February 27, 2011

Mini Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella

I'm not ashamed to say that I love chick-lit. Especially British chick-lit. For me, the genre is an escape, and what is reading if not a way to escape?

So it should be no surprise that I read Mini Shopaholic. I've read the entire Shopaholic series, and I own four of the six books. I hated the movie, but I love -- LOVE -- the books.

This one was really no different.

Plot: Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) returns, this time with child. The novel follows her as she deals with a feisty toddler and busy husband in a time where the economy is crashing, she's living at home with her parents, and attempting to plan an extravagant surprise party for her husband Luke. Of course, she encounters the temptation to shop and overspend at every turn, and must talk her way out of more than one delicate situation.

Frankly, the plot was nothing special. Not ground-breaking, not thought-provoking. Some of the other books in the series have had better plots. But what makes it stand out is the writing. Kinsella has such a great way with humor and her humor is at its best in the Shopaholic books.

Characters: I love series books because they really allow you to dig in to the characters. And Becky Brandon is one of my favorite fictional characters. Sure, she gets into some pretty ridiculous predicaments. But that's what makes her so great. Trouble just follows her and the way she deals with it is so fantastical and outlandish that it's funny.

Structure: Chick-lit is an easy read. That doesn't make it bad. It makes reading a treat instead of a chore. It makes reading a true escape instead of a headache. Mini Shopaholic is no different. The chapters are short, the writing flows easily and I soaked up every last word. 5 stars.


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Reviewed by A Super Girl at 10:55 PM 0 comments

February 20, 2011

Never Let Me Go, By Kazuo Ishiguro

I'd heard about Never Let Me Go, if you count the fact that I'd heard about the movie version that came out in 2010. But, I didn't really know what it was about, so when my book club decided on the novel as our latest pick, I was excited to dive in.

Now that I've finished, I'm left feeling rather unsure about the book. I can't quite decide if I liked it or if I didn't. What I can tell you is that I struggled throughout the entire book to stay interested and even remember where I'd left off in the plot.

Plot: The story is told from Kathy's voice, who was a student at a prestigious boarding school along with two other characters, Ruth and Tommy. Kathy, now an adult, is reliving the memories of that school and her old friends as she comes to terms with just what the school was preparing them for later in life.

It sounds intriguing, but for me, it moved too slow. This is considered a sci-fi novel, but it's set in the 1990s and the "sci" part of sci-fi is buried in narration. You know it's there, but you don't really get the ins and outs of it until the last 50 pages. The backstory is never fully revealed, which was a problem for me. I really don't want to give too much away, so that's the only way I can describe it. With any good sci-fi novel, you know why things are the way they are. In fact, I've read other sci-fi novels with a similar theme as Never Let Me Go, and I've enjoyed them so much more because the author as given distinct and clear reasoning for why the novel's world is the way it is. Here, you really have to dig deep and don't get a full picture until the very end.

Characters: The three main characters were certainly intriguing, but because of Ishiguro's writing style, they seem passive, almost like figments. In fact, the entire story felt very surreal, as if the characters were trapped in a foggy dream instead of actively living the lives set before them. And again, the lack of a back story contributed to this feeling. The characters are dealing with a very difficult reality, yet the reader doesn't understand the full implications of this reality. For me, that made it difficult to understand and get behind the characters.

Structure: As I mentioned, the writing style made the book feel more like a break from reality than an actual sci-fi reality. I feel like with a bit more explanation and a bit less musing by the main character, it could have been a very different book.

I will say that I was glad I finished the book, and will definitely watch the movie (if only to see Andrew Garfield), but this wasn't a favorite of mine. 3 stars.

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Reviewed by A Super Girl at 6:34 PM 1 comments
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California Schemin' by Kate George

What happens when you just can't stop finding dead bodies? Ask Bree MacGowan, a 30-something reporter who can't seem to leave trouble behind. Kate George's new novel California Schemin' follows Bree across the country from Vermont to California after she finds the body of her dead boss Vera. And as luck would have it, Bree finds yet another dead body as soon as she arrives in California.

The book is a fun and comedic look at Bree who is kidnapped and taken across the country by teddy bear sweet thugs, rescued by the FBI working with the thugs, and attacked yet again. As many times as she tries, and she tries quite a few, she just can't seem to win. A fun and easy to read story about a woman who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's definitely not one of those books that will keep you thinking late at night, but it did keep me entertained for the few hours it took me to read. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes comedic thrillers, similar to Devil's Food Cake by Josi Kilpatrick. Or anyone that is looking for a quick read and good laugh. 3 stars.


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Reviewed by Playful Professional at 2:05 PM 0 comments
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February 13, 2011

Room by Emma Donoghue

 Room, by Emma Donoghue is a story about fear, courage, and love.  The narrator, Jack, is a 5 year old boy that was born in Room, and has never left.  In fact, he doesn't even know anything else exists beyond Door.  All Jack knows is that his whole world lies between these 4 walls, where he and his Ma sleep, eat, learn and play.

You are able to step into the mind of this naive and sweet 5 year old, as he discovers the truths about why he's there and what lies beyond.  You watch how Ma is willing to risk everything to be freed from Room.  But guess what, that's only half the book!

