Jenn\'s Bookshelves

Review: The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels-A Love Story by Ree Drummond

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Jenn

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 14, 2012)
ISBN-10: 006199717X
Source: Publisher

Many of us know The Pioneer Woman from her popular blog and cookbooks full of delectable recipes. How many of us, however, know the woman behind this success story? In The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels-A Love Story the reader gets a unique glimpse inside the life of Ree Drummond before she becomes the woman we have all grown to love.

After attending four years of college in Los Angeles, Ree returns home to Oklahoma for a visit before moving to Chicago. She’s currently in a relationship with J, yet really isn’t feeling the commitment and affection she longs for. She agrees to meet some friends at a local bar for drinks. While there, she runs into a deliciously handsome cowboy and they end up talking for hours. After this chance encounter, they don’t speak again for four months. When they do, a spark unites and they begin dating. She refers to him only as The Marlboro man, a cowboy who ranches on the land his family owns. She must chose between the life she had planned in Chicago and this sweet, masculine man who has won over her heart. A seemingly difficult task, Ree comes to the conclusion pretty easily; the relationship she has with The Marlboro Man is unlike any she had ever experienced.

And I knew, even then: Marlboro Man, not only that night but for months to come, would prove to be my savior, my distraction, my escape in the midst of troubles, my strength in the face of upheaval, my beauty in times of terrible, heartbreaking ugliness. He held my heart entirely in his hands, this cowboy, and for the first time in my life, despite everything I’d ever believed about independence and feminism and emotional autonomy, I knew I’d be utterly incomplete without him.

Ree, a girl used to wearing high heels and dressing to the nines, had a bit of adjustment when it came to her relationship with The Marlboro man. He worked the land, got dirty, woke up at obscene hours of the morning to start his day. In the book, Ree mentions several humorous situations, particularly one involving taking the temperature of cattle as they are being branded. Yet through thick and thin, their relationship perseveres. All sorts of outside distractions, including the divorce of her parents, cause Ree to frequently question her happiness. She was utterly and completely in love, in the midst of her parents’ 30-year marriage crumbling around her:

I wanted to leave; I wanted out of there so badly…but I was stuck–stuck in a delicious, glorious, beautiful inescapable La Brea tar pit of romance with a rough, rugged, impossibly tender cowboy

And so their life begins, sticking together through thick and thin. Ree must learn to give up a bit of her independence, to lose some of her vanity and pride all in the name of love.

No spoiler here, Marlboro man proposes. Thoughts flash through Ree’s mine, similar I think to other woman about to take the leap into marriage. Her hilarious presumptions of how her life will change hand me in tears:

Marry you? But then I’d have to cut my hair short. Married women have short hair, and they get it fixed at the beauty shop.

Marry you? But then I’d have to make casseroles?

Marry you? But then I’ll have to wear yellow rubber gloves to do the dishes.

She goes on and on, but is unable to deny the man that she loves so passionately. They marry and move in to a small, centuries-old home on The Marlboro Man’s family land.

Readers that know my personal taste in books might wonder why on Earth I opted to review this book. Blame it on Leap Day; I’m opting to take a leap and step outside the bounds of my comfort zone. I’m not known for my fondness of romances, but how can one resist reading about a good old-fashioned love story? The love Ree and The Marlboro Man share is a unique one, one that I think readers of all varieties will appreciate and enjoy. That’s not to say they didn’t have their issues and faults but this love they shared outweighed any challenges they faced. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m obsessed with Ree’s blog and the gorgeous pictures Ree is known to post. Oh, and the recipes!! I’d be remiss not to mention the recipes contained at the back of the book, just a sampling of the mouth-watering food Ree is known to produce.Highly, highly recommended.

Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour! Foodies would be remiss not to check out Ree’s cookbooks, the newest due out next month (I cannot wait!!)

