Review: Welcome to the Great Mysterious

Title: Welcome to the Great Mysterious
Author: Lorna Landvik
Pages: 352
Rating: 2.5/5

Megastar of stage, screen, and television, Geneva Jordan now has a command performance in Minnesota, where she agrees to look after her thirteen-year-old nephew, a boy with Down’s syndrome, while his parents take a long-overdue vacation. Though Geneva and her sister, Ann, are as different as night and day (“I being night, of course, dark and dramatic”), Geneva remembers she had a family before she had a star on her door. But so accustomed is she to playing the lead, finding herself a supporting actress in someone else’s life is strange and unexplored territory. Then the discovery of an old scrapbook that she and her sister created long ago starts her thinking of things beyond fame. For The Great Mysterious is a collection of thoughts and feelings dedicated to answering life’s big questions—far outside the spotlight’s glow. . . (goodreads.com)

This is the second Landvik book that I've read and I had really high hopes for it.  I thought that Welcome to the Great Mysterious started out slow (very slow), got to be really good in the middle, and then kind of left with like a limp noodle at the end.  I'm pretty sure I've never had a book touch on so many emotions at once, and I'm just not sure how that blend worked for me.

The other thing that I think made this one drag for me was the fact that I absolutely hated the main character for about the first half of the book.  I couldn't get over how selfish she was, and I had a super hard time making any kind of connection with her.  She just wasn't my cup of tea.    I disagreed with so much that she did, that it made it hard for me to feel any type of bond with her.  In fact, I really didn't care what happened to her.

I think the other reason why my disappointment was a bit on the huge side, was because I absolutely adored "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons."  I couldn't read it fast enough.  I thought this book was missing all of the charm that, AHEBB had. 

I'm not going to give up on Landvik yet though.  I still have quite a few of her other books to read and I'm going to give them a chance.  I'm just going to wait a bit before trying again...

Audio Review: Arcadia Falls

Title: Arcadia Falls
Author: Carol Goodman
Listening Time: 12 hrs and 37 mins
Rating: 4/5

In debt after her husband's unexpected death, Meg Rosenthal secures a job as a teacher at an upstate New York boarding school. Leaving suburban Long Island, Meg and her teenage daughter, Sally, embark on a new life in Arcadia Falls, a beautiful but isolated small town and the inspiration for a number of magically eerie fairy tales. With a hurtful rift growing between her and her daughter, Meg is hopeful that the change of scene will provide them with a fresh start. But it soon becomes clear to Meg that this isolated community hides deeply rooted and deadly secrets. And after a mysterious death, Arcadia Falls begins to reveal a disturbing dark side (Cover Blurb).

I borrowed this audio strictly for the cover.  I thought it was beautiful and gothic and really grabbed my attention.  I'm glad I went with the impulse, and thought this book was really spectacular. 

Arcadia is a small private art school that was started in the early 1900s by two women, Vera Beecher and Lily Eberhardt.  The two women were deeply devoted to each other, but each of their lives were shrouded and secrets and betrayal, especially Lilly Eberhardt.  In the present day, Meg Rosenthal comes to Arcadia after the death of her husband, which left her penniless and desperate.  After being offered a job to teach English, especially the history of fairy tales, Meg moves with her daughter Sally into the cottage of Vera Beecher and Lily Eberhardt and it is here where the mystery begins.

Soon after Meg's arrival, one of the students at Arcadia is found dead in the ravine, eerily mirroring the death of Lily Eberhardt so many years ago.  Troubled by the death, Meg begins to delve into the lives of Lily and Vera, finally finding the journal of Lily Eberhardt which has remained hidden for many years.  It is at this point that the novel begins to twist and turn, releasing secret after secret, keeping the reader on their toes.

Intertwined throughout the story, is the fairy tale of The Changling Girl originally written by Lily.  The story mirrors Lily's own journey and it's interesting to see how it fits in with her life.  One of my favorite aspects of this story was the mix between the past and present day.  Along with the changling story, we also were able to experience Lily's journal and travel with her through her struggles.  I loved the descriptions of her life and how everything happened.  There were a few times where my mouth just fell open as I pieced everything together.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Carol Goodman and hope that ther other books are half as good as Arcadia Falls!

