Wednesday, July 24, 2013

'Tis by Frank McCourt

 
Summary(via Goodreads):
 
The sequel to Frank McCourt's memoir of his Irish Catholic boyhood, Angela's Ashes, picks up the story in October 1949, upon his arrival in America. Though he was born in New York, the family had returned to Ireland due to poor prospects in the United States. Now back on American soil, this awkward 19-year-old, with his "pimply face, sore eyes, and bad teeth," has little in common with the healthy, self-assured college students he sees on the subway and dreams of joining in the classroom. Initially, his American experience is as harrowing as his impoverished youth in Ireland, including two of the grimmest Christmases ever described in literature. McCourt views the U.S. through the same sharp eye and with the same dark humor that distinguished his first memoir: race prejudice, casual cruelty, and dead-end jobs weigh on his spirits as he searches for a way out. A glimpse of hope comes from the army, where he acquires some white-collar skills, and from New York University, which admits him without a high school diploma. But the journey toward his position teaching creative writing at Stuyvesant High School is neither quick nor easy. Fortunately, McCourt's openness to every variety of human emotion and longing remains exceptional; even the most damaged, difficult people he encounters are richly rendered individuals with whom the reader can't help but feel uncomfortable kinship. The magical prose, with its singing Irish cadences, brings grandeur and beauty to the most sorrowful events, including the final scene, set in a Limerick graveyard.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
I will preface this review by telling you that Angela's Ashes had a dramatic impact on my life and, even though I have not read it in years, I can vividly recall much of the book. I have had this, the sequel, on my too-read list for years.
 
Frank McCourt lived an enthralling life and I am so very glad that he blessed us with these memoirs. His struggles make my life's struggles seem rather ridiculously small(for that I am grateful). This memoir did have many slow sections and was written more as a series of small stories than a linear memoir., which did make it jumpy at times. No matter the telling,  I was amazed by his perseverance and inspired by his journey.
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
Yes.
 
Rating: 4 stars.
 
 


The Maze Runner by James Dashner

 
Book Summary(via Goodreads):
 
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
Comparisons between this novel and The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies have been greatly, greatly exaggerated, my friends. This novel is extremely creative and original but is lacking truly good writing and well fleshed-out characters. The author's attempt to be hip by having original slang and verbiage for some of the happenings and objects in the new world often felt annoying and over-used. If I ever hear the word "shank" again, it will be too soon. However, I bought into the suspense of the novel and very much wanted to know what the ending would be. It was definitely unique.
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
Maybe.
 
Rating:
 
3 - I think this isn't well-written enough for an avid, adult reader. However, I think that pre-teens and teens would likely enjoy it.
 


The Wednesday Daughters by Meg Waite Clayton


 
Summary(via Goodreads):
 
It is early evening when Hope Tantry arrives at the small cottage in England’s pastoral Lake District where her mother, Ally, spent the last years of her life. Ally—one of a close-knit group of women who called themselves “The Wednesday Sisters”—had used the cottage as a writer’s retreat while she worked on her unpublished biography of Beatrix Potter, yet Hope knows nearly nothing about her mother’s time there. Traveling with Hope are friends Julie and Anna Page, two other daughters of “The Wednesday Sisters,” who offer to help Hope sort through her mother’s personal effects. Yet what Hope finds will reveal a tangled family history—one steeped in Lake District lore.

Tucked away in a hidden drawer, Hope finds a stack of Ally’s old notebooks, all written in a mysterious code. As she, Julie, and Anna Page try to decipher Ally’s writings—the reason for their encryption, their possible connection to the Potter manuscript—they are forced to confront their own personal struggles: Hope’s doubts about her marriage, Julie’s grief over losing her twin sister, Anna Page’s fear of commitment in relationships. And as the real reason for Ally’s stay in England comes to light, Hope, Julie, and Anna Page reach a new understanding about the enduring bonds of family, the unwavering strength of love, and the inescapable pull of the past.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
Ugh. This novel was a discombobulated, emotional mess. It was so terribly slow-moving and it was torturous finishing it. I know this is a harsh review, but it was really torturous to finish. 
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
It may be useful for the night's you can't sleep- you'll nod right off!
 
Rating: 2 stars(because I loved the Beatrice Potter quotes)
 


 

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks

 
Summary(via Goodreads):
 
Budo is Max's imaginary friend. But though only Max can see him, he is real. He and the other imaginary friends watch over their children until the day comes that the child stops imagining them. And then they're gone. Budo has lasted a lot longer than most imaginary friends - four years - because Max needs him more. His parents argue about sending him to a special school. But Max is perfectly happy if everything is just kept the way it is, and nothing out of the ordinary happens. Unfortunately, something out of the ordinary is going to happen - and then he'll need Budo more than ever.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
This was a very uniquely written novel. I very much loved the first half of the novel. The second half, unfortunately, had a few too may action-movie type sequences, which just isn't my style. The narrator in this novel is an imaginary friend, which is unique and superbly done. The story unravels wonderfully throughout most of the novel and was an enjoyable, suspenseful read.
 
