alternating chapters – Peaceful Reader

Two book that have nothing in common

Truthfully you can always make a connection between books though. They can be lumped together as good books, new books, books with strong main characters, books about death, and you get the idea.

Catherine by April Lindner (January, 2013)is an alternate point-of-view story, switching between Chelsea and her mother Catherine. Chelsea’s always thought her mother died of a brief illness until she finds some hidden papers in her father’s closet. Turns out that Catherine left when Chelsea was young to take care of some old business in NYC. All she has is an address, The Underground, a gritty gem of a bar where new and old talent share the stage.

As Chelsea uncovers more about her mother’s story we read in opposite chapters about her mother’s life at about the same age. Each of them meet a mysterious boy through the club and begin that transition of breaking away, transforming into young adult women. Love is tough with rock and roll boys though and it never turns out how they expect. Naturally.

The cover on this ARC was smoky and screamed “dime store romance novel” to me. We play a little game at my house in that if I’m torn between several titles to read my family will help me choose. This title was deemed way too hokey for me by my ever-lovin’husband so I set it aside for a few weeks. Luckily I picked it back up though as I very much enjoyed both Chelsea and Catherine as characters. Catherine’s brother annoyed me so much I started talking back to him…out loud. Hate mean boys. Such terrible crap we, as women, often are forced to endure as Catherine demonstrates. I especially loved the whole Underground bar idea, making the reader feel a part of the hip music crowd. April Lindner has another book Jane and I’m interested in reading it. I liked Lindner’s style.

Quote:

Strange ideas pinged around in my mind like pinballs. I didn’t want to think about my mother with Hence, but I couldn’t help it. Had she really been in love with him? And had he loved her back? I though of what he’d said-if she were still alive, I’d know. I, of all people, would know-and it seemed possible, even likely. Had she run away from me and my dad to go back to him? (59)

Also read this excellent review of Catherine in this Boston Globe article.

The second major book I read in March was 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I’ve had this book on my shelf for oh, 6 years, no lie. A bookie friend passed it on to me while I was teaching in Little Rock but said to me “probably shouldn’t read it until you are done with teaching…” and handed it over. I knew the topic (school shooting) and actually thought waiting to read it was not the worst idea ever.

So I waited thinking I would just know when the time was right…

The book is excellent but really there is no right time because while it is about a school shooting the main issue is bullying, which is such a hot topic now. I’ve heard many say things like kids just need to buck up, bullies have always existed, we had bullies-it’s just part of growing up. I agree with some of those statements as I remember vividly being teased and harassed by students and even by my own brother as Peter is in the story. The difference today is how utterly harsh kids can be. Through reality television, brutal video games, facebook, and any number of other venues kids feel free to share their most vitriolic thoughts. You can hear how horrible you are via text, skype, or facebook post.

Maybe many of you have read this one already and if you haven’t you should. Told through a variety of viewpoints and time frames we get a truly well-rounded look at Peter, his friend Josie and their families. I look forward to reading Picoult’s latest book, The Storyteller. I don’t have it yet but if I did I wouldn’t let it sit on my shelf for 6 years!

As an advocate of peace and justice I firmly believe we need strict gun control laws. I have family members that hunt but I feel like handguns and automatic weapons are far too prevalent in our society. It can be a mental health issue as well, I understand that but if we made it difficult to get guns in the first place it wouldn’t be an issue. The Columbine shooting occurred in 1999, this book was written in 2007, and we have yet to solve this crisis. And in fact the violence has increased ten-fold. Passionate topic for me, yes.

Quote:

On the ride home, Alex stole glances at her daughter in the rearview mirror. Josie had gone to school this morning in a white cardigan and khaki pants; now that cardigan was streaked with dirt. There were twigs in her hair, which had fallen from its ponytail. The elbow of her sweater had a hole in it; her lip was still bleeding. And-here was the amazing thing-apparently, she’d fared better than the little boy she’d gone after. (70)

Read, read, read!
What have you been reading recently?
Snow in the forecast. Crazy, yes.

Read Trinkets by Kirsten Smith

Trinkets

Kirsten Smith

March, 2013

Trinkets was a fast easy read perfect for middle school through high school students. I loved the alternating characters between the three girls all from different backgrounds but quite similar in their attitudes. All three want something different, something bigger than what is happening in their life right now as high school students. They try to create their own thrill by shoplifting at the mall. Serious shoplifting-not just a tube of lipstick from the drugstore-but designer dresses, jewelry, gadgets, and books.

