Wonder - R. J. Palacio

Ugh -- what a week!  A kid with a broken finger, a broken laptop, and a broken microwave.  They say things happen in 3s, so I'm going to tiptoe back to the blogging world and hope that the real world doesn't notice

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

A few weeks ago, I picked up this book after hearing amazing reactions from a friend that was reading it.  Since my oldest will be going into 5th grade next school year, I thought it would be a good thing for him to read.  Him.  What I didn't expect was for it to have such an emotional impact on me, but really - it was one of those books that I've had to let marinate in my head so I could come up with the right way to talk about it.   

Simply put, this is another book that I want to hand out to people and make them stop everything they're doing and read it RIGHT NOW.  I've emailed friends with children the same age, and teachers and perhaps even a headmaster about it.  I even made my husband read it, and listening to him talk with our son about the messages and the parts they liked and the characters that they liked and disliked...it was beautiful.

The story is told using various POVs -- Auggie's and a few other characters that play important roles in his life, both before and during his 5th grade year.  To me, that is what makes this story so compelling and relatable.  We get to experience the highs and lows of Auggie's story from the inside and the outside.  I found myself nodding and relating way more than I thought possible, and we're not even going to discuss how many years it has been since I was in 5th grade.

If I haven't convinced you to read it, maybe my son's proclamation will:

"Mom - that was the best ending of a book that I have ever read.  I feel so happy that I can't stop smiling."

I mean, how can you not want to read a book that elicits that kind of response from a 10 year old boy who love his video games and tormenting his sister and has very much 10 year old boy potty humor.

“I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.” 

I do too, Auggie.  I do too.

*as always, click on the book cover for more information.

Happy Book Birthday, Brighton Walsh!

For those of you that did not read my guest post on Contemporary Romance Cafe, one of the books I talked about was Plus One.

Brighton Walsh is one of my favorite authors (that I have twitter stalked), so when I learned that she had Plus One coming out on May 6th (THAT IS TODAY, PEOPLE!!!), I jumped on the chance to pre-order.  When I saw it on Netgalley, I decided that I didn’t want to wait and requested it – I mean really, those of you that know me, did you really think that I was going to be that patient?  Please. 

From the moment I turned on my Kindle until the very last word, I couldn’t put it down.  It was as amazing as I knew it would be.
I am a sucker for a “friends becoming more” story and Plus One does not disappoint.  The banter, the flirty-ness, the UNF, the sexy times…they were exactly what I look for in a story.  Olivia is smart and sassy with a backbone and Ian…sweet lord, he is delish!  Ms. Walsh weaves their story in a way that is fluid and entertaining and an extremely enjoyable read.

Do yourself a favor and add this one to your to-read list today.  You won’t regret it. 

And Bri, I am so very happy for you my dear dear friend!  xoxo

Guest Posting on Contemporary Romance Cafe

I was lucky enough to be a guest blogger on Contemporary Romance Cafe today -- you can read about the 3 books I rec'd by clicking on the link below:

http://contemporaryromancecafe.com/may-contemporary-romance-recommendations/

One thing I have learned over the past few weeks is that the book blogging community is very welcoming and friendly.  I am super excited to be a part of it. 

Pantomime - Laura Lam

I need to figure out a way to review this book without giving anything away because even the tiniest of spoilers will be detrimental...but I enjoyed every page of this book. It was unlike anything I've ever read.

Ok...lets try this.

Pantomime is the story of a boy and a girl and their quest to live freely. Micah and Iphegenia have grown up living a lie. The rigid rules of a noble society cause them to live a life of lies and deceit until one night when an act of desperation sets them free. Or does it.

This review would be so much easier to write if I included spoilers, but I refuse. A huge part of what makes this story is the twist. Just trust me.

Laura Lam creates a beautiful world filled with nobility, adventure, romance and pain. I've never read a story dealing with the particular issue in this book and the awkwardness and pain I felt in parts totally enhanced my ability to understand the life of the characters. I can't imagine living my life not able to identify who I was or what I was meant to be through no fault of my own.

I can only hope that based on the way the book ended that there will be more to come. I'm not afraid to beg.

Click on the cover to learn more.

How To Kill A Rock Star - Tiffanie DeBartolo

I just spent a good half hour trying to find my favorite quote, favorite passage, favorite anything from this book.  I'm pretty sure it is impossible.

We all have that something...a song, a poem, a book (raises hand) that just takes everything you've always wanted to say and presents it in this way that makes you just want to nod your head and say "yes" - I affectionately refer to it as "book church".  I learned a long time ago that I don't have what it takes to write a book - but if I could, if I had that way with words that I so greatly admire, I would want it to be like this one. 

“I am of the theory that all of our transcendental connections, anything we're drawn to, be it a person, a song, a painting on a wall--they're magnetic. The art is the alloy, so to speak. And our souls are equipped with whatever properties are required to attract that alloy. I'm no scientist so I don't really know what the hell these properties are, but my point is we're drawn to stuff we've already got a connection to. Part of the thing is already inside of us.”

I mean, COME ON.  The way the words flow and the story unfolds...I'm not even making any sense.  

I've read this book more than once, and even though I know what happens, I still find myself feeling all the visceral feels.  I swoon, and roll my eyes, and mutter under my breath, and cry and swoon and want to throw things and swoon and shake people until they come to their senses.

“Eliza has the sky in her eyes and I’ve always wanted to touch the goddamn sky.” 

And swoon more. 

The story is told from three perspectives -- Eliza, Paul and Loring.  You'd think the changing POVs would be an issue, but it really isn't.  Each character gives their unique spin on the story and they weave together until you just want to wrap yourself in it and let it keep you warm.  I have more passages highlighted than any other book I've ever read and going back and rereading them to write this nonsensical ramble makes me want to read  it again for the kazillionth time.  And to be honest, I'll probably find more things to highlight.

“See that?” Paul said. “Ten goddamn seconds.”

“I don't get it.”

“You didn't even have to hear the whole song, just a few lines, and you still got chills and that swirly, happy-sad feeling in your gut, didn't you?”

“So?”

“So?” he huffed. “That's the difference between the real stuff and the crap. I know which one you are and you know which one I am.”

And you can probably guess which one I think this book is.  So yeah, I think you should read it.   

You can learn more about this amazing book here.