The Perfect Fit: Fat-Free Dreams Just Don't Taste the Same

The Perfect Fit: Fat-Free Dreams Just Don't Taste the Same by Louise Kean
Published February 20, 2007

About the Book:

Sunny Weston always wanted to be perfect . . . and that meant being thin. Now, after what seemed like a million years on the treadmill—and a million miles from the nearest brownie—she finally fits into those slinky black dresses she's been eyeing for years.

But being a perfect size doesn't necessarily equal a perfect life. Suddenly Sunny's best friends are all bitter and jealous. She's become a stranger in her own body. And though her longtime work crush, Adrian, is finally her boyfriend, she's totally confused now that charming, daringly dapper Cagney has appeared on the scene. Worst of all, she's worried that the recipe for a happy life might not be low-calorie after all.

Maybe it's time for Sunny to discover that the true secret to happiness isn't constantly feeling hollow.

My Thoughts:

I have really mixed thoughts on this one.  Some of the characters, situations, and dialogue weren't totally believable, which hurt the book a lot.  Sunny, the main character, is pretty real, but the supporting characters all have issues, and that carries over to her interactions with them.  When it's just Sunny and her internal dialogue, much of it is pretty good.  When the others are brought into the mix, issues crop up.  The book has a good message buried under those issues, though, and it addresses really well the body image issues of women.  That's why I picked this one to read next, as discussion of body image and women was fresh on my mind after some conversations recently with friends about this very subject.  I like how the author addresses those issues and feel it could have been a better book had the other characters worked as well as Sunny did.  All in all, it's not a terrible book by any means, but it could have really been much better. 

Finally...50 Books!

I've finally hit the 50 book mark!  I must admit, I didn't think through this all that well.  Summer has been hectic, like super crazy hectic!  I really misjudged how much time I would have to sit around and read.  100 books was a crazy high goal.  I feel like reading 50 books so far is a great accomplishment, though, with how busy it has been.  My original end date for the 100 books was Labor Day, but I am going to be satisfied with having read 50 so far and give myself the remainder of the year for the other 50 books.  I may have no trouble surpassing that, but I don't want to feel pressure to read just to hit a goal.  I want to really enjoy what I'm reading.  At times, I have taken a day or two to reflect on what I've read, and I didn't build something like that into my original plan.  A couple books, I've really had to push myself to get read for one reason or another, and that wasn't given consideration in my plan.  I've felt pressure at times to rush to start the next book when I wasn't really ready to do so, or I've felt pressure to pick an easy read over something more engrossing that I wanted to read more.  That all takes the pleasure out of reading, and my whole point was to live it up this summer and read, read, read for pleasure finally.  Being in school, I just didn't have the time for reading for pleasure that I prefer having available to me.  So, my 100 Books of Summer is being officially altered to 50 Books of Summer, and I'm calling it a success.  It's my personal challenge to myself, so I feel I can change the rules.  50 books in 3 months is still a great thing!

I now embark on my next 50 and plan to take my time more with these.  I have basically 5 months and 50 books to read.  Starting in September, I'll be back in school and my time will be more limited.  I expect to read at least 15 of them by the time school starts back, I can read a few each of the months of the fall semester, and December is usually a heavier reading month for me, so 50 seems like a reasonable goal to finish out the year.  So, stick with me for more book reviews to come, and bear with me in the fall when things will slow down some on the reviews.  I promise to keep reviewing every book I do read, though.

Also, please share what you have been reading this summer.  Anything I have to add to my to-read list?

