Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, and for that I do have to apologize.  I was away all weekend in St. Louis for a good friend’s bachelorette party (I’m actually her maid of honor in the upcoming wedding), and I got exactly ZERO reading done this weekend… it was packed with festivities!  I had anticipated reading at least part of the six hour car ride there, but ended up spending most of that time lost in conversation, which is always nice.  So anyways, I did finish one book last week which I’ll be reviewing possibly tonight, but before that, I have to post about some giveaways and the fact that I decided to join another (!!!) challenge.

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So, the giveaways.  THREE bloggers are doing the Hatchette Book Group 14 book giveaway right now… this is INSANE.  You have the opportunity to win so many books!!  Go check out Bookroomreviews, Musings of a Bookish Kitty, and Bookshipper if you’d like to enter these amazing contests. 

Also, Dar at Peeking Between the Pages is giving away a copy of The Host by Stephenie Meyer.  Go check it out immidiately for a chance to win!  And hurry - this one ends Thursday!  This is a book that a LOT of people have their eyes on, so I’m sure there will be plenty of competition, but there’s always a chance that YOU could be the lucky winner!

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And last, my decicion to join yet ANOTHER challenge (when I’m well aware that I probably won’t be able to finish the ones I’m currently enrolled in).  It is the New Classics Challenge, hosted by Lost in a Good Story.  It just sounds like so much fun, and I already own a lot of these books.  The list is from Entertainment Weekly, and apparently they decided that all of these books will be considered the “best reads” from 1983 to 2003.  I’ve already read some of the books on the list, and I own several others, so I figured this is an easy challenge and hopefully a fun one too.  I’m going to color red the ones I’ve already read and then list at the bottom the books I plan to read for the challenge.

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (199
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (198
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (199
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (198
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (199
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000) - I am in the middle of this trilogy right now
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (198
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (198
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (199
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (199
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (199
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (199
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (198
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

And here is what I’ll be reading:

1. The Road - Cormac McCarthy

2. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious - Dave Eggers

3. Bel Canto - Ann Patchett

4. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

5. Gilead - Marilynne Robinson

6. Holes - Louis Sachar

Ok, now it’s time for me to get some actual reading done… I haven’t finished a book in WAY too long.  I should have a review of Savage Inequalities up tomorrow, for anyone who cares.

Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah

pub. February 2008, 479 pgs.

From the book jacket -

In the summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain.  Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend.  Tully Hart seems to have it all - beauty, brains, ambition.  On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be:  Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn; Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her.  They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate.  Inseparable.

From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world.  Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally.  She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success… and loneliness.

All Kate really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life.  In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully.  What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her… how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted.  And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend…

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship - jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment.  They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart… and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.

My thoughts -

This is not the type of book that I would ordinarily pick up, but I had heard some good things about it from another blogger, and when I spotted a brand new copy at the library I figured I might as well try.  I’m definitely glad I did, because I enjoyed this novel far more than I expected to.  This is mainly a book about friendship, but it’s so much more than just about these two characters, Tully and Kate.  It’s about growing up, family, relationships, love, fame, motherhood, and so much more.  I think a lot of mothers will feel for both Kate and Tully - one takes the stay at home mom path, the other takes the successful, rich, and no husband/kids path, and they both end up being jealous of one another for their “road not taken”.  I have often wondered what I will do when the time comes to have children - will I continue with my career, getting the advanced degrees that I badly want and doing the work that I really feel driven to do, or will I decide to be a full-time mom, and make caring for my children and household the center of my life?  Or will I try to do it all, as we women are told we can do, but so few are actually able to?  I think this is something that every mother struggles with, and I’m sure I will too (heck, I struggle with it now, and I don’t plan on having kids for several years).  That is just one of the real life issues dealt with in this book.

The characters are very real for me in this book, and I think that’s the main reason why I enjoyed it so much.  This is not the type of book that can handle dull, lifeless characters - it is a completely character-driven story.  Of course there is plot, and lots of it, but you really have to feel that Kate, Tully, and everyone else is real to get into the story.  While I liked the way the characters were written, I actually didn’t like some of them at all.  Tully annoyed me in so many ways, as did Kate’s husband (but not as much).  I’m ok with that though - the fact that I was irritated so much by these characters’ actions meant that I cared about what was going on in the story, and that is important.

