Glitter and Glue

Glitter and Glue: A Memoir Kelly Corrigan 3.5 / 5	To Be Published 2014 First Sentence "Growing up, my mom was guided by the strong belief that to befriend me was to deny me the one thing a kid really needed in order to survive childhood: a mother."
Publisher's Description: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place comes a new memoir that examines the bond—sometimes nourishing, sometimes exasperating, occasionally divine—between mothers and daughters. When Kelly Corrigan was in high school, her mother neatly summarized the family dynamic as “Your father’s the glitter but I’m the glue.” This meant nothing to Kelly, who left childhood sure that her mom—with her inviolable commandments and proud stoicism—would be nothing more than background chatter for the rest of Kelly’s life, which she was carefully orienting toward adventure. After college, armed with a backpack, her personal mission statement, and a wad of traveler’s checks, she took off for Australia to see things and do things and Become Interesting. But it didn’t turn out the way she pictured it. In a matter of months, her fanny pack full of savings had dwindled and she realized she needed a job. That’s how Kelly met John Tanner, a newly widowed father of two looking for a live-in nanny. They chatted for an hour, discussed timing and pay, and a week later, Kelly moved in. And there, in that house in a suburb north of Sydney, her mother’s voice was suddenly everywhere, nudging and advising, cautioning and directing, escorting her through a terrain as foreign as any she had ever trekked. Every day she spent with the Tanner kids was a day spent reconsidering her relationship with her mother, turning it over in her hands like a shell, straining to hear whatever messages might be trapped in its spiral. This is a book about the difference between travel and life experience, stepping out and stepping up, fathers and mothers. But mostly it’s about who you admire and why, and how that changes over time.
Dear Reader, I read this book in 3 days.  I suppose that says something about both its accessibility and its engagement level.  This book was, however, nothing like I'd expected.  Having never read anything by this author before, I wasn't prepared by her other works.  Amber and I got this book as an ARC at BEA 2013, and we'd both been eager to get to it, especially having met the author and gotten our books signed.  I think the title appealed to me most of all: it evoked memories of crafting - making paper crowns and wands with which to become a princess - with my own mother when I was little. So, I guess in one way, I was (completely unexpectedly) prepared for this book: it was ultimately about the relationship between a mother and daughter, reflected upon by a daughter who has reached womanhood and her own motherhood, and therefore is trying to sort out her complicated and often frustrating relationship with her mom.  I think Kelly and her mother had an especially interesting relationship because Kelly was the only daughter in the family; having a sister to talk to and relate to might have helped her immensely during her adolesence. They definitely did have an often-at-odds relationship, which I found fascinating to watch unfold throughout the book.  But, in the long run, I wasn't quite sure this book "gave" me anything.  There wasn't much of a resolution to the whole thing, besides that Kelly had come to the realization that she did, in fact, really need her mother. It was interesting the way the author explained her coming to terms with this through the story of her experiences in Australia over a three-month period, when she was in her early twenties.   She nannied for a recent widower's children, and while they came to understand and manage life without their mother, Kelly simultaneously began to understand the connection she and her mother had.  While essentially child-rearing for the first time, she began to watch herself adopt many of her own mother's mannerisms. I feel like maybe if I'd read a few others of Corrigan's memoirs, perhaps I would have felt as if this were a more complete story, one that fit in neatly with her other works to form a whole portrait of a person.  As it stood alone, though, I didn't feel like it was ... quite substantial enough.  I enjoyed the narrative, but in the end felt as if I'd just finished an article reflecting in detail on one part of one woman's life, not an entire book.  That's not a bad thing, though - just an observation. I'd recommend this to women who struggle with the mother-daugther relationship, either with their mothers or their daugthers.  I think it was a heartwarming and entertaining book, which hit upon some good moments and did draw some great parallels between the author's situation in Australia and her situation at home.  Certainly a fun and light-hearted little read.  (Especially the relationship with her father; that was always adorable to watch.) Yours, Arianna

