Showing posts with label Reviewed by Sarah K. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviewed by Sarah K. Show all posts

December 31, 2012

Mended by Angie Smith



As the familiar saying goes, “Nobody’s perfect.”  While this is certainly true, it can be easy to misinterpret this to mean that I am hopeless, a lost cause.  If I’m already a failure and nothing I do can help me, what use is there in trying?  Of course not one of us walking on the earth today is perfect and we are all, in fact, broken.  We struggle with shame, shortcomings, vices, and a pile of other sins that leave us feeling like a shattered vessel.  It is this image that Angie Smith uses in her devotional book Mended to represent the life of the believer who comes to Jesus feeling destroyed, useless, and disappointing. 
Smith begins her book by describing a bit about her experience of smashing a pitcher and then painstakingly reconstructing it piece by piece.  When the glue had dried and its previous form achieved, Smith realized that each of us is like the broken pitcher, imperfect and flawed but re-created in Christ into something new.  He doesn’t magically morph us into an earthly version of perfection, but instead meets us when the pieces are scattered and helps us rebuild a life where his grace can be seen through our weakness.  The image of the shattered pitcher becomes a metaphor that Smith returns to again and again through the chapters of her book.
Each chapter is derived from Smith’s writings on her blog, Bring the Rain.  She revises the entries into a more devotional-friendly style so the reader isn’t left feeling like they are just scrolling through a website.  Her writing is detailed and personal, frequently challenging the reader to thinking critically about their heart, their struggles, their fears, and their questions.  She doesn’t pull any punches, to be sure.
Smith clearly experiences her Savior and her faith in a very physical way.  In the chapter entitled The Scarlet Cord, the author describes how she refocuses on Christ by imagining him right in front of her and in her mind’s eye she reaches out and touches his face, the thorns on his head, the terrible wounds that cover his body that he endured for our sake.  Moments like this were very powerful for me to read, but difficult for me to relate to, not because it was written poorly (quite the opposite!), but because I just don’t experience my faith in that way.  On the other hand, I love the way that Smith pulls out events from the Bible such as Rahab in Jericho, Lot’s wife, and Peter stepping out of the boat to help the reader identify with the people who appear in God’s Word.  Smith also uses several anecdotes from her own journey, from her painful experience of losing her infant daughter to her ability to learn a truth about God from pulling weeds in her lawn.
Angie Smith truly has a gift for writing to women.  She connects with them with Jesus in a way that not many can.  I underlined a lot of passages and made several notes in the margin to re-read when I’m feeling insufficient, undeserving, and too broken for God to fix.  I enjoyed this book very much and I definitely recommend reading it slowly and purposefully, with a journal and a Bible at the ready because Smith provides several opportunities for deeper study and meditation.  
 As a devotional book that helps encourage a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus, I 

would give this book 3 stars.  I like it a lot, but I think it was more a stylistic disconnect that keeps me from giving it 4 stars.  My learning personality just didn't jive perfectly with the way Smith teaches, but her principles are sound and her personal approach is nothing short of endearing. 
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Reviewed by slkooiman at 11:53 AM 1 comments
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November 5, 2010

Saying Goodbye (Julie Rember and Mike O'Mary, editors)


I received a copy of this book for review purposes, but my review and opinions are entirely my own.


Think about how many times in our lives we will say goodbye to someone or something. We say goodbye to our spouses every day when they leave for work, our children when they go to school or off to practice, to our waistlines after we birth children. We say goodbye to ever being carded ever again when we buy beer, to our car when it finally sputters to a stop, to our house when we move away, to our loved ones when their time has come. Life is full of goodbyes. Some are painful, but some are downright humorous.

Saying Goodbye is an anthology of short (true) stories about people saying goodbye to a variety of people, places and things. The authors vary as much as their subjects and this collection does a nice job of showcases how different people have so many different experiences with saying farewell.

One of the most humorous stories to me was "Saying Goodbye to a Faithful Companion" where the author laments about his wife throwing out his trusty old jogging suit, despite the fact that the suit was "older than vermin." The author even considers bribing his "curbside sanitary engineer" in order to retrieve his old friend and I was left hanging, wondering if this marriage could ever be saved following such a betrayal.

In contrast, "Lotus, Falling" is a beautifully written story written by a daughter about her mother's final weeks on earth. It reveals the harsh reality that many people face when confronted with their own mortality and the frustration they encounter in the medical field more often than many of us would like to think about. At the same time, the subject of this story remains graceful and beautiful as she attempts to enjoy the things she cherished most in the world like literature, German hot dogs, and red wine. The final paragraph of this one moved me to tears.

Couches, marriages, loyal dogs, husbands, fathers, and more. Saying Goodbye is put together well, for a freshman anthology effort from Julie Rember and Mike O'Mary. Some stories are, of course, stronger than others, but they work together nicely as a collection. It's hardly a page-turner that keeps you hooked to the point you can't put it down, but it serves its purpose well as a bedside read or as a casual book to keep on the coffee table. I enjoyed it, but isn't one I would feel I need to re-read. 3 Stars.

