My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

My Sister’s Keeper… What a book! I had to type this blog entry exactly 35 minutes after finishing this book because once more, Jodi Picoult has stunned me. Is it funny that I will not just buy her books on my own, but tend to have them loaned to me? This time I made a swap with a good friend giving up my Steig Larsson trilogy for two of her Picoult books she had read over this past summer. Why did it take me so long to read this book? Why did it take me until now, the end of December, to sit down and read? I will tell you why…

Jodi Picoult has a way of letting her readers into the minds of all of her characters. You hear the story told from many perspectives so that you are able to form your own opinions about the characters, as you hear from them each in first person narration. It can take some time to get used to as a reader, as most novels are told from one perspective, yet as each story unfolds you find a certain character you can relate to and sympathize with on many levels. My Sister’s Keeper is a book that tugs at your heart and makes you wonder, what really is the right decision for Anna?

You have the story of a family, the Fitzgeralds, who spend the course of 14 years in and out of hospitals as their eldest daughter, Kate, battles a rare form of leukemia, depending heavily on her younger sister Anna, a genetically engineered sibling, with the exact DNA as Kate. Just as you begin to side with Anna, you feel for Kate and long for her to lead a “normal, healthy” life. Furthermore you question Campbell Alexander, the attorney Anna has chosen to help her receive medical emancipation, allowing her to make all decisions regarding her health and medical care, as he totes around a service dog, but for what reason? You read about an ever growing divide between Sara and Brian Fitzgerald, the legal guardians and parents of the children. Not to mention, you watch Jesse, the Fitzgerald’s son, self-destruct as he searches to find a meaning for his life and existence in a family where most actions revolve around Kate’s health.

I can’t recommend this book, because I know that it will rip at the heart of anyone who reads it. I can tell you, it is a well written book (slow at times, but that seems common in Picoult books as the plot has to thicken first) and you will need to be certain to set aside time to be engrossed in this book, taking only a few breaks when Kleenex is necessary.

Will I watch this movie? That has yet to be determined… Perhaps on a day when I feel like having a good, cleansing cry! Here's the trailer that came out in 2009 via YouTube.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

After finishing the first of Larsson’s trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I was eager to start reading the second book while enjoying our honeymoon in Puerto Rico. Vacationing with Dan was the perfect setting for starting the second book (while enjoying the sun, frozen drinks and cool waters of Palomino Island). Fanatics of Larsson’s first work will find that the sequel is more thrilling, addictive and filled with the same intriguing lead characters from the first book.

The sequel pairs up the trilogy’s lead figure, Lisbeth Salander, once more with journalist Mikael Blomkvist as the two work to investigate Sweden’s sex trafficking ring of young women by abusive men (many who hold respectable jobs in the police, security or political fields). Blomkvist is made aware of such dealings by Dag Svensson, a freelance journalist, who plans on publishing a story for Blomkvist that will expose many of the important Sweden participants. Svensson and girlfriend Mia Johansson, have spent many months researching into the abusive and sickening ways young women, many still considered “girls”, had been forced into sexual activity and then brutally murdered and disposed of. Weeks before the story is published Svensson and Johansson are found brutally murdered in their home and the fingerprints on the weapon? They match those of Lisbeth Salander.

This second of the three books was probably my favorite. You will want to keep reading as this book moves at a faster pace than the first. Now that the background is known about all of the characters (minus Lisbeth… that’s still to come), you will find as a reader that it is easy to get into this book and want to keep reading until the very end. I found that the end of this book did not satisfy me completing, as it left me WANTING, and IMPATIENTLY DESIRING the third book.

My advice? When you buy the second book, buy the third one as well! If you are checking them out from the library, burrow them both! You will HAVE to keep reading!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Be prepared to be addicted to this book. In fact, if you read the first book, you might as well purchase The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest because you will shortly after reading the first book pick up the second book and continue the saga. Conclusion? I found the book series I was DESPERATELY searching for. The downside? The Introduction to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008) reads:

Stieg Larsson, who lived in Sweden, was the editor in chief of the magazine Expo and leading expert on antidemocratic right-wing extremist and Nazi organizations. He died in 2004, shortly after delivering the manuscripts for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and the third novel in the series.

