Front and Center

Front and Center by Catherine Murdock, the final installment in the Dairy Queen series (or so the author says, though I'm convinced she may right another one). This one isn't my favorite in the series, but definitely an enjoyable read.

In this installment, D.J. has the daunting task ahead of her of apply for colleges, which petrifies her. Not only does she NOT want to be seen as a "big deal" in sports, but she sure as heck doesn't want to advertise her talent to college scouts and coaches. This book focuses on D.J.'s battle to break free from her awkwardly shy shell as well as how she learns to live after a breakup (and possibly gain a new boyfriend on the side).

This wasn't my favorite book of the series, but I did enjoy reading it, and watching D.J. grow up and learn how to get rid of her fear of greatness. For what it is, this was definitely a good wrap-up to the series, though I would love for Murdock to write another book, just to keep the fun going!

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell was one of the best books I've read in a long time. I never really thought to pick this book up, simply because I'm somewhat out of my children's lit phase and am currently in a YA lit phase (and am now moving onto adult lit- I'm growing up, sad!), but I was told it was good, and so thought, "What the hey?" Definitely one of the better decisions I've made in a while.

So this tells the story of Emmy, a very good and somewhat boring girl who likes to sit by the class' pet rat because he isn't good at all. One thing is out of the ordinary though: Emmy can talk to the rat. What seems like just another story about a good little girls turns into a crazy adventure into the rat's (aka Ratty's) life. I really can't tell too much of the plot because it will give away basically the whole plot, but I can tell you that Emmy has an evil nanny Miss Barmy who is horrible and tries at every turn to keep Emmy aloof from potential friends, and remaining as a good girl. But why? This is the question that lingers as you continue reading, and is crucial to the plot. I loved this fun little romp through the eyes of Emmy and her rat. I loved this so much that I'm planning on reading the sequel, Emmy and the home for Troubled Girls. This is definitely worth buying and reading- I hope you enjoy it!

Smiles to Go

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli was an okay read. It was recommended to me by a friend who has gave it rave reviews, but I found it to be just okay. Definitely not my favorite book by Spinelli, but entertaining to say the least. This tells the story of Will Tuppence and revolves around the death of the proton. Will was told when he was little about how protons never die-which changed Will's life when he was a kid. It's when the first reports of proton death make the news that Will's life changes forever. From then on, Will decides to take more risks and document his life from the day the proton died. The story is full of heart, friendship, and unique personality. This is definitely an interesting take on the coming of age story; the sub-plot of Will's little sister being the biggest pain in his backside and their run-ins was funny to read, and being the older sibbling, I definitely related. Once again, not the best Spinelli novel I've read, but his definitions of character, voice and humor ring true, and is what Spinelli does best.

The Jane Austen Book Club

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Fowler was somewhat of a delight to read. I've always seen this book in the library yet had never thought to pick it up because it's for adults and didn't seem too interesting at all. However, after I watched the movie and LOVED it, I thought I'd give it a try.

The book club is made up of 6 members (5 women and 1 man) who all come together and form the club as a pick-me-up for Sylvia, a member, whose husband has just left her for another women. The other members think that the club will be a good distraction for her and help her move on with life. The basic structure of the club is to read all of Austen's six novels (Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma), one a month, with each book club member hosting the book discussion at their own house. As you read on you realize that each character has an Austen novel that pretty much describes their life and that with each novel they present you find out more about them and how each member is connected to others in the group.

I thought this book was okay and was really only interested in one of the story lines (Prudie's). I loved the movie and found that watching the movie prior to reading the book really helped me visualize the characters and the story line because I could see the real-life representations in my mind. I thought the book was okay, but definitely prefer the movie to the book when it comes to this one. I loved that the author is from Davis, CA. and set the novel in the San Fransisco Bay Area. Other than that, I found the group's discussion hard to follow because the language was tough to work through as well as their lofty thoughts. I had to really concentrate to get through their gatherings and found myself skipping ahead somewhat. It's sad, but by the time I got to the last 100 pages or so I just skimmed and only really read the parts that stuck with the movie. I'm horrible, I know, but sue me. It was hard and my brain hurt sometimes!

