Review: "Farm Fatale" by Wendy Holden

Illustrator Rosie and her newspaper columnist boyfriend Mark are ready for a change. Actually, Rosie's ready for a change, but Mark isn't quite there yet. Rosie longs for the peace and quiet of the countryside, rather than the hustle and bustle of the city, and when Mark is offered the opportunity to write his own column about life in the country, the two jump at the chance at a new start in a new locale.

Samantha, who fancies herself to be a famous actress (despite the fact that the only film she's ever acted in went straight- to- airline), is also considering a move to the countryside as research for her upcoming acting role. She falls in love with "The Bottom", a house located in the picturesque town of Eight Mile Bottom, and is determined that she and her wealthy husband Guy become the most popular residents in town. She's not prepared for the fact that a reclusive rock star as well as an actual film star have already taken up residence in Eight Mile Bottom, so she'll have some competition.

Both couples find that life in the country is not quite what they had envisioned, but will they like what country life has to offer?

I have to admit that Farm Fatale was not my favourite Wendy Holden book, although it was definitely not my least favourite either. It fell somewhere in the middle. My problem with the book was not the writing or the setting (both wonderful), but the characters and the fact that I just didn't like them that much. Mark (Rosie's boyfriend) was selfish and quite unlikable. Samatha was borderline psychotic, thinking not only that she was famous, but that everyone wanted to be like her (which couldn't be further from the truth). Guy, Samantha's husband was quite despicable, and I couldn't feel an ounce of pity for him. Jack, the farmer, was too moody for me, and I couldn't bring myself to like him either. With the exception of Jack, the above characters were all supposed to be villanous, so I really wasn't supposed to like them, but the biggest problem was that I didn't even like Rosie, the character that you were supposed to like. She acted like a doormat throughout the book, unable to assert herself to her rude boyfriend or her best friend with a hellion for a child. Luckily Rosie redeemed herself in the last quarter of the story and became quite likeable. It was at that point that I began to cheer her on. I require my chick lit (in fact, most of my reads in general) to have at least one character that I actually care about what happens to.

The last quarter of the book saved the whole thing for me. Suddenly the characters were quirky (and I was rooting for them!), and a couple of fun new characters were introduced that made the whole plot more enjoyable. In fact, I would have loved to have had two in particular (Mark and Iseult) introduced much earlier. That may have changed my whole opinion of the book.

Despite my ramblings to the contrary, I really did enjoy Farm Fatale. I just wish that it would have been a little more concise in the beginning, with a few more likable characters. This will still make a great light beach read, as there are plenty of enjoyable scenes and the ending was quite satisfying.

Thank-you to Sourcebooks for this review copy!

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of Wendy Holden and chick lit
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge

Review: "So Much for That" by Lionel Shriver

Shep Knacker, after building his handyman business his entire life, is finally rewarded when he sells it for a cool $1 million dollars. He's been saving for "The Afterlife", the journey he plans to take to Tanzania, the one with no return date. His wife, Glynnis, is less than sold on the idea of leaving America to live out their remaining days in a foreign country and has been clinging to their current life. Shep reluctantly returns to his old job, although this time he's an employee rather than the boss.

Shep finally concludes that there is no time like the present to start his retirement and tells Glynnis that he will be moving to Tanzania, with or without her. Glynnis drops a bomb of her own- she has cancer, and will require his health insurance in order to pay for her upcoming treatments. Shep returns to work as if nothing happened, but as his retirement nest egg shrinks significantly as a result of the out-of-pocket expenses he pays for Glynnis' treatments, his plans of escape seem further away than ever.

So Much for That is a commentary on what it's like to be a middle-class American, the nice guy, and a victim of the misleading and complicated health care system. It was kind of like the book version of Michael Moore's Sicko, only  fictional. It amazed me what the Knacker family had to go through in order to receive treatment for Glynnis' cancer, and they even had insurance! It seemed that every day Shep was on the phone with yet another branch of his insurance company, disputing yet another denied claim, and it certainly made me thankful for the Canadian health care system.

So Much for That is more than just a social commentary, and it became, for me, one of those books that I initially didn't expect to love, but ended up exceeding my expectations in every way. In fact, this book stayed with me long after I read the final chapter, and has a place of honour on my bookshelf. The characters, Shep, Glynnis, and friends Jackson, Carol, and Flicka, are vividly developed and quickly become people that I cared about. Even the distant Glynnis, at first holding a high opinion of herself as a gifted artist, despite the fact that she rarely takes the time to actually work on her art, grew on me as her story progressed. In fact, one of my favourite quotes in the book comes from the mouth of Glynnis. While ill she contemplates her lasting contributions to the world in general and says,

"She had cleaned things that only got dirty again. No one had ever put on a gravestone "Here Lies, etc., She Swiffered the Kitchen Floor."" (page 310 of the hardcover edition)

Lionel Shriver has written a story that was begging to be written. The ending had me both laughing and crying (as in actual tears being shed), and the rawness of the book shocked me at times (warning: this one is not for the faint of heart, as there are some rather graphic scenes). It's one of those books that will make you think, make you laugh, and it may even make you cry. Thank-you to HarperCollins Canada for this review copy! Take a moment to browse inside the book here, or find out more about the author here.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fiction fans, those who have enjoyed Shriver's previous books
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge

Review: "Husband and Wife" by Leah Stewart

Sarah Price, mother of two small children and the wife of a fiction author, gave up her dreams of writing poetry to support the household. Her husband, Nathan, stays at home with the children and works on his novels. His upcoming novel, Infidelity, has received some fantastic pre-publication raves and everything is set to change for their family. That is until Nathan confesses that Infidelity is loosely based on his own personal experience- a year prior he cheated on Sarah while away at a writer's conference. Sarah is stunned by the revelation. She was under the mistaken impression that her marriage and home life was a happy, balanced one.

Sarah isn't quite sure how to proceed. Does she kick Nathan out? Does she stay with him and try to forgive him? She finds that neither answer is quite what she was looking for, and she sets out to try to reassemble the jagged pieces of both her life and marriage.

