Things I Want My Daughters to Know

One of my dearest friends gave this book to me as a birthday present. Things I Want My Daughters to Know is about a mom who writes letters to her four girls to help them navigate through life as she dies.

I liked the concept of this book since I have 4 daughters (but hopefully won't get cancer and die young). I was inspired to write more letters to my girls.

While the book is about a mom who dies, the story is more about the daughter's lives and how they each have a problem that the mother speaks to from the grave. She writes a journal for her girls to read after she has died and this journal helps navigate their commitment issues, poor marriage, and the urge to continue to run away.

There are things I liked about this book and things I didn't. It was written well enough. The characters are very interesting and that is what keeps you engaged in the book. It does feel like Noble put in everything she could possibly think of - which got a bit excessive. Some plots she could have left out and it would not have done the book a disservice. The sexuality in this book is a bit much. Perhaps it's realistic in the world of low morals, but I found it to be sad.

The book ended well and in this kind of a book, that's good. For those who like character analysis, this is a good book for you.

The Language of Flowers

I love this book. The Language of Flowers is a sweet story of the redemption of a foster system/group home kid who ages out of the system and finds herself homeless. It is ultimately a story of forgiveness. It reminds you that life is messy and when people make inevitable mistakes, even big ones, is it best to forgive. It's a story of unconditional love and forgiveness. A sweet story of mother daughter relationships and how messy they can be, how sweet forgiveness is, and how devastating the lack of forgiveness can be.

Those particularly fond of flowers will enjoy this book. This is Vanessa Diffenbaugh's first novel and she is a remarkable writer. While the story is sweet and well written and though out, it is the way she weaves the meaning of flowers into the book that gives it its depth. The characters in this book give coded messages to others based on the meaning of flowers. It is a smart novel.

Perhaps the neatest thing Diffenbaugh has done is to turn her passion and novel into a platform to make the world a better place. She started Camellia network to support kids as they age out of the foster care system. Those kids that never got adopted.

The Language of Flowers is now on my list of favorite books. I love the flowers woven in. I love the foster care spin. I love the actual story. The only thing I wish was different was that it was longer. Maybe more details about when Victoria was homeless. But, all in all this was a fantastic book!

Bastard Out of Carolina

What a book. It started out slowly. The plot was almost not there. Bastard Out of Carolina is more about the characters than a big page turning story. Make no mistake though - the page turning is there. The family this story is about is very interesting - simple relationships and yet complex people. It's a glimpse into the lives of a poor rural family in South Carolina. And that's important to keep in mind when you start reading. Expect more character studies than plot.  

The narrator/main character is a little girl they call Bone. She is sexually abused by her step father and while difficult and disturbing as it is, it is a fascinating look into the world of abuse and what the lack of love can do to a person. While the book shows you the common patterns and behavior of abusers and their victims (and the ones who sit by and do nothing), the book is not stale. Dark and disturbing, yes. 

What I appreciated (not liked, not didn't like) about this book is that the reader gets to see Bone's descent into despair. In order to control her life, she turns towards dark things herself. I have never understood how someone turns out to be an abuser after they are abused themselves, but this novel helps bridge the gap for me. While we don't see Bone grow up to abuse anyone, we see her descent into the world of self hatred, not knowing how to love or even how to recognize it.

One thing that the messy-ending-lover in me liked is how we are led to see the person she might become. But the novel ends before we see who she becomes, which is lovely. Perhaps the reader needs the book to be redemptive, thus believing she pulled herself out of her dark downward spiral. Maybe her extended family was able to show her love and therefore save her from the self she might have become. Or maybe the reader is fine with the novel being about how a monster is created by abuse. Maybe the reader is just left with the hatred we feel toward the step father, the anger we feel towards the mother, and the pity we feel for Bone herself. 

I can't say I liked or didn't like this book, which is a first for me. The material of the book is so disturbing it's hard to say that you like the book. I appreciated the book. I appreciated the insight into the world of abuse and hope I never have to go there again.

For anyone who may be interested in reading this book, you must have a strong constitution - it's rated R for graphic details of sexual abuse and one very graphic and disturbing rape scene.