The publisher is offering a special just for Book Nook Club readers on this and other books by Dream of Things. You can get 30% off this book at http://www.goodbyebook.com/ with coupon code DREAM ON. Use the same code at http://www.dreamofthings.com/ to get 30% off a book of your choice.



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Reviewed by slkooiman at 10:07 AM 1 comments
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September 22, 2010

Columbine by Dave Cullen

I was a sophomore in high school when Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris laid siege to Columbine High School in Colorado.  I remember coming home from school that day and being transfixed by the media coverage and the atmosphere of my high school would never the same.  We were scared and confused.  I think what scared me, and most parents, the most was that there was no way to know if that could have just as easily have been our high school and our students who were under attack.  The murders at Columbine captured the nation's attention like nothing we had ever seen, but we were being fed a lot of misinformation.  It has taken ten years, but journalist Dave Cullen has produced an impressive compilation of the true story of Columbine, down to minute-by-minute details, background into the killers' psyche, and the mishandling of information and resources by the local law enforcement agencies.

This book was hands down one of the most remarkable pieces of work I have read in recent memory.  I devoured all 464 pages in less than three days.  Cullen transports you right into the gymnasium at Columbine High School where a throng of students chants "We are Col-um-BINE!" in a show of solidarity and excitement before heading off for prom weekend, the principal charging them all to get back Monday morning safe and sound.  There was no way he could have known that by that time on Tuesday, fifteen of those in the gym would be dead.  The amount of detail in this book is staggering and while some of his conclusions are conjecture, there are a wealth of sources for him to use to reach such determinations.  Some statements about moods, opinions, or personality might be a bit of a reach, but the majority of the book is fact-based reasoning.  I applaud Cullen for the painstaking effort he took to base every word on some kind of evidence, whether it be court documents, surveillance footage from the cafeteria of the school, eyewitness accounts, journal entries, or the infamous Basement Tapes.  He does not exclude himself as one of the "good journalists" who never got the story wrong, but immediately takes responsibility for his mistakes that April and devotes the next several hundred pages to getting it right. 

Columbine is not an easy book to read.  The prose flows smoothly and the pages turn quickly, but because it was produced in such impressive detail, it's like the reader is transported to Columbine for a front row seat and it most certainly isn't pretty.  It's sometimes hard to keep reading because you know that it was real.  Myths are debunked, truths are told, scandals are revealed, and unprecedented insights are shared.  For anyone who was left asking, "Why?" after the events of April 20, 1999.....read this book.  It's as close to an answer as we will probably ever come.

5 Stars.


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 9:26 AM 6 comments
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September 18, 2010

In This Way I Was Saved by Brian DeLeeuw

I was provided with a copy of this novel for review purposes, but my opinions are entirely my own.

I was scared to read this book.  The description on the back cover coupled with a disturbing child-like drawing that was included with my copy of the novel left me feeling very uneasy and downright frightened to read it.  Nevertheless, I mustered up my courage and opened it up.  Surprisingly, I found I did not want to put it down.

In This Way I Was Saved is the story of Luke. Someone earning a psychology degree from an online accredited university would probably understand what is going on with Luke. Luke is a child who develops what I can only attempt to describe as an separate personality during a traumatic moment in his childhood.  This "other" begins to grow stronger and becomes an embodiment of the sinister, the carnal, and the dangerous side of Luke's psyche.  Eventually, this id-like character is banished to the recesses of Luke's mind, only to remain dormant until a time when he can return to fight for complete control over Luke's existence.

This psychological thriller really grabbed me from the get-go because of the narration style.  The reader "sees" the story through the eyes of Daniel, the alternate personality or entity that resides within Luke.  We experience Luke's successes, conflicts, failures, and horrors, but skewed by the lens of Daniel's narration.  The question of whether or not the narrator can be considered reliable is certainly debatable and he remains a mystery right up to the last page of this novel.  Nevertheless, we identify with Daniel and willingly join him on the journey into the dark recesses of Luke's (and his) mind.  The reader is constantly being challenged to determine what is real and what is imagined or if, in fact, there actually is a true reality for these characters.  DeLeeuw even provides us with a twist at the end that leaves us questioning whether we really ever had this book all figured out in the first place!

I found In This Way I Was Saved to be unique, intoxicating, and terrifying.  If you're looking for a book that will mess with your head in a similar fashion as Palahniuk's Fight Club, give this one a go.  It's delightfully twisted.

4 Stars!


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 9:11 PM 1 comments
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September 9, 2010

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins


The highly anticipated third and final installment of The Hunger Games series was released in August and I had my pre-order from Amazon all set up and ready so it would be on my doorstep the very next day. Mockingjay takes place in Panem, a country in turmoil following a bold move by rebel forces that ended in a stunning Hunger Games climax in the previous book, Catching Fire. This book continues the story of our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, as she fights to avoid being a pawn once again in the games of those in power.

