The Book Review Club (May 2013)

May?! Are you serious?! Where did April take off to?

Welcome to the May meeting of our little online book review club. We've put together reviews of books we've read and enjoyed. So, please click through the links under my review. Settling in with a good book is a surefire way to slow life down. A way to stop and smell the roses. Uh, er, ink.  ;)

I CAN'T COMPLAIN
(ALL TOO) PERSONAL ESSAYS by Elinor Lipman

Do not fall off your chair, but I am actually reviewing a book for adults this month! Even more shocking, it's non-fiction!

As  you may or may not know, I finish a book by Elinor Lipman and then begin the wait for the next book. So, you can imagine how beyond thrilled I was to discover this spring would bring not one, but two books by one of my favorite authors.

I CAN'T COMPLAIN is a collection of short essays that were written for a variety of venues (magazines, newspapers, websites). The essays are about Ms. Lipman's mother, son, husband, friends, herself, her thoughts on writing. Reading these essays was like having Ms. Lipman in my living room. Minus having to clean my living room! I loved being a part of her inner circle and listening to stories about how she and her husband originally planned not to have children. How her mother couldn't stand condiments. How son learned the facts of life. How she's dealing with life after her husband's death. I could've used her questions for a potential marriage partner a couple of decades ago!

With a book by Elinor Lipman, I know I can get comfy in my favorite chair, crack open the pages and kickback. Because I trust this author to come through for me. She doesn't settle.  She's going to come up with that perfect word, that perfect turn of phrase. She's going to toss in her signature humor at just the right moment because her timing is always oh-so perfect. ( For example, pointing out how her husband put the "mensch" in "dementia" in the chapter about his disease. )  I always walk away from a Lipman book satisfied and feeling good.

What up next for me book-wise? THE VIEW FROM PENTHOUSE B by Elinor Lipman. Of course.

Without further ado, here are the links to this month's AMAZING AND THOUGHTFUL reviews! You don't want to miss them.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

 Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: GHOULISH SONG by William Alexander (middle grade fantasy)

Stacy Nyikos: THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate (middle grade)

Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: UNREMEMBERED by Jessica Brody (young adult)


ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: TEMPEST RISING by Nicole Peeler (urban fantasy)

Patti Abbott: BURIAL RITES by Hannah Kent (historical)

Sarah Laurence: TALE FOR THE TIME BEING by Ruth Ozeki (literary) 

Scott Parker: CALIBAN'S WAR by James S.A. Corey (science fiction)


MEMOIR REVIEWS

 Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country:THE WORLD IS MOVING AROUND ME: A MEMOIR OF THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE by Danyy Laferriere


                                             
Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

The Book Review Club (April 2013)

Happy April 3rd. I hope you're all fine and well and have recovered nicely from April Fools' Day. Wondering where April Fools' Day originated?  In the 1500s, we started using the Gregorian calendar, which meant the New Year moved from April 1 to Jan. 1. People who didn't make the transition were called . . . April Fools! For more April Fools' Day trivia, you can visit here.

And now onto more fun and important things. Our book reviews! Be sure to click through the links under my review. They'll take you to everyone else's reviews. Happy reading!

WONDER by R. J. Palacio  (middle grade)

Two weeks ago, my 12 y.o. daughter, my RELUCTANT READER, sighed, closed this book and set it on our coffee table. "This is the best book I've read in my whole life," she said.

When I asked her what it was about WONDER that she loved, she answered, "It's just like my day, just like middle school. It's all so true. These characters are real people to me."

Whew. You can probably figure out what happened next. I put her to bed, picked up WONDER and began reading. And kept on reading. Because this is one gem of a book. 

In a nutshell: Ten-year-old Auggie (August) Pullman attends school for the first time. Up until now he's been homeschooled because of his facial deformity. "I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse." Auggie just wants to be seen as an ordinary kid. This, of course, is impossible because he's extarordinary.  Going to school changes Auggie's world and changes the world of many around him. The book is told from several perspectives: Auggie, a couple of his classmates, his high-school sister, his sister's boyfriend, an estranged friend of his sister's.

