Me Before You (2012)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Rating: 5/5

THE Low Down

Lou has lived her 26 years quietly within the borders of her small English town, holding the same job for nearly a decade, helping her family get by, keeping her resentments to herself as she puts her family before her. Will has spent his time traveling the world, amassing wealth and a life list that many modern day adventurers would envy until a motorcycle accident derails his high flying lifestyle, leaving him a quadriplegic. Lou's life is also turned upside down when the loss of her job also shakes the stability of her neatly ordered world.
Lou in need of a job and Will in need of a “companion”, their lives are thrown together in a way both despise. Lou does not want to be the companion to someone who hates her; Will doesn't want a companion of any kind, or to continue living a life where he requires one. But there is much more to the story than Lou first realizes, as Will already has plans to escape. But not if Lou has anything to do with.

MY Low Down

This has been touted as a modern day love story, but to say only that does a disservice to this incredibly deep, heart wrenching novel that can both lift you up and knock you down in a matter of seconds. It looks at some of life’s most difficult questions in a way that is so fluid and moving that you often don’t realize the importance of the subject at hand, just that it has been presented in a way that is both readable and thought provoking.

At its heart are the characters who are actually REAL. No, they didn’t hop out of the book and start having a conversation with me, but it felt like they could have. Louisa is the child who has always been second fiddle to the “better at everything” older sibling. She compensated by dressing in bright colors, bringing home money to contribute to the family kitty, remaining stable in the face of her sister’s “look at me! Love ME!” attitude. We’ve all known this person, been this person, and Lou embodies it in a way that is realistic, lovable, annoying and relatable all at once. While her stability has helped her family, it has hindered her personally. She’s never left the shadow of the castle, her town’s one claim to tourist fame, and she doesn’t really care if she ever does. Will on the other hand was happy to leave it in the dust to wander streets of Paris, surf on exotic beaches, leap tall buildings (or off tall mountains, or planes, or whatever else he could get his hands on) in a single bound. Now, Lou has the ablebodiedness to do the exploring but not the heart to do it. Will has the heart but not the physical ability. The combination of these personalities brought out one of the many deeper messages from within the pages: do YOU live your life to its fullest? And if you’re Lou, you also ask who has the right to judge whether you have or not? And if you act as your own judge and jury, from what are you basing your opinion? There are no actual answers to these questions, for anyone, anywhere, yet they are ones that many of us spend a great deal of time in life trying to answer. If we are lucky, we may someday know ourselves well enough to trust that our verdict is correct, or have enough faith in ourselves to follow through, but that is such a personal thing that I honestly don’t feel it can even be described.

The relationship the develops between Lou and Will is tenuous at first but develops into genuine love for one another, though the way they see their future and what that love means could not be farther apart from one another. Lou can’t see her life without Will, who has opened her heart, her mind, and the doors through which she has begun to broaden her horizons. Will can’t see his life at all, and even worse he can’t see himself burdening Lou’s newfound freedom and passion with his disability. To Lou, losing Will is unimaginable. To Will, losing Lou is the ONLY thing he can do. The manifestations of their love for one another are in such different realms of human thought that it is hard to believe that stem from a common bond, but JoJo Moyes takes you through their relationship in such a way that it ultimately more sense than you ever could have imagined. Don’t get me wrong – it sucks – I cried like a baby – but it made sense. And I loved it for it. There is not happy anything here, yet somehow it is all happy. It forces you to look at a perspective that is not often brought up.
Plus, the writing is just excellent!


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Silver Orphan - A social commentary on a heartbreaking fact of life that all to many choose to ignore

Silver Orphan by Martine Lacombe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a galley copy of this novel for my review.

Simply put, this book packs a punch. Enough so that it is 1:00am on a weeknight and instead of sleeping as I should be, I am sitting in front of the computer because I'm pretty sure I will not be able to sleep until I write something down.

With each passing year, more Americans are reaching their golden years, and many of them without friends or family. Whether this is due to geographic separation, a lack of family members who care, or a lack of family members at all, the result is the same - these seniors who have often worked hard and cared even harder for their families throughout their lives are now alone. This is a heartbreaking subject, and one that Martine Lacombe tackles with grace.

