Book Review: "A Life In Stitches - Knitting My Way Through Love, Loss, and Laughter"

For any of those of you who may not know me personally, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I love to knit. No no, I mean really love to knit. And I'm blessed that I'm in a position where I can earn money doing what I love. Now, that said - finding this book was an absolute act of serendipity, as it was beside another, completely unrelated book on the shelf that I was actively seeking out, but the second I saw this one, I knew I had to grab it too. And what a sweet surprise I was in for!

First off, the author is from Oakland, California. Read as...less than 20 minutes away from me. O_O That was new for me; usually the closest a local author to me comes is about San Francisco! This was immediately followed by the crazy thought of omg, how come I don't know this person? We should totally be friends! Well, while I'm not crazy enough to go out of my way to seek her out or anything, the more I read about the stories of her life, the more and more I realized they closely mirror my own, and it almost felt like reading about a slightly older version of myself. It was the strangest feeling, but a really good one, needless to say. It was almost like feeling validated in my hobbies of choice; seeing that yes, there truly ARE others out there who not only partake in them, but succeed very much with them!

So enough about me. Back to the book. This is totally a feel-good book, and while it definitely helps to also be a knitter, I'm sure you could probably still get a lot out of it even if you don't personally know a thing about the craft. These are stories all throughout different stages of the author's life, from childhood onward. And this isn't your grandma's story: this is about a modern woman, living with her domestic partner, making her way in the world through not-so-traditional means, while at the same time, when you think about it.... what could possibly be more traditional than knitting and writing in the big scheme of things? There are tons of parallels of old and new throughout all the stories in the book.

Maybe I'm just a nerd, but I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of this book. :) 5 stars for you, Rachael Herron!

Book Review: "The Four Dorothys (Drama!, #1)"

With a title like The Four Dorothys, my initial assumption was the book was likely about drag queens. (No really...for those not in the know, Judy Garland is more or less the patron saint of the LGBT world. The rainbow flags are even a nod to her.) Well, this book isn't about that (although I wouldn't have been opposed if it were -- quick, somebody write one! ;)). No, this story is about an ill-fated high school production of The Wizard of Oz that was doomed from the moment it left the gates, and ended up in complete and total utter sabotage. Without giving too much away, this story quickly becomes that of a whodunnit? nature. It's well-done though, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also give props to all the chapter titles being named after different Broadway shows. (I literally squealed when I saw one was named after The Boy From Oz.) Even if you're not a Broadway geek like me, you'll probably still enjoy it even if some of the more subtle references sail over your head; the story itself is still phenomental. Big 5 stars for this one!

Book Review: "dancergirl"

dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman is somewhat of a tale of warning of the perils of becoming a viral internet star. Just how easy it is for things to spiral out of control, for people to become obsessed, deranged, and a dangerous stalker...

It is also a mystery and suspense novel, as our heroine/victim Ali tries to figure out who's doing this to her, all whilst the acts becoming increasingly worse and far more disturbing with every step, perpetually ruining Ali's life. In our modern digital age, this is something that can, and does, happen quite frequently and is almost enough to be classified as a horror story for anyone who has ever uploaded a video of themself to the internet. For all the good that our modern age brings us, it brings along with it very real dangers lurking in the dark corners, and this book is very much a reminder of that.

That said, this story is exquisitely told and I couldn't put it down. 5 stars!

Book Review: "Let It Snow - Three Holiday Romances"

I'm sure you guys all remember my Lauren Myracle phase, where I barrelled through just about every book she wrote in a few months' time. ...Except this one, because our library's copy was ALWAYS checked out. Well, I finally got a hold of it (a couple of years later), and while I was anticipating it to be your typical, run of the mill collection of short stories, it does fit that bill...but more.

You see, these aren't just any holiday-themed short stories. You don't realize it going into it on the first one, but every detail is important, as all three of these stories are intertwined and connected (and pulled together especially at the end of the third story). It's done VERY expertly and really cutely, in my opinion. I found myself starting to fangirl every time the stories started to crossover on each other and link together, and it happens with increasing intensity the further it goes on, until you just feel like you know this close-knit small community in full. A nice quality to embody in a Christmas-themed story, if you ask me. Ranking this one 4 stars!

