Book Review

This last batch was much better than the previous group. Here goes:

The best line of this memoir was "An Amber is like a Heather, only she 's attacking your spiritual worthiness and your dress size at the same time." (Genius!!!) My friend TZ read The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance and didn't really like it, but I couldn't put it down. TZ's not Mormon and I'm guessing the non-stop references to the Church and it's doctrine were a bit too much for her. I, however, found it totally compelling and super funny - probably because I could relate to so much of it. Elna tells of her experiences being a single Mormon woman living in New York City. Caught between two worlds in her quest for a husband Elna nailed a whole lot of what I experienced growing up. It's not for everyone (I think the typical Mormon may find it a bit crass, and if you aren't LDS, it may come off as too preachy) but I loved it.

While so much of I Am Number Four follows that irritating teenage formula (ya know, superpowered teen falls in love with a moral while the bad guys are after him and the fate of the world depends on his success, blah, blah, blah) I actually liked this one. Somehow it didn't feel quite so trite. It's fluff for sure and the ending was way too sci-fi for my taste, but I enjoyed it. It's being made into a movie, due to be released next month.

While I didn't see The Lovely Bones movie, it did inspire me to read the book. It's an intriguing concept - a teenage girl is murdered at the beginning of the book and the rest of the story is her watching from heaven as her family copes and adjusts to their loss. There were parts that had me aching for the family and other parts that had me furious at the killer. The ending was lame but it was still worth my time.

This memoir tells of an adopted woman who meets her birth mother only to discover she was the product of an extra-marital affair. Everyone involved is a bit unstable and watching how they interact with one another in the midst of these dramatic changes is unsettling. There were some parts that kinda bored me, but overall The Mistresses Daughter is an interesting look at adoption, family and stability.

I almost quit The Road about 30 pages in, but somehow the story took hold of me. In a post-apocalyptic world a father and his son wander while trying to survive. The tone and pace of the story were both very bleak - but that is exactly what the author was trying to do. McCarthy's writting is incredibly well done. The Road is a downer for sure but the kind that left me feeling incredibly blessed to have plenty of food and a warm bed at night.

I only read A Christmas Carol because it was a free download on my I-Pod plus I figured if I wanted to consider myself well-read I probably should read it. Dickens is a fabulous writer and I was surprised by how funny it was. There is a reason this is a classic.

A woman in our book club has been making her way through some list of young adult fiction. The Witch of Blackbird Pond came from that list and I agree that it was good read. Set in Connecticut in the years prior to the American Revolution, the reader follows Kit as she adjust from her plush life in the West Indies to the Puritanical strictness of New England. Witch is an insightful look into that period of history.

My favorites this time? Mormon Halloween and I am Number Four - bur really, they were all pretty good.

I've got a trip to the beach planned next month and I already have three books lined up; The Mennoite in a Little Black Dress, The White Queen and Pride & Prejudice. I can't wait!!! Reading a good book by the beach is about as good as life gets!