Review Blast! August Catch- Up Edition

I hate doing these quickie reviews but there comes a time when I realize I’m so far behind that I just need to get over 
myself and get it done.  So here you go. . .

Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen, was an excellent read.  The story was very real - nothing sci-fi, supernatural, or dystopian about it, which is rare with Young Adult novels these days.  The story was about a teenager, her sisters, and her attempt at holding her family together and deal with fall-out after a sexual assault led to rumors and misunderstandings.  This story tackles rape, anorexia, and depression amongst other themes.  It’s a heavy novel with a very real core.  Definitely worth reading.  I recommend it to older teens and adults of all ages.

Airhead, Being Nikki, and Runaway, by Meg Cabot, are the three books that make up the Airhead trilogy.  The story is very far fetched.  After an accident in a department store, Emerson wakes up to find her brain transplanted onto the body of a supermodel.  Emerson has to pretend to be Nikki while trying to remain herself.  The first book hooked me enough to keep reading but honestly I find them all a bit silly.  That darn Meg Cabot can always hook me into her stories, weird as they might be.  While I can’t wholeheartedly recommend them to adults, the target teen audience might enjoy the trilogy. 

I’m pretty well convinced that I’ve read Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, before.  It’s a familiar story.  That being said, I read it again and once again found myself caught up in one family’s courage to stay together through the worst possible time, and another family’s bravery to help them no matter the cost.  It’s always worth a read - or a re-read. 

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes is part of an ongoing series by Robin Jones Gunn.  The stories are stand -alone novels of women getting together and finding out more about themselves, and God, along the way.  In this installment, Summer heads to the Netherlands to meet her longtime pen pal Noelle.  The women had been great friends for years but had never met face to face.  Summer is escaping from a possible breast cancer diagnosis and Noelle is still running from a difficult relationship with her father.  As the two women share adventures, they learn that their friendship was meant to be and they both find healing.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin

I have mixed feelings about The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb.  It’s the story of Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump Stratton, known to most as Vinnie or Mrs. Tom Thumb.  She was only thirty-two inches tall as an adult, having the condition known as proportionate dwarfism.  While Vinnie was in fact a real person, the story is a novel told from her perspective.

Vinnie’s small size does not mean she had a small personality.  Vinnie had plans to see the world and have everyone know her name.  When a “cousin” invites her to join his traveling show, she anticipates that she would be performing.  She had no idea her size was to be the show.  The story follows Vinnie’s life in show business, both at the beginning and later under contract with P.T. Barnum.  

I enjoyed the first part of the story a great deal.  I enjoyed Vinnie as a child and a young adult learning her way in a big world.  The story takes place in a fascinating time in history, so interesting that I found myself doing research into some of the people and places mentioned.   
 
I had trouble with the story when I started disliking Vinnie just a little bit.  Her marriage to Charles Stratton (General Tom Thumb) was never real to her and I felt that Vinnie became hard and cold after that.   Ms. Benjamin does an excellent job of story telling but I have to wonder if the real Vinnie was that hard or not.  I liked the innocent Vinnie a little bit more.   This is worth a read but I can't recommend it like I want to.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, is a completely satisfying book.  I say that because the story was neatly wound up and questions were answered.  One of my pet peeves lately is with books that don't really have a conclusion.  I get irritated with books that plan for sequels and don't really end.  It leaves me feeling very unsatisfied and let down.  Fortunately Across the Universe didn't do that.

Before I started reading, I imagined this book was about a teen romance set on a space ship.  I was really wrong.  Yes, the story took place on a ship in outer space and there was a touch of romance, but it wasn't the focus of the story at all. 

Amy is a teenager who has chosen to accompany her parents on a mission to colonize another planet.  She is cryogenically frozen and placed on a ship bound for the planet.  The trip is set to take three hundred years.  When she is unfrozen fifty years too early, she must cope with life on a ship where she is a stranger.  The people who were born and raised on the ship are very different, mono-ethnic and all look very similar.  She stands out with her red hair and pale skin. 

Elder is a sixteen year old boy who is the future leader of the ship.  He will replace Eldest, the current leader and his teacher.  Elder is intrigued with Amy and her tales of Earth.  With new information he begins to question the system of control that Eldest is using on the residents of the ship. 

This book is full of mystery, conspiracy and secrets.  I think the author did a fabulous job making sure that questions were answered and things made sense.  When the story came to it's conclusion, I felt that I knew everything I wanted to know - except what happens next!  The story did end and I don't know if a sequel is planned, but I would read it.  I encourage anyone to read this, don't be afraid of the science fiction element because it's not really a sci-fi book.  It's more of a dystopian world - that takes place on a space ship. 

The Angels of Morgan Hill by Donna Van Liere

The Angels of Morgan Hill, by Donna Van Liere is an extremely sweet book that kept me turning the pages.  The narrator shifts between a few characters but the principle narrator is Jane, a nine-year-old girl who has just lost her father.   The story is set in the late 1940’s in a small town in Tennessee.  The times are hard, the jobs are scarce, and life isn’t easy for the Gable family.  

