Review: Essie in Progress by Marjorie Presten

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Jenn

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between!

 You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today’s Wild Card author is:

and the book:

Essie in Progress

Kregel Publications (April 1, 2009)

***Special thanks to Marjorie Presten for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marjorie Presten is a native Georgian who has her own fair share of experience juggling career and motherhood. She lives outside of Atlanta with her husband, Tom, and their three children.

Listen to a radio interview about the book HERE.

Product Details:

List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Kregel Publications (April 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 082543565X
ISBN-13: 978-0825435652

 

Ellison “Essie” Wells is a full-time working mom with two young children, and another on the way. Her life is hectic and busy, and she’s pulled in so many different directions. It doesn’t help that her mother, Pearl, makes her feel guilty for continuing to work.  Her husband, Jack, is going through a mid-life crisis.  He spends the family’s savings to buy an expensive and completely impractical sports car, and trades Essie’s beloved SUV in for a Hummer!  And we can’t leave out Hamilton “Ham”, Jack’s estranged father.  Since Jack’s mom passed away from cancer, their relationship has been extremely rocky.  Ham has re-evaluated his life and wants to play a more integral role in his son’s life.

Reading the summary, one might think that this novel is another one of those “mommy-lit” books, full of fluff. Essie in Progressdefinitely doesn’t fall into that category.  Each of the characters are on a desperate mission to find out their purpose in life, and to know for certain if the path they are following is one that God would approve of.  It is a tale of a family’s struggle for growth and change. It is full of humor, wit, sadness and grief.  Each of the characters are flawed in their own way, and it made it easier for me to sympathize with the struggle they were going through.  As a full-time working mom with two boys, I can completely feel for what Essie is experiencing.  It is extremely easy for me to feel guilty for working, for not spending enough time with my growing boys.  In a sense, it’s a stigma that society sometimes puts on women.  But there are so many issues being dealt with in addition to this “Mommy-guilt.” The book deals with father-son issues, and feelings of self-worth.  Essie in Progress is a light, yet powerful look at evaluating what truly is meaningful in life.

Posted in General Fiction, Review | 1 Comment

Library Loot-December 3rd

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Jenn

library-loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

 Here are the books I picked up this week:

LL

Splendor: A Luxe Novel (The Luxe) by Anna Godbersen
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story by Emmanuel Jal

Have you supported your local library this week? If so, what did you get?

Posted in Library Loot | 13 Comments

Review: The Hidden, by Tobias Hill

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Jenn

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  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 13, 2009)
  • ISBN-10: 0061768251
  • Source: Publisher

Publisher’s Summary:

In southern Greece in 2004, a close-knit group of archaeologists searches for the buried traces of a formidable ancient power. A student running from a failed marriage and family, Ben Mercer is a latecomer to their ranks, drawn to the charisma of the group’s members—to the double-edged friendship of Jason, the unsettling beauty of Natsuko and Eleschen, and the menace of Max and Eberhard. But Ben is far too eager to join the excavation project, and there is more to the group’s dangerous games and dynamic than he understands. And there are things that should always remain hidden.

A novel of astonishing grace and power from award-winning author Tobias Hill, The Hidden brilliantly explores the secrets we keep, the ties that bind us, and the true cost of fulfilling our desires.

My review:

I really REALLY wanted to enjoy this book.  Really, I did.  But it just didn’t happen for me.  It’s categorized as a thriller, one of my favorite genres, but I hardly found it to meet the criteria.  Perhaps it should have been advertised as historic literary fiction instead?

I have to compliment the author on the amount of research that must have gone in to writing this.  Throughout the book, there are numerous “flashbacks” to Sparta and Ancient Greece.  Although, I couldn’t quite pinpoint how these “flashbacks” related to the rest of the story.

The formatting of the book was also difficult. The chapters are quite lengthy and other than a slight indent, the paragraphs aren’t broken up at all.  Conversations are indicated by a hyphen (-) instead of quotes so it makes the entire book a bit difficult to read.  This disjointedness prevented me from really connecting with the characters. 

