An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washedup child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun–but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

Colin is a child prodigy who just graduated high school and is trying to find a way to 'matter', to make his mark on the world, when he is dumped, for the 19th time, by a girl named Katherine. See, Colin has a thing for girls with the name Katherine. In fact, he has never dated a non-Katherine. While wallowing in sorrow over this latest breakup he decides there has to be a mathematical theorem that will predict the outcome of relationships. Who will be the Dumper and who will be the Dumpee.Meanwhile, he is out on a road trip with his best friend, Hassan, and ends up in Gutshot, Tennessee where he meets a slew of characters and learns a lot about life and himself.

This is only my second John Green book but I am in love with his writing. Though he writes YA books, they are not dumbed down. The dialogue his characters carry on are not what you normally hear in books for young adults but sophisticated and full of SAT worthy words. Why shouldn't YA books be full of intelligent characters with big vocabularies? He, also, can write characters that normally would be annoying or un-likeable and he makes you love them. Colin, for example is whiny and self-centered but there is such a realness about him that you can't help but like him in the end. Hassan was my absolute favorite. I laughed out loud quite a few times while reading 'Katherines' and most of the time it was due to something Hassan said.

The plot gets slow and sluggish at times. In fact it was a bit hard for me to get into at first but it is all necessary for the development of the characters. It is a bit predictable, too. But, it made the math nerd AND word nerd in me so very happy. It is chock full of anagrams and mathematical equations. Green even made me like the footnotes, which I do not particularly like in books.

Was this as good as 'A Fault in Their Stars'? No, not even close. It was a fun, fast and very well written book that I think most will enjoy. I kept going back and forth on what to rate this. In the end, Greens writing got it the higher rating from me.

4 out of 5 stars
GET IT HERE:An Abundance of Katherines

Between The Pages interview

A friend of mine, Johannah, interviewed me for her book review blog!!

Head over to her place, check it out, look around and leave her some love.

Find it here: Beyond The Pages

Night Machines by Kia Heavey

Maggie decided to have an affair. No one needed to know, not even her lover. . . .

Who would it hurt, if Maggie decided to carry on a torrid affair in her mind? It would soothe her feelings, hurt by her husband’s emotional abandonment while he worked on a disturbing new murder case. It would provide an outlet for the dizzying desire she felt for her employer. It would make her feel loved and appreciated and better able to be a good wife and mother.

But Maggie loses control of the fantasy as lust becomes love, and things she believed confined to her own imagination are somehow known to her spectral lover. A harmless mind game spins out of control and threatens the sanctity of Maggie’s greatest treasure – her family.  

Part romantic suspense, part fantasy and part psychological thriller, this book is a lot to take in. I was still engrossed in it, though. I didn't want to put it down.

The story itself is unique and something I have never read before. Maggie, a normal wife to a detective and mother of two small children goes back to work for the first time since having her kids. When she meets her new, and incredibly handsome, boss of the company, during her interview, she is surprised to find that they have a connection she barely remembers. Meanwhile, at home her relationship with her husband is going down hill due to the stress he is under from a case he is working on. To make up for the lack of romance in her life she conjures up a fantasy relationship with her boss, Dr. Cuthbert. No one has to know, right? It's just harmless fantasies she lives out in her dreams...or are they?

Heavey's writing is wonderful. She can bring you into this world seamlessly and it makes it hard to come out of it. Her imagery and prose are beautiful. I will admit, too, that it seeped into my dreams on a few occasion causing some fitful nights of sleep! All the characters are real and like-able, at least in the beginning! Maggie was especially relate-able. You see her morals and values throughout. All she wanted was a little reprieve from reality, who can't relate to that?

There were times in the story that I thought this certain section could have been left out but I later find out that all things are connected in some way. There were a few hazy points in the plot and some things that I really did think could have been left out but all in all it was a fun, fast read. 

If you are into paranormal, romantic thrillers check this one out. Don't forget to come back and tell me what you thought!

4 out of 5 stars

GET IT HERE: Night Machines
NOTE: The Kindle version is currently free!

