Book Review: Fat Girl

This past Thursday I was browsing the nonfiction/biography section at the library while the kids played on the computers and came across this book.  It wasn't too big of a book, and the title seemed like something that I could relate to.  So I checked it out.  When we got back home I started to read it while I was outside watching over Daven and the girls.

The first little bit starts out ok.  She talks about food in a way that made my mouth water.  Yes, I love food, too, Judith!  But then she backtracks her story to I believe before her parents were even born.  Honestly I'm not sure.  I had a hard time keeping up with whether she was talking about her grandmother or her mother's grandmother at the time.

And then it hit me.  This was the book that I changed my mind about wanting to read after my friend, Elizabeth reviewed it for her blog, Chubby Madness.  You can check out her review there.  But even after I realized that this was the book that I didn't want to read, it was too late.  I had to finish it.  Sure, I could have put it down then and turned it back in, but a part of me wondered if maybe I would like the book more than Elizabeth did.

I did not.

I might even dislike it more.  I'm not sure.

The further I got into the book, the more I was kept waiting for some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.  I waited for a glimpse of hope; some happiness hidden within the pages.  It didn't happen.  Judith's mother was abusive; her father absent.  She was fat-shamed from an early age.  She felt that her weight was the reason that her mother didn't love her.

Everything that happened to her is absolutely unacceptable.  But the book gave no conclusion.  There weren't any wishful thoughts or cries of victory from overcoming one's childhood.  The book left me sad and dissatisfied.  Is that wrong of me to think that way about someone's true story?  Maybe.  But I wish I had never read it. 

Book Review: Confessions of a Scary Mommy

I had been wanting to read this book ever since I somehow stumbled onto the author's twitter.  But wouldn't you know that the library didn't have it and I couldn't afford to buy it.

Happy birthday to me!

Adam got me a gift card for my Nook for my birthday last week.  And after much frustration and multiple calls made to them wondering how an emailed gift card would take so long to show up in an email, even though the amount had already been deducted from our banking account, I finally got it yesterday afternoon.  Anyway.

Adam came up to bed at about 11:40 last night and was surprised that I was still awake.  "I want to go to bed.  I just can't stop reading."  And so about ten minutes later, I was finished with the book.  It is, after all, under 200 pages.  "Why did you buy a book that's so short?"




I have to admit, shelling out $11.99 for this book was hard to do, especially since it's very rare that I actually purchase a book.  But I had been wanting to read it for so long, I had to dive right in.  The author, Jill Smokler, has already written another book!  But alas, my gift card will not cover the cost for that book as well, so I will wait until Barnes and Noble snail mails my "I'm sorry we suck" $5 gift card.  Then I will have enough!


The whole idea for this book came from the author's blog.  Her family had just moved to a new city and she was home with three kids.  She decided to give writing a try.  After writing online for a while, she set up an anonymous confessional for her readers to leave comments about their own mommy woes, without worry of being flamed by the super-moms.

The book consists of many of the reader confessionals, all packaged into neat chapters about Smokler's own experiences ranging from pregnancy to how her life with her kids currently is.  Could I relate to every single confessional?  No.  But it was such a relief to read about other moms worrying about not being good enough.

A personal story that really stuck with me was the author's own struggle with breast feeding.  She even mentioned taking the same herb supplements that I did back when Daven was a newborn.  She talks about the overwhelming guilt that she had about not being able to keep her baby full and how switching to formula was such a rough choice.  I just read through, thinking I know just exactly how that feels.

So as you can probably tell, this book gets very personal.  But I really applaud Smokler's candor and telling it like it is, as apposed to sugar-coating everything.  Being a mommy is hard and in between those perfect pictures that we post online is a lot of frustration and self doubt.  And that's ok.  you aren't alone.

Being a scary mommy doesn't mean that you mistreat your kids.  It means that you haven't showered in days and don't think twice about sniffing a rear end to check for poo.  And that swiping some of your kid's holiday candy is alright.  I think that any and every mommy out there can resonate with the message of this book.  I can't wait to read her newest book.  Jill - thank you for this.  You rock, momma!

Book Review: Dead Ever After

It's such a bittersweet moment, the end of a series.  Despite the fact that I wouldn't have minded if the Sookie Stackhouse series went on indefinitely, it is now officially over.  I received my copy for Mother's Day and wasn't able to put it down until it was finished.

Coming back to finish this story took a bit of memory refreshing.  It had been a year since the previous book came out.  Then there was a season of True Blood, in which the plot is absolutely different.  So I had to really think about which plot line went where.  Harris helped out with little refreshers in the book, without making it seem like too much of a review.

So how Bon Temps end up fairing?  Do the vampires take over?  Do the fairies and the witches have it out?  Well of course I'm not going to give any spoilers to that.  There are tons of people online making their hatred of this book clear.  I don't agree with them in the slightest.  I loved this book.  I loved how it ended.  It made me happy.  I need for some other people to read it so that I can talk about it with them!

Oh, and if you plan on reading it and don't want the ending ruined, do NOT google search the book in any way.  When I was looking for the cover picture to post, there were all kinds of spoilers abound.  So read first, search later.