Ultimately, I determined that quite possibly I’m not the intended reader for this book.  It is quite literary, and you really have to dig down through the surface to truly get the meat of the story.  I am a fan of literary fiction and do read a great deal of it. Perhaps I didn’t dig deep enough? It’s possible.  But how much effort must one put into a book to find the core of the story? How much effort should a reader put into a book before giving up? I read the book cover-to-cover.  I put in a tremendous amount of effort to enjoying this book.  Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. TLC

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to review this book.

Posted in Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction | 10 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: December 1st

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Jenn
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

 

My teaser this week comes from The Hidden by Tobias Hill:

“All things would answer, in the end, if you knew how to question them.  If you were patient, if you listened, the earth itself would speak.”

What is your teaser this week?

Posted in Teaser Tuesday | 3 Comments

Don’t Forget! Tonight I’m On That Show I Blog!

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Jenn

Just a reminder that Nicole from Linus’s Blanket will be will be interviewing me tonight on her Blog Talk Radio show, That’s How I Blog!, at 8:30 pm Eastern Time.  You can listen live or to the archived version later on.  If you listen live you can join the conversation in chat room, which is usually just as lively as the show!  If you have any questions or comments, you can send them to Nicole at: nicole AT linussblanket DOT com before the show, ask in the chat room or call 646-381-4606 to ask yourself.  At the end of the show, stick around for the Twenty Minute Book Club.  If you’ve read the book or don’t mind spoilers, we will be discussing Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Review & Giveaway: Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Jenn

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Avon A; 1 edition (June 23, 2009)
  • ISBN-10: 0061547786
  • Source: Publisher

Anna O’Shea has just returned from a trip to London, a getaway after going through a divorce five months before. The divorce was a painful one; after years of miscarriages, her husband told Anna that he was leaving her for someone else.  His mistress was able to give him something Anna was unable–a child.

Immediately upon her return, she learns her brother, Patrick, has been in a severe automobile accident.

Before she is able to unpack from her Ireland trip, Anna makes her way to the hospital to see her brother.  Her mother, Alice, was already there.  Patrick sustained severe head injuries and his fate is undetermined. Anna’s brother then drops another bomb: Patrick was on the way to pick up his teenage son, Joseph, from jail when he got into the accident.  Joseph was arrested after stealing a car with a friend.

Anna is asked to pick up her nephew, who is in a jail approximately five hours away.  She does so, grudgingly.  She’d rather stay by her brother’s side until he regains consciousness.

Anna picks up Joseph and returns to her home to get some rest. She’s exhausted, so she quickly succumbs to sleep.  She’s awoken to the sound of the zipper on her suitcase. She finds Joseph holding an object in his hand.  She grabs on to the item, and the both of them are sucked into what Anna believes is a tornado or some other catastrophic event.

Anna awakes on a beach, her body riddled with injures from the sea, including a long gash that extends from her knee to her ankle.  She hovers in and out of consciousness.  She is soon rescued and is taken to a small village to recover. Anna soon realizes that something is amiss.  Her rescuers use primitive methods (leeches!) for healing her leg injury.  When she asks the date her suspicions are confirmed: It is September 1844.  Joseph is no where in sight.

Joseph awakes on a bed made of corn husks.  His rescuers have brought him to a local manor.  He heals relatively quickly and soon begins exploring the manor in which he currently resides. His memories of his father’s accident are faint and fading quickly.

And so begins Anna’s desperate search for Joseph.  While on her search, she soon realizes that her leap through time is her destiny.  Her family’s fate is dependent upon her…

Sheehan has done an outstanding job of combining rich,multifaceted characters and a compelling storyline.  Fans of historical fiction, particularly Irish history, will be fascinated by this book.  Sheehan’s writing is incredibly descriptive; you can’t help but be pulled in.  The underlying issues of infertility and family issues add depth to the storyline. My only complaint would be the references to the dog.  The paperback has an image of a dog clearly displayed on the cover, and the line “A magical tale of hope, second chances…and a not-so-little dog.”  At first glance, it appears the book is about this dog. While the dog does play a fairly key role in the novel, I think it’s a little  misleading to readers to give that much attention to a seemingly minor character.  But this is really the only complaint I have with this book!  If you can see past this, as I could ultimately, then I highly recommend that you read this book!

