Monthly Archives: May 2009

Review: Astrid & Veronika

Title:  Astrid & Veronika

Author:  Linda Olsson

Published:  February 6, 2007

Page Count:  288

Genres:  Contemporary Fiction, Womens’ Fiction

My Rating:  3/5

With extraordinary emotional power, Linda Olsson’s stunningly well-crafted debut novel recounts the unusual and unexpected friendship that develops between two women. Veronika, a young writer, rents a house in a small Swedish village as she tries to come to terms with a recent tragedy while also finishing a novel. Her arrival is silently observed by Astrid, an older, reclusive neighbor who slowly becomes a presence in Veronika’s life, offering comfort in the form of companionship and lovingly prepared home-cooked meals. Set against a haunting Swedish landscape, Astrid & Veronika is a lyrical and meditative novel of love and loss, and a story that will remain with readers long after the characters’ secrets are revealed. 

Despite not loving Olsson’s Sonata for Miriam when I read it a few months ago, I did love her beautiful writing and was intrigued enough by that to seek out a copy of this, her first novel, Astrid & Veronika.  The novel was, overall, somewhere along the range of okay to good.  I did like the book, and I was interested enough to keep turning its pages, but I wasn’t thrilled.

Let’s start with what I did like, shall we?  My favorite thing about the book was definitely the way that Olsson changed perspectives throughout.  The format of the book was like this: Astrid and Veronika’s life in present day, told in third person, followed by a memory of Astrid’s told in her first person point of view, then some present-day stuff, then a memory of Veronika’s told in her first person point of view, etc.  It was a great way to tell these womens’ stories, because I really got a feel for their relationship with one another while at the same time understanding each of their pasts, from their own perspectives.  The prose was pretty nice, too.  Olsson definitely has a way with words – the book was almost flowy, very descriptive and emotional, I really had a firm understanding of all the sights and smells and feelings the women were experiencing.

I did like reading about their relationship as it was developing, especially as it was kind of an unlikely pairing.  The women were about forty years apart (I’m guessing here, I can’t remember if the book ever said their actual ages, but Astrid was an “old woman” and I think Veronika was thirty or so) and their life experiences were so different, yet they came to love one another so quickly.  They really formed almost like a mother-daughter bond, the kind that adult mothers and daughters always strive for but not many actually have in real life.  It was a beautiful way to tell the story of a beautiful friendship.

The main thing that I had a difficult time with in this book was that it was just really… really… really… slow.  I mean, this could just be me.  I could be the only one feeling this way, but so many times throughout the book I just wanted to skip the lush, flowing descriptions and get on with the story.  And for me, this took away from the book a lot because if I’m feeling impatient with a book I’ll just put it down and go pick up another.  I did that with Astrid & Veronika way too often.  However, the story was compelling enough to keep me coming back at some point, so that’s saying something.  Another thing that was odd to me was that some aspects of the story were not spelled out enough for me to understand what actually happened.  One scene in particular I really wanted more information.  It’s entirely possible that I just missed something, but I really think that it was meant to be a little ambiguous and I was not okay with that.  I like clarity in books!  Showing not telling is great, but there are just some things that I need to be told. ;)

Overall, a good book that lovers of great writing will definitely enjoy.  I also liked the story but there were some aspects that were less than perfect.  Still, Linda Olsson is a wonderful author and I will probably pick up her next book (if and when she writes another).

More reviews -

Review: Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

Title:  Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

Author:  Ayelet Waldman

Published:  January 24, 2006

Page Count:  352

Genres:  Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction

My Rating:  4.5/5

When Emilia loses her newborn daughter, the sight of any child brings her to tears.  Wednesday afternoons with her stepson, William – an obsessive, know-it-all preschooler and his mother’s mouthpiece – are pushing her over the edge.  When his unceasing questions turn to the baby’s death, Emilia is at a total loss.  Doesn’t anyone understand that self-pity is a full-time job?  Ironically, it is only through her blundering attempts to bond with William that she finally learns what family really means.

This book seriously grabbed me and did not let me go.  With Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Waldman took me on an emotional rollercoaster and I could have read about this family for days and days and never get tired of their story – truly.  First of all, Waldman wrote Emilia so amazingly well, I cannot even explain it properly.  I could literally feel her pain as I was reading about her.  Even when she made some horrible choices I couldn’t help but feel for her and I continuously forgave her all of her errors.  I couldn’t help it, she was just that real to me, so honest, flawed, but deep down just filled with pain.

