Julie's Review: The Variations

Summary: A powerful debut novel about a priest who has lost his church, his mentor, and, most upsetting, his ability to pray. How can Father Dominic protect or guide his parish when everything he loves falls away? How can he counsel Dolores, a troubled teenager prone to emotional panic and spiritual monomania? Or James, a promising African American pianist, struggling to realize his artistic ambitions by bringing his own voice to a piece that has been played by the world's most brilliant pianists, Bach's Goldberg Variations. Into this malaise comes Andrea, a sophisticated New York editor attracted at first by Dom's blog and then by the man himself. Dom's journey from the cloth into the secular world will offer carnal knowledge, but also something deeper, a more resistant knowledge as life fails to offer happiness or redemption. In prose both searching and muscular, John Donatich's The Variations has located the right metaphor for our spiritual crisis in this story of one man's spiritual disillusion and ache for self-knowledge. ~amazon.com

Review: I will say that The Variations won't be for everyone. I'm not even sure if I hadn't received a copy if I would have picked it up on my own. Having said that, I did enjoy it because it was out of my realm. A book about a Priest's crisis of faith didn't really appeal to me off the cuff.

It wasn't so much about the characters for me in this novel as it was their journey. All of them were on a quest for self-discovery whether it be to figure out where you belonged, what you were meant to do or who you were meant to be all of the characters were discovery that. They are all struggling in various ways in the lives they are currently leading. Will they change? Will they change the course of their path in life?

I think that Father Dom was disenchanted with the Catholic church and it's red tape, which led him to his crisis of being unable to pray, which then led to his crisis of faith. All of these things change the course of his life.

James struggled with what it meant to become a classic pianist and to do so being a young black man. Could the two exist? Could he be a black musician or a musician who happened to be black? How could he distinguish the two and get others to note the differences as well? Did he have it in him to be a great pianist?

Dolores' struggle was to figure out where she fit in. Frankly, I struggled with her whole story. I know she was there as a catalyst for the change in Father Dom but other than that I didn't connect with her story. I pretty much dismissed her as a lot of people in the community did. Does that make me right? No, but it's how her story made me feel.

Mr. Donatich has a gift for prose. His writing is eloquent and quiet. There were times during the novel where I was shocked by some of the language. Not because it wasn't true to the character but more because of how it came out of nowhere. Here are some examples:

Never had he realized with such profundity that the Church cared less about the saving of a particular soul than the survival of its bureaucracy on a grand scale. - page 58

What made Dom queasy was the arrogance of the Church's position on personal matters: birth control, premarital sex, gay rights, abortion. Why was the Church so disgusted by intimate matters? Why did it recoil at the very idea of biological self-determination? Was it really the domain of these sexless, old men to watch over the laws of propagation. - page 127

If you are in the mood for something a little different, then I would recommend The Variations.

Final Take: 3.75/5

Thanks to Henry Holt for sending me a copy of this novel.

Jenn's Review: The Black Echo

Summary:  For LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch — hero, maverick, nighthawk — the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland dam is more than another anonymous statistic.  This one is personal.

The dead man, Billy Meadows, was a fellow Vietnam “tunnel rat” who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell.  Now, Bosch is about to relive the horrors of Nam.  From a dangerous maze of blind alleys to a daring criminal heist beneath the city to the tortuous link that must be uncovered, his survival instincts will once again be tested to their limit.

Joining with an enigmatic female FBI agent, pitted against enemies within his own department, Bosch must make the agonizing choice between justice and vengeance, as he tracks down a killer whose true face will shock him.

Review:  Up until now, my only contact with Michael Connelly's work has been through Julie's reviews and his guest appearances on ABC's Castle. I've been meaning to get around to trying his novels for years, so between a low e-book price and the 2012 Criminal Plots Challenge, this was the perfect opportunity. 

The Black Echo is the first novel in the Harry Bosch series and was written in 1992. I only point this out because you can't get through this novel without marveling at how much has changed in the last twenty years.  One rarely reflect on how much evolving technology has affected the way things are done. With, detectives and agents alike checking their pagers and constantly using pay phones to check in, it's amazing anything was accomplished!  Also, the plot revolved around Vietnam vets which was a constant reminder that Detective Bosch is my father's age, which gave things a skewed perspective for me.  So many fictional detectives are timeless, that it was a unusual to have the reality anchor thrown in. 

