Hello Again....

I will be the first to admit I have been unmotivated to blog. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been reading; I have been doing plenty of that. A couple of weekends back I finished one book and read a whole other one as well. I have been so busy with work/life changes that when it came to my “down time” all I wanted to do was curl up with a book. I felt like that was the only way to get out of my own head and dive into someone else’s story. So for this blog I decided to write short, little blogs on a variety of books I have read lately. I promise to be better at writing from now on!

A Wedding in Great Neck

By: Yona Zeldis McDonough

Synopsis/My Thoughts: I recommend this book for an easy summer read. It is about a family getting together in Great Neck, Long Island for one of the daughter’s wedding, and it is filled with misunderstandings, second chances, fighting, heart ache and love. The book jumps back and forth each chapter so the reader is able to get a glimpse of the day through various characters. I enjoyed the fact that I knew what was going on with Gretchen and dealing with her marital problems, while her dad was coming up with the courage to be there for Angelica on her wedding day while also not breaking his sobriety. It is a book that reminds us that all families have their wild and crazy moments, even when everything is supposed to go right. At points I felt irritated with some of the characters and their decisions, but I think that it just shows how well the author created the characters because you feel invested in them. The grandmother, Lenore, was by far my favorite character. She was definitely a ball-buster who decided to make it her priority to get everyone in check.

Glaciers

By: Alexis M. Smith

Synopsis/My Thoughts: This is a very quick read. It is a short book that revolves around a young, twentysomething woman. Isabel works in a library working on damaged books and is in love with Spoke, a young man recently back from the war and working in technology at the library. This book is about Isabel’s love for Alaska, her childhood hobby of collecting postcards, and how to find a way to portray how she feels to Spoke.

To be honest, I just didn’t relate a lot to Isabel and her journey. I almost felt guilty about this, really. The author clearly was opening Isabel up and putting her out there in a vulnerable situation, but there was just no connect for me. The author did a good job with portraying Isabel, but I think that at the time of my reading this, maybe I just wanted something more exciting. The book revolves around one day in her life, and I wanted to speed things up.

The Passage

By: Justin Cronin

Synopsis/My Thoughts: This book was great! To be honest, I am not always into futuristic/post-apocalyptic books. I was captivated with this one though. It revolves around a project being done by the U.S. government and what happens when things do not go as planned. The U.S. is never the same and those who survive are left to figure out how to save the remaining few. I need to warn you that it is a long one. And it is one book in a three part series. So when you get to the end don’t wonder why so much is left unsaid with so many loose ends. The author did a great job with coming to a point to end the book, but also keep the reader wondering what was going to happen. He put in a great amount of detail and the book is broken down from many different viewpoints. Definitely a fun read for the summer. It is, for the most part, fast paced and will keep you on the edge of your seat!!

Me Before You

By: Jojo Meyers

Synopsis/My Thoughts: If anyone was to ask me which one of the books they should read, if they only could read one, this book would be it! I LOVED this book! It was so powerful, and impacted me on so many different levels! The protagonist, Louisa, is out of a job and finds herself applying for a job that will involve being a companion to a quadriplegic during the day. Will used to be a powerhouse, adventurist, and lived life completely. After an unfortunate accident he is bound to a wheelchair and has to depend on someone else for everything- eating, drinking, changing, MOVING! When Louisa comes to meet him and finds him moody, depressed, and rude she doesn’t know if she will last the week. Over time though the two of them become inseparable and share a bond that many people probably don’t experience.

I read this book in a day. I kid you not; I stayed up way past my bedtime because I just had to finish it. I fell in love with these characters and was almost upset with myself for reading this in one day. I wanted the book to keep going so I could stay with the characters. By the end of the book I was balling almost uncontrollably and knew that this was one of the best books I have ever read. The author found this way to subtly get the reader to be invested in the characters and make you able to relate to some of the struggles they were going through. I think one of the things that I appreciated the most about this book actually was reading about the struggles and difficulties Will goes through. Being quadriplegic makes someone so extremely vulnerable, and reading about how long it took them to dress him or take him to the races was so eye opening for me. I learned appreciation for having the use of my body and be able to do things that I have always taken for granted! This is a MUST READ! I will be telling everyone I know about this book.