Book Review: "Trust Me, I'm Dr. Ozzy"

When you think of Ozzy Osbourne, chances are the first images brought to mind are those of Black Sabbath and the Prince of Darkness........ not of a raging hypochondriac who was given his own weekly advice column, am I right? However, crazy as it sounds, it happens -- and the questions, his answers, and his own running commentary (along with charts and quizzes at the end of the chapters) fill the pages of this book in a wonderfully hilarious (if irreverent) way. Just about everything under the sun is touched upon at some point or another, but one that shows up over and over is the topic of drug use -- and Ozzy's insistence that everybody ought to try and quit drugs and alcohol (which was surprising to me that Ozzy of all people is so gung ho about this! Good on you, mate!) is peppered along with anecdotes and self deprecation. And... as it turns out, Ozzy is a huge hypochondriac and it's likely part of why the man's still alive all the crazy shenanigans he's pulled over the years. Good to know. ;) If you need a good laugh, this book has you covered -- even if you're not a fan of Ozzy's music, you can appreciate his sense of humor! 5 star review for Dr. Ozzy!

Book Review: "Diva (The Flappers, #3)"

I know I should have read this series in sequence, but I just couldn't help myself -- I was so in love with the cover of this one that I read it first. ;) (I'm going to backtrack and read the other two though.) Anyhow, Diva, the third book in Jillian Larkin's The Flapper series, is a perfectly marvelous romance/drama/mystery about the 1920's, right in the height of the same era as The Great Gatsby. The author certainly did her homework in terms of fashion, slang, popular locations, you name it... I was absolutely thrilled to see this. The book is really about three miniature stories all in one book, all intertwined and running parallel to each other. Each chapter is labeled with which woman it involves, so once you realize that, the book is far easier to follow. I don't know how much I can truly say here about the plot without giving it all away, so I'm going to just leave that part a mystery for you to find out if you should choose to read it. ;) Anyway, I absolutely adored this book and I'm rating it 5 stars!

Book Review: "Dean & Me (A Love Story)"

There've been few comedy partnerships like that of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in the 20th century, and even fewer of them that were as genuine as this duo. Take a stroll down memory lane through the good times (and the bad times) with Jerry as he remembers his partner with the loving adoration that still lives on in his heart half a century later. The book details everything up from the beginning of when the two met all the way straight through to Dean's death, and everything in between for this star-studded ride. There's so much in here that Jerry shares with us about what life with Dean was really like; a side of him that the public never got to see until now. I took my time reading this to really savor everything Jerry had to say and truly enjoyed every minute of it. Rating this one a huge 5 stars! :)

Book Review: "Go The Fuck To Sleep"

Most kids enjoy a good bedtime story (or ten) to fall asleep to. Ah, those were the days... Well, when was the last time you saw a bedtime story aimed for grownups? Parents, specifically? Oh yes....that's where Go The Fuck To Sleep comes in. Beautifully illustrated, this book is just as much eye candy for the reader as it is filled with clever prose illustrating the frustrations of being a parent. You needn't actually have children to understand the humor; anyone who's so much as had to babysit a child even once will be able to appreciate this book. You needn't even head to the library to hear this fun little tale; just head on over to Youtube, where there's multiple celebrity readings of it. ;) Seriously though, this has got to be one of my new favorite things. Big five stars!

