Review: GOD IS IN THE PANCAKES by Robin Epstein

Grace Manning is a fifteen year old candy-stripper at a nursing home.  There, she befriends Mr. Sands, an elderly gentleman who is suffering from ALS.  Their friendship is one of teasing and fun, until one day when Mr. Sands asks Grace to help him die.  Suddenly, Grace is caught between helping a friend in need and obeying the law.  While grappling with this decision, grace also has to deal with the everyday teenage issues—the separation of her parents, her evolving relationship with her male best friend, the dilemma over whether to inform her sister her boyfriend is cheating on her and the existence of god. 

Grace is a wonderful character, because she is witty and kind—mature for her age, yet able to still be a kid.  I love how she is open to befriending an elderly man and latter his wife.  I can relate, because I used to “volunteer” at the nursing home near my house by playing chess with the old men.  I wish more kids would do this.  It can be very rewarding for everyone. 

I also liked how flawed Grace was.  She got tongue-tied when she was nervous and didn’t always speak up when she should…but these flaws worked themselves out as she grew as a character throughout the book. 

Epstein, a former stand-up comic, does a brilliant job of balancing humor with deep topics.  Watching a person succumb to ALS isn’t pretty, and the author doesn’t sugar-coat over the details, yet this still manages to be a fun, entertaining read.  I think teens would get a lot out of this book. 

Overall, I give God Is In The Pancakes…

Plot – 4 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 ½ bookmarks

Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks (definitely a sub-plot)

Moral Issues – 5 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Dakota Blue Richards (Grace), Meaghan Martin (Natalie), Jeremy Sumpter (Eric), Kaya Scodelario (Lolly), Helen Miren (Isabell Sands), Dustin Hoffmann (Frank Sands)

Review: THE HANDMAID AND THE CARPENTER by Elizabeth Berg

The Handmaid and the Carpenter tells the story of the relationship between Joseph and Mary of Nazareth.  While fictionalized, it is based on the Biblical account and historical records.  Of all of the things written around the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, not much is said about how Joseph handled the situation.  Think about it…the girl whom he is betrothed says she is pregnant by holy spirit.  He had to have wrestled with doubt over her story, yet, he married her anyway.  Imagine how his family must have felt, how the people in the town must have gossiped.  Remember also that Joseph and Mary were teenagers who lacked perspective and maturity. 

This was a beautifully written story which really delved into two enigmatic characters from history.  Regardless of religious beliefs, at its heart is a story about trust and whether you ever truly know the one you love. 

Overall, I give The Handmaid and the Carpenter…

Plot – 3 bookmarks

Character Development – 3 ½ bookmarks

Love Story – 3 bookmarks

Historical Accuracy – 4 bookmarks (to the extent which is it possible, the story is well researched.  The major error I found was Jesus’ birth date.  While Berg got the year correct, he wasn’t born on December 25^th but sometime in October.  She also had to fictionalize some of the characters for sake of the story.  Understandable and well done.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Hili Yalon (Mary), Bar Paly (Naomi), Eyal Podell (Joseph)

Review: THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME by Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables is one of my favorite books of all time.  I’ve been wanting to read his other famous work for a long time, and finally have gotten the opportunity. 

In the heart of Paris is the Notre Dame Cathedral.  In the cathedral lives the Archdeacon, Claude Frollo and his adopted son Quasimodo, who was found abandoned on the church steps as an infant because of his extreme deformities.  As an adult now, Quasimodo is the ringer of the bells, a job which has destroyed his hearing.  When a beautiful Gypsy girl, Esmeralda, comes to the square to dance and perform with her trained goat, she captivates the men who watch her.  When she meets a military officer, Phoebus, she believes herself in love with him and falls for his promises.  Phoebus is attacked and assumed dead, and Esmeralda is arrested for the crime.  As she goes to the gallows to hang for the crime, Quasimodo snatches her up and hides her in the cathedral, claiming Sanctuary.  Esmeralda is not completely safe within its confines, as Claude Frollo’s lust for her threatens them both.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is all about people not being who they appear to be.  Obviously, Quasimodo’s deformed head and body is hiding a pure and loving soul, but this duality extends to almost all of the characters throughout the novel.  Esmeralda presents as a beautiful and bewitching Gypsy girl, when in reality, she is the stolen daughter of a French nun.  Phoebus seems to be a handsome and gallant officer, yet when he finds Esmeralda going to the gallows for mistakenly being convicted of his murder, all her has to do is step forward and show himself to be alive, but he is too cold and selfish to do so.  Claude Frollo is the man of God who is driven mad by his lust for Esmeralda. 

