Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Published by Viking Adult, an imprint of Penguin
Review copy provided by the publisher

The year is 1938, the place is New York City. Katey Kontent and her roommate Eve meet the rich, handsome Wall Street banker Tinker Grey one evening at a bar and Katey’s life suddenly changes course. This meeting sets off a chain of events which allows Katey access to some of the richest, most powerful people in New York, and also teaches her what it means to be in that upper social circles – how to deal with the jealousies and disloyalties that arise from being on top. While her relationship with Eve is never the same after the night they meet Tinker, Katey always keeps the two of them close to her heart, one day hoping that she and Tinker will become what she imagines they are meant to be.

Hands down, the best thing about Rules of Civility was the setting. Towles truly made 1930′s New York City come to life and I almost felt like I was right there with the characters. I fell in love with the era just while reading this book, the descriptions were that good.

When I first started reading this book, I liked the characters immediately. I especially loved how Katey, Eve, and Tinker were interacting and how that triangle of friendship was developing in the beginning of the novel. Unfortunately, at a certain point, Katey doesn’t spend much time with Eve and Tinker due to some circumstances that arise, and it was at that point that the book sort of went downhill for me. While I still liked the rest of the novel, I wasn’t as enthralled with it as I was hoping to be because, quite simply, I didn’t connect with Katey as I had hoped to. I was much more interested in Eve and Tinker, so when they went away, so did a lot of my interest in the story.

That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy and appreciate Rules of Civility overall, because I definitely did. I just wish the story would have gone in a different direction; or alternately, that I was able to form a stronger connection with Katey than I did. As I said, I loved the setting, the writing was fabulous, and I loved the relationships between the three main characters. Also, the plot redeemed itself toward the end. So while I didn’t love Rules of Civility, I really did appreciate it as a whole. And to be honest, many people have been over the moon with this one, so you may enjoy it more than I did.

Legend by Marie Lu

Legend by Marie Lu
Published by Putnam Juvenile, an imprint of Penguin

The Republic is a region in the west of what used to be the United States, a nation constantly at war with its neighbors. Fifteen-year-old June was born into one of the wealthiest families in The Republic, and she’s being trained to be a member of one of The Republic’s most talented military factions. Fifteen-year-old Day was born into a poor family in one of the worst parts of town, and now he’s The Republic’s most wanted criminal. On the surface, these two have nothing in common, but they cross paths when June’s brother is murdered and Day becomes the number one suspect. While June is desperate to avenge her brother’s death, she comes to realize that her and Day have one shocking thing in common, and this realization leads her to question everything she’s always believed about herself and her country.

I know there are a million and one YA dystopia novels out there, but let me add my voice to the chorus of those that have been saying that Legend is actually very good and worth diving into. The fact that the reader gets to hear this story from the perspectives of both Day and June is refreshing, and as a reader, I liked both of them quite a bit. To me, the concept – once you get to the heart of the story and find out what it really is – was clever and original, and actually quite terrifying.

The action in Legend is paced quite well, in such a way that I never got bored but also didn’t race through the book either. Lu sets the story up nicely, and I really felt that I got to know the characters and their world quite well while enjoying where the story was taking me.

The thing is that I went into Legend knowing very little about it, and I think you should too. So I’m going to stop now and say that if you enjoy a good YA dystopia, Legend will really fit the bill and I would recommend it. But beware because this is, of course, the first in a series! I enjoyed many things about this one, though, and I sincerely look forward to the second book.

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
Published by Knopf, an imprint of Random House

Mary, Isabella, and Lauren are in their mid-twenties and it seems like all their friends are getting married. Every weekend they had to bridal showers and weddings, ooh and ahh over kitchen gadgets and sheet sets, and dress up in bridesmaids dresses they’ll never wear again so someone else can have the perfect day. But during the week, each woman must navigate the tricky world in between college and married life, the time when best friends are everything and bosses rule all. Although all three of them scoff at their wedding-crazy friends, each one is secretly hoping that their guy will end up to be The One.

I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to read Girls in White Dresses. I had heard great things about it and I figured I would probably be able to relate to much of the story, as I am also in my twenties (late-twenties, really, but whatever) and have experienced that mad rush of my friends getting married. Unfortunately, the book didn’t do it for me like I had hoped. I’m not certain exactly where the disconnect was but there were a few things that didn’t work for me.

For one thing, I found it impossible to relate to any of the three women. Their lives were so drastically different from my own that I couldn’t understand or relate to many of the things they were dealing with. In addition, I didn’t really believe the relationships between the three of them – I wasn’t convinced of their best friendships. I think overall, the characters were kept at arm’s length from me and that seriously tampered my enjoyment of the novel.

