Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: May 1, 2012
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
***This review will have spoilers for the first book, Divergent, but not for this book.***
This book finds Tris dealing with the emotional aftermath of mortally shooting her good friend. It weighs on her conscience so heavily that she can’t even pick up a gun. She’s also processing the grief of losing her parents. The plot picks up right where Divergent left off. Tris, Tobias and what’s left of Dauntless that is still good seek refuge among the different factions while they formulate a plan to find and kill Jeanine Matthews, leader of the traitor Dauntless.
This book was definitely not as good as the first. The story was confusing at times. Tris and her group moved around so much, I kept having to refer back to see where they were. Also, she and Tobias had their mitts on each other all.the.time. Every other page they were hugging, kissing, holding hands. It was too much and too mushy. I know that they are young and in love but they are also on the run for their lives! I kept thinking about what my college psychology professor taught me. No one thinks about sex when his/her life is in danger. My final criticism is why did Tris and Tobias have to lie to each other so much? I know that the purpose was to insert some conflict into their relationship since there is no love triangle. But the reasons they were lying didn’t seem justified.
This book did have some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and kept the story exciting. In between Tris and Tobias making out it was action packed. And the secret that is revealed in the end is definitely enough to make me read the third and final book in the trilogy, Allegiant.
Classifying Insurgent as a throwback book is dubious but since I’m the last person in the world to read this book, it counts!
Every Thursday I host Throwback Thursdays. If you you’d like to share a post from the past week about a book from “back in the day”, feel free to grab the button for your post and and link up below. Be sure and link directly to your post, not your blog’s home page. Thanks!
September 11th, 2014 in
Books |
2 Comments
Stuck in the Middle with You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Publisher: Broadway Books
Paperback Release Date: April 22, 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Stuck in the Middle With You is Jennifer Finney Boylan’s memoir on what her experience was parenting her two boys as a male, while going through transition to a female and then as a female. She has a previous memoir, She’s Not There, that is the detailed story of her life as a transgender person and her transition to female. Since she has that previous book, details on that are not discussed in this book.
Jenny really doesn’t have all that much to say about her parenting experience because it appears her two sons didn’t have much of a problem with her transition and don’t have any trouble with their peer group because of it. I’m sure that their experience is exceptional, most likely because they were quite young when she transitioned. Her younger son doesn’t even have a clear memory of when she was a man.
Also included in this book – probably to fill it out – is interviews with some of Jenny’s friends about their unique experiences either as a parent or a child. And she has some well-known friends! Richard Russo, Augusten Burroughs and Edward Albee are among the interviewees. I really enjoyed the interviews. It was interesting to read how different people’s experiences can be. For instance, two of the interviewees were adopted. One felt disconnected from his adoptive parents and called them “those people” while the other one felt just as close to his as if they were his biological parents.
What I am really interested in is Jenny’s relationship with her wife Deedie, who is heterosexual. It’s clear they have no physical relationship as Jenny writes about an occasion she wanted to kiss Deedie but Deedie said no. I’m not sure what Jenny’s sexual orientation is. She briefly considers having sex with a man who tries to pick her up in a bar. I’d love to hear Deedie’s side of the story and about what it’s like to stay in a non-physical marriage for 25 years. Perhaps that’s addressed more in Jenny’s first book.
I liked this book but since Jenny’s transition went pretty smoothly as far as her parenting goes, there wasn’t much meat to it. It was still very interesting, especially the interviews. I think it’s always good to read about people who have vastly different experiences than you. There’s always something to learn from them.
(I received this book courtesy of the publisher.)
September 10th, 2014 in
Books |
2 Comments
You may have noticed that my blog posts were pretty few and far between this summer. I blame that on my children. With them home all day, every day it’s hard to find time to read and thus hard to write reviews. My boys started school last week and my 4-year old starts preschool Wednesday and will go three full days a week. Ah, freedom! I should have more time for reading and writing and my posts should be more regular. I’m shooting for at least three times a week. Throwback Thursdays will be back consistently so be sure to visit on Thursday and link up your throwback reviews from the week. I’ll also have Fashion Friday starting sometime too. More details on that to come!
My sweeties on the boys’ first day of school.
August 30th, 2014 in
Sunday Salon |
No Comments
Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique
Publisher: Riverhead
Release Date: July 10, 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them.
Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s, Land of Love and Drowning is a novel of love and magic, set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. Uniquely imagined, with echoes of Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and the author’s own Caribbean family history, the story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs, Land of Love and Drowning is a gorgeous, vibrant debut by an exciting, prizewinning young writer.