I’ve never seen the Disney movie of this story, but I assume they must have completely bastardized it in order to make it acceptable for children.  This book is a tragedy in every sense of the term. 

Overall, I give The Hunchback of Notre Dame…

Plot – 4 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks

Love Story – 3 bookmarks (There is not one central love story, yet love/lust is one of the central themes of the book)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Andre the Giant (Quasimodo), Marion Cotillard (Esmeralda), Tom Hardy (Phoebus), Geoffrey Rusch (Claude Frollo)

Review: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson

It’s been a while since I’ve read a really good mystery.  This book balanced multiple plots and some really unique characters to create a satisfying read.  As the first in the series, Larsson introduces us to Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative reporter recently convicted of slander, and Lisbeth Salander, a social misfit with a talent for computer hacking.  Through a series of incidents, they end up working together to solve the mystery of a teenager who has been missing for thirty years. 

My favorite part of this book was the character of Lisbeth.  I can honestly say, Lisbeth is the most unique heroine I’ve ever encountered.  Coming from someone who reads as much as I do, that is saying a lot.  In the tradition of Holden Caulfield, she is a true anti-hero.  It’s not just that she dresses in Goth clothes or has tattoos & piercings that makes her different.  Lisbeth has severe emotional and social problems, to the point that social services thinks she is mentally unstable and unable to care for herself. 

At twenty-four years old and still a ward of the state, Lisbeth is assigned an abusive guardian who has complete control over her life.  When her guardian goes too far, he finds out too late that he underestimated her capacity for revenge.  For Lisbeth, he is just another example of men who hate women. 

The character of Mikael Blomkvist is a nice balance to Lisbeth.  He is calm and rational.  He doesn’t over-react to Lisbeth’s apparent rudeness or lack of respect for his privacy.  Over time, he becomes the one person she can actually trust. 

While it took me a few chapters to get sucked in, this is a fast-paced thriller and easy to lose yourself in on a lazy weekend afternoon. 

Overall, I give The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…

Plot – 4 ½ bookmarks

Character Development – 5 bookmarks

Action – 3 bookmarks

Dream Cast ( otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Ellen Page (Lisbeth), Liam Neeson   (Mikael), Vera Farmiga (Erika), Ian McKellen (Vanger), Helen Miren (Cecilia)

Review: THE YEAR OF FOG by Michelle Richmond

Every parent’s worst nightmare.  You’re walking alone a beach, clutching the hand of your child.  You let go for a moment.  Look away.  It only takes seconds.  When you look back, she is gone. 

For Abby, that day on the foggy San Francisco beach when she let go of the hand of her fiancé’s daughter kicked off the year from hell.  She is overcome with guilt and sorrow and convinced there is some detail that she is missing about that day trapped in her memory which will lead to the little girl who she loves as if she were her own. 

While the story is emotional and intriguing, the plot moved slowly (as if through a fog)—going on for long stretched about the science and philosophy of memory and time—to the point where I found myself skimming paragraphs impatiently.  I understand the writer’s decision to include these sections—it was a plot devise to slow the action down to get the reader to feel what the character was going through.  While the author was successful in this, it did make the book hard to get through.  That being said, I loved the sections which talked about the effect of the disappearance on the human relationships between characters in the story and the differences between how Abby and her fiancé dealt with their grief. 

If you are looking for a book with a fast moving plot and lots of action, this book is not for you.  But if you don’t mind a slow read and have any interest in topics like memory, hypnosis or what it means to be a parent, you might like it. 

Overall, I give The Year of Fog…

Plot – 1 bookmark

Character Development – 3 ½ bookmarks

Research – 4 bookmarks (I got the feeling Richmond has read everything ever published on the topic of human memory.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Anne Hathaway (Abby), Shane West (Jake), Lizzy Caplan (Goofy), Emily Bergl (Lisbeth), Simon Baker (Nick)

Review: THE INNER CIRCLE by TC Boyle

TC Boyle is one of my favorite authors, but I have to say…this was not my favorite of his books.  The topic was interesting, based on the true story of the Dr. Kinsey, the famous sex researcher, and his team.  The writing was sharp and precise, fitting the voice of the narrator.  But somehow, the book was…flat. 