I imagine this novel to be in the same category as Room by Emma Donoghue-you will likely either love it or hate it.
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
I think so, but I do think this will be a polarizing read.
 
Rating: 4 stars for pure imagination


Friday, July 19, 2013

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes



Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group/Viking for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis(via Goodreads):


In 1916 French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything - her family, reputation and life - in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.

Nearly a century later and Sophie's portrait is given to Liv by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. Its beauty speaks of their short life together, but when the painting's dark and passion-torn history is revealed, Liv discovers that the first spark of love she has felt since she lost him is threatened...

In The Girl You Left Behind two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for the thing they love most - whatever the cost.

This insomniac's opinion:


Friends, I have a confession: I have a crush. A raging, out-of-control crush. On Jojo Moyes. *sigh* Am I the only reader that gets author crushes?

Anyway, back to the review. This novel is done in dual narration. My issue with dual narration, specifically dual time frame narration, is that the reader generally connects with one narrator far more than the other(it is always the older story for me, somehow). That was not the case for me with this novel, as least until the end where I was quite ready for Liv's story to resolve. I was equally fascinated by the journeys of Sophie and Liv. The narration of each was distinct and the stories were moving. Ms. Moyes manages to write about romance in a way that is not cheesy or terribly unbelievable. I found this to be a delightful read.

Worth staying up all night to read?


Yes!

Rating:


I vacillated between 4 and 5 stars for this novel. In the end, I concluded that if I had to think too much about it, it is not a 5 star read- but, dang, this one came close! 4 stars- lovely, lovely stars!





Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro

 
Synopsis(via Goodreads):
 

Ten superb new stories by one of our most beloved and admired writers—the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize.

In the first story a young wife and mother receives release from the unbearable pain of losing her three children from a most surprising source. In another, a young woman, in the aftermath of an unusual and humiliating seduction, reacts in a clever if less-than-admirable fashion. Other stories uncover the “deep-holes” in a marriage, the unsuspected cruelty of children, and how a boy’s disfigured face provides both the good things in his life and the bad. And in the long title story, we accompany Sophia Kovalevsky—a late-nineteenth-century Russian émigré and mathematician—on a winter journey that takes her from the Riviera, where she visits her lover, to Paris, Germany, and, Denmark, where she has a fateful meeting with a local doctor, and finally to Sweden, where she teaches at the only university in Europe willing to employ a female mathematician.

With clarity and ease, Alice Munro once again renders complex, difficult events and emotions into stories that shed light on the unpredictable ways in which men and women accommodate and often transcend what happens in their lives.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
Oh, Alice Munro- how you know your craft. This collection of short stories was superb. Ms. Munro has a way of reaching into the story of a seemingly boring and benign character and immediately endear the reader to the character in such a way that it feels as though we know them intimately. She can bring such a wealth of emotions out of a story of every day life. I was brought to tears by several of the stories. A truly beautiful collection.
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
Yes!
 
Rating: 4 stars


Honeymoon in Paris by Jojo Moyes

 
Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group/Viking for providing me with this novella in exchange for an honest review.
 
Synopsis(via Goodreads):
 
At the heart of Jojo Moyes' heartbreaking new novel, The Girl You Left Behind, are two haunting love stories - that of Sophie and Edouard Lefevre in France during the First World War, and, nearly a century later, Liv Halston and her husband David.

Honeymoon in Paris takes place several years before the events to come in The Girl You Left Behind when both couples have just married. Sophie, a provincial girl, is swept up in the glamour of Belle Epoque Paris but discovers that loving a feted artist like Edouard brings undreamt of complications. Following in Sophie's footsteps a hundred years later, Liv, after a whirlwind romance, finds her Parisian honeymoon is not quite the romantic getaway she had been hoping for...

This enthralling self-contained story will have you falling in love with Liv and Sophie, and with Paris then and now, and it is the perfect appetizer for the The Girl You Left Behind, a spellbinding story of love, devotion and passion in the hardest of times.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
If the intent of this novella was to tease the reader and build anticipation for Jojo Moyes' upcoming novel in such a way that they would be sure to read The Girl You Left Behind when it comes out, than this novella was a swimming success!
 
I adored the story of Edouard and Sophie and felt myself swooning over the intensity of their love. This novella was a quick and lovely read.
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
Yes! ....and your husband(or partner) may benefit from your reading of this romantic novella, if you know what I mean....*wink, wink*
 
Rating: 5 stars



Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March

 
Synopsis(via Goodreads):
 
In the bestselling tradition of The Friday Night Knitting Club and The Jane Austen Book Club, three women find unexpected answers, happiness, and one another, with Meryl Streep movies as their inspiration. Two sisters and the cousin they grew up with after a tragedy are summoned home to their family matriarch’s inn on the coast of Maine for a shocking announcement. Suddenly, Isabel, June, and Kat are sharing the attic bedroom—and barely speaking. But when innkeeper Lolly asks them to join her and the guests in the parlor for weekly Movie Night—it’s Meryl Streep month—they find themselves sharing secrets, talking long into the night . . . and questioning everything they thought they knew about life, love, and one another.

