This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Title:  This World We Live In

Author:  Susan Beth Pfeffer

Release date:  April 1, 2010

Publisher:  Harcourt Children’s Books

Pages:  256

Genre:  Young adult fiction, Dystopian fiction

Source:  Library

In case you are unfamiliar with this series, I’ll explain it a little bit for you:  an asteroid has hit the moon, kicking it just a bit closer to earth and causing all kinds of damage.  Tides are all messed up, causing tsunamis and hurricanes.  A coat of ash has blanketed the entire earth, blocking out the sunlight completely.  Entire countries and states have disappeared completely.  And as you can imagine, resources are scarce.  Miranda lives with her mother and two brothers in their home, and their goal in life is simply to survive.  When Miranda’s father turns up with his wife, new baby, and new friends Alex and his sister Julie (from the second book), her little world is turned upside down.

I don’t quite know how to review this one because if you haven’t read the first two books in the series I certainly don’t want to spoil them for you with this review.  I will say that This World We Live In was a fantastic addition to the series, and I think things came together quite well.  I wasn’t sure if the whole Miranda and Alex meeting thing would be realistic based on their two completely separate lives, but Pfeffer made sure that their meeting made complete sense based on the context for how they got to know each other.

I have to admit that while reading this book, I was relieved to find us back with Miranda’s family instead of in New York with Alex.  The second book in the series was just so bleak, I personally enjoyed reading the series from Miranda’s point of view more.  So that was good.  And I think that Pfeffer tied everything together quite nicely.  Yes, the relationships in the book moved too fast, but hey – this is an unnatural situation.  Relationships are bound to be a little abnormal given the circumstances, I think.  And if the last guy on the planet who you are not related to who is your age (for all you know) shows up at your house and moves in, you’d fall in love with him too, right?  So I sorta got the Miranda/Alex relationship.  What else were they supposed to do?

I am absolutely sad to see this series end, because I really enjoyed it and I think Pfeffer did such a fantastic job creating these realistic, true-to-life characters in such a dystopian type story.  I HIGHLY recommend reading these books if you haven’t already.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Title:  The Dead-Tossed Waves

Author:  Carrie Ryan

Release date:  March 9. 2010

Publisher:  Delacorte Books

Pages:  416

Genre:  Young adult fiction, Paranormal fiction

Source:  Library

The Dead-Tossed Waves takes place about twenty or so years after its predecessor, The Forest of Hands and Teeth.  Gabry lives a comfortable life with her mother, Mary (from the first book), and even though the undead are always washing up on the beach for them to get rid of, Gabry is pretty happy in her little town with her friends, in the only life she has ever known.  But there is one night, one rebellious moment, Gabry’s only rebellious act in her entire life, and this one night changes everything.

I only recently read The Forest of Hands and Teeth [my review] and while I was entertained by it, it wasn’t my favorite read ever.  So I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Dead-Tossed Waves. Fortunately for me, I absolutely enjoyed the novel and I’m so happy that I made the decision to continue with the series.

What made the story for me was the character of Gabry, without a doubt.  I really connected with her and I felt that Ryan wrote such an honest character in her.  I definitely liked her better than Mary, she was more realistic, more flawed and yet smarter too.  In the first book, Mary seemed to be so unaware of the obvious, but Gabry got it.  She understood the world around her and even though her entire life changed in one moment, she was able to figure out what to do next, where to go from there and how to solve the mysteries she was presented with.  She was intelligent and resourceful while still being a “normal” teen.

I also liked the events of The Dead-Tossed Waves quite a bit.   The plot moved along very smoothly and Ryan kept me guessing throughout the entire book.  So much happened that I wasn’t expecting, but I loved that Mary’s story and Gabry’s story were so well connected.  Obviously, they are mother and daughter, so their lives are going to connect, but Ryan managed to make their stories intersect in unexpected ways, and I really enjoyed that.

I realize that this series about zombies isn’t the easiest to believe in, but if you can suspend your disbelief for a bit, the books are worth a read. The Dead-Tossed Waves is a thrill ride of a book, and what’s better is that there is a wonderful main character and good writing too.  I’m glad I gave this series a second chance and now I’m eagerly anticipating the next book!

