Everyday by David Levithan

**Disclaimer: I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy for free from the publisher. The fact that I did not pay for this book will in no way influence my thoughts on the book.**

Goodreads Summary:

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

My Thoughts:

This book hooked me from the first page, which is rare for me to not have to warm to a book at least a little. The concept of this book is awesome. I have never thought about what it would be like to wake up in a different body every day. This book challenges what we think about gender identification and sexuality. The character A is neither male nor female as A has lived as both and felt equally comfortable and uncomfortable in both.

In my gender classes in college we talk about what it means to be a man or a woman and what if you don't fit into those molds. A does not fit into either mold, A loves Rhiannon the same no matter what sex A wakes up as. Rhiannon finds a way to try and look past the physical with A and love A for the person. I really liked the message of this book and I love that it is geared for the YA audience. I think too often people get stuck in "doing gender" they forget they can just be for a while.

The concept of someone taking over my life, for even a day is both interesting and terrifying. Could this explain those days where I just seemed kind of out of it and didn't have much memory of the day? Most likely not, but it is fun to think about. That is the thing I liked most about this book, it made me think. I also really liked that A never felt too sorry for him/herself. This book I am pleased to say did not fall into the whiny teen book category.

I would recommend this book to everyone, but particularly those in Gender Studies classes. I really liked this read. Excellent character development and over all great writing.

While writing this review I was listening to Annie Lennox.

The Day I Shot Cupid by Jennifer Love Hewitt

Goodreads Summary:

For any woman who has ever bought a self-help book and wondered why she bothered. (P.S. Now that I know he's just not that into me, where do I go from there? Yeah, thanks for that advice.) Jennifer Love Hewitt is a self-proclaimed "love-aholic" and hopeless romantic (her middle name is Love, after all ). She has been lucky and unlucky in love, and lived to tell--and she's done it all in the spotlight. Much has been written about her love life--some true, most made up to sell magazines. Now Hewitt shares the real story of what she's learned navigating the dangerous dating waters.

In The Day I Shot Cupid, Hewitt offers her hard-won wisdom and tells us how to embrace love with both feet on the ground. First, we have to shoot Cupid. We have to believe that happily-ever-after is hard work--it's not all flowers and symphonies and floating hearts.

Wise and wry and refreshingly honest, Hewitt talks about how to pick the right guy and how to know when to let the wrong ones go free, and she offers some surprising truths about the opposite sex.

From twenty things to do after a breakup, to ten things to do before a date, to the perils of text flirting (Note: You are waiting. By the phone. For his response.), Hewitt uses stories and dating secrets to illustrate the idiotic, romantic, crazy, depressing, hilarious, awkward, glorious moments we all experience in relationships. Funny, quirky, and empowering, The Day I Shot Cupid deserves a place on every woman's nightstand, bookshelf, or coffee table, or tucked inside her over sized designer handbag.

My Thoughts:

I have always liked Jennifer Love Hewitt. I can't say that I think she is an awesome or actress. I can't say that her book was even that great. But I can say I just want to go to drinks with her and hang.

So her book had funny bits, I liked that Jamie Kennedy likes big butts. His section of talking about what he likes about women was funny and sweet. I would not say this book is groundbreaking. I don't think that it was really helpful to anyone other than the author. Which isn't to diminish the obvious growing experience that Love went through. I just think that since it was marketed as a self help book there should have been more helpful bits other than the over used, love yourself and others will love you. I did like that she had a couple of to do lists for raising self esteem. I think a couple of her suggestions were pretty valid.

This was a crazy fast read and I don't regret reading it. I don't know that I would recommend this to anyone other than a broken hearted friend.

While writing this review I was listening to the Sons of Anarchy Season 4.

Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook

Goodreads Summary:

Forty-year-old preschool teacher Sarah Hurlihy thought she'd set herself up for a great life. She'd married the man she loved. They bought a house, decorated it, and then sat, looking at each other, trying to remember why they'd gotten married in the first place. But Sarah didn't have to wonder for long; her husband took up with a younger woman, sounding the death knell for their marriage, and propelling Sarah back into singlehood -- at the same time as her newly widowed father.

Thrown unwillingly into the suburban dating pool alongside her dad, Sarah is ambivalent about the whole process, despite her ticking clock and thoughts that she might enjoy a child of her own. But Sarah's large, loving Irish clan comes to her rescue -- her married sister placing a personal ad in her name and regularly monitoring Sarah's dating progress; and her brother, Michael, helps her feel lovable when he seeks out her comfort and advice while riding out his own rocky marriage.

In Must Love Dogs, Claire Cook ably captures the pitfalls of the midlife singles' scene, with a generous dose of humor and a heaping portion of characters who know better than to take themselves too seriously.