Collins introduces some intriguing new characters in this novel, such as the sharp and haughty President Coin and the military leader Boggs. My personal favorites were cameramen Castor and Pollux, whose names are a clever play on the Trojan men of Greek history who also had to fight for the survival of their civilization. Several previous characters take on larger roles in Mockingjay and, in turn, become far more interesting. Finnick Odair is less of a gaudy, schmoozing, ladies man this time around and more of a damaged soul with a score to settle. Beete, the eccentric victor with proficiency for electricity, becomes a mastermind in weapons of mass destruction. Even Peeta Mellark undergoes a startling and creative transformation that really throws a wrench in things. On the other hand, President Snow who we came to hate as the sickeningly sweet yet vicious leader of Panem, becomes somewhat one-dimensional this time around and almost cartoonish. Even favorites like Gale, Haymitch, and Katniss herself are not as well-rounded or in depth as they have been in the past.

Without the arena to ground the plot, the story doesn’t have the magic of The Hunger Games or Catching Fire. For a good deal of the pages, the book reads as just another war novel where the oppressed fight back against those who attempt to lord over them. The uniqueness of the Games themselves that gave the previous books that special flair is certainly missing. When all is said and done, Collins ties up the series in a nice, neat little bow, but I would argue that the ending feels rushed and overly contrived. The “twists” are predictable as is the sugary sweet epilogue that reads more like a tween novel than young adult science fiction.

An enjoyable book, but not up to par with the first two books who, for better or for worse, set the bar pretty high. This one feels rushed and slightly cliché, but it provides a clear end to a solid series.

3 stars.


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 12:53 PM 2 comments
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June 2, 2010

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

I'm not usually a big reader of memoirs, but when the opportunity came up to review this book, I was really intrigued by the story.  In the Sanctuary of Outcasts relates the experiences of Neil White during his time at a federal prison in Carville, Louisiana.  Sentenced to eighteen months for kiting checks, White finds himself sharing a building with the last patients suffering from leprosy in the United States.  Color me ignorant, but I had absolutely no clue that people were still suffering from leprosy in the U.S. as late as the 90s.  This fact alone was enough to grab my interest in White's story, but the idea of housing these patients with convicted felons seemed to me to be just another dash of salt being added to the wounds of these afflicted souls.

White's story is not unusual in its inception.  Convicted of a crime motivated by greed and the desire to maintain an impressive persona, he is sent to what one fellow prisoner refers to as a "country club" of prisons, complete with a golf course, playground, and jogging track.  No bars on the windows, no locks on the doors.  In fact, White relates how he told his children that "Daddy is going to camp" as a way to explain his prolonged absence.  This memoir is not just another "I fought the law and the law won" story, however.  Neil White's story is not so much about him and his journey to prison, but more about the stories of the patients who called Carville their home.  The "outcasts" like Ella, Harry, and Jimmy have been cast out of society, set apart and kept isolation.  Some have heartbreaking stories of being hunted like animals because of their disease or having their newborn children taken from the birthing bed to be raised by another.  As he learns their stories, the wounds of the leprosy patients begin to disappear for White and he starts to realize that in fact they are not the outcasts at Carville.  He is.

This is a moving story, told in an honest, readable style.  White uses a conversational, sometime humorous tone, to tell his story interwoven with the story of the Carville residents.  At one point in his journey, White realized that he would no longer behave in a manner to seek the approval and praise of others, but I still praise the work his has done with this memoir.  He has honored those whom he once set out to exploit for his own gain.  In the Sanctuary of Outcasts is a witty, candid tale of redemption that kept me riveted from beginning to end.  I highly recommend it!  4 Stars.


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 12:01 AM 4 comments
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May 20, 2010

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

I'll admit it. My interest in this book was first sparked by the creepy trailers for the movie I saw on TV. Since I'm not one for scary movies, I figured it was not going to be for me. It wasn't until my mother in law read the book and recommended it to me that I decided to give it a go. I even made my husband read it first to make sure it wasn't going to freak me out so much I wouldn't be able to sleep. I'm that much of a wuss. When he gave it the "Safe for Sarah" stamp of approval, I busted out the Kindle and dove in. Bonus - this book was only $4.99 on Kindle!!

Shutter Island is about a pair of U.S. Marshalls who travel to a psychological treatment center for the criminally insane. It's not the tame wackos who head to this joint. They get the real crazies, the ones who murder their entire family, skin them, and make lampshades to decorate their house with. (Yup, I'm from Wisconsin) One of these prisoners patients has gone missing and Marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner, Chuck, have been called in to investigate how she could have disappeared from her locked cell, through the guarded compound, and off the treacherous island. In somewhat predictable fashion, nothing is as it seems at Ashecliffe Hospital.

Before too long, the investigation becomes less about Rachel Solando's disappearance and more about Teddy Daniels himself. There are freaky, drug-induced dream sequences that are written in creepy detail. Lehane creates a terrifying world inside Teddy's subconscious, one that draws you in to the madness of Ashecliffe.