Husband and Wife is filled with lyrical prose, the kind that you want to say out loud and savour on your tongue. I practically devoured the beautiful words, as one would a particularly delicious dinner. For that reason alone I would have recommended the book, but Leah Stewart has filled the book with raw truths as well, making it that much more enjoyable. At first glance one may think that Husband and Wife is a reflection on marriage. It is, but it is so much more. It is a reflection on marriage, motherhood, parenthood, and losing oneself in the midst of all of the additional roles that we take on when we become responsible for others. There were so many instances in this book when I thought, "Yes! Leah Stewart really gets what it is like to be a parent and to have not one ounce of patience remaining in my person to be used on the kids. She understands what it is like to put the kids to bed at 6 o'clock just because I can't take one more minute of being responsible". Stewart has captured, and mananged to convey on paper, the all-consuming job of being wholly responsible for small children.

I don't know if there is much more that I can say about this book other than to tell you to read this one. Recommend it to the woman in your life, the mother, the wife, the sister, the friend. This is a book that women have to read, if only so that they understand that there is a person out there who understands what it is like to lose a little of your identity when you have children, but that it is never too late to get those pieces back. Take a moment to browse inside this book and sample what Husband and Wife has to offer.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Wives, mothers, women
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Each week we share which books found themselves into our mailboxes, often resulting in a serious case of mailbox envy, not to mention huge wish lists!

This week two new books found their way from my mailbox to my home. Both arrived at the same time and they were:

Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe by Jenny Hollowell: I love the title of this book- I think that it may become my new mantra when stressed! Thank-you to Jason at Henry Holt for this review copy.

This Must Be the Place by Kate Racculia arrived at the same time as the above book. It looks like it will provide me with some meaty summer reading! Thanks again to Jason at Henry Holt for sending this copy.

This week I also received one library book that I had requested, their brand-new copy of Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart, which I promptly devoured. It was wonderful, and I should be posting my review this week. Next up from the library? Get Lucky by Katherine Center, another book that I have on my must-read summer reading list.

This week I hope to get completely caught up on writing reviews for the books that I've read. For a while now I've had a substantial pile of books that I've read, but not had time to review. I've been working away, and now only have four left in that pile. I'm hoping to get caught up before Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, as that marks for me the official start of my summer reading! My kids have two more days of school (well, my middle child has one more as he's in junior kindergarten and only goes alternating days), which means that I'll be done work as well! I'm looking forward to handing in the keys to my big yellow bus for the summer (it gets parked at my work yard for two months) and taking the summer to spend time with the kids and read some wonderful summer books! We'll be participating in the library's summer reading program (this year all three kids will be allowed to participate), as well as spending some time at the local beaches, parks, and of course, our own backyard! If I get all of my reviews done prior to July 1st, I'll be able to start the summer with a clean reading and reviewing slate!!

So, those are the books that found their way into my home last week- which books found their way into yours?

Review and Giveaway: "Finding Marco" by Kenneth C. Cancellara

Mark is the CEO of a company dedicated to making fuel-efficient vehicles. When he tries to take the company in a new direction, one that will cause short-term debt, but long-term growth, the board of directors shoots him down, afraid of their stock going down for a couple of years, but unable to recognize that their denial to move forward will eventually put the company under. After much soul searching Mark determines that his ethics are being compromised, and may have been for many years, and he no longer wants to be a part of the company. Mark resigns and escapes to Acerenza, Italy, his place of birth, for refuge.

There Mark is transported back to his childhood and a place where things seem simpler and more pleasurable. He takes stock of the family vineyards, meets up with old friends, and celebrates an old-fashioned Christmas. Mark must decide if he wishes to return to Canada and join the corporate ranks once again, or if he is willing to give up his wealth and status in the pursuit of a happier future.

Finding Marco is the book of a man having a mid-life crisis. Instead of buying a new car or trading in his wife for a trophy wife, Mark longs for home. He longs for the sights and smells of his childhood, and luckily has a supportive wife and daughter who encourage him in his journey of self-discovery. That's what the underlying theme of the book is: self-discovery. Often we, as humans, become so caught up in money, and status, and the trappings of a technologically advanced world that we forget what it is like to experience the simple pleasures of life, and we forget what it is like to be truly happy. Mark finds that he is no longer happy living the status quo and decides to pursue those things that will make him a truly happy man.

I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Acerenza, Italy. I'm a bit of an armchair traveller, considering that I don't have the opportunity to travel often (and generally not as far as Italy), and I enjoyed the descriptions of the everyday life of those living there. Despite the fact that technology has been evolving there as well (in one part a friend of Mark brags that they now have cars and big-screen TV's), mules still abound, and people still take nightly strolls to talk to neighbors and "show off their finery". Doors aren't locked, and are often left wide open so that neighbors can come calling. These descriptions were enchanced by the fact that Kenneth Cancellara is actually a native of Acerenza, Italy, and could draw from his own memories while writing these descriptions.

One small problem that I had with the book was the fact that it sometimes felt like I was reading a biography, rather than fiction. I would have enjoyed more detail on the daily life of the character Mark, and I would have liked to understand his thoughts more. Instead I found that the book was very event-focused at times, which detracted at times from the story itself.

Aside from that, this was an enjoyable story of mid-life, self-discovery, and a return to roots. I recommend it to armchair travellers such as myself, or to anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to change their path in life. Thank-you to Megan at Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists for this review copy!

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Armchair travellers, fiction lovers
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010

Thanks to Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, I have two copies of Finding Marco to give away! To enter:

1. Tell me where you've always wanted to travel to. Please leave me your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win. No e-mail= no entry!

2. *Bonus Entry* Become a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect, and leave me a seperate comment letting me know that you now follow. If you are already a GFC follower, just leave me a comment letting me know that you already follow.

3. *Bonus Entry* Spread the word about this contest, and leave me a seperate comment letting me know how you spread the word. Tweet about it, Facebook it, blog about it, whatever! Just leave me a comment letting me know what you did.

This contest is open internationally! It runs until July 16, 2010 at midnight EST, and winners will be notified by e-mail. Good luck!

