China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: June 16, 2015
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
I adored Kevin Kwan’s debut novel Crazy Rich Asians. You may recall that in my review of Crazy Rich Asians, I wrote that I hoped Kevin Kwan wrote a sequel. Well, apparently Kwan totally reads my blog because he did! If you haven’t read Crazy Rich Asians, you’ll probably want to read it first. You’ll get more out of China Rich Girlfriend if you know more about the characters.
***This review will have spoilers for Crazy Rich Asians.***
On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore’s It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia’s most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it’s like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.
China Rich Girlfriend picks up about two and half years after Crazy Rich Asians ended. Nick and Rachel are finally getting married, assuming Nick’s meddling mother will stay out of the way. They are also searching for Rachel’s birth father, which brings them to Mainland China. If you thought the ultra wealthy class of Singapore in Crazy Rich Asians was over the top outrageous, you haven’t seen nothin’ yet! China is all about new money billionaires who have it and want to flaunt it unlike the discreet rich in Singapore. As unfathomable as some of the things the billionaires in this book do, they are actually true to life. Kwan spent time in China researching this book. He has said that he actually had to tone some of the crazy things the wealthy do because even though they actually happened, they would not be believable to the reader.
In addition to catching up with Rachel and Nick, we also get to see what Michael and Astrid and Kitty and Bernard have been up to. A whole new cast of characters who live in China and Hong Kong are introduced as well. My favorite new character is Corinna, a consultant who helps new money Asians integrate into the billionaire class. She teaches them how to act and dress refined and lets them in on insider information like which hotel is the right one in which to have high tea and that one refers to the Mandarin Oriental hotel as simply “the Mandarin”. I think the funniest part of this book is the memo she sends to a new client outlining everything she must to do fit in with the ultra-wealthy. She gives her a reading list with books like Pride and Prejudice and Anna Karenina on it. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is on the list but crossed out! I’m going to assume that means that Kwan thinks Franzen is as big of an ass as I do.
As always, I must point out any references to Unitarian Universalism since they are quite rare in popular culture. In this book, a character says, “I didn’t really care for that we-are-all-nature Unitarian minister.” So funny!
I didn’t think this book was quite as good as Crazy Rich Asians but I still liked it a lot. Kwan uses footnotes in this book in the same way he did in Crazy Rich Asians. They are informative but also sometimes so droll I was laughing out loud. If you enjoy comedies of manners and laughing, this book is for you. Kwan has said he originally planned Crazy Rich Asians to be the first book in a trilogy. I hope he sticks to his plan because I want to visit these characters again.
(I received this book courtesy of Amazon Vine.)
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NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson
Publisher: Twelve
Published In: 2009
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
One of the most influential books about children ever published, Nurture Shock offers a revolutionary new perspective on children that upends a library’s worth of conventional wisdom. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, the authors demonstrate that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring–because key twists in the science have been overlooked. Nothing like a parenting manual, NurtureShock gets to the core of how we grow, learn and live.
Nurture Shock’s basic premise is to take traditional parenting techniques and ideas and turn them on their heads. For instance the first chapter, called The In Inverse Power of Praise, is about how over praising children can have the opposite effect of what the parent intended. The child’s performance may actually decrease. Each chapter cites studies and research the authors have uncovered to support their conclusions. Most of the authors’ assertions make total sense after they explain the research that’s been done on the subject in question, even though it contradicts conventional wisdom.
My favorite chapter, that I think every parent should read, is Why White Parents Don’t Talk About Race. I have long railed against the notion of color-blindness being a sincere or realistic perspective and this chapter helps explain why. When parents don’t talk about race, it leaves children confused and often thinking any mention of race must be bad because their parents never talk about it.
This book is more about how children’s brains work and doesn’t have that many specific techniques that a parent could just lift out of the book and put into practice. However, if a parent has a better understand of how her child’s brain works and what her thought processes are, then she will be better able to come up with ways of dealing with her child that works for her family.
I think this is definitely one book every parent should have in his/her arsenal.
May 29th, 2015 in
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Bossypants by Tina Fey
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Released In: 2011
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.
She has seen both these dreams come true.
At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon — from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.
Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.
