Bridget Reviews THE PASSENGER by Lisa Lutz

The Passenger - Lisa Lutz
Published: March 1, 2016 (upcoming) by Simon & Schuster
Source: ARC
Rating: 4 Stars

When Tanya Dubois discovers her husband dead on the floor of their home, she doesn’t cry, doesn’t call the police, and doesn’t stick around. 48 hours later, she’s in a new town with a new name, new IDs, new hair color. And this isn’t the first time.

But then she meets Blue, who looks almost as hunted as Tanya feels. After committing the unthinkable, the two women form an uneasy alliance—but Tanya can’t help but wonder about Blue’s motives…

When I first picked this up, I definitely anticipated a “Catch Me If You Can” spy-type novel. The Passenger is not that; instead, it’s the story of an average woman, like you or me, trapped by impossible circumstances into running for her life. She’s been running for a decade, and now it’s all she knows.

Naturally, you don’t find out the full story—why Tanya is running—until the end. You can pick up bits and pieces along the way, though, and by the time I got the entire story, the only things I hadn’t pretty much figured out were the details. I don’t mean to say it was predictable, necessarily; the hints and vague exposition seemed pretty deliberate, and I enjoyed being able to slowly put the pieces together rather than getting to the end and needing it spelled out for me (which happens more than I would like to admit!).

The prose is spare, but it gets the job done, and drives home the point that Tanya—or Sonia, or Emma, or Amelia, or whatever name she’s currently going by—is focused entirely on doing what it takes to survive. There’s no time for long winded, flowery descriptions of her surroundings or her emotions when her money is running out and she needs to find shelter. Tanya keeps her readers at arms length (which, when you find out her history, is more than understandable).

In some ways, this style was refreshing: it told me everything I needed to know without going into unnecessary or confusing detail. It was very straightforward, which I can definitely appreciate. On the other hand, I live in the details; I like intimate stories, and I often have little patience for narrators keeping me at arms length. In some spots, it also almost felt like an outline of a story, as if Lutz was writing brief storyline notes and planned to go back and fill them in later. This didn’t happen often, but when several days or a week passed in the span of a page, it did take me out of the experience a little bit.

The truly important thing to know about this book is that it took me a mere five hours to read, so if you’re looking for something that’s going to grab you and not let go, The Passenger is it!

Lauren Reviews The Escape by Hannah Jayne + Giveaway

The Escape by Hannah Jayne
Published: July 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire
Source: eARC
Rating: 3 Stars

When two boys walk into the woods, and one comes out covered in blood, what would you believe?

Fletcher and Adam venture into the woods for an afternoon hike, but when day turns into night and neither boy returns, their town is thrown into turmoil. Avery, the detective's daughter, is the one to find Fletcher - dishelved, disoriented, and covered in blood. He has no memory of what happened, but Avery can't shake the feeling that something's off. When Adam's body is finally found, Avery is determined to uncover the truth. But if she stands by her gut, and Fletcher, is she standing by a friend, or a murderer? The answer might cost her her life.

This was a nice psychological thriller that I read in about two sittings. Fletcher is the weird kid in school that most people just ignore, Adam is the jock that every adores, and Avery is the smart girl that people just label as the police chief's daughter. Adam is one of Fletcher's only friends and they go on a hike that ends up in tragedy. The day after the hike, Fletcher is found close to death by Avery, while Adam was still missing.

Fletcher tries so hard to remember what exactly happened to him. You can almost feel his agony with himself, his anger at not being able to remember to help Adam. Adam's body is found and Fletcher's life is thrown into a hellfire. Now his classmates say he killed Adam, instead of previously speculating that there was a killer on the loose. 

This has the small town feel that reminding me of the Salem Witch Trials. I felt like the townsfolk where scared, and looking for someone to blame. All the while Avery takes up a place beside Fletcher to help him remember.. to remember anything and to also just be his friend. Avery takes after her dad and tries to do a little detective work. She thinks of everyone's safety at all times and always has her sights set on finding Adam's killer. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, I guessed who the killer was midway through the book, but to be fair.. I do that quite frequently and it is annoying. I run books and movies for myself. I'd recommend this book if you are looking for some mystery, detailed/in-depth characters, and a completely mind-bending reading experience.

About the Author
Hannah Jayne is possibly the only person living in Silicon Valley who has never worked in high tech. When she’s not writing, she’s obsessively watching HGTV or shopping at Target.. also obsessively. Find out more about Hannah’s urban fantasy, young adult thrillers, and latest obsessions at hannah-jayne.com.