Looks like there will NEVER be a fourth in the series. Here's to enjoying these three thrilling works of art in my literary world!

You will wonder what the story is about, begin reading, get used to the names of the towns and cities of Sweden and constantly wonder just what the girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander, will do next. “She’s an extraordinary character you’ll fall for,” a lady told me at the hair salon upon seeing me reading this book. At that point, I was only about 20-25 pages in and had just begun to see the developing plot consume my interest and curiosity.

The story unfolds around the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, a relative of one of the most prestigious families in Sweden, over 40 years ago. Mikael Blomkvist is hired by Harriet’s uncle, Henrik Vanger, to do undercover work and investigate the case of his missing niece. Blomkvist is to tell the many Vanger relatives and curious citizens he meets of the small island-town of Hedeby that he has been hired to spend the year there to write a biography of Henrik’s life for him, and of course, one of those chapters will have to deal with Harriet’s disappearance. While many of the Vanger relatives feel that Henrik is often obsessed and suffering from a compulsive disorder because of his fascination with this case, Blomkvist comes to quickly agree with Vanger that there are details surrounding the disappearance that are missing and must be identified before finding Harriet’s whereabouts, presuming worse-case, that she has been murdered.

Lisbeth Salander’s story is intertwined in the complex plot as readers learn some, but not all, of the story behind her childhood and her current status in Sweden of being “incompetent” and by having this title, having to have a guardian at the age of 26. She has little family to depend on and many who meet her find her reserved and quiet, yet her outward appearance is more of a tattooed, punk rocker teenager. She stands under 5 feet tall and weighs only 90 pounds. Salander is a prodigy in many ways and her talents will come in to play when helping Blomkvist to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Harriet.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book – I loved it! I am not typically a reader who picks up a mystery book filled with suspense and drama, yet I read this book and the second book in less than 10 days. I probably could have had the third book read as well except I was on my Honeymoon in the Caribbean and could NOT find the book anywhere on the islands we visited by cruise ship!

Tomorrow, I will have to pick up a copy of the DVD and see if it is HALF as GOOD as this book!

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

As a huge Harry Potter fan, I have often wondered, so what will be the next young-adult series that I will read, LOVE, re-read, see the movies the day they come out and still enjoy watching them on television. Then I discovered the Twilight Series (2005) where I was transformed into a vampire and werewolf loving teenage reader falling madly for Stephenie Meyer’s characters. Lately I had begun to wonder, what next? I can read Jodi Picoult books (but they are not a series) and I can read other popular best-sellers, but what I really love is a good book series. Over Spring Break my best friend’s daughter was glued to Percy Jackson books and knowing her daughter to also be a lover of Harry Potter, I was curious as to what Percy Jackson was all about.

Now let’s be honest here, there were countless similarities between The Lightning Thief and the Harry Potter Series (1998) as I often found myself stopping, laughing, and being reminded of something or some event I had enjoyed in Rowling’s works. Will I read the rest of the books in this series someday? Yes. Tomorrow? No.

Percy Jackson is different than other kids and not just because he suffers from severe dyslexia, but because he is the son of a Greek god. Unaware of his mythological connections he finds that he has been kicked out of several different schools in the New York City area including the latest, a boarding school. He has behavior problems, very few friends and begins to have illusions or dreams with mythological monsters. His Mom, who becomes a major part of Percy’s quest (yes, this action hero also goes on a quest like Potter and the vampires in Twilight), seems at times to be the only person to truly care and love for Percy. She attempts to take Percy away for a weekend and thus the action begins as mythological characters, both gods and monsters make appearances in an attempt to get Percy. Percy begins to connect the characters to those right out of the pages of his Greek Mythology textbook and classroom lectures.