One of my best friends married a man with a four-year-old son, making her an instant stepmom, and it’s not been the easiest transition for their family.  Not nearly as rough as the book, really, but I absolutely thought of her as I was reading this novel.  The transition this family was going through was so similar to what my friend is dealing with that I couldn’t help putting her in some of Emilia’s situations (which probably made me identify with Emilia even more).  Because of this, I loved reading about Emilia and William’s relationship.  Not even close to a smooth transition, or even an okay relationship – it really was pure chaos.  But it was so real, so honest, so much like how life is, that I loved reading about them sloooowly forming a bond.  

The ending to this novel is one of the best endings I have read in awhile.  I was bawling my eyes out, in a good way, and it was just so beautiful.  So heartbreakingly hopeful, all at once.  I really did love this book.  Highly recommended.

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Title:  Thirteen Reasons Why

Author:  Jay Asher

Published:  October 18, 2007

Page Count:  320

Genre:  Young Adult Fiction

My Rating:  4/5

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers. 

I knew going into Thirteen Reasons Why that I would love it.  Well, I guess “love” is a weird word to use since the book is extremely sad and about super sensitive subject matter (suicide, if you didn’t already know).  But I wasn’t wrong – as soon as I turned the first page, I was hooked.  I was hooked on Hannah and her story, I was hooked on Clay and his part in it, and even though I knew what the end result would be I still had to find out what else she would say on her tapes, who else she would implicate in her death.

Other than the fact that I was swept away with this book and couldn’t put it down, I’m not sure what else to say about it.  I think it will hit home for a lot of teens – too many kids are bullied, sexually harassed (which was an unfortunate theme in the book – way too many high school girls deal with this on a daily basis), and just ridiculed in school.  I personally was bullied as a kid – not really in high school, but in elementary school and somewhat in middle school – so I could definitely relate to Hannah’s pain.  I also went through a LOT of personal issues with my family and other factors that made me feel like “ending it all” would be the way to go.  Except that I never went further than writing angry stuff in my journal – Hannah went all the way.  And I think this is what is so compelling about this novel – what makes someone actually go through with it?  Many people consider suicide at one point or another, whether it be for a fleeting second or for months at a time, but what makes those who actually kill themselves different from the rest of us?

I don’t know that Thirteen Reasons Why actually answers this question but it definitely gives some theory into why Hannah did what she did, why she is different from those that simply consider suicide.  From my experience working at a suicide hotline in college, I would say she fits the profile to a degree, though there’s a lot that the book doesn’t tell us about Hannah’s life.  So it’s hard to know.  Either way, the book is compelling and I think a great read for anyone, regardless of age.  Teens will especially love this one, but it definitely hit home for me too, and I think it’s a great choice for parents of teens.  Read Thirteen Reasons Why, you won’t be sorry you did.

More reviews -

I’m being featured today!

Hi everybody!  I just wanted to let you all know that the lovely Cathy of Kittling: Books is featuring me today for her Scene of the Blog series.  If you haven’t already seen any of the series, I definitely encourage you to check it out.  Cathy asked tons of bloggers to take pictures of their blogging spaces and she’s slowly posting about one per week.  It’s been such a treat to see where some of my favorite bloggers do their writing!  I’m honored that she would choose me to feature, and I hope you all enjoy taking a peek into my space!  

Giveaway winners and another free book!

First, I need to announce the winners of my two giveaways this week.

Kari Follet is the winner of Obama: A Historic Journey.

Betty is the winner of Janeology.

Thanks everybody for entering!  I really appreciate it. :)

 

I do have another book to give away.  This one is a book I received for review (although it is not an ARC, it is a regular copy) and I’ve now read about 100 pages and am having trouble getting into the book.  I think it’s just not for me.  The book is called Royal Blood and it’s by Rona Sharon.  Here’s the Amazon info if you’re interested in that.  Ideally, I’d like for the winner to read the book within the next few months and post a review on his or her blog (or on my blog, if you don’t have a blog of your own).  So please only enter if you think you can do that.  Also, the giveaway is only open to U.S. and Canada because postage is simply too expensive right now.  So let me know if you’d like to read this book, I will pick a winner on Friday and announce it over the weekend.

