The End of Everything by Megan Abbott, narrated by Emily Bauer

Synopsis:

Lizze has a wonderful life for a 13 year old girl. Since her parents’ divorce she doesn’t see her father – he moved to California – but living next door to her best friend Evie Verver makes Lizzie feel as if her family is complete. Evie’s feminine yet strong older sister Dusty is more central to Lizzie’s life than is her own brother, and Mr. Verver is a father-figure extraordinaire, plus perhaps a bit of a crush of Lizzie’s. When Evie disappears suddenly after school, though, Lizzie’s entire world turns upside down. As the person who spent the most time with Evie, Lizzie is convinced that she must know something that nobody else knows, something that can save Evie. Without her friend, Lizzie feels empty, and she cannot bear Mr. Verver’s pain, or the speculations of the girls in school as to what has become of Evie. The more she digs into her friend’s disappearance, though, the less convinced Lizze becomes that she really knew Evie at all.

Thoughts on the story:

Missing girl novels are not exactly few and far between, and they have been attempted by some fabulous authors – Stewart O’Nan’s Songs for the Missing and Hannah Pittard’s The Fates Will Find Their Way come to mind – but The End of Everything proves to be a very strong entry in the field. Looking at the entire incident from the point of view of a young girl brings an entirely different perspective. So many of these books are told at least partly through an adult’s eyes (or the eyes of multiple adults), but Lizzie brings an innocence and an urgency to the situation. So often the adult characters move very quickly to despair, or a hope that somehow seems bereft, but Lizzie continues to believe not only that Evie can be saved, but that she is the one who must somehow hold the key. Despite the fact that so much of the book is very internal with few actual plot points, Lizzie’s perspective on the situation makes for a compelling read.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Emily Bauer and Kate Simses are absolutely my favorite female narrators of young adult books. Like Simses, Bauer is both compelling and believable as a teen or young adult. While she doesn’t quite sound 13, she definitely has a young enough voice to allow the listener to suspend disbelief and accept her as a young teen without being pulled out of the story by an overly mature voice. She does a wonderful job narrating the oft-disturbing The End of Everything, thoroughly convincing me that the problems I had when listening to one of her prior audiobooks had much more to do with the story and the way the character was presented by the author than the way Bauer voiced her. This is definitely a strong audio.

Overall:

Abbott has created an extremely strong story of loss and fear, which is only enhanced by Bauer’s compelling narration. This is a great listen, but would likely be just as fabulous in print, pick it up either way.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

I encourage you to review any audiobooks on Fridays and include the link here. If you have reviewed an audiobook earlier in the week, please feel free to link that review as well. Thanks to Pam for creating the button.

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The End of Everything by Megan Abbott – Audiobook Review

Crooked House

This post could alternately be titled: Why I Need to Take a Break from Agatha Christie

From the publisher:

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Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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Crooked House by Agatha Christie

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

From the publisher:

A GROWN-UP KIND OF PRETTY is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb-spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood-is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it’s there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey’s strong and big-hearted grandmother, whose maternal love braids together the strands of the women’s shared past–and who will stop at nothing to defend their future.

You know, I had forgotten how much I like Joshilyn Jackson. I read her last novel, Backseat Saints about a year and 1/2 ago (although it appears that I may have somehow failed to ever review it). Why I have failed to read any of her backlist in the meantime, I have no idea. I have a feeling, though, that this is not a mistake I will be making for a second time. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty is a gorgeously written and evocative novel of family and identity, of the things that bind us together, one that I really highly recommend.

For a full review, please read my piece in the SheKnows Book Lounge.

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Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher, at a trade show.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling, narrated by Mindy Kaling

Synopsis:

From the publisher:

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

Thoughts on the story:

While not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as Tina Fey’s Bossypants – which Kaling herself references in the introduction – Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? is charming and extremely entertaining. Kaling is engaging, like spending time with a good friend who is willing to share anything and everything about herself, including embarrassing stories, like the time she stormed out of work like a spoiled child who didn’t get her way.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Kaling’s narration works extremely well. She has a distinctive style and delivery, and as an actress as well as a writer, she has a good command of language, which works to the benefit of the listener. What is not always as well done had more to do with production than narration. There is not always a great differentiation between chapters and sections in a book, occasionally to puzzling results. Longer pauses or some other method of noting a change in direction in the text would have put the audiobook into five star category.

Overall:

Kaling is charming, both in her writing and narration, although the production itself was perhaps not quite as well done as it could have been. Still, I would recommend this overall.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

I’m launching a brand-new meme every Friday! I encourage you to review any audiobooks you review on Fridays and include the link here. If you have reviewed an audiobook earlier in the week, please feel free to link that review as well. Thanks to Pam for creating the button.

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Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling – Audiobook Review

Treasure Island!!!