Connelly has a clinical style of writing, but it isn't off putting.  Nor is it heavy or full of a jargon.  I found it easily accessible and more than compelling.  As for the characters, I don't know if I ever truly connected with any of them.  Harry Bosch is not an easy character to like, I was certainly routing for him, but he is so rough around the edges that I kept waiting for a glance of a soft inner center... perhaps Bosch just doesn't have one.  I love that he doesn't stick to the book or the party line, and I understand why that could be an issue, but with his results I don't understand why it's as much of an issue as it is... maybe it's generational.  The murder-bank heist plot was good and twisty.  I guessed part of the solution, but not all of it and Connelly definitely threw in enough curve balls to have me second guessing myself and formulating wild theories.   

I would like to continue reading the Harry Bosch novels, though the sheer volume of the series is a little daunting.  It will be interesting to see the character develop and change with the times.  I hope I will be able to shift the The Black Ice closer to the top of my TBR pile. 

Final Take:  3.75/5

Author Interview: Sarah Pekkanen

We are so excited to have Sarah Pekkanen featured today, along with her newest book These Girls that released today. Over the last few months I've read all of her books and have found them simply wonderful.

GJR:  These Girls is your third novel and while it didn’t reduce me to sobs like Skipping a Beat, I found that I identified with each of the girls at different points. Who inspired Cate, Renee and Abby? Which character is the closest to who you were in your late 20s?

Sarah Pekkanen (SP): Thank you! My characters aren’t based on anyone I know, but there are bits and pieces of me in each of my characters. I drew on my love for my kids in describing Abby’s scenes as a nanny, and my work ethic corresponds to Cate’s. And Renee struggles with the self-image issues so many women share, but she also likes to connect with friends and laugh (as do I!). My editor asked which was my favorite, and I told her it was whichever character I was writing about at the time. I was probably the most like Cate in my late 20s, since I was working as a journalist, but sadly, I lack her rigorous devotion to exercise.

GJR: Abby’s story is perhaps the most heartbreaking of the three. How many boxes of tissue did you go through writing the scene with her parents? What drove you to move her story in this direction?

SP: For me, Abby was the most extreme example of one of the important themes in the book – that sometimes friends become the family we never had, but desperately need. I literally felt sick to my stomach while writing that scene with her parents, and I dreaded writing it, which has never happened to me before. It surprised me, how deeply upset I became while creating that scene.

GJR: Is there a specific reason that you decided to not reveal Cate’s past to anyone other than your readers?

SP: Cate’s secret was a big deal to her, but I don’t think her friends would have felt it was so shocking. So it was more pivotal for Cate to accept it, than to publicly reveal it.

GJR: How hard was writing that specific ending for Cate? Did you think about doing a “Choose Your Own Adventure” type ending?

SP: I knew Cate’s story had to end that way – it was a strong sense I developed mid-way through the book. When my editor first read the manuscript, she had some concerns about the ending, and we had several conversations about that scene before I finally added a tiny bit of ambiguity and hope for the future. For me, it strengthened the entire book and is a great example of how the author/editor relationship should work – it’s a true collaboration.

GJR: In each of your novels you focus on essential relationships in our lives: sisters, husband & wife, friends. Do the relationships guide the story or does the story guide which relationships you write about?

SP: The relationships guide the story – I’ve been circling around the important relationships in a woman’s life, as you mentioned, and exploring them in turn with each new book. So I start with that – which relationship should I focus on next? – and then develop the plot. 

GJR: Are you currently working on a 4^th novel? If yes, what writing stage are you in?

SP: I can hardly believe it, but I just finished my fourth novel! My deadlines for turning in my manuscripts are April 1, which makes the spring a very busy time, since I have a new book coming out then, too. My new manuscript is now in the hands of my editor, and I’m anxiously awaiting her feedback! And of course, since I’m anxiously awaiting reaction to THESE GIRLS, I’m a wreck. Chocolate helps to soothe my nerves, luckily. I may need to move into the Hershey factory.

GJR: You have a young family, how do you find time to write and maintain focus with kids running around? Do you write when they are in bed?

SP: I’m usually too exhausted to write at night, since my youngest is 3 and he wakes up very early, but I grab snatches of time whenever I can and I do write in unorthodox places, like the waiting room of the orthodontist’s office. Now that I have a book-a-year contract, I’ve hired a babysitter to help with my little guy, but my kids go to three different schools, which means a lot of schlepping and different holidays and complicated schedules. Basically, I’ve given up on showering. I wear a lot of baseball hats.

GJR: Do you feel that being a journalist prepared you for being a novelist? If so, how?

SP: Yes, it helped tremendously! The main thing I learned is that I can’t make writing too precious. When you’re assigned a story to fill a hole on page A-23, you’ve got to write it, fast. So I don’t usually get blocked or have trouble putting the words on the page. I also learned to write in noisy newsrooms, with constant interruptions (like the political reporter shouting across the room, “What’s another word for ‘corrupt’?”) which is a good thing, since I now have three boys who don’t exactly tiptoe around the house!  