Review: Precious

Title:  Precious

Author:  Sandra Novack

Published:  February 17, 2009

Page Count:  288

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction

My Rating:  4/5

The summer of 1978, ten-year-old Vicki Anderson rides her bike to the local park and goes missing. Her tight-knit blue-collar Pennsylvania neighborhood, where children roam the streets at night playing lightning tag, aboveground pools sparkle in backyards, and flowers scent the air, will never be the same.

Down the street from Vicki’s house, another family is in crisis. Troubled by her past, headstrong Natalia Kisch has abandoned her husband and two daughters for another man. Frank Kisch, grappling with his anger, is left to raise their girls alone, oblivious to his daughters’ struggles with both disappearances: Eva, seventeen, plunges into an affair with her married high school teacher, and nine-year-old Sissy escapes to a world of imagination and storytelling that becomes so magical it pierces the reality of the everyday. 

When Natalia unexpectedly returns, the struggles and tensions that have built over the summer erupt into a series of events that change the Kisches irrevocably—forcing them to piece together their complicated pasts and commitments to each other. 

In this haunting, atmospheric debut, Sandra Novack examines loss, loyalty, and a family in crisis. Lyrical and elegiac, Precious illuminates our attempts to make sense of the volatility that surrounds and consumes us, and explores our ability, even during the most trying times, to remember and hold on to those we love most. 

First of all, I have to say that Precious was not exactly the novel I had assumed it would be.  Based on the book description, I thought that the main focus of the book would be Vicki Anderson’s disappearance with the other stories sort of in the background.  What I got was a story of an extremely troubled family, told from the perspectives of all four family members, with Vicki’s disappearance an important (but not terribly prominent) subplot.  THIS is exactly why one should never make assumptions about books – I loved where the novel took these characters, yet as it was unexpected it took me a little bit to get into the story.  Had I been open to whatever the book had to offer without any preconceived notions, I would’ve gotten into the novel much faster than I did.

Anyway, why don’t I talk about what I liked about Precious?  The first thing that struck me about this novel is just how well-paced it was.  This might sound weird, but the first few chapters are kind of slow and to be honest, that worried me at first.  But once I understood that Novack paced things exactly right to help the reader really get involved with these characters and to fall into step with them, I loved the way she did things.  When the real “action” started to ocur, I was fully immersed in these characters lives’ and I felt like I was going through this stuff with them.  I also liked the format of telling the story from multiple perspectives, yet keeping everything in third-person narrative.  This gave me great insight into each characters’ thoughts and feelings yet still kept me at bay for when I either didn’t agree with their decisions or felt awful for something that happened to them.  It also helped to see multiple perspectives of the same situation.  For example, hearing about Natalia and her disappearance from her daughters was a totally different experience than hearing about it from Natalia herself.  And I’m thrilled that Novack chose to give the reader both experiences.

I’m not going to lie, Precious is an emotionally heavy read.  The characters are all extremely flawed (well, perhaps Sissy is the exception to that at the young age of ten she’s pretty “normal”), and I couldn’t help feeling empathy for them anyway.  Even Natalia.  Even Eva.  (Not Peter, though, not really.)  I was definitely wrestling with my emotions as I closed the last page and put the book down for good.  It left me with a deep feeling of sadness, but also of hopefulness too.  I don’t know, it’s somewhat hard to explain.  Just read the book – then you’ll know what I mean.

Overall, this novel is pretty great.  Novack has crafted an intricate story with interesting, complex characters that will definitely make you think.  I’m very interested to see what Novack comes up with next!

I read Precious as part of a TLC book tour.  Here’s the list for the rest of the tour:

Monday, May 4th:  Fizzy Thoughts

Wednesday, May 6th:  Book, Line, and Sinker

Thursday, May 7th:  Redlady’s Reading Room

Monday, May 11th:  Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Wednesday, May 13th:  Bookworm with a View

Thursday, May 14th:  Pop Culture Junkie

Monday, May 18th:  Literate Housewife

Friday, May 22nd:  Booking Mama

Tuesday, May 26th:  Book Addiction

Friday, May 29th:  Diary of an Eccentric

Review: The Last Queen

Title:  The Last Queen

Author:  C.W. Gortner

Published:  July 28, 2008

Page Count:  400

Genre:  Historical Fiction

My Rating:  4/5

In this stunning novel, C. W. Gortner brings to life Juana of Castile, the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, who would become the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country’s throne. Along the way, Gortner takes the reader from the somber majesty of Spain to the glittering and lethal courts of Flanders, France, and Tudor England.

