Book Review – Page 29

Once Upon A Time There Was You by Elizabeth Berg

Published on July 12, 2011July 12, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

On her wedding day, Irene Marsh sits in the bride’s room asking her best friend Valerie to go and get the car and help her escape. And if Valerie doesn’t want to help, Irene understands; she says can take a bus home.
On the night before his wedding, John Marsh sits in a bar with his best friend who asks a nervous John to recall why he’s marrying Irene, in an effort to calm him down. John says: “Because she doesn’t wear make-up?”
This marriage ends in divorce. No surprise there, not even to Irene and John. In fact they would both agree the only good thing that happened during their marriage was their daughter Sadie.

Now at age 18, Sadie is living with her mother and feels smothered by Irene’s over bearing need to control everything that involves Sadie, and John while still playing the role of the good father, lives back in Minnesota and seems distant and unavailable when Sadie needs him.

When tragedy strikes, hitting the core of what Irene and John held dearest, the once couple is brought back together to support one another while they try to support their daughter as well.

1bba — Irene and Sadie live in a three-flat. A three-flat is a three-story walk up apartment building in which each dwelling unit occupies one story and all share a common main entrance.

As I continue my way through the works of Elizabeth Berg I found myself with her newest release, Once Upon A Time There was You. I felt almost from the beginning that this book was going to be predictable. A few pages in, I felt as though I knew how it would all end and with a resigned sigh, I proceeded deeper into the book.

It made me, and hopefully you as well, happy to know I was wrong.

Irene was not a strong woman. She was self-conscious about her body, her age, and the fact that her daughter soon would go off to college and she would be alone. Irene dated yes, but never really connected with anyone. Even her best friend Valerie said that Irene was restless… never satisfied with just staying put.

“It’s like you’re all the time digging in the tomato bin, saying, ‘Where are the apples?'”

~ Valerie to Irene page 276

And John was actually the more likable of the once couple. He was calm, patient, and thought before he spoke, unlike Irene who’s every emotion ran right out her mouth.

Really though, this book centers around Sadie and Sadie’s “happening” is the plot of this book, and I have to say, a weak plot at that. What happened to Sadie could have been quite a powerful story line. In fact when it was happening I was thinking whoa…. this is going to really be explosive of how the book moves forward.

But…

it wasn’t.

And so the book moves on from this point and I along with it, wondering what big thing would happen…. but alas, did not.

As I turned the last page (actually I really did turn the last page because I did not realize it was the last page…) I do not know if I had a full sense of closure. Yes, most of the story was brought full circle, but in the end… it felt…. incomplete to me.

An enjoyable light read. Nothing more.

Amazon Rating

Good reads Review

The 2011 WHERE Are You reading Map has been updated to include this book

I borrowed this book from my local library

The Secret Lives Of The Four Wives by Lola Shoneyin

Published on July 6, 2011July 6, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

Bolanle Alao is about to cause an uproar. She has just become the youngest wife, the fourth wife , of Baba Sigi. Bolanle is smart, educated, and beautiful – but naive when it comes to the relationship dynamics among the other three wives.

Baba Segi is an overweight businessman who welcomed Bolanle into his home, no questions asked. Bolanle whose mild manner and sweet looks quickly becomes Baba Segi’s most valued possession. Baba’s other wives, particularity Iya Segi and Iya Femi, come up with a plan to make sweet Bolanle leave, only to be met with disaster when a secret is uncovered that the three other wives have long guarded and now this secret will change everything…

I didn’t just happen upon this room. I dreamed of the pale green walls before I arrived. Now the built in wardrobe was mine and so is the ceiling fan. ~ Opening lines to The Secret Lives Of The Four Wives

I am sitting here this morning posed over my laptop trying desperately to think how to put my feelings about this book into words. Everything I type, I delete as I do not think it does this book justification.

Raw with emotion, packed with powerfully written words, I think I melted into this read from the very start…. it just… became a part of me.

