Book Review – Page 13

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

Published on January 10, 2014January 17, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

Strong single parent Kate Baron has had no problem raising her daughter Amelia on her own. Amelia, even now at the age of 15, has always been a fairly easy laid back kind of girl. She didn’t get in trouble or hang out with the wrong crowds, she had few close friends but by choice not because she couldn’t have them. She gets good grades, Amelia’s easiness made it possible for Kate to pursue and be successful as a litigation Lawyer in a good firm.

So when Kate received the call from the Private School her daughter attended saying that she had been caught cheating, Kate is floored. Amelia had never done anything like this before and there must be some mistake. When Kate arrives at the school she is hit with an even bigger shock, Amelia had went to the roof of the school and jumped to her death.

Suddenly Kate is caught up in a whirlwind of emotion and pain. What had she missed? Where did she go wrong? The police have ruled it a suicide. Then Kate receives a text.

Amelia didn’t jump.

Now Kate is searching for the truth. Looking through her daughters emails, texts, and Facebook posts, Kate uncovers what everyone had missed, and she discovers a daughter she never really knew at all.

Why did I want to read this book? This book was chosen for our January Bookies read. When it was nominated, the synopsis was so powerful it brought tears to my eyes. I had to read this book.

Reconstructing Amelia is a YA style read with a lime twist. It has a bit of a zing to it that makes it different from any YA I have read before. That zing is both surprisingly good and a bit bitter at the same time.

It is hard for me to put a rating on this book. On the one hand, I have always appreciated books that surprise me and this one did indeed do that. I liked Amelia. I liked the setting of the Private School. On the other hand, I had a hard time keeping in mind that Amelia was 15. It felt as the protagonist role was written for an older girl… 17 or 18. That may be just me.

Reconstructing Amelia is a good read. If you enjoy YA reads with modern-day and realistic teen dealings, this will be a good fit for you. I can see this as a movie.

Because my head is full of questions, I am wheeling out the Spoiler Button. All DOT certified for 2014… here we go.

1aa — Reconstructing Amelia is set in New York

Flowers In The Attic by V C Andrews

Published on January 6, 2014January 6, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

Nicknamed the Dresden Dolls for their fair complexion, blond hair, and blue eyes; Chris (14(, Cathy (12), and the twins Cory and Carrie (3), are adored by all who see them. When it comes to their parents, also tall, and gorgeous with that same blond hair and blue eyes they look like something out on a movie set.

Then one day a horrible accident rips through the family shattering their happiness. Their mother, who had no work skills outside of taking care of her children and home, is forced to do the unthinkable and ask her extremely wealthy parents for help. The older children soon learn that their mother had committed an unthinkable sin in the eyes of her father and he had disowned her years ago. While she works hard to restore her relationship with her father and be put back in his will, he must not know about the children. The children are placed in an upstairs bedroom that adjoins the attic out of the eyes of the servants and her father and asked to remain there for a few days while things are settled. The only one who knows they are there besides their mother is the grandmother who brings them food once every morning to last for the day.

But days tend to turn into weeks and weeks to months as the four children wait for the day they will be released from the room and given all the riches their mother has promised would come if only they were patient. Yet as the months turn in to years, and their mothers visits are less and less, the children, who in some cases are no longer children, realize they have only themselves to rely on for survival.

I read Flowers In The Attic back in probably my early teens. Originally released in 1979 I recall this book as being exciting and V C Andrews probably one of the few authors at the time that you could consider YA reading and that to a reader of my age at the time was something awesome.

When I agreed to review this book for the upcoming release of the Lifetime movie on January 18th, I was excited to revisit this story line. It is amazing what a difference a read can make from the eyes of a teenager, to reading it again as an adult.

In recent discussions with friends about the book, we laughed about how we loved the book as teens and how we thought it was some of todays YA that gets carried away with subjects that are a little heavy on the partying or the drug use considering the age of the reader the book is meant for…. however a little recap of Flowers In The Attic woke us up. In the early 80’s we were reading V C Andrews take on children being locked in an attic during a peek time of adolescence and definitely – although I dont think I thought too hard on it in my teens, a brother and sister that become way too close due to the circumstances they are held in.

The book, caught me again. At first I wasn’t sure in those first pages if I could bring back the feelings I had the first time I read through this one. Yet as I was caught up in the story line of bad parenting 101 coming down the generation pipeline I found myself reading late into the night wanting to know once again, how would they survive, what would happen to the twins, how did they stay sane confined to a room…. it was like reading it again for the first time.

