Quick easy summer reading

 

Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

By: Maria Semple

Genre:  Adult fiction

Pages: 330

Published: 2012

Read: July

3 out of 5

A nice, quick summer read without being fluffy. The book is funny and entertaining with just enough of a twist to keep the reader guessing. The story is told mostly through letters, faxes, and other written communication. I enjoyed the writing style of this book; a nice change of pace. The author had an intended purpose for writing it in such a manner, which adds to the creativity of the novel itself.  Sometimes I struggle with whether to read the novel or listen to the audio book. And sometimes I make mistakes. I originally was going to listen to this one on audio. I am glad I choose to read this one because with the unique writing format I think listening to the novel would have made it rather confusing. I recommend this to women who want a good laugh without reading a humor book.  

How much violence is too much violence?

The Return of the Indian

By: Lynne Reid Banks

Genre:  juvenile fiction

Pages: 183

Published: 1986

Read: July

3 out of 5

Being the sequel to The Indian in the Cupboard it’s no surprise that I felt this book had some language and violence issues. I did appreciate that the boys didn’t lie, especially to their parents, in this sequel. They both were good books and this one was even more action packed and entertaining. However for some younger readers, like my son, I felt it had too much descriptive violence. With that in mind, the entire basis of the book is cowboys and Indians so fighting was inevitable. Plus, the target age for this book loves the action fighting scenes. Furthermore, I recently was told by a 4^th grade girl that she enjoyed the book because it had more action and excitement than the “girl” books. I will not be reading the rest of the series. As for my son, if he chooses to when he becomes a stronger reader I will encourage him too. 

Is Heaven Real?

Heaven is for Real:

A Little Boys Astounding Story of his Trip to Heaven and Back

By: Todd Burpo

Genre:  nonfiction

Pages: 163

Published: 2010

Read: July

3 out of 5

I am a Christian and believe in Heaven, but I still have a hard time believing this story. I believe that people may “see the light” and still not die. However, I have a hard time believing that Colton was in heaven long enough to see and meet everyone he claims. When people go under they have more unique dreams and being raised in a Christian family and having a Pastor as a father the dream he could have had makes sense. Most of the information he gave could have been overheard and his parents asked leading questions. I felt the movie was better, but not necessarily nonfiction. I felt there was also more facts in the movie. I enjoyed the story, but as a fictional story. 

A coming-of-age book with music

This Song Will Save Your Life

By: Leila Sears

Genre:  YA realistic fiction

Pages: 279

Published: 2013

Read: July

4 out of 5

           
Meet Elise. She doesn’t want to be popular.  She just wants some friends.  The more she tries, the more she fails.  I believe this book may just save some lives. It provides the lesson that you only need to find your own passion and you find yourself, therefore friends that share your passion. It’s a coming-of-age story about unpopularity – to downright mean peers.  The author has the special talent of making the reader want to be friends with Elise themselves. Not everyone will connect with her feelings, but if you ever felt lost in your teens years this is a must read.  If music is your thing, I also recommend Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and Beautiful Music for   Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills.

What is a Horror...

Help for the Hunted

By: John Searles

Genre:  Adult Horror

Pages: 368

Published: 2013

Read: July

1.5 out of 5

I haven’t read a great horror book, since I used to read Stephen King novels years ago. Not that you should compare other horror novels to the great prolific Stephen King, but this one failed miserably. It wasn’t suspenseful, horrifying or any other word to describe a good horror story.  All events and circumstances that seemed to be important in this novel NEVER went anywhere or developed. The ending came out of left field. I like being surprised or discover a twist ending, but not a new person or twist that wasn’t foreshadowed at all. This author took a seemed to write an ending to a completely different novel and my only thought was “What a cop-out”.  I continued to read the novel only because it had such good promise, even if not a horror and it just died. I did not hate this book, but do not recommend it either.  

A Midwest Story

Shotgun Lovesongs

By: Nickolas Butler

Genre:  Adult fiction

Pages: 320

Published: 2014

Audiobook: 8 discs (10 hours)

Read: July

4 out of 5

This book is a great story about the Midwest. It’s about friendships, relationships, families, living in a small town, and the struggles to survive. Since I happen to live in the Midwest and travel to Wisconsin often, I especially enjoyed the scenery described throughout the story. The characters were fascinated to the point I imagined living in Little Wing, being friends and going to their weddings. The audiobook version was especially intriguing because each character was narrated by a different person, so the reader really got to know that character as their own individual.  It’s just a story of small town living – nothing tragic or phenomenal occurs – however, especially Midwesterners, will become intertwined in their lives. 

