Review: Little Bee

Posted by Cathie on Wednesday, October 30, 2013. Filed under: , , , ,
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Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Our source: Purchased ourselves

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Two women collide lives on a Nigeria beach. One must make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again and the story starts.

Our thoughts:

Little Bee is an immensely emotional look at the atrocities that occur throughout the African continent in the name of oil exploration. Cleave pulls the story together as he alternates the narrative between two characters. This is truly a story of survival and perseverance.

One part of the story that really touched me was when Little Bee states, "We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I Survived".  Oh how true this statement is and I think we all have some type of scarring. I don't think I could have survived as well as Little Bee did, but I really enjoyed this deeply moving, sad novel.

We would recommend this to:

Fans of historical fiction, those who like books that make them think

Review: The End of Your Life Book Club

Posted by Unknown on Monday, October 28, 2013. Filed under: , , , ,
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The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
Published by: Knopf
Our source: Our local library

What it’s about (from Goodreads):
“What are you reading?”

That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less. 

This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world. Reading isn't the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying. 

Our thoughts:

Book about a Mom dying of cancer? And they spend their time reading together? I was 100% convinced this book was going to completely wreck me. It didn't. I couldn't connect with Schwabe's characters at all.

His writing seemed almost clinically impersonal at times where it should have been heart-wrenching. The book was touted as a love letter to his Mom, which it was, but he included a lot about himself that didn't add to the story and really just made me dislike him. (The one point that really got me was that he quit his job to start a website, but had no idea what kind of website to actually start and complained about being stressed about it. Quitting to start a passion project? Fine. Quitting when you have no real idea what to do and then whining about it? Please.)

I think another sticking point was that I hadn't read most of the books they discussed so I felt even less connected. Ultimately, it just seemed to fall short of the emotional tribute I was expecting.

We would recommend this to:
Those coping with a loss, fans of literature

Review: Fortunately, the Milk

Posted by Kate on Friday, October 25, 2013. Filed under: , , , , ,
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Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Skottie Young
Published by: HarperCollins
Our source: Our local library

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

"I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: T h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road."

"Hullo," I said to myself. "That's not something you see every day. And then something odd happened."

Find out just how odd things get in this hilarious story of time travel and breakfast cereal.

Our thoughts:
 
I adore Gaiman's creative mind. His books are always a fantastic adventure, and this one is no different. The child narrator is spot-on and the illustrations of the book add so much to the story.

It's hilarious and the perfect read-aloud book.

We would recommend this to:

Parents or grandparents who want a fun book to read aloud to the kids in their lives, anyone who just wants a fun distraction, kids of all ages

Review: The Rosie Project

Posted by Cathie on Wednesday, October 23, 2013. Filed under: , , , , ,
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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Published by: Quirk
Our source: Purchased ourselves

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

Our thoughts:

I first heard about The Rosie Project at BEA and was so intrigued with the idea of this book that I had hung an advertisement for it on my refrigerator to remind me that it would be coming out. While waiting for October to arrive, I wondered if maybe I was getting my hopes up for a book that doesn't live up to all the hype. What if I didn't like the book?

Thankfully, that was not the case at all.I absolutely loved this book. I think it has been my favorite one this year.

How do I describe it without giving to much away? The story is told in the voice of Don Tillman, a genetics professor who has Asperger's syndrome, which affects his social skills.  Don reminds me of Sheldon from the show The Big Bang Theory. His thinking, logic, and lack of social skills are just like Sheldon's. In fact while reading it I could easily picture Sheldon as the character, Don.

This is a very unconventional and quirky romance, and it makes me extremely happy to know that Graeme Simsion is in the process of writing a sequel.

We would recommend this to:

Everyone! Especially romance fans and fans of The Big Bang Theory

Review: Hitler's Furies

Posted by Kate on Monday, October 21, 2013. Filed under: , , , , ,
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Hitler's Furies by Wendy Lower
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Our source: ARC from the publisher

What it’s about (from Goodreads):
Hitler’s Furies builds a fascinating and convincing picture of a morally “lost generation” of young women, born into a defeated, tumultuous post–World War I Germany, and then swept up in the nationalistic fervor of the Nazi movement—a twisted political awakening that turned to genocide. These young women—nurses, teachers, secretaries, wives, and mistresses—saw the emerging Nazi empire as a kind of “wild east” of career and matrimonial opportunity, and yet could not have imagined what they would witness and do there.
 