Review: "My Name is Memory" by Ann Brashares

Daniel has "the memory", the ability to remember sizable portions of his past lives as well as the ability to recognize souls that he has met in previous lives. "The memory" is very rare, only one child born among thousands will have it, and having it can be both a blessing and a curse. Daniel can remember 552 Asia Minor, 1918 England, and 1972 Virginia, but what he remembers most clearly is her. He knows her best as Sophia, although in present day she has the name of Lucy, but she is the only one who he has ever truly fallen in love with. Their first encounter, in Asia Minor, was fateful, and Daniel spends much of his lives searching for her so that they can be reunited once again and so that he can atone for his past sins.

Lucy is in high school when she encounters the moody loner Daniel. For reasons that she can barely understand, she develops a full-on crush. Daniel appears not to notice her, but on the very last day of high school they have a strange interaction where Daniel calls her "Sophia" and asks if she remembers him. Lucy runs away from him and continues on with her life, but after an encounter with a psychic, she becomes determined to find him again. The only problem is that nobody knows where Daniel is now, or knows how to find him.

Suddenly desperate to find one another, Daniel and Lucy embark on a dangerous path, and they must overcome virtually insurmountable obstacles if they want to be together.

I have to confess something: I have never read a book by Ann Brashares. I've never read her wildly popular YA series The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, nor have I read her adult novel The Last Summer (of You and Me). Something about My Name is Memory attracted me to it right away; perhaps it was the story of everlasting love. I'm so glad that I read this book! It was amazing, and the touch of the mystical enchanted me. I love the idea that true love can last for more than a lifetime, that it can be essentially everlasting and can last over many lifetimes.

There were so many new and interesting concepts that were introduced to me in this book concerning past lives. I'm not sure how many of them are based on existing ideas and how many are a product of the author's imagination, but they really stuck with me. The one that was the most thought-provoking for me was the concept that dreams are often made up of memories from past lives. I've had some strange dreams before, ones that made complete sense except for the fact that they took place in a setting that I have never been in before (one dream is set at a cottage where I have never been, another at a playground that I can't remember ever having visited), which is why this idea stuck with me so strongly. There were other interesting concepts in this book as well, such as young children remembering pieces of their past lives in their early years, but forgetting those pieces as they grow. And, of course, of love lasting for more than one lifetime. My Name is Memory offered me a different perspective on life as we know it, and it certainly gave me a lot to think about.

The characters in this book were so well developed, and I especially loved the character of Daniel. He was brooding and mysterious, but gentle and loyal at the same time. We get to know Daniel the best because the story alternates between the present day with Daniel and Lucy, and Daniel's past lives where we are given a glimpse into the different things that Daniel has experienced, as well as the different times that Daniel and Lucy have encountered one another. The switch between the past and the present day were both effortless and intricately researched, and as Daniel describes his previous lives I felt as I was there with him.

The only problem that I had with the book was the ending, because there were so many questions left unanswered. I am hoping that these questions only remain unanswered in this book because there will be a sequel to My Name is Memory. I'm definitely not done with reading the story of Lucy and Daniel and I certainly hope that I will have a sequel to look forward to about love that transcends all else (Edited to add: I am so excited to find out that this will actually be part of a trilogy!).

Ann Brashares has kindly answered a few questions for me about her writing and about this book.

The Book Chick: Your first novels were aimed at a young adult audience, and now you have switched to writing for an adult audience. Did you find the switch was something that came naturally for you?

Ann Brashares: It was more of a natural progression than a leap. In the Sisterhood novels, the characters were nearly twenty by the end of the fourth book. In The Last Summer and My Name is Memory, the principal characters are in their early twenties. I don't think there's necessarily a hard distinction between adult and young adult books. I guess I really love to write about the stretch of life that straddles the two.
 
TBC: What was your inspiration for My Name is Memory?
AB: This scene popped into my head of a young man and a young woman facing some hideously dire situation and the man telling the woman, no matter what happens to them, even if they die, he will find her again. I started to pull the scene apart--how does the man know this? What special power does he have over death? And then I started to think about memory. Maybe the only real power he has is an extraordinary memory. What would a person be like who could remember back a thousand years?
 
TBC: Do you have any advice for aspiring or debut authors?
AB: Set yourself a goal for a particular piece of work, whether it is a story or a novel, give yourself a deadline and make sure you finish it. Make sure you have one fully formed piece of work under your belt as you set forth.
 
TBC: What books are you reading right now?

AB: I've been reading a lot of Nabokov. Right now I'm reading and loving Speak, Memory.

Thank-you to Penguin Canada for sending this review copy!
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of Brashares' previous books, as well as fans of fiction and strong love stories
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010

Review: "J'adore New York" by Isabelle Lafleche

Catherine Lambert is thrilled when she applies for, and is offered, the opportunity to transfer from the Paris office of her prestigious law firm to the New York one. Catherine has always been a lover of fashion and can't wait to explore all that New York has to offer her.

What Catherine is not counting on is the fact that New York will be far more challenging that she initially anticipated. Catherine is under constant pressure to meet her billable hours quota, and her bosses aren't afraid to put more work on her desk. She thinks that she may be developing a friendship with someone in the office, but then she finds out that he is transferring to the Paris office. A client crosses a line with her and yet she is blamed for the fact that he can't keep her hands to himself. Catherine is just about ready to give up when she meets Jeffrey Richardson, a handsome and powerful client who is smitten with her. Suddenly her visions of what New York would be like are coming true: candlelit dinners and weekends away with a sexy man. But things seem a little too good to be true, and they are. Jeffrey makes a request of Catherine that complying with would go against every ethical fibre in her being, and she must decide how badly she wants to succeed in New York.

J'adore New York is the debut novel from Isabelle Lafleche, and I look forward to reading more from her. The story flowed, and she kept it interesting even when explaining technical laws. It probably helped that Lafleche was a lawyer in Quebec and she used her prior experience to explain the trickier terms to those of us knowing little about the law. Despite its length of 390 pages, there's lots going on and before I realized it, I was at the end.

I loved Catherine, the main character. She brings to New York her optimism and enthusiasm, and even when New York shows its true colours, Catherine tries to hold on these qualities in herself. She spends some time soul-searching, to discover what it is that she really stands for, and those parts of the book quickly became my favourites. The underlying message was that our future is not set in stone, but is rather a result of the choices that we make. Another stand-out character was the flamboyant and funny Rikash, Catherine's secretary in New York. Although he is a secondary character, he manages to keep things light, and I enjoyed the scenes he appeared in.