A horrifying graphic novel

The Walking Dead, Book One

By: Robert Kirkman

Genre:  Graphic Novel

Pages: 304

Published: 2010

Read: July

4 out of 5

As far as graphic novels go, this was a great intriguing horrific roller coaster of a ride. The book was jammed packed with action, but also included friendships, families and even a sideline love affair. The artistry was extreme and a very graphic zombie story. You could even envision the zombies moving across the page as stiff as a board.  I loved it!  I remained fascinated throughout the story. I have never read a graphic novel where I felt the characters were so well developed. My rating for this book is relative to other graphic novels and while I enjoyed it, I still prefer nonfiction/biographical graphic novels.  As this is a series, I am still unsure if I will continue reading them.  I got a taste (no pun intended) and there are so many books to read.

A possible sequal to Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Say What You Will

By: Cammie McGovern

Genre:  YA fiction

Pages: 343

Published: 2014

Read: July

4.5 out of 5

This book is referenced to being a cross between The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.  I completely agree with the similarities of Eleanor & Park, but I didn’t see much of TFiOS. Rather I felt it was a sequel to Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. In that novel, Melody is an 11 year old confined to a wheelchair, doesn’t have the ability to speak, but was extremely intelligent. Amy shares all these characteristics, but is a high school senior and is desperately seeking peer friendships and shows interest in boys and sex. I really enjoyed the story and appreciated the idea McGovern introduced – that severely disabled individuals desire intimate relationships and even sex. However, the reason I only gave the book 4.5 stars versus 5 is because she takes the idea too far and I started to feel that Amy was slimy and a slut. If you can get over that, I recommend this book, especially to those that enjoyed Out of My Mind. 

A Puzzle-Solving Mystery

Key to the Treasure

By: Peggy Parish

Genre:  Juvenile mystery

Pages: 154

Published: 1966

Read: July

5 out of 5

I first read this book as a kid and remember loving it. The book is very unique in the fact that the puzzles that Jed, Bill, and Liza find can be solved by the reader before reading how the kids solve it. So it's a true puzzle-solving mystery.  I still worked the puzzles myself this time as well. However, I appreciated more of the story as an adult.  It shows the importance of one's family history being past down through the generations.  I feel this is an excellent example of a children's classic and is definitely timeless.  It's about kids growing up in any decade trying to find a lost treasure hidden on their grandparents property over 100 years ago. This book should be treasured by kids of all ages . Join the journey as the siblings find the key to a treasure! 

A Classic...

Love in the Time of Cholera

By: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Genre:  Classics

Pages: 348

Published: 1988

Read: July

2.5 out of 5

I have been dreading reading this book for years, but knew I would one day. Without the help of Spark Notes and watching the movie, I would have missed a lot more information, plot and circumstances then I did. Marquez writes beautifully, but uses a lot of symbolism and often goes off on, what I read as, side stories or tangents. Making it a very dense and difficult book to follow. With that being said, I loved the premise of the story, found it interesting and could easily follow the main plot. I greatly appreciated Marquez’s humor, especially with it being a difficult read. I was surprised at the volume of humor in the love story between Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza. I enjoyed both characters, just wish Florentino Ariza didn’t lie at the end. 

a first for me...a YA thriller

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

By: April Henry

Genre:  YA thriller

Pages: 213

Published: 2013

Audiobook: 5 discs (5 hours and 28 mins)

Read: July

4 out of 5

WOW! Honestly, I don’t remember reading a YA thriller before so I have no close comparison to this thrilling read.  In my younger years, I loved Christopher Pike books so I hoped I would enjoy this YA thriller. I was NOT disappointed.  I loved how the story was a roller coaster of an adventure. The entire story took place over only three days and was so action-packed I didn’t want to stop listening.  Henry developed a great protagonist, Cady, who was a tough strong teenager and never stopped giving up. My only disappointment was that I felt the ending was a little rushed, but it does still provides some great intensity. This is a must read for teens and adult fans of a good YA novel. I really hope teens vote for this novel to be a Teens’ Top Ten award winner. 

Teens may like this one...

