Summer Reads

I recently finished a couple of books that still have me thinking about them and turning the story over in my mind. They were both excellent reads and I'm looking forward to discovering more books by these authors.

The first book is

Here is the summary for The Story of Beautiful Girl:

It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. When the authorities catch up to them that same night, Homan escapes into the darkness, and Lynnie is caught. But before she is forced back into the institution, she whispers two words to Martha: "Hide her." And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia-lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.

I was totally wrapped up by this story written by Rachel Simon who also wrote "Riding The Bus With My Sister". The characters in this book were unique and interesting and each of them had a sad life that they had turned into something happy and uplifting. Lynnie was put in the institution by her parents as a child, and reading about her tiny little figure being taken into the school and her parents visits that became farther and farther apart until they finally ceased to come at all broke my heart. But her resilient spirit and will to find a way to carve out a better existence for herself shined a brilliant light on the sorrows and sadness she experiences and the cruel and sometimes undignified environment of the institution. They say a baby changes everything, and in this story in particular it catapults life altering change into each and every character that plays a role in Lynnie's story and helps secure a safe and securely guarded future for baby Julia. I loved Homan's character as well and the frustration I could only imagine someone like him had to endure not being able to properly communicate and convey his thoughts since he was deaf and had never been taught proper sign language or to really read or write. He is Lynnie's knight in shining armor however and the ending to this story proves that love really does conquer all and that even though years may pass by, sometimes the universe has a way of righting it's wrongs. This story is about two very different disabled people who fiercely love each other and the people who help them find a way to be treated better and ultimately live happy and fulfilling lives. This book moved me and kept me up late into the night. It is a treasure.

The second book is

Summary:

Ann Patchett raises the bar with State of Wonder, a provocative and ambitious novel set deep in the Amazon jungle.
 
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
 
Once found, Dr. Swenson is as imperious and uncompromising as ever. But while she is as threatening as anything the jungle has to offer, the greatest sacrifices to be made are the ones Dr. Swenson asks of herself, and will ultimately ask of Marina.

State of Wonder is a world unto itself, where unlikely beauty stands beside unimaginable loss. It is a tale that leads the reader into the very heart of darkness, and then shows us what lies on the other side.

This was one of the most fascinating books I've read in a while. A major pharmaceutical company has sent a research team headed by a highly esteemed and revered doctor to the Amazon to find a fertility drug that will change the world. Dr. Swenson is a hard nosed, no-nonsense woman with an intelligence and scientific mind that goes a mile a minute and plays second fiddle to no one. The secret she's looking for lies in a reclusive tribe deep in the jungle and far from the world's eyes. When Marina who works for the drug company is sent to find out about her deceased colleague and his unfortunate end, she encounters a world not many ever get to live to see and tell the tale. The author has a captivating writing style that had me unable to stop reading. Her descriptions were so detailed and concise I felt like I could picture everything in my mind as if I were there. The plot twists when Marina finds out the doctors are not singularly studying fertility, but also on the cusp of finding a cure for a deadly disease, a cure that could save thousands and thousands of lives. Marina is forced to think about ethics and what is best for human kind. She also has to face down her fears of the past and comes home a changed person. This book is a gigantic adventure, I felt like I took an exotic vacation while reading it. Time magazine calls this one of the authors best books.


I highly recommend both of these books.

Book Review: Divergent

Synopsis

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
 
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

If you enjoyed the "Hunger Games" series and you are looking for something with the same edge and excitement, I think you will enjoy this book. I had this book on pre-order for a month and had been anxiously awaiting it's arrival last week. I was so into the story I made short work of it in a day or two. I am so excited this is a series, just disappointed I will have to wait so long to read the next one. There is a lot of buzz surrounding this new "young adult" story, and I think it lived up to the hype.

I loved the whole concept of the new society being split into particular virtues -- it made me think throughout the book which one I would have chosen had I been in the main characters shoes. Not only do the 16-year-olds choose a particular virtue that they will devote their lives too, but the people of that "faction" become their new family and they all live in their own separate communities where they are responsible to perform tasks and jobs specifically assigned to their group. They basically have to give up the life they knew before and leave their families behind if they choose to transfer to a new "faction". The main character Tris grows up in Abnegation, the faction in charge of the government of the other factions. They are the most peaceful and selfless group which is never allowed to think of themselves before others, look at themselves in the mirror because that would be vain, or wear anything but the simplest of clothing, but she always feels like she does not quite fit in and there could be something more out there for her. Like all of the other 16-year-olds, she undergoes the testing that will help them decide where they should be placed except for her results are anything but normal, and can be very dangerous if anyone else finds out. After her choice is made, there is no going back. During her initiation into her new faction, she discovers the city gates are locked not from the inside like she had always believed, but on the outside. As if they are trying to keep everyone IN. The story continues to unveil the rivalries and politics between the factions and plans for a war that could wipe out one of the factions forever. The plot just keeps building and building and building.

