Happy New Year 2017!

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Happy New Year 2017

I think we can all agree that for the most part this past year SUCKED! And not just because of all the celebrity deaths, although that certainly didn’t help. This has been a year where the violence we perpetrate against each other in the name of religion, race, sexuality, or whatever other excuses we can come up, with grew to mind-boggling proportions. Mother Nature and Gaia seemed to declare war on us, yet there are still those who cling to the belief that there is no such thing as climate change. And the rise of dangerous right-wing or alt-right politicians/demagogues is spreading through multiple countries. The worst of which is our own Emperor–ahem, sorry–President-elect Trump.

And so, I spent much of the year feeling like this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

But you know what? Tomorrow morning isn’t just the start of a whole new year, although thank God it is!

This is a chance for us to fight back, even if it’s in small ways. Whether it’s at the voting booth, showing a simple kindness to a stranger, or taking a stand against bigoted bullies. I know that the human race is better than this. The majority of us are kind and compassionate and look out for one another. One of the reasons I know this is because of the WordPress community. Since I joined 2 1/2 years ago, I’ve had only one nasty comment in response to a post (which was a political one) and I find that pretty damn amazing. No matter how low I feel, all of you always seem to be there with encouragement and support even though most of us aren’t even in the same state, let alone country or in some cases on the same continent. So, I guess what I’m trying to say in my rambling way is that all of you have restored my faith in humanity. We’re all from different religions, races, nationalities, gender, and sexual orientations, yet we all seem to not just “tolerate” each other’s differences, but respect and celebrate them. And if we can do that here, then we can share that same spirit with the outside world. So, I say we stand and fight! Fight against hate and apathy and racism and bigotry in whatever despicable form it takes!

The world needs to start thinking about how we’re all more alike than not!

So, I want to wish EVERYONE a Happy New Year! May 2017 bring more laughter and love, then tears and pain.

Thank you all for, well, for being you!

The Hundred Lies Of Lizzie Lovett ~ By Chelsea Sedoti – 4.5 Stars

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Bullying, Coming of Age Stories, Friendship, Mystery, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 3rd, 2017

398 Pages

Synopsis: A teenage misfit named Hawthorn Creely inserts herself in the investigation of missing person Lizzie Lovett, who disappeared mysteriously while camping with her boyfriend. Hawthorn doesn’t mean to interfere, but she has a pretty crazy theory about what happened to Lizzie. In order to prove it, she decides to immerse herself in Lizzie’s life. That includes taking her job…and her boyfriend. It’s a huge risk–but it’s just what Hawthorn needs to find her own place in the world.

By the time I finished The Hundred Lies Of Lizzie I was completely exhausted, but in a good way. The story is told in the first person POV of Hawthorn and being inside her head is a bit like being in an arcade pinball machine where the ball, or in this case the reader, is sent wildly careening around, completely at the mercy of of the player. I know how strange that must sound, but it’s the closest thing I can come up with that describes the way I felt reading this book. To be honest, I think Hawthorn is someone that readers are either going to fall in love with, or wind up incredibly annoyed with. For me it was a mix. During the first few chapters I found myself laughing out loud at many of her antics. But then there came a point where she’s so self-absorbed and immature that she started getting on my nerves. But my annoyance didn’t last long, because it becomes clear that Hawthorn is a lonely girl, bullied by most of her peers, who feels as though she’s unlovable. Her parents love her, and although her popular older brother, Rush and she have a strained relationship, it’s obvious as the story proceeds, he cares about her. And then there’s her best friend Emily, who to be honest is a much better friend to Hawthorn, than Hawthorn is to her. Yet Hawthorn still feels alone and isolated. I think the biggest issue is that she doesn’t know where she fits in, and as a result she pushes away people who care about her and could help her. She also has an overactive imagination which gets her into trouble on more than one occasion. While the mystery centers around the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett, a girl Hawthorn barely knew, she becomes obsessed with not only discovering what happened to her, but also obsessed with the girl herself. Why was Lizzie so popular? Why did everything seem to come easy to her? Everyone loved her, including Rush. After meeting her once, Hawthorn had even dreamt of Lizzie taking her under her wing and offering her guidance, and when this didn’t happen Hawthorn never got over it. Because of this, the mystery actually takes a backseat to the drama around Hawthorn, but that doesn’t make the story any less engrossing. One thing that did bother me a little was Hawthorn’s developing relationship with the older, self-involved Enzo, Lizzie’s boyfriend who was there the night she disappeared. I understood why Hawthorn became fascinated with him, but I never really bought into why he became interested in her as much as he did. There are many secondary characters that come and go, including a caravan of hippies, but instead of taking away from the story, they add color and flavor to it. The ending is about as near to a perfect conclusion as you could ask for, and wraps everything up satisfactorily. I don’t think The Hundred Lies Of Lizzie Lovett will be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like quirky characters, and you can relate to being an outsider, I highly recommend this. Due to some sexual scenes though, I wouldn’t recommend this for younger teens. Sedoti’s writing is witty and refreshing and I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes out with next.

