Book Review (Extremely Loud and Incredible Close)

Extremely Loud and Incredible Close by Johnathan Safran Foer 

This story is told through the eyes of a nine year old boy, Oskar. He takes the reader on an adventure through New York as he searches for the lock that fits an old key that belonged to his father, a victim of the 9/11 attack.  This author has a very unique style that I had a hard time following in the beginning.  However, once you get to know Oskar, the nine year old boy telling the story, you begin to understand his humor and perspective.  Although this wasn't one of my favorite books, it was still worth the time.  Plus the movie actually comes out January 20th in theaters everywhere. 

New York Times Article
Amazon Editorial Review & Author Video
Movie Website

Book Review (Catching Fire)

Catching Fire - The Second of the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

With the first book being so amazing, its hard to imagine that the second one is equally as good. The author does an amazing job of continuing to develop the characters and plot while constantly throwing in unexpected twists and turns.  I found myself loving the lead character, Katniss, at times while hating her at others as she battles with the unfairness and cruelty that the Capital has thrown up on the people of Panem.  I thought the first book leaves you hanging, you won't sleep until you can get your hands on the third book to see what happens.  More to come as I finish the third book :)

New York Times Article

Editorial Review by Amazon

Book Review (The Hunger Games)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I went into reading these books open minded but secretly a bit sceptical.  First off, I am generally not a fan of "teen" books.  Secondly, I am not a fan of "futuristic" books.  Since this story gets a check by both of those categories, I can't say that I had high hopes.  However, the book was wonderful.  I am so glad that I didn't start reading this when it first came out in 2008 because I do not think I could have been able to wait for the second book to come out.  I literally was ordering the second book on my kindle within seconds of finishing it because I couldn't stand to not know what happens next.  The story line is fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time.  There is never a dull moment which is great except when you have to work the next day and are trying to weigh your options between sleep and find out what happens to Katniss.


Book Website

Publishers Weekly from Amazon

New York Times Article

Book Review (Thirteen Reasons Why)

 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

There is no simpler way to put it than I LOVED THIS BOOK.  It was a complete surprise as the last couple book club books have been a tidbit disappointing.  However, I couldn't put this down from the moment I picked it up.  Yes I read it all in one night.  The story is about a high school girl that commits suicide and leaves 13 cassette tapes behind, one for each person who contributed to her decision to end her life. Each person must listen to the tapes to learn why earned the guilt and pain that comes with listening to these tapes.  It is a roller coaster of emotion and although it is not a true story, the stories pulls me right back to my high school days.  No matter what your age, this book causes you to step back and think through your own behavior whether it is past, present, or future.  It puts things in perspective and reminds you that there are always two sides to an interaction.  A meaningless one on your end might end up being monumental on the other end. 

Book Website

New York Times Article / Book Review

Book Review (Witches of the East End)

Witches of the East End by Melissa de la Cruz

In the spirit of Halloween, this book was selected for our October book club.  I would never in a million years pick a book about witches so it was a nice change of pace from my normal read.  Again, the first half of the book was much more enjoyable than the second half, but with that said, I still recommend reading it.  It was a bit racy at times, but made it hard to put down especially in the beginning while the characters were unfolding. 

Book Review by the Washington Post
Source of picture - Washington Post website (see above link)

- Miss J

Book Review (Room: A Novel)

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue

One of the first things I did when I moved to Saint Louis was join WUMCHA, a women's organization for spouse's/significant other's of employees of BJC.  It is such a wonderful group of women that are so supportize and UNDERSTANDING of life as a resident's wife.  Although alot of the women have kids, there are numerous events that I make an effort to attend each month including "Taste of the Town", "Girls Night Out", and "Book Club".  I hosted book club this last month and Room: A Novel was the book that was selected.  Although this wasn't my pick, it was a quick read.  I would defintely say the first half of the book is significantly better than the second half, but still worth reading in your spare time. It was an interesting perspective as it is told through the eyes of a five year old little boy who spent all his years locked in a single room.

