Book Addiction

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.

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…)

Atonement  by Ian McEwan

From the back cover -

On a summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses the flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant.  But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives and her precocious imagination bring about a crime that will change all their lives, a crime whose repercussions Atonement follows through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century.

My thoughts -

Ultimately, I have to say that this was a very excellent book.  I was very put off at first by the extremely slow start to it, but looking back I think McEwan had to really establish the characters and let the reader get to know them so that when the “crime” happened, it would be all the more important in the readers’ minds.  Even with the slow start, I started to enjoy the plot by about page 50 or so, which made the slowness a lot easier to get through.  I also became immersed in the incredible writing, so once I got used to the way the book was written, I was just loving and savoring every word.  I have to say that there was a chunk of the book in the middle (it has to do with Robbie, for those that haven’t read the book I’m not going to spoil anything, but for those that have, you probably know which part I’m talking about) that I was very bored by.  The whole subject matter is something I don’t ever enjoy reading about, and I didn’t feel connected to any of the minor characters in that section, which made it harder to get through.  But once that part faded out, I was back into the book, engrossed in the storyline and the characters once again.

I finished this book a few days ago and I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending.  Obviously I’m not going to say what happened, but I can’t decide if the way McEwan decided to end things was helpful to the story, it being such an open-ended way of doing things and all, or if it was kind of a cop-out, like McEwan couldn’t decide what he wanted to do with it so he chose to end it the way he did.  I’m still not sure.  I think I liked the ending but… I’m just questioning it still.

Anyways.  This was a pretty excellent book, even though I did have minor issues with it, I’m still very glad I read it, and I’ll definitely picking up more work by McEwan in the future.

8 stars.

Also reviewed by: Caribou’s mom, Thoughts of Joy, Trish’s Reading Nook, Care’s Online Book Club, Educating Petunia, Books for Breakfast, Sadie-Jean’s Book Blog, The Written Word , Lynne’s Little Corner of the World, Books and Cooks, and Musings of a Bookish Kitty.

Madras on Rainy Days  by Samina Ali

From the back cover -

“A lyrical debut” (Asian Week) exploring the dilemma confronting Layla, a second generation Indian-American Muslim.  As a dutiful Muslim daughter and an independent young American, Layla is torn between clashing identities.  Reluctantly agreeing to her parents’ wish for her to leave America and submit to an arranged marriage, Layla enters into the closed world of tradition and ritual as the wedding preparations get under way in Hyderabad.  Set against a background of rising Hindu-Muslim violence, and taboo questions of sexuality, Samina Ali presents the complexities of life between the chador, and the story of a marriage where no one is what they seem.  In the words of the San Francisco Chronicle, Madras on Rainy Days introduces an “abundantly talented” new voice.

My thoughts -

This book sounded really interesting to me when I originally heard about it and mooched it.  I have loved pretty much every novel I’ve read that centers around Indian culture (A Fine Balance, The Namesake, The Space Between Us, etc.), so I assumed I would enjoy this one too.  Unfortunately, it simply did not live up to my expectations.  The plot was interesting enough - in fact, I think that’s what kept me reading, the plot that kept having drama after drama, I was always interested to find out what would happen next.  But I didn’t particularly enjoy any of the characters, they all fell a little flat for me.  Even Layla, the main character and narrator, I didn’t feel like I really knew her or cared about her situation at all.  I also think that Ali’s writing style didn’t quite do it for me… I hate when that happens, because I do not have a good explanation as to what I didn’t like about it, but I just didn’t connect with the story in the way that I expected to.  I think other people might still enjoy this book, though, because the plot was really interesting and very good, so I’d still recommend giving this book a try, even though it wasn’t my favorite.

5 stars.

Interpreter of Maladies  by Jhumpa Lahiri

From the back cover -

Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this stunning debut collection unerringly charts the emotional journey of characters seeking love beyond the barrier of nations and generations.  “A writer of uncommon sensitivity and restraint… Ms. Lahiri expertly captures the out-of-context lives of immigrants, expatriates, and first-generation Americans” (Wall Street Journal).  In stories that travel from India to America and back again, Lahiri speaks with universal eloquence to everyone who has ever felt like a foreigner.  Honored as “Debut of the Year” by The New Yorker and winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, Interpreter of Maladies introduces a young writer of astonishing maturity and insight who “breathes unpredictable life into the page” (New York Times).

