What Alice Forgot

I've been procrastinating reading this book since Christmas.

I got it for a Christmas present, and really looked forward to reading it, alas each time I read the book flap, I thought to myself "this sounds really depressing" and I put it off a little longer.  Memory loss doesn't intrigue me--it scares me.  I finally dove in this week, and could hardly put the book down.  It was fun!  I found the characters really likable (except for the ones who you really aren't meant to like at all) and the story line was hardly at all predictable--in fact I found the unpredictability delightful.  The story takes place in Sydney, Australia, and I could almost hear the charming accent as I got to know the characters and worked through some vocabulary that I found charmingly British.  Initially I felt devastated for Alice, who, after sustaining a head injury when she falls at the gym, can't remember the past ten years of her life.  She wakes up thinking she's pregnant and almost giddy about her still new marriage to Nick.  Turns out she now has three kids and a failing marriage, and she's not sure she likes who she's become.  I fell in love with this book.  I fell in love with Alice's sense of optimism (and her attempts to love the heady children she didn't know she had and her humorous stabs at trying to figure out why things have worked out so differently from what she would have predicted).  I started to wonder how I would feel if I was forced to look at myself 10 years from now with no memory of what had taken place meanwhile.  It helped me want to make a pact never to take the real stuff for granted.  Sleep in, skip a ballet class, snub stress, have lunch with my sister, leave love notes for Dub, call my parents and tell them I love them.  Live the days of my life so that in 10 years there will be no regrets.  What Alice Forgot is a fast, rewarding read.  I enjoyed Alice's journey and will put this one back on the list of books to read again.

Happy August!

Here we've rolled right into a new month, and hardly noticed.  It's been the battle of a scary something--high fevers and a sore throat; not at all a fun time for a sweet eleven year old who would much rather be at soccer camp.  She's been on the couch, in better moments reading some of her favorite standby books.  She shared an excerpt from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.  I'm a big fan.  I am also a big fan of The Giving Tree (by Shel Silverstein)... and of my 11-year old.  Which is why this little book blurb hit home--in a funny but frightening sort of way.

"There was this book Dad used to read to me every night called "The Giving Tree."  It was a really good book, but the back of it had a picture of the author, this guy named Shel Silverstein.  But Shel Silverstein looks more like a burglar or a pirate than a guy who should be writing books for kids.

Dad must have known that picture kind of freaked me out, because one night after I got out of bed, Dad said 

'If you get out of bed again tonight, you'll probably run into Shel Siverstein in the hallway.'"

Did anyone else ever wonder why a talented author of childrens books would choose a picture that makes you think ex-con?

(carry on.)

Three books for the 3rd of July

Don't you love summer reading?

There's something magical about the first full week of summer, the start of the library's summer reading program, and the anticipation of all great books out there, just begging to be read.  So many books... just not enough time.  Let me help you by suggesting a few books that you might need to put near the top of your summer reading list.  And then you can help ME, by leaving a few suggestions of your own top picks in the comments below.  Hooray for books!  And sharing!  

 We took a trip to Barnes and Noble to browse their tables of summer picks.  Maniac Magee was on the teenage and young adult tables.  It caught my eye, and the next day when we visited the library, I added it to the stack.  Boy--am I glad I did!  Maniac Magee didn't captivate me right off... it probably took me until the 3rd chapter, which isn't saying too much, since the chapters tend to be about two or three pages long on average.  By chapter three, I was CHEERING! (inside my head) for Jeffrey Magee of the flap-soled tennis shoes.  It's a story about being homeless, overcoming racial boundaries and figuring out where you belong.  I LOVED it.  I would like to think that if I had a proclivity towards whistling to call my tribe for dinner, (like one of the moms in the story) that it would be a welcoming whistle, and that all would feel welcome at our table.  Maniac Magee is a book for all ages.  Part adventure, part example, part lesson to be learned.

My absolute favorite quote in the book:  "His smile was so wide he'd have to break it into sections to fit it through a doorway."  You'll have to read the book to find out who and why.  Just do it.

Oh--and it's a Newbery winner.  I LOVED Maniac Magee.

