Review – Page 64 – Book Journey

LOST Encyclopia – A MUST HAVE for any fan of LOST

Published on January 30, 2011January 30, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

If you have read my blog or followed me on Twitter (@bookjourney) for any amount of time you probably know that I have spent my last two months of evenings watching all the seasons of LOST.

When LOST was on TV I found that I was missing episodes here and there due to life and commitments and then I would sit down to watch a new episode and I felt…. well..

lost.

At that point I let the show go planning to purchase the seasons and watch it that way and even then I had trouble staying caught up. It was not until this past November that I said ok, here is the winter plan. I am going to get through these episodes one after another and I am going to finish them all. And that is what I did.

For those of you who are fans of LOST you know where I am going to go with this. It was BRILLIANT. AMAZING. FULLFILLING. and left me with a sense of wonder. Most likely, I will watch them all again just to pick at the things I did not catch the first time and open up yet an even deeper level of appreciation.

This review though is about a book, not really about the show – although I guess that is not exactly true as they work together. I found this treasure in early January at Barnes and Noble. I had inquired if they had any books about LOST. I was taken to a small section of movie related books and seen this beautifully large book on the shelf. I pulled it towards me and loving glanced through the pages but catching the price out of the corner of my eye, I put it back on the shelf finding it too pricey to justify.

“But…. uh, Sheila.” *waving hand crazily high in the air*, “you have the book right?”

Right.

I then walked around browsing the shelves and found a large 50% off section in the center of the store and yes, there it was – this same book – but at half the price. I snatched it up lovingly and made my purchase.

Once home – the book was tabu until I finished watching all the episodes as I did not wish to view anything that I did not already know about. Chance whined to look at it – I said no. Al inquired…. still the answer was no.

And then on Friday evening, I watched with Chance the final three episodes and as the closing credits ran and I sat with a sort of numbness of not believing it was over but knowing it was… Chance ran upstairs and came back with this book.

And so…. finally (FINALLY) I get to my point.

The LOST Encyclopedia is an absolute must have for any LOST super fan. For this review I will clarify the difference between Fan and Super Fan.

Fan: Really found the show enjoyable, but sees no reason to revisit or explore further. See Exhibit A

Super Fan: Border line obsession with all things LOST. More than likely has Googled Dharma and wonders if you can find coffee cups and Dharma apparel (for the record the answer is yes to both). Super Fans will watch all the episodes again as well as all the bonus disc’s looking for clues they have missed the first, second, or third time around. See Exhibit B

Moving on.

As this large fabulous book opens up in the opening letter addressed to all Losties, there is an important paragraph:

This text will not confirm nor deny your theories about the show. It will provide clarity, and it’s a great reference guide, but what it does NOT provide are answers to the great unknown. It was incredibly important to us to maintain the purposeful interpretive quality of the show. And although it is frustrating at times to puzzle things out for yourself, the show was called LOST for a reason.

: The bars were manufactured by the Apollo Candy Company and sold around the world. Their history dates back to 1962. Due to the companies rapid success they ran into financial problems. Alvar Hanso of the Hanso Foundation stepped in and saved the company. Hanso’s connections to the DHARMA Initiative included the bard in the regular island provisions

It will be hard to tell you all the wonderfulness of this book but I will try to give you all the things that I kn ow appeal to me and I think would appeal to other Super Fans as well.

The LOST Encyclopedia is alphabetized. Looking for that crazy candy bar and the story behind it? It’s i n there. A list of all the books mentioned and read on the Island? Yup. The meaning behind all the alcohol seen from the Dharma beer to the Scotch Whiskey that was used to humiliate Desmond, Daniel’s journal, the flashback/ flash forwards/ flash sideways, animals of the Island, and even the Fish Biscuits have their own page. The numbers the plane, even a list of the survivors of 815 that were never really acknowledged, but at my home when they showed up on scream were fondly known as the “Randoms”.

There is detailed layouts and explanation of the uses of each Dharma station. If you missed something during the tv show or had a question left unanswered, chances are you will find it here.