My thoughts -

I typically do not go for short story collections, but I picked this one up because I absolutely fell in love with Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake (read this book, people… it’s really good).  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I truly enjoyed (most of) the stories in this little book.  Lahiri truly writes characters that a person can care about… even in a 15-page story, I found myself becoming so immersed in these characters’ lives, and really caring about the issues they were dealing with.  Some of my favorite stories in this collection were “A Temporary Matter”, in which a young Indian-American couple is dealing with the heartbreaking aftermath of a stillborn baby and the deterioration of their relationship because of that, “Sexy”, which reminded me of an Indian version of the book Shopgirl by Steve Martin, and “This Blessed House”, in which an Indian-American couple, married for only four months and just getting to know each other as their union was the result of an arranged marriage, entertaines some friends for a housewarming party.  Some of the other stories I didn’t enjoy as much, but I was still able to appreciate the characters in every one.  I highly recommend this collection, and am looking forward to reading Lahiri’s latest book, Unaccustomed Earth.

9 stars.

Also reviewed by: A Devoted Reader, Raych at books i done read, Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot, and Lisa at Books on the Brain

Their Eyes Were Watching God  by Zora Neale Hurston

 From the book jacket -

Their Eyes Were Watching God, an American classic, is a luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a Southern black woman in the 1930s whose journey from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance has inspired writers and readers for close to seventy years.

This poetic, graceful love story, rooted in black folk traditions and steeped in mythic realism, celebrates, boldly and brilliantly, African-American culture and heritage.  And in a powerful, mesmerizing narrative, it pays quiet tribute to a black woman, who, though constricted by the times, still demanded to be heard.

My thoughts -

To be completely honest, I just do not see what all the fuss is about with this book.  I liked the character of Janie, and parts of the storyline intrigued me, but overall I found it to be a pretty simple story where not much happened until the very end, when a lot happened.  Janie was a really great character, you could really see her progression throughout the book, and she obviously grew up a lot and changed in positive ways, especially toward the end, but the rest of the characters were extremely bland.  Nobody stood out to me - in fact, the only other character’s name I can recall is Tea Cake, probably because he was the most significant besides Janie herself.  The ending was pretty well done … just when you thought you knew exactly how it was going to end, something different happened that made the ending really work for the book and for Janie’s story (even though it was definitely a sad ending, in my opinion it was perfect).  But the majority of the story just felt like it was plodding along, nothing special was really happening, and I was kind of bored actually.  I think the only reason I stuck with it is because of how short it is (like 215 pages) and I had committed to reading it for the Novella Challenge.  If not for that, I’m pretty sure I would have put it down after 50 pages and given up.

I’m glad I read Their Eyes Were Watching God, because it is one of those timeless classics that I always feel like I SHOULD read, but I still wouldn’t really recommend it.  I think it just didn’t click with me in any sort of significant way.

6 stars.

Also reviewed by: Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews and Kristen at Book Club Classics. (any others?) 

Did I Expect Angels?  by Kathryn Maughan

From the back cover -

Jennifer Huffaker knows that grief is normal, but she thought she’d get over it - that’s what people do.  But it’s been eighteen months since her husband Jack died, and she still can’t focus on her young daughter Kaitlin, can’t accept support from her family, and can’t allow herself to live without the love of her life.  Jennifer is angry at everything and everyone - including herself for being so unprepared.  But what did she expect?  Angels?

On the day after Christmas her anguish finally becomes too much, and Jennifer’s pain culminates into a shattering decision.  But this is also the night she runs into Henry, an elderly friend from Costa Rica, who has seen more of life’s trials than anyone could know.  Henry realizes the devastating depths to which Jennifer has sunk, and he decides that tonight is the night to tell her his story.

Toughing and incisive, Poignant, and sometimes bitingly funny, both Jennifer’s and Henry’s stories intermingle into a tale of love, despair, faith, and ultimately, hope, as Jennifer realizes she has been blessed with the most unexpected angel of all…

My thoughts -

This is a gem of a little novel.  Maughan expertly twined together the narratives of Jennifer and Henry, and in just 168 pages, I truly cared about these characters and wanted things to turn out well.  The harder part was reading Henry’s parts, because one can only assume that something tragic happens to him toward the end of his story, and since he’s reflecting on the past, nothing can be done to fix it.  The ending of this story is ultimately satisfying; it doesn’t really tie things up in a neat little bow or anything too far-fetched, but it does leave you with the feeling that things will be ok.  I can’t say these characters or this story will really stick with me, in fact, I’ve pretty much already forgotten about it and I finished it the other day, but it is a very quick read and a pretty decent story that I’d recommend.  One can finish it in an afternoon and be happy about time well spent.

8 stars.

Also reviewed by:  Tricia at Library Queue, Booklogged at A Reader’s Journal, and Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?