Sunday Shorts

The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken
published 1998
214 pages

Synopsis from publisher:

One sunny spring morning, 16-year-old Ethan Shumway walks down his gravel driveway and vanishes without a trace. A gifted athlete and musician, he leaves behind a wake of family and friends who search for understanding in the unbearable presence of loss.

My thoughts:

More than anything I think this is a coming-of-age novel - of a boy, and of a family, who have to learn how to survive and keep going in the wake of a tragedy. Reiken's family rang true to me - each character felt authentic, and their individual reaction to the events seemed appropriate. Watching Phillip travel the bumpy path of grief, loss, and acceptance was difficult at times, but ultimately I found his story moving. I don't know that I will remember this novel's specifics months down the road, but I would certainly give this author a second read.

Finished: 10/6/12
Source: loan from my mom
MPAA rating: R for language and adult situations
My rating: 6/10

Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society by Amy Hill Hearth
published October 2, 2012
272 pages

Synopsis from publisher:

In 1962, Jackie Hart moved to Naples, Florida, from Boston with her husband and children. Wanting something personally fulfilling to do with her time, she starts a reading club and anonymously hosts a radio show, calling herself Miss Dreamsville.

     The racially segregated town falls in love with Miss Dreamsville, but doesn’t know what to make of Jackie, who welcomes everyone into her book club, including a woman who did prison time for allegedly killing her husband, a man of questionable sexual preference, a young divorcee, as well as a black woman.

My thoughts:

This is a very lighthearted novel - really too lighthearted for my taste. Hearth takes on a vast number of social and political issues from the 1960s - race, gender, religion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the KKK - but spends so little time on each that it's hard to take the novel seriously. I would have preferred a few less issues, and a bit more time developing characters. I have a feeling this novel will be pretty popular, but it didn't hit the mark for me.

Finished: 10/14/12

Source: review copy from publisher- thank you!
MPAA rating: PG-13 for discussions of race, gender, sexuality, and violence

My rating: 5/10

The Passage by Justin Cronin
published 2010
audiobook read by Scott Brick, Adenrele Ojo, and Abby Craden

Synopsis from publisher:

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear — of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey — spanning miles and decades — towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

My thoughts:

I read this novel two years ago for the first time, and loved it (my review here), but hated the fact that I would have to wait for the second installment in the trilogy. I decided to revisit the story this fall because the long-awaited second book was released this month, and I am glad I did. The Passage holds up extremely well to a re-read - knowing the plot twists and turns did not lessen the impact of the story, and sometimes knowing what was coming almost made the experience sweeter. I enjoyed listening to it as an audiobook a lot - the first time through, there were some parts that moved a bit slowly for me, but I didn't feel that drag as much as an audio experience. This is such a good novel, and now I am even more excited to start book #2! If you haven't read it yet, do it! It's a great choice for fall/winter, and now you won't have to live through the horrible cliffhanger!

Finished: 10/29/12

Source: audible.com

MPAA rating: R for language and violence

My rating: 9/10

Sunday Shorts

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
published 2009
audiobook

Synopsis from publisher:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

My thoughts:

I'm still not completely sold on the narrator that has been chosen to read this series - sometimes there is something in her voice that seems to play too young. But once again, I think the novel definitely holds up to a re-read. Once again I am realizing just how much depth of thought Collins has put into this story, and how many little things there are that make the story as a whole such a rewarding experience. I'm so glad I decided to revisit this series!

Finished: 4/21/12

Source: audible.com

MPAA rating: PG-13

My rating: 9/10

 Comeback Love by Peter Golden
published 4/3/12
ebook

Synopsis from publisher:

Over thirty-five years ago, Gordon Meyers, an aspiring writer with a low number in the draft lottery, packed his belongings and reluctantly drove away, leaving Glenna Rising, the sexy, sharp-witted med student he couldn’t imagine living without.
 
Now, decades later, Gordon is a former globetrotting consultant with a grown son, an ex-wife, and an overwhelming desire to see Glenna again. Stunned when Gordon walks into her Manhattan office, Glenna agrees to accompany him for a drink. As the two head out into the snow-swept city, they become caught up in the passions that drew them together before tearing them apart. And as the evening unfolds, Gordon finally reveals the true reason for his return.

My thoughts:
This was a pleasant, quick read - Gordon and Glenna were interesting characters, and I particularly enjoyed the sections set in their past, as I found the history of that era to be quite interesting. Parts of the plot were somewhat predictable, but not in a way that hindered my enjoyment of the novel. I did at times wonder exactly WHY this couple seemed so in love with each other, but I think that about people I know in real life, so it certainly wasn't a dealbreaker. I thought it was a good book - if it crosses your path, definitely give it a shot.

