Books to Read: Sapphire Blue

Things I learned from reading this book: I always spell "sapphire" wrong on the first try. Other things I learned: good characters trump everything. Is there good plot going on in Sapphire Blue? Yep. Lots of adventure, beautiful dresses, hot smooches and danger. But mostly, there is Gwyneth. I love her.

From Goodreads:

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean. At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

I keep trying to figure out why this series works so much better for me than other urban fantasy books have. You think you've read enough of a category that you couldn't be engaged by it again, but then...

And I keep coming back to Gwen and Gideon. Really, all the characters here. I care about them. I want them to succeed. And I am totally convinced that there is some bad stuff coming. 

This is a definite read, especially if you like a little adventure and romance while you're, say, doing the dishes.

the Madness of March

I'm totally not a big sports fan. And often March passes on by without me noticing one way or the other. But, because my alma mater was doing rather well in basketball earlier this year, I've been half-heartedly keeping track. And I've totally been missing out! I love how fast everything moves. One minute you've got dreams of glory, and an hour and a half later, you're dreams have died. Or been refueled.

Wow.

Wouldn't it be lovely and completely horrifying if all our life-long dreams were so efficiently dispatched? Imagine I'm writing say, and I've written and written, and it all comes down to a head-to-head and one quicsk glance over by one editor.

Ouch.

I couldn't do it. I don't have the heart for sports. It must take some severe perspective to be able to process all that, so fast. I mean, one three-point-shot at the buzzer and wham!

I don't have a big punch-line at the end of this. Just that March Madness is not for the faint of heart.

Book Recommendation: Shadow and Bone

Jan here. I just pop in when I've read something I really liked. Today it is Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone.

From Goodreads:


The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

To be honest, I don't love the dark, mysterious hero. So the whole time the Darkling is doing his charismatic, we-are-meant-to-be thing I was pretty skeptical. And Mal was such a great character. And Alina is sympathetic and even though this is, at heart, a normal young girl who turns out to be not so normal story, she's believable. And the world is detailed and interesting and nuanced. The concept of the Shadow Fold as the evil is so spare and scary it works as the representation of evil in a way not realized in many other books. Definitely a recommendation.

Books to Read: Ruby Red

Note: this was another one I listened to. Again with the four kids and the laundry and dishes and craziness. Ah, my life. So good. (no, it really is, just kind of chaotic and busy.)

I loved this book. Look, it's so pretty:

This was one of those random, pick-it-off-the-shelf at the library reads. But then I couldn't ever get through it because every time I tried to pick it back up someone new vomited. February was a good month around here. So instead I checked and magic, the library had it available as an audiobook.

And you know its good when you do EXTRA housework in order to keep listening. ME. Extra housework. I know.

From Goodreads:
Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

 Gwyneth's voice was fresh and funny, without falling into that trap of too much voice. I believed her when she claimed she didn't want to be the time traveler. I was afraid with her when she randomly traveled to other times. And when Ruby Red was done I couldn't wait to read the next one. Which I will review with grown up thoughts and more details in a future post. Go! Read! Enjoy :)

Audiobook Recommendation: The Raven Boys

It's Jan again. I'm going to guess Janine has been unable to post because her house is crawling with a stomach virus, so it is my turn. Like Janine I really enjoy audiobooks. Not all books are wonderful as audiobooks but the right book can be enhanced and really shine with the extra dimension of a good narrator.

The Raven Boys is one of those books.

From Goodreads: It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Stiefvater has such a lovely writing style. From the beginning I felt connected to Blue, and wary of the Aglionby boys. And Stiefvater always gets the best narrators for her books. Like The Scorpio Races, which was another brilliantly-narrated book, the narration of The Raven Boys adds to the beauty of the writing. Excited to read the next in this series.

It Must've Been Fun to Be Three

I have a three-year-old daughter. And I'm not totally sure she has any kind of legitimate grasp on reality. She inserts herself into every story. She's been a princess, a member of the Voltron Force, a Power Ranger, a mermaid, a ballerina and my sister/aunt/mother. She'll start with "remember when," and follow it with any random thing that pops in her head. "Remember when I was a ballerina and I danced Swan Lake and you were the bad guy who tried to stop me?"

Me: "Um, no?"

After a number of these conversations it occurred to me how fun it would be to be three. Reality is all relative and you're practically a time-traveler. It would be like living in your favorite book all the time, only it would be a total choose-your-own adventure.

Sadly, I can't go back. Instead, I listen to audiobooks and only half listen to her constant stories (hey, never claimed to be a perfect mom). And I've got a good one for you today.

Ultraviolet by RJ Anderson

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori -- the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

Let me first say I probably wouldn't have finished this book had I been reading and not listening. Which would have been a mistake. This book was twisty and turny with a nice plot twist at the end. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I'm excited the second book is out because now I need to know what happens next.

Book Recommendation: The Lost Girl

First, this isn't Janine. I'm her mom and she's asked me to contribute a few book recommendations to her blog. And I agreed because she's my favorite daughter and also she's paying me in cookies.

I just finished The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

From Goodreads:
Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray.

So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready. But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this. Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be—until she found the strength to decide for herself.

Interesting and creative. Eva's voice felt very authentic and I found myself swept along with her, worried about the Weavers and grieving with Amarra's family. I did find some logic problems. I'm not sure Mandanna ever fully justified a seemingly normal family believing in the idea of an Echo.