Posted in Autobiography, Cookbooks, Review, Women's Fiction | 17 Comments

Review: The Next One To Fall by Hilary Davidson

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Jenn

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (February 14, 2012)
ISBN-10: 0765326981
Source: Publisher

Three months after the events of The Damage Done, travel writer Lily Moore is still grieving the loss of her sister. Her best friend, photographer Jesse Robb, convinces her to join him on a trip to Peru. Lily reluctantly agrees. Not long after their arrival, Jesse and Lily are visiting Machu Picchu, the famous Lost City of the Incas, when they find a woman, at the brink of death, laying at the base of an ancient stone staircase. With her last breaths, she tells Lily the name of the man who killed her.

When the local police arrive and begin their investigation, the evidence they uncover doesn’t match what Lily experienced. They are prepared to rule it out as a suicide, the woman a drug addict. Unable to accept this, partially due to her own experience with a drug addict in her family, Lily begins her own investigation, hunting down the woman’s travel companion. In doing so, she reveals a history of series of dead or missing women, all tied to this man. She soon discovers the police aren’t the only individuals who would like this “crime” swept under the carpet, and both she and Jesse embark upon an incredibly dangerous journey to seek justice for these women.

Davidson’s own experience as a travel writer shines through in her beautifully detailed writing. The setting is painted so vividly for the reader, even the most mundane details and sites sound exquisite. As with her previous book, The Next One to Fall is an incredibly exciting, pulse-pounding book, led by an incredibly strong and unrelenting female character. The grief Lily experiences is fuel for the passion she has in seeking justice for the victims of this dangerous man. Full of unexpected twists and turns, ending with the reader hoping (and expecting) more, this is a novel and an author you can’t afford to miss out on. Highly recommended!

Following are some pictures the author took on her own visit to Peru during her research for this book. Absolutely breathtaking!

Posted in Forge Books, Review, Thriller | Tagged female-led thrillers, Machu Picchu, Peru | 3 Comments

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading This Week?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Jenn

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading This Week? This is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finish this week. It is hosted by Sheila from One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books so stop by and join in!

Books Completed Last Week

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris (review)
Night Swim by Jessica Keener (review)

Currently Reading

The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi (audio)
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels–A Love Story by Ree Drummond
Carry the One by Carol Anshaw

Books to Complete This Week

Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

What are you reading this week?

Posted in It's Monday What Are you Reading This Week | 10 Comments

Review: The Technologists by Matthew Pearl

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Jenn

Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Random House (February 21, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1400066573
Source: Publisher

In 1868 Boston, a new school opens up on a former wasteland: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It promises to study science for the well-being of all, promising to do no harm. Unfortunately, society doesn’t agree. It sees the school, and the students that attend it, as a machine of sorts, attempting to mechanize jobs normally performed by workers.

Meanwhile, in Boston Harbor, the navigation equipment of several sea vessels go haywire at the same time, forcing them to crash into one another. The closure of the Harbor causes extreme disruption to commerce. Not long after, the glass windows in several Boston buildings turn to liquid, injuring and killing hundreds of Bostonians.

Everyone is desperate to come up for an explanation of these two events. Clearly the cause is scientific in nature, or is it nature’s way of getting back at humankind for the surge in technology. A group of the Institutes finest, known as the Technologists, band their knowledge together to track down the truth. Lead by Marcus Mansfield, a civil war veteran and former machinist himself the group is made up of an eclectic group of students, some true to life, including the first female student granted admission to the Institute.

Pearl is known for the rich historical detail he brings to each of his novels. This rings true in The Technologists, which is not only a suspense-ridden novel but also a lesson in Boston’s rich history. He vividly portrayed the nation during a pretty important time, the cusp of the technological revolution. While there are some pretty obvious aspects that have been fictionalized (the accident at the Harbor and the melting glass) a great deal is taken right from our nation’s history.