Editorial Review on Amazon.com

In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which she has tried to craft a normal life for her son. When their insular world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the consequences are piercing and extraordinary. Despite its profoundly disturbing premise, Emma Donoghue's Room is rife with moments of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the most desolate circumstances. A stunning and original novel of survival in captivity, readers who enter Room will leave staggered, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time. --Lynette Mong

Book Review (Sarah's Key)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

I read this book while I was traveling in Europe.  There was so much to see on our trip, yet I had a hard time putting this book down after we arrived by train to our destinations.  I found myself reading it while Moe was showering or taking a nap.  For whatever reason, I have always been fascinated by the Holocaust.  In Rome, we stayed in the Jewish Ghetto which was amazing, especially after reading a story like this one.  You walk along the side walks and just think about what horror occurred on these little cobblestone streets.  This book is about the 1942 Jewish Roundup in France.  Prior to reading this book, I knew little about it.  The story is centered around a mystery, but the author intertwines the historical piece into the story line as a way to raise awareness of the horrible events in 1943. The reader gets a glimpse into the terror that occurred when thousands of Jews were rounded up by their own, the French, and held hostage and ultimately shipped off to concentration camps. 

Publishers Weekly on Amazon

Starred Review. De Rosnay's U.S. debut fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand's family, about France and, finally, herself. Already translated into 15 languages, the novel is De Rosnay's 10th (but her first written in English, her first language). It beautifully conveys Julia's conflicting loyalties, and makes Sarah's trials so riveting, her innocence so absorbing, that the book is hard to put down. (July)



Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Review (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

I loved this entire series. This is the third and final book of the trilogy.  Unlike the second book which picks up approximately a year or so after the first book, this book starts only minutes after the second book. From the very first page, you are hooked and can't put it down.  The entire series is being made into an American movie so you better read up before it hits the big screens!  I say an American movie because the movies are available but are all in subtitles as the original story was written in Swedish and then translated into English.

Check out the first two books if you are interested in taking on the trilogy before it hits the theaters.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played With Fire



Source: Amazon.com Review

As the finale to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not content to merely match the adrenaline-charged pace that made international bestsellers out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Instead, it roars with an explosive storyline that blows the doors off the series and announces that the very best has been saved for last. A familiar evil lies in wait for Lisbeth Salander, but this time, she must do more than confront the miscreants of her past; she must destroy them. Much to her chagrin, survival requires her to place a great deal of faith in journalist Mikael Blomkvist and trust his judgment when the stakes are highest. To reveal more of the plot would be criminal, as Larsson's mastery of the unexpected is why millions have fallen hard for his work. But rest assured that the odds are again stacked, the challenges personal, and the action fraught with neck-snapping revelations in this snarling conclusion to a thrilling triad. This closing chapter to The Girl's pursuit of justice is guaranteed to leave readers both satisfied and saddened once the final page has been turned. --Dave Callanan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Review (The Alexandria Link)

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry

If you love The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons books then you should give this author a try.  Steve Berry follows a very similar writing style to the Dan Brown books. The author takes you on an exciting adventure to find the supposedly lost Library of Alexandria. Although this is not one of my favorite books of all time, it was a quick read that kept me entertained until the end. 

Source:  Publishers Weekly on Amazon

At the start of bestseller Berry's second thriller to feature Cotton Malone (after The Templar Legacy), Malone, a former employee of the covert branch of the U.S. Justice Department, is trying to lead a secluded life as a bookseller in Copenhagen. Unsurprisingly, that hope is short-lived when his son is kidnapped and his ex-wife, Pam, asks for his help in rescuing the boy. The abductors intend to force Malone to reveal what he knows about the survival of the legendary lost library of Alexandria, which may hold ancient texts that could undermine Israel's claim to biblical legitimacy. Malone and his allies get mixed up in Washington intrigue and double-dealing as they try to identify the high-level traitor seeking to use the secret sources to change the dynamics of the Middle East. Characters implausibly leave enemies unsecured, placing themselves in unnecessary jeopardy, while the notion that the texts could have the desired effect may strike some readers as too far-fetched. Predictable plots twists (like the growing rapprochement between Malone and Pam) and superficial treatment of the issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians are further minuses.



Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Review (Unbearable Lightness)

Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi

This is a fascinating read.  For those of you that want to learn more about anorexia or bulimia this is a great place to start.  Portia de Rossi opens up her world to the readers and holds nothing back.  This book gives a real sense of the "inner voice" that individuals with the disease battle with day in and day out. Although I thought the book was a bit repetitive, this is somewhat the point.  That each day, she wakes up and is faced with the same challenges and each day she rationalizes the situation to make it seem normal.  Remarkable read that I would recommend to all!

Source:  Publishers Weekly on Amazon

The author, an actor in movies and TV, (including Ally McBeal, Arrested Development, and Better Off Ted), model, and gay rights advocate, writes that "playing the role of heterosexual while fantasizing about being a homosexual had been my reality since I was a child." It's one she played into her 20s, when she was for three years married to a man. Now, she is married to Ellen DeGeneres, whom she met in 2001 after recovering from anorexia and bulimia. De Rossi nicely chronicles the years in between, during which she starved herself to 80 pounds. She artfully draws the reader into the tension of a life lived in secrecy: did anybody notice she lunges rather than walks, the better to burn calories? will anyone guess she is gay? when she nearly fainted, was anyone around? While some details could be viewed as anorexia how-tos, they make it possible to comprehend the twisted logic of de Rossi's frantic daily pursuits, and grasp the enormity of her achievement in overcoming her problems. The path de Rossi took to her happy ending is well worth reading about: her story is a cautionary tale, an inspiration, and a triumph. (Nov.)


(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Book Review (Half Broke Horses)

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

I absolutely love Jeannette Walls as an author.   Her writing style keeps you on the edge of your seat as she takes you on an adventure with a wide array of characters.  Half Broke Horses was such an enjoyable read as you find yourself laughing out loud, gasping in astonishment, and wiping tears away.  For those of you that have not read The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls childhood story, I strongly recommend reading it first. I guarantee you will LOVE both of  these books!


Source:  Publisher Weekly on Amazon

For the first 10 years of her life, Lily Casey Smith, the narrator of this true-life novel by her granddaughter, Walls, lived in a dirt dugout in west Texas. Walls, whose mega-selling memoir, The Glass Castle, recalled her own upbringing, writes in what she recalls as Lily's plainspoken voice, whose recital provides plenty of drama and suspense as she ricochets from one challenge to another. Having been educated in fits and starts because of her parents' penury, Lily becomes a teacher at age 15 in a remote frontier town she reaches after a solo 28-day ride. Marriage to a bigamist almost saps her spirit, but later she weds a rancher with whom she shares two children and a strain of plucky resilience. (They sell bootleg liquor during Prohibition, hiding the bottles under a baby's crib.) Lily is a spirited heroine, fiercely outspoken against hypocrisy and prejudice, a rodeo rider and fearless breaker of horses, and a ruthless poker player. Assailed by flash floods, tornados and droughts, Lily never gets far from hardscrabble drudgery in several states—New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois—but hers is one of those heartwarming stories about indomitable women that will always find an audience.(Oct.)


Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Review (One and the Same)

One and the Same by Abigail Pogrebin

This book was a gift from my husband's twin brother and his wife last Christmas.  It was ironic they had given this to us as I heard the book review on NPR (the same book review my sister-in-law had heard) and had added it to my running list of books to read.  The author tells the story of experiences of numerous different twins and how their relationship changed throughout their lives.  For me, this book helped me understand the unspoken bond that Moe has with his brother.  A bond that is so strong and true that it can't be compared to any other relationship that I've encountered.  The book also addressed what it is like to be in a relationship with an identical twin.  My response would be wonderful, 99% of the time.  Just like anything else in this world, it comes with its fair share of challenges.  It was interesting to read what challenges others have experienced.  Even if you aren't a twin, married to a twin, or know a twin, I would recommend this book.  It is a series of short stories tied together by the authors comments.  It is a wonderful and thought provoking read. 