Land of Love and Drowning isn’t a plot driven novel. It’s a character study and a chronicle of the lives of two sisters. Eeona, the older sister, is prim and proper and very concerned with class and her place in society. Anette, the younger sister, is the complete opposite. This book also offers a history of the Virgin Islands from the time it was transferred from Danish to United States possession in the early 20th century up until the 1970s. It was interesting and troubling to read about how the Americans brought racism with them to the Virgin Islands where none had existed before. They also started putting up hotels and resorts and tried to make all the beaches private. The islanders were actually worse off as Americans even though we’re supposedly the greatest country in the world.
There is magical realism present in this novel. Several characters have magical physical attributes or capabilities. While it did require some suspension of disbelief, I thought it all made perfect sense in the context of the story. The islanders seemed like very superstitious people on the whole and a little bit of voodoo here and there seemed natural.
The only criticism I have of this book is that the pacing was slow. I wasn’t riveted when I was reading and therefore, it took me a long time to finish. However, the writing is beautiful and I liked how the narration alternated between several characters. Anette’s way of speaking was a little hard to understand but also charming.
I enjoyed this book and the fact that the setting was a place that I hadn’t read a book set in before. I feel liked a learned a lot. The author’s note at the end explains what is fact and what is fiction as far as the history of the Virgin Islands goes. I’ve heard a lot of buzz about this book and have a feeling it will win awards this year. Better read it so you can be in the know!
(I received this book courtesy of the publisher.)
August 27th, 2014 in
Books |
No Comments
Hi all! Just wanted to let you know that the blog may be quiet for a bit. I’m having surgery today and I’m not sure when I’ll be off of the post-surgery painkillers enough to be able to read and write coherently again. Hopefully, everything turns out way better than last time! This time it’s GI surgery for complications from Crohn’s disease so respiratory failure seems unlikely. Fingers crossed that I’ll be back to reading and posting in no time!
August 13th, 2014 in
Family,
Rachel |
1 Comment
I’m getting my Fixes from Stitch Fix every two months now and I am still loving this service. For more info about how it works, see my initial Stitch Fix post.
Here’s what I got in my July Fix:
Emer High Waisted Cropped Trouser
In this photo, I’m trying the the pants on with a blouse that I got in a previous Fix and my own shoes. I love these pants! They are incredibly comfy and fit me like a glove. They are high waisted but not in a mom-jeans way. The waist on these pants is good for holding in a tummy pooch – one of my problem areas. Another plus is that I love green. Here’s the booty shot:
You can see in this shot that the waist is high according to today’s standard but much shorter than the high waist of the 80s.
Bixby Dot Print 3/4 Tab Sleeve Blouse
I like the color and pattern of this shirt but it pretty shapeless. I like tops that taper at the waist. Otherwise, with my aforementioned tummy pooch, it looks like a maternity top. Also, I’m not a big fan of tap sleeves.
Ventura Abstract Chevron Keyhole Tank
I really like this top – I actually got the same top with a pink chevron pattern in a previous Fix. But sadly, that top shrunk in the wash. Stitch Fix customer service was fabulous about that, by the way. I emailed them about it and they sent me a prepaid shipping label to send it back and credited my account. No questions asked.
Adan Geo Printed Shift Dress
I really liked the mod look of this dress but it was WAY too short for an old woman like me. My butt is almost hanging out!
I decided to try the dress on with black jeggings and boots that I already had. I thought that looked really good and gave me adequate butt coverage. I think black tights would work just as well. That’s another great thing about Stitch Fix – since you are trying everything on in the comfort of your own home, you can pull things out of your closet to see how they would coordinate with the items in your Fix.
I would also like to try this dress with a wide belt and a statement necklace but I don’t have either. I am very bad at accessorizing. I have diamond studs, a necklace with my kids’ birthstones and my wedding ring that I wear regularly. And that’s it! So if you want to link to any belts or necklaces that you think would go with this dress in the comments, I’d really appreciate it. I need all the help I can get!
Zoe Open Shape Metal Earrings
I like these earrings but they didn’t blow me away and like I said, I’m just not that into accessories. Probably the only way I’d keep jewelry in one of my Fixes is if I was buying the other four items and needed to buy them to get the 25% discount that you get on your entire order if you buy all five items. That basically works out to one item free! You can put in your style profile that you don’t want any accessories but I checked that I’d like to have necklaces and earrings because I was interested to see what I would get. I may change to no accessories at some point and get five items of clothing instead.
