June Books

I did a LOT of reading in June. I took a break from Facebook and it gave me way more free time to read...which is kind of gross because it shows how much time I was wasting on there.

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott
2 stars out of 5

Clara Purdy is at a crossroads. At forty-three, she is divorced, living in her late parents' house, and near-ing her twentieth year as a claims adjuster at a local insurance firm. Driving to the bank during her lunch hour, she crashes into a sharp left turn, taking the Gage family in the other car with her. When bruises on the mother, Lorraine, prove to be late-stage cancer, Clara decides to do the right thing. She moves Lorraine's three children and their terrible grandmother into her own house—and then has to cope with the consequences of practical goodness: exhaustion, fury, hilarity, and unexpected love.

It wasn't a bad story but I didn't like how it switched from perspectives with no notice whatsoever. It made it hard to follow and know whose thoughts and actions you were a part of.

Bad Dog: A Love Story by Martin Kihn
4 stars out of 5

Meet Hola. She’s a nightmare, but it’s not her fault if she tackles strangers and chews on furniture, or if she runs after buses and fried chicken containers and drug dealers. No one ever told her not to. Worse yet, she scares her family. Hola may be the most beautiful Bernese mountain dog in the world, but she’s never been trained. At least not by anyone who knew what he was doing. Hola’s supposed master, Marty, is a high-functioning alcoholic. A TV writer turned management consultant, Marty’s in debt and out of shape; he’s about to lose his job, and one day he emerges from a haze of peach-flavored vodka to find he’s on the verge of losing his wife, Gloria, too, if he can’t get his life—and his dog—under control.

This was clever and funny...makes sense since the author also wrote for MTV's Pop-up Video. Not as warm and fuzzy as other popular dog stories of late but in a good way. The story revolves around an untrainable dog as well as the road to recovery of the author's trouble with alcoholism and his subsequent marital problems.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
5 stars out of 5

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

I was absolutely spellbound by this book. I had a hard time putting it down and when I was forced to, I couldn't stop thinking about it and what would happen. I finished it in a day and got nothing else accomplished. It was an emotional read for me. I very rarely shed a tear over books or movies and I was sobbing at parts. The story will sit with me for quite some time, I'm certain.

London Is the Best City in America by Laura Dave
4 stars out of 5

An insightful, wickedly funny story of two siblings who have found themselves at a crossroads. In mapping their struggles over one wild and emotional wedding weekend, Laura Dave gives us a brilliantly subtle and honest look at contemporary courtship, family tension, and the angst that we all experience when we have to make difficult choices.

This was an enjoyable light read. It is about relationships and finding yourself. A welcome easy read after the emotional fatigue I felt after my last novel!

Family Affair by Caprice Crane
2 stars out of 5

When Layla Brennan married her high school sweetheart, Brett Foster, she finally got the big, loving family she’d always wanted: his. Now she’s closer to Brett’s parents than he is, partners with his sister in a successful pet-photography business, and confidant to his younger brother. She couldn’t be more of a Foster if she’d been born one. There’s just one problem: Brett wants a divorce. Stunned and heartbroken, Layla turns to the Fosters for comfort, only to realize that losing Brett means losing them as well. What else can she do but sue him for the most valuable thing he’s got–namely, his family. Breaking up may be hard to do, but for Layla and Brett it’s even harder to undo.

This was okay. This used to be exactly what I used to love reading but now I found it didn't entertain me enough. I liked how each chapter was from a different main character's point of view.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
3 stars out of 5

At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event. In this remarkable novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye onto that which connects us all: the modern family and domestic life in the twenty-first century. The Slap is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue. The slap and its consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live, their expectations, beliefs and desires.

I'd give this a 3.5 stars out of 5. The premise of the book hooked me...a child is slapped at a party by someone other than his parents. Each long chapter delves into the life of one of the party goers. They are all equally repulsive and appalling characters. There is much swearing, drugs, cheating and racial slurs in the chapters. Really, the characters are such pieces of crap that you don't really care what happens to most of them but you can't stop reading either.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5 stars out of 5

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

I couldn't read this book fast enough. It completely consumed me. One of the best books I've read.

How to Be a Canadian by Will Ferguson
4 stars out of 5

The ultimate guide to the country's cultural quirks. The result is a hilarious inside look at that unique species, the Canadian, and their thoughts on such diverse subjects as beer, sex, dating rituals, sports, politics, religion, social rules and, of course, their trademark death-defying search for the middle of any road.

Super funny!

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
4 stars out of 5

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

I really liked how the fictional story included true historical events. It is an event I knew nothing about. I also liked how the chapters alternated between past and present. Even though it showed Paris in a positive AND negative light, I couldn't stop daydreaming about visiting there again someday.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
5 stars out of 5

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book. As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

This was such a cute book. I don't normally like this kind of format for a book (a collection of letters) but it really worked for the topic of the book.

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
3.5 stars out of 5

After the unexpected death of her parents, painfully shy and sheltered 26-year-old Ginny Selvaggio seeks comfort in cooking from family recipes. But the rich, peppery scent of her Nonna’s soup draws an unexpected visitor into the kitchen: the ghost of Nonna herself, dead for twenty years, who appears with a cryptic warning.

A fast read that I thought was good and had an unexpected twist at the end.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
4.5 stars out of 5

This is book #2 of the Hunger Games (reviewed above). I won't give a plot summary as it will ruin the ending of book #1.

I read this in a day because it's just so easy to get caught up in the story and HAVE to know what happens. It wasn't quite as good as the first but still so engrossing.

The Divorce Party: A Novel by Laura Dave
4 stars out of 5

A multigenerational novel about love, family, and what it means to build a life with someone, The Divorce Party brings us two immensely appealing women: Gwyn, at the end of her marriage, and her future daughter-in-law, Maggie, at the beginning. Though they make very different choices, both women ultimately discover how to create the lives that they most want to lead.

Nothing deep or meaningful but a great summer read.

Last Night at Chateah Marmont by Lauren Weisberger
4 stars out of 5

Brooke and Julian live a happy life in New York – she's the breadwinner working two jobs and he's the struggling musician husband. Then Julian is discovered by a Sony exec and becomes an overnight success – and their life changes for ever.

The perfect summer read...light with lots of juicy drama. I spent most of the book wishing the character would grow a backbone but it was still really enjoyable.

What have you been reading? What's your favorite book?