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Irises by Francisco X. Stork

Posted on May 14, 2012
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Reason for Reading:
  • Francisco X. Stork made me a fan with Marcelo in the Real World

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. — if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate’s boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own.

ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darknesses in their sudden freedom. But it’s Mama’s life that might divide them for good — the question of *if* she lives, and what’s worth living for.

My Review:

Here’s what I love about Francisco X. Stork: He writes inspirational stories without feeling the need to preach.

I saw it in Marcelo in the Real World, then again in The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, and now… he completely turns away from the male-focused stories and focuses instead on two girls, sisters, ages 16 and 18, and manages to write with such an honest and clear voice I found my heartstrings being tugged at again and again.

While I didn’t love this story as much as I loved Marcelo and Summer, I still found it had honest merit, and I could relate to it. I grew up in a fairly restricted environment, and my sympathies were definitely inclined toward the sisters.. but I also found myself disbelieving some things as well – such as the scenes with the new, young pastor. It just seemed a bit far-fetched and strange to me, and that’s what kept me from overly gushing at this book – but still it had a quiet sort of beauty that made me glad to have read it, and once again I was proven right in my love for Mr. Stork.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Justin’s Book Blog

My Friend Amy

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Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty

Posted on April 5, 2012
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Reason for Reading:
  • I’m always up for reading books up for awards.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Longlisted for the Orange Prize and Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award, Louise Doughty’s hauntingly beautiful investigation of love, loss, and revenge is a literary page-turner that will linger in your mind far after the cover closes. When a hit-and-run car crash claims Laura’s daughter Betty, her life is turned upside down. But when the courts rule the death an accident, the lines dividing justice from punishment will blur as Laura embarks on her own quest for vengeance. Sure to captivate fans of Antoinette van Heugten and Sophie Hannah, as well as readers of Doughty’s previous books Fires in the Dark and A Novel in a Year, among others, Whatever You Love is a poignant psychological story in which life’s greatest questions hang in the balance.

My Review:

This was a tough book for me. Filled with hauntingly beautiful descriptions, and gut-wrenching emotions, Whatever You Love tells the hard story of loss and picking up the pieces afterward.

Louise Doughty kept me guessing – even when the most horrific of events had passed (at the beginning of the book, no less), the story kept moving and twisting and turning in ways I could not predict. I sympathized with Laura and felt every bit of anger, despair, and desperation was not only warranted – but also necessary for her to deal with the injustice of what happened to her daughter.

Through and though, this story is filled with heavy, intense subject matter. There wasn’t a single moment in which I felt as if it let up – and that is the only real complaint I had. There was so much despair, and I desperately needed just a ray of hope, something that I felt wasn’t provided. So consider that my word of warning, this is not the book you want to read if you tend to go to the dark places easily and have a rough time coming out.


About the Author

  • Information regarding Louise Doughty:

For more reviews on Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty, please follow the book tour.

 

 

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Delicacy by David Foenkinos

Posted on February 14, 2012
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Reason for Reading:
  • The cover has Audrey Tautou on it.  That’s a big hook for me.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Reminiscent of novels by Nick Hornby, Muriel Barbery, and Jonathan Tropper, internationally acclaimed novelist David Foenkinos delivers a heartfelt and deftly comedic tale of new love brightening the dark aftermath of loss–and of wounded hearts finding refuge in the strangest of places. After her husband’s unexpected death, Natalie has erected a fortress around her emotions–and Markus, clumsy and unassuming, will never be her knight in shining armor. Yet slowly but surely, an offbeat romance begins between these two mismatched, complex souls, and contrary to everything Natalie knows of affection, her perfect suitor may turn out to be love’s most unlikely candidate–the fool, not the hero, who is finally able to reach her heart.

My Review:

This is a beautiful, touching, whimsical, heartbreaking, and oh so very French story.

What do I mean by that last? It’s hard to describe – but I think it’s the combination of refined/whimsical/slightly stuck-up mixed with not-so-neatly wrapped endings.

Delicacy was all that. And, much like it’s title suggests, it’s a delicate story.

I loved so much about this book – I loved the way the relationships are wrote about, and the breaks in the story to feed the reader random facts about what is happening. I found it utterly charming, and laughed and cried my way through it all.