Oh and of course this book would not be complete without a detailed list referred to as the “Nickname hall Of Fame”, yes, a list of all the nicknames sawyer used! Partially listed below:

Cowboy, Slim, Sundance, Jackass (Jack)

Mohammad, Chief, Damn Arab Genious, Omar (Sayid)

Freckles, Shortcake, Puddin’, Thelma (Kate)

Oliver Twist, Tattoo, VH1 Has-Beens (Charlie)

Hidden Dragon, Chewie, Daddy-O (Jin)

Yoda, Captain Bunny Killer, Gizmo (Ben)

Crouching Tiger, Betty, Sunshine (Sun)

Jabba, Jumbotron, Pork Pie, Three Men and a baby (Hugo)

Mr. Clean, John Boy, Gimpy (Locke)

Barbie, Sweetheart, Pregnant Girl (Claire)

Short Round, Taller Ghost Walt (Walt)

Each character is broken down into pages of information: Facts and figures, time on the island, likes and dislikes, skills, as well as any connections to the numbers or how the numbers were used in their scenes. I also really enjoyed that they include lines that were priceless for each character!

…”You’ve no idea how hard it is for me to sit back and listen to other people tell me what I should do. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe I am suppose to let go.”

Jack

I can go on and on about this book but I am betting you get what I am saying. If you love LOST or if you know someone who does, I would highly recommend this book.

I have updated the 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map to include the LOST Encyclopedia

I purchased this book at Barnes and Noble, ST Cloud MN

Table Of Contents by Judy Gelman & Vicki Levy Krupp

Published on January 29, 2011January 29, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

From Breakfast with ANITA DIAMANT to dessert with JAMES PATTERSON. Book lovers you will not want to miss out on this treasure of a book!

Fair warning: I am going to GUSH about this book

I think most book lovers really enjoy books about books, about book clubs, about readers….. AND I also love books that are rich with food details… so vibrantly described that I swear I can smell their mouthwatering aroma right off the pages! So how about this…. what if I told you there was a book about authors – probably some of your favs…. that not only share some of the frequently asked questions, what readers should know, but also …

a recipe.

It’s true – and it is all in this book.

Table Of Contents barely made it into my home before I was leafing through this books reading fun facts on some of my go to authors… for instance, Laura Lippman (I’d Know You Anywhere)says

I’m a lifelong reader, and much has influenced me, But I particularity like Maud hart Lovelace’s “Betsy-Tacy” books. Which, not incidentally, all filled with delicious sounding food.

and… Sara Gruen (Water For Elephants) says

I wrote half of Water For Elephants in a walk-in-closet. I had stalled about half way through writing the book and realized I was employing all my favorite writing avoidance techniques. I painted the walls of our family room five times and spent way too much time on Ebay. We didn’t have wireless connection at the time so I asked my husband to move my desk into our unwired closet and I went in each morning with my laptop, the dog, and a cup of tea.

And not only fun little clips like the ones above, but also the recipes – oh the recipes! Interested in knowing Philippa Gregory’s recipe for Medieval Gingerbread? Henry Ford’s Cantonese Barbeque Pork Buns? Barbara Delinsky’s Crab and Corn Chowder? Chris Cleave’s Post-Colonial Pie?

50 different authors in all share pages of information about their writing, their inspiration, their favorite authors, and a recipe worth trying. I am in total book crush over this read.

I will leave you with this one recipe from an author who holds a special place in my heart, Adriana Trigiani:

Pia’s Crabbies

During the Christmas dinner scene in my novel Rococo, Bartolomeo’s Aunt Edith barely makes it through the front door before she demands a serving of these crab delights!

Credit for these savory snacks goes to my sister Pia, the ultimate party hostess. Through the years she collects, invents, and reinvents recipes to please the crowds. We can’t make enough crabbies when we have a party. They are delish! Enjoy!

