By Golly, Ollie!

  • Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Book Review

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    Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell book coverFangirl by Rainbow Rowell
    Released: September 2013
    Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★★☆
    Synopsis: Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

    My Thoughts

    So rare is it that I love a book that has been hyped. Usually, the higher the pedestal, the farther a book has to fall– such was the case with Divergent by Veronica Roth or An Abundance of Katherines by John Green for which there is no link here because I couldn’t make it past page 50. However, I recently read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and the only thing I’m disappointed about is not reading the book sooner so I could fangirl along side the rest of the book blogosphere.

    Freshman year of college is a test for all 18 and 19-year-olds, and it’s no different for Cath, who is a new student at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska*. At least she can rely on her twin sister, Wren, also a freshman at the University of Nebraska, to help her navigate the microcosm that is a university campus and being away from home for the first time…right? But, when Wren chooses to embrace the college life that includes the drinking and the boys and the rowdy parties, Cather slips into the fan fiction world of Simon Snow (read: Harry Potter) that’s safe and comfortable and already accepting of her. Unexpectedly, her sassy roommate, Reagan, and her sassy roommate’s attachment/unattachment, Levi, draw Cath out of her shell.

    I think Cath is going to be one of those rare female characters who empowers her readers. Like the way Hermione Granger made being intelligent and a bookworm totally awesome, Cath will make reading and writing and being snarky and being nerdy totally awesome. Plus, she’s easy to relate to. She’s cynical and insecure and scared, but she’s also introverted and witty and passionate, and as I kept flipping pages, I kept thinking, “That’s me. Cath is me!”

    Then, we’re finally given a love interest that isn’t a “bad boy with a heart of gold” because those don’t actually exist. Trust me, the bad boy will always be a jerk (especially in college), and you’re just being blinded by his manly sideburns and five o’clock shadow. Levi is a nice guy— the kind that offers to walk with you at night even though it’s cold outside because he wants to make sure you feel safe, the kind that will drive you home no matter the distance or the road conditions, the kind that will encourage you to embrace and ramble on about your (nerdy) passions. He’s not compared to Adonis; in fact, he’s got lines in his forehead and a bit of a receding hairline, and he probably has a farmer’s tan too from working hard out in the sun! He’s still handsome and he’s charming (of course, he’s from the midwest), but more importantly, he’s the kind of you guy you cannot wait to see or talk to over the phone because he just sort of makes awful days melt away or he makes you feel like the most important person in the room or he makes you feel like yourself again. I know someone kind of like Levi, and perhaps that is why the relationship that develops between Cath and Levi gives me butterflies in my stomach. Plus, the romance happened organically, which is refreshing in a world of love triangles that don’t make sense and instant, unfettering “love” amongst teenagers.

    As much as I loved Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, I have to admit that I did actually skips parts of this book, which I don’t often do. Each chapter starts with an excerpt from the Simon Snow novel, or Cath’s fan fiction, or newspaper clippings discussing the pop culture phenomenon. Then, there were several pages where Cath was reading her fan fiction out loud, and I pretty much skipped all of that. The integration of Cath’s Simon Snow fan fiction was cool at first, but after a while I became bored by it, and I felt it was distracting from the story that I truly wanted to read– Cath’s college experience.

    Still, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell earns a solid four stars from me for multifaceted, perfectly imperfect characters, a charming romance, and a realistic portrayal of college and falling in love for the first time. Thank you Rainbow Rowell for giving the world Cather Avery.

    *I think it’s really cool that this story takes place in Nebraska, one of the most underrated states in the US. Who writes about Nebraska?

  • Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick #Review

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    Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick book coverNever Fall Down by Patricia McCormick
    Released: May, 2012
    Publisher:     Balzer + Bray
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    ★★★☆☆
    Synopsis:     Based on the true story of Cambodian advocate Arn Chorn-Pond, and authentically told from his point of view as a young boy, this is an achingly raw and powerful historical novel about a child of war who becomes a man of peace. When soldiers arrive in his hometown, Arn is just a normal little boy. But after the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever.Arn is separated from his family and assigned to a labor camp: working in the rice paddies under a blazing sun, he sees the other children dying before his eyes. One day, the soldiers ask if any of the kids can play an instrument. Arn’s never played a note in his life, but he volunteers.This decision will save his life, but it will pull him into the very center of what we know today as the Killing Fields. And just as the country is about to be liberated, Arn is handed a gun and forced to become a soldier.

    My Thoughts

    I read Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick for very superficial reasons: 1. it was on sale the day I purchased it and 2. it was the shortest novel I owned, and I wanted a “quick read” to get myself out of my reading slump. I don’t think I even paid much attention to the blurb the day that I bought it other than it took place in Cambodia and something about the “main character”, Arn, dancing to Elvis Presley and hustling adults to bring home extra coin to his family. I mistakenly thought this was going to be a coming-of-age novel. Perhaps my obliviousness was a blessing because had I realized this book took place in Cambodia during the 1970s, I might not have picked it up on New Year’s Eve.

    I only vaguely knew about Cambodia during the 1970s– the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. It’s not something that I ever learned about in school though. All of my world history classes– high school and college– were western centric, so if America or the UK or the Soviet Union were not involved, we didn’t touch the subject– not even when 25% of a country’s population was annihilated by corrupt leaders.

    Never Fall Down is based on the (true) story of Arn Chorn-Pond, who, during 1975 and 1979, survived the genocide of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge labor camps, and the Cambodian-Vietnamese War. This book is listed as “young adult”, but every page is filled with sights, scents, and sounds of death. Everyday, the Khmer Rouge kill people who are too educated, too rich, or too supportive of the old ways. The labor camps turn into killing fields and mass graves for over two million Cambodians, but Arn Chorn-Pond survives the fields because he volunteers to learn an instrument to play the patriotic songs of the new government and he learns to manipulate the members of the new regime. On the eve of Cambodian liberation, Arn Chorn-Pond is handed a gun and made to not only fight for the Khmer Rouge but for his own life as well.

    I have one reservation about Never Fall Down though, and it’s not the grim content– it’s the narration. Patricia McCormick spent two years interviewing Arn Chorn-Pond and surviving family members to learn their story, and in an attempt to capture Arn’s “authentic” voice, McCormick decided to write the entire story in broken English. Unfortunately, not only did it make this story difficult to read, I found the voice to be more like a caricature than authentic. It just seems…tacky, and perhaps I am putting that lightly. It was so unappealing and unnecessary that it turned a four-star book into a three-star book.

    Still, a book like Never Fall Down needs to be read. It’s a powerful story about a time in history that I think many of us are unfamiliar with. And that’s the thing about history– we read about it or experience it first hand and (hopefully) we learn and (hopefully) we don’t let history repeat itself.

  • Favorite Reads of 2014

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    Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, and poses the question “What was your favorite read from 2014?”

    exiled

    This is an easy answer because I read so few books in 2014. My resolution to read more in 2015 will be a breeze to attain! But, I digress. Of the books I reviewed in 2014, The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima was my favorite. It’s a rare occasion that I so eagerly pick up the second book in a series, but after finishing the Demon King back in 2013, I simply could not wait to start reading the Exiled Queen. The Seven Realms series makes high fantasy accessible to readers who have had poor experiences with the genre in the past because it is an action-packed story with the perfect blend of world building and character development. I already have the Grey Wolf Throne, and you better believe I will be reading that in 2015!

    The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz book cover

    The next of my favorite reads from 2014 does not show up on my blog, and that is The Summer I Saved the World…in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz. This was a fluff book that I read back in May when Spring was holding tight to Michigan. It was one of the first warm days of the year, so I slathered on some sunscreen and sat out by the lake for a few hours. I devoured the book in one sitting because it was just one of those books that made you feel good about everything, and I did not want that feeling to end.

    writing in books

    I felt so inspired by The Summer I Saved the World that I ended up writing all over the inside of the front cover of the book. I wrote about the perfect day and the people floating by on boats and my fear of missed connections because that’s what this book was about in a way– missed connections. Or rather, it’s about a young girl who sees a community full of missed connections, so she decides to do random acts of kindness to bring that community back together. It’s hard to explain, but in a way, this book saved my world during summer of 2014. It’s a book that I will carry with me forever.

