life is hard...

"Summerland" by Elin Hilderbrand is about 4 kids from Nantucket High School.  While driving home from a graduation party they have a car accident.  Penny, the driver, is killed, her twin brother Hobby is in a coma and the other two passengers, one of whom is Penny's boyfriend, Jake, have no injuries from the accident but have suffered emotionally.

Jake's family moves to Perth, Australia, where is mom is from, because they think it will better help Jake heal if he is away from his home.

The other passenger in the car, Demeter, has started abusing alcohol and other destructive behaviors that may be life threatening.

What the book is mostly about is how the relationships between the four friends and their parents came to be.  It is about how a tragedy can not only affect the family and friends, but also the people within its community.  It is about how even in hard times it is possible to move on and find a place of healing.

wonderful, fabulous, I love it...

Kelle Hampton, author of "Bloom: finding beauty in the unexpected" has touched me so deeply with this memoir of hers.

Kelle and her husband Brett have this amazing life together.  A two-year-old daughter, a baby on the way, great jobs, wonderful friends and are making a home together with Brett's boys from a previous relationship.

Every ultrasound shows that the baby is healthy and the parents-to-be are thrilled.

However, when the baby is born and placed in Kelle's arms, she notices that something is wrong with baby Nella.  Her fears are when the pediatrician confirms that Nella has Down syndrome.  At first, Kelle is hit with all the information and fear of what Nella may face in her life but in time she and her husband realize that Nella is a gift, being her parents a bigger gift and what follows is such a wonderful and uplifting life.

Please read...you won't be disappointed.

open your eyes...

In the book "Close Your Eyes" by Amanda Erye Ward, a women is murdered and her husband is arrested for the murder.  Their children, Alex and Lauren, both have different views of this major event in their lives.  Lauren has always believed that her dad murdered her mother and refuses to have any contact with her dad. Alex has the opposite view and believes their dad is innocent.

When they are older, Alex reveals that he has been in contact with their father.  Alex goes to Iraq and while there, disappears and this throws Lauren into turmoil, questioning everything.

 

against the grain...

I finally gave in and picked up a copy of "50 Shades of Grey" by E.L. James, from my public library.  I can honestly say that I am glad I did not have to spend my money on this book.  While the book was so easy to read and I finished it super fast, that is probably the best thing I can say.  I picked it up and decided to read it due the hype, which is the exactly reason I was staying away in the first place.  There really is no story or plot, it is all sex, and after the first encounter with Christian and Anastacia, I was sort of turned off.  I will definitely read the other two books and see how I feel after that, but I am not that impressed so far...

OK...Let me have it :)

a fun read...

Anna Quindlen, author of "Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake," writes from the heart in the book about how over the course of her life, from the column she used to write at age 30 for the New York Times, the death of her mom, her novels, her kids, her husband and her life.  What follows are her thoughts about all of these things and her place in the world then and now.  I did like the book and found it easy to read as well :)

yay or nay?

"In One Person" by John Irving...

I finished this weeks ago, and like other books I have read, I wasn't sure what I wanted to say.  I did really like this book.  The background, set in the 1960's, follows Billy Abbott, a teenager, who is dealing with "crushes on the wrong people" and how to deal with that.  Billy is bi-sexual, has his first encounter with Miss Frost, the school librarian, and his family is definitely hiding secrets regarding Miss Frost.

"In One Person" follows Billy from childhood through adulthood, through his love life with men, women and transgenders, through watching those he loves suffer and eventually die from AIDS, through his friendship with Elaine and finally through the love and acceptance of our differences.

Keep reading, always keep reading...

it's not all fun and games...

'The Art of Fielding' by Chad Harbach revolves around the characters of Mike, Henry, Owen, Guert and Pella.  I had such high hopes for the book but I think it kind of fell short.

Henry is a shortstop, with instincts like no other, but he throws a ball off course and that sends his life, and the life of the other 4 characters also off course.  Mike realizes that he worked so hard to get Henry into the spotlight and ignored his own life in the process.