The Inner Circle is told from the point of view of John Milk, a low-level researcher on Kinsey’s team at the University of Indiana.  He tells the tale of how the ground breaking research was conducted, including filming of live sex acts and taking thousands and thousands of sex histories—all very racy stuff in the 1940’s.  At first, the secrecy in the group is necessary to protect the integrity of the project, but as the project challenges the social mores, Milk finds himself questioning his own morals and lowing his inhibitions. 

This blog post is one of the hardest I’ve ever had to write, because I have nothing to say about this book.  The sex was clinical and cold.  The climax could be seen a million miles away, so by the time it happened, I was impatient and bored.  The methods Kinsey used for his ground breaking research were interesting, but not enough to carry this long of a book.  Boyle is a genius of a writer, but The Inner Circle is far from his best work. 

Overall, I give The Inner Circle…

Plot – 1 ½ bookmarks

Character Development – 2 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Adam Brody (John Milk), William H Macy (Dr. Kinsey), James Franco (Corcoran), January Jones (Iris), Sela Ward (Mack), Megan Fox (Betty)

Review: THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER by Tom Perrotta

This book has two main characters who couldn’t be more different.  Ruth is a divorced mother of two who teaches Sex education at the local middle school.  She has always prided herself on teaching the children facts that will keep them safe.  However, when the daughter of a born-again Christian family reports back to her parents something Ruth said in class, lawyers are quickly involved.  In an attempt to fend off a lawsuit, the school board implements a new abstinence only education program.  Ruth tries to follow the new ciricculum, but her conscience nags at her constantly. 

Tim is one of the born-again Christians who attend the new evangelical church in town.  A former rocker and drug addict, he has found the strength through his faith to clean up his life.  He is now a mortgage broker who coaches a girls’ soccer team on the side.  One of the girls on his team is Ruth’s daughter.  With her nerves on edge from the public controversy surrounding her, Ruth completely loses it when she witnesses Tim leading her daughter’s soccer team in a post-game prayer. 

Both Ruth and Tim find themselves struggling to uphold their convictions while having to conform to public opinion.  This parallel existence brings them together into something like a friendship. 

I loved this book.  I thought the writing was brilliant.  Perrotta is one of the best contemporary writers I have read when it comes to interesting description.  I also loved the flow of the book—the way it rotated between both Ruth and Tim’s points of view.  It really helped to see the parallels they were living.  Lastly, the characters felt real.  They were flawed, non-stereotypical—I didn’t agree with either of them 100% of the time, yet I liked them both.  Very good read.

Overall, I give The Abstinence Teacher…

Plot – 4 bookmarks

Character Development – 5 bookmarks

Dissection of Moral Issues – 4 ½ bookmarks (Really made an attempt to show all sides.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Kate Winslet (Ruth), Aaron Eckhart as he looked in Erin Brockovich (Tim), Philip Seymour Hoffmann (Pastor Dennis)

Review: CANDIDE by Voltaire

Voltaire is possibly the most famous of French writers, so I thought it important to read Candide, a short novel and his most famous work.  The novel was written in 1759 and is a satire of Liebnizian optimism, a philosophy which holds that the flaws of the world were created by God to provide balance and the world is a perfect creation. 

Candide was taught optimism by his tutor growing up, and it heavily influenced his outlook on life.  However, when his life goes to hell, he struggles to maintain his philosophical belief.  The novel sets out to torture poor Candide in every possible way.  Everywhere he goes, he is surrounded by death, disease, earthquakes, war, rape and murder.  Everyone he loves is treated brutally.  By the end of the novel, Candide breaks with his optimistic philosophy. 

Okay, I get it…but why is this one of the great classics in Literature?  I think this novel suffers from a case of “guess you had to be there.”  Since the Liebnizian philosophy is not one generally accepted in today’s world, it is hard to understand the cultural context for this story.  I think people today are much more cynical and generally believe the world to be fucked up.  We don’t need Voltaire to destroy a man to get it.  It kind of reminds me of the Biblical story of Job, where he is tortured in every possibly way to get him to break from his philosophy.  In Job’s case, he never does break from God and therefore is rewarded in the end.  Candide broken.  He adopts a new philosophy where one should devote themselves to their work and keep free from boredom, vice and poverty.  He also concludes that God doesn’t care about the lives of humans any more than a ship captain would care about mice. 

