Week 13 Gap

I read Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum for my Week 13 pick. I lent out the book to my mother-in-law and will be completing my review once I have the book on hand. :)

Is it not good to make society full of beautiful people? ~ Week 14

Oh young-adult fiction, how I love thee. Uglies is book number one in a four-part series by Scott Westerfield. It centers on Tally Youngblood, a 16-year old living in a futuristic and superficial society. In this society, on your 16th birthday you are subjected to a complete body overhaul which makes you into a Pretty. Cities are segregated into sections; where you live depends on whether or not you've had the surgery and how old you are. The story begins with Tally just a few months from her 16th birthday and anxiously awaiting the surgery that will rejoin her with her best friend Peris. Peris is a couple of months older than Tally, and has already been living with the other new Pretties in New Pretty Town. Tally is just biding her time until she'll be with her friend again when she meets Shay. Shay is unlike anyone that Tally has ever met before. Shay actually believes that there's nothing wrong with being who she is. She challenges everything that Tally has grown up believing about becoming pretty. Tally ends up having to make a choice that will ultimately change the course of her life.

The good: Really cool concept. What will life be like in the future? I love books that approach this subject creatively. With our society so superficial already, what's to say that once the technology exists people won't have a whole-body overhaul done to make themselves into the perceived image of perfection?

The bad: I really have nothing bad to say about this book. I'm anxious to read the next two books, Pretties and Specials.

The verdict: Uglies introduces you to a whole new futuristic world that's completely intriguing. It has it's own language - bogus, bubbly, Specials, SpagBol... I could go on and on. In a word, this book was fun. Go ahead and get yourself a copy and ENJOY!

Week 12 update

So far I'm doing pretty well with my book a week goal for the year. Unfortunately, with work and all, I'm a little behind on posting my reviews. As a means of tracking the books I've read I've been using my Goodreads account. Then when work dies down, I have a chance to go back and update. I have the next two weeks off of work so look for more updates! Also, I'm in the process of fixing up this blog a little bit with a custom header.

I'm having a great time reading all these books and I hope that someone out there eventually reads my reviews. If it's just here for my satisfaction that's okay... but I'd love to have the chance to share my love of books with others!

Death smells like birthday cake. ~ Week 12

Sign me up for the Maggie Stiefvater fan club! After reading Shiver and Lament, I just had to grab this book. Ballad picks up a couple of months after all the action of Lament. A marked difference between this book and the first "Book of Faerie" installment is that our narrator is James Morgan, instead of Dee. After the intense and scary summer that James and Dee had last summer they've decided to head to Thornking-Ash, a school for musical prodigies. Just when they thought that life was going to return to normal (or as normal as life can be after carousing with faeries...), things get a little crazy once again.

The good: James. Oh James and his sarcastic, wise-cracking, bagpipe playing self. At first I was really thrown off by him being the main focus of this book. I'd really grown to love Dee and I was sad that she didn't have such a big role in Ballad. After reading a few chapters, I really started to like his perspective. And he's FUNNY.

The bad: Dee. She was horribly conflicted, whiny, and depressed for about 99.9% of this book. While she wasn't the main focus of the story, we're treated to what's going on in her life through James' interactions with her. In Lament, it became pretty obvious that James was completely enamoured with Dee. To put a long story short, she was oblivous and ended up falling for someone else. I would like to give Miss Dee Monaghan an award for the worlds shittiest best friend. Yes, I am biased because I love James. Dee irked me for most of this book.

Another thing. I finished Lament wanting more of Luke and Dee. Shamelessly, I became wrapped up in their passion and I wanted more. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed because the focus of the next book veers away from Dee and her love affair with Luke.

The verdict: Despite the change of pace in Ballad, it's still a great book. It didn't take long for me to really enjoy James as the narrator and get wrapped up in the new characters like Paul and Nuala. For you saps like me, don't worry - there's another love story. You'll probably start out a little let down because you're looking for a continuation of the story narrated by Dee... but give it a few chapters and you'll catch on. Ballad is another hit from Stiefvater. I seriously hope this woman keeps writing books because she is phenomenal!