Now on to the giveaway! Giveaway ends July 31st. Open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Must be 13 or older to enter.

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Cross-posted at The Tattooed Biblio

Paula Reviews We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Published in 1921

Rating: 4 stars

How I got it: Found a copy at a local book store!

Hey all!

So this summer I made a mini goal of tackling books that have been on my shelf/list for more than a year. Whether they are super long (The Historian) or not quite genre's I'm interested in anymore (White Oleander) or in this case- hard to find and kind of intimidating.

I have been intimidated by We for awhile because it is the foundation block of my favorite genre: dystopian literature. And I'm not talking about contemporary dystopian stories like The Hunger Games (which don't get me wrong - I love a lot) but he was threatened by communist Russia for writing this kind of literature. People claimed that this book predicted Stalinism. It has been claimed that this book inspired 1984 and Brave New World. I've been putting this book off for awhile. What if I didn't understand it? What if I didn't like it?

The premise:

After a Two Hundred Year War society, One State, has been rebuilt under the guidance of the Great Benefactor. Humans are no longer people they are numbers. The main character, D-503, is the main builder of the spaceship Integral to bring the order of One State to other planets. Every minute of a person's life is planned out by the Table of Hours. 

D-503 is happy and blissful with his life until he meets I-330. She doesn't play the rules. At home she doesn't wear her uniform and drinks alcohol (which has been banned). He would hate her and report her if he didn't find her so interesting. As D-503 gets to know I-330 more he begins to develop.... an imagination....

Thoughts: 

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't perfect- there were a lot of things that I wish had more details or development. Sometimes the writing was choppy and hard to follow (although- that could be the translation and not the original). There were a few times where I had to pause and go "wait what just happened?"

But besides those things- This book was a great read. It had some terrifying ideas, like imagination being treated as a sickness or any crime (even not reporting for work without a sick note) being punished with public execution... 

I found it really exciting to know the history of the book and see how this truly was a scary predictor of Stalinist Russia (the history geek in me was quite happy). I also could see how some of my favorite books were inspired by this book. 

If you are looking for a book that's a bit of a challenge but has some interesting history behind it- I would definitely recommend this one! 

Lori Reviews Treasure Island

Title:  Treasure Island
Author:  Robert Louis Stevenson
Published:  Cassell and Company, London, 1883
Where I Got It:  I bought an old copy at a used bookstore ages ago, but finally read a copy on my Nook.






I was initially going to read Moby-Dick.  I told my boyfriend that I wanted to just read one book at a time and not pick up another book until I finished and that I was starting with Moby-Dick.  At some point on Sunday, after the grocery store, I realized that Melville just wasn't doing it for me.  I really wanted to watch Muppets Treasure Island, but Zach wasn't in the mood.  So I decided to start reading the book, figuring that this would be the next best thing.

In a way it was.

This book has been on my list for a very long time.  It's just one of those books that so many people seem to have read.  

There's a boy who finds a treasure map and convinces some rich, older men to finance a voyage to find the treasure.  The crew is pretty sketchy.  But things go well.  Until they site land.  Then there's a mutiny.  And some more stuff happens that I don't want to give away because I think you need to both watch the movie and read the book.

As I read the book I had a good time picking out which Muppet played which character.  Interesting tidbit--Miss Piggy's character is actually a man in the book and did not previously know Kermit.  It was a great adventure, which I kind of needed because we got snowed in on Sunday night.  Fortunately work was cancelled on Monday, which meant I was able to spend all bloody day in bed reading until I finished (reason number eleventy bajillion why I'm glad I have not procreated yet).

I think I would have loved this book to pieces had I read it about 16 years ago.  It's a book geared towards children, so that kind of makes sense, but it's also a story that you can still love as an adult (particularly if you read it as a child).  I still liked the book enough to give it 3.5 stars, but...

I spent a good part of the time asking Jim Hawkins what the hell he was doing!  He kept separating from the group of good guys and getting in these bad situations with the pirates.  You don't go off without telling anyone to get a little boat to board the massive ship (apparently with the idea of moving the ship around the island somehow) when there are pirates afoot.  But that is probably a detail you would overlook as a child.

