Tag Archives: Book Report

Book Report: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Posted on January 14, 2013 | Leave a comment

***Warning! This post contains spoilers!***

Now that we got that out of the way…

I went into this book with high expectations. It was recommended to me by many people and on the bestseller list, so I thought it may be my next favorite. But, as with most things that start with high expectations, I ended up a little disappointed.

Let me start out by saying I think Gillian Flynn is an excellent writer. I admire her ability to tell a tale from two different character’s viewpoints and then add an alternate personality to one of them. I just hated the ending.

The book is divided into three sections. The first starts out with a missing wife. We oscillate between the husband’s point of view, as told in real-time, and the wife’s point of view, as told by her diary entries. As the reader, even though we are hearing from the husband in the first person, you truly start to wonder if he killed her.

In the second section, we actually hear from the wife’s point of view in real-time. We discover she staged her own disappearance, fabricated the diary (making up seven years worth of fake entries, elaborately tying in special events to make it seem believable), all to frame her husband whom she caught cheating on her. We again flip between her viewpoint and her husband’s.

The third section is the wife returning home, clearing the husband’s name, and then an ending that could have been so much more.

As mentioned, I enjoyed the writing and think Gillian Flynn does a good job. I was captivated for the second section, eagerly waiting to hear how everything was going to pan out. But what fell flat was there were not enough examples to show how psychotic was. Because the first section was drastically different, and moved much slower, I would have preferred that part shorter and the second section longer to further detail how nuts she was.

Also, the ending. The husband knows his wife killed a man she knew in order to stage an “escape from a captor.” She then impregnates herself with her husband’s semen, which she had saved in order to do such a thing. Despite all of this, after she framed him, fearing for his life, he stays with her. And that’s it. The book just ends with the two of them as a family. The last entry is from her, “just to have the last word.” I kept waiting for him to get his revenge, but…nope.

If I hadn’t hated the ending, I may have felt different about the overall book. However, it received great reviews from many, so may be worth checking out. I’m also eager to check out other books by the author.

gone girl

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Book Report

Tagged ,

Book Report: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

Posted on December 6, 2012 | 2 Comments

This is easily one of my favorite books I’ve read all year.

Initially, I bought it based off a recommendation from a friend. The book arrived and it lazily sat on a shelf for months. After finishing I am Charlotte Simmons, I picked it up hoping for a half-way decent story to entertain my time on the Metra.

I was hooked after just a couple of paragraphs.

The premise of the book is nothing that hasn’t already been written: a young girl, Liesel. Her mother, unable to care for her, sends her to live with a set of foster parents in Munich. The book takes place from 1939 – 1942.

Nazi Germany.

Liesel arrives with little education and many nightmares. Each night, waking up terrified from her dreams, her new papa teaches her to read. Eventually Liesel integrates herself in her new family’s life and begins to trust them. When they hide a Jewish man in their basement to save him, the need for trust becomes mutual.

The plot, the story, is great. The characters are interesting, sometimes admirable, sometimes less than, and evolving as time goes on. They are lovable, flawed, and “real.” And it would have still been a wonderful novel, had the author left it all at that. But there’s an experimental spin on the point of view.

The book is told from the point of view of death.

Death tells us the story of Liesel’s young life experiences as she steals books and he collects souls. The writing style is page turning. Quick-witted, straight forward, and to the point, I couldn’t put the book down. Ironically, seeing as how humans are always trying to make sense of death, it seems as Death is trying to make sense of humans. He becomes invested in the book thief’s life, as will many of the readers.

This is a novel that will have you choking back tears at the final events and missing the characters once you are done reading, and the book is back on the shelf.

bt

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Book Report

Tagged ,

Book Report: I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe

Posted on November 7, 2012 | 1 Comment

My copy of I am Charlotte Simmons is 738 pages. Which equates to a lot of time reading. Which, in this case, equates to a lot of time dragging through a horrible plot, stereotyped characters, and unimaginative writing.

The book came highly recommended. I have never ready anything by Tom Wolfe and was looking forward to occupying my time during the long commutes to and from work.  However, I’m sure the only reason I actually finished it was due to all of my idle time on the Metra.

