Review: Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: I loved the Luxe series; YA Challenge

Description:
"The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . .

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is ­Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the ­illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart."

First line: "It's easy to forget now, how effervescent and free we all felt that summer."

My thoughts: Another hit from Anna Godbersen! I wasn't quite as swept up in it as I was the Luxe, but she still knows how to write good historical fiction. Her Jazz Age details are well researched, particularly the clothing descriptions. I didn't find the characters as well-defined as the Luxe ones - they have some personality, but not as much as, for example, the deliciously villainous Penelope Hayes in the first series. I liked feisty Cordelia the best, Letty seemed a bit too precious and naive. But Astrid sums up the F. Scott Fitzgerald-ness of the period the best, with her spoiled socialite life of parties and frivolity, while fears about losing Charlie and her income lurk underneath.

I felt that you could see a lot of what was coming, loud and clear (imagine, a sleazy Broadway producer isn't actually interested in Letty's singing voice!). This was probably at least somewhat intentional, but having almost every single plot point so telegraphed took some of the fun out of the story. I would have liked a few more surprises.

There is a bit of suspense from Godbersen's usual tell-it-in-the-prologue-but-not-quite thing:
". . . one would be famous, one would be married, and one would be dead" since I'm sure the descriptions won't match the girl you'd assume they would. I'll definitely be reading the sequel, I hope there are more surprises and more character development.

Review: Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: sounded good when I read reviews for purchasing it for the library, Young Adult Challenge

First lines: "The Sullivan family's Christmas began in the traditional way that year. All six children gathered at the top of the stairs in order, from youngest to oldest, and waited for the signal from Daddy-o that it was safe to come downstairs and inspect the work of Santa."

Description (from Booklist): "On Christmas Day, the scion of the Sullivan family, Almighty, announces one of her grandchildren has offended her. Unless she receives a proper confession by New Year’s Day, Norrie, Jane, Sassy, their brothers, and their parents will be ripped from Almighty’s will and left destitute. Oh dear. So begins a cleverly plotted romp divided into three parts—the confession letters of each sister. Bunched together in age—18, 16, and 15—the girls have much in common, including a cheerful disdain for their parents, a healthy fear of Almighty, and the uneasy knowledge that their life of privilege isn’t how the rest of the world lives. The letters themselves are both thoughtful and funny, and if the voices of the three sisters sometimes sound alike, their confessions amply show the reasons Almighty might be angry, as one sister skips out on her cotillion to follow her heart, another blogs about her family’s evil road to power, and the third regrets killing Almighty’s fifth husband."

My thoughts: These interconnected stories kept me wondering which "crime" Almighty was angry about and wanting to get to know each Sullivan sister. As several reviews point out, it's nice to see a novel about wealthy girls who aren't bitchy, mean, label-whores. These girls are pretty normal (as normal as you can be in a rich family of 6 kids where the parents only vaguely seem to be aware that they're parents). My favourite sister was Norrie, who falls in love with an older man at her speed reading class and just can't make herself fit with the society boy her grandmother has picked out. Jane and her rather bratty blog about her "evil family" probably had the strongest voice and her bit of rebellion fit with her age and privileged upbringing. Sassy was sweet and a bit dumb, but I found her story, revolving around thinking she's immortal because she keeps getting hit by cars and not getting hurt, didn't really fit the tone of the other two mainstream stories, although it's basically the one that ties everything together. While I wasn't 100% on board with the ending, it did have a bit of a twist, which I appreciated.

The adults in the story are fairly well-drawn and pretty unusual. Daddy-o and Ginger (they can't stand the thought of actually just being called mom and dad) seem largely unaware of their children's behaviour, although Daddy-o is probably more with-it than he appears. Dramatic, fragile Ginger has furnished the house with fainting couches because she often finds it hard to remain upright. Almighty is a force to be reckoned with, a matriarch to the nth degree. She seems very cold and doesn't thaw much, although she does come to see the girls as more than just either irritants or extensions of her family name. The settings, both the family's enormous old house with its Tower Room and the location of Baltimore rather than NYC or LA add some interesting elements.

The Christmassy setting was a nice bonus for this time of year and while I didn't think the story was perfect, I enjoyed that it was actually an interesting story rather than the usual chick lit drivel. Definitely one to recommend to teen girls looking for a good read this holiday season!

Review: Big Red Tequila

Big Red Tequila by Rick Riordan
4 stars

Reasons for reading: took it on my recent trip to San Antonio

Description: "Meet Tres Navarre...tequila drinker, Tai Chi master, unlicensed P.I., with a penchant for Texas-size trouble. Jackson "Tres" Navarre and his enchilada-eating cat, Robert Johnson, pull into San Antonio and find nothing waiting but trouble. Ten years ago Navarre lefttown and the memory of his father's murder behind him. Now he's back, looking for answers. Yet the more Tres digs, trying to put his suspicions to rest, thefresher the decade-old crime looks: Mafia connections, construction site payoffs, and slick politicians' games all conspire to ruin his homecoming. It's obvious Tres has stirred up a hornet's nest of trouble. He gets attacked, shot at, run over by a big blue Thunderbird--and his old girlfriend, the one hewants back, turns up missing. Tres has to rescue the woman, nail his father's murderer, and get the hell out of Dodge before mob-style Texas justice catches up to him. The chances of staying alive looked better for the defenders of the Alamo...."