I'm not sure how to really classify this book. Sci Fi? Mystery? Thriller? It's got a bit of all of that. Between the supposed experimental surgeries taking place at Ashecliffe to the questions surrounding the staff, Lehane leaves the reader guessing right up until the massive twist at the end of the novel. It turns out to be one of those books you want to re-read because you know the second time will be a completely different experience.

The characters were a bit on the stereotypical side - the war-affected Marshall with a tragic past and a conspiracy theory, the creepy yet brilliant mad scientist, the good-cop sidekick, the prisoner patient with a personal vendetta against the protagonist, the good-natured orderly with a knack for racial humor. Be that as it may, Lehane still writes a good one that kept me hooked right up to the end.

And I didn't even have nightmares.  4 stars.


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 1:59 PM 2 comments
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April 28, 2010

I Will Carry You by Angie Smith

There are some books you probably shouldn't read in public.  This is one of them.  Not because I was ashamed or embarassed to be seen reading it (quite the opposite, in fact), but because people who saw my face as I read probably wondered what was wrong with the woman reading the book with the baby on the cover. 
I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy tells the story of Audrey Caroline Smith, fourth daughter of Angie and Todd Smith (the latter being the lead singer of Selah).  Those of you familiar with the blog Bring The Rain already know this story, but this book discusses in even more heart-wrenching detail the journey the Smith go through after discovering through an 18 week ultrasound that sweet Audrey had condidtions which made her "incompatible with life."  Choosing to put their trust in the Great Physician, Angie and Todd carried Audrey until her birth on April 7th, 2008 when they got to spend two precious hours with their sweet baby girl.

Despite the fact that I bawled my eyes out for the duration of the novel (even though I already knew the story from Angie's blog), I found such hope in the pages that Angie has created.  It is so easy to trust in God when the sun is shining, when all is right with the world and life is good.  But God calls us to rely on him, to trust him, and especially to praise Him even in our darkest hours.  It is this aspect of the novel that makes it so inspiring and important.  The Smiths were in agony, hoping against all hope the the Creator would heal their Audrey.  Flawlessly incorporating Scripture, the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and her own blog posts, Angie Smith has produced something incredibly uplifting.  Her honesty, sincerity, and passion for the Lord flow out of the pages and directly into the reader's heart.

Thousands of people read Bring the Rain and it's impossible to know just how many have found Christ because of it.  Countless others have had their lives changed by Audrey.  I can only pray that scores more will find solace, hope, and peace that can only be found in Him through this book.  I highly recommend it to anyone, especially mothers, but particularly to those who have suffered the loss of a child.  5 Stars.


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 3:24 PM 21 comments
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February 8, 2010

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Who would have thought young adult lit could be so enjoyable for an adult? I read The Hunger Games (the prequel to this novel) out loud to my 7th grade students last year and they couldn't get enough of it....and neither could I. I had to take the book home to finish it because I couldn't take the suspense any longer. Read my review of The Hunger Games if you're interested in my thoughts on the first book in Collins' series.

Catching Fire is the second installment in what looks to be a trilogy. Set in Panem, a nation crippled by the dictatorship of "The Capital," our heroine Katniss Everdeen returns. Her actions in The Hunger Games have made her the biggest celebrity in Panem, but also Enemy #1 of the Capital. Rebellion is stirring in the districts and if she wants to keep those she loves alive, she must do everything she can to stop the uprising. When all she does is fan the flames, Katniss once again becomes a pawn in the Capital's deadly game.

Collins has really hit a home run with this series. Aimed at the young adult reader, this book is a very fast read for an adult, but it never feels like you're reading something "beneath" you. Catching Fire takes the same topics of government power, the strength of the masses, love, survival, and loyalty and turns them on their heel. Collins' descriptions are precise and spark the imagination - my particular favorite being President Snow who smells of "roses and blood." In a society where the district one in born into can mean a meal ticket or a death sentence, Katniss represents hope and her actions make her a character we are quick to root for. The arena Collins creates for this novel is as imaginative and original as it is horrifying.

Make no mistake, these two books are violent - very violent. I would make the argument that Catching Fire offers slightly more "adult" content (not sexual per say, but certainly not G rated) than its prequel. Once again, however, Collins succeeds in grabbing her reader's attention right out of the gate and leaves the last page with a cliffhanger that leaves you begging for the next book. Not for readers under the age of 12, in my opinion, but enjoyed thoroughly by this 26 year old. 5 stars.

**NOTE: You absolutely MUST read The Hunger Games before Catching Fire or it won't make much sense. The third book comes out on August 24, 2010!

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Reviewed by slkooiman at 2:21 PM 3 comments
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January 26, 2010

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I know this was reviewed back in September when it first came out, but I finally got around to reading it just last week because I had a newborn at the time! This was the first book I had wirelessly "beamed" to my Kindle at 12:01 am the day it came out. It was pretty cool to have access to a new release pretty much immediately.

