Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

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From Goodreads:

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?” 
 
Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!
 
In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

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I really enjoyed this memoir. While her behind-the-scenes Hollywood moments were fun to hear about, the real strength in this is Kaling talking about being a chubby, boy-faced Indian girl.

Example quote:

“Don’t be closer to TWICE a friend’s weight than to her actual weight,” I told myself. This little mantra has helped me stave off obesity for more than two decades.

Kaling is honest about body issues, never being a size 0, the way Hollywood responds to that, and the fact that she’s made it alright anyhow (also the best way to dress her figure, which is an art, as any curvy woman should know). She talks about how she wants people who are married to let people know how much they love being married, because marriage gets such bad press and she wants to have a good marriage someday. She talks about friendship, how she feels about her best friends, and what’s the best way to duck out of a party without anyone noticing (or with everyone noticing).

If you’re looking for anecdote after anecdote about The Office and her castmates, this probably isn’t what you’re looking for, but if you want a little insight on what it’s like to write for a major TV show, what it’s like to be new in Hollywood, or what it’s like to be from a very successful, traditional Indian family and how that contrasts with typical American culture, this is a fabulous, totally enjoyable read.

I listened to this on audio, read by the author, and I highly recommend it that way. I don’t know that it would be as much fun if you were reading it.

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

/ Lisa Asanuma / 2 Comments

Think unicorns are white and fluffy and gentle creatures? Well, think again. In Diana Peterfreund’s Rampant, unicorns are vicious killer monsters that can only be taken down by virginal maiden descendents of Alexander the Great. Mmmhmm.

This book is a lot of fun. Okay, killer unicorns sound a little ridiculous at first—okay, a lot ridiculous—but Peterfreund finds threads of legends throughout history and weaves them together with a lot of imagination and thoroughness and makes a formidable mythology that stands on its own.

The main character, Astrid, took some time getting there, but by the end of the book she was a seriously formidable character. And isn’t that what a coming-of-age story is all about, the journey?

Things I love about this book:

1) Phil. Astrid’s cousin is awesome from the very beginning. She knows what she wants and speaks up about it, even after something potentially soul-crushing happens to her.

2) Bonegrinder. Bonegrinder is a zhi (pronounced “g”), a little goat-like unicorn—she’s vicious of her own account, but she grows on you.

3) The Boy. He’s pitter-pat worthy. And I do mean worthy.

4) Astrid. It took me a while, like I said, but I honestly loved her by the end of the book and was cheering her every step of the way.

5) Cory. I love her development throughout the book.

What I didn’t like was that a couple of the other hunters were a little hard to distinguish from one another. They were introduced well, but got lost in the hussle. This was forgivable, however, in that overall they were seriously awesome.

All in all, though, I thought the book was wonderful. It really earned its ending and I’m looking forward to reading the second book, Ascendant.

Linger by Maggie Steifvater

/ Lisa Asanuma / 2 Comments

Sometimes life gets in the way of even the books you want to read most. That’s what happened for me for Linger. Between getting married, getting used to being married,  moving three times, and general life? Well, I didn’t finish many books at all in the past year and a half.

But anyhow.

As a start, here’s my review of Shiver, the first novel in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

I loved Shiver, and reread it before starting this. What’s really fabulous about these books is the voice and the fact that Sam’s is so poetic, while Grace’s is very fact for fact—just like the characters themselves.

I have to admit, I was less enthralled both by my reread of Shiver and by a lot of Linger than I was the first time I read Shiver. But I blame this more on the timing of my reading it (I’d been reading a lot of whiny YA, and while Stiefvater’s angst is, as I said, much more poetic than the usual fare, it is still teenage angst).

A lot of what made this book slower than the first is that there is a lot of waiting in this book. The characters are waiting for a chance to be together because they’re separated by Grace’s suddenly-proactive parents, and a sudden sickness.

Meanwhile, we’re being thrown into the heads of Isabel and a new character Cole, and neither head is a particularly friendly place. Of course, I knew that going in… and I already loved Isabel, unlike some. From what I knew about Cole (read: that he had a massive fanbase) I knew he’d probably win me over… but oh, he takes some time.