Audio Review: The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Title: The Girl Who Chased the Moon
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Listening Time: 7 hrs and 1 min
Rating: 4.5/5

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, offering them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth—but also in the hope of rekindling a love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in (sarahaddisonallen.com).

I was really excited when I saw this one available on the library's website and instantly added it to my cart.  I've been interest in reading something by Allen for a while, but always seem to be distracted by something else.  Audio books have allowed me to finally get to all the books I've been meaning to read!  I can't wait to go back and read Allen's backlist of Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen and she's definitely on my must by list now!

Allen's books fall under the genre of magical realism.  Set in the South, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, is a fast paced, moving story filled with lovable characters and bits of mysticism.  The Girl Who Chased the Moon focuses on two main characters - Emily and Julia.  Emily is a seventeen year old girl who has recently lost her mother.  She comes to Mulberry to live with the grandfather she never knew existed.  Julia fled Mulberry eighteen years ago, only to return after the death of her father.  Julia is running from her own secrets while Emily is just discovering those of her mother.

Intertwined throughout the story is a bevy of secondary characters all with their  own quirks.  These secondary characters where so well developed, that I wished there were more of them throughout the novel.  They helped bring a deep richness to the story that would have been lacking otherwise.  Along with great secondary characters, Allen intertwines descriptions of food that will make your mouth water (especially if you are six and a half months pregnant and always hungry)!  Julia's baked good sounded scrumptious and now I am craving BBQ.

I highly recommend this audio and can't wait to dive into the pages of more books by Sarah Addison Allen!

Audio Review: The Wife's Tale

Title: The Wife's Tale
Author: Lori Lansens
Listening Time: 11 hrs and 33 mins
Rating: 3/5

It’s the eve of her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and Mary Gooch is waiting for her husband, Jimmy, to come home. But Mary isn’t just waiting for Jimmy. She is waiting for a mother who accepts her, children she is unable to have, a life beyond the well-worn path from her bedroom to the refrigerator. Mary is waiting for her life to start.

As she waits for Jimmy, the night passes into day and it becomes clear that he isn’t coming home. A letter left in the mailbox confirms her worst fears and Mary is left alone to make a difficult decision. Should she break free from her inertia and salvage her marriage? Or is the pull of the familiarity of her home, the predictability of her daily routines, too strong to resist?

For the first time in her life, Mary decides to leave and boards a plane to California. She flies across the country in a desperate attempt to find her husband. The clothes, the marriage, the home that had given her a place to hide for so long are all gone. Mary soon finds that the bright sun and broad vistas of California force her to look up from the pavement, stop waiting and start living. What she finds when she does is an inner strength she’s never felt before. Through it all, Mary not only finds kindred spirits, but reunites with a more intimate stranger no longer sequestered by fear and habit: herself (randomhouse.com).

I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly how I feel about this book.  On one hand, I think parts of the book are a five star read.  On the other hand, I think parts of it are one star.  So I met in the middle and gave the book as a whole three stars.

One reason why I think I had such trouble with this book especially in the beginning was because I found Mary to be such a hard character to like and get to know.  Even at the end of the book, I still didn't have a deep fondness for her.  At times I found her existence to be almost sad, and I few times I viewed her as pathetic.  I had visions of slapping her a few times!!  Other times, I cheered her on as she fought again the "obeast" as she refers to her obesity and begain to find herself again after a lifetime of letting herself go.

I think the biggest struggle I had with this book was how easily it seemed that Mary was able to make friends, and ask so many people for help.  When Mary was home in Canada, she could barely go to the grocery store and talk to anyone, let alone ask a total stranger to help her.  When she came to the US, she was much more open and seemed to make friends almost easily.  I do believe that the author did this to show the audience how Mary was growing as an individual, coming out of her shell and opening up in the world.  I just had a hard time with how quickly things changed.

