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Review Date: 2/14/2017
Helpful Score: 1
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review. All opinions shared are 100% my own.
I like cozy mysteries... especially ones with cats or dogs or other adorable pets who get involved with solving crime. You need to engage in a little willful suspension of disbelief when it comes to cozy mysteries. Some of my favorite mystery solvers are librarians, pet store managers, retirees - ordinary people who have a knack for sorting out clues to figure out whodunnit. I found Ms. Riley's choice of a scientist for her Sherlock-esque heroine, Dr. Bree Mayfield-Watson, in this book to be inspired. You really could see someone who is very analytical tackling solving a mystery for the sheer sake of discovery! This first in a series has the ubiquitous plot device of our main character being a suspect in a murder case - a story line often used to get an ordinary person involved in solving a crime in order to clear their name. Given how logical and left-brained Bree is, I think she could become engaged in figuring out who murdered her boss without that particular plot device.
I was annoyed - put off, maybe? - a little by a couple unlikely choices Bree made, particularly when she withheld information from the police. Given that she endangered herself at almost every instance of this, I hope our main character learns in future additions to the series! The plot twist at the end was fun and is definitely setting up for a new twist on the cozy mystery genre with this series. I will definitely read the next book in the series when it comes out (no date given yet).
I can't forget to mention Sherlock - and I don't mean Bree. Sherlock is the cat Bree winds up with. Sherlock helps Bree solve the mystery. He is one smart kitty. I definitely hope we see as much and more of him in future installments. So, yes, even with our analytical, scientist heroine, there's a cute pet involved. There is no romance yet in the series either though there is potential for it. I do like to highlight when there is "sexy" content in a book and there is none in this book. Just some possibly too-goofy ogling of two men in Bree's life.
I like cozy mysteries... especially ones with cats or dogs or other adorable pets who get involved with solving crime. You need to engage in a little willful suspension of disbelief when it comes to cozy mysteries. Some of my favorite mystery solvers are librarians, pet store managers, retirees - ordinary people who have a knack for sorting out clues to figure out whodunnit. I found Ms. Riley's choice of a scientist for her Sherlock-esque heroine, Dr. Bree Mayfield-Watson, in this book to be inspired. You really could see someone who is very analytical tackling solving a mystery for the sheer sake of discovery! This first in a series has the ubiquitous plot device of our main character being a suspect in a murder case - a story line often used to get an ordinary person involved in solving a crime in order to clear their name. Given how logical and left-brained Bree is, I think she could become engaged in figuring out who murdered her boss without that particular plot device.
I was annoyed - put off, maybe? - a little by a couple unlikely choices Bree made, particularly when she withheld information from the police. Given that she endangered herself at almost every instance of this, I hope our main character learns in future additions to the series! The plot twist at the end was fun and is definitely setting up for a new twist on the cozy mystery genre with this series. I will definitely read the next book in the series when it comes out (no date given yet).
I can't forget to mention Sherlock - and I don't mean Bree. Sherlock is the cat Bree winds up with. Sherlock helps Bree solve the mystery. He is one smart kitty. I definitely hope we see as much and more of him in future installments. So, yes, even with our analytical, scientist heroine, there's a cute pet involved. There is no romance yet in the series either though there is potential for it. I do like to highlight when there is "sexy" content in a book and there is none in this book. Just some possibly too-goofy ogling of two men in Bree's life.
Review Date: 2/14/2017
Life is pretty rough for Alice. In a world full of color and magic, Alice has no color and a magic skill she'd rather forget. To make matters worse, her father disappeared three years ago and her mother is taking her grief out on Alice. When her Surrender goes badly, and the boy who called her ugly won't leave her alone, she decides to embark on a journey into the dangerous land of Furthermore on a quest to find her father. I read this to my daugher and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The pacing was good with nice waves of excitement and relative calm with many interesting people and places along the journey. While clearly influenced by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it is a most entertaining tale in its own right.
The author does a remarkable job of painting a vivid picture of the colorful land of Ferenwood and the mixed-up chaotic land of Furthermore. The story is told from the perspective of an unknown third person who we learn along the way is relating this story as told to them by Alice. The narrator directly addresses the reader on many occasions (is it still called "breaking the fourth wall" in a book?) which has the potential to be distracting but it didn't distract in this book. My only minor complaint is that the ending arrives a bit too quickly (and unexpectedly), but I'm not sure I'd have liked it any better had the timing been different. The author has left it open for the possibility of a sequel and my daughter and I are both hoping this is true. We need to know what happens to Alice next!
