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: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: I really like John Green's writing and David Levithan's work with Rachel Cohn; Book with a name in the title for Four Month Challenge

Summary (from a review in School Library Journal): "Will Grayson's best friend since fifth grade, nicknamed Tiny Cooper, is bigger than life in terms of his physical stature and his personality—the "world's largest person who is really, really gay." Tiny, while seeking the boy of his dreams, has been through the trauma of myriad short-lived romantic relationships and Will has supported him each time his heart is broken. Now, Tiny decides it's Will's turn. At first, Will resents Tiny's matchmaking efforts, but then an amazing coincidence that stems from it brings a new person into their lives. It's another teen named Will Grayson, who is sad and depressed, and captures Tiny's heart. While these and other relationships are connecting, intersecting, and eventually changing, Tiny writes and produces an autobiographical high school musical extravaganza that is really about life. On the night it premiers, everything comes full circle and further validates the presence of the Will Graysons. Based on the premises that "love is tied to truth" and "being friends, that's just something you are," this powerful, thought-provoking, funny, moving, and unique plot is irresistible."

First lines: "When I was little, my dad used to tell me, "Will, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." This seemed like a reasonably astute observation to me when I was eight, but it turns out to be incorrect on a few levels. To begin with, you cannot possibly pick your friends, or else I never would have ended up with Tiny Cooper."

My thoughts: Well, the first paragraph sets you up for some typical John Green goodness! At first I wasn't sure about this book, it seemed like it was going to be way too angsty for me, especially with the incredibly depressed gay Will Grayson (it's the easiest way to differentiate between the two) and the other Will with his rules of don't care too much and shut up. There was also a lot of does he/she like me, do I like him/her going on and Tiny Cooper is SO over the top in everything from his size to his gayness to his flair for the dramatic.

But once the two Wills met, things started rolling along a bit better. It really is a cool concept - what happens when you hear your name addressed to a stranger in the strangest of locations (I won't give it away, but it's one of the funniest parts). There's a lot of emotion in the book - people realizing they love each other (family, friendship, and romance), feelings getting hurt, people learning about themselves... I also enjoyed that Tiny's rather implausible musical, Tiny Dancer, comes about and is so successful. The songs (pretty much all about Tiny's hugeness or gayness or fabulousness) are rather a hoot. I loves me some musical theatre.

The verdict: I had varying feelings about the book throughout, liking it and not being sure I did and sometimes wondering who the intended audience was, but the ending was lovely and joyful (and surprising), so that went a long way.

Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
3.75 stars


Reasons for reading: Have heard lots of great things about it; Mystery for the Four Month Challenge; Debut Gold Dagger Winner for Book Awards Challenge

Description: "It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.” "

First line: "It was as black in the closet as old blood."

My thoughts: This was quite the quirky book. I enjoyed it but have a bit of a nagging feeling about Flavia. Alan Bradley actually sums it up for me in an Amazon.com interview. He said, "People probably wonder, “What’s a 70-year-old-man doing writing about an 11-year-old-girl in 1950s England?" And I did wonder. I never quite felt like she was 11. He says he wanted to explore an unreliable narrator as well as the fact that people pay no attention to kids, so they let lots of information slip. And that worked well for the story. But I couldn't quite escape the feeling that there was an older man standing behind her directing her. I guess I never suspended disbelief enough to fully embrace her. She's a great character, don't get me wrong - fierce, intelligent, crafty, impetuous, occasionally vulnerable... But she felt very....crafted to me. (Well-crafted, though.)

But despite that, I think that Bradley writes very well and I quite liked his style, once I got used to the quirkiness. As you can see from the first line, he's got quite the ability to turn a phrase. The setting was really well done, particularly crumbling Buckshaw - the Georgian stately home with the ugly Victorian wings. And the village of Bishop's Lacey - I loved that the burned-down library had been re-located to an old garage and never moved again. (The library plays quite a large part in the story, so of course I enjoyed that!) While I don't know much about stamp-collecting, the philately angle certainly made for a different type of murder mystery. The sniping and pranks between Flavia and her sisters added some (often malicious) humour. But overall the de Luce family was really pretty sad - the father obsessed with his stamps, one sister obsessed with her appearance and one with books. And Flavia obsessed with chemistry. None of them really seemed to care much about each other and I sympathized with Flavia's feelings that no-one would miss her if she died. But I do hope it wasn't true, there did seem like there was a bit of hope for family togetherness at the end.

