The Trial of Fallen Angels by James P. Kimmel
Publisher: Amy Einhorn/Putnam
Release Date: November 8, 2012
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Brek Cuttler has it all: a husband she loves, a daughter she adores, a successful law practice. And then one day everything she has ever known disappears. Brek finds herself standing on a deserted train platform covered in blood. As she tries to comprehend what is happening to her, a man seemingly from her past approaches her – almost as if out of the blue – and tells her to come with him. He explains that she has died and arrived at the place in the afterlife where souls are tried. Brek has been chosen to join the elite team of lawyers charged with prosecuting and defending souls st the Final Judgement.
As Brek struggles to find her way back to her husband and daughter, to learn how she got to this strange place and how she can leave it, all of her fundamental beliefs about love and hate, justice and forgiveness, will be tested. She will discover that her first client holds the shocking secret of her fate. And she will see how seemingly disparate events during her life have conspired to bring her to a single moment in time that will determine her eternity – and how every act of kindness and cruelty sets in motion things beyond our wildest imaginations.
The Trial of Fallen Angels is a philosophical story that examines justice versus forgiveness. This is a slow, thinker of a book with a lot of symbolism. I’ll admit that some of it was over my head. I think reading it a second time would reveal more layers to me but so many books, so little time… Even though I didn’t always feel like I understood what the author was trying to tell me, on the whole I found this to be an interesting, original book. In addition to the spiritual theme, there is also the mystery of what exactly happened to Brek – how and why did she come to Shemaya Station. I found that aspect of the story captivating. This would be a great book for a book club – there is so much that could be discussed and I’m sure that different readers would have different interpretations of what happens with the trials.
Buy this book at:
Amazon
Powell’s Books Rainy Day Books
(I received this book courtesy of the publisher.)
July 16th, 2013 in
Books |
1 Comment
The People of Forever Are Not Afraid by Shani Boianjiu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher: Hogarth, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group
Paperback Release Date: June 25, 2013
Publisher’s Description:
Yael, Avishag, and Lea grow up together in a tiny, dusty Israeli village, attending a high school made up of caravan classrooms, passing notes to each other to alleviate the universal boredom of teenage life. When they are conscripted into the army, their lives change in unpredictable ways, influencing the women they become and the friendship that they struggle to sustain. Yael trains marksmen and flirts with boys. Avishag stands guard, watching refugees throw themselves at barbed-wire fences. Lea, posted at a checkpoint, imagines the stories behind the familiar faces that pass by her day after day. They gossip about boys and whisper of an ever more violent world just beyond view. They drill, constantly, for a moment that may never come. They live inside that single, intense second just before danger erupts.
This book made me profoundly grateful that I live in a country without mandatory military service. I’m thankful for all the people in my country who serve voluntarily. Imagine living in a place where almost all of the adults, men and women, had served in the military and had their personalities and attitudes shaped by that. Ms Boianjiu spent two years in the Israeli Defense Forces s herself so I’m assuming that her portrayal of what life is like for women in the IDF is fairly accurate. The author has a unique writing style – somewhat detached prose that can come off as slightly pretentious at times but was beautiful most of the time. The narration alternates between the three women and at times I was confused as to whose turn it was -often the narrator is not named until a few pages into a chapter.
All of the women are deeply and understandably affected by their service in the military. I was haunted by this book and these women. After reading it, I felt like I understood a little bit more about what it’s like to live in a country where everyone is on edge most of the time, waiting for the next suicide bombing or whatnot. Luckily, there were a few wonderfully dry, cynical, humorous lines interspersed here and there that kept this book from being too over the top depressing. If you are a fan of experimental style literary fiction, I recommend this book for you.
Buy this book at:
Amazon
Powell’s Books Rainy Day Books
(I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher.)
July 15th, 2013 in
Books |
No Comments
by The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
Publisher: Dutton Books, a member of Penguin Group
January 10, 2012
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
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.
This will be a short review because I actually read this book way back in March before I went into the hospital. (I would not suggest reading a book about a girl with lung cancer when you are struggling with pneumonia – it made me a little paranoid!)
This book was just lovely. It’s the first I’ve read of Green’s so I can’t compare it to his previous work. Some reviews have said it’s not as good. If that’s the case then I can’t wait to read more by him because his other books must be amazing. One common criticism of this book is that Hazel and Augustus don’t talk like real teenagers. Maybe they don’t talk like MOST teenagers but I definitely know a few overly angsty teenagers that talk similarly that I was reminded of while reading this book. It was actually the plot line concerning the author of Hazel’s favorite book that I found unrealistic and the reason why this is a four star review instead of five.
