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The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

June 26, 2014 by

Source: Public library
Hardcover, 391 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson is set five years or more after Hayley Kincaid’s father came back from two tours each in Afghanistan and Iraq.  They had been on the road as he drove semi-trucks and home-schooled her, but they return to his home town to set down some roots and for her to attend senior year in a regular school.  She barely reconnects with her childhood friend Gracie and she is plunged head first into peer-pressure drama as she tries to hide her own past and home life struggles.  She meets mega-hottie Finn, who has stopped being the star swimmer for the high school team, and they strike up an unconventional relationship of him doing her favors she never asks for in exchange for articles for the nearly defunct school newspaper.

“My earbuds were in, but I wasn’t playing music.  I needed to hear the world but didn’t want the world to know I was listening.” (page 5)

As much as this story is about Hayley and her ability to connect with people her own age, it is also a story about the wide-ranging effects of PTSD.  Anderson sprinkles in what look like memories from Hayley’s father, which provide enough background on his experiences to demonstrate how real his nightmares had become.  These nightmares are so real that she loses sleep herself, and like most children of addicted parents, she teeters on the edge of caring for him and allowing herself to live her own life without worrying about him.

“A few days after we moved in, Daddy got unstuck from time again, like the Pilgrim guy in Slaughterhouse.  The past took over.  All he heard were exploding IEDs and incoming mortar rounds; all he saw were body fragments, like an unattached leg still wearing its boot, and shards of shiny bones, sharp as spears.  All he tasted was blood.”  (page 9)

Trauma is tricky, and while many veterans never speak of their experiences, family can glean from their nightmares the events that continue to plague their living hours.  Anderson writes for young adults with a seriousness that ensures young readers will feel at home in the worlds she creates, but she never sugarcoats the realities of war or PTSD.  Hayley is strong, but still teeters on the edge when her father takes a wrong turn or stops coming out of his room.  The only thing keeping her in the present and connected are her relationships with Gracie and Finn.  The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson is highly emotional, could be considered a tearjerker, and will leave a lasting imprint on readers’ memories.

About the Author:

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous American Library Association and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists. Chains also made the Carnegie Medal Shortlist in the United Kingdom.

Laurie was the proud recipient of the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award given by YALSA division of the American Library Association for her “significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature…”. She was also honored with the ALAN Award from the National Council of Teachers of English and the St. Katharine Drexel Award from the Catholic Librarian Association.

Also Reviewed:

14th book (Gulf Wars — Operation Iraqi Freedom) for the 2014 War Challenge With a Twist.

Filed Under: 2014 War Challenge With a Twist, borrowed copy, challenges, Penguin, Read in 2014, reviews, young adult fiction Tagged With: , ,

Another World Instead: The Early Poems of William Stafford 1937-1947

June 25, 2014 by

Source: Gift (Published by Graywolf Press)
Hardcover, 128 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Another World Instead: The Early Poems of William Stafford 1937-1947 edited and introduced by Fred Marchant, which was our June book club selection, is a collection of mostly never before published poems by William Stafford while he worked with the Civilian Public Service (CPS) after becoming a conscientious objector of WWII.  While it is a collection of poems by a young poet working in camps on civil service projects who felt exiled within his own country for being a pacifist, these poems also represent a poet searching for his own voice and style.  There are variations in tone, punctuation, and capitalization, as well as a wide use of the em dash.

The Prisoner (page 26)

Touched the walls on every side again—
Obsessed with prowling thoughts of free live men.
He heard when guards had slammed the outer gates,
How suddenly like wool the silence waits.
Resigned, he sat and thought of all the dead.
"I'll soon wake up from life," the prisoner said.
                      c. Magnolia, Arkansas
                      [1942]

While Stafford was a conscientious objector, life in the camps was not easy going — it was hard work, and many might even characterize it as a punishment for those who objected to doing their soldierly duty.  While he seemed to know that he was a pacifist, he continued to struggle with what it meant to be a pacifist, and this struggle is evident in his poems.  Another running theme through the poems is a deep sense of loneliness, a being apart from the whole of society, and wondering how he fits into not just his pacifist society at the camps, but in the greater society outside of those camps.  In this internal struggle, Stafford writes about listening and observation and in many ways he takes these “passive” activities and makes them active inspection and cause for action.

