Another edition of mini-reviews!

Sorry I’ve been so absent from the blog, folks.  My husband’s grandmother was visiting us from Chicago over the Thanksgiving weekend, and while we did enjoy an absolutely delicious dinner at my in-laws, it was a long day (they live almost 2 hours away) and I had to work the rest of the weekend.  Sunday is normally my blogging day, but we took Grandma to Sea World instead (she LOVED it, btw).  So, I continue to have a backlog of books to review, and in an attempt to cull that number I figured I’d throw out some more minis!

Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott was an impulse library audiobook grab, mainly because I’d been meaning to read Lamott for years and I’d heard good things about her latest novel.  The novel brings to life seventeen-year-old Rosie Ferguson and her parents, Elizabeth and James.  Rosie is a typical teen, dealing with high school, crushes, and best friends, while at the same time a full-on addict who has never met a drug she didn’t like. Imperfect Birds chronicles Elizabeth and James’ struggles to help Rosie get sober, and Rosie’s complete refusal to do so.  I ended up enjoying this book, Lamott’s writing is clear and beautiful, I absolutely took to her style and can see myself enjoying many more of her books.  I did feel the plot of the novel was a bit redundant, it just seemed like nothing changed for a long, long part of the book – I was beginning to get a little bored.  However, it picked up and I did find myself anxious to find out how everything would end up for this family.  The book is heavily character-driven, so if you enjoy those types of books, I’d recommend Imperfect Birds.

The Sister by Poppy Adams is one of those books I’d been meaning to read forever, and finally forced myself to do so.  I was somewhat disappointed in this one as I was expecting a lot – it’s about two elderly sisters, Ginny and Vivien, who haven’t seen one another in 50 years and finally reunite in the house they grew up in – but it didn’t quite measure up to what I was hoping for.  It had a gothic, spooky feel to it, and it was clear that Ginny, the sister who told the story, was an unreliable narrator, but that was about all I liked about it.  Ginny studied moths for a living, and all the moth-talk got extremely boring very fast, to the point where I’d skip pages to get back to the “real” story.  The story of how the sisters grew up and all the family drama was interesting, and the ending had a nice twist to it, but overall I didn’t enjoy this one too much.

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series, and while I was lukewarm about the first book, I definitely liked this one.  I still don’t think that I’ll ever rank these books as a favorite series, but I was definitely more entertained by this book than the first one.  Probably because I got to know the characters more, but whatever the reason, I liked it.  Clary continues to be a character I enjoy and root for, and the dynamics of this world continue to surprise and entertain me.  I’m definitely excited for the third book in the series, which I have sitting on my shelf right now, just waiting for me!

I’ve been on an Emily Giffin kick lately, so when I picked up Baby Proof I was hoping my streak of enjoying her books would continue – which it did!  Thirty-five-year-old Claudia and her husband Ben made a deal when they got married:  no kids.  But when Ben suddenly changes his mind about this, three blissful years into their marriage, Claudia must decide how to handle it – what do you do when everything you’ve known about your life is suddenly turned on its head?  I enjoyed this one just as much as Giffin’s first two novels, if not more even because I could actually relate to the narrator.  I’m not a “no kids” person, but I am a “maybe kids” person; as in my husband and I haven’t yet made up our minds on the subject.  But I could completely understand where Claudia was coming from – in fact, I could relate because before we got married my husband and I had many serious discussions about this very issue.  We both agreed to be open to the idea and to see where life (and God, as we both believe He has a plan for us, but that’s a whole other discussion) takes us.  If we had decided one way or the other, and my husband backed out of the deal, I would be absolutely furious.  So I could totally relate to Claudia, I put myself in her shoes immediately, and consequently I loved the book.  It delivered everything I’ve come to expect from Giffin and the experience of reading it made me very happy.

Finally, I just finished Room by Emma Donoghue and I am here to tell you that everything you’ve heard about this book is true:  it really is THAT good.  If you haven’t heard about the book, it’s about a little boy, Jack, who has lived in an eleven-foot by eleven-foot room his entire five years with his mother, Ma.  Ma was kidnapped by their captor, Old Nick, when she was nineteen (she is now twenty-six) and has suffered isolation and nightly rapes, one of which resulted in Jack, for the past seven years.  What’s beautiful about this book is that it is told from Jack’s point of view.  And since Jack has never known a world outside of Room, he is just so innocent and reading his story is absolutely riveting.  Another thing that kept me glued to the book is that I kept putting myself in Ma’s shoes – I am also twenty-six – and I could not even begin to imagine the horror she had experienced, and how she had found the strength within her to raise Jack as best as she possibly could.  I’m telling you, this book is fantastic and I very, very highly recommend it.  It is quite the experience.