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened

1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup soft pimento cheese spread (recipe for this is in the book if you do not want to use store bought)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, minced

8 oz. lump crab meat

4 English muffins, split

ground paprika, for sprinkling

salt to taste

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1. Use a fork to mash together the butter, mozzarella, and pimento cheese spread in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise, garlic, and crab meat and mix well.

2. Toast the English muffin halves, if desired. Spread mixture on the muffin halves and sprinkle with paprika. Salt to taste. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top. Place the muffins on a cookie sheet and broil until tops are golden brown – about one minute. Cut each crabbie into quarters and serve.

I am not sharing my copy of this book. Nope. It is that good. My only recommendation is that you run to your nearest book store or jump on your favorite online book site and order not only a book for yourself – but for that very bookish friend you have who will jump up for joy and SSSQQQQUUUEEEEE when he/she unwraps this treasure at their next birthday.

Amazon Rating

My 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Table Of Contents

I received this book from the author, Judy Gelman

This review is part of the Weekend Reading meme by

Beth Fish Reads

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Published on January 28, 2011January 29, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Linger is the sequel to Shiver. **Warning: Parts of this review may be spoilers to those who have not read Shiver.

Sam. Sam is finally the boy he has always dreamed of being. He is also able to now fully be with Grace and that is all he has ever wanted. With spring approaching, the wolves will be changing too – those that can still change back into their human form and as the new leader, Sam is about to find out how much falls on his shoulders, especially with the two newer wolves, Cole and Victor.

Grace. With Sam in her life what else could she wish for? Turns out… plenty. She could wish that her non-existent parents could keep their noses out of her life much as they have always done… but no, now they are all concerned about her relationship with Sam and getting all “parental” on her. Seriously…. eye roll. And there is this gnawing pain within her that seems to be getting worse. Is she getting the flu? Or could it be something much more serious.. something that has lain dormant for a long time?

Not often can I say a second book is even better than the first but in this case I think it needs to be said. When I started Linger (errr…. last night) I was hoping that this great storyline that started with Shiver would be able to continue to hold my interest. I wasn’t getting my hopes up too high, as honestly second books many times do not deliver the punch of the first. I think especially when you are writing fantasy fiction is can be easy to lose the magic along the way… Not so with Linger.

Within a few pages I was transported right back to Mercy Falls Minnesota, right where I left off… there was Sam, still head over heals in love Grace… and Grace still madly in love with Sam…. and this time there is so much more….

action.

More…

to lose than there was before….

it is so…

INTENSE.

Honestly, I started this book last night (after having misplaced it for a little over a week it was found in the book room…. I know.. I know). I read about twenty pages last night and then this morning picked it up… and finished it this afternoon. I could not stop reading it and thank goodness it was my day off and no one is home…. and I read like I used to read on weekends as a teenager when life was all drama, and friends, and books.

Book Bliss people. No lie.

Linger left me with answers to old questions from Shiver, and new questions as the startling and cliffhanger conclusion left me grasping for the third book…..

that is not here.

Maggie has created a fantasy world within these books that leave me anxious to know what will happen in July when Forever is released. I could not be more excited to get my hands on this book!

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include Linger

I purchased this book from Amazon

True To Form by Elizabeth Berg

Published on January 26, 2011January 28, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

It is 1961 and 13-year-old Katie Nash lives with dad and step mom in Missouri. Katie lived in Texas, but two years ago her mother passed away and life has not been easy. Katie’s over bearing dad finds her summer jobs of helping to take care of an elderly neighborhood woman and babysitting three very rambunctious young boys. She finds that she is losing connection with her best friend from Texas Cherylanne who has become boy crazy to the point of no return and has nothing in common with Katie anymore.

Then there is her new friend Cynthia who likes to do things that Katie does like eating way too much junk food, choosing clothing, and talking about boys at a more “thirteenish” level. yet when Katie is offered a chance to go to an upscale school, she throws Cynthia under the bus to get in good with the popular rich girls.. only to quickly find out – that this group is not really where she longs to be. Not Katie is left with trying to mend a broken friendship and learn some hard lessons as she does so.

