Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson

Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

368 pages

Mystery/Thriller

June 2011










I'm sure everyone has read about this one by now.  The basic premise is that the main character, Christine, wakes up every day and can't remember who she is.  She doesn't recognize her husband, Ben, or even know how old she is.  Each day she gets a phone call from a Dr. Nash who directs her to a diary she is keeping of each day to help jog her memories.

Watson slowly builds the tension as Christine's story is revealed in small steps.  As a reader, I became so involved with Christine that I couldn't help but to identify with her.  As parts of her story started to become inconsistent, you start to realize that everything is not what you believed.  There is a tremendous tension in the story as it starts to unravel.  It is heightened by the fact that Christine can't clarify anything for us, as readers.  So, in a sense, we are memory-impaired with her.

Ben is an intriguing character.  I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll simply say that I'm not sure I completely understood his motivations.

Overall, this was a fun read, and I highly recommend it.  I'm giving it 4 1/2 stars.  It's starting to sound like I love everything I read.  That's not quite so, but I've had a string of good luck with books lately.  If you've read it, I'd love to know what you think!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

 Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

 480 pages

 Young Adult

 March 2010




I'm not normally a fan of YA books, but this one caught my attention.  I can best sum it up as Mean Girls meets Groundhog Day meets The Lovely Bones.  Samantha, Sam, narrates the story which is basically a 7 part rerun of the day of her death.  Sam is a high school senior who is part of the popular clique in the second semester of senior year.  She has three best friends and a popular, Lacrosse playing, boyfriend.

I know that this sounds slightly morbid, but I was quite fascinated with the book.  I couldn't put it down and read far too late to finish it.  I've read a number of reviews and other bloggers who hated Sam, the main character, and her friends.  I actually found myself sympathizing with Sam and really disliking her friend Lindsay, the leader of the girl pack.  The author tries to give you reasons to be sympathetic towards Lindsay by the end, but I just couldn't.  I've seen way too many Lindsays in real life who do tremendous damage to others along the way.

However, I did feel tremendous empathy for Sam, and not just because she's dead!  I could truly understand how she felt torn between following along with her friends and doing the right thing.  I also understood the moments of self-absorption because that rang true for the typical teenager.  Sam's struggle to understand what was happening, and her final realization, felt very real to me. On a spiritual level, her soul's struggle made sense.

The bullying of Juliet felt, unfortunately, very real and was an essential element in both Sam's and Lindsay's stories.  I think Juliet is the character who will haunt me.  It brought home the costs of bullying in teens and how vigilant we, as adults, need to be, but, also, how helpless we can be. 

I truly enjoyed the book.  I would caution that there is under age drinking, drug use, and talk of sex in the story.  I'm giving this book 4 1/2 stars.  I can't quite give it 5 stars because I wanted more redemption Lindsay's character.

It's Monday! Here's What I'm Reading.

This weekly book meme is hosted by Sheila.

Here's this week's agenda:

Currently reading:

I read about this one a blog and hope to finish it this week.  I'm actually fascinated with it!

On the list next:

I got both of these in the recent Kindle deals sale.  The first is a lark because I liked the cover.  The second is one that has been on my TBR list for awhile.





What are you reading this week?

Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner

I picked up Then Came You because of a review I read in that literary giant, People Magazine.  I'm willing to take recommendations wherever I can find them. 

The story reads very much like a Jodi Picoult novel.  It is told through the eyes of four women:  India, Bettina, Jules, and Annie.  They are all related through the process of surrogacy.  India is the younger bride of a wealthy older man, and Bettina is his daughter from a first marriage.  Jules is the egg donor and Annie is the surrogate.  I don't want to review too much of the plot, but there are some twists and turns in the story.  What I thought would be a story about wealth and social status ended up being about families and how they are created.

Strengths of Then Came You:

There is a sign in my house that reads "Friends are the family one finds along the way."  That sentiment sums up the book for me.  The four women do become a sort of extended family for baby Rory by the end of the book.  I found myself most interested in Annie's story.  There was a real life quality to her that made her likable, and I could really understand the choices she made in the book.

Weaknesses of Then Came You:

The narrative shifts between the women much like a Picoult novel.  However, Weiner's writing was not as crisp as Picoult's.  There were many times when it was clear what would happen even when the perspective changed.  Also, the second half of the book is loaded with Bettina, who was my least favorite character. 

Bettina's mother, the first wife of India's husband, was underutilized in the novel.  The author gave her an interesting back story.  I'd have been interested in bringing her more to the forefront, especially in the second half of the book.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, a chick lit book with some meat and substance.  I'm going to give it 4 stars.  If you've read it, I'd love to know what you think!

Friday Follow

Q. Name 3 authors that you would love to sit down and spend an hour or a meal with just talking about either their books or get advice on writing from?



This is a tough one because I don't want to say the obvious.

#1 - E.B. White

I'd love to hear about Charlotte's Web.  It is one of the books that I remember bonding with as a child and enjoy teaching to my second grade class.  I'd love to hear the inspiration and thought process that went into writing it.

#2 - Ray Bradbury

This is kind of a cheat because I had to chance to meet him when I was in Junior High School.  He attended a play version of one of his novels and talked to us afterward.  I remember he had a very distinct view of the world and writing.  I'd like the chance to learn more from him with an adult perspective.

#3 - JK Rowling

I'm sure this is someone lots of people would like to spend time with.  I'm most curious about her writing process and whether or not she feels that she has a different story to tell.

What about you?

Book Hop

I just found this Friday book meme and sounds like fun so here's today's question:

What’s the ONE GENRE that you wish you could get into, but just can’t?

I really do like to read almost anything.  I tend to chose books by author and subject matter not genre.  However, I have always had a tough time with non-fiction.  I can't seem to stick with it and get bored.  That's especially true of the motivational, this is how I do it, type of non-fiction.  I'd rather have great characters and a juicy plot any day.

What about you?  Play here:


http://crazy-for-books.com/2011/07/book-blogger-hop-722-725.html

Let's Try This Again!

Here's a new question:

What’s the first book that you ever read more than once? (I’m assuming there’s at least one.)

What book have you read the most times? And–how many?

The first book I remembered reading more than once must be a Nancy Drew mystery when I was 10 or 11. I read them so quickly that I had to read them more than once since I only went to the library once a week!

There are so many books I want to read now that I don't tend to read books for pleasure more than once. I have read many children's books over and over because that is how I share my love of books with kids. I have probably read Charlotte's Web over 25 times!