Just What I Needed

I am happy to report my reading brain found happiness on my TBR shelf! And, for me, it was a special kind of happiness. Please allow me to backtrack, first, as I often do (This is also known as "rambling" to some people. If you'd prefer to get right to the review, skip down a couple of paragraphs. You're welcome.)...

I picked up Let It Snow at Sam's Club one day...just because the snowflakes on it reminded me of Christmas shows from my childhood. I would like to tell you that isn't why I bought it, but...I'd be lying. Sort of. I admit that John Green's name on one of the snowflakes also convinced me the book wouldn't be total drivel. I like Green, love his sense of humor, and often watch him on YouTube. I've read a couple of his novels, too, and I enjoyed both.

I also found it an interesting concept to weave three stories together by three different authors: Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle. The book is clearly labeled "three holiday romances" on the front cover, so I considered myself warned. It isn't my typical kind of read, but I bought it and put it on my TBR shelf, thinking it'd be a fun read over Christmas break. 

When I found myself needing some cheer after reading Flowers in the Attic, by V.C. Andrews, I decided to take a chance on Let It Snow. I'm so glad I did! I'm actually smiling like a silly teenage girl, even as I sit here looking at the computer screen to write this. The book lifted my spirits and put me in the holiday mood.

Here are some reasons why I liked it:

First, Let It Snow is set in North Carolina, which is where I am originally from. So, I guess you could say, there was a bit of "home" in it for me.

Second, it has snow and trains and a Waffle House and snow and a Starbucks and snow and a teacup pig named Gabriel and...other ingredients that just make it a good time.

Third, while each story has its own tale to tell, the three stories - and the main characters from each one - are interconnected in some way. 

And, most importantly, it played like a 1980s John Hughes movie in my head. Completely and totally. There was fun banter between characters (well, the smart characters, anyway), lots of wit and sarcasm, and a satisfying ending. And I reacted to it in exactly the same way I do whenever I see an old John Cusack, or Molly Ringwald, movie: Big. Goofy. Smile. 

Now, either you know exactly what I mean, or you don't. (And if you don't, I feel sad for you.) 

I've heard authors complain that writing a present day story in this age of technology isn't nearly as fun as writing in the past...because, often, technology gets in the way of the story. So, how do you write a good, ol' fashioned teenage story - where things get mixed up and miscommunicated, where the teenagers have to figure things out for themselves and allow Fate to take its course - in a present day setting? You make it snow. A lot. A snowstorm, in fact, and you strand people here and there. Perfect. Now, you've got something to work with. 

Is the book a little schmaltzy sometimes? Yes, but it works. It's supposed to be a little schmaltzy. Will this book ever win a Pulitzer? No, but it certainly won my heart. And, for me, that's all that really matters.

Happy reading!

Yes, I'm Still Here...

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in awhile (life has been crazy), but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Sadly, though, I haven't been reading as much as I'd like because my job, sort of,...took over my life for awhile. I'm slowly coming back around, though, and gaining some ground for myself again. This weekend was the first real reading time I've had for myself in...WAY too long. (And, just so you know, I wallowed in it. Unashamedly and most happily, too! In fact, I stayed curled up in my bed reading until noon today! It was glorious!)

In order to really enjoy my precious reading time, though, I had to have just the right match for the weekend. I didn't want a collection of stories (which is what I read previously because my reading time was so limited), and I didn't want...well, it's hard to describe. I didn't really know what I wanted, but I knew what I didn't want. I do believe certain kinds of books attract us at different times. I just didn't know how true this was until this past week when I began looking for a book to start before I went in to my weekend.

You see, no matter what I read for pleasure, I couldn't get my work brain to shut-up. I have been so immersed in my job, I couldn't get my mind to turn off from it. I picked up three different books to try to start them and, while I'm sure they were probably perfectly good books, they did not pull me in enough to give my work brain a break. My mind kept drifting back to my job. This is not a good thing. Too much work and not enough pleasure reading makes me a dull girl...and a cranky one.

But then,...I found a book that was just what I wanted, and I could finish it in a weekend! :)

Every Day by David Leviathan proved to be the remedy for my overactive mind. I loved it. While it is listed as a young adult book and the main character is sixteen, it has a lot of deep meaning that I feel would be lost on most young adults. It is written with the wisdom of someone who has lived many lives.

You see, the main character, "A", wakes up as someone different every day. It is all he has ever known, and he doesn't know what he is or why he is this way. He has learned to live the way he does and tries to disturb people's lives as little as possible while he is them for just one day. He learns a great deal, he knows humans well and reads them well, and his life is like one big lesson in humanity until one day...he becomes a boy who has a girlfriend. There is a spark. Something different. A connection to another human being he has never felt before. And, thus, the conflict begins...

It's a very interesting story, quite enjoyable, and with a perspective that is very unique. It's about something more than a teenage boy liking a girl. Much more. It's about trust and knowing who you are and understanding the most important thing about yourself and about others.