Buy this book at:
Amazon Powell’s Books Rainy Day Books
(I received this book courtesy of the publisher.)
July 9th, 2013 in
Books |
No Comments
West turned seven last week. He’ll be starting 2nd grade in the fall. I know I say this every year, but I can’t believe how fast time with my kids is flying by. This year West had a Cars 2 themed birthday party at an insane kids play place called Power Play. They have everything a kid could want to do all in one building: laser-tag, bowling, go carts, video games, skee-ball, and I don’t even know what else. West wanted to have purple hair for his special day but my hair dresser was fresh out of purple dye. He settled for red:
We gave West the Kindle Fire he asked for and while he mostly plays games on it, he does read books on it too. Although he reads above grade level, he still prefers to be read to and says he doesn’t like reading in his brain. I’m glad that the Kindle has made him a little more interested in books. I’m hoping that as he gets older, he learns to enjoy reading in his brain.
The Love Shack (Beach House No. 9)
by Christie Ridgway
Publisher: Harlequin HNQ
Release Date: March 26, 2013
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Globe-trotting photojournalist Gage Lowell spent carefree childhood summers in Crescent Cove. Now that he desperately needs some R & R, he books a vacation at Beach House No. 9—ready to soak up some sun and surprise old friend and property manager Skye Alexander. Their long-distance letters got him through a dangerous time he can’t otherwise talk about. But when he arrives, the tightly wound beauty isn’t exactly happy to see him.
Skye knows any red-blooded woman would be thrilled to spend time with gorgeous, sexy Gage. But she harbors secrets of her own, including that she might just be a little bit in love with him. And she’s convinced the restless wanderer won’t stay long enough for her to dare share her past—or dream of a future together. Luckily for them both, summer at Crescent Cove has a way of making the impossible happen….
This in the third book in the Beach House No. 9 trilogy but it definitely can be read as a stand alone novel. I haven’t read the first two books yet and I had no problem reading this one. This book is a great summer poolside or beach read because the setting is a beach town and the atmosphere of the book is summery. The romance between Gage and Skye is fun and steamy. Both of them are damaged and bringing baggage into their relationship but the book never gets too heavy – you won’t be crying into your piňa colada as you read. The first two books in the series (Beach House No. 9 and Bungalow Nights) are in my pool bag, ready to go.
Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book. You can check out the other stops on the tour here.
Buy this book at:
Amazon Powell’s Books Rainy Day Books
July 3rd, 2013 in
Books |
3 Comments
Comas make a person puffy. Look t at the size of the mitts they put on me to keep me from pulling any tubes out!
Remember way back in March when I posted S
unday Salon: The Lung Edition? When I wrote that the recovery would be long and painful, I had no idea how long it would actually be. Through a series of unfortunate events, What was supposed to be a five-day hospital stay turned into a two and a half MONTH hospital stay with another estimated four to six months of recovery at home before I’m back to functioning at 100%.
What happened? Well, the night before I was supposed to be discharged after having surgery to remove the lower lobe of my right lung I went into respiratory failure. I was intubated and put on a ventilator. Because I am claustrophobic, having air forced into my lungs freaked me out and my blood pressure and pulse went sky-high when I was awake. This led to being put in a medically induced coma for about three weeks, during which time I was exabated and a trachea was inserted. When the doctors figured out a ventilator setting that wouldn’t freak me out, I was able to wake up – one day before my 39th birthday (April 19). Happy Birthday to me!
On the rehab unit learning to walk
The process of weaning me off the vent was started and after a couple of weeks, I was sent to a rehab facility. At this facility, I started vomiting pretty much non-stop for about five days which led to my blood pressure going way up again. I ended up having several grand mal seizures and was transferred back to the hospital where I was diagnosed with PRES (posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome). The visual processing center of my brain was affected, which meant I was UNABLE TO READ. Luckily, time and therapy has restored my vision to almost where it should be. However, you may notice typos in this and future posts which can probably be attributed to my inability to see them.
The hospital gave me a four-hour pass to go on a date with Travis - good practice for the real world
As a result of spending so much time in bed, all my muscles atrophied and I had to learn to sit up and walk again. I’m currently in occupational and physical therapy to build my strength up again. Luckily it’s coming back much faster than expected. My impatience pays off for once! I’ve been home for about three weeks now and have been keeping myself busy catching up on emails (I had over 10,000 waiting for me!) and napping. We hired a nanny for the summer to help me with the kids since I’m still not cleared to drive and my endurance for activity still pretty short. I don’t think I’ll hit my reading goal for this year but at this point, I’m just happy to be home and alive!