Part story of unlikely friendship and changing self awareness, part history lesson and social commentary, this novel takes us rhythmically through 3 time periods - the younger life of first generation Italian-American Frank Moretti, the time of developing friendship between him and raging narcissist Brooke Blake, and the present day timeline of Brooke searching for the family of her lost friend following his death. The vastly different viewpoints and expectations of themselves, each other and the world were a central piece to this novel, and these 3 alternating time periods allowed the authors points to come through by comparison rather than coming across as preachy or overly analytical. This novel is well written, thoughtful and poignant.

There are only 2 pieces that held this novel back from 5* for me. (view spoiler)[ First, I can't bring myself to fully believe that Brooke truly changed. Yes, we see her reaching out and given up her precious time to others in the end, but that still does not cancel out the fact that she was utterly irritated at the thought of having to deal with Frank's remains rather than being saddened by his passing, despite showing him such love and care so soon before his death. Second, I am sad to not know more of Sofia's story, or that of Frank's son and granddaughter after Brooke discovers his family. While this piece of the puzzle does serve excellent commentary in terms of apathetic family members, I do so wish we had learned more of the story. (hide spoiler)]

Overall though, an excellent and worthy read, and I applaud Martine Lacombe for tackling this equally heartwarming and heartbreaking story!

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The Aviator's Wife - Mesmerizing, Intriguing and Making Me Add Too Many New Books to my TBR List!

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5*

Loved it! I very much enjoy the fictional bio/autobio style and Melanie Benjamindoes it so well! A pretty significant number of people are already familiar with many aspects of the life of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, but so much of it just the most basic details, since they tried so hard to shield the details of their lives from the world. In this novel, Benjamin helps us to imagine what the intimate details behind the events might have been. And I ADORE the fact that she doesn't let little details like facts get in the way. Sure, she does diligent research and gives you the accurate essentials, but she also lets her imagination run amok in the name of a good story. She puts it out in the open that she does not mean for her works to be taken as non-fiction, so she doesn't let her stories be weighted down if it is going to take away from the interest and intrigue. I read a quote from Benjamin at http://www.biographile.com/good-prose... where she says "My biggest reward as an author is when I hear, "Now I have to go buy more books about this person!" and she certainly succeeded with this one...I have spent several hours both while reading and since finishing this asking the Google machine more questions about the Lindbergh's, as well as looking up her novel (Gift from the Sea), his memoir (The Spirit of St. Louis and several of his biographies to add to my reading list. For facts and figures, I will read those...for good, intriguing storytelling I'll stick with Benjamin. I am excited to see who her next subject is!

My only boo on this one, and what kept it from 5*, is that I felt a bit drawn down by how severely Anne was portrayed as the martyr at times. Yes, this is the point and I get that the story would have gone a completely different direction had it not been for these details, but I definitely had to stop the my internal dialogue from falling into a case of the "blah, blah, blah's" on a few occasions. I think all of the events and descriptions involved with these times were important and worthy, but just that they could have been summarized a bit and not drawn out quite so much, quite so many times.


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Unbroken - Striking, Horrifying, Poignant and Beautiful

Unbroken: A World War II Book of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

AMAZING!

Not only was I drawn in by the details of this striking, horrific and beautifully written tale, but also by the willingness of Louie Zamperini to share it.

With literary skill that I'm pretty sure cannot be taught, Laura Hillenbrand managed to share Louie's experiences in a way that at many times I felt I had to have been reading a novel, and not events that occurred in the life of a real person. His experiences from the POW camps may have been difficult for me to read had this subtle and warming written not been there to guide me through, as they were often so heinous that I was reminded of "truth is stranger than fiction'...but in this case, truth was more horrifying than any fiction I can conjure. Along with helping me through the tough parts, I found myself engrossed in smaller details of WWII that I had not known, or even cared about. Who would have thought that I would ever stop reading to look up a WWII bomber?!

"Louie ran through the place where cages had once held him, where a black-eyed man and crawled inside him. But the cages were long gone, and so was the Bird. There was no trace of them among the voices, the falling snow, and the old and joyful man, running."