This is the first book I've read by Lori Lansens and I was a bit taken aback by the writing style.  For some reason, I thought it would be different.  Plus, a few of the scenes made me extremely uncomfortable, especially listening to them on audio at work.  I'm curious now to read The Girls and see how it compares to The Wife's Tale.  I will say, I find the description of the The Girls to be more entertaining than I found that for The Wife's Tale.  It seems like it might be more up my alley.  Despite being a bit "shocked" by some of the scenarios in the book (I think I'm turning into my mother...ahhh), I thought the writing was truly superb.  I also thought this was a beautifully presented audio that I enjoyed listening to.  That's one reason why I felt the book may have deserved a higher rating, but my dislike for the main character kept me from going above a three.

Review: Lost and Found

Title: Lost and Found
Author: Jacqueline Sheehan
Pages: 278
Rating: 4/5

A poignant and unforgettable tale of love, loss, and moving on . . . with the help of one not-so-little dog

Rocky's husband Bob was just forty-two when she discovered him lying cold and lifeless on the bathroom floor . . . and Rocky's world changed forever. Quitting her job, chopping off all her hair, she leaves Massachusetts—reinventing her past and taking a job as Animal Control Warden on Peak's Island, a tiny speck off the coast of Maine and a million miles away from everything she's lost. She leaves her career as a psychologist behind, only to find friendship with a woman whose brain misfires in the most wonderful way and a young girl who is trying to disappear. Rocky, a quirky and fallible character, discovers the healing process to be agonizingly slow.

But then she meets Lloyd.

A large black Labrador retriever, Lloyd enters Rocky's world with a primitive arrow sticking out of his shoulder. And so begins a remarkable friendship between a wounded woman and a wounded, lovable beast. As the unraveling mystery of Lloyd's accident and missing owner leads Rocky to an archery instructor who draws her in even as she finds every reason to mistrust him, she discovers the life-altering revelation that grief can be transformed . . . and joy does exist in unexpected places (harpercollins.com).

I bought this book a few years ago based strickly on the cover.  I'm a sucker for any type of book that has to do with dogs and the black lab on the cover of this book is absolutely adorable.  However, like so many books it was pushed aside for other books that seemed to be more exciting, more interesting, or the it book of the moment.  When I was picking out my books to read this week from my TBR pile, this cover again caught my eye.  Once I read the description I was even more intrigued and moved it from the TBR pile to the I am reading now pile :)  I'm quite happy I did.

Rocky was a hard character to get to know, and it made the book a bit difficult to get into at first.  However, once I realized what her personality was like, and broke through the outer shell I flew through the rest of the pages.  Lost and Found is a book filled with grief, hope, tragedy and mystery.  All of these elements are molded together into one moving, beautiful story that pulled at my heart strings.  Of course my favorite character in the book was Lloyd, the beautiful, but injured, black lab that captures Rocky's heart.  There are three chapters in the book told from Lloyd's point of view and each chapter is more moving than the last.  It made me look at my two little doggies in a different light.  I only hope that they view me the way that Lloyd viewed Rocky.

I recommend this book to anyone who has a love for animals and is looking for a good strong story that will keep you turning pages long into the night.  I'll be looking for and definitely picking up Sheehan's newer book Now and Then in the coming weeks.  This is definitely a new "must read" author for me!

Review: Second Honeymoon

Title: Second Honeymoon
Author: Joanna Trollope
Pages: 323
Rating: 4/5

"Ben is, at last, leaving home. At twenty-two, he's the youngest of the family. His mother Edie, an actor, is distraught. His father Russell, a theatrical agent, is rather hoping to get his wife back, after decades of family life. His brother, Matthew, is wrestling with a relationship in which he achieves and earns less than his girlfriend. His sister Rosa is wrestling with debt, and the end of a turbulent love affair." Meet the Boyd family and the empty nest, twenty-first-century style (goodreads.com).

This was a wonderfully written novel, filled with well thought out prose and insight.  I flew through the pages of this book, taking in the Boyd family, immersing myself in their lives, and traveling with them on this journey.  It was an extremely thoughtful and incredible ride.

Edie is a mom of three grown children.  Her youngest, Ben has just left home to share a flat with his girlfriend and her mother.  Edie is suffering greatly from "empty nest" syndrome much to the distress of her husband.  Russell, her husband, would like things to return to how they were at the beginning of their relationship when he had Edie all to himself.  I, obviously, have never had to deal with the empty nest.  However, I know how my mom struggled with it when both my brother and I moved out.  It took her months to be able to readjust to it just being her and dad again, and even now, five years later, she still cooks way too much food for two people!