My thoughts:
When I saw the movie, I had not realized it was based off of a book. I haven't seen the movie in a really long time so they are separate in my mind and shall remain that way.Though I will say, I hate when they (publishers) release a mass market paperback with the movie poster as the cover. I think they really should keep the movie and book distinct in what they are. That being said I liked this book. It was not your run of the mill pink book. Yes, our main character is looking for love and yes she learns to love herself like most pink books. However, the story of how Sarah comes into her own skin and learns to live again is nice in that it isn't because of one man sweeping her off her feet.
What I really liked about this book is how likable Sarah is, even with being so boring and kind of sad. I think she is your average 4o something divorcee who has to figure out what her next step is while trying to find the energy and motivation to change out of her grey sweats and do something.

I would recommend this book to pink book lovers or anyone looking for a fast fun read. I finished this book in about two days without a lot of time dedicated to it.

While writing this review I am listening to my upstairs neighbor stomp around while crashing into only god knows what.

One Day by David Nicholls

Goodreads Summary:

Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY.


My Thoughts:

I liked a lot of this book, particularly the Emma segments. She was thoughtful and very normal over all with some slight quirks. Dexter was the typical shitshow that bachelors sometimes are when they have no idea who they are or what they want. It was interesting to get snap shots in time with two very different, yet similar characters. What I didn't like about this book was some of the Dexter sections, I didn't like them because it was hard a lot of the time to like Dexter. When I read something I want to be able to relate to and like a character. I couldn't relate to a lot of what Dexter was going through. I didn't like the person he was for most of the story.


This being said I think this book was incredibly well written and an awesome idea. I didn't feel like I had read the same book previously. Sometimes it feels like writers just switch names of characters with each others books. This book didn't feel familiar which in my world is awesome.


I would recommend this book to most people, though there is a really sad bit toward the end so I wouldn't read it if you don't want to be sad.


While writing this review I was listening to Massive Attack.

Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

Goodreads Summary:
Shortly before turning the big 5-0, boisterous party planner and Cooking with Gusto! personality Augusta “Gus” Simpson finds herself planning a birthday party she’d rather not—her own. She’s getting tired of being the hostess, the mother hen, the woman who has to plan her own birthday party. What she needs is time on her own with enough distance to give her loved ones the ingredients to put together successful lives without her.

Assisted by a handsome up-and-coming chef, Oliver, Gus invites a select group to take an on-air cooking class. But instead of just preaching to the foodie masses, she will teach regular people how to make rich, sensuous meals—real people making real food. Gus decides to bring a vibrant cast of friends and family on the program: Sabrina, her fickle daughter; Troy, Sabrina’s ex-husband; Anna, Gus’s timid neighbor; and Carmen, Gus’s pompous and beautiful competitor at the Cooking Channel. And when she begins to have more than collegial feelings for her sous-chef, Gus realizes that she might be able to rejuvenate not just her professional life, but her personal life as well. . . .

My Thoughts:

Over all I really liked this book. This was a really good choice for a light summer read that isn't centered around a teen aged girl. Gus is older and has a life that is complicated but not hard to believe. The only part of this book that kind of let me down was toward the end. Sabrina, Gus's daughter, rushed into planning a wedding for the cooking channel. This section of the book seemed out of place with the rest of the book in that every character and their actions were slowly built and explained. This portion was not slowly planned, it felt rushed and that annoyed me. I will say that the actual ending of this book did not let me down, even though it was predictable. It was the kind of predictable that you smile about not roll your eyes about.

I would recommend this to fans of Kate Jacobs (she wrote the Friday Night Knitting Club) and anyone looking for a summer read.

While writing this review I was listening to the morning news.

Impulse By Ellen Hopkins

Goodreads Summary:

Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.
Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.

Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.

Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.

And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.

In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

My Thoughts:
Wow.
No seriously, wow. This book was intense and beautifully written. I have to say I could be bias. The formatting for this book was more like reading a book of continuing poetry. Which worked amazingly well for these characters. The development wasn't through setting a stage with specific details but rather with specific feelings and minor details. I formed my own ideas about the characters rather than being told about them. These kids all tried to kill themselves, they couldn't have been more different in the outside world, but in their treatment center they have a real connection. This is definitely a dark and twisty book and I wouldn't suggest just anyone picking this one up and reading it. I had some flash backs of bad times while reading about Vanessa and Conner in particular. Tony reminded me of so many men I knew while in high school it was shocking to me.

I recommend this book to those who have read Ellen Hopkins in the past or those open to dark and twisty stories. I would again warn against reading this book if you have the emotional trigger of suicide.

While writing this review I was listening to Slim Cessna's Auto Club. If you are interested, Slim Cessna will be in SLC on the 20th at the Urban Lounge. I also hear if you are in the Seattle area Slim Cessna will be joined by Michael Ray and the Plastic Sheets at the Crocodile on the 23rd. I fully recommend checking out both of these bands.

Getting back into the swing of things...

I have been reading loads and posting almost nothing. I would like to think I will get caught up on reviews but I just don't think I have it in me. I will say this, I have the strong love for Jen Lancaster. I finished her novel while on vaca in Seattle and it was pretty good. Obviously, as a fan I am bias toward her memoirs but I hope she continues with fiction.

