"Her" by Christa Parravani

Gerard liked it; I didn't. 

Gerard's review of 3/30/13
Her by Christa Parravani is about her and her twin, Cara.  When Cara passes away, Christa finds herself at a loss and pretty soon starts to follow the same path that did Cara in!  Which path is that and what does Christa do to get back straight?  You will have to read to find out.


I enjoyed this book.  The parts of the book I liked best was the interaction between the two sisters.  I was going to give this book 4 stars, but the ending was SO good, it pushed it up to 5 stars.  Not a "must read" but it is good.  Give it a shot, you will be glad you did!


Karen's review posted 3/4/13:
Her by Christa Parravani is a dark memoir.  When Christa's identical twin died, Christa sort of changed into her.  In this book, Christa shares about their bond, her guilt, and her struggle with handling her sister's death.

This book was very sad and depressing to me.  It is hard for me to imagine people actually living their lives like this, on drugs, infidelity, abuse, in and out of mental hospitals, and seeking advice from psychics.  It also jumped around a lot which made it hard to follow.

This book did not appeal to me but I can understand that it was helpful for her to write about her sister and her struggle. The only reason I kept reading was because I was hoping for a happy ending.  I won't tell you how it ends because I do not want to spoil it for you. 


We received an advanced reading copy of this book which goes on sale March 2013.  This did not affect our review.

Happy Reading!  (I'm releasing this one "into the wild" through bookcrossing.com in August, 2013.  If you join, please use my screen name as your referral:  BookDumper.

"The Promise of Stardust" by Priscille Sibley (UPDATED)

A Thought Provoking Love Story--Must Read!

The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley is an unusual love story of Elle, an astronaut, and Matt, a neurosurgeon, that splits a family apart when there is a life or death decision to make.  Matt and Elle want a child so bad, but there always seems to be complications and she loses the baby.    The author brings up some interesting legal issues related to making decisions about keeping someone on life support after they are brain dead in this captivating novel. 

My feelings towards the characters changed as the book progressed and I found myself pulling for Matt by the end.  I liked how Elle's dad changed along the way and how the doctors were so nice to Matt.  This is definitely a good read I recommend if you like thought provoking stories about family.
(Karen's review of 3/28/13)


Gerard's review of 3/16/13 (5++ stars):

The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley is a great love story you must read!  Matt and Ellie were childhood friends who now have a loving marriage.  What they want are children and a family.  Their first two attempts ended in tragedy. When Matt, who is a doctor, gets a call that Ellie is being rushed to the hospital, he hurries only to find her fall from a ladder has left her brain dead and that she is carrying his child!  He wants to keep her on life support hoping that the baby will live but his mom and Ellie's brother want the plug pulled.

This is an outstanding book that is a page turner.  I loved how the author went back in time to show how Matt and Ellie came to be married and the trials they faced.  Does the baby live?  Who wins the trial?  Speaking of the trial, that part of the book is gripping with suspense!  Have a tissue handy for the ending.  This book will tug at your heartstrings--it did mine!  Loved it!!  It doesn't get any better than this!  The Promise of Stardust is her first novel too, are you kidding me?  Well done!  ( visit her website at www.priscillesibley.com)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Visit Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, one of her prompts this week is to share a book review.

"Banished--Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church"

Banished--Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain with Lisa Pulitzer tells the true story of Lauren Drain, who was banished from her church by her own family! Why? You will have to read the book to find out! What Lauren did and lived like when she was a member of WBC is unbelievable. This is an unforgettable memoir with plenty of "wow" factors! Happy Easter, Lauren, and God bless! (5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Tuesday Teasers: A Love Story and a Memoir

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Gerard's

Some of the people were so worked up that they tried to push and punch us. Others got up into our faces to yell, and some even spat at us.

From page 7 of Banished--Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain with Lisa Pulitzer. (a memoir)

Karen's:

"Because Elle picked me to watch out for her, and you are seriously considering keeping her on life support, and that's not what Elle wanted. It's just wrong to keep her in this state, as an incubator for something that isn't even a baby yet."

From page 48 of The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley.



Happy Reading!

"Did You Miss Me? by Karen Rose (UPDATED)

A Real Page Turner For Sure!

Did You Miss Me by Karen Rose is a fast-paced, complex thriller about revenge, betrayal, dysfunctional families and a very brave prosecuting attorney, Daphne (a cancer survivor), who is a target and the romance that develops between her and the Federal agent (Joseph) who tries to find her kidnapped son.  This novel has a lot of things going on:  abduction, murder, manipulation, crime investigation, colorful characters and secrets. 

