Tuesday Top Ten

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books.  And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week the challenge is to create a list of the books that you have read that deal with tough subjects.  Interestingly, many of the books on my list ended up being young adult books, while there is plenty that is light and fluffy in the YA genre, teens also deal with a lot of tough issues and there are many books that are beautifully written yet address tremendously difficult subjects.

Young Adult Books:

1. America by E.R. Frank – One of the most difficult books I have ever read, a boy named America ends up lost within the social service system for over 11 years, ending up in a treatment facility after trying to commit suicide.  The story of his life, the years when he fell between the cracks, is heart-wrenching, raw, and brands your heart.
2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – No one is speaking to Melinda – she called the cops on an end-of-summer party – while she silently tries to come to terms with the fact that she was raped at the very same party.  Bullying, sexual violence, and depression all come together to remind one how awful the teenage years can be for some.
3. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson – Laurie Halse Anderson writes some really tough teen literature, although she does so beautifully.  Wintergirls is another example and one that I found even more difficult to read than Speak.  Two best friends with terrifying eating disorders, one who dies, and the other who lives while continuing to starve herself and engage in self-mutilation while dealing with her guilt over her friend’s death.  Stark and real, very tough stuff.
4. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher – Hannah has committed suicide and sends cassette tapes to thirteen of her friends telling them why – and what part they played in her decision to end her life.  Clay Jensen receives one of these tapes and listens to it as he spends the night traveling through Hannah’s life.  A difficult story about guilt and the impact that seemingly small interactions can have on others.
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – This story of the Holocaust as told through the life of a young girl in Germany is heart-wrenching.  The characters are so well-developed and so beloved that I felt a greater sense of loss in this book than in any other I have read.
6. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys – Another harrowing story set during World War II, but this time following a 15-year old Lithuanian, Lina, and her family as they are forcibly removed from their country by the Soviets and sent to Siberian work camps.

Adult Books:

1. Unbroken by Laura Hillebrand – As long as I’m talking about stories set during WWII…  This true story of Louis Zamperini had many hopeful moments, displaying the power of human resiliency, but the central parts of the story, during the war and when he was held captive, were horrifying.
2. With or Without You by Domenica Ruta – Maybe it’s because I’m a mom and because I believe that being a mom is the most important role I will ever play in my life, but books about horrific parents and the impact on their children are always hard for me to read.  This memoir definitely fell into that category for me.
3. The Dinner by Herman Koch – The disturbing actions of the children in this story, and their parents’ complete lack of moral fiber left me disgusted and disturbed.
4. Defending Jacob by William Landay – I loved this book, but as a parent I found it very difficult to read.  As a parent, how blind can we be to our children’s faults?  And how far will we go to deny the truth and protect the one that we love more than ourselves?  Tough questions with no simple answers.

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Tuesday Top Ten

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books.  And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week the challenge was to choose the books that you thought you wouldn’t like and did – or those that you that you would like and didn’t.  This was a tough list for me – I try to read without expectation – and often it’s not until after I finish a book that I realize it failed to meet/exceeded expectations I didn’t even know I had!

First, five books I didn’t like as much as I thought I would:

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – I did like this book, just not as much as I thought I would given all of the hype surrounding it.  Sometimes I think the more a book gets talked up the more likely I am to be disappointed by it…
2. Wild by Cheryl Strayed – Another book that received a lot of attention (thanks to Oprah) and build-up that I found disappointing.  I wanted to hear more about the actual trail, the things she saw and the people she met.  Instead it seemed like a frustrating story about a person destined to make poor choices and shift blame onto others.
3. Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes – Award winners are dangerous – subconsciously the expectations are high which makes it easier to be disappointed.  While the language was beautiful I was disappointed by the story and the characters.
4. Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara – This showed up on my to-read list after reading The End of Your Life Book Club and since it was number 22 of the best English language novels written in the 20^th century I thought I couldn’t go wrong.  It wasn’t awful, I just didn’t understand it being in the top 100.
5. 1776 by David McCullough – This is a wonderful book about the first year of the American Revolution, well researched and showing a seemingly unbiased account of events.  Unfortunately, I am a lover of stories and I wanted this book to tell me a story – it often felt too much like a textbook to me (although a very well researched and well written one) and I’m not a fan of most textbooks.

Now onto five books that I liked much more than I anticipated:

1. Book Thief by Markus Zusak – I wouldn’t want to have a top ten list without this book in it somewhere!  Truthfully, I picked up this book at the bookstore and looked it over a number of times before I actually bought it.  Another holocaust book?  Nah – not today…  I never imagined the heartbreaking beauty that would be captured in those pages.
2. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz – I went through a period during my teenage years where I read a lot of Stephen King and a lot of Dean Koontz until I was honestly bored by them.  When my husband picked this one up and encouraged me to read it I was doubtful, but I love Odd and have become a true fan of this series.
3. Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – I expected to like this book, it’s about a bookstore after all!  I didn’t expect to love it, to love the melding of technology and antiquity, to become so engaged with the quirky set of characters and their quest.
4. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – I heard a lot of wonderful things about this book which made me a bit wary.  I wonder if buzz about a book will actually start to lower my expectations??  But the buzz around this story was well deserved and as Eleanor & Park fell in love I fell in love with them.   My review is coming soon!
5. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys – I was a fan of the author’s first book, Between Shades of Gray, but admittedly was concerned about her ability to write again so masterfully about a different time and place.  If anything, I ended up being a bigger fan of Out of the Easy, and was completely engrossed by both the setting and the characters.