This really is two stories woven into one by circumstance—Sam and Grace’s story, and Cole’s story, with Isabel commentating on both.

The end of this book makes everything worth it, though. The whole thing slips together beautifully—and Cole’s turning a new leaf of the redemption flavor is just as winning as it should be, mainly because it’s clearly the just the beginning of something.

Glad to say I already have Forever waiting in the wings. Hoping it’s a strong ending. With Maggie Stiefvater, I’m not too worried.

 

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

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I was looking forward to this book because of all the hype, and the fact that I think Beth Revis (whose blog/twitter/tumblr I followed before I was able to get my hands on the book itself) is completely kindred-spirit-worthy. I was drawn in immediately by Amy’s voice—so much so that I worried I wouldn’t like her as much when she was awake and interacting with the ship, but I was wrong on that one.

Elder’s voice wasn’t as enticing to me… I liked him better through Amy’s POV also. I have to say I knew who the killer was early on… there was a little too much foreshadowing done there, I think it could have been dealt with a lighter hand. Another red herring would have served better, I think. It would have been great if Amy really had been unsure about either Elder or Harley.

So, for me the reveal of the murderer wasn’t that shocking. THAT SAID, the twist after it certainly was.

Amy is a GREAT character. Smart and strong and not about to take crap from anybody, but still vulnerable and alone in a lot of ways. I’m hoping Elder steps up his game a bit in A Million Suns. And I’m looking forward to finding out more about the history of Godspeed. I have a feeling a lot more secrets are left to be uncovered.

If you’ve read the book, I have a more spoilery review on goodreads, here.

Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson

/ Lisa Asanuma / 2 Comments

California teen, Sadie James, thinks her life couldn’t get any better. She has great friends, an energetic mother she adores, and the beach practically in her own backyard. But her carefree life is turned upside down when she’s rescued by a mysterious and strangely familiar boy who won’t even tell her his name.

Each time the boy appears, Sadie’s unexplainable attraction to him deepens along with her need to unravel his secrets. The boy is there to protect her. But as wonderful and exciting as it might be to have an irresistible boy with crystal green eyes protecting her every move, every minute of the day…why does Sadie need one?

As Sadie finds answers, she realizes her life isn’t as perfect as she thought. Not only is she caught in a world of dangerous secret agents she never knew existed, but it turns out her true identity may be the greatest secret of all.

This book has an interesting idea behind it. A group of otherworldly agents who travel throughout the world healing the sick by means of special healing waters. Sadie is connected to healing water in a way she’s never known and certainly doesn’t understand, but she knows something isn’t right. Then a mysterious stranger—a boy from her dreams with crystal green eyes—shows up every time she’s in trouble and somehow makes things okay.

This book had a lot of potential, and I admit I was very excited to read it. The cover, the copy on the back, and the great reviews on Goodreads were all great.While it had the fairly common normal-girl-falls-for-mysterious-newcomer-boy outline, the “secret agent” aspect was intriguing and seemed to promise something new. Unfortunately, the book didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

It had some definite strong points—a few pieces of “technology” that I thought were interesting, some very true-feeling friend drama, and some nice descriptions of landscapes*, to name a few. But for the most part, I felt like this book just wasn’t finished. The background story needed flushing out, as did the characters themselves—there was very little that made Sadie Sadie, very little that distinguished her from any other teenage girl. We don’t what her interests are, what her weaknesses are—we don’t even know what her favorite subject in school is. All we know is that she thinks her life is perfect—but she gets sad for no reason, and that she’s never felt much of anything for any guy—until her mystery man shows up, and then she’s so head-over-heels in love she can’t control herself.

I have to admit, the writing was very much like stuff I scribbled in my journal at seventeen, so in one sense it was very real… but at the same time, it too felt underdone. Details are skipped over and many things are told rather than shown. The whole story seems to be happening to Sadie—instead of being an active part of the story, she lets Rayne take her by the hand and lead her down a path. Her slowness to question red flags often left me frustrated.

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t particularly like this book. I wanted to. I really wanted to. I even feel badly that I’ve been asked to write a review, because I don’t want Ms. Anderson to be discouraged by what I say—I just want her to know that her book could have been better. It could have been more fleshed out, and it could have been sharpened.