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Published August 14, 2012

About the Book:

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

My Thoughts:

I think I've loved every epistolary style novel I've ever read.  I love how it provides first person narration from all or most of the characters, but with it done in a way that is different from just changing the narrator for the various chapters.  The different types of letters, emails, documents, etc. each add their own touch to the story.  Here, we also have Bee's narration with the various letters, emails, documents, etc. mixed in.  I adored Bee.  She's smart, mature without being too grown up, has great taste in music, adores her mother (love reading about a great mother-daughter relationship), and is just a great teenage girl voice.  Bernadette, Bee's mom, is a character I can see some being really irritated by maybe, but I loved her.  She kept me cracking up for much of the book, and I've probably shared similar thoughts about people I've encountered in my own life.  I'm not the most patient person, and I tend towards being anti-social but know how to play nice (Bernadette, on the other hand, not so good at the playing nice!).  The jabs at Seattle were amusing, since I've heard some of them from friends who live or have lived there.  The satire of the upper-middle class of Seattle can apply to the same in any locale really, so even without knowledge of Seattle, I think anyone could get it.  It's such a fun read and one I recommend highly!  This book was hot back in 2012, and for whatever reason, I didn't read it then.  If you missed reading it too, please do read it. 

The Break-Up Artist

The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel
Published April 29, 2014

About the Book:

Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash.

Some work at the mall.

Becca Williamson breaks up couples.

Becca knows from experience the damage that love can do. After all, it was so-called love that turned Huxley from her childhood best friend into a social-world dictator, and love that left Becca's older sister devastated at the altar. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Becca strikes back—for just one hundred dollars via PayPal, she will trick and manipulate any couple's relationship into smithereens. And with relationship zombies overrunning her school and treating single girls as if they're second-class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even Becca's best friend, Val, has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend.

One night, Becca receives a mysterious offer to break up the most popular couple in school: Huxley and the football team's star player, Steve. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date—starting rumors, sabotaging cell phones, breaking into cars...not to mention sneaking back into Huxley's good graces. All while fending off the inappropriate feelings she may or may not be having for Val's new boyfriend.

No one said being the Break-Up Artist would be easy.

My Thoughts:

Super cute, fun book that is a really promising debut from the author!  While Becca doesn't always make the best choices, she's a really endearing character and one you can't help but root for.  She grows a lot through the course of the book, and there are some great messages in this book for teen girls.  The writing is really fresh and fun, and it's reminiscent in ways of the movies My Best Friend's Wedding and Mean Girls.  While it's not just like either of them, it has the same vibe or something going on.  Both are movies I love, so this is a great thing in my opinion.  Also, I really love the cover art!  That is what first caught my eye about the book when I saw it online the first time. 

This was also a book where I had the pleasure of meeting the author.  I met him along with several other authors at a panel at Half Price Books last weekend (he's the lone guy in the pic below).  I didn't even realize he was on the panel, but I was excited when I got there and saw that he was as I have had this book on my Amazon wishlist for a while.  It was great to pick up the book, meet the author, and get it signed.  Siegel seemed like a really fun guy and someone it would be a blast to be friends with.  I look forward to his next book!

The Boyfriend List

The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver #1) by E. Lockhart
Published March 22, 2005


About the Book:

Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:

lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list),
lost her best friend (Kim),
lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket),
did something suspicious with a boy (#10),
did something advanced with a boy (#15),
had an argument with a boy (#14),
drank her first beer (someone handed it to her),
got caught by her mom (ag!),
had a panic attack (scary),
lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie),
failed a math test (she’ll make it up),
hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends),
became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)
and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!). 

But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists.

My Thoughts:

This is the first book in a series, and I am still working on getting all of the others.  I have 1, 2, and 4 that I've managed to find at Half Price Books, but I've had no luck finding 3.  I'm going to review the first book for now, since I just read it, but hold off on reading the other three until I order it from Amazon.  I'll review the whole series at that time, as well as each of the other three individually. 

