book butterfly reviews -- february

Hello there, March, how are you?

It's the 6th (I think?  7th?) and I just realized I never posted my reviews for February, and that's a shame because this time around, I finally had several!  Yay for reading!  Yay for my bathtub and all the yummy bubble baths I got for Christmas!  Yay for getting to take my bath within that small window in which there is still warm water after the boys' showers and before we turn on the washer and dishwasher!  Yay, yay, yay!  (Also, yay for audio books and books on my iphone!)

I'm reviewing six books, but you'll see below, it's really only four:

"Harry Potter: the Prequel (Harry Potter 0.5)"  by J.K. Rowling

I don't know who was in charge of this one on Goodreads, but it was on there, so I included it here.You can hardly call 4 pages a "book", but it was teeny tiny smidgeon of the exciting antics of James Potter and Serius Black pre Harry Potter. The idea has merit and would be a huge success, no doubt. It would be fun if JK developed this concept fully.

 

"The Girl Who Chased the Moon" by Sarah Addison Allen

This was a surprising little book. Most of you may know that I never read book jackets--I dislike having expectations before going into a book--so I literally had no clue what this was about, just that it was recommended by a friend. It tells the story of multiple members of a small town, a couple new-timers, a couple old-timers, a giant, mysterious mood-changing wallpaper, and unexplainable lights near the woods.

*minor spoiler* It has a light love story (although some mature scenes and subject matters--cutting, teenage pregnancy) and as I already mentioned, some surprises; a little touch of fantasy. I do love when everyone gets their happy ending though, as is the case in this book.

 

"My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions" by Becca White

This was a totally cute fluffball book about a brand new college girl, Sarah, who meets the man (Ben) of her dreams--he's cute, talented, funny, smart, plays the guitar, and everyone likes him; so his attentions towards her are totally misunderstood as he could not possibly like someone as plain and ordinary as her, right?

She reminds me so much of me when I was 18, 20-something, analyzing every word or touch from my would-be Crush, certain he was going to realize at any moment that I was just Friend material and not Girlfriend material. This ends up being a big problem for their relationship, as Ben finally decides Sarah must not be interested in HIM.

Totally cute, easy read. Left me with a smile.

 

"I'm So Happy For You" by Lucinada Rosenfeld

After 40+ pages, I still didn't really care about the characters in this one. Normally I'd go to at least page 100, but when it went on a sex and drugs tangent, I just decided to quit.

 

 

 

 

"Still Alice" by Lisa Genova

This is a story of a woman who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease at age 50. She was a professor at Harvard who used to travel, do clinical research, and give brilliant lectures while being a wife and mom to three grown adult children. While somewhat clinical at times, I followed along nicely and really felt something for each and every character.

I listened to this on CD and felt completely involved and sucked into the story. I felt it was a wonderful concept, writing this book from Alice's viewpoint. Watching her degrade (and quickly) is heartbreaking, but real. She first loses the names of things, becomes disoriented, and forgets appointments. She progresses to being completely unable to work and/or be left alone. Eventually she forgets her childrens' names, then her husband's, and then doesn't even recognize herself in the mirror. Truly tragic.

I didn't realize there was a test to find out if one has the Alzheimer's gene or not. I almost wonder if it should be more of an option to have it done earlier in life--those with the gene can go on medicines that will help delay onset of the disease and symptoms. On the other hand, knowing you have this gene and this likely future could ruin your life in other ways.

I really enjoyed this book; would probably not read it again, but it solidly deserved 4 stars. Caution: several F-words used.

 

"The Violets of March" by Sarah Jio

Another excellent Sarah Jio book about two parallel lives in two very different times. Emily leaves behind a failed marriage in NY to visit a great aunt off the coast of Seattle. While there she comes upon a mystery, a lot of secrets, and a new chance at love.

It's very sweetly written, and you really come to love each character. I love the whole imagery of island life, of the camaraderie of age-old best friends, of slow and sweet romance. I love the way she comes up on the mystery and how it slowly gets solved. I love the resolution, but here's the thing: I don't completely believe it.

*spoiler*

I really don't believe and love the fact that Esther faked her own death and left a child behind to start a new life. It's just so very selfish and wrong. And I don't really understand why the resolution of all the mystery and problems would skip a generation (Esther's daughter) and jump ahead to Emily (Esther's granddaughter). I feel that the middle generation deserved more than it got. It's just a bit contrived I guess. Even saying that, I did really like it and would recommend it wholeheartedly.

 

So there you have it!  Sarah Jio is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.  In fact, I've been looking for her book "The Bungalow" but our local library doesn't have it.  :(  If anyone has a copy, I'd love to read it.

What are you reading?