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About ondbookshelf

Blogging my way through my extensive to be read pile of books.

5

Funny Girl

FunnyGirlSet in 1960's London, Funny Girl is a lively account of the adventures of the intrepid young Sophie Straw as she navigates her transformation from provincial ingénue to television starlet amid a constellation of delightful characters. Insightful and humorous, Nick Hornby's latest does what he does best: endears us to a cast of characters who are funny if flawed, and forces us to examine ourselves in the process.
~ Goodreads

My review.........3 stars

I enjoyed this story of the life of an actress in the making. Growing up with the I Love Lucy show probably contributed to my understanding of young Barbara and her quest to be the next Lucy. I liked the inside look that the reader was given to the television industry. While clearly Barbara (Sophie) was a favorite character, the others were fairly well developed. Despite a few places where I felt the plot kind of dragged a bit, the writing moved along through the years with these characters. There were a few funny moments within the story, but not as many as I was expecting. This didn't affect my overall enjoyment, I just had the impression going in that it would be funnier (hence the title).

Overall a good read, but probably not one that I will remember much about in years to come. It was worth a read if you grew up in the time period of the Lucy show, or if you like stories about tv or film industry.

2

SRCTheGrownUps

The Grown Ups

 

From the author of The Summer We Fell Apart, an evocative and emotionally resonant coming-of-age novel involving three friends that explores what it means to be happy, what it means to grow up, and how difficult it is to do both togetherTheGrownUpsThe summer he’s fifteen, Sam enjoys, for a few secret months, the unexpected attention of Suzie Epstein. For reasons Sam doesn’t entirely understand, he and Suzie keep their budding relationship hidden from their close knit group of friends. But as the summer ends, Sam’s world unexpectedly shatters twice: Suzie’s parents are moving to a new city to save their marriage, and his own mother has suddenly left the house, leaving Sam’s father alone to raise two sons.

Watching as her parents’ marital troubles escalate, Suzie takes on the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and plans an early escape to college and independence. Though she thinks of Sam, she deeply misses her closest friend Bella, but makes no attempt to reconnect, embarrassed by the destructive wake of her parents as they left the only place Suzie called home. Years later, a chance meeting with Sam’s older brother will reunite her with both Sam and Bella - and force her to confront her past and her friends.

After losing Suzie, Bella finds her first real love in Sam. But Sam’s inability to commit to her or even his own future eventually drives them apart. In contrast, Bella’s old friend Suzie—and Sam’s older brother, Michael—seem to have worked it all out, leaving Bella to wonder where she went wrong.

Spanning over a decade, told in alternating voices, The Grown Ups explores the indelible bonds between friends and family and the challenges that threaten to divide them.

 
~ Goodreads

 

My review...........2.5 stars

 

I think a lot of people will really enjoy this book, sadly I'm just not one of them. Most of the time I'm annoyed by comparisons between books ("if you like said book then you will like this one"). In this case if they had told me it was similar to The Interestings I most likely would have passed, since I did not like that book at all! My problem with this book, like a lot of books I read with 20 somethings in them, is that I have zero interest in the characters. I'm tired of their bad behavior, bad decisions, whining, and sense of entitlement. Maybe it's a generational thing, I'm so far removed from this time that I just don't remember it? The book takes us through more than a decade in these people's lives, with each chapter representing another year. I felt that this also distanced me from the characters since you skipped major parts of their lives when thrown back in a year later. There were some bright spots in the book that did keep me reading. It was well written, my not connecting with the characters was more a me thing. I did want to read to the end to find out how it all played out. I do think the author had a good pulse on these kids even if I didn't like their antics.

 

Bottom line, if you enjoy coming of age stories of the twenty something generation, I think you will enjoy this book. I would still read another work by this author, I would just be more choosy of the subject matter.

 

This book is part of the BookSparks summer reading challenge. Click the link for info if you want to join in!

 

BookSparksSummerReadingChallenge

The Unexpected Consequences of Love

Sophie Wells is a successful photographer with a focus on putting the past firmly behind her. When UnexpectedConsequencesOfLoveJosh Strachan returns to the seaside town of Cornwall from the States to run his family's hotel, he can't understand why the fun, sexy girl has zero interest in letting him-or any man for that matter-into her life. He also can't understand how he's been duped into employing Sophie's impulsive friend Tula, whose crush on him is decidedly unrequited. Both girls remain mum about the reasons behind Sophie's indifference to love. But that doesn't mean Josh is going to quit trying...