As someone who truly enjoyed Brown's previous novels The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons, I was excited to read his most recent work. Set in Washington D.C., The Lost Symbol again joins Robert Langdon as he is unexpectedly swept into the mysterious world of secret societies, legend, and mystery. Langdon is tricked into coming to the nation's capital and finds himself at the center of a madman's errand. Expected to help discover the long-long treasure of the Freemasons, Langdon must decipher codes, travel deep into the underground vaults of the U.S. Capitol, and evade pursuit by the CIA.


I particularly liked the cast of characters in this book. The antagonist is seriously B.A. (email me if you don't know what that stands for) and is crucial to making this book so special. He is mysterious, dangerous, intelligent, and his cunning makes him the ideal villain in this story. As is typical for Dan Brown, he provides Langdon with a female sidekick. Katherine Solomon fills this role nicely, but she's more gullible and sappy than she is fierce or interesting. The real star of the show in The Lost Symbol is Director Sato, the CIA director who makes up for what she lacks in stature with a raw grit that strikes fear into the bones of any man she crosses.

Brown's writing style works well in this novel, as he leaves little mini-cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. It always makes you want to keep reading, regardless of the late hour. There is one particular plot twist that hits you like a ton of bricks and may force you to make a frantic call to your spouse at work, just to express your shock and awe at the situation. The final climax is unexpected and jaw-dropping.

Unfortunately, there was still quite a bit of book left after the climax that left me feeling a bit disappointed. The Epilogue feels like a bit of an afterthought and what is supposed to be the resolution to the big mystery that had caused so much hoopla throughout the novel feels somewhat anti-climactic.

All in all, another good one by Dan Brown. I'd still rate Angels and Demons as my fave, but I'd have to put this one below The DaVinci Code. 4 Stars.

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Reviewed by slkooiman at 2:52 PM 5 comments
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December 10, 2009

Mercy by Jodi Picoult


I have grown very fond of the books by Jodi Picoult. It reminds me of the phase I went through in my middle school years when I was obsessed with reading Stephen King novels and would scour the flea market for titles I had not yet acquired for my ridiculous collection. I still remember staying up until 3 am one night just to finish Pet Sematary, or it might have been because I was too scared to fall asleep. The moral of the story is that once I find an author I like, I want to read everything they have written; the good, the bad, the ugly. That being said, I can safely say that Mercy was the first Picoult novel I have read that I didn't get completely enraptured with. That's not to say I didn't like it, because I did. However, I didn't love it and it didn't grab hold of me like, for example, My Sister's Keeper had.

Mercy is a novel about love. What does it mean to love someone? Would you do anything for that person? Would you kill for them? Is it possible to love someone too much? A woman dying of numerous forms of cancer who is suffering horribly asks her devoted husband to kill her, to put her out of her misery. He does what she asks him and the rest of the novel explores the aftermath of the murder and the question of what it really means to love someone, as well as the many definitions of the word "mercy." The subplot, which really operates on a level equal to the euthanasia plot, is the affair the police chief (and cousin of the accused murderer) has with his wife's assistant. Strangely, it was this plot that left me feeling more uncomfortable than the one that involved the murder of a woman.

Picoult's prose is good, as always. She writes in a very straight forward manner that the reader appreciates. This novel is written in a much more gentle manner than those I have previously read. It explores its subject matter with a certain sensitivity and grace. However, I felt this novel spent unnecessary page space on the obvious details of sexual encounters, but lacked a certain panache that may have made these scenes more interesting. Furthermore, this novel was very predictable. There were none of the twists and turns that keep you flipping the pages at a breakneck pace. Instead, you kept reading in an effort to confirm your suspicions about what you expected was going to happen, realizing that you were dead on.

With likable characters, a dash of Scottish Gaelic, and an interesting ethical dilemma, this novel is certainly enjoyable. However, the predictability of the plot that leads to the expected ending leaves something to be desired. 3 Stars.
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Reviewed by slkooiman at 6:05 PM 2 comments
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October 6, 2009

What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen

I apologize for my hiatus of reviewing, but it turns out that having a two year old and a newborn baby in the house doesn't leave much time for reading! We welcomed our second son into our family on September 10th and it's been a real roller-coaster ride ever since. It was only because of a visit to the grandparents, who were more than happy to handle my toddler, that I was able to read this book!


Imagine being suddenly stricken by mysterious symptoms that have both you and the numerous doctors you are seeing perplexed. Ultimately, you are sent for an emergency CAT scan and you are terrified because you're sure it's going to reveal a life threatening tumor in your abdomen. Instead.....surprise! You're six months pregnant!

This is what happens to Alice Eve Cohen and she describes her incredible journey to becoming a mother to her second (and only biological) child in her memoir, What I Thought I Knew. After spending her entire life being told she was infertile and taking daily hormone treatments, 44 year old Cohen is given the shock of her life that turns her world upside down. This memoir grabs you from the get-go because you think, "How could you possibly not know you were pregnant?" The reader goes through this experience with the author and it is nothing short of heartbreaking as she is put through one ethical dilemma after another, confronting issues ranging from late term abortion to gential assignment surgery.