The concept of the book lends itself to the potential of an interesting, discussion worthy plot about college life, stereotypes, peer pressure, and social class. A non-cultured girl from a mountain town in North Carolina receives a full scholarship to the fictional Ivy league school, Dupont. She arrives with one duffel bag, a full scholarship, and much naivety. Charlotte makes her journey through Dupont facing judgement, wrongfully assuming judgement, and noticing her own judgements forming. She realizes how sheltered her life has been, now exposed to the typical college scene of drinking, popularity, and sex.

And that’s as interesting as it gets.

We are introduced to the snotty roommate, the typical frat boys, the jocks, the dorks, the sorority girls, the coaches, the tenured teachers. No one, not even Charlotte, was a likable character for me.

There are a few dilemmas, and a moment or two when I cared to find out the outcome of a situation, but mostly I just read on to get through it. Events were predictable, drawn out, and did little to captivate the reader. The time period when Charlotte was depressed was conveyed quite well. I truly felt down while reading it. Mostly because I felt depressed about still having more pages to finish reading. The author over-used several graphic words throughout the novel which became an annoying distraction (you try reading a book that overuses the word “loins” and the phrase “mons pubis” throughout).

I appreciated the fictional study referenced in the prologue and tying it in to the main theme of the book. I also appreciated the flawed, human characters, and that the story doesn’t end tied up in a nice bow.

That being said, I think the author could have broken out of some of the stereotypes and clichés, and I would have liked at least one character that was relatable. I was disappointed in the writing and the characters. I’d love to give Tom Wolfe another chance, but this particular novel fell flat with me.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Book Report

Tagged ,

Book Report: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Posted on March 25, 2012 | 1 Comment

When a tragedy, such as a school shooting, happens…how do you really define who all the victims are?

This is the question I asked from the beginning of Nineteen Minutes until after it was up on the bookshelf.

I still may be pondering that thought for a while. But through her work of fiction, Picoult offers a possible answer to the question “Why?” when a small, safe community suffers through this kind of tragedy.

The novel begins with quickly introducing the main characters, giving us little more than names and occupations. We then are rushed into witnessing a school shooting at Sterling High. A school in a Northeastern community where things like this are not supposed to happen. A detective manages to cuff the shooter just after he has killed his 10th victim. The shooter is Peter Houghton.

Just as quickly, we are taken back 17 years earlier. We learn Peter’s mother, Lacy, is a compassionate mid-wife who tenderly brings life into the world. She befriends Alex Cormier, a local defense attorney, pregnant.

As the novel unfolds, we oscillate between present time (from the moment the school shooting happened and beyond) to past time (starting from 17 years prior), until the two coincide at the end.

Immediately, I felt compassion for the students and teachers caught in the cross fire. And the friends and family of those shot. And the students, teachers, friends, and family of those who weren’t shot, but who were members of the school, or the community. I felt for everyone affected. Everyone, except for the shooter and his family. In my eyes, Peter was a monster.

But going back in time to ride the bus with him on his first day of kindergarten, I surprisingly felt compassion for young Peter. Because on his very first day of school, his brand new Superman lunchbox was stolen and thrown out the window. This happened several times a week.

Thus began Peter’s lifetime of being bullied.

Because of Lacy and Alex’s relationship, Peter later grows close to Josie Cormier, Alex’s daughter. The two children are inseparable through the sixth grade. An incident involving Peter unlocking his dad’s gun rack at home, prompts Alex to cease their relationship outside of school. Later, Josie’s rising popularity creates an ever-growing wedge in their relationship at school.

Now, just to be clear, I am in no way saying I agree with what Peter did. At all. Obviously.  But I am saying the book opened my eyes to the effects of bullying. I was outraged at how the adult’s in his life handled, or didn’t, what was happening to Peter. And though I wasn’t happy with Josie for taking the popular route in life, I certainly remembered high school and the fight to be on top. Especially since I was one of the dorkier kids.

An incredibly powerful part of the novel, for me, was when one of Peter’s friends, a fellow victim of bullying, was called to the stand. While stating he did not take retaliation in the form of a gun shots, he admitted that sometimes…he wished he had.