Interview with Abby Slovin and a GIVEAWAY!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Abby Slovin, the author of Letters in Cardboard Boxes.

About this author

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Abby Slovin was born in the summer of 1983 and lived in the same house on Long Island until attending the University of Michigan. She has a deep love for New York City, Brooklyn especially, where much of her family has its roots. She loves to spend time outdoors, travel, research family genealogy, and relax at home in Jersey City with her husband, Dominick and dog, Grumpy.

LETTERS IN CARDBOARD BOXES:

Experience what advanced reviews are proclaiming, "An absolute must read...this is a novel you will want to keep with you for the rest of your life" and "A poignant and moving story...a true work of art."

Letters In Cardboard Boxes tells the story of an eccentric grandmother and her granddaughter alongside a series of fantastical letters they once exchanged. Their letters once traversed the East River to help Parker escape the loneliness of a childhood without her globe-trekking parents and communicate during her turbulent teenage years. Now, nearly a decade later, Parker begins to rediscover the evidence of this letter writing tradition, as well as the family’s untold stories and, unexpectedly, letters from her grandmother’s own youth that paint a very different portrait of the woman who raised her.

Letters carries us through the universally-shared experience of loss and the process of coping with life’s unexpected twists and turns. Through unusual and bold characters, the story moves through some of its heavier themes with honesty and humor. 

Here is what she had to say:

Hello, Abby and welcome to The Ultimate Book Nook!

I love hearing random facts about people so lets hear 3 about you.

1- A few articles of clothing in my closet have been with me for more than 20 years. I love the feel of a perfectly broken in t-shirt or pair of jeans.
2- One of my favorite things to do is sit in a park or in front of my window with a cup of coffee and watch the world pass.
3- I have never owned a car.  

Obviously, we are big readers around here. Do you love to read? What are some of your favorite books?

I love to read. I'll read pretty much anything recommended to me, in fact. I think one of the best aspects of reading is keeping your eyes open to new worlds and new experiences that you don't ordinarily have access to. Honestly, some of my favorite books have been recommendations I would never have tried on my own. Some of my favorites are One Hundred Years of Solitude, White Oleander, A Feast of Love, All Over Creation, anything Kurt Vonnegut, and Ishmael.  

Did you always want to write books?

I don't think I ever thought about it in a serious way until I was relatively far along in the process of writing Letters. Until then, it was a hobby that I enjoyed, no doubt. But during this process, it became such a huge part of me that it evolved into something more. 

How did you come up with the concept for Letters?

Although the story is completely fictional, it was inspired by a personal moment in my own life. While I was cleaning out some of my grandmother’s possessions after she had passed away, I found letters she had exchanged with my grandfather during their courtship and was hit with a lot of emotion. In particular, guilt at not having known this part of her life, sadness for not being able to talk to her about it, but also a lot of happiness that these letters breathed life into someone I loved who was no longer around. I started imagining a story with this idea at its center — of finding remnants of a person’s life after they’ve passed — and organized a fictional story around it. I named the main characters after my grandparents simply because it felt good to hear their names spoken out loud again. 

Do you use a lot of your own life experience while writing?

I tend to gravitate toward writing completely fictional worlds and feel they provide a good escape for me and an opportunity to give life to characters that don't exist in the real world. I love the challenge of creating truly genuine characters from a fictional place. But, as is the case with Letters, a lot of the inspiration has its roots in some of my own life experience. 

Lastly, can we expect anything new from you in the future?

Right now, I'm moving forward with two new projects. The first, being released monthly on the Dunce Academy blog, is a humorous story about a recent college graduate searching for work  (You can find out more here)

The other will be my next novel, called 10:15 on a Tuesday, tells the story of an unlikely friendship that develops between an upper-middle class widower and a psychic (find out more here)

Thank you for being with us Abby. I can't wait to read more from you.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Erin! If your readers have any questions for me or want more information about the novel, they should definitely email me at abby.slovin@gmail.com or visit the novel's website: http://www.abbyslovin.com/

Abby has been so gracious to also allow me to give away an e-book of Letters to two of you! In case you don't remember here is my review.