I'm not normally a collector of quotes as I read... but Furthermore had THREE quotes that made me stop and ponder (and snap a picture with my phone so I could remember them later).
---Laughter was a silk that would soften even the roughest moments.
---They two had torn holes in each other, and the wounds, unhealed, had only led to more pain.
---The simple truth was that Alice would always be different - but to be different was to be extraordinary, and to be extraordinary was an adventure. It no longer mattered how the world saw her; what mattered was how Alice saw herself.
The author does a remarkable job of painting a vivid picture of the colorful land of Ferenwood and the mixed-up chaotic land of Furthermore. The story is told from the perspective of an unknown third person who we learn along the way is relating this story as told to them by Alice. The narrator directly addresses the reader on many occasions (is it still called "breaking the fourth wall" in a book?) which has the potential to be distracting but it didn't distract in this book. My only minor complaint is that the ending arrives a bit too quickly (and unexpectedly), but I'm not sure I'd have liked it any better had the timing been different. The author has left it open for the possibility of a sequel and my daughter and I are both hoping this is true. We need to know what happens to Alice next!
I'm not normally a collector of quotes as I read... but Furthermore had THREE quotes that made me stop and ponder (and snap a picture with my phone so I could remember them later).
---Laughter was a silk that would soften even the roughest moments.
---They two had torn holes in each other, and the wounds, unhealed, had only led to more pain.
---The simple truth was that Alice would always be different - but to be different was to be extraordinary, and to be extraordinary was an adventure. It no longer mattered how the world saw her; what mattered was how Alice saw herself.
Review Date: 2/2/2017
I started reading this book way back in March as part of the TBR Pile Reading Challenge at Bookish. That challenge features a read-along every other month with two sets of discussion questions - one on the 15th and one of the last day of the month. I got my first set of discussion questions in and posted them here. I set the book aside to read some books and never got back to it. I have a copy from the library so last week when I saw I was running out of renewals, I decided I wanted to finish it before I had to return it. I'm so glad I did. While the first half of the book is engaging, due to the nature and enormity of the secrets being withheld, it is a bit confusing. There are so many unanswered questions. As the puzzle pieces fall into place in the second half, a rich story of family, fate and finding your true self is built to a climactic - and happy - resolution.
Both Jude and Noah will at times endear you and annoy you. A terrible tragedy has separated these inseparable twins and it will take an odd series of remarkable events to bring them back together. Most of the supporting cast, including a ghost or two, are well developed and relatable. I felt that Oscar was overdrawn - all motorcycles, tattoos, checkered past with a James Dean swagger. While the character was a necessary part of the story, I think he could and should have been less of a caricature That being said, the book is told from first person perspective and we âseeâ this characterization of Oscar from Jude's perspective. The other author also does a pretty big disservice to another character nicknamed Zephyr. Again, I think this is the result of holding to Jude's perspective but it would have been nice to see Zephyr redeemed.
I really like the writing style - once I got used to it. Noah, in particular, writes in colors and art. His descriptions of everyday life are as if he were describing everything as artwork. He says he can see people's souls - his mother's is a massive sunflower so big there is hardly room for her organs. Most of his inner dialog is this descriptive and every scene in his life includes a note on how he would paint it: (Self-Portrait: Throwing Armfuls of Air into the Air). I would recommend this to anyone who likes art or is an artist and who enjoys young adult fiction. While there are sexual situations, nothing is graphic. For the average teenaged reader, I would recommend grade 9 and up. I would let my advanced 12 year old son read it but he would not like it due to smoochy stuff. (Yay! So happy about that. How long do I have?).
Both Jude and Noah will at times endear you and annoy you. A terrible tragedy has separated these inseparable twins and it will take an odd series of remarkable events to bring them back together. Most of the supporting cast, including a ghost or two, are well developed and relatable. I felt that Oscar was overdrawn - all motorcycles, tattoos, checkered past with a James Dean swagger. While the character was a necessary part of the story, I think he could and should have been less of a caricature That being said, the book is told from first person perspective and we âseeâ this characterization of Oscar from Jude's perspective. The other author also does a pretty big disservice to another character nicknamed Zephyr. Again, I think this is the result of holding to Jude's perspective but it would have been nice to see Zephyr redeemed.
