Sunday, April 29, 2012

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

The title says it all.

I bought this book because the ratings were so high and I didn't find it awful but I did find it exhausting. I thought the couples fighting was a bit over-the-top and the ending was just as unbelievable.

Abby, the girl who is portrayed as the "good girl" meets Travis, the "bad boy" on campus at one of his fights. America, her best friend, is there with her boyfriend, Shepley, who is Travis's cousin. Right off the bat, Travis and Abby hit it off, eventually, they become boyfriend and girlfriend and then the shit hits the fan - over and over and over again. One minute Abby hates Travis (while Travis has nothing but love for Abby), then she loves him... One minute they are dating, the next minute they aren't. They are forever making a scene on campus somewhere... A beautiful disaster.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Defending Jacob by WIlliam Landay

Holy moose and squirrel. I didn't see that coming. I've got to say though, while this was a great book, if it weren't for the ending, I probably would've given it 4 stars but then the ending, wow. This is one of those books that I don't want to give too much away in my review, so I'll keep it brief.

This book is about a 14yr old boy, Jacob, who is indicted for the murder of a fellow classmate, Ben, when his fingerprint showed up on the victims clothing. However, Jacob's father is convinced of his innocence and defends and fights for him at his trial to keep him from going to prison. And I can't tell you anymore than that.

This is a must read.


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

I've got your number by Sophie Kinsella


Hmmmm, I loved this book. Loved it. It was funny and quirky and totally enjoyable.

This is a story about a girl, Poppy, who loses her engagement ring and as she's looking for it, she goes outside for better reception and that's when her cell phone gets stolen. While waiting to speak with the concierge about her ring, she finds a phone in the trash... and the rest is history.

This book reminded me a lot of Bridget Jones' diary because Poppy was a mess too and there's a wonderful love story wrapped up in here and finally this book is screaming to be a film.

Definite recommend.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Home Front by Kristin Hannah


"She had to go away to war and lose almost everything to find what really mattered."

Well, there it is, in one quote, that Kristin Hannah wrote herself, the summary of this whole book. Right now I wish I had a Kindle or had marked pages with good quotes on them because now I can't find them. What an amazing story of love, determination, stubbornness and loyalty.

This book is about a woman, Jolene, who flies a Black Hawk in the military and is deployed to Iraq with her best friend, Tami, who also flies. The day before Jolene got the news that she was getting deployed, her husband told her that he didn't love her anymore. When she left for Iraq she had to cope with leaving her children and worrying about her marriage. As the days passed she just went through the motions until she could see her kids again until one night, her Black Hawk is shot down. Now it's a whole new world and Jolene has to be stronger than she's ever had to be in the past.

I really liked this book and yes, I cried. Not like I did in Night Road but I still wiped away some tears.

Definite recommend.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

On the island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

4.5/5 stars. What a great debut novel. This book held my attention better than any book I've read in a long time. There was intrigue, despair, love, loss, determination and maturity in this novel. I give it 4.5 stars and not 5 because in some spots the story would lag or just drag on but then it would always turn around.

The story is about a 15yr boy, T.J. who's cancer just went in remission right before summer starts and because he's missed so much school due to his illness his parents higher Anna, a tutor, who is to help him get back on track. To keep him focused, they all fly to Maldives for the summer but not together. T.J.'s parents fly out prior to him so that he spend his last weekend, before leaving for the summer, with his best friend which leave him and Anna to fly to Maldives together. They are so close. All they need to hop a sea charter to take them the last 2hrs of the trip but 1/2 way there, their pilot has a heart attack and dies, crashing them into the ocean. T.J. and Anna survive and make it an island where they end up living off the land for years. Some of their bags from the flight wash up on shore so they end up with some stuff to help them survive On The Island but nothing helps the despair they feel when a plane flies over and doesn't see them... Depression is becoming fierce and then one day they are hit with a tsunami which ultimately saves their lives.

Back home they are forced to come to terms with everything they left behind when they left and then some. There is a lot of feelings to sort through and a lot to think about. Can their love (born out of survival) last in the real world? Can it stand up to all the questions raised about their age difference? You'll have to read it to find out.

Recommend? Hell yea.