Note:  Please take a look at the cover of the book.  Moe and his brother used to be dressed everyday in blue and red so that everyone could tell them apart.  As I was writing this blog, I looked up and saw this picture that we framed in our kitchen.  It cracked me up.  They were happy chubby kids :) Can you guess which one is Moe?!

Source:  Jan Isay Book Review on Amazon

Abigail Pogrebin’s One and the Same: My Life As an Identical Twin and What I’ve Learned about Everyone’s Struggle to be Singular is a terrific travelogue through the world of identical--and fraternal--twins. She tells the story of the twin experience from the inside out, and shines a smart and loving light on this special relationship. Pogrebin brings heart and brains to her own experiences with her twin sister Robin, from infancy to a ripe maturity. And she has done prodigious amount of research, speaking with scores of twins--together and apart--and interviewing dozens of experts on all aspects of the twin experience.


Modern medicine has given us more multiple births every year, and so more and more people are parents of twins. When we see so many pairs of kids riding in their double strollers, we ask ourselves so many questions.


What’s going on in their little minds as they grow up together? Do they feel like they’re one person, or two? How do they relate to other kids in school? Do they feel that it’s a privilege to be a twin, or do they find it a burden? What about the social expectations that they should love each other best and should be ever so close? How do they separate enough to get married and form their own families? What is the mistake parents most often make in rearing their twins?

Abigail Pogrebin has answers to these questions and many more. In each chapter she writes a bit about her and her sister, and then brings in testimony from other twins and the experts. In addition, this book is valuable because of the light it sheds on all sibling relationships by describing the closest pairs we know. Even people without a twin in their lives--and most of us are fascinated by twins--will benefit from reading One and the Same.


If you’re considering IVF, if you are a twin or have a twin, or are married to a twin, or dating one, this book is a necessity. In addition, Abigail Pogrebin’s family is one of those singularly successful and loving ones, and basking in the warmth of her life is a pleasure.--Jane Isay

Book Review (Damaged)

Damaged by Cathy Glass

Although this book was a disturbing story, it was eye-opening.  It was fascinating to be in eyes of the care-taker especial one as brave, gentle, and loving as Cathy Glass.  This is a remarkable, yet heartbreaking story of a child that slipped through the cracks of Social Services.  From the moment Jodie arrives on the step's of Cathy's house, you are roped in. Although this is an addicting read, the story is so truly disturbing.  I found tears streaming down my checks as I continued to read on to find out what happens.  I can't imagine a child going through such pain and even worse a child going through this while others sat on the side lines and did nothing.  I have mentioned to Moe on multiple occasions that I would love to foster at some point in my life.  Although you would think this book would turn me off of the idea, it in fact did the opposite.  It made me feel like you can make a difference in a child's life even if the task seems too difficult to bear.

- Miss J

Source:  Book Summary on Amazon

Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families. Her last hope is Cathy Glass. At the Social Services office, Cathy (an experienced foster carer) is pressured into taking Jodie as a new placement. Jodie's challenging behavior has seen off five carers in four months. Despite her reservations, Cathy decides to take on Jodie to protect her from being placed in an institution. Jodie arrives, and her first act is to soil herself, and then wipe it on her face, grinning wickedly. Jodie meets Cathy's teenage children, and greets them with a sharp kick to the shins. That night, Cathy finds Jodie covered in blood, having cut her own wrist, and smeared the blood over her face. As Jodie begins to trust Cathy her behavior improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of her abuse at the hands of her parents and others. It becomes clear that Jodie's parents were involved in a sickening pedophile ring, with neighbors and Social Services not seeing what should have been obvious signs. Unfortunately Jodie becomes increasingly withdrawn, and it's clear she needs psychiatric therapy. Cathy urges the Social Services to provide funding, but instead they decide to take Jodie away from her, and place her in a residential unit. Although the pedophile ring is investigated and brought to justice, Jodie's future is still up in the air. Cathy promises that she will stand by her no matter what—er love for the abandoned Jodie is unbreakable.

