A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

Feb 072012

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
Published by Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette

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.

Buy this book from:
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.

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart – Book Review

Nov 102011

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
Published by EgmontUSA

Baby is the only bright spot in Emmy Rane’s life, until the day she vanishes. Emmy runs into the house for but a moment, and when she comes back, Baby is nowhere to be seen, nowhere to be found. Mad with grief and suspected in the disappearance of her child, Emmy soon finds herself institutionalized. Fourteen years later, Sophie is in yet another new house in yet another new town; not that moving makes things so difficult, since her mother homeschools her and rarely lets her leave the house or talk to anyone else. This time is different, though, because this time Sophie surreptitiously makes friends with the next door neighbor and the aunts who are raising him. As she begins to break out of the shell her mother has concocted, Sophie begins to learn things about her life that will change it for good.

I generally adore Beth Kephart’s poetic writing style, but her lovely prose does also have a tendency to put the reader at a remove from her story and characters, as I discovered in Dangerous Neighbors. This problem is exacerbated in You Are My Only by the fact that there are two main characters, who each have their share of narration and who are split by place and time. Emmy is a particularly difficult character to get a handle on. Is she supposed to be of below average intelligence or mentally ill even before Baby disappeared? If not, why is she so odd even from the beginning? Why is it so easy to paint her as crazy and have her institutionalized? What is with the fact her child didn’t seem to have a name, other than Baby? Sophie is a more robust character, and one who is easier to identify with, as she begins to break out of the constraints her mother has put on her life, and begins uncovering the secret of her past.

I think my biggest issue with You Are My Only is that it is written as a young adult book at all. There’s nothing I would particularly worry about in giving it to any teenager, but with half of the story told from Emmy’s point of view, it seems it might have worked better as an adult novel. Perhaps had it been written as an adult novel, the mother’s pain of losing her precious child could have been written in a way that was more immediate and less removed. I assume it is because this is a young adult novel that Sophie is the better developed character, but that seriously weakens the story as a whole. I would have liked to see them developed equally well, tapping more fully into both the woman and the teenager. That could have been an immensely powerful book, whereas this is somewhat disappointing – especially because the connection between the two stories is painfully obvious. If this story had to be young adult, Emmy should have been given an even smaller role, or none at all; as it is she simply detracts from the emotional charge of the novel.

I really like Kephart’s young adult writing when the story she is telling makes sense as a young adult book, and I think I would enjoy her writing for adults as well, but You Are My Only is neither fish nor fowl and simply doesn’t work for me. Try Nothing But Ghosts or Undercover instead.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher, via Netgalley.
* 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.

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber – Audiobook Review

Oct 072011

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber, narrated by Tamara Marston
Published in audio by Highbridge Audio, published in print by WW Norton & co

Synopsis:

Avis and Brian Muir have what seems like it should be a happy life. They live in a big house in a wealthy community in Miami. Avis has a job that she loves. Brian has a job he at least likes, and one that more than pays the bills. They have two lovely and intelligent children. When their daughter Felice runs away at thirteen, though, the entire family falls apart. Now, five years later, they have fallen even farther, even as they continue to hope that they may someday because a “real” family again, whatever that might mean.

Thoughts on the story:

Abu-Jaber is extremely skilled at getting inside her characters heads, going so far as showing the reader the neurosis of which the characters themselves may not even be aware. In Birds of Paradise, she manages the often difficult task of fully fleshing out all four members of the family, making each of them seem real, bringing to life their hopes and their foibles. Felice’s storyline is particularly interesting. Although the secret that drove her to running away is relatively easy to guess, it is believable, even logical by the standards of her young teenage self.

Thoughts on the audio production:

This is where Birds of Paradise fell apart for me. Marston seemed more like she was reading Abu-Jaber’s text than like she was narrating or performing it. She had a great command of accents – a necessity for the multicultural world in which the Muirs live – but there was little to no passion in her voice, which is somewhat of a problem in a book with such deep emotions from its characters. Also, she had an incorrect and obnoxious pronunciation of the state Oregon that just pulled me right out of the book and annoyed me every time she said it. Marston’s narration really detracted from the potential power of Abu-Jaber’s story.

soundbytes picture Overall:

Be prepared to become emotionally involved in the lives of the Muirs if you pick up Birds of Paradise, but for full effect choose print.