Funnily enough, what I enjoyed most about the book were the things that Sadie couldn’t wait to get away from—the normal teenage things. I thought that the dialogue and the jealousies between the teens Sadie hung out with were very true to teenagers, and felt very natural. I almost wish the book had been a straight contemporary about the difficulties of high school. It would have been interesting to read a book about a teen who had bouts of depression even though she thought she had a great life—more interesting, I think, than having most of her emotions influenced by things outside her control.

But that’s just my two cents.It really does have great reviews on Goodreads.

You can buy Deep Blue Secret here, and find more about Christie Anderson at her website.

*Though I have to say, as a San Diego native I thought her version of California was sadly TV-version stereotypical, but I suppose Anderson grew up where the stereotype was the rule? My high school was nothing like a “sea of blonde,” personally. Just sayin’.

I was provided with a copy of  this book for review. It did not influence my review in any way.

Book Review: The Key of Kilenya by Andrea Pearson

/ Lisa Asanuma / 4 Comments

When two vicious wolves chase fourteen-year-old Jacob Clark down a path from our world into another, his life is forever changed. He has no idea they have been sent by the Lorkon—evil, immortal beings who are jealous of powers he doesn’t know he possesses—powers they desire to control. 

The inhabitants of the new world desperately need Jacob’s help in recovering a magical key that was stolen by the Lorkon and is somehow linked to him. If he helps them, his life will be at risk. But if he chooses not to help them, both our world and theirs will be in danger. The Lorkon will stop at nothing to unleash the power of the key—and Jacob’s special abilities.

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When I was reading The Key of Kilenya, I felt like I ought to have a ten year old boy next to me reading along. I felt like that age group is probably the key audience for this book, because the kid in me was fascinated with what was going on in this fantasy world.

The story here is fast-paced from the get-go, starting with a chase through the woods by scary wolves and followed by adventure after adventure. One of the chapter titles is “Breakneck Speeds,” and that’s often what this book felt like. Jason is throw into a mystical new world, and is quickly put on a dangerous quest to retrieve a powerful stolen artifact from the clutches of terrible, invincible enemies.

I think the real strong point in Key of Kilenya is that a lot of the fantastical elements really feel original. In fact, reading this put me in mind of the creatures you would come across in an Oz book or one of the more fanciful Chronicles of Narnia, because the creatures really aren’t the norm. Pearson clearly hasn’t been hampered by other people’s imaginations. My favorite  thing in the whole book was probably the creatures called Dusts whose hands changed to adapt to what they needed to do—but often changed without the owners’ consent, confusing the creatures and tripping them up.

I think that this book also did the “journey quest” very well. There is a lot of traveling going on in the story, but it never feels like “and then they walked for half the day.” Instead, there are different challenges and mentors sprinkled all along their road, keeping things interesting to say the least.

My biggest problem with the book is that it often felt like Jacob (and through him, the reader) was often withheld information from. A lot of things happened in a “don’t ask questions” kind of way, with adults brushing aside questions or simply not giving  time for them to be asked, even though in many cases they did have the answers. In dealing with the Lorkon, Jacob was told that it was better the less he knew about his enemy, but why it was better never became clear, even after Jacob infiltrated their castle and stole back the Key he was looking for.

I was also a little less than enthusiastic for Jacob himself. He seemed to be following this quest just because he’d been told he had to and that he was the only one who could.That was alright in and of itself, I suppose, but in the end he’s supposed to have become a hero, and I don’t know that he truly acts heroically at any point. In fact there is more than one point in the book where he passes by people who are under enchantments and curses and instead of wanting to help them, he’s disgusted by what he sees and simply moves on. I would have been a little more ready to cheer him on if he’d at least seemed to feel bad about the strangers he couldn’t save.

There are also a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book—though that’s not necessarily a bad thing, considering this is the beginning of a series. I’m definitely curious as to how this will all play out in the end.

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You can purchase Key of Kilenya here.

Find out more about Andrea Pearson and her Kilenya series at her website, here.

