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: "The Virginity Club"

The title alone of this book is probably more than enough to stir up controversy. Oh yes, The Virginity Club is one of those books; that no matter which side of the line you stand on, there's probably something between these covers that will end up getting your panties in a bunch. And I'm not immune.

This is by no means a new pet peeve of mine, but personally, it bothers me whenever a book, a film, or anything else decides to force the notion that virginity is something to be ashamed of and should be shaken off as quickly as possible. Let me make it clear: there is NOTHING wrong with virginity, and I don't care what age you are - if you happen to be one, even if you feel like you must be the only one left at your age, trust me. There's PLENTY of others out there who're just as old as you, and older. Whew, okay, got that out of the way. Now, onward.

This book has an almost schizophrenic sort of flip-flopping on the issue. All the girls in this book are vying for the same scholarship; one in which the biggest caveat is that you must be "pure of body and spirit". Not once in this entire book does it end up saying just how that rule is to be enforced. The term is very much open for debate as far as its true meaning goes. Regardless, prior to this scholarship, it seems that most of the girls wanted to lose their virginity ASAP. Then when this came around, oh, of course. It's a different tune now that money's involved. And you have characters from both sides here, ones ridiculing virgins, and ones martyrizing them. Not much for in between the two extremes, either. But that's not all... they also go the opposite extreme and do a TON of slut-shaming. (Yes, that's a real term.) Which makes one think then that the author must, on some level, be more on the side of thinking that virginity is virtuous and should be kept at all costs, but....there's so much in here that contradicts that. Basically, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't according to this book. Well what, exactly, is this book trying to convey as a message then? I don't know, and because of that, it seems to have missed its mark majorly. At best, I feel I can only bear to give this book a 3 star rating, and even that feels like it's being generous.