This is What Happy Looks Like

By: Jennifer E. Smith

Genre:  YA Romance fiction

Pages: 416

Published: 2013

Read: July

2 out of 5

CHEESY! As an adult reading this book, it reminded me of a fluffy romance novel for teens. Complete with a very unrealistic predictable plot, the dreamy protagonist, and conflicts that are resolved too quickly and smoothly. Worst of all, knowing it will end happily ever after.  I realize that many adult women enjoy this type of novel, therefore female teens may also enjoy this book and even fall in love with Graham.  I read and love a lot of YA novels, but believe some can only be appreciated if you are still a teen. This is definitely one of those.  For that reason, I understand why it is a Teens’ Top Ten nominee. With that being said, I feel there are many more quality love stories for teens published including The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

A highly recommended novel

Bellweather Rhapsody

By: Kate Racculia

Genre:  Adult fiction

Pages: 340

Published: 2014

Read: July

4 out of 5

It's not very often you find a book with many of the main characters being teenagers and yet it's not a young adult book.  However, older teens and young adults that are avid readers would probably enjoy this story. It's a book involving murders and suspense without being a murder mystery thriller. There is a lot of separate plots that weave together, so it is not necessarily an easy read, but definitely worth the effort. As an added bonus, it includes numerous 80's references - music, movies, and more.  The characters are well developed and the action continues throughout the entire novel; you can't help but to get sucked in. I highly recommend this novel to fans of Carol Goodman and readers looking for a thrilling literature suspense. 

A Parody of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Drink, Play, F@#k: One Man's Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas, and Thailand

By: Andrew Gottlieb

Genre:  Adult humor

Pages: 240

Published: 2009

Read: July

3.5 out of 5

This was a difficult book for me rate because I feel I can't compare it against ALL books I have read, but rather only the humorous ones.  I was impressed with the quality of writing; usually in parodies, or at least the few I have read, are written so poorly I don't enjoy them.  I read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert years ago, so it was difficult to determine if Gottlieb had spoofs directly related to her story, besides the title and main idea. Either way, I sincerely enjoyed the story and humor. I often forgot that the travels of Bob Sullivan were fictional, which definitely added to my appreciation of story. However, I found for being a parody the story lacked humor in some areas which is the reason I only gave it 3.5 stars. 

a good fantasy novel

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

By: Neil Gaiman

Genre:  Adult fantasy

Pages: 181

Published: 2013

Read: June

3 out of 5

Fantasy is another genre I don't read very much, however I did enjoy Gaiman's juvenile book, The Graveyard Book.  While I feel Gaiman writes extremely well and I did enjoy this story, I don't believe I have the imagination to take myself into this realm.  There are several reasons I did enjoy the story though. I loved how it was told as a flashback to his childhood when a grown man visits the town where he grew up.  It was easier to imagine the fantasy from a seven year old's perspective, plus I believe adults often do just that when thinking back to their own childhood.  It did drive me crazy that Gaiman never states whose funeral the man goes back for, especially since nothing before has encouraged him to return.  I believe this would be a great introduction to the fantasy genre for readers who want to venture out of their comfort zone - short, easy to read and enjoyable.

There are better books than this

Openly Straight

By: Bill Konigsberg

Genre:  YA LGBTQ

Pages: 336

Published: 2013

Read: June

3 out of 5

I have mixed feelings about this book. At first I was annoyed by the jock gay teenager plot; I feel too many authors are trying to express that jocks can be gay – it’s too cliché. Several areas of the story seemed too superficial and stereotypical for me. Then I realized that wasn’t what the book was about. Look at the title – Openly Straight. People aren’t openly straight…straight isn’t who they are first. Once gay, why is it who everyone knows you as? Rafe leaves his town so he can be “Rafe” and not “Rafe, who is gay”. He tries not to hide that he is gay, but doesn’t want to be openly gay either.  I feel most YA LBGQT novels are written to help teens/young adults understand they aren’t alone and for their peers to realize that gays are still individuals with feelings. While this book may achieve that, I think there are more enjoyable reads out there such as Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan and Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills. 

Love the Irish accent...

Orphan Train

By: Christina Baker Kline

Genre:  Adult Fiction

Pages: 304

Published: 2013

Audiobook: 7 discs (8 hrs 35 mins)

Read: June

2.5 out of 5

I expected more from this book. It received so much hype and was supposed to be a great book club book. I don’t understand the hype. It was an OK story about a 91 year old woman and a troubled teenager that become friends once learning they were/are both orphans. That is original…NOT! Most orphans no matter their age will connect on some level because they were both orphans. There was no climax, nor unpredictability whatsoever. However, it was a pleasant enough story and the audio was fantastic. I loved the Irish accentJ  I was hoping for a little of something that just wasn’t there and don’t understand why it would be a good, let alone great, book to discuss – unless the participants are orphans themselves.