The verdict: I can see why it won the Debut Dagger and received such high praise. Maybe I'll read the sequel and get past my reservations about Flavia.

Also reviewed by:
Kerry
Raidergirl

Review: Dear Fatty

Dear Fatty by Dawn French
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: I lurve Dawn French; 15 points for the Four Month Challenge for an autobiography

From the jacket flap:
"Dear Dad
So, you're still dead. It's been over 30 years and every day I have to remind myself of that fact, and every day I am shocked. I'm not 19 anymore and many things have happened that we haven't shared, so I have decided to write this book for you. I want to remember our time together and I want to tell you about lots of stuff since. So far, it's been better than expected...

With a sharp eye for comic detail and wicked ear for the absurdities of life, Dawn French shows just how an RAF girl from the west country with dreams of becoming a ballerina/air hostess/bridesmaid rose to be one of the best loved comedy actresses of our time.

Here Dawn French shares her story, and in particular with her father who committed suicide when she was nineteen years old. She invites us into her most personal relationships with, among others, her mum and dad, her husband, her daughter and her friend Jennifer.

Dawn reveals the people, experiences and obsessions that have influenced her and that helped shape her comedy creations - including kissing, dogs, grandmas, David Cassidy, teenage angst, school, stealing, Madonna and not forgetting chocolate. She is as open about her fears and sorrows as she is about her delights and joys, and for the first time shares the experience of losing her beloved dad and later finding a tip-topmost chap in Lenny Henry.

From raging about class, celebrity and bullying to describing the highs and lows of motherhood and friendship, Dear Fatty reveals the surprising life behind the smile."

My thoughts: The letters-to-people method was a pretty good way of writing an autobiography. It made it fairly quick to read and some of them are hilarious, particularly the ones (actual or re-rememered, I'm not sure) to celebrities from the young Dawn. My favourite was "Dear The Monkees" where she asserts that, unlike all those other silly fans who have a favourite Monkee, she loves them all the same even though Peter is "the good-lookingest and funniest for me." I have to disagree with her there, I had a crush (approximately 20 years later than hers) on all of the other 3 Monkees, but never Peter. So she and I may have to have a throw-down on that one.

She states and it's true that the book should be called Dear Dad, because most of the letters are to him. It's really touching how she still feels a connection with him, despite his suicide so many years ago. And it makes sense, I can see how she'd want to tell him all the things that have happened since then. The part about his suicide is gut-wrenching to read and it really shows her strength of character and the strength of her family to have come through it and still manage to be such a life-affirming person. She's obviously blessed to have attracted so many "beloveds" into her life - I really envy her all those deep, varied friendships. Made me think I need to work harder with my own beloveds.

The letters to Fatty, who is Jennifer Saunders, are almost all horrendously bad jokes, although there's a great one that sums up their friendship and partnership at the end, as they're just finishing their last French and Saunders tour.

I love how Dawn has such positive self-esteem, a rarity for us larger ladies. She gives the credit to her parents. I also like how she can laugh about her size - she goes on about her shape in a letter to her niece, describing herself as a Weeble or hobbit and wondering about the purpose of "these massive ocean-going buoy chests? I know bosoms are womanly, but these surely belong to many women." I hear ya, sister!

There's a lovely letter describing her husband to her dad, since he didn't get to meet him, with mostly his many virtues but also his quirks and flaws. She writes not so much a love-letter as a thank you letter to her husband, which shows they've had many happy years together and have come through some tough times, too. There's a hilarious one about seeing The Exorcist with her mum. There's a series of very funny, very badly-grammared ones to Madonna, who apparently F&S have a bit of a hate-love relationship with because she constantly refused to come on their show. And the Queen Mum visited their house on the RAF base when Dawn was a toddler and scared the poor little thing (Dawn, not the QM, even though they were roughly the same height) to death! Oh, and she recounts her painfully bad audition to be in the Mamma Mia film - apparently Dawn's singing is actually worse than a cow in labour.

The only minus of the letters is that some of them it's hard to know who the person is. Maybe her British audience knows all of them. And it doesn't really matter. There were just a few where I kept wondering "Who are you?"

The verdict: If you like Dawn French, you'll like this book. I learned a lot about her and now want to see even more of her TV shows and films. I especially have to buy the complete Vicar of Dibley DVD set and have a lovely marathon.

