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The book that was selected for our January book club was 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. This book is about a girl named Hannah who is in High School. She (like lots of teenagers) has a lot of High School drama to deal with. For her own reasons Hannah decides to commit suicide. Hannah pre-records tapes that are sent out to different people that influenced her decision to end her life. Along with the tapes is also a map of the town and locations where different events in Hannah's life happened.
This book touches on a subject that is very personal to many people. As well as being personal it's also a very controversial topic. Without going too deep I think Hannah was an over dramatic teenager. High School is a rough age for most people. I strongly believe that having extra curricular activities, and belonging to a religion, can have major positive influences in a teenagers life. Hannah ended her life because she thought that was her only solution. In my honest opinion all she did was run away from the problems instead of addressing them. This book is being made into a movie with Selena Gomez playing the role of Hannah. Will I read this book again? Probably not. Is this book a must read? In my opinion no. 13 Reasons Why is very well written and brings a new perspective to this topic. With that being said I personally have a hard time recommending this book.
The book that was selected for our December book club was Christmas Jars by Jason Wright. This book was a very quick read. Because it was so short I don't want to spoil anything about this book. The one thing I will say is Christmas Jars has changed my holiday spirit this year. My cousin made all of us our own Christmas Jars so that we can all start this tradition. I highly recommend reading this book! I give Christmas Jars 4 out of 4 stars.
The book selected for our October book club was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. This book takes place in San Francisco in the 1940's. This book is based around when the United States had all the Japanese citizens placed in concentration camps. The main character of the book Henry isn't Japanese but a Chinese American. His parents migrated to the US to give him a better life. Henry becomes friends with a Japanese girl Keiko. Keiko and her family get sent to the Japanese concentration camps. The book goes back and forth between the 1940's and 1980's. I loved seeing Henry as a young boy and then as a grown man.
I think this book was extremely well written. I was pleasantly surprised by the turns this book takes. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet sheds light to the events that took place during this time without being super sad. I think that this is a very dark part of our nations history. As always I don't want to spoil too much of the story and ending. I think this book would make a great movie!
I think that Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is for sure worth reading! I would highly recommend this book. My rating for this book would be 4 stars!
Was it just me or did September come and go crazy fast. I somehow missed posting the book club book that was chosen. My Sis was in charge this month and picked Key Lime Pie Murder by Joann Fluke. I LOVE the Hannah Swensen Murder She Baked series!! If you haven't read any of the Murder She Baked books I recommend them. They are super easy reads that aren't scary or sad. I also love that they have recipes scattered throughout!
I suggested this book to my Sis. I forgot that of the series, this one wasn't my favorite. I think there are a couple others that are much better. After I started reading the book I called my Sis and told her to pick a different one. I thought that everyone would get super bored and not even want to finish reading. Even though there wasn't a huge turnout this month on discussion day, it seemed like everyone liked it. Key Lime Pie Murder takes place during the county fair time. Hannah is a judge for the cooking competition at the fair. A murder takes place on the fair grounds. Hannah finds the body and starts a search for the murderer.
Key Lime Pie Murder isn't quite as suspenseful as the others in the series. That's probably why it isn't my favorite. I would give this particular book (even though I LOVE the series) 2.5 stars. If you are wanting a super good one to read pick up Peach Cobbler Murder, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, Cream Puff Murder, or for a fun holiday one try Sugar Cookie Murder, or Plum Pudding Murder.
I'm super happy that I ended up picking this book for our book club this month!! I am a sucker for historical books and books based around particular time periods.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett takes place in Jackson Mississippi in 1942. A young girl comes home from college and is looking for a job. She wants to become a writer. She gets in contact with an editor in New York who tells her to write about something that disturbs her. She decides to write a story from the view point of the maids and what it's like working for their families. Like the other book reviews I don't want to give away too much information for those of you who want to read this book. I loved all the characters. Even the nasty Hilly was such a well written bad guy. I will say this too after reading The Help you will never look at chocolate pie the same:)
I came across some book discussion questions. One of the ones I found very interesting was: To what extent do you think a person's flaws, such as racist attitudes and behaviors, can be forgiven because it is the norm in the surrounding culture? I still don't think it excuses people from looking at others differently but it did make me think about the subject in a different way than I have before.
