Talking In Your Sleep...

Expected Publication: April 28th, 2015

The Secrets We Keep

By: Trisha Leaver

Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR)

ISBN-13:  9780374300463

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins.  Ella has spent her high school life living in popular Maddy's shadow, but she has never been envious of Maddy.  In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world.

When -- after a heated argument -- Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy.  Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy.  Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets.  Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options -- confess her deception, or live her sister's life.

Review

       The premise of this kind of reminds me of a true story from a few years back, about two girls that were close friends and looked like sisters.  They were in an accident, and one of them died.  The other lost the ability to speak for awhile and was gravely injured, so she spent months being cared for by the other family, while her own family assumed she was dead.  All because she had no way to communicate her own name to them.  Probably my biggest problem with this book, is that the reasons Ella keeps the secret of who survived is ultimately selfish and to ease her own guilt.  The author makes a point to say that Ella in no way envies Maddy's popularity or "perfect" life.  But I believe on some level she must have, to be so willing to take on the mantle of that life for herself.  At first it wasn't so bad, because she legitimately didn't quite know who she was when she first woke up.  Everything was still fuzzy, which is understandable after a major car accident.

       What about the people that love her, Ella?  You have to be pretty mentally damaged and without self-esteem to believe that it's better to assume another identity and for people to think you're dead, than to tell the truth about the situation!  It's not like no one cares about Ella - her family and her friend Josh grieve for her fairly obviously.  Yet Ella, for some odd reason, has it in her head that just because everyone's relieved Maddy is alive, it means they're glad she was the one that was killed - that she's expendable, because she's unpopular.  WTF???!!!  That is why I had to DNF this book.  I sympathized with Ella's grief over losing her sister but had ZERO tolerance for/ability to emapthize with the predicament she gets herself in by assuming its easier to lie and "be" Maddy then it is to tell the truth.  In my opinion, she deserved every problem she got.  The grass is always greener and all that.  But what a selfish thing to do, by depriving everyone of their grief and taking advantage of the situation, so that she didn't have to deal with her own survivor's guilt.  What about when the truth comes out, as it always does?  How will anyone even be able to stand her then?  Just disgusted by the main character's weak willed nature.  Oh yeah, she's so brave for stealing her twin's identity.  SURE.  The true bravery comes from confronting your grief head on, and taking that bitch down.

VERDICT:  Did Not Finish Reading

***I reviewed this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is April 28th, 2015.**

Enchanted To Know You

Published: May 8th, 2012
Enchanted
By: Alethea Kontis
Harcourt Children's Books
ISBN-13: 9780547645704

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

Review

   Sunday Woodcutter is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter.  But she feels alone and ignored as the youngest in a large family.  Sunday loves writing and telling stories, but even that becomes dangerous when it's apparent that she has the power to make them come true.  Then she meets an obviously enchanted frog who wants to hear all her stories and know all about her for a change.  They build a friendship and one night after Sunday kisses him, the frog becomes Prince Rumbold once more.  Too bad he's the Prince that her family blames for the loss of her older brother Jack.  Sunday is missing her friend the frog and wondering what happened to him, when all of the sudden Prince Rumbold, who has been missing for months, appears and states that he will be throwing a few balls to find a bride.  All the young ladies in the kingdom are invited.  But will he be able to win Sunday's heart now that he's a man again?  What is the mystery about the King and Godmother Sorrow, with such a sinister feeling?  And did Jack really die or is he out there somewhere?  Most of all, will they have a happily ever after?  This book was something that I expected to be a straight re-telling of The Frog Prince - boy was I ever in for a surprise!  This book had bits and pieces of that story, Cinderella, The Princess and the Pea, Rumpelstiltskin, Twelve Dancing Princesses, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, and probably one or two I didn't even pick up on.  It made the story slightly wacky, but definitely all the more interesting.  I never truly knew what was going to happen.  Sunday was slightly disconnected from me as a reader, but I found myself loving the plot and her sisters so much that I didn't even care.  The warring Godmothers were a nice touch and the twist about Sunday's Mother and her connection to them was unexpected to say the least.  I really enjoyed this book and all of it's magical twists and turns.  The romance between Sunday and Rumbold was sweet and light-hearted, even with the familial mis-understandings and tension.  The sub-plot with Wednesday and the King was creepy enough to send shivers up my spine and totally fairy tale, through and through.  The ending was cute and overall about what I'd expected.  I would recommend this book to fans of fairy tales, who would like to read something a little off the beaten path.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*

Keep It Down Now, Voices Carry

Expected Publication: July 17th, 2012

The Unquiet

By: Jeannine Garsee

Bloomsbury USA

ISBN-13: 9781599907239

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother. 

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists. 

