My Review:  1 of 5 stars

The title for this book is misleading. It should have been called “The Only Friend I Ever Had Treats Me Like Sh*t But I’ll Do Anything For Her Because She is My Only Friend.”  Seriously.

It’s a story we’ve seen time and time again. Two girls become close friends at a young age. As they grow older, one girl, Valerie, goes down the “popular” road while the other, Addie, binge eats and gets made fun of mercilessly.

Then, here is where Valerie’s true colors start to shine through: She tells Addie not let the teasing get to her and that she should just try harder. Um….kids spray-painted her driveway with the words, “fat whore.” Sure, just keep on smiling, Addie. Valerie ditches Addie for her cheerleader friends whenever she gets the chance, and, when she invites Addie to a big party their senior year, she admits that it’s because she knew her mom would let her go if she was with Addie.

When I discovered the tragic incident from their senior year that was alluded to for the first hundred or so pages, I couldn’t have liked Valerie less. Addie speaks up to defend her and basically becomes the laughing stock of the school because, her best friend denounced what she was saying as lies and jealousy.

All of this is told in flashback as the story jumps from present day to Addie and Valerie’s past. In the present, Addie hasn’t seen or heard from Valerie in 15 years. The night of their high school reunion, Valerie gets herself into big trouble and ends up knocking on Addie’s door asking for help.

Addie, even though she’s managed to lose a ton of weight, apparently has still not grown a backbone because the rest of the story, she lets Valerie convince her to run from the law, half rob a bank, and lead her around by the nose (all on Addie’s dime). Up until recently, Addie has lived like a friendless hermit, sustaining herself with online purchases that keep her from having to leave the house.

There’s much more to the story, tragedies galore, a hint of romance, and more cliches then you can shake a stick at. If this is what Addie, or the author, thinks best friends are made of, I feel sorry for the both of them.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I got this book via paperbackswap.com earlier this week. It’s a lengthy book at 604 pages, but I finished it in about 4 evenings. It progresses quickly and held my interest easily.

At the beginning, we learn of the Kirkham family in Manchester, England, deserted by the father in 1829 and left to fend for themselves. I was fascinated by the way the author described life in this time period and a lot of the historical accuracy weaved throughout this fictional tale. Dinah Kirkham, the youngest child of the family, is the main character in the book yet the stories are really all about her family, and the various paths they all take, the struggles they must each face, and their inner strength.

The first few sections of the book take us along as the Kirkhams struggle to survive, the children working in factories at ages so young it was hard to imagine, the mother accepting her now lowered station in life and looking for work in the homes of others, all while living in a miserable shack of a home. The latter half of the book occurs after the Kirkhams have been introduced to a Mormon missionary who has a message that resonates with most of the family. From there, the story takes a turn both narratively and geographically.

While Dinah is a fictional character, the author has her interacting with real people and real events who have also been fictionalized in these stories, but it gives the book more of a non-fiction feel. Card also uses “First Words” in between chapters where he appears to be giving background on his “great aunt Dinah” and her diary, so it was easy to forget that this was a fictional character.

My Review: 2 of 5 stars

Even though it is a couple of inches thick, I read this in one night. While it did have some good parts, I just couldn’t get past the content of emails flying back and forth at work. Maybe other places are more relaxed, but in my experience, I don’t know anyone who would be foolish enough to send or receive messages with such personal detail, berating other employees, sex talk, etc via their WORK email account. In my reality, she would have been caught and fired within the first week. Big brother really IS watching.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’d heard about this book and thought it sounded interesting. When I received it, I was surprised how small it was…sort of a pocket notebook size.

Throughout most of the book, I couldn’t get past how naive Chbosky made his primary character. I’m not so old that I can’t remember what life was like as a teenager in highschool. Even the most awkward of awkward weren’t as naive as Charlie! This boy is supposed to be 15, but doesn’t know what masturbation is or recognize that his sister and boyfriend are having sex? What planet is he from?

Because of this, the entire story is almost entirely implausible fantasy. I kept thinking he must have a learning disability or some other condition that made him so slow. Thought maybe the name “Charlie” was a nod at “Flowers for Algernon.” Kept waiting for some big discovery to explain why this high school kid sounds like a middle school boy. It never came.

My review: 2 of 5 stars
I loved the concept of this book, and it started off with so much promise, but seemed to lose focus shortly thereafter. The style of writing, and even some of the characters, was inconsistent.

I don’t know if the author thought it would make it “edgier” or something, but the insertion of a couple of back-to-back F-bombs midway through felt completely out of place and shattered any illusions I had of being in the land of Oz. Not that I’m a prude, they just didn’t fit in with any of the conversations and mannerisms used throughout the book.

Large gaps (years!) in time happen between several chapters, but it wasn’t always clear. The author expects us to make the leap, and I did, but it wasn’t a smooth transition. It just felt like a lazy way to squeeze in as many stories as possible within the book.  Disappointing.

My Review:   4 of 5 stars
I like the idea of audio books, but the reality is, the only time I can really listen to one is in the car. Since I have a relatively short commute to work, and don’t take a lot of road trips, it has taken me awhile to get through this one.

I read The Narrows awhile ago and it referenced The Poet, which I had not previously read. So I went back in search of this story, apparently the prequel. Jack McEvoy’s character comes across as self-serving much of the time, but, having lost his brother to a violent crime, I could excuse him for this. Overall, I thought it was a good story with lots of twists and turns that kept me thoroughly engaged during the times I was listening.

My Review:   4 of 5 stars
I have to admit that I was not familiar with the Bible story when I read this book. Out of curiosity, I did go look it up after I finished the book.

Diamant did a wonderful job of describing what life may have been like in those days. Though I can’t imagine having to spend time once a month, banished to a tent and squatting on straw with all the women in my family, it does make for an interesting dynamic between the women. Like having a secret club where only the select are permitted, these women shared secrets and tales that only they could fully appreciate and understand.

I was devastated for Dinah when her brothers committed their terrible crime and applauded her wrath when she faced them and her father. The story took on a completely different feel with the move to Egypt, but was still just as captivating.

A few lines at the end resonated with me and now, a day later, I still can’t shake them from my mind:

“Egypt loved the lotus because it never dies. It is the same for people who are loved. Thus can something as insignificant as a name…summon up the innumberable smiles and tears, sighs and dreams of a human life.”

My Review: 1 of 5 stars
This is now the 2nd of Klosterman’s books I have forced myself to read. I didn’t care for the 1st one, and now, less than 100 pages into this one, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s Klosterman, himself, that I don’t like. He seems just as shallow as his writing, and, while he talks a lot, he doesn’t have much to say.  I’m done with him.

My Review:   3 of 5 stars
This book has some good ideas in it for managing clutter, but regurgitates them over and over to turn what could have easily been a ~100 page book into a whopping 450+ pages of repetition. At least is it a pretty quick read, and the chapter titles and index make it a decent resource if you need to refer back to something.

My Review: 4 of 5 stars
I waited forever to read the conclusion to the HP series, presumably because I didn’t want it to end, but more accurately, because I had been waiting so long for it to come out in paperback that I forgot about it!

While it appears to be a very thick, very long book, I sped through it in an evening and a half. Like the HP books before it, once I started, it was hard to put down. A great story and a nice conclusion to the series.