Here is another secret: I have no business being fascinated by you. ~ Week 11

I am quickly becoming a fan of Maggie Stiefvater. After reading Shiver, I knew that I had to try some of her other books. Lament is part of her "Books of Faerie" series. It delves into some faerie and celtic-lore that I wasn't really familiar with. When I read the title, I was a little hesitant... "The Faerie Queen's Deception." Sounded corny to me. Well, I was WRONG... this book was extremely interesting, sexy, and fascinating.

The good: As I said after reading Shiver, Stiefvater's writing is gorgeous. Just dripping with beautiful quotes and amazingly lyrical. I found myself marking the pages with Post-It flags so that I could go back and read them again. I've never had much interest in faerie-lore... honestly never even really heard of what it entailed. Well I found myself totally wrapped up in it. Another good thing about Stiefvater's books = good characters. She really gets you to feel and become attached to her characters. James is hands down one of my favorite literary characters. Also, I loved the emphasis on music. I'm a complete music nerd so this book really drew me in.

The bad: I really have to stretch to find something bad about this book. I didn't like it as much as Shiver, but honestly... I am obsessed with Shiver. I wasn't crazy about Dee... I thought she was kinda flaky and didn't really appreciate the amazing friendship that she had in James.

The verdict: Read it! If you like young-adult fiction, this is a must-read. It has everything... adventure, romance, comedy and folklore.

Hope hurt more than the cold. ~ Week 10

Another addition to my young-adult fiction collection! A friend recommended Shiver to me, and I must say that I was not disappointed. Shiver centers around 17-year old Grace. When she was ten, she was attacked by a pack of wolves that live in the woods surrounding her house. She survived the attack and grew up with a curious fascination of the mysterious creatures. One wolf intrigues her the most, with his yellow eyes and gentle demeanor. She feels protective towards the pack, yet can't figure out why. Thus begins Shiver...

The good: Stiefvater's writing is beautiful to behold. It's lyrical, flowing, and colorful. Most of the time, I felt like I was reading a song. On top of that, her characters were equally beautiful. See... I have this really weird "thing" where I actually fall for the characters in some of the books I read. Yes, I am that level of nerd. Well I fell hard for Grace and Sam. Grace and her pragmaticism. Her non-nonsense, "lets get to the bottom of things" attitude. Sam and his wounded and endearing self. Their personalities polar opposites, yet they fit together like some perfect puzzle. Absolutely loved them. I found myself wishing and hoping for a happy ending because I felt for them so much. Any writer that can pull that kind of emotion from me gets an "A" in my book.

Oh and another thing. I'm a sucker for lines like this:

"Books are more real when you read them outside."

"Just like your eyes. You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid forgot I knew until I heard it again."

"If that moment had been a real thing, it would've been a butterfly, flapping and fluttering towards the sun."

and my favorite

"I'd found heaven and grabbed it as tightly as I could, but it was unraveling, an insubstantial thread sliding between my fingers, too fine to hold."

...what can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic.

The bad: Parts of the story might be a little too "lovey" for some people's taste. Yes, it has action and adventure... but deep down it's really a love story. Personally, I eat that stuff up... but if you're not into the touching, kissing, and loving each other up stuff, I could see it getting on your nerves.

The verdict: To put it simply, I loved this book. I thought Stiefvater's writing was lyrical and beautiful. If you like books like Twilight, If I Stay and The Hunger Games - this is right up your alley. Shiver is the first in a the Wolves of Mercy Falls series so there will be more to follow. The next book is called Linger and comes out in July 2010. I honestly don't know if I can wait that long!

After you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs... ~ Week 9

I've noticed this book everytime I go to the bookstore. Since I'm a huge fan of Young Adult books, I would usually find Go Ask Alice and it would always intrigue me. Last week I was at Chamblin Bookmine and I finally grabbed it. Go Ask Alice is the harrowing first-hand account of a young girl driven to the brink of madness by her decent into drug use.

The good: It really took a little work for me to find the good in this book. I guess that if you're 12 or 13 years old, the information in this book might be shocking. It could definitely give a young teenager a glimpse and "warning" into the dangers of drug use. Other than that, there wasn't much else that was good about it.

The bad: If you're looking for a sincere glimpse into the life of a drug addict... look elsewhere. I felt like it was cliche and corny. The book was first published in 1971, so it's very dated. This book might have been more relevant about 20 years ago... but now it just missed the mark.

I'm going to flip the pages of the book and see what I run across to make my point:

"Oh Diary, I'm so happy I could cry!"