It is easy to see why this book would have caused a controversy in its time.  I’m sure the religious powers that be were not too thrilled with it.  In fact, I believe in some places it had been deemed blasphemous and banned. 

Overall, I give Candide…

Plot – 3 ½ bookmarks (It moves really fast and there is plenty of action.)

Character Development – 3 bookmarks

Satire – 2 bookmarks (Might have felt differently had I been living in that time period.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Hunter Parrish (Candide)

Review: TRUE COLORS by Kristen Hannah

The is a complex novel about a family living on a horse ranch in Washington State.  Three sisters, Winona (the smart one), Aurora (the peacemaker), and Vivi Ann (the pretty one), are raised by their cold and un-loving father after the death of their mother.  The sisters’ close relationship is filled with jealousies, rivalries and love.  However, when a stranger comes to town, events occur which threaten to tear their family to pieces.  More than a family story, True Colors also makes strong comments about the court system in the US.  At times, this book reads like a courtroom drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat. 

While at times I thought the outcomes of certain plotlines in the book were predictable, I enjoyed reading it.  Hannah’s writing is beautiful and descriptive.  The way she handled Vivi Ann’s love story was amazing.  We should all hope to have chemistry like that with someone in our life.  I also liked how multi-dimensional her characters were.  Winona, Vivi Ann and Dallas were flawed and sympathetic at the same time.  Dallas was scary and at the same time vulnerable.  Very well done!  The inclusion of Noah’s diary was nice.  The voice sounded like a teenage boy.  I guess if there was one character lacking, it would have been Aurora.  At times, I wondered if her character needed to be in the book at all. 

Overall I give True Colors…

Plot – 2 bookmarks (Interesting, but predictable.)

Characters – 4 bookmarks (Dallas was the most understated, yet interesting.)

Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks

Courtroom Drama – 3 ½ bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Cathrine Manheim (Winona), Charlize Theron (Vivi Ann), Chaske Spencer (Dallas), Robert Duvall (Father, don’t remember his name), BooBoo Stewart (Noah)

Review: “Handle With Care” by Jodi Picoult

Handle With Care is a novel about a family who’s young daughter suffered from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or brittle bone syndrome.  At five years old, she has suffered over fifty bone breaks and spends much of her time in a wheelchair.  The emotional and financial stress this disease has put on the family is overwhelming.  As a result, the mother, Charlotte, decides to file a lawsuit for Wrongful Birth, alleging that if her OB had told her earlier in her pregnancy that her daughter would be this severely handicapped, she would have aborted the fetus.  There are many moral dilemmas attached to this lawsuit, Charlotte has to say she wishes her daughter had never been born and her OB is her best friend, Piper. 

 I have read just about everything Jodi Picoult has written.  There is a formula to her books.  There is always an impossible moral dilemma which there is no easy answer to.  She usually shows the problem from many different viewpoints by switching narrators for each chapter.  These moral dilemmas usually involve an insanely protective mother and a much more sympathetic father.  The siblings are usually screwed up with their own problems that the parents just can’t see because they are too wrapped up in the moral dilemma.  There is usually a big twist at the end.  While this is formulaic for Picoult, the formula works for her.  Each of her books teaches me about a subject I formerly knew little about.  The layers built up by the sub-plots and multiple viewpoints are intriguing and add depth to the writing.  The books are also fiercely entertaining.  I can read one in about a day if I have time to spend on it.  A perfect way to spend an afternoon. 

My one frustration with Picoult’s books, and it happened again in Handle With Care, is that the mother characters are unsympathetic, unreasonable, and stubborn.  I have a really hard time liking them.  In Handle With Care, Charlotte is willing to rip apart her family, ruin a decade long friendship and perjure herself in court in order to obtain a big payout in a malpractice suit.  Yes, money is tight with her, and yes, her daughter’s medical bills are ridiculous, but I have a really hard time with people who are so money focused that they would sacrifice everything for it.  Do to her decision to sue, she ruined the career of her best friend, caused her healthy daughter to lose all of her friends at school, cause her husband to testify for the defense and file for divorce, cause her handicapped daughter to feel like a burden and that she should have never been born.  Really?  Was it worth it?

