Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

This is the only adult book I have read by Judy Blume, and I was pleasantly surprised. I really loved this book. I love books that wrap you up in the character’s world and really make you feel all different kinds of emotions.

The book takes you through the ups and downs of two girls’ friendship. They are two very different girls who, almost by luck end up becoming best friends. They consider themselves “summer sisters” since they spend every summer vacationing together and this impacts their lives in very defining ways.

During the course of this book I couldn’t help compare the two girls to one of my best friends and myself. I think anyone who has had a really close friend would enjoy this book because it really brings you back to those days. I will say, I thought the ending was a bit weak, but the rest of the book made up for it.

I give it 4.5 stars and consider it one of my favorites.

Bridge to Terabithia

I never read this one as a kid so I decided to pick it up the other day. I have seen the previews for the movie and because of that I was under the impression it was a fantasy book, but it wasn’t at all.

I’m really not sure how I feel about the book completely. It left me feeling a bit depressed. The book was well written and interesting, but it wasn’t very satisfying for me. I do understand it is a “teaching” type book, that is trying to bestow understanding to young kids, but it just left me feeling rather empty. Maybe I would feel differently if I was under 14. Or I could feel differently after a few weeks; it does seem to be one of those books that sticks with you, so maybe it will grow on me after I dwell on it for a couple weeks.

3.5 stars on initial read, subject to change.

My Sweet Audrina

My Sweet Audrina, the first book by V.C. Andrews  that I ever read.  I was in 7th grade, twelve years old. My memory of the book had faded, but do remember liking it very much and it introduced me to the world of V.C. Andrews. I continued reading her books for a couple years, including the Dollanger, Casteel, and Cutler series’. The Cutler series being my favorite.

I enjoy re-reading books from my youth and picked this one since it was the first and only one not part of a series.  So… how did it hold up after all these years? Lets just say I won’t be re-reading  Dawn anytime soon. 

My Sweet Audrina is about a young girl who cannot remember anything before her seventh birthday. She “loses time” frequently and is constantly reminded of her dead sister who was the “best” Audrina.

Through the entire book you are trying to figure out why she has no memory and what secret everyone is keeping from Audrina. Unfortunately it was very easy to “figure out” and it seemed to drag on longer than needed. The book had horrid and mean characters, strange authority figures and much tragedy and death. All in all your typical V.C. Andrews book. It just wasn’t as mysterious and shocking as I remembered. Even if I had not read it when I was young I think I would have felt the same disappointment.

So… as a teen I give it 3.75 stars as an adult I give it 2.25 stars.

MiddleSex

I finished Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides, about a week ago. I mentioned before that I was reading it and how much I was enjoying it. It’s taken me about a week and still all I can seem to say is ……Wow! Really, this is a book you just need to read. There is so much to the book, so many facets, so many themes, that I am having a difficult time putting my thoughts on the book into words. 

   

The story is about Calliope who is an hermaphrodite, but grows up not knowing. She “is a girl” for 14 years until she finds exactly what it is that she/he is. She narrates the story in memoir form, yet gives insight to what other characters were thinking and feeling even before she was born. It tells her story, but also the story of her parents, and their parents. It takes place a cross the globe, but mainly in Detroit and Turkey. Everything is beautifully woven together, and it’s one of the books that just becomes part of you. 

  

I have always been interested in the stories of those born ambiguously gendered. So this book was fascinating to me, but there is so much more to the story than that alone. I really can’t say enough good about this book, and highly recommend it. I give it 5 stars.

Romance for Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day approaching I thought this would be a good topic. What are your favorites?

A recent favorite of mine is Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I don’t know how someone could read this book without falling in love with Edward Cullen. Sure a man like him probably doesn’t exist in real life (putting the vampire aspect aside) but he really is what a lot of us always dreamed of when we were young. The feelings of the new love and relationship very much reminded me of how I felt when I was young which is probably why I enjoyed it so much.

       

Twilight is also a part of the ever popular vampire genre, but even if vampire novels don’t appeal to you, I think you might like this one if you love romance. Oh, and I absolutely love the book cover.

       

Another favorite of mine is The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger. I think this was one of those “you either love it or hate it” type books. It did take me a while to get into it, and I almost gave up on it after 50 pages, but I continued and ended up loving it. I like books that really develop their characters so I loved this aspect about the book. Yes, it was confusing at times, but the story line is so original. It’s one of those books that definitely is worth a few readings. Oh, it seems they will be making it into a movie soon too.

         

Of course I can’t talk about romance without mentioning a classic: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Beautifully written and wonderfully romantic. If you are apprehensive about reading a Jane Austen novel try a movie first and see how you like it. I recommend the A&E miniseries of Pride and Prejudice, the one starring Colin Firth. It’s a perfect movie to watch for Valentine’s Day.