This book is riveting!  I could not put it down.  I find it hard to write this review without giving away too much of the story line, but just know... it's well worth the read.  While reading, I found myself laughing out loud (LOLing), biting my nails with anxiety and literally sobbing.  (I had to put the book down so I could have a good cry.)  


I give this book 4 stars.  I would have given it 5, for story line and plot alone, but at times there is some monotony and I really wish we could have seen into the mind of Ma as well.  If I had written it, I may have done a switch off between Jack narrating and Ma narrating.  This is a book that will stay with you and you will think about it's horrors and mercies long after you're through.


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Reviewed by Nicole at 2:36 PM 3 comments
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February 9, 2011

The Boleyn Inheritance, by Phllipa Gregory

The Boleyn Inheritance is the sequel to The Other Boleyn Girl.

I know, I know, I'm behind the times. These books have been out forever, right? But, I just recently read The Other Boleyn Girl and knew I wanted to continue the series, but wanted to do it in order. So I sought out the sequel and here we are. Most likely 2 years after you've read them, but just in case you haven't, I wanted to share my thoughts!

Plot: The Boleyn Inheritance follows directly after Anne Boleyn is killed and Mary Boleyn leaves the Henry VIII's court. This story is the "what happens next" view, profiling three women that take on the next generation of Henry VIII's reign. As in her other books, Gregory injects a healthy dose of intrigue and descriptive text that helps you feel like you're living at court with the characters and keeps the plot moving along.

Characters: The story is centered around Henry VIII's new queen, Anne of Cleves, his new mistress Katherine Howard, and the ever-present spy and gossip Jane Boleyn, who was a supporting character in The Other Boleyn Girl. Though most of the characters were new to me, it helped to have context from the first book. Each of the women were engaging characters and I loved them or hated them. They annoyed me, made me root for them, and made me wish they'd just fade into the background. In short, they were key in keeping the plot moving and my interest high.

Structure: In case you haven't noticed, I'm a fan of short chapters. I need to be able to tackle small chunks so that I can read for 5 minutes or 2 hours depending on the time I have and still find a convenient stopping place. In this book, each chapter is from one woman's perspective, and they're only a few pages. This structure made it really easy for me to follow, and kept me wanting to read more because just when I'd get into one woman's story, Gregory would switch to another perspective.

I'm finding that I really enjoy learning about this period in history with the help of these books. I'm excited to check out the other ones in the series! 5 stars.



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Reviewed by A Super Girl at 8:33 PM 4 comments
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February 7, 2011

Dear Mrs. Kennedy by Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis

When was the last time you sat down and wrote and mailed a real letter? Try one million letters. Ever since I visited the American History Museum in DC last year I've had a small fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy. Maybe it's because she was beautiful or a style icon, or maybe because her husband was killed. One way or another after seeing her pictures and hearing a little bit of her story I jumped at the chance to review a new book called, Dear Mrs. Kennedy: The World Shares Its Grief Letters, November 1963, by Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis.

The book is a compilation of a portion of the million letters that Mrs. Kennedy received in the few weeks after JFK's assassination. Letters from men, women, children, family members, political leaders, celebrities, and anyone else you could think of. Letters that tell the story of what happened in those months following his death.

Am I glad I read this book? Yes. Did it satisfy my Kennedy fascination, somewhat. Would I recommend this book to others? Yes. It was a quick, though slightly repetitive, read and gave me insight into one of the most compelling events and one of the most compelling families in American history.


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Reviewed by Playful Professional at 8:23 AM 0 comments
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February 6, 2011

What's He Really Thinking by Paula Rinehart

I was given What's He Really Thinking: How to Be A Relational Genius with the Man in Your Life as part of the Book Sneeze blog review program. Well I should clarify, I chose this book to read out of all of the books available because what woman doesn't want to understand the minds of the men in her life a little better. I was pretty excited to read this book to see what insights Paula Rinehart could teach me that would help me understand my husband specifically better.

This book is written to help women understand how men think, why they do what they do, and what they struggle with. Author Paula Rinehart uses her more than twenty years of counseling experience to help unlock the age-old mysteries of the male mind-set. She walks readers through a path of first understanding the men (helping to unlock those mysteries), then learning to love the men that you now understand.

This book was full of those insights that I so wanted, things like, "A propensity for doing, because it needs to be done and can be done, is the best of who a man is." If you really sit and think about it, I'm sure you can come up with numerous situations where a man in your life did something just because he could or because he felt the need to do something. Men are made for doing and I loved how Rinehart used this as the backbone of her book because it makes perfect sense to me. It helps me also to understand why when I don't allow men (okay who am I kidding, my husband) to help me, it makes them feel weak and unneeded. I may be an extremely independent woman but allowing my husband to be there for me and to feel needed as a part of my life can strengthen our relationship immensely.

Insights like that one really made me stop and think about what I can do to look at the picture from my husband's point of view and to make my decisions based on how the typical brain works. Another part of this book that I loved was how spiritual truths were littered throughout - Rinehart talks about praying for the men in your life and praying for ways you can understand and love him better. Marriage is a triangular relationship - you, your husband, and God. Without any of the three points the relationship is not as strong, and she gets that point across without it being too over the top.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and was eye-opening for me in a lot of different ways. I would recommend it to anyone since like the book itself says, "If there is one universal in any woman's life it's this: she will always be relating to a man." 4 stars.

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Reviewed by Playful Professional at 12:24 PM 0 comments
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