The Outcast Dead

I'm very leased to be able to introduce Sarah Cawkwell's guest review of the latest instalment of the best-selling Horus Heresy series. We've been chatting to Sarah (a.k.a @pyroriffic) for some time now and have vicariously shared the giddy excitement of her induction into the ranks of the Black Library's team of authors (more on that below).
With that thought in mind, I thought it would be interesting to have her perspective on The Outcast Dead. So, without further ado...
The Outcast Dead
A spoiler-free review by Sarah Cawkwell
It may come as no surprise to those of you who know me to realise that one of my favourite traits in any character is a tendency to a delicious brand of grumpy, self-inverted sulkiness. Oh, angst. How I love you. (Not the brooding, sparkly Twilight kind of angst, but the proper ‘I’ve really suffered’ kind). Don’t ask me why; it’s a trait I find incredibly irritating in real life. But I like my heroes to be less than likeable and to be packed to the gunwhales with personality flaws and nuances. It’s some kind of inverse physics thing, perhaps. The less inherently likeable a character, the more I seem to like them. It's similar to my theory on the fact that the smaller the handbag, the more rubbish you can fit in it.
Whatever the reason, I am filled to the brim with undying love for Kai Zulane, one of the central protagonists as featured in Graham McNeill’s latest addition to the million-selling Horus Heresy series. The Outcast Dead is set almost entirely on Terra and is a 'Meanwhile...' piece. It opens the eyes of the reader quite widely to life elsewhere in the Imperium whilst the Adeptus Astartes are going through the wringer millions of miles away. It primarily follows the (mis)adventures of an unlikely hero in the shape of an astropath who is the unwilling carrier of a vital message. This message must be delivered at all costs and he falls into the care of an even more unlikely and largely reluctant band of protectors.
There are other plots woven neatly into the story as well, with some excellent cross-over and more than one or two surprises.
Because this is a spoiler-free review, I’m going to come straight to the point here. I liked this book. It reads well, has a great story that reaches a satisfactory resolution and a brilliant cast of great characters (including the aforementioned astropath). But I may be biaised. I have a particular love for character-driven stories and also for astropaths and psykers of any kind, so for them to form the core of a story is my idea of a good time. It’s like a party that just won’t quit. There is a delicious mix of psykers you like and psykers you don’t. And then the eponymous Outcast Dead of the title are thrown into the mix and it all goes a bit wild and crazy.
Which is no bad thing in my opinion.
I’ve always found the illustrious Mr. McNeill presents characters with whom it is easy to engage, although not always necessarily easy to identify with. I’m unlikely to ever be an astropath, for example. This both pleases me and in my nerdier moments, invokes a certain air of resentment. Because apart from the down side of, you know, losing your eyes, your identity and all the other stuff… you’d be an astropath. Which would be kind of cool. Sucky, but cool.
I digress. I do that.
Anyway.
When you find out what it was that happened to Kai to make him into the Grumpiest Man Alive, you do feel a certain pity for him. I wanted to know what happened to him and then later, I wanted to know what happened to the Outcast Dead. That wanting to know turned into needing to know. And it was this Need To Know that kept me eagerly turning pages until I tragically ran out of book.
With The Outcast Dead, readers are treated to an entirely different side of the Heresy. Away from the militarian, organised lives of the Legiones Astartes, ordinary citizens are going about their business… but this is a world in which things are constantly changing, where the bad guys are evolving all the time (sometimes quite literally)… and the ordinary soon morph into the extraordinary with disastrous consequences for our protagonists.
This isn’t your average Horus Heresy book. Whilst there are Space Marines present and at least one primarch puts in an appearance, there is a distinct absence of full-on battle scenes. For many, this may cause them to dismiss the book out of hand. But for all those people – and there are many of them – who often bemoan the fact that the Black Library don’t publish books that are more character driven… well, they should grab this one.
It’s quite heartfelt in places and as a reader, I appreciate it when I genuinely care enough about a character to care what happens to them. By the end of the book, my initial fondness for Mr. Grumpy had gone all the way through deep pity and out the other side into enormous respect.
It’s a tale about courage and determination, about understanding one’s duty, about loyalty and even about friendships in the face of the worst kind of adversity. It adds gently to the Horus Heresy mythos without scrambling anything and also clears up one or two other grey areas with well-placed exposition.
I have enjoyed all of Graham McNeill’s contributions to the Horus Heresy series so far and The Outcast Dead is no exception. Will it please everyone? No. I don’t believe it will. After all, everyone has different expectations and for some, the absence of full scale warfare may lead to a less-than-satisfactory read. For me, though, it was a good, solid story with interesting characters who I cared about. And as far as I’m concerned, if I come out of a book thinking ‘I enjoyed that’, then it’s done its job admirably.
And The Outcast Dead definitely did that. With bells on. I award it nine screaming psykers out of ten.

