Another Response to Little Ellie Claus

*Spoiler Alert* 

If you don't want to know how the story ends, please skip this post and go down to the next, where there is a nice mild review. 

You know how some books stick with you, good or bad?  Some books I read, put away and don't really think much about.  Others seem to stay with me and Little Ellie Claus, by James Manos Jr. has.  Not in a good way.  I keep thinking, and thinking, and thinking about this story.  I thought about writing a letter to the author but I can't find an e-mail address. 

Here's my problem. . . I'm adopted.  I was adopted at birth and my parents are amazing.  They have done nothing but love and support me my entire life.  If, at age eleven, my birth parents had come back into my life, there is absolutely no way my parents would have just waved goodbye to me.  There is no way I would have let them. 

In Little Ellie Claus, Ellie finds out that she is adopted (not formally or legally, but essentially she was adopted).  She's only eleven years old but she immediately takes off for New York to find her birth mother.  There was nothing pointing to a strained or difficult relationship between Ellie and her parents.  She was raised by Santa and Mrs. Claus!  What could be bad?  When Ellie finds her birth mother, she bonds with her immediately and after some drama, she says goodbye to the parents who raised her so she could stay with the mother who was forced to give her up many years earlier. 

I can't imagine that the author really understands how adoption works, not the legal aspect, but the emotional bond.  Ellie was an infant when Santa took her in.  She had no memory of her birth mother, so why the instant bond?  I find it all very disturbing and frankly the ending ruined the book for me.  That's all I have to say.

Little Ellie Claus by James Manos Jr.

Little Ellie Claus, by James Manos Jr. has been sitting unread on my shelf for quite a while.  I was determined to read it this year.  Lucy and Peter are young, in love, and setting off on an adventure.  With all their pets in tow, they head to New York in 1933 where Peter has been offered a job.  When things don't work out quite like they hoped, they struggle along with most of the country, in the midst of depression.

I feel that almost everything else I put in a summary will ruin the story, so I'm going to refrain.  There were a few things that I loved about the story.  The basic idea was really great and I knew from the beginning that something I didn't like was going to happen.  It worried me and I considered putting the book back on the shelf.  I did plod through and I found a lot of joy in the story.  Peter and Lucy were great characters, with a lot of life and warmth.  Santa and Mrs. Claus were joyful and fun loving, just as Santa should be. 

I did not care for the character of Henry.  I didn't get it.  He confused me and was way to excitable.  He wasn't necessary to the plot.  I also had a problem with the very end.  Without giving anything away, I am an adoptee and I don't feel that the end was handled very well.  It just wouldn't happen.  Very hard to be specific without giving things away!!!

I think the book is worth a read.  It's pretty short and could be read fairly quickly.  I would go in knowing that some characters may annoy you and that the ending is a bit rushed.

Quick Reviews!

I get distracted easily.  I get very excited about something - like this blog - and am pretty faithful for a while but then something shiny passes by and I'm distracted.  Sooooo, to make a really long story short, I missed a few reviews and I'm not terribly motivated to go back in time for a few reviews.  I've decided to write a few quickies so that I don't feel the guilt and can move on to bigger and better things.  And more recent reads that are more fresh in my memory!  My mind ain't what it used to be. 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a fun, action packed children's novel.  I enjoyed it enough to buy the next few books in the series but not enough that I've already read them!  I wanted Percy Jackson to be more like Harry Potter but he isn't.  The books were very informational with regard to the Greek legends of Gods and Titans.  I found myself googling a few things just to get them straight in my head.  The premise is good and I do look forward to reading more.  Just not yet.

Hot Six by Janet Evanovich is the sixth book in the Stephanie Plum series.  I enjoyed this one a lot.  The characters are so wonderful and it's like an old friend when I pick up a book.  I admit that the plots get a little jumbled in my memory but each is unique.  This is definitely a series I will continue to read and enjoy!

 

Going Overboard, by Christina Skye is a fun romance.  There isn't anything wonderful about it, it's pretty standard boy meets girl fare.  I read it fairly quickly and even though the timeline was a little wacky for me, it was still worth finishing.  The end read like bad fan-fiction (triplets?  Really?) and that soured it a bit.  Not bad, not good, just okay for a beach read.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I've had The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now. I knew I was going to enjoy the book but I just never got around to reading it. With the movie coming out this winter, I knew I wanted to get the book read first, and I'm very glad I did. I'm going to do my best not to spoil anything, but some of it can't be helped.

This is the second book I've read this year where the main character was dead. I don't think this will be a huge trend as the book has to be pretty well written for it to make sense. Fortunately, this book was. We are introduced to Susie Salmon as a living fourteen year old. Within a few pages, she is looking at earth from her Heaven and that's when we really get to know her and her family.

The book is not about solving the mystery of her death, we know who did it from the start. The story is about Susie's family and how they cope with her death. Without a body, her parents must find closure without proof. The author did an amazing job of making each character real. We get to follow the lives of both of her parents, her sister, her brother, her boyfriend, and a girl who was not yet a friend but became one even after Susie's death.

The Lovely Bones is a wonderful book and with Peter Jackson directing the movie, I think it will be great as well. I recommend that you all read this before seeing the movie.

The Late Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow

I really loved this book. I want to throw that out there first. I'm really excited to be able to share this book with some friends. I think it is unique and thought provoking.

Molly Marx is dead. That's not a spoiler, it's laid out from the first page. How she died is unknown. At first glance, I assumed that the book would be about solving her death. Was she murdered? Was it an accident? Suicide? We really don't know until near the end. The beauty is, that wasn't the point of the story. It's not a mystery novel. The how and why is there in the background but it isn't the reason to keep reading.