J'adore New York takes a serious topic, shady deals and corporate corruption, and manages to make it both fresh and fun. The result is the perfect beach read- light and easy to read, yet containing enough substance to make things interesting. It provides an insiders look into what really happens inside the walls of a prestigious law firm.

Thank-you to HarperCollins Canada for this review copy! You can browse inside J'adore New York here, or find out more about the author here.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction or stories set in New York
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010

Review: "Jessica Z" by Shawn Klomparens

Jessica Zorich is meandering through life. She has a job that she's good at, but not passionate about. She's in a strange relationship with her upstairs neighbor, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The world around her is both frightening and dangerous- it's post 9-11 and buses are frequently being blown up by suicide bombers. When she meets Josh, an intense and brilliant artist, at a party, she's swept into an overwhelming relationship with him. He's passionate, he's sexual, he's politically minded, and he wants her. Jessica can't help but be flattered, especially when he asks her to be his muse for an upcoming project.

When something both confusing and devastating occurs, life as Jessica knows it is blown to pieces, and what remains are the truths that were hidden there all along.

It always amazes me when a man can truly get into the head of a woman, and Shawn Klomparens does an excellent job of this with Jessica Z. Jessica would do something and I would be nodding my head in agreement with what she did, or with how she felt, and it surprised me how Klomparens was so in tune with the female mind. For this reason alone I would recommend it, but he also managed to create multi-faceted characters who were more than what they seemed at first glance. A particularly good example of this would be Josh, the brooding artist. In the first part of the book we meet one part of his personality, and in the second half we discover the other part, completely different from the first. At times it was difficult to associate the first Josh with the second Josh, because they were so entirely different, yet as a character he remained entirely believable.

The plot of Jessica Z. was spectacular, and the setting particularly eerie. The whole book is set in an uncertain time, a time when suicide bombers are common and it seems like they are becooming commonplace. It was frightening, yet oddly familiar. Jessica and her friends and family seem to go about their daily lives as normal, yet when another bombing occurs, a national tragedy, it seems like just another tragic blip on the radar. They seem to know that another one is just around the corner. Klomparens doesn't really expand on what it is that is causing all of these people to blow buses up, but this elusiveness made the book more compelling if anything. In the midst of all of the uncertainty of the time, Klomparens manages to tell the story of a normal girl with normal problems: she's unsure of her new relationship with Josh, her mother is overprotective, and she forms a new friendship in the oddest of circumstances. All of these aspects combined to create a story that was both hard to put down and easy to relate to.

I read Jessica Z. as part of the initiative Make a Book a Bestseller. Just by buying this book, you could win a Kindle! Full details can be found here.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction, fans of well-written fiction in general
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010

Review & Giveaway: "The Opposite of Me" by Sarah Pekkanen

Lindsey Rose feels like she's finally going to get out of her gorgeous fraternal twin sister, Alex's, shadow: after many long hours spent working at an advertising agency, she is in line for the vice presidency. She'll be the youngest vice president that her company has ever had, and she will have everything that she's ever wanted in life. One devastating night takes it all out of her grasp, and she heads home to Maryland with her tail between her legs.

Lindsey has always been labelled "the smart one", while her sister has been labelled "the pretty one", so Lindsey decides not to tell her parents that she has lost her job and everything that she has worked so hard for, and instead decides to keep up the charade that she is scouting out a new location for her former employer.

As if living with her parents and being unemployed isn't bad enough, Lindsey is forced to become involved with Alex's wedding plans to Prince Charming. Watching her sister, who has always had everything handed to her on a silver platter, preparing to walk down the aisle nearly breaks her resolve to re-invent herself. However, when an old family secret is revealed, and when Alex faces some unexpected challenges, Lindsey and Alex discover that things are not always what they seem to be and they both come to see themselves and their role in their family in an entirely new way.

I love The Opposite of Me's gorgeous cover. I mean, I'm not one to generally judge a book by its cover and all that, but it certainly helps when the cover is as appealing as this one! The picture on the cover is of the back of the heads of two women, one a brunette and one a redhead, and when we learn that Lindsey is a brunette and Alex is a redhead, it made sense. I love that it doesn't show their faces, I like being able to imagine that for myself.

Beyond the obvious cover appeal, the story itself flows effortlessly. This is at first glance a larger book (400 pages), but the story is so enticing that I couldn't put it down. I didn't find the dialogue awkward like I have in some debut books- awkward writing is one of my biggest pet peeves and usually detracts from my overall enjoyment of any book. Instead, I found a carefully plotted story with words that flowed, and it easily held my attention.

The characters in this book were especially well-developed. The emphasis is on Lindsey, and the story is from her point of view, but we do get strong glimpses into Alex's mindset. Lindsey and Alex's parents were hilarious, and they provided comic relief at the more serious parts, which helped the book to maintain its overall lighthearted tone.

The ending was predictable, but that made it no less satisfying for me. In fact, one of the things that makes me sigh wistfully at the end of the book is how good the ending was. After I was done reading The Opposite of Me, you can rest assured that there was lots of wistful sighing.

Sarah Pekkanen has written a strong debut novel, and I'm thrilled that this will not be the last we hear from her (she's already submitted the manuscript for her next book). The Opposite of Me is a compelling look at the complicated bond between sisters.

You can browse inside this book here, or purchase it here. This book would also make a great book club choice, and the book club guide can be found here.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction, those who enjoy reading stories about sisters
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010



Thanks to Crystal at BookSparks PR I have one copy of The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen to give away! To enter:

1. Leave me a comment and tell me if you have a sister, and if so, do you two have a complicated or an easy relationship. (Note: I personally do not have a sister, but am blessed that I now have 5 wonderful sister-in-laws!!!) Please leave me an e-mail address so that I can contact you if you are the winner. No e-mail= no entry!

2. *Bonus Entry* Become a follower on Google Friend Connect and leave me a separate comment letting me know that you now follow. Current followers are eligible as well, just leave me a separate comment letting me know that you already follow.

3. *Bonus Entry* Spread the word about this contest! How you do it is up to you: Facebook it, blog about it, post it on your sidebar, just leave me a comment letting me know how you spread the word.