A concise, well-written account of a true story, What I Thought I Knew is a real page turner that certainly challenged my ideas of what I thought I knew about pregnancy and what is right and wrong when it comes to the life that pregnancy creates. It describes in no uncertain terms what can only be referred to as the "gray area" that so many of us struggle with when it comes to our beliefs and Cohen takes us along with her as she wrestles with her own decisions. Great book!

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Reviewed by slkooiman at 10:37 PM 2 comments
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September 3, 2009

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

If you are looking for a powerful, emotional, character-driven novel, then look no further than The Help. Set in Jackson, Mississippi in the middle of the Civil Rights movement (1962-1964ish), Stockett's novel paints a magnificiant portrait of three main characters: Miss Skeeter - the wealthy young white woman, Aibeleen - the experienced, yet bold black maid, Minny - the strong black maid with the amazing cooking and smart mouth. The narration in this novel is shared by these three women and Stockett truly excells at giving each woman a unique voice, complete with different speech patterns and spellings of words to indicate accent and vocal variety. By showing the events from three different points of view, the reader gets a complete picture of the volatile environment in which these characters exist and really feel their anger, embarrassment, shame, and fear right along with them.

At the same time that other white members of her Junior League are building separate bathrooms in the carport for the colored help to use so they don't pick up any "Nigra diseases," Miss Skeeter is a white woman who finds herself asking questions about why the black men and women of Jackson are treated they way they are and why they have to continue to just accept it as the norm. She begins on a quest to share the stories of "the help," the hired maids of Jackson, through a series of interviews with women. You will find yourself cheering for your three champions and relishing in their victories over their "white women" and crying at their defeats, fears, and tragedies.

The Help discusses common human decency and the question of why we treat one another the way we do, whether it is based on the color of our skin, the money in our bank account, the level of our education, or the brand name on our clothes. The question the author raises is if we have, in fact, moved beyond the days of Jackson in the 1960s or if the same prejudices continue under another name. Great book!

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Reviewed by slkooiman at 10:00 AM 2 comments
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August 25, 2009

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

I admit it. I read the Twilight series, all of them, in about a week because I was hopelessly addicted. I wanted to hate them because my 12 year female students were absolutely obsessed and I was convinced that my literary tastes were far more evolved and there would be no way I could even get into such juvenile writing. Well, lo and behold. I read them and enjoyed them.

Let's be clear. Dead Until Dark is nothing like Twilight. Sure, there are vampires in both, but that's right about where the similarities end. I picked up the first of this series based solely on the fact that I became hopelessly addicted to the HBO series "True Blood," which is based on Harris's series. This is probably the first time I will actually say that I preferred the TV version.

Dead Until Dark is about Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse, a quirky, likeable woman who has a "disability:" she can read minds. Along comes Bill Compton, a vampire who takes a certain liking to Sookie and who she is immediately drawn to because his mind is, for one reason or another, closed to her. The first book in the series deals with the initial stages of their romantic relationship and the mystery of who is murdering the women of the small town of Bon Temps who are known to be "fang-bangers."

I enjoyed reading this book, as one might shamelessly enjoy an Arbor Mist while everyone else is drinking Pinot Noir. The writing is far from literary genius, the dialogue can be a bit goofy, and the plot takes some strange jumps at times, but it's a good fluff book if you're looking to be entertained. I will probably continue with reading the rest of the series simply because I had to cancel my HBO to bring my cable bill down, but I'll still rent True Blood when it comes out on DVD to get the racier, edgier version of this story.


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 10:00 AM 0 comments
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August 19, 2009

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

As a rule, I try to always finish a book once I have started it. You never know when you'll hit that magic moment where the story suddenly grabs you and you are transported into the author's world. Unfortunately, I just couldn't do it this time and I called it quits on this one before I had made it five chapters.

I originally picked up Tropper's novel because it sounded quirky and fun. The main character, Judd, has recently discovered that his wife has been having an affair for the last year with none other than his boss and to top it all off....she's pregnant. Oh, and did I mention that he finds out that charming little last detail on the same day that his father dies? Yeah, things are are not great in Judd's world. His father's last request was to have his entire family, mom and kids, all live together in the same house for an entire week, so Judd heads to the funeral to bury his dad and "sit shiva" with his mother and siblings. Let the dysfunction ensue!

Sounds interesting, right? I thought so too. What I did not expect was for the majority of the first handful of chapters to be taken up with extremely vulgar and unnecessarily detailed descriptions of Judd discovering his wife's affair. He is unfortunate enough to actually walk in on her in bed with the boss-man....on the wife's birthday no less. Let's just say the birthday cake Judd is holding, complete with candles aflame, ends up in a rather uncomfortable spot for boss-man. Sure, it sounds funny, but reading about this encounter for page after page with one f-bomb after another sprinkled in among the dirtiest little details describing the scene quickly became too much for me.
Perhaps those of you with a stronger constitution can give this the ole college try and dispute this review. Let me know that if I had only hung on a little longer, I would have discovered a true literary gem. I'm anxious to hear what the rest of you thought of this one, as it was just too foul for my palette.


