Tag: Review

These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Welcome to New York.  It’s busy and fast paced and feels as though you are surrounded by a constant buzz of electricity that feels the air. 

For Cate, New York has brought her the sought after title of feature editor for the magazine Gloss.  It is everything that Cate had hoped for in a career, and everything she has dreaded as well.

Renee, is in the running for the coveted position of Beauty editor of Gloss.  She suffers from low self-esteem to her constant battle with her weight and her two components for the position seem to have it far more together than she does.  However, the diet pills she has started taking seem to be giving her energy and curbing her appetite and she is learning that if she takes more pills, she has more energy…. and maybe the weight will drop faster.

Abby, had her life together.  She was happy and in a dream job where she was able to go to school in the evenings and by day live with a young family and take care of their darling little girl.  But the man of the house, Bob, is pretty good-looking, and oh so kind, and the wife just works all the time late into the evenings…. leaving Abby alone with Bob…

As these three women connect and eventually become roommates, the secrets that can busy us… perhaps friendship can save us?

Sarah Pekkanen and I in 2011, BEA week, New York

Why did I want to read this book?  Helloooooo… it’s Sarah Pekkanen!  I loved Sarah’s book The Opposite of Me which I read in 2010, and then I loved Skipping A Beat her book of 2011.  You can bet I was super excited to read this one!

Women friendships.  Why do they have to be so complicated?  Cate has the job that she loves and is getting her feet wet into this new career with a flourish.  Yet her friend and roommate Renee struggles through life with weight issues that seem to shadow over everything she does.  If a date does not go well, it is due to her weight, if she doesn’t get the position she wants.. no doubt it is contributed to her weight… and the mean comments that show up on her beauty tips blog just seal the deal that she has to do something about her weight.  They Abby enters the picture and by the time Cate and Renee meet her she is a fragile broken girl with a story that they know nothing about.  Abby’s career as a nanny is now over – and as the pages turn we get a glimpse into what was true then….

Now every author can pull off the multiple protagonists, Sarah Pekkanen does it with a flourish.  Not once did I get confused over whose story line was taking the wheel for a part of the book.  And each of these women – Cate, Renee, and Abby felt like real women to me.  What each woman was going through was so different from the others, yet I could relate to each.  Cate had a drive which I loved, but she also had to balance that out with friendships, and family issues.  Renee’s battle to look good believing it would lead her to feeling good… is a topic I think many of us struggle with, and Abby just fell into the wrong situation which never felt pre meditated… it just… happened.

Reading a Sarah Pekkanen book is like spending time with friends.  I enjoyed spending times within its pages.

I bought this book from Amazon

Amazon Rating

Goodreads review

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)48 Comments

A few weeks ago I hosted a read-a-long for this classic book.  For me, this was my first time experiencing it, for a few that read a long, it was their first time as well.  Here are my thoughts, on The Secret Garden…

~Sheila

Mary Mary, quite contrary how does your garden grow? 

When Mary Lennox is orphaned she is moved away from everything she ever knew and relocated to her uncle’s home in Yorkshire.  It doesn’t take long for all those around to see that Mary is not the most agreeable child in the world.  Through her lonely days in her new home, Mary explores the large home with many rooms.. searching for the crying sounds she hears but no one can tell her what it is.  When she finally does venture outside she meets Dickon, a mysterious boy who tells her of a secret garden… one that has not been entered in many many years. 

Mary’s adventures outdoors leads her not only to the garden, but into a magical world for her to explore with talking animals and adventures beyond her imagination!  Suddenly, Mary’s demeanor changes as the garden blooms her into a whole new girl….

Would you dare enter? Would your life ever be the same if you did?

Why did I want to read this?  I feel like I missed the boat on many of the great reads that many people read in high school.  None of the greats were required reading where I went to school, and honestly in a way I feel cheated.  I have been trying to implement the classics into my reading diet… and thus… this book 😀

The Secret Garden was what I had hoped it would be.  This story was one of innocence and a time when kids did not sit in front of a tv show or a video game but actually got outside and used their imaginations.  I enjoyed Mary, even when she wasn’t the most likable and I think that was because she had potential.  When she meets her cousin and he is just as pouty and unpleasant as she is (probably even more so). To see them work together and help one another is a pretty sweet part of the book and the discover y of the garden and how the garden itself heals people….

well, honestly the message is a powerful one.

I enjoyed the read and I am so thankful so many joined me in this reading of a classic that I can happily now cross off my to be read list. 

I think this book should be on every child’s book shelf.  The Secret Garden is a book that truly is meant to be read.