For such a thin little book, this one packs a punch, and I hope you give it a chance – now.. I need to get my hands on the film!

About the Author

  • Information regarding David Foenkinos:
David Foenkinos (born 1974) is a French author and screenwriter. He studied literature and music in Paris. His novel La délicatesse is a bestseller in France. A film based on the book was released in December 2011, with Audrey Tautou as the main character. (From Wikipedia)

For more reviews on Delicacy by David Foenkinos, please follow the book tour.

 

 

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Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea by Morgan Callan Rogers

Posted on January 28, 2012
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Reason for Reading:
  • The title – such an interesting one!

I recommend:

  • Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

Summary from GoodReads:

A captivating debut, introducing a spirited young heroine coming of age in coastal Maine during the early 1960s.

When her mother disappears during a weekend trip, Florine Gilham’s idyllic childhood is turned upside down. Until then she’d been blissfully insulated by the rhythms of family life in small town Maine; watching from the granite cliffs above the sea for her father’s lobster boat to come into port, making bread with her grandmother, and infiltrating the summer tourist camps with her friends. But with her mother gone, the heart falls out of Florine’s life and she and her father are isolated as they struggle to manage their loss. Both sustained and challenged by the advice and expectations of her family and neighbors, Florine grows up with her spirit intact. And when her father’s past comes to call, she must accept that life won’t ever be the same while keeping her mother vivid in her memories. With Fannie Flagg’s humor and Elizabeth Stroud’s sense of place, this debut is an extraordinary snapshot of a bygone America through the eyes of an inspiring girl blazing her own path to womanhood.

My Review:

This book charmed the heck outta me.  Right away, while reading a description of a time long past, a coast I’d never seen, and a girl and her mother making a spontaneous trip, I fell in love.  Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea is the perfect coming-of-age story for an older generation of women, and for the younger generation as well so they can get a glimpse of what life was like.

Here’s what I love the most about this captivating little story.  There are no neat endings, no tidy wrap-ups, and no cliches.  Instead there is heartfelt emotion, and it’s raw.. and it hurts, and I wanted to rage right along with Florine at the unfairness of life – but bravo to Rogers for making life unfair, because that’s what made this book real.  It was so real I could smell the salty air, and I could see the hot tears on Florine’s face, and feel her rage as she acts out against the adults in her life, you know – the adults who actually stuck around for her.

When I first finished this book, I sat it down and I looked at it and I thought.. that was okay, but .. do I want more?  And now that I’ve had time to sit back and think, to let the story settle, I am really, really appreciating this story for being the gem it is.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Chicks Dig Books

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Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Posted on December 3, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • This title caught my attention on NetGalley – very interesting cover and idea.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants—what she must do—is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her—and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought—even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

My Review:

Every time I sit down to write this review, I do so with the full intention of gushing with praise over it.  Then I remember – it basically deals with a ZOMBIE.  Granted, not the flesh-dripping, brain-eating type of zombie… but honestly, who among you out there would willingly kiss a guy who doesn’t have a heartbeat, is cold.. and is not Edward Cullen.

That said.. once you get past the whole kissing a dead guy thing, the story is actually pretty good.  Wren makes some very adult decisions, and deals with the adult consequences of the same. She has an interesting family dynamic happening, an established history (no three-minute falling in love here), and real issues with grief that she has to overcome in order to get on with her life.

As far as paranormal teenage stories go, this one is on the better end of the spectrum.  I was impressed not only with Wren, but also with Gabriel.  He wasn’t creepy, didn’t stalk on her, made good choices, was responsible, and most of all.. he wasn’t dead.  Hurray!

Check out these reviews!

Imaginary Reads

Five Alarm Book Reviews

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How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Posted on November 20, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • Sara Zarr is one of my favorite young adult authors.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Jill MacSweeney just wants everything to go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she’s been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends–everyone who wants to support her. You can’t lose one family member and simply replace him with a new one, and when her mom decides to adopt a baby, that’s exactly what it feels like she’s trying to do. And that’s decidedly not normal. With her world crumbling around her, can Jill come to embrace a new member of the family?