Book Review: All That Was Promised by Vickie Hall

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All That Was Promised by Vickie Hall is a look at the life of Richard Kenyon, a young Welsh Methodist reverend, and the lives of those around him, as they are introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or the Mormons, in the mid 1800s. Kenyon hears of the restored gospel through Elder Ben Lachlan, an LDS missionary, and through him his wife, her family, and a few of his Methodist congregation come to believe in the gospel.

Not all is easy, though. Quite the contrary—while Richard’s conversion comes swiftly, his wife Leah is hard-pressed to believe what she hears, even after her sister and brother-in-law join the Church as well. It’s not until after seeing a miraculous healing first-hand that she realizes she can’t deny the Church any longer. Persecution comes from all sides, though, and Richard’s own brother is eventually revealed to be involved in trying to get the Mormons out of Wales.

This book is very well researched, with language and details that really pull you into the 19th century Cardiff setting, and simultaneously raised and quelled the urge I’ve long had to explore Europe. The relationships between the characters are full of heart and feel very real throughout the book, which put the tenderest interactions between the characters close to my heart. The book is also very well structured, with loose ends tying themselves up in surprisingly fitting ways.

I will say, though, that there were many parts of this book that I think and wish could have been expanded on more thoroughly. The book carries along at a rapid speed—almost breakneck, I would say. Pacing is very important in writing, but it seems almost as if the author here has confused pacing for speed. Events happen quickly in this novel. So quickly, that it seemed like there was no time to celebrate triumphs or joyful moments, because they were always momentarily overwhelmed by more trials and persecution.  The lives of early Latter-Day Saints were indeed tumultuous and trying, but many of those burdens were balanced by great joy and triumphs, and I feel like those were largely missing from this book.

I also feel that a lot was taken for granted here. This is an LDS book for an LDS audience, but I feel that I still would have enjoyed learning about the gospel along with the characters, instead of having it glossed over. There were moments where we were able to see why various characters decide to join the Church, but we don’t really get to see them learning about what they’re joining, which seems almost as if they are making a big decision they don’t know any details about, and it’s mildly disconcerting as a reader.

I have to admit, also, that I found the villainous characters somewhat over exaggerated. Most of the non-member characters described in the book are maliciously trying to persecute the Church and all of its members, and this seems a little unfair to humanity in general. Of course the beginning of the LDS Church really was met with opposition on all sides, but as there are today, there were also good people—many very good people—who simply did not believe the gospel, or chose to continue to live their lives as they always had.

Not every person who was not a member hated the Church, and not all that persecuted the Church did so without remorse. Many who did persecute the Church were Christians by faith, and so understood that violence and hatred towards others is wrong and felt badly for what they did, even as they felt that they were duty-bound to do it.

So all in all, I come away from this book not feeling fully satisfied with it. I think it could have benefited greatly from some more rigorous editing and expansion. That said, though, I honestly enjoyed the book very much and left it wondering what kind of future was in store for many of these characters. We’re left with them preparing to emigrate to America to join the Saints in the Great Salt Lake valley, and I find my mind wandering over the journey I know is ahead of them, and hoping them well. For characters that I imagine will stay with me for some time, I say well done, Ms. Hall.

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All That Was Promised can be purchased here. Read more about Vickie Hall on her website.

I was provided with a copy of this book for honest review.

Review: Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck

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I really, really enjoyed this book. The editing is far from perfect in some spots, but the adventure is really, REALLY fun. I mean, it gets Indiana Jones-y. At times it’s also quite creepy in a very fun way. The Indian backdrop is amazing the culture, food, and temples so richly described that this is a fabulous get-away book. Really feels like a vacation. Kelsey is a bit silly (she exclaims way too much, at least at the beginning) and you want to slap her upside the head for refusing Ren so much, but she makes up for it with her last goodbye to him, which shows surprising wisdom…. surprising because she’s acted like such a GIRL about it the whole time. Ren’s pretty dreamy. Though he gets a little ridiculous too, when Kelsey’s being pouty.

What I love about this, though, is that Kelsey doesn’t just fall into Ren’s arms—even if they are muscular and attached to a very, very pretty face. She wants to be chosen… not just the only option. And again, I really loved the adventure aspect of this book. It was more fun than any YA book I’d read in a long time—no angsty dystopia or mooning, but well-paced action through a well-researched (really well-researched!) exotic setting. Fantastic. I have never wanted to go to India more, and that’s something great fiction should do, entice you outside of your comfort zone. Brava.