The Distant Hours

I loved Kate Morton's book The Forgotten Garden. It was lovely. I received many recommendations for The Distant Hour so I decided to read it. I got to page 93 (out of 560); then I had to put it down. The writing was so boring and long winded. There were too many flowery details of things that just didn't matter. I skipped entire paragraphs because the description was just too much. Which is just a shame because the story was great. So I ended up reading Wikipedia so I would know how the story goes. It's an amazing story and I wish I could get past the pretentious and flowery details.

Unwholly

Unwholly is the second in the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman. This book is definitely more Sci-Fi than Unwind; you can probably tell by the cover. That's Cam. He's a rewound - meaning he was created not born. Like Frankenstein. Anyway, this book has less to do with character development and more to do with the plot.

With dystopian novels, I've realized that the plot matters, just not as much as characters that are well developed who you care about. This is what makes me love the Divergent series better than the Unwind series. I care more about the characters in Divergent. They are better developed. They aren't as archetyped. They are all a little less predictable than in the Unwind series.

That being said, I loved Unwholly. It is more though provoking and political than Unwind. It was a great second book in the trilogy and it makes me long for Unsouled, which comes out in October 2013.

Unwind

Unwind was recommended to me by a friend and fellow dystopian lover. He said he liked it even better than Divergent, which is my favorite series in the genre. And as I read Unwind, the first book in Neal Shusterman's series, I can see why my friend loves it so much. It is a well written, engaging story about an interesting topic. There was a war between prolifers and prochoicers and the Bill of Life was signed to end the war. This bill appeased both sides by making abortions illegal, but creating the ability to "unwinding" the person. So at the age of 15 parents can sign away their child to be unwound - which is said to not kill the person, but disassembles them in a way that their parts can be used for others. And no, the book is not as disturbing as it sounds!

The thing I love about this book is that even though it's about a heavy topic such as abortion (and even some religion), it doesn't take a political stance on it. It states the issue as a set of facts, not opinions. While the backdrop of the book is a political issue, the book itself is about the story of the characters. About Unwinds and how some of them survive.

The archetyped characters are just as interesting in this story as the plot. Although they are not as developed as many books are, they are developed enough for you to care about them.

Overall, this is a must read if you like dystopian novels.

State of Wonder

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett is a great book. I have been reading so much dystopia and love stories, this book is a nice switch. It's about a team of doctors who live in the amazon with a native tribe to research the tribes long fertility. Because the development of a fertility drug is taking so long, the pharmaceutical company sends a man out to check on the progress and he ends up dying. So another company employee goes to get more details about the project and the death of her colleague.

What a great book. Well written, quick read, interesting topic. I love that there are just a handful of main characters. This makes it easy to follow and the characters are developed well. There is some controversy and pharmaceutical politics that come out which give the novel depth.

Men and women alike will enjoy this novel and it would be a great choice for a book club.

The Lost Wife

I love Nazi Germany books. The Book Thief, Sarah's Key, The Gernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Diary of a Young Girl, The Hiding Place, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I could go on and on. However, I read tons of this time period last year, so I took some time off. What a great book to come back to.

The Lost Wife was recommended to me by a friend. It's about a husband and wife who get separated from one another during WW2. Both are Jewish. Both are listed as dead. However, both are alive unbeknownst to the other. Aylson Richman does a great job with this novel. She tells and writes the story well. She narrates the story by going back and forth in time and between the characters.

This is not just another Nazi Germany book. It weaves art and love into it - it's more of a love story than a WW2 story. She recalls the concentration camp horrors with little detail. The reader knows how tragic is it because of other works outside of this book. The purpose of The Lost Wife is to tell a story of how beautiful love is and how powerful art can be. It'd also be a great book club book. It's beautiful and tragic.

One thing I love about the book is that it's almost historical fiction. Some of the characters surrounding the art side of the book were actually real. The art smuggling out of the camp happened. I love that I learned something new about WW2 through this authentic work of fiction.