Yes. I am on a Berg kick. This is my second adventure into Elizabeth Berg territory and I am once again glad to have experienced the adventure. While I did not find this storyline as powerful as We Are All Welcome Here, Elizabeth Berg stills comes across in her mild manner of making a point from a young girls perspective.

Katie’s voice is captured so well that I could not help but laugh as she tells this story. There is everything in this thirteen year old mind and actions that I would say many of us had experienced at that age:

snooping around at the house you are babysitting at

Turning the radio up really loud to tune out the parental figures

the stomping of feet and the slamming of doors

The inner thoughts about the teachers, the adults, the homework…

Elizabeth Berg captures Katie’s emotions so well you would think that she was thirteen years old as she wrote the book. I do not know enough about Elizabeth’s Berg’s writing to say if this is her signature style yet, but if it is – I will happily read on.

This book has a smorgasbord of covers and I do love covers! Look at these:

Amazon Rating

I have updated the 2011 Reading Map to include True to Form

Nabbed…. errrr… borrowed from my local Library

Clementine, Friend Of The Week by Sara Pennypacker

Published on January 25, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

Clementine has been picked friend of the week! This means at school she gets to be line leader, collect milk money, and feed the fish! Even better, she will get a friend of the week booklet on Friday that all the other third graders in her class will fill in with things they like about her.

But when Clementine reads her friend Margaret’s Friend of The Week booklet she got when she was in third grade, Clementine starts to get nervous. Margaret’s book has comments about how neat and organized she is – Clementine is neither of those things! To get a great booklet filled with compliments by the end of the week, Clementine takes Margaret’s advice and starts offering her classmates compliments and gifts, hoping this will be reflected in their comments.

What is supposed to be the best week of her life soon turns into the worst. Since when did friendship become so hard?

So….

I am not much of a Middle Grade (MG) reader. I thought when I started this blog that I would be more so, but it just never really went that way. While I do enjoy the MG reads, I do not read much in this age group.

Clementine, Friend Of The Week was a book I picked up in New York at BEA this past year. As of that date it sat in a box waiting for me and I finally picked it up this weekend not wanting anything real heavy in the middle of the Bloggiesta.

Turns out Clementine’s story is fantastic. I was thoroughly captivated in Clementine’s dilemma’s and how she interacted with her friends, family, and classmates. I enjoyed how she constantly changes her little brothers name from Pea Pod, to Yam, to Broccoli, Corn, and Onion. I also appreciated how Clementine’s third grade voice rings true throughout the pages.

After reading this book I found out that Clementine has had two previous stories as well by author Sara Pennypacker. This is a fantastic books for grade school children to enjoy a fun and funny read, while learning a bit too about true friendship.

Amazon Rating

** The 2011 WHERE Am I Reading map IS NOT updated with this book as I can find no information of the books setting.

I received this book in New York at BEA

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Published on January 23, 2011January 23, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

Kendra and Seth are going to spend a couple of weeks with the grandparents in Connecticut, grandparents they hardly know. The house is large and the yard is larger and there seems to be a lot of rules. Their grandfather tells them not to go near the woods, and the is the strange man on the property who leaves out saucers of milk that they are told never to touch…

Then the day comes when the siblings do cross into the woods…. and they see the mysterious old woman with the rope, mystical creatures, and fairies…

what exactly is Fablehaven and what dangers have they unleashed by breaking the rules?

It is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of all things Harry Potter. I think J K Rowling is brilliant and every time I pick up one of the books I swear I catch something new that makes me smile…..

When I first heard of this book and heard it was being compared to the Harry Potter reads I was intrigued. This is something I could not pass up. Of course there was also cover love…. its super creepy… and really shiny and that just made me want to read it more.

Fablehaven was an adventure is reading. Our two characters Kendra and Seth being 13, and 11, gave this book a strong MG feeling to me.

I enjoyed the storyline and of course whats not to love about fairies? Seth begins to drive me nuts in the book as he is a constant rule breaker and then “oh so sorry,” and then he breaks another rule. Kendra is just the opposite and does as she is told and that is a big advantage as the book hits the climatic ending.

