Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Audiobook Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay


Title:  The Sea of Tranquility

Author:  Katja Millay

Narrators:  Kirby Heyborne, Candace Thaxton

Unabridged Length:  13 hrs, 13 mn.

Here is a summary of the novel from the Goodreads website:
Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.


My Review:
I wasn't sure what to think of this book when I first started listening to it.  This was my first experience with Millay and at first I thought it was going to be just another young adult romance, with boy meets girl, struggling through their relationship, but end up together in the end.  Thankfully, the story went much deeper than this, allowing me to get to know these characters that were lost from the people they truly were.

Something happened to Nastya that turned her into a withdrawn and bitter individual.  One day she just quit talking and put up a brick wall, not allowing anyone into her heart.  All of this changed the day she met Josh.  I think she saw something in Josh's eyes telling her that he was just as lost and hurt as she was.  

Josh is a lonely, young man who lives alone in a home left by his grandfather.  Money isn't a problem for Josh so he doesn't have to worry about moving even though he is still in high school.  He doesn't have many friends in school, as he's been flagged as an outcast, so naturally he and Nastya are drawn to each other.

Josh and Nastya find refuge in each other, but they have many problems to overcome.  As the novel goes on we learn what exactly happened to Nastya that turned her into the exact opposite type of person she once was.  Although I appreciated Nastya's character, my heart went out to Josh as I felt I could easily relate to his problems.  The heartache and loneliness that comes with being alone in the world is hard to explain, but Millay did a wonderful job of this.

I'm sure the narrators of this audiobook helped my appreciation of the story.  Chapters alternated between Josh's and Nastya's stories, and Heyborne and Thaxton narrated, depending upon whose chapter was being read.  Both of these narrators embraced their characters, bringing them to life for me and even bringing tears to my eyes a couple of times.

I enjoyed this audiobook more than I thought I would and with themes of love, loss, and forgiveness I'm sure many of you would enjoy this book as much as I did.  I don't hesitate in recommending this book for personal leisure or even as a book club selection.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  This audiobook was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Monday, November 18, 2013

What Are You Reading?

Sheila over at Book Journey hosts this meme that gives you the opportunity to share the books that you have been losing yourself in lately and also the ones that you are looking forward to picking up next.

What I finished:
Last month my book group read In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord and it was enjoyed by every member.  I'm hoping to have my review of this gem ready for you next week.

What I'm reading on my Kindle:
 The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is our next book club selection so I decided to get started on this one right away.  So far I am enjoying this novel set in the remote wild of Alaska.

What's next:
I received a copy of The Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore from Librarything, so I think this will be next on my reading list.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Audiobook Review: The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls




Title:  The Silver Star

Author:  Jeannette Walls

Narrator:  Jeannette Walls

Unabridged Length:  7 hrs, 48 mn.


Here is a summary of The Silver Star from the publisher's website:

The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling.

It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.

An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town—a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister—inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.

Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Silver-Star/Jeannette-Walls/9781451661507#sthash.hPnCBFUD.dpuf
The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling.

It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.

An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town—a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister—inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.

Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices.


My Review: 
This is not my first experience with Walls' work, as I read both The Glass Castle and Half-Broke Horses and loved both of these non-fiction works.  I wasn't sure how her fictional story would go with me, but I had positive thoughts knowing that Walls narrated the story herself.  Any previous books I listened to narrated by the author I just loved!  Unfortunately, this wasn't the case with The Silver Star.

If you have read Walls previous books it is obvious she comes from a highly dysfunctional family.   She draws on her personal experiences once again to create Bean and Liz's story.  Although Bean is our main character, I felt the story belonged as much to Liz as she is the one who faces the crisis head on.  

Liz and Bean live with their single mother in California, never in one place too long.  It isn't uncommon for their mother to not show up at home for long periods of time, but this time the girls are worried.  Since the girls don't have jobs, they can't pay bills or buy food so they have to come up with a plan for survival.  Recalling that their mother comes from Virginia and still has family there, they decide to embark on a journey across the country to stay with their family until their mother gets her life in order.  So they leave a note for their mother, hoping she finds it when she returns, scrape enough money together to purchase two one-way tickets to Virginia.

The girls are surprised upon meeting their family in Virginia, to learn that her mother comes from a seemingly wealthy heritage. Since all that is left of the family fortune seems to be the original Holladay home, the girls decide to take jobs to help pay for their school clothes and personal expenses.  Against their Uncle Tinsley's wishes, they gain employment with long-time family nemesis, Jerry Maddox.  This decision sets a whole new set of events in motion.

I did enjoy Liz and Bean's story of perseverance.  They didn't have a family life until they took control of the situation and moved to Virginia.  This finally gave them the opportunity to be part of a family that takes care of each other.  This novel could be an instance where I may have enjoyed it more had I actually read it rather than listening to it.  I just feel that Walls could have put more emotion and passion into her narration, I mean she created the characters!  With themes of family, secrets, and perseverance, you may enjoy this story more than I did.  Although I didn't love listening to the book I feel that it would make an interesting book club selection.

My Rating: 3/5

Disclosure:  This audiobook was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling.

It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.

An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town—a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister—inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.

Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Silver-Star/Jeannette-Walls/9781451661507#sthash.hPnCBFUD.dpuf
The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling.