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.

Source: .
* 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.

If Jack’s In Love by Stephen Wetta – Book Review

Sep 292011

If Jack’s In Love by Stephen Wetta
Published by Amy Einhorn Books, an imprint of Penguin

If there’s anything worse than being a 12-year old boy, it is being a brilliant 12-year old boy born into the family that the whole town shuns. Oh, and even worse than that is having your brother suspected in the disappearance of one of the town’s most popular young men, who just happens to be the older brother of the girl you have a crush on. Actually, life as Jack Witcher is just sort of crummy in general.

If Jack’s In Love is a wonderful coming-of-age story. Jack is a compelling young man with a very interesting voice. His character was consistent with that of a 12-year old, without falling into the trap of being particularly obnoxious in an effort on Wetta’s part to prove that Jack is indeed 12.

The storyline Wetta has created is very interesting, looking at the incidents between Jack’s brother Stan and the missing boy, wondering whether or not Stan really did something dire and irreversible. The real heart of the story, however, is Jack and his reactions to the world around him, his fight to be accepted without giving up who he is at heart.

There is much discussion these days about what constitutes a young adult book, and what an adult book. Many people would likely classify If Jack’s In Love immediately as young adult, due to the age of its main character. It seems, however, that Wetta is coming at this from a distinctly more adult point of view, while still staying true to Jack. Although there is certainly cross-over appeal for teenagers, If Jack’s In Love is a bildungsroman written for an adult audience – and a good one, at that.

Recommended.

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.

Things We Didn’t Say by Kristina Riggle – Book Review

Jun 302011

Things We Didn’t Say by Kristina Riggle
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks, in imprint of HarperCollins

Family isn’t always easy, and the Turner family has their own special problems. Michael Turner is trying to make things work with his live-in fiance Casey, but his mentally ill ex-wife Mallory doesn’t make that easy, particularly when Michael must worry about his three children every time they visit their mother for the weekend. Casey has demons of her own – the death of her brother, her recovering alcoholism – and is no longer sure that her love for Michael is enough. She’s ready to walk out the door, never to return, when she gets a call from the high school that Dylan, Michael’s middle child, attends, saying that he never showed up for school. Suddenly a complicated situation is made all the more complicated by a missing teenager, and the Turners must decide just what sort of family they really are.

Riggle is at her best when she is living inside the messy reality of modern families, and Things We Didn’t Say is full of some of her most deliciously flawed characters yet. All six of the major characters – Casey, Michael, Mallory, and the three children – narrate at least one chapter in their own voice. As opposed to her first book, Real Life & Liars, which also featured a family, but in which most character’s chapters were in the third person, each family member actually gets to narrate their chapters in first person, bringing the reader closer to even the least central members of the family. Particularly effective is one of Mallory’s chapters, her smug and destructive attitude practically oozes from the pages, leaving the reader feeling furious, and perhaps slightly contaminated by her bile.

Things We Didn’t Say is a fascinatingly intimate look at the lives of a single, ordinary family during a time of extraordinary crisis. It is rich and engrossing, a read that will captivate your very heart. I read almost the entire thing in two sittings, and would have easily sat long enough to read it in a single sitting, had my own life not intervened. Things We Didn’t Say is a beautiful book; highly recommended.

Disclaimer: Please note, I have spent some time in a friendly manner with Riggle at various book events, but this has in no way influenced the content of this review. I loved this book wholeheartedly because it is great book, and not because I occasionally chat with Riggle on Twitter.

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.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh – Audiobook Review

Jun 242011

Faith by Jennifer Haigh, narrated by Therese Plummer
Published in audio by Harper Audio; published in print by Harper Books, both imprints of HarperCollins

Synopsis:

It is 2002, and Sheila McGann has never regretted leaving the Catholic Church less – nearly the only thing the news reports talk about these days are the priest sex abuse scandals. That these things happen is not particularly a surprise to Sheila, but that her beloved elder brother Art has been accused is a shock bar none.

