The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere

I love the song The Christmas Shows by Newsong so when I saw this book at my library I knew I just had to read it. I finished it back on November 30 and read it during The Christmas Spirit Readathon but have been crazybusy and am just now getting me review up. 
The book description:
Sometimes, the things that can change your life will cross your path in one instant-and then, in a fleeting moment, they're gone. But if you open your eyes, and watch carefully, you will believe.... 
Robert is a successful attorney who has everything in life-and nothing at all. Focused on professional achievement and material rewards, Robert is on the brink of losing his marriage. He has lost sight of his wife, Kate, their two daughters, and ultimately himself. Eight year old Nathan has a beloved mother, Maggie, whom he is losing to cancer. But Nathan and his family are building a simple yet full life, and struggling to hold onto every moment they have together. A chance meeting on Christmas Even brings Robert and Nathan together-he is shopping for a family he hardly knows and Nathan is shopping for a mother he is soon to lose. In this one encounter, their lives are forever altered as Robert learns an important lesson: sometimes the smallest things can make all the difference. The Christmas Shoes is a universal story of the deeper meaning of serendipity, a tale of our shared humanity, and of how a power greater than ourselves can shape, and even save, our lives.
I feel bad because I honestly didn't expect this book to be very good. I started it wondering if it was just some sort of media tie in to make the song more popular. It was good. So good that I found myself crying during much of it. I cried even though I knew what was coming.
I loved how both families were tied together. Maggie is a wonderful person and mother and it is easy to like her and care about her. All of the characters are likeable...well almost.
Robert is a jerk. He's stubborn and I'm still angry about the way he spoke to his mother. He wasn't too likable but I think maybe that may have been the point. He's a modern day Scrooge and they aren't really supposed to be likable. I did care about him enough to root for him to turn around his life and save his marriage.
The climatic part of the book where he meets Nathan in the store buying shoes didn't disappoint. It was a great scene and I can easily imagine the moment when Robert looked into Nathan's eyes and was a changed man.
What I hated the most was afterwards when his wife asks him "Why have you changed?' Robert actually says "I don't know."
Really? You don't know? Now I didn't expect him to tell his wife about the encounter in the store. I can understand why he might want to keep that to himself but I felt like he was lying to Kare when he says he doesn't know.
My favorite part of the book was the ending. I don't want to spoil it but I will say Robert and Nathan's paths cross again and it was the best part of the book.
My rating  
This book was also made into a movie but I have yet to watch it. Hopefully I will get that done this month and write a movie review.

The Christmas Cat by Melody Carlson

Let me begin by saying this is not the kind of book I normally read. There's just something about most Christmas novels that feel like Lifetime movies. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just that I'm more of a HBO kind of girl.
Despite that I did enjoy The Christmas Cat. Here is the book description:
After years abroad, Garrison Brown returns home to Vancouver to build a new life. When his beloved grandmother passes away a few weeks before Christmas, Garrison goes to her house to sort out her belongings, including six cats who need new homes. While Garrison hopes to dispense with the task quickly, his grandmother's instructions don't allow for speed. She has left Garrison with some challenging requirements for the future homes of her furry friends--plus a sizeable monetary gift for the new owners. Garrison's job is to match the cats with the right owners without disclosing the surprise gift. Along the way, he may just meet someone who can make him stay. 

Humorous and heartwarming, this latest Christmas story from bestselling author Melody Carlson is the perfect gift for pet lovers and anyone in whose heart Christmas holds a special place.

I suppose I probably enjoyed this book so much because I am a cat lover. I have four of them. I also really liked that the story was told from a guy's point of view. That rarely happens in romance novels.

I also liked that Garrison was not a super rich, perfect kind of guy. He was an "average joe." It was refreshing to read about the kind of guy I might meet at the grocery store instead of one that I would only bump into if I was in the Hamptons. Even though he was returning to his hometown he wasn't walking around thinking he was better than all the small town folk and about how backwards they were. Garrison truly knew and respected his roots.

The one thing I didn't like about this novella is that I wish Garrison had told more stories about his experiences in Africa. It was such an interesting backstory but Carlson didn't do much with it. I also wish she would have gone more into Garrison's adjustment to being back in the United States. He was gone for nine years. Can you imagine being in Africa for nearly a decade and then coming back home? Things would be so different.

It was a little disappointing that I could predict how the story was going to end by page 100 but it is a romance story. Besides the biggest love story in this book is not between Garrison and Cara but involves a small four legged hairy beast. And that was my favorite part of the book. My rating 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Wow. Just wow. This novel blew my mind. I started reading it on Monday and I finished reading it about 5 am on Tuesday. The last book I read that fast (and also in two sittings) was the final Harry Potter.

I don't normally read mystery or thrillers so this was a new experience for me in that aspect as well. I get it now. I understand why whodunits are so much fun. It's great fun trying to peice together the clues. I will definately be reading a lot more books in this genre.

The problem is since I don't read mystery or thrillers I don't quite know how to review them either, so bear with me here. I assure you I will not give away any spoilers.

Book Description

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

This novel was about so much more than just Amy's disappearance. This story is about the world's most messed up married couple. Whatever dysfunctional married couple you can think of, this couple will make them look like Mike and Carol Brady.

What I liked about the story is that it was told from two different points of view; that of Nick and that of Amy. It was fascinating to read about how both of them viewed their marriage and the events in their life.

What I truly did not expect was for this story to explore rather deeply misogyny and even though the word is never actuall used, misandry. I was facsinated as to how both Nick and Amy dealt with sexism and the hatred of the opposite sex. This story takes everything that is commonly assumed about domestic abuse and turns it on it's head. The book sincerely explores the idea of the male as the victim in abusive relationships, stalking, and even rape accusation.

It's hard to discuss what happens in Gone Girl without discussing radical feminism and how it has had an impact on marriage, what's expected of women in marriage and relationships, and how they should react when they are angry about it. I consider myself a moderate feminist who rejects radical feminism and as well as the misandry within feminist extremist views, so for me this book was an honest look at those issues. Whether or not Flynn intentionally criticized radical feminism, I don't know, however, I think this book puts the spotlight on real issues in the men's rights movement.

Don't get me wrong. The book is not preachy in any shape or form. Instead it is an action packed highly paced mystery where you aren't sure who the villian really is. However, I didn't like that you learned who it was halfway through the book. I really wish Flynn had kept it secret just a little bit longer.