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

Review

   Corinne 'Rinn' Jacobs has had a difficult life.  She's hoping to leave the past behind after her parents separate and she moves to the town where her Mom grew up, in backwoods Ohio.  After having a bipolar episode that inadvertently resulted in the death of her beloved Grandmother, Rinn is determined to stay on her medication and not give in paranoia due to the creepy rumors floating around town about ghosts in the school...and her new house.  Rinn makes a lot of popular friends and catches the attention of the cute, boy next door Nate Brenner.  Then, at the Homecoming dance, she participates in a seance at the school pool to draw out the ghost of a girl named Annaliese who drowned there.  It turns out not to be quite so harmless when each of the kids who were in the seance are targeted one by one, some malevolent force trying to do away with them.  Rinn is untouchable for some reason and she's determined to find out why and to know with certainty whether Annaliese is real or not.   Enlisting Nate's help, Rinn is on a mission to save herself and her friends, even if it means facing what she fears the most - herself.  Will she be the next to die or can Rinn finally be strong enough to save herself?  This was an intriguing book.  I normally stay away from the creepy, ghost-story YA books because they never turn out as good as they sound.  I liked Rinn's blunt, 'take-me-as-I-am' attitude because it's not necessarily the norm in YA books nowadays.  Most authors seem to favor the shrinking violet heroines for their novels.  I found myself drawn in to the mystery of Annaliese's existence, why she was haunting the school, and whether or not she was a figment of Rinn's imagination after all was said and done.  I liked the side characters, Meg and Tasha especially even though they met tragic endings.  I thought that Annaliese's cause of death was kind of cliched - at least the involvement the other people who were there was to a very large extent.  Nate made a good romantic interest for a book that wasn't focused on the romance.  It was largely about the mystery and his involvement reflected that.  I was reminded of Lois Duncan's style of writing and I was thoroughly creeped out so many times while reading this.  It is highly recommended for YA fans who enjoy horror, mystery and ghost stories.  Just don't read in a dark room with a creepy closet like I did! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is July 17th, 2012.*

Paris In Love: I Can Understand Why

Published: April 3rd, 2012
Paris In Love: A Memoir
By: Eloisa James
Random House Publishing Group
ISBN-13: 9781400069569


In 2009, New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James took a leap that many people dream about: she sold her house, took a sabbatical from her job as a Shakespeare professor, and moved her family to Paris. Paris in Love: A Memoir chronicles her joyful year in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

With no classes to teach, no committee meetings to attend, no lawn to mow or cars to park, Eloisa revels in the ordinary pleasures of life—discovering corner museums that tourists overlook, chronicling Frenchwomen’s sartorial triumphs, walking from one end of Paris to another. She copes with her Italian husband’s notions of quality time; her two hilarious children, ages eleven and fifteen, as they navigate schools—not to mention puberty—in a foreign language; and her mother-in-law Marina’s raised eyebrow in the kitchen (even as Marina overfeeds Milo, the family dog).

Paris in Love invites the reader into the life of a most enchanting family, framed by la ville de l’amour.

Review

   Romance author Eloisa James and her husband decided to go live in Paris for a year with their children, after her Mother died of cancer and Eloisa herself was diagnosed (early enough for curative treatment).  So in 2009 she went on sabbatical, they sold the house and moved to Paris, intending to relocate to NYC upon returning.  This book follows the adventures of Eloisa, her husband Alessandro and their children Luca (14) and Anna (10).  This memoir has everything a reader could want - heart, true family interactions/situations, hilarious misadventures (both children and parents) and LOTS of food descriptions, with a couple recipes thrown in.  I think what got me so interested in this book was the personable tone of it's revelations.  Eloisa admits that a lot of it was compiled from Facebook and Twitter posts during that year.  It's not a stretch, considering it does feel choppy in the way that it moves from event to even sometimes.  I have always loved her romance novels and her memoir was a great read, well worth the time.  Especially to find someone who loves fairy tales, chocolate and her family as much as Eloisa.  Some of my favorite parts were when she was reading a book written by an ancestor who also lived in Paris (and was a bit of a pompous ass).  Her comments made me laugh out loud.  I always felt sorry for the poor, morbidly obese chihauha Milo stuck in Italy with Eloisa's mother-in-law Marina, who insisted that there was nothing wrong with him.  Anna's nemesis and later best friend Domitilla and their respective antics also provided much amusment to me as reader.  Here are a couple of my favorite passages:

'French chickens come with heads and feet still attached...my butcher cradles the bird like a baby, then waggles its head toward Anna, Turning the bird into a clucking version of Jaws.'

"The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles is gracious, elegant, and jaw-droppingly beautiful. I drifted down the center dreaming that I was a member of the nobless ancienne, my imaginary skirts extending three feet to each side. We all had audio tours; over the elegant sound of a British man informing me about architectural details, I heard Anna talking to her cousin Zoe: 'I dare you to pick your nose in front of that mirror...Go on, I dare you!"

I highly recommend this book even for the most reluctant of memoir or non-fiction readers.  You will be happy you spent your time with this book.  It will make you laugh, want to cry, sympathize and feel warm inside.  Eloisa James is a wonder!

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published April 3rd, 2012.*