The Fault in Our Stars. Finished 5-19-15, 5/5, Young Adult, pub.

Unabridged audio read by Kate Rudd. 7 hours:19 minutes

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

from Goodreads

What can I say about a book most of the bookish world has already read?  You were right to fall in love with this bittersweet YA book that was worth every tear because for every tear there was a chuckle or smile or life affirming lesson.  This book had everything that I’d been missing in the few John Green books I’ve read.  The same connection that Hazel Grace and Augustus had to each other was the one that I felt to them and their story.

Hazel Grace with her Stage IV thyroid cancer and oxygen tank met her match in Augustus with his osteosarcoma and one leg.  Their witty conversations were perfection.  Augustus had a fear of leaving the world without ever leaving his mark and Hazel was afraid of being the grenade that blew up everyone who loved her when she died.  These two teens were able to convey more about the fears of dying better than any other book I can think of right now.  But their fears did not get in the way of living.  They were both just trying to live the life they were given the best way they knew how, with a lot of strength and humor.  A word about Hazel’s relationship with her parents.  I loved this relationship and felt that it was so real.  As an only child like Hazel, I understood the sometimes desperate responsibility she felt for her parents happiness.  Perfectly told in every way.

I loved it and am only sorry it took me so long to read it, tears and all!

GIVEAWAY over

Claimed by Vicki

I listened to the audio on my drive to Chicago and had to keep stopping it so I could wipe away the tears that might have caused a wreck. The narration was perfection and I have an unopened MP3-CD  that I won from my library for the first person who tells me they want it.  Just let me know in a comment with a way to contact you for an address.  I’ll ship it anywhere just because I love this book so much!

The Reader. Finished 4-25-15, rating 5/5, fiction, pub. 1995

Unabridged audio read by Campbell Scott. 4 hours, 30 minutes

Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover–then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.

from Goodreads

I watched the movie made from this book in 2009 when it came out because I love Kate Winslet and I ended up being very moved by it.  And it was with those images in my mind that I listened to the book expertly narrated by Campbell Scott. He became the young and then the adult Michael for me.  Between the movie and Campbell’s narration there was a warmth and richness to this story that I don’t know if I would have found in reading the book alone.  At just over 200 pages it tackled a lot and much of it had to be personally considered by the reader.  What I’m saying is that I can vouch for the audio, but I don’t know it I would have loved it as much if I had read the book alone.

The first part is the love? story between the 15 year old Michael and the 30 something old Hanna.  I didn’t ever truly figure out the why of it on her end, but it’s an easier sell for a 15-year-old boy to be captivated by a woman who teaches him all about sex .  I found it realistic especially since as he started to spend more time with his peers he began to question Hanna’s place among them.

Flash forward a few years and Michael is at university studying law and his class is studying a trial of women accused of Nazi crimes and he sees Hanna for the first time since he was 15.  She was a guard for one of the concentration camps and now must face her day in court.  Michael is riveted and doesn’t miss a day.

I loved this for how much it manages to pack into such a short book.  There was the strange physical relationship between the two, but then it moved into things more thought-provoking, horrifying and sad.  It’s a great book for discussion and those who are interested in post-war Germany.  Not a happy book, but one that left me satisfied and enriched.

I will probably have to watch the movie again now because from what I remember the two almost the same.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Finished 4-25-15, rating 5/5, YA, 288 pages, pub. 1976

Winner of the Newbery Medal
A National Book Award Nominee

Why is the land so important to Cassie’s family? It takes the events of one turbulent year—the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she’s black—to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family’s lifeblood. It is the land that gives the Logans their courage and pride—no matter how others may degrade them, the Logans possess something no one can take away.   from Goodreads

Oh, how I loved this book!  It has been with me for at least 5 moves and 17 years and when I signed up for the Classics Club I added it to my list so I would finally read it.  I’m just sad it took me so long.  Did you ever get halfway through a book and just know it was going to be a 5 star book?  This was one of those few books for me.  I fell in love with the writing, the protagonist, the family, the setting, the story.  Not a false word to be found.

It’s the Depression and the Logan’s are one of the rare black landowners in their area of Mississippi. They have land but not enough money from farming to pay the bills, so the father of four must spend half the year away from his family to support them.  Cassie’s voice is the voice of anyone with a conscience and an acceptance of equality.  She diesn’t really see the world in black and white but over the year she learned firsthand how brutal and dangerous racism could be.  Her parents were both leaders and pragmatic, knowing that holding on to their land made just as big a statement as rallying boycotts. The book is not an after-school-special, there are hard times and difficult truths. I was struck by this passage when I read it because it seemed the wrong message to a child, but after finishing the book and taking it as a whole, it did fit into the narrative.

“But Papa, I don’t think Jeremy’d be that way.”

Papa’s eyes narrowed and his resemblance to Uncle Hammer increased.  “We Logans don’t have much to do with white folks.  You know why? ‘Cause white folks mean trouble. You see blacks hanging ’round with whites, they’re headed for trouble. Maybe one day whites and blacks can be real friends, but right now the country ain’t built that way. Now you could be right ’bout Jeremy making a much finer friend than T.J. ever will be. The trouble is, down here in Mississippi, it costs too much to find out…So I think you’d better not try.”

Chapter 7

I fell in love with this family. For me, it was perfection, but I was happy to discover that it’s book four of seven about the Logans.  I don’t know if I will read them but I’m so happy I have the option.  I’d recommend this to anyone and everyone 🙂

First Frost. Finished 3-3-15, rating 4.75/5, fiction, 291 pages, pub. 2015

Book 2 of The Waverley Sisters

It’s October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree… and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store.