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Title:  The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Author:  Malcolm Gladwell

Release date:  February 2000

Publisher:  Back Bay Books

Pages:  304

Genre:  Nonfiction, pop sociology

Source:  Library

In Malcolm Gladwell’s first foray into pop sociology, he investigates how some ideas, products, and messages become epidemics while the vast majority do not.  He worked through many examples of different social phenomena to determine what makes one epidemic “tip” to mass popularity while another does not.

I’ve read and loved Gladwell’s Blink and Outliers, and I’d simply been putting off reading this one because I was waiting for my library to have it on audio so that Gladwell could read it to me.  (I love his voice, for some weird reason.)

I can’t put my finger on what exactly I like about Gladwell’s books, but whatever it is, The Tipping Point definitely had it too.  I really just find what he has to say so fascinating.  I don’t even care if it’s true, honestly, it’s just fun to think about.  I mean, yes, it’s nonfiction, it certainly should be true, but what I mean is that I’m not concerned so much with sources and facts when I read one of his books.  They are just so entertaining that I find myself so interested and not really worrying about the science or facts behind his analyses.

Anyway, this is kind of a silly review because all I have to say is that I am a Malcolm Gladwell fangirl and I don’t know how else to put it.  If you are a fan of pop sociology/ pop science type of books, definitely give one of his books a try.  Starting with The Tipping Point.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Title:  House Rules

Author:  Jodi Picoult

Release date:  March 2, 2010

Publisher:  Atria

Pages:  544

Genre:  Adult fiction

Source:  Library

Jacob Hunt is an eighteen-year-old boy who has Asperger’s syndrome.  When his tutor is murdered, the police turn first to her boyfriend, and then to Jacob, for questioning.  Because of Jacob’s lack of emotion and inability to understand social cues, he begins to look very guilty very fast.  Jacob’s mom, Emma, has spent her entire life catering to his every need, shaping the lives of herself and her younger son, Theo, around Jacob’s, so she hires a young attorney to defend him in court – an attorney who has exactly zero experience with murder trials or Asperger’s.  As is typical for a Jodi Picoult novel, the story is told by several of the characters, giving the reader to get a chance to understand this story from each individual point of view, and making for a solid story-telling experience.

I’ve read everything Jodi Picoult has written (one of only a few authors I’ve been able to accomplish that with), and some of her books I’ve loved, others I’ve hated, still others I’ve been indifferent toward.  Recently, I have been annoyed with the way her books have become a bit formulaic and too “comfortable” for my tastes.  But with House Rules, I think she’s back to what I loved about her originally – great characters, an interesting story that keeps me turning pages, and an unexpected resolution.

I have not personally known someone with Asperger’s syndrome (at least, not that I know of), but from what I’ve read about Asperger’s, I think that Picoult did a good job with Jacob.  He was a believable character, and more than believable, he was likeable.  Picoult definitely set up the story to make Jacob look guilty, and even when Jacob would narrate the story, I was still unsure of his innocence, even though I wanted to believe he didn’t do it.  I also enjoyed reading from Emma’s point of view, I liked her as a character too, even though I got a bit frustrated her when she displayed obvious neglect toward her younger son, Theo.  She wrapped her entire life around Jacob, asking Theo to do the same, and didn’t allow Theo to grow up like a “normal” kid because of that.  Speaking of Theo, I had the most sympathy for him out of all these characters.  He was only fifteen, yet had this huge burden on his shoulders – to protect his brother, to love him even when he was most unlovable, and to shape his entire life around the whims of his older brother.  Not many fifteen-year-olds would want to do this, and even though Theo had no choice in the matter, I definitely felt for him.

The book was a little long for my tastes, but it was definitely satisfying.  I could have dealt without the love story, and I didn’t love what happened with the boys’ father (I just think it could have been handled differently), but in the end, I really enjoyed the novel.  The ending was solid, with a “twist” of sorts, but one that made perfect sense to the rest of the story.

If you have read and enjoyed any of Picoult’s other novels, this is a must-read.  And if you’ve always been meaning to read something by her, definitely check this one out.  I think it’s one of her better books.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson

Title:  The Yada Yada Prayer Group

Author:  Neta Jackson

Release date:  September 1, 2003

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson

Pages:  400

Genre:  Christian fiction

Source:  Personal copy

When Jodi Baxter agrees to attend the Chicago Women’s Conference with her acquaintance, Avis Johnson, she doesn’t know what to expect.  What she finds is a group of women, of different nationalities and experiences and backgrounds, who are to form a prayer group during the conference.  And after the weekend is over, these twelve women realize they have more in common than meets the eye and they agree to continue their prayer group through email and monthly meetings at one another’s homes.  Jodi went to the conference thinking she’d have a full weekend experiencing Christ, and once the Yada Yada Prayer Group was born, she suddenly had eleven new sisters in Christ to call her friends.

I purchased this novel at a library book sale about a year ago when I was trying to find Christian fiction books that I’d enjoy (still trying, btw, if you have any recommendations).  I finally got the chance to pick it up, and I’m happy that I did.

What I most enjoyed about Yada Yada is the portrayal of Christian women that the book offers.  So often in real life, I find Christians to be judgmental, hypocritical, and even discriminatory.  Many of my friends and acquaintances are not this way, but as a Christian I have personally encountered it time and time again so I can understand why non-Christians are turned off by the religion.  But the women in Yada Yada are honest people with real flaws but they love God with all their heart and they do their best to live as Christ lived.  And what is so delightful about the novel is that none of these women do this perfectly – in fact, they all slip up in one way or another.  But the effort is there, the love is there, and the way these ladies are with each other and with the world is how I would like to be too (and sometimes I am… but only sometimes).

I also loved that the book is set in Chicago.  Go Chi-town!

Having said all that, I did not love the novel.  I think because there were so many characters, I found it hard to connect with any of them.  And I never emotionally connected with the story, even when I knew I should have, when things got pretty heavy toward the end.  I definitely liked it, and I’m glad I read it, but I just can’t see myself reading six more books exactly like this one (it is a series of seven books, I believe).

So, in conclusion:  great message, okay book.

For those of you familiar with this series – does it get better?  Should I read the second book or just give it a pass?

Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax

Title:  Magnolia Wednesdays

Author:  Wendy Wax

Release date:  March 2, 2010

Publisher:  Berkley Trade

Pages:  448

Genre:  Adult fiction, women’s fiction

Source:  Publisher

Vivien is living the life she’d always hoped to have:  living in a nice apartment in New York City, working at a major TV station as an investigative reporter, and dating an amazing guy who is as dedicated to his career as Vivien is to her own.  But when she is injured on the job, and her company brings in a ten-years-younger version of herself for Vivien to “mentor”, she knows she can’t keep working at the TV station forever.  And in an odd twist of fate, Vivien also finds herself pregnant at age forty-one, while the baby’s father remains in the Middle East, covering the war.  So she flees to the one place she’d never go – her hometown near Atlanta, Georgia – and moves in with her sister Melanie.  Throughout Vivien’s whole adult life, she thought she’d had her sister’s life figured out – perfect husband, beautiful kids, all her days filled with carpools and soccer games and being a mom.  But what Vivien finds when she spends some more time with her sister and her niece and nephew is much different from her expectations.

Magnolia Wednesdays was such a fun read!  I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, and I ended up really, really enjoying it.  Wendy Wax did such an excellent job with Vivien’s character that I felt like I got to know her so well… I cared about her, I wanted things to work out for her.

When I started reading this novel, I can’t say that I was immediately loving it.  In fact, it took me about fifty or so pages to want to know more about Vivien, to want to keep reading.  But once I got into the book, I literally couldn’t put it down.  I always read several books at a time, but I flew right through this one and neglected the rest of the books I had been reading at the time!  Besides how much I loved Vivien, I also grew very attached to Melanie’s character.  She was such a sympathetic character to me because of everything she’d been through with her husband’s death and caring for their two children by herself.  And although she should have been so angry with Vivien for so many transgressions over the years, she forgave her and welcomed her sister into her home with open arms.

I was afraid that the novel would be too long, as 450 pages is a bit long for a women’s fiction novel.  Fortunately, Wax uses every single one of those pages well, and I never felt bogged down in plot or characterizations even once.  The plot was paced perfectly for my tastes, and the little mystery that was part of the novel had an interesting resolution that I did not expect at ALL.  Which definitely added to my enjoyment of the novel.

I know that the label “women’s fiction” turns some people off, so I was a bit hesitant to use it here, but I definitely feel that this novel deserves that label.  I personally look at that as a compliment – women’s fiction reads are usually well-written, smart, and have great characters, and Magnolia Wednesdays has all that and more.  I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.

Mid-week ramblings

Hello, friends.  I feel as though I’ve been nonexistent around here this past week or so.  I had visitors all last week – my mom, her boyfriend, and my grandma were here for the entire week and my aunt came for just the weekend, so we had a full house and my week was packed with visiting and activities.  I also worked most of the week so I was trying to maintain my regular life while spending as much time with them as possible… so I definitely neglected this blog a bit.  But the good news is that I’m back, for now anyway (I’m going on a trip mid-May, so I’ll be absent then too) and I definitely plan to get some reviews up this weekend.

I realized the other day that I’m way behind on my review commitments.  For a couple of months I had stopped accepting review copies, which allowed me to catch up almost all the way, but once I started accepting them again it seems that I was unable to control myself!  I finally had to come up with an organized way to make sure I finish all these books in a reasonable time frame.  Now I’ve got which review copies I’ll be reading in which month all mapped out in a google doc, so when the next book that I’m dying to read comes along I can tell the publisher that I am booked all the way through August (true story – YIKES!).  This way I feel less pressure and I can be honest about when I might review a book.  The thing with me is that I only want about 30% of my reading to consist of review copies, which means I can do only 4-6 review books per month.  I am very happy with that balance, as long as I don’t fall too far behind – then I get super stressed and it stops being fun.  So this new organization I have put together is going to make a huge difference for me.

Speaking of review copies, I recently attempted to read one that didn’t quite agree with me – Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.  I’m not sure what it is about this novel, but after more than 50 pages it just wasn’t clicking with me so I had to give it up.  The good news is that I’d like to give it to one of you.  The only thing is that you must live in the U.S. (sorry about that, I simply can’t afford the international shipping costs, they are more expensive than the book itself!), and you must either have a blog or review the book here on my blog.  Just leave a comment with your name and email and I’ll pick a winner by Sunday evening.

That’s about all I have for tonight.  I’m really going to try to catch up on reviews this weekend (shouldn’t be too hard – I haven’t read much this week), so keep an eye out for posts in a few days.

As always, thank you for being here for me, and for paying attention to my little blog.  It means everything.

How is your week so far?

One Amazing Thing By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Title:  One Amazing Thing

Author:  Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Release date:  February 2, 2010

Publisher:  Voice

Pages:  240

Genre:  Adult fiction

Source:  Library

In the Indian consulate of an unnamed United States city, nine strangers are trapped after an earthquake hits.  Though these nine are about as different from each other as can be, they must work together to survive the aftermath of the quake.  As their food and oxygen runs low, one woman has the idea that they each share one amazing thing from their lives as a distraction from the danger that they are facing.

I’m going to start out by admitting that One Amazing Thing disappointed me.  I wish I didn’t have to say that, but I am a pretty honest person and there were way too many things about this story that bothered me.  I’m going to start with what I did like about it, though, and then move along to what disappointed me about it.

What I did love about One Amazing Thing was Divakaruni’s writing and the way she made these nine characters come together over the course of the novel.  She really helped me see each of them as individuals, even though they told such short stories (nine stories in 200 pages meant that they were pretty short!), I felt as though I got to know each of the characters.  And she made them come to life beautifully, with the help of her beautiful writing and gift for telling stories, each of these people came alive for me and I simply wanted more from each of them.

The major disappointment I had with this novel is that there just wasn’t enough.  I was expecting some sort of “ah-ha” moment when some of the characters’ lives intersected, or they made unexpected connections, or maybe a small love interest blossomed.  Something.  I didn’t get any of that, and I just felt that the book would have been a lot more with a little more cohesiveness between the characters.  And it didn’t make sense to me how they sort of just sat and waited to be rescued instead of trying to figure out a way to escape.  Of these nine people, you would expect that at least one of them would be proactive in trying to find a way out.  And last, the ending was completely anti-climactic and did not work for me at all.

While One Amazing Thing was not my favorite read, I did enjoy aspects of this book and would absolutely be willing to read something else written by Divakaruni.  This novel had tons of promise, but unfortunately for me it just didn’t live up to what I was hoping for.  If you’re looking for a quick read with compelling characters, however, this may just be the book for you.  So don’t take my word for it – read it for yourself and see!

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson

Title:  The Sweet By and By

Author:  Todd Johnson

Release date:  February 17, 2009

Publisher:  William Morrow

Pages:  320

Genre:  Adult fiction

Source:  Publisher

The Sweet By and By is a novel told in the voices of four different women.  There is Margaret, who is in her eighties and lives in a nursing home, Lorraine, one of the aides at the home, April, Lorraine’s daughter, and Rhonda, a hairdresser who does the ladies’ hair at the home once a week.  Intertwined with all four of their lives is another resident of the nursing home, Bernice, whose mind has been taken over by grief and possibly her age, and is now what some might call senile.  Over weeks, months, and years, The Sweet By and By tells the story of these five women as they get to know each other and deal with some huge heartaches and happinesses in their lives.