"Oh terrors, horror, endless torment."

"I'm getting bored to the teeth."

Another "problem" I had - at one point our narrator is put into a mental hospital for going into a mental breakdown after overdosing on LSD. Apparently, in the midst of her arrest and detention she manages to bring her beloved diary with her into the mental ward. She also takes her diary along for the ride when she's homeless on the streets of San Francisco. Really? I guess it's plausible... but pretty unlikely considering the events that she describes.

The verdict: There was just so much about this story that bothered me. I wanted to like it. I really tried... but it just didn't work out for me. I didn't feel that Go Ask Alice taught me anything I didn't know about the dangers of drug use. I didn't find myself shocked or appalled at all. A lot of this might have been due to my age and the other horrific drug memoirs that I've read (Try Beautiful Boy...). Most of all, I didn't feel that reading this book would deter a teenager from using drugs. In this day and age, this book is dated and there's probably better books out there to show to your teenager.

Another problem was the supposed "Anonymous" author. After a little digging on the internet, I discovered that Ms. Anonymous is actually Beatrice Sparks, a Mormon Youth counselor with a few books dealing with difficult subjects ranging from Satanism to teenage pregnancy. She claims to have only edited and compiled the information from the diary but that the content is completely authentic. I have my doubts!

The Reader - Week 17

The Reader is about a 15-year old boy, Michael, who becomes sick on his way home from school. As he's crouched on the side of the road, an older neighbor, Hanna notices him and takes him to her apartment to help him. A few weeks later, he returns to her apartment to thank her for being so kind. A friendship ensues... which eventually turns into more than a friendship. Hanna is tempermental and secretive. Michael can't seem to figure her out, but he's falling into the grips of a near obsession with the mysterious Hanna. She seems to be hiding something. Something big. Suddenly, one day Hanna disappears. Michael moves on with his life and the memory of Hanna fades. Years pass and Michael becomes a law student. He ends up observing a court case with a defendant that is none other than his long-lost lover, Ms. Hanna. Finally some of the questions that Michael had about Hanna are answered.

The good: Interesting glimpse of post-Nazi Germany. Honestly, that's all I've got for the GOOD.

The bad: This book gave me the creeps. First of all, why the heck is a 30-something year old woman messing around with a 15 year old kid? Eww. Secondly, talk about an anti-climax. After all the build-up I was honestly let down by Hanna's "deep dark secret." Without giving it away, let's just say that whatever you're probably imagining by this point in the book is WAY worse than what it actually is. Don't get me wrong, Miss Hanna did some dirty deeds in her day... but the "secret" ends up just letting you down.

The verdict: I struggled to get through The Reader. It wasn't Schlink's writing at all. He's a great writer. My problem was the characters. I found myself thinking that the boy was mostly annoying. I found Hanna boring and was frustrated by the minimal glimpse into her personality. She was flat. By the end of the book I had little attachement to either of them and was just happy to have finished the book without quitting it.

While I was looking the other way your fire went out, left me with cinders to kick into dust… – Week 8

Oh how I love young adult fiction. One of my co-workers suggested that I read Graceling, Kristin Cashore's first novel and companion to Fire. I'd never been into fantasy until I started reading these books. I love Cashore's writing. It's interesting and intelligent, yet easy to read. I love her characters. In both Graceling and Fire, her main characters are strong and powerful women. The men/love interests are equally engrossing. If you've read Graceling you know what I mean. Who read that book and didn't fall in love with Po?

In Fire, the main character is the book's namesake. Fire is a fiery-haired, half-woman/half-monster "creature." She's a skilled archer and blessed with the power to read and influence minds. Apparently Fire is also stunningly beautiful and able to manipulate men with just a glance. This power of manipulation is also a gift that her father had. The book takes place after he has been killed by one of the monsters that he kept as a "pet." This gives you just a hint into what type of person her was, to keep one of his own kind as an amusement. We are treated to a few flashblacks that familiarize us with Fire's father and the controversy surrounding his life (and death). Fire's greatest fear is that she will use her powers to control and hurt people as her father did.

The good: Great dialogue and deep plot. The conversations between characters are engaging and intelligent. The characters are believable. I mean, it's a feat to make you able to relate to a teenage, human/monster crossbreed that reads minds. But somehow Cashore manages. Also, the side love stories are not too sappy, but just enough to appeal to my girlishness.