 The Best of Me was a good read.  I used to think I was a Nicholas Sparks fan, but I really don't think I am.  It reads like a movie, which means that the plot moves right along and thickens at the appropriate places, and then resolves in a way that might surprise the reader, but still leave you satisfied.  The movie rights have actually been sold to Warner Brothers, and the movie is set to release in 2014.  It's a love story.  There's plenty going on in the side stories to keep you busy.  I really did enjoy the book, but it's not going to be in my summer's top ten.  It's here because just the fact that I've finished three books since the start of summer is a monumental feat in my crazy world.  Would I recommend it?  Yes.  If you have enjoyed previous Nicholas Sparks titles, then I might even add that this is one of the better ones.

Of the three books here, Okay For Now gets my vote for best in show.  This story captured my heart right from the cover art.  Who, at some point in their life hasn't felt absolutely like spit-on wilted spinach and still pasted on a smile and communicated the complete opposite of the truth?  It's all good.  Set in 1968, this novel deals with the pretty heavy topics of  parental alcoholism, domestic violence, bullying and all kinds of change that is just plain HARD.  It's difficult to nail down a summary in one neat paragraph.  The irony and humor kept me committed to turning the pages as fast as I could... even on a camp-out in the dark with no reading glasses, having to hold the book at arms length with a spotty flashlight running low on battery.  Gary Schmidt does a brilliant job of handing you layers and layers of subject matter pertinent to 1968 and presents it in a way that is both witty and relevant.  I laughed out loud.  I cringed.  I wanted to wrap it up and gift it to everyone important in my life.  This book is about Doug Swietek's journey to accepting himself, his family, and his place in the world.  I found myself cheering for Doug and wanting good things to happen as much as he needed them to.  This is my first Gary D. Schmidt book--it may not be my last.

You should read this book as soon as you can get your hands on a copy.  You really should.

Between Shades of Gray

a novel by Ruta Sepetys

My 13 year old daughter found this book while browsing the young adult book section at the library, and brought it home to read.  She hadn't read too far into the story before she commented several times that I should read it, and that she was sure I would really like it.  We've shared enough recommendations that I knew I would hang on to it after she finished.  It took me a few weeks (and a renewal) before I got to it, but boy am I glad I did.  I stayed up much too late last night, finishing the last few chapters in bed.

I've read plenty of WWII coming of age stories, but never one that dealt with the Josef Stalin/Soviet side of this war, and was intrigued to learn more.  This story starts in Soviet occupied Lithuania, and captures the struggle of the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia beginning in the early 1940s.  In June of 1941 15 year old Lina is taken from her home at night by the Soviet Secret Police with her mother and younger brother.  They are forced on an unthinkable journey to Siberia, enduring extreme hardships, torture, starvation and servitude.  Lina, her little family and the people they traveled with captured my heart.  A good book leaves you thinking, and I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Girls Don't Fly

 This was the perfect weekend getaway book.

I LOVED it.  I didn't start out loving it, but it just kept getting better.

I can't count the number of times I laughed out loud.  The author's voice perfectly conveyed the feelings and emotions of a High School Senior who wants to fly, but is strapped down by circumstance.

The chapters were on average about two pages long, so I could walk away from the book a hundred times and still finish it in the course of a couple of days.

I REALLY liked Girls Don't Fly.

Did I already say that?

I also really like:

 spending a weekend staying up late

sleeping in

taking pictures

rambling

reading in the sun

hanging out with someone who enjoyed doing the same things (this is her picture of me)

my new mustard flats

being home again.

Happy Monday!

Wonder Struck

 Although I believe this is my first blog post in 2012 about a book I have read, I will assure you that it's not the only book under my belt for this year.  I carried this book with me to the Orthodontist a few days ago, and he asked me what I was reading.

I believe he was struck more by the impressive size of the book than anything else; it is a hefty lug.

(We had a brief and enjoyable conversation about reading, and before I left the office he gifted me his own personal copy of Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth when he found out I hadn't read his favorite book.)  

I reserved Wonder Struck from the library for Leelie. She and Rooney and I really enjoyed reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret by the same author. I think we also agree that Hugo Cabret was better. Only by a slight margin--both are great. Selznick's books are not really picture books, not quite novels, not  flip books, not exactly graphic novels... more like a delightful combination of all of those styles. They're BIG, but they read really fast, because you're constantly turning the pages of beautiful artwork interspersed with pages of text eager to find out what happens next. I like a quick, enjoyable read.  Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck is both.