When I first began reading this novel, I was thinking I was in for another book about female relationships (this is not a complaint, I LOVE those kinds of books).  But while The Sweet By and By revolves around five women, it is about so much more than just the friendships between them.  Because it spans years, it really is about their individual lives, about the difficult things life throws at them and about their success stories and about how all those things made them into the people they were at the end of the novel.  It was such a charming read, but more than charming, it was deep too.  Deeper than I was expecting from a novel with dresses on the cover, but totally great all the same.

While I was hoping to connect with all of the characters in the novel, what I didn’t expect was how much I loved Margaret.  My first impression was that I wouldn’t be able to relate to her – I have nothing in common with her, on the surface.  But reading from Margaret’s point of view gave me so much food for thought about how we treat our elderly people in this society, sticking them in nursing homes, stripping them of their dignity and freedom to make their own choices, and treating them in general as if they are second-class citizens just based on their age and inability to perform certain tasks.  I thought about how lucky I am that all three of my remaining grandparents are still able to live on their own, unassisted by nurses or family members.  And how difficult it would be for any of the three of them if they were forced to sell their homes and move to a nursing home.  I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in a nursing home before, but The Sweet By and By captured everything about what life must be like for the residents there perfectly.  It was sad and sweet and heartwarming all at the same time.

My second favorite character in the novel, after Margaret, has to be Lorraine.  I enjoyed how Johnson drew out her story over the course of the novel, revealing so much about her past over the span of several chapters.  She had been through so much heartache in her life, yet she was still so giving and loyal to others.  She took such great care of Margaret, Bernice, and the other residents at the home despite the pain she was carrying around with her.  And she tried so hard to protect her daughter from her own issues, although eventually they had an extremely poignant mother-daughter moment that broke my heart (in a good way).

I was so charmed by The Sweet By and By, honestly I just found this to be such a sweet, engrossing novel.  Even though parts of the book brought a tear to my eye, overall it is such a hopeful book and there is so much love between the characters packed in just over 300 pages.  For those of you who adore Southern fiction, this is a must-read.  And as for the rest of you, it truly is a wonderful story that really made me think.  I highly recommend The Sweet By and By.

Sisterhood, Interrupted by Deborah Siegel

Title:  Sisterhood, Interrupted:  From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild

Author:  Deborah Siegel

Release date:  June 12, 2007

Publisher:  Palgrave Macmillan

Pages:  240

Genre:  Nonfiction, feminism

Source:  Personal copy

With Sisterhood, Interrupted Deborah Siegel brings the reader through all three waves of the feminist movement, highlighting which issues were most focused on and what was important in each one.  Her focus is on the conflicts that sprung up throughout the movement, and how infighting has affected the movement.  She traces back to the early feminists to illustrate how today’s conflicts are not so different from the ones the very first feminists dealt with.  Last, she explains how contemporary feminists can and should learn from those who came before them, and helps young women come to a more clear understanding of what feminism means to them as individuals.

I found Sisterhood, Interrupted to be a pretty concise and easy to follow history of the feminist movement.  While the focus was on infighting, Siegel really gave a nice background on the major players in the movement and what their stances are/were on some of the most important issues to the movement.  I think Siegel was trying to give someone like me, a young feminist not super involved in the movement, a good idea of my predecessors and some knowledge on the movement in general – and she definitely did that.

I appreciated that the focus of the book was on conflicts within the movement because that’s an aspect of feminism that I don’t know too much about.  What was great about Siegel’s approach to this was that she gave a very clear picture of some of these problems while not blaming any one person or group and not taking sides.  It was really a historian’s approach to writing about this subject.  It helped me to get a firmer grasp on my own thoughts and feelings on some of these wedges within the movement, to figure out my place in everything.  And although I’m not involved in the feminist movement, per se, I do consider myself a feminist so it is definitely important for me to understand my core beliefs about the major issues within the feminist movement.

Sisterhood, Interrupted is a solid look at the history of feminism in the United States and a thoughtful examination of the issues within the movement.  I would say this book is a must-read for any young feminist.