Book Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire

I have been working on this book for awhile now and am just now getting around to finishing it (normally not a good sign).  The first three hundred pages were relatively slow. I kept picking it up and putting it down. I had read the first book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which I LOVED so I was hooked on the story line even if the read wasn't the quickest.  Once I got to the last 100 pages of this book, I couldn't put it down though.  I found myself waking up at 6 am while on my vacation in L.A. just to finish the book.  The third book in this series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, starts second after this one so I can't wait to get home and borrow it from my dad to read.  


-Miss J

Source:  Washington Post Book Review - The Girl Who Played With Fire

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Dennis Drabelle Oddly enough, Lisbeth Salander was not at the center of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Stieg Larsson's long, complex, thoroughly absorbing thriller published in the United States last year. Despite sporting the beastly tattoo, Salander played second banana to journalist Mikael Blomkvist as he solved a decades-old mystery involving a missing member of a wealthy Swedish family. As if to make up for that slight, early in this sequel, "The Girl Who Played With Fire," Salander's name and photo appear in newspapers all over Sweden -- and not for her greater glory. Evidence places her at the scenes of three killings, and the gun used in two of them bears her fingerprints. The accompanying news stories portray her as an eccentric loner if not a nut case. Readers of "Dragon Tattoo" will not be surprised to learn that Salander is indeed still withdrawn and irascible -- and also highly effective as a computer snoop. As she dons disguises and changes apartments and eludes the police, she has her old colleague and lover, Blomkvist, on her side, but given his tendency to fool around with other women, she refuses to have anything to do with him. (A well-meaning chap who simply capitalizes on Sweden's famously permissive attitude toward carnal pleasure, Blomkvist can't understand why Salander avoids him.) Yet Salander is a rather different person from the brilliant but touchy Goth of "Dragon Tattoo." She is seasoned by a recent trip around the world. She has been phasing out her tattoos and piercings, partly because ostentation can be a spoiler for a private investigator and partly because they don't mean much to her anymore. And she is systematically becoming better acquainted with a subject for which she has always had a flair: higher mathematics. Besides putting her freedom in jeopardy, then, being fingered as a triple murderer threatens to reverse months of personal growth. While looking into the crimes for which she is wanted, Salander again demonstrates her formidable computer-hacking skills. One of her best shows comes when she needs to "borrow" a car; targeting the parking garage of a company where she used to work, she reprograms its surveillance system from afar. "Between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. [the cameras] would show a repeat of the previous half-hour, but with an altered time code." Guess who will be on hand to do what in that "missing" half-hour. Those who know the young woman well take her prowess into account. Consider Nils Erik Bjurman, the guardian she reports to as a condition for staying out of the mental hospital to which she was once committed. Bjurman raped her in the first book, only to be punished by Salander herself, who caught him by surprise, tied him up and gave him a humiliating, homemade tattoo. Aware that she can read his computer's mind, the odious guardian is careful not to leave any cybertrace of his plan to have her taken out by a hit man. Even so, Bjurman comes to a bad end. Salander's estranged lover, Blomkvist, is craftier. Well aware that he can't keep Salander from breaking into his computer, he entices her to think better of him by creating a folder into which he stuffs whatever he learns about the ongoing murder investigation, along with his assurances that he believes in her innocence. In other words, he asks to be hacked. Slowly, in some of the novel's most dramatic sections, Salander begins to come around, and the pair tiptoe toward a reconciliation. The Swedish title of "Dragon Tattoo" is "Men Who Hate Women." That motif runs through the new novel like a slushy undercurrent, all the more disturbing in light of Sweden's aforementioned sexual liberalism. If contempt for women is widespread in a country where love is all around, the reader might wonder, what help is there for societies still enmeshed in puritanism? "The Girl Who Played With Fire" confirms the impression left by "Dragon Tattoo." Here is a writer with two skills useful in entertaining readers royally: creating characters who are complex, believable and appealing even when they act against their own best interest; and parceling out information in a consistently enthralling way. The sharp-eyed may catch Larsson leaning on coincidence a bit too often in the new book, but overall his storytelling is so assured that he can get away with these peccadilloes. Less forgivable, perhaps, is a climactic episode that seems too obviously contrived to make readers gasp. Stieg Larsson died in 2004, at age 50, after a heart attack, leaving three completed novels featuring Blomkvist and Salander (and rumor has it that part of a fourth was found in his computer). It's a shame that Larsson was taken from us so soon, but it's a gift that before his time ran out he managed to produce at least two first-rate thrillers, and perhaps three. We'll know for sure next year, when the last book is scheduled to appear in English.
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review (Little Bee)