Previously my experience with this book was the Muppets movie, which is fun and funny.  So they really glossed over a lot of the death that took place in the novel in order to make a family-friendly movie.  They really kill people in this movie.  Just pick them off with guns.  Go in commando style and kill them at night.  There was no Billy Bones-esque keeling over when he got the spot (Billy Bones actually dies of a stroke in the book).  That was a bit surprising to me.  But back in 1883, you wrote kids books that dealt with some darker themes, so it was not terribly out of place.

All in all, I liked the book.  If I had any, I would read this to my own kids.  But it is not the Muppets movie.

Lori Reviews Labor Day

Title:  Labor Day
Author:  Joyce Maynard
Published:  William Morrow Publishers, 2009
Where I Got It:  Bought on my Kindle

I am a sucker for books that are being made into movies with actors or actresses that I really like.  Ever since I first saw the press for Labor Day starring Kate Winslet, I've been interested in the book.  I read a couple of summaries, but they didn't really do a good job because I didn't immediately want to buy it.  I thought that maybe I just wasn't truly interested in the story, so it was on the backburner.  Then I saw a preview for another book to movie adaptation that looked interesting (though I am decidedly neutral towards the actor in it).  As I was investigating that book, I saw that one of the recommended books was Labor Day and it was only $4, so I bought it.

I finished it in less than 24 hours.  

It seems rare that a book can so completely suck me in that I just speed through it, but that's exactly what I did.

Goodreads Summary:  With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy—and the man he later becomes—looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend.

That really does a pretty good job of summing up the plot of the novel.

My thoughts:  I loved this writing style!  It was kind of gritty and raw and emotional and real.  It's the kind of writing style that I wish I had been able to cultivate in my days as a creative writing student.  (Maybe it has to do with the topic...)  Maynard creates an excellent sense of place and rendering of the characters.  Yes, there are how many stories about a single parent, who has a secret that makes them a bit off, living in a kind of run down house with their kid and then life changes.  But this one was different.  It was real.  The characters were vibrant and alive.  The narration really put you in the place of the novel.

Lately, I've been dealing with feelings that life isn't turning out like I had anticipated that it would.  So many things have not gone according to my pre-grad school plan.  But occasionally I remember that this is a life.  It's different and not what I had imagined, yes, but it's something that I am willing to work to maintain because it's that important to me.

I think that that is why I loved this story so much.  

Life doesn't always go the way you plan for it to, but it works itself out in ways that you can't really even imagine.  And that's OK.  Probably better, even, because who wants such a simple and bland life?  You eventually learn, like Henry, that there is more to life (and adult relationships) than fleeting connections and sex.  True and deep human connections come along so rarely that when they do, you have to hold on and fight for them and sometimes wait patiently (or impatiently).  You do things for the person you love that you wouldn't do for anyone else and that's what makes that love special and worth having.

There's that Hemingway quote--"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."  This novel closes with a passage that reminds me of this:

What she will register, at least, will be the fact that she is not alone.  And it has been my experience that when you do this--slow down, pay attention, follow the simple instincts of love--a person is likely to respond favorably.  It is generally true of babies, and most other people too, perhaps.  Also dogs.  Hamsters even.  And people so damaged by life in the world that there might seem no hope for them, only there may be.

It's the millions of little things that make up and sustain relationships--not the big things.

Anyway, read it.  



Sidenote--Who else winds up reading a book if they see an actor or actress they really like is going to be in the film adaptation?  It can't be just me!

Lori Reviews The Thorn Birds

Title: The Thorn Birds

Author:  Colleen McCullough

Published:  Avon, 1977

Where I Got It:  My mom gave me this book.

Summary from Goodreads:  Powered by the dreams and struggles of three generations, THE THORN BIRDS is the epic saga of a family rooted in the Australian sheep country. At the story's heart is the love of Meggie Cleary, who can never possess the man she desperately adores, and Ralph de Bricassart, who rises from parish priest to the inner circles of the Vatican...but whose passion for Meggie will follow him all the days of his life.

Why I Read It:  My mom and grandma loved this book when it came out.  A few years ago (4? 5?), my mom, who is totally not a reader, gave me a copy.  I picked it up a few times and set it aside.  One time I even read about 2/3 of it before stopping.  I just couldn't finish.  This year I signed up to participate in Roof Beam Reader's TBR Pile Challenge and wanted to finally finish--mostly because this book obviously meant enough to my mom for her to buy me a copy.