T
This is the style card that’s included with each Fix. I love it because it helps me think way more creatively about the pieces than I normally would. The card for the dress is why I want to get a statement necklace to go with it. Look at that cute turquoise one that’s suggested! (Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can see it.)
You can probably guess that I kept the dress and the pants from this Fix. I didn’t keep the keyhole tank because I was afraid it would shrink like the other one did. I love both my picks! If you want to sign up for Stitch Fix, I would love it if you used my referral link. (Full disclosure – Stitch Fix gives people a $25 credit for every person they refer.) Then I can feed my habit that much more!
August 9th, 2014 in
Stitch Fix |
7 Comments
Love Life by Rob Lowe
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator: Rob Lowe
Length: 7.5 hours
Release Date: April 8, 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Love Life is a bit of a misleading title for Rob Lowe’s latest book. It’s not about his romantic love life. It’s about loving life. Rob has written a series of unrelated vignettes about events in his life. Some are very touching, like the one about his son going off to college. Some are funny and some make Rob look like an idiot. I love that he is not afraid to share any story – he doesn’t seem to have an ego problem at all.
He explains why he left the West Wing to do one horrible series after another and why those series were so bad. I love insider Hollywood information like that. My only complaint about this book is that unlike his previous book, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, he does NOT NAME NAMES! for the more scandalous stories – with the exception of Jewel. That story was hilarious. You’ll have to read the book for that one alone. Anyway, he does provide cryptic hints when he describes the person and with some Googling, I probably could have figured out who the people were. But I was listening to this book on a road trip and couldn’t justify pulling over to make notes of who I needed to look up later. However, I’m pretty sure that the girl he took with him to Warren Beatty’s house was Melissa Gilbert. So there’s one mystery solved for you!
I loved listening to Rob narrate this audio book. Obviously, he is the best person to tell his own stories. The book is already written in a very conversational style and having Rob himself read it to me made it that much better. And he is actually a pretty good impressionist for some of the celebrities in the book. Some of his accents were pretty terrible though but I just thought it was funny, not annoying.
The great thing about Rob Lowe is that after a brief downturn in the 90s, his career is stronger than ever and he remains such a downright nice guy. Watch any of his appearances on Ellen and you can totally tell that he is not faking his awesome attitude. Ahem. I may still be crushing on him after all these years. Children of the 80s, this book is for you. Fans of West Wing, Parks and Rec, Californication or Behind the Candelabra, this book is for you too. Rob Lowe fans unite!
(I received this audio book courtesy of the Solid Gold reviewers program at Audiobook Jukebox.)
Other books by Rob Lowe: Stories I Only Tell My Friends
August 7th, 2014 in
Books |
2 Comments
A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Release Date: March 4, 2014
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
When Dr. John Taylor turns up dead in a hotel room, the local police uncover enough incriminating evidence to suspect foul play. Detective Samantha Adams, whose Palo Alto beat usually covers petty crimes, is innocently thrown into a high-profile case that is more complicated than any she has faced before. A renowned reconstructive surgeon and a respected family man, Dr. Taylor was beloved and admired. But beneath his perfect façade was a hidden life—in fact, multiple lives. Dr. Taylor was married to three very different women in three separate cities. As the circumstances surrounding his death emerge, Detective Adams finds herself tracking down a murderer through a tangled web of marital deception and revenge.
I chose this book because it got an A- review in Entertainment Weekly and involves polygamy. Perfect combo for me! This book is different from the other polygamy books I’ve read in that most of the wives don’t know the others exist. Although I wouldn’t rate this as high as EW did, I found this to be a quick and entertaining read. It did require some suspension of disbelief to fully enjoy however. Unless John never slept, it was difficult to imagine how he kept up the ruse for as long as he did. And his third wife was a highly intelligent doctor – how did she not figure out something fishy was going on? John is repeatedly described as a paunchy middle-aged man – it was hard to understand why he was so irresistible. Other than the fact that he is a plastic surgeon who does pro bono facial reconstruction, we never find out too much about him. This is a pretty short book so I think it had room for developing John’s character more. Maybe through flashbacks since he’s dead from the get-go.
The three wives and Samantha were all well-drawn characters, even if not necessarily likeable. I don’t need to like the characters in a book to enjoy it though. These women were all definitely flawed in their own ways. There were plenty of surprises throughout this mystery, including the end. And there was also a good dose of creepiness. All in all, this was a good effort and I would have liked it even if it didn’t have polygamy in it. But I’m glad it did.
(I received this book courtesy of Amazon Vine.)
