Quick YA Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

December 16, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / 2 Comments

I received “New Girl” through Net Galley last week. It was a quick YA read with a plot to entice your average teen: our heroine, Callie, is admitted to the prestigious “Manderly Academy” in NH where she takes the place (literally) of missing student “Becca Normandy”, struggling to make new friends and dealing with major romance issues are secondary to the overall anxiety of Becca possibly returning (alive or from the dead).

Here’s the thing: I would have LOVED this book as a teenager. Ghosts? Dead roommates? Social issues? Teen sex? Attractive rich students off at boarding school with few if any adults in sight? I would have lapped this up, similar to my obsession in middle school with the “Flowers in the Attic” series.

As an adult, though, I had some major issues. Having worked in independent schools for over 20 years I found the fact that the main character’s parents “got her in” unbeknownst to her as incredulous. I found the amount of time the students were off partying and unattended, etc., incredulous. I found the fact that this poor girl was moved in mid-year to the same dorm room where the missing girl lived and the missing girl’s personal belongings were still all there and in place incredulous. I was also bothered by the Manderly/Becca/Rebecca association, which was intentional as a “retelling”, but wondered if most teens would recognize the DuMaurier reference or if I was just dating myself. Finally, I felt that I was reading the writing of a young person. I had no idea who this author was, besides assuming it was a woman, and felt this could be her first novel (it is not) or that she was young and still developing as a writer (she was 20 when she wrote it). Don’t get me wrong, the writing is fine. I just have read a lot of writing in my years as a teacher and college professor and it felt along the same lines. But the bottom line is I read it, and kept reading until the end.

So – I’d be interested in feedback when this comes out (it can be pre-ordered at the moment). I’d like to look forward to more from Paige Harbison, too. Due to the drugs/sex/rape/murder references, in my opinion it’s for older YA readers.

thanks Net Galley and Harlequin Teen for my freebie!

REVIEW: Ghost on Black Mountain by Ann Hite

December 16, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Back in October I read a great book that I found at the local BJ’s – “Ghost on Black Mountain”. This novel tells the story of Black Mountain and its ghosts through the voices of five depression era women.

Nellie Clay comes to Black Mountain as a young bride – not realizing her husband is pretty much evil incarnate. Nellie’s story is intertwined with her mother’s, her housekeeper’s, her daughter’s, and more as we see the lives of these people and the community in which they live. Set in Depression-era North Carolina, the story centers around a murder and the ghosts that it conjures – and set free.

I just loved this book. I loved the voices, the story, the peek into mountain culture of that time. Ann Hite is a great writer and this story goes on my unforgettable list!

Quick Review of a Kindle Borrow-for-Free: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

December 15, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / 5 Comments

Okay – so if you are an Amazon Prime customer, you can borrow certain books FOR FREE for a month on your Kindle. You get a free download – as I understand it, it is one book per month. What a great way for me to read more books for free! It’s sort of like the library but my library ebooks aren’t support by Kindle – and through Amazon you are limited to one a month. (If I’ve misunderstood something, please chime in!).

My first choice was the irrepressible “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. EVERYONE but me has read this book – the first in the trilogy – and EVERYONE has loved it (which is exactly why I did not read it yet). I usually end up hating those books everyone else loves, but not this time. I loved this YA read!

In case you’ve been hiding out this year, “The Hunger Games” is the futuristic, postapocalyptic story of teenager Katniss Everdeen, who is selected to participate in the “hunger games”: Teens selected from each district of the then-USA to compete to the death, while being broadcast live on tv. Will Katniss survive?

This novel reminded me so much of other stories I’ve read or seen — Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the movie “Running Man”, and “Lord of the Flies” to name a few. I loved it though – loved the characters and the creativity of the action. I may just have to read the next two books in the series.

Written for YA but enjoyed by adults, too, in my opinion.