From "Their voices were stilled..." (page 24)

Their voices were stilled across the land.
I sought them. I listened.
The only voices were war voices.
Where are the others? I asked, lonely
      in the lush desert.
One voice told me secretly:
We do not speak now, lest we be misunderstood.
We cannot speak without awaking the dragon of anger
      to more anger still.
That is why you are lonely.
You must learn stillness now.

I looked into his eyes, and they were a dragon's eyes,
      and I could not speak,
And we were as grains of sand huddled under the wind,
Awaiting to be molded, waiting to persuade with yielding
      the feet of the dragon.

                        Magnolia, Arkansas
                        May 1, 1942

Another World Instead: The Early Poems of William Stafford 1937-1947 edited and introduced by Fred Marchant explores the early writings of a national poetic icon, who stood behind his convictions even if it meant he was separated from society at large and required to work so hard it seemed like a punishment.  Stafford’s “deep listening,” as Marchant says, requires active participation on his part, he evokes pacifism in a way that will leave readers re-examining their own convictions where war is concerned.

***Disclosure, Fred Marchant is my former poetry professor from my Alma Mater.***

What the Book Club Thought:

The book club seemed to enjoy the poems, though there were a few members who found the poems in the end section rather odd compared to the others.  Once we got Skype going with the editor of the collected poems, several members were engaged in the conversation, poems were read aloud and discussed, and afterward, several said they would go back and re-read some of the poems now that they had more background on the poet and his experiences.  Having Fred Marchant join us engaged more of the members in conversation and reading of poems, and the background information seemed to help put the poems in perspective.  The poems were dated, so we could follow the historical time line, such as one poem written about the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  Members indicated they would be interested in another Skype session.

About the Editor:

Fred Marchant is an American poet, and Professor of English and Literature at Suffolk University. He is the director of both the Creative Writing program and The Poetry Center at Suffolk University. In 1970, he became one of the first officers of the US Marine Corps to be honorably discharged as a conscientious objectors in the Vietnam war.

38th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

21st book for 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

Book 19 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

13th book (WWII) for the 2014 War Challenge With a Twist.

Filed Under: 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, 2014 War Challenge With a Twist, challenges, Dive Into Poetry 2014, giveaway win, Graywolf Press, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , ,

All Is Bright by Sarah Pekkanen

June 24, 2014 by

Source: Kindle Freebie
E-story, 47 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

All Is Bright by Sarah Pekkanen is an e-short story about a young woman, Elise Andrews, who lets her childhood sweetheart go because she cannot bring herself to say “Yes” to his marriage proposal.  Visiting over the Christmas holidays all the way from San Francisco while her father is away on a whirlwind world tour, Elise hears a voice from her past, Janice, her ex-boyfriend Griffin’s mother.  Elise is there to check on the house and visit her Nana in the nursing home.  Chicago is much colder than her new home, but she misses it still.  Growing up without a mother, Elise leaned on Janice quite a bit, and whether or not she was in love with Griffin — with whom she had an on-again, off-again relationship — she’s always felt a connection to his mother.

“Another Janice memory: Her questions tumbled over one another like socks in a spinning dryer.”

Her time in Chicago is short, but she reconnects with Janice, only to feel that their connection is being ripped away.  While the story ends on a hopeful note, it feels like there is more to this story.  What happens to Janice and Elise’s relationship now that she’s no longer with Griffin, and will she and Griffin remain friends even as they both move on?  All Is Bright by Sarah Pekkanen touches upon the connections we make and the love we share with others, as well as how those relationships change over time.

About the Author:

Sarah is the mother of three boys, which explains why she wrote part of her novel at Chuck E. Cheese. Seriously. Sarah penned her first book, Miscellaneous Tales and Poems, at the age of 10. When publishers failed to jump upon this literary masterpiece (hey, all the poems rhymed!) Sarah followed up by sending them a sternly-worded letter on Raggedy Ann stationery. Sarah still has that letter, and carries it to New York every time she has meetings with her publisher, as a reminder that dreams do come true. At least some dreams – Brad Pitt has yet to show up on her doorstep wearing nothing but a toolbelt and asking if she needs anything fixed. So maybe it’s only G-rated dreams that come true. Please visit her Website.