Percy arrives at Yancy Academy where he meets many of the half-bloods (does this sound Rowling-esque as well?) like himself, children of the Greek gods. At the Academy Percy begins to settle in and adjust to his new life just in time to be given a quest. Along with his friends Annabeth and Grover (part boy – part donkey) they attempt to return Zeus’ stolen master lightning bolt while dealing with a father who has abandoned him (Poseidon – Greek God of Seas, Storms and Earthquakes), solving the riddle of the Oracle and rescuing his Mom from the underworld.

This story starts out exciting right from the beginning, but as a reader, I would suggest this book only for being who are interested in reading fantasy where Greek gods and monsters are discussed in detail, their lives and their importance.

The movie comes out on June 29, 2010. You better believe I’ll be this one at the top of my queue on Netflix!

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Talk about a remarkable book! This one ranks close (but not quite) up there on my list with Kathryn Stockett’s The Help for my favorite reads of 2010! The Postmistress was given to me for my 28th birthday and it was the first time I received an “adult” book as a present! Knowing this book was a gift from a like-minded reader to myself as well as from one of my closest friends in the world, Laura, I was eager to jump right in headfirst!

Sarah Blake’s novel follows the intertwined stories of three women…

Frankie Bard is the voice on the radio that comes into the U.S. homes during World War II from the heart of London and France during the bombings known as “The Blitz” as well as the exodus of the Jews across Europe. Uncommon for a female to be an on-the-scene reporter, Frankie comes into many U.S. homes nightly giving them only a brief piece of the action across the ocean. Frankie often faces a difficult realization that she is simply there to “tell the story” and not to “create a story”. She struggles with the treatment of those fleeing Europe by train and then boat as well as those that have held been captive in what would become known as the Concentration Camps. She comes in close contact with several different characters; they are people that you too will grow close to quickly and wonder, what will become of them and their families. As a reader you will connect instantly to Frankie and her desire to let the Americans back in the States (who seem to be leading normal lives going about their normal routines) realize what is happening in Europe in hopes that they would come together to fight for a change. She will question her own values and aspirations as she struggles to be an unbiased American reporter during a very difficult time in Europe.

Iris James is the Postmaster in the town of Franklin, Massachusetts, located on the furthest tip of Cape Cod. James takes her ‘federal’ employment as serious as one could and places a high value on her importance to the residents of the town. While the summer vacationers come and go, James has the responsibility of making sure that mail is delivered to year round inhabitants in the small town. Her role will intertwine with Frankie as she listens to her accounts of war activity on the radio daily and connects with the stories of the people that are told. Iris goes against her beliefs when she holds onto an important letter longer than she should that comes into her possession early on in the story.

Lastly we have our third woman, Emma Trask, wife of the town doctor, Will Fitch. After period of time when Fitch questions his talents as a doctor as the result of a lost pregnant woman he decides to go off to England to see where he can serve the U.S. in the medical profession. Emma struggles with his decision while he hopes to feel as though he has made amends for his error in judgment with the failed delivery. She goes as far as to have her house painted bright white in hopes that Will can see it from across the ocean and know exactly where to come home. Emma spends much time listening to Frankie on the radio and connects with her stories as she begins to question the purpose of the war, the purpose of Hitler and his actions as well as secretly hoping to hear something about her husband and his heroics overseas.

This book gets a 4.5 out of 5 on my rating scale… any day! The next task on my list is finding a book that keeps me engaged after coming off of this fantastic read. A definite must read!

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

I am here to make an announcement! As a lover of great books and a frequent reader, this was my FIRST Jodi Picoult book!

Many of my friends have said, “You have to read Jodi Picoult books!” or “You mean to tell me YOU, have never read a Picoult book?” and in truth, I hadn’t explored this latest craze in the world of popular authors! So there I was in December in Belleville, Michigan at the Scholastic Warehouse buying books for my classroom when I wandered into the “Adult books” section (no, not Adult Entertainment, it’s a book fair for kids) and found this story. As I have said many times before, I prefer to read books that I will remember long after I put the book down and in this case, Change of Heart is one I will probably never forget.

