Title: Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
Jacket Summary:
Novalee Nation has always been unlucky with sevens. She's seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty seven pounds overweight- and now she finds herself stranded at a Wal*Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, holding just $7.77 in change. An hour ago, she was on her way from Tennessee to a new life in Bakersfield, California. Suddenly, with all those sevens stairing her in the face, she is forced to accept the scary truth: her no-good boyfriend Willy Jack Pickens has left her with empty pockets and empty dreams.
But Novalee is about to discover treasures hidden in Sequoyah--a group of disparate and deeply caring people, among them blue-haired Sister Thelma Husband, who hands out advice and photocopied books of the Bible..Moses Whitecotton, the wise, soft-spoken, elderly black photographer eager to teach Novalee all he knows..and Forney Hull, the eccentric town librarian who hides his secrets--and his feelings--behind his world of books.
Nocalee may be homeless and jobless, living secretly in a Wal*Mart, but she's beginning to believe she may have a future. Through all the touching and suprising adventures that lie ahead, she's going in the right direction.
My opinion
This was an amazing book. I really did not expect much from it at first but it sucked me in. I remember there being a big deal about it when I was younger but I was not really paying attention to books back then. It was a quick read too. I was left crying during several parts. If you are in the mood for a feel good tale this is definatly the book to pick up.
RATING
4.5 out of 5
TIME?
Three days
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
What I Did For Love- Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Title: What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Summary:: (Source http://www.susanephillips.com/what_i_did_for_love.html ))
This was a cute book. It was well written and amusing but more or less unrealistic. The formula of fake-marriage-turns-to-real-love has been used time and time again but Ms. Phillips has some how written a book that makes the well warn formula new and entertaining.
SCORE: 4.5/5 stars
Summary:: (Source http://www.susanephillips.com/what_i_did_for_love.html ))
It's not easy being famous when your life is falling apart... Georgie York has been dumped by her movie star husband, her own film career is tanking, and her public image as a spunky romantic heroine is taking a serious beating.My Take:What should a down-on-her-luck actress do? NOT go to Vegas...NOT run into her detestable former co-star—dreamboat-from-hell Bramwell Shepard...and NOT get caught up in a ridiculous incident that leads to a calamitous elopement. Before she knows it, Georgie has a fake marriage, fake husband, and maybe (or not) a fake sex life.
It's a paparazzi free-for-all, and Georgie's non-supporting cast doesn't help. There's Bram's punk-nightmare housekeeper; Georgie's pushy parent; a suck-up agent; an icy studio head; and her ex-husband's new wife, an international do-gooder who just might win the stupid Nobel Peace Prize!
As for Georgie's leading man... Bram, with his angel blue eyes and twisted black heart, has never cared about anyone but himself. Still, he's giving the performance of his life as man in love—thanks to the half a million dollars she's paying him. It was official. She'd married the devil. Or had she?
Two enemies find themselves working without a script in a town where the spotlight shines bright...and where the strongest emotions can wear startling disguises.
This was a cute book. It was well written and amusing but more or less unrealistic. The formula of fake-marriage-turns-to-real-love has been used time and time again but Ms. Phillips has some how written a book that makes the well warn formula new and entertaining.
SCORE: 4.5/5 stars
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Title: The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Summary (by me!)
Elena Klovis is not living the life she thought she would. Her father remarried a shrew of a woman after her mothers death and Elena found herself sattled with a new Stepmother and two step sisters. After her fathers death Elena is forced to serve her step-family as a lower servent in the house. Her stepmothers caviliar spending habits soon land them in a world of debt. The mistress announces one day that her and her daughtors (excluding Elena) are leaving. They pack up their belongings and head for greener, and richer lands.
Elena waits as the creditors decend upon the skeleton of the family home. She makes a plan to go to the' mop fair' to find work. No one will hire her for fear of what her Stepmother will do once she returns. About to give up entirely Elena is suprised when a colorful woman offers her a position. She accepts and soon learns that she has accepted the position as an apprentice to the kingdoms Fairy Godmother. The story follows Elena through her teachings as well as her first large task as the acting Godmother.