Filed Under: fiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews, short stories, Simon & Schuster Tagged With: , ,

The Bambino and Me by Zachary Hyman

June 19, 2014 by

Source: Tundra Books and LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Hardcover, 48 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

The Bambino and Me by Zachary Hyman, illustrated by Zachary Pullen and audio narration by Jason Alexander, is a great little book about baseball and the heroes we have as children.  While this story is completely fictionalized, the author used some of Babe Ruth’s own words to inspire the story.  A young boy, named George, receives a baseball jersey for his birthday, but its for the wrong team.  George is a New York Yankees fan, but his uncle just buys him a nice jersey to wear to his first baseball game with his father.  George’s dream to see Babe Ruth play for the Yankees is about the come true, but there’s only one catch, his mother is going to make him wear his present, a Red Sox Jersey.  And if you know anything about baseball, that’s not a good situation.

George also has another problem, he’s not very good at bat when he plays with his friends, but Babe Ruth has some great advice about that.  For ages 6-9, this book is geared mostly toward boys who struggle with their sports abilities and fitting in just as much as girls.  However, my daughter really enjoyed the audio version narrated by Jason Alexander as we followed along with the book.  She liked it so much we read it twice in a row.  When I asked her what her favorite part of the book was, she said, “The Bambino.”

The Bambino and Me by Zachary Hyman, illustrated by Zachary Pullen and audio narration by Jason Alexander, is a great story for young readers about heroes and the bravery it takes to be an individual and keep trying no matter how much we fail.  There are great messages here about perseverance, respecting the gifts we’re given, and the respect we need to show to our families and others. Jason Alexander is superb as he breathes life into the main protagonist, his mother, and the Babe. He’s a great actor and it shines through in his vibrant narration.

About the Author:

Zachary Hyman is one of North America’s top young hockey prospects and was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. In 2011, Hockey Canada named Zachary Hyman the Canadian Junior A Player of the Year and his sweater hung in the Hockey Hall of Fame. His love of baseball and his passion for history inspired Zachary to pen The Bambino and Me. Hyman studies and plays hockey at the University of Michigan, where in 2012 he received the Freshman Academic Achievement Award.

About the Illustrator:

Zachary Pullen’s character-oriented illustrations have been seen in numerous publications including The New York Times Book Review, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and The Wall Street Journal to name a few. He has been honored several times through the prestigious Society of Illustrators juried shows and Communication Arts Illustration Annual of the best in current illustration. Pullen lives with his wife and son in Wyoming. To see more of his work, please visit www.zacharypullen.com.

About the Narrator:

Jason Alexander is best known for his role as George Costanza on the TV series Seinfeld, but his acting credits span from the Broadway stage to film to music videos. His list of awards is long and varied, and includes a Tony Award and Magician of the Year at the esteemed Magic Castle in Los Angeles. He’s also an award-winning author, librettist and director; a noted cabaret artist and comedian; and a poker enthusiast. A true renaissance man, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife and sons.

37th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

 

 

 

 

20th book for 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, challenges, children's fiction, Library Thing Early Reviewers, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Disney Princess: Fairy Tale Moments and Disney Junior Sofia the First: Practice Makes Princess

June 18, 2014 by

DisneyPrincesses_SC_Hi_Res_FrntDisneyJR_PracticeMakesPrincess_SC_Hi_Res_Frnt

Source: Goodman Media
Paperbacks, 128 pages (each)
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Disney Princess: Fairy Tale Moments and Disney Junior Sofia the First: Practice Makes Princess are being issued by Time Home Entertainment Inc. as part of a Poster-A-Page book series for kids ages 4-12.  These thick books are chock full of posters to hang on the walls, though you’ll want to mete out which posters are added to the walls if you have small rooms or just want to make the fun last with your kids.  One poster in each book allows youngsters to color their favorite princesses.  Obviously, these two are geared more toward female children ages 4-12, but they also have wonderful messages about kindness and teamwork that could apply to all kids.  There are posters on every page and nine super-size posters that can be used as door signs or room decorations.

Disney Sofia Please Knock Poster

The perforations in the books make it easy to tear out the posters and pages.  In Sophia The First, young readers not only get colorful pictures of the characters from the cartoon, but they also get to see her beginnings as a princess unfold and what she learns along the way.  In the Disney Princess book, provides snapshots of each fairy tale princess — Rapunzel, Ariel, Cinderella, Merida, Tiana, and Jasmine, etc.  And these posters are more about making kids rooms their own sanctuaries.

