on any page and enjoy.

The Kitchen Daughter Jael McHenry Review

2011-12-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

The Kitchen Daughter
Jael McHenry
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Gallery
12/20/11

Goodreads: After the unexpected death of her parents, painfully shy and sheltered 26-year-old Ginny Selvaggio seeks comfort in cooking from family recipes. But the rich, peppery scent of her Nonna’s soup draws an unexpected visitor into the kitchen: the ghost of Nonna herself, dead for twenty years, who appears with a cryptic warning (“do no let her…”) before vanishing like steam from a cooling dish.

A haunted kitchen isn’t Ginny’s only challenge. Her domineering sister, Amanda, (aka “Demanda”) insists on selling their parents’ house, the only home Ginny has ever known. As she packs up her parents’ belongings, Ginny finds evidence of family secrets she isn’t sure how to unravel. She knows how to turn milk into cheese and cream into butter, but she doesn’t know why her mother hid a letter in the bedroom chimney, or the identity of the woman in her father’s photographs. The more she learns, the more she realizes the keys to these riddles lie with the dead, and there’s only one way to get answers: cook from dead people’s recipes, raise their ghosts, and ask them.

My take: This is actually my favorite kind of book. It's about something relevant but also about something else much more relevant. It reminds me of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake which is about a girl who feels what people feel when they cook the food. But it's really not. It's about coping skills or it's a little story about growing up...

This book is about Ginny who is 26 years old and has a personality. At least that's what she's always been told. Secretly, Ginny has never been officially diagnosed with Aspberger's Syndrome. She has self-soothed by hiding in closets and sticking her hands into her parents' shoes or cooking. She also self-soothes by cooking or imagining chemical changes while she cooks.

One day she needs to feel comfort and whips up a dish by her Nonna. Imagine her surprise when Nonna appears to her in the kitchen and talks to her. Scares the dickens out of her. This turns out to be a theme for her. When a recipe is hand written, she can conjure a person up with the cooking and the smell. They stay until the smell fades. She learns from talking to them but also is forced to interact with the world about her. Her trusted housekeeper begins as the artery to the outside world and slowly Ginny discovers what she can and can't do. The introduction of David, the housekeeper's grief engulfed son is an interesting storyline.

The book is a story about grief and some of the different grieving styles. So very, very interesting.

Why I want Jael to be my friend: Jael McHenry is a talented and enthusiastic amateur cook who grew up in Michigan and Iowa before moving from city to city along the East Coast: Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and now New York, where she blogs about food and cooking at the Simmer blog, http://simmerblog.com. She is a monthly pop culture columnist and Editor-in-Chief of Intrepid Media, online at intrepidmedia.com. Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing.

In her senior year at Tufts University she appeared as a semi-finalist on the "Jeopardy!" College Championship, where she made a killing in consolation prizes.

Flyaway by Helen Landalf

2011-12-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Flyaway by Helen Landalf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a quick and easy read targeting children of parents with addiction problems and lacking a stable home environment. Stevie has been living with her mother in precarious situations for many years. Her mother does what she pleases and Stevie is left to fend for herself which neither find a problem with this setup. Inevitably, one day her mother doesn't come home and Stevie's aunt shows up to take her to her own home. Stevie and Aunt Mindy struggle and clash as they redefine their relationship. Stevie is also always hoping her mother will return. Regardless that she is a crappy mother, she is her mother.

To add depth to the story, the author has included metaphors in juxtaposition of Stevie's life. Stevie finds an injured bird and helps another troubled youth transport it to a bird preserve where Stevie volunteers to help so she can keep an eye on the injured bird and its progress. She learns a lot about caretaking and giving the birds enough space to spread their wings and experiment in a safe environment until they heal. Sometimes the birds can't be saved. Their injuries are too extensive.

It's a sweet story with the realities of a population of children that are transient yet a parent is often present if not responsible or missing for days or weeks on end. I liked it quite a bit.