When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of their family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before. And through it all, the Waverley sisters must search for a way to hold their family together through their troublesome season of change, waiting for that extraordinary event that is First Frost.

from Goodreads

It was Garden Spells, Allen’s debut book, where we first met the Waverley sisters, Claire and Sydney.  Garden Spells is also where I fell in love with Allen’s light, magical touch.  I didn’t want the book to end. It was so easy to read, an enchanting southern town full of enchanted people and I felt that same warmth this time around too.  As much as I really like Allen’s other books, and I’ve read them all, it’s the Waverley’s from Bascom, North Carolina that really make me happy.  I want a magic apple tree and a special gift, I guess.  Who doesn’t?

Ten years after Garden Spells the sisters and their Aunt Evanelle find themselves settled into relationships and trying to find their way, especially Claire.  Claire is questioning her gift and the way that she’s using it, so she is ripe for someone to come along and shake her faith.  And he does.

I love that Sydney’s daughter, Bay, is a major part of this story, coming into her own as one of the mysterious Waverley women.  She’s 15 and knows her gift, only it has only made her high school experience miserable.  I love how she is willing to be different at such a young age.

I really can’t recommend these books enough. You could easily start with this one, but if you read Garden Spells first you’ll get so much more out of it.  I’m not usually one that enjoys sequels of favorite books, but this one satisfied me and I am only hoping for more!

Me Before You. Finished 2-4-15, fiction, 5/5 stars!, pub. 2012

Unabridged audio narrated by Susan Lyons, Andrew Wincott, Alex Tregear, Anna Bentinck, Steven Crossley, Owen Lindsay.  14.75 hours.

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

from Goodreads

Sometimes when there is a lot (and by that I mean too-many-to-count favorite lists since it was published) of hype surrounding a book I like to wait because I want my expectations to fade a bit.  I read Jo Jo Moyes book, The Girl You Left Behind, and loved it so when I heard bloggers saying that they loved this one even more I knew I had to read it.  I chose the audio because I’d heard it was good and it was.  Susan Lyons became the loveable Lou Clark and carried the story beautifully.  There were a small cast of other characters all with their own voices and it totally worked.

I almost feel like whatever I say has been said before and anything beyond that will spoil it for those three people who haven’t read it.  So maybe I’ll just give 3 things I loved best and then ask 3 questions for those who have read it.  Bottom Line-Loved it and it’s sure to end up on my favorite list at the end of the year!

Loved-Lou’s accessibility and charm. She had no great ambition and sometimes I wanted to give her a shake, but she was so real, fiery, and vulnerable.

Loved-The story focused around Will, a paralyzed man in his 30’s, and it showed the abilities and hardships of someone who must rely on others for every personal need.  It isn’t a life without happiness, but is a life full of struggle.

Loved-The end. Sometimes what we fear is what moves us forward on a new path.

Questions for those who have read it…

How do you think the book handled the right to die debate?

Let’s cast the movie!  Who is Lou and who is Will?

Did you cry and how many times?

I’ll answer when you do 🙂

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress. Finished 2-19-14, rating 4.75/5, historical fiction, 308 pages, pub. 2014

A tantalizing reimagining of a scandalous mystery that rocked the nation in 1930-Justice Joseph Crater’s infamous disappearance-as seen through the eyes of the three women who knew him best.

They say behind every great man, there’s a woman. In this case, there are three. Stella Crater, the judge’s wife, is the picture of propriety draped in long pearls and the latest Chanel. Ritzi, a leggy showgirl with Broadway aspirations, thinks moonlighting in the judge’s bed is the quickest way off the chorus line. Maria Simon, the dutiful maid, has the judge to thank for her husband’s recent promotion to detective in the NYPD. Meanwhile, Crater is equally indebted to Tammany Hall leaders and the city’s most notorious gangster, Owney “The Killer” Madden.

from Goodreads

Since joining the women at She Reads last September I have received a monthly treat in my mailbox – a book that I may not have chosen, but once read, I loved.  This was no exception. I definitely would not have picked this up on my own (gangsters, prohibition and showgirls are not my thing really), but once I started I was immediately drawn into their world.  I could feel the smoky rooms, smell the liquor and hear the jazz of the early 1930’s.  The fact that this was based on a true story, the disappearance of a New York Supreme Court judge, that has never been solved added extra interest.  Now that I’ve read Lawhon’s take on it I am more curious about what really happened and I’m in good company since this is a mystery that tantalized the public for a good 50 years.

Told from the perspective of the three women in Crater’s life, his perfect wife, his flashy mistress and his hard-working maid, this book keeps you on your toes as you jump from one woman to another.  There were also changes in the time frame thrown in that kept me off-balance but in a good way as it kept momentum moving forward.  I loved the women, although Stella did perplex me at times, and was rooting for them all to have their happy ending.  There was no shortage of very bad things happening to people in the story, so a happy ending was not in the cards for everyone.

This book really did have a little bit of everything. There were really bad bad guys, politicians without morals, the glitz of New York City, sexy showgirls, hardworking people trying to better themselves, lies, heartbreak, and, of course, murder.  I loved it.

If you want to see the real pictures of the major players and find out why Lawthon was intrigued, read here.  Also, there is an awesome giveaway for book clubs with very cool shot glasses here.

I received this book from She Reads.  Go on over and see what other bloggers think about this one.