This contest is open to both US and Canadian residents, no PO Boxes please! It runs until July 12, 2010 at midnight EST, and the winner will be contacted by e-mail. Good luck!

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Each week we share which books arrived in our mailboxes. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to towering TBR piles and huge wish lists!

Last week this is what arrived in my mailbox:

NOTHING!!!

*Gasp* I swear my mailbox is going to get a complex if something doesn't arrive soon! On the plus side, it did give me a chance to make progress on my TBR pile!!

Make a Book a Bestseller, Win a Kindle!

Catherine McKenzie, the author of Spin (which I loved!) has recently started the "Author Effect" initiative. Her thoughts: "If a bunch of people can get Betty White to host Saturday Night Live seems like we can make a great book(s) a bestseller.". Participating is simple; purchase one or both of the featured books (right now we're focusing on Jessica Z. and Two Years, No Rain, both by Shawn Klomparens), and see if readers can make an otherwise primarily unnoticed book a bestseller. And to make things even sweeter, just by participating, you can win a Kindle! Here's how to enter:

1. For each purchase of the book(s) you will get five entries - proof of purchase will be photo of book in hand emailed to cemckenzie@hotmail.com or photo/email of receipt
2. For joining the Facebook group or the group on Goodreads you will get one entry
3. For tweeting about project you will get one entry
4. For blogging about project you will get two entries
5. For each friend you get to join Facebook group or purchase the books you will get one entry - they can email me at cemckenzie@hotmail.com or message me on FB or Twitter to tell me who they have gotten to join or purchase books.

Anyone can participate, and the draw will be on August 15th, 2010.

Here's Catherine discussing this initiative in more detail on "Focus Montreal". She discusses it at 17:37 into the video:
http://www.globalmontreal.com/video/index.html?categoryID=1100650713

Review: "The Journey Home" by Michael Baron

Crossing the Bridge by Michael Baron was one of the first books that I read in 2010, and it wasn't one of my favourites because I had some issues with some of the characters. However, I did enjoy Baron's writing style, so I thought that I would give his latest, The Journey Home a try. I'm glad that I was willing to give Baron a chance to wow me, because this one was very different (in a good way!) from his last one.

The story begins as Joseph, a man in his late 30's, wakes up in a strange house, completely disoriented. He has no idea who he is, other than the fact that his name is Joseph, and he doesn't know what event landed him where he is now. He fleetingly remembers his wife, in snatches of memory that come and go, but he has no idea where she is or how he can find her. With little to guide him, Joseph sets out to find his wife, who he is sure is worried about him, and he takes Will, a teenager looking for adventure, along for the ride.

Meanwhile, Antoinette is an elderly woman living in a nursing home who is slowly losing her grip on reality. Rather than deal with the present she would rather sleep, where she has the most wonderful dreams about her deceased husband, Don, and all of the things that they used to do. Her son, Warren, recently divorced and now unemployed, visits his mother frequently, trying to replicate the wonderful recipes that she created when he was young in an attempt to lure her back to the present.

These three people are all searching for a very different version of home, and their journey to get there is an emotional ride.

I really enjoyed The Journey Home. I had no problems connecting with the characters, and I felt especially drawn to Joseph. His disorientation was heartbreaking; he followed smells and feelings in a desperate attempt to be reunited with his wife. He can't remember her name, or what her face looks like, but he can remember how much he loves her. I also enjoyed the character of Warren. Instead of becoming a broken man- he's freshly divorced, newly unemployed, and he's losing his mother to dementia and old age- he throws all of his energy into making his mother happy. The ending of Warren's story was definitely my favourite.

In fact, the best part of the book was the ending. This isn't to discount the beginning and middle of the book, it was just that the ending utterly surprised and pleased me. It isn't often that an author can surprise me with an ending (usually I can anticipate them well ahead of time). There was a point when I wondered how the story could possibly end that would make any sense, but Baron managed that and more. It's what made this book memorable.

This book is short (only 176 pages), but it packs a punch. The short length will also make it the perfect read for busy moms this summer, as it only took me a couple of hours to read it from start to finish. Thank-you to Lou at The Story Plant for sending me this review copy!

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction or Nicholas Sparks
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge

Giveaway: $60 Gift Certificate for CSN Stores

I'll admit it: I love to read in my bathroom. I usually wait until the kids are in bed, or I wait until my husband can watch them for a bit, and I disappear into the bathtub for hours at a time. There's just something about being in the bathtub reading a book that can transport me to far off places. I usually stay in until I'm wrinkly and the water is pretty much cold. Unfortunately, my bathroom is a little retro at the moment. I'm talking blue sink, no vanity (just the sink attached to the wall), and it is so tiny that you almost have to turn sideways to get in. That's one of the reasons why I've spent more time than I'll admit to lusting after the items at http://justvanities.com, one of CSN's 200+ stores.

I love this gorgeous vanity; it's elegant, and it looks like it would hold the various paraphernalia that is currently scattered around my bathroom (and it would probably eliminate my use of certain choice words when I'm looking for something and everything is falling all over the place).

I think that this mirror would look fantastic above the above vanity.

What's a beautiful bathroom setup without the appropriate lighting? I love this vanity light! It looks like it would give me enough light to be able to see what I'm doing, but not be overly harsh.

CSN is generously offering one of you the opportunity to win a $60 gift certificate, which can be used at any one of their 200+ stores. You can use it to towards something for the bathroom, a new bookshelf, or a new desk- whatever you've been lusting after. The possibilities are endless! To enter:

1. Visit Just Vanities and tell me what item you would love for your bathroom (this is not what you have to purchase if you win the gift certificate). Please leave me an e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win. No e-mail= no entry!

2. *Bonus Entry* Become a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect and leave me a new and separate comment letting me know that you now follow. Current followers are eligible as well, just leave me a separate comment.

3. *Bonus Entry* Spread the word about this contest in any way that you wish! Blog about it, add it to your sidebar, tweet about it, Facebook it- just make sure that you leave me a separate comment to let me know what you did.

This contest is open to both Canadian and US residents. It runs until July 5, 2010 at midnight. I will contact the winner after this date by e-mail, and the winner will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Each week we share which books made their ways into our homes the previous weeks. Be warned: Mailbox Monday can lead to some serious book envy, huge wish lists and toppling TBR piles!