Inferno

Inferno Dan Brown 3.5/5	Published 2013 First Sentences "I am a shade. Through the dolent city, I flee. Through the eternal woe, I take flight."
Publisher's Description: In his international blockbusters The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown masterfully fused history, art, codes, and symbols. In this riveting new thriller, Brown returns to his element and has crafted his highest-stakes novel to date. In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno. Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.
Dear Reader, I know, I know.  Dan Brown is a popular novelist, and people kind of either love him or hate him.  I have to admit, I think I've read everything he's written - at least all 4 of the Robert Langdon novels.  Not for the stellar writing (I recognize that it's not) but for the awesome amount of factoids that he stuffs into his books.  It's fun to "travel" along with Langdon, seeing cities I've never visited and learning fascinating tidbits about some of the world's most famous places and pieces of art.  That is what I read these books for.  I love how startling some of the things Dan Brown knows about the cities he studies can be. These are things I'll remember for a long time, and thus I have to admit (a bit begrudgingly) that I am a fan of his books. I certainly have some complaints, though.  For instance: we know Dan Brown writes to the common denominator - he writes for the hoi polloi, as it were.  Which means he makes everything SUPER EXPLICIT.  It can be annoying to have understood what he meant to say the first time, only to have him pound a point or revelation home several times, to ensure it's gotten across to the reader. Another issue, along that same vein, is that there are certain characters in his books: Langdon, for one, but also in this one, a genius and child prodigy named Sienna.  She's got an IQ off the charts, right?  And yet...she acts like an idiot at times.  One of the parts that stood out for me was when Langdon was explaining a certain anagram to her, and she just could NOT seem to grasp it.  -- Really?  I got it, and my IQ is certainly not near hers.  Again, this is an instance of Brown writing to the masses, knowing that he might be read by every level of reader, and trying to appeal to them all.  I'm not saying he shouldn't do that - I am just saying that can make things difficult to read. However, I still find all of the facts and anecdotes so interesting that the book leaves an overall favorable impression with me.  I think it's a fun escapist read, and I would recommend it to anyone, really - and most especially, I'll probably recommend it to those people I know who have traveled through Italy or Turkey, because it has to be pretty cool to read and REALLY recognize those places.  (The one based in Washington, D.C. was pretty fun for me because of that.) WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! I have to talk here a little bit about the overarching premise of the book now, because that was another really interesting aspect of it - the discussion of overpopulation which really was the story behind the story. It's something I struggle with a lot personally, as a woman who has the capability to plan whether or not I have children. I've always kind of waffled on the issue, because really, should I bring another person into this already strained world? Usually I'm more concerned for the state of humanity and not because it is stressing its resources to the brink of collapse, but still. It's kind of along the same lines. I want and don't want to have children, all at the same time. Additionally, along those same lines, I kind of felt in alignment with Zobrist's ideas and EVEN his execution of releasing the "plague"! I know it sounds awful to wish sterilization on a random third of the population, but really - people deal with it all the time. And who's to say who should be allowed to reproduce and who shouldn't? I definitely don't think that it should be mandated - but, at the same time, learning today that China has decided to semi-lift its birth limitations struck real fear into me. And, I kind of agree with Sienna's view that it is just the next step in our evolution - it's where we have progressed to. Does anyone else agree? Or do you all think I'm totally insane? Please feel free to leave comments and discuss this with me!! I'm still uncertain even where I stand. Mostly, I just think I'm not entirely AGAINST Zobrist's transhuman ideas. But neither can I say I'm entirely with him, or his methods. Hmm. All right, I've babbled on enough. Time to get to my next book! Yours, Arianna

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Maggie O'Farrell 3 / 5	Published 2006 First Sentence "Let us begin with two girls at a dance."
Publisher's Description: In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital—where she has been locked away for more than sixty-one years.  Iris’s grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But Esme’s papers prove she is Kitty’s sister, and Iris can see the shadow of her dead father in Esme’s face.  Esme has been labeled harmless—sane enough to coexist with the rest of the world. But she's still basically a stranger, a family member never mentioned by the family, and one who is sure to bring life-altering secrets with her when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?  A gothic, intricate tale of family secrets, lost lives, and the freedom brought by truth, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox will haunt you long past its final page..
Dear Reader, Gosh, I still don't really know how I feel about this book.  I thought that it ultimately turned out to be a really interesting examination of siblinghood (is that a word?  I want it to be one) and the parallels and differences which crop up between and amongst generations.  This novel was another Overdrive audiobook find, and one which I had been looking forward to for a while, because the cover and blurb looked promising.  But, unfortunately, it was kind of a disappointing read.  It started off well, with two strong female leads (one an endearing willful child), but many messy family stories later, it felt kind of weaker to me. I did like that two very shocking revelations weren't things I had guessed from page 1, and yet they seemed feasible enough, not out of left field. ...All right, Reader, this is silly.  I finished this book weeks ago, but haven't wanted to finish writing this review; I've let  the above sit in my drafts for what feels like ages now.  I guess that means I just don't have much to say about this book.  Hmm.  I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, and I wouldn't advise anyone to avoid reading it.  It was a fun diverson book, but the substance of it was just a bit disappointing, considering the promising premise.  I did enjoy the period parts quite a bit; Esme was a strong, independent girl who was essentially punished for being the kind of woman many of us value today - a thinker, a reader, a woman who wanted more from life than simply to be married off.  I think I would have wanted to be her friend, had we encountered each other in childhood.  I think what might have bothered me most about the book were the parts about Iris, the bits of the book that were about the modern-day woman who seemed unmoored and uncertain about herself.  So much so that she constantly got herself into bad situations.  I guess I had hoped that her meeting Esme would have made her reexamine her own life, and perhaps it did a bit, but not enough to change her kind of whiny, self-pitying life.  There, I think I've pegged it: I did love the parts about Esme, and how her story was revealed - even the weird broken-up parts where someone was speaking in fragments and it was rather difficult to follow.  The parts about Iris, however, who I originally thought were good (she is a single woman who runs a vintage shop!) ended up just being frustrating and I felt as if they were left pretty unresolved.  Therein lies my problem with the book, I think. All right, I'm going to sign off now so I can post this before I finish my next book!  Oy. Yours, Arianna