While the first half of the book is a whodunit, the second half of the book is catching whodunit. I must say that every time the villian got away with something, I felt infuriated. I have never hated a character as much as I did in this book. Hate is not a strong enough word. Despise? All I know is I wanted the villian to be ripped apart from limb to limb. I've never seen a character that was so truly a sociopath through and through. (This makes it qualify for the Suicide and Mental Illness Theme Read.)

This is why I can't wait to see the movie. Ben Afleck is a perfect choice for the role of Nick. As I read Gone Girl, I couuld easily imagine Afleck saying every single line. I heard the movie has a different ending. To be honest, I didn't like the way the novel version of Gone Girl ended so I'm hoping the movie version ends the way I think it should have ended.

Despite the ending, Gone Girl was a wild ride from beginning to end that got me so into it I decided to pretty much stop whatever was going on in my life just so I could read the book. It gets a rare

I Heart My Little A-Holes by Karen Alpert

Book Description from Amazon.com

When your son wakes you up at 3:00 A.M. because he wants to watch Caillou, he’s an a-hole. When your daughter outlines every corner of your living room with a purple crayon, she’s an a-hole. When your rug rats purposely decorate the kitchen ceiling with their smoothies, they’re a-holes. So it’s only natural to want to kill them sometimes. Of course you can’t because you’d go to prison, and then you’d really never get to poop alone again. Plus, there’s that whole loving them more than anything in the whole world thing. Karen Alpert is the writer of the popular blog Baby Sideburns. You may have seen some of her more viral posts like “Ten Things I Really F’ing Want for Mother’s Day,” “Daddy Sticker Chart” and “What NOT to F’ing Buy My Kids this Holiday.” Or you may know her from her Facebook page that has over 130,000 followers. I Heart My Little A-Holes is full of hilarious stories, lists, thoughts and pictures that will make you laugh so hard you’ll wish you were wearing a diaper.

This book was hilarious. Karen Alpert isn't afraid to write all the things that many of us parents are thinking. Us really dark, somewhat messed up parents. But we're like that in a good way because we aren't afraid to own our dark sides and don't walk around saying things like, "I'm so sad my kids are starting school. I want them home with me all day every day." No you don't. Karen and I both know you are lying. That, or you are someone seriously codependent who doesn't know how not to be a mother and feels insanely guilty for God forbid wanting a little time to yourself.

Okay I can keep sharing all the things Karen Alpert and I agree on or I can actually review the book. This book was tears streaming down your cheeks, pee your pants funny. At first I was kind of annoyed that Karen brags about how funny she is in the introduction but by the end of the book I wanted to cut out a little gold medal from yellow construction paper that says "World's Funniest Mom." (If you have read the book you will totally get that reference.)

Now her book is not perfect. She uses the word "f'ing" way too much even for me. She could have left out one or two stories about poopie diapers. And I wish she didn't comment about her spelling as much as she does. (Crap I need spell check and still got supercalifargilisticexpialidocious wrong. Who f'ing cares? I don't f'ing care if you needed spell check to spell a f'ing word. See how that's kind of f'ing annoying to use the adjective f'ing all the time?)

And since I have never read her blog all of the material was new to me. I've seen many reviewers that say they think Karen is hilarious but they paid for a book that they could have read on her blog for free. Not cool. 

Lastly calling Target "Tarjay" bugs the crap out of me but I won't hold that against her.

However, being the kind of person that I am, I found Karen Alpert to be a dark and twisty kindred spirit and was laughing hysterically through most of the book. At the very least I was nodding my head in agreement. And to all the mothers that claim it sounds like Karen doesn't love or want her kids, bullshit. She's just venting. And that probably makes her way more sane than all of us mothers holding in what we really think about parenting. It takes real courage to say what you really think and not care what other mothers think. Because mothers are the most judgmental people on the planet. My rating  

This review is already long enough but Karen does include a list of Book Club Questions that I simply must answer because it just seems fun. 

1. The protagonist is you, Karen. And no one cares that you don't know if that was spelled right. I went over this spelling thing earlier.

2. I call vaginas vajayjays and penises penises. Yeah for some reason I don't give boy parts cutesy names. Passing gas is farts and bowl movements are pooping.

3. Your kids are normal a-holey. Here's an example of my kid being extra a-holey: Right now my 18 month old daughter thinks it is fun to throw everything at your face. She has a good arm too and it hurts. 

4. Are you a good mother? Yes. I had my doubts when you said you played 2 Live Crew and the like in your car with your kids until you explained that you turn the sound off during the bad words like a censor. But as a mother of older children I must warn you. That trick only lasts so long and soon they will be screaming the swear words at the top of their lungs when you turn the sound off. And since you are driving all you can do is put your arm behind you and swat at the air. And they will laugh at you when you do.

5. My favorite part of the book was when you said "If Caillou was a real person I'd gladly go to jail for killing him." 

6. No I have never seriously considered murdering a cartoon character. Because they are cartoons and would just come back to life. Duh!

7. The serious chapter took a lot of guts to admit. However, thank God, I have never experienced anything like that.

8. My favorite photo was Daddy's Sticker Chart. lmao

9. Offended? No. Annoyed? Yes. You don't need to f'ing say f'ing all the f'ing time or comment about your spelling. I'll even let you keep your f'ings if you stop commenting on your damn spelling issues. Nobody cares!

10. Most of the mothers I know would freak if they read this book. They can't handle the truth!

11. Is it wrong to call your kids a-holes not to their faces? I must admit I'm kind of on the fence about this one. But I have referred to my kids as "little shits" many times so I guess it's not really all that different. My book would be called I Heart My Little Shits.

The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating by Carole Raziwell

Book Description from Booklist

When Claire Byrne’s intellectual husband dies in a freak accident with a falling sculpture (a fake, at that), she must figure out how to be a widow. Her marriage was defined by the age gap, Charles’ insistence (academic and otherwise) that there is either love or sex (not both), and his frequent infidelities. Claire has almost no identity of her own, and she is convinced by friends to lose her widowed virginity and move on. Radziwill’s first novel (after her memoir, What Remains, 2005) is a very New York book, even when Claire travels to L.A. to interview (and sleep with) a movie star. There is a constant war between lightness and heaviness in the subject, in the story, and in the telling that seems intrinsic to city dwellers. The plot features a lot of takeout, and Claire sees multiple therapists, a psychic, and a botanomanist to get herself sorted out, which, by the end, she more or less does. Radziwill’s book may receive extra coverage due to her association with the Kennedys and her appearance on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. --Susan Maguire

The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating by Carole Raziwell left me feeling many different things. Some good, some bad.