At my welcome home party, one week after discharge
This is just a quick note to let you all know that there probably won’t be any posts here for a couple of weeks. Turns out this pneumonia I’ve been battling is actually an abscess in my lung. I’ll be having surgery Monday and from what I understand, recovery is long and painful. I’ll see you all soon hopefully!
March 24th, 2013 in
Sunday Salon |
15 Comments
Passover Magic
by Roni Schotter
Publisher: Amazon Children’s Publishing
Release Date: February 1, 2011
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Passover is always a magical time, but this Passover is extra-special since Molly’s uncle Harry brings his latest magic tricks and new bride, Aunt Eda. When Uncle Harry hides the afikoman, Molly and her siblings must think carefully about the importance of Passover while they search for it. Will they discover the whereabouts of the matzoh and win the prize for finding it?
This book assumes that the child reading is probably Jewish and has some familiarity with Passover traditions. Throughout the story, the traditions and the reasons behind them are explained somewhat but not in great detail. After the story ends, there is a page at the end titled The Story of Passover that explains in greater detail the Biblical reason for Passover and its traditions. If you or your child are unfamiliar with the details, I would recommend reading this page first – it will help the story make more sense.
This was a heartwarming story that focused on family, food, and fun at the Seder. The illustrations were bright and colorful. I think this is a great Passover picture book for early elementary school age kids whether Jewish or not.
Buy this book at:
Amazon
(I received this book courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.)
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 .
March 21st, 2013 in
Books |
1 Comment
Never Cross a Vampire
by Stuart M. Kaminsky
Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
Length: 5 hours and 54 minutes
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Release Date: October 15, 2012
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Coffins fill the basement of a crumbling Los Angeles movie theater. Five vampires crowd around fading horror idol Bela Lugosi, peppering him with questions. A malfunctioning plastic fang causes one of the undead-wannabes to lisp. The effect is less than fearsome, but Lugosi is terrified, for one of these oddballs has been making threats on his life. He hires Toby Peters to provide security against his unbalanced fans. The detective is not concerned, but he should be. Even fake vampires can kill.
Meanwhile, the Warner brothers contact Peters regarding a murder. A body has surfaced in one of Hollywood’s darker corners, and police suspicion has fallen on one of the studio’s star screenwriters: William Faulkner. As he struggles to balance the murder investigation while protecting Lugosi, Peters finds a thread connecting the two cases. To get Faulkner off the hook, he’ll have to find out who wants to kill Hollywood’s original Dracula.
Originally written in the 1970s and set in the 1940s, this mystery had a very film noir, dark and gritty atmosphere. I liked Toby as a character but I could not follow the murder mystery plot or figure out how he was solving it. I’m not sure if this was because I listened to it on audio and so I couldn’t flip back and re-read parts or if it was the book’s fault. I suspect some of both.
I liked all the voices the narrator did except for Toby. The book is written in first person from Toby’s point of view so there is a lot of Toby’s voice. I think he was trying to make Toby seem cool and confident but most of the time Toby sounded bored.
The author often had Toby commenting on how much something costs or what news is on the radio as he’s driving around. If you have nostalgia for the 1940s or the past in general, I think you’ll find this interesting.
Buy this book at:
Amazon
(I received a copy of this book from the publisher via the Solid Gold Reviewer program at Audio Jukebox.)
March 19th, 2013 in
Books |
No Comments
Last week, I reviewed the book Holes by Louis Sachar. Today, I’m going to review the 2003 movie adaptation of the book, also called Holes.
The movie Holes, follows the book very closely. There are a couple of characters in the flashbacks to the 1800s who die in the book. In the movie, the characters still die, but the action is filmed in such a way that it is not too intense or violent for young viewers. I appreciated this since my six year old, West, is really sensitive to intense action in movies.
The casting for this film was excellent. Who else could play the bad-ass female camp warden better than Sigourney Weaver? Shia LaBeof plays Stanley – he looks like a baby! I didn’t realize that he had done much acting before the Transformers movies. He is great in this movie (way better than in Transformers, in my opinion. That is no doubt partly a function of scripting. It’s hard to act well if the dialogue is crap. Anyway….)
Other actors you may recognize that are in this movie include Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, Henry Winkler, and Dulé Hill. This was a really fun movie and very faithful to the book. If you loved the book, you’ll love the movie too.
Buy this movie at:
Amazon
