There's No Place Like Here: Review

There's No Place Like Here
by: Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern's There's No Place Like Here tells the story of Sandy Shortt, an obsessive-compulsive Missing Persons investigator who suddenly finds herself in the mystical land of the missing, desperate to return to the people and places from whom she has spent her life escaping. Ahern asks readers to step outside the boundaries of reality, and enter a world where missing people (and possessions) from all over the globe congregate to start anew. When Sandy goes on an early morning jog and strays too far into the forest, she too finds herself "Here," the aptly named home of the missing. In addition to finding her lost socks, diaries, and stuffed animals, she also finds many of the people she has searched for throughout her career. From Bobby Stanley, who disappeared from his mother's house at the age of sixteen, to Terrence O'Malley, a librarian who disappeared on his way home from work at age 55, Sandy is quickly reunited with the people she has come to know only through photos and heartbreaking memories shared by devastated loved ones who enlisted her services. Of course, finding these people and possessions only makes Sandy realize how much she has missed out on in her real life, most notably her concerned parents and her on again off again boyfriend Greg.

My Review
I have to honestly say that this book took me forever to get into. It took me a couple weeks to read whereas most books take me a few days at most. The beginning was dry and the plot strange. I pushed through and ended up liking the story, but had hopes for more. This book was more story telling, then communication between characters. I liked how Ahern flowed between Sandy Shortt's explanation of her experience to Jack Ruttle's search for her. I was happy with the ending and how most of the mini plots were closed.

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Perfect Timing: Review

Perfect Timing
By: Jill Mansell

Poppy Dunbar is out on her hen night when she meets Tom Kennedy. With his dark eyes and quirky smile, he could lure any girl off the straight and narrow, but what really draws Poppy to him is the feeling that she’s known him all her life. She can’t go through with the meeting they arrange – but she can’t go through with the wedding either. Suddenly notorious as ‘The Girl Who Jilted Rob Macbride’, Poppy moves to London. Soon she’s installed in the bohemian household of Caspar French, a ravishingly good-looking young artist with a reputation for breaking hearts. But even in her colourful new home, Poppy can’t get Tom off her mind. Until she’s tracked him down, she’ll never know if their meeting was destiny – or if the future holds something entirely different for her…

I am such the sucker for British lit and more so British Chick Lit. This is my first book read by Jill Mansell, and she does not disappoint in giving you the humor that most British Lit books have. Poppy is easy to fall in love with as she tries to make a life for herself in London. There are plenty of colorful characters to know and love, and well sometimes hate. The emotions felt by the characters were also felt by me. When they were frustrated I was as well. When they were happy I was as well. My only disappointment was that the story had to end. I will definitely be reading more Jill Mansell in the future!

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Handle With Care: Review

Handle With Care
by Jodi Picoult

Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe's daughter, Willow, was born with brittle bone disease, a condition that requires Charlotte to act as full-time caregiver and has strained their emotional and financial limits. Willow's teenaged half-sister, Amelia, suffers as well, overshadowed by Willow's needs and lost in her own adolescent turmoil. When Charlotte decides to sue for wrongful birth in order to obtain a settlement to ensure Willow's future, the already strained family begins to implode. Not only is the defendant Charlotte's longtime friend, but the case requires Charlotte and Sean to claim that had they known of Willow's condition, they would have terminated the pregnancy, a statement that strikes at the core of their faith and family. Picoult individualizes the alternating voices of the narrators more believably than she has previously, and weaves in subplots to underscore the themes of hope, regret, identity and family, leading up to her signature closing twists.

Like most her books Jodi Picoult gives you a most unique plot with a controversial dilemma. I again could not put this book down and fell in love with the characters. You couldn't help but love Willow. Picoult made you think at what point would you stop fighting for your child and everything they deserved even if you were lying to do it. She had her usual twist at the end, but I was wanting more as soon as I was done. I feel that she did not tie up all the loose ends, which is usually seen in most of her books.

This Chick gave the book:

When Books become Movies...

When "Confessions of a Shopaholic" became a movie the picture I got went from this to...

This...

When I heard that this Sophie Kinsella favorite was becoming a movie I ran out and checked out the book, because I refuse to see a movie until I know the story.

(I didn't get to see it in the theater, so I depended on my trusty new friend, Netflix, to send me this motion picture.)

I do this in order to see how different it is from the book. I think I am determined to see if a movie ever lives up to the wonderfulness that is the book it came from.

I loved the fact that this movie was rated PG, because my oldest Chick was able to watch it with me. She loved this and it is a new favorite. She didn't read the book.

It was cute, however, all I could think through the whole thing is, "This didn't happen in the book", and "It didn't happen like that in the book."

I was upset that they didn't make Luke Brandon that no holds barred kind of business man. I was picturing this crisp put together man. Maybe it was the change of job in the movie?

Becky Bloomwood didn't disappoint with her ability to get into some dicey situations. I did feel the book was more comedic.

I know a movie will never be exactlylike the book it comes from, but I do wish the movie staff would try. Just wistful thinking on my part.

This Chick gave the book:
This Chick gave the movie:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: Review

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

By Alan Bradley

It's the beginning of a lazy summer in 1950 at the sleepy English village of Bishop's Lacey. Up at the great house of Buckshaw, aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce passes the time tinkering in the laboratory she's inherited from her deceased mother and an eccentric great uncle. When Flavia discovers a murdered stranger in the cucumber patch outside her bedroom window early one morning, she decides to leave aside her flasks and Bunsen burners to solve the crime herself, much to the chagrin of the local authorities. But who can blame her? What else does an eleven-year-old science prodigy have to do when left to her own devices? With her widowed father and two older sisters far too preoccupied with their own pursuits and passions—stamp collecting, adventure novels, and boys respectively—Flavia takes off on her trusty bicycle Gladys to catch a murderer.