I listened to this book on audio and really enjoyed Victoria Mcgee’snarration.

Be sure to see our discussion we had on this book and the other reviews from the read a long.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

I have not featured Camryn for a couple of Tuesdays here as New York threw my scheduling for a loop.  Now, Camryn’s Tuesday YA reviews are back, Camryn is a little older since she was last featured here 😉 … and she is sharing with us about the book, Fairest by Gail Carson Levine.  Seriously… cover love alone would have caused me to pick this book up!

~Sheila

Fairest

Fairest is a novel written by Gail Carson Levine. Aza is very insecure; she feels she was born ugly, and the guests at her adoptive parent’s inn don’t help the matter by staring, or not looking at her at all. But Aza has a skill that makes up for her lack of beauty; she is an amazing singer. She has even learned how to throw her voice and imitate sounds. This is a skill she calls illuse-ing. One day, one of the guests at the inn is without a traveling partner to go to the palace to see the royal wedding of the King and his bride, Ivi, Aza is chosen to accompany her. At the palace, Aza becomes Ivi’s lady-in-waiting. She meets a handsome prince, Ijori, and likes him quite a bit, and he doesn’t seem to mind her looks. But everything turns sour when Queen Ivi demands a dangerous task from Aza, threatening her parents livelihood should she refuse. Aza is forced to do the Queen’s bidding, but the real question is, at what cost?

 

I loved this book. I’ve read Ella Enchanted by this author as well. It’s really good fantasy, but probably for a younger audience. So a few interesting details I picked up out of the story is that they live in Ayortha, where everyone’s name ends with the same vowel it starts with. And it made me interested in htun, but I doubt it actually exists. I think this would be a great gift for someone less than fifteen years old. I would recommend it to any fantasy fan or anyone looking for a good suspenseful book.

Camryn is 12 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

Check out Camryn’s other YA reviews here

Look Again by Lisa Scottoline

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

News Journalist, Ellen Gleeson is complete when she sees the little bot in the hospital with the heart condition that is up for adoption.  When he becomes hers, she is over the moon in love with her now son, Will. 

Two years later Ellen is coming home from another harried day on the job and as she sorts through the mail, a Missing Child flyer catches her attention… the boy in the picture, looks exactly like her Will.  How could that even be?  The birth mother and father has signed over their rights and a judge had awarded Will to Ellen.  Yes the flyer does not stop nagging her and Ellen used her journalist instincts to get to the truth, all the while knowing the truth… may cost her everything.

What Ellen uncovers leaves her shell-shocked and fearing for her and Will’s life.  She is the only one that knows what she knows… is it best to cover it all back up and pretend it never happened?  Or is it best to do what is right for Will, no matter the painful consequences.

(not a big fan of book trailers, with just a few exceptions… this one is one of the reasons why… they man’s voice… is a little too much I think.)

Why did I read this book?  My book club chose this book for our June read. 

When Lisa Scottoline’s book was chosen for our June book club read I am the first to admit, I wasn’t overjoyed.  I had recently finished an audio book of her’s that left me confused and with more questions in the end than I had in the beginning.  HOWEVER… I did say I would try her again.

I just didn’t know it would be this soon.  😀

Look Again is every mothers nightmare.  Imagine jumping through all the hoops of adopting a child.  When that day finally comes that the child is fully yours you are… ecstatic beyond belief.  (I have friends who have adopted – I have seen this first hand).  This child becomes as much your own as if you had birthed him or her yourself.  You know their every expression, their likes, dislikes, joys, and fears… and you love them so much you think your heart can hold no more…

Now imagine that something, or someone… can come along and take away that pure joy.

Ellen is a protagonist you can root for.  She is a strong independent single mom, doing the best she can between work and home.  It is apparent in this reading that home is the most important of the two as her whole life revolves around Will.

The storyline is consistently updating, but at first it was not at a pace that held me captive.  You spend time learning about where Ellen works, her co workers (BOO!!!! to one of them….) and her hot boss Marcelo (double kudos to Lisa Scottoline for coming up with that name…. it oozes hotness, it really does!) for the first half of the book I could have continued on or put it down… I was not overly committed, mainly I think because I had a feeling as to where it was going.

Well… color me wrong.  Once all starts to come together the books pace takes on a fast trot and now I do not want to put it down.  Every page, reveals a new twist, a new turn… what I think is about to happen… doesn’t… what does, is something totally left field… totally…

brilliant.