One other thing - this “betrayal” they speak of?  Well, let me just say that I was SO convinced that I knew what it would be; throughout the whole book I was positive that it was going to be this one thing, and I was going to be so mad that it was obvious to me, but then… shocker… it was something completely different from what I had expected.  Totally threw me off guard (and made me hate Tully even more than I already did, by the way).  I was VERY happy to see that my suspicions weren’t correct and the book wasn’t so predictable as I was anticipating.

So I would recommend this one.  Not my favorite book by any means, but a really good, heartfelt story, with well written characters and a moderately fast pace. 

Also reviewed by Amanda from A Patchwork of Books, Petunia from Educating Petunia, and Julie from Girls Just Reading.

The Dead and the Gone - Susan Beth Pfeffer

pub. 2008, 308 pgs.

From the book jacket -

When life as Alex Morales had known it changed forever, he was working behind the counter at Joey’s Pizza.  He was worried about getting elected to senior class president and making the grades to land him in a good college.  He never expected that an asteroid would hit the moon, knocking it closer in orbit to the earth and catastrophically altering the earth’s climate.

He never expected to be fighting just to stay alive.

Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life As We Knew It enthralled and devestated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event from a small-town perspective.  Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of a seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican New Yorker.  When Alex’s parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland.

With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.

My thoughts -

While this novel is about the same events as was Life As We Knew It, The Dead and the Gone is a much different book.  It is darker, scarier, and feels more real.  Even though I really enjoyed the first one, I have to say that I think this companion is even better.  Even though it is a lot more haunting and troubling, I think it follows more closely what would actually happen if something like this did occur in real life.  Something I really liked about this book that wasn’t present in the first one is Pfeffer’s discussion of class.  The Morales family lived in an apartment building that the father maintained, but because Alex had received some sort of scholarship (I think), he went to a private Catholic high school, so the majority of his friends had plenty of money.  Therefore, many of the people he knew had no problem getting out of New York (it was stated quite explicitly that money and connections can get you anywhere), while Alex and his sisters were forced to stay behind.  Class differences aren’t often mentioned in fiction, and I definitely think that if this nightmare were to happen in real life, class differences would make a HUGE difference in whether you lived or died.  So it was nice to see Pfeffer recognize something like that.

Another blogger mentioned that he/she (can’t remember who it was…) felt that the overall premise of these two books was somewhat lacking because if this were to happen in real life, most likely some scientist somewhere would have predicted that an asteroid hitting the moon would have consequences for the earth, and precautions would have been taken before the catastrophe could occur.  I do think that blogger is correct, so I was somewhat bugged by that while reading this book, but I forced myself not to think about it and just focus on the story.  Awesome story, somewhat shaky premise, excellent writing, great characters… overall a really solid book, one that I’m happy to recommend.

8.5 stars.

Also reviewed by Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews.

Many, many thanks to Chartroose for awarding me with this!  I feel so special and loved. :)  I truly appreciate the kind words, especially coming from such a wonderful blogger as you.

Of course I can not resist the opportunity to pass this one on and highlight some other bloggers who I love.  Without further ado…

Trish from Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? - Trish and I have eerily similar taste in books, so I always appreciate hearing her take on anything I’ve read or plan to read.  Plus, I am entertained by her comments and observations of the world every single solitary time I visit her blog.  Love that!

Dewey from The Hidden Side of a Leaf - Dewey might just be the most well-known and popular book blogger EVAR, and with good reason.  She writes insightful, thorough reviews of books that a lot of people enjoy, and she comes up with amazing ideas such as Weekly Geeks.  She’s also recently undertook the immense responsibility of hosting the 24-hour Readathon, which I’m completely in awe of her for.  I REALLY wanted to participate, but I had to be at work for over half the 24-hour period this time.  I’m definitely planning to participate next time, though.

Natasha from Maw Books Blog - Natasha is another super popular blogger, and again, there’s good reason for that.  Her reviews are always awesome, she is one of the nicest people I’ve had the priviliege to meet (online of course, not in person), and she really takes the time to get to know each and every person who visits her blog.  She even puts out a list every month of every single person who visited her blog that month!  It’s the sweetest thing ever, everyone appreciates being featuered on someone else’s blog!

Raych at books i done read - This girl freaking cracks me up.  Every single review she writes is hilarious, snarky, and altogether awesome.  Plus, she’s really critical in a good way - she’s not going to sugarcoat anything; if she didn’t like a book, she will not hold back on telling us why.  I personally have a harder time being critical, so I really appreciate this quality in other bloggers.