100 Popular YA Books

 　　I saw Bella on twitter this morning mention this list...and I thought...I wonder how many I've read. So I thought I'd list it here to check.
The highlighted titles are obviously the ones I have read. I am thinking that I've not done too badly. On the other hand I realised I've not even managed to review most of them! I am ashamed.
1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18. Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket - Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld - Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephenie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephenie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped
Forty eight titles all in all, no 49. This list comes from What's Your Story Reviews, who in turn got it from Reut Reads and so on and so on. It certainly is a comprehensive list but not an all compassing list. And actually, to be fair, it lists some awesome titles and would work really well as a reading challenge or even, just a primer to YA fiction.
Anyway. A bit of a random musings list on a Saturday morning.

Larkspur Cove

Larkspur Cove
by Lisa Wingate
Release date: 1/1/2011
Christian Fiction / Contemporary Romance
Bethany House
ISBN: 9780764208218
Synopsis:
Adventure is the last thing on Andrea Henderson's mind when she moves to Moses Lake. After surviving the worst year of her life, she's struggling to build a new life for herself and her son as a social worker. Perhaps in doing a job that makes a difference, she can find some sense of purpose and solace in her shattered faith.
For new Moses Lake game warden Mart McClendon, finding a sense of purpose in life isn't an issue. He took the job to get out of southwest Texas and the constant reminders of a tragedy for which he can't forgive himself.
But when a little girl is seen with the town recluse, Mart and Andrea are drawn together in the search for her identity. The little girl offers them both a new chance at redemption and hope—and may bring them closer than either ever planned.

The Opposite of Amber

They found the fifth girl right after the snow melted ...the place where he left her was winter water, crazed with ice-feathers and dusted with snow. The traces from her body were gone, the ones that said his name, but she had an extra skin of ice that protected her and she looked perfect, like Snow White'.
Ruby and her older sister Jinn live together on their own, just about making ends meet. Jinn is beautiful, with glittering blonde hair, and makes it her business to look after Ruby. They are horrified by, but try to ignore, the local newspaper stories of prostitutes who are murdered, their bodies eventually discovered underwater. Then the no-good Nathan Baird turns up on the scene - again - and Jinn starts to change. First Nathan moves in with Jinn and Ruby, making Ruby feel an outsider, and then Jinn and Nathan move out, leaving Ruby alone. Jinn no longer has time to look after Ruby. And it seems to Ruby that Jinn herself needs looking after. Her beautiful glittering hair starts to lose its shine. And then Jinn disappears. A deeply moving, chilling, and incredibly powerful thriller that celebrates the love two sisters have for each other and mourns the events beyond their control that will conspire to drive them apart.
I am the world's most rubbish fan. I love Gillian Philip's writing yet it has taken me ages to get around to reviewing The Opposite of Amber, which is truly crappy of me, considering how much I enjoyed it.
Gillian Philips has managed to create a very vivid experience for the reader, especially as the story is told from our main character, Ruby's point of view. And Ruby is a very sensitive young girl who seems to experience things in high emotion.
When we meet Ruby she is pretty stressed out, thinking she had somehow made a school friend try and commit suicide. Basically, Ruby was chatting to another boy at school, Foley, and Alex came up to talk to her, so she flippantly told him to jump off a cliff. And Alex went and walked off the school's roof, injuring himself quite badly. So she's in a pretty dark and emotional place. All of this combines to make her feel pretty isolated and unwanted, added to the fact that her mum was never much of a mum in the first instance, so things are not at all pleasant for Ruby.
She adores her older sister, Jinn who, still very young herself, does her best to look after Ruby but is far too caught up in her own world, to really fuss with Ruby too much.
When the local bad boy turns up, and takes up his on again off again relationship with Jinn, Ruby's life takes an even worse turn. She watches her sister Jinn go out of her way to do everything for him, making excuses and fussing around him, ignoring Ruby's feelings and inviting him to become their "lodger". Unfortunately Jinn's love for Nathan is so all consuming that she loses her job and has to resort to walking the streets to try and care of them. It is grim and unpleasant and stark and real. Where Jinn was this gorgeous girl with a future ahead of her, it is Ruby, the quiet voiceless one, the shadow, who is forced to become tougher, stronger, grow a voice and to sort things out.
The relationship between the sisters is very important in the novel. They are a unit, a family, and with Nathan added to the mix, along with his debt and the dangers that comes with that, it quickly turns into a mess.
Added to this, a range of serial murders has taken place. A murderer has been killing prostitutes, or girls he assume are prostitutes and of course, with Jinn walking the streets, poor Ruby is scared senseless.
The novel is written in a very colloquial Scottish way, which for about five minutes made it difficult to get in to, but once you hit your stride it works to enhance the atmosphere and sense of place. As usual Gillian stretches herself as an author and we get the full readerly benefit of her skills - she gives us a novel about trust, deception, sistership, motherhood, murder, love - the gamut of daily emotion. She also gives us a fantastic heroine whose character undergoes tremendous development. The novel is layered, interesting and very tense as well as intense. I remember sitting down to read it and hunching my back and clenching my fist thinking "no no no". It takes a writer pretty much at the top of their game to tap into a reader's emotion as strongly as this.
Every bit of this book was believable. I loved the flawed Ruby and the senselessly brave Jinn. I yearned for everything to go right for them, but of course, you'll have to read the book to find out if it does. I'll allow myself one further bit of advice: have tissues ready.