This was my first time reading a Jodi Picoult book. I did enjoy her writing, but I didn’t feel as connected to her characters as I would have liked. I also would have loved to hear from the point of view of the bullies. There were a few parts of the story that moved slower than others, and I read about the characters factually, vs. relating to them on a deeper level. Perhaps that’s her style of writing, or perhaps that was purposeful for this novel.

Either way, the novel certainly makes you think.

Makes you think about the fine line between allowing kids to fend for themselves to acquire skills needed later in life, and stepping in. Between what is popular and what is right. Between judging other families, and realizing you may not know everything about your own. Between putting up with things, and sticking up for yourself. And when it’s going too far.

About who all of the victims are.

Regardless. It makes you think.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Book Report

Tagged , , ,

Book Report: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Posted on February 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

Ladies and gentleman, step right up! Water for Elephants is a spectacular novel!

The story takes place during the beginning of the Great Depression. In the prologue, we witness a tense conversation interrupted by an act of circus mayhem. The band starts playing “Stars and Stripes Forever,” which is the cue something has gone utterly wrong. In a whirlwind of escaping animals and panicking patrons, we realize Jacob is in love with a woman named Marlena. A murder is committed. A secret is kept.

The story is told from the viewpoints of both 23 year old Jacob, and an older version of himself. Jacob as a grumpy senior is introduced to us at the age of 90 (or maybe 93). Residing in a nursing home and craving normal food, his mind is mostly there but starting to slip. One uneventful afternoon, Jacob and the rest of the seniors find out the circus is coming to town.

We are taken back 67 (or maybe 70) years earlier, sitting with young Jacob during lecture. Here, during his last year of vet school at Cornell, he receives news that both parents have died during an automobile accident. After burying them and learning there is not a cent left to their name, he walks out of his final exams. With nowhere to go, he jumps a train into a new set of rules, personalities, and wonder.

Without realizing it, Jacob has run away to join the circus.

While I would not rate it five stars, I did enjoy the novel. It’s obvious Sara Gruen conducted excellent research on the traveling circus. Once a technical writer, her style is direct, straight forward, and informative. The story itself is unique and interesting. The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth rides from town to town, performing across the nation during a time of prohibition and hobos. A time when many felt lucky just to eat. Mindful that work is scarce, the members of the circus are at the mercy of Uncle Al, the cruel circus owner.

Performers, workers, and animals form a unique family. Trust, love and compassion are not missing from the dysfunctional group.

We eventually catch up to the prologue. However, not without a twist. A quote in the book, placed before the prologue, takes on a new meaning.

During the final chapter, we join 90 (or maybe 93) year old Jacob. The grand finale of his days come full circle for a perfect ending to the performance of his life.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Book Report

Tagged , , , , ,

Book Report: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Posted on January 29, 2012 | 3 Comments

After reading The Hunger Games Trilogy, I thought it would take a while to find a book I couldn’t put down. Surprisingly, I found it just two books later. The Kitchen House is beautifully written novel full of despair, tension, history, and innocent love.

The prologue takes place in 1810. We join Lavinia, desperately running through the woods, her daughter in tow. They arrive on familiar land to find the horrific scene of a body hanging from a tree. We are then brought back 19 years earlier, to the year 1791.

Lavinia is brought over from Ireland as an indentured servant and arrives alone. She is cared for by Belle, joining her and others to work in the kitchen house. Initially Lavinia suffers from memory loss, illness, and a desperate need for compassion. Slowly, she regains her memory, health, and ability to speak again.

Hers is a unique situation I have not read in other books – a white girl with frizzy red hair and freckles, joining slaves in the south to work on a plantation. She wholeheartedly considers those she lives and works with as her adoptive family, and each character lovingly accepts this relationship.

Reality through her eyes is not the only child-like purity in the novel. The master’s daughter, Sally, is portrayed as “a generous and fun-loving child, innocent of all pretense. She insisted on bringing along her dolls and china dishes from the big house and always delighted in sharing them” (page 53). But anguish does not discriminate against race, age, or kindness, and not even Sally is protected from tragedy.

Over time, Lavinia’s skin color provides her with opportunity to study academics and social grace with the master’s sister-in-law and her family up north. Her eventual return home is accompanied by a new set of confusing rules and expectations.