Second Honeymoon is very much character driven and this is where Trollope excels.  Each character is presented with a distinct, but likeable personality.  Even the cat, Arsie, has a terrific personality and I loved the way that Trollope intertwined him throughout the story.  Each characters story is different, and each is struggling with their own problems and issues.  However, Trollope brings all these characters together and at the end all of their stories come together in a beautifully written conclusion.

This is the first book I have read by Joanna Trollope but she has quite a back list that I will be checking out in the future.  I enjoy books that really hit me in the core, and this was definitely one of them.

Review: A Bend in the Road

Title: A Bend in the Road
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Pages: 368
Rating: 3/5

Miles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. Missy had been his first love, and Miles fervently believes she will be his last. As a deputy in the North Carolina town of New Bern, Miles Ryan not only grieves for Missy, but also longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews. The second grade teacher of his son, Jonah, Sarah had left Baltimore after a difficult divorce to start over in the gentler surroundings of New Bern. Perhaps it's her own emotional wounds that make her sensitive to the hurt she first sees in Jonah's eyes, and then his father's.

Tentatively, Sarah and Miles reach out to each other. Soon they are both laughing for the first time in years . . . and falling in love. Neither will be able to guess how closely linked they are to a shocking secret -- one that will force them to question everything they ever believed in . . . and make a heartbreaking choice that will change their lives forever (nicholassparks.com).

This was probably one of my least favorite Nicholas Sparks books. I had a hard time really connecting with any of the characters, and really despised the main character Miles Ryan. I think part of the problem was that I hated his name immensly. Plus, he seemed to suffer from horrible mood swings going from Mr Nice Guy to Mr Nasty Pants in a matter of minutes. I also thought Sarah's character in general was weak. She just didn't seem to have much of a backbone which I found odd for a character of Sparks, but there's a first time for everything.

The one character in the book I did find endearing was Mile's son Jonah. I thought he was a very sweet little boy, and felt horrible for all the trauma he had to suffer in his young life. I really wanted to see things work out in a way that would be good for him.

One of my biggest pet peeves about this book were the intertwined narrations by Missy Ryans "killer." It certainly ruined the mystery for me, as I was able to figure out who the person was by about page 50. I wish Sparks would have approached this aspect of the novel in a different way and somehow lead into that mystery differently.

I'm not going to let this one bad experience keep me from reading more of Spark's back list, but it did slow me down a bit. I had to give myself a bit of break but will probably continue to pick up his books throughout the month.

Review: The Choice

Title: The Choice
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Pages: 272
Rating: 4/5

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life -- boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies -- he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him...and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn't help. Despite himself, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive (nicholassparks.com)?

I'm obviously on a Nicholas Sparks kick this weekend. I started this one this morning and finished it around mid afternoon, in between making lunch and cleaning the whole house.

I really enjoyed The Choice. The main characters Travis and Gabby are easy people to like and I found myself rooting for them to fall in love and make the right decisions. One of the best parts of this book is the direction that Sparks takes with it. While you are thinking one thing is happening, it so happens that something completely different is going on. It was a real jaw dropper and at that point I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

One of the greatest things about Sparks books are the deep, intimate and romantic connections between the main characters. Sparks manages to write books that have such a strong love story in the central, that the reader can't help but feel the same emotions as the characters involved. I guess in a way, you could say his books are a bit "cheesy" but its the kind of "cheesy" that I often find impossible to put down.

Being married, I really could understand the struggles that Travis and Gabby faced. It really helped make the story even more real, and again I found myself closing the book with tears in my eyes. I think Nicholas Sparks's wife is probably one of the luckiest woman on the planet, especially if he is anything like his characters.

I have a few more Sparks books from his back list that I've yet to read. Since they seem to be holding my interest right now I might just give them a try.