Book Review: "The Lolita Effect"

The Lolita Effect is basically a psychology/sociology book outlining the social fallacies surrounding the sexualization of girls today at younger and younger ages, fueled by the media perception, and yet all its implications seem to be lost on most people. This book outlines just how damaging this mindset is, as well as suggestions on how to help counter it. While by no means is it the end all cure for this problem, it's a good start. That said, most of the information in this book would have better fit as a website than a full book on the topic, where open discussions about the subject could be held. Nevertheless, it's sort of an interesting read if it's a hot-button topic with you. Rating this one 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "Real Live Boyfriends (Yes, Boyfriends, Plural. If My Life Weren't Complicated--I Wouldn't Be Ruby Oliver)"

The fourth (and what I assume to be, final) book of the Ruby Oliver series, and I now retract my earlier statement -- this is my favorite book in the series. All is not well in paradise for Ruby with Noel, or so she thinks. He goes away during the summer to NYC to visit his brother, Claude, and comes back acting distant and weird towards Ruby. Naturally, her anxiety leads her to think the worst. The reality: far worse than she could have ever imagined.

There's much drama filling the covers of this book, and well-written drama at that. I really enjoyed it though, and I sailed through the entire book in two and a half days -- I just couldn't put it down, I had to know where all the twists and turns were leading to! I highly recommend this book if you've been reading the series, and am rating it a high 5 stars :)

Book Review: "The Treasure Map Of Boys (Noel, Jackson, Fin,, Hutch, Gideon -- and me, Ruby Oliver)"

Having just finished reading the fourth book in the Ruby Oliver series, I have to admit, I think I like this one the best so far. It perfectly captures the complexities of high school relationships with friends, enemies, boys in general, adults, employers....you name it, it has it. It conveys exactly what it feels like to be caught in the middle of so many strongly conflicting emotions with different people and not knowing ideally how to handle any of it, even when your heart is in the right place and you're trying to do the right thing. All of this sounds very vague, but take my word for it. There's a lot to be said for this little book; so much so that I'm giving it a 5 star rating!

Book Review: "The Boy Book (A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques For Taming Them)"

The Boy Book (A Study of Behaviors, Plus Techniques For Taming Them) by E. Lockhart is the second book of the Ruby Oliver series. The girls are a little older in this story, but the drama still hasn't stopped -- or even really died down since the last school year. (Then again, does high school drama ever?) But now our Ruby isn't just pining away after one boy, oh no. Now there's about three. As you can imagine, her reputation can hardly handle such a thing at this point. And then there's the matter of still being a social leper carrying over from the previous year...

Far-fetched though some of the drama may sound, a lot of it seems to be spot on for being exactly how I remember high school drama working. It sounds ridiculous as soon as you're old enough to be past it, but while it's going on, it seems like your world is going to end because of these things happening. (Obviously, it doesn't really happen.) I think a lot of girls could relate to the sort of feelings that get deal with in this story, and with some of the tough decisions that have to be made here. Have to say, I'm already looking forward to seeing how the story future unfolds in the next book! :) Rating this one 4 out of 5 star.

Book Review: "The Boyfriend List: (15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver)"

The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Cermanic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver by E. Lockhart reads as though it were the much-convoluted dating diary of one Ruby Oliver, average teenager. Or not so average...

When Ruby begins to suddenly have panic attacks, her mothers signs her up to start seeing a therapist. Her first assignment is to make a list of every boy she's ever had any sort of romantic connection to whatsoever, and well...that's what starts the ball rolling for all the chaos that ensues.

The teenage tales of woe told here are not only relatable, but extremely humorous at the same time. It pokes fun at the drama of high school life without painting it as a charicature. My only complaint is that it's hard to keep track of who all's who in this story, but then again, isn't that how high school works as well? Rating this one 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "Accidents of Nature"

When you hear mention of a book with a premise of severely handicapped teenagers going to summer camp, you must assume that the book is going to treat these individuals as some sort of freak show, and that the story will be a very depressing one.

Except, of course, when the author is one of them.

This story takes place in 1970, when handicapped individuals were more or less cast out of society as though they were lepers. But these kids converge year after year at Camp Courage; a state-funded summer camp for disabled teens. Some of them have severe handicaps -- cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, muscular dystrophy, amputees, parapalegics, quadrapaledgics, etc... Some, the 'walkie-talkies', appear normal outwardly, but suffer from things like asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, mental illness, etc. All are welcomed as equals to the camp. and nobody feels out of place, as everyone is here for similar reasons.

