Book Review

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Synopsis: When her mother unexpectedly dies, sixteen year old Emily goes to live with her grandfather. Here's the thing, though: she didn't even know she had a grandfather, let alone an eight-foot grandfather living in the strangely magical town of Mullaby, North Carolina until she was orphaned. While there she makes a few special friends and begins to learn the secrets about the sleepy barbecue town and her mother's silent past.
Readability: Easy. Charming. I really like SAA's style. I reviewed her book, Garden Spells a few months ago. I love the way she weaves a little bit of magic into an every day kind of story.

Predictability: I didn't really know what was going to happen, but if forced to guess, I probably would have figured it out. I'm ok with that.
Couldn't Put it Down Factor: I had a hard time getting in to this one, but once I got going, I was hooked. Sometimes I think I lose something of the story when I devour it so fast. Alas, I may never know what it's like to savor a book. I don't have that kind of self control. It took me a week to read the first fifty pages and 36 hours to read the last 200.
Recommend it?: Yeah, though not as highly as Garden Spells. I felt, like with GS that the author only took it so far, when it really could have developed into a masterpiece. That being said, I highly enjoyed it. There is no violence or bad language, but there is one sexy scene--fair warning to my more tender-hearted readers. This wasn't the kind of book that I finished and said, "THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE THE WORLD!" But I did finish and say, "That was fun. Glad I picked this one up." It was sweet, satisfying, and perfect for a road trip over Easter weekend. So there.

Three out of five stars. Very well written, but again, I feel like she stops just short of really developing the story and characters. Some of you nerds out there will know what I mean when I compare her style to that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He weaves magic into seemingly mundane stories, making them sparkle. SAA does that, but without the plot and character development that would take 200+ more pages, which, I'm not sure the average reader is looking for. Keep in mind, GGM is a difficult author, and I enjoy the light-hearted feel of SAA's novels. In many ways she is the best of both worlds. I just keep wishing for a little more.

OPEN! SESAME!

I had to take this picture in my kitchen because the one I tried to take in the car in the dark in the Wal-Mart parking lot didn't turn out very well. I can honestly say, I don't even really like chocolate, but the chocolate I DO like and crave...well...ain't nothin' gonna stand in my way.

Richard's Theory of Relativity

If every light socket in the house has a working lightbulb, (at least) one must burn out immediately.
There shall never be a time when all lightbulbs are completely functional.

Book Review

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Synopsis: In the summer of 1931, Jacob Jankowski runs away with the circus. That's all I'm giving you.
Readability: Not hard...as in challenging. There were a few scenes that were difficult to stomach. This one is pretty gritty, folks.
Predictability: I didn't know. I didn't know. I just didn't know what was around every corner. You know I love that. This subject was so unfamiliar to me that I honestly didn't know what was coming next. There were some major surprises for me in this story. That being said, the ending was FANTASTIC.
Couldn't Put it Down Factor: Bah. I have been angonizing over how to answer this question. Here's the thing: while I was reading, I was completely captivated and didn't want to stop reading. When I did stop reading and thought about the book, I thought, "This is so dumb! Why am I reading this?!" I struggled with this dilemma through 300 pages.
Recommend it?: Um. I honestly don't know whether or not to recommend this. It's a very satisfying and enthralling read, but it is awfully gritty. There is quite a bit of sexiness, animal stuff that's hard to read, and a fair amount of language. This may bother some of my more fair-hearted readers. That being said, I think I enjoyed this one. I'm pretty sure. I really, really liked the ending. The ending made made it all worth while. So...if you're reading it and you're thinking, "Why did I get into this? What was I thinking?" Just remember what I said: the ending makes it all worth while. Though I can't honestly say, "The ending makes you feel like everything is right with the world." I'm so conflicted. I will say, however, that sometimes there are books that I say, "Why did the author do this or that? I would have done it this or that way." I never once thought that while reading this novel.
Three out of five stars. Very well written, interesting, and a good ending. I'm so conflicted.

The Extrovert and the Rule-Follower

Today I babysat my goddaughter, Natalie, for most of the day. Her mother and I have been friends for over twenty years.
At nap time, I couldn't help but laugh when I reminded them that they needed to stop talking and go to sleep. All three of us knew that Shirley was the instigator and Natalie was way too polite to tell her to just shut up already.
It's all so bizarrely familiar.

Richard and the Purple Crayon

Resemble, much?