The bad: The sketchy link between this book and Graceling. I kept waiting for that definite connection and it finally came in the form of a mysterious (and creepy) child named Leck. He plays a big role in Graceling. He comes into play in Fire only momentarily. I found myself disappointed and a little confused as to why he didn't have a bigger part in this book. I almost felt that she put his character in this book in order to claim that it's a companion to Graceling. If his character hadn't had that small "cameo," there would be little to link the two books.

The verdict: If you haven't read any young adult fiction and think that it not appeal to you, I'd suggest you give it a chance and pick up one of Cashore's books. I'm pretty sure that you will enjoy Fire, even if you aren't into fantasy writing or young adult literature.

Scars are stories, history written on the body. – Kathryn Harrison - Week 7

It took me a while to write about The Kiss. I’m not going to lie… this story deeply disturbed and saddened me. I was almost hesitant to pick it up after it piqued my interest. The other day I was watching an episode of Oprah where Mackenzie Phillips was the guest. She was talking about her book, High on Arrival, which talks about an incestuous relationship that she had with her father. Kathryn Harrison was a guest on the show, speaking out about the consenual (and sexual) relationship that she had with her father starting at the age of 20.

I’ve never read such a melancholy book. Every page was dripping with sadness, hopelessness, and desperation. I could almost feel Ms. Harrison’s depression and loss of self. That being said, any book that incites that kind of emotion is a literary accomplishment in itself. She has a way of crafting her words to make you not only read what she’s portraying… but to get you to feel it. Almost as if you were experiencing it yourself. I felt anxious and nervous to find out where this incestuous relationship would go next. I was shocked and scared as I read it.

My first question was – How could a relationship between a father and daughter be consensual? Something so wrong… so taboo. Ms. Harrison explains that her father was the master manipulator, fully capable of playing on her insecurities and loneliness. She was raised by her mother and her father was absent for much of her youth. Despite his physical absence his presence still loomed large in her life. Ms. Harrison’s mother remained in love with her father throughout her childhood, despite their separation. Her father is described as charismatic and able to draw people to him easily.

The book was tastefully written, never delving into the “gritty” physical details of the relationship but focusing on the emotional aspects of it. I was struck by how much courage Ms. Harrison has to share this story. Putting a shameful and taboo situation out there and giving others the courage to step out and speak about incest and abuse candidly.

The best mirror is an old friend. George Herbert. - Week 6

Firefly Lane is a book about the ups and downs of female friendships. Tully Hart and Kate Mularkey become friends during the summer of 1974. Both in the 8th grade, Kate comes from an all-American family – dinner at 6pm every night, homework at the kitchen table, and in bed by 10pm. Tully, on the other hand, is raised without any such structure. Abandoned by her drug addicted mother and raised by her grandmother, Tully is raised with little guidance and a lot of self-doubt. Kate runs into her one day at the bus stop and is immediately intrigued. Tully is everything that Kate is not – boisterous, self-confident and outgoing. They immediately hit it off and become fast friends. The story follows Tullyandkate (they literally become a “unit” throughout the turbulent years of their adolescence) through the trials and tribulations of growing up.

There’s a lot of life-lessons crammed into these 500 pages. Female friendships are a complex and amazing thing to behold. We had a great conversation about this at my book club the other night. It is very rare to find women that have that one best friend that they’ve been close to for a long time. Especially in my age group (late 20’s)… at this point many of us have graduated from college, got married, and moved on. The test of a true friendship is whether or not your relationship will weather the storms of life. I am blessed enough to say that I have been friends with my best friend since we were in the 4th grade. This book really spoke to me and made me think of her.

Tully and Kate make it through family issues, careers, starting their own families, jealousy and illness. They are lucky enough to have someone always there (even if it’s a phone call away) to share in all of the “main events” of their lives. I feel that this is something that every woman should have in their life. Everyone woman deserves a shoulder to cry on, lean on… or both.
I was deeply moved by this book. I am always a fan of a book that gets me to think about my own life. I also am a sucker for a book that tugs at my heart. Firefly Lane did both. You won’t be able to put it down. Just a tip: make sure you have some kleenex handy.

