Book Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Version: ARC
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Number of Pages: 908
Genre: Teen/YA Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: In a world where the most important thing in a teens life is whether or not they have the right car and the most up-to-date cell phone, Blue Sargent can be considered an outsider. For her the most important thing in life is making sure she never falls in love and never kisses a guy, there-by avoiding killing him. Living in a house full of seers and psychics has become run of the mill for Blue just as having everyone of them warn her that her first kiss with her true love will kill him. Although Blue has never had the same talents as her mother she has a rather unique talent of her own. While in the presence of Blue whatever magic is around is magnified making it easier for her mother or whichever psychic is using her to do a reading or see the dead on St. Mark's Eve.
Every year Blue has sat next to her mother in the cemetery enhancing Maura's ability to see the line of soon-to-be-dead souls. This year one of Blue's 'aunts' Neeve has taken up the watch and brought Blue along with her. Thinking this is just going to be a year like any other Blue is startled when she actually sees a spirit boy on the line. Surprised and a little unnerved Blue goes up to the boy and asks his name, he at first seems to be so dazed that he wanders off without responding. Following him Blue asks again for his name, finally at the entrance to an abandoned church he looks right at her and mutters 'Gansey.' With this knowledge Blue becomes determined to find out all she can about this mysterious boy and hopefully prevent his death.
Meanwhile the real, very much alive Gansey, a rich, intense, student at the very prestigious Aglionby School, is trying to figure out the very strange experience he had. He went out on St. Mark's Eve with a tape recorder hoping to record some ghostly voices. What he recorded instead was a girl's voice asking 'what's your name' and his voice replying 'Gansey.' Putting this on his list of things to figure out he calls his best friends and tells them all about it. They decide to make an appointment with a psychic named Maura to get some answers.
When Blue hears that a boy named Gansey has made an appointment with her mother she begins to get nervous. Wondering who this boy is and what it could possibly mean that she saw him on St. Mark's Eve. When Gansey shows up to her house with his friends, Adam and Ronan, they all realize who's voice it was on the recorder. Joining together the new friends embark on an adventure that is not only an adventure of a lifetime but one that takes all of them into a darker and deeper place then they ever expected.
REVIEW: I know that there isn't much to the synopsis but this is such an intricate book and so full of mystery that I felt as if I had to keep a lot hidden. I guess you'll just have to go out and buy it in September to find out the details.
This was a surprisingly great book. I got it at the book expo that I attended last month and although I was interested it didn't scream out at me. As I have said before I don't usually read YA/Teen books so I was sceptical. But as soon as I started reading and realized it was dark and full of mystical and spiritual stuff I was hooked. The story was full bodied and amazingly put together. It was the perfect blend of fantasy, fiction, darkness and mystery. I found that the story hooked me so well that I was unable to put the book down. The mark of a truly great read.
The writing was superb and that's really all there is to that. Maggie Stiefvater has a voice that is unlike any that I have come across before. It is dark and beautiful in a perfect combination that makes it extremely difficult to put the book down. Ms. Stiefvater's writing was so well balanced and put together that this is a book that I will not only remember for a very long time but made it a book that I am sure to pick up again.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is a book that I think will speak to people of all ages and of all temperaments. I have to say that this is one of those books that you should mark your calender about and go out and buy as soon as it's released. Spend the money on the hardback or the ebook and let yourself in for a really fantastic adventure.
Book Title: Between the Lines
Authors: Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer
Version: Hardback
ISBN: 9781451635751
Published: June 26th, 2012
Publisher: Emily Bestler/Atria/Simon Pulse
Number of Pages: 358
Genre: Teen Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: Have you ever wondered what happens when you close the covers of your favorite book? What if it wasn't as simple as when you read the words 'the end' everything really did stop? Imagine that there was a whole cast of characters that every time the pages of their story were opened went to work and put on a play that as a Reader we found fascinating and full of adventure. Wishing we could switch places with the princess trapped in a tower or the prince that saved her. Imagine that they thought we had the life of adventure and would do anything to switch places with us.
Meet Oliver a prince who was born never knowing his father and without courage. When he grows up and is told about a princess in distress he knows that despite never learning how to fight Oliver decides to go in search of Princess Seraphima to save her from the evil Rapscullio. And so with his trusty steed Socks and his sidekick Frump the dog he sets off on the adventure of his lifetime. This of course is only what happens when the fairy tale Between the Lines is being read by a Reader. When the tale is closed however Prince Oliver is more likely to be found playing chess on the beach and trusty Frump, who can actually talk, is usually found mooning over Princess Seraphima and ordering everyone around. Evil Rapscullio is more likely to be found catching butterflies. But as soon as the pages open every one knows their places.