Review: The Last Song

Title: The Last Song
Author: Nicolas Sparks
Pages: 390
Rating: 5/5



Seventeen year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms – first love, the love between parents and children – that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts… and heal them (nicholassparks.com)

I've been watching the previews for this movie for some time now, and I'll be honest, I wanted to see it only for the fact that I thought the male lead was absolutely adorable. Wednesday night I went to the local Red Box and had the movie in my hot little hands. Since that night, I've watched the movie three times and completely devoured the book. This story really touched me...it may just be the pregnancy hormones, but I truly cannot stop thinking about this story.

The Last Song tells the story of Ronnie, a young seventeen year old, that is struggling to find her place in the world. Forced to spend the summer with her father, whom she hasn't spoken with in three years, Ronnie is angry and uncomfortable in the new environment. However, things begin to change when Ronnie meets Will, a good athlete from a rich family that soons finds himself falling hard for Ronnie.

The book was told in four parts. We hear the story through Ronnie, Will, Ronnie's father Steve, and Marcus - the bad guy of the story. This helps keep the book moving at a quick pace and had me turning pages as quickly as possible. I read the book in practically one sitting, and it is probably one of my favorite books by Sparks. I do recommend reading (and watching the movie) with a big box of tissue because this is definitely a tear jerker.

As with most books, I developed quite the literary crush on Will which was only reinforced when I watched the movie. Her is probably one of the sweetest, kind, and caring young men I have read about in a long time.

So my recommendation is to read the book then see the movie. Don't let the fact that Miley Cyrus plays Ronnie turn you away. She actually does a pretty good job and I never once found her to be annoying :)

Here's the preview for you:

Review: Gods in Alabama

Title: Gods in Alabama
Author: Joshilyn Jackson
Pages: 275
Rating: 4/5

When Arlene Fleet headed off to college in Chicago, she made three promises to God: She would never again lie, she would stop fornicating with every boy who crossed her path, and she'd never, ever go back to her tiny hometown of Possett, Alabama (the "fourth rack of Hell"). All God had to do in exchange was to make sure the body of high school quarterback Jim Beverly was never found.

Ten years later, Arlene has kept her promises, but an old school-mate has recently turned up asking questions. And now Arlene's African American beau has given her a tough ultimatum: introduce him to her family, or he's gone. As she prepares to confront guilt, discrimination, and a decade of deception, Arlene is about to discover just how far she will go to find redemption - and love (joshilynjackson.com).

So its been months since I've finished this book, but I know for a fact I really did enjoy it. This was the first Joshilyn Jackson novel that I've read and I found it to be very entertaining.

The main character of the novel, Arelene lives her life with a huge secret. One summer night, before graduating from high school, Arlene kills the star football player Jim Beverly. Rattled with guilt, Arlene vows never to return home, give up lying, and stops sleeping around. Life is going smoothly until Jim Beverly's ex girlfriend returns and begins asking questions. That's when the mystery really gets good and things start to fall apart everywhere.

Arlene was a wonderfully strong main character, and despite her quirks, she was someone I could really relate too. This was one of those novels that you think about long after you close the last pages. It's definitely a keeper and I'll be reading more of Ms Jackson.

I wish there was more I could say about this, but it's probably been three months since I finished it and my brain is fuzzy, but I can say go read it for yourself. It's really good and I think you'll definitely enjoy it.

Review: Fried Green Tomatoes

Title: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Author: Fannie Flagg
Pages: 432
Rating: 4.5/5

An American classic resplendent with the charm, grace, and grit of all good southern literature, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is Fannie Flagg’s enduring tale of the beloved folks who live in a small Alabama town. At its center are some truly remarkable women, connected by a place and a generosity of spirit grounded in family, good friends, and good food.

The story begins in 1985 with the friendship between shy, middle-aged Evelyn Couch, sadly aware she’s gotten “lost along the way,” and Ninny Threadgoode, an eighty-seven-year-old resident of the Rose Terrace Nursing Home in Birmingham. Evelyn soaks up the older woman’s stories of Whistle Stop, Alabama, where Ninny’s irrepressible sister-in-law Idgie and Idgie’s friend Ruth ran a cafe–the center of life in this small town. Indeed, it is the story of wild, wonderful Idgie, and her big sense of humor and bigger heart, that give Evelyn the courage to find her own happiness (www.bn.com).

Fried Green Tomatoes is my absolute, all time, favorite movie. I don't know why I've waited so many years to read the book. It was amazing.

