The Inn at Angel Island

The Inn at Angel Island by Thomas Kinkade
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

By the ratings, I thought this would be a nice, pleasant, easy read. It was easy all right, but not pleasant. It was so incredibly boring. So simple, so mindless and was written at what felt like a second grade level. The dialogue was shallow and lacked effort or meaning, utterly uninspiring.

I am in no way dissing this because it's Christian, I read a fair amount of Christian fiction, but never anything this dull. And that's the thing, Christian fiction doesn't have to be a wet blanket, just read any MaryLu Tyndall book!

View all my reviews

The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wouldn't call my review a spoiler, but it is such that once you start reading this book, you may catch wind of what I refer to below and figure it out. If you elect to read this book and want to be blissfully ignorant of it's content, then read no more. BUT! Feel free to come back after you're done. :)

Holy crap. Oh my gosh. My emotions were going haywire reading this book. I think anyone reading this review must know by now that it's sad. Incredibly sad. I should have seen it coming but I didn't therefore on a Friday night as I finished the book laying in bed, I had to change my pillow case because I cried so much. Thank heavens my husband was working so he didn't have to see what a blubbering fool I was. To offset that sadness there was humor unlike anything I've read before. The ease these kids felt in giving each other crap about cancer was eerily refreshing knowing that they were being eaten from the inside out. If only everyone could have a sense of humor like this!

I don't like to read reviews before I read a book. I'm so glad I didn't with this book especially. I like to be surprised for most of the books I read and this book did not fail in the "SURPRISE" department.

I loved the banter between Hazel and Augustus. Yes, I had my dictionary app at the ready because they use long wordy words but it only added that much more to the story. They were two kids who have gone through hell, lost a part of their lives, and had to rely on their parents and other cancer kids to mentally survive.

The emotional highs and lows did not cease until the end of the story. It took a hold of my emotions and wouldn't let go and I'm still struggling to free myself. But I loved it. I absolutely loved this book.

View all my reviews

The Language of Flowers

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it! Love, love, loved it!

This book was new and refreshing much like The Help was when it came out. This book also tackled a subject that is a bit on the taboo side. Totally different topics, but it delved into a topic that is not readily or easily discussed...but should be.

Victoria Jones is about to be emancipated from the state on her 18th birthday. She was given up by her mother at birth. Never knew her mother or her father. She struggled in homes and was moved from foster home to foster home. Of course she acted out, she never felt accepted and she certainly wasn't loved by anyone. That is until she was sent to live with Elizabeth.

The story goes back and forth between the past and present.

Elizabeth had demons from her past but was a good fit for Victoria. Yes Victoria fought Elizabeth, but eventually, she came to love Elizabeth and was happy for the first time in her life. And when Elizabeth wanted to adopt her she finally felt like she belonged somewhere. Elizabeth taught Victoria about flowers and what the mean...the language of flowers. It was a great way for Victoria to be able to communicate without having to say something. But Elizabeth's past came to haunt her the day of adoption and they didn't make it to court. Victoria was heartbroken and reacted the only way she knew how. She hurt Elizabeth by breaking her heart back and destroying part of Elizabeth's lively hood. Victoria was taken from Elizabeth and was sent to a group home for girls until her 18th birthday.

Cut back to the present and Victoria is sleeping in the woods until she comes across a florist shop and manages to get a job there. Her knowledge and understanding of flowers is immediately put to good use. While at the flower market, she comes across a young man, Grant, that she doesn't immediately recognize but soon realizes he's from her past. He too is fluent in the language of flowers and they form a strange but close relationship. As close as Victoria can bear.

When something happens that is too much for Victoria to handle, she once again breaks the heart of the one she loves and runs. She feels she's not fit to make Grant happy, she's not the woman he deserves. She runs and struggles to come to grips with her past and her present.