I really like the writing style - once I got used to it. Noah, in particular, writes in colors and art. His descriptions of everyday life are as if he were describing everything as artwork. He says he can see people's souls - his mother's is a massive sunflower so big there is hardly room for her organs. Most of his inner dialog is this descriptive and every scene in his life includes a note on how he would paint it: (Self-Portrait: Throwing Armfuls of Air into the Air). I would recommend this to anyone who likes art or is an artist and who enjoys young adult fiction. While there are sexual situations, nothing is graphic. For the average teenaged reader, I would recommend grade 9 and up. I would let my advanced 12 year old son read it but he would not like it due to smoochy stuff. (Yay! So happy about that. How long do I have?).
Review Date: 8/18/2015
A Moveable Feast is a memoir of the years Hemingway spent in Paris in the 1920s. He wrote it in the 1950s after recovering notebooks he'd filled during the Paris years. In some ways, the book reads as a tabloid magazine with what feels, at times, like heavy name-dropping. Hemingway did spend a lot of his time with well-known writers of the day, such as Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein. I got the sense he plucked the most famous people from his notes to reminisce on. While Hemingway brought the book to final draft form during his life, his fourth wife and widow, Mary Hemingway, did the final edits on the book that was published posthumously in 1964. There is a restored edition that is supposed to be more in keeping with what Ernest Hemingway had intended that includes some of his sketches, a foreward by his son, Patrick, and an introduction by his grandson, Sean. I did not read the restored version but the original 1964 edition. I almost would be interested in reading the restored version too to see what differences there are. It is possible that Ernest Hemingway did not feel the need to name-drop as much as his widow? Fortunately, I know some of the women in my book club have read the restored version so I will just settle with the book club discussion on the differences.
My number one comment on this book is that it just didn't stay with me from reading to reading. It may be because it was a memoir and not a novel. I don't read a lot of memoirs so I don't have prior experience to go on. With novels, however, I find myself thinking about the characters and the story a lot throughout the day, even when I'm far from reading time. It may also be that Hemingway's writing style doesn't resonate with me. He was known for a simple, direct and unadorned style. I really like vivid descriptions that paint a full color tapestry scene in my imagination.
One personal struggle I had with reading it is that I really have no clue on how to pronounce French words. I have no background in the French language at all except for singing Ah! Je Veux Vivre in college. And in that case, I only learned how to pronounce the French in that song. An audio version would have helped with the pronunciation but then I wouldn't have seen the word spelled out. I should probably start looking them up online as I'm reading. I have friends who read with little tape flags to mark words they want to look up. I might need to take up that habit... at least with books with French in them.
I read The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms ages ago (assigned high school reading). I certainly don't remember them being favorites. Maybe I will reread one of his novels at some point. Or try another one. This was a quick read, but if it hadn't been a book club selection, I probably would have put it down a few chapters in and moved on to something else.
My number one comment on this book is that it just didn't stay with me from reading to reading. It may be because it was a memoir and not a novel. I don't read a lot of memoirs so I don't have prior experience to go on. With novels, however, I find myself thinking about the characters and the story a lot throughout the day, even when I'm far from reading time. It may also be that Hemingway's writing style doesn't resonate with me. He was known for a simple, direct and unadorned style. I really like vivid descriptions that paint a full color tapestry scene in my imagination.
One personal struggle I had with reading it is that I really have no clue on how to pronounce French words. I have no background in the French language at all except for singing Ah! Je Veux Vivre in college. And in that case, I only learned how to pronounce the French in that song. An audio version would have helped with the pronunciation but then I wouldn't have seen the word spelled out. I should probably start looking them up online as I'm reading. I have friends who read with little tape flags to mark words they want to look up. I might need to take up that habit... at least with books with French in them.
I read The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms ages ago (assigned high school reading). I certainly don't remember them being favorites. Maybe I will reread one of his novels at some point. Or try another one. This was a quick read, but if it hadn't been a book club selection, I probably would have put it down a few chapters in and moved on to something else.
Review Date: 8/25/2015
Caroline Jacobs has lived her life a quiet, shy wallflower, but that Mary Kate Danali just went too far picking on that working mom at the PTO meeting. Somewhere from the depths of two decades of hidden despair, a curse word burbled up and out of Caroline Jacob's mouth - in the middle of the meeting, loudly, with finger pointed shakily at Mary Kate. Tom, Caroline's loving husband, quietly guides Caroline out of the room and home. The next day, Caroline still doesn't feel like talking about it. At work at the Sears portrait studio, we learn that Caroline is a gifted photographer but she's too shy to ever show anyone her work. When a phone call comes in from school about her daughter, the adventure begins. Caroline never told Polly about the run in with Mary Kate and when Mary Kate's daughter confronts (and bullies) Polly about it, Polly punches her in the face! A storm of events finally push a painful memory of a high school bully to the surface of Caroline's mind and she "kidnaps" Polly to head back home and finally deliver the perfect comeback to the girl who hurt her so many years ago.