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories 2011 by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

2011-12-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories 2011 by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: HitRECord’s collaborative coalition of artists and writers are making history with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, a collection of innovative crowd-sourced creative projects that pushes the limits of originality, cooperation, imagination, and inspiration. HitRECord, a grassroots creative collective founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known worldwide for his performances in (500) Days of Summer and Inception, is a forum where thousands of artists worldwide share work and contribute to their peers’ projects in writing, music, videos, illustration, and beyond. Alongside Dean Haspiel’s ACT-I-VATE, a groundbreaking comics collective, and the photographer JR’s Inside Out Project, hitRECord is a haven for budding creatives. Now, the collective has edited together its most promising stories and illustrations to serve as its face in introducing the world to a new generation of talent, in The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories.

What it is: It's the smallest book in my library except for, maybe George Shrinks. What it contains is very short stories - sentences or poetry - along with a picture. Each one represents a collaboration by artists, readers, bloggers, etc. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt then culled the cream of the crop and published them. It's not earth shattering but I found myself smiling while I read them. They are clever, witty, thought provoking, and enjoyable. Some of the illustrations had me laughing out loud. Others were a little sad.

Best approached as a book of collaborative poetry unlike anything you've ever seen. And I'll be keeping this one all to myself.

IMM (12/18/11)

2011-12-18T00:22:00.002-07:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristy, at The Story Siren.

And I want you to be jealous because I've already read two of the books for review this week.

I didn't feel like shopping. I just wanted to read.

Here they are:

	If We Kiss	Vail, Rachel
	The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers	Weingarten, Lynn *
	Magic of the Moonlight (Full Moon, #2)	Schreiber, Ellen
	The Goddess Test	Carter, Aimee*

Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

2011-12-15T00:14:00.002-07:00

Title: Love and Leftovers

Author: Sarah Tregay

Pages: 304

Publisher: Harper Collins

Release Date: December 27, 2011

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

My take: The most difficult aspect of writing in verse is to be clear and concise while cleverly making the poetry flow and have the proper syllable count. It doesn't rhyme but it is written in a visual manner, much like Ellen Hopkins. Also like Hopkins, the emotions are raw, experiences real, subject matter relevant but a lot cleaner than Hopkins.

Marcie is dealing with a lot as her father comes out, her mother slips into depression, and she is uprooted and moved across the country where she slips into the parental role and feels lonely and isolated. In Idaho, Marcie knew where she belonged. In the leftover crowd. In other words, the crowd that didn't belong to any crowd. They were the leftovers that didn't stand out. On the eastern coast, Marcie makes different decisions than she did in Idaho.

So is this another book about growing pains and growing up, dating the football captain then clicking your ruby slippers and murmuring, "There's no place like home?" Absolutely not. I think that's what makes the book stand out.

Marcie is grappling with the idea and definition of love, belonging, respect, and sex. Why didn't her boyfriend in Idaho at least try to get to second base with her? Is he gay, too? Why did her dad push the house of cards down and decide he was gay? Why did his decision ruin her life? Why must she suffer for her parents inability to love one another and be parental? What does she really feel for for J.D.? What does she feel for Linus? How much should she confide in her best friend, Katie?

Marcie is flawed. Her friends are flawed. She betrays and she is betrayed. But Marcie learns from her mistakes, learns to accept situations out of her control, and accept flawed people, including herself. Much, much happens to Marcie in the few months the book covers and I couldn't imagine such a quick read could be so substantial in dealing with the issues of love, respect, sex, and healing but it is.

Clear, concise, sweet, and illustrates the reasons for a moral compass without preaching it.

Parental warnings:

Language is strong. One "f" word. Other swearing is present, not overly abundant.

Dialogue: Strong subjects addressed. Sex and petting are discussed. Again, the author craftily does not spell the activities in romance-novel detail. In one verse, petting is described by "exploring the geography of my body with his hands." Clever.

Sex: Discussed. Dreamed about. It's not a subject the author shies away from and is somewhat central to Marcie's struggles but delicately approached, in most cases.

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar Review

2011-12-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Thrity Umrigar, acclaimed author of The Space Between Us and The Weight of Heaven, returns with a breathtaking new novel—a skillfully wrought, emotionally resonant story of four women and the indelible friendship they share. Fans of Jennifer Haigh’s Faith, Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, and Katrina Kittle’s The Kindness of Strangers will be captivated by Umrigar’s The World We Found—a moving story of bottled secrets, unfulfilled dreams, and the acceptance that can still lead to redemption, from a writer whom the New York Times calls “perceptive and often piercing.”