I have to say why I think this book delves into a tough topic, but it is a spoiler. Don't read past this if you want to avoid the spoilers:

(view spoiler)[The subject of abandoned children who never find a loving home and are forced from foster home to foster home is tragic. A child who never knows the love of a parent. A child who acts out and is considered a loss because the he/she is so full of anger and so empty on love. It's heart breaking. When Victoria has her baby you hope against all hope that she can do it. That she can be the mother she never had. But after a couple of weeks, she can't, she gives up. The love she had for her child but the fear that she isn't a good fit because of what she was growing up is heart breaking. To walk away from your baby like she did is something people don't talk about, but it happens. Some babies are lucky enough to be adopted by loving, devoted parents, some are dealt with like yesterday's leftovers. But the ending of this book is beautiful and I loved it. Very happy, realistic ending. (hide spoiler)]

Another reason I totally loved this book is learning about the language of flowers itself. I've never heard of such a thing. Now I can't look at flowers and not wonder what the meaning is. Absolutely fascinating!

View all my reviews

The Good Father

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finished reading this a few days ago but am just now getting to the review. I've already finished a book since then but I'll try my best to explain why I liked it so much.

First, it seemed completely original to me. I haven't read a book like this in a long time so I enjoyed every moment of it. It was a parenthood/love/semi-crime/minor-political/twist-of-fate novel with a wonderful plot. I don't recall ever reading a book by Diane Chamberlain book before but I can tell you that it will not be the last.

Okay, not the best review but that's what I've got for today. :)

View all my reviews

Home Front

Home Front by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Powerful story. Another fantastic Kristin Hannah novel that gets you in the gut. Right through the heart. My husband and I were both in the military but ETS'd right before 9/11. We were fortunate not to have to be in the war but these are my brothers and sisters and it's very hard to read. Yes it's fiction, but still.

Jolene is a doting mother and wife who happens to be a Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the Washington National Guard. She keeps up on flying with her best friend Tami when the kids are at school and the husbands are at work. But this is 2005 and Jolene and Tami are called to active duty to serve in Iraq.

Jolene's husband is a liberal defense attorney who recently lost his father and doesn't at all understand wars and how Jolene can just up and leave her family to fight someone else's war. Jolene's patriotism is put to the test. How can she leave her children with a father who makes little time for them? She knew this could happen and she knows it's her duty. As Jolene is preparing to leave, their marriage takes a turn for the worst and Jolene heads for war to defend her country with a broken heart.

A tragic series of events occur and Jolene's life is turned upside down. She goes home to a different life, nothing is the same. From here it's one heartbreak after another. There were tears and lots of them.

Part of me wants to call this book controversial, but another part of me wants to believe this book was written for a love of our warriors and a cry for help for soldiers who return to war broken people. Not just those with missing body parts and scars, it's also about those who are so mentally broken they lose their identity and struggle to find help for the hell they went through in a war so many of us cannot fathom.

My heart breaks for our soldiers who come back and can't get the help they need through the VA. It's been long known that the VA is not equipped to handle all the PTSD cases there are. It makes me so sad. It makes programs like the Wounded Warrior Project a hero program for our heroes. This book has given me the encouragement I need to donate to them.

View all my reviews

Room

Room by Emma Donoghue

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A creative story narrated by a five year old speaking about his life in the Room he lives in with his Mom. Jack was born in the Room and knows nothing of Outside of Room, to him it's all imagination until his Mom explains to him after he turns 5 that the things he sees on TV are for real and she once had a life outside of Room. This is hard for Jack to comprehend because to him, there is nothing that exists except for the things he has in their 11 x 11 foot Room. You'll have to read the story to see what brought Mom there...

This is a very strange, intriguing story that started out a little bit slow and confusing for me but as things started to pick up, it grabbed my attention and didn't let go. It's sad and amazing but in every right Jack makes you understand his confusion in his own words. What a sweet little boy; you will cheer for him, you will cry for him, he will steal your heart!

I can't quite give this a five star as I don't think I would ever read it again and I'm not sure this is a book for everyone. However, I really, really liked it and am curious to see how else this author writes other books.

View all my reviews