Julia at Hooked on Houses - This is a non-books blog, and it is simply amazing.  The blog is dedicated to all things house related - decorating, real estate, tours, TV shows that deal with houses (such as Flipping Out), and so much more.  I love all the different homes and ideas Julia features on her blog, and to top it off, she’s SO nice too.  She always replies every time I comment on her blog (which I don’t do often enough for any of you, I’m sorry to say… I’m not the best commenter).

Thanks to all of you for making my blogging experience so enjoyable. :)  And thanks again, Chartroose!!!

I was tagged for this one by Kristen from Book Club Classics (thanks, Kristen!).  Here goes:

What is the best classic you were “forced” to read in school (and why)?  Interestingly enough, I didn’t read too many classics in school… at least, not that I can really remember.  I did read many of Shakespere’s plays in one of my lit classes, and I LOVED Macbeth.  I also read The Hobbit (does this count as a classic?) for the first time in my sixth grade reading class.  It was the first time I was exposed to any type of fantasy writing, and I really enjoyed it.  In fact, I plan to read this book again soon (it’s been oh, about 13 years since sixth grade and I haven’t read it at all since…).

What was the worst classic you were forced to endure (and why)?  Hmm… like I mentioned, I can’t remember being forced to read too many classics (which is probably why I have such a hard time with them now… not enough exposure), but I did choose to read some Jane Austen on my own and did not enjoy either one (Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility).  I think I simply am not an Austen type of a girl.  I also remember reading The Great Gatsby in one of my lit classes and finding it incredibly boring.

Which classic should every student be required to read (and why)?  I am a HUGE fan and proponent of 1984.  It is just such good writing, and with the current political climate in the US, it’s creepily similar to the type of lives/government/country some people are nervous we may be getting ourselves into in the nearish future.

Which classic should be put to rest immediately (and why)?  Jane Austen.  I’m sorry, guys, I just can’t stand the writing and the silliness and everything.  Just, ick. 

**Bonus** Why do you think certain books become “classics”?  Definitely superior writing.  Also, classics tend to be stories that can stand the test of time - that people can continue to relate to, generation after generation, even if they are “outdated” we can still relate to the basic premise and ideas behind the stories.

Annnnd I will now tag Eva, Chartroose, Nicole, Care, and Trish.  Have fun, ladies!

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver

From the back cover –

In this gripping novel of motherhood gone awry, Lionel Shriver approaches the tragedy of a high-school massacre from the point of view of the killer’s mother.  In letters written to the boy’s father, mother Eva probes the upbringing of this more-than-difficult child and reveals herself to have been the reluctant mother of an unsavory son.  As the schisms in her family unfold, we draw closer to an unexpected climax that holds breathtaking surprises and its own hard-won redemption.  In Eva, Shriver has created a narrator who is touching, sad, funny, and reflective.  A Spellbinding read, We Need to Talk About Kevin is as original as it is timely.

 My thoughts –

This book has left me a tad bit stunned and I’m not quite sure what to say about it.  Having just finished reading it a few minutes ago, I can easily say that it is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, but at the same time I am so incredibly disturbed and upset by the content that I don’t know how to properly review it for all of you.  The character of Eva, the mother of Kevin and the narrator of the story, is SO absolutely believable and real that by the end of the book, my heart truly, truly broke for her and all that she had been through.  I’m sitting here, marveling at how a person can live through this kind of unspeakable grief that she has, only to remember that this is a novel, and Eva is only a character, not a real person.  The tragedies in this book felt so freaking real to me that I am just very, very sad right now.  Obviously, I know this is just a novel, but Shriver does do a creepily good job of highlighting all of the real school shootings that have taken place in America in the last few years, making We Need to Talk About Kevin not just disturbing in the far-off sense, but in the sense that although this particular story isn’t real, Eva could be any number of mothers in this country whose children have done the unthinkable.  Of course that’s what makes all scary stories truly scary – they have an element of truth to them that cannot be explained away.  This book is amazing – I strongly recommend it.  But don’t say I didn’t warn you – I’d be shocked by anyone not left feeling pretty upset after having read this book.

10 stars.

check out what these other bloggers had to say:  Lynne at Lynne’s Little Corner of the World, Raych at books i done read, litlove at Tales From the Reading Room, Care at Care’s Online Book Club, Lisamm at Books on the Brain, Bibliolatrist at Bibliolatry, and Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf.