Reached

Reached By Ally Condie Rating: 5 out of 5

Published 2012 First Sentence "The Story of the Pilot: A man pushed a rock up the hill."

Publisher's Description: Cassia’s journey began with an error, a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect façade of the Society. After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter. The wait is over. One young woman has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most—family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution is about to explode into full-scale rebellion. With exquisite prose, the emotionally gripping conclusion to the international–bestselling Matched trilogy returns Cassia, Ky, and Xander to the Society to save the one thing they have been denied for so long, the power to choose.

Dear Reader,

This is the third and final book in the trilogy so spoiler alert for the following review.  The story resumes with Cassia in Central Province; smuggled back into society as covert agent of The Rising. Indy & Ky are stationed in Camis; trained as errand pilots for The Rising.  Xander is a Physic in Camis Province; lying in wait until the Pilot speaks. This book is appropriately the best in the trilogy because it brings everything to a head and shows the main characters in their fully 'reached' personalities.  It contains the turning point when the Pilot speaks and the rebellion occurs.
There are several themes that are poignant such as the teens going through the realization that their idols are not really what they once hoped them to be. Initially the Pilot speaks and it seems as though he's the real deal; that all the restricted people in the society are finally going to see a better day. The characters describe the Pilot's resonant voice  and flying abilities as the best which gives the reader hope that it's all going to turn out well. But, true to life, things start to fall apart. There's no real way to enact a revolution by saving of people from a plague without unexpected problems surfacing. The mutation proves to be the biggest threat to the Society/Rising people and no one saw it coming. Since the mutation was not anticipated or prepared for, people start to 'go still' and there is no cure. The Pilot's position in power starts to unravel and he has to make aggressive decisions to get what he needs to stay in power and save the people. The realization comes to Cassia, Ky and Xander on the airship the Pilot is piloting to the mountain villages. Ky is getting symptoms of the mutated plague and the Pilot shuts Cassia, and Xander and him in the airship cargo hold and takes off to the mountains.  Their once savior is actually just a man doing whatever he can to get what he needs. The crucial theme here is that man is flawed and power corrupts. This is the rite of passage the teens go through which heightens the drama and makes this novel valuable for young readers. The Pilot used Indy's complete faith as a tool to round up the three of them. Indy is innocent in her wholehearted belief in the pilot and doesn't realize that she's delivered them into a trap. During the flight the Pilot has left some of Cassia's trade items in the hold; the micro card and a letter from her family. The mood turns sinister when the reader realizes that he has read the message from her parents and has been keeping surveillance on her through the Head Archivist in Central. This is someone she once believed was trustworthy.  As he flies them to the mountain village he talks through the plane speaker and threatens Cassia by showing her parents lying 'still' in Kia Province and tells the teens that they are suspected of being traitors. Based on the evidence he's collected, he doesn't know if they are against the Rising or for the Rising. They are afraid of what will happen when they land; the Pilot will decide if they should be killed or used to help find the cure.  Cassia and Xander now see that no one leader is completely right and good. They have to psychologically move on, and choose to be their own metaphorical pilot. Xander sides with the mission of finding the cure to the mutation. Cassia also wants to help, especially since her parents and Ky are in jeopardy of dying from it. Ky, who has always known to not fully trust any organization is willing to run with Cassia as soon as the air ship lands.
This is a great point of suspense in the plot.
The character of Orche is another enhancement from the author because of what he represents. He proves that the society is wrong about how long a person should live, and therefore shows that the Society is not benevolent.  He is ten years older than the predetermined 80 years old. Also, he is the one that has inside knowledge of how twisted the society was.  He lived as a citizen and helped create the original plague and its subsequent cure. He tells Xander how the society and the rising are basically the same system with different names. This is a further confirmation to the reader and the main character that no one organization is pure and good and true.
In the village, N-stone, Ky has gone still with the mutation, Xander is working with Orche on the cure and Cassia is helping to sort the data. Another essential theme is how the author shows how each person in the love triangle is not to be envied. They are all in a difficult place and feel guilt and regret for the things they've done. Xander is lucky; prized for his intelligence and looks is lonely because he now knows he will never have Cassia. Cassia is sad because she loves Xander but she is more fulfilled with her love of Ky. Ky is unlucky; he was born in the outer provinces and now is deathly ill with the plague, and has a deep scars from a life hard-lived, but he does have the love of Cassia.
Finally I wanted to say that I like how the author has the characters that die from the plague say goodbye to those 'still' but not yet dead. Having Indy and Ky in their unconscious state speak to each other hints at the possibility of an afterlife, and higher meaning to their lives and deeds. Indy tells Ky in this limbo like state that she was wrong to believe the Pilot was truly her pilot in life. She is now reached in the last ether bits of her conscious when Ky tells her that she has been the pilot all along. Cassia's father who succumbs to the mutated plague also is able to say good bye to his wife when they are both in the limbo of being still.
This trilogy is a solid triumph and I would recommend it to adults and young adults alike.  Ally Condie's poetic writing style and her fantastic construction of this dystopian future is worth the read.