The Good
This book is about modern widowhood. When Claire's famous husband dies suddenly and absurdly by a giant piece of artwork, Claire must learn how to go on with her life. She has two problems. The first is that she wants sex and love. The second is that even though her husband is dead, she still has to live in his shadow.

As a widow myself, I found what Raziwell, as Claire, writes about widowhood all too familiar. We aren't allowed to think about dating or men or sex because we are supposed to spend the first year mourning.

I love that Raziwell is honest about how there are "perks" to being a widow. The biggest perk of all is that we don't have the baggage of divorce and other women perceive that as a threat.

I particularly found the 3 - 6 - 3 rule true. During the first 3 months of widowhood people bend over backwards to make sure you are okay. Then during the next six months they are somewhat concerned but go back to their own lives while you try to figure out yours. The last 3 months of the first year, they practically forget you are a widow.

This book made fun of being a widow without being insensitive or cruel. It observed the truth about death and widowhood: they are absurd. Having to date again after being married for years or decades is absurd. And most of us widows have no idea what we are doing when it comes to dating and relationships.

I think that was my favorite part about Claire. She was a widow who had no idea how to date again. And when she gets involved with Mr. Hollywood Movie Star himself she doesn't know what to do with herself. This is a book about misadventures. (Fun Fact: Mr. Hollywood Movie Star's character is rumored to be based on George Clooney.)

The Bad
Some of this book was badly written. For example, at one point Radziwill literally explains what the phrase "talking animatedly" means. In another part, drinks that were cleared away two paragraphs ago suddenly reappear. She begins part two of the book by summarizing what happened in part one. These could have been fixed with some better editing.

There are characters in the book and interactions that seem pointless. Like all of Claire's therapy sessions with therapist #1 about her dreams. One dream which Anna Karenina had. (The therapist says so.) That's just lazy writing. Radziwell couldn't even think up an original dream?

While Claire's observations about widowhood are true, she never seems to grieve. True she didn't have the happiest marriage but you only see her break down and cry over her husband once. She never misses him at random moments like real widows do. A song comes on the radio that brings back a flood of memories and emotions. You're channel surfing and the movie you saw on your first date comes on. Things like that never happen to Claire. It makes her seem...well, rather cold.

Lastly, and this is my biggest complaint. What the heck does Claire do all day for over a year? She's rich from her late husband so doesn't have to work. She barely works on the book she is supposed to be finishing (about Mr. Hollywood Movie Star himself). Does she do charity work? Does she just shop all day? Watch soap operas? What?

I am a single mother in a small town struggling financially and my late husband died leaving me four children to take care of by myself. It was really hard for me to sympathize with Claire, a rich widow whose biggest problem seems to be that she can't figure out the Starbucks menu and that she's not sure if she's just casually dating the most famous movie star in Hollywood. While the book was entertaining and fun, it would have been nice to see something more real and down to earth in it. The truth is Claire seemed rather shallow. Add that to her seeming cold and it just made the main character overall completely unlikable. I almost rooted for Mr. Hollywood Movie Star to break her heart.

Oh wait, I do have one final complaint. The muddled ending that seemed to go on way too long and took itself way too seriously. The tone of the last 20 pages was completely different than the rest of the book. It's like Radziwill wanted her fun, chick lit book to suddenly become deep and meaningful.

Overall I did truly enjoy the book. I do hope Carole Radziwill writes more. I hear her memoir What Remains is very good. My rating

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

I watched a few episodes of The Leftovers on HBO and decided to put off reading the books for my Summer Challenge because I just had to read The Leftovers book.

It was a mostly a waste of time. It was one of the worst books I have ever read.

Explaining the premise is rather difficult for this book so I will share the blurb from Amazon:

What if—whoosh, right now, with no explanation—a number of us simply vanished? Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down? 

That’s what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out. Because nothing has been the same since it happened—not marriages, not friendships, not even the relationships between parents and children. 

Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized community. Kevin’s own family has fallen apart in the wake of the disaster: his wife, Laurie, has left to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence; his son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne. Only Kevin’s teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she’s definitely not the sweet “A” student she used to be. Kevin wants to help her, but he’s distracted by his growing relationship with Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family on October 14th and is still reeling from the tragedy, even as she struggles to move beyond it and make a new start.

Fascinating idea right? Unfortunately Perrotta's execution was terrible. He focuses so much on the individual lives and grieving that the victims could have died in a bus accident and the story would not have changed.

He does briefly describe how the county freaked out after the Sudden Departure. There were car crashes, traumatized witnesses, and the market crashed. But is any of this exciting action included? It's touched on in very subtle ways. It's told as a flashback because the novel starts three years after the Sudden Departure. Perrotta completely skips what would have been the most exciting part of the story.

Now I will say I did not expect an explanation of what the Sudden Departure actually was or why it happened. (As a fan of Stephen King I'm used to dealing with no explanation of supernatural events.) I just wish Perrotta had pulled back and told more of the world's story rather than just the handful of people in the small town.

What kept me reading were the storylines about the two different cults. I did enjoy the parts about the Guilty Remnant and followers of Holy Wayne. Although I found what Meg did at the end of the story completely and utterly impossible to believe. It does make me want to seek out more books about cults.

The main storyline about Kevin and his daughter was completely boring and seemed to have very little to actually do with the Sudden Departure. Which is pretty sad considering Kevin was supposed to be the main character.

The worst part about the book was the open ending. There basically isn't an ending. Perrotta seems to rush his attempt to tie up the loose ends of the story threads and in doing so makes the non-ending hard to even believe. The characters resolve their problems by acting completely out of character. The way the books ends, you find yourself flipping to the last blank page wondering where the rest of the book is at. It ends as if there was going to be a sequel.

This book had the potential to be mindblowing. Instead it's a complete fail. My rating

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead and Emma Vieceli

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The title is so cheesy. I think it's intentionally cheasy though. I chose it because I wanted a fun book to read instead of something so serious.

Not only was the book a fun read it was finally a very different take on vampires. I've been searching for a series that doesn't follow the cliche formula regarding vampires, especially teenage vampires.
Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. The Dhampir protect the Moroi from the "evil vampires" called Strigoi. Moroi vampires are good, peaceful, and have magical abilities but are not immprtal while the Strigoi are more your cliche bloodthirsty immortal vampire. The girls have been on the run foe two years from their boarding school but the school authorities have finally caght up with them and am forcing them to retrn to St. Vladimir’s. Unfortunately, this is the least safe place for Lissa. It's also a social nightmare with cliques and"queen bees" just like any normal high school.