My thoughts: I had no idea that Rick Riordan had an alternate life as a writer of adult mysteries! I only knew him from the Percy Jackson series. Well, no matter what he's writing, I think he does it well.

I didn't get the name of the book at first - we don't have Big Red here in Canada, we basically only have red cream soda, so we just call it cream soda. But I noticed it all over the place in Texas and I liked how the beverage kept popping up throughout the book.

I really liked Tres - he reminded me a bit of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden (minus the wizardry) obviously for the PI angle but also because he was so sarcastic and bad-ass, yet good-hearted. And I really enjoyed that he was both a martial arts master and the holder of an advanced English degree.

The actual mystery involved all kinds of worlds colliding - the Mafia, shady wealthy people, a former (or is she?) girlfriend, both friends and enemies of Tres' late sherriff father... It was quite a ride. The secondary characters are really well-done, too, especially the Red Zinger-drinking cop who helps Tres because he knew his father and Tres' rather fab girlfriend back in California, Mai.

The book describes San Antonio really well and, as I always am, I was delighted to read about places we'd just visited, such as the pinata-festooned Mi Terra bakery and cafe. And the Riverwalk. I love his description:

"About a hundred thousand people were strolling the flagstone banks past the fountains, stone bridges, and pricey new restaurants. The kitchen smoke of ten or fifteen different cuisines drifted up past the yellow and green patio umbrellas. Tourists with cameras and souvenir sombreros, basic trainees on leave, rich men with high-priced call girls, all happily spilling drinks on each other. This is what a San Antonian thinks of when you say 'river.' I remember how much trouble I had reading Huck Finn as a child, trying to imagine how in the hell that raft made it past all those restaurants and crowds, in water only three feet deep and thirty feet across, without anybody noticing the stowaway slave. Maybe that's why I became an English major - sheer confusion."

I also like this passage because it shows that where you grow up really does influence how you see the world (Tres tried to make a life in San Francisco, but couldn't stay away from home forever) - I was totally shocked that the San Antonio River is so small! I live near a river that, while not the Mississippi, is a large, working, float-log-booms-down-it river. The San Antonio is a trench compared to that, but it's still at the heart of the city.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book, The Widower's Two-Step.

Review: All You Need is Love

All You Need is Love by Carole Matthews
3.25 stars

Reasons for reading: plucked it from the booksale to be a bathtub book; Chick Lit for Four Month Challenge

Description: ". . . Sally Freeman wants a better life for herself and her son Charlie. But it’s not going to be easy when their home is on a run-down Liverpool council estate. Just as Sally’s mission to improve their surroundings gets under way, she’s offered a ticket out of there, in the splendid form of Spencer Knight. He has everything she could wish for – the looks, the charm, not to mention the wallet. But is he the answer to her prayers, or does her hapless ex-boyfriend Johnny still hold the key to her heart? As Sally decides what to do, she discovers that if The Beatles are right, and all you need is love, then everything else will fall into place.

First line: "Sally Freeman, Single Mum and Superwoman, to the rescue again."

My thoughts: This was a pretty good, quick chick lit read. I liked the Liverpool setting and the Beatles references. Johnny is a lovely character - way better to Sally than she deserves. His secret struggle to be an artist and the far-fetched but fun twist it takes to make him a success was one of the best parts of the book. The book is completely predictable, in the way of almost all chick lit/romances.

I liked that the residents banded together to clean up their horrifying council estate. It was very heartwarming and I bet it could happen, but I think it would take more time and setbacks than Sally had.

And Sally. I didn't particularly think she was a superwoman. She doesn't appear to have ever held a job, any job, in her life. She's been on welfare since she had her son at 17 (fair enough) and now he's 10. She is attempting to finally get some skills as the book opens, but come on - she couldn't have been a waitress, she couldn't have somehow found a way to get some education in 10 years? To me, that would make her a superwoman (and I know there are tons of superwomen out there!). She doesn't seem to do anything but help a couple of elderly neighbours and cook meals for her son who, at 10, could probably make his own peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. The same goes for her hard-drinking, bitchy friend Debs - a trained hairdresser (with no kids) who makes money under the table doing hair at home, but is still on the dole. She uses her extra money for booze and sparkly dresses. Sally depends very heavily on Johnny (who is the sole caregiver to his disabled mother) to help with looking after Charlie, even though she's dumped him repeatedly, takes him for granted and tells him to do one thing and then gets mad when he does it and changes her mind. Everything is about what Sally wants for herself and Charlie. I get that she has to be focused on her son, but quite often it seems to be at the expense of consideration for other people. And once Spencer comes into her life, she dumps Charlie on anyone who will take him. Spencer is sweet but over-the-top clueless about life outside of his country manor and his family is stereotypically evil, sneering at Sally for being below their son.