I've never read any novels by Fannie Flagg, but I have definitely found a new favorite author. Her writing style totally captures that down home southern feel that brings her characters and stories to life. I was blown away by the writing in this book. One thing I learned while reading this book, is that the movie is actually a much milder version of the book, and like most things, I enjoyed the book even more than the movie.

Like the movie, my favorite character in the book is Ruth. She's such a complex character who touches the lives of so many. She always touched my heart in the movie and she's done the same in the book. Ruth's life because quite complicated when she chooses to marry a man who doesn't respect her and treats her like a piece of garbage. He's arrogant and abusive and the best thing she ever does is to leave him. In doing so, she makes a wonderful life with Idgie, and we get to see how she influences all of Whistle Stop.

Fried Green Tomatoes is a wonderful feel good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to take an afternoon and get away!!

Here's a preview for the movie, which I also recommend to everyone!

Review: Shutter Island

Title: Shutter Island
Author: Dennis Lehane
Pages: 368
Rating: 5/5

The year is 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple-murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades—with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is remotely what it seems (Cover Blurb).

Wow.

Not much of a review there, I know, but I am in such amazement of this book, I can hardly think of anything to say but wow.

I stayed up late to finish this because I couldn't stand to go one more night without knowing the truth behind Shutter Island. From the minute I started this book on Monday, it crawled under my skin, seeped into my brain, and stuck. It's all I could think about.

Shutter Island is the home of Ashecliffe Hospital - an institution for the criminally insane. Federal Marshall Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aules are sent to the island to investigate the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando. Solando is a war widow who killed her three children by drowning them in a lake. Daniels becomes convinced that her disappearance has to do with Andrew Laeddis, the man who killed Teddy's wife - Dolores.

From there, the story becomes a quick web of secrets tangled with the truth. Just what is going on at Shutter Island? Should it be stopped? Just who is Rachel Solandis? And finally, what is happening to Teddy Daniels?

Shutter Island was not really a genre that I would regulary read, but I am so glad I went "out of the box" and gave it a try. It was one of the best books I have read this year, and I cannot recommend it to enough people. I'm hoping to see the movie in the next week or two, and I can't wait to see how it compares to the book!

Here's a sneak at the trailer:

Review: The Box Children

Title: The Box Children
Author: Sharon Wyse
Pages: 186
Rating: 2/5

Eleven-year-old Lou Ann Campbell starts a diary on scraps of paper that she hides from her mother in a barrel behind the bunkhouse on her family's Texas wheat farm. Lou Ann's mother has had five miscarriages and Lou Ann has created the box children--five plastic dolls who live in a shoe box--to memorialize these "ghost babies."

The Box Children is Lou Ann's secret diary. Through her spare, sure voice, we share Lou Ann's experiences over the course of one extraordinary summer. The Box Children is also a record of Lou Ann's relationships--with her unstable and cruel mother, who intrudes into every aspect of Lou Ann's life; her adulterous father, whose relative sweetness compels Lou Ann to excuse serious excesses in behavior; her older brother, who rejects her as he struggles with what it means to "be a man"; and with the box children, who become her only companions.

Charming, jolting, and haunting, The Box Children chronicles Lou Ann's unflinching search for a connection to the wide world outside her farm (Author's Website).

I'm not sure this book review even wants to be written. One of my biggest pet peeves is sitting down to write a book review without the book sitting right in front of me. However, sometime between 9:45 PM Tuesday night and right now, this book has grown legs and walked away. I have checked under the couches, behind them, in the fridge, the other bookshelves. I even looked in the trash. It's gone. So I'm writing this with no book in front of me...here goes :)

One, I did not like this book at all. Lou Ann's mom was C-R-A-Z-Y, and instead of adding to the story it just made it weird.

Two, I'm still not sure what the whole point of the story was. I know it was a type of coming of age story, but I've seen it done much better.

And finally, the writing style wasn't smooth and flowing. I don't know if that was because she was trying to portray a journal written by a young girl or what, but I felt like it was very jumpy. I've read other books told through journal entries or letters and they did not seem to have this feel to them.

