The Big P word!!

My Little Red Book

Edited By: Rachel Kauder Nalebuff

Genre: YA non-fiction

Pages: 225

Published: 2009

Read: February

4 out of 5

The most influential book of my life is Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? by Judy Blume. So I knew when I saw this book I HAD to read it! It is a collection of stories from women of all ages and their experience the first time they got their period. I was amazed by the age range; oldest story was from 1912 and the most recent story was 2007.  The stories also range from famous authors to unknown teenagers. Most are hilarious, some are embarrassing, some heart-warming but all are true.  This would be a great book club book for women who want to have a big girl’s sleep over party.

Disturbing, Yes! Creepy, YES!

Black Hole

By: Charles Burn

Genre: YA graphic novel

Pages: 368

Published: 2005

Read: February

2 out of 5

I do not understand the horror reference that many other reviewers mention. Creepy, Yes. Disturbing, Yes. But horrifying I just didn’t feel. The most disturbing aspect for me wasn’t even the story itself, but how in the world did the author come up with the plot and drawings (acid trip, maybe?).  I was a little confused on the reason Chris felt the need to run away and hide from parents, while none of the other teens did. Although not uncommon for graphic novels, I felt the characters lacked character and I was missing part of the story. I did appreciate the drawings and especially the style of the teens; they reflected the 70’s drug age well. 

A nostalgic graphic novel

Ghost World

By: Daniel Clowes

Genre: YA graphic novel

Pages: 80

Published: 2001

Read: February

3 out of 5

It took me a bit to get into this story, but I did eventually get sucked in. I enjoyed the nostalgic journey this story evoked – there is some aspect of this story that everyone can relate to. While teens may benefit from the humor of the characters I feel the story is written for adults to reminisce their own teen years – nothing wrong with that! I did not care for the mint green coloring of the graphics. I found the coloring very distracting and feel black and white would have been more appealing.  After having read two graphic novels this week, I still haven’t found one better than the biographically written ones.

return to an old favorite...

The Lake of Dead Languages

By: Carol Goodman

Genre: Adult fiction

Pages: 432

Published: 2005

Read: February

4.5 out of 5

This is the second time reading this novel. I still love Goodman, but I lowered my rating by ½ a star. This is due to the fact that throughout the many years since originally reading it I have discovered many great novels – also many not-so-great ones.  I love the literary quality of her novels, however after the redundancy of the private school setting with prestigious and unique courses of study – it can become overkill.  She has recently written her first young adult novel and continues to maintain her superb writing style. Her novels are always full of twists, turns, and surprise revelations and then some not so surprising ones.  I have read every one of her novels, even those written under Juliet Dark, and hope to see her return to the  gothic/suspense genre and leave the fantasy style behind. 

Too long to bother - should have given up..

The Historian

By: Elizabeth Kostova

Genre: Adult fiction

Pages: 752

Published: 2003

Read: February

2 out of 5

One of these days I will learn that if a book has more than 400 pages I should NOT read it. For me, it always seems those books have about 100 pages of “filler” that don’t add any significance to the story. I also have never been one to skip pages of a novel – I either muddle through or give up. However, I was too invested and around page 600 (the manuscripts) I skipped over 26 pages. Honestly, I don’t feel I lost anything either.   Every event unraveled too neatly, every mystery solved too conveniently, unsolved problems – then just give the character amnesia! Then again, if Kostova didn’t write the book in that manner can you imagine how long it would be!! From reviews I have seen, this is definitely a “you love it” or “you hate it” book – I recommend only to fans of Dracula or history buffs.

Author of Million Little Pieces publishes his first fictional novel (not)!

Bright Shiny Morning

By: James Frey

Genre: Adult fiction

Pages: 501

Published: 2008

Audiobook: 11 CD's (13 hours and 30 mins)

Read: February

4 out of 5

I vowed never to read another Frey book. I was ticked at him and wanted nothing to do with promoting his writing. After a few co-workers kept pushing me to listen to his fictional novel I gave in. He must be very aware of readers like me, as he opens this book with “Nothing in this book should be considered accurate or reliable”.  Honestly, I am glad I gave in.  His unique writing style combined with Ben Foster’s mesmerizing voice; this is a highly recommended audiobook.  Frey tells several stories of individuals living in California.  Some stories he continues throughout his novel; others he only shares a short snippet. This style may make it hard to listen to, but you will soon discover the 3 main stories and really enjoy this book. 

Another One Book - One Community possiblity

Into the Beautiful North

By: Luis Alberto Urrea

Genre: Adult fiction

Pages: 343

Published: 2009

Read: February

3 out of 5

Since this novel deals with illegal Mexican immigrants, I was surprised that it is set in present day. I may be ignorant, but I didn’t realize this issue was still such a problem until reading this novel. It really opened my eyes.  I read this book to review it as a possible one book – one community choice. I believe it may be a good choice as it may reach out to others as well.  It was entertaining and even very funny in parts. The characters are extremely likeable. The author, who is half Mexican -half American, does a phenomenal job writing about this crucial issue in a light-hearted yet educational manner.

One Book One Community Selection??

Yellow Birds

By: Kevin Powers

Genre: Adult fiction

Pages: 226

Published: 2012

Read: February

2 out of 5

This novel reads more like nonfiction (my favorite aspect) as Private Bartle (21 years old) retells his experience in Iraq. The basis of the story is his friendship and death of friend Private Murphy (18 years old) during the war; interspersed with Bartle’s life after the war. I was hoping and expecting more exciting details of his time in Iraq and the war, instead I felt it was drawn out and repeated Bartle’s experiences in different words throughout each chapter. Also the characters felt distant from the readers; however Powers writes well for the readers’ enhancement of imagery on the war. So if you enjoy description of surroundings and plot versus character development you may love this book.

NOTE: Without ruining the end of novel, something happens that I have no idea what lead to it. I may have just missed it, but I found it Very Frustrating!

One of my favorite author's new books was a disappointment

One Plus One

By: Jojo Moyes

Genre: Adult Chick lit

Pages: 384

Published: 2014

Read: February

2.5 out of 5

This is the fourth Moyes' book I have read and one of the aspects I love about Moyes is her ability to write completely different novels and cross several genres. This is the first one of hers I read that is considered Chick Lit.  The other books I read made me quickly become a huge fan of Moyes. This book did nothing for me. There was no substance, very predictable and even the writing did not seem as good. The characters were one-dimensional and bland. There were no shocking twists as in her other novels. I am very glad I read some of her other books first or I never would read her again. I am not a huge fan of chick lit, but have read a few that were much better than this one. However since I really enjoyed Moyes' other novels I read I will probably give her a try with future books.