I also didn’t particularly enjoy the way Girls in White Dresses was structured. To me, it felt like a series of chapters, completely unrelated to one another, rather than a cohesive novel. The order of chapters in relation to one another was quite confusing for me and I just didn’t feel like things were pieced together in a way that made sense.

Plenty of readers have loved Girls in White Dresses but it just didn’t do it for me.

MWF Seeking BFF

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche
Published by Bellantine Books, an imprint of Random House
Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Rachel Bertsche happily moved from New York City to Chicago to finally live in the same city – and apartment – as her fiance. But shortly after they get married, she realized that, while she loved living in Chicago, she was missing a crucial aspect of a happy life – best friends. All of her BFFs were back in New York and various other parts of the country. So Rachel decided to dedicate a year of her life to finding a local best friend. She tries everything – blind “dates”, online friendship meet-ups, taking an improv class, joining a book club, and more. What she discovers is that, although it’s extremely awkward and difficult to make new friends as an adult, Bertsche is nowhere near alone in her desire for new friends. Many of the women she talks to over the course of that year admit that they, too, badly want new friends but were ashamed to admit their friendlessness. MWF Seeking BFF is a hilarious, heartfelt, and at times extremely poignant memoir about one woman’s quest to find The One – BFF, that is.

I decided to read this book because Bertsche’s story is so similar to my own. Two years ago, I moved to a completely new city in which I knew not one person, besides my husband of course, who moved with me. I can completely understand where the idea from this project came from – it’s tough to literally have no friends in the city in which you live. A husband is great and everything, but there is nothing like a good girlfriend, a fact that Bertsche points out several times throughout her book, even using research to back up this claim. And truthfully, I can attest to how difficult it is to make new friends as an adult. All the friends I have made since I moved two years ago have come from three places: work, church, and wives/girlfriends of my husband’s new friends. So, needless to say, MWF Seeking BFF really hit home for me and I love the fact that Bertsche did this project and wrote about her experiences with such unflinching honesty.

And I must admit, I loved this book. I took to Bertsche immediately – I even thought about what a shame it is that I no longer live in Chicago, truly I feel that she and I would get along quite well. She details her year in a completely frank, no-nonsense way – the kind of writing that I am really drawn to in a memoir. Several of the “dates” she went on were absolutely hilarious, and the fact that Bertsche is completely self-deprecating and doesn’t take herself too seriously made these funny moments all the more hysterical.

If you are looking for a smart and funny memoir that any woman can relate to, MWF Seeking BFF is not to be missed.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Published by Razorbill. an imprint of Penguin

Emma and Josh have been neighbors and best friends almost their entire lives, but recently things have been weird and awkward between the two of them, so they haven’t been hanging out as much. The year is 1996, and Josh gets a free AOL CD, which his mom tells him to take over to Emma’s so she can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they are taken immediately to Emma’s Facebook page – which is strange, since Facebook hasn’t been invented yet. They quickly discover they have been granted a peek into their lives fifteen years in the future. Each time they refresh their pages, they realize that the decisions they are making in the present day have drastic consequences for their future. As they become obsessed with their future selves, they are forced to deal with the decisions they are making in the here and now.

The Future of Us was SUCH a fun read! There are so many adorable things about this one that I’m not sure to start. Obviously the book requires some suspension of disbelief because the concept of a computer that takes you to a website that hasn’t been created yet isn’t exactly realistic. But it’s fun, for sure. And if you can get past that, you are in for a nice treat with this one.

I loved all the ’90′s references – so much of this book reminded me of my own childhood. While I have to admit that I didn’t have a computer until college, I remember the excitement of dialing in to AOL while at friends’ homes and the endless arguments with friends’ parents about tying up the phone line while we were in chat rooms for hours (what we were actually chatting about, I haven’t a clue, now that I think about it). I loved the concept, and I think that Asher and Mackler executed it extremely well. I loved how Mackler and Asher did such a good job showing how Emma and Josh’s actions and decisions had huge consequences for their futures. It was an interesting take on the idea of time travel, and it worked really well.

And Josh and Emma are so adorable! I loved the idea of them going from being best friends all their lives to barely speaking in their teen years, and this Facebook thing brought them back together again. I have to admit that the ending to this one is a bit predictable, but I also enjoyed where the story went so I didn’t mind.

I enjoyed The Future of Us immensely. Recommended for fans of YA novels.