Notes From the Midnight Driver

This is one funny book by Jordan Sonneblick. Not so much laugh out loud funny (though there were parts like that), but situational funny that you're glad you don't have to take part in. I can't remember how it was that I came across it, but I know I saw something about it on amazon. This is the story about Alex, a decapitated lawn gnome and a old spiteful Yiddish man.

With the opening of the book, Alex has just gotten himself smashed on his parent's vodka, hops into his mom's minivan and attempts to drive to his dad's house to confront him about dating his third-grade teacher. However, one block after he's started driving, he ends up on his neighbors front lawn with a headless gnome underneath the bumper of the minivan. (I just have to say that when I read this opening paragraph I started laughing out loud, especially when the police man lets Alex know he's just decapitated someone and he thinks he means a real person- wow it was funny!) Obviously, Alex ends up getting arrested, and ends up having his day in court and is sentenced with serving 100 hours of community service at the convalescent home his mom works at- she chooses an ornery old man for him to "help" because none of the on-call nurses can handle him.

Of course this is a coming of age story, but with a funnier twist: Alex is one sarcastic and satirical kid and so his inner thoughts and monologue are very funny to listen to. Because he's so witty and gets away with lots of things, Alex makes excuses for everything wrong he does. Sol (the Yiddish old man) quickly preys upon this and "helps" Alex grow up in a sense (more like making fun of him until he bucks up). A connection is made between the two unlikely friends through their guitar playing and conversation, and Alex learns what responsibility is and what it means to be a friend.

I really liked reading this book for its general humor and charm. I did read it within a time period of 32 hours, so you can see that it kept my focus. It's definitely worth reading today, if you're looking for something fun and light.

3 Willows

So I finished reading 3 Willows by Ann Brashares last night (or I should say this morning). It's been in my stack of books to read, and since it came out fairly recently I wanted to hurry and get it read so that I could get a review up. When I say that I stayed up into the early hours of the morning to finish the book, that may not mean that I necessarily found so good I couldn't put it down. This would actually be the opposite. I thought it was okay. I probably won't ever read it again, and will most likely never buy it, which I'm sad to say because I love Ann Brashares. This was a disappointing start to a new series that seems too caught up in the rediscovering of friendship between 3 girls that it looses its charm (and my interest). I appreciate that Brashares has begun a new series, and so bravely after her successful Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, but this one flopped. I had high hopes for this book and was so ecstatic to get a copy of it at the library, but found quickly why there weren't as many people on hold for it as I thought there would be.

3 Willows tells the story of three girls who used to be good friends: Jo, Ama, and Polly. Each girl is doing something different for the summer - Jo is going to her family's beach house, Ama is accepted into an outdoor scholastic camping program, and Polly is contemplating modeling camp. At the start of the novel you realize that each girl has fallen out of their friendship threesome, and now only have awakward run-ins with one another. However, the way in which the stories tie together seem to promise a friendship reunion. Each storyline is unique and individual to the girl, but the only part of the novel that I liked was when one of the main characters ends up making a special connection with her dad. That was just about the only part of the book that I could relate to and that I found interesting whatsoever. This book wasn't my cup of tea, but who knows, it could be yours.

*Also, a side note, the original Sisterhood members (Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby) are mentioned (and one of them makes a cameo), and Lena's younger sister Effie has a small role in one of the girl's summers. It was really weird to read their commentary about how obsessed they were with finding an object, like the pants, that could help solidify their friendship. My policy on things like this is that authors shouldn't mention characters from their previous works, even if the setting is in the same town and school, unless they're writing sequels. It just doesn't work out- it makes the author look like they can't write/sell anything after their greatest success without mentioning it, and it just leaves that reader frustrated, especially if the current book being read isn't that great.