Although Oliver puts up a good front for his fellow actors he is really quite miserable doing the same thing again and again. And though actually kissing Seraphima is pleasant he finds her rather annoying. For years he has tried, with no success, to contact a Reader on the outside. All he wants is to experience what life is like in the real world. He is sure that the adventures awaiting him there have to be better than playing the same part over and over again.
Meet Delilah a teenage girl perpetually on the outside in high school. After a small accident involving a baseball bat and the most popular girl in school Delilah has sort of become the cautionary tale. She seems to find her place amoungst books and stories and when she finds Between the Lines stuffed between some books in the school library she is intrigued. Taking it home she reads it cover to cover and despite the fact that it is a children's story she falls in love with it. Delilah reads it over and over again falling in love with the story and mostly in love with Prince Oliver. When Delilah notices an image of a chess board on the beach that hadn't been there before Oliver thinks that she just might be the one to save him.
Oliver attempts to make contact and when Delilah responds Oliver knows that he has found his ally. Together the two of them embark on an adventure to try and get Oliver out of his world and into Delilah's. In the process they find themselves falling in love and forming a connection that Delilah had only ever read about. This connection that both of them feel make it even more important to get Oliver out of the book and into real life. A challenge that seems impossible but one that they are determined to overcome together.
REVIEW: As I have stated a couple of times on here I love all things Jodi Picoult. So when I found out that she was coming out with a teen book co-written by her daughter I was intrigued. As soon as it came out I went to work and borrowed it. I read it in a few days and I actually really, really enjoyed it. The idea that a book comes to life after the pages are closed is something that makes me smile. And because I love books so much I am naturally inclined to read and love books about books. So from the beginning I was excited and couldn't wait to see what happened next.
Going into it knowing that not only did Samantha van Leer co-write the book but also came up with the idea for the book intrigued me even more. I found that the story was well imagined and well thought out. It was an interesting story that I haven't come across before, and with all I have read that is saying something. I loved the story because of the newness of it and of course it was all about the real lives of the characters in books.
I get nervous when there are two or more writers because I worry that the writing won't be cohesive. But I guess being related and working side by side must have helped because the writing was excellent all around. Each chapter flowed easily into the next and the chapters that were part of the fairy tale within the book were perfectly put together. I loved that they added those chapters in because it gave us, as readers a chance to see Oliver playing his role, we read what Delilah was reading and found out just why she loved the tale so much. I thought that the writing, all of it, was brilliantly done, extrememly seamless and well put together.
I found that the more I read the more I wanted to read. I couldn't put it down once I picked it up. I mark that as a very successful read. This is a book that I would recommend to everyone. I think that it will appeal a great deal to teens but also to anyone who really loves books. I also think that this will be a great book to give someone who is on the fence about reading. I feel that this is a book that is fun and interesting enough to tip those unsure readers into the 'yes I love to read' column. It's a fabulous book that you just have to go pick up today. Believe me it is a fun enough ride that it will be worth it.
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Book Title: Wallflower in Bloom
Author: Claire Cook
Version: ebook
ISBN: 978145167787
Voice: First Person
Published: June 5th, 2012
Publisher: Touchstone
Number of ebook pages: 272
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Meet Deirdre Griffin a middle aged woman who has what seems the perfect life. She has a world wide following, so many followers on Twitter and Facebook she can hardly count them and a loving supportive family. Only problem? It's not her life, the followers aren't hers and her family has a hard time remembering who she is. All the glory belongs to her guru brother Tag. Tag is the wonder boy, voice of hope and a brighter future for the masses. Deirdre manages Tag's Twitter account, Facebook page, ticket booking, hotel reservations, and anything else that he needs. Basically she is his personal slave on call 24/7.