Pearl is a tremendously talented writer. I have read each of his books and I jokingly state that I would read a shopping list if he wrote it. He has the ability to entice and capture the reader for the entirety of a book, no matter the length. I admit, I was a bit wary when I saw that this book was nearly 500 pages, but honestly, once I started, the pages flew by. That said, this is certainly not a light read, full of technical detail and prose that you simply cannot skim. Some have termed it a literary historical thriller, I simply term it brilliant. Highly recommended.

Be sure to check out the tour page to see the other stops on this tour.

Thanks to the publisher, I do have one copy of The Technologists to give away. To enter, please fill out the form below. Open to US & Canadian residents only. The winner will be contacted via email on Friday, March 2nd. Good luck to all who enter!

Posted in Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, Random House, Review | 7 Comments

Review: Night Swim by Jessica Keener

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Jenn

Paperback: 284 pages
Publisher: Fiction Studio Books (January 10, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1936558262
Source: Publisher

Sarah Kunitz, sixteen years old, lives in a suburb of Boston in the 1970s. To those outside her home she has the perfect life. Her parents are wealthy, drive expensive cars, even hire live-in maids to help with the children. The life inside Sarah’s home is completely different, however. Her “perfect” mother self-medicates, she and her siblings seek solace from their parents fighting by listening to music together. Her world really begins to change when her mother, intoxicated, drives the family car into a local lake. Rather than dealing with the problem, the family ignores it:

After the arrival of the new car, no one mentioned the accident anymore as if we’d made a silent family pact to avoid it; and, I didn’t know what else to say to her. She’d already left me. What do you say to someone you’ve lost?

Any remnant of normalcy is washed away when her mother is killed in a car “accident.” Her father, always pretty self-absorbed, almost immediately begins an affair with a younger colleague. Sarah deals with the loss by leaping into sexual relationships with various boys.

Night Swim, at the core, is a blunt and brutal examination of the effects of loss and denial on a family. Keener avoid discussing difficult topics like drug abuse, anti-Semitism, and loss. Like Sarah, she leaps head-first into the portrayal of these issues, providing the reader with a true-to-life examination of this family. The reader has a front road seat to the road to chaos that is Sarah’s life. She’s at the age where she requires a strong female presence in her life, and unfortunately she does not have that in her mother. Instead, she seeks this guidance from the most unlikely of sources, one of the many live-in maids that steps into her life. We watch as she goes from a shy, dependent girl to a strong, vocal young woman. She learns from the many mistakes she takes on this journey and becomes a better person for it.

Keener’s prose is spectacular, almost poetic. I found myself rereading many of the passages just to experience the beauty of her written word. She gives the reader the gift of a wonderful, honest, coming-of-age story. At just under 300 pages it is not a long read, but one that will resonate. Recommended.

Warning: Scenes of a sexual nature, mildly graphic.

Be sure to check out the tour page for other stops on this tour.

Posted in Fiction Studio Books, General Fiction, Review | Tagged 1970s, Boston, coming-of-age | 7 Comments

Review: Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Jenn

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Kensington Books (February 28, 2012)
ISBN-10: 0758246854
Source: Author

Maddie Kern is a young violinist living in Los Angeles in 1941. She and her brother, TJ, have been on their own since their mother died. Their father, unresponsive due to the depression he suffers after the loss of his wife, is living in a rehabilitation center, a shell of the man he used to be. Therefore, TJ feels the need to not only serve the role of her brother, but as her parent as well. He’s quite strict, desperate to cushion Maddie from the world around her.

Unbeknownst to TJ, Maddie has fallen in love with his best friend, Lane Moritomo, the son of Japanese immigrants. They’ve kept their relationship a secret from her brother and Lane’s family, but when Lane hears his parents have arranged a bride for him, he and Maddie decide to elope, certain that nothing can stop them from being together. Interracial marriage is not legal in California, so they must trek to neighboring Washington state to wed. The following day, however, the world changes. Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese, and Maddie’s new husband becomes the sworn enemy to those around her. The couple, on several occasions, witnesses the hate for all those of Japanese descent. It doesn’t matter that Lane is an American citizen. He has the face of the enemy.