My thoughts:  I decided to tackle this book first for the TBR Pile Challenge because of my mom.  I wasn't getting any pressure from her, but I felt like I needed to finally read the novel.  I read the entire thing in six days.  It's not a particularly short book.  I just couldn't put it down.  Maybe it was a right book, right time kind of thing.  Who knows?

The book starts out on Meggie's fourth birthday.  She is the youngest of several children and the only girl.  Her family is fairly poor, so they tend to get practical gifts, like clothes and shoes.  Except this time Meggie's mom bought her a beautiful doll that Meggie had seen on her only trip into town.  Meggie absolutely treasured that doll.  The opening chapters do a wonderful job of setting up the family dynamic--the mother works all the time on the home, the father is lord and master, the eldest brother has a great anger in him.  It's a dynamic that is explored throughout the book.  We all have our reasons for doing what we do and acting the way we act--they're just not always apparent to the outside world until much later.  That's the case here.

The big plot is Meggie falling in love with a priest.  That's what this book is known for, right?  I loved the dynamic between the priest and Meggie!  He was about eighteen years older than her and first met her when she was a child.  So, in some ways he always thought of her in that light.  But she grew up and became a lovely woman and he was attracted to her.  He struggled with how to honor his vows and also honor with woman he loved. (I was raised Protestant, and converted to Catholicism, so I am used to pastors being able to marry; however, my eventual children will be raised Catholic and I am kind of curious to see how they react to this story...)  However, it's not the love that is the main point.  It's the pain caused by the love, by the things we want most in life, that is the point.

When she novel shifted focus to Justine and Dane, I very nearly lost interest.  Justine is really abrasive and I didn't like her.  A couple of things seemed to come out of left field.  But they eventually make sense.  Honestly, one of those things almost made me yell out when I was reading the novel at work (I work in a library frequented by graduate students, so we keep things very quiet...).  Then the last passage beautifully ties it all together and is the reason I give the book four stars:

Each of us has something within us which won't be denied, even if it makes us scream aloud to die. We are what we are, that's all. Like the old Celtic legend of the bird with the thorn in its breast, singing its heart out and dying. Because it has to, its self-knowledge can't affect or change the outcome, can it? Everyone singing his own little song, convinced it's the most wonderful song the world has ever heard. Don't you see? We create our own thorns, and never stop to count the cost. All we can do is suffer the pain, and tell ourselves it was well worth it.

Life is pain, but we endure.

It wasn't the best written novel in the world.  And that's fine.  I wasn't expecting it to be.  But the story!  Oh, the story definitely sweeps you along and sometimes you just can't breathe.

Five Years--What a Difference

I know that at some point I should cease to be amazed by the changes in my reading life--insights, perceptions, reactions--but I can't help it.  The latest incident comes from re-reading a favorite that I read five years ago--Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

I started and stopped this book a number of times before finally pushing through to the end, which I vowed to do by my 21st birthday.  I succeeded in finishing a couple of days ahead of schedule.  I loved the book.  I became so totally engrossed by the ending that I felt what Anna K felt--I understood her desperation and her fear and all the emotions.  There were, to be sure, long speeches on government and politics that I glossed over.  But I finished the book.

Now, just before I turn 26 next week, I am re-reading Anna K.  I didn't do it on purpose.  I just felt that yearning to read something fabulous and Russian that would make me feel...everything.

So I picked up a copy, in a different translation (for Russian authors, I always favor the Pevear and Volohonsky translation) because that was all the local pseudo-bookstore had available and I just had to get my hot little hands on a copy immediately.  I've been interacting with the text, underlining, bracketing, writing questions/thoughts/reactions in the margins and marking things to come back to, which was something I did not do on the first go.  I think this was because I was too swept up in what Tolstoy was doing and also reading so furiously that I just could not stop.

The main thing is that I am also looking at things from different angles this time.  I got this idea from Amanda at Dead White Guys, who has written a few times about Anna K, but this mention of the book in a Top Ten Tuesday and this review of her re-read are my favorites.  The first link gave me the idea of re-reading the book and focusing on Levin, who is supposed to be a semi-autobiographical representation of Tolstoy.  The second reminded me of the grandeur of the book.

I have to say, I am thoroughly enjoying this re-reading.  I am getting sucked into the book in ways that I didn't the first time (does this happen to anyone else?  Maybe I should read everything twice!).  I find myself thinking of the characters and the plot and the words even after I have set aside my copy for the time being.  I would love to take off work and real life for the next week so I can just finish.  But maybe have to read in fits and starts is helping it soak in more than if I just indulged in my impulse to immerse myself.  Maybe coming up for breaks is helping me digest it better.