Overall, this is not Harry Potter. However I can see MG students enjoy the vivid imagination that is written into the characters (and I do mean CHARACTERS!) of Fablehaven.

Another huge plus of this read is that as I am so late to this books party, that all following books in this series have been released. So if you love this book, there is no waiting to see where the adventure will take you next! Five books in all is a very doable set of reads!

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are you reading map has been updated to include Fablehaven

I received this book as a win

The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein

Published on January 22, 2011January 23, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Plucked from a farm as just a pup, terrier/lab mix Enzo is not your average dog. In fact, if Enzo had his way, he would not be a dog at all. He would be a human. In fact, as Enzo hangs with his owner racecar driver Denny Swift, Enzo wouldn’t mind being a racecar driver either. Enzo shares his thoughts and his opinions as Denny goes from bachelor, to married… and while it takes Enzo a while to warm up to Denny’s woman friend Eve, eventually he warms to her. And when their daughter Zoe comes along, well, as far as Enzo was concerned, he now had a younger sibling.

It is Enzo who first senses that Eve is sick. He smells it on her, like a sort of mold, he knows that there is something wrong years before Eve or Denny have any idea. This is where Enzo is frustrated as a dog, he is unable to communicate his knowledge.

Let me start with a little story. A couple of years ago my book club and I read another book told from a dog’s perspective. It was a simple read, no meat to it… and the book club overall feeling was, it was a waste of paper. One of my book club girls said much like a dog, she would urinate on this book. And with that review – that was the end of my days of reading books from animals perspectives.

Needless to say when this book came up as a suggestion for a read for my book club, I did not vote for it. Many of us didn’t. We all too clearly still remembered our experience…

As time went on I seen raving reviews of this book on-line… and more recently, when I seen it on audible.com with a high rating I decided that if I was going to give this a try, audio may be the way to go. And so – that is what I did.

I am in love with this story. Right from the beginning, as the story opens Enzo is in his last 24 hours of life. He is laying in a pool of his own urine and he is reliving his life…. my first thought at this point is, “Oh no…. I hate it when the animals die.” I really do. I have such a soft heart for animals that books like Old Yeller, just make me crazy angry through my tears….

couldn’t there have been another ending?

However this story quickly carried us to the story of Enzo… fun, brilliant pup to dog…. and he is well worth listening to. Enzo sees on National Geographic that in Mongolia, dog owners bury their dog high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog’s master whispers into the dog’s ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. Then his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat or fat is placed in his mouth to sustain his soul on its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog’s soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as it would like.

And Enzo is ready.

In his own words, here is what he thinks:

“Here’s why I will be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot talk, so I listen very well. I never deflect the course of the conversation with a comment of my own. People, if you pay attention to them, change the direction of one another’s conversations constantly. It’s like being a passenger in your car who suddenly grabs the steering wheel and turns you down a side street. For instance, if we met at a party and I wanted to tell you a story about the time I needed to get a soccer ball in my neighbor’s yard but his dog chased me and I had to jump into a swimming pool to escape, and I began telling the story, you, hearing the words “soccer” and “neighbor” in the same sentence, might interrupt and mention that your childhood neighbor was Pele, the famous soccer player, and I might be courteous and say, Didn’t he play for the Cosmos of New York? Did you grow up in New York? And you might reply that, no, you grew up in Brazil on the streets of Tres Coracoes with Pele, and I might say, I thought you were from Tennessee, and you might say not originally, and then go on to outline your genealogy at length. So my initial conversational gambit – that I had a funny story about being chased by my neighbor’s dog – would be totally lost, and only because you had to tell me all about Pele. Learn to listen! I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories.”

I absolutely adored this story. It is sad. It is real. And it is all told from Enzo’s point of view. I can not recommend this enough. I adored it on audio and I bet I would have loved it if I had read it too. Do not miss out on this enchanting read.

