And the winner is...

First - I am SO sorry I am a couple days late announcing the winner to my "The Mad Ones" giveaway!!! And now, without further adieu...

A Stationary Addict!!!!

Congratulations!!! I've sent you an email to get your snail mail address!!!

Stay tuned for some more awesome reviews - I've got some great ones in the works!!! Thanks again to everyone for reading my blog and entering the contest!!!

Winner chosen using random.org sequence generator.

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Timestamp: 2009-06-12 15:12:10 UTC

Review: Best Intentions

After reading the dust jacket, I have to admit I was thinking that Best Intentions by Emily Listfield would be just another novel about a cheating husband and what happens to a family once he has been found out. I wasn’t expecting this novel to grab me with its twists and turns. The story builds, step by step, as we continue to learn more about each of the main characters, and I came to realize that this was so much more than what I expected.

Lisa and Sam seem to be the perfect couple living in New York. They met in college and have been happily married for years. Through a series of missteps and bad investments, are now feeling some financial pressure. Adding to that pressure is their daughters’ private school tuition.

Deirdre is Lisa’s best friend since college. She is a free spirit, single, but looking to settle down. Unfortunately, her current boyfriend – a popular and well traveled photographer, Ben – isn’t interested in that. Their on again, off again relationship is shaky at best, but factor in some rough sex, and it borders on dangerous.

Jack, who had moved away and married a much younger woman, completed the foursome of friends in college. Deirdre and Jack were in a serious relationship that ended in an ultimatum. Then, Jack comes in to town and gets the old gang together for a 40^th birthday celebration.

Lisa is faced with some major trust issues at the beginning of the novel, when she hears a voice message on her husband’s phone – a soft whispering voice, suggesting a meeting at the same time, same place. The evidence seems clear that her husband is having an affair, but throughout the novel, different pieces of evidence can be interpreted in different ways. I went back and forth thinking “CHEATER!” and “no, he’s telling the truth!” Through Emily Listfield’s writing, you can really feel the struggle between trust and mistrust, and it was easy to sympathize with Lisa’s character during her struggle.

This novel poses a few questions such as, “how well do you ever really know a person?” I guess you have to read on to find out!!!

Emily Listfield is the author of six novels, including Waiting to Surface and the New York Times Notable Book It was Gonna Be Like Paris. You can read more about Emily Listfield and her work at her author website, or visit the Who Killed Deirdre? web pages.

Thanks to Lauren for sending me this book to review!!!

Review and Giveaway!! The Mad Ones

Joey Gallo was an interesting kind of guy. He wrote poetry, painted, rubbed elbows with celebrities such as Jerry Orbach. But, he was also a gangster. He and his brothers, Larry and Kid Blast were considered “mob muscle” in Brooklyn.

Now, I have never read a book about the mob or gangsters before. I always meant to pick up “The Godfather” but never got around to it…yet. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld by Tom Folsom – and I sure didn’t expect Crazy Joe Gallo to turn into a sort of “antihero.” Yes, the brothers committed murders for their Don, and yes, they sort of bullied others into doing what they want, but they also fought for the little guy. The people in the neighborhood where they lived adored the brothers because they saved six children from a burning building and put out the fire with a bucket brigade.

These brothers were different from other gangsters – they stood apart with their “hip style, fierce ambition and Crazy Joe’s manic idealism.” Bob Dylan wrote a song about Crazy Joe – and 11 minute ballad called “Joey.” Dylan is quoted as saying “I never considered him a gangster. I always thought of him as some kind of hero in some kind of way. An underdog fighting against the elements.”

Though I found a couple parts to be a little slow (after Joey gets sent to jail, for instance), and a little hard to keep up with some of the characters in the book, I thought is was a interesting read and an insightful look into a world that I could never imagine. This book is definitely worth picking up and checking out!!!

In fact, I’ve decided to do another giveaway!!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Please include your email address so I can notify you if you win! If you don’t leave your email, you will be taken out of the running, and you don’t want that to happen!! The contest will run until Tuesday, June 9, and I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday, June 10. This contest is open to anyone who wants to enter!! Good luck!!!

Review: Pregnant Pause

I was pretty excited to get the email from Jenn about the book Pregnant Pause by Carrie Friedman. A book about people who may not want kids, or those who just aren’t ready yet?! I’d LOVE to read it!!!

And I’m so glad I did!!! It wasn’t just another dry non fiction book. It was written for those of us who just aren’t ready or just aren’t sure if they even want kids. It was written for those of us who have to keep hearing the question “Sooooo, when are you going to get on the baby train?” And it was written for those of us who have multiple friends who already have kids, and feel the pressure from – well, just about everywhere.

I got married about two and a half years ago, lots of my married friends have kids already, and believe me, I’ve been reminded that I’m not getting any younger. Reading this book, I seriously thought that someone had gotten inside my head, read all my thoughts on the subject and then wrote it all down.

Ms. Friedman reminds us, in a witty, truthful and funny way that it’s not selfish to not want kids, or to not be ready to have them when the rest of the world is ready for you to. She also tells some fabulous stories about unruly kids, and some…interesting parenting techniques.

I laughed out loud in several different places of this book, all the while nodding my head thinking “YES!” I’ve told several of my single/married without kids girlfriends about this book, too, and I’m sure they are going to feel the same way.