As I flew to the end of this book, tears on some pages, anger on others… I fully appreciated what Lisa Scottoline invested into this book.  It is smart and clever.  I did not see it coming…

while some (uhem…. Bookies book club members) found the ending a little too neat all wrapped up perfectly with a bow… I think I had bee through so much with Ellen that I liked the neat ending, what some would call the easy way out, I applaud in this case as it was just what I needed.

The Bookies (book club) thoughts:

Oh the Bookies….. a difficult group…. lol… I am kidding!  Our discussion was not passionate as it has been in some recent reads, and I admit I missed that, but it was a good discussion.  For the most part, the group found this book to be a slightly over average read.  A few found it predictable, and said they had figured out how it was all going to go down long before the end.  (I had not).  While the book did not blow anyone away with “WOW!!!!  Why did it take us so long to read this?” It was a good discussion and brought up conversations around adoption, and connections between birth parents. 

Oh, and of course we had food to go with the book:

Ellen and Will live in Philadelphia, so we had Phili cheese steak sandwiches
Seafood pasta!
Thai seasoned chicken on rice
These are for the end of the book…. which, I can not tell you about 😉
More about the end… sorry, no hints here 😉

And I don’t know how I missed this picture, but two of us brought lime jello, the abducted boy, Timothy Braverman’s favorite, as well as Will’s.

I am linking my review to Beth Fish reads Weekend Cooking because where there are Bookies… there is food. 😀

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com

Other fab reviewers thoughts:

Petrona

S Krishna’s Books

You’ve Gotta Read This!

By Book Or By Crook!

127 Hours by Aron Ralston

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Aron Ralston was what you would call an “extreme sport” enthusiast.  A love for biking, and hiking among other things, it was not unusual for him to take off and not be seen for entire weekends or longer at a time.  In 2003, Aron had such a plan.  He was going to go on a day hike and normally he would leave an itinerary for his roommates to know where he was but for some reason, this time… he did not.

Aron was hiking the Blue John Canyon in Utah when a suspended boulder came lose and caused his right arm to get lodged between the boulder and the canyon wall.  As day turned into night Aron tried to think through his options.  He has only his water and two burritos he had brought along for the hike.  The area he was in was was very remote.  He knew it was Saturday, and the rangers did not walk this part of the canyon until the following Friday, and even then not exactly where he had fallen and become trapped.

As days turned into nights, Aron’s food and water had run out, leaving his now at the point of drinking his own urine, which he was capturing and storing in his water container.  The only way to survive he grimly knew… was to save himself.  If he could break his arm, he might be able to use his pocket knife to cut his arm off and try to survive.

Why did I listen to this book?  I am fascinated with extreme adventures.  The desire, that also lives in me, to go above and beyond, explore the unknown is a strong one.  I wanted to listen to this on audio as Aron himself reads this, and I wanted to hear this from his own mouth… his own words…. the strong desire to survive against all odds.

I really enjoyed listening to Aron’s recap of what happened the 127 hours he was caught literally, between a rock and a hard place.  His sense of adventure, and the pre-information to his becoming stuck on this climb, helped me understand his desire and need to push himself to the limit. 

Aron does a wonderful job of expressing his emotions throughout the entire ordeal, at first disbelief, then slowly turning to fear and loss, there is even a point where he is pretty sure he will die, and records himself with his camera, leaving messages to friends and family about his final days.

Then… Aron’s spirit comes through.  He devises a plan what to most of us would be unthinkable.  If he can break his arm, and then cut through it… he can be free and possibly live. 

That really is the heart of this book.  The audio made me feel for Aron.  When he finally resorts to drinking his own urine, I am sure if anyone seen me driving down the road while listening to this audio they would have laughed at my face.  Every time it was mentioned, I mentally gagged and scrunched out my mouth as though I was right there with him being forced to do it as well.  At that same time, it was quite clear to me what level of desperation you would have to be at to do such a thing.

Aron’s story is incredible.  I enjoyed learning more about this and will now actively search out the movie which I have heard, is just as graphic.  That’s ok… I want to know.

Adventure seekers, lovers of the human spirit, non fiction types, … this audio was awesome for me,I think you will enjoy it too.

I purchased this audio book at Barnes and Noble in Duluth MN

Come Home by Lisa Scottoline

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Jill Farrow is thrilled to find some sort of normalcy returning after her divorce.  For her and her daughter Megan, things are looking up.  Jill loves her job as a Physician, spending time with her active daughter Megan, and the new man in her life Sam.