On to book #1 in the Ruby Oliver series.  This is super fluffy but also a cute book that does also have a message.  Ruby Oliver is dealing with things a lot of teenage girls deal with.  She has some misconceptions about relationships with boys, friends, and her parents.  She needs to make mistakes so she can learn from them.  She also needs to gain some self-awareness about the things she is doing wrong, the things that are making her life such a mess.  One thing I really like about the book (a bit of a spoiler) is that some swoon-worthy boy doesn't show up and fix things for her as often happens in YA books with girls like Ruby.  One of her problems is her dependence on boys for measuring her self-worth, and having a boy solve her problems would send the wrong message to other girls in her same situation.  Ruby, with the help of her therapist and her experiences, begins to learn things on her own, and that's important.  Another thing I really liked were the footnotes, as I'm a fan of using them myself.  Here, they put the reader inside Ruby's head a bit more and/or provide important history about situations and people that don't necessarily flow well to be part of the main story, but the details still add something.  The book touches on somewhat serious topics/issues without doing so in a heavy-handed way.  It deals with the sometimes rough and ugly sides of being a teen while still keeping things light and teaching something without being so blatant.  I think most teen girls would benefit from reading it.  

After I Do

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published July 1, 2014

About the Book:

From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as "moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching"—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.


My Thoughts:

Taylor Jenkins Reid is shaping up to be one of my favorite authors.  Her two books out to date are both easily some of the best books I've read in a long time, and I read a lot.  I really loved Forever, Interrupted, but I think I actually loved After I Do even more.  Like her first book, this one is also beautifully written and very real.  The dialogue between characters and situations are all very authentic.  She makes you really care about the characters and relate to them.  All marriages have ups and downs and the struggles that Lauren and Ryan experience ring true to my own experiences and those that friends have shared with me over the years about their own marriages.  There is no major, drama-filled thing that goes wrong.  It's usually the little things that add up over time, the things we let slide to avoid a fight, those things that irritate us but we don't want to come across as mean or bitchy for saying them to our partner, etc.  They fester and cracks form in the foundation of a marriage when they are left to build, and being unhappy in your marriage weighs on you so much.  It's all here in this book, and it's written in way that is true to life.  I also really love Lauren's family.  She has the most amazing, funny, supportive family, and her Grandma is THE BEST!  Love her so much!  

Also, want to note...in ways this is similar to Rainbow Rowell's Landline, as it is about a marriage that is falling apart and if it can be fixed.  This book is all of the things Landline could have been but isn't.  Reading this made me realize even more where Landline went wrong and how it could have been so much better.  If you want to read about the struggles of marriage, real relationships, finding happiness, etc., choose After I Do between these two books (or really choose it over any book with similar themes).

Keep Quiet

Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline
Published April 8, 2014

About the Book:

New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award winning author Lisa Scottoline is loved by millions of readers for her suspenseful novels about family and justice. Scottoline delivers once again with Keep Quiet, an emotionally gripping and complex story about one man’s split-second decision to protect his son - and the devastating consequences that follow. Jake Buckman’s relationship with his sixteen-year-old son Ryan is not an easy one, so at the urging of his loving wife, Pam, Jake goes alone to pick up Ryan at their suburban movie theater. On the way home, Ryan asks to drive on a deserted road, and Jake sees it as a chance to make a connection. However, what starts as a father-son bonding opportunity instantly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes, and with Ryan’s entire future hanging in the balance, Jake is forced to make a split-second decision that plunges them both into a world of guilt and lies. Without ever meaning to, Jake and Ryan find themselves living under the crushing weight of their secret, which threatens to tear their family to shreds and ruin them all. Powerful and dramatic, Keep Quiet will have readers and book clubs debating what it means to be a parent and how far you can, and should, go to protect those you love.

My Thoughts:

I've loved every book I've read of Scottoline's, and I recently got her cute newsletter in the mail.  She is an author who I love following online, and liking her as a person makes her books even better.  Her latest book was no exception for me. 

Wow!  This book was D-R-A-M-A, but I LOVED it!  I was furiously reading because I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.  As the description of the book states, gripping and complex describes this one perfectly.  While some of it was hard to read because the choices made by the main characters were so wrong, as a parent I can't help but wonder how far would I go to protect my own daughters.  Until thrust into a situation, we really can't honestly say how we would handle something.  We all think we would do what is right, but when it involves our children, what is right can become blurred.  Scottoline writes family drama well, and the way she approaches moral questions in her books reminds me of Jodi Piccoult, another favorite author of mine.  While her earlier books were more pure legal thrillers, her more recent books have evolved to still have that legal element but be so much more than that.  For those who like audio books, I've read great reviews of the audio version for this one.  Actor Ron Livingston is who narrates it, and he's supposed to be fabulous. 

