I’ve always believed that giving flowers meant something. However, until I read this book, which explains the meaning of flowers that originated in the Victorian era, I had no idea how they could be used to communicate feelings. Do flowers speak to us in this way ? I really don’t know, but it’s nice to think so, and the author has wrapped this language into a wonderful story.
The Language of Flowers tells the story of Victoria, a girl who has never known the security of a real family or home, having been tossed around between foster homes as a child. Switching between Victoria as a child and then as a young adult, the novel tells the story of her haunted past and how she came to love and understand this language of flowers, which eventually finds her love and happiness. An easy read that was touching.
The book jacket states that Alexander writes “a lyrical celebration of a life well-lived.” This is so true. She beautifully illustrates the love she and her husband shared and the life they made together. She also tells stories about her husband Ficre’s life (he was from Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa) as a chef and a painter. Sadly, her husband died unexpectedly. The story continues as she and her two sons slowly but surely make their way from grief to light. The book is beautifully written and a fitting tribute to a wonderful and talented man.
This is a new author to me, and I really enjoyed her writing. This book is a great psychological thriller. You don’t have a clue what is going to happen or what happened until the author reveals more details as the story unfolds until the bitter end. The story is told from the three point of views of the main characters. Willow, Heidi, and Chris all tell their parts of the story, how they are feeling, what’s happening with them . I enjoy books written in this manner.
Heidi is a kind-hearted woman who is always taking in strays, so when she spots Willow (a homeless teenager with a baby), she takes her into home and offers her aid and kindness. Heidi’s husband, Chris, and daughter, Zoe, are not too impressed. Who is Willow? Has Heidi done the right thing? You wonder as you learn about the past history of Willow and the baby. There are many underlying themes to the story as we learn the past of all the main characters. I didn’t anticipate some of the twists. If you enjoy thrillers, this is definitely a good choice.
I’m always into trying new authors, and I did enjoy this novel. The story dealt with problems immigrants in America face daily — their struggles to become a part of the American Dream and their hopes and fears. The book had very realistic, multi-faceted characters. The story centered on a woman named Letty who became a mother in her teenage years, but was never really involved in the upbringing of her children because her mother stepped in and took on the responsibility. When Letty’s parents moved back to Mexico, she was forced to take over her children’s care and try to give them a better life so they wouldn’t make her mistakes. An enjoyable and educational read.
What a powerful book on such a tough subject. You hear about Alzheimer’s Disease and you think older people. This book, which has also been made into a movie, tells the story of a woman who is at the height of her career as a college professor when she is struck with this disease at the age of 50. The author provides a really insightful and intuitive account of the world of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and how it takes your whole identity away. It was really sad to read, but I finished it in three short days. Definitely worth it.
Every summer I try to pick a classic that I’ve never read before. This year I chose this little gem of a book. It’s an extremely quick read and a truly beautiful book. It follows Siddhartha as he tries to find spiritual fulfillment and wisdom after he says goodbye to his life of privilege and comfort. Timely messages of how to achieve harmony and see the goodness in whoever you encounter in life. So glad I finally read this and I would recommend it to anyone.
This is a biography of one of the most famous staff writers for the New Yorker Magazine. Mitchell, from small-town North Carolina, was drawn to a writing career and landed in New York as a journalist. He quickly became noticed by the New Yorker, and joined the staff in the heyday of the magazine. The New Yorker featured the most notable writers of the day — James Thurber, E. B. White, A. J. Liebling, Dorothy Parker, John Hersey…the list goes on and on.
Mitchell was interested in the characters in New York who made the City tick — bartenders, fishermen, eccentric characters, tug boat captains. He is credited with raising journalism into the realm of literary art. There were controversies along the way, and toward the end of his life, a stunning mystery.
I read a lot of different genres and do like thrillers. This definitely falls into that category. The book wasted no time getting right into the suspenseful feel of a psychological thriller.
The story starts right away with Morgan walking into her home to discover her dead fiancee, Bennett, and her three dogs covered in blood. Her dogs catch the blame and she scrambles to reconcile the dogs she knew while trying to find her fiancé’s parents to tell them the bad news and learns that he wasn’t who he said he was.