Lane’s father is arrested and his family is moved to a war relocation camp. Lane begs Maddie to divorce, even going so far as to present her with the papers. Maddie has a chance to go off and study music at Julliard, but gives it all up to follow Lane, not willing to put an end to their relationship and join him at the relocation camp. Maddie works hard to gain the acceptance of Lane’s family, and Lane sacrifices his own safety to prove his allegiance to America. McMorris creates quite an epic story of two families, both desperately trying to survive a world ravaged by war.

Being in an interracial relationship myself, I instantly felt sympathy for the plight Maddie and Lane were forced to endure. While my husband and I are lucky enough to live in a society in which a relationship like this is more accepted than it was in the past, we still on occasion experience hostility about our relationship from others. I have to admit I wasn’t nearly as educated about what happened to those individuals of Japanese descent after Pearl Harbor; I was completely ignorant to the abuse they endured.

McMorris’ prose is absolutely breathtaking, gliding over the pages like a musical score. Music, itself, plays a key role in this story as well. Following is a quote referencing Maddie and her gift of music:

“She suddenly looked at her violin as more than an instrument. With a body and a neck, a rib and a waist, the wooden form represented the person who guided it to sing. To keep her loved ones alive, Maddie would tell their stories-and her own-with the voice inside and the strings in her hand.”

The themes that are prevalent in this powerful story include love and commitment, prejudice, and acceptance. Despite the overwhelming difficulties these two families are forced to endure, hope always prevails. McMorris gives readers an emotional powerful, exhilarating tale of how love touches two families, separated in space and in spirit by war. It is remarkable to see how war affects people similarly, despite their differing backgrounds.

The characters McMorris creates are so rich; it is not often that you come across a book in which the characters are so well developed. Each character’s story becomes it’s own storyline, beautifully crafted to come together at the end.

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves is a novel that will appeal to various types of readers, including history buffs, romance fans, and more. It is a book that I devoured, a book that I will cherish. Highly recommended.

Following is a little background on the story:

The premise of this novel began with a true account of two brothers during WWII, one who had fought for Japan and the other for America. While researching the subject, Kristina happened across a brief mention of roughly two hundred non-Japanese spouses who voluntarily lived in an internment camp. She was stunned and fascinated by the discovery, and immediately knew it was a story she needed to tell.

As the daughter of a Japanese immigrant father and Caucasian American mother, Kristina grew up living between these two cultures. Through Bridge of Scarlet Leaves she hopes to share with readers a unique perspective of an intriguing, and often tragic, portion of our country’s history, while also honoring a diverse range of quiet heroes.

Posted in Historical Fiction, Kensington, Review, Women's Fiction | 7 Comments

Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Jenn

After a war against engineered beings identical to humans, known as Partials, human kind is nearly extinct. Roughly 40,000 individuals have survived the virus known as RM. The Partials have retreated, the timing of their return unknown. The plan to repopulate civilization is thwarted when babies are born unable to survive the first few days of life before becoming victims of the virus. The governing body referred to as the Senate is so desperate to prevent the complete devastation of the human race that they lower the mandatory pregnancy age to 16. Every girl of this age must become pregnant by any means necessary (including insemination) and as often as possible.

Kira is a sixteen-year-old medic in training. Unable to continue to watch newborn babies die within hours of their birth, she decides to take a desperate step toward finding a cure for RM. She uncovers a link between humans and the Partials, a link the powers that be want to keep secret. She learns that the source of their survival is the Partials themselves, thereby also revealing a secret about her own identity she is unprepared/unwilling to accept.

The first book in a new apocalyptic series, Partials forces readers to truly examine what it means to be human, reevaluating the concept of humanity.

I’m familiar with the author, Dan Wells, from his John Cleaver series: I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don’t Want to Kill You. In Partials, Wells creates a world just as terrifying as that in the Cleaver series just with a different monster. Reminiscent of one of my favorite television series, Battlestar Galactica, human kind is decimated by organisms it created. Average citizens are forced to take on roles they would have never imagined. The majority of the characters are teens. In a normal world, they’d be talking about prom or college and the like. Instead, their lives are put on fast-forward, forced to produce without the niceties of love.

Wells’ descriptions of this brave new world is stellar; the world he describes is literally a skeleton of the one before it. References to our everyday culture, destroyed by war, are quite chilling. The world, devoid of a rich human population, continues to go on without us, erasing all traces of human life.

My only complaint: the characters. There were many, many characters to keep track of. While the major characters were memorable, the minor were just tidbits of the story I couldn’t recall. I found myself actually overlooking the characters names, fast-forwarding to the scenes with Kira and the other more vital characters. Since this is the first in a series, I’m hoping that these background individuals make a return and are built upon to create a well-defined cast of characters.

Another major kudo: the romance. Remember a few weeks ago when I ranted about young adult novels with the mandatory romance? Well, Partials does indeed have a touch of romance, but fortunately that is all put on the back burner. How can one be worried about love when the survival of the human race is in jeopardy?

Other than this minor complaint, the entirety of Partials was spot-on. The pacing was fast (hello, I read the entire book in an afternoon.). The storyline, while at face-value not unique, ultimately transformed into a truly unique and engaging story. I look forward to the rest of the books in this series, learning more about the fate of humankind. Recommended.

This review is my contribution to Dystopian February over at Presenting Lenore. Stop by to check out all the fantastic events taking place this month!

I’m pleased to have an extra advanced reader copy (ARC) of Partials for giveaway! To enter, please fill out the form below.

Posted in Balzer + Bray, Dystopian fiction, Harper Collins Publishers, YA | 7 Comments

Review: Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Jenn

Reading level: Ages 5 and up
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books (January 5, 2012)
ISBN-10:
Source: Publisher

A little girl is walking through the park when she sees a tall man who reminds her of someone. She can’t remember who he is at first, but when she pays for lunch (with a five dollar bill) she recognizes him at once: Abraham Lincoln. She becomes fascinated with Lincoln and goes to the library to learn more about him. Throughout the book, she relays facts that she comes across in her reading, from his birth in a small log cabin to his presidency, the Emancipation Proclamation and his death. Told through a series of colorful illustrations, Lincoln’s history comes to life on the pages.

Jenn’s review: As a mom, I appreciated this book because it contained not only useful, textbook type information about Lincoln, but also not so common information, like that his favorite cake was vanilla, he always had an apple on his desk, and that he kept notes he’d jotted down in his tall hat. At just 32 pages, it gives young children a glimpse of Lincoln’s life and information about why he was one of the most powerful presidents in our nation’s history. But my review isn’t important…from the mouth of a child, my six-year-old son Justin’s review:

I really liked the colorful pictures. They aren’t drawn perfectly, but look like they are done by someone my age. Also, did you know that Lincoln’s stepmother lead him read anytime he wanted and sometimes didn’t do his chores. I wish I could do that! It was sad to read how he died. He loved people, all people, and because of this he was shot by a very bad angry man. I got to see his big tall hat at the museum in Washington, DC once. It really is a tall hat. I wonder how he was able to walk through doors with that hat on. Mommy says he was a tall man, almost 7 feet tall! Anyway, I think this book is the perfect book to read to celebrate President’s Day. I want to go to see Lincoln’s Memorial soon. It’s too bad I can’t climb up in his lap and talk to him. I think we would have a lot to talk about.

This is our first picture by Maira Kalman, I guarantee it won’t be our last. Highly recommended!

Posted in Penguin, Picture Book | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, history, President's Day | 4 Comments