My review...........3.5 stars

This is not my first book by Mansell so I pretty much knew what I would be getting. A light-hearted typical chick lit book that you can count on to provide instant entertainment. There are plenty of laughs when the characters get caught in awkward social situations, some sweet romance (in this case from more than one coupling), and a happy ever after ending. Just what I expect from a novel like this. There are even a few twists thrown in that keep the story flowing and interesting. I liked all the characters, particularly some of the secondary characters appearing in various plots throughout the book. Great writing that keeps you flipping the pages, and a setting that sounds beautiful.

A great beach type read, predictable but yet if you enjoy this type of novel once in a while, you will be taken away for a few hours of escape and fun.

3

The Year My Mother Came Back

 

Thirty years after her death, Alice Eve Cohen’s mother appears to her, seemingly in the flesh, and continues to do so during the hardest year Alice has had to face: the year her youngest daughter TheYearMyMotherCameBackneeds a harrowing surgery, her eldest daughter decides to reunite with her birth mother, and Alice herself receives a daunting diagnosis. As it turns out, it’s entirely possible for the people we’ve lost to come back to us when we need them the most.

Although letting her mother back into her life is not an easy thing, Alice approaches it with humor, intelligence, and honesty. What she learns is that she must revisit her childhood and allow herself to be a daughter once more in order to take care of her own girls. Understanding and forgiving her mother’s parenting transgressions leads her to accept her own and to realize that she doesn’t have to be perfect to be a good mother.

 

My review..........3 stars

 

This was sort of an odd book for me, but yet it was enjoyable. First off it is a memoir, which is not my normal genre although I'm trying to read a few books this year that are out of my comfort zone. Secondly it deals with the idea of apparitions, which is just "way out there" for me. Once I got over both of those things, I found myself really liking the story, there were many parallels to my life. I could relate to the loss of her mother when she was young as my mom passed away when I was in my 30's. While my relationship with my mother was wonderful, I've read enough books where it wasn't, to understand the angst the author experienced. One of my daughters had to have major back surgery as a teenager, and my girls are adopted. All of these play a role in this book. I appreciated the writing style and found it very easy to read and care about the family. The year in the title is also a play on words since it's not only talking about the author's year, but the last year of her mother's life. It was an interesting take on storytelling that I found pleasing.

 

I'm participating in the BookSparks summer reading challenge, and this was the first book for the week of May 4th. Check the link if you want to find out the rest of the books in the list, looks like some good picks.

 

Overall a short, sweet book that reads really well. If I could get over my issues with "people appearing from the dead", I would have likely rated it higher.
BookSparksSummerReadingChallenge

 

3

Dear Carolina

 

 One baby girl.
Two strong Southern women.
And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make.
Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, DearCarolinaher husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor…Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made.
~ Goodreads

 

My review...........4 stars

 

First of all, let's take a moment to marvel over this absolutely gorgeous cover!! If you don't know by now, I am a sucker for an attractive cover. But as we all know, a book with a beautiful cover does not always translate to a beautiful book......except when it does, and in this case it does! This is told in alternating voices as a story for Carolina, the little girl given up by one mother and taken in by another. I loved that this book was not only a story about family, but about how each woman grew and developed within themselves. Each chapter began with an observation from the two mothers relating to a project that they found near and dear to them (one decorating, the other food preserving). It created a really nice flow to the story, and separated each section of the telling. It does take place in the south (NC), so I appreciated some of the local references. The characters were well written, and it was easy to get involved in their daily lives. Really well done for a debut author, you would never suspect that this is her first novel. If I had to nit pick I would say that it is a tad predictable (which never bothers me, but does for some) and had a bit more of a religious aspect than I would like (not a lot, but I'm not a big fan of God in my books).

 

Disclaimer: Since randomly seeing the cover of this book months ago, and then finding out the author is from my state, we have become "blog buddies".  We still haven't met in person yet, although we were both at the same author event and didn't know it! I will be attending her author event later this month, and I'm thrilled to finally meet her, she is a sweetheart! I was sent a copy of Dear Carolina by Kristy. I have done my best to remain unbiased in my review.

 

Overall a really wonderful debut book, I think this would be an absolutely perfect summer read. Go out and pick this up and support my friend Kristy! You know you have to have this on your shelf........it's SO stunning in looks and words.