But I think at first, being trained in non-fiction held me back a bit, because I tended to question myself and limit my plot twists – I’d always think, “Could that really happen?” I had to let my imagination loose and free myself from the restraints of reporting just the facts.

GJR: How do you feel social media has helped publishing and/or reading in general? What about for yourself?

SP: Personally I adore it. I love going on Facebook and twitter and chatting with readers and bloggers and other authors. Since my job is very isolating, it’s a great way to stay connected to people, too. And in think in terms of the broader issue of publishing, social media has been a huge blessing. As we see newspapers and magazines fold and we lose those opportunities for traditional coverage and reviews, it’s amazing to be able to still get out the word about new books on social media. And bloggers have stepped in and become a force in promoting books and alerting readers to new authors, which is incredible.

GJR: You’re having an author get-together aka: a dinner party.  Who’s on the guest   list, which recipe would you grab, and why?

SP: Oh, I’d have to invite Eleanor Brown, because she’s so funny and charming and I adore her, and then I’d throw in J.K. Rowling because I’m curious to see how her mind works, and the reclusive Anne Tyler, who has always been one of my favorite writers. And I wouldn’t cook – are you kidding? I’d order out for Thai food so I could spend the entire time sharing conversation with these amazing women!

Thanks to Sarah for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions.

You see Julie's review of These Girls here.

Julie's Review: These Girls

Summary: Family secrets may shape us all, but it’s the rich, complicated layers of friendship that can save us.  Cate, Renee, and Abby have come to New York for very different reasons, and in a bustling city of millions, they are linked together through circumstance and chance. Cate has just been named the features editor of Gloss, a high-end lifestyle magazine. It’s a professional coup, but her new job comes with more complications than Cate ever anticipated. Her roommate Renee will do anything to nab the plum job of beauty editor at Gloss. But snide comments about Renee’s weight send her into an emotional tailspin. Soon she is taking black market diet pills—despite the racing heartbeat and trembling hands that signal she’s heading for real danger. Then there’s Abby, whom they take in as a third roommate. Once a joyful graduate student working as a nanny part time, she abruptly fled a seemingly happy life in the D.C. suburbs. No one knows what shattered Abby—or why she left everything she once loved behind. Pekkanen’s most compelling, true-to-life novel yet tells the story of three very different women as they navigate the complications of careers and love—and find the lifeline they need in each other. ~amazon.com

Review: I am so happy to have discovered Sarah Pekkanen and her wonderful books. I can't imagine what I would have been missing out on if I hadn't!! Ms. Pekkanen writes from the heart. Her characters are the people you know, the people you love and perhaps even yourself. These Girls captures the struggles to be successful in a success-driven world and how friendships don't just happen, but how they have to be cultivated.

There is something about all three of them that draws you into their stories. Each of them is hiding something, each of them is trying to heal from family situations and each of them is trying to figure out where they want to go in their lives. All three of them are so genuine and so well written that at times you feel that they are sitting right next to you tell you their tales.

Cate is frozen with fear about what will happen if people find out the ugly truth about her past. Will it hurt her present and future? Renee struggles with her weight, especially now that she's going to be going for the beauty editor job at Gloss. Can she get the job if she's not a size 4? Abby ran away from a situation that has left her immobile with sadness. Can she pick herself up and recover from it?

Typically in books like these, I tend to identify with or like one of the main characters more than the others. Not in this case. I loved them all equally. Each of their stories moved me in different ways.

For Cate, I wondered how she would handle her growing attraction to Trey since she knows Renee pines after him. I also wondered when she would quit doubting herself and her talent.

For Renee, I get her weight struggles. I've been there done that (OK, still do it). I've done the diet drugs but never took it as far as she does. In a world where women are touted for their looks instead of their soul, this is something that 99.9% of women can relate too.

For Abby, who desperately wants to be loved, falls for a man who is off limits because he shows her some attention and affection. Most of us women have fallen for the wrong man at some point in our lives and have had our heart broken because of it.

You see them struggle and you see them triumph. You know the end of the book isn't the end of their stories. Would I love for Ms. Pekkanen to write a sequel? Of course. Will I be extremely disappointed if she doesn't? Nope. I'm happy with how she told the stories.
If you are looking for a book that celebrates female friendships, then look no further than These Girls. You won't be disappointed.