Disney Fairy Tale Moments Slipper Poster (2)

Disney Princess: Fairy Tale Moments and Disney Junior Sofia the First: Practice Makes Princess were well received by my daughter who promptly had me help her tear out the posters she could color.  While she is still filling them in with color slowly, she was thrilled to see that the other pages came out too.  Right now, she wants to keep the books in tact, but that will change as the days move forward and she realizes she can redecorate her room and replace the Dr. Seuss with the princesses she loves.  The one thing she wanted in the books, however, were stickers.  She’s big into her own art and loves adding new stickers to her collections.  Princess stickers would have knocked this out of the park for her, but she still loves them.

36th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Muse by Dawn Marie Kresan

June 17, 2014 by

Source: Tightrope Books
Paperback, 80 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Muse by Dawn Marie Kresan is a powerful poetry collection in which inspiration takes center stage as the narrator examines the relationship between the muse and an artist.  The collection begins with a biographical note about Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s muse, Elizabeth Siddal, who also became an artist herself after modeling for only one artist.  Kresan examines her role as Rossetti’s muse, an inspiration for a great many paintings, and how the artist must have seen her and how there is now a disconnect between the woman she was and the woman that patrons of the arts now see in those paintings.  She establishes the tone in the beginning with the poem “Found” when he gazes upon her beauty and is stunned, but the tone quickly devolves into something sadder with “Housebroken,” as the muse is compared to a dog and the trade-offs that are inherent when someone is dependent upon the good will of another.

From: "John Ruskin: The Patron" (page 21)

Your hair a canopy that blazes, feverish,
around the pallor of sunken cheeks.
He decides you have genius, and for this reason
must be saved, as one would save a beautiful tree
from being cut down.

Kresan has mastered the use of imagery in her poems; they convey so much in so few words.  The loss of a child and one’s sanity becomes palatable, like bile rising in the throat, threatening to burn the reader, providing just a taste of that loss.  Kresan’s collection is searing and emotional, but also contemplative.  It asks the questions: what do we give up to be artists?  what do our inspirations/muses (even spouses) give up to be with artists?  How does this relationship challenge us … change us?

From "Brides with Plots: A Three-Act Play" (page 37)

Each time he paints you, you die again.  His signature, a bold
slash, enacts your vanishing.  The role
of muse requires

many deaths. ...

In the final part of the collection, there are a series of conversations and interactions between Siddal and other famous women — women who were considered muses in their own right, though maybe not to artists. She speaks with Princess Diana, Sylvia Plath, and others. Muse by Dawn Marie Kresan is well paced for a poetry collection, evolving over and over, creating a more complex look at the relationship between muse and artist, muse and reader/viewer, and muse to oneself.

Book 18 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

35th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, Dive Into Poetry 2014, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Tangle by Julie Cameron Gray

June 12, 2014 by

Source: Tightrope Books
Paperback, 96 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Tangle by Julie Cameron Gray is a collection of poems that weave in and out of one another, exploring the twisted up relationships between family and between lovers.  These poems are a tangled web that must be read and re-read, read out of order, in order, at random.  The themes vacillate from obsession to the breaking free of obsession to find yet another.  Section two is witty and sad in its emphasis on the mundane working life of workaholics everywhere.  This hodgepodge of poems works to tangle and untangle the complexity of our lives and to point out the most mundane.

From "Never: Red Fable" (page 15)

Never for a mouth crushed with roses.
Never wolf, never red cape, have and having
to which I want to say, hoodless,
again and again and again, lick
the edges of red absence from your lips,
and you'll want twice,
and then--
gently if you can.
You will never be this red again.

Gray’s lines roll out and back in, onto themselves, creating lyrical puzzles that lull readers into a song … losing themselves in the mystery of her words.  Whether it is “Haiku for Penguins in a Box” that surprise the reader with its content or the illustrated nature of “The Commuter’s Elimination Dance” (a personal favorite of mine), Gray is imaginative and innovative in her poetry, pushing the envelope as far as it will go.  Sometimes, she even breaks free of that envelope to set her imagery free.

Tangle by Julie Cameron Gray explores the gap between human experiences and the understanding of those experiences, she tackles the relationships humans have to one another and to their own work lives, and she juxtaposes the wild lives of animals with that of urbanity.  While these poems are glorious in imagery and verse, they may be a little tougher for beginning readers to understand upon first reading.

