Something Red

Something Red by Douglas Nicholas
3/5 stars
Emily Bestler Books/Atria, 2012
Originally published 2010
317 pages
Adult Historical Paranormal

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I came into this book with high expectations. It has received a lot of praise and I enjoy historical fiction, especially when a fantastical element is added as this one teased.

However I did not find this to be the most accessible text. It is set in approximately the thirteenth century during a long cold winter and although I believe the English is somewhat modernized, I still really struggled to follow what was going on. Of course, as the book progressed, I became more comfortable with the writing style but I prefer not to have to read so far before becoming immersed in a book.

Our primary characters are young Hob who becomes a man over the course of the novel, Molly, an Irish healer who is the head of the operation, Jack, the muscle, and Molly's granddaughter and heir Nemain. They are traveling with their three wagons meeting up with other travelers, seeking solace within a monastery, an inn, and eventually a castle where everything comes to a head.

The most exciting part was definitely the part of the book that involved a battle between two creatures, a battle to the death, and the reason why this book ventures into the paranormal category. I thought that section was incredibly well-done: gripping and almost worth the excruciating wait to reach that point. I also appreciated the incorporation of the color red and all its shades into the writing. Given that red is in the title, I was on the lookout for any and all references to the color.

I think this story would have had more resonance with me if Hob and Nemain had turned out to be the young version of some mythic couple I know about. Like how young Wart is revealed to be King Arthur in The Sword in the Stone. I kept expecting some reveal that would make this story bigger and to leap off the pages. But I did not get that and thus end my relationship with this book, feeling very ambiguously toward it.

Overall: Lacking that extra something for me and mired in difficult language that kept me at a distance, this was not a win for me.

Cover: Very atmospheric and subtle (note what's peeking out of the trees below the R).

Imperfect Bliss

Imperfect Bliss by Susan Fales-Hill
4/5 stars
Atria Books, 2012
294 pages
Austen-Inspired Fiction

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an automatic want-to-read after seeing that it was inspired by Austen's Pride and Prejudice, my very favorite book. I am always curious to see how an author will update the specific settings, characters, and plots from Austen's time to fit into our time.

In this case, we have a Jamaican-born mother whose childhood under the British empire inculcated her into certain ideas about status and class; this has been something she has tried to impress upon her four daughters, who were all named for British royalty: from eldest Victoria, next born Elizabeth (aka Bliss, our narrator), Diana, and Charlotte. She herself married a British man but alas a lowly professor without the income to keep them in the style she'd like. Bliss is her mother's disappointment, having married a poor Latin man, divorcing him when she discovered his adultery, and returning to live at home with their daughter while earning her PhD in history. Meanwhile Victoria is possibly on the verge of an unenthusiastic engagement to a very suitable man and high-schooler Charlotte is sneaking out at night for impure activities. Diana is the pride, having been selected to appear on a reality show called The Virgin, as the titular virgin who chooses a man and will marry him on television. This is her chance to snag a wealthy and hopefully titled man while also earning fame that will reflect onto her family.

Of course as I read, I was making comparisons to the original text. I thought the parents were especially well-done with the grasping mother and the distant father who has basically written off his two youngest. Diana and Charlotte as fame-seeking young women akin to Kitty and Lydia are also well-done. I also liked the stand-ins for Darcy and Wickham, with the Darcy guy in particular having some swoonworthy actions (he's so good to Bliss' daughter!) However I thought Bliss, while possessing an enjoyable sly sense of humor, cannot quite live up to my beloved Lizzy Bennet.

I did end up with two sizable problems. First, I didn't think enough time was spent on the romance. Bliss comes a lot closer to being with her Wickham and I felt their romance received more page-time than the real one. The ending with Bliss and her Darcy together felt rather rushed and abrupt. Second sometimes I thought the author was trying to speak against a society that condemns women for the clothing they wear and the fact that they might enjoy sex. But then there would be language agreeing with that point of view and a lot of use of the word "slut" used by both sympathetic and unsympathetic characters. It made me uncomfortable.

One last thing, I also had a very dumb moment about a third of the way through when I realized the book title comes from the main character. Her name is Bliss and she is imperfect! Um, that's something I should have realized right off but instead it took me quite a while...

Overall: A fun modern updating on Pride and Prejudice; I especially loved the exploration of the Mrs. Bennet character and her relationships with her daughters.

Cover: Love the pink and the artwork does remind me of some covers of Austen books that I've seen while also incorporating the modern elements of reality television.