Picoult tells the story through the help of many of the novel’s characters. We follow June Nealon, a mother who has lost her daughter and second husband to homicide. Their killer you ask? Well, he is another one of the Picoult’s narrators, Shay Bourne. As Shay spends his eleven years on execution row we hear from other prison inmates like Lucerne, an AIDS victim who Bourne appears to help medically from his prison cell. We hear from Maggie Bloom, Bourne’s attorney from the ACLU and we hear from Father Michael, a priest assigned to help Bourne prepare for his execution.

Picoult has an amazing way of telling a dark story with a complicated web in a way that makes a reader want to keep reading. You want to hear Shay Bourne plead his case in court, not for survival, but to donate his organs. You want to hear June Nealon tell about her daughter Claire’s worsening health condition as her heart begins to fail. You want to know if Maggie Bloom will be the lawyer that will convince a judge to grant Shay a hanging instead of lethal injection so that he may attempt to fix a wrong in having killed one Nealon daughter years back, now fighting so hard to have his heart transplanted into Claire, to save the other Nealon daughter. You want to know if Bourne’s organs will instead be lost as it appears he will be executed through lethal injection. After following Shay as our narrator you will long to hear him tell his side of the story, of the night a young girl and her stepfather cop were killed. You want to know how this story ends.

Your daughter needs a heart transplant to live, would you take the heart of a convicted killer? Would you take the heart of a man who killed your husband and eldest daughter?

Your eyes will pop when the story ends and you may even shake your head in disbelief…

What a book! What a storyline! This was intense to read and kept my mind racing at night. I will read more Picoult books, but if they are all this intense, I may need to spread them out with other books in between. Picoult truly has a talent.

Have a little faith by Mitch Albom

In the midst of a busy month for work and fun, I found time to read Albom’s latest book and read it in under a week. Have a little faith tells two stories, in two different worlds about two different religions that come together in the end as our author writes about his own struggle with his faith.

One is the story of Albom and his beloved 82-year old Rabbi, Albert Lewis (a rarity to have one Rabbi in your congregation for your whole life), who asks of him to deliver his eulogy. Such a request is astounding to Albom as he has looked up to his “Reb” his whole life and cannot imagine such an enormous task of eulogizing someone so highly regarded in his hometown community.

To be able to give the Reb the eulogy Albom felt he deserved, Albom spent many hours with him in his office and home. Keep in mind that the Reb was living in Albom’s hometown in New Jersey while he currently lives in Detroit. In one discussion when the Reb’s health has begun to decline he states, “ ‘Getting old, we can deal with. Being old is the problem.” (p.125) When talking with the Reb another time about war and its’ existence because of religious beliefs, the Reb responds, “ ‘That is not faith, that is hate.” He sighed. “And if you ask me, God sits up there and cries when that happens.” (p.161) Many similar conversations are help between the pair as Albom continually inquires more about Rabbi Lewis as his health begins to fail.

The second story is that of a man Albom meets in his hometown, a man who was once a convicted drug dealer that is now the preacher of a struggling local church known as Henry. The preacher’s church has a decaying roof that eventually becomes a large hole in the roof and ceiling of the chapel. For a time being as well, the heat is shut off in the church.

Albom learns of Henry’s faith bringing him back to reality after several drug related altercations that began to impact the safety of his family, his wife and child. Despite disparaging conditions at the church and the members’ inability to help financially, Henry never loses hope or faith that his church will not survive. Instead, Henry continues to take in many homeless people to provide them shelter and food that they need to survive. Henry strives to offer them a place of safety, one he could have used himself earlier in life.

As a reader this book will take you on an incredible journey – one that links two different religions, two different ethnicities and two different men to one common belief, their faith.

What are people reading?

In order to keep the Blog active while school life keeps me busy and out of my pleasure reads (sure, I am enjoying Double Fudge with my 2nd graders) I am striving to find new ways to post about books in between my book log entries!

So here we go....


What are you reading? What books are waiting on your bookshelves? Comment and lets get a good list of book picks going! There are MANY waiting in my bookcase, on my Amazon.com Book Fanatic Wish List and even more on a list generating and growing by the hour on my Facebook page!