So, a huge thank you to Carrie Friedman for finally writing down all the things I have been thinking about kids! And, if you’ve ever experienced this question coming from your mom, your great aunt, your friends who already have kids, or random strangers, then you need to read this book. Even if you already have kids, you’ll still get a kick out of this book!!

Check out Carrie's website to read more about her, her books and articles and read her blog, too!!

Thanks to Jenn for sending me this awesome book - and making sure I knew I was not alone!!!!

Review: Who Do You Think You Are? A Memoir

I was ready for a memoir when I was contacted to read Who Do You Think You Are? by Alyse Myers, but I don't know if I was ready for this powerful and heart wrenching tale of a young child and the struggles she faced growing up.

Soon after Alyse Myers’s mother dies, Alyse and her two sisters are in her apartment, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. Her greedy sisters are trying to get anything of value that they can get their hands on, but the only thing that Alyse really wants is a wooden box that has been sitting in the back of her mother’s closet since Alyse was young. Once her mother had said about the box “You can have it when I’m dead. In fact, it will be my present to you.” Alyse takes the box, but doesn’t open it right away.

Alyse grew up in 1960’s Queens. Her parents are constantly fighting, shouting, swearing and throwing hateful words towards each other. From the very beginning of this memoir, you can see that resentment and hatred that Alyse’s mother held towards Alyse. She was constantly put down and berated. These things, along with some major chain smoking by both of her parents, were a regular part of every day life for Alyse. Her two younger sisters, though, seemed to be treated with less severity than Alyse.

Alyse’s father would disappear for days or weeks at a time, and when she asked her mother when he would be coming home, the response was “If you ask me one more time, I’ll get the strap.”

This book grabbed me from the very beginning. It is very fact paced and easy to read, the writing pulls you right in. I felt for this young girl as she struggled through life with her mother, and I felt for the adult who tried to come to terms with her childhood. I cringed and shook my head in disbelief and some of the things that this child had been through, but am impressed by and respect the strong woman she has become.

Alyse finally opens the box she took from her mother’s house after years of letting it sit in the closet. She opens it with her own daughter, now old enough to understand. It is a truly touching experience these two share, and one that will help them get to know the woman Alyse’s mother had been before.

I recommend this book because it shows that the spirit can overcome both physical and psychological abuse. This book is so touching and heart-wrenching, it will stay with you long after you put it down.

Read more about Alyse at www.alysemyers.com, including news clips about the book (and an interview from The View!!), and an excerpt from the book!!

Thank you to Julie for sending me this book!!!

And the winners are...

Anonymous
Abby
Lisa
LuAnn
Anonymous

I've sent you all an email letting you know!! Just email me back your snail mail addresses, and I'll get them to the publisher!! Congratulations!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest!! I have a TON of reviews coming up, so stay tuned for those!!!

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Timestamp: 2009-05-18 17:01:04 UTC

Review: Things I Want My Daughters to Know and Giveaway!!!!

I am excited to share with you the novel Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble. I had read some great reviews about this book, so I was super pumped to have been contacted by Nicole at HarperCollins and asked to do a review! I jumped at the chance, and I am so glad I did.

The novel begins with a letter from Barbara to her daughters. Barbara wrote the letter while she was dying of cancer, and it gives instructions on planning her funeral. We then meet Barbara’s four daughters. Lisa, the oldest, is a commitment-phobe. Jennifer is married but terribly unhappy in her marriage, and is facing a decision to have kids with a man she isn’t sure she loves anymore. Amanda is a wanderer, traveling around the world – even while her mom is dying. And Hannah, the 15 year old, rebels against the loss of her mother.

The novel tells the story of these daughters, as well as Mark, Barbara’s second husband and the girls’ step-father, throughout the 12 months following Barbara’s death. The letters from Barbara are combines with stories of love, revelations, and secrets. Each daughter is touched differently by the letters, and we are able to follow the journey of each girl during this year.

This novel really touched me. I am very close with my mother, and honestly don’t know what I would do without her. She is one of my closest friends, and I feel so lucky to have her. There were several instances where I totally lost it and found tears streaming down my face – because I really felt like I could relate to what was happening in the girls’ lives. It is interesting how you can read a book that truly speaks to you in a certain time of your life.

I love how Barbara was portrayed – beautiful, upbeat, fun, quirky, and outgoing – with amazing and heartfelt advice. She seemed very wise, and gave advice by telling of her own experiences and how she learned what she did. She was not perfect, which the daughters learn throughout the course of the book. She had her own weaknesses, secrets, and insecurities – she was human. The daughters learn to accept all parts of their mom – both the good and the bad.

This book really struck a chord with me, and I highly recommend this novel to all moms and daughters. In fact, I’m excited to announce another giveaway!! Nicole from HarperCollins has offered to giveaway 5 copies of Things I Want My Daughters to Know!!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post – that’s it!! Be sure to leave an email address with your comment – if you don’t, your comment will be deleted and you won’t be entered (I HAVE to have a way to contact you!!) The contest will run until May 14, and I’ll pick a winner on Friday, May 15!!! I am a little late on getting this out for Mother’s Day, but it’ll be a great novel at any time of the year. This contest is open to US residents only, and no PO Boxes, please.

Good luck and happy reading!!