I liked that the book had mystery and adventure along with the clique wars and some Harry Potter-like magic thrown in. Rose is kind of an underdog as a guardian. She has used her street smarts to protect Lissa despite never having been formally trained  At first I thought she was entirely shallow but my favorite thing about her is that she truly makes protecting Lissa a priority no matter what's going on with the friendship. That also happens to be her fatal flaw because she tries to control Lissa too much. Actually Lissa used to be "queen bee" at the school and has to deal with her jealousy when Lissa replaces her.

I liked the romance between Rose and Dimitri but I did find the age difference to be just a little bit on the creepy side. My favorite character was Christian but I'm always drawn to the misunderstood bad boy with a heart of cold. The villian behind the whole mystery was rather unexpected and a good plot twist.

Even though I enjoyed this book there were a lot of things I didn't understand or like. Here's a list:

• Why are the Moroi and Strigoi feuding in the first place? What's the history behind this vampire conflict? 
• Why are there two races of vampire and where id they come from?
• Vampires are Christians and go to church? I can accept that they may go to church but wouldn't they be more likely to have a religion of their own? 
• Morai are magical vampires but can't protect themselves? They need half-human guardians who have to learn combat skills and use weapons against the superpowerful Strigoi? This isn't even believable.
• Lissa is a cutter. While I thought this part of the story was done pretty well, at the same time I felt is didn't belong in a vampire fantasy novel. 

I liked this book enough that I want to read the entire series. My rating  

The Movie
I knew the movie had bad reviews but I never expected it to be so bad. The actors and actresses did what they could with the script but the writing was just atrocious. There were some clever one liners but it overall it was pretty hard to sit through. The book was so much better.

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening by L. J. Smith (contains spoilers)

Book Description from Amazon.com

A deadly love triangle Elena: beautiful and popular, the girl who can have any guy she wants. Stefan: brooding and mysterious, desperately trying to resist his desire for Elena . . . for her own good. Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Elena finds herself drawn to both brothers . . . who will she choose?
I am a huge fan of the TV series The Vampire Diaries. It's embarrassing to admit considering I'm 38 yrs old but I completely fangirl over Ian Somerhalder. My computer background is fanart of Elena and Damon. Yesterday I was wearing a Damon t-shirt. If you ask me about the most recent season finale I may choke up a bit. I'm still traumatized.
Because of the heartbreaking season finale, I decided to keep myself busy reading The Vampire Diaries novel series. Unfortunately most of the first book left me feeling anything but anxious to read the rest of the series.
Elena Gilbert is the queen bee of her school who can have whatever boy she wants. So when the mysterious Stefan Salvatore starts school and completely ignores her, she makes it her mission to make him her boyfriend. The reason Stefan ignores her is because, as a vampire, every time he's near her he can't think straight because all he wants to do is taste her blood. She also happens to look like the woman who broke his heart in a love triangle with his vampire brother about 500 years ago. 
Elena is pretty much unlikable. She's vain, cares too much about her status in the popular clique she's in, and spends an unbelievable amount of money on a custom made Halloween costume then admiring how beautiful she looks in said costume. Most people who read the book complain about Elena's character but I think they forget this is a book series. If the character did a 180 and became a different person in the first book what's left for her to do in the rest of the series? I am going to read on only because I hope Elena grows as a character into someone well...not so shallow.
As a fan of the TV show one thing that I love is the supporting characters. In the book, all the same names are there but very little is written about them. The other characters don't factor into the story much and are never developed.
Stefan finally starts paying attention to Elena when she is a damsel in distress and he needs to rescue her when a drunken Tyler tries to rape her. Yes, you read that right. The main character is almost raped! After Stefan rescues her he beats Tyler almost to a bloody pulp. Yet neither of them get in trouble with the police. Elena refuses to press charges against Matt and the police are too busy dealing with a dead homeless man that got his throat ripped out.
The love story left me rolling my eyes most of the time. Elena instantly fell in love with Stefan declaring how much she loved him only days after they have had their first kiss. There is absolutely no development of their relationship even though months go by.
Nor is there any buildup of Elena suspecting that Stefan is a vampire. Almost the whole story is just utterly boring. Even Catherine is boring. She's a sweet and innocent vampire who just couldn't decide between brothers. Anyone who watches the tv show can't possibly imagine Catherine as sweet and innocent much less boring. I'm hoping the bad ass version of Catherine is in the later books.
The novel's saving grace is Damon. Damon is just as sexy, dark and tempting as he is in the tv series. What's even better is that I didn't have to wait several seasons before Damon and Elena are attracted to each other. The attraction is there from the first time they meet. In fact, Damon makes it his mission to make Elena his. Whether it's because he's truly in love with her or doing it as revenge on his brother isn't clear. At one point the vampire brothers are literally fighting for Elena. That scene alone made up for the rest of the book being dreadfully boring and pretty predictable. (It wasn't hard to figure out who really was the murderer.)
Not to mention that Damon has magical powers in the book. He can shapeshift into animals and control the weather. Why wasn't that in the tv show?
I will continue reading the book series mostly for the character of Damon but do hope Elena becomes a better person. Stefan's character is mildly interesting. As for the rest of the book and characters, it just, forgive the pun...sucked.My rating

The Secret Circle: The Initiation by L.J. Smith (Spoiler Warning)

Dewey's Read-a-thon Check-in: I read The Initiation which was an ebook and had 268 pages. I started at 12;45 pm and ended at 6:20 pm.(Note this ebook also has book two titled The Captive Part 1) Oh and I loved reading it as an ebook! I thought I would hate it but I have carpal tunnel and I didn't have to grip the book. I could just rest it on my thighs and have both hands free.

My Review
I hate to write reviews that have spoilers but with this book it's hard to review it without giving some away. So if you don't want any spoilers, please turn back now.

While at her summer home in Cape Cod, Cassie meets a strange boy who can read minds and whom she falls instantly in love with and believes she is destined to be with. She also spontaneously remembers a spell from her memory or a past life while out on pier. Did the boy set off her newfound powers or is just a really contrived coincidence?

Cassie then learns that she is not going to be returning home but her mother is taking her to stay with her grandmother in a town called...wait for it...New Salem. She can't stop thinking about how much her crone of a grandmother looks like an ugly witch. Come on L.J. Smith! Was the cliche of an old ugly witch, wart and all really necessary? You lost a bit of credibility there with that cliche. (Actually the entire novel reeks of cheese.)