Lower, drawing on twenty years of archival and field work on the Holocaust, access to post-Soviet documents, and interviews with German witnesses, presents overwhelming evidence that these women were more than “desk murderers” or comforters of murderous German men: that they went on “shopping sprees” for Jewish-owned goods and also brutalized Jews in the ghettos of Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus; that they were present at killing-field picnics, not only providing refreshment but also taking their turn at the mass shooting. And Lower uncovers the stories, perhaps most horrific, of SS wives with children of their own, whose female brutality is as chilling as any in history.
Our thoughts:
 
This book both fascinated and horrified me. The woman discussed in the book were almost all young, just finding their place in the world. That's where me and most of my friends are in life so I couldn't help but putting myself into the story. What would I have done?
 
It was really interesting to see what these women did, what was culturally acceptable for them to do, and what ultimately happened to them. For me, one of the most haunting parts of the book was that Lower included pictures of a lot of the women. It had an incredibly humanizing effect, which was an interesting juxtaposition to their actions.
 
This was really well researched and presented. It's a very accessible history, even for someone who isn't a big history reader.
 
We would recommend this to:

Fans of WWII history and women's history

Win It: Havisham by Ronald Frame

Posted by Unknown on Friday, October 18, 2013. Filed under:
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Want your own copy of Havisham? It won't hit stores until November 5th, but we're giving away an advanced reader copy now!

Copies of this book were included in our gift bags at BEA, courtesy of the publisher, and we're happy to share the wealth.

All you have to do is comment on this post by midnight ET on October 22, 2013 and answer the question: Have you read Charles Dickens's Great Expectations? What did you think of it? (Be sure to include a way to contact you if your comment doesn't link directly to your email!)

 We'll pick a random commenter to send the book off to. Good luck!

Review: Havisham

Posted by Cathie Filed under: , , , ,
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Havisham: A Novel by Ronald Frame
Published by: Faber & Faber
Our source: ARC from the publisher

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Catherine Havisham was born into privilege. Handsome, imperious, she is the daughter of a wealthy brewer, and lives in luxury in Satis House. But she is never far from the smell of hops and the arresting letters on the brewhouse wall - HAVISHAM. A reminder of all she owes to the family name and the family business.


Sent by her father to stay with the Chadwycks, Catherine discovers literature, music and masquerades - elegant pastimes to remove the taint of new money. But for all her growing sophistication Catherine is anything but worldly, and when a charismatic stranger pays her attention, everything - her heart, her future, the very Havisham name - is vulnerable.


Our thoughts:

Let me start off by saying: I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens.  Through the years I have read Great Expectations at least a half a dozen times and really am fascinated by the character of Miss Havisham, still running around in her wedding dress. When I saw the book Havisham, I knew I would like it.

The story depicts the circumstances that led up to Catherine Havisham, Dickens’s character from Great Expectations, stopping in time.  While I enjoyed the tale and re-visiting with characters from Great Expectations, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. While Ronald Frame did a fine job of telling this tale his writing style just cannot be compared to Dickens.

We would recommend this to:

Fans of Great Expectations and historical fiction.

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Posted by Cathie on Wednesday, October 16, 2013. Filed under: , , , , ,
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Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Published by: Quirk
Our source: Complimentary Copy from the Publisher

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

A horrific family tragedy sends Jacob, 16, to a remote island off Wales, to the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, where he finds unusual old photographs. The children, one his grandfather, were more than peculiar, perhaps dangerous, quarantined for good reason - and maybe still alive.

Our thoughts:

I found this to be wonderfully strange and very creepy. I loved the idea of being able to go back to another time period. My favorite part of the book though was the pictures and how Riggs has tied these very odd photographs into his story. I found both the story and the photography to be very creative and entertaining.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is Riggs's first novel and I loved it. It's so full of adventure and fantasy that I didn't want it to end. Riggs's second novel of Miss Peregrine's peculiar children titled Hollow City is slated to come out in January 2014 and I can't wait. I' looking forward to not only the tale continuing, but also some more great photos.

We would recommend this to:

Fans of fantasy, horror and fiction of all ages, anyone looking for a good Halloween read

Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Posted by Kate on Monday, October 14, 2013. Filed under: , , , ,
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The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Our source: Our local library

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
Our thoughts:
 
It seems like so many of the current vampire books have un-scary vampires. Here, the vampires are scary. They're still sexy and glamorous, but they're dangerous in a way that I feel is missing from other currently popular books. And it felt impressive that Tana does not want to be a vampire.
 