A pet lending library (yes, that it just what it sounds like) is perhaps not the most prestigious place for a college graduate to work, but then again, it wasn’t all the great being an ice cream-scooper or gift-wrapper either. Not only is our unnamed protagonist stuck in the deadest of dead end jobs, but her relationship with her live-in boyfriend (read: the guy she mooches off of) is somewhat sub-par as well. But, while she’s not really happy, she’s also not motivated enough to change anything about how she is living – until she reads Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Never has a book had such a deep and immediate impact on a reader as Treasure Island has on her, that it is life-changing is not even hyperbole. Armed with what she sees as the books Core Values of boldness, resolution, independence, and horn-blowing, our unnamed protagonist is now ready to take on the world with hilarious results that are both predictable (to the reader) and unexpected (to her).

Never has a book been so poorly interpreted as Stevenson’s Treasure Island is by the narrator of Levine’s Treasure Island!!!. Her assessment of the Core Values may not be too far off, but her method of attempting to live them out is, frankly, bizarre, and generally involves taking little to no responsibility for her actions. Now, none of this is in any way meant to be a criticism of Levine’s Treasure Island!!!, she has actually created a wryly story about an incredibly misguided and socially inept girl who completely misses the point of what she considers to be incredibly transformational literature.

Levine’s Treasure Island!!! is fun and funny, and may make you wonder if you have ever completely missed the point of a book. If you’re interested in Levine’s process and how she came to write Treasure Island!!!, check out our interview with her on What’s Old is New.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher, for an episode of What’s Old is New.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine – Book Review

The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney, narrated by Dan Stevens

Synopsis:

From the publisher:

Small-time private investigator Ray Lovell veers between paralysis and delirium in a hospital bed. But before the accident that landed him there, he’d been hired to find Rose Janko, the wife of a charismatic son of a traveling Gypsy family, who went missing seven years earlier. Half Romany himself, Ray is well aware that he’s been chosen more for his blood than his investigative skills. Still, he’s surprised by the intense hostility he encounters from the Jankos, who haven’t had an easy past. Touched by tragedy, they’re either cursed or hiding a terrible secret-whose discovery Ray can’t help suspecting is connected to Rose’s disappearance. . . .

Thoughts on the story:

With The Invisible Ones, Penney created a fascinating, twisting mystery with a level of detail about the lives of the Romany people that lends the story an air of authenticity. The characterization was very well done, particularly as the cast of characters expanded with the extended Janko family. My only real qualm is that I figured out the majority of the conclusion by about halfway through the book. Now, this may have been partially because I overheard a bit of discussion between two others who had read the book and something they said may have sparked the answer in my brain, I’m honestly not completely sure if I was looking for the answer or if it just was a bit too obvious. The good news is that even with being fairly certain of the ending I enjoyed the road Penney took me down to get there.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Let me just say a two things here. First of all, Dan Stevens has a super dreamy voice. Second, he is an extraordinarily accomplished narrator, both in imbuing the authors words with genuine life and in his ability to differentiate between characters. For more, please read my review for Audiofile Magazine.

Overall:

An absorbing mystery that is only enhanced by the absolutely amazing narration of Dan Stevens. Grab the audio!

Buy this book from:
Powells: Print*
Indiebound: Print*
Audible.com

I’m launching a brand-new meme every Friday! I encourage you to review any audiobooks you review on Fridays and include the link here. If you have reviewed an audiobook earlier in the week, please feel free to link that review as well. Thanks to Pam for creating the button.

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The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney – Audiobook Review

Come In and Cover Me

Ever since discovering the work of a potter and artist, Ren has been a star of the archaeological community – although she hasn’t told anyone that it was the ghost of the artist who led her to her find. Professionally, she is a rising star, but personally she is damaged. The death of Ren’s brother Scott when she was twelve, and the ensuing distane the occurred between Ren and her parents, has permanently scarred her, making her unable to meaningfully engage in any relationship. Now Ren has been called in on a new dig with a man named Silas who believes he has discovered her artist in another location. Working with Silas will push Ren both personally and professionally, as she struggles with her feelings for him, and struggles to explain to him that her hunches on site are actually the result of ghosts showing her the way.

The first fifty pages of Come In and Cover Me work beautifully to draw the reader in. What is going on with Ren? Is she really seeing her dead brother’s ghost? Who is this artist whose work she has found, and how are the two of them connected?

From there, though, the book falters a bit. Phillips is a strong writer, but Ren is very difficult to connect with. Something isn’t quite right with her response to her brother’s death, namely her inability to make peace with it more than twenty years later. Her alleged ability to see ghosts also functions to distance her from the reader. Part of the issue is the question of whether or not she is actually seeing the spirits of the deceased, Silas obviously doesn’t think so, and it is never particularly clear to the reader. It does seem at times that the ghosts are a manifestation of her unconscious, but that returns to the question of how precisely she became so damaged that she pushes away relationships and sees things which aren’t really there.