One thing that I do think this final book was lacking in was more of an ending for all of the characters.  I understand that with a dozen books there are going to be a lot of characters that the readers have grown to love and invest in.  And while we get an ending for Sookie, Harris leaves us hanging on where some of the other players end up.

You know how at the end of some movies there is a reel that shows each person and underneath is a written blurb about what they ended up doing?  I wish there had been an epilogue that shared how everyone ended the series.  My guess is that Harris was more leaving this up to the readers' imaginations.  I can't say that I blame her - she's gotten death threats over how she mapped out Sookie's future.  I can't imagine how angry some of these people would be if she was more specific about the secondary characters!

I am admittedly sad that this series is over.  Charlaine Harris has other, shorter series and I have read pieces of those.  Sadly, the library's collection is incomplete.  I hope that she will continue to write, and I look forward to reading whatever she dreams up next.

Book Review: The Conduit

After the death of their father, Celeste and her two siblings move in with their grandmother.  Celeste will be starting college in the fall, but plans to spend her summer in her new surroundings concentrating on her art.  But before long, she is named the conduit, who must protect Earth from the evil-doers from the spiritual plane.  Along with gaining new strengths and defenses just as she needs them, her brother can now transform into a lion and her sister grew wings. Together, they fight the bad guys.

I have to be honest and say that at this point, I picture Buffy with Xander and Willow, kicking butt and taking names.

Ok, so I couldn't actually find a picture of the three of them mid-fight.  It looks pretty tame, couch sitting and all.

While none of these guys in Buffy actually had any supernatural powers, the close relationships among the three are similar to that of Celeste and her brother and sister.

With the help of their spirit guide (cough cough Giles) the siblings have to learn to harness their powers, work together, and stay alive.  If that weren't enough, they also have to see Grams wearing clothing that is less than age appropriate.

Stacy Rourke creates an atmosphere that while dangerous, still manages to be pretty funny.  It's uncomfortable for everyone when the lion turns back into regular brother...naked.  The book is fast-paced and enjoyable to read.  I immediately wanted to start the next book in the series as soon as I finished this one.

Stayed tuned for the review of Embrace, as well as the third book, Sacrifice, which I will be reviewing on the 27th as part of the book blog tour.

Book Review: Not Like my Mother

I remember that weekend all too well.  I was finally allowed to have a couple of my closet friends over for a slumber party.  I was so excited!  They had been teasing me for months about how they were invited over to my house and we always hung out somewhere else.  It was finally my turn.  I spent hours arranging my room so that it was just right.

All went well until the morning after, when my friends awoke before me to find my mother sitting at the kitchen table in her old ratty nightgown, chain smoking. She sat there at the table with her coffee, cigarette and yesterday's makeup slouched back, like I had seen many guys do.

Did I mention she wasn't wearing any underwear?


This is the kind of thing that I envisioned would be in this book.  The silly, quirky things that our parents did to embarrass us growing up that we vowed not to do to our own children.  But it's not.  I made that excerpt up.

Irene Tompkinson brings her family's skeletons out of the closet for every reader to gawk at.  And you do gawk, because it is terrible.  Dysfunctional doesn't even begin to describe her family tree, from generations back.  But it's not like The Middle or Modern Family where the dysfunction is comical and every conflict gets resolved with a laugh.  Alcoholism, abuse and neglect burden Tompkinson for much of her life.

Tompkison is now currently a therapist and within her book, she strives to identify different coping mechanisms that people use and how a traumatic past can lead to decades of hurt.  It reminded me of my college psychology classes and my favorite theorist, Abraham Maslow.  The basis of his work is this: if your basic needs are not met, you cannot learn.  If you don't feel safe and loved; if you don't have shelter and food, you go into survival mode. 

Despite the heavy nature of this, I read it through cover to cover in one day.  I don't know exactly why I was so drawn to it.  I certainly had a safe, functional, happy childhood and family.  But it was so interesting to see how Tompikson transitioned from child to adult and mother herself. 

I am definitely thankful for my parents and my upbringing.  It was difficult at times to read the details of the hurt that Tompkison endured.  She was very brave to put her personal journey into print. 

I'm not sure how long the deal will last, but right now you can get the ebook for kindle for free.  Double check the price before you purchase.

Book Review: Live to Tell

Lisa Gardner is a fantastic author.  I started reading her books last year.  They're crime fiction - suspenseful, who-done-it's with plenty of drama mixed in.

 The most recent book that I finished is the 4th in her Dective D.D Warren series, Live to Tell.  She is a tough detective who works on little sleep and fantasies about a good meal.


This book is bat shit crazy.  But I mean that in a good way.  I spent the majority of the time I was reading it with my mouth hanging open, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened.

An entire family is found dead.  We meet Danielle, a pediatric nurse who works on the psych ward of the hospital.  Twenty-five years ago, everyone in her house besides her was killed.  Then there's Victoria who has an eight year old son, Evan who appears to be just plain psychotic.  More people are introduced, more bad things happen.  And D.D. has to try to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

I know there is at least one more book so far in this series and I have already placed a hold for it at the library.  If you're looking for a new author to read, I'd highly recommend Gardner.  And if you do, let me know what you think!

 

Lisagardner.com