Out of the Easy

I’m a grown-up, solidly in middle-age, no longer a teenager.  But I have to admit that some of my favorite books of all time (The Book Thief, The Giver, Between Shades of Gray, The Running Dream, The Fault in our Stars, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, etc) are those that have been categorized as “young adult” books.  There has been an explosion of publishing in this area lately, and while there is plenty of garbage available, there are also many wonderful stories, deep and meaningful, suspenseful, romantic, funny.  Whatever type of book you like to read, there are excellent young adult titles that you will love.  Don’t let the young adult categorization fool you, all it means is that it is a book that is being marketed to teens, most often the protagonist in the story is a “young adult”, or someone between the ages of 14 and 21.  It does NOT mean that the book is silly or juvenile or poorly written (although it could be – plenty of adult books are too!) or that it won’t appeal to an adult.  Actually, today the majority of young adult titles are purchased by adults.  So, all you other “grown-ups” out there – don’t be afraid to browse around in the young adult section of your local library or bookstore, you may be surprised at what great things you can find!

I had read Ruta Sepetys’s previous book, Between Shades of Gray (NO, not 50 Shades!), and absolutely loved it.  It was a little odd how much I liked it.  Historical fiction is not generally my favorite genre.  It has to be really well written for me to become absorbed in another time.  Her story of a Lithuanian family torn apart and sent to prison camps during World War II was gripping and heart-wrenching.

Out of the Easy was just as wonderful and engrossing.  In the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1950, Josie is looking for a way to escape poverty, her prostitute mother, and a life full of filth and crime.  Surrounded by a memorable cast of characters that support and hinder Josie along the way, she will have to struggle to make her way, especially when she is caught in the middle of an investigation into a suspicious death.  Faced with a number of difficult situations and complex relationships, the decisions that Josie makes will ultimately determine her fate.

I really LOVED Josie, trying so hard to be different from her mother and trying to build a different kind of life for herself, so mature and self-sufficient, yet also a sad little girl who sometimes still longs for a father and a loving mother.  There are moments of wry humor – “Patrick explained that your father is absent.  What about your mother, dear?”  Mother?   Oh, she’s in a dusty motel in California right now, cooling herself with a cold Schlitz in her cleavage.” and moments of clarity of purpose – “I wasn’t certain of anything anymore, except that New Orleans was a faithless friend and I wanted to leave her.”

The supporting cast of characters, including prostitutes, gangsters, authors, booksellers, and “uptown” folk keep the story moving swiftly, adding heart, humor, and horror.  Among my favorites are Willie, the tough-as-nails madam who loves Josie more than her own mother does, and Cokie, the mulatto driver for Willie’s “establishment”.   Cokie sees the world as it truly is, but remains hopeful and positive, providing true friendship and support to Josie, encouraging her to move on in her life – “Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin’ we’re goin’ one place and we end up another. But that’s okay. The important thing is to start.”  Cokie and Willie, along with several other key characters, provide Josie with a family of sorts, the kind that is made instead of born, and which turns out to be truer anyway.

   Title: Out of the Easy
   Author: Ruta Sepetys
   Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
   Pages: 346
   Publication: Philomel, February 2013

Top Ten Authors on My Auto-Buy List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books.  And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week the challenge is to list the authors that we love, and love enough to hand over our hard-earned cash anytime they publish something, anything.  My list is all over the place, just like my reading interests, but these are the ones that will get my cash no matter what…

1. Markus Zusak – After reading The Book Thief, I devoured everything he has ever published and would be the first in line for anything else he ever writes!
2. John Green – I have really been moved by all of his books and collaborations, they’ve made me laugh and they’ve made me cry, and they have all stayed with me when I was done reading. Fault in our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines, Looking for Alaska and Will Grayson, Will Grayson being among my favorites…
3. David Levithan – I have not had the chance to read all of his stuff, but I thought every day was fantastic, and I loved his collaboration with John Green (did I already say that??)
4. Ruta Sepetys – Great historical fiction for a young adult audience.  She does a fantastic job of transporting you to a different time and place.  Just started Out of the Easy and I am already hooked!
5. Eoin Colfer – I got hooked with the Artemis Fowl series which I read with my husband and son, and have moved on to read his other works, all which were engaging.
6. Louise Penny – Her Inspector Gamache series has to be my favorite series of all time.  The character development, settings, stories, relationships, everything, is nearly perfect and I eagerly await the next book, How the Light Gets In, coming out in August!
7. Reed Farrel Coleman – I originally became a huge fan of his gritty series about ex-NYC cop Moe Prager and can’t wait until he writes another!  I also really enjoyed his recent novel, Gun Church. 
8. Janet Evanovich – Might be lightweight reading, done in an afternoon, but her she always makes me laugh out loud, particularly in her Stephanie Plum series!
9. Kate DiCamillo – Her books are my favorites to read out loud to my kids, Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Because of Winn Dixie are our favorites, but there are none that we didn’t all love as a family!
10. Thich Nhat Hanh – OK, he hasn’t been on my auto-buy list yet, but I really want him to be!  He writes a lot, so it would be tough to make sure that I always kept up with it, but everything that I have read of his I found to be insightful and thought provoking.