For all that, this was an quick, engrossing read and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to all ages.

Books to Read: Every Secret Thing

Guys. I read an actual book. Words on a page. Well, screen (ah, my beloved nook. Best gift ever.). I don't have as much time to read as I'd like, so when I do it is crushing to not to enjoy it. Luckily, that didn't happen with this book.

I'd seen Susanna Kearsley's book, The Winter Sea floating around goodreads and an to-read lists, so I finally picked it up. And I loved it. Loved the historical mixed with present, loved the emotion, loved the characters. It was a carefully researched and fully realized story. If you haven't picked it up, I totally recommend it.

I went to Susanna's website and discovered she has tons of books. I am late to this party! So I picked one at random--or technically, the library picked for me--and started.

From Goodreads:

Kate Murray is deeply troubled. In front of her lies a dead man, a stranger who only minutes before had approached her wanting to tell her about a mystery, a long-forgotten murder. The crime was old, he’d told her, but still deserving of justice. Soon Kate is caught up in a dangerous whirlwind of events that takes her back into her grandmother’s mysterious war-time past and across the Atlantic as she tries to retrace the dead man’s footsteps. Finding out the truth is not so simple, however, as only a few people are still alive who know the story…and Kate soon realises that her questions are putting their lives in danger. Stalked by an unknown and sinister enemy, she must use her tough journalistic instinct to find the answers from the past – before she has to say goodbye to her future.

Wow. First, I love historical novels because I realize how little I know about history and it makes me want to learn more. Second, Kate Murray is someone I want to be friends with. A great mystery which didn't commit the cardinal, I'll-just-take-a-night-shower-while-I-wait-for-the-serial-killer sin. When Kate made a rash decision I was behind her, following her logic and hoping she was making the right call. And then at the end it wrapped everything up neatly and in a way I didn't see coming. Though caveat: I am terrible at predicting outcomes.

Definitely recommend especially if you like historical fiction.

And Then There Was Vomit

Sorry for the gross title (not really sorry). Did I lose anyone? No? That's why you're my people.

My 3-year-old has been a special kind of awesome lately. The ladies over on Rants from Mommyland mentioned a "cupcake baked by the devil."

Yup.

One of my friends pinned an article on Pinterest about how to manage your anger toward your children and I seriously raspberried the computer screen. Then I crossed my arms, stomped my foot and tossed my hair (I have an excellent tantrum teacher). It was just one of those days.

So today. We went to the Y, the boys had gymnastics and then I promised the kids the BLOCK ROOM. The block room has padded walls and floor, which is a good thing because it is filled with foam shapes of various sizes all ready to be stacked, rolled on, leaped over and generally made mayhem with. The block room is my children's favorite place.

Three-year-old played beautifully in the block room. She ran. She leapt. She didn't fall apart when the crazy boys (it was full of crazy boys, not just my own) knocked her down. At one point she ran up to me and asked, very concerned:
"Mom, are we real?"

Yes.

"Am I real?"

yes.

"What about daddy?"

I'm not sure if she was really pondering the existential nature of life or not, but apparently learning we were indeed real made her feel all kinds of better because she was charming! She hugged. She kissed. She listened.


And then there was vomit.

And when the dust had settled and she was in the bath and I had a second (while watching her thankyou) I checked some of my places online and discovered an old acquaintance had died in a terrible accident, and another friend-of-a-blogger-I-have-read was killed by an infection after giving birth. This is in addition to the other tragedies I've learned about this week (and there have been MANY).

And I hugged her little face and decided maybe the anger articles was worth reading after all.

Oh, hi.

Many things have happened since I last blogged. Many. Big things. Like moving across country. And having a baby. Okay, mostly those two things. So I won't make excuses about not blogging I'll just start again. Yay!

I have a six month old daughter. She is perfect. I also have three other children. I believe they were perfect once (maybe not the redhead...). I promised my husband no more children because even though I love her perfect baby cheeks and I could squoosh them and snuggle them and kiss her all day, loving babies is not a good reason to keep having kids. Because you know they grow too fast. Anyway, right now I'm just basking in her perfectness.

Meanwhile, almost-three-year-old is not potty trained. I wonder if this should bother me? She also likes to drink her milk in baby bottles. No real reason other than preference and I say, whatever. A glass of milk in a bottle every day isn't a big deal. I know some people think I should fix this little habit of hers. And I think, why? Who decided a sippy cup was more socially acceptable and so all toddlers must use sippy cups. She drinks everything else from a cup. She just likes milk in a bottle. And frankly, she spills less.

Also, I signed the twins up for kindergarten, and 1. It freaked out this former homeschooler. I promised myself we would reevaluate often and definitely before first grade. 2. They wanted the boys in separate classrooms as a matter of policy. Really? Maybe that's great for some twins but I really, really think it would be bad for my boys. Some things I get to decide as the parent. I'm taking control on this one or I'm yanking them from the system. End. Of. Story.

I wish I was as relaxed about all the little things I do that aren't socially perfect. My house isn't as clean, my clothes are not pinterest perfect, my body is a bit lumpy-bumpy (remember the four kids part?) I snuggle and kiss my daughter's perfect cheeks and I'll go to bat defending my kids quirks, but my own?

We don't all have to be the same. The end.