More astoundingly though is just how vividly colorful the personalities of each of these characters is. People often dismiss the disabled as not being all there and not really having feelings, lives, hopes, aspirations, dreams, life goals, crushes, you name it...but this story touches on all of that and portrays them as the real people that they are. The real live, breathing, flesh and blood people. And it's with this, and seeing that they're not a bunch of sad individuals but rather, teenagers like anybody else who o the best they can with the hand they've been dealt, that serves as somewhat of a jolting wake-up call.

I personally was very sucked in by this story on many levels and really enjoyed it. I'm rating it a 5 out of 5 stars. :)

Book Review: "Queer Kids: The Challenges and Promise for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth"

Queer Kids: The Challenges and Promise for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth by Robert E. Owens Jr., PhD is a comprehensive handbook/guidebook for teenagers and families of teens who are discovering their own sexuality among the LGBT spectrum. It covers important issues such as the coming out process, homophobia, the AIDS epidemic, etc. As it's more of a textbook than anything, it's written very dryly, but for anyone looking for informative purposes in discovering themselves, this is a good place to start. The back section of the book is loaded chock full of further LGBT resources to turn to as well. It'd be a useful tool to have in your arsenal, so if you're among the LGBT spectrum and a teenager, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy of this. 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "The Memory Keeper's Daughter"

It's not often that a  book can come into your life whose story, practically from the very first chapter til the last page, will rip your heart out, stomp all over it, utterly destroy you....but yet, you can't put the book down...

This. This is that book.

From the moment you open this book, you're plunged into a world of drama. It starts in the early 60's with a newlywed couple, doctor David Henry and his wife, Norah, expecting the birth of their first child. Norah goes into labor in the middle of a blizzard, and they barely make it to the clinic in time. The doctor who would have delivered the child got into a car accident on the way to the clinic, so David is left to deliver his own child...or rather, children. Unbeknownst to the couple, Norah had been carrying twins. The first, a boy -- Paul -- had been born perfect in just about every possible way. The second, a little girl named Phoebe, is born with Down's syndrome, which was practically a death sentence in those days. Having had the attending nurse act as an anesthesiologist, Norah had been knocked out for the birth and unaware she'd even given birth to twins until after the fact. She never saw the daughter, as David sent Phoebe off with the nurse, Caroline, to send her to an institution. However, as fate would have it, Caroline sees the horrible conditions of the institution and refuses to leave the child in such a place, as she has no doubt in her mind it would destroy her. Acting against the doctor's wishes, she takes the child to raise as her own.

Without giving away the entire plot, there is much drama from both sides: Caroline with the rigors of trying to raise a child that's not only not her own but is severely handicapped, David having to keep this secret with him for his entire life, never telling another soul that Phoebe had been given away but instead letting the world believe the infant had died at birth. The guilt consumes him; the grief consumes Norah, and the pressure of both placed on Paul end up causing him to lash out and rebel. There's so many twists and turns this story takes over the quarter of a decade that it spans over, it's unbelievable. This is easily one of the best books I have ever read in my life. There is no 'everybody wins' happy ending; there's a form of resolution, but not the type everyone would have expected here.

This book will grip at your heartstrings, twist them tight, swing your emotions around, and do it all over again, from start to finish. I highly recommend this book almost higher than any book I've ever recommended in my life. A huge, HUGE 5 star review!

Book Review: "Fat Cat"

As one is able to easily surmise both by the title and by the cover of this book, this is a story about weight loss. Drastic weight loss. Almost prehistoric weight loss--

Our main character, Cat, has been overweight for years. As part of a year-long science project, she decides to try living as close to cavemen as possible in the modern world to see what effects it would have on the body, and to hypothesize just how negatively modern lifestyles impact our health. Her friends try to tell her she's nuts for taking on such an endeavor... until it works. This more or less triggers a domino effect type reaction on all those aroun her, and the results are far more reaching than she could have imagined.

While some of the typical high school drama is a bit too *real* for me (honestly, if I wanted to relive my high school years, I'd take a trip down to the local high school for a day and re-acquant myself with why I hated those years so much...) and I had to keep putting it down from time to time because of this because it just frustrated me too much, it's otherwise a pretty interesting story that kept me coming back to find out what would happen. I'm ranking this book a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "Confessions of a Teen Nanny #3: Juicy Secrets"

Well, I waded my way through the last of the Confessions of a Teen Nanny trilogy, and as usual with just about any series I enjoy, I'm sad to see it end. Although, there was lots of lovely juicy drama along the way! Some of the twists, you'll probably have seen coming since the beginning of the series -- others, these came out of seemingly nowhere and will knock you for a loop. There's scandal, there's intrigue, there's love, there's drama, there's...well, everything! Trust me, you'll love it. It's a fitting end to a wonderful series. 4 star rating :)

Book Review: "Confessions of a Teen Nanny #2: Rich Girls"

The second book in the Confessions of a Teen Nanny trilogy, I found this book to be very difficult to put down, as I kept getting so sucked into the drama of the storyline, I just HAD to know what would happen next. (I blazed through this book pretty quickly as a result. ;)) Without giving too much away, all I can say is this book is just dripping with revenge. And drama. And unexpected twists and turns. FABULOUS. Giving this one a big five star rating, and anticipating digging into the third book!

Book Review: "Confessions of a Teen Nanny"

With a title such as this one, one might assume that Confessions of a Teen Nanny would be a book akin to perhaps a slightly older Babysitter's Club type of story. Spoiler alert: this is nothing like that whatsoever. Imagine, if you will, being a teenager who by some act of fate manages to land just about THE sweetest babysitting job ever: nannying for one of the richest families in the entirety of New York City. The catch: the teen daughter is going to make your life an absolute living hell.

Without giving too much away, I just want to say that this story was actually pretty engaging, and it delights me to learn that this is part of a series, so there's much more to this story than just what lies between these covers. I can't wait to see where else it goes! Rating this one a 4 star rating.

Book Review: "Audrey, Wait!"

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway reads like both a dream come true and a nightmare all at the same time for rockers everywhere. Who hasn't dreamt of becoming a musician's muse, having a famous song written about them, and instantly becoming famously immortal to the point of brushing elbows with the rock world themselves; even famously making out with one of the hottest musicians of the moment? Careful what you wish for; the reality can quickly turn sour and into a complete and total disaster.

Such is the case of Audrey Cuttler. Just yesterday, Audrey was your typical 16 year old American girl, with a boyfriend in a local band and living your typical, average everyday life. That is, until Audrey and her boyfriend break up, and he writes a song detailing their breakup that quickly shoots him into superstardom -- and subsequently, Audrey as well by association. Everything Audrey has ever known as her normality is turned absolutely upside down...and not in a good way.

The story is written from a fresh point of view of a girl who's caught in a private hell of unintended, unwanted noteriety and all the problems that go with it, but sounds very *real* as a person. I also have a great appreciation for the song quotes at the beginning of every chapter, I felt they were a nice touch and addition to the story as well.

Basically, I love everything about this book and highly recommend it on every possible level. A big, big 5 star rating for this book!

Book Review: "Pure"

I'm going to go out on a limb here and be 100% honest... I only picked up this book because the concept seemed like it would be somewhat of a trainwreck. In my experience, it always seems like any story that places way too much emphasis on virginity -- for or against -- tends to come off all sorts of wrong, unrealistic, and oftentimes... unintentionally hilarious. Even the cover of this book made it feel like this wasn't even going to take itself seriously. But actually? I was wrong.

Well, it still placed an unrealistic basis on the topic of virginity -- how many people would become religious zealots because one of their friends broke their purity ring promise and end up trying to shove their beliefs on an entire school? -- but the story itself, for the most part, is pretty good. There's a lot of emphasis on how one person's actions tend to have a ripple effect far beyond just that of themselves and their immediate life.While the details may be a bit overdramatized, the general message is not if you look past the specific details they're pushing. And I think it's actually handled pretty well in that respect. Giving this one a 4 star rating!