Tina Fey’s memoir is seriously funny. It’s essays about various events and times in her life, not a linear biography. Some dirt is dished, which you know makes me happy. There’s quite a bit on how she came to play Sarah Palin on SNL and what it was like to meet Sarah Palin in person. She’s also not afraid to talk about how woman are treated differently than men in the entertainment industry and not for the better. I was surprised in how much of the material in her book was about the unequal treatment of women in life in general. It was insightful and made me think and laugh at the same time.
She also talks about her personal life, including how she got the scar on her face which I have always been very curious about.
I listened to the audio version which was read by her. Of course that made the book even funnier. My only problem with it was that every once and a while she would rush through a punch line in a muttering voice and I couldn’t understand what she was saying. There is a PDF that goes with the audio version so you can see the photos that were in the book which was nice.
This is a hilarious celebrity memoir. I definitely recommend listening to it.
May 27th, 2015 in
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The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation by Melissa Rivers
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Release Date: May 5, 2015
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Joan Rivers was known all over the world—from the Palace Theater to Buckingham Palace, from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the footlights of Broadway, from the days of talkies to hosting talk shows. But there was only one person who knew Joan intimately, one person who the authorities would call when she got a little out of hand. Her daughter and best friend, Melissa.
Joan and Melissa Rivers had one of the most celebrated mother-daughter relationships of all time. If you think Joan said some outrageous things to her audiences as a comedian, you won’t believe what she said and did in private. Her love for her daughter knew no bounds—or boundaries, apparently. (“Melissa, I acknowledge that you have boundaries. I just choose to not respect them.”) In The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation, Melissa shares stories (like when she was nine months old and her parents delivered her to Johnny Carson as a birthday gift), bon mots (“Missy, is there anything better than seeing a really good looking couple pushing a baby that looks like a Sasquatch who got caught in a house fire?”), and life lessons from growing up in the Rosenberg-Rivers household (“I can do tips and discounts and figure out the number of gay men in an audience to make it a good show. That’s all the math you’ll ever need.”). These were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to life in the family that Melissa describes as more Addams than Cleaver. And at the center of it all was a tiny blond force of nature.
In The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation, Melissa Rivers relates funny, poignant and irreverent observations, thoughts, and tales about the woman who raised her and is the reason she considers valium one of the four basic food groups.
This book is a series of essays about Joan and Melissa. Overall, they are funny and poignant. But oh my lord. Melissa Rivers is not funny. Her supposedly funny metaphors and similes fall flat – flat as a pancake. (See what I did there?) The other thing that made me uncomfortable was Melissa telling us which celebrities Joan personally didn’t like. It doesn’t seem classy and I don’t think Joan would have done that if she were alive. I mean sure she skewered people as part of her act but she never just came out and said, “I don’t like Ben Stiller because he doesn’t have good manners.”
Although I inwardly groaned at Melissa’s attempts at humor, I did enjoy learning what Joan Rivers was like a person, mother and grandma. I think Joan Rivers fans would enjoy this book.
(I received this book courtesy of the publisher.)
May 26th, 2015 in
Books |
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Hey guys – remember how I participated in the GYPO Spring Challenge and loved it? Now it’s time for the Summer Challenge! Registration is already open. Here are the important dates:
Summer Style Challenge Important Dates:
- Early Bird Registration Opens: 5/22
- Regular Registration Opens: 5/28
- Shopping List Release: 6/4
- First Outfit Release: 6/14
Early bird registration is $29. After that it’s $39. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions. Click here to sign up. Hopefully I’ll see in the challenge Facebook group!
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: January 17, 2013
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright—armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists—uncovers the inner workings of the church. We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We go inside their specialized cosmology and language. We learn about the church’s legal attacks on the IRS, its vindictive treatment of critics, and its phenomenal wealth. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts. Through it all, Wright asks what fundamentally comprises a religion, and if Scientology in fact merits this Constitutionally-protected label. Brilliantly researched, compellingly written, Going Clear pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive organizations at work today.