Review: Rampant

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: I knew as soon as I read the review and ordered it for the library that I had to read about this unicorn hunter!; Young Adult Challenge

Description: "Astrid had always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend—thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom—Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries. However, at the cloisters all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from the crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to—perhaps most dangerously of all—her growing attraction to a handsome art student . . . an attraction that could jeopardize everything."


First lines:

" "I WILL NEVER REALLY LEAVE," said the unicorn. Diamond sparkles floated from the tip of its glittering silver horn. "I will always live in your heart."


I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and forced myself to continue reading."


My thoughts: This was a cool book! The reviews contain lots of apt comparisons to eternally-fabulous Buffy and it made a nice change from vampires and zombies. Some of the best parts are the ones like the first lines, where the fairytale version of unicorns is contrasted against the man-eating beasts of "reality" - there are even various species of unicorn, who knew? I really liked Astrid, she comes across as very sardonic and not too sure of herself and she blossoms (rather against her will at first) into Astrid the Warrior.

I confess I got a bit confused about the history of the battles between hunters and unicorns, but that was pretty minor and my fault for not paying enough attention. And Astrid is confused at first, too, so I wasn't the only one! There is nothing fluffy about this book - there's a lot of violence and gore and some pretty bad people. Astrid's mother is horrific, first weird and unsympathetic, then actively cruel, then completely useless. That probably took away a quarter star for me - I could have forgiven her the first two if she'd come through in the end, but she didn't in a major way. But even with that (and hey, Buffy's mom was often a raging bitch, too), there's a good dose of female cameraderie and girl power in this book. And even though the girls have to be virgins to be hunters, there's a fair bit of lust, too!

The verdict: I passed the book on to a colleague and all I had to say was "Killer unicorns." and she was completed excited! It just might be the best hook for a book ever!

Review: Summer Blowout

Summer Blowout by Claire Cook
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: caught my eye in the booksale; I later realized I'd enjoyed her Life's a Beach a few years ago

Synopsis: "Bella Shaughnessy is addicted to lipstick with names like My Chihuahua Bites and Kiss My Lips-an occupational hazard, since she works at Salon de Paolo, her family-run beauty salon, along with her four half-brothers and sisters. The owner is her father, Lucky Shaughnessy, a gregarious, three-times divorced charmer with Donald Trump hair who is obsessed with all things Italian. After Bella's own marriage flames out spectacularly when her half-sister runs off with her husband, Bella decides she has seen enough of the damage love can do. She makes a vow: no more men. But then Bella meets a cute entrepreneur, and despite their bickering, they can't seem to stay away from each other. A small, well-tressed dog also finds her way into Bella's life, and her heart, and she decides to chance that, too. When the whole clan heads to Atlanta for a big Southern wedding, sparks fly - in a summer blowout no one will ever forget."

First line: "Lipstick is my drug of choice."

Line I totally agree with! "You can tell a lot about a hotel by its bath products."

My thoughts: At first I thought all of the makeup references were going to force me to stop reading. The lipstick name thing is really cute, but Bella describes every person she comes across in terms of what foundation shade they'd wear. That got old. But I'm glad I kept on, as this was a pretty funny and entertaining book.

At first I also thought it was going to be another of those chick lit "Mama mia/faith and begorrah - I come from a huge Italian/Irish family!" things. Tired of those. But Cook twists it by making it an Irish family that wishes it was Italian! All of the kids have very Italian first names to go with their Shaughnessy surname. This is because their much-married father traveled to Italy with his first wife (Bella's mother) and fell in love with it. His attempts at speaking Italian and forcing his family to pretend they are are rather a hoot. And the family's intervention about his Trump hairstyle is worth the price of admission.

Bella comes off as a bit weird and quick-tempered, but in an endearing way. Sean Ryan the entrepreneur is a nice love interest and while I'm not always into the cutesy dog thing, Precious the identity-hidden Chihuahua adds some fun moments. Sean Ryan helps Bella develop a line of personalized beauty kits that, I have to say, I wish I could send away for! I need the help.

The verdict: A fun read and I think I'll be reading her next book, The Wildwater Walking Club.

