Goldengrove

I picked this book up solely because of the cover.  I seriously love canoeing.  This cover makes me think of summer camp, family summer vacation in Ontario and weirdly enough about a series of books I read as a kid where the characters would spend their summers at a cottage in Muskoka.  

Anyway, the cover was a win, and the book itself was actually pretty decent too.  Taken from the perspective of a 14 year old girl during the summer following the accidental death of her charismatic older sister.  She ends up getting involved with her sister's grieving boyfriend, and it moves into some pretty bizarre territory.  

The best thing about this book was that I think it portrayed grief in a pretty lifelike way.  The characters were all stalled in their own ways after the death of Margaret, and it took each of them a very real and immediate reason to decide to move forward in their lives.  I think it was also very good that it didn't all wrap up neatly at the end.  Much like real life, instead of closure some relationships just drifted apart.  It was a really relatable way to write a book.

My only pet peeve was that the timeline didn't really work out.  Really, it's such a stupid thing to get worked up about, but come on!  Nico, the main character, watches movies all throughout the film.  Each time she does, it is specified that she watches them on DVD.  This is fine.  However, in the epilogue she starts talking about her life in her marriage 25 years later.  Now, DVDs aren't exactly new technology, but are they 25 years old?  No way.  Even if they are, they haven't been in the popular sphere for that long.  Maybe 1o years, maybe.  But there is no way that you would have been able to go to the local small town video store 25 years ago and rent classic film on DVD.  Really.

Anyway, the DVD issue notwithstanding, it was an enjoyable read, and one that can't be considered teen fiction (yay me!).  I give it 3.5 creepy boyfriends making you dress up like your dead sister out of 5.  

Sweethearts

Recommended by my bestie, Sweethearts was a great story about growing up, and the people that you meet and leave along the way.  The writing brought to mind Sarah Dessan in that slightly tortured, real-world problems sort of way.  

The story opens with the narrator (Jennifer/Jenna) as a young, awkward 9 year old who is navigating her existence with difficulty.  Tortured by her peers because she is poor, chubby and a bit neglected, she finds solace in her one friend, Cameron.  The two have a very close, soul-mate type existence.  One day, her friend fails to show up to school and she eventually hears that he has died.

The rest of the book goes back and forth between the present (with Jenna as a transformed 17 year old) and a creepy past event that shaped her perception of herself and her relationship with Cameron.  What is great about this book is that Sara Zerr, the author, doesn't waste words.  It's a quick, efficient read that tells the story well.  My biggest issue was that it was a bit unrealistic.  As a child of Abuse it is totally understandable that Cameron would have issues with commitment and communication, but the way he came in and out of Jenna's life like some sort of mythological beast was a bit weird.  Also, and this is just my issues, but it lacked the kind of resolution I craved.  I'm all for real relationships in books, but it was really unsatisfying to have nothing to follow up on.  It kind of felt like when someone (usually me) forgets the punchline of a joke and then has to explain why it should have been funny, or has to add in "oh wait, I forgot to tell you that the donkey was pink" at the punchline.  Kills the mood.  Every time.

Anyway, it was a decent read, and I enjoyed it.  3 stolen Snickers bars out of 5.

City of Glass

City of Glass is the third book in a trilogy that I (dorkily) got into a couple of years ago.  Buying into the whole Vampire/Werewolf/Fairy thing that is popular right now, with a whole lot of Harry Potter, it delivers what it promises.  That is, it's fun escapism that is moderately well written.

I won't go into details as to the plot or anything because at this point, it won't make any sense and really, do you care?  Probably not.  It was pretty predictable but overall entertaining, and I enjoyed it as a suitable conclusion to the series.  I give it 3 out of 5 overly emotive 16 year olds with magical powers out of 5, with a special bonus wizard's staff for making me laugh out loud more than once.  It's the little things...

Making Your Mind Up

Surprisingly, given the stoic and genre-ambiguous cover art, this book is another Chick-lit read. For full review, see the Meg Cabot I read last month.

By the cover though, you would guess there was lots of gardening, fornicating forest life and kissing that makes your leg pop up. You would be wrong. it is about people dying of cancer, parenting and coke heads. Weird, huh? They must just have a stock of book covers they buy off Fotolia or something, just slap a title on it and off it goes to the printer.

Mediocre at best - not even any good sex scenes. 2 spunky, sexy heroines whom men just don't understand out of 5.

When Men Become Gods

This was actually one of the better non-fiction accounts of the FLDS cult and the events that have surrounded it in the last ten years or so.

Anyone who knows me knows how I love reading my books about these nutters, so when I saw this title I had to get it. It has been on my holds list at the library for at least 6 months, but finally fate (or the Angel Moroni) smiled down on me and granted my wish of wishes, and my hold became available.

Stephen Singular does a great job of avoiding the bogging down that this material can easily cause. Jon Krakauer's book, Under the Banner of Heaven, went deeply into the history of the Mormon Church, but suffered because of it in that it ended up with too light of a focus on the modern events. Singular avoids this by only giving a light overview of the general history, and quickly zooms into what has been happening recently, specifically within the FLDS and not Mormon polygamy in general. He gives an accurate account of the legal hoops that various law enforcement groups have had to jump through to effect change, and how they eventually saw a cultural shift within this closed and abusive society.

Polygamy is a complicated issue that can probably be debated endlessly. Singular did the smart thing and instead focused on the actual crimes that have taken place - child abuse, rape, brainwashing of both genders and the subjugation of women. Published just before the raid on the YFZ ranch in April 2008, it is the most up to date of the books out there. I look forward to reading an account of the events of the last year, but until then When Men Become Gods provided new information in a well researched and approachable manner. I give it 4 sister-wives out of 5.

Sabriel

Had a rough night a few nights ago, so in between bouts of yarging I re-read this book for the 2,000th time. Brought me right back to being 13 again, and it's still a great story. I might have to find my other two in the series and read the rest.

Looking back on my last few selections, I realize that the dork factor is a little high lately. I am going to have to pull out something worthwhile soon...

Sabriel gets 5 white kitties out of 5, just for the hours of entertainment it has given me over the years.

I Will Plant you a Lilac Tree

As a holocaust memoir, this book was pretty decent. Stories from this period in history are always a bit unbelievable as it is hard to imagine people living through such a terrible situation. I think that you automatically have to respect Holocaust survivors, just based upon what they have endured. They could publish a book of crayon scribblings and you should be tipping your hat to them.

That said, for a book about a person who was on Schindler's List, it had a distinct lack of emphasis on said list. It was a pretty good book, just falsely advertised with the subtitle. Wow, I sound like the jerks who nitpick on the comments section of the Globe and Mail website.

Anyway, a worthwhile quick read, 3.5 Oskars out of 5.