This book is not only a comprehensive history of Scientology but also a biography of L. Ron Hubbard. It’s amazing that Hubbard went from an author of pulp science fiction novels to the founder of a major religion/cult. I had to wonder if Hubbard was mentally ill and really believed the stories he told about alien overlords ruling over humans millions of years ago. Or was he intelligent and calculating and knew he could make a ton of money off of his ideas?
The aspect of Scientology that was most surprising to me is the horrific abuse that the non-celebrity members endure. They are punished for various transgressions with being made to perform horrible tasks or imprisoned in unspeakable conditions. I had to wonder how this imprisonment is legal. Why don’t the members who have escaped file charges against those in the church leadership. Partly, it’s probably because the church has so much money that they can literally destroy your life if you speak out against them in any way. I was stunned that an organization in the United States can get away with the things they get away with. Their behavior is that of a fascist dictator.
Paul Haggis (director of the movie Crash) was a Scientologist for 35 years before he finally left the church. His perspective on why a seemingly smart person would remain in the church is insightful. I wanted to read more about other celebrity Scientologists. There is a lot of information on John Travolta and Tom Cruise but not much on anyone else. I have to wonder if the celebrities in the church know about how the rest of the church works – the imprisonment, child labor, etc. Are they so brainwashed that they will make excuses for what the author has uncovered? If they choose to remain in the church, I think they have a responsibility to work to reform it and put a stop to the abuse. I’m sure if they threatened to stop the millions of dollars they donate, the leaders of the church would stand up and take notice.
This book is very well-researched, especially considering the fact the church is so close lipped about what goes on behind closed doors. Wright was able to interview several of the former church leaders who have defected over the years. If you want to know the truth about Scientology, this book is your best bet.
May 13th, 2015 in
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Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Publisher: Dial Books
Release Date: August 29, 2013
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life . . . until now.
Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.
This is the first middle-grade book I’ve read that was so compelling I couldn’t put it down. My boys were also enthralled with it and they both gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. My eight-year old is highly sensitive about death and tragedy so the fact that he liked it even though Willow’s parents die is pretty amazing. He said he liked it because he could relate to Willow. I think most kids will find something about Willow to relate to even if they aren’t a super genius like she is.
I loved Willow. I liked her observations about life and people. I thought all of the characters were wonderful even though they all had their flaws. Dell, the school counselor is horribly inept which I found to be a unique twist on this type of story. Normally, I would expect that the school counselor would be the hero, helping Willow cope with the loss of her parents. Instead, Willow is the one helping him. That’s a running theme in this story – Willow gets support from a variety of people but she teaches them all things too. It’s a two-way street.
I really appreciated the fact that there were several characters of color in this book, including Willow herself. It’s nice to see diversity in any book but especially in one for children.
This book was a selection for the Intergenerational Book Club my sons and I belong too. Ideas for theme related snacks included seven-layer dip and seven-layer cake. The book club is through the Unitarian Universalist church that my family attends. UUs have seven principles that we strive to live by so part of our discussion included which of the seven principles are represented in the book. (If you look at the principles on the UUA’s website you’ll probably notice that they seem pretty wordy for middle-grade kids to understand. We have more simplified versions of the them that the kids learn in Sunday school.) Anyway, I’m not trying to proselytize – I just thought it was neat that they tied into our discussion so well because there are seven of them.
Counting by 7s is a powerful story about family, community and the power of love. Highly recommended for kids of all ages.
For more reviews of books for children and teens, check out Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection, posted on Saturdays. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, you can go to her site to leave a comment and your link .
May 6th, 2015 in
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For the past twenty-one days I’ve been participating the Get Your Pretty On Spring Style Challenge. Here’s a refresher of how it works: You sign up for the challenge and are sent a shopping list of all the items you will need to style the 21 challenge outfits. This challenge is not about buying an all-new wardrobe. Alison encourages shopping in your own closet for the items first. There were about 20 items on the list and I had around half already. All of the items mix and match – you are building a spring “capsule”. Ten days after the shopping list is released, Alison starts releasing the daily outfits. Then dressing for the day becomes a snap – you have all the items needed for the outfit, just put them together and go! There is room for creativity too – you can use a different color scheme than the sample items on the shopping list or make substitutions. You can find my first six outfits here and my second six here. Below are the final nine:
Go to Get Your Pretty On and you can get even more details and view past challenge materials. It’s not too late to join in the fun!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
May 3rd, 2015 in
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Why’d They Wear That?: Fashion as the Mirror of History by Sarah Albee
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books
Release Date: February 10, 2015
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
From the invention of needles made from woolly mammoth tusks in 10,000 B.C., to the evolution of armor from chain mail to modern-day bulletproof vests, to the controversy surrounding contemporary outsourcing, Albee looks at history through the lens of fashion as a way to engage young readers.