Other polygamy books I’ve reviewed:
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (the only novel, the rest are memoirs)
Becoming Sister Wives by Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Love Times Three by Joe Darger
Triumph by Carolyn Jessop
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser
August 5th, 2014 in
Books |
No Comments
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
First published in 1996
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.
Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
First of all, you all know that I’m not a fantasy expert. For some VERY detailed reviews by hard-core fantasy fans, check out the reviews on Goodreads. This book/series did not go over well with them in general for a variety of reasons. The most common complaint is that it’s not original. Since I don’t read much fantasy, that wasn’t a problem for me.
Another common complaint is that it’s misogynistic. I can see where this is coming from. There is a lot of rape and women in general are not treated well. I just thought GRRM wrote it that way because that’s how it was in the time period this book is set in. I’m not sure what time period that is supposed to be, but I know it’s a long, long time ago. One particular storyline that did bother me was the one where a young teenage girl is sold into marriage wiht a much older man, who essentially rapes her on their wedding night. Over time she grows to love him deeply. Maybe she has Stockholm Syndrome but I did not care for it even so. If you watch the TV series, you may have noticed that the women are almost always taken from behind with not as much as a kiss before hand. I can’t remember if all the sex is described in the book this way, but that method puts women in a pretty submissive position. (no pun intended)
This book is very, very long, clocking in at over 800 pages. Since I have a TON of books on my reading list, it’s hard for me to commit to reading a book this big. Incidentally, if GRRM would cut down his descriptions of the food everyone eats, the book could be about 200 pages shorter! However, I love the TV series and decided I should read the books as well. I thought it might make the TV show even better if I knew more about what the characters were thinking and their backstorys. It did do that. However, since this first book follows the first series of the TV show very faithfully and therefore I already knew what was going to happen, this book wasn’t unputdownable. (That’s a word, right?) I even put it down a few times to read other books. And even though I’d already seen the show, I still found it hard to keep all of the characters straight.
I did like that this book has a lot of surprises that I definitely would not have seen coming if I hadn’t watched the show first. I also liked that even though it’s fantasy, there is not a lot of magic. People aren’t saved because some magical element comes out of nowhere. If you’re a regular reader of mine, you know this is a big problem for me.
I liked this book and probably would have liked it more if I hadn’t watched the show first. But in my opinion this a rare instance where the on-screen version is better than the book. And I will read the other books in the series at some point, my interest was held enough to want to continue. Since this is the first book in the series, it could be much like how the pilot episode of a new TV series is usually not very good because it is setting up the future of the show and introducing the characters. I will reserve more judgment until I have read at least the second book.
Every Thursday I host Throwback Thursdays. If you you’d like to share a post from the past week about a book from “back in the day”, feel free to grab the button for your post and and link up below. Be sure and link directly to your post, not your blog’s home page. Thanks!
The Appetites of Girls by Pamela Moses
Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
Release Date: June 26, 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Self-doubting Ruth is coddled by her immigrant mother, who uses food to soothe and control. Defiant Francesca believes her heavy frame shames her Park Avenue society mother and, to provoke her, consumes everything in sight. Lonely Opal longs to be included in her glamorous mother’s dinner dates—until a disturbing encounter forever changes her desires. Finally, Setsu, a promising violinist, staves off conflict with her jealous brother by allowing him to take the choicest morsels from her plate—and from her future. College brings the four young women together as suitemates, where their stories and appetites collide. Here they make a pact to maintain their friendships into adulthood, but each must first find strength and her own way in the world.
The Appetites of Girls follows four women from childhood through early adult-hood. They meet in college, where they are suitemates in their dorm. Each girl has a distinct personality and a distinct relationship with food to go along with it. Two of them eat too much and two eat too little. The four women were well drawn characters. I did wish some of the secondary characters would have been developed more, especially Setsu’s parents. They were just blurry stick figures in my mind. Speaking of Setsu, she was so frustrating – I wanted to beat her about the head and shoulders. I consider it the mark of a good author if a book can stir up strong emotion in me like that, even if it is a negative emotion. I felt strongly for all four of the women in fact and could understand why each of the them turned out the way they did.
The book is organized in chronological order and alternates between each girl’s first person view point. It takes jumps forward in time – first a section from their childhoods, then college and so-on. This was an effective structure that held my interest. It was like I was checking in and catching up with them at each point in their lives.
With four diverse main characters, I think that there will be aspects of one or more of these women that a reader will relate to, making this a book that most everyone should be able to enjoy.
(I received this book courtesy of the publisher.)
July 29th, 2014 in
Books |
1 Comment