Although Ren is a difficult character, Phillips has put together and interesting book – the archaeology is particularly fascinating – and I am interested in reading her first book, and whatever she may write in the future.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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Come in and Cover Me by Gin Phillips – Book Review

The Name of the Star

Rory Deveaux is used to her life in Louisiana, but she’s still excited about the prospect a year at a British boarding school. Her parents will be teaching in England for the year, so going with them seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, Rory’s arrival in London coincides with the anniversary of the first Jack the Ripper murder, and what appears to be a spate of copycat murders. When Rory sees a man who seems to be the number one suspect, she suddenly finds herself in very real danger.

The Name of the Star is an incredibly entertaining book. Rory is an interesting and complex character, in a fascinating – if somewhat unconventional situation. Johnson has a very engaging writing style, and she can draw the reader into even a Jack the Ripper ghost story.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Name of the Star, although I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it being a series. I think it was a great success as a standalone, but Rory’s continued adventures with the cast of characters she met in The Name of the Star don’t terribly excite me, although I’ll be more than willing to read the next book and see where Johnson takes the story.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Library.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson – Book Review

Crossed by Ally Condie, narrated by Kate Simses and Jack Riccobono

I previously reviewed the first audiobook in this series, Matched.

Synopsis:

From the publisher:

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky – taken by the Society to his certain death – only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander – who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart – change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Thoughts on the story:

So, the reason I used the publisher’s description here is that nothing much really happens during Crossed. Yes, Cassia searches out Ky in the border provinces, but even as they are both living much more difficult lives than they ever did in the heart of the Society, and yet it seems that nothing occurs. Basically the entire thing is a set up for the third book in the trilogy. What Crossed does have going for it, though, is that we learn a great deal about Ky’s history, and about just how deep the uprising against the Society really goes. This set up is promising for Condie’s next book, however.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Kate Simses is still a great casting call for Cassia. She is young-sounding enough to be convincing as a teenager, and conveys the teenage drama well without making it overly angsty. I was somewhat less impressed by Jack Riccobono. He is ever so slightly old-sounding for Ky and is a bit ridiculous when trying to give voice to Cassia during Ky’s sections. Simses does a much better job doing voices for the boys surrounding Cassia.

The sound effects in Crossed are not used as judiciously as they are in Matched. They are nearly absent in Crossed until a point near the end where music is used for no apparent reason. It is quite odd, really.

Overall:

I have to hope that the last book in this trilogy will be told exclusively from Cassia’s point of view, so that Kate Simses can narrate the entire audiobook. Other than this, Crossed was very much the transitional book for this series and, although it was not nearly as strong as Matched, it is setting up what will hopefully be a very interesting conclusion. If you liked Matched, you probably need to read this before the third book is released.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

I’m launching a brand-new meme every Friday! I encourage you to review any audiobooks you review on Fridays and include the link here. If you have reviewed an audiobook earlier in the week, please feel free to link that review as well. Thanks to Pam for creating the button.

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Crossed by Ally Condie – Audiobook Review

The Sparkpeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight

Sparkpeople.com is a diet website. It provides its 11 million plus members with weight loss resources, including community support. As befits as responsible diet website and plan, much of Sparkpeople focuses on exercise and healthy eating. It is this second important component of dieting that The Sparkpeople Cookbook focuses on.8

The Sparkpeople Cookbook is not, however, what one would commonly consider to be a diet cookbook. Instead, the focus is on cooking for a healthy eating lifestyle, making smart choices as far as ingredients and portion sizes. The book even includes the basics of a number of healthy cooking techniques, including roasting, grilling, sweating, steaming, and more.

As is important in a cookbook, The Sparkpeople Cookbook is, overall, very well organized. After the introductory sections, which include the aforementioned healthy cooking techniques, the book is divided into the following sections:

• Breakfast
• Salads & Sandwiches
• Soups & Stews
• Main Dishes with Poultry, Meat & Fish
• Meatless Mains, Pasta & Pizza
• Whole Grains
• Vegetables
• Snacks & Desserts
• Herbs, Spices & Seasonings

This is followed by a number of appendices, including a sample weekly meal plans, choosing a cooking oil, and keeping fruits and vegetables fresh. The only real oddity is the inclusion of Lemon Chicken with Spinach Pasta under the Meatless Mains section. It seems to just have been misplaced in the incorrect section, but it is an unfortunate error, because it looks like an incredible recipe, and I would hate for people looking specifically chicken dishes to miss it. Despite the one strange placement, the layout of the individual recipes is quite good. There are facts about the food used, suggestions to make the dish into a meal, and possible additions.

The recipes all look amazing, and are straightforward without being overly simplistic. I made the Herbed Bulgur and Lentil Salad and it was delicious, I will definitely be making it again. I can’t wait to keep making things, like the Broccoli and Spaghetti Squash with Lemon Pepper, the Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken, and the Lemon Chicken with Spinach Pasta.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Planned TV Arts.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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The Sparkpeople Cookbook by Meg Galvin – Book Review