Born amid her parents’ ruthless struggle to unify and strengthen their kingdom, Juana, at the age of sixteen, is sent to wed Philip, heir to the Habsburg Empire. Juana finds unexpected love and passion with her dashing young husband, and at first she is content with her children and her married life. But when tragedy strikes and she becomes heir to the Spanish throne, Juana finds herself plunged into a battle for power against her husband that grows to involve the major monarchs of Europe. Besieged by foes on all sides, Juana vows to secure her crown and save Spain from ruin, even if it costs her everything. 

I’d been interested in reading The Last Queen ever since it came out last summer, so when I was contacted to be a part of the blog tour celebrating the release of the book in paperback, there was no way I could turn it down.  And I’m happy to say that the book was every bit as great as I hoped it would be.

I love historical fiction because I feel like I’m learning something while (if the book is done well) at the same time being entertained by the story and the characters.  The Last Queen was no exception.  I’m ashamed to admit that I have very little knowledge of Spanish history, so truthfully I had never heard of Juana of Castile before picking up this book.  The great thing is that I feel like I learned a ton about her while reading this novel, and now Juana of Castile is another historical figure who I’d love to learn even more about.  The way Gortner portrayed her was fantastic – she really came alive on the pages, I could feel her emotions and understand her motivations for her behavior.  She came across as an amazingly intelligent and cunning woman who did everything she could to protect her family, herself, and above all, her country.  Although apparently history has written Juana to be somewhat crazy, Gortner made it seem so clear why she did the things she did – others may have seen her as crazy but Juana was just taking every precaution necessary to protect what was important to her.

Another great aspect of The Last Queen is the wonderful writing.  Not only did Gortner do an amazing job getting into Juana’s head and making her come alive for the reader, but he also wrote such fantastic descriptions of Spain during that time.  I truly felt like I was right there, like every time I picked up the book I was being transported to Spain in the early 1500′s.  It was such a great feeling to read about this woman in this time period and really feel like I was seeing what she saw and doing what she did.  

The Last Queen is a wonderful book that is an absolute MUST read for any fans of historical fiction.  Thanks to Dorothy at Pump Up Your Book Promotion Tours for asking me to be a part of this tour!  The Last Queen is being featured on many other blogs this month – check out the list for this tour here.

Review: Cut

Title:  Cut  

Author:  Patricia McCormick

Published:  February 1, 2002

Page Count:  160

Genre:  Young Adult Fiction

My Rating:  4/5

Fifteen-year old Callie is so withdrawn that she’s not speaking to anyone including her therapist at the residential treatment facility where her parents and doctor send her after discovering that she cuts herself. Her story unfolds primarily through dramatic monologues, gradually revealing the family turmoil that led to her self-destructive behavior. Her little brother, Sam, is so ill he nearly died in her care. Since Sam’s illness, Callie’s mother has become so worried and fragile that she rarely leaves the house. Her father has responded to the psychological and financial stress of Sam’s illness by disappearing into his work, and when that doesn’t work, into his drinking. 

Callie’s efforts to understand herself and her family illuminate her process of recovery honestly and with hope. Cut provides an insightful look at the psychology of cutting a form of self-abuse an estimated 2 million teenage girls inflict on themselves.

Cut is a great book for teens, since so many teenagers do self-harm – chances are, every teen either does it themselves or knows someone that does.  I personally had two friends in high school and college who cut themselves.  The book definitely illuminates for the reader why someone would turn to self-harm as a way to “escape” the problems and issues in their daily lives.  The book explained pretty well the effect cutting has on the psyche – it’s like a drug, it truly is (there’s a rush of endorphins), and once teens start cutting themselves, a lot of times they can’t bring themselves to stop.