It’s not often where I find a multi character book that develops each of the characters to the point that I feel I knew them all. This was the case in The Secret Lives Of The Four Wives. I felt as though I would recognize them on the street, Iya Femi with her love of money and what it can do, Iya Tope, kind but shy and always afraid, Iya Segi – the one to watch out for as she shows no mercy to those she feels have crossed her, and of course the lovely Bolanle, intelligent and beautiful and therefore a threat to the other three.

A polygamous marriage was not the plan for any of these women, but occasionally – you have to deal the hand you got. There were times I had to laugh at the results of these four women wanting the attentions of one man, and at other times I had to think what a different life style this would be to the point I felt a little sorry for each of them. There are a few hard topic lines as well including: rape, and while sex is part of the book, it is detailed out to the point of TMI, but as a natural part of the story being told.

The setting of this tale is in Nigeria and is beautifully detailed with the words that carried me from page to page to page….

A breathtaking read.

This book was sent to me as part of the TLC Book Tour

Escape From Zobadak by Brad Gallagher

Published on July 5, 2011July 6, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Billy (11) and Sophie (9) love it when their Uncle Gary comes to visit. He is quirky and fun and always has little gifts for them. Their mom likes Uncle Gary fine, it’s the sawdust from all the furniture he builds that seems to follow him everywhere that she would prefer not to deal with.

Then one day Uncle Gary disappears, leaving behind a mostly empty home and only a lone night stand in the basement. Odd that someone who worked on furniture all the time yet never sold a thing, would not have a home bursting with wood projects. Billy inherits the nightstand but soon learns there is something different about it. At night noises seem to be coming from inside the nightstand. When taking a closer look, Billy finds a hidden panel that opens into a maze of corridors – big enough for Billy, his sister, and their two friends Chris and Maggie to all climb into and explore the massive hallways of drawers and doors. Billy is certain that Uncle Gary is in there somewhere!

Meanwhile, Billy and Sophie’s parents are being harassed by some odd-looking men wearing brown suits and toting business cards from Zobadak Wood Company. They are looking for Gary Frye (Uncle Gary!) stating that a delivery of special wood was sent to him accidentally and they need it back.

Where is Uncle Gary and what did he do with this strange company called Zobadak? A company that no one has ever heard of? Are all the answers somewhere inside the secrets of the nightstand?

From the moment I first spied this book on Shelf Awareness I wanted to read it. The cover, dark and mysterious, the title with attention-getting words like “escape” and “Zobadak”…. it made you want to know more about what was inside….

not only the book…

but the nightstand.

Pack a lunch before you dive into Escape From Zobadak because you are not going to want to put this fun middle grade read down. The mystery of Uncle Gary’s disappearance, the unusual looking men that keep popping up looking for Gary, and of course the nightstand itself, are enough to keep a middle grade readers nose to the pages.

Shoot, who am I kidding? My nose was to the pages. 😛

I found this book to be entertaining with elements of 100 Cupboards by N D Wilson and a touch of Harry Potter too. The creativity of the nightstands dwellings was an excellent dose of middle grade fantasy at its best!

My only grumble is that the first 3/4 of the book sailed by with a fast pace story line that kept my hopping and then when it got to the last fourth, it seemed to drag with detail. Part of that was due to a character named Krandall who is supposed to be a little light in the head from being in the nightstand all his life, but at times the rambling was excessive. I am hoping perhaps a middle grade reader will find this part fun.

Escape for Zobadak won the MEMSPA Children’s Book Award. It is in fact a good read and in the end leaves an opening and a hint that there will be another book.

Amazon Rating

Good Reads Review

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map now includes Escape From Zobadak

Thank you to Shelf Awareness for sending me this book for review

Miss Timmins’ School For Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy

Published on June 28, 2011June 28, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

1974. After a scandal that disgraced her family, Charulata Apte, almost twenty-one, travels to Miss Timmins’ School For Girls in Panchgani. While teaching Shakespeare to the privileged Indian girls, where she is drawn to the charismatic fellow teacher Moira who teaches her what freedom really can be like.