When I first started this book I wasn't too hopeful. Then I got to know more about the main character, Flavia, and the more I read the more I just loved her! I loved Falvia's wittiness and her ability to come up with the answer to any problem in a pinch. My only complaint is all the information about chemical elements. Not really a complaint, but chemistry was not a favorite subject in school. It did really make me become more enamored with the character, since she was smarter than most adults!

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Family Tree: Review

Family Tree

By Barbara Delinsky

When Dana and Hugh Clarke's baby is born into their wealthy, white New England seaside community, the baby's unmistakably African-American features puzzle her thoroughly Anglo-looking parents. Hugh's family pedigree extends back to the Mayflower, and his historian father has made a career of tracing the esteemed Clarke family genealogy, which does not include African-Americans. Dana's mother died when Dana was a child, and Dana never knew her father: she matter-of-factly figures that baby Lizzie's features must hark back to her little-known past. Hugh, a lawyer who has always passionately defended his minority clients, finds his liberal beliefs don't run very deep and demands a paternity test to rule out the possibility of infidelity. By the time the Clarkes have uncovered the tangled roots of their family trees, more than one skeleton has been unearthed, and the couple's relationship—not to mention their family loyalty—has been severely tested.

My Thoughts:
From the moment I started this book I was captivated. As a mother I too wanted to protect the most innocent character in this book, the baby. Barbara Delinsky did a great job making the emotions in the book seem real and I truly felt every one of them. While I was reading I would lose myself in the in the mess that came with the birth of this child. Secrets that had been kept hidden for years were forced in the open, peoples character were in question. The only thing negative was that this story had to end.

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Pretty Little Liars #2 Flawless: Review

I read Pretty Little Liars #2 for the Pretty Little Liars Challenge over at Trisha's book blog.

Pretty Little Liars #2 Flawless by: Sara Shepard

Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is making her sick. And their most horrible secret yet is so scandalous that the truth would ruin them forever.

And why shouldn't I tell? They deserve to lose it all. With every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message I send, I'll be taking these pretty little liars down. Trust me, I've got enough dirt to bury them alive.

My Thoughts:

I spent the first book being a mom and angry with the actions of these girls. This time, however, I finally got emotionally attached to each and every girl. So far every book has a big secret that is revealed even though the whole "A" mystery is still that... a mystery. I am dying to know who is this "A" person is and all the secrets that still need to come out. This book may not be the type of books I tend to read, but I am now invested in the story line.

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Pretty Little Liars: Review

I read Pretty Little Liars for the Pretty Little Liars Challenge at Trisha's Book Blog. This was the first book of the challenge.

Pretty Little Liars
by: Sara Shepard

In the exclusive Philadelphia suburb of Rosewood, Alison is the Queen Bee of her elite seventh grade hive. BFs Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily vie for her attention, even as each of them hides a hideous secret only Alison knows. So when Alison goes missing after a slumber party, never to be seen again, each girl is heartbroken, but also a little relieved. Now it is three years later, and though the four girls have grown apart, they are each still hiding something. Artsy Aria is carrying on an affair with one of her teachers, fashionista Hanna shoplifts to accessorize her trendy outfits, blue-blood Spencer is sleeping with her older sister’s boyfriend, while straight-A Emily is trying to ignore her attraction to a new female classmate. When the girls begin receiving threatening text messages and emails that from someone known only as "A," they must confront the fact that against all odds, it appears Alison is back. Could Alison still be alive? And if so, why is she so determined to uncover all their dirty little secrets?

My Thoughts

This book was a nice fast, light read. However, it was hard getting past being my mom self to an almost pre-teen. As I was reading this all I could think was, "If I caught my daughter pulling this stuff there would be serious consequences." By the time I got to the middle of the book I was able to push that out of my mind and start anticipating who this "A" person was. I am looking forward to finishing the series and finding out all the secrets of this group of girls. It was good start to a hopefully great series.

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The Four Seasons: Review

The Four Seasons
By: Mary Alice Monroe

"They are the Season sisters, bound by blood, driven apart by a childhood tragedy. Now, thirty years later, they embark on an emotional search for the child Jilly had given up for adoption. During the search, the sisters rekindle their love and the lost dreams of their youth. THE FOUR SEASONS is a story of rediscovery, love and forgiveness as family secrets are revealed."

My Thoughts

I have not read a book where I had to keep reading just to know what happened next. This book definitely was that book. You couldn't help get lost in these sisters and the journey they went on. The secrets and twists may have been easy to guess, but I had to keep reading just to know all the details and to see if I was indeed right. At the end I was sad this story was ending. There were a couple things I wish could have been talked about more in the end, but overall this is one book I loved. I will for sure be reading more novels written by this author!

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My first review: The Shack

The Shack
by Willam P. Young


Description Found on Book

"Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book! "

My Thoughts

This was my first religious fiction book and I am glad I picked this book. It is hard to read. Not as in a horrible read, but in tugging at the heart strings alone. Every parent's fear is loosing a child, but how does one ever get over losing a child in a way as this? This book takes you through the struggles the main character, Mack goes through in ways you never thought possible. You may not believe healing can happen this way, but I found the strength to look to the Heavens above with any struggle I may have. I think it will make anyone who reads this think, "Hmm never thought about it that way." The author couldn't have written this book any better.

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