L-J's Review of Are you there Vodka, it's me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler

Last summer, I discovered how much I could enjoy some audiobooks while on long road trips.  I had tried listening to Harry Potter novels but the narrator's voice made me drowsy--not ideal for driving.  After listening to all 4 Twilight Novels on CD, I decided to download Tori Spelling's latest (at the time), Mommywood.  I LOVED listening to her read her story.  It made long road trips alone fly by.  Fast forward to this spring break when I headed to Austin to go wedding dress shopping with Leslie.  I downloaded Uncharted TerriTori and iTunes recommended Chelsea Handler's book Are you there Vodka, it's me Chelsea.  I decided to go ahead and get it too.  Because it's length was 6 hours, I decided to begin with Chelsea's book.  I figured it would last both ways of the trip.  I ended up not finishing it on the road and had to wait for opportunities to listen sans kids--it is definitely not appropriate for kids!

My attention was held by this book but I won't go so far to say I liked it.  There were many moments where I was shocked by things she said or did.  I realize that's part of her persona but I didn't really like it.  I prefer the genuine sweetness from the likes of Tori Spelling.

Kindergarten!

It's an exciting day in the Barber household... This morning I got the official document that says Gavin was approved to transfer to a school in my district!  The school is 1.8 miles from where I work, which is important since I'm the one who drops the kids off in the morning and picks them up in the afternoon.  I'm so relieved!  I was worried we'd end up with different holidays, snow-days, make-up days, etc.

Now I just have to get him registered.

How is it that he's already headed to kindergarten????

L-J's review of Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is my least favorite of the three books, sadly.

I had high hopes for the direction of the trilogy and I was sadly disappointed.  This finale is very action-packed with lots of drama and plot curve-balls.  There's lots of gore--which I hate--and sad deaths (including graphic deaths of children)--which I absolutely DESPISE.  That alone, ruined the book for me.  It was completely unnecessary and horrific.  The blatant message of the author is that war is bad, it changes people for the worse, and it ruins/ends the lives of so many innocent victims.  Message received.

If she wanted to leave a lasting impression on her readers, Collins succeeded.  I am haunted by the horrors she included.  I wish I did not have such gruesome images in my head, but when you invest yourself in characters and then have to read descriptive accounts of their deaths, it's quite disturbing and hard to forget.  My guess is that Collins wanted the reader to feel the way I do.  There's no way she wrote this novel thinking, "People will feel inspired and hopeful."  Well, I am affected and fear that I will suffer from some nightmares like our heroine.

L-J's Review of Sweet Valley Confidential: 10 Years Later by Francine Pascal

I was so excited to read this book when I first heard about it.  I could not wait to see what happened to all of the Sweet Valley High gang.  I inherited a bunch of Sweet Valley High books from my aunts'--they ended up at my great-grandmother Michie's house and she gave them to me when I was around the age of 10.  Fortunately, Kristi and/or Kim had a collection of about 30 novels in the series and I read each one at least once if not a bunch of times.

Sweet Valley Confidential: 10 Years Later... begins when the twins are 27 and a rift has come between them, a BIG rift.  There is much hate between them and they are estranged.  Because of this, the tone of this continuation of the series is very dark, sad, angry, and not at all like the original series.  For 3/4 of the novel, I was disappointed and missed the spirit of Sweet Valley High.  Finally in the last quarter, the spirit returns, the saving grace of this book.  If not for the last part and the epilogue, I would not be satisfied at all with this twist in the lives of the Wakefield twins.

I won't say anything more about the plot because I don't want to give anything away, but this book is definitely for an adult audience (as opposed to the earlier novels intended for teens).  There also is a bit of a political agenda mentioned a few times but I can't say anything here without giving something big away.

If you are a fan of the series, you will appreciate this followup novel, though know that it is not the same as the prior novels at all.  When I say I appreciate it, I don't necessarily mean I like it or that it's a book I'd rate very highly.  I did have to know where the author was taking Elizabeth and Jessica's story but to be honest, my favorite part was the epilogue where we find out where all the major players from the high school novels are now.

Stickers!

Kailee's favorite word of the morning: "Sticker!"

My favorite phrase of the morning: "We don't eat stickers!"

Yummy Sticker!

Oops, I missed my mouth!

L-J's review of Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

As soon as I finished The Hunger Games, I was DYING to know what happened next.  I downloaded Catching Fire and finished it in 2 days.

The story continues with us unsure of what will become of the main characters (I don't want to give anything away by naming names).  At the end of The Hunger Games, I wasn't sure where the series was headed and how it could possibly last for 2 more novels.  I feel a little stupid that the direction it's headed did not occur to me at all.  I think I was too engrossed to see the obvious.  It's kind of like the saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees."  I was too focused on the details to see the much bigger picture.  

Catching Fire threw me for a loop SEVERAL times and kept me wanting more.  There's nonstop action up to the last page which of course leaves the reader eager for whatever comes next.  Now that I have an idea of what the ultimate goal is, I am excited to see it play out.  I'm sure the next novel will have it's fair share of action, romance and of course pain/death.

L-J's review of Hunted by P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast

This is #5 of the House of Night novels by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast.  They are a vampire series about an adolescent who discovers she's a vampire (it's not your typical vampire storyline) and then has to go to the House of Night for her new life.  The series begins more or less lighthearted and reminds me of Harry Potter/Hogwarts.  As does Harry Potter, it turns darker the further along the story progresses through the series.

But this is a review of #5 in the series, Hunted...  I have been trying to get this book FOREVER.  I am washing my hands of it less than 200 pages in and am moving on.  I love the first few of these books but the further in I get, the more irritated I get with Zoey.  I just don't like her.  I mean, come on, pick a guy!  I don't like her wish-washy-ness at all.  The other characters are very fun and entertaining throughout, except for Heath who I also can't stand.  I think it's time for me to move on from this series.

So disappointed :(

While I strongly dislike this one in the series, the first few were really fun reads and difficult to put down.  I definitely enjoyed the other books in the series and recommend them as quick, entertaining reads.