The theme of not having control over one’s own freedom is a constant throughout the novel. In addition to the obvious topic of slavery, comes the expectations when playing the role as a wife, as a mother, a child. Which characters are free to escape their situations, and which are not. Unforgivable abuse, depression, addiction, and the exposure and acceptance of vile hatred imprison many. Others are trapped in a history doomed to repeat itself. Relationships are affected. I felt that those who were able to empathize were the most at peace. These characters, such as Mama, were the guiding lights that provided balance and understanding.

Eventually, we catch up to the scene from the prologue in 1810. A tense ending, not without tribulation and heartache, keeps you turning page after page.

Even after the book is finished and up on the bookshelf, you find yourself drifting back to the kitchen house and the characters in Kathleen Grissom’s amazing debut novel.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Book Report

Tagged , , , ,

Book Report: The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins (No Spoilers)

Posted on January 21, 2012 | 1 Comment

Whoa.

Seriously, you guys. I’m sitting in the coffee shop with my laptop, Florence, her Machine, and an over-priced coffee still trying to catch my breath while I process everything.

I have to admit, I was never actually going to pick up this series. All of the hype surrounding it turned me off. Back when the weather was sunny, warm, and didn’t command every inch of exposed flesh to be covered, my friend Krista loaned me book one. She may or may not have told me what the plot was about. If she did, I don’t remember.

The book sat in a pile on a table next to my reading chair, sandwiched between the latest book club picks. It remained there collecting dust until this past Monday. With no ability to watch live television I figured I may as well just finish it so I could return the book back to Krista. I didn’t even read the back to see what it was about.

Ten minutes in and the first “Holy Shit!” status update made its way on my Facebook page.

I think I knew right then and there I was not putting this book down. Not for anything. Except to update Twitter and Facebook and my friends via text with variations of “Holy Shit!” and “OMG!” I stayed up on a weeknight until 1:00 a.m. finishing it. The first book kept my heart pounding the entire time. There are so many twists and turns and cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. I simply could not stop reading.

On the way home from work the next day, I made a special trip to Target. This is how I spent Tuesday night:

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games Book 2) by Suzanne Collins

This part to the trilogy starts slower than the first book. Unit you are about half way through. Until the OH MY GOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME THEY CAN’T DO THAT! moment. More texts, more tweets, more Facebook updates. I finished the second book with the same frantic, anxious, desperate page turning as the first.

Immediately after I set it down I needed the final book. I needed to finish it now. I think it’s safe to say at this point I was a Hunger Games addict.

God bless Target for carrying the series. Wednesday night, after a longer than expected day at work, found me back in a check-out lane waiting impatiently to complete my transaction. The woman scanning the book asked if it was for me or a gift. I sheepishly replied I was purchasing the young adult novel for myself. She proudly told me she read the entire trilogy in less than a week herself. I felt so understood. And addicted. (Seriously, when is the support group starting again?)

Late nights at the office, a recovering sick dog, and a need for sleep meant I read book three over the next few days instead of one sitting. This is what Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights looked like:

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Book 3) by Suzanne Collins

It. Was. Amazing. Like the second book, it starts out with a slow and methodical approach. More twists. More turns. More cliffhangers. And then there are the final few chapters. The entire series has built up to these final moments and they deliver in the same anxious, frantic, and desperate page turning ways that are the Hunger Games Series.

The ending. It does not disappoint.

Reflecting on the entire trilogy, each book has its own feel to it. The characters evolve throughout the series. With everything they experience they have to, and their transformations are written very well. Comic relief is brief and well-timed. There are twists. There are turns. There is a love triangle. There are cliffhangers that trap you into turning page after page.

I was left with one nagging, unanswered question. The significance of Buttercup the cat. My curiosity and the power of Google brought me to an insightful guest post on the subject (Warning! If you have not read the series, do not open the link, as it contains spoilers!). Read it here.

If you are 13 read the series. If you are 31 read the series. Hell, if you are 95 read the series.

Or not.

But if you start book one, I dare you not to finish it in one night.

And if you need support, I’ll gladly be on the other end of your first “OMG!” text.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Book Report

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Book Report: You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secret to Happiness by Julie Klam

Posted on January 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

I am a self-proclaimed dog lover with a confession: I did not really like this book.

