Alice's Review: Speak Softly, She Can Hear

Summary: Blurbed by Wally Lamb as "a sexy and suspenseful psychological thriller," Lewis's debut opens with shy, overweight New York City schoolgirl Carole Mason heading to a Vermont cabin, where she intends to lose her virginity to handsome but venal Eddie Lindbaeck. Soon after she does, Eddie's friend Rita shows up for a threesome. When a bout of rough sex leaves Rita dead, Eddie convinces the drunken Carole that she broke Rita's neck. Carole's best friend, Naomi, arrives at the cabin, and the three of them dump Rita's body in a snowdrift, swearing to never reveal what has happened. The reader knows (if Carole doesn't) that Eddie and Naomi will use this secret to make her life a living hell. Eddie demands that Carole give him stolen presents, extorts money from her and seduces her mother. Carole responds by leaving college and starting a new life as a waitress in Manhattan. Eddie finds her, and she runs again, and again, winding up in Vermont not far from where they buried Rita years before. Eddie and Naomi turn up and cause more trouble until a final confrontation settles the matter once and for all. There aren't many surprises, but this is well-written and gripping enough that readers will stay up late to see whether beleaguered, tortured Carole can free herself from the despicable Eddie. ~amazon.com

Review: Speak Softly, She Can Hear is one of those novels that is an unexpected surprise.  I have a fondness for novels about girlfriends and sisters.  When I purchased this novel last year, I was intrigued by the tale of two friends, a pact to lose their virginity and a handsome and fatally charming stranger.  What I received was a story of one woman's resiliency. 

Carole was the average girl.  She felt she wasn't anything special, plain, slightly overweight, normal when she would rather be anything but.  Actually, that's not entirely true.  One of Carole's characteristics I really like was her confidence in herself yet that confidence didn't communicate with her classmates.  Sadly, I think she was the odd girl in class.  Nothing really wrong with her, yet the perfect target for bullies and snobby girls.  I think her desire to be perfect was her biggest downfall.  With each page, I felt more compassion for Carole.  She was thrown into a situation by the one person she felt was her friend yet Naomi was just a troubled young girl. 

I was extremely impressed with Ms. Lewis.  This story was a relatively simple.  One girl, one villain, one secret. It was intriguing, a page turner.  I turned every single page because I needed to know how Carole would escape under the weight of guilt she felt over Rita's death and under Eddie's thumb.  She was a survivor, a fighter. A runner but she did what she had to for self preservation.

What drives me crazy about novels like this is that if only Carole has told the truth, none of this would happen.  Then again, there wouldn't be a novel if she had.  What I'm getting at is people are so afraid of the truth.  In reality it is the lies and deception that harm us.

This novel is a must read.  As a debut for Ms. Lewis, it is stellar.  I'm looking forward to what else she brings us.

Final Take: 4/5

Jenn's Movie Review: The Muppets

I know.  This isn't remotely book related but the four of us at Girls Just Reading adore the Muppets, me perhaps a little more so than the others.  We love the Muppets in our house; our wedding song was The Rainbow Connection and our cake topper was Kermit and Piggy.  Needless to say, when they announced Jason Segel was doing an all new Muppet movie (not just another remake of a classic tale), I was pretty excited.  When the article came out where some of the original puppeteers expressed their concerns over the content of the film, I was apprehensive, but I held out hope.

There was no need.  It was fantastic.  The opening number, though some young teen on the way out of the theatre credited it to How I Met Your Mother, was a straight up homage of the opening musical number of The Great Muppet Caper.  There are  also  multiple occurrences of "breaking the fourth wall", awesome guest cameos, road trips (with Sweetums trailing the car), wholesome cheesiness, and plenty of other references to the original Muppet films.

I read someone's review (and I apologize for not giving credit, but I've read so many reviews since the film came out, I just can't remember which one) that said kids seem to connect more with the character of Walter than with the original Muppets.  This is not quite the case in our house -we raised our daughter on The Muppet Show DVDs (please, oh, please, oh, please release more seasons!) and the original Muppet movies- but, I can see how Walter's quest to fit in would be the most accessible to most kids.  As a matter of fact, that's yet another classic Muppetism, a story that appeals to all ages on many levels.