Book 17 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

 

34th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, Dive Into Poetry 2014, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

A Long Time Gone by Karen White

June 10, 2014 by

Source: Penguin
Hardcover, 432 pages
On Amazon, on Kobo

A Long Time Gone by Karen White is the quintessential novel with a multigenerational family saga, southern  charm, and mystery wrapped up in one package.  Vivien Walker is the latest generation of Walker women to chase ghosts and leave the Mississippi Delta for parts unknown, but she’s also a lot more like her mother Carol Lynne than she thinks.  Love is boundless among these women who care for vegetables and family with the same careful hands, nurturing them until they are ready to take to their own journeys.  Vivien comes back to Mississippi after her marriage to a plastic surgeon fails miserably, but she’s hopeful that her grandmother, Bootsie, can help pick up the pieces.

“I was born in the same bed that my mama was born in, and her mama before her, and even further back than anybody alive could still remember.  It was as if the black wood of the bedposts were meant to root us Walker women to this place of flat fields and fertile soil carved from the Great Mississippi.  But like the levees built to control the mighty river, it never held us for long.”  (page 1)

Vivien’s childhood was peppered with short visits from her mother, as she left on another adventure in the 1960s.  She grew to resent her mother’s absences and when she left her childhood home for California, she didn’t look back for nine years.  Upon her return, Vivien is unsure how she feels about her mother’s presence and the loss of so much, including a beloved family member.  Vivien must learn to reach out of the fog that keeps her docile and deal not only with her past, but the future as well.  White’s characters are always complex, and while not without faults, nearly always easy to cheer for.  Vivien has lived too much in the past, and she must realize that she cannot go back and change things, but move forward with greater purpose and conviction.

“I wonder how far from Mississippi I have to get before I forget about the place I came from.  My memories of home are like a river, and I spend a lot of time fighting the current that’s always trying to take me back.”  (page 189)

Told in shifting point of views between the 2000s and the 1920s, plus the 1960s diary entries of Carol Lynne, White builds the past through the eyes that saw it happen, peppering it with parallels to the future in Vivien’s life path.  Weaving in elements of history from hidden genealogy of mixed race children, bootleggers, KKK, and the 1960s freedom rides and hippie days, White has created an engaging and informative novel about the trials each of us faces in our own families and how even outside forces can influence those lives in unforeseen and unexpected ways.  A Long Time Gone by Karen White is about the long road some of us can take to find our homes and feel our family connections deeply even when we’re away.  It’s about forgiveness and love, and how it can tether us together even miles from home.

About the Author:

Known for award-winning novels such as Learning to Breathe, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance 2009 Book of the Year Award finalist The House on Tradd Street, the highly praised The Memory of Water, the four-week SIBA bestseller The Lost Hours, Pieces of the Heart, and her IndieBound national bestseller The Color of Light, Karen has shared her appreciation of the coastal Low country with readers in four of her last six novels.

Italian and French by ancestry, a southerner and a storyteller by birth, Karen has made her home in many different places.  Visit the author at her website, and become a fan on Facebook.

19th book for 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, fiction, historical fiction, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

June 5, 2014 by

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 28 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown is beautifully illustrated by 12 award-winning artists and has a great CD of songs to accompany it.  My daughter loves listening to the songs nightly these days — replacing the other goodnight songs, which were mostly nature sounds or easy-listening Eagles and Eric Clapton.  We’ve only ever read 2 other books by Brown, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.  She’s loved that one, and the calm way I read it, but the verse in this collection does not seem as polished, which could be attributed to the fact that these lullabies were found in a chest of unpublished manuscripts.  However, what rings true is that these songs resemble those that children often sing to themselves when they are playing or picking up their things — spur-of-the-moment made-up lyrics — as said in the book’s introduction.

From The Mouse's Prayer (page 25)

Close my eyes and go to sleep.
Bugs no more on grass blades creep.
Bugs no more and birds no more,
In the woods will come no more

Dream of a weed growing from a seed,
Quietly, quietly from a seed.
In a garden
A slim green weed,
Quietly, quietly from a seed.

Each of these songs is repetitive in nature, like the songs children sing, and they are catchy when set to music.  My daughter is already singing them as she goes to sleep and takes her naps.  She’s engaged with the vivid drawings, which are fanciful and other worldly.  Goodnight Songsby Margaret Wise Brown is gorgeous, playful, and calming in words, illustration, and song — a delightful addition to anyone’s collection.

About the Author:

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn’t the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things.