My take: The novel takes place in modern day India and United States. One of four friends (the one in the U.S.) is dying of brain cancer and wants the other three to visit her. They were close in college, bound together in a common cause - to bring forth a New India. They were politically active socialists who pled for equality for all citizens. They were in marches where the police beat them and they were hospitalized or arrested. They had ideas and dreams of the way the world should be.

Fast forward nearly 30 years and the women are all middle age and living different lives. Through their eyes we see the world they found. One woman married an American and is dying of cancer in suburbia, a mother to one daughter and divorced from her American husband. I loved being inside her head. Another married a man from their group of political activists. He's Parsi and well-to-do. She still carries her political torch. Another woman is still single and a successful architect. She is also a closeted lesbian. The last woman is Nishta, the lost one who married another from their college group who was also a Muslim. She now lives a troubled life, both internally and externally.

Although not discussed in great detail, the author provides a little background in that the Muslims and Hindus are constantly at odds because the politicians use them as pawns, turning them against one another in order to win votes.

The story itself is not exciting. What is striking is the author's voice and the way she articulates universal feelings and doubts. It is truly beautifully written and articulated.

The Glass Case: A Short Story by Kristin Hannah

2011-12-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

The Glass Case: A Short Story by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: In her short story THE GLASS CASE, Kristin Hannah explores the heart and mind of a mother – April Bannerman is a young mother of three, married to her high school sweetheart & living in the same town she grew up in. Although she loves her children and husband, April is plagued by the growing doubt that she has not lived up to the expectations of her own mother – who passed away years ago. When her youngest son goes missing one afternoon, April’s views on her own life – and what is most important – goes through a sudden transformation.

My take and philosophy: This is written in usual Kristin Hannah prose; drawing pictures with her words and linking to real emotions. It's a short story so the expectation of much depth is not of the greatest importance. What the story is really about is love of a child, exploration of the love of a mother, enduring love of a tired but solid marriage, and of satisfaction. The glass case is the figurative case the protagonist keeps her mother's memory. The memory of her mother's encouragement, love, and disappointment. Within the story, the protagonist is pushed to open the Glass Case and carefully examine her mother's disappointment while contrasting her own perceptions.

Although my summary of the story sounds very bland and unexciting, I don't believe it is that way at all. It is really very touching and redemptive. Perhaps because I am tired of the mother who wakes up after years of mothering and taking care of everything only to realize she's gotten older and her dreams of being a *fill-in-the-blank* have never been realized. Because she always planned on doing whatever it is she planned on doing before she sacrificed her life for her husband who doesn't appreciate her and her children who are still sneezing germs all over the place and demanding to be fed every day only to poop it out and occasionally right in the toilet.

*Spoiler Alert*

Because we all have choices we make in our lives that take us down certain paths. Lamenting what could have and should have been is counterproductive and channeling Gloria Steinem really is not the answer to all of women's life questions and crises. Because the world needed a Gloria Steinem and she did her job well. But women are going to be overworked, underappreciated, and might always question what might have been if only she had taken another path. Too many books feature the protagonist who falls into this category which is good for awhile because we can relate to some extent. Then at some point it is repetitive and we wonder what the point is. Short of a time machine, there is no going back and unmaking those decisions.

What if, given the choice to have a do-over and follow those dreams of getting a Ph.D. and marrying Mr. Wonderful we discover that our lives are still busy and we still wonder if we took the right path? Because we're women and second guessing is our second nature.

Or...

What if we step back and look at our lives that are standard, ordinary, tiring and realize that, no matter what choices we made to end up where we are, we would still be 46 years old and here we are? We put away our second guessing and realize we made the choices we made and we're satisfied? Happy? That what is most important to us is within the walls of our homes? We don't have to be Gloria Steinem to be movers and shakers in the world. Our world is our children and we love them. We chose them and we'd do it all over again just to have what we have right now.

Because life doesn't have to be perfect for us to be happy.

IMM (12/11/11)

2011-12-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

Although it's kind of a slow month, I've been busy, busy setting up giveaways and such! I have some really good ones coming up! I can't wait!

This week for review:

Just because I know you want to know, one of these

books is my favorite book EVER.

(Little Princes)

Another is a book I enjoyed so much, I stalk the authors.

I think it isn't creepy. At all.

I'm waiting for either a restraining order or we're going out to

lunch.