Book Review: "Love & Haight"

Love & Haight by Susan Carlton is an excellent snapshot of the issues of an era; surprisingly captured by an author who wasn't even born yet in the time this story takes place. Despite its heavy subject matter -- abortion -- the author paints a shockingly honest depiction of teenage youth's life in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970's, still in the height of the hippie free love movement. It's fully immersing without turning cliche, which is usually a problem I find with most stories set in the 60's or 70's, so this was a refreshing change of pace. And while the whole story leaves you with this sense that the girl is going to have her mind changed and not go through with the procedure... I think I was most surprised that the story DOES go there. Nor does it make it out to be a horror story... it shows that life goes on even after such an event. But at the same time, it doesn't at all take the gravity away from the act, and is just all around well-written. I give it a big 5 star rating.

Book Review: "Lush"

While Natasha Friend's books may be aimed at a younger demographic, I couldn't resist the urge to pick this one up -- mostly to see how the disease of alcoholism, and in that of a parent, is portrayed. (Given it's an issue I've grown up around my whole life, and since I still live at home, it still applies.) I figured it would be approached in one of two ways: either in a charicaturistic fashion that would most likely leave me rolling my eyes, or making anyone who's an alcoholic out to be an absolute monster in a bid to scare people away from ever drinking. Instead, I found the story of a girl who's painfully real, and hits right at home. And this story doesn't just cover the father's drinking... It covers how the disease affects the entire family with his actions. The mother tries to drown herselfi n excuses and yoga; the baby brother is too young to know the difference one way or the other; and the main character, Sam, harbors much resentment for her father's drinking. (Understandably so... and in reading it, it made me feel a little better to know I'm not alone nor an awful person for having some anger towards my own father's behavior when he drinks. I imagine anyone who reads this who's living in a similar situation probably feels much the same way.) Then catastrophe hits -- I won't give away a spoiler here, because it's more or less one of the pinnacle points of the story -- and the father is sent off to rehab. And then we get the very realness of how the family is left to cope in his absence. In another twist, the main character unwittingly starts to walk in her dad's footsteps with drinking as well. (This is something not many stories of this calibre seem to touch on, and I'm kind of glad it did.) And the story's end is one that's up in the air.... it neither paints a rosy picture of 'Oh hey, rehab fixed everything and we have a perfect life now!' nor does it say 'Dad came home and started drinking again. The end.' It leaves you to come up with your own conclusions, which I think is a very real way of handling this, seeing as with alcoholism, it's very difficult to ever consider yourself fully cured, and relapses are often inevitable. But at least the ending gives way for hope, which is something that most people reading this book are in desperate need to cling to.

I'm rating this one a 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "Annie On My Mind"

It's long been established that Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden is basically considered to be essential reading material among the LGBT crowd. That said, it took me many years to track down the book in its physical format (I once found it in ebook form, but I have a hard time staying focused with ebooks -- I digress). And I'm glad that I finally got a chance to read this classic.

The story of Liza and Annie is quite an honest look not only at teenage love, but at finding oneself during those tumultuous teenage years -- made invariably more difficult when struggling with defining one's sexuality at the same time. It's a confusing, scary, secretive time (and one that I know all too well from first-hand experience) with more layers to it than an onion. And this story explores many of them. (Not all -- everybody's story is different -- but a lot that are fairly universal among the LGBT community.) Add in the additional factor of one of the girls going to an uppity private school and all hell breaking loose for it, being treated as some sort of social perversion (another thing that I identify first-hand with) and you've got an interesting, honest look at what quite a few of us have gone through. I only wish I had known this book existed back when I was a teenager, when it would've make me feel so much better to know I wasn't the only one.

The wrap-up of the story at the ending goes by far too quickly, and I wish it would have delved more into how it got from point A to point B, so I do knock this book down a few pegs for that, but ultimately, it's well-written and I still highly recommend it. 4 out of 5 stars.