Filed Under: children's fiction, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

She Likes It Rough by GVR Corcillo

June 4, 2014 by

Source: Blackbird Press
Paperback, 302 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

She Likes It Rough by GVR Corcillo is not the erotica novel most will imagine when they see the title for the first time.  In fact, Lisa Flyte, the protagonist, is eager to live life to the fullest, get braver, and do something positive and improve the lives of others.  She meets Jack Hawkins in her MBA class, and knows he’s the one to teach her about bravery.  He’s an outdoor adrenaline junkie who designs professional equipment for similar people, but he’s also got a secret and Lisa’s going to help him achieve that goal.

“I should stop.

In fact, I should’ve stopped chasing Jack twenty minutes ago.  That’s when he veered off the trail and disappeared into the forest.  But I didn’t stop.  I kept after Jack.  I pulled into the lot just in time to see him lope off the path and vanish into the green mess of a mountain.  Without stopping to consider for even a second, I put my car in park, popped the trunk, grabbed my workout bag, and jammed on my running shoes.  Then I stripped off my jacket and followed Jack into the wild.” (page 1-2)

Corcillo has a flare for comic timing, and this is a laugh fest that readers will enjoy over the summer and recommend it to others on the beach.  Female readers in particular will laugh out loud as these two spar with one another from the most mundane activities to their own trajectories in life.  Jack and Lisa are polar opposites when it comes to tackling physical and emotional challenges, but they are destined to learn from one another.  While there are moments that are overly dramatic and soap opera-like, it’s a fun ride and readers will love the antics of Lisa.  She’s a klutz who takes every challenge thrown at her by Jack, but he’s a little more reluctant to take on the challenges she throws at him.

She Likes It Rough by GVR Corcillo was fun, engaging, and a wild ride, but worth it.  Spending an afternoon with these characters is like watching a comedy.  It’s certainly that feel good read, with a good deal of romance thrown in, plus some quirky sidekicks.  Readers should be cautioned that there is some harsh language as Lisa is not a shrinking violet.

About the Author:

Winner of Rebecca’s Reads Choice Awards for Best Indie Book of 2013 and Best Humor Book of 2013!   With her Ivy League education, white-trash sensibility, and pop culture savvy, Corcillo writes humorous women’s fiction about characters who try not to trip as they valiantly march to their own bongo beat.

33rd book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, chicklit, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Black Lake by Johanna Lane

June 3, 2014 by

Source: Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover, 224 pages
On Amazon, on Kobo

Black Lake by Johanna Lane is set in Northern Ireland at the Campbell estate of Dulough, which translates to Black Lake.  A pool, a cold lake, hills, valleys, mountains, cottages, and a massive estate would seem overwhelming to any newlywed, and it is hard to believe that it can be run by just three people — John Campbell, Mary Connelly, and Francis Connelly.  Woven with alternate points of view, Lane provides the reader with a well-rounded view of the hardships this family faces.  Young Philip is named after the first ancestor who built Dulough and threw out the Irish tenants after the Great Famine, and he has a legacy that weighs heavily on his head, but he’s not the only Campbell to feel the weight of family history in this place.  Will the deal with the government be enough to keep the family estate in tact or will the deal break this family from its moorings.

“Finally, he began clearing a patch of brambles and thistles; their roots went deep into the earth and he had to be content with lopping them off at ground level rather than pulling them out altogether.” (page 66-7 ARC)

John is a quiet man who knows how to deal with solitude in the Irish country, but his wife Marianne must grow accustom to the quieter life after living so long in Dublin.  His ability to be alone becomes a detriment in matters of his family, though he does enjoy schooling the children at home.  His relationship with his wife is enigmatic because he is less expressive, and she passively follows his lead until she reaches a breaking point.

“The whole painting gave the impression that Dulough might be engulfed at any moment, the lake rising to envelop the house, the sea covering the island, and the land reclaimed, the work of his ancestor obliterated.” (page 194 ARC)

Deep beneath the surface of this family are hidden bonds that only can surface in tragedy and loss.  From a man who is backed into a corner to maintain a large estate without the inheritance to do so to wife and son who have come to love their home as much, if not more, than their ancestors.  Black Lake by Johanna Lane is by turns as dreary as the rainy countryside and as dangerous as the quick-footed tide that nearly swallows the island where the estate church and graveyard lie.  Readers will be swept away by Lane’s frail family and their struggles.

About the Author:

Johanna Lane was born in Ireland, studied English Literature in Scotland, and earned her MFA at Columbia University. She teaches composition and creative writing in New York City.  Check out her Pinterest board for the book.