And in thinking about the overall book, I can see why Levin is in many more ways the hero and the point of the story.  Anna might be a cautionary tale; but Levin is the ultimate message.  At 20, I just sort of figured that the book was named after the character for a reason, so that was where I focused.  Not necessarily, my friends.

I am super excited to be reading this.  Granted, I always go into any reading experience whole hog and then it peters out (usually).  But I don't see that happening this time.  I am too intrigued by what I am noticing as I read and the characters that I notice and am thoroughly enjoying.  So fun!

Has anyone else ever tried re-reading a favorite from a different perspective?  How did that work for you?

Julia Reviews The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Title/Author: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Publisher/Year Published: 2013 by William Morrow Books
How I got this book: I borrowed it from a friend
Why I read this book: We have a book club at work and this was the July choice!
Rating: 2.5 stars

Summary: via Goodreads

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. 

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

I have read one other Neil Gaiman book in my life (The Graveyard Book which I loved), and I think it is important for me to start there. The problem with Gaiman is that is he super awesome and famous (a rough problem to have I guess) but it gives these high expectations to his books. I really liked The Graveyard Book and I've checked out Stardust for a car ride later today, but I just could not connect with The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

My favorite quote from book club was that this book at the same time felt too long yet underdeveloped. There were times I wanted to know more (everything with the Hempstock family) and times where I just didn't think anything was happening. It has this strange story like feel to it where you kind of expect something to be left up to the imagination, but I think the wrong parts were.

There were times in this story where I was quite freaked out (the nanny) and other times where I was enchanted (the kitty). But overall it has the feel of a short story stretched out into a novel, though it still only clocks in at a hundred fifty pages and some change.

If you are new to Gaiman, I would not recommend this be your first book. If you are a fan, you may like this. If you need a book for book club, I will say that this was a book that had a lot of different reactions that were really interesting to talk about. It ran the gamut on if people loved it or hated it and sparked really interesting discussion points. So I guess it is up to you if you want to take an afternoon to read this. Based on the reactions though, I would get it from the library first :)

Questions for Gaiman readers out there, what would you recommend be the first book in his back list for new readers to try? I'd say the Graveyard Book (since it is the one out of two that I've read and liked).

TB&TB Book Club Conversation about Someday, Someday, Maybe

A few of us B&Bers decided to read Lauren Graham's recent debut novel Someday, Someday, Maybe and then have a discussion.  We chose this as our June book club read and I apologize for the delay in getting this post up.  The easiest way for us to do this was via email, so please forgive the longer posts...Also, be careful of spoilers! If you want to see general thoughts, scroll to the very bottom to see the "In Short" paragraph.

Lori--General impressions, like/dislikes, did the novel "speak" to where you are in life as we suspected when we first started?

Tahleen--I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I thought Graham does an excellent job with her dialogue and Franny's inner monologue; it's very snappy and funny. I wasn't sure if it would be any good just because it's not often when actors/actresses are able to become novel writers with such success. I've also never seen Gilmore Girls or Parenthood, so I didn't go in with an image of her besides what most Americans know about her.

I was also really pleased at how much crossover appeal this book has for teens; as a teen services librarian, I would feel completely comfortable recommending this one to middle and high schoolers.

Lori--I'm with you.  I was really surprised as well at how good it was.  I love Lauren Graham, so I was going to attempt to muddle through no matter what (kind of like with The Casual Vacancy), but I was really glad to not have to muddle.  I am curious to see what her next book is like.

I think that she touched on something important--we're taught to take any opportunity that we receive because, in this climate, we're supposed to count our lucky stars when we received any job.  But she considers what's right for her.  That was really nice to see.  Sometimes we get an opportunity that just isn't appealing to us and what we ultimately want to be doing.  It's a tough decision to make.

I also agree with you that there is a lot of crossover appeal.  I think a lot of females would really enjoy this.  I don't see males enjoying it.  

How did you feel about the pages from her planner interspersed?  Good?  Bad?  Fun?  Distracting?  I thought they were a little hard to decipher at times...

Bridget--I was and wasn't a fan of the planner. I thought it was cute but also sometimes distracting and occasionally indecipherable--I always worried that I was missing something if I skimmed it too quickly.