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

From amazon.com -

Some books improve with age–the age of the reader, that is. Such is certainly the case with Philip Pullman’s heroic, at times heart-wrenching novel, The Golden Compass, a story ostensibly for children but one perhaps even better appreciated by adults. The protagonist of this complex fantasy is young Lyra Belacqua, a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Oxford University. But it quickly becomes clear that Lyra’s Oxford is not precisely like our own–nor is her world. For one thing, people there each have a personal dæmon, the manifestation of their soul in animal form. For another, hers is a universe in which science, theology, and magic are closely allied:

As for what experimental theology was, Lyra had no more idea than the urchins. She had formed the notion that it was concerned with magic, with the movements of the stars and planets, with tiny particles of matter, but that was guesswork, really. Probably the stars had dæmons just as humans did, and experimental theology involved talking to them.

Not that Lyra spends much time worrying about it; what she likes best is “clambering over the College roofs with Roger the kitchen boy who was her particular friend, to spit plum stones on the heads of passing Scholars or to hoot like owls outside a window where a tutorial was going on, or racing through the narrow streets, or stealing apples from the market, or waging war.” But Lyra’s carefree existence changes forever when she and her dæmon, Pantalaimon, first prevent an assassination attempt against her uncle, the powerful Lord Asriel, and then overhear a secret discussion about a mysterious entity known as Dust. Soon she and Pan are swept up in a dangerous game involving disappearing children, a beautiful woman with a golden monkey dæmon, a trip to the far north, and a set of allies ranging from “gyptians” to witches to an armor-clad polar bear.

In The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman has written a masterpiece that transcends genre. It is a children’s book that will appeal to adults, a fantasy novel that will charm even the most hardened realist. Best of all, the author doesn’t speak down to his audience, nor does he pull his punches; there is genuine terror in this book, and heartbreak, betrayal, and loss. There is also love, loyalty, and an abiding morality that infuses the story but never overwhelms it. This is one of those rare novels that one wishes would never end. Fortunately, its sequel, The Subtle Knife, will help put off that inevitability for a while longer.

My thoughts -

I know I mentioned before how I really don’t have much experience with fantasy aside from the Harry Potter series (which, by the way, are some of my favorite books of all time).  Having read and loved that series, I’ve always wanted to read more fantasy but simply have never gotten around to it until this point.  I’m thrilled to say that I truly enjoyed beginning the His Dark Materials series and I’m very excited to continue on with it.  Admittedly, it took me a little while to get used to Lyra’s world… there was definitely a learning curve for me; trying to figure out what this dæmon thing is all about, who are all these other creatures, and what is the point of this story in the first place.  But once things started falling into place, the story really took off for me and I lost myself in it.  I don’t know what else to say, really, except that I just really loved this book and am very happy that I have the rest of the series in my possession so that I can get to reading it soon.

9 stars.

Also reviewed by: Raych at books i done read, Darcie at Reading Derby, Vixen’s Daily Reads, Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?, Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf, Care’s Online Book Club, bookchronicle at Adventures in Reading, Biblioaddict, and Charley at Bending Bookshelf. (if I missed you, please let me know!)

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane

From the back cover -

While most of his contemporaries were still courting the sentimental myths of the Romantic era, Crane was exploring firsthand the New York East Side slum world of vagrants, harlots, and beggars.

His first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, the tale of a pretty young slum girl driven to brutal excesses by poverty and loneliness, was such a sexually frank and realistic portrait of that world that the book had to be first privately printed.  Not until three years later was it given official publication.

Despite the snarls of reviewers, the howls of Victorian outrage, Maggie not only survived but achieved enduring greatness.

My thoughts -

To put it as simply as possible, I did not enjoy this novella.  Luckily, at just under 90 pages, I was able to read it VERY quickly.  I don’t think it was written well, I didn’t like any of the characters, and I didn’t see much point in the entire story altogether.  There were a few moments throughout the story where I began to feel for Maggie and all that she had been through at the hands of her awful family, but then the boring/terrible storyline would take over and I would just want the book to end.  I can’t really recommend this book, so read it at your own risk. (dun dun dun…)

The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids  by Alexandra Robbins

From the jacket flap -

High school isn’t what it used to be.  With record numbers of students competing fiercely to get into college, schools are no longer primarily places of learning.  They’re dog-eat-dog battlegrounds in which kids must set aside interests and passions in order to strategize over how to game the system.  In this increasingly stressful environment, kids are defined not by their character or hunger for knowledge, but by often arbitrary scores and statistics.