I thought this was an interesting, fast paced, intense, and well written book. I can't wait to read where the rest of the series will take the characters. I think you will be hearing a lot about this author and this series in the months and years to come.

******If you'd like to have a chance to read the first 100 pages to see if you want to keep reading and get the book (which I'm sure you will), you can go to this link from the Harper Collins website and check it out.

Book Review: "A Kiss in Time" by Alex Flinn

{This book is from the author of "Beastly" which has now been made into a movie.} Alex Flinn takes a genre of fairy tales and is giving them a modern day twist. In "A Kiss in Time" she takes the well known story of Sleeping Beauty and turns it into the story of princess Talia who has laid asleep for 300 years only to be awakened by 16 year old American tourist Jack who was sent on a European summer tour by his parents. When Jack and his friend Travis break away from the rest of their tour group to try and have a day at the beach, they get lost and discover the slumbering and well hidden kingdom of Ephrasia where everyone seems to be peacefully asleep and no amount of their yelling and noise can wake them. While exploring the castle,  Jack happens upon the stunning sleeping princess and cannot resist giving her one kiss before leaving. Upon waking princess Talia, chaos ensues as the rest of the kingdom awakes after 300 years as well. Who is this peasant boy who broke the curse? The stipulation was that it must be from her one true love. After a rebellious Talia convinces Jack to help her escape her unhappy existence in her kingdom he takes her back home to Florida where she is thrust into the world of cell phones, TV, modern teenage drama, and a wicked witch who just won't leave her alone. She has to find out if Jack is really her one true love before it is too late.

The story alternates back and forth each chapter between Jack and Talia's point of view. There is no denying this is written for the young adult crowd, that became apparent from the very first chapter. I think it could have been written a little bit better and captivated more of an older audience as well. It is was a quick, easy, and fun read however but did not really engage me as much as I'd hoped since I had heard good things about the authors other books. It is recommended for ages 12 and up, but there are a few references to things like "jell-o shots" and "making out" type things that might be better left for someone a little bit older. That was kind of the puzzling contrast to me was some of the more mature content, but the writing was a little dumbed down for the audience, especially since children these days are accustomed to more challenging vocabulary and plot lines that come from books like "Harry Potter". It does however have a typical fairy tale happy ending and has some good themes of finding yourself  and the person you really want to be, and trying harder to have better relationships with your family. I have been trying to find some younger reader type fiction books that my daughter Kendle would enjoy, and unfortunately I don't think this one passed the test. All in all, it was just alright for me. I am still interested to try out another of her books and give the author one more shot.

Overall Rating:

2 1/2 out of 5 Bookmarks

 

Book Review: "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" By Jamie Ford

Synopsis:

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

This was such a sweet, sweet story. It must be a coincidence that the last two books I'm reviewing have both been intertwined with World War II although they are both from completely different parts of the war. I thought the author took a really interesting angle with showing a young Chinese American boy who falls in love with a young Japanese American girl in a time in our country's history where Japanese were seen as the enemy. Henry's father who is rigid and strict and very patriotically Chinese (they were allies with the United States during the war) makes him wear an "I am Chinese" button wherever he goes so that he is not mistaken for being Japanese and taken away to an internment camp or be subject to harassment and problems at his all white school where he is "scholarshipping".  He forces him to only speak English and not his native Cantonese. Little does his father know that the children at school still want nothing to do with him, except for Keiko who also works in the kitchen during lunch time with Henry. They form a fast friendship and learn to navigate the bullying by their classmates together. I loved the descriptions of 1940's Seattle Chinatown and Japantown, the feel of Seattle during that time, and the jazz music that was alive and thriving and which was a shared joy for Henry and Keiko. The story is told in retrospect from an older Henry who still holds a very dear spot in his heart for the young Keiko he had to say goodbye to all of those years ago when her family was taken away first to an internment camp at the fair grounds in Puyallup, WA and then later to one in Idaho. The author touches on cultures, loyalties, politics, language, heritage, and what it means to live out your own dreams and also how sometimes down the road in life we end up acting like our parents whether we realize it or not.

I'm a big fan of historical fiction and when it inspires me to learn more about the issues and hardships of that time. It is sad to look back on that time in our country's history and think about all of the citizens that were rounded up and forced to leave their homes and belongings and relocate forcibly to another place even when the majority of them were American born citizens. After the war was over, they did not have much to come back to and they were forced to start new lives elsewhere many times. It made me think a lot about my own heritage. This was just such a beautiful book, not really sad at all, just bittersweet like the title says. The innocent love and friendship of Henry and Keiko was a breath of fresh air in modern literature and one I will think about for a long time. This is not a book to rush through, take your time and enjoy it. There are parts that can seem a little slow, but overall it all came together to tell a wonderful story.

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5 bookmarks