When Deirdre meets Steve Morretti in Austin she is in a rather compromising position, standing in old underwear in a hotel room. So naturally she gets annoyed and angry to cover her embarrassment. When it turns out that Steve is an old friend of Tag's, Deirdre is forced to spend more time with him and things take a turn for the interesting. One thing leads to another and Steve and Deirdre find themselves alone and kissing. When Tag catches them he goes a little crazy and starts going off on Steve for trying to get closer to him through Deirdre. Losing it Deirdre quits Tag for good and runs away, runs all the way back home to her little sheep shed. She crawls into bed and proceeds to get very, very drunk. In her inebriated state Deirdre uses her brother's influence to get voted in as a last minute replacement on "Dancing With the Stars."
Waking up to a relentless pounding Deirdre finds out just how powerful Tag really is because she finds out that all of his followers have indeed voted her on. Her sister Joanie comes waltzing in explaining to her what happened and promising that when she decides to take the challenge on Joanie will be able to step in and help Tag. Even though Deirdre is frightened and offended that Joanie is only encouraging her to get her job Deirdre says "what the hell? I'm gonna grab adventure and go for it." And so her life finally begins in a dance studio in LA where she begins to take her very first step-step-stepstepsteps all on her own.
REVIEW: I hate to admit this but I had never heard of Claire Cook until we found each other on Twitter. She asked me to like her Facebook page and when I saw she was an author I of course went in search of her books. I had seen "Must Love Dogs" the movie but I never realized it was based on a book, already knowing I liked the story I figured I would try that first. But for some reason that is one of the most difficult books to find so I went in search of her other titles. Wallflower in Bloom wasn't due out for awhile yet so I tried Best Staged Plans. I thought it was good but wasn't all that excited by it but I wanted to try again. When Wallflower in Bloom finally came out I went into it slightly nervously. I wasn't sure what to expect, whether or not her writing would speak to a younger generation or not. Well I ended up really liking it!
It was a smart, fun, truly feel good story that I really got into. Deirdre is a character that you as a reader can really get behind. I found myself rooting for her again and again. The rest of the characters are great as well, they each have these little totally human qualities that make them jump off the page. Tag is the perfect amount of needy and annoying, her parents are perfectly clueless and her sister Joanie is everything an annoying little sister should be. I found myself getting a kick out of all of them.
Claire Cook may not have started writing until later in life but I think she found her calling. The writing was free and funny, witty and very modern. She didn't try too hard or become lazy with any of it, it all seemed as if everything just flowed naturally. I recently read a book where the use of the Facebook name was forced and awkward but Claire Cook's usage of both Facebook and Twitter seemed easy and perfectly in sync with the story. All in all this was very well written.
My one little complaint was that no one ever stood up for Deirdre. No one ever seemed to be on her side which I didn't like, I wanted someone to refuse to laugh at the jokes Tag made or to tell him off for making a jab at her. I did like that the DWTS team seemed to really like her and made her feel good about herself. I felt that she should have been more secure in her decision to be a contestant, that things should have started getting better once she got to LA. But those are small little personal things that I had complaints about. The book was really good and it is something I definitely recommend. If you are looking for a feel good story about a regular woman finding happiness on a ballroom floor this is a book to go in search of. It's a fun, sweet, funny, quick read that is sure to put a smile or two on your face.
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Book Title: The Age of Miracles
Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Version: Advanced Readers Copy (ARC)
Voice: First Person
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Fiction (almost dystopian)
[EDIT: Due to a dear friend I discovered that I had accidentally used the incorrec middle name of the author. My only excuse is that it was late I just wasn't paying enough attention. I have fixed it now but I still wish to apologize to my readers and Ms. Walker if she ever sees it for the 11 hour faux pas. Thank you all for reading and understanding that mistakes do indeed happen.]
SYNOPSIS: It is California 2012 and sixth grader Julia believes that this is the year that everything is going to get really good. She has her best friend Hanna and a secret crush and all seems right in the world. That is until they wake up one Saturday morning and find that the earth's rotation has slowed and everyone is unsure as to what that all might mean. All Julia and her family know is that right now things are scary and uncertain. Her mom, a former actress, flies into panic survivalist mode and begins collecting batteries, canned food, bottles and bottles of water, and all the jars of peanut butter she can find. Julia's father Joel, a doctor, continues on in his stoic way.
Julia knows that even though things are in a weird place at the moment she will still have her friends, and most importantly Hanna. When Hanna, her family is Mormon, tells Julia that they are moving to Utah to await The End Julia's world begins to fall apart. In very short order the days begin to lengthen, time starts to mean little and Julia finds herself beginning to struggle. Though there are days that are dark, with the sun only starting to rise at 9 or 10 at night, people have been trying to live according to the sun cycle. However the government has decided that everyone should go back on 'clock time' and start trying to live life as normally as possible, even if it means school starts in the dark.