That’s all for now – I’ll probably be absent until Sunday, as I have a ton of stuff going on this week (as usual).  Have a good week, everyone!

 

Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie
Published by Dutton Children’s, an imprint of Penguin
I received an unsolicited copy of this book for review from the publicist.

It’s the day of Cassia’s Matching ceremony – the night she will find out who she will marry – and she is excited and nervous.  She needn’t worry, however, because when her Match is revealed, it’s Xander’s face she sees, her best friend and a boy she’s known all her life.  She’s extremely lucky to be Matched with someone she already knows so well – this is incredibly rare.  But when another boy from her town, Ky, mistakenly pops up on her Match screen the next day, everything changes.  Cassia, for the first time in her life, gets to think about what might happen if she were allowed the freedom of choice, an entirely new idea in her Society.

There’s a lot happening in Matched, and I didn’t want to give too detailed a summary for fear of spoiling important elements of the plot.  I personally had avoided most reviews of the book before reading it because I wanted to go in with little to no expectations.  Of course, I knew that Matched had been getting lots of love from bloggers, but that’s about all I knew.  Well, add my voice to the chorus because I really enjoyed this book.  It’s a creative and interesting concept and the trilogy has great potential.

I liked so many things about this novel that I’m not sure where to start.  I definitely appreciated the character of Cassia – she was smart, driven, and remarkably independent given the world she grew up in.  She was afraid of the new thoughts she was having, but still tried to examine them carefully and figure out what she should do and what it all meant.  I liked several of the other characters, especially Ky and Cassia’s grandfather.  Her grandfather wasn’t a huge part of the story, but he does have one incredibly poignant scene and really shaped a lot of her personality.  Ky interested me because he was so very different from everyone else in Cassia’s life – he craved independent thought and freedom of choice, and he encouraged Cassia to do the same.  While he made her life extremely difficult, he was the impetus for the change in her thinking, and I think Condie did an excellent job writing his character.

I loved the way the elements of this society were gradually revealed to the reader over time.  And everything about this world was SO well thought out, clearly Condie spent a lot of time making sure every aspect of the world made sense and fit together.  I would have moments where I would think to myself, “I wonder how such-and-such works”, and the next chapter the characters would run into that exact situation and I would understand.  Hard to explain, but if you read the book you’ll get what I mean.  Just, everything fit perfectly.  There were no plot elements or aspects of the society that made me cringe or have disbelief, it all just worked.

The ending of Matched made me extremely excited for the next book in the series.  This is a trilogy I’m really excited about, and I’m thrilled that I gave this book a chance.  It held up to my every expectation.  I would absolutely recommend it.

My Maasai Life by Robin Wiszowaty (TSS)

My Maasai Life: From Suburbia to Savannah by Robin Wiszowaty
Published by Greystone Books

Robin Wiszowaty grew up in a middle-class suburban neighborhood and had a wonderful family, great friends, and a pleasant childhood.  But all her life, she wanted more.  Something different was calling her, and she just couldn’t figure out what it was.  In her early twenties, she was given a rare opportunity to travel to Kenya and live in a Maasai community for a period of time.  The time she spent living with the Maasai people changed her life entirely – she finally figured out what she had been craving all these years.

I choose to accept My Maasai Life for review for a few reasons.  First of all, the Chicago suburb in which Wiszowaty grew up (Schaumburg) is about 10 minutes from the one I grew up in (Arlington Heights).  We are about the same age so I could relate to her life growing up in the suburbs in the 80′s and 90′s.  I had never heard of the Maasai people and was interested to learn about their ways of life.  Plus, how interesting does this story sound?  When I heard about this book, I absolutely had to read it.

Let me tell you guys, My Maasai Life was everything I’d hoped it would be and more.  Wiszowaty’s story is compelling and fascinating.  Reading this book was one of those times when I wished the rest of the world would just pause so I could read the book straight through and not stop for anything else I needed to get done.