Final Take: 5/5

Julie's Review: My Fair Lazy

Summary: Readers have followed Jen Lancaster through job loss, sucky city living, weight loss attempts, and 1980s nostalgia. Now Jen chronicles her efforts to achieve cultural enlightenment, with some hilarious missteps and genuine moments of inspiration along the way. And she does so by any means necessary: reading canonical literature, viewing classic films, attending the opera, researching artisan cheeses, and even enrolling in etiquette classes to improve her social graces. In Jen's corner is a crack team of experts, including Page Six socialites, gourmet chefs, an opera aficionado, and a master sommelier. She may discover that well-regarded, high-priced stinky cheese tastes exactly as bad as it smells, and that her love for Kraft American Singles is forever. But one thing's for certain: Eliza Doolittle's got nothing on Jen Lancaster-and failure is an option. ~amazon.com  

Review: A few years ago Alice introduced me to Jen Lancaster with her first memoir, Bitter is the New Black. Now, I didn't really like the book overall but I did find Jen to be honest, funny, bitter and a little self-involved.  It wasn't until a couple years ago when my sister and I went to see Jennifer Weiner and her at an event where she hooked me. She is so damn funny in person. I found her humor to be sarcastic, biting and refreshing. She pokes fun at herself easily and is a running commentary on the stupidity of people. I admit that was back in 2010, so it's been 2 years and almost 2 books later but I will catch up eventually.

My Fair Lazy is a recounting of Jen trying to become savvy again in a world where conversations don't revolve around reality tv. If it's a reality show, Jen watched it. What she began to realize was that not everyone thought that reality tv was relevant or really cultural. So Jen wanted to do a "Jenassiance". She wanted to quit being a dumb-ass and start learning about different things. As I read the book, I laughed out loud and I shook my head a lot. With the help of her friends she started taking in plays, reading classics novels, learning about wines and learning how to socialize without saying everything that comes into her head. Not only in Jen humorous but I learned something along the way as well. I learned that since reading Bitter is the New Black, Jen has matured. I guess going through ups and downs in life will make you reassess things. She begins to realize there are things in life that don't have you parked in front of the tv and that get you out of the house. Not only that but it brings her and Fletch a bit closer as they start to experience some of Jen's pursuits together.

I don't know if Jen will ever give up her reality tv addiction but the fact that she was able and willing to go out of her comfort zone is something that I think all of us adults could do a little more. I'm not addicted to reality tv like Jen is but I do like my scripted tv. I have scaled back since having kids but my DVR is almost always in use on a weekday night. I would love to take a wine class because I love a great bottle (ok, even a decent bottle) but I'd love to learn more or learn why I love the wines that I do.

What I also love about her books is that I know what she's talking about when she refers to places in Chicago. I love that familiarity when reading a book. 

I need to catch up on Bright Lights, Big Ass?; Such a Pretty Fat; Pretty in Plaid. Plus she's got a new book coming out called Jeneration X. I loved that title. If you are looking for a humorous book for a spring or summer weekend read than I can pretty much tell you to pick up on of Jen Lancaster's memoirs. If you are looking to keep up with her on a regular basis, then you need to check out her blog: Jennsylvania.  

Final Take: 4/5


 

Children's Corner: Fancy Nancy

 I have passed the Fancy Nancy books at the library a couple of times, picked them up, and put them back down again ~some of then are a little long for bedtime reads~ and, I must admit, from the outside the hype surrounding the Fancy Nancy franchise seems to be a little... cult-ish?  However, a few weeks ago, I came across the first book in the series on a sale table and couldn't pass it up.  And I'm really glad I didn't.

The single book has started us collecting -not obsessing!  This is a fantastic series, especially for girly-girls like my daughter. They are a little more involved than something like the Pinkalicious series, but in a good way, more along the lines of The Very Fairy Princess series, which I adore.  Nancy and her friend Bree love being dressy and elaborate, but they also love big words, which is fantastic! I love that it isn't all pink and princessy; the girls enjoy 'fancy' blues and greens too as well as a variety of activities.  Nancy and Bree also have to deal with complicated emotions and real problems too, for example what do you do when your best friend gets the big part, and you don't in Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet.  These are the kind of books you can take as much or as little as you want from, either opening a discussion, or just enjoying the story.  You can be obsessive about it or just appreciative. 

The really fabulous thing about the franchise is the way HarperCollins and/or Jane O'Connor have created Fancy Nancy mulit-media. There are at least three or four Fancy Nancy apps  that are interactive enhanced books, as well as a dress-up game app.  These are the kinds of things that get kids interested in reading.   There's even a Nintendo game (again, bordering on a little too much for me) as well as the usual puzzles, "paper" dolls, coloring books, and sticker sets.  (Although I will say the website has a little too much Flash content to be considered user friendly, really I just want an obvious link to the books!)

Aside from the picture books there are First Reader stories, like many other popular kids books, but also just out is the first chapter book, Nancy Clancy.  I love the idea of a series that grows with the reader. It's marvelous to be able to grow up with your favorite characters. 

This is a series that will be with us for years to come. I'm so glad I picked these up (finally).