TSS

I feel like I have gotten NOTHING accomplished in February. Do you ever have those times? When you feel like you are running around like crazy, stressing out over everything, but when you look back it is like – where did the time go and what in the H did I do with it? Yes, well it’s been one of those months for me. I have only finished FOUR books this month. For me, that is awful – it is basically a book every 5 days, when typically I can read a book every 2-3 days, plus audiobooks.

So what have I been doing instead? Watching a lot of TV, for one. Spring TV shows are kicking my butt, my DVR is so backed up it’s ridiculous. Last weekend I wasn’t feeling well so I barely read a sentence, instead I was almost catatonic in front of the TV for two days straight. Oh, and I took a few naps. I have been stressed about work, but unfortunately that’s nothing I’m able or willing to discuss here at this time. Just… I don’t know. A lot of time spent not reading, basically.

This weekend has been a busy one, actually. Yesterday I spent the majority of the day at a good friend’s baby shower and in the evening I attempted to go to the Kelly Clarkson concert at Universal. I say attempted because, while we got into the concert (everyone with season passes gets in free), the pace was absolute chaos and I was so annoyed at the disorganization of it all that we ended up leaving just before she began singing. Oh well. This morning I had brunch with another good friend (which included Mimosas, so right now I’m fighting the urge to nap), and I will spend the remainder of the day working on my million-items-long to-do list. I will be lucky if I get a quarter of these things done. But a girl can hope, right?

Yesterday I reviewed The Kitchen Counter Cooking School and I didn’t include in my review the fact that I’ve now made one of the recipes in the book – Basic Alfredo Sauce – and it turned out SO yummy! I always thought Alfredo sauce was super complicated and difficult to make, but it was one of the easiest things I’ve cooked and it. was. delicious.!

This week will be another busy week. I have small group on Wednesday night, book club Thursday night, a meeting for work all day Thursday, and I may or may not be working Saturday as well. I am definitely going to need a good night’s sleep tonight to prepare for the week ahead.

Well that’s about all I’ve got for today. I would LOVE to finish a book today, and ideally I will write one or two reviews. We shall see.

What are you up to this weekend?

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn
Published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin
Review copy provided by the publicist

Chef Kathleen Flinn was innocently shopping in her local grocery store when the idea came to her to begin a cooking class for beginner cooks – women (and men, if interested, although none were) who didn’t believe themselves capable of cooking, who relied on fast foods, frozen foods, and boxed hamburger-helper type meals to feed their families. She started her cooking classes with nine women, and in this book she details the weeks she spent with these women and how each one of them were able to grow into confident home cooks.

I have to say, I loved The Kitchen Counter Cooking School! Not only is this a memoir – a well-written one at that – but it’s also a cookbook. Flinn has an easy, fun writing style that kept me interested and highly entertained. I love the idea for the book and I connected to many of the individuals’ struggles to feel confident cooking healthy, delicious meals for their families. Although I have developed quite a bit over the last few years in my own cooking abilities, confidence in the kitchen is something I still really struggle with. So it was great to read about these women who were WAY less skilled than myself in this area improve so much in just a few weeks. It was inspiring, actually.

Also, this book taught me so much! I honestly can say that I will use many of the recipes provided in The Kitchen Counter Cooking School. Not only are there simple recipes like Alfredo sauce, but there are more complicated ones that I previously would have been nervous to attempt. But Flinn’s cooking philosophy really resonated with me, and much of the advice she gave the women in her class I plan to take to heart and apply to my own cooking endeavors.

I have to say that if you are an amateur foodie like myself, or interested in developing your own cooking skills, I highly recommend The Kitchen Counter Cooking School. Not only is Flinn clearly a talented chef, she has excellent writing abilities as well.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and takes place every Saturday. Drop by her blog for more foodie/cooking posts!

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Published by Ember, an imprint of Random House

Naomi and Ely have been best friends almost their whole lives. They have been through a lot together, and although Naomi is in love with Ely, Ely loves Naomi in a platonic way, since he prefers to fall in love with boys. So they create a “No Kiss List” of people neither of them are allowed to kiss, which is working just fine until Ely kisses Naomi’s boyfriend Bruce. Bruce, who they neglected to put on the list. And this one kiss has serious consequences for their friendship.

The best way that I can think of to describe this book is cute. It is a fun concept, cute characters, and the resolution is satisfying if a bit predictable. I liked the characters, although I have to admit they frustrated me to some extent. The whole in-love-with-my-gay-best-friend thing got annoying after a while, especially since Naomi has always known he was gay, it’s not that he suddenly told her after she’d already fallen for him. And Ely kissing her boyfriend – that was obnoxious. I guess it was the whole point of the story, but still… he wasn’t even sorry he did it! That bothered me a bit.