While Sally is impressive with the estate makeover and has great future plans by the end, I never really found her particularly likable. The best parts of the book are Johnny and Charlie (who, underneath his 10-year-old-ness is a sweet boy; the scenes with him trying to be worldly with his best friend Kyle, who is a self-proclaimed expert on everything, particularly women, are a hoot).

Review: Airborn

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
4 stars


Reasons for reading: have always meant to; winner of the 2004 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature for Book Awards Challenge


Description: "Set in an imaginary past where giant airships rule the skies, Airborn is the story of Matt Cruse, the 15-year-old cabin boy of the 900-foot luxury airship Aurora. Hundreds of feet over the Pacificus Ocean, Matt fearlessly performs a dramatic rescue to save an old man from his crippled hot-air balloon. Before he dies, the stranger tells Matt about the fantastic, impossible creatures he has seen flying through the clouds. Matt dismisses the story as the ravings of a dying man, but when a beautiful, bold girl arrives on the Aurora a year later, determined to prove the story true, Matt finds himself caught up in her quest. But can he and Kate solve the mystery before pirates, shipwreck and frightening predators end their voyage forever?"

First line: "Sailing towards dawn, I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ship's eyes."

My thoughts: This was a very enjoyable read and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to adventure-seeking young readers of either gender. Sky pirates - what else do you need?? The "imagined history" setting was well-done - there's almost a steampunk vibe to it. It was a bit odd that some things were the same (like Paris) while some things (like the Pacificus Ocean) were altered, but once I got used to it it added to the vibe of the book.

Matt is a very likeable hero and I really liked how his "airborn"-ness (he was born on an airship and only really feels at home when he's aloft) was woven through the story - it made him even more interesting and added depth to his character as we found out about his father's tragic death. His love for the Aurora is really impressive and it makes the ship a character itself.

Kate was occasionally a bit too spunky girl adventurer-type for me, but overall she's well-drawn, too. Her ability to escape her governess is admirable and produces some funny moments (one involving underwear and one involving sleeping medicine, for example).

I rolled my eyes at first over the flying creatures, thinking Oppel was going back to his days of writing about bats and while the story had enough action to do without them, they were eventually integrated into the story in a believable enough way.

The verdict: A rollicking adventure with great characters and I think I'll have to read the rest of the trilogy to find out if Matt ever gets his dream of flying his own airhship.

Review: All is Vanity

All is Vanity by Christina Schwarz
2.5 stars

Reasons for reading: book club selection, hardcover book for Four Month Challenge

Description: "In All is Vanity, Margaret and Letty, best friends since childhood and now living on opposite coasts, reach their mid-thirties and begin to chafe at their sense that they are not where they ought to be in life. Margaret, driven and overconfident, decides the best way to rectify this is to quit her job and whip out a literary tour de force. Frustrated almost immediately and humiliated at every turn, Margaret turns to Letty for support. But as Letty, a stay-at-home mother of four, begins to feel pressured to make a good showing in the upper-middle-class Los Angeles society into which her husband’s new job has thrust her, Margaret sees a plot unfolding that’s better than anything she could make up. Desperate to finish her book and against her better nature, she pushes Letty to take greater and greater risks, and secretly steals her friend’s stories as fast as she can live them. Hungry for the world’s regard, Margaret rashly sacrifices one of the things most precious to her, until the novel’s suspenseful conclusion shows her the terrible consequences of her betrayal."

First line: "I was a promising child."

My thoughts: Well, none of the book club members liked this one much. We felt there were some sparks of good writing, but the two main characters were a bitch (Margaret) and an idiot (Letty). Letty's financial situation spiralled out of control too quickly and too ridiculously for it to be believable. The book is referred to as satire, so I suppose that was supposed to be the satirical element about consumerism. Still didn't make it an enjoyable read. The person who chose the book had heard it was great, but couldn't remember where and now doesn't know why anyone would say it! One thought was that it does describe how difficult the writing process is and how people tend to treat would-be authors as though it's very simple. So maybe other writers liked it for that!

The verdict: No-one thought it was actually all that badly written, but overall it wasn't enjoyable and neither character got our sympathy.

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
4.5 stars

Reasons for reading: it looked fun, YA Challenge, Book with proper name in title for Four Month Challenge

Description: "Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself."

First line: "I sat on the front steps of my house and watched the beige Subaru station wagon swing too quickly around the cul-de-sac."