Without Hanna Julia is lost in a sea of people that seem to be moving in a world separate from hers. Meanwhile the earth continues to slow and the changes begin to become more and more drastic. The ocean tides get to be so unpredictable that all beaches have been evacuated, the gravity begins to shift so that balls thrown into the air fall faster and eventually all the birds in the world begin to fall to earth never to rise again. Through it all Julia tries to keep her head down and her hopes high that maybe this terrible thing isn't all that terrible.
REVIEW: I really, really liked this book. I was even a little bit blown away by it. The funny thing is I never would have found out about this book if it wasn't for a friend at work. She came up to me one day and told me that I absolutely had to read this new ARC called "The Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker. She said that she thought I would really like it and you know she was spot on. I enjoyed just about every part of this book. It was one of those books that you just find yourself enjoying fully.
The writing was beautifully done. It had an innocence to it that was refreshing to read, and it was simplistic in many ways. Ms. Walker didn't become overly poetic or dramatic with the way the story was told, she just told it the way she saw it. There were times, however, that I found myself wishing she maybe treated things more maturely or used a more grown-up voice but I still found myself unable to stop reading. I finished it in a very short amount of time because her writing was just that good.
The story was a new twist on an old tale, the end of the world as we know it. I liked that it wasn't aliens coming to take over our world or a virus that was wiping everyone out. It was something that might possibly happen if we continue treating our world the way we have been treating it. And though Karen Thompson Walker focused on a town in California she made sure to mention that everything that was happening there, was happening everywhere around the world. Proving that as different as all people are none of us can survive for long when our planet stats to fail.
Though the ending of the world was of course a large part of the story it wasn't the central point. It was instead a story of growing up and trying to figure things out in a world that has quite literally gone a bit crazy. And Ms. Walker blended the two seamlessly. This is a great read, and a wonderful book. I really recommend "The Age of Miracles" to anyone who is looking for something that is a little different and maybe even a little sad. This is a book to look into if you enjoy a good story and incredible writing. On June 26th, go to your nearest bookstore and buy yourself a copy of "The Age of Miracles," it is well worth the wait and the money.
This won't be a book review, it will however be almost as good. I want to talk about the Blogger and Book Expo that I attended Monday and Tuesday respectively. First I have to admit here and now that I didn't even know until this year that there was such a thing as a Book Epxo. You can imagine my delight when I was told that there was indeed one and that it was being held at the Javits Center in downtown Manhattan this year. I was so excited at the thought that I might possibly get to go to this amazing thing that I immediately jumped on the computer to see when it was, and how I could get in. As soon as I opened the page for BEA 2012 I saw that Monday June 5th there was going to be a blogger expo where people in the industry would talk about what it means to be a blogger in today's world and what book bloggers could do to stay in the game. To top in all off one of my favorite authors was going to give the keynote speech, Jennifer Weiner, I actually cheered out loud...in my head anyway.
I called my dad right away and said to him "I want to go to this, how do I get in?" He came up with a brilliant idea, why don't we ask our friend that happens to be in the publishing world to get me a badge. AH HA! Only problem? It wouldn't get me access to the blogger expo on Monday. WAAAHH! "But dad I wanna gooo!" A second brilliant idea came to us, try hitting the register button on the sight and pay the $130 to get access to the whole thing. Oh duh! That is what I did and I was assured of my place. Meanwhile the badge that our publisher friend was getting me also came through, what to do? Well again a brilliant thought occurred to me, my fellow blogger, author and good friend Sydney McEntyre was dying to go to the expo and so we changed the badge to be in her name. Awesome!
I was so excited about the blogger expo! I couldn't wait to be around my fellow bloggers, talking to them about the blogging world and of course checking out the competition! With that excitement fueling me I got up bright and early Monday morning, even though I had worked the closing shift the night before, put on my tiny hat, grabbed my brand new business cards and headed out. I got there, signed in and got my badges and headed to the opening breakfast. I sat at a table not really sure how it all worked and waited to see what awaited me. I met some fellow book bloggers and we all handed out our cards and then the fun began. Each table was arranged so that through out the hour three or four authors would sit at the tables and talk to the bloggers seated there for 15 minute intervals. We got three authors that unfortunately I haven't read but I now have their names and the titles of their books and am planning on searching for them when I get back. It was fun though just to be near them and hear what they had to say about the writing process.