Morning Glory

Morning Glory by Sarah Jio
Published November 26, 2013

About the Book:

New York Times bestselling author Sarah Jio imagines life on Boat Street, a floating community on Seattle’s Lake Union—home to people of artistic spirit who for decades protect the dark secret of one startling night in 1959.
 
Fleeing an East Coast life marred by tragedy, Ada Santorini takes up residence on houseboat number seven on Boat Street. She discovers a trunk left behind by Penny Wentworth, a young newlywed who lived on the boat half a century earlier. Ada longs to know her predecessor’s fate, but little suspects that Penny’s mysterious past and her own clouded future are destined to converge.

My Thoughts:

I came across Sarah Jio's name recently in my various internet searches looking for books to add to my to-read lists.  A little over a week ago at my library, I happened to see this book of hers on the new books shelves.  I had actually helped with ordering some new books (I'm the president of the library board and help out there some here and there), and while seeing all the books I had added to their order, I saw that this had just been added to the collection as well.  I had to check it out, so I could see what Jio's writing was like.  

I really enjoyed the book.  The cover depicts well the picture Jio paints of the Boat Street community, with their floating houseboats on Seattle's Lake Union.  It made me want to go rent one out and experience that life just a little.  The story alternates between Ada in the present and Penny in the past, and the shift back and forth between the two is nicely done.  Both characters have a very clear voice and interesting stories to tell.  All of the characters are fleshed out really well, and she does a nice job of moving the story along at just the right pace.  The book has just the right mix of women's lit, romance, and mystery to have a really broad appeal for all sorts of readers.  I recommend it, and I look forward to reading more of Jio's work in the future.  This would be a great beach read for anyone looking for a book to take on vacation. 

Landline

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Published July 8, 2014

About the Book:

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

My Thoughts:

It took me 4 days to read this book.  I kept finding excuses not to read because I just wasn't feeling it.  This is my least favorite of Rowell's books, and I loved all of her other books.  I am really shocked by how high it's Goodreads rating is; I gave it only 2 stars personally.  It pains me to say that, as I really have loved everything else she's written.  She is an author who I will always buy her books; this one being a dud for me doesn't sway that.  

The things that she always does well, she does them here.  She writes very real characters, authentic dialogue, pop culture references that I relate to, etc.  The other thing I think she does very well is write teenagers/young adults.  I think she's far better at that than writing adults.  The flashback parts when she's writing about the college-aged versions of the characters in this book work far better than the present-day versions of the characters.  In general, Rowell's YA books have been much better than her adult ones.  I did like Attachments, but loved her YA books much more than it.  

My really big problem with this book is it felt like every chapter was the same.  It felt like nothing was happening, the story wasn't moving along, etc.  It's not until near the end that anything different happens.  Before that, she seems to have the same conversations with Seth, the same conversations with her family, the same conversations with Neal, the same internal conversations with herself, over and over. and was just such a slow read.  Reading chapter after chapter of the same dialogue, or what feels like the same dialogue, gets old.  The dialogue wasn't particularly interesting either, and she just didn't make me care about these characters like I have with her other books.  I think that's a big part of what lost me, as if I had cared about the characters, the other issues wouldn't have bothered me as much.  I love slow movies as long as the plot is interesting and I care about the characters, so a slow book can work for me too with those element.  They were just missing here.  I just really didn't care what happened to Georgie and Neal's marriage.  I feel terrible saying that and terrible for not loving this book.  I still love Rainbow Rowell and look forward to whatever is up next from her, though.  