12th book for 2014 European Reading Challenge; (Set in Ireland)

 

 

 

 

32nd book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

 

 

 

 

2nd book for the Ireland Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: 2014 European Reading Challenge, ARC, challenges, fiction, Hachette Books, Ireland Challenge, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

May 30, 2014 by

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 410 pages
On Amazon, on Kobo

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, which was our May book club selection, is a suspenseful story centered around Rebecca de Winter, who by society’s standards was charming, beautiful, and unmatched by other ladies of the upper class.  It has been about 10 months to a year since her passing when Maxim de Winter meets a young woman, who remains the unnamed narrator of the story, in Monte Carlo as the paid companion of Mrs. Van Hopper a gossipy and grasping woman who uses any tiny connection to weasel her way into parties, etc.  Once her employer contracts influenza, the narrator is free to do what she likes since a private nurses is necessary.  As a result, she ends up spending a number of afternoons with the enigmatic Mr. de Winter and later agrees to marry him.

“The woods, always a menace even in the past, had triumphed in the end.  They crowded, dark and uncontrolled, to the borders of the drive.  The beeches with white, naked limbs leant close to one another, their branches intermingled in a strange embrace, making a vault above my head like the archway of a church.” (page 1)

While my copy’s jacket cover speaks of the novel as a “classic tale of romantic suspense,” there was little romance between the unnamed narrator and Mr. de Winter.  While the new Mrs. de Winter is naive and unable to cope with running a magnificent household like Manderlay, she has zero backbone, even as Mrs. Danvers, the home’s housekeeper, plays the dirtiest trick on her.  This narrator is an unlikeable character from the start with her whiny nature and her inability to speak her mind, even to her husband.  Even though in this time period, women were supposed to be obedient and meek, they also were expected to run entire households with a forceful hand.  The new Mrs. de Winter is Rebecca’s antithesis in every way.

“I listened to them both, leaning against Maxim’s arm, rubbing my chin on his sleeve.  He stroked my hand absently, not thinking, talking to Beatrice.

‘That’s what I do to Jasper,’ I thought. ‘I’m being like Jasper now, leaning against him.  He pats me now and again, when he remembers, and I’m pleased, I get closer to him for a moment. He likes me in the way I like Jasper.'” (page 103)

Neither of the main characters are likeable, as the retrospective narrative keeps readers at a distance from their love affair and their romance.  The highlights of the novel were the comical Mr. Favell, Rebecca’s first cousin, and Beatrice, who is plain spoken.  Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is suspenseful, though ridiculous at times, and there are highly descriptive paragraphs about nature.  The narrative is bogged down by the descriptions and the dream-like conversations she has with herself about upcoming events and confrontations.  While the plot is interesting, it is tough to feel empathy for the main narrator and to cheer her on.

About the Author:

Daphne was born in 1907, grand-daughter of the brilliant artist and writer George du Maurier, daughter of Gerald, the most famous Actor Manager of his day, she came from a creative and successful family.

The du Maurier family were touring Cornwall with the intention of buying a house for future holidays, when they came across “Swiss Cottage”, located adjacent to the ferry at Bodinnick. Falling in love with the cottage and its riverside location, they moved in on May 14th, 1927, Daphne had just turned 20.

She began writing short stories the following year, and in 1931 her first novel, ‘The Loving Spirit’ was published. It received rave reviews and further books followed. Then came her most famous three novels, ‘Jamaica Inn’, ‘Frenchman’s Creek’ and Rebecca’. Each novel being inspired by her love of Cornwall, where she lived and wrote.

What the Book Club Thought:

The book club had a mixed reaction to this one; there were several members who enjoyed the story, but not the descriptions of nature.  There were too many words, one member said.  Others saw the background of the narrator as an obstacle she needed to overcome in order to mature.  One member pointed out that the narrator — even in retrospect — did not seem to offer any judgment about herself and behaviors, leaving readers to wonder whether she had matured at all.  The whiny nature of the character was tough to take for some readers, while other were interested in her little internal debates about others’ reactions to her actions or the actions she could have taken.  A few did not see the relationship between Max and the new wife as very loving, especially when she talks about him petting her like a dog.

11th book for 2014 European Reading Challenge; (Set in Monaco)

18th book for 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

31st book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

Filed Under: 2014 European Reading Challenge, 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, borrowed copy, challenges, classic fiction, Harper Collins, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , ,