Book Review- Lone Wolf

I just finished reading Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult for a Crazy Book Tours review.

From Goodreads:

A life hanging in the balance…a family torn apart. The #1 internationally bestselling author Jodi Picoult tells an unforgettable story about family, love, and letting go.

Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason.

I love reading books by Jodi Picoult.  In fact, when pressed to choose, I often say she is my favorite author.  Her books are always about hot topics that are usually question morals and they make you think and just feel.  And I often find myself tearing up at them.  Oh, and they usually have some great twist at the very end.  (which I've found that I've gotten good at seeing, but not this time!) 

But this book was hard for me to read.  Very hard.  I didn't really read the summary when I signed up, or if I did it was before Christmas and so I didn't remember or pay attention that closely.  But reading it now, it hit close to hom.  The book is about a father on life support with a brain injury and the decision on whether or not to let him go.  Well, on Christmas day, one of my closest friend's mom had a brain aneurysm.  She was fine one minute and they were getting ready for dinner, the next she had a headache and became ill.  They called an ambulance and they just took her to hospital to check her out, thinking everything was fine.  On the way in, she lost consciousness and never woke up.  It hit home so hard.  But everything I read in the book matched up to my friend's mom.  The little twitches where for a second you have hope that the person woke up.  The whole thing about whispering at first in the room, but then realizing that it didn't make a difference.  And the whole organ donor scenario.  While my friend's mom was an organ donor, when they took her off life support, she stayed alive on her own long enough for her organs not to be viable any more and they couldn't donate.  This book just struck a lot of chords in me.

 And since my friend had the same feelings in the story as Edward did (about her mom not wanting to be trapped in that kind of life), I sided with him.  I found myself not really liking Cara at first.  I knew that she had some really big secret (that I didn't figure out in advance) and I was thinking that she was being so selfish by keeping her father alive in a way that he never would have wanted.  But I soon grew to really feel for her and while I say that now I know that my parents would never want to be in a vegatative/unconsious state, I'm not sure that I could end their lives as easily as I would like to think.

And the end is definitely shocking.  There were some twists and surprises that I definitely didn't see coming.  And in true Picoult form, the last couple of pages (before the epilogue) had me in tears.  This was another great book that really pulls at your heartstrings.  I just can't get enough of Jodi Picoult's books!

I gave this book a rating of 4/.5

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 20

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Crazy Book Tours.

Book Review- It Takes a Witch

I finished reading It Takes a Witch by Heather Blake today for a Crazy Book Tour.

From Goodreads:

Darcy Merriweather has just discovered she hails from a long line of Wishcrafters-witches with the power to cast spells by making a wish. She's come to Enchanted Village to learn her trade but finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation...


This book was a fun witchy story.  It reminded me of the light paranormal books I read when I first got into the genre.  Pure fun!
 
There was definitely a big mystery in the story.  I thought I know who committed the murder but then I would change my mind to someone else.  And then someone else again.  But I was completely wrong.  There was another couple of twists that I did see coming, but not this big one!
 
The idea of the different "Crafters" is so much fun!  And how I would love to be a Wishcrafter!  That is completely the type of witch that I would choose to be, if I could! 
 
This was definitley an enchanting book and a great start to a new series.  I can't wait to see what happens in the book!

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 2
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 2
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Crazy Book Tours.

Book Review- Triangles

I just finished reading Triangles by Ellen Hopkins for a Crazy Book Tour.

From Goodreads:

In this first adult novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the unforgettable Crank trilogy, three female friends face midlife crises in a no holds-barred exploration of sex, marriage, and the fragility of life.

Ellen Hopkins has made her mark as the wildly popular author of several novels for young adults—every one of them a New York Times bestseller, and every one a hard-hitting exploration of tough-to-tackle topics. Now, in Triangles, Hopkins brings her storytelling mastery and fearlessness to take on the challenges of adult dramas.

In this emotionally powerful novel, three women face the age-old midlife question: If I’m halfway to death, is this all I’ve got to show for it? Holly, filled with regret for being a stay-at-home mom, sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Andrea, a single mom and avowed celibate, watches her friend Holly’s meltdown with a mixture of concern and contempt. Holly is throwing away what Andrea has spent her whole life searching for—a committed relationship with a decent guy. So what if Andrea picks up Holly’s castaway husband? Then there’s Marissa. She has more than her fair share of challenges—a gay teenage son, a terminally ill daughter, and a husband who buries himself in his work rather than face the facts. As one woman’s marriage unravels, another one’s rekindles. As one woman’s family comes apart at the seams, another’s is reconfigured into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman’s up is another one’s down, and all three of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness before it is through.

I have several of Ellen Hopkins' YA novels but haven't had the chance to read them yet.  I have heard great reviews about them, so I was eager to read her first adult novel.  And while at first, it took me a little while to get used to the format of the book (prose), I soon learned to just read it straight like it was a normal novel and then I got through it so much easier.

This book definitely isn't for the faint of heart.  There are a lot of hard topics--sex, infidelity, sex, teenage pregnancy, sex, diseases, sex, homosexuality, and more sex.  And while that makes it sound like a trashy novel, it so wasn't.  I found it to be really thought provoking.  And kind of depressing.  It seems like everyone cheats or is cheated on at some point.  But it really makes you think.

The book is filled with drama, so if that's your thing, then definitely check it out.  I found myself engrossed in the book and while it left me feeling kinda down, I somehow enjoyed that.  I enjoyed reading the mess that was the lives of these three women.  I'm not really sure what that says for me.  But I can't wait to read more by Ellen Hopkins!

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 106
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 86

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Crazy Book Tours.

Book Review- Sing You Home

I finished reading Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult last night for a Crazy Book Tour.

From Goodreads:

Zoe Baxter has spent ten years trying to get pregnant, and after multiple miscarriages and infertility issues, it looks like her dream is about to come true – she is seven months pregnant. But a terrible turn of events leads to a nightmare – one that takes away the baby she has already fallen for; and breaks apart her marriage to Max. In the aftermath, she throws herself into her career as a music therapist – using music clinically to soothe burn victims in a hospital; to help Alzheimer’s patients connect with the present; to provide solace for hospice patients. When Vanessa – a guidance counselor -- asks her to work with a suicidal teen, their relationship moves from business to friendship and then, to Zoe’s surprise, blossoms into love. When Zoe allows herself to start thinking of having a family, again, she remembers that there are still frozen embryos that were never used by herself and Max.

Meanwhile, Max has found peace at the bottom of a bottle – until he is redeemed by an evangelical church, whose charismatic pastor – Clive Lincoln – has vowed to fight the “homosexual agenda” that has threatened traditional family values in America. But this mission becomes personal for Max, when Zoe and her same-sex partner say they want permission to raise his unborn child.

SING YOU HOME explores what it means to be gay in today’s world, and how reproductive science has outstripped the legal system. Are embryos people or property? What challenges do same-sex couples face when it comes to marriage and adoption? What happens when religion and sexual orientation – two issues that are supposed to be justice-blind – enter the courtroom? And most importantly, what constitutes a “traditional family” in today’s day and age?
 
Once again, Jodi Picoult gives us a book that is filled with moral issues.  This time its about same-sex relationships and about infertile couples and their struggle with getting pregnant.  And once again, I could really get into the characters' heads and feelings.  I love her writing!
 
I live in a city where being gay is completely normal and acceptable.  Thank goodness!  So many of my friends are in same-sex relationships and I truly believe that they should have the same rights as opposite-sex couples.  Hopefully one day this will become a reality.  But enough about politics. 
 
The only negative is that I missed the big surprise ending.  I feel that usually in books by Picoult, there's some shocking thing that happens or is revealed at the end of the book that isn't forseen.  But there wasn't really anything like that in this book.  Or if there was, I could competely see it coming so it wasn't a shock at all.
 
That being said, Picoult is still my favorite author and I can't wait to devour the next book that she writes!
 
I gave this book a rating of 4/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: P
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 18
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 16
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Crazy Book Tours.

Book Review- My Name is Memory

I just finished reading My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares for a Crazy Book Tour.

From Goodreads:

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, inspired, magical book-a love story that lasts more than a lifetime.

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short.

Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

A magical, suspenseful, heartbreaking story of true love, My Name is Memory proves the power and endurance of a union that was meant to be.

I liked the premise of this book.  That true love will always find each other, through every lifetime.  But I not sure about the actual book.  I just didn't connect with any of the characters.

First of all, I didn't really care for Lucy.  She was not the tad bit interesting to me.  Sort of boring.  And I guess I liked Daniel.  I liked that he loved Lucy (Sophia) so much that he spent eternity looking for her.  But I wasn't crazy about him.

There were lots of flashbacks in the story and maybe that's partly why I didn't really enjoy it that much.  I guess they were kind of historical in nature (and I don't like historical fiction).  Oh well, I can't like every book.  Not that I disliked it.  It was just a book that read, nothing to rave about.

I gave the book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 16
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 14

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Crazy Book Tours.