Caroline blames Emily Kaplan for many things - her awful high school experience, her shyness, and, to some extent, her sister's death! But old memories take on a new cast when exposed to the light of day so many years later. When Polly's daughter sets up Emily for the "perfect comeback", Caroline is forced to face her past. When Polly disappears in the aftermath of the comeback, Caroline has to reunite with her old foe in order to find her daughter. Caroline grows. Polly grows. Emily grows. This is a book about relationships and most redeem themselves in very genuine ways. The wallflower finally starts to bloom and the bully admits her mistakes. My main issue with the book is that I have a hard time believing that someone would hold a grudge for twenty-five years - one that continues to negatively impact her day-to-day existence. To compound the issues with that plot device, the same person who didn't grow for twenty-five years suddenly makes life altering changes within a matter of days. The book was an enjoyable read but that implausible (to me) premise dinged the star count to down to 3 stars for me instead of 4.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions shared are 100% my own.
http://www.foofynotfoofy.com/foofynotfoofy/2015/8/20/review-the-perfect-comeback-of-caroline-jacobs-by-matthew-dicks
Caroline blames Emily Kaplan for many things - her awful high school experience, her shyness, and, to some extent, her sister's death! But old memories take on a new cast when exposed to the light of day so many years later. When Polly's daughter sets up Emily for the "perfect comeback", Caroline is forced to face her past. When Polly disappears in the aftermath of the comeback, Caroline has to reunite with her old foe in order to find her daughter. Caroline grows. Polly grows. Emily grows. This is a book about relationships and most redeem themselves in very genuine ways. The wallflower finally starts to bloom and the bully admits her mistakes. My main issue with the book is that I have a hard time believing that someone would hold a grudge for twenty-five years - one that continues to negatively impact her day-to-day existence. To compound the issues with that plot device, the same person who didn't grow for twenty-five years suddenly makes life altering changes within a matter of days. The book was an enjoyable read but that implausible (to me) premise dinged the star count to down to 3 stars for me instead of 4.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions shared are 100% my own.
http://www.foofynotfoofy.com/foofynotfoofy/2015/8/20/review-the-perfect-comeback-of-caroline-jacobs-by-matthew-dicks
Review Date: 2/9/2017
Oh the tears! Do yourself a favor and have tissue close by. What a compelling book - so many emotions, so much hurt over so many years with a beautiful, beautiful conclusion. Pretending to Dance is told in first person from the perspective of Molly - Molly both as a 38 year old attorney who seemingly has it all together and a 14 year old girl in the worst summer of her life.
Modern day Molly and her husband Aidan have it all together and are living an active, fulfilled life - or so it seems. After having a tragic miscarriage that leaves her unable to have children, they are pursuing an open adoption. Aidan comes from a deeply, loving family while Molly has no living parents - or at least that what she has told Aidan. But as Molly comes to terms with all the emotions surrounding adopting a child, she finds that she must also come to terms with her past.
We visit Molly's past through the eyes of a 14 year old on the cusp of young womanhood. She sits between the little girl world of boy band crushes and the all-too-real world of older boys and dangerously foolhardy friends. She is a devoted daughter to her father, a brilliant therapist who is rapidly losing the fight to MS. Molly is, through and through, a Daddy's Girl and, as such, is not close to her mother, Nora. Tragedy strikes that fateful summer and Molly always blames Nora.
The tale is woven beautifully. Ms. Chamberlain takes the reader to the idyllic Swannanoa Mountains in Western North Carolina to the homestead of Molly's extended family.Your heart aches for Molly. Even in the mistakes made by a young teen, the ones you can see coming from a mile away as the reader takes it in with an adult eye and adult knowledge, will leave you aching for this woman and the pain that she's going through. The story centers a lot on adoption and all the myriad emotions that go along with it. It also delves deeply into the death of a beloved parent and the challenges an end-stage illness brings to everyone in a family. There is some relatively graphic sexual content (in scenes with the aforementioned âolder boyâ) that make this an adult book. All of these deeply emotional situations were woven together into a masterful story with a gratifyingly redemptive ending. Ms. Chamberlain's writing swept me away into Molly's world and had me wishing I could just give her a much needed hug - both scared and lonely teenaged Molly and scared and worried adult Molly.