There she meets a gang of nasty girls that are led by a girl name Faye that bully her but is saved by a girl she has admired from afar and wants to get to know named Diana. This girl befriends her and she discovers that the bullies and Diana are all actually part of a mysterious "Club." The girls show off their strange powers and Cassie soon suspects that they are witches. There is an opening in "The Club" aka The Secret Circle and Cassie wants nothing more to be chosen to join. There's an opening because the girl who was supposed to be chosen is murdered. Dun dun dunnn! The witches suspect it was done by an Outsider aka a Muggle. (L.J. Smith does not actually use the term "muggle." Cassie is also half muggle so I wonder if that plays a part in the series.) All the adults in the town think the girl's death was just an unfortunate accident.

Well actually Cassie does want something more. She wants to meet the strange boy she fell in love with who turns out to be her new best friend's boyfriend! This was sooo obvious the moment Diana said her boyfriend "was away." Cassie spends all her time feeling sorry for herself and neurotically obsessing about needing to belong. She latches herself onto Diana in a way that makes me cringe. Diana will protect me! I can get through anything as long as Diana is there! It's not healthy. Not at all.

All the girls (the nasty ones and Diana and her friends) in the Circle know that Cassie is actually a hereditary witch and spend about 5 seconds mourning the death of their friend (And sister. Two boys in the Circle were her older brothers.) before deciding to initiate Cassie. They are so grateful that she has moved there so the Circle can be completed. Isn't it just a contrived...I mean amazing coincidence that there's a spare witch when one gets offed? Lucky them. They then explain Cassie's heritage and how the original witches of Salem escaped and moved to a town where they would be safe. Outsiders only live there because witches allow them to.

After the initiation Adam suddenly returns and Cassie realizes who he is and is devastated. She decides to keep her crush a secret. David has finally found one of the original Salem witches tools called the lost Master Tools. It's a crystal skull that was used by an evil witch named Black John who was a leader of the original coven. Faye wants to "activate" the skull but Diana the temporary leader refuses because it's too dangerous. However, Faye wants to be the permanent leader of the Circle and blackmails her into doing a ritual with the skull. The ritual accidentally releases an evil entity (hello, setup for the antagonist in the next book) and causes the group to disagree about how to handle what has happened.

Worried that an Outsider might attempt to kill them too, they all travel in pairs and Adam is told by Diana to walk Cassie home after the ritual. Cassie has been avoiding Adam because she feels pretty guilty about being in love with her best friends guy (whom she's known for what, two days?) Now Cassie and Adam are unable to avoid each other. One thing leads to another...then yada yada yada...Adam realizes he's in love with Cassie too and makes out with her. Both decide they don't want to betray Diana and vow never to be involved again.

But this just isn't any vow. They make a blood pact with the Powers (elements) that if they break their vow that they will be cursed. The curse says "fire burn me, air smother me, earth swallow me, and water cover my grave." Oh for goodness sakes, I've never found the melodramatic death of Romeo and Juliet believable and that was written by Shakespeare! This is quite possibly the most melodramatic guilt trip I have ever read in my life. I know they're teenagers but may the universe strike me dead if I kiss my best friend's boyfriend? Come on now!

Cassie goes home thinking her secret is safe but then discovers that the nasty Faye knows what has happened and now is making Cassie do whatever she wants or will tell Diana about what happened. Faye calls it holding her "captive" which is the title of book two and three in the series.

I suppose maybe I'm being way to hard on this book. It's a YA supernatural romance and meant to be fun, right? I am willing to chalk it up to a cheesy but somewhat entertaining read up until the "universe strike me dead if I kiss my best friend's boyfriend" part. That was just over the top and utterly ridiculous. Still it kept me reading to the end and in one sitting so despite the melodramtic cheese it wasn't all bad. My rating

It does make me want to watch the tv show but I've read the book is different than the show. That's disappointing because I would love to see that melodramatic universe strike me down scene. Yeah, you got me. It's so I can make fun of it.

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine

Book Description from Amazon

Calling the super busy, the stressed out, the overtired.

You know you're made for a more fulfilling life. With this book, you’ll know where to start.

You wake up tired. Your to-do list is too long. The commitments—and the laundry—are piling up, but your energy keeps dwindling. You feel like you're simply making it through the days, not living or enjoying any part of them.

In Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, you'll find both practical ideas and big-picture perspective that will inspire you to live life on purpose. As a wife, mother of three, and founder of the wildly successful blog MoneySavingMom.com, Crystal Paine has walked the road from barely surviving to living with intention. With the warmth and candor of a dear friend, she shares what she's learned along the way, helping you:

• feel healthier and more energetic by setting priorities and boundaries
• eliminate stress with savvy management of your time, money, and home
• get more done by setting realistic goals and embracing discipline
• rediscover your passions—and the confidence to pursue them

Packed with straightforward solutions you'll use today and inspirational stories you'll remember for years, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode is a must for any woman who's ever longed for the freedom to enjoy life, not just survive it.

I love Crystal Paine's book The Money Saving Mom's Budget so I looked forward to reading this one. I wasn't disappointed. The book starts off giving you advice about time management but it ended up being so much more than that. It was like a time management and self-help book for moms all rolled into one.

The advice Crystal gives about time management read like she knew the best parts of my favorite time management books and put them all in her book. Sometimes she gives these books credit and sometimes she doesn't. I thought that was kind of weird. She even quotes Steven Covey at the beginning of the book but never mentions his book on time management. Many of the ideas are great but can be found in other time management books which aren't listed in the Recommended Resources. 

There were a few times that I wondered if Crystal Paine could actually schedule my life. She explains that she doesn't have a lot of hobbies, any pets, and has a wonderful husband that helps her. She prefers to keep her life simple and has very specific interests. Well it's easy to manage your life when things are that simple! 

In my life I am the single mom of five kids, have a dog and a varying number of cats, no significant other to help me, and I have a lot of interests and hobbies. The variety in my life keeps me interested and happy. Does it make me a little crazy sometimes? Yes but I would be miserable with Crystal's life. Her simple, uncomplicated life seems great for her, but I felt like at times she was trying to tell me to give up some of the things I love just for the sake of simplifying my life. She didn't seem to understand us bohemian free spirits.

Despite that, the advice on choosing only four goals was great. It helped me choose what matters most in my life and figure out how to set mini-goals on a daily and weekly basis to reach those goals. I like the advice about setting goals and routines that is realistic for your particular time and situation in life. That is something I have never seen in a time management book before. It was awesome that Crystal understood that mothers have different time management needs when their kids are younger.