 

I loved the part Daphne’s dog played in this novel.  Divorces, remarriages and name changes really make it challenging for the reader to keep everyone straight and make all the connections.  Parts reminded me of the writing style of Brandilyn Collins where the author leaves you hanging and then jumps to another scene with other characters.  The author creates lots of suspense without a lot of gore.  I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers with some mystery.

(Karen's review added 3/22/13)

Did You Miss Me by Karen Rose is the story of a man who has a grudge against a woman prosecutor in Baltimore.  For me the best part of this book was following the man who had it all planned out how he was going to get his revenge against her--just excellent with a great ending and lots of suspense.  Put this one on your TBR list and when you read it, you will be happy you did. 
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Road Out--A Teacher's Odyssey in Poor America"

The Road Out--A Teacher's Odyssey in Poor America by Deborah Hicks is a true story about a young teacher who teaches seven young girls in a poor neighborhood. The parts of the book I enjoyed were:

(1) When the teacher was trying to get through to the girls, and having a hard time;

(2) How each girl had her own personality and outlook on life; and

(3) The last few chapters that let you know how the girls are doling.
Not a must read, but is a good read. I think any teacher would really enjoy, but even if you aren't a teacher, you may like it. I did!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Dinner" by Herman Koch

The Dinner by Herman Koch is about two married couples who get together to discuss a horrible crime their sons committed. In my opinion, it starts slow but once it focused on the main story, it took off. I loved the ending and thought it was a good read, not great so give it four stars.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Tuesday Teasers: 3 For You--Contemporary Fiction

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Gerard's

Come on, Elle, I thought. React. Prove my gut reaction wrong.

From page 4 of The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley. (My review posted on Saturday, but this is so good, I just had to do a teaser from it!)

What would this evening have been like if, no more than an hour ago, I had simply waited downstairs until it was time to go, rather than climb the stairs to Michel's room?
What would the rest of our lives have been like?

From page 11 of The Dinner by Herman Koch.

Karen's

Gone. Taken. Just like me. I can't do this again.

From page 98 of Did You Miss Me by Karen Rose.  (Click the link for Gerard's review of this one.)

Happy Reading!

"Dumping These Four"

Gerard orders books from the library all the time and waits for them to come in.  Often, he'll get a truckload all at once which is what happened last time.  When this happens, he doesn't stick with a book if he's not into it.  This morning he brought me these four and said, "I'm dumping these" and plopped them down for me to include in our "Dud" list (Click our Duds tab above for more we gave up on and why).  

Please keep in mind, just because the books didn't appeal to us, doesn't mean it's a bad book.  Everyone has different tastes so you may like some of these.  If you did, please leave your thoughts in a comment here.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"How They Grow: Owl" and "The Miracle of Easter" (Reading online)

Did you know you can help organizations get more books in the hands of children for free just by reading children's books online at We Give Books?  These are the two I read this morning:

Ages 0-3 (science)

How They Grow:  Owl by DK Publishing is a cute picture book that shows how the owl looks and what it does from the time it is hatched until it's full grown in 12 weeks.  See, even reading these children's books, you can learn things quickly.  For example, I didn't know it takes 12 weeks for an owl to be full grown.

Ages 4-7 (history)

The Miracle of Easter by J. M. Malone is a nicely illustrated book that quickly tells the story about Jesus beginning with his wondrous works through his resurrection.  I was disappointed though with the ending because the book did not tell how after He rose from the dead, he was actually still on Earth for awhile before ascending to heaven and seen by many people.  I feel this book is a bit misleading and would not recommend it for that reason.

(Karen's reviews)

I do recommend that you check out this site to help kids get books.  It's all free!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Storyteller" by Jodi Picoult

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult is so good! Wow, oh wow, where to start? It is about an old man who was a German S.S. guard at a Nazi war camp. Now he wants a favor from a woman, one she is not sure she can do. There are several good story lines in this book. You get the Nazi guard story, a fantastic story from the young girl’s Jewish grandmother who was in the death camp, and the story that she was writing, which is sort of what the book is based on. I just loved it! As usual for Jodi Picoult’s books, the ending is shocking!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Tutor's Daughter" by Julie Klassen

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen is a clean historical romance that held my interest all through with the mysterious events that happen to Emma, the tutor's daughter while staying at the cliff-top manor where her father tutors two teen boys. This book is very interesting because of the family secrets, interesting characters and the family dynamics involved. Emma knew the older two Weston boys, Philip and Henry, from when they attended her father's boarding school. Their father invited Mr. Smallwood to live at his manor and privately tutor his two younger sons, Julian and Rowan, when the academy's last student left.