The first book to arrive last week was Jessica Z by Shawn Klomparens. I'll be reading Jessica Z as part of the initiative started by Catherine McKenzie (author of Spin), who wants to explore if readers can make a book a bestseller. More information about the interesting initiative can be found here on Goodreads. Just by purchasing these books or by joining the Goodreads group, you could win a Kindle!

In the same package was Shawn Klomparens' other book, Two Years, No Rain. I will also be reading this book as part of the Make a Book a Bestseller initiative. I'm debating which one to read first, because they both look great, but I think that I may start with his debut book (Jessica Z).

On Wednesday, two amazing contest wins arrived. A signed copy of Beach Week by Susan Coll arrived, a win from Sarah Pekkanen's Facebook page (if you're not already a fan of Sarah Pekkanen on Facebook, she's always giving away awesome prizes!). There is a blurb on the back calling Beach Week "hysterically funny", so I can't wait to read this one at the beach. Then again, it's a signed copy, so maybe it's too pretty to take to the beach! Regardless, I'll be reading it somewhere this summer!

The other win to arrive was a signed (and personalized!) copy of After You by Julie Buxbaum. I was thrilled to win this from Manic Mommy's blog- I've read both of Julie Buxbaum's books (my review of The Opposite of Love, and my review of After You) and I loved both of them. I can't wait to re-read this one, and then to put it with my (small, but still pretty cool) collection of signed books. (Note: I couldn't find a picture of the cover of the paperback that I received, so I'm using a picture of the hardcover's cover).

The final book to arrive was Jill Mansell's latest, Take a Chance on Me (okay, am I the only one who hears the ABBA song whenever I say that title?). I'm a Jill Mansell-aholic, so of course I was thrilled to get this one from Sourcebooks.

That's it for me for last week- which books arrived in your mailbox??

Review: "The Lies We Told" by Diane Chamberlain

Rebecca and Maya are sisters with a past that haunts them. As teenagers- Maya was 14, Rebecca 18- they witnessed the murder of their parents by one of their father's ex-students. Rebecca put her life on hold to raise her little sister and to keep her out of foster care, and both went on to become doctors. That's where their similarities end- Rebecca is now a doctor working with DIDA, a group of doctors sent to disaster areas. Maya is an orthopedic surgeon working with children (she knits tiny little bones together), married to a fellow doctor, Adam, who is desperately trying for a baby.

After Maya miscarries her third baby, Adam is called to help when a hurricane devastates the coast of North Carolina. Realizing that a pediatrician is badly needed, Adam convinces timid Maya to come down to help out. Shortly after her arrival, the helicopter bringing Maya and several patients to a local hospital goes down. Maya is missing, and she is presumed dead.

Meanwhile, Rebecca, usually the one who jumps from one relationship, one adventure, to the next, finds herself dreaming of motherhood. Even worse, she finds herself intensely attracted to Adam, her sister's husband, and finds herself unable to stop thinking about him. Adam and Rebecca turn to one another in grief and in passion, unaware of the fact that Maya is alive, but injured and stranded on a small island with strangers. Maya must find a new strength to get her through a threatening situation, not knowing that life as she knew it has changed forever.

I enjoyed The Lies We Told far more than I had even anticipated. I tore through it at almost a frantic pace, desperate to know what was going to happen next. Diane Chamberlain has written a book that is both compelling and almost impossible to put down once you've started. There's also a hint of mystery which I enjoyed. When Maya finds herself stranded on an island with strangers I knew that there was something wrong, but it was not until the later chapters that I was able to put my finger on what it was that was amiss. The fact that Diane Chamberlain kept me guessing was one of the reasons that I couldn't put The Lies We Told down.

What I enjoyed the most about this book was watching Maya come in to herself. At the beginning of the book she is timid. She allows her sister and her husband to baby her, and she is fine as long as she is tucked into her safe little cocoon. Even when she agrees to come to North Carolina, she is only doing it because her husband has asked her to, not because it is something that she wants to do for herself. Later, when Maya is stranded, she is unable to rely on others and instead has to begin relying on herself. She surprises even herself with how strong she becomes, and that is when she became my favourite character in the book.

The conclusion of the book was not what I was expecting initially, but it was exactly how I hoped it would end. Chamberlain has written a book filled with surprises that you'll want to read in one sitting. Thank-you to Tricia at Media Muscle for this review copy!

Diane Chamberlain is currently hosting an online book signing for those who are unable to meet her in person. Simply fill out this form and she will send you out a personalized bookplate! This offer ends on June 14th, so hurry! More information about this promotion can be found here.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction and stories about the bond between sisters
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010

Giveaway: "The Castaways" by Elin Hildebrand

Thanks to The Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of The Castaways by Elin Hildebrand to give away!

From the publisher's website:

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.


Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.

About the author:

Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, PA, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her seven previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.

Browse Inside the Book
My Review

How to Enter:

1. Leave a comment letting me know if you have any vacation plans for this summer! It's that easy, just be sure to leave me your e-mail address or a way to contact you. No e-mail = no entry!

2. *Bonus Entry* Become a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect and leave me a seperate comment letting me know that you are now a follower. Current followers are eligible as well, just let me know that you already follow!

3. *Bonus Entry* Blog about this giveaway, Tweet about it, Facebook it, add it to your sidebar, whatever! Just spread the word somehow and let me know how you did it for one bonus entry.

This contest will run until July 1, 2010 at midnight. It is open to US and Canadian addresses, no PO Boxes please! Winners will be notified by e-mail. Good luck!

Review: "The Accidental Bestseller" by Wendy Wax

Kendall Aims's life is falling apart around her. She's an author whose books are stuck in mid-list purgatory, and her only chance of moving up in the world of publishing is if she wins the coveted Zelda award. She doesn't, and returns home to discover that her husband has been cheating on her with a younger, blonde real-estate agent. To make matters worse, her editor can barely fake an interest in her work, and has informed her agent that her next novel with her publisher, Scarsdale, will be her last. Kendall is given no choice but to write the last novel that she's been contracted for, even though the last thing in the world that she wants to do is write.