Source: NY Times Sunday Book Review

"Exit Wounds"

By CAROLINE ELKINS

Published: May 15, 2009

Some 50 years ago, the region near Nigeria’s Atlantic coast provided the setting for Chinua Achebe’s haunting novel of a world torn asunder by the vicissitudes of Anglo-imperial expansion. To capture the tragedy of colonialism in that account, “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe looked to Yeats’s poem “The Second Coming” for inspiration: “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, / The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned; / The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”

The drowning of innocence and the anarchic consequences of the global reach are hardly confined to Achebe’s Nigeria of yesteryear or to the colonial underbelly of Britain’s “civilizing” mission. The story of globalization is a centuries-old account of historical interconnections shaped by exploitation, despair and, at times, moral conscience and optimism. Chris Cleave, a columnist for The Guardian, puts a modern-day spin on Achebe’s concerns with his immensely readable and moving second novel.

While the pretext of “Little Bee” initially seems contrived — two strangers, a British woman and a Nigerian girl, meet on a lonely African beach and become inextricably bound through the horror imprinted on their encounter — its impact is hardly shallow. Rather than focusing on postcolonial guilt or African angst, Cleave uses his emotionally charged narrative to challenge his readers’ conceptions of civility, of ethical choice.
Sarah O’Rourke might appear to be an insipid character, with her career at a British magazine, her Batman-costumed young son, her uninspiring lover and her gentrified Surrey lifestyle. When juxtaposed with the Nigerian refugee called Little Bee — whom we first meet behind the razor wire of a British immigration center — Sarah is unsympathetic, even tiresome. But that impression changes partway through the novel when a flashback to Africa reveals her fortitude. There, it is Sarah, rather than her husband, Andrew, who gallantly comes to Little Bee’s rescue. Sarah must also pick up the pieces after Andrew’s descent from third-world cowardice into first-world madness.

Yet the character and voice of Little Bee reveal Cleave at his finest. As she navigates the dehumanizing indifference of immigration detention with her self-taught Queen’s English, this young refugee tugs at the reader’s conscience. For two years, she has avoided the “ravenous eyes” of the camp’s men with her purposefully mismatched charity-box clothes, unwashed skin and bound breasts. Eventually, she turns up, ­illegally, at the O’Rourkes’ home in Kingston-upon-Thames.

In the weeks that follow, the lives of Little Bee and Sarah will be woven into a web in which disparate worlds can be connected in the unlikeliest fashion — through the music of U2 and the spontaneity of reality television. London, with its dizzying abundance and multi­culturalism, looks like a parallel universe when compared with the impoverished Nigerian village where Little Bee grew up. Surely the locals would chide, “Little miss been-to is making up her tales again,” were she ever to return to what remains of her birthplace. Yet it’s this same village that instilled in her the skills and values needed to help her navigate toward her own scarred survival.

Like Little Bee, Sarah is a survivor. But the lessons of the past are not enough to steer either woman to safety. Instead, in a world full of turpitude and injustice, it is their bold, impulsive choices that challenge the inevitability of despair, transforming a political novel into an affecting story of human triumph.

Book Review (The Glass Castle)

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is one of my top five favorite books.  I selected this for our book club this month and was so excited to discuss it with everyone.  Jeannette Walls was formerly the gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, but has since become a renowned author.  I love this story because despite the horrible conditions these children had to endure, they conquered each obstacle with a sense of hope.  It is also an interesting twist because the book starts out in current time so you know where she ends up, but you then flash back to see her entire life unfold up until that point.  Knowing this was beneficial as there were parts in the book that were so disturbing that I had to remind myself that despite all odds, she ends up OK.  Click the site below if you want to see an interview with Jeannette Walls on amazon.com!