I can't say I LOVED the book, but it wasn't really my type of book, so I didn't expect to love it. I thought Franny was pretty adorable and I loved both her roommates (obviously for very different reasons!). I don't know much about the acting community/process/etc. so I can't necessarily say how "true to life" it was, but it felt real to me. What did you guys think about that? Did it seem "realistic"?

Lori, I agree with your point about how we're taught to take every opportunity we're offered because we're lucky to get any offers at all, but I was glad that Franny was able to "follow her heart" (for lack of a less cliche term) and refuse the parts that weren't right for her. I found myself feeling oddly proud of her. I will say that by the end, I was definitely invested in how things turned out for Franny, and that, in my opinion, is the hallmark of a good story: making the readers invested in your characters! Do you guys agree?

Something random that I was kind of glad to see, even though it made things less cathartic, was that Penny actually seemed to be a nice person, not just fake nice, you know? 

In the end, it's definitely a quick, enjoyable, summery read. If I hadn't already read it, I would definitely be taking this one to the beach. 

Tahleen--I thought they were cute. I liked looking at the doodles, and it was a different way to see what happened in her life instead of just telling us as it happened.

One thing I noticed was how different the world in 1995 was for recent graduates. In today's world, I doubt many people would be able to just move to NYC without a job, then get one that will only barely cover your rent and food. Too many have student loans now; a job would have to cover that stuff as well. I'm guessing most would have to get at least two jobs if they are part time.

Lori--I agree with both of you.  I did my best to decipher them, without spending too much time on it (thus disrupting my flow).  

What did you guys think about her relationship with her dad?  It reminded me a lot of my relationship with my dad.  I know he loves me, but we don't talk a whole, whole lot and when we do he usually winds up saying something about baseball because we have that in common (whereas, Franny and her dad had books).
What did you guys think about her being named Franny from the Salinger novel?  It's been a while since I read the novel, but a quick review of the SparkNotes showed that Franny was a good match, but not overly matchy.  Dan's analysis of it was fantastic.  I loved the bit about how repeating the same thing makes it true.
I go back and forth on the issue of Clark (the guy in Chicago; her back-up plan that failed).  I thought that Graham could have done more with that thread, but at the same time, what else could she have done?  We get the point at the end of the novel that Franny will end up just fine and that thing will probably work out with Dan.

Did you guys hear about them developing a TV show based on the characters?  I am really excited about that!  I think it has some good potential.

Bridget--I thought her dad was adorable. My dad and I can be like that as well. I really liked the voicemails he would leave her. 

I haven't read the Salinger novel, so I can't really comment on that part, unfortunately.

Definitely think she could have delved into the Clark thing more. I was expecting him to take on more of a role than a voice on the answering machine. But in the end, it was a good little twist that she kept avoiding calling him back because she thought he wanted to get back together (or whatever) and then it turned out that he was engaged. Awwwwwwkward.

Oh also--what did you guys think about it being set in 1995? I guess I just expect books to either be set in present time or further back than that...although I guess that's almost 20 years now...

Lori--I thought 1995 was an interesting choice.  I think that, like many first novels, this one is highly autobiographical, so she was writing about what she knew.  Without knowing that, I think that it is interesting because it's not so far off as to be totally new to the readers, but it's not recent enough that it feels hard to relate to.  Basically, we as a society can kind of agree what 1995 was like, if that makes any sense.

What did you think of James?  I was suspicious of him from the start.  Then Penny dumped him (over the boob job thing, but at the time I totally thought it was because she was a snot) and he hooked up with Franny and said some sweet things.  But then he acted weird and in a way that would/should throw up all of these red flags.  I was so proud when she ditched him at the premiere.  What he did was so not cool.

Bridget--I was so proud when she ditched James at the premiere too!! He was definitely suspicious from the beginning. What a douche. (Sorry, but still.) The boob job thing was so weird!!

Tahleen--I liked the 1995 setting, and it allowed for miscommunications that probably wouldn't happen today in the same way. I actually didn't mind Clark not being in the novel that much; I feel like if he were, it would muddy the waters a bit and would distract from the main plot.

Lori--Good point, Tahleen!  The miscommunication and the actual communication methods (answering machine and fax, especially) play a huge part in the story.  Any earlier and the technology wouldn't be there, any later and there wouldn't be so many problems.