I mean, I didn’t hate it…but I didn’t like it, either.

Julie Klam is a genuine person. She devotes her time to rescuing dogs, has a balanced and loving relationship with her husband and daughter, and is an all around nice person. The thing I like best about her is that she is incredibly non-judgemental. She attempts to understand the bigger picture when it comes to someone else’s life situation. This really shone through for me when she visited a friend seeking advice on rescuing a dog. This woman had a shopping list of qualities she was looking – or not looking – for in a dog. It would have been incredibly easy to label her as picky, but Julie recognized the woman was rescuing a dog because her children, whom she loved very much, were desperate for a canine companion. Instead of ending up with a breed she might resent, the woman was doing her homework to find the best fit for their family.

That being said, I felt the writing was too “all over the place.” Her stories did not have an easy flow throughout. Also, and this is me being picky, I didn’t like several of her lesson titles. I think she could have done a better job at sticking with more basic and relevant chapter headings.

It’s a cute read, and I’m willing to bet there are many out there who enjoyed it. It’s just not my style.

Hunter loyally slept on my feet while I read it, which caught me in a smile more than once. And so, I will leave you with some pictures of him in all of his cuteness. You’re welcome.

On the car ride home, the day I rescued him

Spent most of our first afternoon together hanging out in a water dish.

His first haircut

Poor guy

If only he was always this angelic

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Book Report

Tagged , , , , , ,

Book Report: Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

Posted on December 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

After finishing Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris, I needed to pick up a light and easy read. One that wasn’t depressing. Or dark. Or twisted. You know, one that doesn’t involve killing babies in a washing machine or Christmas Whores.

What I grabbed out of my “unread” pile was the perfect antidote.

Heaven is for Real is a story about a pastor’s son who has a near-death-like experience. The book starts out with a small background about the family’s lives, recent hardships they had faced, and the events leading up to Colton’s surgery. The not-quite-four-year-old-boy reports slipping up to heaven during emergency surgery and meeting Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, and various deceased relatives, among others.

As a sceptic, it’s hard to embrace the book as 100% truth. The parents claim Colton was not taught the things he claims to have seen. That being said, I wonder if some of it wasn’t overheard by the child without the parents realizing. Colton would describe things he saw in heaven and the father could always tie it to scripture. In the father’s own humble opinion, this provided “proof” the event happened. I’ll confess: it somewhat reminded me of applying your daily horoscope to “fit” you.

That being said, I enjoyed reading Heaven is for Real and recommend it to anyone looking for a positive, light and easy book. This is a very quick read. I had intentions of merely starting it yesterday, and ended up finishing it the same night. Many times I got goosebumps, reading the various things Colton described. And it did leave me with the urge to attend mass on Sunday.

Well. Maybe the Sunday after next. After all, this Sunday is New Year’s Day and I plan on spending the morning sleeping off the prior night’s adventures.

After reading it, I’ll let you decide if you firmly believe the events happened, despite having no concrete proof. After all, isn’t that the definition of faith?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Book Report

Tagged , , , ,

Book Report: Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Posted on December 28, 2011 | 5 Comments

Recently, for my friend Krista’s book club, we decided to read Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. At first I was excited. I have heard so much about him, and I constantly see his books on airport book store shelves while traveling. This was a perfect excuse to finally dive in to his work.

And it will be the last.

Holidays on Ice is a collection of short stories by Sedaris. The first story about working as an elf at Macy’s in New York is funny enough. But the book quickly turned sour for me when (Spoiler Alert!) there was a short story about a baby being killed “on accident” by being put into a washing machine, then a dryer. This particular story was written as an annual Christmas letter going out to the fictional writer’s family and friends. Maybe it’s because my niece is still a baby, but I couldn’t find the humor in the story and it gave me a bad taste about the rest of the book.

I find Sedaris to be an excellent writer. Just not my style. He’s quirky, intelligent, and thought-provoking. There were even a couple of short stories at the end that I managed to somewhat enjoy. But I had to force myself to finish the entire thing.

While glad I finally read one of his books, I am looking forward to our next choice, by a different author.

→ 5 Comments

Posted in Book Report

Tagged , , ,