My thoughts: I loved this book! It absolutely made me want to head out on a road trip right this minute. In fact, the descriptions of Kentucky have bumped it up near the top of my to-visit list. The inclusion of the souvenirs from the road was fun and I liked Amy's notes on the different states (many of them are varying degrees of "big") and the couple of times she makes a note to herself not to talk to Roger about cult favourites like Hoosiers (in Indiana) and The Wire (in Maryland) because he can go on and on and on about them. I loved that they explore regional fast food, after getting over their disappointment that In n Out burgers are a west coast thing. Their reaction to the wonders of Sonic was very similar to mine (they have cherry-limeaid! and mozzarella sticks!) a couple of years ago. I'm now also dying to try Chick-fil-A.

But it's not all happy times - Amy is still incredibly traumatized by her dad's death, which she believes is her fault (the truth behind the accident is revealed slowly through flashbacks and while it's not a big surprise, it's still heartbreaking to read). Roger is dealing with being suddenly dumped by a goddess-like but very bitchy girl and he can't quite get over her. So, rather than follow Amy's mom's boring route, they set out on their epic detour to get some answers and find some closure. They meet some interesting folks along the way, like the golf course lawn-mower who fronts a Wizard of Oz-inspired band in Kansas (of course). And there's music, too! Amy is a musical theatre actress and Roger has eclectic tastes, which show up in his the iPod playlists.

The verdict: Join Roger and Amy on their journey before summer's officially over - you won't regret it!

Review: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
3.25 stars

Reasons for reading: Have always meant to; Carnegie Medal winner for Book Awards Challenge

From the back cover: "Maurice, a streetwise tomcat, has the perfect money-making scam. Everyone knows the stories about rats and pipers, and Maurice has a stupid-looking kid with a pipe, and his very own plague of rats - strangely educated rats... But in Bad Blintz, the little con suddenly goes down the drain. For someone there is playing a different tune and now the rats must learn a new word. EVIL. It's not a game any more. It's a rat-eat-rat world. And that might only be the start..."

Best line: "Of course, there weren't just rat plagues - sometimes there were plagues of accordian-players, bricks tied up with string, or fish - but it was the rats everyone knew about."

My thoughts: I wanted to like this one more than I did. I didn't even dislike it, I just...couldn't quite get lost in it. I haven't read any other Terry Pratchett books, so I don't know much about him, but I felt as though there was this sort of veneer over the book that I think must be his distinctive style. That doesn't make sense, really, but I can't do better than that.

There are very funny bits, to be sure, like the line above. Very British-humour bits. I loved that the rats had taken their names from stuff at the dump, so they're called things like Nourishing, Big Savings, and Sardines (who tap dances). There's a lot of scatalogical humour, which many boys would like and some rat swear-words. And a lot of dumb adults, always a good thing in kids' fiction. Keith the stupid-looking kid turned out not to be stupid at all, which I was pleased about. Malicia the girl who wishes life was a story was irritating but funny. I enjoyed her enormous bag filled with supplies for just about any emergency a young adventurer might encounter (including being faced with a giant squid), if they lived in a storybook. The nod to/jab at Beatrix Potter was a good joke, as the rats wish that animals and humans could get along (and all wear clothes) like they do in the twee Mister Bunnsy books.

I just couldn't quite suspend my disbelief enough. I didn't feel like the change that enabled the rats to think was explained well enough, just that they ate some enchanted stuff at the dump and the ability of the "king rat" to get inside people's minds was never explained at all.

The verdict: There's a lot that's funny and clever and even fairly deep in this book, so I can see why it won. Maybe I'm just not a Discworld-world girl. But I do still want to read Good Omens.

Review: Black Hills

Black Hills by Nora Roberts
4 stars

Reasons for reading: I've always thought I should read a Nora Roberts book; I visited the Black Hill last year; Black for Colourful Reading Challenge; NYT Bestseller for Four Month Challenge

Description: "Lil Chance fell in love with Cooper Sullivan pretty much the first time she saw him, an awkward teenager staying with his grandparents on their cattle ranch in South Dakota while his parents went through a messy divorce. Each year, with Coop's annual summer visit, their friendship deepens - but then abruptly ends. Twelve years later and Cooper has returned to run the ranch after his grandfather is injured in a fall. Though his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something - or someone - has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks escalate into heartless killing, the memory of an unsolved murder in these very hills has Cooper springing to action to keep Lil safe. They both know the dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. And now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey ..."

First line: "Cooper Sullivan's life, as he'd known it, was over."

My thoughts: I can see why Nora Roberts is so popular! While at times I felt the book was a bit....slick because she's clearly written so many of them, I still enjoyed it. The ending was a crazy whirlwind with an unexpected (to me, at least) twist. I was glad that I've seen the Black Hills and Deadwood, it added a lot to the book for me to be able to picture the setting. I sometimes don't like it when an author has clearly done of a lot of research on a topic and includes a ton of it in the book, but Roberts' information about the big cats was interesting it fit in well. I'm not a big wildlife person, but I actually loved the cats - they had their own personalities and the Chance Refuge treated them all with such respect and care. It made me wish it really existed and I could go and see Boris the old tiger and Baby the cougar.