Love Me Tender

Love Me Tender
(When I Fall in Love)
by Janice Hanna
General Fiction / Romance / Christian
Summerside Press
ISBN: 9781609360177
Back Cover:
Debbie Carmichael determines to salvage her family's restaurant, Sweet Sal's Soda Shoppe, from financial ruin when her father's health fails. Help is in sight when teen heartthrob Bobby Conrad agrees to perform at a fund-raiser concert. But just two weeks before the highly publicized event, plans fall through and Bobby can't come. Enter Johnny Hartman, a young, unknown singer.
Debbie soon realizes the twists and turns leading up to the concert have been divinely orchestrated. But is it the dreamy Bobby Conrad who ultimately steals her heart...or the tender Johnny Hartman?
What I thought:
Love Me Tender was different than any romance I've read to date. It was my very first experience reading a book in this particular era -- and I found it to be quite interesting. I would love to read more about the Carmichael family, at some point, if Janice decides to make this the start of a new series.
The year is 1957. The Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand are all the rage. New talent is showing up left and right. Johnny Hartman comes to Los Angeles, California to follow his dream of becoming a famous singer. He feels that God is leading him to witness to others through his amazing singing ability. After his very first audition, Johnny meets Jim Jangles, who quickly becomes his agent. Johnny moves in with Jim, his wife Theresa, and their son, Toby -- they become his away-from-home family. Toby adds a comedic aspect to the story, as he is always trying to talk his Dad into letting him audition for small parts in commercials, singing auditions, plays, etc. He's a real pistol!
Debbie Carmichael lives in Laguna Beach, California, with her family. She helps run their family restaurant, Sweet Sal's Soda Shoppe. Debbie comes up with a great idea to help her family out of their financial dilemma, brought on by her father's ailing health. They should invite Bobby Conrad to perform a benefit concert at the Soda Shoppe, and take donations instead of selling tickets. Debbie, her sister, Becky Ann, and their friends work very hard to get the news of the upcoming concert out to the public by posting flyers all over town. The women in Laguna Beach go gaa-gaa over Bobby, and are beyond excited that he will be singing for them!
When Debbie and Johnny meet for the first time, sparks seem to fly between them. Johnny falls for Debbie almost immediately, but she's still hung up on her teenage crush, Bobby Conrad. The more time they spend together, Debbie starts to see Johnny in a different light -- maybe she should listen to her heart this time.
Due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict, Bobby Conrad isn't gonna be able to perform the concert! Debbie, Becky Ann, and their friends are just devastated -- what are they gonna do? -- and on such short notice. Thankfully, Debbie comes up with an iffy plan, and prays really hard that the folks of Laguna Beach will be happy with Bobby's replacement, Johnny Hartman.