Amazon Rating

I have updated the WHERE Are you reading map to include The Art Of Racing In The Rain

I purchased this from audible.com

The Night Mobile by Audrey Niffenegger

Published on January 21, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

After a fight with her boyfriend one night, Alexandra goes for a walk and comes upon a bookmobile. When she goes inside to look at the books, she discovers that it’s a library of her own reading history; every book she’s ever read, including her diary, is on the shelf. As her life continues, she searches for the bookmobile, but years go by before she finds it again. When she does, she finds that the books she has read since last she visited have also been added to this personal library. As Alexandra strives to read more and constantly searches for the bookmobile,she hopes that her hard work will allow her to work with the bookmobile… only all her hard work does is make her a loner and a very lost person who discovers the cost of her dream is really too high.

This book was recommended to me by friend and fellow Bookie, Angie. She has read it and email me that she thought this would be a wonderful graphic novel to look more closely at and probably generate some good blog discussion thoughts.

The title alone captivated me.

I of course loved the fact that the bookmobile was filled with every book that Alexandra had ever read. I imagined what my own bookmobile would look like…. all the treasures of my youth… from the big puffy baby books to picture books, then into paperbacks…. I get excited thinking about the books I have forgotten I read and how thrilling it would be to see them and recognize them!

And if that was all this small graphic novel had to offer that would have been enough.

But no, there is an ending to the book that shocked me. It was this ending that actually left me thinking about this book days after I read it but unable to write this review. Finally I came to the conclusion that while it disturbed me… the bigger message is that we are not to get to caught up and lost in our reading. As much as we as book lovers enjoy dropping ourselves into a great read, it is also important to do life….. be with people, be active, and live…. not only through books … but also through life itself.

We need to make our own stories.

This book is centered around Chicago and as the night mobile travels it lands by real Chicago landmarks which gives this read a real feel.

This graphic novel stirred me and haunts me a little too. It left me really thinking about this bookmobile, and I think that is what the author wanted… to leave us with our own personal thoughts about what we read and how we do life.

My question to you, as it was to me…. if there was such a thing as a night mobile, and within it there were all the books you had ever read…. if that happened today, what book(s) would sadly be missing from your collection that you wish you had read?

My Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include The Night Mobile

Borrowed from my local library

Thank you Angie for a book that made me really think! 😀

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Published on January 18, 2011January 18, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

High School Senior Regina Afton is part of the “in” crowd. Along side her BFF Anna, no one can stop her. The students hate them for being so popular, but they fear them more and that is just the way Regina prefers it. No one is off-limits to her click and they will destroy anyone in their paths and Regina is all too happy to do it as long as it keeps Anna on her side. Regina knows there is nothing that can bring her down.

Until…. one day…

something does.

At a party one night Anna’s boyfriend moves in on Regina. When Regina confides in someone about a potential rape, she is sold out for a chance for the other girl to replace her in the popularity circle. What follows is a series of events that spiral Regina from the top of the heap to the lowest position in the school, practically overnight. As Regina struggles for a foothold, she sees how her treatment of others has left her with no allies, except possibly the one boy she had helped destroy.

I have so many thoughts about this book.

I seen a review of this late last summer and thought it sounded interesting then. More recently I found it on a list for a Cybils award and knew that I had to read it.

Some Girls Are is a book of all the things I love and hate about some of the YA I read. Let’s start with hate.

I hate (I know that’s a strong word – and really dislike is probably more appropriate here) when the books center around parties and drinking and drugs…. and there is plenty of all of the above in Some Girls Are. I am not prudish, I just think of the audience the books are for and when I see High School characters doing these things like it is just a part of their 15 – 18-year-old existence, it bothers me.

In particular there is a line in the book when Regina’s mom tells her that if she continues to skip school, she will no longer be allowed to see her friends, go out with her boyfriend, or go to parties. Go to parties?

AND (I am fired up now!) In several instances in the book it seems like these parties go late. I mean LATE. While they are always wise to have a designated driver – the level of drinking in this book makes me wonder – do these kids not have curfews? Do their parents not care if their teenager stumbles into the house at 3 am smelling like a brewery or higher than a kite?