 

RIP Debbie Reynolds ~ 1932 – 2016

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RIP Debbie Reynolds

One day after her daughter Carrie Fisher died, Debbie Reynolds, most famous for her comedic and musical talents in films like Singin In the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, as well as turns on Broadway and appearances on popular tv series like Will and Grace, has passed away from a suspected stroke. Her son Todd told the press that shortly before she died Debbie stated: “I want to be with Carrie.” While their relationship was rocky at times, it was clear that they had mended their fences quite awhile ago and were extremely close. If there’s any comfort that can be taken from this tragedy, it’s that they’re once again together.

 Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly,

Singin In the Rain 

I gave it all that I had, and it’s gratifying that others seem to be receiving it so well.

On Carrie Fisher:

People used to call her ‘Debbie Reynold’s daughter. Now they call me Princess Leia’s mother!

Child’s Play (Elle Harrison #3) ~ By Merry Jones – 2.0 Stars

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Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Mystery, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: January 3rd, 2017

320 Pages

Synopsis: Since her husband’s murder two years earlier, life hasn’t been easy for Elle Harrison. Now, at the start of a new school year, the second grade teacher is determined to move on. She’s selling her house and delving into new experiences–like learning trapeze.

Just before the first day of school, Elle learns that a former student, Ty Evans, has been released from juvenile detention where he served time for killing his abusive father. Within days of his release, Elle’s school principal, who tormented Ty as a child, is brutally murdered. So is a teacher at the school. And Ty’s former girlfriend. All the victims have links to Ty. 

Ty’s younger brother, Seth, is in Elle’s class. When Seth shows up at school beaten and bruised, Elle reports the abuse, and authorities remove Seth and his older sister, Katie, from their home. Is Ty the abuser?

Ty seeks Elle out, confiding that she’s the only adult he’s ever trusted. She tries to be open-minded, even wonders if he’s been wrongly condemned. But when she’s assaulted in the night, she suspects that Ty is her attacker. Is he a serial killer? Is she his next intended victim?

Before Elle discovers the truth, she’s caught in a deadly trap that challenges her deepest convictions about guilt and innocence, childhood and family. Pushed to her limits, she’s forced to face her fears and apply new skills in a deadly fight to survive.

What did I miss? That was the first thought that entered my mind when I finished Child’s Play. Have I mentioned how much I hate it when everyone else seems to like a book but I don’t? I thought the actual plot was pretty good, but my overwhelming dislike for most of the characters overshadowed any enjoyment I could have had from reading this book. It is the third in a series, but although I haven’t read the first two, I was never confused, so that was a positive. Sadly it was one of only a few. The MC, Elle, is a victim straight from the Perils of Pauline. This isn’t a supernatural book, but it literally seemed as though she was being stalked by the Grim Reaper. I mean honestly! How much bad luck can one person have? I went on Goodreads and read the premises of the first two books, and honestly, no one could have witnessed that much death without at least being in therapy. It is stated that she suffers from a dissociative disorder, but unbelievably she’s not under a doctor’s care. At least not in this book. She’s a likable enough character, but her personality came across as rather bland for the most part. Through the majority of the book I found her judgement questionable as she recklessly put herself in danger again and again. What I found even worse though were her so-called friends, who seemed unsympathetic and patronizing toward Elle. Actually, they’re all supposed to be around forty, but they spoke and acted more like teens. I wound up guessing who the real killer was before the halfway point of the book, but there was a cool little twist regarding their motivations that I really liked. The story was also fast-paced which made it a very quick read. Sadly, for me, the negatives far outweighed the positives. But, as I said at the beginning of this review, going by the reviews on Goodreads I’m definitely in the minority, so if you enjoy suspenseful mysteries and psychological thrillers I encourage you to give this a try. 

Whimsical Wednesday ~ Princess Leia Edition

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Humorous Quotes, Leia Luke and Han, Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back

And

RIP Richard Adams 1920 – 2016

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Richard Adams, Watership Down

I first read Watership Down when I was 11 years old, and Richard Adams immediately became one of my favorite childhood authors up there with C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. He may not have started writing until he was middle-aged, but once he entered the literary world, he shone with the best of them!