Then one evening Jill’s world turns upside down when the daughter of her ex, shows up on her doorstep, with news that Jill’s ex is dead, even presumed murdered.  Jill promises a very scared Abby that she will do everything she can to help find out what happened to Abby’s dad.  What she starts to uncover just doesn’t add up.

Jill’s obsession with the mystery starts to take a toll on her relationship with her own daughter Megan, as well as Sam, but Jill can’t quit now…. and some people feel she is getting just a little too close to the truth for comfort…

 

 

This is my first Lisa Scottoline and I have to come out and say that it was not what I had hoped for.  I liked Jill, but this was one of those reads where all the supporting characters never felt fully there to me.  Her two ex step daughters Abby and the extremely ornery Victoria were just different and I never fully pictured what the looked like in my mind.

Sam was a back seat participant in the whole read and when he did have an opinion, it was small and did not matter to me one way or another.  In the end, I truly did not feel like I connected with any part of the book.  12 CDS long it also felt just a little too drawn out. 

I really wish I could say more positive things about this one but in the end I felt empty. 


The Secrets Of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Mary Bowser has been a slave all her life.  She worked for the Van Lew Family in Virginia until one day she is sent away to get an education… and her freedom.

By being educated Mary learns much.  She learns about the Civil War and gets a taste of what it is like to hold some power over what is happening around you.  Taking ownership of herself returns to Virginia to be with her father, but also finds herself posing as a slave to keep a close on eye on the dealing of President Jefferson Davies.  While information was getting out to the North, Mary was never suspected…

How much does freedom really cost?

How about this alternate cover? It creeps me out… then it draws me in…

Pre gush.  I really enjoy enjoy fictitious stories based around a non fiction character.  The fact that Mary Bower was in fact a real woman who really was a freed slave who came back into slavery to save others is fascinating.  That alone was enough to get me setting aside time on a very rainy weekend for this book.

Gush:  But Mary Bowsers story is so much more… this extremely well written book dives into this woman’s history with painstaking details… fact of fiction, in the end I felt as though I had a good feel for who Mary was and what she stood for.  We can all only hope to leave even a fraction of such a legacy. 

I admit I am not a huge fan of war related stories, however Marys part in what was happening around her made the book flow well with the war while being a large topic, was not the main story line.  Mary carries the book. 

The underground railroad has always fascinated me… such a rich history we have that is we do not take the time to dig into it, it will pass us by and we will be lesser people for never knowing, never caring.  Thank you to Mark Bowser and to Lois Leveen for writing such a vivid story I am left wanting more… in a good way.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for trusting this

treasure of a book to be placed in my care and the chance for my

fingertips to type and try to do the book justice.

Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

This book caught my eye right away, I love this cover.  After Camryn reviewed it and talked

to me about it I felt this would make a wonderful beach read.

Sheila

Love and Leftovers

Love and Leftovers is a story written by Sarah Tregay that is about sixteen year old Marcie, who moves to New Hampshire with her mother after her parents’ marriage falls apart.

 

Marcie’s mom has had depression for a while, but it got even worse after her mom found out her husband was gay. Marcie and her mom live in the summer vacation house, and Marcie gets very lonely. Not only does she miss her super cute emo-rocker boyfriend, Linus, from back home, but she also misses her best friend, Katie, along with all of her other friends, nicknamed the Leftovers. They are called the Leftovers because they are the kids that didn’t really fit in with anyone, or we leftover.

 

When Marcie’s loneliness starts to get too painful to bear, she starts to notice the perfect J.D., a jock from her new school in New Hampshire; the problem is, she hasn’t ended her relationship with Linus yet. As she and J.D. get closer and closer friends, she wonders if she can stop herself before it’s too late, or if she will have to say goodbye to Linus for good. After a visit from her dad, Marcie is swept back to her hometown, Boise, Idaho, because her mom cannot handle taking care of her anymore. As she sees the Leftovers for the first time, will she tell Linus the truth? Can she fix her broken friendship with Katie? Or will she be back to being lonely?

 

Love and Leftovers is a book that is portrayed in-verse, or in poems. It is a good and easy book to read. I did find myself tearing up just a little at some parts. While I did not enjoy it as much as Hereafter or The Selection, I felt this one held its own … almost in a different category, and certainly in a different way.

Camryn is 12 years old, soon to be thirteen and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

EAT This! NOT That! by David Zinczenko

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Eating healthy (or healthier) in this day and age in really like walking through a field of land mines!  What is marketed as “healthy” is not always the case.  Shoot, I have this argument with my husband all the time around the dollar meal fast food chicken sandwich.  “But Sheila,” he says, “It is  a chicken sandwich.  Chicken.  Chicken is healthy.  AND it is only a $1.00!” 