Ok.

Now that I said my piece with that. Let me tell you what I love about the book.

I love the relationships that author Courtney Summers creates within this book. I honestly felt Regina’s pain when she is betrayed and ostracized from her friends. For those of us who have been through high school, we should all be able to remember what it feels like when a secret is told… when a friend, is no longer the friend you thought he/she was. In this, Courtney Summers excels with the accurate descriptions of the high emotion of youth.

In all YA I read, I try to find the deeper lesson and it is told well here. As Regina’s story unfolds, she learns who her true friends are, and in the process of healing – she finds herself too.

And holy smokes, can someone say “Mean Girls?” The level of evilness that happens within this book is no less than the movie that holds that name. FYI: There is a girl in the movie – also named Regina….

Overall, this is a book I did appreciate. I enjoyed the writing style, it became hard to put down as I began to wonder what would be Regina’s breaking point…. who was going to come out on top… and would there (could there?) be a reconciliation between the once friends.

I look forward to reading Courtney Summers again.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 Reading map has been updated to include Some Girls Are

*Actually, I could not find a location for Some Girls Are so I Googled The High School they mention in the book and turns out – there is one in Maine…. so Maine it is. If anyone knows where the book is set at, please let me know. 😀

I borrowed this book from my local library

Check out Coutney’s blog here

365 Thank You’s by John Kralik

Published on January 14, 2011January 14, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

John Kralik was 53 years old, owner of a struggling law firm, divorced twice, distant children, 2 mortgages (not his own), a tiny apartment, and a girlfriend that was about to become his ex-girlfriend. Life , it was safe to say, was at an all time low.

One New Years day while taking a walk to sort out his thoughts, John struggled with what he had to be grateful about. Shoot…. he coulomb even spell the word grateful. Certainly…. even as he looked through his crumbling life… there had to be something.

And that is where it began. John made a decision that day to write a thank you card every day for a year in an attempt to focus on the positive. At first it was easy, he thanked people for the Christmas gifts that he had recently received. Then, he had to dig a little deeper. What came out of this project was far beyond what John could have ever imagined. Relationships…. healed and strengthened, people responded in kind, he learned more about people he hardly knew, and John’s world… became a friendly place again….

All because he opened up to the possibility of gratitude for what he had… no matter how little it seemed.

I love books that make me realize I was wrong.

When I agreed to review this book I really thought this was going to be a little guide on writing thank you notes. In a small way it is just that. In a much larger and more important way, it is about a true story of a man who changed his attitude to gratitude and in turn…. changed himself into someone he wanted to be.

This book… is right up my alley.

I love stories like Pay It Forward, where a kindness changes someone…. makes us look at the good and not focus so much on all that is and can be bad around us. It’s easy to see where the world fails… where we fail…. it takes a little effort to find the good in things sometimes but I promise you, it is there.

I take this book a little personally because I have been in the low places in my own life and have learned that even the darkest times… have a little light. It may not be as obvious as the dark that surrounds us, but you can find it.

I won’t get all deep on you – but I will tell you this. This book inspired me to try to do my own 365 thank you’s. The written thank you seems almost a thing of the past, yet I know when I receive one I am always thrilled that someone took the time to thank me or appreciate me. I want to do the same for others. I think a project like this is one that makes you dig a little beyond the surface…. sure there are the obvious people to thank:

the mailman who delivers the mail to your box rain or shine (or in my case hauls books to my front door)
a grandparent for sharing their past with you
your hairdresser who has listened to your stories for years
the friend that is always the first one you call when things are rough
your spouse who you share your life with
the neighbor who may or may not be a part of your life
the adult child who struggles but you love – no matter what
the child still in your home
A relative who you may have not connected with in a while
a boss from the past who really made your job worthwhile
the person who bags your groceries
parents and siblings

I am going to create a sidebar button and post who I sent the thank you’s to in order to keep track.

I think this book would be a wonderful gift for someone who is struggling to find anything to be grateful for. I found the book to be inspirational and I am so glad I for the opportunity to read and review it.