The ASK and the ANSWER

In this sequel to The Knife Of Never Letting Go, our boy (MAN) hero, Todd is now trapped in New Prentisstown under the watchful eye of Mayor (errr… President) Prentiss. Having been separated from Viola, Todd is unsure whether she is dead or alive and he has no choice but to do as he is told until he can find a way to get some ANSWERS.
Meanwhile – Viola, in another part of town, has made connections with a powerful woman named Mistress Coyle, who is not about to accept this new President Prentiss at face value. Viola, under Mistress Coyles care, learns a few tricks of her own in taking care of herself as well as protecting others.
As Todd and Viola work hard to find each other, each silently ASKING where the other one stands now in this new world. Todd wonders if Viola still is working with him for a plan to escape, and Viola QUESTIONS Todd’s motives of working directly and seemingly happily under the Prentiss directive.
“ToDD”?
And that is about when the bombs start going off… buildings are mysteriously being blown apart … and then it really gets interesting.
One series.... no waiting - all books are available!
A week ago I reviewed The Knife of Never Letting Go with “SSQQUUEEESSSS” of excitement and soooo glad I had this next book in hand to hop right into it. Life happenings this past week may have slowed down my reading but this week I was able to spend some good quality time one on one with Todd and Viola.
The Ask and The Answer is not as light a read as The Knife Of Never Letting Go. This book has put our characters right in the heat of battle… once again told in Patrick Ness’s phenomenal style… we have alternating chapters from Todd and Viola’s perspectives.
There are so many things I want to rave about Patrick Ness’s writing style. It is creative. It is brilliant. It makes me want to hug the pages and say, “YES! This is how to write!” When words make me feel… I am sold out.
But more than that even, as I told a friend earlier today…. Patrick Ness finds no character indispensable. In a “take no prisoners” style, Patrick Ness brings characters to the books… and he takes them out.
Period.
No holes barred.
And I am left shocked and thinking, “Oh no.. he did not just do that….”
But he did.
And shocked, and confused….
I love it.
If The Knife Of Never Letting Go held me…. The Ask and The Answer stuck me to the wall.
I absolutely can not wait to leap into the pages of Monsters Of Men.
My opinion? If you liked Hunger Games… you will LOVE this series. If you LOVED Hunger Games…. The Chaos Walking series is about to blow you clean off the planet.

Forgive My Fins

When a mermaid has her first kiss, she 'bonds' for life with the person she kisses. For Lily, a mermaid princess living in secret on land, this means she has ended up accidentally bonded to her obnoxious neighbour, instead of to the boy of her dreams. So begins a tidal wave of relationship drama, as Lily discovers that happily-ever-after never sails as smoothly as you plan it to.
I have seen so many excited whispers and chats online about Forgive My Fins I had to give in a buy a copy to read to see what the fuss was about.
And I do not regret it for one single moment. It's a fast, very fun read. I will forgive you if from the above premise you roll your eyes and think...really? A mermaid princess?
But it works so well. It really, in lesser writerly hands, could have become very hammy, very silly and a bit dire. Instead, we have a fresh voice, a very well thought out mythology and world building to contend with both on land and in the sea. I did not for one second doubt Lily's actions or voice. She is funny, charming, loyal, a bit crazy and utterly well, Lily.
The story really zooms ahead, and I think overall we are with Lily for just over two weeks in real time. In that time she screws up, tries to fix it, realises her mistake, has fights, pretends to be a fish, has more fights, cries, stands up for herself and brainwashes someone. So a lot happens. And it is just fabulous and fun and it was the perfect read to lift me out of my reader slump I was in a few weeks ago.
I'm worried readers may think it has no substance because I call it a fun book to read as fun tends to equate to airy and light and inconsequential in some readers' minds. And although there is part of that to play in the book, that yes, it is fun and airy, it definitely isn't inconsequential as it has an underlying message. Several in fact. Some of them are: clean up the mess you have made / take responsibility for your actions / realise that you are not the centre of the universe / your actions have repercussions. But these lessons are subtle and cleverly woven throughout the book and it's never made the focus of the story. We get to enjoy and love with Lily and feel heartsore for her and laugh and cry.
I really did believe in the "forced" romance between Lily and Quince. I thought Quince was the prefect foil for Lily and the voice of reason, the voice of teasing and well, he brought the hotness. Lily's obsession with the other boy Brody is just too funny and I loved Quince's ways of trying to wake her up to the fact that Brody was in fact a bit pointless.
This is a great fun book to read - definitely recommended for readers from around 12+. There is a lot of humour, deeply funny sea-isms from Lily i.e. "son of a swordfish" and overall, it made me feel happy and fuzzy inside. Whilst on the outside I managed to retain my mean street facade. Kidding!
The sequel is called Fins are Forever and it sounds ace.