The Matchmaker

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
Published June 10, 2014

About the Book:

A touching new novel from Elin Hilderbrand in which a dying woman sets out to find love for those closest to her - before it's too late

Dabney Kimball Beech, the 48-year-old fifth generation Nantucketer, has had a lifelong gift of matchmaking (52 couples still together to her credit). But when Dabney discovers she is dying of pancreatic cancer, she sets out to find matches for a few people very close to home: her husband, celebrated economist John Boxmiller Beech; her lover journalist Clendenin Hughes; and her daughter, Agnes, who is engaged to be married to the wrong man. 
As time slips away from Dabney, she is determined to find matches for those she loves most - but at what cost to her own relationships? THE MATCHMAKER is the heartbreaking new novel from Elin Hilderbrand about losing and finding love, even as you're running out of time.


My Thoughts:

This is the second of Hilderbrand's books to read, and I really enjoyed it.  I liked it even better than the first one I read, Summerland.  Like that book, this is told from alternating points of view, or alternating focus maybe would be a better way to put it, and I really like that when it's done well.  Each character has a clear voice and the characters are well developed.  I'm wondering if all of Hilderbrand's books are written like this.  The characters are all likable (well, except for one meant to not be so likable) and realistic.  They aren't perfect people, lacking in flaws.  The one kinda odd thing was the character names; some were quite unusual and that did distract me until I got into the story.  Again, and another thing I loved, she writes of Nantucket as if it is some magical place and makes me ready to hop a plane to Nantucket ASAP.  I do love Cape Cod, but haven't made it to Nantucket yet.  It's for sure on my list after reading a couple of Hilderbrand's books.

One Plus One

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
Published July 1, 2014

About the Book:

One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You
 
American audiences have fallen in love with Jojo Moyes. Ever since she debuted stateside, she has captivated readers and reviewers alike, and hit the New York Times bestseller list with the word-of-mouth sensation, Me Before You. Now, with One Plus One, she’s written another contemporary opposites-attract love story that reads like a modern-day Two for the Road.
 
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.
 
One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.

My Thoughts:

I absolutely loved this book.  Moyes has quickly become one of my favorite authors, as I have loved every book of hers I have read.  One of the things I really love about her is that her books aren't all the same.  There are some authors who I truly love, but they have a formula they tend to follow, not Moyes.  That almost ended her literary character, I learned, when I met her last week at a reading/signing in Dallas (pics at bottom of review).  With her original publisher, her career was stagnating.  Her sales weren't great, and her publisher really didn't know how to market her because of her books each being so different from one another.  With Me Before You, she moved to Penguin, and her career took off.  Penguin embraced her for exactly what she is, and their cover designs that give little away also draw you in with the lovely font and eye-catching colors.  I am so thankful for that, as without Penguin, American readers may have never discovered this brilliant writer. 

As for the book, it is such a wonderful story.  I loved all of the characters, especially Nicky, who I could see bits of one of my daughters in, and the smelly but lovable dog, Norman.  In this book, as with her others, one thing I really love is that she fleshes her endings out a bit more than a lot of authors.  I always feel satisfied with the ending, even the ones that leave me sobbing uncontrollably (hello, Me Before You).  I'm not left feeling unfulfilled like happens with many books that I otherwise like very much. 

I HIGHLY recommend this one!  If you read it, let me know what you think.  And if you haven't read any of her others, start with Me Before You or this one, as I think they are her two very best.  Also, if you ever have her in your city, go meet her.  She is absolutely delightful in person.  


Me with Jojo

Signed One Plus One

Signed Me Before You

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Published May 23, 2005

About the Book:

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City – and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be – and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

My Thoughts:

I saw the film adaption of this back when it was out, and I remember really liking it, but I had forgotten specifics.  What little I can remember, I think the film was pretty different than the book, and Wikipedia confirmed my thoughts.  While I liked the film when I saw it, I think if I had read the book first, the film would have been disappointing.  The book's story is much better!  I adore another of the collaborations of Cohn and Levithan (Dash & Lily's Book of Dares), so I've always meant to read this one (especially having seen the movie).  I picked it up for $1 at the big Half Price Books Clearance Sale this summer where I was excited to find it (along with like 40 other books for dirt cheap...gotta love that!).  It's a quick read, only 183 pages.  The characters are great and very real.  They read like real teenagers that run in the circles that they do.  The writing is sharp and witty.  I love the pop-culture references as they are things I loved as a teen...Heathers, My So Called Life, Johnny Castle (Dirty Dancing), and The Cure for example.  I will have to try and forgive Norah for disparaging The Beatles, though. 