The chapter on managing your bank account was a summary of some of her ideas from The Money Saving Mom's Budget. I like the other book a lot better though. Some of the advice here feels like its more for well off married people and not single mothers living pay check to pay check like me. I laughed out loud at "increasing my emergency fund to cover three to six weeks of expenses." This seems incredibly out of touch with how much money most people are making in this economy. Crystal also talked far too much about herself in this chapter.

The chapter on managing your home has some great advice but it seemed rushed. I wish Crystal would have done far more here. This part would have been better if was expanded to a few chapters not all crammed into one. She could have done so much here. I expected it to be the bulk of the book not one measly chapter. 

And like in the earlier chapters on time management, Crystal uses ideas from other people but doesn't give them any credit. In the part about making a "homemaking binder" she says she gets the idea from "bloggers who are very organized women." Why isn't she naming names? I know exactly who she is talking about and it seems pretty low to use their ideas but not give them proper credit.

The chapter on feeling like a failure was great. While there wasn't anything earth shattering in the advice, just that fact that Crystal included it and even told her own story about how her first financial blog flopped made me feel better as a person. Her encouragement to use failure as a teachable moment and that it often leads to bigger and better things was great.

That is until she included a story about how another blogger she admired wrote a post about how she wanted to be just like another woman...and that woman just happened to be her! Are you freaking kidding me? There are many parts in the book where Crystal toots her own horn about how disciplined and well managed her life is, but this was just too much! 

I loved the idea of the chapter about how to help others and make a difference in others lives through charity or volunteering. Crystal gives some great ideas on how to help other people that doesn't always involve money. But she starts tooting that horn again. Crystal writes about all the charitable things she's done and her family has done and it comes off a little bit like "Look at how giving I am!" I loved the parts where she wrote "Here's some ideas that you can do" but when she says "Here's what I did" it comes off a little like bragging. She then talks about how she was so happy to be writing a financial book that would help so many people. It's pretty ironic that she says how "humbling" it all is. 

The last chapter is about taking care of yourself and has some ideas on how to nurture yourself, relax and find joy. Crystal gives suggestions like finding your spirituality (although she specifcally suggests Christianity), spending time on your marriage, cultivating friendship, eating healthy and exercising. 

Overall this book had some great advice for improving every area of your life. I liked that it covered so many different topics that contribute to living in "survival mode." My complaint is that sometimes the topic was discussed thoroughly while other times some tips were given but it wasn't dealt with too in depth. My biggest complaint is that overall the book included far too much about "how Crystal did it." Those stories are more suited for her blog than for a how to book.

My Rating

Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford

Book Description from Barnes and Noble
This is a book for parents who spend more time texting than chatting with their children and for college-age kids who substitute Snapshot and tweets for real-life encounters. Author/mom Rachel Macy Stafford learned the hard way that the things that really matter often get gradually elbowed out of lives unless we stop, think, and prioritize. Her Hands Free Mama describes how she replaced her digital imperatives with simple ways to grasp simple joys. This trade paperback and NOOK Book original belongs in the purse or knapsack of every American who has ever felt that he or she is a captive of their to-do list.

I couldn't wait to get this book. My kids keep complaining often about how I'm always on the computer, my phone, or just otherwise distracted. I needed this book, so I must start by saying my expectations were very high.

The premise of this book is great. It is full of useful suggestions and ideas about how to be a more engaged mother in everyday situations. There is some great advice in this book about different ways you can interact with your younger children (I explain why I say younger in a bit), ideas for creating more quality family time in moments where we usually are disengaged, how to slow down and enjoy life more.

The book isn't just about how to be a good mother but to be an engaged mother. Much of what is written goes along with attachment theory so I found a lot of it relevant too my own parenting philosophy.

The three "weekly interventions" in each chapter were great and the part I found the most helpful but sometimes they weren't even related even though they were in the same chapter. Sometimes the book needed better organization. The useful advice was peppered among family anecdotes and it felt more like a memoir than a how to book at times.

The plus side is that each section really stands alone so if one part doesn't apply to you (for me it was the section on connecting with your spouse) you can skip it.

But here's where I felt a book based on brilliant idea goes horribly wrong. I feel bad being so critical of this book because I want to truly love it. 

She writes as though she just had this revelation and within only a few weeks time became a completely different parent. No one changes that quickly. No one. Addictions don't work that way. If you are truly addicted to something it takes real work to wean yourself from it. Even if you go cold turkey there are withdrawals. Rachel writes as if all of this happened effortlessly in an extremely short time.

On page 131 she finally writes about a bad day. She writes about how everything she had scheduled ended up being the same day that her family got the stomach flu and a host of other things went wrong. Everything she lists was beyond her control.

But then she does the most unhealthy, disturbing thing she could possibly do. She blames herself! She beats herself up for not being Hands Free (even though everything that happened really had nothing to do with her.) She claims the reason everything fell apart was because of her overcommitment. The stomach flu and toilet overflowing happened because of overcommitment? She says she thought "Why do you do this to yourself? How did you allow this to happen?" Instead of letting a bad day just be a bad day she uses it to tear herself down and blames herself for things that are in no way her fault. Pretty ironic considering the subtitle of the book includes the phrase "letting go of perfection."

But it gets even more ironic. The next chapter is about Silencing the Inner Critic. I wish I was joking.

In one part she tells how she gives her children journals so they can write about how she can improve being a mother which I think is a great idea. Some of the journal entries by her daughter do talk about ways she can improve but some are positive and say how much she loves her mother. What I want to know is why didn't she write anything herself in this journal to her daughter? She never writes anything back. Not I love you too or compliments about her daughter. The journal is just all about her.

The part where her daughter is willing to help with the laundry and dishes was sweet. My 9 year old daughter is the same way. All kids usually are...when they are little. Then they become adolescents and are only willing to do chores if they get paid. The only connection is fighting with them about getting whatever needs done.

Overall the book is rather repetitive. It almost feels like a Hallmark card sometimes because it's so sweet and sentimental. Each story ends up being a picture perfect memory. The books tone was far too saccharine for me. Her kids just seem a little too...perfect. They never argue, are in cranky moods, act out, and break the rules. Again wasn't this book about "letting go of perfection?"

This mother is so devoted to her children it sometimes seems to border on co-dependency. She explains that the reason she was so disengaged as a parent was because she was committed to so many volunteer activities. She was unable to say no. But it seems as if her inability to say no to volunteer activities has turned into being unable to say no to her children. In fact, Rachel says she justified her many commitments by arguing that her involvement was needed. I'm sorry to say, but it seems like she's doing the exact same thing with her kids. It's like she feel this need to make every minute of the day with them special. She feels a need to constantly be involved.