When one night a body is found near the school, fingers are pointing at Charu. Three of the students take on the task of trying to solve the murder to show the true innocence of their teacher.

There is a setting here that appealed to me…. a remote area of India (one honestly, I had never heard of before), a young teacher trying to start over and make meaning of her life, and a murder that sets the stage for something more.

What I appreciated about the book was how author Nayana Currimbhoy brought to me a main character in Charu who did not like herself much. She has a past she has tried to leave behind. Her shyness and low self-esteem are heart breaking, yet enter Moira, who breathes life into this painful shell of a girl.

It is after the murder that you really start to see Charu come into herself.

The murder wasnt the attention grabber of the book I was thinking it would be. If you read this for yourself you will find it to be more of a “plot builder.” While I like the big “Holy cow! What just happened???”. moments in books… this fit with the flow of the book.

I have said before that I struggle with books with loads of characters and this book does have many. I personally prefer books where I get to know a handful of characters well, then many characters sort of, and I tend to spend time thinking of who they are, and backtracking in the book to see if they are they the one that _____________.

In the end, while an interesting read, it was over stuffed with information that made me wonder if it would not have been better served as a two or three book series to give the reader a chance to really ease into a book that has great potential of hitting a home run.

I received this book as part of a TLC Book Tour

Witches Of East End by Melissa De La Cruz

Published on June 26, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Freya and Ingrid Beauchamp. Sisters. Freya looks between 19 and 24 years of age, and Ingrid between 28 – 33. Truth be known… the lovely Freya and the librarian Ingrid are much much older….

it really is had to keep track of the years when you are a witch.

Along with their mother Joanna, the three women live in North Hampton off the tip of Long Island. Their life is pretty hum drum day in and day out as long ago (think Salem witch trials) they were banned from using their magic.

Joanne has the power to reverse death and heal serious injuries. Ingrid can predict the future and weave knots that can solve infidelity and infertility. Freya, the wild child, can create potions that can cure any heartache.

Then one day Freya sees an opportunity to help out a friend… and really, what’s a little magic about friends? The magic done and successful and seemingly no repercussions, she does it again. Soon Ingrid and Joanne catch the fever and start using their abilities to help the locals as well and for a while, things are wonderful!

Then things start to happen…. people are becoming sick, the water has a sticky black substance to it, people are missing and some are dying…. suddenly everyone is looking and pointing the finger at the Beuchamp’s. Yet Joanne, Ingrid, and Freya know there is a darker force at hand and while trying to clear their name they are also looking closely at a dark presence that they have encountered before…

The popular Blue Blood series is also by this author

I picked this book up ay BEA and I was hooked on the book cover…. what could it mean? Who is the girl? I had not read Melissa De La Cruz before but I wanted to give her a try. I dabble a little in paranormal reads and many YA so why not?

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it. I did not like Freya’s looseness which was almost from the beginning and I stumbled through the first 50 pages not feeling committed to the story at all. And then, it started to get interesting… the parts about Ingrid held me to the book (she was nice AND worked with books – what’s not to love?) and while Ingrid leveled the playing field, Freya grew on me (a little). Her own infidelity bothered me (especially since her own sister has powers to stop it).

This is a book I had really expected to love and, well… I didn’t. Some of the dialogue seemed choppy and story lines sprouted every which way and some were followed through and some I wondered what happened to… while I was interested enough in the story to see where it was going, and some parts of the book were awesome good, in the end it was an ok read and gave me a few hours of relaxing in the sun on my deck.