Each chapter focuses on a major period of world history, from the Neolithic era to the present day, and explores the evolution of fashion as a reflection of the politics, class hierarchies, religion and economics of the time. This highly visual collection is full of colorful sidebars that answer questions that are not usually addressed in the classroom: How did people keep their clothes on before zippers or buttons were invented? How did soldiers go to the bathroom when wearing their heavy armor? Pictures, paintings and artifacts further illustrate the concepts discussed in each chapter, while funny anecdotes and a focus on cultures of interest, such as the Vikings, will keep even the most reluctant readers hooked.
Snappy headlines, a stylish layout and a foreword by “Project Runway” fan favorite Tim Gunn make this extensive and entertaining guide perfect for both in-depth study and casual browsing Why’d They Wear That? is ideal for fashionistas, theater aficionados and history buffs of all ages.
Why’d They Wear That? is full of colorful images and interesting sidebars and boxes with factoids that will keep tween fashionistas interested 
as they’re learning about fashion through the ages. They’ll be learning about history as well, though they probably won’t even realize it since this book is such a fun read. The history presented in this book is pretty Euro-centric but there a few tidbits from other cultures. It would great if this was the first book in a series. Asia, Africa and the Native Americans could each easily fill a volume with the history of fashion in their cultures I’m sure.
I learned a lot reading it even as an adult as well. I was especially interested how fashion has shaped our language. For instance, the term “mad as a hatter” came about because mercury was one of the ingredients used to make a hat from a beaver pelt. Mercury poisoning can cause erratic behavior and personality changes. Mercury poisoned hatters roamed about towns and cities – thus “mad as a hatter”.
I liked the light-hearted tone and humor with which Why’d They Wear That? was written. The description of polyester had me cracking up, “Polyester can spring back into shape after wear and look just as awful as when new.”
Why’d They Wear That? is a fun and educational book for kids of all ages.
I’m pleased to be able to givaway one copy of Why’d They Wear That? to a lucky reader with a US mailing address. Just fill out the form below. I will take entries until 11:59pm CST on May 7, 2015. Good luck!
(I received a complimentary review copy of this book.)
April 30th, 2015 in
Books |
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Release Date: January 13, 2015
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?
Rachel is an alcoholic. She drinks so much that she often has blackouts. This makes her a very unreliable narrator. She also makes REALLY bad choices which makes her a very frustrating narrator. The kind I want to reach into the book and shake some sense into.
The other narrators are Anna and Megan. Anna is Rachel’s ex-husband Tom’s new wife. She loathes Rachel because some of Rachel’s bad choices involve drunkenly calling Tom or coming over to their house at all hours. Megan is Jess of Rachel’s fantasy couple that she watches from the train. I wouldn’t call Megan unreliable but she withholds a lot of shocking information from the reader.
When Megan goes missing, Rachel becomes obsessed with trying to solve the mystery of her disappearance. But how much help can a person who doesn’t even remember large blocks of her life really be? This book has so many twists and turns, I lost count. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, new information would come to light. I loved that I couldn’t trust Rachel and that neither one of us knew what really happened during her blackout periods and were kept guessing almost until the end.
This book has been called the next Gone Girl and I can see why. It has some of the same elements -a missing wife being the main one. However, whereas Gone Girl has The ONE BIG TWIST and then is just plain creepy after that, this book has a lot of little twists and not as much creepiness. I think it’s important to go into reading this with the right expectations. It’s a great thriller. But it’s not a carbon copy of Gone Girl (which I loved) and that’s a good thing. Highly recommended.
DreamWorks has recently acquired the movie rights to the book. I think this book would make a great movie and I hope the adaptation does it justice.
April 28th, 2015 in
Books |
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