I'll let you know which one it is.

(Hidden Wives)

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness GIVEAWAY

2011-12-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

I am so excited to read this book! It has gotten RAVE reviews! On December 27th, it comes out in paperback. Are you so EXCITED?

I know. Me, too.

Enter to win one of two copies by filling out the form below.

Also, don't tell my 6 year old son that I'm not a witch. He believes I am. Maybe because I feed him with stories.

So sue me.

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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor AUDIO REVIEW

2011-12-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are angels and demons and a plethora of books about them. This is not one of them. This is about angels and chimera. Not Beefalo (mix between cow and buffalo) but more similar to the creatures atop Notre Dame with the gargoyles only with more imagination.

There are angels whose origin is different according to the source, the Chimaera who are in the same world as the angels and then the humans who live in Prague. That's where the story begins, anyway. This is an interesting choice as Prague was directly impacted by both World War I and World War II. In fact, there are references to both wars within the story. There are also similarities to the human wars and the angel vs. chimera war which has been going on for eons. Although the creatures in question come from a vivid imagination, the concept is universal; war sprouts from fear.

In this case, the war is between the chimaera and angels. The angels were the dominant race see themselves as saviors to the lesser race. The chimaera see themselves as enslaved and beaten down. Tired of being the underdog, they united and rose up to fight while the angels were unaware of their intelligence and unity.

But again, the story starts in Prague with Karou who is a... ? That is the question. She was raised by a kindly and grumpy chimaera who carries the world on his shoulders and keeps his secrets close to his chest. There are three other chimaera in the shop that Karou loves like family. Meanwhile, Karou is attending an art school in Prague. She has experienced a unique childhood and possesses the gift of tongues. She collects languages and uses them to fit into whatever country or culture she is currently inhabiting.

The imagination of the author is astounding. In order to visit her "family," Karou must knock on the portal door and wait for it to be opened from the inside. If she opens the door, she is greeted by a human inhabitant of the building. If it is opened from the inside, it is Issa, a beautiful Chimaera that ushers her into an airtight foyer. The door behind her closes and then the second door opens and she enters Elsewhere which is not of the human realm.

I can't begin to explain the imaginative and literary liberties without spoiling the story. All I can say is that the book is original, the story executed in perfect increments, description swallows up the reader into the world of Elsewhere, and of course, star-crossed-lovers.

I would rate the book as PG:
Sex is implied but not graphic in any way.
Language is mild.
Swearing is non-existent.
Violence is part of the story. It's war.

Audio Review: I have adult onset ADHD. In other words, I diagnosed myself and perpetuate this condition by constantly toggling and multi-tasking. This makes audio books a bit of challenge for me at times. I'll be listening along and then my mind starts wandering and I eventually find myself deep in an argument with myself over my political views or, more likely, Oooh. A butterfly! In other words, like many of the technologically savy and multi-tasking adult population, I need a lot more than listening to a book to keep my attention. First of all, I need a good story line. Daughter of Smoke and Bone's story line. Check. Secondly, I need an engaging voice that uses inflection and accents to keep my mind rolling through the story like a well written, directed, and edited film. Check.

The voice talent is truly that; talented. The story takes place in Prague and the voices coming to my ears had just enough of a Prague accent to transport me but not enough to make me go, "What? What?" Each character clearly had his or her own "voice." The story flowed just as well on CD as when I read the book thanks to the careful combination of a great story and incredible talent well versed in dramatic reading. The reader captures the raw emotions with her voice and timbre. I would love to hear more from her.

I maintain my high star rating even without the benefit of holding an actual copy of this book in my hands while I folded clothes, baked bread, and drove to Yellowstone. Fortunately, there were no bears, elk, or deer to distract me on the road (just a lost cow or two. Oh, and bison). The story unfolded beautifully and with the panache of a seasoned talent.

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner Review

2011-12-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

My Take: This is the second book by Meissner I have read and I enjoyed it very much. Once again, she has amazed me with her historical knowledge and her ability to reframe marriage and love. In this book, she escorts the reader back to the Civil War in Fredrickson, Virginia. This was my favorite part of the book - going to the past. Susannah, the mysterious ancestor. What struck me with this part of the story is the sacrifices the women made while the men were fighting. This town is completely devastating in a physical sense in the fighting between North and South. Most homes were decimated. Holly Oak, the family home, suffers to a much lesser degree. In the present day, all that remains is a cannon ball in the brick and timber. The truth is that the soldiers did horrible damage to the town, the homes, businesses, and women. What the women did for the men they loved involved great sacrifice. The faces of love are explored and exposed. Very nicely written.