- Miss J

Interview with Jeannette Walls

Source:  Amazon Publishers Weekly Review - The Glass Castle

Starred Review. Freelance writer Walls doesn't pull her punches. She opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls's father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure."

Book Review (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson is a fairly controversial book for numerous reasons.  The original book was actually called "Men Who Hate Women" which is an accurate description of the book (but probably wouldn't fly on the bookshelves).  The author passed away in 2004 before the three books were published.  It is the first of the author's trilogy that was originally written in Swedish and translated into English (as well as numerous other languages).  As a result, there is some controversy as to the correct translation since the author was deceased and couldn't clarify translation questions. Although this is not a true story, the author apparently witnessed a gang rape in his earlier years which was a strong influence in the storyline of the book. Combining all these factors, this book as been a hot topic within the literature community.  

I loved this book.  However, if you do not like disturbing stories then I would steer clear of this one!  The book deals with sexual violence in a way that truly chills you to the soul.  The storyline brings together a journalist/publisher that is investigating a crime that occurred 30 years ago and an unruly girl in her twenties who is identified as a social outcast on every level.   I will be honest that it is not a quick read as I constantly had to revisit previous chapters and the "Vanger" family tree in the front of the book to figure out who was who.  However, once I got to the second half of the book, I couldn't put the book down.  I recently started the second of the trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire.  I am already hooked and will be posting the book review in the next couple weeks!

Excerpt from "Caribousmom" Book Review
April 16, 2010
Source:  See website below plot summary.

Mikael Blomkvist is journalist who finds himself convicted in a libel case and facing the potential demise of his magazine along with a jail sentence. So when Henrik Vanger, an aging businessman, offers Mikael a job to uncover the mystery of young Harriet Vanger’s disappearance, he decides to take it. Harriet (Henrik’s niece) disappeared in the 1960s, when she was just 16 years old and now (forty years later) no trace of her has ever been uncovered. Henrik Vanger is convinced someone in the Vanger family murdered the young girl, and he wants to know how and who. In an effort to solve the mystery, Mikael begins to research the dysfunctional Vanger family and eventually seeks the help of a research assistant named Lisbeth Salander – an odd, antisocial 24 year old whose primary skill is hacking into seemingly secure computer systems and unearthing information about just about anyone.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has two story lines. The first is the mystery of Harriet Vanger; the second is that of financial intrigue and fraud involving a huge Swedish corporation. Stieg Larsson melds these two plots through the characters of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.


http://www.caribousmom.com/2010/04/16/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-book-review/

- Miss J

Book Review (She's Come Undone)

In the last year, I have really come to love reading.  I never thought I would admit that, but I find it relaxing to pick up a book and escape into the character's lives.  I am still working on trying to get my husband to pick up leisure reading, but I guess after reading thousands of pages of medical books, I probably wouldn't want to read a book in my spare time either.  A friend of mine loaned me "She's Come Undone" not that long ago.  Reading the back of the book, I didn't think I'd like it, but I was pleasantly surprised.  This book is far from a "feel good" novel, but was one that I couldn't put down. 

"She's Come Undone"

(Reviewed by Judi Clark MAY 29, 1998)


"Mine is a story of craving; an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered." So begins the story of Dolores Price, the unconventional heroine of this novel.




Dolores Price is very sassy, yet as we get to know her we discover she is a warm and humane person. We experience her interpretation of the world around her as she comes of age, her mother's descent into mental illness, the consequences of her parents divorce, and of being raped at the age of 13. Subsequently she swells to 263 pounds and eventually is checked into a mental institution. To be honest, if I was reading this summary I would be turned off by the story line (and I haven't included every awful thing that happens to her). But don't be. Dolores is a really marvelous character and Lamb does a fine job of getting us into her head with just enough humor to keep us from descending into the depths of depression. Moreover, he does an astonishing job writing from a female perspective. This is an early Oprah Book Club selection, so accept the fact that the central character has experienced physical, sexual and/or mental abuse. It also means that it is a well written book.

Source:  http://www.mostlyfiction.com/contemp/lamb.htm