Kendall holes up in the home in the mountains that her grandparent's left her in their will, but can't summon the enthusiasm to actually write anything. Luckily, Kendall has a fantastic group of writer friends who are willing to come to the rescue. Mallory St. James is an author who hits the bestseller lists with almost every book that she writes. Faye Truett is the wife of a preacher and writes inspirational fiction. Tanya Mason is the single mother of two little girls who works two jobs in addition to writing her escapist romances. These three women come to Kendall's aid when they hear of her problems and decide to help write Kendall's book, which will be written from four different points of view- theirs. The four women figure that the book will be buried by the publisher and nobody will be the wiser.

When the book that they write, Sticks and Stones, becomes a huge success the real problems begin. It turns out that each woman's portion of the book were more autobiographical than anyone thought, and that two of the women are hiding huge secrets, secrets that could damage both their careers and their personal lives. Suddenly the friends feel that they knew nothing about one another, and it could be their friendships that are at risk.

I loved The Accidental Bestseller! I loved the fact that it gives us (the readers) an inside view of how the publishing industry works. It turns out that writing a book is simply half of the battle, and that the success of a book can hinge on more than the words written. I also loved that Wendy Wax made the careers of Kendall, Mallory, Faye, and Tanya very different. They didn't all write the same kind of book, but managed to remain friends and inspiration for one another despite how different their chosen genres were. It also managed to bring forth the point that it doesn't matter which genre an author writes, because they are all important to the people that read them. There's no shame in writing romance, or inspirational fiction, or chick lit- they are all valid genres in their own right. Too often people dismiss certain kinds of books, simply because it is not what they enjoy reading.

I especially loved the story of the friendship between the four women. Despite their differences and the secrets that they hid from one another, you could tell that these women did not know what they would do without the others. It is so rare in life to form friendships such as these, so if you do, they should be nutured at any cost.

The Accidental Bestseller was a highly enjoyable read- fast-paced, interesting, with a strong ending that made me smile. This one would be great for the beach! If you haven't entered Wendy Wax's contest yet, you still have until August 1st! The basics of the contest are: take a picture of yourself reading The Accidental Bestseller on the beach (any beach!), and send the picture to Wendy. This will enter you into her drawing to win a beach bag filled with her favourite beach reads! I plan on entering myself, as soon as it stops raining!

Thank-you to Joy at Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting for this review copy!

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Those looking for a beach read or an insider's look at the publishing world
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge

Review: "Promises to Keep" by Jane Green

Callie Perry feels that she pretty much has it all. She's more in love with her husband than ever, she adores her children, and she's managing to run a successful photography business in her spare moments. Sure, her husband Reece travels a lot, but she's happy for the breathing room that gives her, and even happier when he arrives home.

Callie's little sister Steffi doesn't see what she is so excited about. Steffi is a chef at a now-popular Vegan restaurant, and she can't seem to keep a boyfriend for that long. The boyfriend's that she does choose are aspiring artists, rock stars, and generally bad boys, unable to take her out for fancy dinners or even get up before noon, but that suits her just fine. She sees no need to embrace her sister's life and settle down in the suburbs with a couple of kids and a husband.

Callie and Steffi's parents, Honor and Walter, want different things from life as well. Long divorced, Walter remains rigid, trying to live up to the standards that his last name implies he should have. He nurses a long time resentment towards his ex-wife Honor, who is everything that he's not- free-spirited and above all, following her dreams.

When Callie, Steffi, Honor and Walter receive some shocking news, life takes a rapid nosedive. Suddenly the four are thrown together for one heartbreaking summer, and nothing will be the same.

I've long heard that Jane Green is an author that no chick lit lover such as myself should miss out on. For some reason, I haven't had the opportunity to read one of her books yet, so this was my first. Now, I can't believe that I hadn't read anything by her sooner! Once I started, I couldn't stop reading, even forgoing the beautiful views of the lake this weekend while on a friend's boat to read just one more chapter!

I really connected to the character of Callie. What makes a good book great for me is if I can connect to one of the characters. If I have problems connecting, the story, no matter how good it is, fails to hold my interest. In Promises to Keep, the character of Callie can't believe how good her luck is. She loves her husband, even more than when they first started dating, she's pursuing her passion, photography, and she loves her precocious children, feeling blessed to be their mom. She doesn't understand why her sister refuses to settle down, refuses to experience the bliss that she feels on a regular basis. On the other hand, she's overworked, making long lists of things that she needs to do for herself, for her family, for her business. As happy as she is, there never seems to be enough hours in the day. The fact that I felt connected to Callie made me care about what happened to her in the story, and kept me frantically turning the pages so that I could find out what happened next.

Be warned that the story is not all roses and sunshine. The situation that the Tollemarche family finds themselves dealing with is both devastating and heartbreaking, and Jane Green`s delicate portrayal of a family in crisis plants this book firmly in the "well-written women`s fiction" genre for me.

Jane Green has written a book both intelligent and thought-provoking, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I loved this book so much, in fact, that I went out and bought three more of hers right after reading it, although I suspect that her previous books may be a little more light-hearted than this one. She tells a story worth telling, and even though the subject matter may not be the lightest, I still recommend that everyone who loves well-written women's fiction takes the time to read it this summer.

Thank-you to Penguin Canada for this review copy!

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of intelligent women's fiction, those who have enjoyed books such as Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin or The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge

Mailbox Monday

Another Monday, another Mailbox Monday! Hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday is bound to expand both your wish list and your TBR piles!

Four new books entered my house via the mailbox this week. They were:

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares- I've never read a book by Ann Brashares, but this one captured my attention.

Sima's Undergarments for Women by Ilana Stranger-Ross - Recently released in paperback (my preferred format), this one looks to be a great beach read.

The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain- Another author who I've heard lots about, but have yet to read a book by!

Finding Marco by Kenneth C. Cancellara- I love memoirs set in foreign countries. You could say that I'm a bit of an armchair traveller.