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to review this book. tlc-logo

Check out the other stops on this tour:

Tuesday, December 1st: The Tome Traveller

Wednesday, December 2nd: Bloggin’ ’bout Books

Want to hear more about Jacqueline Sheehan? Be sure to listen to her interview with Book Club Girl!

Now on to the giveaway!  The publisher has provided me with five copies of the book to give away.  To enter, please follow this link and submit the form. Winners will be announced on Monday, December 7th. US and Canadian residents only.  Books will be sent directly from the publisher.

Posted in Harper Collins Publishers, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Review | 9 Comments

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

Posted on November 30, 2009 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 reading, and the books to be finish this week. It was created by J.Kaye’s Book Blog, so stop by and join in!

Books Completed Last Week

While I Live (The Ellie Chronicles) by John Marsden
The Divorce Party by Laura Dave
Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Currently Reading

The Hidden by Tobias Hill
Die Trying (Jack Reacher, No. 2) by Lee Child (audio)Books to Complete This Week

The Calling by David Mack
The Water Giver: The Story of a Mother, a Son, and Their Second Chance by Joan Ryan

What are you reading this week?

Posted in It's Monday What Are you Reading This Week | 8 Comments

Thankfully Reading Weekend: Wrap Up Post

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Jenn

ThankIt’s now nearing the end of the first (annual!?) Thankfully Reading Weekend.  I had an incredibly relaxing weekend!  Not only did I read, but I spent quality time with my boys decorating for Christmas. We also had our Christmas pictures taken and the boys got to see Santa.  A very rewarding and thankful weekend, overall!

I finished two of the three books I’d planned to read. I think I would have finished the third had I not spent most of the day today catching up on the “V” series with my husband!  I did manage to finish Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (still can’t stop thinking about this one!) and Now &  Then by Jacqueline Sheehan.  Check for my review of Now & Then tomorrow (Monday) and my review of Shutter Island later on this week!

I hope everyone enjoyed Thankfully Reading Weekend! Be sure to link your wrap up posts here.

Posted in Thankfully Reading Weekend | 9 Comments

Thankfully Reading, Day Two!

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Jenn

Thank

I had a very productive day yesterday!  We put up the tree and all the trimmings by ten AM.  Then I set down to read.  I completed Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Wow!  What a book!  If you haven’t read it, read it now! It was so good I had to take a break from reading for the rest of the night.  I’m still thinking about it!

Today I’m reading Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan.  I hope to finish it today.

I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing weekend.  If you are reading, please share what you are reading about!

Posted in Thankfully Reading Weekend | 10 Comments

My Plans for Thankfully Reading Weekend

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Jenn

ThankI hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving yesterday!  I’m still recovering from all the eating I did yesterday!

I’m pretty excited to spend the weekend reading! I’m not one of those crazy people that wake up at the crack of dawn to go shopping.  Instead, I’ll curl up with a book or two instead.

So, here is a list of books I plan on reading this weekend.

Publication1Ok!  It’s time I get back to reading!  If you are participating in Thankfully Reading Weekend, please be sure to link your posts to the Mr. Linky here.

*Update: It’s 4 pm on Thankfully Reading Weekend Day One!  I’m almost finished with Shutter Island. Wow!  The boys and I spent a good portion of the morning putting up our Christmas tree and decorating for Christmas.  This is the first year I’ve decorated this early! It’s chilly and windy outside, and the sky has the look of winter.  What a perfect day to curl up with a book!

Posted in Thankfully Reading Weekend | 15 Comments