Each woman sees her complicated life reflected through the magic of cinema: Isabel’s husband is having an affair, and an old pact may keep her from what she wants most . . . June has promised her seven-year-old son that she will somehow find his father, who he’s never known . . . and Kat is ambivalent about accepting her lifelong best friend’s marriage proposal. Through everything, Lolly has always been there for them, and now Isabel, June, Kat—and Meryl—must be there for her. Finding themselves. Finding each other. Finding a happy ending.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
Judging by the title and cover, I expected this novel to be a sweet little beach read. I did not expect so much emotion and reflection. There was truly something about this novel that resonated with me.
 
I had a fairly brief stint as a hospice nurse(before running quickly back to pediatric nursing). In that time as a hospice nurse, I adored listening to that patients tell me about their lives. There is so much wisdom in the elderly and the dying. This novel made me reflect on that time in my life.  As the matriarch of this family battles terminal cancer in this novel, it brings everyone together and shines a light on the flaws and strengths of each character, inspiring mended relationships and- for several of the women- to completely change the direction of their lives.
 
I feel as though I am at a time in my life, with my children needing me less and less on a moment-to-moment basis, of reflecting on how I have lived my life thus far and how I want to live it in the future. I cheered on the characters of this novel as they made hard decisions and hope to have the same courage as I make some changes in my life. I loved the closeness of the women and the way they supported each other in making life-altering and bettering decisions.
 
Now, who wants to come over to my place and have a Meryl Streep movie night? Popcorn all around!
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
Yes, delightfully devourable.
 
Rating: 4 stars.



ARC review: The Biscuit Witch by Deborah Smith

 
Many thanks to Net Galley and Bell Bridge books for the advanced reader's copy of this novel.
 
Synopsis(via Goodreads):
 

 This time, the MacBrides are home to stay.
The Biscuit WitchA Crossroads Café NovellaBook One of The MacBrides
Dear Dr. Firth:I know you are in your cups at this time, drinking, taking pills, and sleeping under trees, but I have some experience rehabilitating lost souls in that regard, and so I am enclosing a box of my biscuits and a cold-wrapped container of cream gravy for dessert. Please eat and write back. We need a veterinarian of your gumption here in the Crossroads Cove of Jefferson County. --Delta Whittlespoon, proprietress of The Crossroads Café
Biscuit witches, Mama called them. She’d heard the term as a girl. She’d inherited that talent. My mother could cast spells on total strangers simply by setting a plate of her biscuits in front of them. –Tal MacBride
Welcome back to the Crossroads Cove where new loves, old feuds, and poignant mysteries will challenge siblings Tal, Gabby, and Gus MacBride to fight for the home they lost and to discover just how important their family once was, and still is, to the proud people of the Appalachian highlands. Tallulah MacBride hasn’t been back to North Carolina since their parents’ tragic deaths, twenty years ago. But now, Tal heads to cousin Delta Whittlespoon’s famous Crossroads Café in the mountains above Asheville, hoping to find a safe hiding place for her young daughter, Eve. What she finds is Cousin Delta gone, the café in a biscuit crisis, and a Scotsman, who refuses to believe she’s passing through instead of “running from.” He believes she needs a knight in shining flannel.When a pair of sinister private eyes show up, Tal’s troubles are just beginning. For Tal’s brother and sister—Gabby, the Pickle Queen, and Gus, the Kitchen Charmer—the next part of the journey will lead down forgotten roads and into beautiful but haunted legacies.


This insomniac's opinion:

I very, very much wanted to like this novel. The synopsis sounds delightfully magical, doesn't it? *insert sad sigh here* It, unfortunately, was not my cup of tea. In fact, reading the last half felt like work. *another sigh for good measure* It truly felt more like a Harlequin novel that a delightfully magical novel. Now, I am by no means saying that others may not enjoy this book, it is just not my cup of tea.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Not for me.

Rating: 3 stars(I wavered between 2 and 3 stars, but I feel that it is more that the author's style doesn't jive with my reading style as opposed to a truly lousy book)



A Grown-up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

 
Synopsis(via Goodreads):
 

A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb-spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood-is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it's there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey's strong and big-hearted grandmother, whose maternal love braids together the strands of the women's shared past--and who will stop at nothing to defend their future.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
I have never before read a Joshilyn Jackson novel and this one will not be the last. This novel was a great mix of easily readable chick-lit and mystery. A highly addicting novel that is perfect for lazy summer reading. Ms. Jackson's voice is distinctive and each character was well fleshed out. I devoured this novel in just a couple of days and there was definitely a surprise or two as the story twisted and turned.
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
Yes! Great easy summer read!
 
Rating: 4 stars