I emailed Jodi Picoult a couple years ago after reading another one of her books in which the mother character drove me crazy.  I asked her why she is so hard on mothers and why they are so unsympathetic.  She said that as a mother herself, she finds it is the hardest and also most important job in the world.  It is easy to be blinded by what you see as protecting your kids and make mistakes.  This is why she is so hard on the mothers in her books. Okay, I get that, but she has written almost twenty books and ALL of the mother characters are monsters.  I’m not a mother myself, but I’m curious what women with kids think about this issue. 

I also thought the POV was awkward in this book.  Picoult wrote it in the second person, which is very difficult to pull off.  This is where one character tells the story to another character using “you.”  The multiple narrators were telling the story to Willow, the six year old handicapped daughter.  I didn’t feel this was realistic or consistent.  Why would a parent tell their little girl about having sex the family laundry room?  It didn’t make sense.  Picoult should stick to the first person POV like she uses in her other books.

Overall, I give Handle With Care…

Plot – 3 bookmarks.  (slightly predictable for someone who has read a lot of her books, but entertaining nonetheless.)

Moral Dilemma – 4 ½ bookmarks.  (I like that Picoult shows all sides.)

Character Development – 3 bookmarks

Courtroom Drama – 3 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Bridgette Andersen when she was six years old (Willow), Sara Clarke (Charlotte), Brad Pitt (Sean), Uma Thurman (Piper)

Review: “Bel Ami” by Guy de Maupassant

Written in 1885, Bel Ami is a scandalous French novel about a scoundrel.  I’m not kidding.  The main character, George Duroy is a major slime-ball.  Written as an anti-hero, the novel begins with Duroy fresh from the military, penniless and struggling to make something of himself in Parisian society.  Duroy’s major talent is his incredible good looks and ability to charm the ladies.  Through the seduction of various women, Duroy moves up in the world, landing a career in journalism at a newspaper and making more money at every turn.  The problem is, Duroy is never satisfied. 

As I was reading this, I realized that Duroy is guilty of all seven of the deadly sins.  Lust – He seduces married women, balancing several at a time.  Wrath – He is vengeful on those men who are more fortunate than him.  He also flayed a government minister in the press rather viciously.  Sloth – Unless you count his bedroom activities as work, Duroy is lazy.  He even gets his wife to write his newspaper articles for him.  Envy – Duroy gets insanely jealous for the fortunes of other men.  This gets really bad when the owner of the newspaper lands a windfall in a savvy investment scheme.  Gluttony – Duroy is a slave to the pleasures of Paris, from food to wine to women.  Pride – He is in credibly sensitive to any perceived slight against him and demands full respect at all times, even when he is clearly in the wrong.  He also allows the women in his social circle to call him “Pretty Boy” in reference to his good looks.  Lastly, Duroy has no sin greater than that of Greed.  He is insatiable in his appetites for money and pleasure.  He is never grateful for his good fortune, rather once fortune is received, he sets his goals higher. 

Somehow, despite all of this, I found myself rooting for him.  I’m not sure why that is.  I guess de Maupassant did a compelling job with showing Duroy’s humble beginnings at the start of the novel and I found myself wanting him to succeed.  It was all very strange.  It did leave me with the feeling that Duroy will never have a happy ending, no matter what good falls on his plate.  Very sad, although just. 

Overall, I give Bel Ami….

Plot – 3 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks (He made me care about this total swine.)

Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks (This is pretty racy stuff for 1885.  I can see why women fall in love with Duroy over and over.  I think the only one that he had any genuine feelings for was Clotilde, who seemed to accept him for the cad that he was.) 

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Many people probably know that the movie for Bel Ami was filmed earlier this year and is due to come out in 2011.  While I think Rob Pattinson is a perfect George Duroy, I had some problems with the female actresses opposite him.  Kristen Scott Thomas will make a good Madame Walter.  Here are who I thought of for the other roles – Kristen Prout (Susan Walter), Adrienne Frantz (Madame Forristier), Scarlett Johanssen (Clotilde).  

Review: “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby

Why did it take me so long to read this book?  It’s not like it hasn’t been taking up valuable real estate on my book shelf for the past few years.  If I would have known how much I’d like it, I would have moved it a little closer to the front of my To-Be-Read list. 