The best thing about the book for me is McCormick’s fantastic writing.  In such a short book, she really made these characters come to life and I found myself sympathizing with Callie from the first chapter on.  The teens in the book were incredibly realistic – I could see them in my mind as I was listening to the book, I could so easily imagine them all sitting around in a circle, in group therapy, supporting each other and talking about their situations.  

Although Cut is a short book, it is a powerful story about Callie’s slow but sure understanding of herself, of her family, and of her healing.  This is a wonderful book for teens and I’ll certainly be reading more from McCormick in the future.

More reviews -

WG – Military

Two (three or four within each) choices this week:

  1. With Memorial Day in the U.S. this coming Monday, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on the military. Either share your favorite book on war or movie on war and why. Provide a clip from the movie if you’d like or a passage from the book that shows us why you it’s your favorite book or movie. Or do both. OR choose your own military theme, for example, if you have a relative or friend in the military and you would like to send them a video or a message of thanks, do that on your blog. OR do all three. The book and movie also don’t have to be “patriotic” necessarily. For example, one of my favorite fictional books on war is Johnny, Get Your Gun by Dalton Trumbo.
  2. Again with Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S. starting traditionally on Friday evening, it also is unofficially the start of summer. You’ve probably been asked this in other meme groups in which you participate, but do your reading habits change over the summer? Do you choose lighter fare? What do you enjoy to take to the beach, for example? What is the ultimate summer book? OR what are your favorite travel guides — official or unofficial guides? Again, an example, I think of Holidays In Hell by P.J. O’Rourke, of places I’d rather not vacation. Along those lines, where do you vacation? Any places you recommend or even don’t recommend?

Well, I mentioned last month that I went to see my youngest brother graduate from boot camp and I’ve been meaning to post some pictures ever since.  So, let me see if I can find some good ones.

053This one was taken when they were in their last formation on “family day”, about five minutes before we were able to give him a big hug for the first time in over three months.  Alex (my brother) is in there somewhere but it’s hard to see.

066This one is Alex and our mom.

068Here’s myself with Alex and our other brother, Jim.  We have a sister too but she wasn’t able to come to the graduation.  I look like yuck and my eyes are closed, but oh well.

101This picture is of some of the guys on the actual graduation day.  I included it because I’m completely amazed at how well they keep these formations and how together they all are – it’s truly remarkable.

103And this is one of my favorite pictures – Alex with our two grandmothers.  How cute is this?!

And that’s all I got for pictures.  I’m glad that I’ve gotten a chance to share these pictures with all of you because honestly, I’m so proud of my brother I can’t even explain it properly.  My family is not a military family – we have a few uncles that fought in World War II and Vietnam, back when the majority of non-college educated men were in the military, but overall we are not super into the military nor do we know much about it.  So when Alex told us he wanted to join the Marines, we totally freaked out.  I mean, my mom couldn’t even talk about it without tearing up.  But we gradually warmed up to the idea, as well as realized that he is eighteen years old and is going to do what he wants regardless of what we think so it makes more sense to support him than not.  And now, truly, I could not be prouder.  I’m still scared, of course, of what he’s going to face when he gets out of his training and has to be in combat (he’s going to be some sort of bomb technician, so he’ll definitely be in combat in some way), but I know that he’s doing what he needs to do and I’m so proud to have someone as amazing and intelligent and caring as my sweet brother helping to protect and take care of our country and everyone in it.

BTT – A Second First Time

btt button

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

Oh, so many.  The first book that comes to mind is The Time-Traveler’s Wife. The first and only time I read it I literally locked myself in my room and didn’t emerge until I had finished the entire book, sobbing uncontrollably for the last fifty or so pages.  Another one that I can think of is I Know This Much Is True.  I actually have been meaning to reread it but at a staggering 928 pages it’s a big commitment.  In fact, I have Lamb’s newest book sitting on my shelves right now, just waiting to be picked up and I’m really hoping it will give me the same “holy cow” feeling that I Know This Much Is True did.  And my final answer to this question is the entire Harry Potter series.  Getting to know those characters for the first time, following along with them on their many adventures, was one of the  most fun reading experiences I have ever had and I’d LOVE to do it all over again.

What books do YOU wish you could read again for the first time?

Check out other answers to this question at the Booking Through Thursday blog.