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 3:13 PM 0 comments
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August 18, 2009

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski


I picked up this novel after checking out the library's "Don't Miss" list and on the recommendation of one of my teacher pals. Actually, she hadn't read it because she is a HUGE dog person and can't handle reading anything where a dog dies (sorry if I just spoiled it) anywhere in the novel, but she had heard wonderful things about this book. I decided I needed to check it out and report back to her on whether or not she could handle reading the whole thing. The verdict? Lynn - READ THIS BOOK!!!

No small undertaking at nearly 600 pages, this book requires a bit more effort than your run-of-the-mill novel. The payoff? An extremely well-written, haunting story that sticks with you and leaves you feeling sad, yet enlightened. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is the story of a young boy, Edgar, who is born mute. He grows up on his family's farm in northern Wisconsin (Woot! Woot!) where they run a dog kennel. Now, this dog kennel is not the puppy mill that we have come to imagine in our modern days. This is a high-class operation, an epicenter of selective breeding, rigorous training, and other practices that result in the creation of the "Sawtelle dog," a unique breed all its own. Although Edgar is the clear protagonist, the reader also comes to know and love his dog, Almondine. Unlike the dogs the family breeds for a living, Almondine is the house dog that has been by Edgar's side since the moment he was brought home as a newborn. Even though Edgar cannot talk, Almondine understands him perfectly and the relationship between these two characters is nothing short of mesmerizing.

It is hard not to pick up on the Hamlet-like trajectory of this tale. Edgar, son of Gar, is shaken to the core when his beloved father suddenly dies and his uncle, Claude, gradually infiltrates his father's place at the kennel and in his mother's arms. Complete with a Polonius character named Page (honestly....the author made this easy!) and the appearance of a ghost saying "Remember me!" anyone who knows a hawk from a handsaw can understand the direction this plot will take. What makes Wroblewski's novel so interesting is that it isn't just a Hamlet knock-off. The Sawtelle dogs (and Almondine) become as interesting of characters as the humans. Plus, the ghosts being dealt with are both on the farm and in the hearts of the players. The eloquent use of language - ironic considering the main character is a mute who is obsessed with language - combined with a unique approach to using narration creates a very enjoyable novel. This is one to take your time with, savor, and enjoy as long as possible. 4 Stars!


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 10:00 AM 1 comments
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August 6, 2009

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout


HUSBAND: "It sounds British. Is she British?"
ME: "No, this book is set in Maine."
HUSBAND: "Yeah, but I bet she's British."
ME: "No honey....she's not British."

And thus, I had to go through the rest of the time it took me to read this book with my husband pronouncing the title with a terrible British accent: "Owhleeve Keetredge!" But, no....the title character is not British.

Unique in its narration, this novel is structured as a collection of 13 short stories, or vignettes, that are all connected somehow to one central character, Olive. Some focus on her former students, others on her husband, neighbors, and occasionally herself. There are stories of love, loss, scandal, marriage (and divorce), happy endings and sad ones. Every new story offered another facet of Olive's character and helped paint a more complete picture of her life and the community in which she lives. The novel moves through a great deal of time and introduces us to a number of characters, but it is the quirky, heavy-set, blunt to a fault Olive that keeps us turning the pages. My favorite moment was in "Little Bursts" when Olive is alone in her son's bedroom on his wedding day and she steals one of her new daughter-in-law's shoes, a bra, and writes with a marker on one of her sweaters just to remind her that she too doesn't know everything and might be losing her mind. Nothing like a mother-in-law to put you in your place!

Perhaps not one that I will re-read, but I would certainly recommend it highly. It's a fast read and I found it to be eloquently written and very enjoyable. Oh yeah, and it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008, so you know it's something special. Be prepared to be on a waiting list at the library for this one, however! 4 Stars!


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 4:50 PM 3 comments
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August 4, 2009

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris


At the pool I currently go to, one of the regulars is a woman with Down syndrome .... Odd is the great satisfaction I take whenever I beat her from one end to the other.

"I won three out of four," I told Hugh the first time she and I swam together. "I mean I really creamed her."

"Let me get this straight," he said. "She's obese. She's as old as you are. And she has Down syndrome?"

"Yes, and I beat her. Isn't that great!"

This is the kind of crazy stuff one can find in this collection of essays by David Sedaris. What really gets me is that he only won 3 out of 4 races! As I was reading this book, a clear departure from my typical fare, I found myself making little notations on my bookmark of page numbers and anecdotes that were my favorite. Sedaris doesn't write about anything exceedingly extraordinary like climbing Mount Everest or learning how to play the piano with his toes, but he does turn the normal events of his life into quirkly, sometimes hilarious reading. One of the snippets that had me chuckling out loud in the middle of a silent study hall was his observations on the Stadium Pal, an accessory he had purchased:

It was my search for something discreet, masculine, and practical that led me to the Stadium Pal, an external catheter currently being marketed to sports fans, truck drivers, and anyone else who's tired of searching for a bathroom....

