Book Review: The Time of My Life

Title: The Time of My Life
Author: Patrick Swazye and Lisa Niemi
Genre: Adult Non-fiction
Release Date: 2007
Pages: 247
My Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: Patrick Swayze, with his wife, Lisa, write his life story, depicting stories from his childhood, through the years as he grows into an adult. He started out as a dancer and football player, and ends up one of the most well-known actors in movies throughout his career. This was published in the few years years just before Patrick died from prostate cancer, at a young age.

My Thoughts: This caught my attention by the title alone. I picked this up because of that title’s tip to the movie Dirty Dancing, my all-time, favorite movie, EVER. I used to watch that movie over and over and over, every single day (sometimes more than once a day) of junior high, I’m certain! I know I have seen at least a couple other movies Patrick Swayze had played in, but I had no idea how many he’d done in his career.

He also talks about his growing up learning dance, his dream to be a ballerino in NYC, and when that dreams falls through because of damage to his knee, how he feared to be forever known as “that dancer guy” when trying to make it big in the movies. I was born in the 80s, right when Dirty Dancing was released and launched his acting career into fame, and I had no idea he was originally a dancer, or had had so many dreams in his lifetime.

Because he wrote this, knowing he would be dying soon from cancer, he discusses his feelings and tenacity in fighting to survive. His entire life story is a strong testament to a great life outlook, staying strong and staying positive, despite having low periods as well.

Book Review: The Boyfriend List

Title: The Boyfriend List
Author: E. Lockhart
Book in Series: 1 of 4
Genre: YA Contemporary
Released in: 2005
Pages: 229
My Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: Ruby Oliver is a normal teenage girl…one who just broke up with her boyfriend. And lost all her friends. And has started having panic attacks. Her mom sends her to a therapist who tells her to write a list of names of all the boys she’s had any kind of relationship with at all. So she does. Starting from kindergarten, all the way up. And then she finds out that her therapist wants to know why each name is on that list. Ruby doesn’t understand what this has to do with right now. But in doing so, she learns a lot about herself, and realizes she has more thoughts and feelings about some of these boys than she remembers.

My Thoughts: I would have LOVED this if I were younger! It’s not usual for me to say that about YA books…but there just isn’t a whole lot of substance to this book. Still entertaining enough to finish it, but I am debating, yet, if I will continue on with the series (I also own books 2 and 3). There is a LOT of high school drama, and like, the dramy-est of the drama. lol But it does show how teenagers life is so wrapped up around themselves, and school, and I can see how it’s hard for them to break out of that mentality, and how it can totally affect their wellbeing. I remember things seeming so big and important, and now looking back, they weren’t. And so I can see how things Ruby goes through, in the long run of life, won’t be so big…but at the same time, they are still things that can shape her for the future too.

Book Review: The Wicked Deep

Title: The Wicked Deep
Author: Shea Ernshaw
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Pages: 308
My Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: The town of Sparrow is cursed. 200 years ago, a trio of sisters were drowned, punished for being witches. Every year since, the sisters return and lure boys into the water and drown them in revenge. No one knows how to stop them. And only 17 year old Penny sees what others may not: how the sisters keep their clutches in the town, and how to end the curse.

My Thoughts from May 9, 2018: OMG. Soooo good!!! This story is completely captivating. It’s a slow release of information throughout the entire storyline, steadily connecting the pieces of the plot to fill in the missing holes. I love how there’s the main perspective, with shorter, usually single, perspectives of other characters dispersed throughout the book, to give us just a tad of info from the past. Instalove? Maybe so, but not distasteful ( but I’m not usually a hater of it). I think, with how the story ends out, it makes sense, really. I just loved this all around. For once, in a looong time, I have absolutely no hesitation at giving a 5 star rating!

My Thoughts now, upon rereading: STILL LOVE THIS!! I  was excited to get to this again, and I am so glad I reread it! I still want to reread it again! lol This time, knowing some of the plot points already, I can see some places in the book where they were present, or known by the characters, but not revealed to the reader yet. It was interesting, but I found I couldn’t actually recall the actual ending of the book, and so I still had a great reading experience.