As Morgan sets out to discover who Bennett really was, she uncovers a man with several fiancees, an ex-wife, and a trail of theft and deception. Then she discovers that the ex-wife and fiancees have all recently died violently. Morgan realizes that she might also be the target for murder.
I finished this book over a weekend to see how it would all play out, even though I had the bad guy figured out a little before the final action took place. Still a good quick read.
The night before her birthday, 38 year old Ramie hits her head and wakes up in her bedroom two days before the last day of her senior year of high school. She navigates through life as an 18 year old, exploring an old relationship with her high school boyfriend and also interacting with her father, who passed away a few years later.
I’m a sucker for books like this and I enjoyed all the passages on time and fate and who we are and how we are affected by events in our lives. I liked this more than I thought I would. I love time travel stories, and I was excited when I heard about this one. Enjoyable read.
So if you like quirky, messed up and lost characters that are in search for something better in their lives, then you will enjoy this book, Love May Fail. I enjoyed how this book was told through the perspectives of four wildly diverse characters: Portia Kane, a woman in search of goodness in men, after she leaves her pornographic husband who is having an affair; Mr. Vernon, a former high school English teacher contemplating suicide after being attacked by a student; Chuck Bass, an ex-heroin addict turned elementary teacher, and the crazy nun who reaches out to her son on her deathbed. These four characters’ lives all intertwine as the story unfolds: they search for love and a purpose in life to rekindle that spark. If you liked the author’s Silver Linings Playbook, then you will enjoy this.
If and when my library teens want to discuss what is going on in their lives, they know I am available as a sounding board, a shoulder to cry on, or as a resource for finding agencies that can provide further help. Some of my teens have come to me while they were in the process of coming out and/or transitioning. Thankfully, there are brave young people like Arin Andrews who are willing to share their own stories so that transgender and cisgender people can better understand both the obstacles transgender people face and the resources that are available to them as they decide how they would like to move forward with their lives.
I thought Arin did a great job of explaining the process of [female to male] transitioning both simply and thoroughly; the fact that he managed to do so without being didactic was very impressive! Though Arin’s transition involved both hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery, he was careful to explain that there are many people who opt to transition differently and that all choices are valid. I was especially grateful for Arin’s candor about dating and sex, since I am sure many people are curious about how that all “works,” when one or more of the people in the relationship is transgendered. I think this book would be an excellent resource for someone who is preparing for or struggling with his/her own transition, but I also think it is an important book to share with cisgender teens. As a woman who feels perfectly at home in the body into which she was born, it has taken years of conversations with transgendered teens to even begin to fully appreciate their struggle. I can only hope that the open sharing of stories like Arin’s will help future generations to be more understanding and empathetic and that the struggle for trans rights will soon become a part of history.
I’m not quite sure how I read [and loved] Peeps, the Uglies series, the Leviathan series, AND Afterworlds but managed not to get around to this book until now…. Though I felt the references to pop culture and technology definitely dated the story a bit, I think it is still relevant enough to recommend to today’s teens. After all, society still cycles through “cool” fashions and trends. And I don’t think many people really consider WHY and HOW things become “cool” — they just fall into the trap of wanting the next “cool” thing. I encourage my kids (my biological children and the ones I work with) to question everything instead of just taking other people’s word for it. I also encourage them to trust their own instincts and to find their own style instead of caring what other people will think. As long as you’re not purposely trying to offend other people, I think you should embrace what you love and just go with it. Hopefully, this story will help some tweens and teens see the light.
Hunter Braque was a “cool hunter.” He was literally paid, mostly in free shoes, to report upcoming trends and fashions to a major corporation he called “The Client.” (Throughout the story, Hunter left out the names of the brands/companies to which he was referring — but he gave just enough information that the readers could likely fill in the blanks on their own.) Hunter actually worked for a woman named Mandy, who reported back to The Client after “cool tastings” (aka focus groups). When Hunter met Jen, he just knew Mandy would want to meet her, too, and got her an invitation to a cool tasting. Jen’s new perspective earned both Hunter and Jen an invitation to a super-secret meeting with Mandy, but then Mandy never showed up. After hearing Mandy’s cell phone ringing from inside the abandoned building, Hunter and Jen broke in and found a stockpile of the coolest shoes they’d ever seen. They weren’t sure what to think, but they were pretty sure Mandy was in trouble and that it had something to do with those shoes…. Action and mystery combine for a super-fun read that also questions the conformity and consumerism that run rampant in our society.