I liked the book enough that when I was done with it, I found there was a prequel, of sorts, on my Kindle. It was just a novella (45 pages), but I wasn't quite ready to let go of A yet, so I read that, too. I'm glad I did.

I really liked the concept of the book. I read the notes in the back afterwards where Leviathan talked about pitching the idea for the book to his friends. Come to find out, Leviathan is friends with John Green (who I blogged about previously) and Green had teased him that if he didn't write the story, Green would. It's just a good story,...and a good lesson.

I liked it. I just...really liked it. I'm sitting here now, smiling about it. I've moved on to another book already, but I still have fond memories of A in my heart. :)



There are some good quotes in this book, but here is one of my favorites:

A Tale of Two Johns

I happily admit...I am a John Cusack fan. I think I always have been. I know, for a fact, I have been since the first time I saw him in the 1985 movie "Better Off Dead." Yes, yes, I know he was in movies before and after that one - wonderful movies - John Cusack movies,...but I fell in love with him from that one. 

I've had Cusack on my mind recently because of a certain author that I feel writes books with Cusack in mind. I mean, honestly, I don't think there's a better way to to tell you what his books 'feel' like than to say you should just imagine a young Cusack in the lead role.

The author I'm talking about is also named John. John Green.

I recently wrote a review on The Fault In Our Stars by Green, but I didn't mention that I imagined Cusack in the lead role because it was only one book. Now, however, I've read my second John Green novel, Paper Towns, and I'm definitely dreaming of Cusack. 

John Green's novels are young adult novels and, while I'm not a young adult anymore, I certainly enjoy the romp of remembering that age on occasion. It's always nice when authors write novels for young people about teenagers who have depth and honesty and think about something other than how many 'selfie' pictures they can post on social media. Amid all the 'girl drama' books I see cluttering up libraries and school book fairs these days, Green's novels are a breath of fresh air.

In both The Fault In Our Stars and Paper Towns, I recognize people (past and present) that I like...and don't like. Green's main characters are easy to relate to and easy to cheer for. If we'd gone to high school together, we'd have been friends. Weird friends, yes - but friends just the same. (Weird friends are the best, after all. Who wants normal? ;) )

Green's characters are sincere, quirky, witty, smart, and fabulously flawed. Like I said, a perfect 1980s John Cusack movie. Is there a better recommendation than that? 

I'm going to take a break from Green to read a couple of other books, but I already have Looking For Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines on my 'to read later' list. 

"That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste." 

~ John Green, Paper Towns

Need A Good Cry?

"As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."

I avoid books that make me cry. I just...don't care to go there. That isn't to say I don't read books that have sad parts, even depressing parts sometimes, but - as a rule - I try to stay away from books I think will just absolutely break my heart. 

A couple of weeks ago, I began seeing quotes pop up on Facebook for a book titled The Fault In Our Stars. I liked the quotes I saw, so I looked the book up. I quickly found that it was a young adult book and the narrator is a sixteen-year-old girl with cancer. I immediately scratched it off my "maybe I want to read it" list. I knew my heart could not take reading that book.

A couple of days ago, however, I just couldn't get some of the quotes I'd seen for the book out of my head. I looked the book up on Amazon and found I could download it on my Kindle Fire for $3.99. At that price, it was hard for me to pass up. I didn't want to buy it, though, if I wasn't going to really read it. I finally decided I would make it my first read over my Thanksgiving break from school, so I would have time to read another book or two after it to ease the heartache I felt sure the book would give me.

I downloaded the book on Friday night, and I finished it this morning. I even 'scheduled' the crying I knew would come. When I was about seventy percent done with the book, I could tell I was going to start getting emotional. I stopped reading last night and decided to finish the book this morning when I would be all alone in my house, and no one would question my tears, or ask me to explain, or wonder what the book touched off in me that would send me in to sobs.

And that is exactly what I did - bawled my eyes out for a bit. (It's OK, though, I was overdue for a good cry.) And if you think I'm giving anything away by saying that, you'd be wrong.  

Am I recommending the book? Oh, absolutely. It may have a couple of sad parts, but it has happy parts, too - along with great sarcasm and intelligence. I can't resist a book with good banter between characters. This one has a good bit of that. I promise you will smile and laugh and smirk more than anything else.

While the book is listed as "young adult," I will let you know it has some mature language in it here and there. It is appropriate (and not gratuitous), in my opinion, given the ages of the main characters and the fact that they are having to deal with some serious life issues. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it to one of my sixth graders, but I think it would be good for older teenagers. Amazon lists it as age appropriate for fourteen and up.

The book isn't long, only 318 pages in the hardcover edition. It packs a good punch, though, and makes you think,...which is exactly what a good book should do. I liked the book, and I am glad I read it. I am especially glad I read it before it becomes a movie, which is currently in the works. 

Nothing ruins a good book like a movie...