 

2

Love Anthony

Two women, each cast adrift by unforseen events in their lives, meet by accident on a Nantucket beach and are drawn into a friendship.
Olivia is a young mother whose eight-year-old severely autistic son has recently died. Her marriage badly frayed by years of stress, she comes to the island in a trial separation to try and make sense of LoveAnthonythe tragedy of her Anthony’s short life.
Beth, a stay-at-home mother of three, is also recently separated after discovering her husband’s long-term infidelity. In an attempt to recapture a sense of her pre-married life, she rekindles her passion for writing, determined to find her own voice again. But surprisingly, as she does so, Beth also find herself channeling the voice of an unknown boy, exuberant in his perceptions of the world around him if autistic in his expression—a voice she can share with Olivia—(is it Anthony?)—that brings comfort and meaning to them both.
~ Goodreads

My review.............4.5 stars

This was pretty close to perfection. Lisa Genova certainly has a way with words that just catches you up into the story and doesn't let you go until the last page. I was captivated by the storylines of both women, and the descriptions given of the various places make you feel like you are actually there. I laughed so hard over "the rules" for the locals during summer on Nantucket, since I also have a house in a summer tourist area. This book made me laugh, cry, empathize, contemplate, and oh yes......want to visit Nantucket during the tulip festival and have a vase full of white rocks. The only issues I had with the book (without giving anything away) was the channeling (which is a bit too out there for me), and the end decision that Beth makes (not a good choice in my opinion).

I listened to this book on audio. The narrator was Debra Messing (sniff sniff.....made me nostalgic for Will & Grace). I thought she did a fabulous job, she has a soothing quality to her voice that lent itself well for this audio.

Definitely on my list for fans of women's fiction, and although it is fiction, a great book covering the subject of autism.

Maybe Someday

At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move MaybeSomedayshould be.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.

A passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance, Maybe Someday will immerse readers in Sydney’s tumultuous world from the very first page.

~ Goodreads

My review.............3 stars

Another author that I'm late to the party in reading is Colleen Hoover. After reading this book I can definitely see why she is so popular. Her writing is addictive and I found myself just flying through this book. And while it gets maximum stars for its writing, the content was not as appealing to me. While I loved the male character in this, and the fact that he had a disability gave the story a great dimension that I don't think I've seen addressed in a book before, the main character of Sydney annoyed the crap out of me. I thought she was a total hypocrite, was very judgmental of others, and needed to get her life together before jumping into another relationship. I'm more tolerant of the whole insta-love concept in teens because they are immature and crushes come and go, but once you are an adult they just don't work for me in books. I would have chosen for these characters to have gone ahead and lived their lives and come back together ten years down the road if it was really meant to be.

While not a favorite plot wise, this was still an enjoyable read. I loved the writing and will absolutely read another novel by this author.

2

Another listing of the young adult novels I've read over the past few months. Lots of good ones and no duds in this grouping 🙂 On to the books..........

ThisSongWillSaveYourLife

Wonderful story about a girl who is an outcast at school, but who learns how to love herself through making musical connections. Great characters and writing, and while I wasn't familiar with all of the music, there is a playlist accompanying the book which is a great add on feature. My review...........4 stars

 

 

 

 

BrownGirlDreaming

I'm not known to have a good connection with most award winning books, but in this case I completely agree! This book was told in verse (another thing that I'm not a fan of), and it completely captivated me! I loved this book, it was just so well written and the pages flew by. Definitely a must read! My review.........5 stars

 

 

 

 

WillGraysonWillGrayson

Great coming of age story about teen boys. Not a lot of books written with teen boys as the main characters, so I enjoyed this aspect. I thought the beginning was a bit confusing, but it was cleared up mid point and was probably more my fault for not catching on. Best part of the story was one of the secondary characters who has his own book out now (Hold Me Closer). My review..........3 stars

 

 

 

HarryPotterSorcerer'sStone

My first time reading Harry Potter (I know I know, no scoffing allowed). I was making a trip to Universal and decided that I needed to bite the bullet and read at least one book before visiting Harry Potter world. I've always avoided these because I'm not a wizards and magic kind of reader. Surprisingly enough I really liked this! Great story with fantastic writing that just sucks you in. I promise I'll be continuing on with the series. My review.....3.5 stars

 

 

 

ToAllTheBoysI'veLovedBefore

My first book by this author (other than her short story in My True Love Gave to Me), I loved the writing style. The story just kept me turning pages to find out what was going to happen next. I only wish that we could have found out what happens with all the boys, it focuses mainly on a couple of them. I do know that this has a sequel coming out (PS I Still Love You), so maybe the author plans to delve a bit more into it then. My review......4 stars

 

 

 

Fangirl

I loved the story about Cath and her sister, family, and friends. The Simon Snow fangirl story parts were not my favorite and I found myself skimming through them. I'm not sure how I'm going to react when Simon's story is told in the next Rowell book (Carry On). My review.........4 stars

4

The Unraveling of Mercy Louis

 

In this intricate novel of psychological suspense, a chilling discovery near the high school ignites a witch hunt in a southeast Texas refinery town, unearthing communal and family secrets that threaten the lives of the town's girls.