        

So what are your Valentine’s Day recommendations. Leave me a comment and let us know.

Middlesex

I started reading Middlesex yesterday. I like it a lot so far. I wasn’t sure how I would like it and was kind of anticipating a boring read, but I’ve been enjoying it since the first page. It’s kind of nice since the last few books I’ve read have taken around 50 pages for me to get into it.

   

 I’m only about 80 pages in so far, but the story is very engaging. It’s about a girl, who was born as a female, but they find out later she is also a male. I’m not sure how that all works since I’m only 80 pages in and so far it’s all back-story. I’ve seen PBS documentaries about this before and it’s always intrigued and baffled me.

    

I also received My Sweet Audrina in the mail yesterday from bookmooch.com. I read this book back in Jr. high, and I loved it. I’m curious to see how well I like it 16 years later. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler 

“My mother is a wench. It says so on her w-2″ and so starts this quirky novel. 

Calliope and her mother are on the move a lot. Her mom makes jewelry which she sells at Renaissance Faires along with serving as a wench. They have a very strained relationship, to say the least. Cal’s mom, Delores, has the tendency to run from things. She packed Cal up a few years back, taking her from her loving father and stable home life.  Cal has been taking care of Delores ever since.

Eliot lives with his mom and dad outside of Asheville, NC. They run a  “Christian” weight-loss camp.  “The Dad,” as Eliot calls him, broke his back years ago and from that experience he turned to Jesus.  Eliot and his mom have been basically unhappy ever since. Their family life has deteriorated. The fun care free times are gone.  His dad has cashed in on Christianity and now everything is about making more money.

When Cal and her mom move to the Asheville area for a Renaissance Faire, Eliot and Cal meet and they connect immediately. Their love story is very sweet. They help one another through the turmoil of being a teenager in an adult controlled world.

 One aspect that I thought was interesting, without giving too much away, was it showed how in many situations parents create the illusion that their children have some say in important life matters, when in actuality the parents have already made up their minds and have no intention of hearing what their children have to say.  I think it’s interesting and wonder why a lot of us parents don’t listen to our children more often. 

 I really enjoyed the narration from the point of view of both Calliope and Eliot. Each chapter switches from one character to the other and it makes for good reading.

I think a lot of teens would enjoy this book and I give it  3.75 out of 5 stars.

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Just finished The Nanny Diaries. Good, quick read. Not my favorite, but I’drecommend it, especially to those who like chick lit or those who have been a nanny. It is based on real life experiences the authors had as nannies living in New York City.The book is a fictionalized account of one young woman, a senior in college, and her year of being a nanny for a family living the high life on Park Avenue. The book is funny, but is also heart wrenching at times. I was a nanny when I was younger, but I am lucky to say I never experienced things like the book describes. It’s so sad to think there are parents out there who really don’t spend time with their kids they just pass them from one care giver to the next.

Nanny (yes her name is Nanny, confused me at first too) works for a family who live in some other world it seems. They demand perfection from Nanny and yet are completely irresponsible themselves. They have no respect for her or her schedule and treat her like she should kiss the ground they walk on. I spite of all their faults their son is adorable, and loveable which is why Nanny doesn’t quit but tries to stick it out. It just breaks your heart that his parents don’t seem to care about HIM ( just his image) and you can’t help but wonder how these kids will turn out.

There are lots of funny antecdotes, and some romance, but at the end you will want to go give any of the kids in you life a big hug and spend some time with them.

Final Verdict : 3.75 out of 5 stars

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

I did like it (besides the fact that I can never seem to spell “Boleyn” right). For those who have no idea what it’s about, it’s written from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, Ann Boleyn’s sister. It takes place during the reign of Henry VIII, so it’s based on truth but with a fictionalized story interwoven. It is a story of one family’s rise to power, and what they will do to get there.

There were times when I had to push myself to keep reading, so it wasn’t always engaging, but that is normal for any book that is over 600 pages. Most of it was very good, and if not good at least shocking.

I was completely aghast and some of the things the characters did to get ahead. I cannot imagine being so ambitious and so hungry for power that you would use your children or anyone else to get what you want. The fact that most of them seemed so detached from their children was hard for me to grasp.

So many of them just seemed crazed with power. Henry the VIII himself during the last half, but Ann Boleyn and most of her family wanted nothing more than to rise. I kept thinking to myself, ” For what, you are incapable of being happy.”

The life of courtier is something that always seems so glamorous in movies, but after reading this novel it make me very happy for my “simple” life. I couldn’t put up with all that pretense.

I also found out there is now a movie coming out based on the book with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana. It looks good, but just from the trailer I can see they made a lot of changes from the book.

Final Verdict- 4 out of 5 stars