I am by no means a world traveler, but even I had the urge to travel to Africa and experience another culture after finishing My Maasai Life. Wiszowaty managed to illuminate the Maasai people and their culture in such a way that made me want to experience this life for myself.  Don’t get me wrong – the family she lived with has a physically difficult life, with none of the comforts we take for granted every day.  However, the amount of love they have for one another, the pride they have in their homes, families, and community – these things just blew me away.  They literally adopted Robin, gave her a new name, and called her daughter/sister from the first day they met her.  It was amazing.

I cannot recommend My Maasai Life enough.  Wiszowaty’s story is compelling and readable, and she illuminates the Maasai people (a culture I’d never heard of before) in such a way that made me want to travel there and meet them myself.  I just loved this book – and I think you will, too!

A few mini-reviews (because I’m dangerously behind and no longer sure what to say about these books)

The title says it all, folks.  And here we go.

Something Blue by Emily Giffin is the companion novel to Something Borrowed, a book I recently reviewed here.  I went into Something Blue with a little trepidation, since the heroine is Darcy – a character I didn’t enjoy a bit in the first novel.  I was pleasantly surprised, however, when Giffin managed to mold Darcy’s character into a personality I could really get on board with.  She started out the book just as vapid as she was in Something Borrowed, but throughout the book she got her priorities in order and made an excellent (not to mention believable) transformation.  I have to admit that the events in the novel were somewhat predictable (okay, very predictable) but I enjoyed the book nonetheless.  It was a fun, light read that entertained me over the course of a few afternoons – exactly what I needed at the time I was reading it.  So I’m now two for two with Ms. Giffin – hopefully the streak continues, as I’m about to pick up her third novel! 

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender is one that I read on a whim.  I’d heard so many good things about the book but the idea of reading it didn’t capture me until I realized I could download it to my iPod for my listening pleasure – this is when I decided to give it a try.  The main thing that stuck out to me about this novel was the writing.  There were some absolutely beautiful passages throughout the story – Ms. Bender certainly has an interestingly delicious way with words and I would be more than happy to read more of her work for that reason alone.  However, if I’m being honest I’d have to say that the story didn’t wow me much.  I liked the premise (girl can experience people’s feelings when she eats the food they cook) but the main character, Rose, didn’t do a whole lot for me and I thought the story meandered a little bit.  Plus, I’m still confused about what the deal was with her brother George.  The audio production was good, though, so if you’re interested in reading this one I can recommend listening to it for sure.  The book just wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, personally.

Here’s one I loved:  Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.  As with Shiver, I continued to enjoy the dynamics between Grace and Sam, I found the book to be extremely creative and very well-executed, and the plot definitely went places I wasn’t expecting.  I also really enjoyed the addition of new characters’ voices.  I LOVED the ending, although it was certainly not a happy one I thought it was just perfection and set up the third book so very, very well.  This is a series I’ll continue to rave about to anyone who will listen and I’m anxiously awaiting the third book!  

By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan is sadly another book I’m fairly ambivalent about.  I really, REALLY wanted to love this book.  Historical fiction about the Inquisition?  Yes, please!  I feel like I should have loved it – it has been getting rave reviews by many people whose opinions I value and trust.  And I enjoyed the novel, it just didn’t have that “this is amazing” factor I wanted it to have.  I’m fairly disappointed in myself, actually, as I almost feel like this was a user error – perhaps I didn’t devote the time and attention to the book it deserved.  Whatever the reason, while I appreciate By Fire, By Water (especially the meticulous research that clearly went into it) I just didn’t love it.

Let’s end on a positive note, shall we?  For Keeps by Natasha Friend was the perfect audiobook for me to listen to as I was working out, cooking dinner, doing household chores, etc.  Josie is a sixteen-year-old girl who has never met her father – and is totally okay with that.  Josie’s mom got pregnant with her when she was sixteen, and was subsequently abandoned by Josie’s dad, which created an extremely close relationship between Josie and her mom over the years.  But one day, Josie and her mom find out that her father’s parents have moved back to town, which sends Josie’s life into a direction she never could have anticipated.  Everything changes, and she is left to figure out who she is, what she wants, and what really matters in life.  I really, really enjoyed For Keeps and would absolutely recommend it.  Josie is such a fantastic character, such an accurate depiction of a teenage girl while still being an interesting character that continued to surprise me.  And I LOVE the depiction of the families in this book – Josie’s best friend Olivia, for example, has two dads and this is completely normal, nothing that needs to be discussed, it just is.  (As it should be, but rarely is in real life OR fiction.)  I probably should have given For Keeps its own post, because it really resonated with me and I can think of a million reasons I’d recommend it, but I didn’t do that – so just read it.  Natasha Friend has written a little book with a lot going for it.