Ultimately, not only is love explored (enduring, long-suffering, growing, and romantic kinds of love), but characters develop the depth that real people have. No one person can be surmised in a single sentence or paragraph. Circumstances, life experiences, and personalities often dictate their choices. But ultimately it does come down to choice and free agency. Caroline, one of the modern day protagonists teaches this concept when she returns.

Excellent lessons to be learned. Interesting history. Modern day story, although relevant, was not as endearing to me as Susannah's story. Still, a very worthwhile read.

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

2011-12-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

Goodreads: Lynn Austin Will Delight Readers with Her Winsome Heroine

Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But the happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression.

Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to a library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal.

But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated--not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. When Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and mystery--and especially romance--are far better than her humble dreams could have imagined.
My take: This is a very well written book that 1) gets into the head of the reader who befuddles her friends by using lesser known words, 2) creates a wonderful protagonist this reader could understand and relate to, 3) walks around depression era small town America and 4) provides insight to coal mining towns and share cropping. Both with their downfalls.

What Allie stumbles into is a small town suffering in the Great Depression. She also stumbles into the web of the coal mining business which kept the miners consistently in debt. There is also a contrast by using Lillie, a century old woman who has lived a dozen lives and experienced many losses. She was a slave before the Civil War, lost a couple of husbands and children, a sharecropper, and a sage. Lillie also acts as the voice of the Christian believer.

The main character is particularly well developed. The history is outlined in a compelling manner. The truth about the both share cropping and coal mining is that the owners of the land and mines also owned the shacks where the workers lived, the stores where the workers bought inflated priced goods, and the workers always owed more than they brought home. Safety was sacrificed and the only ones getting rich were the owners. Innocent people died all the time with no accountability.

Mack, the hero (although not the romantic interest, necessarily. Alice is much too busy for much romance, although some is included in a more realistic manner later on), is an educated man who returns to his home town to make his world a better place. He takes advantage of new government programs while investigating the criminal activity of a now defunct coal mine.

Although seeming fantastic, my own understanding is congruent with this story. A small town within a couple of hour's drive from my home is now a ghost town that used to be a huge coal mining operation. The history and ledgers prove all the facts of this story to be true. The miners and their families lived in abject poverty and were charged astronomical prices for their homes (which they never owned) and food. There was no way for them to achieve the American Dream. This town's ending, however, is far different from Acorn, Kentucky.

Like the coal mine in the book, the Scofield coal mine sacrificed safety measures (although I am unaware of purposeful murder, I would not be surprised). The entire mine exploded, wiping out the mining community. Without fathers and husbands, the women and children (still in poverty) moved someplace else.

Clever writing style, interesting story line, realistic plot.

The Chicktionary: From A-line to Z-snap, the words every woman should know by Anna Lefler

2011-12-05T01:00:00.001-07:00

The Chicktionary: From A-line to Z-snap, the words every woman should know by Anna Lefler

Goodreads: The CHICKtionary is a humorous dictionary of the words and phrases women use—and what they really mean when they use them. The book corrals more than 450 terms, including some you know (uterus) and some you might not (flexting), and defines each from the perspective of a typical contemporary woman—a woman who avoids accidental pageant hair, is frenemies with her robotic vacuum and only occasionally relies on her high-waisted jeans to hold up her strapless bra.

While The CHICKtionary is obviously comedic, it also pays homage to the unique and ever-evolving way in which women communicate about relationships, life, fashion, self-identity and more. The CHICKtionary fills the niche of being the thinking woman’s book that both celebrates and skewers the realities of womanhood through the lens of the words and phrases used to describe the experience.

So whether you are dealing with a Residual Girlfriend, diagnose yourself with a bad case of Basset Knees, or need to go on a Briet, you’ll be prepared for all that comes your way. At the very least, this book will serve as a delightful reminder that everyone has a skeleton in her closet—right next to her fat pants.