Finished: 5/6/12
Source: review copy from Netgalley
MPAA rating: R for language and adult situations
My rating: 7/10

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
published 2010
audiobook

Synopsis from publisher:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12.

My thoughts:

This series is not perfect. Are there places where the narrative could use some tweaking? Absolutely. Are there times when Katniss' whining gets annoying? Yep. Does Peeta seem too perfect? Sure. Does it contain scenes of extreme and sometimes graphic violence? It does.  But I still recommend this series without reservation to anyone I can convince to give it a shot. Because these are the kinds of books I want my kids to be reading. Books that ask hard questions, and don't give passes or spell out answers to make sure kids "get it". Books that show the good AND the bad of human nature, and the consequences of both. Books that entertain, and provoke. Books that engage the imagination and the heart. I love this series, and I'm so glad I spent time with Katniss and Peeta, Gale and Haymitch again.

Finished: 5/9/12

Source: audible.com

MPAA rating: PG-13 for violence and adult situations

My rating: 10/10

Book Thoughts - Sunday Shorts

Just a few quickies -

By the Iowa Sea by Joe Blair
published 3/6/12
ebook

Synopsis from publisher:

After his first cross-country motorcycle trip, Joe Blair believed he had discovered his true calling. He would travel. He would never cave in to convention. He would never settle down. Fifteen years later, Joe finds himself living in Iowa, working as an air-conditioning repairman and spending his free time cleaning gutters, taxiing his children, and contemplating marital infidelity. “Our history,” he writes, “gains more weight day by day. And the future seems more and more unlikely to be anything cool at all.” Joe believes it would take an act of great faith or courage to revive in him the passion and promise that once seemed so easy to come by. What it takes, he discovers, is a disaster. When the Iowa River floods, transforming the familiar streets and manicured lawns of his neighborhood into a terrible and beautiful sea, he begins to question the path that led him to this place. Exquisitely observed and lyrically recounted, this is a compelling and often humorous account of an ordinary mans struggle to live an extraordinary life. Joe Blair lays bare the moving, hopeful story of a river that becomes an ocean and a love that is lost and found again, by the Iowa Sea.

My thoughts:

Gosh, I just couldn't feel sympathetic for this couple. The author's writing was good - sometimes quite good - and his descriptions of the flood that ravaged Cedar Rapids and its surrounding areas were compelling. But I found his dissatisfaction with his life increasingly shallow, and he and his wife remarkably irritating. I would read this author again if he wrote about a different topic.

Finished: 3/7/10
Source: review copy from publisher via Netgalley
MPAA Rating: R for language, adult situations
My rating: 5/10

A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire #4 by George R.R. Martin
published 2007
audiobook

Synopsis from publisher:

It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears....With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King's Landing. Robb Stark's demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist — or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out.

But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces — some familiar, others only just appearing — are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead.

It is a time when the wise and the ambitious, the deceitful and the strong will acquire the skills, the power, and the magic to survive the stark and terrible times that lie before them. It is a time for nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages to come together and stake their fortunes...and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests — but only a few are the survivors.

My thoughts: Why in the world would they change narrators 4 books into a series? That was so weird. He was fine, really, but it took my a WHILE to get used to him.

I can see why fans of the series were so mad about this book - all the stuff that you are really interested in is never even addressed! But since I'm (potentially) the only reader on the planet who does NOT hate Cersei, it wasn't bad for me - my least favorite of the series, but still a good read.

Finished: 3/25/12
Source: audible.com
MPAA Rating: R - if they are lucky
My rating: 7/10

 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
published 2008
audiobook

Synopsis from publisher:

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Katniss' sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.

My thoughts: I wanted my husband to read this, so I got the audiobook and (of course) had to listen myself. It was a good production, although it did take me a bit to get into the narration. The scenes that excited me were even more exciting, the scenes that choked me up were even more emotional - I can only imagine what it will be like watching it on a big screen. This is the first time I've read this first novel since I've finished the series, and knowing how it all ends makes it more poignant. Small phrases and bits of dialogue have so much more meaning - this is a truly great series, and I'm happy to say it holds up on this second time through. Still very highly recommended.

Finished - 4/4/12
Source - audible.com
MPAA rating - PG-13
My rating - 9/10