Clark having more of a presence would have definitely clogged the story.  But at times, it kind of seemed like a throwaway.  In the end, though, I see the purpose of him--he's there to show that part of growing up is letting go and changing plans.  If Franny hadn't distanced herself from the relationship, even by avoiding his calls because she thought he wanted to get back together, it would have impeded her ability to make the progress she made.  Obviously, they couldn't get back together because of the other romantic interests, but also it would mean throwing away her dream.  Ultimately, I think Graham used him well, but it took until the end to see that.

Bridget--Lori, I definitely agree with your second paragraph. Based on the summary from the book jacket, I was expecting a lot more about Clark, but didn't get it. But like you said, in the end it really was a good use of a character.

Kimberly--Yay! I finally get to join in!

So! Clark. I like that he was put off until the end. Because I felt like he was just there, hovering. Waiting to possibly save the day or cause problems if things didn't work out for Franny. Which was how she viewed him. So I felt like I experienced it with her.

My favorite part of this book was the descriptions of theatre life. At some points I was stressing out, reading about everything because it is SO TRUE. Especially Franny's audition nightmares, I have those all the time. Usually I'm about to go on stage and I realized that I have no idea what role I'm playing, or any of my lines. It's always the stage at my high school too... I had to put the book down every once in a while and remember that it wasn't me that was auditioning/rehearsing/performing and that I had no reason to feel so nervous.

I loved the descriptions of New York too. Makes me miss it!

Franny's reaction to the movie that basically reflected her life made me laugh out loud.

Um... what else? I was surprised at how much I ended up liking Penelope. She turned out to be so much nicer than I thought she'd be.

In short:

Basically…we all enjoyed the novel.  It definitely works for a variety of ages, from high schoolers through the twenties, and probably even is a nice look back for the thirties.  Franny is a girl that we can all relate to—she’s facing problems with work, finances, men, and dreams.  Graham’s character reacts to these challenges in a very realistic and hopeful way.  A really good read.

Feel free to link up your own review or thoughts on the novel with the Mr. Linky below!

Lori Reviews All the Summer Girls

Title: All the Summer Girls

Author:  Meg Donohue

Published:  William Morrow, 2013

Where I Got It:  I received this book from the publishers.

Summary from Goodreads: In Philadelphia, good girl Kate is dumped by her fiance the day she learns she is pregnant with his child. In New York City, beautiful stay-at-home mom Vanessa is obsessively searching the Internet for news of an old flame. And in San Francisco, Dani, the aspiring writer who can't seem to put down a book--or a cocktail--long enough to open her laptop, has just been fired...again.

In an effort to regroup, Kate, Vanessa, and Dani retreat to the New Jersey beach town where they once spent their summers. Emboldened by the seductive cadences of the shore, the women being to realize how much their lives, and friendships, have been shaped by the choices they made one fateful night on the beach eight years earlier--and the secrets that only now threaten to surface.

My thoughts:  I LOVED THIS!  A month or so ago, I signed up to receive this book thinking that it would be a nice, relaxing read.  I saw that it was coming out on the 21st, so I really wanted to read it before then.  And I waited and waited for the book to arrive.  I began to worry that it wouldn't get here in time for me to review before it came out.  It came a few days ago, just in time for me to make a lot of progress during Bout of Books.  But I still wasn't overly optimistic about finishing by the 21st.  As you can see, this review is coming out on the 19th.  Apparently, I didn't really need to worry because I couldn't put it down.

I found myself relating to something in each of the three friends' personalities and I think that most readers of this novel would do the same.  I couldn't help but sympathize with the characters and their struggles.  Despite being practically inseparable growing up, each of the characters carries a deep (usually dark) secret about their current lives and one about the fateful night alluded to in the summary.  Donohue does a great job of letting these secrets come out in the narrative.  Each chapter follows the interior thoughts of one of the main characters, giving the reader a variety of perspectives.

This book was definitely the ultimate beach read.  I really wish I had been sitting poolside--if not seaside--as I read this.  I felt myself completely relax and get caught up in the story, wondering what would happen next, how things would play out.  I came to really care about the characters and what happened to them.  Donohue leaves the rest of the story to the readers' imagination, but you get the sense that they will each turn out to be happy.

Bottom line--this was a really fun read that I think many of our readers would really enjoy.