Particular to this book: The writing is beautiful. Beautiful. I actually cried a couple of times. Because, just as my daughter said, these characters were real people to me. I  think a lot of this is due to the multiple perspectives. All of which were in first person, present tense, which brings the characters even closer to the reader. According to my daughter's' book report, WONDER is about "courage, friendship and being yourself."

We wholeheartedly recommend this book. Apparently, a lot of people feel the same way as WONDER was a #1 New York Times bestseller.

Here's the link to the author's website. Look under FAQs for what inspired the author to write this story.

Oh, and, R.J. Palacio? Thank you for writing WONDER, a book that my reluctant reader fell in love with.

Without further ado, here are the links to AMAZING AND THOUGHTFUL reviews! You don't want to miss them.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Stacy Nyikos: ALIENS ON VACATION by Clete Barrett Smith (middle grade)

Sarah Laurence: JUST ONE DAY by Gail Forman (young adult, contemporary)

Linda McLaughlin: LADY OF DEVICES: A STEAMPUNK ADVENTURE NOVEL by Shelly Adina
                                       (young adult, steampunk) 
  
Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer R. Hubbard (young adult)


ADULT BOOK REVIEWS
 
Patti Abbott: BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jess Walter

Stacy of The Cat's Meow: LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson (literary)

Staci of Life in the Thumb: WHILE WE WERE WATCHING DOWNTON ABBEY by Wendy Wax   (women's lit)

 Scott Parker: LEVIATHAN WAKES by James S. A. Corey (science fiction)

Linda McLaughlin: SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (steampunk)
                              

NON-FICTION BOOK REVIEWS 

Beth Yarnall:  HOW TO DISAPPEAR by Frank M. Ahearn
   
Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: CLIMATE MYTHS by Dr. John J. Berger
                                                  NUMBER CROSS PUZZLES by Rich Rollo (for adults + kids)

 Jody Feldman: BOMB: THE RACE TO BUILD - AND STEAL - THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON    
                           by Steve Sheinkin (young adult)                   



Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

The Book Review Club (March 2013)

Happy First Wednesday of March! Which means it's time for the monthly meeting of The Book Review Club. We've put together reviews of books we've read and enjoyed. So, please click through the links under my review. Because...we do it all for you. Enjoy!

CRUSHER by Niall Leonard (young adult, thriller/mystery)

In a nutshell: High-school dropout Finn Maguire arrives home from his crappy fast-food job to find his stepdad bludgeoned to death in their London flat. Of course, our Finn is the main suspect, and he takes on the mystery in order to clear his name. And to find out what really happened to his stepdad.

The stepdad (an out-of-work actor and, then, a wannabe writer) was working on a screenplay about one of London's mobsters. Finn thinks. He really didn't pay that much attention when his stepdad was talking about his writing. Same thing happens in my house! Anyway, the stepdad's computer and the writing and research he's done is missing.

What I Loved: In a word--Finn. I loved this character. He's basically a loser, but you just know he won't stay that way forever. He has knack for sizing up sitautions and people. He's persistent. He has a good heart. I loved every word that came out of his mouth. Niall Leonard has a great ear for dialogue, which isn't surprising since he is a screenwriter as well. I'm interested in checking out a British crime drama TV show he writes for: Wire in the Blood. Also, CRUSHER is an edge-of-your-seat read, full of unexpected twists.

What I Loved a Little Less: the plotting. Weird as it sounds, there were just one or two too many twists.  And, while I'm all for adventure and chase scenes, the end of the book felt like Bruce Willis in one of those Die Hard movies. Too many fight scenes. I kept thinking poor Finn needed to be home and in bed with a steak over one eye, an ice pack over a fist and 800 mg of ibuprofen. Also, there wasn't one nice female in the entire book. We all know how unrealistic that is!

STILL...I loved Finn. Enough that I could overlook the plot stuff. Which is saying a lot for me. I'll read the sequel.

Particular to this Book: CRUSHED was written for Nanowrimo 2011. AND...Mr. Leonard is married to E.L. James of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY fame. Here he is talking about being Mr. Fifty Shades of Grey.