My Take
This book was LONG but so worth the time it took to finish. The story ran along the lines of cinderella with a twist. It was very good. I would highly reccomend it. The charactors were well established and the story was entirly origional. It was a nice little escape into fantasy land
Reading Time :: Almost a week PAGES : 417
Rating: 4.5/5
Summary (by me!)
Elena Klovis is not living the life she thought she would. Her father remarried a shrew of a woman after her mothers death and Elena found herself sattled with a new Stepmother and two step sisters. After her fathers death Elena is forced to serve her step-family as a lower servent in the house. Her stepmothers caviliar spending habits soon land them in a world of debt. The mistress announces one day that her and her daughtors (excluding Elena) are leaving. They pack up their belongings and head for greener, and richer lands.
Elena waits as the creditors decend upon the skeleton of the family home. She makes a plan to go to the' mop fair' to find work. No one will hire her for fear of what her Stepmother will do once she returns. About to give up entirely Elena is suprised when a colorful woman offers her a position. She accepts and soon learns that she has accepted the position as an apprentice to the kingdoms Fairy Godmother. The story follows Elena through her teachings as well as her first large task as the acting Godmother.
My Take
This book was LONG but so worth the time it took to finish. The story ran along the lines of cinderella with a twist. It was very good. I would highly reccomend it. The charactors were well established and the story was entirly origional. It was a nice little escape into fantasy land
Reading Time :: Almost a week PAGES : 417
Rating: 4.5/5
Friday, March 6, 2009
Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Title- Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Wikipedia Summary::
A shadowy, murderous figure from Sgt. Doakes' past arrives in Miami, and begins preying on his treacherous old army colleagues from the Salvadorian Civil War. He possesses a unique method of torture that has earned him the nickname 'Dr. Danco'; he kidnaps each victim, pumps them full of sedatives and, over a period of several days, steadily removes their limbs, genitalia and facial features, before leaving them to contemplate their hideous mutilation in front of a carefully placed mirror.
Wikipedia Summary::
A shadowy, murderous figure from Sgt. Doakes' past arrives in Miami, and begins preying on his treacherous old army colleagues from the Salvadorian Civil War. He possesses a unique method of torture that has earned him the nickname 'Dr. Danco'; he kidnaps each victim, pumps them full of sedatives and, over a period of several days, steadily removes their limbs, genitalia and facial features, before leaving them to contemplate their hideous mutilation in front of a carefully placed mirror.
Meanwhile, Dexter, having been forced to suppress his own murderous urges by the machinations of an increasingly suspicious Doakes, welcomes the distraction and begins to focus on hunting down a possible child killer. However, he finds himself drawn into the case of the mysterious Dr. Danco when his sister Deborah's new boyfriend, Washington detective Kyle Chutsky, turns out to be on the torturer’s hit list...
My Thoughts
I really liked this Dexter book. None of them are that complicated. Sadly real life got in the way of my reading and this book took me quite a while to finish. Either way it was nicely paced and had a good plot. I enjoyed that it veered away from the plot the show decided to trudge down.
READING TIME: Bleh I don't want to talk about it
RATING- 4/5
Monday, February 16, 2009
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
TITLE- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
AMAZON SUMMARY
Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious. What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson
MY TAKE
I loved this book! It is dark and cute at the same time. Definatly a quick read for anyone looking to spend a few hours in the bathtub!
READING TIME- 2 hours
RATING 4/5 stars
AMAZON SUMMARY
Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious. What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson
MY TAKE
I loved this book! It is dark and cute at the same time. Definatly a quick read for anyone looking to spend a few hours in the bathtub!
READING TIME- 2 hours
RATING 4/5 stars
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
TITLE: The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins
BARNES AND NOBLE SUMMARY
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.
