A Gaggle of Book Reviews

This review is part of a MotherTalk blog tour, and I received this set of books from the publisher to review.

My oldest daughter has trouble with reading, and we were overjoyed to find Bob Books for her a few years ago - they are simple, short stories with simple drawings that can boost the confidence of beginning readers. The simple illustrations gave her an idea of the story without being too busy or distracting. The original books had black and white illustrations, which differed so much from the other, fully illustrated readers that distracted her from the words. The Bob Books gave her the ability to brag about reading a whole book when her friends said that they had read a book, despite her reading difficulties.

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This review is part of a MotherTalk blog tour
It’s amazing how much can change in one day. The events of one day can turn a happy, easygoing child into one with several phobias - we saw that with MG when she was hospitalized for 5 days at 3 1/2. How much can really change as the result of one day? 24 hours can hold a lot of power. I hadn’t really thought about how much difference a day can make until I read Once Upon a Day: A Novel, by Lisa Tucker.

This is an amazing and fascinating book, one which I plan to loan to everyone I know - it is completely engrossing. Ms. Tucker builds characters with such depth, they feel like real people… it felt like the book shouldn’t end, because their stories must continue. This book leaves me wishing I had a book group to discuss it with! So, everybody go read Once Upon a Day and then we can chat!

Ms. Tucker writes the book using a mix of third person and first person. For most books, that would leave me confused and annoyed. Somehow it works here, though. The major character is Dorothea, and her story is told in the first person. The chapters that revolve around her parents and the people she meets are told in the third person. As the story weaves in and out of different lives, the change in narration flows perfectly, and without the jolt of confusion when the narrator changes I get from other books with similar narration styles.

Dorothea is a young woman who was raised with her older brother by her father and paternal grandmother in an estate/home called “The Sanctuary”. The Sanctuary has many, many rules about safety, and they could either be viewed as protective or oppressive. Dorothea knows they moved there when she was 4 and her brother 6, following an event in their prior home in California. They have no media coming into the home, and her father dresses everyone in outfits that would be appropriate in the Fifties. In fact, no media past 1960 is in the home. Dorothea reveres her father, and doesn’t want to think or say or hear anything against him. However, her older brother is more rebellious, and leaves The Sanctuary to find his own way in the world.

When Dorothea’s father gets very sick, she leaves him in the care of their family doctor (who makes house calls! I want that!) to search for her brother. As she searches for him, she meets a man whose life had also changed in one day.

As Dorothea searches with her new friend for her brother, and then for answers about her early life, we are taken back and forth in time to discover what happened on that day to change her life and her family’s life. We see both sides of all the characters - everyone has both a redeeming quality and a flaw as we delve into their lives.

Reading this book was amazing - it really sucks you into it. Once Upon a Day is one of those books you can’t put down - you want to shut yourself into a closet and finish the book, but you don’t want it to end! The characters are so well developed that you really do wonder “what next?” at the end of the book - it’s so clear that the lives of the characters continue.

Once Upon a Day also leaves me wondering about my life, and the life of my family. At what point are parents so overprotective that they are smothering? And what level of distance is OK? Can a horrible wrong ever truly be righted? How much of our lives are changed by the events of one day?

A huge thumbs up from here for Once Upon a Day!

I might be described as a novel addict. I chant to myself that “the library is an extension of my bookshelf” so I won’t keep buying dozens of books. I have found that in addition to fantasy and mystery, I really love Chick Lit, or women-centered books. There are obviously good books, not-so-good books, and books not worth finishing in all of the categories. Late Night Talking: A Novel by Leslie Schnur falls into the good category!

Late Night Talking is a novel that centers on a the host of a Late Night call-in show. Jeannie keeps telling herself (and her father) that she leads a happy life, but working in the middle of the night, rarely dating, and rarely seeing anyone except for her co-workers belies her claims.

I know I’ve said before that my step-dad works in radio - we always ate dinner between 7pm and 8pm (and still do!) because his shift usually ended at at 7pm. Then there were the days when he was asked to cover for the morning folks when they went on vacation - he’d leave the house when it was still dark, and he’d sleep while we were still at school. Now he works until 8pm most of the time, so weekday evening engagements just don’t happen. However, it does mean that if I drop my kids off at 10am for a few hours, they get to see their Vovo for a couple hours before he goes to work.

Anyhow, that lovely little tangent was my way of saying, “I’ve never worked in radio, but I know quite a bit about how it works and about the crappiness of many radio host schedules.” Late Night Talking showed the reality of the crappiness of the Late Night talk show host (the only one I knew who was happy with his lot had his apartment set up as a studio and he managed to work from home), as well as the jealousy of the people with good schedules (morning drive time is prime). The behind-the-scenes radio stuff also seemed realistic, and it would have really bugged me if it wasn’t realistic. Jeannie is jealous of the morning drive time host and knows her show (”Sterling Behavior” - discussing bad behavior and ethics in NYC) would get even better ratings if it were on during that time slot.

