Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

The other night my hubby and I met with some of my best friends (and their partners) for our annual Christmas dinner. I couldn't think of anything I wanted more for Christmas off them than books, so I put my requests in a while ago. About 3 months ago I was contemplating writing a novel about depression as I have suffered from it on and off since I was 15, and in my research I discovered a book that screamed at me to be read. It was called Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and I asked Rach to get it for me for Christmas. She did. I have since moved away from the idea of depression as a theme for a novel, but that's not relevant. I may revisit it at another time.

Anyway, I had to take my husband to hospital 2 nights ago (he's fine now) and while we waited the agonising eight hours in emergency, I dug out Speak and started to read it.

Here is the blurb off the cover of the book:

'Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-school party by calling the cops, so her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know hate her from a distance. It's no use explaining it to her parents; they've never known what her life is really like. The safest place for Melinda to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she admitted it and let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have no choice. She would have to speak the truth.'

Oh. My. Goodness.

I haven't read a book this good in a very long time. I know what it's like to have a tough time at school and this touched me deeply. The way Anderson captured the internal and external voices of high school students (especially Melinda) was phenomenal and the way she wrote the book was superb. I love books that are written a little differently.

This novel covers some very important issues that plague children at school and have done so for a long time. It's even being studied at schools now I think, which is wonderful.  Speak was sad, dark, funny, and witty and had me captivated from the first word, to the last. It was amazing.

I won't be posting many reviews over the next 4 weeks or so due to Christmas/New Years festivities, but I am still reading and will post my reviews when the holiday season comes to a close.

Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!

Sam I Am

The School of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister

This book was the November/December pick for the book club that I attend. The name put me off straight away. I don't like to cook. At all. But, I expect that the other girls in the book club read what's on our list, regardless of their preferences, so I picked it up (12 hours before the meeting) and gave it a go.

The School of Essential Ingredients is about how Lillian, who has had a passion for cooking since a young age, decides to start a cooking school on Monday nights when her restaurant is closed. The book is split up into a portion for each member of the cooking school and explores how they came to find the school.

This book took me about 2 hours to read. It's quite small and, despite my prior reservations about the book, it's pretty damn good. After each characters' story I found myself disappointed that I had to move on to the next one and wishing I could read another 100 pages about each of them. It describes food in a way I had never read before and I even caught myself slowing down while I was eating to think about the flavours - me, who puts tomato sauce on everything. The book made me feel warm and fuzzy and I'm so glad that it was picked for our reading list.

Can't wait to see what books are picked for next year.

Sam I Am

When We Have Wings - Claire Corbett

When We Have Wings is set in a world where technologies and medicines have been developed to allow people (who can pay the right price) to have a set of wings attached. The novel focuses on the division between the fliers and people who cannot afford the procedure, or simply choose not to.

The book follows two characters: Peri, a nanny for a prominent flyer family, and Zeke, a private detective hired by the same family to find Peri when she disappears with their son Hugo. Zeke accepts the job completely unaware of what lies and conspiracies he is about to discover, and by the time he realises, it's too late.

I have been struggling with this review for days. There were parts of this novel that had me hooked, but generally, I didn't like it. The person who recommended this book to me basically described it how I did in the first paragraph and I was intrigued. It sounded like something I would love. But, they forgot to mention that it's essentially a mystery. Normally, I don't mind a good 'who done it', but I need to know before hand as it's not really my favourite genre. Now, it's not fair to judge the book based on what I thought it was going to be about, so I set my judgements aside and thought about it for what it was.

The detail that went into the mechanics of flight was amazing. It was thoroughly researched and very compelling. The ethics of genetic modification was always in the background and that interested me, as well as the issue of surrogacy. However, I found the characters very hard to get to know (especially Zeke).  I like to pick up a book and feel like I'm catching up with an old friend, but these characters left me exhausted and irritated.  I also grew tired of the constant description of the clouds and the weather while Peri was staying with a group who call themselves Audax.

The idea behind the book is wonderful and very original, but it just didn't do anything for me. I know loads of people will disagree, and that's ok.

Has anyone read When We Have Wings? What did you think?

Sam I Am

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Set in Roth's dystopian Chicago, Divergent is centered around Tris, a young girl who has turned sixteen and now must make a choice-like all other sixteen year olds-that will decide her future. She must select one of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a different virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite and Amity. Tris struggles in the lead up to her decision as to whether she should stay in Abnegation with her family, or chose the faction she feels is calling to her. The decision Tris makes has devastating consequences and uncovers a secret that Tris must hide to save her life.

I set the bar pretty high for this novel. I read many reviews and opinions on it before I bought it. Did it live up to my expectations? It sure did. The story line was a little predictable and the character development needed a bit of work, but I didn't mind. Something about the book made me forget it's  flaws. Divergent was exciting, it was gripping and it was utterly fascinating! Keep in mind though, that this is a book for young adults-although that isn't stopping all the adults I know reading it. It was very easy to read and I found it very hard to put down-even to eat! Since reading The Hunger Games, I have become obsessed with dystopian fiction, so expect loads of reviews from that genre. I am so glad I read Divergent and I was so disappointed when I got to the last chapter. But guess what? There is a second book set to be published next year, and a third to be published in 2013. Happy days!

I'm currently reading When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett and I'll be reviewing it in the next few days or so if anyone wants to read along.

Sam I Am

The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I put my writing aside today so I could finish this novel and post my first review. I use the term 'review' loosely though. I have never properly reviewed a book before, I normally just tell everyone who will listen what I thought of it. But, I'll give it a crack.

The main character is Victoria. The story is told in two main parts although they are intertwined throughout the book. The first part focusses on her childhood and how after spending years in the foster-care system she became untrusting, hateful and reserved. When Elizabeth takes her home she slowly teaches her about the Victorian Language of Flowers. It was used as a way to express feelings: pink roses for grace, tulips for a declaration of love. Through flowers, Victoria slowly starts open up and trust again.

The second part of the story is told when Victoria is eighteen and free from foster care. Alone and with no where to live she meets Renata, the owner of a local florist. When Victoria demonstrates the talent she has for arranging flowers that are personal and heartfelt, Renata employs her and helps her get back on her feet. While working for Renata, Victoria meets a mysterious vendor at a flower market and is forced to come to terms with a secret she has been keeping since she was a child. What evolves from that is unexpected, powerful and heart breaking.

I am attracted to flawed and imperfect characters in books. They are so much more believable and likeable. I loved this book for that very reason. When I didn't have my nose in this novel, I was constantly thinking about it. The story line was original, it kept me guessing and it challenged me to think about a few issues that were a little uncomfortable. It was easy to read and I even learned a thing or two about flowers. It was a great read!

Has anyone read The Language of Flowers? What did you think?

Sam I Am

Slowly but surely.

I have been thinking about starting a blog about the books I'm reading for a very long time, but I've never known where to start. I have always tried to avoid computers because I never had the patience to try and understand them better. When one of my very best friends told me she had started a blog, I gained more and more inspiration and finally decided to give it a go. It helped that she said 'It's easy, even for a noob like you'. It's taken me two days to set this up (pathetic I know, but I'm tying) and I'll have to keep working on it, but it's a start.

So, about books. Right now I'm reading The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I'm not quite finished yet so I won't say anything. Give me a day or so and I'll work on posting my first review. I'll also gradually review books I have read in the past as some of those are the best I've ever read. It may involve some re-reading though. Such a shame.

Also, I love Dr Seuss. Hence the name of my blog.

What's everyone reading at the moment?

Sam I Am