The best way for me to describe High Fidelity is this (and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible): It is a slightly more literary version of Bridget Jones’ Diary for men.  It follows Rob, a thirty-five year old, hopelessly average, un-ambitious, record store owner and his shredded love-life, but it tosses in a healthy dose of humor to keep things rolling. 

Part of the genius of this book is the character development.  The main character, Rob is deeply flawed, yet incredibly sympathetic at the same time.  In fact, all of the characters seem to have dual-natures.  Barry & Dick, Rob’s friends from the record store start off seeming like a couple of losers, but end up growing on you.  Laura, Rob’s ex-girlfriend begins as a female to hate, but completely does a 180 by the end. 

High Fidelity achieves something few book s can in that it would be equally appealing to men as it is to women.  Men will see themselves in Rob and women will get a rare glimpse into the heads of men.  Definitely worth the read.

Overall, I give High Fidelity by Nick Hornby…

Plot – 3 bookmarks

Character Development – 5 bookmarks (a very rare feat!)

Humor – 3 ½ bookmarks

Intellectual Stimulation  - 3 ½ bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Okay, I know John Cusack stared in the movie version, but I never saw it.  I love Cusack, but he’s not British and this book has to be set in London.  So, for Rob, it would have to be a British version of John Cusack – not too good looking, slightly neurotic, in his thirties.  Rest of the cast – Carey Mulligan (Laura), Mike Pierce and Johnny White (Barry & Dick), the chick singer from Sugarland (Marie), Holly Grainger (Liz).  

Review: “The Bad Mother’s Handbook” by Kate Long

I’ve seen the movie multiple times and liked it, so I wasn’t in a hurry to read the book.  It turns out, the book really is better than the movie.  Go figure!

The Bad Mother’s Handbook chronicles a year in the life of a three generation house hold – daughter Charlotte, mother Karen and grandmother Nan.  It examines mother/daughter relationships in many different forms; teen moms, single moms, adopted moms, birth moms, etc.  On the flipside, it shows what it means to be a daughter.  Sounds sappy, I know, but honestly, this is a good book.  It can be realistic and funny, heartbreaking and joyous.  God, I sound like a flipping Hallmark commercial! 

I think what I liked best is the characterization.  These people are deeply flawed and kind of crazy, yet I can relate to them.  (What does that say about me?)  I especially loved Charlotte and her unlikely romance with a weirdo boy at school.  He was totally the guy I would have gone for, sweet and nerdy.  Grandmother, Nan, has dementia and health issues with stress Karen to the max.  You want to get angry with Karen for losing her temper all of the time, but if you put yourself in her position, she can sympathize with her situation.

Something American readers might have trouble with is the language.  This is a contemporary British fiction written in the vernacular of the working class.  I read a lot of Brit Lit, of I didn’t find it distracting, but there are those who might.  The point of view shifts can be distracting as well.  POV changes frequently and it takes a paragraph or so before you can figure out who is speaking.  It gets easier as the book goes on, but in the beginning, it inhibited the reading flow.

Overall, I give The Bad Mother’s Handbook…

Plot – 3 bookmarks

Characters – 4 ½ bookmarks

Humor – 3 bookmarks

Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – It’s probably no surprise that that I can only picture the movie cast, considering I’ve seen it like five times.  Karen (Catherine Tate), Nan (Anne Reid), Charlotte (Holly Grainger), Daniel (Rob Pattinson)

Review: “The Believers” by Zoe Heller

The Believers is a novel about political and religious ideals revolving around one screwed up family.  The parents, Audrey and Joel, are old school socialists who refuse to give up the fight.  When Joel has a stroke leaving him in a vegetative state, Audrey must deal with the secrets of his past.  Their three adult children are struggling for growth.  Rosa rebels against her family’s atheism by studying with a group of Hasidic Jews.  Karla, long time doormat for both her mother and her controlling husband, seeks to dig out from under their heels.  Lenny, a long time drug addict and slacker, works toward his recovery. 

While The Believers is a dark and slightly depressing book at times, the writing is beautiful and most of the characters are sympathetic.  (Audrey not so much.)  The political and religious themes interwoven throughout the novel are interesting and well researched.  However, I do think a reader needs to be in a certain type of mood for this book.  It is not a good time, fun read.  Rather, The Believers stimulates the intellect and makes you yearn for a hopeful ending for all of the deeply flawed characters. 