This book was great. It was a slowly building story that came together great. I loved the characters and the world Black built. It's one of those books that I wish I could have five sequels to read right now because I just want to keep living in the story.
 
And although the vampires were scary, the book itself wasn't too scary. I'm a wimp and could handle it just fine! If you're looking for a not-scary-but-seasonal Halloween read, I strongly recommend this one!

We would recommend this to:

Fans of vampire stories, people who like stories of friendship and survival,  anyone looking for a good Halloween read

Review: When We Were Strangers

Posted by Cathie on Friday, October 11, 2013. Filed under: , , , ,
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When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt
Published by: William Morrow
Our source: Our local library

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Even after her beloved mother's passing, 20-year-old Irma longs to stay in her Abruzzo mountain village, plying her needle. But too poor and plain to marry and subject to growing danger in her own home, she risks rough passage to America and workhouse servitude to achieve her dream of making dresses for gentlewomen. 

In the raw immigrant quarters and with the help of an entrepreneurial Irish serving girl, ribbon-decked Polish ragman and austere Alsatian dressmaker, Irma begins to stitch together a new life . . . until her peace and self are shattered in the charred remains of the Great Chicago Fire. Enduring a painful recovery, Irma reaches deep within to find that she has even more to offer the world than her remarkable ability with a needle and thread.

Our thoughts:

Set in the late 1800's, Irma Vitale leaves her home in the beautiful village of Opi, Italy and immigrates to the United States. The story explores Irma's passage to America aboard the Servia, but also her journey to womanhood.

  When Irma leaves Opi she is young, poor, and very naive. A stranger in a new land with few skills, this gripping tale tells of Irma's journey to find housing, work, an education, but also deals with much more complex issues such as abortion and death.

 Many of us are the strangers at some point in our lives. Whether it is going off to college, moving to a different area, or simply changing jobs, we find ourselves in a situation were all of our past skills are irrelevant. Sometimes I wonder if these circumstances help us to become resilient enough to forge ahead and achieve our goals?
I have recently also read Schoenewaldt's other novel, Swimming in the Moon and I loved both books. She is a fantastic story teller and I look forward to more of her works.

We would recommend this to:


Fans of historical fiction, coming of age stories

Review: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

Posted by Cathie on Monday, October 7, 2013. Filed under: , , , ,
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Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
Published by: Whitman Publishing Company
Our source: Purchased through a book sale

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew was originally serialized in an 1880 edition of Wide Awake, a children's magazine. The publisher of the magazine, Daniel Lothrop, loved the Pepper stories so much that he published a hard-cover edition of the story -- and married the author in 1881.

Our thoughts:

When I was in kindergarten, I remember being one of the last students to know my alphabet letters. Philip, a neighborhood boy, was assigned the task of helping me to learn them. Once I learned to read there was no stopping me. My Mother claims that I wrote my name in every book in the house because I wanted them to all be mine. Personally, I think it has something to do with growing up in a large family.

My favorite book was The Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney.  I wanted to live in the little brown house along with Polly, Ben, Joel, Davie, Phronsie and their Mamsie.  I read that book so many times that it started to fall apart.

This year for Mother's Day, Kate gifted me with a copy of The Five Little Peppers that she found at a book sale. I never realized that the book I owned was an abbreviated children's version (which, may I add, I still have and still treasure). I finally got to read the full story and I loved it at much as I did as a child. If you are looking for a feel good, adventurous, chapter book that you can share with a child, this is definitely one to consider.

We would recommend this to:


Children, parents who want a great book to read to their kids, anyone feeling nostalgic for their childhood

Review: The Returned

Posted by Kate on Thursday, October 3, 2013. Filed under: , , ,
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The Returned by Jason Mott
Published by: Harlequin MIRA
Our source: ARC from the publisher

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time ... Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

Our thoughts:

For me, science fiction tends to fall into two categories: This is never going to happen, or, I'm concerned this will happen next week. This book fell into the ladder. I found Mott's world of the dead returning after many years completely real and believable.

And his characters! I loved them all. They were complicated, flawed and completely realistic. 

This isn't a high-action science fiction story - it's more of a slow-burn as people deal with their rapidly changing world.  It's interesting and thought provoking and I thought it was incredibly well done.

I should also note that it's already been picked up by ABC as a future drama called, "Resurrection". I'm not always on board with my favorite books being made into movies or TV shows, but I think this one lends itself really well to it so I can't wait to check that out as well!

We would recommend this to:

Fans of apocalyptic stories, science fiction and those who highly value family.

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