30 Days of Books Day 6: A book that makes you sad

Hello everyone!

I haven't had a lot of time to post the past couple of weeks.  I tend to write posts while at my second job, but it's been so busy there I haven't had a chance to write in a bit.  At least I'm not bored at work, right?  Not having time to post gave me time to think about a book that makes me sad.  This is another tough one. It's not that I haven't read sad books because I definitely have.  But while books may be sad, MOST of them have happy endings.  I don't always remember if a book was sad if it ends on a happy note. So it's been a struggle to think of a "sad" book.

There is definitely an author that stands out in my mind as one who writes "sad" books is Jodi Piccoult.  Maybe I shouldn't say "sad", but emotional, or books that tug at the heartstrings. It's been a while since I've read one, but every time I do I feel like I get emotional.  One book that really stood out to me was Nineteen Minutes. It could be because of very recent events, but I've been thinking about this book a lot lately.

It's been a few years since I've read this book, so the details are pretty hazy.  But I'll give this my best shot. Alex is a judge that is assigned to the case of a school shooting.  Alex's daughter Josie is a victim of the shooting.  Her boyfriend is killed in front of her. We also learn that Josie used to be friends with the shooter when they were younger.  Josie would make a great witness, except for the fact that she claims she can't remember anything that happened in the moments leading up to her boyfriends death. Alex has to decide if she should take this HUGE case and risk forever ruining her relationship with her daughter or put her career aside for the sake of her daughter. I don't remember all of the details, but I remember being emotionally invested in ALL of the characters, including the shooter.

I am trying really hard to not get too political with this post.  It infuriates me that school shootings happen as often as they do.  It makes me so sad that the shooters feel there is no course of action left except shooting a school (or mall, church, etc).  Something needs to change.  I am not going to profess to know what needs to change, but SOMETHING has to!

Sorry for such a short post!  I know I tend to express myself a bit better, but it's been so long since I've read this book!  That, combined with not wanting to express my political views on such a hot topic is leading me to cut this short.  I have a few posts I need to write as I have finished 2 books and am on my way to finishing a 3rd. So while there might not be a lot of content to this post, there will be lots of posts headed your way!

Until then Happy Reading!!!

Second Glance by Jodi Piccoult

I have a confession.  I have a strange desire to see a ghost.  I don’t even know if I believe in ghosts, but if they exist, I want to see one.  I don’t know why I think that would be cool, but it would.  My first year back to school (2008) my roommates and I became obsessed with the show Ghost Hunters on the SyFy channel.  Every Wednesday we would order pizza and watch the Ghost Hunters marathon.  I really like that show because I feel like Grant, Jason, and the rest of the team tried their best to disprove things.  They would find alternate explanations for things going on in a house before saying “yes you have a ghost that resides here”.    To me, that made the possibility of ghosts seem a little more realistic.

 

 

The reason I am telling you all this is because the book Second Glance by Jodi Piccoult  is about ghosts.  Okay it’s not STRICTLY about ghosts, but ghosts play a decent part in the story line.  Second Glance is based in Vermont.  The story centers around a supposed Indian burial ground that has been sold to developers.  The local Indian tribe causes a ruckus because they are convinced Indians were buried on the site. When unexplainable events start to occur, the town starts to believe that ghosts of ancient Indians are telling the community that building this shopping center might not be the best idea.   The developers decide to put the rumors to rest by hiring Ross Wakeman, a ghost hunter.  Ross spends a few nights in one of the houses on the property, but doesn’t find anything of significance except a lonely lady name Lia that is in an abusive relationship.  She is desperate to find out if ghosts exist because she wants to know the mother she never had that died while giving birth to her. Ross is determined to build a relationship with Lia, but Lia seems to be an elusive character.  One night while Ross is out ghost hunting, he sees Lia.  He follows her to a gravestone, where she seems to disappear into thin air.  The grave stone Ross sees her near turns out to be HER gravestone.  Yup, Lia is a ghost.  The rest of the story follows the story of Lia and her husband Spencer.  The history on this plot of land is a lot more interesting than anyone in the town thought it would.