Without further ado, here are the links to this month's AMAZING AND THOUGHTFUL reviews! You don't want to miss them.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

 Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: REVEL by Maurissa Guibord (YA fantasy)


ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

 Scott Parker: BLOODHYPE by Alan Dean Foster (science fiction)

Sarah Laurence: THE BURGESS BOYS by Elizabeth Strout (literary, pub date 3/26/13)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: ATTACHMENTS by Rainbow Rowell (women's fiction)

Linda McLaughlin: THE SHADOWY HORSES by Susanna Kearsley (romance)
                                THE WINTER SEA by Susanna Kearsley (romance)


NONFICTION REVIEWS

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: THROUGH THE GLASS by Shannon Moroney (adult autobiography)


                                             
Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

My Town Monday: My San Diego Living Room

Ever wonder what Mr. Summy does in his spare time?

Recently he invented... a treadmill shelf for his lovely wife. 

Mr. Summy came up with this brilliant design. He attached (with the help of his handy assistant, Child #4) a drawer glider on the outside of the treadmill handles. This is so I can glide the desk up and out of the way when folding the treadmill for storage. 

Child #4 is drilling holes into the side wood pieces. Mr. Summy is supervising.  I am napping. (kidding!)

Voila! A beautiful treadmill shelf is born. There are plans to paint it black, but it is completely functional. Cost $27.   As compared to, say, the Trek Desk which is about $500.

Just a gratuitous crazy pic of child #4

How many miles will I walk while writing the next book? I might actually keep track.

 
p.s. Watch this Wednesday for The Book Review Club!

The Book Review Club (February 2013)

HAPPY FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO US! Yup. We're your basic group of book junkies. We've been meeting online and reviewing books for FOUR, yes that's QUATRE, yes that's CUATRO, years! Talk about a lot of reading and reviewing. Whew. Kind of blows the mind.

Moving right along...What holiday is almost upon us? Valentine's Day. And what goes great with chocolates and flowers? A good book, of course. Be sure to click through the links under my review. They'll take you to everyone else's reviews. Happy reading!

OUT by Laura Preble (young adult)

In a nutshell: OUT takes place in a world where parallels (same-sex couples) are the norm. Where perpendiculars (opposite-sex couples) are sent to rehab/torture camps.Where the gov't and the church are all powerful. Enter Chris Bryant, son of a well-known preacher. You guessed it. Chris falls in love with a girl. The girl falls in love with him. And now we've got a couple of criminals on the run.

Particular to this book: The author has received love mail and hate mail. It was tough getting OUT published traditionally, and she ended up self-publishing with her agent. Here's the amazon link to OUT. While I'm at it, here's the link to the author's website. Here's the link to the book trailer.

My thoughts: At the end of the day, this is a young-adult novel with a good strong voice. It's the story of a couple of teens who don't fit in, fall in love with each other, and take on the government and the church. Lots of conflict. Lots of twists. Good ending. And more than enough meat to make you think about how you treat others and how much you blindly follow the rules.

**check the comments section. The author just stopped by.**

Without further ado, here are the links to AMAZING AND THOUGHTFUL reviews! You don't want to miss them.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS
 Stacy Nyikos: GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander (middle grade)

 Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY by Nikki Loftin (middle grade)

Sarah Laurence: OUT OF NOWHERE by Maria Padian (young adult, contemporary)

 Staci of Life in the Thumb: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green (young adult)

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS
 Patti Abbott: THE BLACKHOUSE by Peter May

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: THE CASUAL VACANCY by J.K. Rowling

Stacy of The Cat's Meow: THE SNOW CHILD by Eowyn Ivey

Beth Yarnall: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley (historical romance)

Linda McLaughlin: MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND by Helen Simonson
                                INDIAN MAIDENS BUST LOOSE by Vidya Samsonn (Indian Chick Lit)

Linda McLaughlin AKA Lyndi Lamont: THE SCARLETTI CURSE by Christine Feehan (romance)        

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: FACELESS KILLERS by Henning Mankell (mystery)
                                                 IF LOOKS COULD KILL by Kate White (mystery)
                                                 THE DOULA by Bridget Boland



Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

The Book Review Club (January 2013)

Happy New Year! Welcome to our virtual book club. We meet the first Wednesday of the month. Have been since Feb. 2009, which means we're almost to our FOUR-YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Now, that's some dedicated reading and critiquing! Be sure to click through the links under my review. They'll take you to everyone else's reviews. Happy reading. Here's to a great year in books!

