Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

This is the first e-book I’ve ever read but I don’t have any specific device for reading e-books so I just read this one on my computer.  Obviously, that’s not an ideal way to read a book but the ease of getting the book from the library and not having to remember to return it was pretty nice.  I’ve definitely been an anti-e-book kind of girl and I’m still not planning on buying a dedicated device but I’m starting to see the appeal.

Anyway, Auden, whose divorced parents are both a little self-involved, decides to spend the summer before heading off to university, with her father and his new wife and infant child.  When she arrives, she’s surprised to find her normally put-together step-mother, on the couch looking like she hasn’t slept or showered in a few days and not so surprised to find her father completely oblivious to the stress his wife is feeling.  As Auden tries to come to terms with what’s going on a home, she begins to form friendships with some of the locals who have issues all their own.

I loved this book.  There is something so comforting about Sarah Dessen’s novels.  She’s so good at telling basically the same story over and over but still making it a completely new and different story (if you know what I mean).  Her main characters are always individuals, they never feel like the same character from book to book (which a lot of authors that are a prolific as her tend to do).  And the story is always unique.  And her writing is just so easy to read.  It just flows.  I can read through her books so quickly and not even realize how much I’ve just read because it’s just so effortless.  Someday I’m going to run out of Sarah Dessen books to read and that’s going to be a very sad day for me!

Lara just broke up with her boyfriend and she’s having a rough time with the new company she and her best friend just started.  And she has the ghost of her great-aunt Sadie bugging her to find some silly necklace so she can rest in peace.  This is typical chick lit so you know the story.  The girl either has no boyfriend or has a crappy one.  Ditto for the job.  By the end, she has a great new boyfriend and a great new job.  This story line could get old but with so many different ways of getting from A to B, it doesn’t, at least not to me. And Kinsella is better at it than most.

The characters in Twenties Girl are lovable (and hateful) as always, especially Sadie, the ghost.  Sadie adds a whole new twist to the story.  And she’s quite the character.  Fun-loving to a fault, extremely demanding and used to getting her own way, which leads to some interesting and funny circumstances.

If you like chick lit, this is one you can’t miss!

I’m not sure how to summarize this book without spoilers so there’s going to be a tiny spoiler (but it’s something that happens early on in the book) and then another spoiler that happens a lot later in the book but is obvious right from the start.  So if you don’t like spoilers, you should stop reading now.

The story is told from the point of view of two women 1. Valerie, a single mother whose son is burned in a campfire while at a birthday party (the tiny spoiler, maybe not really even a spoiler?).   When she arrives at the hospital, she finds that her son’s doctor/surgeon is extremely talented and very good looking Nick.  Nick is married to 2. Tessa, mom to two who has recently quit her job in order to spend more time with her children.  On the surface Nick and Tessa’s marriage and life are perfect but as the story progresses things start to break down.  Nick becomes attached to Valerie’s son and start spending more and more time with Valerie.  (You know where this is going right?  This is the other spoiler.)

I’m not sure what to say about this book.  I have no complaints about the technical aspects of the novel or even the interestingness of the story.  I’m just getting kind of bored of books about cheating.  Giffin seems to have a little bit of an obsession with writing about cheating.  (Her last book, Love the One You’re With, was about cheating.)  And to be honest, I was looking for something a little less serious here.  With that cover and some of her previous books, could I be wrong to be expecting a light hearted chick lit type book?

Really, what I disliked about this book is that it wasn’t what I was expecting.  Other than that there was nothing wrong with it.

Sarah Dessen is one of those authors I probably wouldn’t ever have discovered if it weren’t for book blogs.  As soon as I got into the world of book blogs though, her name kept popping up.  And yet, it’s taken me since April of last year to finally pick one up!  Now that I have, I will definitely be reading more though.

It’s the first day of school and Annabel is nervous.  Something happened last spring(which the reader doesn’t find out about until much later in the novel) that caused a rift between Annabel and her friends.  At lunch, she finds herself, alone, sitting near a mysterious, intimidating boy.  This becomes their routine, never speaking but always eating lunch “together”.  Eventually, of course, Annabel and the boy begin talking and find themselves becoming friends.  Also, as the semester goes on she faces what happened last spring and learns some things about herself along the way.

I loved this book.  It was exactly what I was expecting.  It was kind of like chick lit but YA, so maybe YA chick lit?  It was nothing super profound or anything but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the point.   It was just a fun, entertaining story.  And it was well written.  (To me, there is nothing more unforgivable than poor writing, in ANY genre.)  I’m not sure what else to say about this book because it was perfect.  I can’t think of anything I disliked (except maybe the cover.  When I googled the cover I found that there was a much better one out there.  Too bad my copy didn’t have that one!)