Really looking forward to where Houck is going with this. I don’t know that I would have had the courage (or the foolhardiness, depending on how you look at it) to go the indie route, but it’s obviously paid off for her! I’d like to read more about her story, and I can’t wait to read Tiger’s Quest. Especially if it has more Kishan in it… what? I love an underdog. Er… cat.

A Few Randomosities About Me

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First things first – Go over right now and read my new Friday read over at Tales From the Hollow Tree. It’s called Procession, and it’s my favorite short that I’ve written so far.

Secondly – I’ve been watching Doctor Who with my husband… we’ve just started on Series Three. He misses Rose and sort of hates me for making him watch this show… and he’s not fond of Martha Jones yet (I don’t care for her much either, though I love Freema Agyeman).

Thirdly – We also just finished Veronica Mars. He sort of hates me for that one too… says it’s the worst ending he’s ever seen. I liked it better after being away from it for so long… though it did still leave me wanting more.

Fourthly – I’ve just listened to the audio books for both The Secret Garden and A Little Princess on Librivox.org (which I just love). I was so, so impressed with how much I still loved these books, especially the latter. Sara Crewe is one of my favorite characters, ever.

And lastly! I’ve been awarded the Stylish Blogger Award and The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award by the fabulous Ali Cross.

I’m supposed to give seven random facts about me, and then pass this on to eight other bloggers… I’ll do my best.

SEVEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME-

1) When I was a kid, it took me hours to eat a single orange. I’d eat it pulp by pulp. I had a lot of patience, apparently.

2) I learned how to sew when I was four years old, with a needle, DMC floss, and bubble wrap.

3) I collect middle names. (What’s yours?)

4) I am a really slow reader. Well, in comparison to my mom and my sister, at least. It takes me a week or so to finish a book, if I’m not too busy… but I’m usually too busy.

5) I’m considering going back to school to get a library degree, as soon as I finish my book and start querying agents.

6) This is getting closer and closer, as I’ve passed 50K  recently!

7) I have a new idea for a Middle Grade book. So, so, wonderfully new. Never been excited about writing middle grade before, but this idea is too fabulous to ignore!

Now, as to blogs to tag:

– Isabelle Santiago              – Inari Grey                     – Shiny Shiny

– Tristi Pinkston                   – Elizabeth Meuller        – Jordan McCollum

– Shari Bird

Brand new at Drollerie Press: Middlewitch Mayhem

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Just because Alicia Meldrew is a witch doesn’t mean that everything in her life is double, double, toil and trouble. Then again, trouble does have a way of finding her over and over again, even in the cozy little town of Middlewitch.

Alicia is starting to settle down with her new husband and a baby on the way, but little things like demon possession and mis-cast time spells keep getting in the way. Still, lake monsters, vampires (the bad kind, because you can’t generalize, you know), and vengeful enemies are no match for her, especially with the support of family and friends. 

With the community coming together to help her, her cats Domino and Tango dispensing wisdom each in their own way, and her husband James even doing a little bit of magic himself, Alicia can manage just about anything. Except possibly getting along with her mother-in-law…
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Middlewitch Mayhem, the fun sequel to Middlewitch, follows Alicia, a “white witch” and her friends and family through a rompy set of adventures. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to have read Middlewitch for this to be a great read!)
What I really love about this book is the strong sense of community in this novel. Whenever something threatens to overwhelm Alicia, someone is there to lend a helping hand and help her save the day. Middlewitch is one of those places you read about that you wish you could sneak into, because it just seems like such a cozy place to be. Sure there are lake monsters and the occasional spectral goat, but little inconveniences like that are worthwhile when you have the right people to help you out of them.
Alicia herself is a strong, spunky character, too. Part of what makes this book un-miss-able, though, is Domino and Tango. I don’t know if
you’re a fan of talking animals or not, but Domino’s wit and Tango’s sweet temper are impossible to dislike, either way. The whole book has a strong message of acceptance, too, which I really like.
If you’re interested in checking the book out, you can read the first chapter on the Drollerie Press website, here.
Enjoy!