As per usual, Jodi Piccoult has written a great page turner.  I loved this book!  What is disturbing about it is how factual some of the events in the story are.  Piccoult always does great research before writing a book, and the facts she brings to light about Vermont in the 20’s and 30’s is pretty shocking.  Another plus for this book: Jodi consulted Jason and Grant from Ghost Hunters to learn more about the science of ghost hunting.  While reading I thought some of the terms sounded like familiar phrases that the use on the show.  My suspicions were confirmed in Piccoult’s acknowledgement page.   I seriously love Ghost Hunters. 

The most recent book I read was a bit out of the norm for me.  I just finished it last night, so hopefully I can get a post up soon.  I’m a bit behind in school work so I need to play some serious catchup, but I want to get caught up on blog posts as well.  YAY being super busy all the time!

Happy Reading!

 

Tara

Harvesting the Heart by Jodic Piccoult

By now I think it’s obvious that one of my favorite authors is Jodi Piccoult.  She has the ability to write the most captivating stories.  I can read her books in a matter of hours if I have the time.  I just LOVE her to pieces.  I just finished 2 of her books, which were both fantastic.

 

 

The first book I read was Harvesting the Heart.  This book tells the story of Paige.  Paige was raised by her father after her mother disappeared when Paige was just 5.  Paige’s father is a very devout Irish Catholic.  When Paige gets pregnant in high school she chooses to abort the baby before her dad finds out about the pregnancy.  After Paige graduates, she leaves her hometown of Chicago.  With no particular destination in mind, she jumps on a bus and heads east.  She ends up in Massachusetts, where she gets a job at a local diner.  While waitressing at the diner, she meets Nick, a young doctor.  Nick and Paige fall in love and quickly get married.  While the first years of their marriage are great, Paige feels pressure to fit into a world that she does not belong.  When Paige finds out she is pregnant, she panics. Nick and she weren’t planning on having children until Nick finished his residency and they had a more dependable income.  When the baby arrives, Paige experiences a bit of post partum depression. She fears that she is an inadequate mother because she didn’t have an example of how a mother should be.  When the baby rolls off of the couch one day and gets a bloody noise, Paige panics. Nick arrives home and sees the blood.  When Nick expresses concern about the accident, Paige feels horrible. She tells Nick she needs some time alone and leaves the house to run a few errands.  The freedom Paige feels while out running errands is so liberating that Paige gets in her car and just keeps driving.  Paige finds herself back in Chicago.  While there, she decides she wants to find her mother.  She hires a PI to help her locate her mother. When Paige finds out that her mother is in North Carolina, she heads out to find some answers as to why her mother left.  When Paige and her mother reconnect, Paige realizes that her mother and her have a lot more in common than Paige initially thought.  After a few months away from Massachusetts, Paige decides to go back home to her husband and baby.  The rest of the book tells the struggle that Paige and Nick face as they try to piece together their lives and marriage.

This story really struck a chord with me.  I think more women suffer from post partum depression than care to admit.  And honestly I don’t blame them. While I haven’t had children yet (and don’t plan to for a few more years) I can imagine that suddenly being completely responsible for another human being can be a stressful experience.  Paige grew up without a mother.  She didn’t have an example for what a mother should be and do.  That must be another overwhelming experience.  I am pretty sure I couldn’t abandon my husband and child for months, but I can understand feeling the need or desire to escape.  While the story of Paige is on the drastic side, I think it is a story that mothers can relate to.  I really enjoyed it. As I was reading I was hoping that Paige would come to her senses and get back to her family. I understood the anger that Nick was feeling towards Paige, but hoped that they would realize why the fell in love with each other and that Nick would take Paige back.  It is another hit for Jodi Piccoult, which really shouldn’t come as a surprise because she is awesome at what she does.

 

Salem Falls by Jodi Piccoult

In my last post I said I was reading completely different books.  Well. . . that hasn't happened.  I went to the library to find one of the books I was going to read and couldn't find it.  And then I got distracted with some other books so I postponed reading Timeline.  But I'm working on it now :)

Over my Christmas vacation I actually finished 3 books.  2 of those books are in a series that I will  blog about all at once, so keep  checking back to see that.  The other book was this one.  I absolutely love all of Jodi Piccoult's books that I have read so far.  She is a fantastic author that really knows how to draw her audience into the story she is telling.  Salem Falls was no different.