I think perhaps this time, as a parent, my blood boiled a little more at the treatment of the children then it did all those years ago. Although I started out planning to read this book and leaving it at that, after finishing this one last night I know I will be searching out Petals In The Wind. Who knew that V C Andrews was the master of cliff hangers that make you have to read the next book in the series, just as well as many of our popular authors of today. Truly V C Andrews could still stand among the best of them.

Save the date! Mark your calendars for January 18th and the Lifetime premiere of Flowers In The Attic starring Heather Graham.

Did you know….

Flowers In The Attic (not surprisingly) hit the banned books list many times due to topics of incest?

There once were rumors that the book is part non fiction base on a situation of a relative to V C Andrews where a boy and his siblings were locked in an attic in order to ensure an inheritance.

2aaaaaaa — Flowers In The Attic was my first book of 2014

1aa — This book was mainly set in Virginia, where the grandparents home was.

Someone Elses Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

Published on January 3, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Shandi Pearson has enough on her plate with college, divorced parents, and her three year old son Nathan. Nathan (Natty) is her everything and considering the way he came about, she really is not looking for a man in her life.. too much… everything.

But as well all know, life never turns out quite the way we plan and suddenly Shandi is finding herself and Natty in a gas station stick up. As if that wasn’t enough to call it a day – there’s the guy who stepped between Natty and the gunman that for some reason, Shandi can not get out of her mind. But the man who Shandi can not stop thinking about comes with his own set of ~~issues~~ opportunities and they certainly do not involve a relationship.

Of course, as I said, life never turns out quite the way we plan…

If you have not read Joshilyn Jackson you need to stop everything and pick up any of her books. Yes any of them. They are southern fun on a stick and so witty good you will be sorry you waited so long to read her. I have listened to everything Joshilyn has written on audio, except this one. This one I read. It was just as delightful as her others. Shandi makes a typical southern protagonist as Joshilyn likes to use in her books, funny and silly but whip smart when it gets right down to taking care of those she cares about.

Seriously treat yourself to Someone Else’s Love Story… you need to get on this level.

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

Published on December 22, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

Continuing on from The Passage, the virus continues to spread and endanger all those in its path. Lila is a pregnant doctor who hopes the best for her child, Kitteridge has been forced out of his comfort zone and is now on the run… alone. April is running with her little brother trying to show him a calm that does not exist beyond her face. As they run – they towards each other and with connection comes hope.

In the future – Amy alongside the others fight in hopes of saving mankind. The virals are stronger somehow… they have evolved to even more of a force to reckon with and for the Twelve, the future and the past – is at hand.

Flyers. The Passage was a book that blew me away – unique in context (man I had a lot of fun writing that review), I hung on it line after line. Once completed it left me at such a place I wondered what would happen next. When The Twelve arrived I was thrilled to reenter this world of Amy and Virals and trying to make a new world that had passed away…

Flyers. Did I say that already? The Twelve is like The Passage on steroids. It is bigger. Stronger. More powerful. More political. And in that sense, I think I liked it a little less than The Passage, mainly because The Passage was a crisper read – more of an earth gone wrong feel to it, where The Twelve is way deep into a world that is no more. I hope that makes sense.

Still- this series is one I would recommend. In fact if you are looking for good books to hunker down with and go deep this winter, let me recommend these. Word is that The Passage will be a movie, possibly in 2015. I sure hope so.

Platform 21 by T. R. Patrick

Published on December 18, 2013December 18, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

It is 2052. Luke Gibson, his sister Laura, and his parents are excited to be at the first ever World Evergy Initiative Conference. This conference is a celebration of energy and thousands of people fill the stadium to be a part of this monumental event.

Suddenly the earth rumbles and a massive earthquake takes place. As Luke struggles to understand what is happening as he sees people dieing all around him and his own life is ebbing away, he sees a gurl reaching for him.

And then all is black.

Death… as it turns out is not the end. Luke awakens to a world that is not the one he knew… as life (is that what this is?) plays out Luke is left to try to figure out what sort of conspiracy is going on and what can he do to stop it before it is too late.