Modern day Molly and her husband Aidan have it all together and are living an active, fulfilled life - or so it seems. After having a tragic miscarriage that leaves her unable to have children, they are pursuing an open adoption. Aidan comes from a deeply, loving family while Molly has no living parents - or at least that what she has told Aidan. But as Molly comes to terms with all the emotions surrounding adopting a child, she finds that she must also come to terms with her past.
We visit Molly's past through the eyes of a 14 year old on the cusp of young womanhood. She sits between the little girl world of boy band crushes and the all-too-real world of older boys and dangerously foolhardy friends. She is a devoted daughter to her father, a brilliant therapist who is rapidly losing the fight to MS. Molly is, through and through, a Daddy's Girl and, as such, is not close to her mother, Nora. Tragedy strikes that fateful summer and Molly always blames Nora.
The tale is woven beautifully. Ms. Chamberlain takes the reader to the idyllic Swannanoa Mountains in Western North Carolina to the homestead of Molly's extended family.Your heart aches for Molly. Even in the mistakes made by a young teen, the ones you can see coming from a mile away as the reader takes it in with an adult eye and adult knowledge, will leave you aching for this woman and the pain that she's going through. The story centers a lot on adoption and all the myriad emotions that go along with it. It also delves deeply into the death of a beloved parent and the challenges an end-stage illness brings to everyone in a family. There is some relatively graphic sexual content (in scenes with the aforementioned âolder boyâ) that make this an adult book. All of these deeply emotional situations were woven together into a masterful story with a gratifyingly redemptive ending. Ms. Chamberlain's writing swept me away into Molly's world and had me wishing I could just give her a much needed hug - both scared and lonely teenaged Molly and scared and worried adult Molly.
Review Date: 2/3/2017
My Review
This book is hilarious. My 9yo daughter adored it and giggled uproariously the whole way through. I actually didn't get to read it to her... she insisted on reading it to me with the greatest of gusto. On each page, our delusional hero gets more and more insistent there are NO DRAGONS in this book! Miss R enjoyed pointing out all the evidence to the contrary and all the other hidden fun within its pages. We are a dragon loving family and this book is a new favorite among dragon-themed books for us.
Miss R's Review
It was a very funny book. I suggest it to lots of kids who like funny books. I really loved reading the book. It sounded really funny so I read it to Mom. It was one of the best books I have ever read.
This book is hilarious. My 9yo daughter adored it and giggled uproariously the whole way through. I actually didn't get to read it to her... she insisted on reading it to me with the greatest of gusto. On each page, our delusional hero gets more and more insistent there are NO DRAGONS in this book! Miss R enjoyed pointing out all the evidence to the contrary and all the other hidden fun within its pages. We are a dragon loving family and this book is a new favorite among dragon-themed books for us.
Miss R's Review
It was a very funny book. I suggest it to lots of kids who like funny books. I really loved reading the book. It sounded really funny so I read it to Mom. It was one of the best books I have ever read.
Review Date: 2/7/2017
We are back in Portland and in the shadows of Maria Semple's prior book, Where'd You Go, Bernadette? I rather enjoyed that book and laughed my way through it. The writing style was unique and it told an entertaining story through a very odd and circuitous way. Today Will Be Different is not a sequel to that book but we do recognize some locations (Galer Street School) and there are a couple mentions of characters from the Bernadette book. I'll be blunt... this book is just not as good. The protagonist Eleanor comes across as unbelievably scattered, manic and altogether self absorbed.
Eleanor starts out determined that "today will be different" but you get the sense throughout that, as wild as this day is, it really isn't all that different. She hates her best friend, is terrible to her son and is so self absorbed, her husband chooses to not share a very important thing in his life because he believes she wouldn't understand and support him! This is not a likeable person! And while there can be value in reading unlikeable characters, I didn't find the value in reading about this unlikeable character. I did give it three stars though since the writing is good and I did laugh... there were funny bits mixed in with all the mania. I just really can't recommend it though. Don't let this be your first book by this author and don't waste your time if you liked Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
Eleanor starts out determined that "today will be different" but you get the sense throughout that, as wild as this day is, it really isn't all that different. She hates her best friend, is terrible to her son and is so self absorbed, her husband chooses to not share a very important thing in his life because he believes she wouldn't understand and support him! This is not a likeable person! And while there can be value in reading unlikeable characters, I didn't find the value in reading about this unlikeable character. I did give it three stars though since the writing is good and I did laugh... there were funny bits mixed in with all the mania. I just really can't recommend it though. Don't let this be your first book by this author and don't waste your time if you liked Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
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