But you know what, I enjoyed this book while I was reading it. And one thing I especially liked was that it was much more a book about friendship than about teen romance, which is refreshing to see. While this book isn’t one of my favorite YA novels, I have high hopes for the Rachel Cohn/David Levithan combination and will probably eventually read the rest of their books. I liked the concept of this book, and the characters are cute but annoying… so overall, I’d say Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List was just okay for me.

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
Published by Random House

Mary Beth has the life she’s always dreamed of. She still loves her husband, and she deeply enjoys being a mom to their three teenagers, Ruby, the eldest, and their twin sons, Alex and Max. When one of her sons becomes depressed, Mary Beth uses every tool at her dispense to help him the best she possibly can. But Mary Beth’s perfect life is shattered to the core when an act of violence blindsides her and changes everything.

This is a difficult book to summarize because there is a huge event smack dab in the middle of the novel that changes its direction completely. I don’t want to give anything away, because I was blindsided by what happened (although I knew something happened, just had no idea what) and that is important, I believe, for this book. So don’t read any spoiler-y reviews if you plan to read the novel yourself!

I like Anna Quindlen. I have read almost all of her novels at this point, and they all have one thing in common: great characterization. I love how she writes flawed people who the reader still can’t help but root for. That was definitely true in this case – Mary Beth could be any one of us, and in fact I think a lot of mothers will see themselves in her. Heck, I saw myself in certain aspects of her personality and I am not a mother! Her marriage is realistic, her children seem like regular teenagers with all their teen drama but the good stuff that comes with having teenagers at home, and she is just plain likable.

I can definitely recommend Every Last One, but it will make you cry. I would say that this is probably one of Quindlen’s better novels and I can absolutely suggest you read it.

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
Published by Candlewick Press

Sixteen-year-old Rosalinda Fitzroy is awoken from a sixty-two years-long sleep (known as stasis) when she is awoken to a world she knows nothing about. Her parents died during the horrific Dark Times, leaving Rose heiress to the biggest interplanetary empire that exists. But Rose is overwhelmed and terrified by the new world she finds herself in. She’s weak and frail from being in stasis for so long, and she doesn’t know who in her parents’ company she can actually trust. She finds herself falling for the boy who woke her up and becoming friends with the strange blue alien at her school, as he is an outcast just like Rose. She must adjust quickly to her new surroundings, though, because things are not what they seem and someone is searching for Rose with a deadly weapon – so she must uncover the mysteries of her past in order to move on with her future.

A Long, Long Sleep is novel constructed around a very interesting concept – the idea (inspired by Sleeping Beauty, according to Sheehan) that a person could literally sleep her entire life away and wake up to a whole different world – that, in my opinion, really delivered on this unique concept. This is a book that doesn’t fit neatly into one genre. It has aspects of science fiction, it is kind of dystopian, it is a twist on a fairy tale, it has a hint of romance… yet it all comes together seamlessly and really doesn’t need to fit into a specific genre to be successful.

The most compelling aspect of A Long, Long Sleep is Rose herself. She is a person who has been completely dependent upon her parents for her entire life, so to wake up to a world without them in it was shocking for her, to say the least. She was an interesting character because she had moments of feistyness and bravery and extreme intelligence, yet overall she was such a passive, compliant person because that’s who her parents raised her to be. So I quite enjoyed her journey over the course of the novel as she became the mature, independent, and spunky young adult/adult she should have been the whole time.

As far as the story itself and the world Sheehan created, I was definitely on board with everything. The story itself was believable and the world was not so out-there that it didn’t seem remotely possible. Possible in the very distant future, at least. The events toward the end of the novel shocked me and the ending definitely had me reeling. Let’s just say that Sheehan hooked me with this one and I was desperate to find out how it all turned out… and I loved what she did with the ending.

I read this novel as an audiobook and the narrator, Angela Dawe, is a voice I’ve heard before and really loved. She did an excellent job with A Long, Long Sleep and I can absolutely recommend experiencing this book in audio format.

One other thing – readers will be shocked to learn that this is NOT a trilogy! To be honest, this is one of the first YA books in a while that I’ve seen that doesn’t have a major cliffhanger ending because of a planned trilogy. Sheehan could definitely take this same world and characters and write another book, but there is a clear ending to this one. It was refreshing to see that, to say the least.

I enjoyed A Long, Long Sleep quite a bit. Definitely recommended!