Then it was time for the keynote speech and I could hardly contain my excitement knowing that the incomparable Jennifer Weiner was actually in the room with me. Her speech was fantastic! She was funny and full of wit and intelligence. She made excellent points on blogging and writing and readers. Her thoughts on all topics social media were spot on and made me happy to know that she really does enjoy hearing from and talking to her fans. It warmed my heart a bit. Also good to know that she thinks that we, bloggers of all sorts, are really and truly a part of the whole book process now. I had no idea that the book blogging community was so big until I saw the room with a large number of them in it and I didn't know how important we were to authors and books until I heard Jennifer Weiner talking about it. It gave me a sense of purpose. I felt that I was actually doing something worthwhile and that if I can get my readership up I might even be able to have an influence on what books people become excited about. On top of her many words of wisdom she was also kind enough to sign a copy of her book "Then Came You" reviewed recently right here, http://girlinthetinyhat.blogspot.com/2012/05/then-came-you-jennifer-weiner.html. And because she is just all around awesome, she took a picture with me, even though she was beyond exhausted.
After Ms. Weiner finished it was time for a panel of bloggers and people in the book world to discuss what it means to be a blogger in the world today and how to become successful. They had a woman who worked at Harper Perennial, a man that had helped start goodreads.com, a woman who was a blogger turned author and a woman who was a freelance editor and blogger. I was only able to stay for part of their discussion because I had to be at work but what I heard was great. They talked about exactly how important bloggers are becoming. Because in today's world where reading is becoming less of a hobby for people and more of a chore what to read next has become all about word of mouth. The more hype around a book, the more people ending up wanting to buy it. Bloggers have become the door to door book sales-people of our time, in a time when people spend most of their time on the Internet bloggers are becoming the go-to people for what books to read. The most used example of this was the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy by E.L. James, a few months ago no one had even heard of it and now? It's so popular every third woman that walks in the Barnes & Noble I work at is looking for that book and everyone is reading it. At the very least everyone has heard of it. This is all because one blogger picked it up and liked it, wrote about it and the rest is history.
The next big question was "is it possible for book bloggers to make a living doing what they do?" Another important question that I felt was answered well. The ultimate answer is yes they can. However it's more difficult then just can I make money or not. Ethically no publisher can take a book blogger, who does book reviews, and pay them. The blogger would then be bound to do nothing but good reviews on said publisher's authors. This of course would defeat the whole idea behind being a blogger, our freedom of speech is virtually unchallenged. However, as one of the panelists proved, bloggers can go on to become authors themselves and make their fortunes from doing what they love, writing. They could start making commissions through affiliate programs that they post links to on their sites. I don't know if there is yet a way for book bloggers to make enough money to live solely off their blogs but maybe it's a thing yet to be discovered.
After that I pretty much had to leave so I snuck out the back and headed to work. I worked from 1-8:30pm, and then headed home and went right to sleep. Tuesday morning I woke up real early like again and headed to the first official day of the book expo itself. I was so excited! My fellow blogger, author and good friend, Sydney McEntyre, came and met me and we began our day. We were in overload before we even began. It was so exciting to just be there that we were giddy. The very first thing we got was a bright orange bag from CSPAN 2, booktv, and then we headed in to get the good stuff. Free bookage! We started near the booths dedicated to YA and children's literature. And we just made our way up and down aisles until we hit the opposite wall. We were there for hours and after getting and filling four more bags each we became those people that you see sitting on the floor against a wall. We met an up and coming British author and got advanced reader (from here on out these shall be referred to ARs) copies of his book, which he signed. Happiness! We proceeded to get more and more books until both of us just couldn't take it anymore.
While we were getting all this swag I was able to hand out my card to quite a few publishers, including Scholastic and Simon & Schuster, so excited about all of the contacts I made! It was so worth the back ache of carrying all those ARs and being on my feet all day. I am excited to start reading what I got and reviewing them. All the publishers I met with were friendly and receptive and a couple even said that they would start sending me review copies of their books. YAY! More free books! So very excited about that. I can assure you that reviews are going to start coming out of my ears. I hope that everyone continues to read and share them with their friends.