The subsequent analysis of the uses of the Stadium Pal at a long public reading, on an overbooked coast-to-coast flight, or when you just didn't feel like looking for a bathroom, had me in stitches. Combine this delightfulness with the anecdote about telling his parents about his double major in patricide and matricide at Princeton and his adventures in quitting smoking, and the dry humor of this piece of work is just that - a piece of work.

Some of it is vulgar. VERY vulgar. Complete with everything from F-bombs to the N-word, the language of this book can leave the sensitive reader reeling. It would be easy to hold this against Sedaris if the bulk of the book wasn't so freaking hilarious. I do wish he would have included more pieces on his family since the part about their babysitter, Mrs. Peacock, demanding that he and his sisters scratch her hairy, sweaty back with a plastic monkey hand on a stick was just too good. I definitely would have preferred more focus on his quick-witted sisters rather than on his somewhat mundane boyfriend, Hugh. He got a little boring after a while.

The verdict on this one? Read with caution. It's off key, tasteless at times, and very weird. It's also very, very funny.....to some. I will end by sharing what was probably my favorite moment from the whole book. While discussing how modern society has drastically changed its view on smoking from previous generations, Sedaris writes this excerpt. It's so horrible I was almost peeing my pants I was laughing so hard:

It seems crazy to cut smoking mothers out of textbooks, but within a few years they won't be allowed in movies either. A woman can throw her newborn child from the roof of a high-rise building. She can then retrieve the body and stomp on it while shooting into the windows of a day care center, but to celebrate these murders by lighting a cigarette is to send a harmful message. There are, after all, young people watching, and we wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea.

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Reviewed by slkooiman at 10:00 AM 3 comments
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August 1, 2009

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows



When was the last time you read a book, finished it, and then immediately wanted to turn back to the front and start all over again? Yeah, it's been a while for me too. This book did it for me. I absolutely, positively LOVED it. It's unique, enchanting, witty, entertaining, and an all around delight to read!


Set in the year or so following the end of World War II, this novel is the story of a writer, Juliet Ashton, who is looking for some material for a new book. Entirely by luck, she receives a letter from a resident of the island of Guernsey (located in the English Channel) who ended up in possession of a former book of hers and is writing to inquire about further reading. As it turns out, this islander is a member of a group - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - an organization created entirely as a ruse for escaping punishment from German soldiers during the occupation of the island, but ends up becoming something far more important to its members. Juliet is intrigued and the novel follows her interest and subsequent infactuation with the island of Guernsey.


What truly makes this novel so wonderful is how it makes the characters come alive. Their quirkiness, wit, fears, hopes, and emotions all leap off the page and you are left feeling like you really know these people. This level of interaction with the novel is achieved mainly, I feel, because is it written entirely as a series of letters and telegrams! At less than 300 pages, it is already a quick read, but the pages turn even more quickly based on that fact.


It's a strange brew of humor, romance, scandal, and historical fiction. The main character, Julia, is an absolute gem and I found myself wishing I too could adopt her as a best friend. My only complaint is that the author leaves some nagging questions unanswered at the end of the novel, but you really hardly notice because you're too busy smiling because you enjoyed it so much! Looking for a quick, delightful read? Pick this one up. 5 Stars!




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Reviewed by slkooiman at 9:00 AM 4 comments
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July 30, 2009

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

I am still floating on the high that comes from reading and finishing this book. The Art of Racing in the Rain has instantly become one of my new favorite novels and I look forward to the time that I will return to read it again. This novel is narrated by a very unique character, a dog named Enzo. Enzo is not just any dog, however. He is a dog who understands humans, perhaps better than they understand themselves, because of his exceptional observation skills and his addiction to watching TV when his master is gone. Enzo longs for thumbs, a tongue, a voice with which to speak, and he looks forward to the day he will be reincarnated as a man and can live the life he feels he was truly meant for. Enzo's narration is what makes this book truly special and unique, but it is the heart-wrenching storyline that keeps the reader emotionally invested.

Enzo tells us the story of his master, Denny, a semiprofessional race car driver who goes through an absolutely harrowing ordeal with his family. Enzo learns all about racing through watching Denny drive, listening to him speak, and watching the Speed Channel. He teaches the reader about how life is really a lot like racing. In particular, Denny is very good at racing in the rain, when the track is slick and other drivers might falter. The key, Enzo tells us, is to know what's coming ahead: "The car goes where the eyes go." Ironically, it is being unable to see the events unfolding right in front of his eyes that leads Denny into the horrible drama he must deal with in this novel.

This book is believable, relatable, heart-warming, and gut-wrenching....all at the same time. I found myself yelling at The Evil Twins (oh, you'll love them), laughing out loud at Enzo, and crying my eyes out at the book's conclusion. Love it, love it, love it. 5 Stars!


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Reviewed by slkooiman at 10:38 AM 1 comments
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