Friday, January 27, 2012

Book Review

I have read quite a few books lately. Most of them I have really enjoyed. The last one was:

This is how Amazon describes the book: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

My thoughts: Its a book about a kid with cancer. As expected I did cry a bit, but I wasn't sobbing throughout like I thouhgt I might. I admit that it was different then the books you usually read about kids with cancer, and really thought provoking. It is a young adult book, so easy to follow. I would reccomend this to a friend.


The next book on my list is

This is what Amazon says: In the tradition of Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping and Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, a dazzling debut novel about the family bonds that remain even when they seem irretrievably torn apartGrowing up in hardscrabble Kentucky in the 1920s, with their mother dead and their stepfather an ever-present threat, Bertie Fischer and her older sister Mabel have no one but each other—with perhaps a sweetheart for Bertie waiting in the wings. But on the day that Bertie receives her eighth-grade diploma, good intentions go terribly wrong. A choice made in desperate haste sets off a chain of misunderstandings that will divide the sisters and reverberate through three generations of women.

What happens when nothing turns out as you planned? From the Depression through World War II and Vietnam, and smaller events both tragic and joyful, Bertie and Mabel forge unexpected identities that are shaped by unspeakable secrets. As the sisters have daughters and granddaughters of their own, they discover that both love and betrayal are even more complicated than they seem.

My thoughts: I am excited to read this one. I have a sister and understand the complex relationship that is there. Will share more when I am finished!!



One other book on my list to finish is



This was an impulse pick up at the library. This is what Amazon had to say: Wickedly hilarious and utterly recognizable, Girls in White Dresses tells the story of three women grappling with heartbreak and career change, family pressure and new love—all while suffering through an endless round of weddings and bridal showers.

Isabella, Mary, and Lauren feel like everyone they know is getting married. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, collect ribbons and wrapping paper, eat minuscule sandwiches and doll-sized cakes. They wear pastel dresses and drink champagne by the case, but amid the celebration these women have their own lives to contend with: Isabella is working at a mailing-list company, dizzy with the mixed signals of a boss who claims she’s on a diet but has Isabella file all morning if she forgets to bring her a chocolate muffin. Mary thinks she might cry with happiness when she finally meets a nice guy who loves his mother, only to realize he’ll never love Mary quite as much. And Lauren, a waitress at a Midtown bar, swears up and down she won’t fall for the sleazy bartender—a promise that his dirty blond curls and perfect vodka sodas make hard to keep.

With a wry sense of humor, Jennifer Close brings us through those thrilling, bewildering, what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-do-with-my-life years of early adulthood. These are the years when everyone else seems to have a plan, a great job, and an appropriate boyfriend, while Isabella has a blind date with a gay man, Mary has a crush on her boss, and Lauren has a goldfish named Willard. Through boozy family holidays and disastrous ski vacations, relationships lost to politics and relationships found in pet stores, Girls in White Dresses pulls us deep inside the circle of these friends, perfectly capturing the wild frustrations and soaring joys of modern life.

Another one I CAN'T WAIT to read. =)

I love that I have started to expand my horizons. It wasn't so long ago I was only reading about 4 authors (though I still do LOVE them!!) Its good to read something that challenges you.

So, what is on your nightstand at the moment?

3 FABULOUS people commented!!:

Shan said...

I just finished up Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe this weekend. Really enjoyed it. I am working my way through the Earth Children series by Jean M Auel. I'm on book three, The Mammoth Hunters. Love this series and love that there are six huge books in it!

Leah said...

Sound like good books! I think I may have Spotted "Sisters" at Target, but didn't have time to read the back covers of any of the books. But the pretty tea cups caught my eye! I'm sure it must be the same book. I'm reading Hunger Games, because I've been hearing so many good things about it on FB, and it was gifted to Jared for Christmas from my brother (I wanted to read it first and make sure it was truly appropriate for him).

Betsy said...

Leah, I am sure that is the same book, Love the cover! lol And on the hunger games, I would definately read them first Leah. I'm not sure my kid would be ready yet (they are a few years apart, but it is pretty deep stuff, especially for a "youth" book kwim?)

Shan, I am going to look into those!