Not too many main characters are dead from the start. The story is told through Molly's eyes as she spends her time in the "duration" following her family and friends around. She is able to listen to their thoughts and while she can't interfere or communicate, her presence is occasionally felt. She watches as her family deals with her death. They grieve in different ways. She watches her husband and tries to decide if he genuinely misses her or if it's an act. She checks in on her young daughter wishing she were physically present in her life.

I found the author's idea of the "duration" to be very interesting. I don't want to give things away but I was intrigued by it, even though it doesn't fit with my personal beliefs. I love the idea that people with different beliefs can still "hang" together in the afterlife.

I highly recommend this book. . . to almost anyone!

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

I have to say that it's a good thing I gave this series a second chance. I didn't love the first book, Dead Until Dark. It was fine but nothing that made me really want to go out and get the second book. I did anyway. I'm sure glad I did. I found Living Dead in Dallas to be a lot more fun, a lot scarier, and it had a better plot. I'm not sure what happened with the first book. I might have been in a Twilight fog about then, wanting all my vampires to sparkle and dazzle.

This book continues the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire boyfriend Bill Compton. For much of the book she is out of Bon Temps, so many of the characters introduced in the first book are minor players in this one. Eric is quite the intriguing character in this book but I'm not sure of his motives.

Sookie and Bill travel to Dallas so that Sookie can use her mind reading skills to help find a missing vampire. She quickly gets caught up in a trap -not by vampires, but by humans. I don't want to give anything away so I'm not going to get into the plot much at all.

I am looking forward to continuing this series. I'm working my way through the alphabet but as soon as I finish all 26 books, I'm going to re-visit Sookie and Bill. I recommend this to any reader who likes a little supernatural, a little humor, and a bit of adventure.

Love Overboard

I sped through another quickie by Janet Evanovich. She'd better start writing those again, because I've only got a few left to read. Love Overboard was a fun one. It follows the same formula, but it had a good plot.

Stephanie is a former cop who takes on the roll of cook for a week long cruise on a sailing ship. She's just there for the week and she meets Ivan, the captain. He's everything a romance novel man should be, good looking, charming, funny, helpful, etc. . . I'm sure there were bulging biceps as well.

Ivan falls in love quite quickly and is determined to keep Stephanie in his life long after she leaves the ship. It's got a little bit of a ghost story, some wacky friends, and a sweet romance. Again, if you need a quick read, pick up any of the Janet Evanovich romances. Lots of fun.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

I finally finished The Lace Reader. Whew! What a ride that book was. First off I want to say that I did enjoy it very much. That being said, there are a few comments I'd like to make. First of all I picked up this book because I had read good reviews. I don't know anyone personally who has read it. I'm glad I did pick it up because now I get to share it with some friends.

This book takes place in Salem, MA. Most of us have heard the stories of the famous "witch" trials that took place. I've never been to that part of the country but I will be visiting Boston next week, which isn't far from Salem. It's about a woman, Towner, who is in her early 30's but for some reason I kept wanting to age her. I felt that she had to be older than me. In reading the author's notes I see that the time frame for this book was about 1996. This would make sense as it would make Towner older than me now. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense but it does in my head!

Towner comes home for the first time in many years because her great-aunt (the relationship is still not entirely clear) is missing. She has to face her mother, her aunt, and the memories of her twin sister for the first time. Towner is haunted by her past, including an abusive uncle who is now an extreme religious fanatic, starting his own witch hunts. Her old boyfriend is still around causing minor trouble for her burgeoning relationship with the town detective.

The twists and turns in this story were what kept it moving. Just when I'd figure something out, I'd be shown the opposite was true. Of all the characters, I enjoyed Rafferty the most. He was the detective, hopelessly infatuated with Towner even though he knew the truth of her past. He knew more than I as the reader did. I couldn't relate too much to Towner as I've never been in such emotional turmoil for such a long period of time.

This novel is full of clever writing and a very vivid setting. I really have quite the image in my head of Yellow Dog Island and surrounding areas. I have a few questions though! Wouldn't it be great to sit down with the author sometime? I'd post my questions but I don't want to give anything away. I'd love to hear what you think!

The Last Summer (Of You and Me) by Ann Brashares

I really loved this book. I wasn't so sure in the middle if I even liked it anymore but I kept going and ended up enjoying it. Ann Brashares is the author of the Traveling Pants books of which I am a fan. This is her first "adult" book. The only difference is that the characters were a bit older and the love scenes are a bit more graphic than you'd find in a typical young adult novel. They were quite tame compared to some of the bodice rippers I used to read.

The story takes place on Fire Island, New York. I don't know much about the island but it seems idyllic to spend the summer there. It revolves around two sisters who are both adults and are spending their summer at their family home on the island. Their parents come for weekends, but they stay during the week. Alice babysits and works at the yacht club, while Riley works as a lifeguard.

The third character that is central to the story is Paul. His family home is next door and he grew up with the girls. His relationship with Riley was of best friend. With Alice it was different. This is the crux of the book. He loves Alice and Alice loves him but they both love Riley. It is difficult for Alice and Paul to be together because neither wants to hurt Riley.

Things happen and circumstances change, tearing Paul and Alice apart very abruptly. This is where I got mad. I was mad at Alice for abandoning Paul, I was mad at Paul for not fighting, and I was mad at Riley for being stubborn. By the end I forgave them all and wasn't ready for the story to end.

It's a fairly quick story, it didn't take me long and I couldn't put it down when I got started. I'd love to know what you think!