Ok. Seriously. If that synopsis did not give you chills you need to go back and read it again. I will wait. ……

🙂

Platform 21 sold me on the description of a teenage boy in a futuristic world that takes on a twist that is new to me – and if you know me… that is always a draw.

It is shocking, fast paced, adrenaline creating and once into it…. I had to know how this was all going to go. I enjoyed Luke, love that he is a writer and a protagonist that I could cheer on. In this style of book… you need someone to cling to…. Luke was that guy.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to see where this new series will go.

Would you like to win a copy of this book? Click the link below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews

Published on December 10, 2013December 10, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Grace Stanton is living the life. With her life style blog bringing in thousands of views a day and advertisers lining up to be a part of it, as well as a super hot husband… well, what more could she want?

Then one evening she catches that sweet husband with her so-called trusted assistant and the next thing you know Grace has driven his sports car into the pool. Seeking sanctuary at her mother’s house while she clears her head, Grace learns that hell hath no fury does not only apply to women….

Suddenly Grace finds her bank accounts closed, and her blog passwords changed. As Grace’s husbands name is on everything, he is shutting her life down one gold card at a time and now Grace is left with the clothes on her back and the change in her pocket.

Forced by the divorce judge to attend mandatory “divorce recovery” sessions weekly, Grace finds herself among a group of disgruntled women… surprisingly all sent to this same quirky divorce recovery by the same judge… something does not seem to be on the up and up. As the women in this group start to bond they find they have a lot in common and “Ladies Night” comes out of the ashes of their messy messed up lives and something new begins to grow…

is it hope?

I so enjoyed this read! Light and funny, Grace is a woman who has been wronged. As a blogger myself… I can only imagine what it would be like to lose my rights to my own site…. grrrr 😛

Mary Kay Andrews writes Grace as a strong female character who gets knocked down, but finds her way back up. In a fun fast paced read that will have you laughing and cheering, Ladies Night is Women’s Chick Lit at its finest. Grab a glass of wine and pull up a chair!

Bookies Thoughts:

The Bookies reviewed this book for our November read. We had a lot of fun setting up our food and drinks as the “Sandbox”, the name of Grace’s moms bar. For the most part, the girls really enjoyed the book giving it an above average score overall.

I made the corn crab chowder they described in the book

City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Published on December 8, 2013December 8, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

*This review may inadvertently contain spoilers if you have not read the previous 4 books)

In City Of Lost Souls, Jace is just gone. After the battle of the last book and Lilith’s dark magic, Clary finds nothing but an empty room. Perhaps just as disturbing and if not even more so, Sebastians body is gone as well. It appears that Lilith has bound the two together – you can not harm one, without harming the other. Death for one, means death for both.

As the Clave is planning a search and destroy mission for Sebastien, Clary, Simon, Alec, Isabelle, and Magnus are trying to figure out how to find Jace and a way to separate the dark magic off of him before he is killed. When Clary discovers a way to get to where Jace is, she knows she is offering up her own life as well as Jace is not who he once was. Now under the control of a powerful magic, Jace has a new agenda that will with the manipulation of Sebastian, destroy everything.

How far do you go for love? And if there is a line… where is it?

Holy twinkies this was good reading! I fell right into page one and hid from the world until I could finish this amazing book. Cassandra Clare does not weaken in her writing as the books go on, if anything, like any good series, they become even better, more powerful and ugh….. what am I going to do until that 6th and final book comes out in May???? 😛

If you are looking for an amazing series that I could honestly say can enter into my “books that come close to my love of the Harry Potter books”… this is your series. If you know my total love and obsession for all things Harry Potter, you know that these are words I do not take lightly. WOW oh WOW.

This week, the first book in this series, City Of Bones, came out in DVD. The movie is fantastic! My advice… it is winter and at least in my area of the world… winter is LONG. Pick up these books…. enjoy that first movie and please please please, join me in the world of The Immortal Instruments.

Previous books in this series and the reviews:

City Of Bones (the only one I listened to on audio)

City Of Ashes

City Of Glass

City Of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Published on November 14, 2013November 14, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

Book 4 (May contain (inadvertently) spoilers)

Finally things are coming together. The war is over. Clary’s mom is not only safe and home, but also preparing to marry the love of her life. Even Clary herself is in love, real love, now that it has been proven that Jace is not her brother after all. Even Simon who has become a little hotter, a little more self-assured in his new vampire physic, is attracting a few prospects of his own.