My take: Best bathroom book EVER! Only drawback is you may never come out of the bathroom. On the upside, you will laugh very, very hard. On the downside, your family will wonder what you are doing in there. On another note, this book should NOT be kept in the family bookcase. Particularly if your teenager and her teenager friend go thumbing through your book collection. Because it is a grown up book and contains lexicons that I needed defining for myself and then wondered to myself, Who would DO that? And those I shan't repeat.

Others I read and think I didn't know that had a name! For instance Just Kidding, Love You, phrase

This is another phrase that pretends to mean the opposite of what it says (see also: I hate you), thus allowing the speaker to "take back" the lousy thing she just said to you. For example, "Chloe, you're such a b witch - just kidding, love you!" In order for the speaker to make this line work, the phrase must be accompanied by an aggressive smile and must immediately follow the insult or, better yet, be welded right onto it, as in "Your hair looks so stupid todayjustkiddingloveyou!

Just a warning, being called a Martha Stewart may seem like a compliment - but it is not.

Lefler has spent a lot of time with women. She knows a lot about women and men. I am enlightened and embarrassed that, not only do I belong to this species, but she nailed in her definitions and had me cringing and laughing at the same time. The mammogram was so sarcastically written, I almost coughed my Oreos through my nose.

About Anna Lefler

Anna Lefler is an award-winning writer and humorist whose work has appeared online at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Big Jewel, Funny Not Slutty, and My Pheme, among others, while her essays on modern motherhood have been nationally syndicated. She is the author of the comic novelACT BUSY and recently completed her second, DOING TIME IN THE GARDEN OF HAPPINESS.

Anna has performed standup comedy in Los Angeles clubs including the Hollywood Improv, the Comedy Store, Room 5 Lounge, and M Bar. She has presented her humorous essays at Women Who Write in Los Angeles and has appeared in the “Listen to Your Mother” show in the Los Angeles cast of its national program. Anna’s fiction has been presented onstage by WordTheatre Los Angeles.

Anna writes a popular humor blog called Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder, where she ponders what a Jedi smells like and wonders why more men don’t wear urban sport kilts. She has twice been asked to speak on the topic of comedy-writing at BlogHer, the world’s largest conference for women in social media.

She lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband, their son and daughter, and some judgmental dogs.

Connect with Anna on her website and her blog, Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder.

IMM (12/4/11)

2011-12-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristy at The Story Siren.

This week for review:

And some without final (or any) cover images:

Gilded Age: A Novel by Claire McMillan (Jun 12, 2012)

Lone Wolf: A Novel by Jodi Picoult (Feb 28, 2012)

Wish You Were Here: A Novel by Beth K. Vogt (May 1, 2012)

This week I read:

Queen Hereafter By Susan Fraser King GIVEAWAY

2011-12-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

IN PAPERBACK DECEMBER 6 FROM BROADWAY BOOKS

QUEEN HEREAFTER

A Novel of Margaret of Scotland

By Susan Fraser King

Visit Scotland today and you will undoubtedly hear about the highly revered and very much adored Queen Margaret. Scotland’s only royal saint, Margaret’s reign ended in the eleventh century and yet, to this day, legends and links to Margaret still flourish throughout the country. A Saxon princess, she was a refugee seeking shelter in Scotland when she married the warrior-king, Malcolm Canmore of Scotland. At first despised for her foreign ways, Margaret’s incredible acts of charity and kindness changed minds and the Scots who once resented her quickly grew to adore her. Shortly after her death, a contemporary biography of Margaret’s life was written by her personal confessor, Bishop Turgot of England, adding to the mystique of the good and saintly queen. Turgot praised Margaret as a devout woman and devoted monarch, painting a portrait of pure perfection—but for author Susan Fraser King, something was very much missing. In doing her own research into Queen Margaret’s life, King discovered Margaret had a fierce temper, a taste for adventure, and even a reckless side. For all her good qualities, Margaret was a real woman with real flaws, and in QUEEN HEREAFTER: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland (Crown; December 7, 2010), King set out to portray the very real and complex woman behind the legend, offering readers a glimpse into the life of a medieval queen as it might have been.