I may do another one of these mini-review things soon because I really am behind.  And I’m also feeling like I have nothing to say about anything I’m reading these days, which isn’t a good combination.

Enough about me, though – what have YOU been reading lately?

Christianity 201: The Pursuit of Excellence by Amos Tarfa

Christianity 201: The Pursuit of Excellence by Amos Tarfa
Published by Deep River Books
Thanks to Bring It On! Communications for the review copy.

Amos Tarfa has a mission, and that mission is to teach people what it means to live a life of excellence.  He writes that while most Christians feel that their Christian life and their regular life are two separate things, God should be a part of every aspect of one’s life – and we should be giving everything in life our all, in order to give God the glory for all of our accomplishments.

I chose to accept this book for review because I agree with the premise:  as Christians we should put our best foot forward in every aspect of our lives, we should be trying to achieve excellence, and we should recognize the fact that God is the reason for it all.  But all too often, I don’t act according to those beliefs.  So I was hoping for a kick in the pants from Tarfa to remind me of these things and inspire me to act on them.

Generally speaking, I found that Tarfa accomplished this in the book.  The book is organized very well – beginning with some of the basics of what being a Christ-follower is all about, and why certain things (such as prayer, a personal relationship with God, reading the Bible, etc.) should be prioritized in our lives.  He then builds upon that base to get to his central premise, and ends with a call to inspire the reader to go forth and aim for excellence in everything.  He also gives several tips on how to better manage one’s time in order to prioritize the important things and spend less time on less important tasks.

While I found Christianity 201 helpful, it was clear that I am not the target audience for the book.  Tarfa focuses very heavily on students, teaching young Christians how to balance school, work, family, and God.  As I haven’t been in school for years, that part of the book doesn’t much apply to me.  Of course I can always do better with balancing the different aspects of my own life, but as much of the advice in the book is targeted specifically toward students, I felt a bit like it didn’t apply to me.  In addition, I wasn’t a huge fan of the tone of the book – Tarfa comes across as very authoritative, almost preaching to the reader about what he/she should or should not do.  While I understand that the point of the book is to teach something, it got to be a little much at certain points.

Christianity 201: The Pursuit of Excellence is a book with an important message.  I think it’s best suited for young Christians, preferably students, as the information presented deals heavily with that demographic.  As I do not fall into that category myself, it wasn’t a perfect read for me, but I did gain some insight from it and can absolutely see the value in the book.  Amos Tarfa is an extremely intelligent and passionate person and I am glad I had the opportunity to read his work.

 

 

Ape House by Sara Gruen

Ape House by Sara Gruen
Published by Random House

Ape House begins with a bang – literally – when the Great Ape Language Lab, which houses bonobo apes, is bombed.  The blast seriously shakes up the apes, injures researcher Isabel Duncan, and accomplishes the perpetrator’s goal:  get the apes out of the lab.  The perpetrators then sell the bonobos to a television network, where they become stars in a reality TV show.  Isabel must do whatever she can to get the apes – who she considers her own family – back home.

The first forty or so pages of Ape House were so absolutely fantastic, I was completely hooked.  Reading about how these apes understand spoken English and can communicate using American Sign Language was absolutely compelling and I fell in love with the apes instantly.  And my heart  broke for the apes when they were on the TV show – their needs weren’t being met, they clearly missed Isabel, and they were being taken advantage of by the network.  It was really heartbreaking – I was definitely invested in their safe return.

Unfortunately, the best thing about Ape House was the apes themselves.  As in, the people left much to be desired.  The characters fell flat for me, and I require good characters if I am going to love a book.  Isabel started out as a decent character, but she sort of became one-dimensional as the book went on.  And I think Gruen’s shining feature is her ability to write about the animal/human connection, and as the apes were estranged from Isabel for much of the novel, that connection was noticeably absent throughout most of the book.