Thoughts on the story:

I think it is best, actually, to go into Faith without knowing too much about it; at its most basic it is the story of a family whose world view is being severely challenged and whose life is being torn apart. Not only that, it is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Haigh has amazing pacing, and even better characterization and storytelling. I didn’t have a single issue with the plot, the writing, anything while listening. It is a deeply emotional story that rockets the reader deep inside the inner lives of the McGanns, a story you won’t want to put down.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Plummer’s narration is extremely strong, emotional but not overwrought; she hits every note perfectly. The audio production of Faithis so fabulous I was searching high and low for something, anything to do that would give me more listening time. It would not be an overexaggeration to say that I tried my best to plan my life that week around getting more time to listen to Faith.

For a more in-depth review of the audio, please see my review for Audiofile Magazine.

soundbytes picture Overall

Faith was simply amazing and it will without question be making my ‘best of’ list at the end of the year, thanks in equal part to Jennifer Haigh’s writing and Therese Plummer’s narration.

Very highly recommended.

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

Source: Audiofile Magazine.
* 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.

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly – Book Review

Jun 202011

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly
Published by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

Lulu is the failure of the Atwood family, at least that’s how she feels. Her younger sister, Sophie, seems to actually be on the verge of a successful acting career, and their responsible elder sister Emma is getting married. Lulu is not in a relationship, and has no idea what she wants to do with her life, taking dead-end jobs that drive her parents mad. Somewhat depressed, Lulu is up in the attic on an errand when she discovers a trove of letters from her great-grandmother Jo March to Jo’s sister, Meg. Jo reminds Lulu so much of herself: unsure the path she wants to take in life, unwilling to enter into romantic entanglements with her neighbor. Both women are spunky, but somewhat lost. Watching Jo find herself in the series of letters, Lulu begins to feel better about her prospects, and finds herself too.

A fascinating idea to me, the concept of Little Women never having existed, because the Atwood sisters are continuing to live in the March sisters’ universe. Even so, just as millions of young girls have found strength in Jo March, her great-granddaughter is able to do the same. Donnelly had a bit of a tricky line to walk with The Little Women Letters. On one hand, she could have made them too much carbon copies of the March girls and their experiences, and made the whole book trite and derivative. On the other hand, she could have made them too very different from Jo and her sisters and the Little Women angle would have felt tacked on. Instead, Donnelly found a lovely balance. Leaving out Beth, she imbued the other three March girls into each of the girls in the Atwood family, while still leaving Emma, Lulu, and Sophie to be thoroughly modern English girls.

Perhaps the best part of The Little Women Letters were the titular letters which Lulu discovered in the attic. Donnelly caught Jo’s voice and style very well, creating letters that are not canonical to Little Women, but do mesh with the happenings in the book.

All in all The Little Women Letters is a hugely enjoyable novel for fans of Little Women. Recommended.

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.

If Sons, Then Heirs by Lorene Cary – Book Review

May 302011

If Sons, Then Heirs by Lorene Cary
Published by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

Every Easter, Rayne Needham makes his way down to his Nana Selma’s place, to help her around the heir property she has held for the family since the death of her husband, King, Rayne’s great grandfather. Rayne wants nothing more than for Selma to sell the land, so she can live out her last years in something closer to luxury. It turns out, though, that the fact that this is heir property – an arrangement common among African American farming families in the South – complicates everything. Selma is not the sole owner of the land, really not the owner at all, but all of King’s progeny, and that of his brothers, are equal owners.

Rayne’s attempt to unravel the reality of the situation with the land coincides with and feeds into his finally learning some of the most disturbing of his family’s history, and the reuniting of what has been, until this point, a rather dysfunctional family. Told largely through the eyes of the increasingly frail Selma, and through bits and pieces from other family members, the Needham’s family history is told in a largely nonlinear fashion. This unmooring in time and repetition of certain family lore gives increased weight to what Rayne finds in his family’s past.

Although it took me some time to become invested in the lives of the Needham family – mostly because of the jumping between multiple family members – the history and the issue of heir property, which is still an problem for many families, absolutely fascinated me. I ended up extremely engaged, and really enjoying the If Sons, Then Heirs.