Yet nothing ever stays calm and soon Shadow Hunters are being murdered in New York. Tensions run high between the Downworlders and Shadow Hunters as each wonders now that Valentine is gone, who could possibly be behind these killings? Is it followers of Valentine? And then there is Jace, finally he and Clary have what they both had dreamed of and yet he seems to be pulling away. Clary is so confused – he claims to love her so much it hurts but then why it is every time they get close he pulls away. Far away.

As Clary and Jace deal with what is happening between them, Simon is trying hard to avoid what all vampires seem to cave in to… and his thirst just grows stronger and more uncontrollable every day. When a baby shows up at the hospital with claws for hands and black pits for eyes, something bigger than their own problems seems to be taking form….

Holy smokes! I read this one in its entirety while on vacation in Florida. Read that sentence again. I read this book while on a three-day Florida vacation packed with things to do and places to see. That is how awesome this book is. I read it in the morning while at the hotel breakfast and again at night when I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. And I read a big chunk of it on the plane. I could not put it down …

and when it ended…

I could not wait to get my hands on the next one.

As Jace and Clary have now made it to boyfriend and girlfriend – what we had all (ok – me) been hoping for comes to reality only to seem to be ripped away as soon as it happens. While this may be a familiar scene in books of this genre – be sure that Cassandra Clare has put a spin on things to make it unique and page turning all at once. And with Simon’s battle of who and what he is you got to feel for him, I mean… a guys got to eat right?

Another solid delivery, Cassandra Clare takes us to yet another level of her world that is breathtaking and fast paced. How I long to add Shadow Hunter to my bucket list of things to do…..

A+ read.

City Of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Published on November 10, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

Book 3: Clary’s mom has been in a coma for a long time and answers are finally starting to fall into place as to why she will not wake up. To get to the bottom of what is going on with her mom, Clary, Jace, Alex, and Isabelle must go to to the City Of Glass which is said to be an unwelcoming place and dangerous. Simon must stay behind because vampires are frowned upon and one that can withstand daylight would be all the more insulting to those who dwell in the City.

As Clary works to try to figure out her past, a friendship comes in the form of Sebastian, a good looking Shadow Hunter who seems to understand Clary. Downworlders and Shadow Hunters class are required to work together on what seems to be reaching epic battle proportions – but the underlying questions is can these two groups come together when they are worlds apart?

And can Clary stay strong as Jace moves on with another girl leaving her to come to face to face with the fact that is all she can ever have of him is his friendship.

1cb — City Of Bones party – New York May 2013

So mid series I am still at a WOW level. I simply love the characters and Jace… well…. see the City Of Bones movie and tell me if you can think of Jace any other way. 😉 (Just saying…). Simon is as always a great addition to the books (way to go Cassandra Clare!) He adds that mix of dorky loyalty that levels out the book from all the hotness those Shadow Hunters provide! But stay tuned future Mortal Instrument readers, Simon also comes into his own and this book is an excellent example of that.

Get ready to join in the battle as it is a GOOD one!

Ciry Of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Published on November 7, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

Life… once resembled normal for Clary. She was a typical teenager hanging out with her best friend Simon. But now everything seems goofy. Simon, now seems to be more than a friend… and of course that is because Jace, who really holds her heart… has been relieved to be her brother. Clary wishes it would all just go back to what life was…

but not really.

At least Jace is part of her life, even if it can not be in the way she wishes. And the Shadowhunter world is both strange and exhilarating all at once. With her mom still in a coma, and Downworlders being murdered by who knows who or what, there is not a lot of time to dwell on what was…

1cb — Cassandra Clare and I – City Of Bones Party New York – May 2013

In a word: Yippy!

I moved on to this book not after reading book one (City of Bones), which was an “eh” audio listen for me, but instead, after I seen the City Of Bones movie. Yowza. Once I could see what was happening I could not wait to dive into this book and give the Mortal Instrument series another go.

Results? Fantabulous! (*My word.) Seeing the movie gave me the kick-start I needed to visualize what was happening in this world of Shadow Hunters, Downworlders, Demons, and other things that go bump in the night. I flew through this book loving the world that Cassandra Clare has created and thirsting for more. I do not think I have been this excited about a fantasy series since dare I say…. Harry Potter?

My recommendation: dig in. There are 5 books in the series but they are so engrossing you will fly through them. I have. And loved every minute of it.