The Forgotten Garden

This was an actual, real, decent book that I read (especially after all the sludge lately). Yet another historical mystery, it was well written, intrguing and had
more to offer than straight up escapism.

It centred around the story of a small girl who is abandoned on a ship to Australia from England in 1913. Upon her arrival, she is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife, and raised as their own.

The book jumps around in time, from 1900 all the way to 2005, with various dates in between. This story of family and betrayal, told through the search of a woman for the real story of her grandmother's history was actually pretty riveting, and I was right with it for pretty much the entire thing.

That isn't to say it didn't have it's faults - it ran a bit long and could definitely have used a bit of trimming. Overall, I enjoyed this book and read it a lot faster than anything else in the last little while. Maybe this is the key, read actual good books instead of tripe - you end up reading more.

Regardless, good read, a bit more dense than the past few and I didn't have the mystery figured out until the end. I give it 4 creepy hair-filled Victorian brooches out of 5.

What Angels Fear

I love a good historical mystery, as is fairly evident by my book blog so far (note to self - expand horizons). This book is what can be determined as the Jane Fallon of historical mysteries - pleasant to read, kept me mildly interested, but ultimately I don't feel like I spent a magical few hours with a book - it was simply sufficient.

Set in 1811 with the rape and murder of a popular actor (and sometimes whore), it settles around a roguish aristocrat trying to clear his name by figuring out whom the real killer must be. He goes all over industrial London, and enlists the help of another actor-whore and a plucky young eastender. Several red herrings/romances/mistaken identities/ridiculous costumes/regency balls later, he finally gets his man.

Honestly, it was OK. I was mildly entertained, as much by the story as by the portrayal of the thick London Police. It seemed pretty unlikely that even they could not find this guy when he went underground - the hero was about as stealth as myself, but a whole lot less dashing.

Anyway, this mildly amusing tale gets 2.5 rakishly tied cravats out of 5 - a grand total of meh.

Get You Back

First of all, I found out that Jane Fallon is the partner (married to?)
Ricky Gervais. I just thought that was kind of interesting, he seems like he would be a bit of a trial to live with.

Anyway, Got you Back was basically Getting Rid of Matthew version 2.0. Jane Fallon seems to have some issues with cheating husbands (I'm looking at you, Ricky). Anyway, some jerk is living a double life, with a wife in London and a mistress in the country. They eventually find out about each other, and go through all sorts of quirky adventures to get even with him and destroy his life. Eventually, he sees the err of his ways and everything wraps up fairly nicely, although not perfectly.

I do have to say this - Jane Fallon has at least gone away from the regular chicklit standard of a nice, all around clean ending with everyone blissfully happy. This book ends on a relatively high note, but transgressions have not been forgotten, and there is no perfect solution that makes everything wonderful again.

Other than this, though, we have your typical chicklit novel. I think that sometimes chicklit gets a bad rap (the first being called chicklit, but that is another rant for another time). there are some really great writers out there that tend to get pigeonholed, such as jennifer Weiner. Yes, her books have a pink cover, they feature sassy women making a life for themselves, etc. She also develops strong, likable and relatable characters that draw you in and seem very real - to just write her stuff off as "chicklit" and relegate it to the pink section of the store for lonely housewives and beach reads is doing a disservice. But anyway...back to Jane Fallon.

Unfortunately, she really doesn't bring it to the Jennifer Weiner level. I was entertained, but not outrageously so. Her book kept me mildly interested and didn't require a ton of brainpower to keep things afloat. It is ideal for a *cough* beach read. Urgh....

I give it 3 housewives on Valium out of 5. Don't go out of your way, but for something fun and if it's free, enjoy.

Ransom My Heart

I can't believe A) I read this; and B) I am admitting to it. FML

2 cliched romance novels out of 5. urgh.

The Sky is Falling

I read this book (and its two sequels) over and over and over again as a kid.  This is truly a classic of Canadian children's fiction.  

Anyway, I am in the process of moving and when I went to bed last night all my books were packed up, so I had nothing to read.  I found this tucked behind a cabinet in my old room, and so I took it to bed with me to keep me entertained in my last night at my mom's house.  It kind of seemed like a fitting  choice, seeing as how it was such a big part of my childhood.  

This story of two young children leaving England for Toronto as war guests during the early part of World War II is always great.  I've always found myself deeply sympathetic with Norah and her depression at being sent away.  That said, the book never justifies her neglectful treatment of her confused little brother, and by the end when everything is repaired in their relationship, you forgive her.  

Reading it as an adult was a bit strange.  I thought I would take a different perspective and be a bit more sympathetic (or at least understanding) of the adult characters, but that didn't happen.  Instead I felt about eleven years old again, and I completely lost myself in the story.  This includes sitting among cardboard boxes this morning crying like a loser at the end.  

This book has always been a favourite, and I am glad I was forced to pick it up again.  I give it 5 out of 5 Messerschmitts, and I think I may have to see if I can find the other two books in the series somewhere.

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.