Was the humor updated?  Sure. One just has to see that Jack Black is in it to know there is going to be a different kind of humor.  I understand some of the things the old guard might have found fault with ...there were a couple of scenes that wouldn't have happened forty years ago, but let's remember that the Muppets were on the cutting edge for their time.  (For example, the original 'Manah Manah' song was from an Italian soft porn film... and let's not forget the Muppets were on the first season of Saturday Night Live.)  Plus Jason Segel's generation, my generation, is as much a generation of Looney Tunes as we are Muppets, so some of the humor is mixed.  Besides, the world is a different  place than it was four decades ago.  While the Muppets retain their whimsy, some of the innocence has fallen away with maturity, and quite frankly, it felt very right.

Some of the things stated in the article that the older franchise members were uncomfortable with in the script are taken completely out of context.  For example, there is an objection to Fozzie strapping whoopee cushions to his feet (the comment was, 'we wouldn't have gone there') which is true, however in the next few lines, Kermit tells Fozzie that.  I also read a nifty article on how the Muppets have been misused and miss-branded since Jim Henson's death, and I think this, along with a few other scenes, is a nod to that.  An objection was also raised about Kermit living in a mansion... but he just might if Piggy built it and then took off, which is exactly what happens.  And I don't think the Muppets are jealous of Kermit's success, as is suggested in the article, I think they just grew up and drifted apart.  Yes, there was a scene here and there I could have done without, but on the whole, it was pretty wonderful.

The music is also marvelous, original, covered, spoofed, borrowed, and otherwise.  I came home and immediately bought and downloaded the soundtrack and the entire family has been humming it for a week.  (My almost four year old daughter even decided we had to 'play' Muppet varitey show this weekend.)  Amy Adams is magnificent as was Jason Segel (though, I won't pretend that I didn't have a good chuckle over all the dance numbers being choreographed around him as a non-dancer.) I won't spoil this for anyone, but I just have to say -barbershop quartet  -a whole new level of awesome.

I laughed, I cried, it was everything a Muppet movie is supposed to be -everything they used to be.   I loved it.  It was an excellent tribute to the past and (I hope) a wonderful new beginning for a fabulous franchise.

Children's Corner: Ten Little Ladybugs

Review: This book has been in our house since our 6 year old was little. It has helped her learn to count and then count in reverse and now it's doing the same for our almost 4 year old. We pretty much read this every night as one of his two books.

Initially, I read it to him and he just looked at the fun pictures. Pretty soon we were teaching him the names of the animals featured on each page. I remember being excited when he identified and said "turtle" for the first time. Now we are at the point where he likes to count the number of ladybugs on each page.

This is definitely a children's book that can grow with your child. At each stage of learning, this book is helpful and fun. My 6 year old now likes to read it to her brother, which is all kinds of cute. I also think this book makes a great gift for a baby shower or a child's first birthday.

Julie's Review: The Tiger's Wife

Summary: In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her—the legend of the tiger’s wife. ~amazon.com

Review: I know I am in the minority here but The Tiger's Wife was disappointing to me. It's not to say that I don't think that Tea Obreht has a definite gift for storytelling, she does but in the end the story fell flat. While I found the stories of The Tiger's Wife and the Deathless Mann fascinating, I wasn't sure in the end how they really shaped Natalia's Grandfather. I can surmise how they affected him and maybe that's all we as a reader are supposed to do.

The prose in the novel is gorgeous and Ms. Obreht definitely has a way with words. I would love to hear her read the book out loud and see these stories come to life from their wordsmith. I would actually like to read a novel that tells the story of The Tiger's Wife from her point of view or one about the Deathless Man's journeys.

I also didn't connect with Natalia. It wasn't that I didn't like her or didn't think she was doing good work but she felt distant to me. It felt like she was holding the reader at arms length. I don't always have to like the character but I have to wonder and care about what will happen to them.

My favorite part of the book was when Natalia and her grandfather are walking through the town and they see an elephant walking to the citadel. I could vividly see the image in my head and how awe-inspiring it must have been. I also love what her grandfather told her:

Eventually my grandfather said: "You must understand, this is one of those moments." "What moments?" "One of those moments that you keep to yourself," he said. "What do you mean?" I said. "Why?".... "But something like this - this is yours. It belongs only to you. And me. Only to us" - page 56

I just loved that. I thought it was beautifully said and very true. In this day and age of social media we feel the need to share everything and really some things are not made to be shared but enjoyed as our own experience.