In terms of an update I have graduated from SLCC with three AS degrees. Yep, that is what happens when you change your major a bunch, you unintentionally over achieve. I went out of town with the husband and the puppy to visit my long time bestie in Colorado. Good times were had and more importantly very chill times were had. I just got back from trip number two for the summer. I hung out with my older brother in Seattle and ate far too much sea food (oh god the shrimp eyes were looking at me!). I will say that no matter what I do in Seattle, or rather, how little I do in Seattle I always come home refreshed. I think I finally feel like myself again after the intense semester I finished over two months ago. The Great Wheel of Seattle was pretty cool, for those of you not in the know, the Great Wheel is a Ferris Wheel not too far from Pike's Place Market. I am terrified of heights, but only once did I come close to losing my shit while ridiculously high in the air.

I have jumped through most of the hoops that are required for me to start at the University of Utah this Fall. I have two years there and I will finally have my BS degree in Political Science. I am hoping to do a couple of internships, which at 30 years old kind of makes me a little sick. However, doing said internships should help my process of going to grad school. Yay for higher education.

I am currently reading some Ellen Hopkins (Perfect), Rachel Maddow (Drift), and David Nicholls (One Day). I am a little slow reading this year and I may have to adjust my book goal. I have spent way too much time watching My Drunk Kitchen on YouTube. I kind of love Hannah Hart.I hope to god I don't cook like her when I am drunk.

While writing this blog I was listening to a couple of my favorite TLC songs. Ya know, I really don't want no scrubs.

Matched by Ally Condie

Goodreads Summary:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screed at her Matching ceremony, Cassia know with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instance before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

My Thoughts:

I have been reading a lot of dystopian books lately and perhaps I am starting to get a little burned out on the genre. I liked this book. I liked that it had a little bit of a different take on things. I found the way they handle food in this book interesting. No one knows how to cook, everyone in this society is dependent on the government for all meals. That is a pretty intense way to control people and I would say incredibly effective. It is mentioned that people who farm don't know how to prepare the food they grow. The Society has separated every step, not just in food but in everything. In essence ignorance is bliss.I have to say though the book didn't really grab my attention until almost half way through. This, again may just be me feeling burn out from the genre, or maybe there was something lacking in the way this story unfolded. I am honestly not sure which is accurate. 

I will likely read the next two books but I think I will hold off on that for a while. I liked Cassia, I wanted to know more about Xander, and I wanted Ky to be more interesting. All in all though it was a fine summer read.

I would recommend this book to dystopian fans. This is not action packed like a lot of dystopian books so don't go into this one hoping for danger.

While writing this review I was listening to Slim Cessna.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads Summary:
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.


My Thoughts:
I like Tris. She is kind of a kick ass girl. She has a commitment to the truth which I dig. I really liked this book. I liked that her relationship with Tobias is not simple. So often the relationships in YA books are overly simplified. I don't feel like this book does that over simplification. The relationship is sweet like other books but also shows the flip side of caring about someone, sometimes you want to kick them in the shin. I think this was the perfect book to help me come off my school kick. It was smart enough that I wasn't bored but not complicated enough to make me more tired. I am definitely on pins and needles about the next book. This one leaves you wanting more. I hope we find out more about the origins of this world that Tris finds herself in. Veronica alludes to a lot and I am excited to see what she makes of the ideas she has presented.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy the genre, has read the first book, and or wants some fast summer reads.

While writing this review I was listening to Chang laugh on community.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads Summary:
In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

My thoughts:
Tris (Beatrice) is kind of a freak in her world. She is not capable of being brain washed. This is of course dangerous to those who wish to control this dystopian world that she lives in. This book follows the same formula as a lot of dystopian books but I am not saying that is a bad thing. Tris comes into her own and that is something everyone must do and therefore can relate to.
The interesting thing about this book is the factions 16 year olds choose to live in and work in. Candor, is for the completely honest. Dauntless, is for the fearless. Agnegation, is for the selfless. Amity is for the peaceful. Erudite, is for the knowledge seekers. I liked the idea of teens choosing to live with like minded people. I did not like however, that it was all or nothing.
Tris is Divergent in that she can't fit into just one of the factions. She is a little of at least three of them. She is selfless, fearless, and a truth seeker. She was raised as an Agnegathion but opts to become a Dauntless when her placement test is inconclusive. Her Mother as it turns out was born Dauntless and chose Agnegathion. The thing I don't like about a lot of these books is the lies that parents tell their kids and how that always comes back to bite them in the ass. My own parents were pretty honest with me and I always valued that. Mind you they were never part of a revolution but still the fact remains they were honest. I wish I could read one of these dystopian books where parents are just straight up with their kids.

I would recommend this book to fans of the dystopian genre and anyone who wants a fast read. I finished this book in under 6 hours.

While writing this review I was listening to the tv show SMASH.