MY TAKE
This book was amazing. I stayed away from it when it was mentioned on Stephenie Meyers Blog. I picked it up and read the jacket at the local wal mart and still did not commit to reading. Then I was browsing the local library YA section (come on, everyone needs a bit of YA) and there it was again. Taking it as a sign from the great literary gods I put the book in the stack and went to check out. It was not the first I read and I was not expecting a whole lot when I did get around to cracking it open. Let me tell you, WOW. I was sucked in immediately by the fact that although this book is aimed at the young adult audience the themes and principles are dark even for adults. It reminded me a bit of Sinclairs The Jungle mixed with Romeo and Juliet. It was good. I highly reccomend this to anyone. Parents beware though, I would be hesitant to put this book in the hands of a child younger than thirteen. Not for the content itself but for the concept of just what the hunger games are. Curious? Good.
READING TIME:: 3 days (374 pages)
RATING: 5/5 stars (and I may just have to buy this one!)
BARNES AND NOBLE SUMMARY
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.
MY TAKE
This book was amazing. I stayed away from it when it was mentioned on Stephenie Meyers Blog. I picked it up and read the jacket at the local wal mart and still did not commit to reading. Then I was browsing the local library YA section (come on, everyone needs a bit of YA) and there it was again. Taking it as a sign from the great literary gods I put the book in the stack and went to check out. It was not the first I read and I was not expecting a whole lot when I did get around to cracking it open. Let me tell you, WOW. I was sucked in immediately by the fact that although this book is aimed at the young adult audience the themes and principles are dark even for adults. It reminded me a bit of Sinclairs The Jungle mixed with Romeo and Juliet. It was good. I highly reccomend this to anyone. Parents beware though, I would be hesitant to put this book in the hands of a child younger than thirteen. Not for the content itself but for the concept of just what the hunger games are. Curious? Good.
READING TIME:: 3 days (374 pages)
RATING: 5/5 stars (and I may just have to buy this one!)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Darkly Dreaming Dexter- Jeff Lindsay
TITLE- Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
AMAZON SUMMARY
Meet Dexter Morgan. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment.
MY TAKE
I knew about the television adaption of this story that is airing on Showtime and decided to give the books a try. I was very happy with it. Darkly Dreaming Dexter was easy to read and the story flowed very nicely. There was nothing confusing and it was a light easy read. I am going to check out the rest of the Dexter series this week and start in on them.
READING TIME- 3 Days
RATING- 5/5 Stars
AMAZON SUMMARY
Meet Dexter Morgan. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment.
Mind you, Dexter's the good guy in this story.
Adopted at the age of four after an unnamed tragedy left him orphaned, Dexter's learned, with help from his pragmatic policeman father, to channel his "gift," killing only those who deal in death themselves. But when a new serial killer starts working in Miami, staging elaborately grisly scenes that are, to Dexter, an obvious attempt at communication from one monster to another, the eponymous protagonist finds himself at a loss. Should he help his policewoman sister Deborah earn a promotion to the Homicide desk by finding the fiend? Or should he locate this new killer himself, so he can express his admiration for the other's "art?" Or is it possible that psycho Dexter himself, admittedly not the most balanced of fellows, is finally going completely insane and committing these messy crimes himself?
Despite his penchant for vivisection, it's hard not to like Dexter as his coldly logical personality struggles to emulate emotions he doesn't feel and to keep up his appearance as a caring, unremarkable human being. Breakout author Jeff Lindsay's plot is tense and absorbing, but it's the voice of Dexter and his reactions to the other characters that will keep readers glued to Darkly Dreaming Dexter, as well as making it one of the most original and highly recommended serial killer stories in a long time. --Benjamin Reese
MY TAKE
I knew about the television adaption of this story that is airing on Showtime and decided to give the books a try. I was very happy with it. Darkly Dreaming Dexter was easy to read and the story flowed very nicely. There was nothing confusing and it was a light easy read. I am going to check out the rest of the Dexter series this week and start in on them.
READING TIME- 3 Days
RATING- 5/5 Stars
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