The love story between Lil and Cooper was pretty well done. I liked that she set it up from their childhood, with Cooper thinking South Dakota was hell and Lil not being able to imagine living anywhere else. It was really cute. I did think it was a bit angsty with all of the "You hurt me!"/"But it was for your own good!" debates between them. I liked that Lil was really strong and smart, but also able to admit (eventually, reluctantly) that she needed his help. He was maybe just a bit too take-charge, throw-her-over-his-shoulder romance-novel hero at times, but overall they were a good match.

The buildup to finding out who is preying on Lil was well done. Just when I was starting to think that it was time to tell us who it was, Roberts did. And what a weird, psychotic villain she comes up with! Definitely bonus points for having an interesting predator who really fit into the South Dakota setting.

The verdict: A good read, I can see why she's an instant best-seller. I think I'll look into her work a bit more and maybe read a few of her "greatest hits."

Review: Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
5 stars

Reasons for reading: I couldn't put Hunger Games down; book in a series for the Four Month Challenge

Summary: "Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge."

My thoughts: Another winner! I was slow to get on the bandwagon for this series, so I'm sure everyone's said much better things in much better ways than I can. I was delighted to find the second book just as gripping as the first, I find that that's pretty rare these days. Collins is the master of the twist and leaving you hanging in suspense!

I was a tiny bit worried that the action of the Games were just going to be a rehash of the ones in the first book, but Collins managed to make them even crazier. I loved that Katniss became a national heroine and inspired a revolution - it doesn't get much bigger than that! But it was made even more poignant because while it's a good thing to change the evil regime of Panem, many people suffered and Katniss took the blame on herself. She's still headstrong and doesn't always say or do the right thing, but Katniss grew in this book, coming to understand how her actions could affect people and starting to control her impulses a bit better. I loved the mockingjay symbol and how it was used to provide secret hope for the downtrodden citizens. I thought the "Which one will she pick?" thing between Peeta and Gale was both a good plot device (who needs simple?!) but also a bit frustrating, I wished she'd pick!

The verdict: You don't need me to tell you it's awesome! I can't wait for Mockingjay to come out later this year!

Review: The Cupcake Queen

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler
3.5 stars

Reasons for reading; I've liked the books Hepler has co-written with Brad Barkley; Hello, the adorable cover?!; 10 in 10 YA Chick Lit Challenge

Synopsis: "When her mother moves them from the city to a small town to open up a cupcake bakery, Penny's life isn't what she expected. Her father has stayed behind, and Mom isn't talking about what the future holds for their family. And then there's Charity, the girl who plays mean pranks almost daily. There are also bright spots in Hog's Hollow—like Tally, an expert in Rock Paper Scissors, and Marcus, the boy who is always running on the beach. But just when it looks as though Penny is settling in, her parents ask her to make a choice that will turn everything upside down again. A sweet novel about love, creativity, and accepting life's unexpected turns."

First line: "The fact that I wasn't surprised when my mother handed me the sheet pan filled with pink frosted cupcakes is possibly more disturbing than the cupcakes themselves."

My thoughts: This was a funny, sometimes sweet, sometimes bittersweet book that isn't at all earth-shattering but is worth reading and goes quickly. My favourite parts were the descriptions of Penny's delicious and artistic cupcakes and Tally's lard-based prank on the mean girls (that one alone was worth it!). There are the usual teen girl issues/moving to a new place issues in the book - making new friends, mother-daughter relationship problems, divorcing parents, a boy... But the community of Hog's Hollow fleshes out these typical situations by being filled with artists and animal lovers along with the snotty girls and their mothers who strive to win the coveted Hog Queen title every year. It also looks at the problem of being a younger teen and not being either listened to or told what's going on, as neither of Penny's parents will be straight with her about the divorce or even where she's going to live. There's the added bonus of Penny's grandmother, as well, who tries to help but doesn't seem to be able to communicate with her former-urbanite daughter too well, either. Most of the characters, adults and kids, have suffered a recent loss (death, abandonment, or divorce) and fortunately they're able to eventually find comfort from each other and from the beachy surroundings of odd little Hog's Hollow.

Review: Big Cherry Holler

Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani
4 stars

Reason for reading: I really enjoyed the first book, Big Stone Gap; Food title for What's in a Name? Challenge

From the jacket flap: "It's been eight years since Ave Maria and Jack MacChesney walked down the aisle and, a year later, welcomed daughter Etta into their lives and the fold of the eccentric, loving mountain folk of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. They've been busy with the struggles and details of everyday life at home, at the pharmacy, and in the mines, and they've successfully weathered quite a few marital storms but there's a veritable hurricane brewing on the horizon. When the MacChesneys spend the summer apart (Ave takes Etta to her father's home in Italy; Jack stays home to get a new business off the ground-with the eager assistance of the comely local business-supply saleswoman), the very fiber of their marriage is tested. All of our favorite Gap characters return with gusto-sexy Iva Lou, honest Fleeta, insightful Pearl, wise Theodore Tipton, even the villainous Aunt Alice-to help Ave unravel the secrets, shore up the shortcomings, and rediscover the magic of the man she fell in love with."