The Box Children was a book that I had heard "great" things about a few years ago in the book world. It's a hard book to find because it's no longer in publication (now I know why) but I managed to find a copy for super cheap from Amazon's bargain buys. Because I've been cleaning out my shelves, I've been coming across a lot of books that I had bought off of recommendations a long time ago and thought I would give it a shot. It started out ok, but has it got further into the story, I realized how very different it was.

As I stated above, Lou Anne's mom is crazy with a capital C. She has two children, and has lost five other babies. These five lost babies are represented by five dolls that Lou Anne keeps in a shoebox and calls "the box children." She communicates with the dolls and takes them outside and has conversations with them (its almost creepy). Lou Anne's mother is pregnant with another child, but we find out early in the story that something isn't right with this pregnancy. There's a lot of foreshadowing at this point, along with a great deal of talk about how sex is dirty.

Lou Anne's father is a wheat farmer. We find out early on, he likes the ladies (probably a fact that leads to the crazy wife). I happened to find him just plain disgusting. Also, there are a lot of farm hands, one who likes Lou Anne. I'm not sure how old he is, but Lou Anne is only 12. I kept thinking he was in his twenties, and if so CREEPY. However, I think he may have been Lou Anne's age from the way they interacted in the story. It was just never really explained.

So all in all, I'm giving the book two stars. One for the cover because I like it, and one for at least holding my attention enough to finish it.

Review: White Ghost Girls

Title: White Ghost Girls
Author: Alice Greenway
Pages: 168
Rating: 4.5/5

Summer 1967. The turmoil of Mao's Cultural Revolution is spilling over into Hong Kong as war rages in nearby Vietnam. White Ghost Girls is the story of Frankie and Kate, two American sisters living in a foreign land in a chaotic time. With their war-photographer father off in Vietnam, Marianne, their beautiful but remote mother, keeps the family in Hong Kong, frightened of losing her husband to a mistress or to the addiction of war itself." "Although bound together by living overseas, the sisters could not be more different - Frankie pulses with rebellion and risk, while Kate's the watchful one, all eyes and ears. Marianne spends her days painting watercolors of the lush surroundings, leaving the girls largely unsupervised, while their Chinese amah, Ah Bing, does her best to look after them. One day in a market, the girls decide to run off - with tragic results." "Immersed in the heat and color of late-1960s Hong Kong, a city shimmering between sea and sky, it is a world of fishermen, junks, and unexplained bodies floating up in the sea of plotting rebels, temple gods, and ghosts." In this novel, the girls tumble into their teenage years against an extraordinary backdrop both sensuous and dangerous. This tale of sacrifice and solidarity gleams with the kind of intense, complicated love that exists only between sisters (Goodreads.com).

What a hauntingly beautiful novel. I'm really at a loss of words over what to even say about this one. I can say though that I wish I hadn't waited so long to read it.

White Ghost Girls tells the story of two sisters, Kate and Frankie as they grow up in Hong Kong in the mist of the Vietnam War and Cultural Revolution. Raised mainly by their Chinese Amah, Kate and Frankie are full of mischief and secrets, which eventually comes back to haunt them. This novel takes tough topics: war, sibling rivalry, even death and and delicately weaves a story that is truly stunning. When reading this I felt as though I was in Hong Kong, deep in the jungles feeling the heat and the mist off the water.

This novel reads quickly and once started is hard to put down. I was only about 40 pages into it when I sat down tonight and finished up in a few hours. However, despite its short length, White Ghost Girls will stick with you long after you finish. I am still amazed that this was Greenway's debut novel.

Review: Eye Contact

Title: Eye Contact
Author: Cammie McGovern
Pages: 288
Rating: 4.5/5

Two children disappear into the woods behind Woodside Elementary School. Hours later one of them, nine year old Adam, is found alive, the sole witness to his playmate's murder. But Adam is autistic and can say nothing about what he saw. Only his mother, Cara, has the power to penetrate his silence. When another child goes missing and Cara's unsettling past emerges from the shadows, she has to ask herself whether her efforts to protect her son have exposed him to unimaginable danger. Eye Contact is a thriller of hypnotic suspense and a powerful story of the bond between a mother and a very special child (Cover Blurb).