Salem Falls is about a man, Jack, that has just been released from prison after 8 months serving a plea bargained sentence for rape.  He entered the plea bargain on the advice from his lawyer, although he swears up and down that he was innocent of all charges.  Jack finds himself in the small town of Salem Falls.  He is trying to escape the life he left behind.  He walks into a diner with a "help wanted' sign in the window and asks for a job as a dishwasher.  Addie, the owner of the diner, hires him on, although she is a bit hesitant to do so.  Jack and Addie fall in love and start a relationship.  A local police officer, who happens to have feelings for Addie, reveals Jack's past to Addie, causing a strain in the relationship.  Addie was a victim of rape herself in high school, but she decides to trust Jack when he says we was wrongfully accused.  Their relationship continues to blossom until Jack is arrested one night from Addie's house after again being accused of raping a local teenage girl.  Jack again claims he is innocent and is being framed by this teenager and her group of friends.  The trial reveals a lot of secrets and history as Jack's lawyer fights against the entire town to prove that Jack is the good man he claims to be, not a serial rapist.

I absolutely loved this book.  It has a lot of interesting nuances that are a bit unexpected.  All of the characters have intriguing pasts that make you want to learn more about them.  The one thing I didn't absolutely love in the book was the very end.  It left me with more questions than answers, especially in regards to the relationship between the teenage girl that accused Jack of rape and her father.  But other than that I loved the book, as I do most of Piccoult's work.

Like I said, up next is Timeline, for real this time.  My boyfriend is insisting that I read it. In fact he was upset that I read this before reading Timeline, so I HAVE to finish it before I read anything else.

Happy Reading!

~Tara

Vanishing Act- Jodi Piccoult

Just when you thought I had forgotten about the book blog I post something new. :)  I finished this book last week sometime.  I've been busy dealing with all sorts of wonderful things (see personal blog  for details.  I should be posting on there about my week and all the joys it has brought before the end of the week) and haven't had time to really sit down and blog about my recent readings.

I did finish the second book in the Stephanie Plum series over the Thanksgiving weekend.  I sadly don't remember enough details to give an accurate summary of this book in its own blog post.  The book was called Two for the Dough.  I enjoyed it a lot, so if you've read the first book and are thinking about picking up the second one, go for it.

Now on to the title of this blog post.  I have always enjoyed Jodi Piccoult's books.  My best friend Missy is the one who got me hooked on them, whether she knows it or not :).  Jodi Piccoult wrote My Sister's Keeper, which was then made into a movie in which Cameron Diaz played in.  Just a random tidbit about the author and her writing style.  Anyways. . . I've never read a book by her that I haven't liked.  I have an entire shelf on my bookshelf full of her books, so I decided to bring one with me over Thanksgiving to start reading after I finished Two for the Dough.  This book was AMAZING!  Seriously I LOVED it.  Here's a little summary.

Delia lives in New Hampshire with her father Andrew, her Daughter Sophie, her fiance Eric, and her best friend Fitz.  Delia has a search and rescue dog and together the 2 of them find missing persons.  Delia starts having dreams and flashbacks to a life she can't remember.  She tells Fritz about her memories and Fritz does some detective work.  One night, the police knock on Delia's door and arrest her father for kidnapping a girl named Bethany years ago.  Delia is confused until her father tells her that SHE is Bethany, but that he is her biological father.  Delia, Andrew, and the rest of the gang travel to Arizona (where Bethany was kidnapped from) and learn all about Delia and Andrew's past as Eric (who is a lawyer by trade and whom Delia insisted work on the case) tries to prove Andrew's innocence in a crime Andrew admits to committing.

Seriously this was a great book.  As I was reading it, I found myself torn between whoI was siding with, not only in regards to the trial, but in regards to which parent I liked better, or which man I thought was better for Delia. This book deals with some interesting issues, especially when it comes to who should have custody of a child after a divorce.  I would recommend this book to any young adult/adult reader. 

Right now I am reading a book called Confederates in the Attic.  My plan for the next few months is to focus on books that I already own. I have so many books that I've never read that I need to bust through.  I love the library and all of the cool books I've seen there, but it's time to focus on my books for a while.

In other news, Ashley is pretty close to being done with finals for the semester.  She says she will be blogging about some of the books she's read and will read over the break.  I'll try to hound her about it :)

Happy reading!
 
~Tara