Fair warning – this is book 1, so if you dive in, know it is more than a one read story 😀

Amazon Rating

Good Reads

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map now includes Witches Of East End

I received this book in May at BEA in New York

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Published on June 21, 2011July 12, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

It started in Shiver when Grace finally understands her connection to the wolf who has watched her from the woods behind her home since she was a young girl… it continued in Linger as Grace now along with Sam fight to find a way to be together…

and now concludes in Forever, when everything seems to be falling apart…. the wolves are being hunted, the truth can not possibly be shared and now it seems to have all come down on the shoulders of Sam, Grace, Cole, and Isabel… all who know the great cost of what is happening and running out of time to find the answers…

Whoa. Hold the trilogy phone – I think we have a winner. The much (much much) anticipated third book made its way into my hot little hand at BEA this year. I could not believe my luck when I was walking the show floor and seen a lady handing out this book. No where was this on my radar that this book would be among the books at BEA, yet there it was – in my hand.

IN
MY
HAND

😯

**This review may contain spoilers for anyone who has not read Shiver and Linger – it will not however contain spoilers towards this book.*

Forever started out alternating the chapters of the four main characters of the story at this point. We have Grace of course, now living a very different life as a wolf, and as a seventeen year old girl. When wolf – it is about survival… when girl… it is about Sam.

Sam of course, is all about Grace. He worries for her 24 hours a day… we worries about the talk of the towns people to kill off the pack and he wonders how to get her to safety…

Cole is still wise cracking, quick witted, and annoying Isabel… but underneath it all he has a new layer. A depth to him that did not exist before. Instead of the selfish “all about me” Cole, we are now seeing a Cole who is working hard to figure out a way to cure the pack – to save Grace, and to keep those he now loves like family, close to him.

Isabel has also changed – a bit. Still angry, sometimes for no reason (even she does not understand her responses), she also wants to help her friends as long as it is on her terms and does not have to do anything with Cole. Well… at least not much…. well… maybe a little bit…… *GAH!*

As the story begins to flow for me, reminding me of the who’s and the where’s and the whats of the previous book I feel like in the beginning I am playing catch up until suddenly there is a moment in the book where the world of Mercy Falls splits wide open for me and I am in…. ALL IN. As in “do not make me put this book down or I will bite you” in.

I am impressed with the writing, many times the way phrases were worded they gave me pause. I had to refelct a moment on the words.

There is no better taste than this: someone elses laughter in your mouth. ~ Sam page 78

Suddenly, I am part of the pack. I am reading in amazement as author Maggie Stiefvater brings in all the elements left hanging in the previous books and packs them into this final one with great talent. I read as though I am personally affected by the outcome… and in the end…

I am.

Is Forever everything I had hoped for? Yes

Is there any questions left, and stones unturned? Yes, but I believe Maggie wanted it that way. I am left with a question on my lips, and hope in my heart…

and that is probably one of the best ways to leave a story…. leaving your reader…. wanting more. 😛

Amazon Rating

Good Reads Review

I have updated the WHERE Are You Reading Map to include Forever

Preorder available here

I picked up my advanced copy of Forever at BEA

Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Carner

Published on June 8, 2011June 8, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Esther Kaminsky is a young Orthodox Jewish girl around the age of 12 who lives in the holy city of Jerusalem. In this time, a woman is expected to marry and produce many sons to hasten the arrival of the Messiah. While Esther understands this role she is to play, she has trouble accepting it. Secretly she desires to draw and wonders about exploring beyond her religion to possibly study in Paris. When her teacher catches her extraordinary talent for drawing, he gets her colored pencils and art lessons. Again Esther wonders if perhaps God has chosen her to be an artist and now a mother.

When tragedy strikes her family, Esther puts aside her dreams and instead follows the path that was chosen for her and becomes an obedient “Jerusalem Maiden”. Yet its hard to smother a strong desire and that desire still burns within Esther. When an opportunity arises Esther has a clash of faith and passion… and forces her to confront the most difficult question of all… “to who must she be true?”

In a word: passionate.

Talia Carner had me from the first pages of this well written, well thought out book. Even as I type now I find myself taking a deep breath as I recall turning the pages, at once fascinated and curious with where I would be taken on this particular book journey.