Hey look – the movie’s coming!
http://youtu.be/p-5ANq4sAL0

Quick YA Review: Alias Dragonfly by Jane Singer

December 11, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Wow – I am waaaay behind on my blogging to our really awful fall with unexpected deaths in both my and my husband’s families.

However, here I am to start off the parade of reviews in my “saved drafts” section, with the YA historical novel: “Alias Dragonfly”. I scored this free from Net Galley.

In this novel, Civil War teen Maggie Bradford leaves New Hampshire with her father and goes to stay with her cranky aunt in Washington, DC. The war surrounds them and Maggie finds herself involved with intrigue by becoming part of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency by working as a Union spy. Maggie finds romance as well as mystery, and the book ends by leaving you hanging and waiting for more. It appears to be part of a series.

Highly recommended for YA Civil War reading and for those, like me, who just love historical fiction of this period!

Thanks, Net Galley and Bell Bridge Books for my copy!

Been Out of Touch…

December 3, 2011 / drbethnolan / 4 Comments

Sorry folks – behind in posting as my father passed away suddenly last week. Always extra difficult when it’s not expected. My poor mom is just lost without him – 67 years of marriage. Please keep us in your thoughts…

Quick Review: 10th Anniversary by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

November 24, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’ve read all of Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club books and was so glad to snatch this one up from the new release shelf at the library. As with the others, I found it a quick, fun read – I finished it the day after I got it.

In this installment, SF police detective Lindsay Boxer is getting married to her beloved Joe, but a serial rapist is loose in SF. “Babies” are also a theme in this book – with a victimized young girl who has apparently sold her baby and a high-profile murder case of a mother with young children who accused of killing her husband taking up Lindsay’s time, along with her own desire to be a mother. Lindsay gets involved in the murder trial and comes up against her dear friend Yuki, who is the prosecutor. At the same time, Lindsay is determined to uncover what happened to the teen’s baby. Cindy, the news reporter, gets a little too involved with chasing after the rapist as well.

There is a lot of tension in this novel, along with the camaraderie of the ladies. The events are non-stop action, and with Patterson’s short chapters, this was an easy read for me.

QUICK YA REVIEW: The Hangman in the Mirror by Kate Cayley

November 11, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

“The Hangman in the Mirror” by Kate Cayley is a historical fiction piece, set in New France (Canada) in the 1700’s. Francoise Laurent is a destitute 17-year-old washerwoman, left orphaned when her parents die of small pox. She takes a job as a lady’s maid to a wealthy woman, but is accused of thievery and sentenced to hang. She must use her considerable wits to save herself – or die trying.

While this book was written for young adult readers, I think adults would enjoy it, too. The most amazing thing about it is that it is based on true events. I enjoyed the writing, the story, and the characters.

Thanks, Net Galley, for my copy!

REVIEW: Everything We Ever Wanted by Sara Shepard

November 11, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

A Net Galley find, “Everything We Ever Wanted” by Sara Shepard tells the story of a family broken by crisis, and examines the ties that bind people together. Sylvie Bates-McAllister is a widowed mother of two grown sons: Charles, the upright businessman (who is considering having an affair) and Scott, the adopted son who’s a bit of rebel. Sylvie’s family history is tied closely to the prestigious independent school that her grandfather led and where she serves on the board. Her son Scott is a wrestling coach there. Disaster looms when Sylvie is notified of an unexpected student death at the school, possibly related to hazing on the wrestling team. This is the type of thing that can bring a school, a family, and an individual down, and Sylvie struggles to keep her head above water, while Charles fights his own demons and Scott maintains his independence. Added to this is the shadow of a supposed illicit affair that Sylvie’s husband had before his death- an affair that Sylvie seeks to know more about, yet wants to pretend never happened. All things tie together at the end of this well-written and compelling story.

I enjoyed reading this novel. My history in independent schools always puts me in line to read a novel set in one. While I related to the sense of identity that the characters felt in relation to the school, the thing that stood out to me was the stark emptiness of the character’s emotional well-being in this novel. They were all pretty much miserable: Sylvie, Charles, Scott, and Charles’ wife Joanna. Joanna’s intrepid and over-the-top mother was another unique but pathetic character as well. I found this book very grey – when I imagined the action, the setting, the mood, it all seemed overcast to me (until the end).