I try to explain to him that it is not healthy and that $1.00 chicken sandwich and “dollar menu” fries may some day become a $20,000 coronary.

*sigh*

Eat This!  Not That! Is not only a wonderful book to skim through and find lists of the vegies and fruits that are the best for you but also how to maneuver your way through a grocery store AND your favorite places you enjoy eating out at.  This wonderful little book can fit easily into your purse or carry in your car and is filled with page after page of glossy colorful pictures and information to help you make better food choices for you and your family.

Warning:

The following pictures may be a bit graphic ( 😉 )…. they may make you cry out in shock and pain and cause you to look away when you realize that what you have been eating that you thought was healthy has more calories than 80 double stuff Oreo cookies and 2 glasses of whole milk.

You have been warned. 

 

Holy moly… equivalent to 12 slices of Sara Lee Cherry Pie…..

You probably guessed this bad…. you may not have guessed HOW BAD…

I really love the comparison pages… the one on the left 618 calories, the one on the right 1,412.

I love me some Chines food!  I was excited to see that I actually prefer the meal to the left as I am not a big fan of white rice.

There are many pages like this as well that show you the best vegies, the best fruits…

And if you are like me this holiday weekend and plan on grilling up some dogs or brats…. this page will guide you through the traps.

This is my third book like this, I have the 2010 and another one and there is a 2012 as well that I do not yet own.  They make great reference books, but also great conversation pieces when your friends come over, flip through it… and groan.  😀  I highly recommend these books to anyone who wishes to be a little more health conscious in their food decisions. 

I wrote this post for Weekend Cooking brought to you by the delightful Candice at Beth Fish Reads…. pop in and see what people are cooking this weekend!  😀

City Of Bones by Cassandra Claire

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Nothing like a little clubbing in New York to change your forever.

Fifteen year old Clary was thrilled to get an evening at the happening club Pandemonium, hanging out with her best friend Simon.  Dancing and a good time was definitely on the agenda… witnessing a murder was not.  Yet Clary is unnerved when she witnesses three teenage boys commit a murder that no one seems to notice but her, and then the body disappears into the air without leaving behind even a trace of a struggle.

Into the air!

Shortly there after Clary takes a call from her mom telling her not to come home but to go anywhere else and then she hears her mom being attached.  By the time she does arrive at the house it is ransacked and her mom is nowhere to be found.

Welcome to the world of the Shadowhunters, a group of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons.  When a Shadowhunter  close to her own age named Jace comes to her rescue, things become interesting.  Clary is introduced to a while new world she never knew existed…. one of fighting for justice, and filled with weapons… and apparently, good looking guys.

As Jace, as well as his close friends Alex and Isabelle, come to help Clary find out what happened to her mom, they all discover that Clary’s meet up with the Shadowhunters was less of a coincidence than one may think.  Clary is connected to these people more than anyone had realized…

and that puts her in a dangerous position.

I believe there are 5 books out now of the 6 book series

Uber embarrassing confession.  My good friend Amy gushed about this book years ago.  She gushed so much I did what I usually do, I went out and bought the book.  Then I did something else I usually do too…. I shelved it for a later day.  Well… although it caught my eye through the years, I never pulled it off the shelf, then as more and more books came out in this series (5 now I believe…) I didn’t know if I wanted the commitment of a long running series. 

A couple weeks ago when I needed a new book download for my IPOD I was excited to stumble through a list that had City Of Bones on it.  Knowing I had a much greater chance of getting to this read on audio, I downloaded it. 

City of Bones was pretty much what I expected, an interesting paranormal YA genre of these Shadowhunters who fight demons among us every day human types who really don’t have a clue of what is going on around us.  The Shadowhunters use something they call “glitter” that makes us everyday humans not be able to see them as they truly are, but instead they blend right into wherever they are:  an elderly gentleman making his way down a hospital corridor, a businessman walking hurriedly through the streets of New York…  if you were wondering how Clary seen them… well, that I can’t give away. 

While I found City of Bones to be interesting and well written, I don’t see myself diving into the rest of the series.  It was good, but didnt hook me to the point I need to go and get the second book right now!  (I don’t quite want to dig out the Spoiler page for this one but did anyone else get a Harry Potter vibe on this one?  They are looking for the Mortal Cup…. there is a bad guy trying to get to the cup first named…. Voldermort, I mean named Valentine.)

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com