Recommended.

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.

Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye – Book Review

Apr 182011

Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye
Published by Unbridled Books

After the sinking of the Ragnark and the death of the majority of its crew, Olaf Torr turns to drink. Over the next 30 years, Olaf’s family falls apart: his wife has an affair, and he becomes estranged from his son and the worry of his daughter. And yet, when Olaf calls his son Noah, telling him that he is sick and needs help preparing his isolated house for winter, Noah flies to join him immediately. Noah has been more than a little annoyed with his father, first due to the drinking and lack of fatherly affection, subsequently for some inappropriate comments that Olaf made at his wedding. Even so, he knows that Olaf would not be calling if it were not terribly important. He arrives still annoyed and distant, but in the time that follows, he falls back in love with his father and begins to understand just how damaged Olaf truly was by experiencing the sinking of the Ragnark. As Olaf begins recounting to Noah the story of that fateful night, both men begin to truly find peace with themselves and one another.

At first I was unsure about Safe From the Sea. It is very well written, but with the kind of spare prose that isn’t always capable of grabbing me. In addition, the story of the shipwreck and shipping on the Great Lakes didn’t particularly appeal to me, nor was I sure I would be able to relate to Noah and Olaf’s relationship. Peter Geye didn’t let me down, however. His prose was sparse, but also evocative, particularly when Olaf is describing the night the Ragnark sank. Olaf and Noah’s relationship is so artfully reanimated that the reader cannot help but become invested in them and their interactions with one another, not to mention bereft at the thought that they are only now coming back to one another now that Olaf is so very ill.

Although it starts out a little slowly, Safe From the Sea is absolutely beautiful and will suck you in. Recommended.

Buy this book from:
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.

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz – Book Review

Apr 152011

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Published by Simon & Schuster

Perhaps you remember, but I recently adored Head You Lose, Lisa Lutz’s new book, with cowriter David Hayward. Based on my love for Heads You Lose and the recommendations of many readers I trust, I decided that the next new series I start would have to be Lisa Lutz’s The Spellman Files. I took the first book out from the library and it sat around my house for a few days. Then last week, when I felt myself on the verge of a reading slump, I had a feeling that The Spellman Files might just be the cure for what ailed me.

It is quite difficult to describe the plot of The Spellman Files without making it sound convoluted and ridiculous, which it really isn’t. Anyway, there’s Izzy Spellman, second of three children in the Spellman clan, although she’s more or less an adult now. Izzy’s parents are private investigators, and she’s been involved since she was old enough to trail a perp – although she was very distracted by pot and petty vandalism as a teenager. Now she lives with her parents, 12 year old sister Rae, and their Uncle Ray who has turned to a life of alcohol and debauchery, after clean living gave him cancer. Rae and Ray are at war, and Izzy is trying to hide from her parents her relationship Exboyfriend #8, the dentist who thinks she is a teacher. There are footnotes scattered liberally throughout the book as asides from Izzy, and some of the subplots have their own set of chapter numbers, so you can read two chapter 2s in a row. It is also clear that most of what is being told is leading up to a time when Rae is missing, and Izzy is trying to tell her story to a detective in the present to give him background on Rae. Luckily these scenes with the detective are in a different font from the rest of the book, so they are easily distinguishable.

See? I didn’t do a very good job convincing you that this book isn’t overly complicated. The thing is, though, Lisa Lutz makes it work. I never had to stop and think about which story thread I was following, even when I did read two chapter 2s in a row. Everything is weaved together so effortlessly, that I just relaxed and went along for the ride. Anyway, I totally loved The Spellman Files, Lutz has a real talent for very funny mysteries. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series, I will definitely be keeping them on hand for when I need a change of pace.

Highly recommended.

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.

Older Entries

Devourer of Books

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart – Book Review

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber – Audiobook Review

If Jack’s In Love by Stephen Wetta – Book Review

Things We Didn’t Say by Kristina Riggle – Book Review

Faith by Jennifer Haigh – Audiobook Review

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly – Book Review

If Sons, Then Heirs by Lorene Cary – Book Review

Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye – Book Review

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz – Book Review

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