Short and Sweet Book Review: Between Here and April

Between Here and April by Deborah Kogan (web site)
Genre: adult fiction
Publisher: Algonquin, Sept. 30, 2008
Hardcover 288 pages

From Goodreads:

When a deep-seated memory suddenly surfaces, Elizabeth Burns becomes obsessed with the long-ago disappearance of her childhood friend April Cassidy. Driven to investigate, Elizabeth discovers a thirty-five-year-old newspaper article revealing the details that had been hidden from her as a child-shocking revelations about April's mother, Adele.

Elizabeth, now herself a mother, seeks out anyone who might help piece together the final months, days, and hours of this troubled woman's life, but the answers yield only more questions. And those questions lead back to Elizabeth's own life: her own compromised marriage, her increasing self-doubt and dissatisfaction, and finally, a fearsome reckoning with what it means to be a wife and mother.

 Ever since Brook Shields went public about her postpartum depression, the world really learned how devastating this disorder can be (the world also learned what a jerk Tom Cruise is). If Brook had been a mother in the 1970s, it's likely her story might have ended up like Adele's. This book explores the disorder and sheds some light on the progression of mental illness and the link between depression and family history of depression. It also illustrates the lack of understanding of postpartum depression in the 1970s and thus the failure to treat it appropriately. The book started out good and kept me interested however it took a turn I didn't expect. I understand why the author chose the path she took but it didn't really work for me. This is a an adult fiction book and I wouldn't recommend it for young adults due to the sexual content.

Book Giveaway: Hidden Wives

Crazy For Books is having a book giveaway!

From Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car—but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah’s secret Blo...more Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car—but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah’s secret Blood of the Lamb polygamist community. Having long since reached the “age of preparedness,” they will soon be married off to much older men selected by the hidden sect’s revered Prophet. As Sara, chosen to become her uncle’s fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life. But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested. When Rachel’s future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever known…before it’s too late.

Hurry on over to Crazy For Books to enter this giveaway, it ends Aug. 1 and there will be three winners!

Short and Sweet Book Review: Crossing

Crossing by Andrew Fukuda (web site)
Genre: mystery/suspense, ya
Publisher: AmazonEncore, April 27, 2010
Paperback 217 pages

From Goodreads:

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced “Shing”) is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

I became interested in this book when I saw it advertised on Goodreads with the description-creepy. Oh how I love a creepy book! When I finished this book I was really left with the feeling of "how tragic!" Xing is truly an outsider in his own town. No one really knows him except his best friend, and fellow Chinese immigrant, Naomi. When it came right down to it, Naomi didn't really know Xing the way she thought she did. Most people who came in contact with Xing didn't even realize he could speak English. Throughout the story you could feel his contempt towards his town and school. At times you might even dislike him. It's hard enough to fit in when you're a teenager but for Xing this problem is even further complicated by his ethnicity. Another reviewer of this book commented that the prologue gave the impression that the ending would be different than the final outcome-I must agree. This is a dark story...the ending will leave you feeling distraught and pondering the whole mess. I recommend this book if you're in the mood for a brooding, dark mystery. Due to some crude language this book would be appropriate for an older teen.

Follow My Book Blog Friday

Today is Friday and you know what that means! Time to visit and discover new blogs. Please leave a comment and let me know if you are a new follower and I will do the same:-)

Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View.

This week I won Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin from Dark Faerie Tales!
I can't wait to read it.


To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - toreadornottoread-vampangel.blogspot.com/
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post! 

Create- A- Cover

Activity #10 for the Summer Break Reading Challenge is to create a fake cover and write a short synopsis. I think is is my favorite activity to date! I've seen this done before on Karin's blog but this is the first time I've participated. For directions for this activity go here.

Modify by Wand J. Martin 

In a sport dominated by men, Cassie knows she has what it takes to be a world class motocross racer. So why is she dressed up as a Rockstar Girl passing out trophies to the likes of arrogant Shep Barnes, three time motocross national champion?

When Travis Pastrana comes to town a chance meeting sets the wheels in motion for Cassie to realize her dreams. But can they pull it off?

Everyone at the local dirt track will be in shock and awe when a mysterious new racer shows up out of the blue one day. None more so than Shep who, up until now, was the track's sensation. He makes it his personal mission to discover who the stranger is hiding behind the dark helmet.

Find out what happens when Cassie starts shifting gears and kicking rears!

For fun I'm posting the cover before my edits!

before edits

When I'm Not Reading

I just discovered this fun meme at The Unread Reader. The point of this meme is to spotlight something we do when we're not...ahem, reading.

About three years ago, I discovered the joys of Photoshop Elements. I already knew how to do the simple stuff like basic color correcting and cropping but that was pretty much it. Now I've taught myself to do minor photo restoration, digital scrapbook pages, and some cool photo effects. It's rather time consuming (like blogging) and tough to pull yourself away from the computer.lol

A photo restoration

Digital scrapbook page of my dog Harley

Another digital page of my son when he was a baby

Photo effect: day to night with fireworks

A great web site for learning Photoshop Elements is
 Adobe Photoshop Elements Techniques

What do you do when you're not reading?
To find out more about the When I'm Not Reading meme, check here!       

Short & Sweet Book Review: Going Bovine

Going Bovine by Libba Bray (web site)
Genre: young adult
Publisher: Delacorte Sept. 22, 2009
Hardcover 480 pages

From Goodreads:

Cameron Smith, 16, is slumming through high school, overshadowed by a sister “pre-majoring in perfection,” while working (ineptly) at the Buddha Burger. Then something happens to make him the focus of his family's attention: he contracts mad cow disease. What takes place after he is hospitalized is either that a gorgeous angel persuades him to search for a cure that will also save the world, or that he has a vivid hallucination brought on by the disease. Either way, what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World. Bray's surreal humor may surprise fans of her historical fantasies about Gemma Doyle, as she trains her satirical eye on modern education, American materialism and religious cults (the smoothie-drinking members of the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack 'N' Bowl). Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy.

When I learned Going Bovine won the Printz award I decided I needed to read it to see what all the fuss was about.This book is one of the most quote-worthy books I've ever read...I was laughing out loud throughout the story!

The revolution at CESSNAB:

"My Happiness wants your happiness to go to hell"

Gonzo's tattoo in the shape of a Buddha cow:

"How now mad cow?"

Balder's justification for taking a frat boys drug money:

"His wealth is ill-gotten. And once he dressed me as a "Hootchie Mama" and posted Internet pictures on a fetish site called Naughty Gnomes. I cannot adequately convey the trauma of it."

Knowing Cameron had a terminal disease and that the closer I got to the end of the book meant the closer I got to his death was difficult. I liked this kid and wanted to see a different outcome for him. I'm a mom to a 16 year old boy and can't even imagine such a young life being cut so short. With that said, I think every parent of a teenage boy (and every teenage boy) should read this book. It offers insight for a parent who might wonder "what the heck is going on in my kid's head", and it's full of teenage mayhem that every teenage boy would love. Simply put, it's the road-trip of a lifetime:-)

I highly recommend this book and think that you will fall in love with the characters! It's difficult to pick just one but if I had to I would chose Balder the noble gnome:-)

p.s. Check out my post "My Book in Pictures" of Going Bovine