A Black Tie Affair

Fashion curator Athena Smith will do anything to get her hands on the Clayworth family’s couture collection for her exhibit. So she’s thrilled when she’s called in to authenticate the gowns…until she falls ill while examining them and wakes up face-to-face with notorious Chicago bachelor Drew Clayworth.
Drew doesn’t trust Athena one bit. He still believes she betrayed him years ago. So when his family’s gowns go missing and Athena offers her help in exchange for the dresses, he reluctantly accepts. But they’re both taken off guard by the barely restrained passion that’s still between them…and the memories that are both bitter and sweet. As they work together to find the dresses, can they resist the sparks between them?
About the Author, courtesy of the publisher:
Sherrill Bodine has been writing stories since junior high, when she won a pair of silver skates in a state-wide essay contest. While moving twenty-two times back and forth across America and rearing her four children, she published fifteen award-winning novels under two pseudoynyms (Lynn Leslie/Leslie Lynn). Now she’s decided to be herself and write about the people, parties, and high-life in the city she knows best: Chicago. When she’s not in the Windy City with her husband, family, and Newfoundland and pug dogs, she’s fulfilling her passion to travel to exotic locales around the world.
A light romantic read that was just simply fun. This book for me was a little jolt of the theme on “the one who got away”. I liked the quirky idea that Athene is thrown into a project that puts her working alongside the before mentioned “the one who got away” Drew. A second chance perhaps? Well, nothing like solving a mystery together to see if that is a possibility! While the plot is not strong and the characters are not ones I would find myself hanging out with, Sherill has woven together a tale that did hold my attention.
A light afternoon read curled up in a chair or sitting at the beach. This is one that will bring a smile to your face and perhaps bring up a memory or two…

Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night

　　In Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, a scholarly, pious teenager is wracked with guilt at having survived the horror of the Holocaust and the genocidal campaign that consumed his family. His memories of the nightmare world of the death camps present him with an intolerable question: how can the God he once so fervently believed in have allowed these monstrous events to occur? There are no easy answers in this harrowing book, which probes life’s essential riddles with the lucid anguish only great literature achieves. It marks the crucial first step in Wiesel’s lifelong project to bear witness for those who died.
There are few books that cross my path that I say are a must read for everybody. This would be one of those rare reads. I have had this book for over a year on the shelf. I took it down a couple of months ago, started it… and put it down for something else. Recently when browsing audio books at my library, this audio stood out to me and I thought maybe if I listen to it… so I borrowed it.
I love audio for the ability it has to let me multi task. I can listen to a book while folding laundry, cooking, dusting, cleaning… yet this story took me so far into the Nazi German concentration camps that I was rendered useless to do anything else but listen… for fear I may miss a word, or a moment of this incredibly powerful and heart wrenching story.
Elie Weisel’s memoir recaps everything from the sounds, the smells, and the visual empowerment of the camps. Along side his father Shlomo, they work in the camps trying to stay energized and look strong as the weak are picked out one by one and taken to the gas chambers to be asphyxiated.

　　There are moments in this audio that will not ever leave me as Elie retells a story of watching an elderly man hiding a piece of bread to share with his son, and the son beats his father to the death to have all of the bread.
…….
I pause here – because that particular part of the story brought me to my knees in my kitchen. Surrounded by ingredients I was using to make dinner, I looked at the excess I had in front of me as I listened to a man being beaten to death.. for a scrap of bread.
Elie recaps how as a teenager in the camp, always seeming to have to protect his own aging father, he admits to becoming weary of the task, at one time, as his father draws ill he admits to thinking, “If only I could get rid of this dead weight … Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever.”
While Night may not seem to be for everyone, I have to disagree. This audio changed me. I have read several books regarding the Nazi Concentration Camps and each time I am slammed with the reality of what a confusing and painful world we live in. I listened to this audio astounded how people can be so cruel to one another… and yet, I think it is so important that we recognize this.
Although I picked this up at my library, I will be looking for my own audio copy of this book. I think this is something I need to listen to again, and yes I will be reading the book as well… still open to the page where I left it in the Reading Room.
Side thought: A few years back when we were in Honduras I had my first experience of the starving children living in the dump. That visual of the dirty kids, the flies, the unbelievably thin dogs, the buzzards, and of course that smell of rot – will never leave me. I could not help but sense my eyes feel with tears….
We were told at that time not to look at them with pity… they did not need our pity. They needed our compassion. This thought comes to me today as I write this review.
~Sheila
Night, I discovered is the first book in a trilogy… followed by Dawn, and then Day. Dawn, unlike Night, is a work of fiction about a girl named Elisha who is a Holocaust survivor. Day is also a fictional story of a Holocaust survivor who is hit by a taxi in New York City, while he recovers from his injuries, he reflects on his memories of the war and the loss of family and friends.
Amazon sells the three books in one.
Night, on audio, is 4 hours long. In book format it is 109 pages.