Sing You Home

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
Atria, 2011
466 pages
Fiction; Issues
3.5/5

Source: GalleyGrab

Summary: Zoe and Max have struggled with infertility problems for years but now Zoe is twenty-eight weeks pregnant and they feel like they're in the home stretch.  Until she goes into labor and delivers a stillborn son.  Still she has hope and three frozen embryos but Max is done.  He does not want to go through a sixth round and they divorce.
Zoe is devastated and seeks solace in a new friendship with Vanessa which turns to romance.  They get married in Massachusetts and then decide to use the remaining embryos to have a child.
Max meanwhile turned to his conservative brother and sister-in-law Reid and Liddy for a place to live while he relapses into alcoholism until a saving experience with Jesus. Consequently when Zoe needs his permission for the embryos, he's uncertain.  His pastor excitedly uses this opportunity to fan a big court case with media attention attacking gays and their destruction of the traditional family.

Okay, I know that's a long summary but I feel like it all had to be said before I get in to my thoughts.  I usually love Jodi Picoult's novels so I was psyched to get an advance peek at her latest. I didn't know anything about it going in and when I skimmed the summary on goodreads, I read it wrong believing that Zoe ended up wanting a family with the teenage girl she was helping.  Luckily that is not the case!

I really liked Zoe and Max but if I had to choose one of them, I'd pick Max despite him being a much more flawed person.  He's an alcoholic with several falls of the wagon over the course of the novel, he lusts after a married woman, and he's rather indecisive.  But I liked his conversion experience and his deepening understanding of God's character although I wish there had been more scripture than the few instances that refer to homosexuality. I also loved Liddy with whom Max interacts; she made me think of the actress Anna Camp who actually played a similar character on "True Blood."

Meanwhile I did not like Vanessa.  I don't know why.  She was very good at her job as a guidance counselor and their courtship (while much too whirlwind for my taste-about five months from falling in love and marriage to the court case) was sweet. Maybe it was how she and Zoe were incapable of tolerance while demanding it from the pastor?

I know I'm just a college student with a very different set of experiences from forty-year old Zoe and her struggle to get pregnant but I did not understand why she wouldn't adopt or later use Vanessa's eggs and find a sperm donor.  Why was it SO important to have a child with her DNA when the ending chapter demonstrated that family is not just about blood?  I've obviously never been in that position but I know that there are loads of children who would love to be adopted by such a loving person and I wish she had seriously considered that alternative, either with Max or with Vanessa.

I was sad that Christians came off so poorly especially because NEWS FLASH not all Christians hate gay people nor are all Christians against gay marriage and gay rights.  Yet the only Christians shown in the book are very anti-gay.  Admittedly it is clear that this is a super conservative congregation when the pastor says that porn videos should be in kindergarten classrooms because that was the equivalent of the president's sex-ed program.  But there were no liberal or even moderate Christian voices.

One last comment: apparently the finished copy comes with a CD because Zoe is a music therapist and that plays a big role in the story.  My e-copy did not come with any music so I cannot comment on that.

SPOILERS from the LAST chapter: So Liddy and Reid got divorced? Or did Reid die? Cling more to the church while she moved away? Is no one Christian anymore? Because that makes me sad.

Overall: The presentation of Christians really lowered the rating for this book but I think most Picoult fans will be satisfied.

House Rules

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Atria Books, 2010

532 pages

Contemporary

Summary: Jacob has Asperger's syndrome and an obsession with forensic analysis. When his social skills tutor is found dead, Jacob ends up the prime suspect. His mother Emma and his brother Theo are caught up too wondering if he could have done it...

Why I Read: I've enjoyed Jodi Picoult since I read My Sister's Keeper so I haunted the library until this was put on the shelves.

My Thoughts: While I read Handle With Care and Nineteen Minutes, I didn't like them that much; it felt more obligatory. I loved House Rules though. I feel like autism in general has become such an important topic as some parents refuse to vaccinate and blame vaccinations for causing autism which creates conditions for possible pandemics* so I liked learning a little bit more about it (I realize that I will have to read more extensively to understand better but this provided a window for me to peek in.)

I really liked the characters, which is very important to me in a book. One thing I love in fictional characters is when they can spout off random facts, such as that one intern on Bones and Jacob who knows basically everything about whatever he becomes obsessed with. I loved Emma, a single mother struggling to care for Jacob and in the process somewhat ignoring Theo. I did not like Theo as much (he has a habit of breaking in to houses) but his feelings toward his brother reflected some of the feelings I've felt toward my neurotypical (ie "normal") sister so an accurate description of sibling relations. I also liked their lawyer Oliver, whose first case this basically is.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5. I loved this and found it much better than the last couple of Picoult books although it did not make me cry like Sister.

Title: Very important to the mystery.

Cover: I think it's really cute although the boy ought to be a teenager in order to accurately reflect the story.

*I've read about recent increases in outbreaks of measles and other illnesses that had been basically eradicated by vaccinations and the threat of pandemic is terrifying to me.