Although I love the child I used to be, there is a woman who lives inside of me. – Week 5

The other day I happened upon a highly disturbing episode of Oprah. Mackenzie Phillips was on there talking about her “consensual” sexual relationship with her late father, John Phillips of 60’s rock band the Mamas & the Papas. I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of Mackenzie Phillips. My mom was a huge Mamas & Papas fan, so I was curious. I watched the rest of the episode and was pretty shocked at how candid she was in talking about the relationship and drug abuse that she partook in with her father. She was rolling joints for her father at 10. Yeah, really messed up.
At first, I had a hard time reading the book. Her writing is mediocre at best. I found some of her writing corny and hard to follow. It was chock-full of cliches and corny analogies. Ms. Phillips seems to have an over-inflated self image of the relevance of the Mamas and the Papas and her career as well. That being said, I am also 27 years old and obviously am from another generation. Maybe I just don't get it? I remember my mom loving the Mamas and the Papas and I can bust out a mean rendition of "California Dreamin'"... but again, their relevance was before my time. I wonder if I would’ve felt more interested in this book if I’d grown up during that generation – 60’s pot-smokin’, hippie livin’, free-lovin’… and all that.

I found her story to be heartbreaking. Growing up without a strong mother figure in her life, she lived for her father’s acceptance. He was the glamourous and exciting parent. His fame put her in touch with the stars of the day and put her in the limelight. Throughout her life she continued to seek her father's love - through a haze of drugs and partying. She describes him exposing her to drugs, partying, and abuse from the age of 5. Being abandoned at airports and on one occasion, a rented house while he went out on a bender with the Rolling Stones Keith Richards. Through it all, she just wanted a glimmer of attention from her father. Something that sadly, she never got.

I liked how she ended the story by saying that she is by no means completely healed. I have respect for her for being able to use the book as a part of her healing and recovery process. After reading the book, I realize that her relationship with her father was definitely not "consensual." I wonder why they even called it that on Oprah? I see Mackenzie Phillips as a victim and a woman just trying to find her place in the world. I wish her all the luck in the world.

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared. – Machiavelli. Week 4.

I first became aware of Daniel Silva’s novels after randomly picking up The Confessor off the discount shelf at Books-A-Million. It was a discarded library book and it sounded interesting… plus it was only $4.

I literally could not put it down. Silva writes books in a genre that usually held no interest for me. I’d describe them as being similar to the Jason Bourne novels. They are spy-thrillers - ripe with espionage, technology, and deception. The stuff that makes for a great movie. Anyways, despite the fact that they aren’t usually what I reach for, after reading The Confessor I was hooked. They are like a non-stop thrill ride. Since then, I’ve read all of Silva’s books and I have yet to be disappointed. The main character is Gabriel Allon, part-time art restorer… part-time Israeli secret service badass. Allon started his career with the Israeli secret service after heading the operation “Wrath of God,” a mission to retaliate against the Black September terrorists who killed the Isreali Olympic team at the 1972 games in Munich.

The Defector picks up where Silva’s last book, Moscow Rules, left off. Allon is thrust deep into the world of Soviet, ex-KGB villains and high-tech crime once again. This time though, the stakes are higher for Allon. It becomes personal.

All in all, I enjoy Silva’s books for what they are. They are definitely action-packed and keep you turning those pages. The only downfall is that they follow a very set formula. I have a hard time remembering which one of the 11 Daniel Silva novels is which…

Boys. Yes, boys come next. After the blood come the boys. (Stephen King’s Carrie) - Week 3

I found this book on the New Non-Fiction shelf at Barnes & Noble and I was immediately intrigued. First off, it takes some serious cojones to write an autobiography called “Loose.” A memoir of promiscuity? Wow, my curiosity killed me. I sat down in the bookstore and read the first couple of chapters and decided that I needed to read it. Not just because it seemed really entertaining… but because of the psychological aspect of it – What is someone who sleeps around like that truly looking for? I was curious. We’ve all been there… 20-somethings in college. The drinking, the parties, the casual sex. We’ve all been around it and all seen that one girl who was labeled “loose.” The slut.

Cohen’s book starts out with a childhood experience in which she first became aware of her sexuality and as she describes it – “The power that women have over men.” That awareness and “power” leads her into endless casual sexual encounters. throughout her high school and college years, Cohen’s life centers around getting (and keeping) male attention. Her needs are embarrassing and all encompassing. At the beginning of the book she states that she has lost count of how many partners she’s had – but she’s sure that it’s well over 40. The encounters she describes are both comical and sad. The frankness and honesty she uses to recount them is sometimes funny. How sad and pathetic it is makes your heart ache.