FAITHFUL PLACE by Tana French

I feel a bit odd reviewing this book because Kelly Hayes reviewed Broken Harbor by Tana French last September, and Ellen Booraem reviewed The Likeness in November. I generally try to choose a book/author that one of our gang hasn't reviewed with an aim to cover a wider territory. But...it was precisely because of the above two reviews that I picked up Into the Woods, Ms. French's first mystery. That is, picked it up and never put it down. Then, went directly to The Likeness without passing go and onto Faithful Place. That's how much I enjoyed these mysteries. Faithful Place is my fave, thus far.

In a nutshell: Undercover Detective Frank (Francis) Mackey is drawn back into his inner-city Dublin neighborhood when his childhood girlfriend's suitcase and then murdered body shows up twenty-two years after she disappeared. He's gone out of his way for years to avoid this neighborhood along with his dysfunctional family (complete with sibling rivalries, an abusive and alcoholic father, a critical and guilt-tripping mother). Frank was a supporting character in The Likeness. He's smart, acerbic, hard-drinking, witty, and more than willing to bend the rules. Here's an interview where the author explains why she changes protagonists for each book. It certainly keeps the series fresh.

What I loved: I felt like I was IN the story, especially in Faithful Place, Frank's working-class neighborhood. The details, the descriptions, the sights, the sounds, the smells from the dingy neighborhood bars to the rundown apartments to the food to the arguments. All of it was perfect. The characters were so incredibly real. I almost expected Frank to order me a Guinness and plunk it down on my table, warm foam dripping down the side of the mug. Also, I'm a sucker for good dialogue, and it's phenomenal in this book. Perhaps because Ms. French trained as an actress? Look at this: I said, "Kennedy's no mate of mine. He's just a little poxbottle I have to work with every now and then."

What I didn't like: It's small, but Frank's nine-year-old daughter didn't ring true for me. And in a book where the characters jump off the page (to be cliche), well, you can't help but notice a weak one. Still, it's definitely no deal breaker in a book I had trouble putting down.

I'm really looking forward to reading Broken Harbor.

The links below will lead you to wonderful reviews. Please click through. It's a great way to start the new year!

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

 Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: THE STAR OF KAZAN by Eva Ibbotson (fantasy, middle grade)

Stacy Nyikos: THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE by Christopher Paul Curtis (middle grade)

Sarah Laurence: THE TRAGEDY PAPER by Elizabeth LaBan (young adult)

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Patti Abbott: TRUST YOUR EYES by Linwood Barclay (thriller)

Beth Yarnall: PLAY NICE by Gemma Halliday (thriller)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS by Hester Browne (women's)

NONFICTION REVIEWS

Linda McLaughlin: AMERICAN NATIONS: A HISTORY OF THE ELEVEN RIVAL REGIONAL CULTURES OF NORTH AMERICA by Colin Woodard


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

My Town Monday: the Latest Addition to Our Little House

Child #4 with two dogs at the dog park (taken with my Droid) 

 What is wrong with this picture?

 Sure, it's a little out of focus, somewhat crooked, and the lighting is probably off.

 BUT what is fundamentally wrong?

 There are TWO dogs!

 Yes, we have welcomed a second dog to the Summy household.

 "It's not fair. When we wanted a dog, you always said no. How come Child #4 was able to talk you into getting her a dog. And now into a second dog?" grumble Childs (Children?) #1, #2 and #3.

 I explain how it's a little like the last person being able to unscrew a tight jar lid. The first three children wore me down. They paved the way for Child #4 getting a dog.

 How did Dog #2 happen? Child #4 and I were picking up Dorothy (Dog #1) from the groomer's. Dog #2 was in the process of being groomed. Her owner is elderly, bed-ridden and very ill. The groomer asked if we knew of anyone looking for a dog. When Child #4 looked at me with hope in her eyes and when I thought of the poor owner worrying about her dog, I found that I couldn't say no. Ack! I'm turning into one great big bleeding heart!

 What is Dog #2's name? Well, she arrived with the moniker "Precious." Which no one could say with a straight face. We have renamed her "Marilyn" because, as Child #4 pointed out, the dog resembles Marilyn Monroe!

 Happy Holidays to you from Dorothy (the black dog) and Marilyn (the white dog)!