In The Overachievers, journalist Alexandra Robbins delivers a poignant, funny, riveting narrative that explores how our high-stakes educational culture has spiraled out of control.  During the year of her ten-year reunion, Robbins returns to her high school, where she follows students including:

• Julie, a track and academic star who is terrified she’s making the wrong choices,
• “AP” Frank, who grapples with horrifying parental pressures to succeed,
• Taylor, a soccer and lacrosse captain whose ambition threatens her popular-girl status,
• Sam, who worries his years of overachieving will be wasted if he doesn’t attend a name-brand college,
• Audrey, who struggles with perfectionism, and
• The Stealth Overachiever, a mystery junior who flies under the radar.

Robbins tackles hard-hitting issues such as the student and teacher cheating epidemic, over testing, sports rage, the black market for study drugs, and a college admissions process so cutthroat that some students are driven to depression and suicide because of a B.  Even the earliest years of schooling have become insanely competitive, as Robbins learned when she gained unprecedented access into the inner workings of a prestigious Manhattan kindergarten admissions office.

A compelling mix of fast-paced storytelling and engrossing investigative journalism, The Overachievers aims both to calm the admissions frenzy and to expose its escalating dangers.

My thoughts -

There is a LOT of truth to the issues presented in a book, and honestly, I’m glad someone decided to write about this stuff.  I experienced much of these issues myself while in high school; I did not go to an elite private school like the kids in this book, but I did go to a pretty tough public high school in a nice neighborhood where many students went on to really great, Ivy-type colleges.  I can’t say that I bought into the pressure nearly as much as most of these kids did, but I knew many students that did.  I also knew many of those students felt intense pressure from themselves, and also from their parents, to be perfect and successful in every single class and activity they did.  Robbins did some really great research for this book, she told the story in an almost novel-like way, and she really got to the heart of what most of these kids were going through.  All while exposing something that I believe will really cripple students once they get out into the “real world” and realize that perfection simply doesn’t exist.

So overall, an excellent book, and one I definitely think every parent should read.  No matter how old your kids are, either they’ll go to high school one day, or they’ve already been there, and either way, this book helps to understand a little bit better the kinds of pressures teens face on a daily basis.

The one problem I do have with this book is there’s virtually no discussion of class whatsoever.  There’s a good reason I didn’t get as crazy about grades and activities and getting into the perfect college in high school as some of my peers did:  I simply could not afford to.  I had to work 30+ hours a week in HS just to pay for everyday expenses, and I knew from day one that I was going to be paying for my college education myself, which meant a state school for sure, no matter what my grades and SAT scores said about me.  Furthermore, I wasn’t able to prep for the rat race in the years leading up to HS like other kids; no gymnastics classes, violin lessons, soccer practice, or math tutors for me - there simply wasn’t any money for extra stuff like that.  A key point that Robbins missed is what an incredible disadvantage there is for kids with lower socioeconomic status.  If the kids in this book, who had every advantage in the world, were terrified of not getting into the right college, and spent half their lives worrying and competing their brains out, where does that leave the kids like me, who simply do not have the time or money to compete in this way?  This is a critical discussion that I think would really have improved Robbins’ arguments, and I’m disappointed that she missed it.

Even so, I enjoyed the book, and highly recommend it, especially for those of you with children.

8 stars.

It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s keep today’s question simple–What are you reading? Anything special? Any particularly juicy summer reading?

Well I haven’t participated in one of these in FOREVER, but I would really like to get back into the BTT groove, and this is an easy one to start with.  I can’t say I’m reading anything particularly juicy… but I am reading several books right now, so here they are…

First, I began Wuthering Heights a few nights ago as the first selection for the Classics Challenge, and it’s definitely been slow going so far.  I’m really awful at reading the classics, so I thought this challenge would help me become better, and I still think it will, but I do think it’ll be the toughest challenge to get through that I’ve participated in thus far.  I’m about 70 pages into this one and it’s just ok as of right now.

I’m also reading the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman - I found one of those all three volumes in one massive book at Half Price Books for like 10 bucks and couldn’t turn it down.  I’ve never read these before, in fact the only fantasy I’ve really read is the Harry Potter series, and so far I’m enjoying The Golden Compass (I’m about halfway through it).

Third, I just started Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane, which so far is also just ok.  I’m actually still not sure what the point of this novella is… it’s basically a family swearing and yelling at each other, then getting drunk and being depressed because they’re poor.  Oh well… at only about 90 pages, it’ll be an extremely quick read for me.

Also on my nightstand, soon to be started, are We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.  I’m hoping to finish one that I’m currently reading soon so that I can get to one of these, as I’m really looking forward to both of them.

What are YOU currently reading this 4th of July weekend?