Summer Books
One of the simple pleasures of Summer...books, books, and more books. Here's what I have been reading lately:
1.) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
From Goodreads:
Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
The book is set in 1986. I love it. I was a freshman in high school in 1986. I felt like I was transported right back to that time. The 80's references were awesome. I loved this book. I loved Eleanor and Park. While my high school experience was not the same as theirs was, I could still relate. I was the new girl, I listened music that no one else listened to (many of the same bands Eleanor and Park listened to), I had a crappy stepdad, and I had a high school boyfriend that I had to say goodbye to as we moved away yet again.
I think this is a great coming of age novel. I liked the innocence of Eleanor and Park juxtaposed to the rest of the kids in high school. I could definitely relate to that! The whole book just rang very true to me. I loved what Rainbow Rowell had to say when being interviewed about her book being banned:
Teenagers swear and are cruel to each other. Some kids have terrible parents.
Some girls have terrible stepdads who shout profanity at them and call them sluts – and some of those girls still manage to rise above it. When these people call Eleanor & Park an obscene story, I feel like they’re saying that rising above your situation isn’t possible. That if you grow up in an ugly situation, your story isn’t even fit for good people’s ears. That ugly things cancel out everything beautiful.
Boom. What she said!! I loved it.
My rating: Excellent
2.) Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
I might as well review this one next. This book was very different from Eleanor and Park. First, it isn't YA lit and second, it hasn't been banned. Although just like Eleanor and Park... I LOVED IT. It is a much more light-hearted read although the characters are just as endearing and lovable. You root for them and want them to succeed. I absolutely adored the protagonist Lincoln. This book is set in the 90's as the world is heading for Y2K. I loved all the pop cultural references in this book as well. It was funny and sweet and I couldn't put it down.
From Goodreads:
Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
I thought it was a smart and super fun read. It is charming and laugh out loud funny. Rainbow Rowell is awesome!!
My Rating: Excellent
3.) Killing Kennedy by Bill O' Reilly
Again, another hit!! I loved this book. It was incredibly readable and fast-paced. I was sucked right into the Kennedy era and found myself thoroughly fascinated and intrigued.
From Goodreads:
A riveting historical narrative of the shocking events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy... Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.
This book came highly recommended to me and, surprisingly, I really liked it.
My Rating: Excellent
4.) The Women of Duck Commander
So, you either like this family or you don't. I like them and I liked this book. Was it necessarily riveting? No. But I did like learning more about the other "mystery brother" and wife. I also liked reading Missy's perspective and learning more about their daughter. So, if you like this family, you will like the book.
My Rating: Good
5.) Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
This book was recommended to me by my sister, Stacey. I have mixed feelings. I liked part of the book and disliked the other part. I feel like I learned something new about a period in history that I previously didn't know that much about and I really like it when that happens. So, that was a plus. I think this book would be a good book club selection because there is so much that could be discussed.
From Goodreads:
Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.
Like I said, I disliked the first half of the book that takes place in the present. I didn't like any of the characters except for the father and the dialogue was painfully cheesy, but I kept reading, and when I got to the Russian fairy tale and the mother's history I was hooked. The siege of Leningrad was truly heart-breaking. When I finished the book I had tears in my eyes and was glad that I had hung in there on this family saga that spanned 60 years. I walked away from the book profoundly grateful for all that I have been blessed with in my life.
My Rating: Good
6.) The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
I loved this book!! Perfect summer reading. It's charming, has heart, funny, and it took me into the mind of a person with Aspergers. Not your typical summer read. I highly recommend it.
From Goodreads:
The Rosie Project is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.
Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.
Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.
I LOVED the main character Don Tillman!! This is one of the quirkiest romantic comedies that I have ever read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Super quick read and a fun fresh perspective. I loved hanging out in Don Tillman's mind.
My Rating: Excellent
I have several other books to review but six will have to do for now...
Happy Reading!!