Through Louie's life as a bungling teen, Olympic races and hopes, adventures learning to fly, misery (that word does not even do it justice)as a POW and the subsequent recovery from those experiences, it is impossible not to fall in love with this incredible human being. His strength is more than many people can ever aspire to, and his story is one that I will venture to share with anyone who will listen.

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Following Atticus - Quirky, Inspirational, Heartwarming and Oh-So-Memorable!

Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the world of 'feel good' stories, this one is tops. In a time where too many people do not take the time to smell the roses anymore, Tom Ryan not only realized that he was one of them, but he took the steps necessary to change that. With the help of his adorable and adventures miniature schnauzer, Atticus, Tom decided to tackle all of 48 of the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire's White Mountains and prove that "if an overweight middle-aged fellow with a fear of heights and a twenty pound miniature schnauzer could hike the 4,000 footers, nearly anyone could".

Not only did Tom find the love he had been looking for himself through his friendship with Atticus, he was able to share it with us so that we can fall as much in love with this little dog as he has. Tom treats Atticus the way he would want to be treated, encouraging him to be himself so that they can be successful together. Several times throughout this novel, I found myself thinking of Enzo from The Art of Racing in the Rain - Atticus cames across as almost human in Tom's descriptions, and I can picture Atticus and Enzo in front of the television, arguing over whether to watch auto racing or Nat Geo (except of course that Atticus would like be out hiking and not watching television!).

Tom is openly candid about his faults, his families faults and the faults of just about everyone around him, but he writes it in an honest and sincere way that does not offend, but just lends more weight and substance to his already inspiring story. He is not trying to tell us he is perfect, or that he expects anyone else to be. Instead, through simple but moving lines like "Magic is where you find it; the only thing that matters is that you take the time to look for it", he is telling us to be the best that we can be.

This is a 5 star story for me, but my only qualm is the 3 star writing (hence my 4 star rating). While much of the writing is straighforward, humorous, candid and easy to absorb, a few things keep hanging me up. First, and while I know this is not personal or likely intentional, he has a knack for repeating key items a few too many times, making the reader feel as though the expectation is that we won't be able to remember something told to us 3, 4, 5 times already. Second, his flair for the dramatic is a bit overboard in a few areas, such as the foreshadowing of "big" events to come that seem to appear at the end of at least every other chapter.

Overall, a fantasitc read that I would recommend for anyone who loves dogs, loves the outdoors, likes to see the best in people, or just wants some good old fashioned inspiration and reminder of the power of the human spirit.

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The Orchardist - Deeply Profound, Utterly Sad...and I loved it

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel is one where I could definitely utilize a ½ star option – 5 stars for writing quality, 4 stars for story (though on a quality scale this is a 5 also, I just have some personal beefs with the path the author chose to take some characters!) for a grand total of 4.5
This novel follows the path of a non-traditional “family” unit from the beginning of their relationships through much of their formative years together in the late 19th/early 20th century time period. The story is told using many changes of perspective, a very unique and flowing writing style that was almost dreamlike and well-conceived/portrayed characters. It is well-crafted, deeply moving, and profoundly heartbreaking. The pace is slow though not tedious, and even with the slower pace, there is such an ominous atmosphere built up both on the surface and between the lines that you hold a constant and suspenseful feeling of doubt and foreboding, as though something terrible could happen at any moment. Yet, despite the overwhelming sadness that seems to follow everyone around like a stray dog, you cannot help but be moved by and develop a strong feeling toward the characters. While there are definitely some aspects of the story that I did not care for (couldn’t she have interjected SOME hope or happiness?!) but overall I cannot help but be impressed. To write a story with characters so scarred, flawed and detached that can still be so moving is truly a feat of exceptional storytelling and skill with words.

That said…..I hated the ending, and from this point forward may just have to convince myself to remember it the way I had hoped it would be.


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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I started this book last year and for some reason wasn't immediately drawn into and let it slip by the wayside. Having read so many wonderful reviews, I decided last week that giving it another shot was a good way to steer away from the incessant string of guilty pleasures I've been reading lately, and I am so thoroughly glad I did!