First line: "The rain is coming down on this old stone house so hard, it seems there are a hundred tap dancers on the roof."

My thoughts: This was a great sequel. It's funny, I found Ave Maria frustrating in the first book and I found her frustrating here, but it was okay - after all, you get frustrated with real people even when you like them, why not people in a book? The most frustrating thing was that both Jack and Ave Maria come very close to having affairs and this saddened me - Jack's temptation comes first and I was angry at him and then of course I was really mad at Ave Maria, because, hello, she's been worrying about Jack doing it to her! I wanted to slap some sense into her.

But their relationship is very complicated, it seems. He blamed her for a lot of their problems and then she blamed herself, but I felt more blame should have gone to him (not that she was blameless, but neither was he). Ave Maria has a weird combination of low self esteem and self-reliance - she feels badly about herself yet feels she's always right - she runs everything well. But her husband isn't the kind of man to accept that kind of self-reliance and she did often show that, even if she thought she was trying, she wasn't really thinking about him. But I was upset that he refused to go on their planned trip to Italy (which really disappointed their daughter, which was unkind), yet it was Ave Maria's fault for not begging him to go with her. But even if it frustrated me, it was good to see a marriage portrayed as hard work and imperfect. Even if I wanted them to live happily ever after, it was more satisfying to see them have a realistic relationship and work through their problems.

As the summary says, the supporting characters are still entertaining (although Theodore seems to have taken on a cruel-to-be-kind approach to their friendship, which I found a bit harsh at times). Pearl Grimes really comes into her own as a businesswoman and Iva Lou is still there to offer advice about men. Etta is a smart and lovely child to read about - the parts near the end where she's starting to think about makeup and boys are hilarious. Example, "I spent a lot of time with Peter [the almost-affair] in Italy this summer, Iva Lou," Etta says in an accent no one has heard since Grace Kelly used it in High Society.

The Gap setting is rendered wonderfully, it makes me want to visit the mountains of Virginia. And Trigiani's love affair with Italy continues, making it sound like a heavenly place to spend a summer.
Her snappy humour is in full force, there were lots of lines that made me laugh. For some reason, this was my favourite. Pearl is talking about reopening the pharmacy's soda fountain (and boy, do I wish I had one like it nearby, it sounds like wonderful fun!).

"The only place to gather in town is Hardy's. How many sausage biscuits can you eat?" I don't want to disappoint Pearl, but the answer to the question is: a lot. Brownie Polly holds the record - fourteen sausage biscuits in one Sunday morning.

The verdict: I'm definitely looking forward to spending more time in the Gap with the next book, Milk Glass Moon.

Review: Black Powder War

Black Powder War (Temeraire, book 3) by Naomi Novik
4.25 stars

Reason for reading: love the series!

Description: "After their fateful adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty’s Aerial Corps and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are waylaid by a mysterious envoy bearing urgent new orders from Britain. Three valuable dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman Empire, and Laurence and Temeraire must detour to Istanbul to escort the precious cargo back to England. Time is of the essence if the eggs are to be borne home before hatching.Yet disaster threatens the mission at every turn–thanks to the diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien, who blames Temeraire for her master’s death and vows to ally herself with Napoleon and take vengeance. Then, faced with shattering betrayal in an unexpected place, Laurence, Temeraire, and their squad must launch a daring offensive. But what chance do they have against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?"

My thoughts: I've read some reviews that call this book in the series pointless and other negative things, and I suppose it's not the best of the bunch, but even less than the best in this series is still a great read! Maybe if I knew more about the Napoleonic Wars I would have enjoyed it that extra quarter of a star? There were some rather long descriptions of the battles and a lot of flying and landing and eating cows. A band of feral dragons that Temeraire manages to semi-rein in both help and hinder Laurence and his crew. And having to protect the dragon eggs (and the fiery little fire-breather that hatches along the way and names herself Iskierka, thank you very much) added extra excitement. This one is maybe a bit of a bridge book, setting us up for the next installment.

Review: Beautiful People

Beautiful People by Wendy Holden
4 stars

Reasons for reading: Wendy Holden is fab; I'm using her for my last Celebrate the Author of the year, although Wikipedia now can't decide if her birthday is is in December or June, 1965. So, if I'm wrong, sorry, but she's still worth celebrating!

Description: "Struggling actress Darcy’s doing avant-garde Shakespeare (all-naked King Lear, anyone?) when The Call comes from LA. An Oscar-tastic director. A movie to make her famous. The hunkiest co-star in Hollywood. So why hesitate?

Belle’s a size-zero film star, but she’s in big fat trouble. Hotter than the earth’s core a year ago, she now Tinseltown toast after her last film flopped. She'll do anything, anywhere, to get back to the big time.