I’m not really sure what to conclude with here.  I liked the book well enough, but it didn’t live up to my expectations since Sara Gruen is typically so much more fantastic than this.  If you’re looking to try Sara Gruen’s work, definitely read Water for Elephants over Ape House, but if you’re already a fan of hers this one might be worth a try.  I found the book worthwhile for the apes alone, but that didn’t make a stellar reading experience for me overall.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Published by Margaret K. McElderry

Clary Fray is enjoying a night out with her best friend Simon when she witnesses three teenagers murder another teen.  Unfortunately, when help arrives she cannot prove anything because the victim simply disappears.  Very quickly, she learns that she is special because these three teens are Shadowhunters (people who kill demons) and Clary shouldn’t be able to see them as she’s not a Shadowhunter herself.  It doesn’t take long before Clary is caught up in this supernatural world – her mother is kidnapped and she must work with these Shadowhunters, her new friends, to get some answers.

I’d been meaning to read The Mortal Instruments series for quite a while now, and I finally checked City of Bones out from the library earlier this month.  I must admit that I’m of two minds about this one:  I enjoyed the book, but I was left feeling like it didn’t live up to the buzz it’s generated over the past few years.

Allow me to clarify:  I liked the book.  I especially liked the character of Clary – I thought she was a bad-ass heroine, very strong and intelligent and also very teenager-like, which is perfectly okay for a teenager.  A little oblivious, perhaps, especially when it came to Simon’s interest in her, but overall an excellent heroine.  I thought the Shadowhunter world was explained very well, and I could really picture some of the places they went and the adventures they had.  I liked all of those things.

My issue with the book is that I built up my expectations of it too much.  I’d heard so many things about this series – people saying how amazing it is, how it’s their favorite YA supernatural series, etc.  And I just thought it was good, but nothing overly special.

That being said, I will continue on and read City of Ashes, the next in the series, and hope that since I now know the characters and am already invested in their lives, the second book will be slightly more enjoyable.  We will just have to see!

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Passage by Justin Cronin
Published by Bellantine Books, an imprint of Random House

Most people have heard of The Passage, and the story is pretty complicated, so instead of summarizing it myself I’ve decided to go with the publisher’s summary on this one:

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

This book took me way too long to finish, but I finally did.  I’m definitely glad I read it, but I have to admit that based on the summary I wouldn’t have picked it up if it weren’t for all the buzz the book has generated.

I’m just going to start by saying that the beginning of the novel really hooked me.  I read the first 300 pages very quickly, almost devouring the story, not interested in going back and forth with any of the other books I was reading at the time (yes, I’m a book polygamist).  I absolutely loved Amy and was so intrigued by her character and the circumstances of her life – I couldn’t wait to find out everything about her.  However, the entire middle section of the book dragged for me.  A whole bunch of new characters and an entire new society is introduced, and that really threw me for a loop and made it difficult for me to continue being immersed in the story.  Eventually I came to enjoy some of these characters and became invested in their fates, but it did take a while.  And the middle part was slooow.  I had trouble continuing on with the pace I’d set in the first third of the book – in the middle, I’d only want to read maybe 25 pages at a time before moving on to something else.  This is probably why it took me forever to finish it.

But it got a lot better in the last third.  The action picked up quite a bit, and by then I was really involved with these characters and definitely wanted to know how things would end up for them.  I finished the novel feeling very satisfied and happy I’d taken the plunge.

So would I recommend The Passage?  In a word, yes, although I don’t think the book is for everyone.  It takes quite a bit of patience to get through the middle third of the book (my opinion is that it could have been cut significantly with no detriment to the story, but whatever).  Also, if you like this one you’re actually making more of a time investment because it’s going to be a trilogy.  But if you enjoy fast-paced, complex novels with layered characters, I’d say go for it.  The Passage won’t be making any favorites lists for me, but it was a solid read that I definitely enjoyed.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin, an imprint of Macmillan

Rachel has always played second-fiddle to her best friend, Darcy.  She’s always been okay with this, even introducing Darcy to her gorgeous law school buddy, Dexter, only to watch them fall in love and get engaged.  When Darcy asks Rachel to be her maid of honor, Rachel isn’t surprised and is happy to accept the job.  But on the eve of Rachel’s thirtieth birthday celebration, she finds herself in bed with Dex – the same Dex who is engaged to her best friend.  In the weeks following the incident, Rachel and Dex realize that not only do they like each other, but they really are in love – and they need to make a decision about what to do about Darcy, the oblivious girl in the middle of it all.