Yours,
Marsha

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 3.5 / 5	Published 1890 First Sentence "The artist is the creator of beautiful things."
Publisher's Description: Oscar Wilde's story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is one of his most popular works. Written in Wilde's characteristically dazzling manner, full of stinging epigrams and shrewd observations, the tale of Dorian Gray's moral disintegration caused something of a scandal when it first appeared in 1890. Wilde was attacked for his decadence and corrupting influence, and a few years later the book and the aesthetic dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde's homosexual liaisons. Of the book's value as autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be--in other ages, perhaps."
Dear Reader, I was going to start this post by saying that this book was probably my least favorite of Wilde's work, but then I realized that the only things I've read by Mr. Wilde are this novel and his play, The Importance of Being Earnest.  I loved that play, so it had a lot to live up to.  And Dorian just didn't do it, unfortunately.  I had such high expectations, and Wilde certainly is a master writer, but I do feel as if his clever observations of life and quick, bantering witticisms are much  better suited to the stage than the page.  I suppose that might explain why he didn't write much prose, and why this was his only novel.  Still, I certainly am not saying it was awful by any stretch of the imagination.  I suppose what I am saying is this: for such a small book, there were long stretches of meandering examinations of the meaning of life, and I didn't really enjoy those sidebars.  I did enjoy the story as a whole; it was a very interesting study into humanity and soul and conscience.  And I do understand that the book needed both the story and the diatribes to propel it.  But...it just wasn't quite my cup of tea.  That's all! I don't believe I need to go too into detail about the actual story of this novel: it's quite famous, if not for the book itself, then for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, right?  But it's definitely not what I expected of the book - there was very little detail about the interactions between Dorian and his painting. There was more about how the painting and the situation came to be.  And Dorian was already a pretty wicked man by the time the painting became his conscientious mirror.  I had thought there would be more story to the book, but I felt as if the exposition and the story itself were pretty evenly balanced.  Which, as I said, I found unfortunate. Dorian Gray himself was a horrible little man, vain and upsetting in so many ways.  His friends and acquaintances were not much better, to be honest.  Wilde clearly had a superiority complex when he examined the society of his day.  As perhaps well he should have; he was a brilliant man who shunned a lot of the falsity and pandering which was the sentiment of the day.  And he did it so CLEVERLY.  I can't fault the man.  But I am, ultimately, glad that he stuck more to writing plays, which are his true forte. I ought to go read a few more of them, though, before I can make that statement with any sort of confidence. Yours, Arianna