My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.

~ Hazel from Watership Down, by Richard Adams ~ 

RIP Carrie Fisher 1956 – 2016 ~ A Force To Be Reckoned With

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Carrie Fisher

Honestly. I have no more words. I did however find this wonderful quote:

Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow. 

Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) ~ By Vic James – 4.0 Stars

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Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Great Britain, Slavery, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 14th, 2016

368 Pages

Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved.

Synopsis: Our world belongs to the Equals–aristocrats with magical gifts–and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England’s most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of the noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family’s secrets might win her liberty, but will her heart pay the price?

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi’s brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideas could cost him everything. Now Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution.

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate–or destroy?

Gilded Cage has had a lot of buzz surrounding it for several months now and I’m glad to say that after reading it, I’m a fan. The setting is contemporary Great Britain in an alternate universe. The country is ruled over by the “Skilled” ruling class who have a variety of magical powers. The “un-skilled” are required at some point in their lives (they choose) to serve ten years as slaves. Abi, the oldest sister of the Hadley family has arranged for their entire family to serve out their slavedays together on the gorgeous Kyneston estate which is home to the most powerful family in the country. Naturally though, things go awry and sixteen-year-old Luke is separated from his family and sent to the dangerous slave town of Millmoor. The characters in this are incredibly complex which is the main reason why this novel succeeds at the level that it does. The story is told in the third person by Luke and Abi in alternating chapters. They’re everything you want to see in your protagonists: courageous, clever, and good-hearted. They can both be a little naive and gullible when it comes to trusting others, but this just makes them even more likable. There is quite the motley crew of secondary characters. There are some truly black-hearted villains with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and the narrative pulls no punches exploring the depths of their depravity. But there are others whose personalities and motivations are much harder to figure out, and they keep you guessing right up until the end. The world-building is beautifully done. The opening chapter gives you the sense of a thoroughly modern day Britain, with Luke and Abi out studying in their yard. But then you’re suddenly yanked into this fantasy/dystopian world. I especially liked how this book referenced the UKs international dealings with other governments, some who function under the same social system and some who don’t. And then there’s all the political wheeling and dealing and backstabbing going on behind the scenes. It’s made me very curious as to how this will all play out in the next two books. There are just three things that kept this from being a perfect read for me. First, except for two black secondary characters, there’s a distinct lack of diversity which really surprised me especially since the story is about oppression. The second issue I had was with the slavedays themselves. People have the choice as to when to serve their ten years, so why don’t more choose to wait until they’re in their later years? I’ll be honest and admit to being a total procrastinator, but it makes more sense in putting off giving up ten years of your life until the last possible moment. I mean, by then, you might be dead anyway. But, I realized early on in the book that I needed to just let this go, and the rest of the story is enjoyable enough that I was able to do so. And finally, there’s the awful sort of romance between Abi and Jenner, the middle son of the “Equal” family that owns her family. Abi is an otherwise feisty, independent and intelligent girl yet the way she moons over a boy who quite literally owns her is just ridiculous. Thankfully this subplot is a relatively minor one which is a good thing because it had me grinding my teeth. The plot is fast-paced right up until it’s cliffhanger ending, even with all the complicated world-building going on, and I finished this in two days. Overall, Gilded Cage is a captivating read and an intriguing and imaginative addition to the fantasy and dystopian genres which should appeal to older teens and adults alike.

R.I.P. George Michael 1963 – 2016 ~ His “Last Christmas”

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George Michael R.I.P.

Unbelievably, yet another icon has passed away. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham got me through some tough times after my dad died, so this is an especially hard blow as I’m sure it is to many people. He is a music talent who will be sorely missed.

I have never thought about my sexuality being right or wrong. To me it has always been a case of finding the right person.

I still believe that music is one of the greatest gifts that God gave to man.

Tonight the music seems so loud, I wish that we could lose this crowd.

Maybe it’s better this way, we’d hurt each other with the things we’d want to say.

We could have been so good together

We could have lived this dance forever.

But no one’s gonna dance with me.

Please stay.

~ Careless Whisper, George Michael & Andrew Ridgeley ~

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

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Happy Holidays

 

TO ALL MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS HERE ON WORDPRESS, MAY YOUR HOLIDAYS BE MAGICAL AND FILLED WITH HAPPINESS, PEACE, AND LOVE!