Something Like Fate

Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti
Published May 4, 2010

About the Book:

Lani and Erin are bonded for life. One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani wonders how much of our lives has already been decided and how much we can actually influence. Since the Unknown can unexpectedly change our lives forever, how much can we really control?

From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the intense connection they share. It feels like she's known him forever. She's not sure if he feels it, too. But it doesn't matter. Because Jason is Erin's boyfriend. Lani is determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than risk hurting her best friend.

How long can Lani keep running from the boy who might be her destiny?

My Thoughts:

This was total fluff, but it was a cute book all in all.  The cover tips you off pretty quickly to what the story will be about, so there's no surprise that drama awaits you.  There is not much substance to it, and it's definitely just a quick, fun read.  That being said, sometimes that is all you are looking for.  I was looking for a quick, fun YA read for today.  This book totally fit the bill.  Colasanti has several books out, and this was my first of hers to read.  I liked this one enough that I would definitely check out others by her.  

Something funny...I had this sitting on the arm of the couch earlier today before I was going to start reading it.  One of my 14 year old girls walked by and stopped when she saw the cover.  She said, "oooooooh," indicating she recognized trouble/drama when she saw the cover.  I laughed so hard at her.  I later was telling hubby and my other 14 year old girl (they are twins) about it, and they wanted to see the cover to see what I was talking about.  The same "oooooooh" was both of their reactions.  I just thought that was really funny. 

Just One Night

Just One Night by Gayle Forman
Published May 29, 2014

About the Book:

After spending one life-changing day in Paris with laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter, sheltered American good girl Allyson “Lulu” Healey discovered her new lover had disappeared without a trace. Just One Day followed Allyson’s quest to reunite with Willem; Just One Year chronicled the pair’s year apart from Willem’s perspective. Now, back together at last, this delectable e-novella reveals the couple’s final chapter.

My Thoughts:

This e-novella does a nice job of wrapping up Allyson and Willem's story.  It's a very quick read at only 40 pages and a must for completing their story.  I really enjoyed the two books and this short conclusion to them.  For anyone who hasn't yet read them, it's now a complete series that can be read without having to wait for the next book to come out.  I love when I happen upon a completed series, so I can read it without the agonizing wait between books. 

Commencement

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
Published June 16, 2009

About the Book:

A sparkling debut novel: a tender story of friendship, a witty take on liberal arts colleges, and a fascinating portrait of the first generation of women who have all the opportunities in the world, but no clear idea about what to choose.

Assigned to the same dorm their first year at Smith College, Celia, Bree, Sally, and April couldn’t have less in common. Celia, a lapsed Catholic, arrives with her grandmother’s rosary beads in hand and a bottle of vodka in her suitcase; beautiful Bree pines for the fiancé she left behind in Savannah; Sally, pristinely dressed in Lilly Pulitzer, is reeling from the loss of her mother; and April, a radical, redheaded feminist wearing a “Riot: Don’t Diet” T-shirt, wants a room transfer immediately.

Together they experience the ecstatic highs and painful lows of early adulthood: Celia’s trust in men is demolished in one terrible evening, Bree falls in love with someone she could never bring home to her traditional family, Sally seeks solace in her English professor, and April realizes that, for the first time in her life, she has friends she can actually confide in.

When they reunite for Sally’s wedding four years after graduation, their friendships have changed, but they remain fiercely devoted to one another. Schooled in the ideals of feminism, they have to figure out how it applies to their real lives in matters of love, work, family, and sex. For Celia, Bree, and Sally, this means grappling with one-night stands, maiden names, and parental disapproval—along with occasional loneliness and heartbreak. But for April, whose activism has become her life’s work, it means something far more dangerous.