It was hard enough for Kelsey to deal with the death of her identical twin sister, Michelle, but that was only the beginning of her heartache. Michelle’s most recent boyfriend, Peter, had just deployed to Afghanistan before Michelle’s tragic accident,t and Kelsey didn’t know how to get in touch with him. She thought Peter deserved to know what had happened, but she didn’t even know his last name — and he was one of those guys who didn’t have a Facebook page, so she couldn’t just stalk him down via her sister’s page. When she finally ended up talking to him, via Skype, things got out of hand very quickly. Between the glitchy connection and the fact that she was Michelle’s identical twin, Peter mistakenly thought he was talking to Michelle. Before Kelsey could correct him, though, an attack on his base made him cut the call short. She kept meaning to set the record straight, but pretending to be Michelle made it feel almost like Michelle wasn’t actually gone, and she worried what might happen to Peter if the news distracted him from his mission in Afghanistan.
When I initially read the description for this book, I had no sympathy for Kelsey’s predicament. I was horrified to think that she would even consider impersonating her dead twin. But, as I read the story, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. It was very easy once I saw how it actually played out. She never intended to hurt anyone, but she just kept digging herself deeper. The compounding lies ate her up inside, but she was worried even more about how Peter would take the news. And then, of course, there is the fact that she started to fall in love with him. Talk about drama! Fans of Sarah Dessen and Sara Zarr should definitely give this book a try.
If you’re looking for a book that reads like a movie — especially one that has actually been turned into a movie (which stars Taylor Lautner of Twilight fame) — you won’t want to miss this one! Cam was a bicycle messenger in New York City who worked almost constantly because he needed to pay off a massive debt to a Chinatown loan shark. One day, a girl literally fell from the sky and caused Cam to wreck his bike. With no bike, he had no job, and no way to pay off his debt. Cam was devastated. He got a call from his boss the next day, though, informing him that the mystery girl had left him a sweet replacement bike. When Cam was on a delivery run and ran into her, as she was doing parkour/tracing with some friends in Central Park, he couldn’t help but feel that fate was talking to him. Cam fell nearly instantly for both Nikki and tracing. After proving to be a quick study, Cam was invited to train with the group and even started working for their boss, Miller. His gut kept telling him that he was only digging himself deeper into trouble, but Cam owed so much money that he couldn’t think of another way out. If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller, add this to your summer reading list!
This book was an interesting blend of historical fiction, mystery, and science fiction. I can certainly see why it won the Newbery Award, since it is well written, pays homage to a “classic” children’s book, and has a nostalgia factor for the teachers and librarians who grew up in the 70s and 80s — especially with all the references to Miranda’s mom practicing for her appearance on the game show $20,000 Pyramid. I suspect, though, that a lot of tweens and teens would find it difficult to really get hooked on this story. I was curious about how things would play out in the end, but the story didn’t exactly keep me on the edge of my seat.
One day, as Miranda walked home with her best friend, Sal, he got punched in the stomach. The kid who punched him was new to the neighborhood and didn’t even know Miranda or Sal, so there didn’t seem to be any reason for the attack. Even worse? Right after that incident, Sal began to get distant . Miranda felt lost without Sal, since the two of them had been constant companions since their early childhood. And then, when the hidden/”emergency” key to her apartment went missing and she found a strange note hidden in a library book, Miranda got understandably freaked out. Especially since the author of the note seemed to know things about her — even things that hadn’t happened yet.
Fans of A Wrinkle in Time are sure to enjoy the way Miranda’s life experiences have parallels to that book and make her question the real possibilities of time travel. I think there are enough details, nevertheless, that the story will still make sense to readers who aren’t familiar with L’Engle’s work.