Today (Sunday) I made a visit to my favourite used bookstore! I don't get a lot of chances to go because they're only open from 2-4 pm (they're not-for-profit and currently raising money for Haiti, so they're staffed entirely by volunteers), and I'm usually working in the afternoon. My blogging friend Mandy and I have tentatively decided on the next book that we're reading together and since it has been out for a while, I decided to make a visit there to see if they had a copy. They didn't, but they had so many amazing treasures in there that I didn't go home empty-handed. It was tough narrowing my choices down, but this is what I came home with:

The Baby Trail by Sinead Moriarty
The Love Trainer by Julia Llwellyn
Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham
Bubbles A Broad by Sarah Strohmeyer
Multiple Choice by Claire Cook
Connections by Sheila O'Flanagan
Mixed Doubles by Jill Mansell (a Jill Mansell I don't own yet? Score!!)
Leave it to Cleavage by Wendy Wax
Swapping Lives by Jane Green
The Other Woman by Jane Green
Second Chance by Jane Green

That's everything that was in my mailbox (and book bag!) last week- what was in yours?

Review: "The Swimming Pool" by Holly LeCraw

Seven years ago Marcella Atkinson, a married mother of one, was ready to give up everything so that she could be with the love of her life, Cecil, a man that she had met while spending time in Cape Cod. The the unthinkable happened: Cecil's wife was murdered and Cecil died soon after.

Years later Marcella is divorced, feels disconnected from her college-aged daughter, and is still struggling with her guilt over the events of long ago. When Toni, her daughter, gets a summer job working for Cecil's daughter, now grown with two children, Marcella knows that it is only a matter of time before her secrets are revealed.

Meanwhile, at their home at the Cape, Cecil's children Jed and Callie try to come to terms with the passing of their parents, which made them orphans at a young age. Callie is happily married, and has recently given birth to a premature baby girl, Grace, but struggles to find love in her heart for this tiny being. She asks Jed to move in with her for the summer, because for some reason she just doesn't trust herself to be alone with her two children while her husband works all week. Jed, now in his late twenties, finds himself directionless in life, unable to form a relationship with a woman and unhappy at work. When searching their family vacation home for sporting gear, he finds a bathing suit, one that he remembers seeing Marcella wearing when he was a child, and it becomes a catalyst for finding out what happened all of those summers ago.

I had read great reviews of The Swimming Pool online, so I checked this one out of my library, but I can't say that it lived up to my expectations. My main gripe was that I couldn't seem to connect to the character of Marcella, who is one of the primary characters in the book. I found that she remained at an arm's length for me throughout the book, perhaps a side-effect of her rather distant personality, yet I found that I couldn't relate to her, and I certainly couldn't get into her head. Am I the only one who found her sexual relationship with Jed slightly creepy? The age difference bothered me a little (she's in her 40's, he's in his late 20's), but really what bothered me is that Marcella had an affair with Cecil (Jed's father), and then years after he dies, she has a sexual relationship with his son. I'm not sure if this was Marcella's way of saying good-bye to Cecil, or if it was just something that she couldn't help, but I truthfully found it weird, almost (but not quite) incestuous.

The part of the story that I thought was really well-done was Callie's battle with post-partum depression. It is really clear in the beginning that Callie's relationship with baby Grace isn't quite right. She's eager to hand her off to the nanny or to Jed, and she hasn't formed any kind of a bond with her. She has flashes of harming her child, but only the baby, and not her older son, Jamie. There's a really fantastic scene towards the end of the novel when we are able to get into Callie's head, to see how this depression is affecting her and her thoughts. LeCraw's portrayal of Callie's struggles was so amazing that I think I would have enjoyed the book far more had it been entirely from Callie's point of view.

Although this book did disappoint me, I did enjoy portions of it, and can certainly understand how the story could have been compelling for some. I just couldn't get over how creepy I found Marcella and Jed's relationship.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fiction fans
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, 2010 Support Your Local Library

Review: "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

For some reason, I've never read The Catcher in the Rye. I switched high schools in the summer after grade 10, so although I got stuck reading The Lord of the Flies twice, I've never read J.D. Salinger's classic novel. Reading it became so much more important when my husband and I named our son "Holden", and many people asked if we had named him after the famed literary character. We didn't. So, when Mandy, my virtual friend from Mandy's Life After 30 spent a month reading classics as a personal challenge to herself, I decided to finally read The Catcher in the Rye, and she decided to read it along with me!

The Catcher in the Rye is the story of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield. He's just been kicked out of yet another boarding school for failing, he finds his roommate annoying, and he's in trouble with the fencing team because he left their foils on the subway and they had to forfeit their game. It's right before Christmas vacation, and rather than sticking around, he decides to head back to New York, where his parents and little sister live (older brother D.B. is a screenwriter in Hollywood). He doesn't want to return to his parent's apartment, though, because they don't yet know that he's been kicked out and he isn't due home until Wednesday. So, he takes the money that he's been sent by his senile grandmother, rents a hotel room, and spends time wandering around New York, calling up previous friends and teachers, getting drunk, and generally wasting time. We later find out that after all of his wandering he ends up in a psychiatric hospital, dealing with his psychiatric issues.

Can I admit (without being booed out of blogging-land) that I just didn't get this novel at first glance? I understand that it's a classic, I understand that it has been studied in high schools around the world, but I just didn't get it. Perhaps I would have understood it better if I had read it as a teenager, rather than as an adult. The frequent profanity didn't bother me (although this is the reason that many parents have lobbied to have it removed from school curriculum), but I just found myself thinking "when is something going to happen?".

Luckily, I found this reading guide, which I found infinitely helpful for decoding The Catcher in the Rye. I understand now that this is a coming-of-age novel. I understand that Holden is in a kind of stasis, unable to move forward to adulthood, yet unable to fully participate in being a teenager. Now I understand that there was really no climax to the story, but rather a series of smaller climaxes. After having devoured the reading guide, the story makes much more sense to me and I can understand the overall significance.

I'll be honest: this is something that I have little desire to read again, but I am glad that I read it. Now when someone asks me "Did you name your son after Holden Caulfield?", I can tell them that I didn't, but I will at least know more about the literary character that they are referring to. Plus, I broadened my reading horizons!

Rating: Can you really rate a beloved classic? Well, I'm not going to :)
Recommended to: Anyone looking to read more classic (award winning) novels
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge, Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Reading Challenge

Other Reviews:
Josette at Books Love Me