Mandy Kalinowski knows what it’s like to grow up unwanted–to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?

My Review:

One of the things Sara Zarr does best is tell a bittersweet story that makes her reader think.  After reading book after book of young adult literature (most of which are mindless entertainment) it’s exhilarating to read a book that contains characters with depth, a story that has unexpected twists, and a message that is an important one.

I have to admit, the ending of this book through me for a loop.  The story began with a path and developed in a way that followed that path very well.. but then something began to happen.  I started with change, right along with the characters.  My preconceived notions changed, my feelings toward every single character were altered and as they grew, in maturity, in love, and toward one another, I found myself cheering heartily on the sidelines.  And, you can imagine, that there was quite a bit of emotion involved as well.

This is the kind of book you read when you are looking for an intelligent, touching, heartfelt read that leaves you a better person for having read it.

Check out these reviews!

My Shelf Confessions

Booking Mama

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Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Posted on August 26, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • Honestly, I picked this book up first, then scrambled to get If I Stay. The cover on this book is gorgeous and, even if I hadn’t seen amazing reviews, I probably would have picked it up.. just because.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

t’s been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam’s life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard’s rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia’s home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future – and each other.

My Review:

Yesterday I talked about If I Stay – the first part of Mia’s story, told from her point of view.  Now, today, I want to talk about Where She Went, told from Adam’s point of view.

If I Stay impressed me.  Where She Went knocked me down and took my breath away.  I was worried that it would pick up right away from where Mia’s story left off, but Gayle Forman knew better – she let time and it’s healing process speak loudly in the silence between books.  It was perfect.

I felt gut-wrenching pain for Adam, for his loss, for Mia’s loss, for the lack of connection, the lack of answers, the lack of resolution for both of them.  But then Gayle Forman did something magical – she brought the two of them together in an electric scene that had my fingertips tingling – and not in that silly romantic way.  I could feel the pain and anger and frustration and I wanted to scream to let out the feelings that Adam’s pain gave me.  I am getting chills just writing this and remembering.

I never know how to end really positive reviews.  Sometimes I feel like giving this huge cheesy thumbs up and telling you to run out and read the books, sometimes I feel like smacking you over the head with a book and shouting READ READ READ – but I won’t do that here.  Instead I’ll just say that these books, this book in particular, woke some very strong emotions in me and had me asking myself some very hard questions.  A

And that’s a very good thing.

Check these reviews!

Steph Su Reads

Bookworming in the 21st Century

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The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Posted on August 7, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • I’m a sucker for car accident stories and I’ve been feeling somewhat melancholy lately.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss—a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

My Review:

I’ve been in such a melancholy funk lately – I go through these stages where I need to read about tragedy and redemption, life moving on, just to feel as if I’m not the only one out there feeling these moments of sorrow and pain and to remind myself that there is worse and that I really am not all that bad off.

So with that in mind, it’s inevitable that I’d gravitate toward The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle – the story of a girl with two parents and a younger brother all taken from her in the blink of an eye.  Laurel is a Junior in high school at the time of the accident and she has to struggle.

There are things I loved in this book.  I thought the portrayal of her grief stages, of her wants, wishes and eventual acceptance were very realistic and portrayed well.  I felt for her, but it was hard to really feel moved for her because, in spite of it all, she still had so much and was so self-centered through it all.  She was not the only one affected by the accident, but it takes quite some time before she is even able to acknowledge that and… honestly, when a girl has to choose between ivy league schools and maintains a high GPA through a tragedy of this level, it just gets a bit unrealistic.  That was the part that turned me off – that in spite of this crippling event, she still manages to live a life that most of us would have loved to have.

Don’t get me wrong, a love a good “happily ever after”, but sometimes it’s too much and in the case of this story, it came off that way.   It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and was saved from being terrible with some fantastic writing and character building on the secondary characters, but still – I admit to rolling my eyes more than feeling as if I wanted to shed a tear.

Still, The Beginning of After is a worthwhile read and I read it easily in an afternoon sitting.  I’d highly recommend supplementing it with Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver or even something by Elizabeth Musser.

Check out these reviews!