The Seven Year Bitch by Jennifer Belle

Isolde Brilliant is married with a son.  She’s unhappy in her marriage but she and her husband have decided that they can’t afford a divorce.  As for plot – that’s pretty much all there is.  And usually in chick lit that’s enough, but somehow it just didn’t work all that great this time.

There were several things that annoyed me about this book.  First of all, Isolde loses her job right at the beginning of the book and for the three years that the book covers she doesn’t get another one.  Her husband has started a publishing company out of there apartment and you get the impression that he’s not all that successful.  But despite the fact that both parents spend the majority of their days at home, they still hire a nanny.  And they own a country home and they spend huge amounts of money on clothing and eating out and fertility treatments for the nanny.  What I want to know is where are they getting all this money from?

Second, Isolde was not at all lovable.  (And maybe that was the point?  After all she is the seven year bitch of the title.)  She was nosy (prying into her nanny’s infertility etc.) and she was a total cow to her husband.  Sometimes he deserved it, but sometimes not.  She was also really whiny.  She thought her life was so awful but it really wasn’t that bad.  And her husband, Russell, wasn’t all that lovable either.  It’s no wonder they both wanted a divorce – they were both complete nut-jobs!

Third, the story had no flow.  It got kind of confusing sometimes because it jumped all over the place.  And the book was divided into three parts that seemed almost arbitrary – there didn’t seem to be any actual meaning to the divisions.

Lastly, (spoiler warning!!) the ending was totally unrealistic.  All of a sudden in the last few pages she decides to start a new business and that she actually is happy with her life and marriage.  It just came out of left field.  It was like the author was trying to follow a formula which said that the main character had to end up happy with her marriage and her career even if it really didn’t fit the rest of the story.

There were a few things I liked about the book though.  It was an easy read and quick, even though it was over 300 hundred pages long.  It was also very funny – there were some parts where I laughed out loud.   And besides the jumpy randomness of the story, I actually liked the writing.  It was perfect for the genre.  I actually think this book could have been quite good with just a little editing to improve the flow and tone down Isolde’s whining (and maybe a rewrite of the ending!).  Some of the other things that bothered me could be forgiven if Isolde had been more likable.

Tuesday’s Child by Louise Bagshawe

Oh, how I’ve missed chick lit.  I haven’t read in quite a while because of all the other great books I’ve been hearing about on the blogosphere.  Then in the last couple of weeks I’ve read four.  I just decided I needed something a little lighter to squeeze between Fahrenheit 451 and The Handmaid’s Tale.  One of the questions from weekly geeks this week was about whether or not I have changed what I read knowing I will be publicly reviewing them.  And I have been, but then I just decided, who cares?  There is a lot of really good chick lit out there and it definitely has a place.

So anyway, this one was about Lucy who was perfectly happy with her life.  She had a job she loved (reviewing video games), a great place to live with her best friend (Ollie) and she was happy with herself.  But then her best friend got engaged and asked her to move out and the magazine she was working out folded.  Now she has no place to live, no job and her best friend’s new fiance has informed her that there is only room for one woman in Ollie’s life and she’ll have to butt out now.

So Lucy gets a new job with a super hot new boss and everything seems to be going swimmingly, except for the fact that her boss seems to think that he can buy her with fancy clothes and super swank new place to live.  Oh, and the fact that she’s in love with her best friend who’s engaged to a total cow.  And because it’s chick lit, you all know how it ends.  But just in case you don’t, I’ll leave it at that!

I think that’s what I like about chick lit.  It’s light and fun and comforting.  Everything always works out in the end and the second you start reading one of these you know everything is going to end happily ever after.  I think what separates good chick lit from bad chick lit is writing style and how interesting the in between parts of the book are.  And this one was really great.  I liked the writing and the story was engaging and interesting.  I’ll definitely add Louise Bagshawe to my list of acceptable chick lit authors!

A fun book about four women, each with their own unique set of problems, who come together because they all love shoes.  They form a club with the purpose of trading shoes.  But, of course, they end of friends and help each other face their problems.

This one was exactly what you want when you pick up a book that looks like this.  It was fun, light and definitely had some funny moments.  I’ve previously read Harbison’s Secrets of a Shoe Addict and enjoyed it just as much.