Written with radiant style and a wicked sense of humor, Commencement not only captures the intensity of college friendships and first loves, but also explores with great candor the complicated and contradictory landscape facing young women today.

My Thoughts:

Didn't love it; didn't hate it.  I did for sure disagree with the comparisons made to Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, though.  It's a book I happen to love that is far better than this book.  On this one, the writing isn't bad, but I really only enjoyed the first half of the book.  The ending was especially lacking as it left much unfinished.  The big mystery/dramatic turn of events was something I figured out immediately upon the story line even beginning, so I spent a long time just waiting for Sullivan to finally reveal it.  Also, the book is a bit pretentious.  It reads like chick lit that is trying to be highbrow or something.  All that being said, Sullivan can write.  There were sections of the book that were great, especially the first half when the four main characters are in college.  She lived that part of the book herself in a sense as a Smith alum herself, so that is likely why that half of the book was much better.  I just couldn't figure out the point of the book maybe.  In ways, it is about feminism and all of the options women have available to them today, yet her characters are so stereotypical, predictable, and one-dimensional.  For a book with so much about feminism, I think she really sells the women of her book short (the main characters and all of the supporting ones, some are bordering on offensive descriptions even).  Despite the issues I found with this book, I would give this author another chance and read another of her books.  Like I said, she can write.  It may just be that her writing is not my cup of tea.  

Forever, Interrupted

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published July 9, 2013

About the Book:

"Have you ever heard of supernovas? They shine brighter than anything else in the sky and then fade out really quickly, a short burst of extraordinary energy. I like to think you and Ben were like that . . . in that short time, you had more passion than some people have in a lifetime."

Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year's Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn't expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they've eloped.

Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met--and who doesn't even know Elsie exists.

Interweaving Elsie and Ben's charmed romance with Elsie and Susan's healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there's more than one way to find a happy ending.

My Thoughts:

Oh my word, I loved this book!  It's heartbreaking and beautiful.  It's been sitting on my shelf of books to read for about a month, with me picking it up and then putting it back over and over again.  I was afraid it would be too sad, so I kept putting it off.  While it's certainly sad, it's such a great book.  The tragedy of the story is fairly immediate, and then the book takes you through Elsie's grieving and adjustment to her new reality without Ben, just as their lives together had barely started.  The book has great character development (something I'm big on), and explores the different kinds of love that we have in our lives.  It's a unique love story that covers all of the kinds of love.  It's an amazing debut for the author, and I can't wait to read her second book, which came out only a week ago.  The first chapter was at the end of this one, and it was already sucking me in.  I quickly put it in my cart on Amazon as soon as I finished reading the preview chapter!  Oh, a nice perk of the book for me was that Elsie is a librarian...it made me love her character even more.  And Ben, oh Ben...he's perfect and it makes their story so much more tragic. 

You Had Me at Hello

You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane
Published December 6, 2012

About the Book:

What happens when the one that got away comes back?

Rachel and Ben. Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart.

It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away.

From the moment they met they’d been a gang of two; partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on. Ben is married. Rachel is definitely not. In fact, the men in her life make her want to take holy orders…

Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.

If you love David Nicholls and Lisa Jewell then this is the book for you. Hilarious, heartbreaking and everything in between, you’ll be hooked from their first ‘hello’.

My Thoughts:

My love for British women's lit extends to Scottish and Irish as well, and I always love finding new-to-me authors, so Scottish McFarlane was a great find.  While the book wasn't perfect in every way, it was lovely and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  There was a bit of extraneous stuff in places, and I felt the book could have been perfect somewhere under 400 pages instead of the 436 it clocked in at.  Other than that, it was wonderful.  I loved Rachel and Ben and couldn't wait to read all of their story.  The story is told through flashbacks to their time at university back and forth with the present, and it is done well.  It's a cute story with a lot of laughs.  I also appreciated that the ending wasn't as abrupt and simple as some of the other "romance" books I've read of late.  Some only give a couple sentences or a paragraph at most to end it, and McFarlane fleshed it out a bit more than that.  Thank you to her!  Really looking forward to more by this fairly new author.