Sam’s a model agent hunting for the Next Big Thing. When she finds it on a London street she almost faints with greed. Is this face perfect? Yes. Does it want to be a model? No. But Sam’s not giving up that easily. She’s not giving up at all.

Nanny Emma needs a new job. Unfairly sacked by the posh boss from hell, she’s desperate. When she's offered the charge of a celebrity baby, it seems all her dreams have come true. But are her nightmares just about to begin?"

My thoughts: Another fun one from Wendy Holden. You always get what you expect with her - funny, fluffy, sexy, with spot-on, scathing bits (2 characters have names based on words for "cockroach" and the worst of the twitty, bitchy nannies is called Totty Ponsonby-Pratt).

The highlights included the naked King Lear, an Italian chef who adores food and women who adore food, a macaroon-loving grandmother (interestingly to me, anyway, I'd never actually seen a pretty, delicate, pastel French macaroon until yesterday!), and some adorable children.

The verdict: A fun read. Everyone, both good and bad, gets either who or what they deserve - hurrah!

Review: Addled

Addled by JoeAnn Hart
3 stars


Reasons for reading: It's been on my TBR list for years; Fall Into Reading Challenge


Synopsis: "Eden Rock Country Club is a grand New England institution, a lush haven of leisure and cocktails, where gossip and intrigue lurk discreetly behind a veil of old-world propriety. But one Fourth of July, a flock of geese descends on the club's manicured lawns; never fond of outsiders, the Eden Rock denizens find these new guests distinctly unwelcome. When Charles Lambert, a bond trader with a strong portfolio but a weak golf game, accidentally kills a goose with a wayward drive, he sets in motion a series of events that will leave the club and its members changed forever. His wife, Madeline, must face the mutterings of other members about the state of her marriage—and his sanity. Meanwhile, their daughter, an animal rights activist, mounts a quixotic campaign to make the club go vegan, much to the annoyance of Vita, a talented, obsessive chef who has her own plans for the geese."


First line: "Pearls clicked on knotted strands as a tidy cluster of women gathered outside the library, nodding to the one with the ebony cane."

My thoughts: I wanted to like this book more than I did. It was still an enjoyable read, but what the social commentary aspect of it came off to me as rather preachy - there was a lot about vegetarianism (some of it meant to be tongue-in-cheek, I guess) and a lot of stuff about vegetarianism, people's relationships to animals and their food, how some people can afford to be picky about where there food comes from and others truly can't, upper classes versus those that serve them, etc. It's just not what I was looking for in a light read. And while there were lighthearted moments and happy endings, a lot of it just felt so sad - people cheating on their spouses, midlife crises, pathetic poor little rich people... There were some funny moments, particularly with dead geese turning up in the wrong place at the wrong time and a vegan girl who can't resist Ben and Jerry's or leather shoes.

The verdict: While I preferred Rattled for commentary on people vs. animals and social snobbery, this wasn't a bad read, just not what I was in the mood for at the moment.

Review: City of Bones

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3.5 stars

Reasons for reading: this series is all the rage; Body part book for What's in a Name? Challenge

Synopsis: "When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . ."

First line: " 'You've got to be kidding me,' the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest."

My thoughts: This was a book that kept me reading well into the night! I think it would be great to recommend to girlie Twilight fans and also to boys - it has vamps, werewolves, faeries, demons, slaying, flying motorcyles, and a tiny bit of romance. And Clary is a great heroine - she quickly adapts to numerous scary, life-changing, unbelievable events. She's very brave, determined to save her mother and also her friend Simon when he gets himself into a shape-changing mess.

Like most first-in-a-series books, a LOT happens in City of Bones - the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders has to be set up, as well as the Uprising that caused a rift between two factions of hunters. There was a lot to take in, but it didn't feel overwhelming. And there were enough action-packed scenes to make it worth reading through the set-up stuff.

The verdict: I can see why this series is so popular with teens and I'm glad I read the book so I can recommend it to them. I'll probably also read the rest of the series, City of Bones definitely leaves you hanging off a cliff at the end.

Review: Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
4 stars

Reasons for reading: Sarah Dessen's great!; book starting with A for the Four Month Challenge

Description: "It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend."

First lines: "The e-mails always began the same way. Hi, Auden!! It was the extra exclamation point that got me."

My thoughts: I've been going through some serious not-sleeping myself lately, so I could relate to Auden. Although I don't have the luxury of being able to sleep during the day, sadly! Ah, teenage summers... :-)

It was quite wonderful to see academic, no-nonsense Auden learning the basics of having a social life - friends, girliness, the importance of having fun, and even what it's like to have an actual boyfriend. Eli seems like a bit of a cold jerk at first, but once his tragedy is revealed and he comes out of his shell with Auden, he's another great Dessen guy. I enjoyed Auden's (at first very unwilling) growing relationship with her step-mother and her love for her newborn baby sister. Auden's relationship with her parents - her demanding, academic, seemingly "cold bitch" of a mother and her selfish ass, novelist father - changes appropriately as she realizes she doesn't have to be like either one of them. She learns that sometimes people change and sometimes they don't, but you can change yourself.