I will admit that the very beginning took a bit to get into, but had I gone just a bit further the first time I would have found myself at the point of no return, being wholeheartedly absorbed and not wanting the story to ever end. I think my earlier stumbling block was that I did not initially take to Juliet. She struck me early on as a bit coddled, self absorbed and someone who was profiting from her writings on the war without having suffered nearly as much as so many others (not to say at all that she did not suffer, I think I just didn't "feel" for her as much as I thought I should). This though, ended up being why I loved her in the end. The fact that her suffering was ultimately so much less than her Guernsey friends and the manner with which she got to know them and love them was the tie that bound in the story. She felt for them and their struggles without doing them the indignity of pitying them. She embraced them all for who they were, what they had been through, and how their individuality combined with their makeshift community got them through.

This story touched my heart and I want it to go on forever! I want to read Juliet's next book, and go stay with her in her Guernsey cottage. I want to try Isola's potions, go fishing with Eben, eat Amelia's cooking and talk to Dawsey about Charles Lamb (who I've never heard of, but most definitely need to look up!).

This is a book that will always have a place on my bookshelf.



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The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As someone born well after this time period and about as far away within my own country as possible, I can't make any real personal connection to this era in our history, yet in this book I felt like I was there with these ladies as they navigated through the often treacherous obstacles of daily life.

It is definitely a book that not only makes you think about the situation as a whole (and think again and again what a shame it was that there ever was a time like this, and that sadly it still occurs today much more often than most people realize....), but it also made me think about myself. I would like to gallantly think that had I lived in this era and locale that I would have been like Miss Skeeter...beginning to see what was right and wrong about the world around me and doing something, no matter how large or small, to open other people's eyes. But just like everything else, my current ideals are based on where, how and by whom I was raised. Would I have had the fortune and foresight that she had? Or would I have been just like Elizabeth and Hilly; blind to the injustices I put on other people and the selfish little bubble around me? The thought makes me cringe, and it did so many times during this book.

This was a wonderful story, with so many different smaller stories hidden within. Definitely a favorite.



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The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


To say I loved this book is an understatement. I started dinner last night and then curled up on the couch to start this book while it simmered. Next thing, with my nose firmly buried in a book, I have completely forgotten dinner and it's burned to heck. Pause for a quick kitchen clean and nose back to book. Next thing I realize after that, through unstoppable sobs, is that it is now 11:45pm, completely dark and past bedtime, and I've just finished and closed the book.



This story is told by a human thinking dog named Enzo, and chronicles his life from puppyhood with Denny Swift, an aspiring race car driver, and eventually Denny's wife Eve and daughter Zoe. At times you forget that Enzo is a dog because he seems so insightful and observant but this is the very thing that snaps you back to realizing he is a dog....a person would never get away with much of the commentary he makes because people don't seem to like truth if it isn't what they want to hear, but truth is what Enzo is dishing out.



The "racing in the rain" is the backbone of the book's metaphors, beginning with Denny's excellent abilities at handling a race car on the wet track and the insights on this skill and other racing tidbits that he shares with Enzo over the years. Enzo then uses such insights as "when your eyes go, your car goes" and "that which you manifest will be" to remind us how very similar our lives are to the art of racing in the rain. The metaphors are intelligent, insightful, philisophical and simple enough to just sit and ponder without being down and insulting.



This is an amazing book, and one that I almost feel compelled to pick up and start reading over again today....but I might wait until dinner is off the stove this time....



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The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I had heard many times over what a wonderful book this was and it lived up to every word and more. Told by a mother and her 4 daughters, it chronicles their time spent as missionaries in the Congo, beginning in 1959 and the subsequent courses their lives follow after the experience.



Just the idea of a baptist minister from Georgia moving his wife and 4 girls to post-colonial Africa in 1959 is enough to catch your attention and it never stops there. Each character tells parts of the story from her point of view, complete with different manners of speach, gramatical, spelling and pronunciation errors and varying degrees of thought, caring and knowledge.