Overall, I give The Believers…

Plot – 3 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 ½ bookmarks

Political & Religious Themes – 3 bookmarks

Literary Merit – 4 bookmarks

Entertainment Value – 1 ½ bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Margaret Atwood (Audrey), Jason Robards (Joel), Sara Rue (Karla), Jessica Biel (Rosa), Ethan Hawk (Lenny)

Review: "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

I am in complete awe of Kathryn Stockett right now.  This is her first book!  I think I might be in literary love...

The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960's - a time when African Americans were technically "free" but trapped in a terrifying world of modern slavery.  This is a story about two groups of women.  The white society ladies and the black maids who work for them.  The house help is mostly ignored by their employers.  They raise the white children, clean the white houses and know the intimate details of the white families.  When a young white woman gets the idea of writing a collection of real stories of experiences form the maids' point of view, we see the danger of telling tales in the Deep South. 

This is not a Caucasian-trashing book.  Some of the employee/employer relationships are abusive, but there are also those that are touching and close.  Instead, it is a book about the imaginary lines people draw to separate ourselves from others.  There have been many books written about the racial troubles in the pre-Civil Rights days, but The Help provides a fresh, new perspective on commonly known tale.  Think Gone With The Wind if told from Mammie's perspective in complete honestly. 

The characters on both sides of the racial divide, were varied and well rounded.  Just when you thought a person was a villain, Stockett would trick you up with a redeeming quality.  The same goes for the heroines, they aren't perfect.  Miss Skeeter, the white writer working to interview the maids, starts off as a naive girl, opens herself to the horrors going on around her and somehow manages to find hope in the end. 

Overall, I'd give The Help:

Literary merit - 4 1/2 bookmarks
Character development - 4 1/2 bookmarks
Plot development - 5 bookmarks  (I think this is my first five!)
Historical detail - 4 bookmarks
Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Agyness Deyn (Miss Skeeter), Mo'Nique (Minny), Rosamund Pike (Miss Celia), Dawnn Lewis (Aibileen)

The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty

Okay, if you want to get picky, I didn't read read this book.  I've been listening to the audio book in my car.  I bought it to get me through the long drive from Florida to Wisconsin without going completely insane.  Anyway, I finished it yesterday and thought I'd add it to my diary. 

"The Rest of Her Life" is about a recent high school graduate, Kara, who accidentally kills a pedestrian with her SUV.  The story is told from the point of view of her mother, Leigh, and utilizes many flashbacks to create an irregular chronology.  The novel follows the fallout from the accident and the change in family dynamics over the course of a hot Kansas summer. 

While this book is about the remorse and grief following a horrendous accident, it has as much, if not more, to say about the relationships within a family.  Like many mothers, Leigh has trouble relating to and communicating with her teenage daughter.  Conversely, Her husband,Gary, has the same problem with their son, Justin.  While it could be argued that the conflicts in the family are stereotypical, I think they really work in this novel.  Moriarty manages to refrain from villifying anyone or making them seem unsympathetic.  These characters were so real, I felt like I was spying on the family next door. 

The accident which frames the story involves a distracted teenage driver on her cell phone.  As a former insurance agent, I've seen tragedies like this happen over and over again.  All it takes is a lack of driving focus for a split second for someone to get hurt.  While this situation may have been done before in books or film, the realism of watching each character float through the grieving process is interesting.  The teenage girl killed in the accident is a former student of Leigh's, which adds another layer to her confused emotions. 

This is a character driven novel.  If you are looking for wild car chases, mystery or dramatic plot twists, you will not find it here.  However, the writing is beautiful and Moriarty manages to weave the character's struggles together in a fresh, interesting way, without creating un-necessary melodrama. 

Overall, I give The Rest of her Life...

Literary Merit - 3 1/2 bookmarks

Character Development - 4 1/2 bookmarks

Plot - 2 bookmarks

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Francis MacDormond (Leigh), Dakota Fanning (Kara), Jae Head (Justin)

Likeliness that I'll read it again - None.  No offense to this book or anything, but there are very few books that I feel compelled to re-read.  I would recommend this for a nice summer read.