For those of you that missed my first post, for book club this month we went and saw the movie together. There are chunks of the book that are left out and changed in the movie. I don't think the movie was quite as good as I had pictured it being in my head. That being said it was still a very good "feel good" movie.
I LOVED this book!! It will for sure be going on my list of favorites!! I give this book 4 out of 4 stars!!
While looking back through old posts I realized I forgot to post our August book club selection. I was actually the one who got to pick our book this month!! I had a really hard time deciding. I was talking to my Aunt who had the EXACT same idea I did. I took it as sign and picked...... The Help by Kathryn Stockett. We are going to see the movie together and then discuss the movie and the book afterwards. I am soooo excited to hear what everyone thought of this book. I will post my review next week!
The book that was selected for the month of July was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I wasn't excited to start reading this book. I didn't pick up the book until 4 days before our book club night. The Lovely Bones is about a girl who is murdered and watches over her family. The book is written from the girls perspective in first person.
I have to say that this book wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. I didn't even cheat like I said I was going to. I started from the beginning. This book for sure makes you think. In many different ways. I don't really want to go into detail, I think it would spoil it for those of you that haven't read it. I think the thing I'm loving most about our book club is we are all so different. I love that a different person gets to pick our selections each month. This isn't a book I would've read on my own. Was it my favorite? No. Will I read it again? Probably not. Am I glad I read it? Yes. I would rate this book as 2 out of 4 stars.
I got carried away with the 4th this month. I totally forgot to post the July book club selection. The book that was selected for this month is Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
I'm not going to lie I'm super nervous to start this book. Me and scary things don't get along too well. I wouldn't watch the movie because I thought the preview looked too scary. I was told the beginning of the book is kinda disturbing. When I start the book this week I think I will start part way through. I'm cheating I know. Gotta do what you gotta do to avoid nightmares though. I will post my review about this book next week.
In case you missed last month. My cousins decided it would be fun to start up a book club. We meet the last week of every month for our book discussions. This month our book was Matched by Ally Condie. This book takes place in a futuristic world. Every decision they make and thing they do is pre-decided by the "Society" (which is kind of like their government). Who they marry, how many children they have, and even death is not something they have control over. The society regulates everything. I think the idea of this kind of life was very interesting. Although this story is totally fiction, it did make me grateful to live in this country. We really do have so many freedoms that we take for granted.
I won't spoil the book for those of you who haven't read it. I will say that I didn't love the turn the book takes at first. I was really upset near the middle. Come the end of the book though I was really wanting to know what happens next. Lucky for everyone this book is a series. The next book comes out in November! I will for sure be reading that one to see what happens next! I would recommend Matched. It was a nice change from the super sad book of last month. I would rate this book as 3 out of 5 stars.
The book chosen for our June book club is Matched by Allyson Condie. I actually had never heard of this book when they announced it. I don't really like buying books unless it's one I love. I tried placing this on hold at the library but I was number 336 in line. Looks like I will have to bite the bullet on this one and buy it. I will be posting my review of this book the last week of June!
My cousins decided it would be fun to start a book club. I was so super excited about this!! First of all with summer almost here I've been wanting some new good books to read. Second I have a pretty amazing extended family. My Dad comes from a family of 8 which, lucky for me, means lots of cousins.
The first book that was chosen for book club was Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. This book takes place in France during WWII. The story is based around the Vel' d'Hiv roundup of Jewish Men, Women, and Children. The people in the story never actually existed but the event did. I won't spoil this book for any of you that haven't read it. I will say that it was one I couldn't put down and finished in one day. At one point I had to take a break and give my kiddos each a kiss on their foreheads. They both looked at me like I was nuts. This book made me grateful for all my blessings that I tend to take for granted. I think Sarah's Key is worth reading! I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