Simply Divine by Wendy Holden

This one was also typical chick lit but with a definite twist.  It was also much longer than a typical chick lit novel.  There is so much going on in this novel that it’s almost impossible to attempt a summary.  Jane, a journalist, has just been dumped by her boyfriend when she meets socialite Champagne D’Vyne and begins ghost-writing her column.  Jane isn’t a huge fan of Champagne but she keeps turning up in the most unexpected places.  I really enjoyed this one and will probably seek out another novel by Holden the next time I’m in the mood for something light and funny.

Little White Lies by Gemma Townley

I think of the three, I enjoyed this one the most. Natalie, newly moved to London, feels that her life isn’t interesting enough.  The previous tenant of her flat still gets mail and phone calls – more than Natalie!  After a night humiliation Natalie decides to open one of the more interesting-looking pieces of mail that are sitting around her apartment.  It leads to her impersonating the old tenant, Cressida, and of course all of the crazy, funny situations that might lead a person to.

I’ve read a few of Townley’s novels before and I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them.  Definitely a good pick when you’re looking chick lit!

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either and Big Boned by Meg Cabot

These two books are sequels to Size 12 Is Not Fat which I read a while ago.  I just read both of these so I decided to review them together.  If you’ve read the first book, you’ll find these two to be pretty much the same.

Heather Wells, who works in the residence hall at New York College, seems to get herself tangled up in murder investigations on a regular basis.  Dead bodies seems to have a habit of appearing at her place of work, so much so that people have starting calling it Death Dorm.  Heather tries but just can’t seem to help investigating the murders and of course almost getting herself killed at the end of each book.  (Just like every other murder mystery story.)

Heather is a fun lead character.  She’s kind of silly but she’s smart and kind-hearted and fearless (in kind of a bad way.)  There’s enough romance in these novels to include them in the chick-lit genre but mostly they are just a fun murder mystery.  There is nothing serious or deep about these novels but I’m pretty sure they’re not supposed to be deep or serious.  These are the perfect vacation or just in between the more serious stuff books.  Once again, Meg Cabot delivers!

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

I love Meg Cabot.  I hadn’t really read very much chick lit until I had my first baby and one of the first authors I picked up then was Meg Cabot (the other was Sophie Kinsella).  I have since come to love most chick lit (even the extra cheesy stuff!)

The thing is, the writing isn’t all that great, the plot is pretty cheesy and unrealistic, and the characters are pretty unbelievable but….I still loved it.   The main character is cute and quirky and actually pretty funny.  Her love interest is charming and sweet and kind.  And even better the story takes place mainly in a chateau in France, not the typical London/New York setting.  It’s exactly what you expect out of a good chick lit book.

Lizzie the main character has just graduated from college and is going to spend a month in England with her new boyfriend.  When she arrives in London, he turns out to be not quite what she’d expected and she ends up on a train to join her best friend in France.  And France is where most of the story takes place.  I don’t want to say much more because it would give away pretty much the entire plot.  (Which if you are at all familiar with chick lit, you know already anyway!)

If you are looking for a fun, quick read this is the perfect book.  Perfect for vacation or just a break from heavier reading.

There has been so much hype lately about The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer with the movie and book four coming out. Why does everybody love these books so much? Were my copies of the books switched out? Did I read something else?

At first I enjoyed the books, they were entertaining, but I wondered what all the fuss was. I figured maybe they got better so I picked up the second and third books hoping for something a little more captivating. The second was was also okay, but the third was the worst of the bunch. The more I thought about the books and read some truly amazing young adult fiction (The Book Thief – EXCELLENT!) I realized how terrible these books actually were.

I have to start out by saying that I am NOT a book snob. I can enjoy a nice trashy chick-lit novel just as much as true literature. The one thing I cannot abide though is bad writing. The writing in these books was B.A.D. (Close second to Mary Higgins Clark for the worst writer ever.) There’s not much else to say than that, it was just bad.

As for the story, it was ridiculous, and not because it was about vampires. I can deal with that part. It was just so not believable. The characters were completely unrealistic. The main character, Bella, is a high school student who acts NOTHING like any high school student I have ever come in contact with. (And as a high school teacher, trust me, I’ve come into contact with many.) And the plot, brutal. So stupid, overly dramatic, contrived, immature. It was like she was just grasping at straws, trying to throw as much drama into the plot as possible.

And the books just got worse as the series went on. I almost couldn’t finish the last one and I probably won’t even bother when the fourth one comes out. I was just going to keep my mouth shut but I’ve just been so shocked by the intelligent people that loved these books. Seriously people, what is wrong with you?