It's hard to fully explain just how cool being at the book expo was for me. As well as just how cool it was being at the blogger expo. All of it was 100% worth the early mornings, being on my feet for 14 hours and carrying bags full of so many books that I could bench press them. Being in a room full of people that not only work in the industry and authors but also being squished in with all of these people that love to read almost as much as I do was kind of like a high. I was giddy most of the day! It was literally two of the funnest days I have spent in New York since moving. Well actually two of the funnest days I have had period. I feel as if this was a big turning point for me and I would like to thank everyone that supported me and helped me get there. I really couldn't have done it without any of you! And be prepared, there are lots more reviews coming your way, this I promise you.
Book Title: Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Brought Them Together
Authors: Ron Hall, Denver Moore & Lynn Vincent
Version: Paperback
ISBN: 9780849919107
Voice: Two First Person Narrators
Published: March 11th, 2008
First Published: June 1st, 2006
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
Number of Pages: 244
Genre: Religious Non-Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Denver Moore grew up a modern-day slave. It was all he ever knew and though he went to school for a couple of years he never learned to read or write properly. After a fire burned down his house and his whole family was killed he was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Red River Parish, Louisiana, his aunt and uncle were sharecroppers and so they put him to work right away. After working for many years as a sharecropper, even getting his own tract of land when he grew, he decided he'd had enough and in 1960 hopped a train out of Louisiana. After spending sometime as a prisoner, for being a vagrant, he made his way to Fort Worth, Texas where he lived for years on the streets.
Ron Hall was the opposite of Denver Moore, he had a loving family around him, grew up going to school with friends and graduated from college. It was in college that he met Debbie Short who eventually became his wife and the love of his life. When they moved to Fort Worth Ron found himself changing careers to become an art dealer. Although his business was slow to start it eventually became the smartest business decision Ron ever made. Debbie meanwhile was on a crusade, in her new found love for God, to help the homeless of Fort Worth. When they decided to start volunteering at the homeless shelter in one of the worst parts of town Ron was a bit skeptical at first. Especially when they encounter a homeless man that everyone else was afraid of, Denver Moore. What began as an occasional charitable trip eventually turned into a friendship of a lifetime.
As Ron and Debbie found themselves getting closer to Denver and Denver found himself trusting Miss Debbie, as Denver called her, and getting closer to the both of them they all started spending more time together. Miss Debbie and Ron taught Denver about God and the Bible and all that entails, and so when Miss Debbie was diagnosed with cancer Denver knew what he had to do. The homeless men and women at the shelter came to love Miss Debbie and Mr. Ron. When they hear that she is sick they begin praying for her everyday. When Ron witnessed it he is touched beyond words, but when he saw that Denver was nowhere in sight he became angered. Thinking that Denver was being disrespectful Ron started demanding to know where Denver was and shouting about how ungrateful he must be. One of the homeless men stopped Ron and told him that Denver was in his room sleeping. That the reason he was there was because he had been up all night praying for Miss Debbie. That Denver figured that since someone should be praying for Miss Debbie 24 hours a day he took it upon himself to take on the night shift.
Although Miss Debbie doesn't survive the cancer Ron and Denver's friendship continues on for years. Miss Debbie's love and faith in God brought the unlikely family of Denver and Ron together. It is a family and friendship that has continued on until today.
REVIEW: I was lent this book by one of my, now ex, roommates. We shared a love of reading and she thought that I would enjoy an inspiring read such as "Same Kind of Different As Me." And I enjoyed parts of it, found a lot of it beautifully crafted. Sure some of it was even inspiring. But to be honest I don't really believe in God as 'He' was seen in the book. I am not religious in the least so all the Bible and God stuff was a bit much for me. It was hard for me to stomach a lot of it.
I do however respect other people's beliefs in God and religion so I could appreciate the story. It was beautifully crafted and flowed well. Because Denver learned late how to read and write, and not all that well, his chapters were written the way he spoke and I think that it gave those chapters a certain charm. It was Denver through and through, no apologies and I enjoyed that a lot. With Ron's chapters I found his unconditional love for Debbie to be breathtaking. Reading about his journey with her was like looking into the relationship that we all hope for someday. It was a truly beautiful thing, and because it was so true and so heartfelt watching Debbie die through his eyes was heartbreaking. I admit it I cried when she finally died. It's hard to watch someone lose the person they love the most in all the world. Denver felt that loss too, in different ways, but he was still broken down by it. The only comfort that either of them had was the knowledge that Miss Debbie was now in heaven with God, whom she loved.