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

“You’re reading a Nicholas Sparks book?” asks my sister Rachel curiously looking up from her book Slummy Mummy (Fiona Neill, July 2008).

I picked up this book from a crowded bookshelf in my grandparents basement. Their basement has two bookcases that I am amazed have not fallen over from the weight of so many books! The receipt from Borders Book Store in Troy remained inside the book jacket, purchased October 31, 2006. Realizing that this was the same book that was now showing as a major motion picture in theaters, I thought it might be a good read for my upcoming trip to Florida. Upon arriving in Florida I saw the exact same book on the blue couch in our family room, my Mom was reading it too! Not familiar with Nicholas Sparks’ books, I pressed on.

The story begins in North Carolina prior to 9/11. John Tyree, 23, is a young man searching for his identity when he gives up on the lifestyle he has chosen (nights of binge drinking) and enlists in the U.S. Army. Upon returning home from Germany for a scheduled leave, John struggles to relate to his socially different father (he has Asperger’s syndrome and is the only remaining family that John has) and decides to walk the beach one day after surfing instead of returning home. He comes across his “damsel in distress”, Savannah Lynn Curtis. Savannah’s purse has fallen off of a dock and into the ocean. John jumps over the ledge in order to rescue the purse and charm this new lady.

The story unfolds of a long-distance romantic relationship separated by the Atlantic Ocean as John continues to fight for his country and Savannah works on educational degrees at the University of North Carolina. Just when it looks like John’s time in the army is nearing an end, 9/11 happens and John feels the inner desire and passion to re-enlist in the Army. At this point, he receives a letter from Savannah beginning, “Dear John…” (symbolic in many ways) and the rest can be found within the book!

Dear John is an easy but enjoyable read. I’m curious to see the movie now and wonder if the ending will change at all as it was not the ending I would have hoped for from Nicholas Sparks.

Will I read more of his books? Yes, probably… Grandma wouldn’t let me leave with only one!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

“We are just two people. Not that much separate us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought.” (p. 451)

There’s nothing better than finding a book with characters so real that you feel as though you may know them. At times these characters feel as real as the person sitting next to you. While Kathryn Stockett says, “The Help is fiction, by and large” one is left wondering if many of the stories told and retold in this book shed some light on the good and the bad times in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi.

The story is set in Jackson during a time of segregation in the South and Martin Luther King Jr. marching at the capital in D.C. Stockett being from Jackson has knowledge about the town, the high society and the history behind African American workers in the south. In particular, Stockett has background knowledge about the African women who worked tirelessly for the white women and their families. One of the leading characters, Aibileen, explains as the book opens:

Mae Mobley was born on a early Sunday morning in August, 1960. A church baby we like to call it. Taking care a white babies, that’s what I do, along with the cooking and the cleaning. I done raised seventeen kids in my lifetime. I know how to get them babies to sleep, stop crying, and go in the toilet bowl before they mamas even get out a bed in the morning. (page 1)

The storyline is told through the perspectives of two different African American women, Minnie and Aibileen, and from a white woman, Miss Skeeter. Skeeter works underground to make life better for the African Americans as she comes to realize all that has happened within her own community between the black and white relations (in the workplace, in homes and in their own community). Skeeter compiles the stories of the working “help” all to pay tribute to the lady that “raised” her, her black Mammy, Constantine.

I came across this book at Costco but had heard some about it at a recent book club meeting (we did not pick this one, but now I think I may need to suggest it). I took this heavy yellow book with me to Florida for Mid-Winter Break and noticed something throughout my time in Orlando and West Palm Beach. The Help was everywhere. It was on the bookshelves of several stores I passed in the airports, the mall, the airplane and even resting on the lounge chairs around me at the pool! I made new friends along the way as many a person told me, “I just finished that book!” or “Don’t you just love The Help? Stockett tells the story so well!” Most often I was responding that I was either in the midst of the book and was enjoying it, and at the end I was agreeing with others, that “Yes, this was a really good book and it left me wanting more!”

This is a book that will consume you and you will not want to put it down! This being said, it’s also a book that will leave you wondering about the future of the characters when it ends… and it leaves you hoping for more!