Book Review: Anna K

Title: Anna K
Author: Jenny Lee
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Released in: 2020
Pages: 374
My Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis: This is, I guess, a modern retelling of Anna Karenina. Told in omniscient third-person, there is a large cast that we follow all throughout the book. Ultimately, it’s supposedly Anna’s love story. Anna (and all the other characters) are from the super rich families of NYC, and with that comes all the drama that goes with it.

My Thoughts: Because of the third person view, it took me a bit to get into this style of story telling. I ended up really liking knowing all the thoughts of most all the characters. I liked the wind-around way of linking the stories together. But be forwarned, there is a LOT of drugs, sex, and language. I usually do not like that kind of stuff, but this was pretty darn entertaining.

I’ve heard “Gossip Girl” mentioned in relation to this book, though I’ve personally never watched that to know how true that it. I kept thinking to myself, that this is not how kids act…but how should I know, maybe this is exactly how those super, uber rich kids act in NYC and places?! I mean, I can see how an abundance of money being thrown willy-nilly can foster these type of behaviors and relationships.

Book Review: HP & Prisoner of Azkaban

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling
Book in Series: 3 of 7
Genre: Middlegrade Fantasy
Released in: 1999
Pages: 463
My Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: Harry Potter continues into his third year of school at Hogwarts, the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This year he takes Divination and learns about Dark omens, and starts fearing there are signs of them following him, as well as an escaped convict named Sirious Black. There’s also time travel, magical maps, secret passageways, OWLs, and more.

My Thoughts: This is obviously a reread, but this time I read the British editions, which I’ve never read before. I’m obviously not going to say much about it, for fear of any spoilers (if you haven’t read this yet, what are you waiting for?!?) This used to top my list as favorite of the series, but I do believe that was before the last book was released. I’m looking forward to finishing reading through the rest of the series, yet again.

Graphic Novel Review: Click & Camp

Series: Click
Author: Kayla Miller
Titles: Click, Camp, Act
Genre: Middlegrade Realistic Fiction graphic novels
Released: 2019, 2019, 2020
Pages: 192, 224, ?
Ratings: 3.5 stars, 4 stars, TBR

Synopsis: This is about an 11 year old girl, named Olive. In Click, she struggles through middle school and making true friends, finding out where she fits in, and being herself. In Camp, she and a friend go to camp together, and both meet a lot of new friends, and find themselves dealing in different ways to the same situations.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed the 2 books published so far! This is another middle grade graphic novel series that is great for young girls to read. They deal with real life situations, with good resolutions. The girls in these books learn to be themselves and find where they fit in, and gives wholesome stories. I actually bought these 2 books for my younger daughters who are 9 and 10, and they loved them too! We are all looking forward to Act when it comes out, hopefully later this year!

ARC Review: Chasing Lucky

Title: Chasing Lucky
Author: Jenn Bennett
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Releases on: November 10th, 2020
Pages: 352
My Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: Josie has moved around a lot the last few years, but now she’s headed back to where she mostly grew up. Back to her grandmother’s bookshop, back to her old apartment, and back to her old friend Lucky. Only Lucky isn’t very friendly anymore…when she left, it was quick, in the middle of the night, and she didn’t get to say goodbye. She’s not sure she can do anything to mend their friendship, or even if she should befriend the now-badboy of Beauty nowadays.

My Thoughts: I really liked this! It’s a long book, but it goes by fast most of the time. It flows well throughout the story, but for some slightly slower parts in the start of the book. Lots of building for the setting and characters.

I really enjoyed the setting laid out…it really felt like a northern New-England, small coastal town. Our main character, Josie seems young and naive, but I truly feel like that’s realistic, even for her age, based on her past narative. She hadn’t had the time, or capacity, to grow. Lucky just seems too good to be true, though. I like the growing chemistry and passion between the two, that they both don’t give into straight away.

But I feel like the character growth for all the main family characters is too easily made better. Grandma comes home and bam…all kinds of issues from years past start to right themselves. However, this makes for a nice, feel-good ending to a great read, and I still really enjoyed it!