There’s Elodie who writes like a poet and feels like she doesn’t belong. Maureen who’s just Moe who lost both her parents in a car crash leaving her and her brother to live with their aunt. She teeters on the fringe with the burnouts but she is far from burned out. Tabitha has everything that comes with money; friends, buying power, and a handsome boyfriend but she feels alone almost always. All three, busted
separately for shoplifting, end up in a Shoplifters Anonymous program to heal themselves and end up finding each other. While this is a wonderful book about friendship and high school and could be just another book about how hard it is to be in school with all the set cliques this book sets itself apart through its unique characters and ability to sound real and right on. We don’t want anyone to go out a steal just to make a friend but this book speaks volumes on how important it is to be yourself, to step away from the bullies, the bitches, the drama queens to stand alone until you rise to the top.

It’s a hard task to do but Elodie, Tabitha, and Moe learn that it is better to have one (or two) good friends than to have a roomful of people who know your name. Told in alternating chapters between all three young women you get an excellent feel for each one’s motivation. This would make a great movie if they did it well which doesn’t come as a surprise since the author has written a few screenplays, including one of my favorite Heath Ledger movies, 10 Things I hate about you.

A quote from Moe:

April 8

Aunt B says to not judge a book by the cover, but I guess everybody does. Elodie was surprised when I told her I’d already read Broken Soup. Tabitha said she hadn’t read it, so Elodie gave her the copy. Hanging out at the Roxy with them was more fun than listening to Alex lay out a plan to TP some nerd’s house, but it wasn’t like super buddy-buddy or anything. Obviously, I didn’t tell them about Noah or even that I like to read while taking a bath. It’s none of their business. I guess if I were a book, my cover would be different from what’s on the inside too. (104)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to keep it on my shelf for Groovy Girl to read in a few years. She knows all about standing outside the circle trying to feel confident.

My review copy from Little, Brown & Co in no way altered my high opinion of this title. Thank you to Zoe for my review copy. s

The Amazing Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl

I devoured Flynn’s previous book Dark Places (2009) but never got around to reading Sharp Objects (2006). My husband read it and honestly I think it is too creepy for me. All three of her books feature dark characters with twisted, thoughtful, and non-linear plot lines.

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn

2012

415 pages

The opening line on the inside flap “Marriage can be a real killer” makes such an interesting opener for the tale of a marriage gone strangely, crazily awry. Nick and Amy meet at a party in New York City as two fairly young adults. They flirt and the flirting is cute. They walk home together after the party but then don’t meet up again for a few months. When they connect the second time it seems like all the pieces fit snugly together and they end up marrying.

Their backgrounds are so utterly different that this may be a testament for sticking with your own kind. Amy, an only child, has grown up sheltered and wealthy in the big city with two odd parents who’ve turned her life into a wildly popular picture book series. Think Jane without Sally and Dick. The books never fail to make Amy feel like a loser even though her parents are always there to boost her confidence.

Nick is from small town Carthage, Missouri with a rather dysfunctional family. He has a twin sister, Margo, a smothering mother, and an abusive father. Both Amy and Nick write for a living until magazine subscriptions and dot.com’s start to go under. They lose both of their jobs within a few short weeks of each other. Luckily Amy has that trust fund to rely on and they meander around their NYC pad for months. Margo calls one day to say their mother has cancer Nick takes it as an opportunity to give up the big city and head back home to Carthage with Amy in tow. Big city, pampered Amy does not do well with small-town, small-minded middle of the U.S. of A.

Nick and Margo use the last of Amy’s fund to purchase a downtown bar and spend their days minding the bar and hanging out after their mother passes on. Their father is in a nursing home where he causes lots of trouble and seems to flit in and out at crucial moments. He adds this odd twist that makes you seriously wonder about Nick’s mental stability. Amy’s parents are anther complex set of characters that add so much to the dynamic of what we know of Amy.

Told in alternating chapters this book showcases Flynn’s amazing ability to twist and turn the way we look at varying scenes in a person’s life. There’s more than two sides to any story. I can’t tell you more. I just can’t. There is so much more. I didn’t dislike one part of this book except that it came to an end. I guess I was shocked by the ending. Read it. Read it. You won’t forget Nick or Amy. It could be any of us on a given day just going off the deep end.

Quote:

Amy Elliott Dunne
July 5, 2010
Diary Entry

I won’t blame Nick. I don’t blame Nick. I refuse-refuse!-to turn into some pert-mouthed, strident angry-girl. I made two promises to myself when I married Nick. One: no dancing-monkey demands. Two: I would never, ever say, Sure, that’s fine by me (if you want to stay out later, if you want to do a boys’ weekend, if you want to do something you want to do) and then punish him for doing what I said was fine by me. I worry I am coming perilously close to violating both of those promises. (65)

You can see the complexity of Amy’s character as she learns to make adjustments in her marriage; she suffers from an amazing ability to over-think life.

Read Tina’s review.
NY Times review
Gillian Flynn’s site.