It's easy to enter, simply subscribe to the blog and like this post and click the link below and you are entered!. There are a few other things you can do to get some extra entries. The winners will be picked on May 2.
GOODLUCK!

Letters In Cardboard Boxes by Abby Slovin

Experience what advanced reviews are proclaiming, "An absolute must read...this is a novel you will want to keep with you for the rest of your life" and "A poignant and moving story...a true work of art."

Letters In Cardboard Boxes tells the story of an eccentric grandmother and her granddaughter alongside a series of fantastical letters they once exchanged. Their letters once traversed the East River to help Parker escape the loneliness of a childhood without her globe-trekking parents and communicate during her turbulent teenage years. Now, nearly a decade later, Parker begins to rediscover the evidence of this letter writing tradition, as well as the family’s untold stories and, unexpectedly, letters from her grandmother’s own youth that paint a very different portrait of the woman who raised her.

Letters carries us through the universally-shared experience of loss and the process of coping with life’s unexpected twists and turns. Through unusual and bold characters, the story moves through some of its heavier themes with honesty and humor.

'Letters In Cardboard Boxes' is a bittersweet tale about family, loss and taking the ones that mean the most to us for granted.

Parker's life is nowhere near ideal. She is looked over at her job, has a mediocre boyfriend and a self centered best friend. The only real thing she has in her life is her grandma, Dotty. But when Dotty gets sick Parker doesn't know how to cope. How will she go on without the one person who has always been there?

I liked this book. It was a bit slow moving, especially in the beginning, but it was a sweet and emotional story. Though I did not fully come to love Parker, she wasn't as developed as I had hoped, she is surrounded by some really strong characters. Dotty being one of them. She was fun and lively. Actually, while reading, I kept picturing Parker as much older and Dotty as much younger, that just shows the kind of people they are. I enjoyed Tanya, a troubled teen who is mentored by Dotty. She reminded me so much of me when I was 17. Tanya and Parker's relationship was sweet. I liked seeing them grow together. Jerry was another character that I loved. I think I loved him the most, actually. He was sweet, funny and endearing.

My biggest complaint isn't about the story or the writing, it is with the structure of the e-book. Or lack of structure, I should say. There were random breaks in paragraphs and times where it was really hard to determine who was speaking. The lack of chapters irked me a little too. I don't think I would have minded it so much if it was put together differently. I did really like the fact that Slovin broke it up in 5 parts. It was a creative way to break it up given the subject matter. 5 parts of the book. 5 stages of grief. Get it? I loved it.

Overall it is a good book. With the exception of Parker's character development and some editing issues it was a well written, bittersweet novel with beautiful prose and bits of humor.

4 out of 5 stars.

BUY IT HERE: Letters In Cardboard Boxes
Or get an e-book version here: Letters In Cardboard Boxes e-book

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmführer of Buchenwald. 

Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the dramatic and heartbreaking truth of her mother's life

This is a very compelling story about a mother and daughter during WWII, with a parallel story set in 1997. Or, it should have been compelling. In reality it was poorly executed and tiresome.

The story had so much potential. It tells of Anna's life as a young, single mother, in Nazi Germany and the lengths she goes to keep her and her daughter alive. It's appalling to think women had to subject themselves to such degradation just to get by. I liked Anna in the beginning, too. Although, that went away after a while. I still liked Anna's story much more than Trudy's. It was much more interesting. I really disliked Trudy. I had a hard time believing she was a middle aged professor because she behaved like a child. I didn't understand most of her actions. Her story could have been tied in a much better way.

The problem with Trudy's story, and Anna's once you are halfway through, is the writing. Blum's writing was repetitive, unnecessarily vulgar and often times awkward. It was like she focused more on the details of the sexual encounters than the great story line she had thought out. It wasn't just the sex, though, it had so many side stories that led to nothing. There was so much in the story that could, and should, have been left out. It would have gotten a much higher rating if they were.

So to sum it up, it was a great premise ruined by bad writing.

2.5 out of 5 stars