After my initial reaction – How could someone think so little of themselves! – I started to feel true sadness for Cohen. She had a difficult upbringing and grew up without her dad around. I could really relate with that consuming need that she had for male attention. For a long time, I felt like my world centered around the men in my life. I was always looking for that male attention and once I had it, I let other aspects of my life fall to the wayside. Maybe that’s why I was so drawn to her story? Even though I never took it to the level she did, I could empathize with her need for attention.

I read the whole book in less than 24 hours. It's kinda like reading someone's diary. Someone's really scandalous diary. It really gets you thinking about how women view themselves nowadays. What’s important? What do you want to be known for? It made me think of how every woman needs to know who they are before they seek out a partner. It made me realize just how instrumental self-respect is in the upbringing of each and every woman in this world.

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the word remains and is immortal. - Week Two.

To live in the world without becoming
aware of the meaning of the world is
like wandering about in a great library
without touching the books.

It’s pretty obvious that Dan Brown’s books follow a set pattern:

Really creepy villian (usually with some weird body modification) +
Incredible conspiracy/mystery that the general public is unaware of +
Preppy Harvard professor/symbologist Robert Langdon = A highly entertaining read.

That’s the key to reading a Dan Brown book. Go into it knowing that it’s going to be entertaining and keep you on the edge of your seat. Know that you are not going to be reading some great, life-altering, literary masterpiece. Dan Brown’s books keep you hooked and entertained all the way from start to finish. If you’ve read The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons you will enjoy The Lost Symbol.

The Lost Symbol brings the charming Robert Langdon back into our life. This time he’s not wandering around Europe solving mysteries… he’s come home to the good ol’ US of A and finds himself dead center in a mystery centered in our nation’s capitol. The premise centers around an ancient secret guarded by the mysterious fraternal organization – The Freemasons. Yeah, you know those lodges that you see all around town? The ones that kinda blend in with the Moose and Elk's lodges? Well apparently, behind the dull exterior the Masons have a pretty interesting past. A large number of our nation's leaders and founding fathers were Freemasons. Didn't know that did you? Well, I didn't. I also didn't know about the rich symbolism and mythology that's hidden within the monuments of Washington DC.

As in all of Dan' Brown's books, the technologies and history that he refers to are all fact. That's what I think makes his books so compelling to me. He gives us a glimpse into a world that's right beneath our noses, that we never knew existed. Think of The Lost Symbol not only as an exciting read, but as a learning experience. Dan Brown's books are the type that make me pull out my laptop as I'm reading so that I can look up some of the interesting facts. I also feel like I need to know more after reading one of his books. That feeling in itself is enough to keep me coming back for more!

A book a week?

I told my husband about my book-a-week goal for 2009/2010 and he kinda looked at me in disbelief. I am determined! Not just to prove him wrong of course…

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. - Week One

Of his bones are coral made:
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.

First impressions of Sea Change: I was completely sucked in by the cover of this book. You can’t deny that it’s absolutely gorgeous. And sexy. The book itself is a fun, light read… definitely a summer book.

The story centers around Miranda, a 16 year old New-Yorker who is headed down to the mysterious Selkie Island, Georgia to stay at her recently-deceased grandmother’s house. Miranda’s grandmother, Ms. Isadora Hawkins, was one of the most prestigious and well-known residents of Selkie Island. Miranda’s mother, Amelia, had some type of a falling out with her late mother but despite this, she inherited her sprawling seaside mansion – aptly named The Mariner.

Miranda isn’t your typical 16-year old. She favors science museums to movie theaters. She’d rather spend the evening watching the Discovery Channel than going on a date. She’s tremendously smart and is on her way to becoming a doctor (following in her mother’s footsteps). She’d actually planned to spend the summer at an internship with the Museum of Natural History in NY, when her grandmother passed away. She decided to delay the intership for a month and spend the time down at Selkie helping her mother tend to her grandmother’s affairs. Thus begins Sea Change...