I've been cleaning out my bookshelves, accessing the books I have and deciding if I want to keep them or pass them on to someone else. My shelves are overflowing with books I wanted to read and just had to have. Eye Contact is one of those books. I'm not even sure where I heard about this novel or when and where I inquired it, but I really wish I would have read it sooner. It was an absolutely amazing read.

I read this book practically in one sitting because it was just too good to put down. There is a mystery to this story, but the even bigger plot is the mystery of relationships. Adam's mother Cara has let so many relationships go over the years, and isolated herself from her friends, that we get to see a re-awakening in her as she realizes the power of a good relationship and friendship. Furthermore, I really liked that autism was front and center in this book. I often feel that people push this aside, and McGovern faces it head on. Her understanding of the disease was right on, much to do with the fact that McGovern's own son is autistic. However, the reader must understand that this is not a book about autism, but rather a book about the relationship between mother and child.

I finished this book over five days ago, and still cannot stop thinking about it. It's a novel that will stick with you, make you think, and make you want to hug your children and friends.

Review: Dear John

Title: Dear John
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Pages: 276
Rating: 4/5

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who has captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love—and face the hardest decision of his life (http://www.bn.com/).

I read this book in anticipation of seeing the movie this past weekend. Well, I was too sick to see the movie but I'm still really glad I read the book.

I've always been a big fan of Nicholas Sparks, and fell in love with The Notebook, long before it became a movie. I've read it about five times, and seen the movie too many times to count. I'm rarely disappointed in one of his novels, and Dear John was no exception. Yes, it was predictable, and I had it pretty much figured out soon after starting the story; but I still fell in love with the characters and couldn't get through the story fast enough.

Sparks tells such a strong love story, and I often wonder if he's this loving in real life. Does he treat his wife like his characters treat the women in his books? Does he love with that much passion? I've always been curious about that. While John and Savannah's story did not touch me in the way Noah and Allies story did in The Notebook, it still left me breathless with a few tears here and there.

This is definitely one you would want to pick up for the quiet Sunday afternoon when you just want to get lost in someone's story!

Review: The Lucky One

In his 14th book, bestselling author Nicholas Sparks tells the unforgettable story of a man whose brushes with death lead him to the love of his life.

After U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman buried in the dirt during his tour of duty in Iraq, he experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph -- his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can't seem to get the woman in the photograph out of his mind and he sets out on a journey across the country to find her. But Thibault is caught off guard by the strong attraction he feels for the woman he encounters in North Carolina - Elizabeth, a divorced mother -- and he keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate love affair, his secret soon threatens to tear them apart -- destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

Filled with tender romance and terrific suspense, THE LUCKY ONE is an unforgettable story about the surprising paths our lives often take and the power of fate to guide us to true and everlasting love (Amazon.com).

I am not one of those raving Nicholas Sparks fans that talk about how his books are the end all and be all of the modern romantic tale. At times, I find his books to be a bit corny and hokey and this one was really no exception. Unlike his earlier novels (The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember), this book just does not seem to have the same zing. In fact, it's almost more of a zud...lol.

The story itself is told through the eyes of three main characters: Elizabeth, Thibault, and Clayton. All the characters are connected in different ways, and their actions with eachother are the true center of the story. At the beginning of the novel, we learn that Thibault is an Iraqi War Veteran, who has walked across the country looking for a woman he has never met. The woman is from a picture that he found half buried in the sand in Kuwait. Thibault views the picture as his "lucky charm," saving him from death many times throughout the war.

Thibault's first meeting with anyone his new town is with Clayton, a self centered, immature, ANNOYING cop from a famously rich family. It is easy to say that this character continually grated on my nerves. Every chapter that was from his point of view made me a bit queasy and I couldn't wait to finish them. Plus, he treats women as nothing more than sexual objects and that totally turned me off from his character.

I don't want to give anymore of the plot away because it will ruin the story for those who want to read it. I'm not saying it was a bad story, it just wasn't Sparks' best and I found it to be a bit far fetched. Who honestly walks from Colorado to the Carolinas with a back pack and a dog? If I were to do it all over again, I would have waited for the MMPB to come out and saved myself some money.
3/5