Leslie Schnur has created characters with real depth - you cheer for them, squirm for them, and sniffle for them. There are twists and turns - none of the characters are perfect, and none readily admit their imperfections. It was a book that reminded me about what faults you can live with, and which ones you can’t, and how that affects dating/marriage. This is a conversation I had with both of my parents as a teen (”never marry anyone expecting to change them!”), and now it’s a regular topic with friends. It’s interesting to see which faults are deal-breakers for which people - and which of those aren’t even on another’s radar. As much as I had to laugh at the title of Jeannie Sterling’s show (”Sterling Behavior”), that part of the book fascinated me. I hate call-in talk shows, and never listen to them. But the idea of what is ethical and what is bad behavior is so different between people that the show excerpts were very interesting. (side note - I never discuss names of my family without their permission, but I guess I can say that before I was married, my middle name was the same as Jeannie’s last name, and that was because it was my father’s first name. Hence the amusement at the show title.)

Since this falls into the “chick lit” genre, you know there is likely to be a happy ending - but there are plenty of low points, as well as twists and turns along the way! There are moments that leave you wanting to smack the main character, and moments when you want to hug her - just like she was a real friend. This is a book that didn’t tie everything up neatly with a cute epilogue. You feel as if the characters are going on with their lives now and you’ll hear from them again. I hope we do, too I really liked the book and the characters.

This is being cross-posted on my main blog. I received this book for free to review for the MotherTalk book tour. I love free books, but I give reviews based on what I think about the book, not if it is free or not!

If you’d like to win a copy of Late Night Talking, as well as two chick lit books by Melanie Murray (Good Times, Bad Boys: Friends don’t let friends date musicians and Miss Bubbles Steals The Show), leave me a comment with the most recent chick lit book you enjoyed. I’ll get one of the girls to draw one name out of a hat. I’m fine shipping within the US or to Canada - no shipping books to Oz or the Emerald Isle, sorry!

This review is part of a MotherTalk blog tour, and I received the book from the publisher to review.

Sweet Ruin: A Novel is the second novel written by columnist and essayist Cathi Hanauer. This book is written in the first person, the story of a woman and her family coming out of the “hibernation” of grief after the loss of their newborn son. It follows them through a little more than a year, and the highs, lows, and the every-day of their lives.

I’ve outed myself as a novel-addict in other posts, and it’s pretty clear from my extensive reading list that I love to read fiction that centers on women - be it literature, chick lit, young adult, or paranormal romance. Looking at the cover of Sweet Ruin, I was saving it to savor - from the cover and the description, I was really excited to read it.

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This review is part of a MotherTalk blog tour, and I received the book from the publisher to review.

I signed up to read The 24-Hour Pharmacist: Advice, Options, and Amazing Cures from America’s Most Trusted Pharmacist, by Suzy Cohen, R.Ph. because of my status as a person with multiple chronic ailments, multiple medications, and multiple supplements used by me and the rest of the household.

This book is written by the author of the nationally syndicated column “Dear Pharmacist”. Sine the book is written by a pharmacist, rather than a doctor, there is a unique perspective on medications (both over the counter and prescription) as well as supplements. (more…)

This review is part of a MotherTalk blog tour, and I received this book from the publisher to review.

February Flowers, by Fan Wu is a beautiful novel of women, China, and has a new twist on the classic coming of age novel. Most coming of age novels I read are set in the US, Great Britain, or Australia. The book gives you a peek into the cultural differences between the US and China, and it’s fascinating.

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This review is part of a MotherTalk blog tour, and I received this book from the publisher to review.

The Dark Dreamweaver (The Remin Chronicles) is a tween/teen fantasy novel by Nick Ruth,with illustrations by Sue Concannon. The book blends imagination, magic, dreams, and monarch butterflies - some of our favorite things!

The beginning of The Dark Dreamweaver is dense, with a lot of information and small print. Our listeners liked the story, but found that the chapters were too long to read all at once (they, um, fell asleep). However, they loved the story itself. The beginning is slow, too - there’s a lot of set-up information that the reader needs, before the “good part” can begin. This can be hard for younger readers/listeners, as many might put down the book, not knowing how good it can get from the beginning!

Remin is a land of imagination, where dreams are created. The wizard of Remin, Houdin, has been forced out of Remin by his arch-enemy, Thane. Thane is creating nightmares and bad dreams for all the people around Earth. Houdin is stuck in the body of a caterpillar on Earth, and asks David (a young boy) to help him return to Remin and fix the situation with the dreams and return him to his original form. To do this, Houdin must manipulate David’s dreams that night so he can return to Remin.

The world within Remin is fascinating - once our little readership group had gotten to that part of The Dark Dreamweaver, it was hard to stop each night! There are wizards, magical creatures, doors that talk, wands, talking animals, and bad guys - all things that excite the imagination and minds of young listeners.

Once we had gotten through the first couple chapters of The Dark Dreamweaver, we really enjoyed it. Our reading group was on the young end of the age spectrum (7 & 9 years old), but it wasn’t too scary for these kids who have listened to Harry Potter books 1-4! I would recommend it for ages 7+ as a read-aloud chapter book, or ages 9+ for read-it-themselves. This is with the understanding that kids aren’t incredibly sensitive to magical violence and suspense (ie: kids who have already enjoyed Harry Potter). Now that there aren’t any more Harry Potter books coming out, my kids are looking forward to more books in the Remin Chronicles - sequels to The Dark Dreamweaver.