Word Shakers Needed Some Revamping

It has been a long time since we have had a read-a-long here. Mainly, 2011 has been extremely busy and I was swept along with it. But not only that…. Word Shakers needed some revamping that I just had not taken the time to really think about how I wanted to move forward.
Thanks to the occasional comments and emails inquiring about Word Shakers, I have finally put together what I envision this read-a-long to be like and now am finally (FINALLY) ready to unveil what I have in store.
First things first… why is it called Word Shakers?
Word Shakers came to my attention when I read The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I loved the book… but what caught my heart most was the story within the story called Word Shakers…
THE BEST word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest . One such word shaker was a small, skinny girl. She was renowned as the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be without words.
If you have read this book you know that the story goes on with the girl climbing the tree of words and shaking them down so all could reach them and use them. I love the analogy, and seriously… if I had read this book before I had started blogging, this blog would be called Word Shakers.
Word Shakers is open to anyone who would care to join in on the read-a-long. The more the merrier! To participate:
1. Fill out the form below so I know you are planning to read with us.
2. Read the book or listen to the audio during the time frame that is announced
3. A few days prior to the review time I will send out a list of five questions to ponder. You may cover one or more to discuss in your post.
4. Grab the word shaker widget (above) and feel free to use it on your sidebars and/or on your review posts.
5. Be sure to comment on my post here and let me know that your Word Shaker post is up as well so I may link to it.
6. If you do not have a blog but wish to participate, still fill out the form below and at the time of my posting add your thoughts here in the comments.
Ok.. now for the book….

In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys—best friends—are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy’s mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn’t believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God’s instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying.
Why this book?
For one I have never read this and have always wanted to. This book is the story behind the movie Simon Birch which I enjoyed watching. Secondly, this is a Banned Book and Banned Book week is coming up at the end of this month so I thought the timing was…. appropriate.
I invite you, and would love you, to join my on this read.
If interested – please fill out the form below. Live review date would be the first week of October, I am aiming for October first for my review as that is the final day of Banned Books Week.

What Are You Reading Today?

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling me how many you visited. **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Morning Meanderings

Good Morning!
I had a great weekend and hope you did too! We spent Friday, Saturday, and half of Sunday at our cabin up North. We (hubby and I) went out to eat, rode motorcycle around the shore, hung out at the cabin… he became hooked on the Game Show Network
and I read The Knife Of Never Letting Go (WOWZA!) On Monday we both spent time in our offices getting caught up for the week that is upon vote us.
I worked a short day on Monday and then went rollerblading with my friend Wendy. We had not chatted in a while due to busy schedules so the trail is a great place to catch up while getting a work out at the same time. At the seven mile marker Wendy suggested turning around but I thought we should set the goal of ten miles up the trail and so …. we did. Perhaps, in hind site that was not the best plan as neither of us had bladed in the last couple of months and neither of us had went that far this year. We started feeling the effects of that “choice” on the way back at about mile 15. I told her I hope she didn’t mind if I whined the last 5 miles back, she said she did not as she planned to whine too.
Well obviously I am typing this so…
we survived.
However may not have been the smartest idea with my still recovering from the sinus infection and still taking antibiotics… (lets just say there was a point there I was coughing so hard I thought I was going to lose a lung….)
In other fun news… It’s Monday! What Are You Reading made the short list for best book blog meme. Ahhhh…. that’s so fun! Make sure to take a minute or two this week to vote for the book blogs on the short list – there are many awesome categories and awesome blogs up for nomination. I just love Book Blogger Appreciation Week (coming up September 12) there is so many incredible book blogs out there, set aside some time during BBAW to visit them!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