In Port Sabine, the air is thick with oil, superstition reigns, and dreams hang on making a winning play. All eyes are on Mercy Louis, the star of the championship girls' basketball team. Mercy seems TheUnravelingOfMercyLouisdestined for greatness, but the road out of town is riddled with obstacles. There is her grandmother Evelia, a strict evangelical who has visions of an imminent Rapture and sees herself as the keeper of Mercy's virtue. And then there are the cryptic letters from Charmaine, the mother who abandoned Mercy at birth.

At the periphery of Mercy's world floats team manager Illa Stark, a lonely wallflower. Like the rest of the town, Illa is spellbound by Mercy's beauty and talent, but a note discovered in a gym locker reveals that Mercy's life may not be as perfect as it appears.

The last day of school brings the disturbing find, and as summer unfolds and the police investigate, every girl becomes a suspect. At the opening game of the season, Mercy collapses--and Evelia prophesies that she is only the first to fall. Soon other girls are afflicted by the same mysterious condition, sending the town into a tailspin and bringing Illa and Mercy together in an unexpected way.

Evocative and unsettling, The Unraveling of Mercy Louis charts the downfall of one town's golden girl while exploring the brutality and anxieties of girlhood in America.

 
~ Goodreads

 

My review...........4 stars

 

Excellent coming of age story told in alternating chapters by two girls, Mercy (the high school basketball star) and Illa (team manager and classic wallflower). I thought that the author had a very realistic view on teenage life in a small backwoods southern town. There were a lot of intermingling stories going on other than the most notable mystery surrounding the discovery. Many topics brought to light including mother-daughter bonds, first love, evangelical religion, industrial pollution, team sports, mental and physical illness, and purity balls. Lots of social issues to wade through, the biggest of which would be the slut shaming surrounding the town girls (with no regard to the boys of course). The writing was great, the book flowed well and you could get into the minds of the characters and their various plights. What prevented this from a higher rating was the ending. I don't like to place spoilers in my reviews, so it's hard to articulate it, but there were some aspects of the story that were tied up (maybe a bit too neatly), but others that were left wide open. One in particular that I thought should have been answered more fully.

 

I won this book in a contest over at The Book Wheel book blog.Many thanks to Allison and the author for sending it to me!

 

Although I felt the ending was not all that I had hoped it would be, this was an excellent read. I highly recommend it.

 

1

Bettyville

When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself—an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook—in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can’t bring Bettyvillehimself to force her from the home both treasure—the place where his father’s voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict: Betty, who speaks her mind but cannot quite reveal her heart, has never really accepted the fact that her son is gay.

As these two unforgettable characters try to bring their different worlds together, Hodgman reveals the challenges of Betty’s life and his own struggle for self-respect, moving readers from their small town—crumbling but still colorful—to the star-studded corridors of Vanity Fair. Evocative of The End of Your Life Book Club and The Tender Bar, Hodgman’s New York Times bestselling debut is both an indelible portrait of a family and an exquisitely told tale of a prodigal son’s return.

~ Goodreads

My review..........2 stars

If I could describe this book in one word it would be boring. Having said that, this book has some glowing reviews, so I'm feeling like I must have missed something? I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher for review, and quite honestly, that is probably why I stuck with it instead of just moving on. When I read the synopsis, and based on the title, I assumed the book was going to be about Betty. I love books about elderly people (A Man Called Ove, Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Elizabeth is Missing all come to mind), but this was really more about the son than his mother. I did enjoy, and even chuckled over some of the situations involving Betty, but then the book would ramble on (moving back and forth in time), and I would find myself counting how many pages until the end. The writing was fine, it did get a tad confusing when we were going back and forth in time, but I don't really think that was the problem for me. I think I did get what the writer was trying to portray, but it just needed a bit more of Betty, and a bit more spark for me to enjoy it fully.

Sad to say this one just didn't work for me, but don't take my word for it, go look at some of the other reviews before deciding whether to pick this one up. Has anyone else read this? Please share your thoughts if you have, especially if it was a win for you.