The way the book reads she is engaged with them from morning to bedtime. Does she ever take time for herself? I worry that she is so into being their playmate and companion that she no longer has interests of her own. I wonder how much the kids do on their own.

What will happen when they are older and they don't want mommy around playing with them constantly? What will she do then? Preteens and teenagers don't want in your face connection. They want their parents to be interested and care but at an arm's length. Their favorite thing to do is be alone in their room or spend time with friends. And they don't want mom hanging around in either of those situations. The advice in this book simply won't work as well with older children.

Rachel's Life List consists of only two things. How she wants to be a constant presence and source of love and support in her family's lives and how she wants to use her talents to help people grasp what really matters in life. She explains that she scaled her big projects down to only one or two yearly projects that directly involved her family.

Where are Rachel's goals for herself? Why is every moment about what she wants to do for other people? She wrote that the reason she did the volunteer activities was because she wanted an identity that was more than just a mom. There's nothing wrong with wanting to feel like more than just a mom. Rachel never outright says this but it seems almost like she feels guilty for ever wanting to have any other kind of role.

The book has some great advice that I will use with my children and for using technology less in my life, but overall her suggested approach just isn't balanced. It's just not healthy to give and give and give like that. It's not healthy to blame yourself when a bad day is just a bad day. It's not healthy to feel guilty about sometimes wanting to be more than just a mom.

I feel bad about writing this somewhat scathing review. I really truly do. There is some great advice in the book but everything in moderation is not it. My rating  Follow my blog with Bloglovin

The Deception Perception by David Icke

This isn't something I would normally read but I wanted to do something special for The Ethereal 2014 Reading Challenge. 

I don't usually include the blurbs about books but what this book is about is just too hard to explain...especially with a straight face. But even the blurb doesn't explain it well enough. 

From Amazon.com

David Icke, the world s most controversial author, has spent the last quarter of a century unravelling the secrets of the Universe, reality and the forces that manipulate our world. What was once ridiculed and dismissed is now being confirmed again and again as Icke, a figure of fun for so long, is acknowledged as a man way ahead of his time.

DavidIcke.com adds
In this massive work of 435,000 words, 900 pages and more than 800 illustrations, Icke lays out in dot-connected detail a lifetime of research and insight about our ‘computer’-simulated reality, the holographic universe and the hidden non-human forces that are manipulating human life via hybrid bloodline families and networks into a global Orwellian state of total control. 

What Icke exposes across a vast range of connected subjects, people and events provides the tools and awareness for humanity to stop this unfolding nightmare and restore the world to what it once was and will be again – a place of love, harmony, peace and awakened consciousness. 

As Icke says: ‘I can now see that my whole life has been leading to this book.’ 

The Perception Deception is destined to be a work recorded by history as the masterpiece that changed the world.

My Review
The chapters on how everything is an illusion, part of the Matrix, and has frequency are excellent. This was my favorite part of the book. I also liked the parts about Gnosticism. However, Icke conveniently leaves out the parts where they did believe a true god exists. He gives the impression that all they believe in is the Demiurge which just isn't accurate.

The rest of the chapters seem to describe how every single aspect of life has been taken over by the Archon intentions. Yes this is implied by the title but if I am to believe David Icke than everything that has ever been created is to enslave me. And all of it is done by an interdimensional race to serve Saturn aka the Demiurge aka Satan. This book made me feel hopeless and depressed. Everything is to serve Saturn/Satan/Demiurge and enslave us. Yes, everything.

Icke's reason for this enslavement?

Because they are jealous of humans. And they feed off our misery. Our misery is like batteries providing juice to them.

Okay, but what happens once all of the human race is enslaved? I just couldn't figure out what the Archon end game is here. If everything isn't even real anyway, what is the point?

Is there something that hasn't been left untouched by the Archon Satan-serving lot? Icke basically lists every aspect of life as being there to serve Satan; religion, entertainment, food, medicine, science, government, our DNA...

I waited for him to talk about the things that are good in this world. And I waited and I waited and I waited. I think David Icke has got to be the most miserable human being who has ever lived.

I kept reading chapter after chapter waiting to hear about the good guys in all this. Who are the heroes? There was only ever one mentioned.

David Icke will save us all.

This book was 900 pages of how everything in all of history in all of (fake) time has been building up to enslave the human race but David Icke will save us from that fate. The solution to this enslavement is believing every word of David Icke and...

Wait for it...

Love.

We can only love each other because fighting them will do nothing. We need to follow the Golden Rule.

Let me repeat it for emphasis. After reading almost 900 pages David Icke says the solution to this mass enslavement by interdimensional beings that have permeated everything that has ever existed is to love each other and follow the Golden Rule.

Gee thanks David Icke. I hadn't thought of that.

My rating .

My Thoughts About David Icke

The blurb alone shows how egotistical this guy is and how he has a total savior complex. Who writes about their own book that it's "destined to be a work recorded by history as the masterpiece that changed the world?"

Well this "masterpiece that is destined to change the world" has a total of 10 reviews (8 positive and 2 negative) on Amazon and one of them is mine. This masterpiece isn't even in the top 100 on Amazon. But the sheeple don't recognize his genius right? 

I mean if everything he says is true about the Archon interdimensional alien race trying to enslave humans is true, how is that David Icke even got this book published, much less is even alive to tell the tale? You'd think the Archon race would have suppressed the knowledge he shares at some point in the last 25 years, right?

From Here to Maternity by Kris Webb and Kathy Wilson

Book Description from Amazon

Saturday morning coffee sessions are never going to be the same. . . .

Sydney marketing exec Sophie presumed "making sacrifices for your children" meant giving up Bloody Marys and champagne for nine months. When she thought about it, that is. . . . But then two blue lines appear on her pregnancy test. How does a baby fit in with a hectic job, a chaotic social life, and the absence of Max, the Y chromosome in the equation, who has moved to San Francisco?

Support and dubious advice are provided by an unlikely group that gathers for a weekly coffee get-together at the King Street Cafe. With Debbie the glamorous man-eater, Andrew the fitness junkie, Anna the disaster-prone doctor, and Karen the statistically improbable happily married mother of three, Sophie discovers the ups and downs of motherhood. And when an unexpected business venture and a new man appear on the scene, it appears that just maybe there is life after a baby.

Written by two sisters who live on different continents, Kris Webb and Kathy Wilson, From Here to Maternity is a novel that tackles the balancing of motherhood, romance, and a career, while managing to be seriously funny.