Miranda immediately feels like an outside on Selkie Island. It’s full of these over-the-top southern belles who “summer” on Selkie on their husband’s dimes. The girls she meets and befriends are ostentatious and flighty. They immediately try to play matchmaker and set her up with a son of one of the most prestigious families on Selkie, the preppy and polite T.J. Illingsworth. Miranda makes an effort to enjoy her time with her new friends, but she soon discovers that no matter what she wears or how much makeup she puts on… she’ll never be one of the “debutantes” of Selkie Island.

One night, while Miranda’s trying to escape the Selkie crew, she wanders onto the beach for a walk and runs into a mysterious (and really good looking) local boy. She befriends Leo and is immediately attracted to him. They share a love of animals and science and hit it off from the get go. At first things are smooth sailing, but then Miranda starts to notice some strange happenings on Selkie Island. The place is steeped in lore which Miranda initially brushes off as a joke – mermen, krakens, and sea serpents? Let’s be serious here. But after a few sketchy meetings with Leo that leave a lot of questions unanswered… Miranda starts to wonder if the stories have some truth to them.

Sea Change is interwoven with all the things that make a great story – romance, drama, and mystery. I found myself drawn in and devoured the book in a couple of days. I’d definitely recommend it to someone looking for a light-hearted and fun read.

Edit...

So, I abandoned The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Yes, I realize that this probably makes me look like a flake for giving up the first book I was supposedly going to review… but let me explain.

I read about 100 pages of the book. By halfway through this, I found my mind wandering while I was reading. I felt like the author was trying her damndest to throw in as many elaborate vocabulary words as she could possibly fit. You know when you read something that’s been overdone with SAT-worthy vocabulary words… just for the sake of throwing them in there? They didn’t add to the story… if anything they made it nearly impossible for me to wade through the flowery mess to find out what the heck was happening in the story.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the use of interesting and colorful language. I teach writing to 8 and 9 year olds… I’m always at the front of my class with my arms up proclaiming – “GIMME WOW WORDS! No boring writing in here!”

But seriously Ms. Barbery, sometimes you gotta know when enough is enough.

I’m a big proponent of finding the right book for you. Another thing I tell my students – “Find a book that you like! There are millions of books out there. There is no reason for you to force your way through something that you don’t enjoy.”

So change of plans. I’ll be delving into a book a teacher friend of mine gave me, Sea Change by Aimee Friedman.

And so it begins...

Ever go into a bookstore just to wander? I do it all the time. I start at the front with the new releases and peruse until something catches my eyes. I pick up the book and run my fingers along the spine before opening it. I quickly glance at the back but I rarely read the summary. If a few words catch my attention, I open it up and flip through the pages. Sometimes if no one is looking, I’ll hold the book up to my face and take in that glorious scent. New pages just waiting to be discovered. I can usually tell if it’s something I want to read after reading two sentences or so. If I’m hooked in by that quick glimpse, it’s mine. If I lose interest that quickly… back to the shelf it goes.

I work my way around the store… literature, travel writing, young adult, and biographies. My husband wanders back to the Sci-Fi and we lose each other for a bit. I’ll stop to grab a tea which I’ll rest on the shelves while I pick up random books that catch my eye.

Finally, there it is… one that’s intrigued me enough to come home with me tonight.

I’ve had a love affair with books ever since I was a child. I started reading at three and never stopped. I remember getting in trouble for bringing a book to the dinner table. I had a spot on the couch at my mother’s… right at the end, under a lamp, conveniently located next to the end table. I’d take my stack of library books and disappear into my fantasy world while my family watched TV. I vividly remember my grandmother saying with exasperation, “You read too much!”

Read too much? I’ve never heard something ludicrous in my life!

Nowadays, it’s hard for me to find the time to dedicate to reading like I used to. Work has me swamped and there’s just not enough time to read something for pleasure anymore.

Tonight I decided that this just wouldn’t do.

Why push aside something that gives me such happiness? Stress is a major issue in my life right now and part of it has to do with me not taking time for me. Well reading is just for me. Some people use television to unwind, well I’m going to use books.

So in the next year I plan on reading a book a week. Not mind-numbingly boring work books… but things that I’ve had sitting on my shelves just calling to me for months. Things I’ve put aside because there “just wasn’t time.”

Lord of the Flies, Rebecca, the Great Gatsby… I’ll definitely be hitting up the classics that I’ve forgotten since High School.

Twilight, The Lovely Bones, The Lost Symbol… pop-culture favorites and new releases.

Anything’s fair game! And so it begins!

First up, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.