Since The Tiger's Wife was much lauded and was a National Book Finalist, I expected more from it. Although, I have pretty much noticed in my reading life that most books that get awards are the ones that I don't really enjoy.  If you are a big fan of The Jungle Book, then you will definitely find The Tiger's Wife an interesting read.

Final Take: 3/5

Alice's Review: China Lake

Summary:  Santa Barbara attorney Evan Delaney is gutsy and tough, but she has a tender side, too. She dotes on her nephew, Luke, who’s staying with her while his fighter-pilot father, Brian, is deployed overseas. (Brian, who’s stationed at the Mojave Desert naval weapons-testing center, China Lake, has been divorced from Luke’s mother, Tabitha, for years.) Evan’s peaceful cohabitation with Luke is thrown into chaos when Tabitha returns to town under the spell of the Remnant, a fundamentalist sect arming itself for the apocalypse with artillery and biological weapons. Tabitha wants Luke back—no questions asked. Brian comes home, and when the sect’s eerie leader is found dead in Brian’s backyard, the career military man is thrown in jail with little hope of release. Evan and her boyfriend, Jesse, come to Brian’s defense, prompting a flood of memories for Evan, who grew up in China Lake. ~amazon.com

Review:  The thing about the List Swap Challenge is that I get to read great novels chosen for me by Julie.  China Lake is a great one too.  From the very first page, Ms. Gardiner threw me right into the story.

I enjoyed the characters.  I liked Evan a lot.  She was the kind of person I would like to be friends with.  Down to earth, witty, a bit of a smart ass but a heart of gold.  She was stubborn and willful.  Thankfully that tenacity paid off.  She was the ultimate hero.  Jesse, Evan's boyfriend, was a bit annoying at times.  I'm not a fan of characters who are omnipotent, overly opinionated and sanctimonious.  At times Jesse was the poster boy.  Brian, Evan's brother, was a bit like Jesse.  He carried himself in a way that showed he was in-charge and the authority on all. Truthfully, I thought he was a jerk.  The string of villains Ms. Gardiner brought to the table were fantastic.  All equally creepy and delusional.  I particularly liked Glory who with time I thought could have been a great ally to Evan. And with Evan's guidance, a strong resourceful woman.   And then there is Luke.  I liked Luke a lot.  He was well spoken, smart, an old soul.  I hated seeing all the trauma he had to go through.  Thankfully Aunt Evan was there to protect him. 

What frightens me about this novel is how real it can be.  How there are Christian zealous groups out there who can wreck havoc on the world in the name of Jesus.  I think Ms. Gardiner wrote this novel in such a way that I experienced that terror myself.  While I was reading this novel, I actually went on the Internet, searching for these kinds of groups to see how safe we are as a nation from them. 
This novel was chocked full of surprises.  With every page there was a new surprise.  Every corner led to more mystery, more thrills.  I had no idea where she was going or how we would get there.  It was a suspenseful  journey, one that left me breathless in the end.  One that had me wanting more adventures with Evan. 

Final Take: 4/5

Girls Just Reading (GJR) Challenge 2012

While Alice and I were discussing possible books for our 2012 List Challenge (post later this month), we decided there were too many books we wanted to read and we needed our own challenge. We threw the idea out to Jenn and voila...GJR Challenge was born. We each came up with a list of books to run by each other and then we agreed on 3 off of each our lists; so a total of 9 books for the year.

We plan on reading the book in one month and then doing a group review the following month. Giving us all a chance to read it at our own pace but with a set "deadline".

Feel free to join along with us if any of these books intrigue you.


The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides - TBR January, Reviewed in February
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern  - TBR in February, Reviewed in March
Joy For Beginners by Erica Baumeister - TBR in March, Reviewed in April
The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott - TBR in April, Reviewed in May
The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate - TBR in May, Reviewed in June
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - TBR in June, Reviewed in July
The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths - TBR in July, Reviewed in August
Graveminder by Melissa Marr - TBR in August, Reviewed in September
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay - TBR in September, Reviewed in October


Can you guess who picked which books? :)
Thoughts? I think it is a nice variety of genres.