Going Public

Going Public is probably a great book. It didn't capture my interest, so I didn't finish it. It's an "organizer's guide to citizen action" and is about the power a normal citizen has to make change. It is well written as far as I got. Just too high level thinking for me. It'd be great for someone who likes ideologies or organizes community groups for change or even perhaps an entrepreneur or CEO. All of the above is not me so I quit reading.

Loving Frank

All I knew about this book going in was that it is a fictionalized novel about Frank Lloyd Wright and it was recommended to me by a friend. I read about 55 pages and then put it down.

I really don't enjoy reading books with adultery. I can tolerate it somewhat if the book has a high moral outcome. And by that I mean the guilty stop the affair, confess, and recommit to stay faithful to their spouse.

Loving Frank does not have that message. I got through page 55 before I decided to look up the book on Wikipedia. Once reading the themes, I decided to stop reading the book. I'm not interested in reading a book where it seems moral to leave your spouse to be with your lover. I won't get into details on the bad (or good) the feminist movement had. However, I will say that muddling faithfulness to your spouse and breaking your marriage vows just be cause  of XYZ is not a high point for feminism.

I don't recommend the book.

The Paris Wife

This book got great reviews and was recommended to me by a trusted friend. However, I read a few pages and put it down. I'm just not interested enough in hearing about Hemingway's affairs to read this. The dialogue was boring. The plot didn't seem interesting enough to get past the boring dialogue. Perhaps if you really loved Hemingway or wanted to read a fictionalized (but well researched) account of his affairs, this might be a good book for you. But I'm not wasting my time.

The Elegance of the Hodgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery was too smart for me. It is a French book translated into English and the plot itself sounds like it'd be a book I'd like. It's about a widow concierge who fakes being dull and dumb to keep her job. She is actually a highly read, intelligent woman. Her life intersects with a 12-year-old girl who lives in the apartments who is about to kill herself. It's the story of their friendship and how they save one another. As I read, the language was just too philosophical for me. I need more quick plots than flowery beautiful language.

I ended up putting this book down towards the beginning of it. Perhaps it's just not the right timing to read it. I've realized books have a time and place. Take this book. I'm tired. Not just physically but mentally. Homeschooling children and managing a household of six people is taxing. I love it, but I'm tired. Perhaps in a different space and time I would love this book but now is not that time and space. I'll pick his one up another time. Like when my kids are in college.

The Light Between Oceans

The Light Between Oceans is a must-read. It's about a baby who gets washed up on a lighthouse island and the lighthouse keeper and his wife decide to keep her - without telling anyone about it. It works for them because they had just lost their 3rd baby to stillbirth so it was easy to just say it was theirs.

This is a beautiful and heartbreaking story about relationships more than anything. About the hardship and unfairness of life. About forgiveness, honesty, morality, and how sometimes, love muddles them. I enjoyed this book for its grey. My world is so often black and white, right or wrong, good or bad. I rarely see the grey in life, although it is fraught with it.

And I cried. A lot, especially at the end. Like, the ugly kind of cry. Weeping for the characters who all got the short end of the stick. Which is actually one thing I love about this book. All characters lose in some way or another. Sometimes in life, even when we right the wrongs that are done, everyone still loses. The Light Between Oceans would be a fantastic book for a book club - lots to talk about and cry over.

Reached

Reached is the last book in the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie. I loved Matched. I didn't like Crossed as much. I was really hoping for a great ending to the great beginning and the lukewarm middle - I got it. I loved Reached. It was quick paced, well written, and more complex than the other books in the series.

When I first read Matched, I thought the series may be on par with the Divergent series. Turns out I was wrong. While the trilogy was good and worth reading, it was no where near the complexity of Divergent.

When I finished Crossed, I didn't really care what happened next to the characters. Thankfully, Reached made me care again. She did a good job of separating some of the love triangles in a way that I didn't grieve when they didn't end up with their love.

And like the other books, this one will go straight to my 8-year-old to read. It does have a hand full of "damn"s, but other than that, it's appropriate.

All in all, the series was not great for an adult. Not enough dystopia. Not enough political explanation. Not enough details about the Otherlands. However, I love that it's appropriate for a younger audience. I just don't think I'd recommend it to another adult.