Divided into 4 important parts of Esther’s life: Maiden, Marriage, Motherhood, and Artist, each opening into pages of deliciously detailed descriptions of life, and family, and dreams. Historically beautiful…. seriously here – I am looking for the words to let you know this book amazed me

It made me think about passions and talents in general and how our lives are shaped, much like Esther’s by choices and life happenings beyond our control. It made me think about how does one choose between right and right?

A page turner for sure, but know that while this book speaks of faith, it is not (not exactly anyway) Christian Fiction, nor is it marketed that way. There are a few parts in the book that will make that quite clear to you as there are a couple of sex scenes and a few situations that I found fitting to the nature of the book.

Overall, if you enjoy Historical Fiction this is a wonderful read. I was delighted to not find it to be a heavy read, but instead it was like taking a journey with Esther walking together through Jerusalem and through her life.

Side note: I had the opportunity to meet the lovely and talented Talia Carner at the Harper Collins Book Blogger Reception a few weeks ago when I was in New York for BEA. She was wonderful to talk to and I find myself now curious about her other books, China Doll and Puppet Child.

Thank you to TLC book tours for a chance to read this book

Thank you to Harper Collins Book Blogger Reception for the chance to meet Talia Carner.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Published on June 2, 2011June 20, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

Welcome to Lena Halloway’s world. Lena lives in a society that is carefully managed and monitored by the government. Long ago this society came up with a cure for deliria (love) and feels that their world is better for it. After all deliria (love) is nothing but a discussing disease that affects the brain…. it causes you to be unable to sleep, have anxiety, irrational thoughts, and do things you would normally never consider doing if not for the deliria.

Oh – I remember the first time I had deliria…I think I was 15 and the symptoms listed here are right on…. that inability to sleep, irrational thought, and I may add the need to speed dial said boys phone number at least 20 times a day and at inappropriate times at night…

~Sheila

And when you put it that way, Lena has to agree who would want to go through that? The society “cures” you when you turn 18 by running an operation that leaves you no longer desiring love. After the procedure is complete the government will line you up with someone who they feel will be a good match for you and you will be married and live happily ever after with your X number of children, all without the annoyance of deep emotion. Why would the government steer you wrong?

Lena has 95 days before her cure and she ready to move into her future, counting down the days. After all everything she needs to know is in the book of Shhhhh, and all the warnings she needs is in the banned book called Romeo and Juliet which is not a love story at all but an example and a warning as to what happens when you are infected with deliria.

Then one day everything changes when Lena meets a boy named Alex. Alex is mysterious and self-confident and when Lena is around him she feels her heart race and her and her skin turn hot…. surely this is the start of the fever that infects a person with deliria! As Lena spends more time with Alex, carefully dodging the ever watchful eye of her aunt and the others who have been “cured”, she starts to wonder what really is true, and what will be the ultimate cost of freedom in a society that does not believe in choices.

Laurel Oliver has done it again. Delirium is a story that I was not sure about picking up (much like her first novel Before I Fall). I didn’t know if I would like the subject matter and when i first heard about this book I felt it had a techy feel to it that I was not sure was for me. Yet I had to admit that it took me a while to pick up Before I Fall as well, and I came out of that read gushing about the inner story line and deeper meaning of the book.

While Before I Fall and Delirium are too very different novels, I felt the same about them. Yes they are YA and I can see how they would really appeal to the YA ‘s out there and that can be enough – but in each book I ended up finding something deeper within the story. In Delirium I am thrust into the knowledge that some day society may try to control that in which we now count as rights and freedom.

I enjoyed Lena for her strong will and her “succeed or die trying” attitude. Even when Lena is trying hard not to love (oh by the way – that word is a banned word!) it still shows through in her friendships and of course, eventually with Alex.