It's a moving story and I really did like parts of it. It's not my cup of tea but it's a great read for those out there that are looking for a religious boost. If what you want out of a book is a beautiful true story about three people's love for each other and God this is the book to search for. It's a good read, something that you won't regret reading by any means and on that may even lift your spirits in the process.
Book Title: Then Came You
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Version: ebook (Nook)
ISBN: 9781451617
Voice: Four Narrators First Person
Published: July 2011
Publisher: Atria Books
Number of ebook pages: 296
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Meet Jules, Annie, India, and Bettina, four women who live very different lives, so different in fact that if not for one very small connection, none of them would have met. The small connection? They have a baby together. Jules is a Princeton senior struggling with a past so dark and unforgiving that she is willing to do just about anything to erase it. Annie is a mother of two, living in a farm house with her high school sweetheart and trying desperately to figure out a way to help out financially without upsetting her very traditional husband. India is a woman who has finally found everything that she has ever wanted. A rich husband that adores her, and thinks she is still 38, a successful business, and a giant apartment that overlooks Central Park and spans two floors. What she doesn't seem to have is the ability to make a baby. Bettina, young privileged, slightly stuck up and the daughter of the man that India is married to. As soon as Bettina meets India she begins investigating her because she distrusts everything she about her.
When Jules is approached about selling her eggs to the Princeton Fertility Clinic she is at first hesitant not sure exactly how she would feel about it. When he mentions that she could easily walk away with twenty thousand dollars Jules pauses and begins to imagine just what she would do with that money. Get her dad into rehab, help him start a whole new life, and maybe even pay off some student loans. Annie, who wants to help her family financially, finds herself secretly applying to be a surrogate. The idea that not only would she be making money for her family but she would be helping another couple make a family makes her giddy. When India decides to go the surrogate route her and her husband spend hours picking the eggs and surrogate that they feel will make the best baby for them. Bettina, meanwhile, is doing everything in her power to oust India from her place as the stepmother. As everything begins to take shape with India's dreams of having a baby, things begin to fall apart for the other women involved.
Jules is struggling with her sexuality, and the fact that her dad will always be just an addict. Annie pregnant and still taking care of her two kids is trying to hold her marriage together. India finds herself, despite all her precautions, falling in love with her husband and trying desperately to get Bettina to stop her crusade against her. Bettina, still plowing ahead, is finding herself more and more alone in the "I hate India" club, with her brothers, and even her private detective crush, trying to get her to drop her cause. When a sudden tragedy brings these women together they all have to redefine what they believe family is.
REVIEW: I have loved Jennifer Weiner's books ever since I accidentally found a copy of "Good in Bed" in a bookstore in my hometown. When I saw that she had a new book out called "Then Came You," I immediately put it on my 'to read' list on goodreads.com. Being financially strapped I decided to fore go the pleasure of buying it right away and wait until I could afford the book. When I saw that it finally came out in paperback I was excited, but now I had a different problem a lack of space problem (I do live in New York,) and so I went with the ebook version. Thankfully I had my handy dandy Nook Tablet to read such a version on.
I was really excited going into it, I always find that Jennifer Weiner begins a book in such a way that it grabs me right away and I can't put it down. It wasn't so with this book. I was feeling slightly disappointed in it at first, it was slow going or something that kind of turned me off. But then something happened and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I got caught up in the lives of these four women and started loving them and rooting for them. They are all amazing women and they all had their very own 'crazy' to work through. I liked that they weren't perfect, and though Bettina was by far my least favorite, I even enjoyed that she was so single minded on her path. They are great characters, rich, full of life, as well as strong and weak in totally human ways.
Her writing was, as always, fantastic. At times dark and tragic, at others full of life and hope. The way Ms. Weiner was able to write each of these women so uniquely and shape them so perfectly is just further testament, in my humble opinion, to just how great a writer she is. She is poetry and prose in equally perfectly balanced measure and it is a mixture that I find no end of enjoyment in. Jennifer Weiner's "Then Came You" is a book that is sure to stick with you in all the best ways. It's a book full of sacrifice, love, and family in all it's many forms. A book that shouldn't be missed, especially for the women in the world who are mothers, whatever that means to you.
Genre: Teen/YA Fantasy