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about independent schools and women’s lives. I really liked Sara Shepard’s writing as well.

Thanks, Net Galley, for my copy.

This author is the author of the “Pretty Little Liars” series for YA readers, so I may pick that up to check out!

Review: The Wilder Life- My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure

October 25, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

For my birthday, my friend got me this book as she knows that when I’m not busy being obsessed with Louisa May Alcott, I’m busy being obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder. I promptly put this book in a “safe place” and then couldn’t find it for six months. I was so very happy that I found it a few weeks ago and got to read this wonderful and hilarious book, where author Wendy McClure goes searching for all things Laura.

But first, let me backtrack. When I say I loved the Little House books when I was a kid, I mean I really LOVED the Little House books when I was a kid (um – as an adult, too). I read them all mulptiple times. I actually owned and wore a sunbonnet on a regular basis. And yes – I made my family call me “Laura” (but only when I was wearing the sunbonnet). In the 1970’s, our family travelled cross-country just about each summer to visit our relatives in Rhode Island, and one very spectacular summer my father announced that we could drive through and see all the places where Laura lived. I just had to make him a list of them. After skipping Wisconsin (too far off the path for us), and the little house that was on the prairie (which I thought was in Kansas but long gone), we went to Plum Creek, spent the night in Mankato (in a rain storm – in our RV – with me pretending to be in a covered wagon in a storm), De Smet, South Dakota, and the big Laura house and museum in Masnfield, Missouri. I was in my element. I waded in Plum Creek (I can still see my mother standing by the side of the road where my dad had pulled the rv over, sweater wrapped around her, calling out “Don’t fall in!”). I walked in places where Laura walked. I even met a woman at the Mansfield museum who had been Laura’s friend.

That said, I figured there weren’t many people as crazy/weird about Laura as I was. But then I read this book. Here was an author who loved Laura as much as I did! She even had some of the little “Laura fantasies” as a kid that I did (Laura time-warps and we’re friends, etc.). And she had gone to all these same places as me! In fact, thirty years after my pilgrimage there seem to be even MORE Laura places to discover.

Well, that’s what this book is about — Wendy Mc Clure’s journey to discover all things Laura one year (with her very patient and good-natured boyfriend), along with discovering some things about herself. I loved this book from start to finish. I laughed so hard in parts I cried. But mostly I felt like I had found a true kindred spirit in Ms. Mc Clure — just as I had 35 years ago in Laura, when I read my first Little House books.

Two Quick Reviews: The Mystery of the Blue Ring by P.R. Giff (Children’s) and 50 Underwear Questions by T. Kyi

October 18, 2011July 7, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I recently got two new items through Net Galley, which I shared with my children.

The first is Patricia Reilly Giff’s “The Mystery of the Blue Ring”. Written for children, this is book one in the “Polk Street Mysteries”. My second grader read this for her book report this month. She loves mysteries and loved this story (and loved reading it on my Kindle!). In it Dawn, your typical second grader, is accused of stealing another girl’s ring. Dawn becomes a sleuth to solve the mystery. Giff has countless books out for young readers and has perfected the knack of writing for the younger grade school audience.

Thanks, Net Galley and Open Road Media, for my copy!

I also downloaded into Adobe Digital the fun book: “50 Underwear Questions: A Bare-All History” part of the “50 Questions” series by Tanya LLoyd Kyi (and illustrated by Ross Kinnaird). My kids loved looking through this galley, laughed at the pictures, and enjoyed the inset “bare facts” of trivia. I have to say, though, I actually found the history of underwear much more interesting than I had anticipated! For instance, did you know they had undergarments in prehistoric times? (You might think “did you even care?” but it really was an interesting read!). The fun, comic-like illustrations really make this book!