I closed this book knowing there was more to be said. And thanks to Twitter, I quickly learned that yes, Pandemonium (scheduled to be out Feb 2012) will be the title of the second book and this series will end with Requiem.

Amazon Rating

Good Reads

I have updated the 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map to include Delirium

I received this book through Netgalley and I am

thrilled to say it is the first book I have read on my NOOK

Almost Home by Mariah Stewart

Published on June 1, 2011June 1, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

When she was young, Steffie Wyler always knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life: 1. Make ice cream. 2. Marry the coolest boy in town. 3. Live happily ever after. These days, Steffie is the proud owner of One Scoop or Two, a wildly popular ice cream parlor. But the cool guy left town right after high school, before they could scratch the surface of their mutual attraction to see what, if anything, lay beneath. Steffie’s made a great life for herself in St. Dennis, but true love has never come knocking.

Wade MacGregor left for college in Texas and remained there to start a successful business with his best friend, Robin Kennedy, but he’s always felt something was missing. Then life throws him a curveball: A third partner has robbed the company blind, and Robin has died—but not before entrusting Wade with a precious secret. Now back in St. Dennis, Wade’s determined to do whatever it takes to protect his friend’s legacy—and to figure out, once and for all, if the sparks that fly whenever he’s with Steffie are just temporary fireworks or the lights in the window leading him home.

Here is why occasionally it is a good idea to try stepping out of your genre. You will not find many romance novels here. I just don’t read them. Yet here I am. Admitting I read this book… and I enjoyed it.

Was the draw the ice cream parlor? Certainly…. that is interesting, who wouldn’t want to own an ice cream parlor? And I liked Steffie, making it on her own and doing fine, but of course…. she misses Wade who moved away some time ago. Upon his return to town, Steffie is turned upside down trying to decide what to do…. and while the romance part is ok, I prefer the mystery and suspense in the story that kept me interested in knowing more. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way that kept me engaged.

Almost Home is actually the third book in the Chesapeake Diary Series. The first two being Coming Home and Home Again. While the other two books build on this one, it is not necessary to read them before Almost Home.

I think the moral of my review is that when we know what we like to read and stick to only that we are doing ourselves a disservice. Occasionally we as readers need to read out of the normal habits. Not only should we not judge a book by its cover, we also should not judge a book by its genre.

Mariah Stewart was a wonderful author to take that genre leap with.

About Mariah Stewart

Mariah Stewart is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of twenty-nine novels of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and their dogs amid the rolling hills and Amish farms of southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she gardens, reads, and listens to the voices in her head. She is currently working on the next book in her bestselling Chesapeake Diaries series.

Connect with Mariah:
On her website
On Facebook

There are a few more stops on this tour:

Thursday, June 2nd: A Cozy Reader’s Corner

Monday, June 6th: Colloquium

Wednesday, June 8th: A Chick Who Reads

I read this book as part of a TLC Book Tour

The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

Published on May 20, 2011May 21, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Dorothy Shauman has been waiting for this day for what seems like forever. Right around the corner is her 40th Class Reunion, the last for her graduating class and there is nothing that is going to stop her from finally (FINALLY) being brave enough to connect with her high school crush,Pete Decker (football star and prom king) *swoon*. Dorothy has lost weight and primped and primmed for this day – much to the eye roll of her adult daughter, but to the glee of her two bestest (they really are the best!) friends from those glory day.

“Dorothy has never gone to a high school reunion. She was always married when they had them before, and who wanted to bring THAT to a reunion? Now she is divorced, plus she saw that movie about saying yes to life. She steps closer to the mirror and raises her chin so her turkey neck disappears. She’ll hold her head like this when she walks past Pete Decker. Later, when they’re making out in his car, it will be dark, and she won’t have to be so vigilant. Oh, she hopes they can make out in his car; she’s heard people always make out in cars at high school reunions.” ~ The Last Time I Saw You, Berg

Pete Decker however is hoping to repair his much damaged marriage by reminding his soon to be ex-wife who he used to be by attending the reunion. Sure, the damage to their marriage is mainly due to his wandering eye, and yeah sure he recently has been living with his much younger girlfriend…. but she doesn’t make his heart pound like his wife does.

