The Help

Read July 2011

My Rating: 4 out of 5

"Minny, Miss Celia, Aibileen, and Yule May are maids employed by Skeeter's friends. Each woman cooks, cleans, and cares for her boss's children, suffering slights and insults silently and sharing household
secrets only among themselves. In the wake of the Junior League push to create separate bathrooms for the domestic help within private homes, Skeeter contacts a New York book editor with an idea. Soon she's conducting clandestine meetings
with "the help" to capture their stories for publication. It is a daring and foolhardy plan, one certain to endanger not only the positions but the lives of the very women whose stories she transcribes -- as well as her own."

My review: This was, as promised by many, an incredibly inspirational novel, and it was a joy to read it. I laughed, and cried, and I when I was reading this book, I felt like I was being swept away and living in it. The characters are all so courageous, strong, and inspiring. I am sooo very much looking forward to watching the movie, even though I already know that it won't compare to the beautifully written words. Every where I turn, I see someone reading this book. There was one day on our lunch break at work where there were three of us reading it, it looked like we were having a book club meeting at work :) it's popular for a reason... go and read it!! :)

One Day by David Nicholls

This is my next book to read!! Super excited to read it and then go see it :)

Water for Elephants

Read: July 2011
My Rating: 3 out of 5

"Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell."

My Review:I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to watching the movie. I think I had my expectations set a little high, and though I enjoyed it I wouldnt rave about it. I liked the main character, and the story line was different making it a unique read. Also makes me really love elephants :) I just wish the love story would have been a little more in depth.

The House at Riverton

Read June 2011

My rating: 4 out of 5

"Grace Bradley, ninety-eight, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and old memories - long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind - begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge, something history has forgotten but Grace never could.

Set as the war-shattered Edwardian summer surrenders to the decadent twenties, The House at Riverton is a thrilling mystery and a compelling love story."

My review:I enjoyed this book, her writing style is very catchy. It starts off slow but as you get further and further into the story, you know there is so much more to come, yet she leaves you guessing till the very end. Good love story.

The Good Daughters

Read March 2011

My Rating: 4 out of 5

"They were born on the same day, in the same small New Hampshire hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike. Ruth Plank is an artist and a romantic with a rich, passionate, imaginative life. The last of five girls born to a gentle, caring farmer and his stolid wife, she yearns to soar beyond the confines of the land that has been her family's birthright for generations. Dana Dickerson is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in the natural world. Raised by a pair of capricious drifters who waste their lives on failed dreams, she longs for stability and rootedness."

My Review: This book was easy to enjoy, the story was good and rather interesting. I thought I had guessed what was going on, but ended up being only partly right. I enjoyed all the characters, and each one of their stories. It was a tough decision to make this a 4 star instead of a 5, but although I thought it was really good, I couldnt say it was amazing. Would recommend this book to my friends for sure :)

The Kitchen House

Read March 2011

My rating: 5 / 5

"Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk. The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail."

My Review: AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! I would recommend this book to everyone! The story is so captivatingm and I love all the characters (except for the ones you are meant not to like) I felt so bad for Labrinia, such a tough little girl with a bright future who just wanted everyone to be happy, and to relive the past. I loved the writing style and couldn't put this book down, and when I did, all I could think about was when I was going to pick it up again. I hope everyone enjoys this book as much as I did!

Saving Max

Read March 2011

My Rating 3 out of 5

"Max Parkman—autistic and whip-smart, emotionally fragile and aggressive—is perfect in his mother's eyes. Until he's accused of murder.

Attorney Danielle Parkman knows her teenage son Max's behavior has been getting worse—using drugs and lashing out. But she can't accept the diagnosis she receives at a top-notch adolescent psychiatric facility that her son is deeply disturbed. Dangerous.

Until she finds Max, unconscious and bloodied, beside a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death.

Trapped in a world of doubt and fear, barred from contacting Max, Danielle clings to the belief that her son is innocent. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her son really a killer?

With the justice system bearing down on them, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth, no matter what it is. She'll do whatever it takes to find the killer and to save her son from being destroyed by a system that's all too eager to convict him."

My Review: I have to say that I enjoyed this novel, and would lend it to a friend, but can also say at the same time that it was not the greatest book I've read. I have been busy lately and this took me three months to read, which may be part of the reason I wasn't so engaged, but at the same time, if I was really enjoying it, I would make sure to set aside some reading time. The book was easy to read and easy to understand, however I was expecting a completely different story. At times I found that certain parts of the novel were a little unbelievable, however I have to remember that the novel is fiction. Not the worst book I've read, but not the greatest either, good book to pass the time, and set down for a period of time, and get back into it easily.

Little Bee

Read: December 2010

My rating: 4/5

"We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it , so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again. The story starts here..." .

My Review: Strong debate whether to make my rating of this book a 4 or 5, and decided on 4 as I am trying to only use 5 if the book is absoloutley rediculously amazing, and this book is sooo close to there. I love the way this author writes, and the way the words can paint a picture. As a male author, he does a very good job at writing as a woman, and I love how he went back and forth between the two main characters. His writing is captivating and the as they tell you ahead of time, the true specialness in this book is how the story unfolds. It may not have made it to 5, but is still an excellenct, excellent book and i definatley recommend it.