The quote from a review by The Age on the cover claims "A story best described as Bridget Jones has a baby." Wrong. Bridget Jones is actually funny. 

From Here to Maternity is about Sophie who is a working woman that has just broken up with her commitmentphobic boyfriend and found out that she is pregnant. The story is about how she navigates single parenthood, starting her own business, and of course, dating.

From Here to Maternity was boring and I had to force myself to finish the book. You'd think with two authors the book would have been a bit better, but it just fell flat. What's worse is that the actual "maternity" part was pretty much skipped over. The authors could have done so much more with the time Sophie was pregnant but they skipped that part and started at her daughter's birth.

Then again considering how unfunny the book was overall, they probably couldn't have made pregnancy funny either. It was charming and had just the right amounts of sentimentality so I descided to give it a chance. I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never really did.

What I did like about the book was that it is set in Australia. So many of these chick lit books are set in England that I thought "down under" was a nice change. I liked how realistic the scenes with the baby were. Clearly the authors are mothers. I also like that Sophie made some parenting mistakes. However, I didn't like that she drank while breastfeeding. Those scenes made me cringe.

I also found the idea that Sophie would fly to Hong Kong for a business meeting with her 3 month old ridiculous. What was completely unbelievable was that the baby slept the entire way. I guess the authors decided trying to pee while holding a baby in an airplane bathroom was funny enough and they didn't need to do anything else.

There were so many situations like this that could have been uproarishly funny but they were boring. There were scenes where baby Sarah didn't cooperate and they made me smile but it was only once or twice that I laughed out loud.

And there was a plot hole that makes me want to write the authors an email with a bid fat DUH as the subject headline. Sophie and her best friend were looking for a baby product that they could sell to stores. Why oh why didn't the authors realize Sophie had the perfect idea when she was shopping for a diaper bag!? Sophie was complaining about how all the diaper bags were pastel colored or had cartoon characters on them. I thought for sure the product idea she would have come up with was the designer diaper bag that doesn't actually look like a diaper bag.

I did love the book ending though. Of the two men in Sophie's life I think she chose the right one. This made sludging through this boring book almost worth it but the book wasn't what I would consider a romance. The romance was only a subplot. Overall it was boring and entirely forgettable. My rating .

Looking for Alaska by John Green (Spoiler Warning)

Book Description from Amazon

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .

After. Nothing is ever the same.

**Spoiler Alert**

This is one of those books where reviewing it is impossible without revealing spoilers. In this case the spoiler would ruin the entire story. So if you do not want the entire book ruined, please do not continue reading this review. I hate writing reviews with spoilers but I can't figure out a way around it this time.

First, what I didn't like. Now, I've never lived at a boarding school but these high school kids seemed to behave more like college kids to me. There was just so much drinking and smoking! Yes I was in high school once and I suppose I actually did drink about as often as these kids (never smoked) but maybe because I'm a mother, there was just something off putting about all that drinking and smoking.

I wish I had read Looking for Alaska before I read The Fault in Our Stars because since I knew what kind of writer John Greene was, I saw it coming. Each chapter is a countdown to something big. Granted this made me want to keep reading. I wanted to know what was going to happen on the day Pudge was counting down to.

Okay, I'm going to give you one more chance to stop reading this review. I'm going to start revealing spoilers!

To be honest, I didn't really like Pudge all that much. He treated Lara really badly because he was in love with Alaska. Oh that cliche teenager issue of unrequited love. Actually now that I think about it, I didn't really care too much about any of the characters. Don't get me wrong, I liked most of them but I didn't care deeply about what happened to them. The entire book is a mystery and I enjoyed it so much because I wanted to solve the mystery. (Which makes me wonder if I really should start reading some mysteries, but I digress.) 

I really should say "mysteries." First, I wanted to know what Pudge was counting down to. Once I learned what the life altering event was, I wanted to know why it happened along with Pudge and the gang.

But like I said earlier I kind of knew what was going to happen from the very beginning. I just knew Alaska...and here's the big, huge spoiler....was going to die. I didn't know how and it honestly didn't happen the way I expected it to. Alaska dies in what appears drinking and driving accident that may or may not have been a suicide. 

Pudge and her other friends spend the rest of the novel struggling with their feelings of guilt because they knew she was drunk and let her drive anyway as well as investigate like Mystery Inc. (Scooby Doo and the gang) into clues about whether Alaska killed herself. 

One scene that I found completely and utterly unbelievable was how the students at the boarding school was informed of Alaska's death. No school headmaster in his right mind would tell Alaska's closest friends during a school assembly like that. 

I'm going to get personal here. Real personal. 

Reading this book was actually very hard for me because my husband died 7 years ago in a head on crash a week after admitting he was suicidal. However it's because I've experienced this that I know what John Greene wrote was realistic. In fact, he nailed it. 

I remember pouring over clues trying to figure out if my husband's crash was accidental. I called the truck driver's work to speak with him and asked to meet with him about the crash. I met with him and asked almost the same questions the kids as the police officer. I spoke with the coroner's office and asked then a dozen question. And I waited the excruciating weeks for the police report because they did a toxicology test on the truck driver. My one clue that is wasn't a suicide was that my husband braked before the impact.

What I liked about the book is that Pudge and gang never come to a definitave answer. Instead they learn that they have to let go of trying to answer all the questions and focus on remaining close friends. They do this by bonding together to plan a hilarious and epic school prank involving a stripper at a school assembly. I loved that it was humor that helps all of them heal. I felt like all the loose ends were tied up, even if the mystery was not totally resolved.

Now here's what I hated about the ending. For being a group of kids as close as they were, they didn't seem too broken up about leaving boarding school and each other to go back home for the summer. I thought the way they were so nonchalant about it was completely unrealistic.

Another thing I loved about this book was all the "last words" quotes. Last words as in the last thing famous people said before dying. I found this absolutely fascinating and wish John Green had included more than he did. It made me want to start collecting my own "last words."

I also loved how philosophical the book was. Unlike The Fault in Our Stars the way the teenagers discussed philosophical matters was a lot more realistic. It didn't bog down the story or ever seem pretentious like it sometimes did in The Fault in Our Stars. 

Also one issue I think Greene seems to have with both of these books is that he doesn't know how to realistically write about teenage love, dating, and relationships. He also always makes his teenage characters far too mature. They are always deep and even wise beyond their years. Just once I'd like to see someone that reflects current teen culture.

Considering I plan on reading all of his books I probably should look for a John Green reading challenge as this point.

My rating is a solid  

The book is being made into a movie. I have to admit I think this book would make a far better movie than The Fault in Our Stars.