The differences in the characters, and how well they develop and share their lives with us, is the key to this book. Rachel is the oldest, and the most materialistic of the bunch. Leah and Adah are twins who could not be more different: Adah is the underdog, the disabled child, who is free with her thoughts because no one acknowledges that she has them while Leah is the model child, following in her father's theological path and must learn from her experiences to be free to think. Ruth Ann is the baby, the always impressionable youngest who is smart as a whip and quite impressioning herself. Together this group of girls brings you to a world that you could never imagine, and honestly don't want to. You love some, you hate some, you are indifferent to some, but everyone you meet throughough this story is memorable enough that you can at look back and know at least how you felt about them.



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Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have no idea why, must have been a typo, but I had this on my "Read" shelf...but good thing I realized that, which made me think to read it!

The back cover described it as one of, if not the best, "comedies of manners of Regency England" and I must agree wholeheartedly. I guess I had always had an inclination(though where founded I have no idea), that I wouldn't like this book because of it's age and language. That, however, may be what I loved most about it. In the week or so since I picked it up and began reading, I have found myself actually thinking in a more "proper" and "old english" manner....just thinking, mind you, haven't quite caught myself speaking 19th century England just yet :o)

This is a book that many, many people have preconceived notions about(my boyfriend said "didn't your read that in junior high?" and another friend had the same old language apprehensions that I had) but it truly defied all of them. I did not dislike Mr. Darcy in the slightest. I did not have any problems with the language, in fact it read more easily than many historical fiction novels I have read lately. Austen's writing style is much more fluid and articulate than I expected, and I breezed right through. My only complaint is that it was not near long enough....



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The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was enthralling and wonderful. I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book(a Thrift Store Score!), but was drawn into it from the moment I started reading it.

James McBride is a mixed-race American, with an African-American father and Polish-Jewish mother, known by those in her adult life as Ruth, and Mommy to her children. His father died unexpectedly before he was born, and he spent his entire childhood and much of his early adulthood knowing nothing of his mother's past. This book is the result of his undying curiosity and his mother's eventual willingness, in her later years, to re-open what she had locked away many years ago.

McBride tries, and mostly succeeds, at not sugar coating the terrible childhood his mother endured and ran from, as well as the effects it had on him and his 11 siblings growing up in the Brooklyn projects. The story is told with alternating chapters of Ruth's harsh upbringing and McBride's childhood chronology and search for "self", with cross-references tying his mother's experiences with why his childhood was the way it was. He makes no illusions to it being easy, but he paints a vivid picture of a strong woman making tough decisions, standing her ground, and in the end, coming out on top. The story is well built, and the frequent change from past to present makes it easier to see the parallels in the lives of mother and child.

This book was well written, inspiring, and deeply moving. I highly recommend it.



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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My first instincts are that this book is beyond description to me, so I'll have to settle for "amazing", "awe-inspiring" and "phenomenal". And settling is putting in mildly. Aside from in being a well written and captivating book, the subject matter got to me at a deep and personal level that I don't even know how to describe. I live just 75 miles from Bozeman, MT, where the Central Asia Institute is located, and I quickly lost count of the number of times this book made me want to get in the car and drive to "town", begging on hands a knees for a job within this amazing organization.

Books, not Bombs. Education for girls in a society so commonly stereotyped as being anti-female. An American man having tea with the Taliban and becoming a most trusted adviser, ally and colleague within Islamic nations that so many have been led to believe are driven by terrorism and hatred, and proving to all who will listen that that stereotypes are just that...stereotypes taught and accepted by those who are either uneducated, unwilling to listen or unwilling to open their minds. Through this amazing story of humanitarianism, courage, loyalty, passion and strong will, Greg Mortenson has crossed borders and boundaries that so many have tried and failed at. The difference seems to fall entirely within the truth of his heart and convictions to do the right thing by the people he has grown to respect and love, rather than the desire to promote his own beliefs.

I could go on and on, but right now it's time for bed....it may be an early morning if I don't talk myself out of skipping work and driving to Bozeman in the morning. I'll be proud and honored to send pictures of myself groveling on the sidewalk :o)



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