Review: Splendor

Splendor: a Luxe novel by Anna Godbersen
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: I've really enjoyed the series; Young Adult Challenge

Description: "As spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes.
Carolina Broad, society's newest darling, fans a flame from her past, oblivious to how it might burn her future. Penelope Schoonmaker is finally Manhattan royalty—but when a real prince visits the city, she covets a title that comes with a crown. Her husband, Henry, bravely went to war, only to discover that his father's rule extends well beyond New York's shores and that fighting for love may prove a losing battle. In the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling Luxe series, New York's most dazzling socialites chase dreams, cling to promises, and tempt fate. As society watches what will become of the city's oldest families and newest fortunes, one question remains: Will its stars fade away or will they shine ever brighter?"

First line: "Fifty years ago, every American girl wanted to be a European princess."

My thoughts: I didn't realize this was the last book in the series until I was almost finished. Prior to that I was thinking, "This series is getting to the point where it's gone on too long...." But happily this isn't going to be a series that lingers on past its sell-by date. I found it pretty darn hard to believe that Diana, spunky as she is, had managed to chase Henry around the country and all the way to Cuba, and manage to find (non-prostitutional) work there. So that part didn't grab me. And, of course, all kinds of things get in their way once again. There was some seriously creepy soap-opera-esque stuff with vastly pregnant Elizabeth. And annoying bitch Carolina Broad was a big focus. (I'm a bit harsh on her, she grew on me a bit by the end.) The ending seemed fairly rushed, with happy endings for some, non-endings for others, and not enough of a come-uppence for evil Penelope.

But overall, it was still an enjoyable read. The series was a good (if fluffy) look at how New York society started to include the nouveau riche as well as the grand old names changed and how people started being able to make their own fortunes and change their fates. I'd read another series by Godbersen, though I hope her next series has covers that are just as sumptuous - I've loved those dresses!!

Review: Secret Keepers

Secret Keepers by Mindy Friddle
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: I loved Friddle's first book, The Garden Angel; this is my second book for the Southern Challenge, y'all!

Summary: "At age seventy-two, Emma Hanley plans to escape small-town Palmetto, South Carolina, and travel the globe. But when her fickle husband dies in undignified circumstances, Emma finds herself juggling the needs of her adult children. Her once free-spirited daughter Dora turns to compulsive shopping and a controlling husband to forget her wayward past. Her son Bobby still lives with her, afflicted with an illness that robbed him of his childhood promise. When Dora’s old flame Jake Cary returns to Palmetto with a broken heart and a gift for gardening, the town becomes filled with mysterious, potent botanicals and memories long forgotten. Soon enough, Jake and his ragtag group of helpers begin to unearth the secrets that have divided the Hanleys for decades."

First line: "The town had moved the Confederate Monument from the square to the gates of Springforth Cemetery some twenty years after the War of Northern Aggression, and General Robert E. Lee - who stood atop the mossy marble with a scowl - had never quite recovered."

My thoughts: Both The Garden Angel and this book deal with mental illness (agorophobia and schizophrenia), magical inanimate objects (a house and flowers), and a death bringing on family problems and reconciliations (sometimes). I preferred the enchanted house to the enchanted flowers, but I do like the idea of the "secret keeper" flowers that smell like your absolute favourite scent in the world - it revealed a lot about the characters. I can't think what I would encounter in one of them!

I seem to be reading quite a few books set in the 80's this year - it seems a bit of a trend in "historical fiction." I am old, my childhood has become historical fiction! This is the second one in which the Vietnam War played a large role, which surprises me. I hadn't really realized it was still affecting people's lives well into the 80's, although of course it makes sense. Being Canadian, I guess it was just never a factor in the life of anyone I knew.

I think those references and the rather annoyingly cryptic pronouncements of schizophrenic Bobby made me like this book a bit less than The Garden Angel. But it's still an enjoyable book. Apart from the Vietnam stuff, I did like Jake and his ragtag band of gardeners, the Blooming Idiots. Dora's ultra-religious husband (who makes the family attend a church set up in what was once a mall) was awful and I liked her teenage son's efforts to escape his rigid control by - how rebellious - visiting his grandmother!

This book is set in my beloved South Carolina and the Southern-ness comes through well, especially in the hot weather and lush vegetation, as well as Emma Hanley coming from a fallen aristocratic family whose ancestral home is now inhabited by bums.

Things are wrapped up nicely at the end, with happy endings (and beginnings) for everyone who deserves them.