The verdict: Yet another winner from Sarah Dessen.

Review: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?

Are These my Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series, book 10
3 stars

Reasons for reading: enjoyed the rest of the series; Young Adult Challenge

My thoughts: *Spoiler Alert* Well, we come to the end of Georgia's diaries. And, honestly, not a moment too soon. 10 books was quite enough, especially since they only seem to cover about a 2-year time period. After that many books, you'd expect some changes, but there aren't really any. Spectacularly self-centred Georgia does seem to learn a bit of a lesson about friendship but overall the main thing she's learned is that she's not grown up yet. Which is fair, she is only 15. But this book wasn't much different than the previous one(s), right down to the girls having to perform an all-female Shakespeare play. Now, the play provides some of the funniest scenes in the book (the girls have to represent the blood from the fight scenes via interpretive dance and mime and the largest-busted girl in school ends up playing Romeo), but we've seen it before. And we've seen adorable but pyscho preschooler Libby and wild and violent kitty Angus and the ace gang and their disco dancing. (And we've heard, over and over, the lesbian-phobic jokes that were annoying from the start and are really, really old now. This book seems to have more of them than all the others combined.)

But at least the ending we all wanted happens - Georgia ends up with wonderful Dave the Laugh. But even that is a bit...lackluster. The book ends with a kiss, but Georgia is still unsure about everything. Not that thats not normal for a teenager or, indeed, anyone, but I could have used more after hanging in there all this time. I agree with this reviewer from Barnes and Noble: "Georgia did not go out with a bang, she just kind of walked of the stage. Nothing more."

The verdict: Georgia is still funny, Dave the Laugh is someone I'd love to have dated, and the series has been lots of fun. But it's definitely time for it to end.

Review: The Crime Writer

The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz
3 stars

Reason for reading: Crime novel for the Genre Challenge

Description: "Drew Danner , an L.A.-based crime novelist, awakens in a hospital bed with a scar on his head, blood under his nails, and a cop by his side. Accused of murdering his ex-fiancée, Drew has no memory of the crime but reconstructs the story the only way he knows how—as a novel. As he searches the dark corridors of his life and the city he loves, another young woman is similarly murdered and Drew must confront the very real possibility of his own guilt."

First line: "I woke up with IVs taped to my arms, a feeding tube shoved through my nose, and my tongue pressed against my teeth, dead and thick as a sock."

My thoughts: The book starts off with a real bang - Drew wakes up from having a brain tumor removed and is accused of murder. It was suspenseful and you really wondered how or if Drew was going to be able to clear his name when all of the evidence was stacked against him. He goes on a reckless quest to find out if someone framed him - so reckless that I found myself telling him several times that he should stop it, he'd only be digging himself in deeper!

L.A. is almost another character in the book. The author has obviously spent a lot of time there and writes eloquently and sometimes humourously about its beauty, superficiality, and cruelty.

The secondary characters are well drawn. Drew's best friend Chic, a former ballplayer famous for dropping a game-losing pop fly, is a great character - wise, calm, and a fiercely loyal and helpful friend. His life with his wife and brood of children is sensitively portrayed, a good contrast to the chaos in Drew's life. Drew also manages to acquire a Little Brother while trying to solve the case - Junior, a wise-cracking, dog-loving, often-in-court graffiti artist.

I think my favourite parts were the pages that replicated Drew's manuscript - basically a book within the book. They had his editor's snarky comments scrawled in the margins, which was an entertaining touch.

By the end the book sort of devolves into more of a typical murder mystery, but there is enough action and enough twists along the way to make it a pretty satisfying book. Not entirely my thing, but it was an interesting read.

Review: And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
5 stars


Reasons for reading: Mystery for the Genre Challenge; have always meant to read it

From the publisher: "First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

First line: "In the corner of a first-class smoking carriage, Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired from the bench, puffed at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in the Times."

My thoughts: I was so taken with this book!! It's so very ingenious. Of course, the plot is a bit of a cliche nowadays, but that's because Agatha Christie did such an amazing job of it the first time! I loved how it stuck to the 10 Little Indians poem laid out at the beginning and how that added to the creepiness.

I believe this is the second Christie book I've read - I read Murder on the Orient Express when I was a teenager and remember liking it. I obviously should read some more! Sometimes I find older books dated, but the 30's-40's charm of Christie's books really works for me.

There's not much else I can say - if you've read it (and you probably have) you know what happens and if you haven't (you should!), I won't spoil it. I, as usual, had no idea whodunnit but I've decided that, rather than making me a lazy and non-perceptive reader, it just means life holds lots of surprises for me, which is great! My husband read it when he was like 10 and had it all figured out, of course. He's incredibly smart and is the opposite of me, life holds no suprises for him. :-)

The verdict: Read it!