Every now and then I’m in the mood for a lighter novel, and as I’d been hearing good things about Emily Giffin for years, Something Borrowed was just the book I was looking for at the time I read it.  I need to be honest here – I don’t usually expect a lot out of “chick lit”.  I expect to be entertained but that’s about it.  I was blown away by how much I enjoyed the experience of reading Something Borrowed – it was so much more than I expected!

First off, let’s get something out of the way:  yes, this is a book about the worst kind of infidelity.  A best friend and a fiancé sleeping together is NOT cool.  I don’t like reading about cheating, not one bit.  But there was something about this novel that made me love it despite the fact that the centerpiece of the story is this horrible betrayal.

What propelled the book for me into the category of awesome was the character of Rachel.  I really, REALLY felt for her.  Even though she was the one doing the despicable thing, she was so authentic, such a sympathetic character that I couldn’t help but be enamored by her.  She was in such agony, felt so guilty about what she’d done to Darcy – yet she couldn’t help her feelings for Dex.  As they spent more and more time together, they realized they had so much in common, to the point that they should have just gotten together years ago.  I think everyone can remember those early days of a relationship – one in which you feel so sure that this person is the one for you, when everything just seems perfect and you can’t stop thinking about that person – that’s how Rachel and Dex were with each other.  And it came across so clearly, I could really feel what they were feeling and put myself in her shoes.

It didn’t hurt matters that Darcy wasn’t exactly innocent in the whole thing, either.  She was quite a terrible friend, always ignoring Rachel’s concerns and needs in favor of having Rachel take care of her instead.  She didn’t treat Dex very well, and was overall a very shallow and self-centered person.  Plus, she had some issues of her own having to do with their relationship, which made it clear to the reader that Dex and Darcy had anything but a solid foundation.  Giffin really set up these characters so that the reader would love Rachel and hate Darcy, and while I didn’t exactly hate Darcy I certainly didn’t care for her.  It really allowed the reader to root for Rachel without feeling guilty about the fact that she was the one hurting Darcy.

In conclusion – if you haven’t read a Giffin book and you have even an inkling of enjoyment for chick lit, go for it!  Something Borrowed really surpassed my expectations and I would absolutely recommend it.

 

Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan

Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan

Published by Simon & Schuster

Sent by the publicist for review

Meridia grows up an only child, in a lonely home as her parents do not speak to one another although they all share the same stark, cold house.  When she is sixteen she meets Daniel, a sweet and charming man who she immediately marries.  They move into Daniel’s family home, and at first everything is happy, however soon enough Meridia discovers that Daniel’s mother, Eva, is a manipulative, deceitful person who uses magical powers as well as her own personality to control Daniel, his father, and his two younger sisters.  As time goes on, Meridia and Eva continue to battle one another in various ways, with Meridia’s parents even coming to her aid from time to time.  All of these struggles with Eva only solidify Meridia’s personality as a strong, independent woman who is more than capable of taking care of her own little family.

Reading Of Bees and Mist was the first time I really understood the concept of magical realism.  Actually, I take that back – it was the first time I was able to see how effectively magical realism could enhance my enjoyment of a book.  This story would have been okay as a basic concept – crazy mother-in-law, fighting for control over her son’s life, and a calm, intelligent daughter-in-law who is not happy to relinquish that control.  However, add in the magical elements that Setiawan so expertly weaved into the story, and it becomes a much better book.

I really, really enjoyed this novel.  I was swept away by Meridia’s story from the first page and my interest never faded.  I really felt for her – she was so desperate to be loved by someone, so desperate to get out of her parents’ home, that she fell in love with and married the first decent man she met.  And while Daniel was a good person, he was way too dependent on his mother and controlled by her to the point that he was unable to make decisions of his own or allow Meridia to make any decisions for their family.  And Eva – wow, what a character.  I mean, she was truly evil.  She was such a horrific person, and it didn’t help that she had these weird supernatural powers of control over other people.

I enjoyed how the book spanned about thirty years because I felt like I really got to know these characters and consequently, appreciated their story more for it.  Meridia really grew as a person throughout the book and I very much enjoyed reading about her journey to become her own person, the strong and independent woman that she became.  I also thought that Setiawan did a great job with Meridia’s parents – slowly showing the reader how their relationship came to disintegrate as it did, and also bringing them back into Meridia’s life at just the right time.  Even though there was quite a bit of magic in the book, it felt very authentic and realistic too.

Overall, Of Bees and Mist was an excellent read.  It has just the right combination of realism and magic, with great characters to boot.  Definitely recommended.