 

I received this ARC from NetGalley for free, in exchange for an honest review. I also received a print copy of the ARC from Simon Pulse, through a giveaway on Goodreads.

Book Review: Landline

Title: Landline
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Adult Romance
Released in: 2014
Pages: 310
My Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: A woman, Georgie, is married, has 2 kids, and a time consuming job writing comedy scripts for television. She works long hours, and her husband cares for the girls. Things have always been a rollercoaster of emotions…good, but hard, happy but not. Just before they are to go visit family for Christmas, Georgie’s team gets the deal of their dreams, demanding her to work every day straight up to Christmas, and her husband continues with the girls to his parents house for Christmas, leaving her behind to work. Georgie isn’t happy about being separated, anymore than he is, nor being alone at Christmas, so she spend her evenings at her parents house. Calling her husband from the phone in her old bedroom, she finds a much younger Neil on the other end, some years in the past instead of the current time.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this, I really liked the writing style. It just flowed very nicely, I think. I like the layout of the book, how the dates were put in with the chapters. I didn’t overly connect with any of the characters, but I can somewhat appreciate their decision making, on both sides, being an adult myself, understanding the things we do because we have to. I don’t think a younger audience would appreciate this novel as much, depending on their mindset going into it. At the same time, the pacing was a bit slow, but overall I enjoyed the story line. I like, a lot, how the ending played out, and understanding the role the phone plays in their relationship.

Book Review: 3 Willows, The Sisterhood Grows

Title: 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows
Author: Ann Brashares
Book in Series: 4.5 of 6
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Released in: 2009
Pages: 318
My Rating: 2.5 stars

Synopsis: This is about 3 different girls who come from the same place as the original Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. These girls are around ages 13/14 years old, at the time that the original quartet are aged for, and/or gone to, college. The original friends are well known in their area, and these girls would love nothing more than to have that same special bond. However, starting high school is a big deal, and they have started drifting apart. This summer, each one is off on her own adventure, and dealing with tough situations. In the end, they learn who their true friends are, and that lasting friendships are hard to come by.

My Thoughts: This was sweet, and all, and maybe I’m just a little bit too old for this series (even though I read and enjoyed the original 4 books only a couple years ago), but this seems just a little too simplisticly written for me, and has young characters trying to be much older than they are. All 3 girls make rash decisions, big deal things that they act super blase about, and, especially at that age, I do not think they would act so indifferently to these things. Other than that, I mildly enjoyed the story, but overall, just feel like it’s unnecessary.

Book Review: Soulstruck

Title: Soulstruck
Author: Natasha Sinel
Genre: YA Romance
Released in: 2018
Pages: 349
My Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: Rachel chased storms…but not in the normal, fascinated-to-learn-more way, but in hopes to be struck by lightning. She WANTED to be struck by lightning. Her mom had been struck years ago, and now is the head of a survivors group that takes a lot of her time. And being as Rachel has no other family, and moved a lot over the years, she had the desire to fit in with the group too. But now, she’s really trying to let that go…to move on and accept her life for what it is, and those who are important to her. Sometimes, though, she can’t resist the adrenaline, and the rush to chase the lightning.

My Thoughts: This one is a little crazy…I mean, who chases lightning and WANTS to be struck by it? No thanks! But Rachel does…and I *guess* I can see her reasoning. I feel like the author had to let reality slip just a tiny bit to have her character make the decisions she does. I didn’t find Rachel or any of the other characters overly interesting or rememberable…and Rachel makes some super bad decisions, over and over. The plot was a little slow going, and so it didn’t ever really suck me in to make it not-put-down-able…and reading it on kindle, when I put my kids to bed, is the only way I kept going, I think. Had I read this in physical form, I may have DNF at some point…or maybe the fact of reading it in such short bits is what deterred me from more enjoyment. I’m not sure…as the last few kindle books I’ve read, was in this fashion, and all have received just medicocre ratings from me. Not sure if that’s the books or how I’m reading them.

 

I received this ARC from NetGalley for free, in exchange for an honest review.