In QUEEN HEREAFTER we meet Margaret, a young Saxon princess forced into exile upon the death of her uncle, the English king. While fleeing the country from Norman invaders, she is shipwrecked with her family on the coast of Scotland where the recently widowed King Malcolm Canmore offers them sanctuary. Malcolm’s kindness, however, is not without motive. In Margaret he sees a political prize and so he promises to help her brother, the outlawed rebel Edgar of England, in return for his sister’s hand in marriage.

Despite their less than ideal beginnings, Margaret and Malcolm come to love and care for one another. Their marriage, a challenge at first, evolves, while Margaret steps wholeheartedly into the role of queen, immediately setting out to improve the lives of her people. However, tensions with the northern Scottish kingdom, ruled by the conniving Lady Macbeth, escalate and put Malcolm on edge. To ensure Lady Macbeth’s good behavior, the king brings Eva, a female bard and Macbeth’s granddaughter, to court as a hostage. While Eva expects to dislike and resent Margaret, the two discover an unlikely bond as outcasts of a sort—Eva as a wild Celtic spirit captive among her enemies and Margaret suppressing her passions as she endures increasing pressure as a queen and a mother of princes. Eva must betray the king and the new queen, however, in order to honor her devotion to her kinswoman and former monarch. Torn between loyalties, will Eva betray the queen she has always known—or the queen she has come to love?

King combines elegant, lyrical prose with detailed research conducted alongside prominent Celtic and medieval scholars to create an imaginative retelling of Queen Margaret’s life.QUEEN HEREAFTER offers a fresh, unique perspective on the remarkable young queen who would become a saint

About the Author

With graduate degrees in art and art history, former college lecturer Susan Fraser King is the author of Lady Macbeth and several other novels praised for poetic style and historical accuracy. Raised in upstate New York and a frequent visitor to Scotland, she lives inMaryland with her family.

____________________________________

www.SusanFraserKing.com

www.WordWenches.com

www.CrownPublishing.com

Did you want a copy? Because I have nice friends in New York who want you to have a copy. Fill out the form below or click HERE.

Now go put on a tiara and do your housework.
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The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott GIVEAWAY

2011-12-01T10:16:00.002-07:00

The myth of Scott of the Antarctic, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, icon of fortitude and courage who perished with his fellow explorers on their return from the South Pole on March 29^th, 1912, is an enduring one, elevated, dismantled and restored during the turbulence of the succeeding century.

Until now, the legend of the doomed Terra Nova expedition has been constructed out of Scott's own diaries and those of his companions, the sketches of 'Uncle Bill' Wilson and the celebrated photographs of Herbert Ponting. Yet for the final, fateful months of their journey, the systematic imaging of this extraordinary scientific endeavor was left to Scott himself, trained by Ponting. In the face of extreme climactic conditions and technical challenges at the dawn of photography, Scott achieved an iconic series of images; breathtaking polar panoramas, geographical and geological formations, and action photographs of the explorers and their animals, remarkable for their technical mastery as well as for their poignancy. Lost, fought over, neglected and finally resurrected, Scott's final photographs are here collected, accurately attributed and catalogued for the first time: a new dimension to the last great expedition of the Heroic Age and a humbling testament to the men whose graves still lie unmarked in the vastness of the Great Alone.

I don't know about you, but I find these images fascinating and haunting.

Here's a sneak Peak:

And here's your chance to win a copy of this gorgeous hardback! Thanks to a wonderful publicist, I get to offer a copy! If you don't see a form below, try clicking HERE to enter.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2011-12-01T06:15:00.001-07:00

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

That was a most unusual and captivating read. Not only did Riggs dig up some weird and, at times, disturbing old photos, but he wrote a story based on them. Not modge podge, slap together kind of story but a very well thought out, articulate, and completely unique story. It's a little bit like the movie, "Big Fish" with some elements of "Night Circus" and then throw in just a dash of "Pushing Daisies" and maybe the creepiness of Nicole Kidman's, "The Others."

The ending was not as strong as the beginning and middle parts but strong enough to not detract from the story. Action packed and history driven, the ending left me a little underwhelmed but only in comparison to the rest of the book.

I let a couple of teenagers read it before I did. It is clean enough for them but does contain a little dialogue I'd be uncomfortable with if they grasped the full meaning. It is still a solid PG rating, based on the gore and disturbing images. Swearing is minimum. Includes no sex. Lots of action, and moderate amounts of violence.

It's a definite keeper.