　　
　　In honor of one of my favorite books of 2009, THE HELP, making it's big screen debut this week, I have decided to re-post my review of this terrific book. This book has so many qualities that have helped to sustain it's rightful place in the literary world. It's funny, it's sad, it's poignant and above all, it brings to the forefront an important part of our country's heritage that none of us should ever forget. It deals with racism, loyalty and friendship. If you've never read this book or listened to it on audio, which I hear is FABulous, you're cheating yourself out of a wonderful experience. I encourage you to make the time for THE HELP.
Here is my review originally posted on March 31, 2009
It's 1962 and Skeeter Phelan has returned to Longleaf, her family's cotton farm in Jackson, Mississippi after graduating college from Ole Miss. Her mother still insists on calling it a plantation, a term Skeeter would rather forget. According to her mother, coming home from college with a degree wasn't enough. She is reminded almost daily that most girls come home with fiance's, but not Skeeter. Getting married is not on the top of her list. She has a dream of becoming a journalist.
Her two best friends, Hilly and Elizabeth are both married with young children and are very involved in the community. Like Skeeter's family they have black maids who cook, clean and take care of the children, with whom they become very close. Skeeter, herself was raised by a black woman who worked for her family for 29 years. But when she came home from college she learned that she was gone and no one would tell her why. Constantine was like a mother to Skeeter and she felt ashamed that she didn't show enough appreciation for the woman who dedicated much of her life to raising her.
As she spends more time with her friends, Skeeter notices things that she wouldn't have given a second thought to before. Maybe it's because of Constantine's mysterious absence or could it be she's seeing her friends through different eyes?
When Hilly makes a big deal about Elizabeth's maid, Aiblileen, using the same bathroom the family uses, she convinces Elizabeth to talk her husband into building one in the garage for the help. Skeeter can see the humiliation on Aiblileen's face while the other two white women talk openly in front of her about their fear of catching diseases from blacks. Skeeter begins to realize how degrading this is for Aibileen and she doesn't like it.
Skeeter gets hired on at the local newspaper to do a weekly column on housecleaning, but since she's never actually done any, she gets permission from Elizabeth to ask Aibilieen for help. In writing these articles, Skeeter and Aibileen get more acquainted and eventually Skeeter confides to her that she wants to write about important things - not household cleaning tips. She wants to write a book from black women's perspectives on what it's really like to work for a white woman in Jackson. An honest, truthful account. But Skeeter can't do this alone. She'll need Aibileen's help to convince other maids to come forward, because no black woman is going to talk to a white woman about that. Not without someone they know and trust being there. If word got out they could lose their jobs or worse. Both women understand that this could be a very dangerous thing. It is, after all, the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the year Medgar Evers was shot and killed in his own front yard by the KKK right there in Jackson. Skeeter's decision to write this book will have a profound effect on her life. Lines will be drawn and choices will be made that cannot be undone.

　　THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett is without a doubt on my list of Best Books of 2009. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. Kathryn Stockett speaks the language of the south seamlessly with her truly unique and believable characters. The voices of the three women who tell this incedible story are genuine and at times raw with emotion. Her skilled storytelling has a mix of drama, humor and a true sadness at the reality of what life was like in the South before the Civil Rights Movement.
Living in the south myself, and having been cared for by a black maid when my family lived in New Orleans when I was a baby, at times I felt shame for how these women were treated by their white employers. They went to work everyday leaving their pride at home while they were made to feel less than, while raising and loving their white babies with little or no gratitude at all. That was very evident with the character of Aibileen, which was my favorite character. Aibileen tells much of the story and her voice painfully portrays the hurt and struggles of her life.
Aibileen's best friend Minny is quite a character who I adored. I loved her sense of humor and even her defiant nature, especially when trying not to show affection for people she didn't want to like. I laughed the most when Minny was talking. Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny each have their own reasons for getting involved in such a project. Many people they know will likely never understand why they would put themselves in so much danger.
As it states in the back of the book and on her website, Kathryn Stockett tells this story with experience, being raised by a black maid herself in Jackson, Mississippi. It's obvious this is a subject near to her heart. You can feel it in her writing. I can't say enough about this wonderful book and would recommend it highly to anyone looking for a deep, satisfying story of a painful time in our nation's history.