It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.

An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town—a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister—inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.

Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Silver-Star/Jeannette-Walls/9781451661507#sthash.hPnCBFUD.dpuf
The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling.

It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.

An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town—a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister—inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.

Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Silver-Star/Jeannette-Walls/9781451661507#sthash.hPnCBFUD.dpu

Monday, November 4, 2013

What Are You Reading?

Sheila over at Book Journey hosts this meme that gives you the opportunity to share the books that you have been losing yourself in lately and also the ones that you are looking forward to picking up next.

Here is what I finished listening to:
I listened to The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay and ended up enjoying it much more than I thought I would.  But you will have to wait for a couple of weeks for my review.

I'm reading now:
Our current book club selection is In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord.  This is a very eye-opening memoir and I'm sure we will have a fabulous discussion on Wednesday night about this one.

What's next:
Our next book club selection is The Snow Child by Eowyn Evey so I think I will get started on that right away.  I remember seeing all the reviews out there when this book came out so I am looking forward to it.  Did any of you read this one? 

Have a great week of reading everyone!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Audiobook Review: A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White

Title:  A Place at the Table

Author:  Susan Rebecca White

Narrators:  Robin Miles, George Newbern, Katherine Powell

Unabridged Length:  9 hrs, 1 mn.

Here is a summary of the book from the Goodreads website:

A Place at the Table tells the story of three richly nuanced characters whose paths converge in a chic Manhattan café: Bobby, a gay Southern boy who has been ostracized by his family; Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman whose life is upended when a family secret finally comes to light; and Alice, an African-American chef whose heritage is the basis of a famous cookbook but whose past is a mystery to those who know her.

As it sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to the Manhattan of the deadly AIDs epidemic of the 1980s to today’s wealthy suburbs, A Place at the Table celebrates the healing power of food and the magic of New York as three seekers come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole.


My Review:
I found this to be a very enjoyable novel narrated by different people, depending upon whose perspective is being told.   The summary above indicates we are given the stories from three different characters, and although this is true, it seemed like the story belonged more to Bobby than any of the others.

I loved Bobby's character and the narrator only helped my appreciation of his presence in the novel.  We follow Bobby from the time he is a young boy until he is a famous chef in New York City.  At a young age Bobby is confused about who he is.  He feels out of place quite often because he just doesn't find enjoyment from the things other boys do.  As he grows older he learns the reason for his differences and embraces it, while his mother finds she can no longer look him in  the eye.  When Bobby moves to New York he feels at home as his way of life is accepted more readily and he finds himself excelling in his dreams and endeavors.  

Amelia enters the story as she says good-bye to her marriage.  In an attempt to find the woman she used to be she spends some time with her aunt in New York City.  During this time she uncovers secrets about her family that she never would have guessed.  The long-kept secret brings her in the path of Alice, a woman who found success as a chef years ago and also published a cookbook.   

Alice doesn't work in the restaurant business any longer, but she takes Bobby under her wing, as they test recipes and work on another cookbook together.  Although our main characters lead different lives, they are intertwined and by the end of the novel they offer a friendship to each other that is needed to help them through to the next phase of their lives.

I enjoyed listening to this book and although Bobby's narrator was my favorite, they all did a great job.  With themes of secrets, honesty, and friendship, you may enjoy this book as much as I did.  I don't hesitate in recommending this novel for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.

My Rating:  4/5


Disclosure:  This audiobook was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In this magnificent, sweeping novel from “first rate talent” (New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson) Susan Rebecca White, three unforgettable characters bond over their passion for food, hunger for love, and one explosive family secret.

Celebrating the healing power of food and the magic of New York City, A Place at the Table tells the story of three richly nuanced people—Alice Stone, Bobby Banks, and Amelia Brighton—whose paths converge in a chic Manhattan café. What follows their meeting is just as revealing as everything leading up to that moment, as each seeker takes a different, winding path to embracing life and becoming whole.

In the prologue set in North Carolina in 1929, we meet Alice, a young African-American girl who will go on to become a chef. Her heritage is the basis for a renowned cookbook, yet her past is a mystery to everyone who knows her. Born two generations after Alice, Bobby is a young gay man from Georgia who has been ostracized by his family. Realizing he's no longer safe in his own home, he escapes to New York City, where he finds a job as a cook. Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman, finds her life upended when a family secret comes to light, and flees to her aunt’s Manhattan apartment to recuperate. While these characters—all exiles from different walks of life—find companionship and careers through cooking, they hunger for the deeper nourishment of communion. The narrative sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to Manhattan during the deadly AIDS epidemic of the 1980s to the well-heeled hamlet of contemporary Old Greenwich, Connecticut, as Alice, Bobby, and Amelia are asked to sacrifice everything they ever knew or cared about to find authenticity, fulfillment, and love.

Susan Rebecca White’s first two novels were widely praised for her “wit and graceful prose” (Publishers Weekly), her “deeply sympathetic characters” (Mountain Express), and her sharp insights into their inner lives. A Place at the Table reveals a remarkable talent brimming with wisdom, joy, and heart. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Place-at-the-Table/Susan-Rebecca-White/9781451608892#sthash.pDU1Z5yQ.dpuf