Lori Writes Three Mini-Reviews

Title: House of Earth

Author: Woody Guthrie with an introduction by Douglas Brinkley and Johnny Depp

Published: Harper Collins, 2013

Where I Got It:  The publisher sent it to me for review

I was SO excited when I received the opportunity to review this book and I became even more excited as I read the extensive introduction and became aware of the personal connection with the book.  So...Woody Guthrie is a well-known Oklahoman who wrote many folk songs, including "This Land Is Your Land."  As a young adult, he moved to Pampa, Texas, an area that was heavily hit by the Dust Bowl during the Depression.  My grandparents actually lived about 30 miles from Pampa, so they were geographically very close to the action of the story.  Guthrie wrote the novel in the 1940s, after the events already took place.  The manuscript was lost in Irving Lerner's papers, recently discovered by the archivists at the University of Tulsa.  But as the content of the story shows, the world probably was not ready to read this novel during the Truman era.  However, as economic turmoil and the environment are becoming more and more central to today's discussion, the world was finally ready to read this book.   The story that Guthrie wrote was very touching and is one I will definitely read again in the future.

Guthrie lived in Pampa during the infamously horrible Black Sunday dust storm that occurred in April 1935.  As he survived the storm, Guthrie realized (as the introduction points out) that humans need three things to live--food, water, and shelter.  He chose to write on the third element.  Guthrie began researching the strength of adobe construction and concluded that that type of home would best suit those remaining in the areas afflicted by the Dust Bowl.  But these people rarely owned their own land, and were unable to build permanent structures.  The novel is a call to arms for people to turn on the evil business owners, the bankers who owned the land, and Big Agriculture that destroyed the land.

While Steinbeck wrote about those who gave up and left Oklahoma, Texas, and other afflicted areas, Guthrie wrote about those who were stubborn and brave enough to stay behind and tough it out.  The novel focuses on Tike and Ella May Hamlin, farmers who want a better life for themselves in the face of the Depression and the Dust Bowl.  Tike gets the idea of building an adobe house, but is unable to do so because he does not own his own land.  Central themes to the novel include undying hope in the wake of endless struggling, the abuse of the grasslands by man, and is a socialist call to arms against oppression--all themes still relevant today.  Guthrie explores these topics with a voice that shows his connection with the place and people he's writing about.

A wonderful read for anyone interested in the Great Depression, literature with a social conscience, or fans of Woody Guthrie.

Title: The Real Jane Austen:  A Life in Small Things

Author: Paula Byrne

Published: Harper Collins, 2013

Where I Got It:  The publisher sent it to me for review

This was a very interesting biography for fans of Jane Austen to read.  I'm not going to discuss the actual content of the biography because that could get out of hand.  Instead, I will comment on the approach to the biography.  Byrne takes a unique approach by exploring Austen's life and writing through various themes or moments, which range from her father's religious views to her life in Bath to her struggle to become published.  Each theme is tied to a particular object, such as vellum notebooks and a royalty check.  Byrne ties together Austen's life and her work throughout the biography, including many quotations from Austen's novels.

I am not sure how this biography compares to others on Jane Austen, but I think that this is a fantastic approach to writing a biography and should really set it apart.  It's really the approach that makes the work stand out--Jane's life wasn't exactly action-packed, after all.  

The main issue that I have with the biography is one that many of Austen's biographers have had--there was not a whole lot of documented primary evidence on which to base some of the claims about the author. This, of course, is not indicative of a weakness on Byrne's part.

I think that a good basis of knowledge on Austen is necessary to most fully appreciate the biography, but I think it would be a pleasurable read for anyone who was interested.

Title: Frances and Bernard

Author: Carlene Bauer

Published:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

Where I Got It:  I bought this myself after a Twitter acquaintance recommended it.

I love, love, loved this book!  I read it in two sittings.  I devoured this book like I haven't devoured something in quite a while.

What's it about?  It's about two author--Frances, a novelist, and Bernard, a poet--who met at a writers' colony and started up a correspondence.  It's an epistolary novel, primarily comprised of the letters between Frances and Bernard, but with letters to their friends to flesh out the story.  What begins as a few letters between people who barely know each other quickly becomes a correspondence that can change the lives of the participants.  The story is based on Flannery O'Connor and Robert Lowell.

I loved the voices that Bauer created in this novel.  Frances and Bernard both spoke with such depth and individuality, which is difficult to do when creating characters of the opposite sex and when switching between speakers.  She does not let the voices of the two characters become confused or mixed up--they remain distinct.  Though a story about relationships on the surface, the story is more about human growth and the process of truly finding oneself.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves books about books.  So good!