Wednesday, July 22, 2015

My Take: Summer Sisters by Judy Blume


Summer SistersSummer Sisters by Judy Blume
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like so many others, I grew up on Judy Blume books. My most memorable ones being, Blubber and Are you there God? it's me, Margaret.

So, when I recently came across this book, I knew I had to have it.

This is a quintessential Judy Blume book. One can look at this as a coming of age read, but where most coming of age books stop, this moves on well into adulthood.

This is a story of two unlikely friends, Caitlyn Somers and Victoria Leonard, who are growing up in the 1970's. They come from opposite backgrounds. Caitlyn comes from money, while Victoria's family has to work hard for every penny. One summer, Caitlyn invites Victoria to come stay with her family vacation home at Martha's Vineyard. Victoria is excited to escape a summer of watching her younger siblings. But is also surprised that someone as amazing as Caitlyn would want to be friends, much less spend an entire summer with her.

And so, that one summer starts a friendship that spans from the 70's through the 90's. Nearly three decades of summers filled with laughter, friendship, self discovery, along with betrayals, heartaches but ultimately forgiveness and hope.

This book has so much depth with complex and believable characters, that I feel everyone could identify with. We all look back on our youth, and people we knew and experiences we had. So, there is something about reading/watching peoples lives go by through years that strike an emotional cord within me. And that is exactly what this book did. I felt emotions for the characters . I laughed and cried right along with them. Because I felt I was one of them. Because I am one of them.

This is a perfect summer read, but I could read this book anytime of the year to be honest.

I highly recommend this book.

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Saturday, May 2, 2015

My Take: The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss


The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was just as brilliant and engrossing as the first book, but I will not go into a long poetic description, employing big words like I'm some big literally critic.

This is a beautiful tale that has captured my imagination and whimsy. I care about the world and the characters, (well, at least most of them) in a way that leaves me thinking about them even after I have put the book down.

The Wise Man's Fear, obviously picks right back up where The Name of the Wind left off, and we continue the journey of Kvothe's life. He is still at the University for the first part of the book, but due to some trouble that seems to find him, he is advised to take some time off. And so he finds himself back on the road traveling where many intrigues and people are to be met along the way.

Patrick has a way to make everything in the world feel so alive and real. Everything down to the streets Kvothe walks on is just as important as Kvothe himself.Even characters in passing take on a whole life of their own on the few pages they may grace. So, you never feel like he is over explaining things or that the flow of the story stopped. Which no easy task I'm sure, but Patrick makes it look effortless.

Now, I'm tasked with waiting for the third book in this series, wondering how I'm going to make it without it.



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Thursday, February 26, 2015

My Take: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall



A Little Something DifferentA Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the such a sweet romance story.

This book revolves around two college students, Lea and Gabe, as told by fourteen points of view. Yes, fourteen. With a couple of them being quiet unexpected, and added to the quirky charm of the book.

Now when I heard about how many POV's were adding to this story, I was a little concerned that it would be jumpy and all over the place. I was pleasantly surprised at how beautifully it flowed together. I didn't feel lost or annoyed by it at all. In fact, it complimented the story.

For the first time, I really enjoyed each character I encountered here. Despite not having full background story on them, Sandy Hall was able to made each one of them interesting. I could read more about each and everyone of them and not get bored. Sandy Hall really demonstrated what a wonderful story teller she is.

This is a stand alone book, but I wish I could read more. I would love to hear the stories of the people we spent so much time listening to. The bus driver, the waitress, Maribel and the others.

This isn't a big epic book, that was meant to send us on a journey of grandeur or life changing ideas. It is a sweet, fun, happy read. And it is perfect in that way. I love this book and feel happier for having read it.








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I went to my favorite place today! The Library!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the library. I look forward to my biweekly visit so I can spend countless hours looking through shelves of books, and sitt...