I liked this book very much because although it is a romance novel, there is a lot of mystery in it as well and it doesn't have any sex scenes at all. It's a very enjoyable read and a couple times while reading I actually said, "oh no!" right out loud! This is also one that when reading on the bus, I almost missed my stop. I looked up just in time. I highly recommend this one for a book club because it has interesting discussion questions in the back covering topics such as life choices, homeschooling, special needs kids, history of shipwrecks and the characters in the book. I liked this one much better than the first book I read by Julie Klassen, The Girl in the Gatehouse.
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, responding to the prompt to share a book review.

Tuesday Teasers: 3 This Week

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Gerard's

Josef lets out a breath he has been holding. "So it is not a no," he says cautiously. "This is good."

From page 54 of The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.

The black-masked figure raised his Taser again. Calmly inserted a fresh cartridge. Took aim. Fired.
My fifteen-year-old daughter started to scream.

From page 19 of Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner. (My review will be up tomorrow.)

Karen's

Heart pounding, Emma gingerly leaned forward and peered around the corner. She held her candle at waist level, too nervous to lift it high, uncertain what she might find.

From page 116 of The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen. (historical romance--my review will be posted Thursday.)

Happy Reading!

Silly Sunday

We have so many books this week that I was barely able to get a cat into the picture. After several outtakes, this header picture is actually the best with the cat. At least only one book is covered and one partially covered. Can you see enough to guess the titles?

The one in the top row on all the way to the left is Did You Miss Me by Karen Rose which Gerard already read and Karen plans to read this week, and the one Manny Boy is covering up is The Road Out--A Teacher's Odyssey in Poor America by Deborah Hicks:

"Mighty Inspiration--Love Letters From God" by Barbara Bernard Miller (Giveaway)

Mighty Inspiration--Love Letters From God by Barbara Bernard Miller is a unique book in that she shares things that God has “given” her to write during her journey of faith. It is written in first person from God’s point of view. It is a challenge to believers to use their gifts to work together to change the world. It is a short, quick read but would be a good devotional book, reading just a chapter a day and meditating on that. It is thought provoking and challenging; however, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of scripture.

I encourage you to visit Barbara’s blog: Mighty Inspiration and if you would like to have this book and live in the United States, be the first to leave a comment letting us know you want it with an email address so we can contact you.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Death of Bees" by Lisa O'Donnell

A Page Turner debut novel

For the most part, The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell is narrated by two sisters, Marnie and Nelly.  Their parents are dead and with no relative around, they fear going into foster care and being separated.  So, what do they do?  You will have to read the book to find out.  I enjoyed this from page 1.  It's a good page turner as I wondered if the plan the girls came up with would work or if they would be found out.  This is the author's first novel.  I'll be looking for more of her work!  (5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Tuesday Teasers: "The Death of Bees" and "The Handmaid's Tale"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Gerard's

Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard.
Neither of them were beloved.

From the prologue of The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell.  Stop back tomorrow to see my review.

Karen's:

In the semidarkness we could stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren't looking, and touch each other's hands across space.  We learned to lipread, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other's mouths. 

From page 4 of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  (I just started this so don't really know what's going on yet.)

Happy Reading!

Our February Favorite Reads

 Gerard's favorite for February is Me Before You by Jojo Meyes:

Contemporary Fiction

Karen's favorite for February is In Need of a Good Wife by Kelly O'Connor McNees:

Historical Fiction

What was your best read in February?


Have you read these yet? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Game Over" by Dave Zirin

Game Over by Dave Zirin gives an eye opening account of things that happen in sports off the playing field.  For example, Oregon University is struggling to pay their teachers, but that has no bearing on a brand new sports complex costing $41.7 million for their athletes to train in.  At Texas, undergraduate tuition increased 4%, but their football coach got a raise of $2 million.  This book has stuff like that which you don't always read in the sports pages.  I enjoyed most of it and give it 4 stars.  This is NOT a page-turner, more like a plow through.  I almost gave up on it at the beginning.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Tenth of December" by George Saunders (audio book)

This audio book is a collection of short stories read by the author. I think that is pretty cool. He does a great job! The three main stories are very good, especially the Tenth of December (the last one). The other two main stories are pretty good too, especially the first one, "Victory Lap"! The other stories I did not like so much. The language at times is rough, which I didn't care for. Overall though, based on the strength of "Tenth of December" I give it four stars.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!