    What was your favorite read of 2014?

  • Teaview: This is What Christmas Tastes Like?

    Teaview: This is What Christmas Tastes Like?

    2 comments on Teaview: This is What Christmas Tastes Like?

    I’m feeling fairly removed from the holidays this season. I haven’t done much shopping, I haven’t listened to Christmas tunes, I haven’t watched any of my Christmas-time faves, and to top it off, it seems like we’re going to have more of a muddy Christmas than a white Christmas this year. So, in an effort to get myself in to the Christmas spirit, I decided to try Adagio’s Christmas Tea. Unfortunately it left me saying, “Bah, Humbug!” instead of a jolly “Ho! Ho! Ho!” This is not to say the tea is awful, but it certainly isn’t my cup of tea.

    Adagio’s Christmas Tea is a blend of black tea, cinnamon bark, orange peels, natural spice flavor, cardamom, cloves, ginger root, natural ginger flavor, and natural cinnamon flavor.

    In theory, this should be good, but when I open the bag of tea, I am greeted with that weird, stale cinnamon potpourri scent that wafts through the aisles of craft stores. Luckily, the flavor (read: aroma) is not that bad. I find it to be reminiscent or perhaps inspired by mulled wine, which I find is a taste I have not acquired; I’ve never met a red wine that I like. Black tea is significantly more palatable though, so really it’s the blend of citrus and spice that I do not care for in this tea. Perhaps if you’re a fan of mulled wine, your opinion may differ.

    I’ve also struggled to find a good balance of flavor with this tea, so every cup I’ve made is either strong and spicy or weak and watery– nothing that a spot of sugar or can’t mend though. I will probably work my way through the rest of the bag, but I don’t see myself buying more of this tea in the future.

    What beverage do you like to sip on to get you in the holiday spirits? Hot cocoa? Warm cider? Mulled wine, perhaps?

  • Teaview: Cranberry Tea– a new Thanksgiving staple?

    Teaview: Cranberry Tea– a new Thanksgiving staple?

    1 comment on Teaview: Cranberry Tea– a new Thanksgiving staple?

    Why is the cranberry a staple of Thanksgiving dinners? It’s so tart, and how can it even compare to the rest of the savory dishes that fill the table? It is a traditional side dish though, and when it comes to Thanksgiving, I cannot forego tradition. Sometimes it just requires a creative twist. Like this year, I drank Cranberry Ginger Ale  during dinner! And this morning, I woke up to Cranberry Tea from Adagio.

    The ingredients in this tea are black tea, raspberry leaves, natural cranberry flavor, and cranberries (though, I’ve not seen the bog berry in my canister of tea).

    I’m not the biggest fan of Adagio’s Cranberry tea, yet I keep defaulting to it. One reason is because it’s the only tea sitting on my counter, so it’s easily accessible. The other reason is because I’m trying to acquire a taste for it…perhaps because it’s the only tea canister within reach. This tea is dry and tart like a cranberry, and it actually leaves me feeling thirsty, which I find unpleasant. As for flavor, I taste more raspberry hardcandy than cranberry. Much like the lone cranberry though, Adagio’s Cranberry tea is definitely more palatable when I add sugar; however, the fruit flavor seems to disappear, which is alright in my opinion because I don’t much care for cranberries.

    Overall, I don’t like drinking this tea unsweetened, but I can certainly guzzle this tea with sugar added. If I can’t taste the fruity flavor though, why not just drink a plain black tea instead?  Sorry Cranberry Tea– you won’t be a Thanksgiving staple in my house.

About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.