After Jane and John’s father dies, their mother, Fran, struggles to raise her kids while dealing with the news that there is another baby on the way.  When a black family moves to town, the Gable family’s life is turned upside down.  Fran forms a friendship with Addy, despite what people think.  

I don’t want to give anything away but when the worst happens, the people of Morgan Hill come together to make things right.  They are the Angels of Morgan Hill.  The core group of characters are so wonderful to each other that it makes me long for a tight knit community like that.

While the ending was a little too neat and tidy, the story moved along at such a rapid pace, with so much happening in the span of a year, it was a relief to have a tidy ending!  I didn’t know what to expect from Donna Van Liere but I can say that this is a beautiful story with some good lessons.  It isn’t perfect but it’s worth a read. 

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

 
The Actor and the Housewife, by Shannon Hale, is a charmer.  It took me a long time to read and not because I disliked the book but because it was deceivingly long!  While the paperback looked completely normal,  the paper was thin and the font was small.  That's my theory anyway. 

The story is about a housewife, Becky, who loves her husband and children fiercely.  She loves being a wife and mother.  You can feel how much while reading.  She's so satisfied and happy.  It was nearly unrealistic, but Becky is such a real character that it was hard to find fault.  Felix, the actor, is Becky's best friend.  They meet while Becky is in Los Angeles selling a screenplay.  They become enamored of each other in a strictly platonic way - at least on Becky's part.  Felix is British, charming, successful, and terribly witty.  I fell in love with him.  I confess.

The dialogue between the two main characters made me smile.  It was fun, quirky and you could feel the chemistry.  I wanted this story to be a romance so badly!  But maybe at heart it really was.  If this story has a weakness, it's that Becky and Felix weren't together enough.  The two were magical together.  When they were apart, when Becky was going on and on about how happy she was with her family, it got a little long.  That's minor though.

Becky is a Mormon so there are several mentions of her faith and her relationship with God.   This doesn't bother me in the slightest but let that serve as a warning for those who would be bothered.  This is a great story of friendship that I highly recommend.

After by Amy Efaw

After, by Amy Efaw, is the story of Devon and what happens to her in the days after she gives birth in her bathroom and throws the baby in a dumpster. Before you turn away in disgust, consider that Devon is fifteen years old and has convinced herself that she wasn't pregnant. She's also a great student, star soccer player, and all around good girl. Does she belong in the juvenile court system, where she can have a clean record and the potential for a productive life after her sentence? She's being charged with attempted murder, was it premeditated or a reaction to a situation beyond her understanding?

My first reaction to Devon was anger. I was angry that she would do that to her baby. Eventually I realized that she never gave any thought to it being a baby. Certainly not her baby. I was angry that she was so lost in her own world that she couldn't grasp what was happening to her. I wanted to yell at her and tell her to listen! Pay attention! I couldn't relate to someone so distant, while faced with something so serious.

The beauty in this book is that as Devon begins to realize what happened to her and what she did, we - the readers - begin to realize why Devon reacted the way she did. We are given the information we want as Devon takes responsibility and remembers what happened. Her awakening out of denial is what makes us understand the why and how.

This is a book written for young adults and it is certainly appropriate for teens. The hard reality is that this happens all the time. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone. My only disappointment is that the Safe Haven program wasn't mentioned in the actual body of the story. It's a program that saves lives.

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

Animal Dreams has been sitting on my shelf for a while. At least a year I figure, probably longer. I first read Barbara Kingsolver when I had to read a book for a class I was taking. If I can remember correctly, I had to choose a book that involved diversity, either cultural or racial. I chose Pigs In Heaven because it dealt with adoption and cultural (Native American) issues. I had no idea at the time that it was actually a sequel to The Bean Trees (which is also sitting on my shelf). I then read The Poisonwood Bible which is one of my favorite books of all time.

Animal Dreams qualifies as my "A" book for the A to Z challenge, so I was pretty happy to get a chance to read it as I have a feeling it would have continued to sit on my shelf.

The book is about a woman in her 30's (I can relate) who has spent most of her adult like forgetting her past. The actual memories she does have, she doesn't quite believe in. She and her sister grew up in a strict home with their widowed father. He was the town doctor in a small town in Arizona and she never thought she fit in with the town. She later finds out that she is as much a part of the town as anyone else.

When her sister Hallie, who we only know through letters and memories, leaves for Nicaragua during the time of the Contras crisis, Codi decides to go back to her home town. Her main reason for going home is to see her father who is suffering from Alzheimer's. She accepts a job as the biology teacher at the high school and falls into a romance with Loyd, a man who she has a past with.

The story follows a year in Codi's life. She faithfully writes to her sister and occasionally visits her father. She becomes involved with a campaign to help save the town from an environmental pollutant. The biggest challenge she faces is finding her past. She begins to remember her life in the town of Grace and faces her future.

The book takes place in the mid 80's but is timely in its environmental tone. It all still fits! I was a little lost about the political issues in Nicaragua and Honduras because I was in middle and high school at the time. I was fairly unaware of big news at the time. I do recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Barbara Kingsolver. She's consistently good.