Wild

Wild Cheryl Strayed 4/5	Published March 2012 First Sentence "My solo three-month hike on the Pacific Crest Trail had many beginnings. "
Publisher's Description: A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again. At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.  Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.
Dear Reader, This book has heart. I listened to this as an audiobook and the only downfall of this format was the narrator they selected. She had done a book I had read recently (this past year) that I didn't like. The Author was pretentious and it embedded in my mind with this narrator. I know that is quite unfair to the narrator but unfortunately, this is what happened. I can't say it ruined it for me, because obviously based on my rating... it didn't. Wild is the story of a woman who had the courage and conviction to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. This trail is extremely dangerous and she did it alone. Girl power! Cheryl went through some hard patches in her life that included divorce and her mother passing away. These events brought forth a yearning for her to do something exciting and challenging. I can relate to this COMPLETELY. I went through a divorce as well, and after I struggled to find my own self. I went back to school, changed careers and then decided to leave it all to join up with Nature's Classroom and live life very differently from most people. This was refreshing and ultimately changed my life , in good and bad ways. Doing something like this is possible for everyone and I can only say that everyone should do something unexpected of them once. This is the biggest point the Author touched home with me and I think is an excellent lesson for us all. Getting back to the book, Cheryl not only decided to hike this dangerous trail but doing it alone (as a woman) makes it ten times as dangerous. Throughout the whole book I was on edge, wondering when something really bad was going to happen. Isn't it a little sad that memoirs and biographies have done that to me? I don't know about you but it seems that most books dealing with real life events have to revolve around tragedy in order to be published. This was not the case here and even though I was still on the edge of my seat waiting... it was so refreshing to read a book that was true to the nature of the story, the wild. Cheryl is such a strong woman to have done this, she is quite the role model. The best part about her is that she has faults, and many of them. She is not little Miss perfect, the girl with enough money and time to burn. She comes from a poor background, dropped her low income job (after saving enough money) and planned this trip with nothing left for the end except a few hundred dollars and a semi-plan to move where she ended up. Anybody who says they can't just up and leave to do an impromptu trip will be sorely mistaken after reading this book. There is such a gritty truth to Cheryl's story and now I see why the book got such rave reviews. I highly recommend you read this one. Happy Reading, AmberBug

Half-Blood Blues

Half-Blood Blues Esi Edugyan 4.5/5	Published 2011 First Sentences "Chip told us not to go out.  Said, don't you boys tempt the devil."
Publisher's Description: Berlin, 1939. A young, brilliant trumpet-player, Hieronymus, is arrested in a Paris cafe. The star musician was never heard from again. He was twenty years old. He was a German citizen. And he was black. Fifty years later, Sidney Griffiths, the only witness that day, still refuses to speak of what he saw. When Chip Jones, his friend and fellow band member, comes to visit, recounting the discovery of a strange letter, Sid begins a slow journey towards redemption. From the smoky bars of pre-war Berlin to the salons of Paris, Sid leads the reader through a fascinating, little-known world, and into the heart of his own guilty conscience. Half-Blood Blues is an electric, heart-breaking story about music, race, love and loyalty, and the sacrifices we ask of ourselves, and demand of others, in the name of art.
Dear Reader, This came so close to being a favorite book.  I so wanted it to become a favorite book.  And it was perfect in so many ways - just an excellent story - but, the problem was that in the end, it didn't profoundly affect me as much as my favorites do.  I don't think I'll soon forget it, and I think I will recommend this book to everyone whose ear I can bend in the next few weeks.  So, please don't get me wrong: it's definitely worth reading.  I would even read it again, and that is high praise coming from someone who thinks there are too many books & too little time to read them all, so I don't often reread! The novel revolves around a WWII-era jazz band, and is narrated by Sid, the group's bassist.  It follows their movements through Europe, from Nazi-occupied Berlin to Nazi-occupied Paris and ultimately to Poland, and also recounts bits of Sid and Chip's childhood in Baltimore.  The band connects with Louis Armstrong, which is for them like meeting a god, and the author's portrayal of Armstrong is wonderful and feels very real.  The book doesn't always move quickly, but it feels as if its pace could be matched by one of their own songs: slow bits mixed up with faster bits, impassioned parts intertwined amongst the everyday middle-of-the-road bridges. One issue I had with the story was how frustrated I felt that one big issue was never addressed - an interaction which happened between Heiro (a.k.a. the Kid) and Sid.  I felt that it propelled along quite a bit of the action, but was frustrated that the two of them never discussed it.  They sparred over the same woman, and Sid was often jealous of the Kid, and therefore they found ways to hurt each other, but ultimately, I felt they could have just talked things out.  If they'd figured out how each of them felt, and why they were at odds, they probably could have sorted out their differences and avoided all sorts of difficulties.  Ah, I think this is a guy thing... ;) The characters were all memorable and truly lifelike.  They were flawed men and women - often petty, often misguided - who ultimately looked out for themselves, even when they had the best of intentions.  What they learned was how to also look out for one another.  Throughout the book, their music and their connection of the band was the one constant, and it really held the story together. I had a difficult time hearing the low register of the audiobook reader, but otherwise he was very good at giving the book its rhythm and feel.  I really enjoyed listening to this book, and like I said, would definitely consider reading it again.  Very well-written. Yours, Arianna