On a side note, I had a personal connection to this book that made me stop many times and think about along the reading journey. When I was growing up there were two African American ladies that worked for my Nana and Grandpa as well as my parents. Tommie came a few days week and did our laundry, folding and ironing. Many times she would stay at night to watch my sister and I while my parents were out. We loved finding ways to entertain her and make her laugh. She loved my sister and I and showered us with smiles, hugs, winks and laughs. The second lady, Elizabeth, might as well have been another Grandma to me. I can to this day remember telling my friends at recess that I did have three Grandmas and I always included Elizabeth. Elizabeth was around when my Mom was a child and took care of my Mom while her parents were away as well as running the kitchen in my grandparents’ home. Elizabeth could make a mean chocolate soufflé or recite a recipe off the top of her head. I have often thought about Elizabeth (she passed away many years ago) and the love, support and influence she has had on my life. Elizabeth was special… she made you feel good, she took you fun places, she babysat when my parents were gone at night or for a long period of time. I always thought Elizabeth would be around when I was little, always. I can only hope that all I knew about Elizabeth and Tommie as a child and young adult was true… they were well taken care of when they came to work, they were shown much appreciation and gratitude for all that they did and they received financial support they were unable to work. I can only hope that we gave them as much love as they gave us.

It's been awhile!

I realize it has been a while since I have posted info on new books... Truth be told, I've been abandoning books left and right! We teach our second graders in the beginning of the year that it's "okay" to abandon books along the way if they are not "just-right" or are not interesting to us as a reader. Rather than give a bad review to the books I have put down, I'll just say there have been three!

I'm finally hooked on Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" and am hoping to have this book completed in the next few days. Stay tuned for a post - and thanks for being patient!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

January 2010

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.” ~Isola to Juliet p.53

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the second book we have read for our newly formed book club. Having just read about the German Occupation in France in Sarah’s Key, this was a slight transition to the German Occupation of the Channel Islands, Guernsey in particular in June of 1940 until December of 1944.

The story unfolds about a writer named Juliet looking for a new edge to write her latest novel about. Having written articles under the pen name Izzy Bickerstaff during the war, Juliet had become a well known-writer across England and the surrounding area. The story begins with Juliet making rounds for a book tour across England and Scotland.

Along the book tour Juliet receives a letter in the mail from a man named Dawsey Adams who has come across a copy of a book belonging to Juliet by Charles Lamb. Dawsey lives on the island of Guernsey. He writes about his love for Charles Lamb’s work, his desire to read more about Lamb, and instantly a pen pal friendship is formed between the two. Dawsey soon tells Juliet about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and the books they were reading and discussing weekly during and after the German Occupation on the island of Guernsey. Juliet, intrigued by this, asks to hear from more of the members of the society about this group they have formed during a period of four years when the island of Guernsey was literally shut off from the world, and all that was happening with the war.

Be prepared to be lost amongst correspondence between the members of the Society to those connected to the editing company Juliet works for in London. Following Juliet to Guernsey, you will want to be along side her as she is introduced to the people and a place she already feels a part of.

This was one of those books that I had a very hard time putting down! Many times I feel a sense of accomplishment upon the completion of reading a book, yet in this case, I still yearn for more information about Juliet, her publisher Sidney, and all of the people I’ve come to love living on Guernsey!

In order to fully enjoy this book, I would have one piece of advice! Get out a blank notebook and create a web using the names of the characters as they are introduced. By the end of the story, you will feel as though you know the characters personally, however to get going in the beginning, this helped me tremendously.

The late Mary Ann Shaffer, author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society acknowledges in the end of the book:

If nothing else, I hope these characters and their story shed some light on the sufferings and strength of the people of the Channel Islands during the German Occupation. I hope, too, that my book will illuminate my belief that love of art – be it poetry, storytelling, painting, sculpture, or music – enables people to transcend any barrier man has yet devised.

-December 2007

One of my favorite books of the New Year - 5 out of 5 stars - It's a MUST read!! :-)