Coffee Table Reviews

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The Architect of Flowers by William Lychack

Posted on June 18, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • Only this last year have I become a short stories fan – and the reviews on this one looked fantastic.

I  also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

The stories in William Lychack’s dazzling new collection, The Architect of Flowers, explore the inevitable distance between people in loving relationships. With minute and perfect details, Lychack observes the overlooked moments of everyday life—the small failings between parents and children, the long-held secrets in married life—to find hope in the darkest of situations.   A small town policeman steels himself to shoot a family’s injured dog; an old woman secretly trains a crow to steal for her; a pregnant woman brings home a box full of chicks to raise in the yard; a hybridizer’s wife discovers the perfect lie to bring her family magically together again. Lychack’s characters yearn to re-enchant the world, to turn the ordinary and profane into the sacred and beautiful again, to make beauty serve as an antidote to grief. From ghostwriter to ghost runners to ghosts in a chapel, these stories are extraordinary portraits of life’s tender humiliations as well as its sharp rude jolts.

My Review:

It’s fairly recent that I’ve become a short stories lover.  Deborah Willis’ Vanishing and Other Stories converted me and I’ve been on the lookout for other collections that would wow me as much as that book did.

While Lychack’s collection in The Architect of Flowers didn’t quite do that, it still impressed me.  There were a few stories in this collection that had me gasping at the beauty, laughing at the turn of bad luck involving a set of chicks  and crying with sorrow at the circumstances surrounding everything from a dog’s death to the premature death of a husband.

I found Lychack’s writing to be gorgeous and what I’ve come to expect of well-written short stories.  It continues to amaze me that so much information, backstory, character development and life can be infused into so few pages.  It’s like sitting down in the middle of a movie for one scene, but not feeling as if you have missed anything by not seeing the beginning of the end – or nothing worth seeing because you were given the heart of the story right then and there.

Put this on your list if you enjoy short stories.  You won’t be disappointed (and I’d love to talk with you about them too!)

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Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato

Posted on June 14, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • Saw it on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and thought it looked fun!

I  also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

I have secrets and I’m going to have more,” says Mathilda, the title character, in the opening pages of Lodato’s debut novel. It’s a claim that any normal, self-absorbed adolescent might utter, but its meaning here is slowly revealed to shocking effect. In this darkly humorous and truly haunting tale, Lodato turns the coming-of-age genre on its head.
Mathilda, the narrator, informs readers early on that she and her parents are struggling to cope with the violent death of her older sister, Helene. A year ago, Mathilda explains, the 16-year-old Helene was pushed in front of a train, and the man who did it was never caught. In the wake of the tragedy, while Mathilda describes her life dispassionately, her behavior is far more disturbing than she realizes. She methodically pulls hair from her head and talks about the satisfaction she derives from pinching her dog. She plans to parade in front of her mother in her sister’s old dress to mark the anniversary of Helene’s death.

Convinced that she alone is interested in identifying her sister’s killer, Mathilda works to discover the password to Helene’s email account. With information gleaned from her research, she retraces Helene’s steps on the day of her death, in order to solve the crime. Mathilda Savitch is a powerful tale of a contemporary family in crisis.

My Review:

This book made my heart hurt – and not necessarily in the good way that gives you a sense of understanding and hope through the pain.  It was just a whole lot of pain.

But don’t let me make you think that it wasn’t a good book, because it was.  It was dark, terrifying, filled with horror, heartache, pain and hurt – everything a coming-of-age story seems to need to reflect the current time.  It dealt with heavy issues such as terrorism, suicide, alcoholism, neglect and sexuality, all through the perspective of a young girl who is dealing with the loss of an older sister.

Mathilda Savitch is a short book, but don’t let its length fool you.  It was like chewing a meaty novel, it took time and I had to take several breaks before moving forward again with the story just so I could absorb what was happening.  And my heart broke over and over again for Mathilda.

This is definitely an adult novel, and not one easily recommended. The subject matter is just so heavy, I hesitate to encourage anyone to just run out and read it.  So instead, what I’ll say is – if you want to read a novel that will make you think, make you consider how your own actions can affect those closest to you, then take the time out to read this book.

Check out these review(s):

Presenting Lenore

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