Mary Alice, she just wants to go. She loved the people she went to school with, even if they did not give her the time of day. It will be fun to see them. Maybe. Well… won’t it?

Lester is very comfortable with who he is and really is not even sure if he can take the time from his busy veterinarian business to attend the reunion at all. Really there is no love lost between himself and his once classmates… it doesn’t really matter that he stills lives in town and the reunion is merely a short drive away…

Candy just wants to go. She was the girl who every guy wanted. Beautiful and blonde, even she has to admit that she has held up pretty well over the years (thank you daily workouts!), but for Candy, this reunion has more meaning to her. Living a life that from the outside looks pretty great, Candy carries a lot of hurt in her and now with a new diagnosis, really…. this is probably the last time she will see any of her once friends.

For each attendee, there is a feeling of hope, of anxiety…. some are looking to repair lost friendships, lost loves rekindled, current relationships strengthened, and some just hope to be acknowledged as more than that geeky shy person they were in high school.

*sigh*

Did anyone else just love high school or is it just me? The excitement of seeing your friends every day, not to mention that cute guy…. ;). (Oops – I guess I did mention…) Pep fests, school rallys, weekend sports events, crazy days like – hat day, pajama day…, the adrenaline of being a part of something big…. the final years of school and then freedom to be whoever you were going to be.

Is that just me?

I enjoyed this book very much. It was a nice continuation to my goal to read all the Berg books in 2011. Maybe I liked it so much because I have fond memories of high school, memories that still make my heart beat a little faster when I think of all the high energy we had as a class…. as a group, really we were invincible. And this is not because I was super popular either, I wasn’t. I was middle ground… actually tending to be a bit shy and quiet unless you were in my close-knit group of friends. I just loved school….. 😛

The characters that Elizabeth Berg has given life to in this book are real. I can imagine (thanks to Elizabeth Berg) what a 40th class reunion would probably feel like. The main characters are 58 years old. Their bodies are not what they once were no matter how much you tried to maintain your youth. They are older and they are wiser (well…. not all of them… :D), and to go and put yourself out in front of all the people you knew at that invincible age of 18… well, I can imagine some anxiety in doing so – and Elizabeth Berg captures that well.

There is a point when one of the characters comes upstairs during the reunion and catches herself in the mirror… she is actually surprised to see how old she looks when after seeing all her friends again she felt 18. That’s an image that will stick with me. We are as old as we feel…. mirror be damned.

Overall, this was a pleasant read. It left me with warm feelings of reunions, and memories of my own high school experiences. I felt it didn’t matter that my own 40th class reunion is a great distance away, I could still put myself right there with a little bit of each character stirring within me…. (well, maybe not Pete…LOL).

The Last Time I Saw You was the book chosen to be read by the Wordshakers On-Line Book Group. I posted about this in January – generated the excitement from 16 participants besides myself, planned to post and do a group review in late February…. and I totally proceeded to drop the ball. 😳

First off, life became busy again (how does that always happen?), I did not get the review questions sent out as I said I would, fell further and further behind… and honestly I did not get it read myself until the middle of last month. über embarrassing. And truly – I am sorry, to those of you who were waiting on me to get cracking… I just lost my focus.

From the comments I did gather from the reading group, it was overall an enjoyable read. We discussed if we had attended our own reunions and found that again we were mixed – some finding it much more fun than anticipated and others found it just…awkward. 😛 As far as favorite characters, it was interesting that we were all drawn to the gentler softer ones…. the ones that perhaps didn’t seem like much in high school. We were also drawn to Candy, although the popular girl in school… her life had taken on a whole new meaning.

A few of the Wordshakers were kind enough to link their reviews here. If you have read this book,please let me know and I will gladly add you to the group: