Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult is a sometimes-favorite author of mine. How much I like her work depends on when I'm reading it and how I feel about the subject matter.
Harvesting the Heart is her second novel. I didn’t strongly engage with the characters in this one, but the language is beautiful. This book touched me as a mother and as a woman.
Friday, August 31, 2012
The Face of Deception
The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen
I read a suspense novel by Iris Johansen, then figured out that the character, Eve Duncan, has a series of books. I was very impressed with Johansen. She has a skill for chilling suspense. So now I have started the series from the beginning!
This is the first in the series. The character of Eve Duncan is introduced and is developed very thoroughly. She lost a young daughter to a serial killer, but her body has never been recovered. Eve uses her skill as a forensic sculptor to find other missing children and bring them home. She is pulled in a high profile, dangerous case by a mysterious man. I found myself pulled into the complexities of Eve Duncan.
The plot moves at a fast pace and kept me intrigued until the very end. I highly recommend this series for suspense lovers.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Even Silence Has An End
Even Silence Has An End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle by Ingrid Betancourt
This is a very powerful memoir. As the age of 32, Ingrid Betancourt made the decision to leave the safety of France, to return to her home country of Colombia. Despite the dangerous political climate, Betancourt felt a strong sense of duty to try and make a difference in the country she loved.
While campaigning for President of Colombia in 2002, she was abducted by the FARC. What followed is nearly 7 years of being held captive in the jungle.
This book moved me on many fronts. Betancourt’s strong morality and strength shines through her words. Questions such as: How does one live life to the fullest? What really constitutes freedom? and How important is hope?; are brought to the reader’s mind. This urged me to read more about Colombia and about Betancourt’s life and captivity.
This book is inspirational and I strongly recommend it. It is quite long, but worth it.
This is a very powerful memoir. As the age of 32, Ingrid Betancourt made the decision to leave the safety of France, to return to her home country of Colombia. Despite the dangerous political climate, Betancourt felt a strong sense of duty to try and make a difference in the country she loved.
While campaigning for President of Colombia in 2002, she was abducted by the FARC. What followed is nearly 7 years of being held captive in the jungle.
This book moved me on many fronts. Betancourt’s strong morality and strength shines through her words. Questions such as: How does one live life to the fullest? What really constitutes freedom? and How important is hope?; are brought to the reader’s mind. This urged me to read more about Colombia and about Betancourt’s life and captivity.
This book is inspirational and I strongly recommend it. It is quite long, but worth it.
The First Rule
The First Rule by Robert Crais
I have had many of my fellow suspense/crime drama readers suggest author Robert Crais. The first book I picked up was “The First Rule.” This is apparently in a series of novels, but this one focuses on Joe Pike as the main character. I liked this book. It had great action, a decent plot and was easy to read. I didn’t love it…so am tempted to try another by Crais. Anyone have a recommendation?
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Not My Daughter
Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky
Description from Amazon: “When Susan Tate’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Lily, announces she is pregnant, Susan is stunned. A single mother, she has struggled to do everything right. She sees the pregnancy as an inconceivable tragedy both for Lily and herself. Then comes word of two more pregnancies among other high school juniors who happen to be Lily’s best friends. The town turns to talk of a pact. As fingers start pointing, the emotional ties between mothers and daughters are stretched to breaking in an emotionally wrenching story of love and forgiveness.”
My thoughts: As a mother with a daughter, this is one of my “worst-case scenarios.” This is told from the mother of a pregnant teenager’s point of view. Overall, I found this book to be well written and emotional. If you aren’t a mother with a daughter, you may not find it compelling.
Description from Amazon: “When Susan Tate’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Lily, announces she is pregnant, Susan is stunned. A single mother, she has struggled to do everything right. She sees the pregnancy as an inconceivable tragedy both for Lily and herself. Then comes word of two more pregnancies among other high school juniors who happen to be Lily’s best friends. The town turns to talk of a pact. As fingers start pointing, the emotional ties between mothers and daughters are stretched to breaking in an emotionally wrenching story of love and forgiveness.”
My thoughts: As a mother with a daughter, this is one of my “worst-case scenarios.” This is told from the mother of a pregnant teenager’s point of view. Overall, I found this book to be well written and emotional. If you aren’t a mother with a daughter, you may not find it compelling.
The Memory Keepers Daughter
The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards
Description from Amazon:
"On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by David Henry's fateful decision that long-ago winter night.
A rich and deeply moving page-turner, The Memory Keeper's Daughter captures the way life takes unexpected turns and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets burst into the open. It is an astonishing tale of redemptive love."
What I thought:
This book starts off with a bang. The author's voice is rich and descriptive. However, a few chapters in I felt the story went off track. The characters were flat, the emotion stale. I was surprised, as I had read some rave reviews for this one. Despite the beautiful language, I had difficulty getting through it.
Description from Amazon:
"On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by David Henry's fateful decision that long-ago winter night.
A rich and deeply moving page-turner, The Memory Keeper's Daughter captures the way life takes unexpected turns and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets burst into the open. It is an astonishing tale of redemptive love."
What I thought:
This book starts off with a bang. The author's voice is rich and descriptive. However, a few chapters in I felt the story went off track. The characters were flat, the emotion stale. I was surprised, as I had read some rave reviews for this one. Despite the beautiful language, I had difficulty getting through it.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Bitter is the New Black
Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office by Jen Lancaster
First of all, love the title of this book. Jen Lancaster writes an honest memoir, depicting herself, faults and all. You can clearly see that Lancaster was living the life of an entitled, self-centered person. When she loses her job she is forced to look inside of herself and do some soul searching. What I liked most is the honesty. Lancaster is not very endearing through most of this book, but she owns that. Overall, I enjoyed this memoir and found some valuable insights...not taking life for granted and focusing on being the person you want to be.
First of all, love the title of this book. Jen Lancaster writes an honest memoir, depicting herself, faults and all. You can clearly see that Lancaster was living the life of an entitled, self-centered person. When she loses her job she is forced to look inside of herself and do some soul searching. What I liked most is the honesty. Lancaster is not very endearing through most of this book, but she owns that. Overall, I enjoyed this memoir and found some valuable insights...not taking life for granted and focusing on being the person you want to be.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Saving Grace
Saving Grace by Julie Garwood
Description from Amazon:
"When Lady Johanna learned that she was a widow, she vowed she would never marry again. Only sixteen, already she possessed a strength of will that impressed all who looked past her golden-haired beauty. Yet when King John demanded that she remarry -- and selected a bridegroom for her -- it seemed she must acquiesce, until her beloved foster brother suggested she wed his friend, the handsome Scottish warrior Gabriel MacBain. At first Johanna was shy, but as Gabriel tenderly revealed the splendid pleasures they would share, she came to suspect that she was falling in love with her gruff new husband. And it was soon apparent to the entire Highlands clan that their brusque, gallant laird had surrendered his heart completely. But now a desperate royal intrigue threatened to tear her from his side -- and to destroy the man whose love meant more to her than she had ever dreamed!"
Description from Amazon:
"When Lady Johanna learned that she was a widow, she vowed she would never marry again. Only sixteen, already she possessed a strength of will that impressed all who looked past her golden-haired beauty. Yet when King John demanded that she remarry -- and selected a bridegroom for her -- it seemed she must acquiesce, until her beloved foster brother suggested she wed his friend, the handsome Scottish warrior Gabriel MacBain. At first Johanna was shy, but as Gabriel tenderly revealed the splendid pleasures they would share, she came to suspect that she was falling in love with her gruff new husband. And it was soon apparent to the entire Highlands clan that their brusque, gallant laird had surrendered his heart completely. But now a desperate royal intrigue threatened to tear her from his side -- and to destroy the man whose love meant more to her than she had ever dreamed!"
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Pallbearers
The Pallbearers by Stephen Cannell
This suspense novel is good, but not great. I liked the writing style, so I might try another by Cannell. Anyone have a recommendation?
I felt this one was missing something. I kept reading, but wasn’t intrigued by the characters, mystery or the overall plot.
This suspense novel is good, but not great. I liked the writing style, so I might try another by Cannell. Anyone have a recommendation?
I felt this one was missing something. I kept reading, but wasn’t intrigued by the characters, mystery or the overall plot.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Not Without Hope
Not Without Hope by Nick Schuyler
Description from Amazon: "On February 28, 2009, Nick Schuyler went on a deep-sea fishing trip with three friends: NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, and Will Bleakley, former University of South Florida football player and Nick's best friend. What was supposed to be a day of fun and relaxation aboard Cooper's twenty-one-foot vessel turned nightmarish in the Gulf of Mexico, seventy miles west of Tampa, Florida, when a tragic mistake caused their boat to capsize. With no food or water, no emergency beacon to alert authorities, the four athletes clung to the overturned hull through the night—battling hypothermia, hallucinations, hunger, dehydration, and huge pounding waves, as they prayed, spoke of their loved ones, and shared what they would have done differently with their lives. In the end, only one would reach dry land alive. Much more than a riveting true account of survival, Not Without Hope is Nick Schuyler's inspiring story of courage, resolve, and friendship."
My thoughts: This is a moving memoir. I have recommended it to several friends, and have heard good reviews from them, as well. Schuyler tells a haunting story that has stuck with me. Three people died in this tragedy: Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper and Will Bleakley. The depiction of their deaths is horrifying and sad. In fact, I read that Schuyler received a lot of complaints about this book from the families of the deceased. I can definitely see both sides to that. As the lone survivor, Schuyler absolutely had the right to tell his story. However, I can see how the families might be upset by the publication of their loved ones last moments. I felt a better job could have been done in leaving out some of those details, in honor of the deceased. The fact that Schuyler survived this ordeal is amazing.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Miss Wonderful
Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase
Any other Loretta Chase fans out there? I have read several of her novels. A few have been really good. This one was not one I enjoyed. I found the characters boring and was not pulled in by the plot.
Any other Loretta Chase fans out there? I have read several of her novels. A few have been really good. This one was not one I enjoyed. I found the characters boring and was not pulled in by the plot.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Fragile
Fragile by Lisa Unger
Description from Amazon.com:
"Everybody knows everybody in The Hollows, a quaint, charming town outside of New York City. It’s a place where neighbors keep an eye on one another’s kids, where people say hello in the grocery store, and where high school cliques and antics are never quite forgotten. As a child, Maggie found living under the microscope of small-town life stifling. But as a wife and mother, she has happily returned to The Hollows’s insular embrace. As a psychologist, her knowledge of family histories provides powerful insights into her patients’ lives. So when the girlfriend of her teenage son, Rick, disappears, Maggie’s intuitive gift proves useful to the case—and also dangerous.
Eerie parallels soon emerge between Charlene’s disappearance and the abduction of another local girl that shook the community years ago when Maggie was a teenager. The investigation has her husband, Jones, the lead detective on the case, acting strangely. Rick, already a brooding teenager, becomes even more withdrawn. In a town where the past is always present, nobody is above suspicion, not even a son in the eyes of his father.
“I know how a moment can spiral out of control,” Jones says to a shocked Maggie as he searches Rick’s room for incriminating evidence. “How the consequences of one careless action can cost you everything.”
As she tries to reassure him that Rick embodies his father in all of the important ways, Maggie realizes this might be exactly what Jones fears most. Determined to uncover the truth, Maggie pursues her own leads into Charlene’s disappearance and exposes a long-buried town secret—one that could destroy everything she holds dear. This thrilling novel about one community’s intricate yet fragile bonds will leave readers asking, How well do I know the people I love? and How far would I go to protect them?
What I thought:
I found this to be a clever suspenseful read. The parallel between a past and present teenage disappearance uncovers emotional secrets and family dysfunction. It is a face-paced read and Unger leaves you wondering if you really know the people in your life.
Description from Amazon.com:
"Everybody knows everybody in The Hollows, a quaint, charming town outside of New York City. It’s a place where neighbors keep an eye on one another’s kids, where people say hello in the grocery store, and where high school cliques and antics are never quite forgotten. As a child, Maggie found living under the microscope of small-town life stifling. But as a wife and mother, she has happily returned to The Hollows’s insular embrace. As a psychologist, her knowledge of family histories provides powerful insights into her patients’ lives. So when the girlfriend of her teenage son, Rick, disappears, Maggie’s intuitive gift proves useful to the case—and also dangerous.
Eerie parallels soon emerge between Charlene’s disappearance and the abduction of another local girl that shook the community years ago when Maggie was a teenager. The investigation has her husband, Jones, the lead detective on the case, acting strangely. Rick, already a brooding teenager, becomes even more withdrawn. In a town where the past is always present, nobody is above suspicion, not even a son in the eyes of his father.
“I know how a moment can spiral out of control,” Jones says to a shocked Maggie as he searches Rick’s room for incriminating evidence. “How the consequences of one careless action can cost you everything.”
As she tries to reassure him that Rick embodies his father in all of the important ways, Maggie realizes this might be exactly what Jones fears most. Determined to uncover the truth, Maggie pursues her own leads into Charlene’s disappearance and exposes a long-buried town secret—one that could destroy everything she holds dear. This thrilling novel about one community’s intricate yet fragile bonds will leave readers asking, How well do I know the people I love? and How far would I go to protect them?
What I thought:
I found this to be a clever suspenseful read. The parallel between a past and present teenage disappearance uncovers emotional secrets and family dysfunction. It is a face-paced read and Unger leaves you wondering if you really know the people in your life.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The Secret of Joy
The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate
Rebecca's beloved Father is dying of cancer. Just before passing away he reveals a lifetime secret to his daughter. He had a brief affair that produced a daughter. This revelation puts everything Rebecca has believed into a spin. How could her Father cheat on her Mother when she felt they were so happy? How could he completely ignore his other daughter's existence for all these years?
Rebecca sets out to find her sister after her Father's death. She finds Joy, and in the process learns and grows within herself.
Joy has lived her life in the absence of a father. She is hesitant to engage with Rebecca. This is the character in the book that touched me. When you grow up with someone and love them (Rebecca), it's impossible to see them the same as the person they abandoned (Joy). Joy is not interested in reading the letters her Father left behind. Why would she be? The letters were trite and for him, more than her. Rebecca is unable to understand Joy's feelings about the man who fathered her.
You can't just BE sisters in an instant. That relationship is something that has to develop over time. I enjoyed taking that journey with Joy and Rebecca in this relationship based novel.
Rebecca's beloved Father is dying of cancer. Just before passing away he reveals a lifetime secret to his daughter. He had a brief affair that produced a daughter. This revelation puts everything Rebecca has believed into a spin. How could her Father cheat on her Mother when she felt they were so happy? How could he completely ignore his other daughter's existence for all these years?
Rebecca sets out to find her sister after her Father's death. She finds Joy, and in the process learns and grows within herself.
Joy has lived her life in the absence of a father. She is hesitant to engage with Rebecca. This is the character in the book that touched me. When you grow up with someone and love them (Rebecca), it's impossible to see them the same as the person they abandoned (Joy). Joy is not interested in reading the letters her Father left behind. Why would she be? The letters were trite and for him, more than her. Rebecca is unable to understand Joy's feelings about the man who fathered her.
You can't just BE sisters in an instant. That relationship is something that has to develop over time. I enjoyed taking that journey with Joy and Rebecca in this relationship based novel.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Intimacy
Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi
This is not an uplifting read, but rather a strongly emotional tale of man's quest for fulfillment. The narrator is middle-aged and bored with the life he leads of stability and domesticity. He makes the decision to leave his wife and two young sons for a younger woman. He is always searching for that desirous feeling of being wanted and treasured. A mid-life crisis? Perhaps. Kureishi pens the emotions felt in a long marriage and the desire for something new and different. I found this to be both sad and honest. Kureishi has a talent for true emotional depiction.
This is not an uplifting read, but rather a strongly emotional tale of man's quest for fulfillment. The narrator is middle-aged and bored with the life he leads of stability and domesticity. He makes the decision to leave his wife and two young sons for a younger woman. He is always searching for that desirous feeling of being wanted and treasured. A mid-life crisis? Perhaps. Kureishi pens the emotions felt in a long marriage and the desire for something new and different. I found this to be both sad and honest. Kureishi has a talent for true emotional depiction.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Pure Murder
Pure Murder by Corey Mitchell
I should really stop reading true crime. It only makes me an emotional and scared to boot!
This book recounts the horrific murder of two teenage girls: Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. This book made me feel anger, frustration, horror, sadness, hopelessness, fear…Those poor girls. The fact that human beings can be such monsters is a scary thing, indeed.
I thought the book was a bit graphic at times, but it’s a true story, so I suppose leaving out the actual details would be dishonest.
I followed up on the men who committed this horrific crime. 3 of them have been put to death, 3 of them are serving life sentences. I was shocked to discover that some women started a page to try to free one of the men. And on that page were trying to explain away this unspeakable crime. Excuses for this man ranged from his age, drugs and alcohol, even stooping to the low of blaming the parents of the girls for allowing them to walk home that evening. I was disgusted and heartbroken for the families having to read this and know that people support this man and try to excuse what he has done. There is no excuse.
I hurt for the terror these girls had to experience in their last moments. And I hurt for their loved ones left to remember them.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
It Happened One Autumn
It Happened One Autumn Lisa Kleypas
Description from Amazon.com: “Four young ladies enter London society with one necessary goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So they band together, and a daring husband-hunting scheme is born. It Happened at the Ball... Where beautiful but bold Lillian Bowman quickly learned that her independent American ways weren't entirely "the thing." And the most disapproving of all was insufferable, snobbish, and impossible Marcus, Lord Westcliff, London's most eligible aristocrat. It Happened in the Garden…When Marcus shockingly -- and dangerously–swept her into his arms. Lillian was overcome with a consuming passion for a man she didn't even like. Time stood still; it was as if no one else existed…thank goodness they weren't caught very nearly in the act! It Happened One Autumn...Marcus was a man in charge of his own emotions, a bedrock of stability. But with Lillian, every touch was exquisite torture, every kiss an enticement for more. Yet how could he consider taking a woman so blatantly unsuitable…as his bride?”
Description from Amazon.com: “Four young ladies enter London society with one necessary goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So they band together, and a daring husband-hunting scheme is born. It Happened at the Ball... Where beautiful but bold Lillian Bowman quickly learned that her independent American ways weren't entirely "the thing." And the most disapproving of all was insufferable, snobbish, and impossible Marcus, Lord Westcliff, London's most eligible aristocrat. It Happened in the Garden…When Marcus shockingly -- and dangerously–swept her into his arms. Lillian was overcome with a consuming passion for a man she didn't even like. Time stood still; it was as if no one else existed…thank goodness they weren't caught very nearly in the act! It Happened One Autumn...Marcus was a man in charge of his own emotions, a bedrock of stability. But with Lillian, every touch was exquisite torture, every kiss an enticement for more. Yet how could he consider taking a woman so blatantly unsuitable…as his bride?”
My thoughts: Another beautifully crafted, emotional love story from Lisa Kleypas. The way she creates chemistry and passion never bores me! This is in the “Wallflower” series.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
I Am A Pole
I Am A Pole (And So Can You!)--by Stephen Colbert
This was on a bestseller list from the library. I have to admit, I've never seen Stephen Colbert's show, but thought I would give the book a try. It's actually a children's book? I think? Anyway, I wouldn't read it to my child! And maybe I missed a point somewhere, but I thought this was simply awful. The writing was boring (even for a children's book) and didn't seem to make sense. And what was the point...I'm not sure. I wouldn't recommend wasting time with this, although it's only about 5 minutes long! Maybe someone could explain to me what the point is???
This was on a bestseller list from the library. I have to admit, I've never seen Stephen Colbert's show, but thought I would give the book a try. It's actually a children's book? I think? Anyway, I wouldn't read it to my child! And maybe I missed a point somewhere, but I thought this was simply awful. The writing was boring (even for a children's book) and didn't seem to make sense. And what was the point...I'm not sure. I wouldn't recommend wasting time with this, although it's only about 5 minutes long! Maybe someone could explain to me what the point is???
Monday, August 6, 2012
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Description from Amazon.com: "Blending the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history, Wild Swans has become a bestselling classic in thirty languages, with more than ten million copies sold. The story of three generations in twentieth-century China, it is an engrossing record of Mao's impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love.
Jung Chang describes the life of her grandmother, a warlord's concubine; her mother's struggles as a young idealistic Communist; and her parents' experience as members of the Communist elite and their ordeal during the Cultural Revolution. Chang was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen, then worked as a peasant, a "barefoot doctor," a steelworker, and an electrician. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in gripping, moving -- and ultimately uplifting -- detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history."
My thoughts: I enjoy reading memoirs by people vastly different than myself. This book was lengthy, but worth the read. A lot of Chinese history is included, woven with Chang's personal family history. I have read superficially of the Cultural Revolution in China. Chang provided me with more details and put human faces on this historical period. I recommend this to all readers that enjoy memoirs or history. The one complaint I would express is that the book, to me, is long on detail and short on emotion.
My thoughts: I enjoy reading memoirs by people vastly different than myself. This book was lengthy, but worth the read. A lot of Chinese history is included, woven with Chang's personal family history. I have read superficially of the Cultural Revolution in China. Chang provided me with more details and put human faces on this historical period. I recommend this to all readers that enjoy memoirs or history. The one complaint I would express is that the book, to me, is long on detail and short on emotion.
The Crying Tree
A family struggles with the murder of their son in "The Crying Tree" by Naseem Rakha. What if things had been different? What really happened on that tragic day? This book focuses on the power of forgiveness and the love of family. However, I didn't appreciate the "mystery" element (that wasn't mysterious at all). I thought the book would have been better to leave that portion out. As a mother, this book was emotional for me.
Friday, August 3, 2012
No Place to Run
No Place to Run by Maya Banks
Alpha male/steamy series alert! This book is part of the KGI series by Maya Banks. This is not the first book in series, so I will need to backtrack.
My thoughts: Wow…starts right out with quite a naughty interlude! You know it can't go wrong when it starts out like that! I thought the characters were strong and passionate. The story line was a bit contrived, but the steaminess made up for it!!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Some Girls
Some Girls by Jillian Lauren
Description: "At eighteen, Jillian Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The ‘casting director’ told her that a rich businessman in Singapore would pay pretty American girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties. Not exactly the whole truth. Soon, Jillian found herself on a plan to Borneo, where she would spend the next eighteen months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, youngest brother of the Sultan of Brunei. Leaving behind her gritty East Village apartment for an opulent palace where she walked on rugs laced with gold, Jillian traded her band of artist friends for a coterie of backstabbing beauties competing for the prince’s attention. More than just a sexy tale set in an exotic land, Some Girls is also the story of a rebellious teen finding herself.”
What I thought: I found this memoir interesting. Lauren tells her story in an honest fashion, even at the expense of making her a bit unlikeable. Her story made me fear for my daughter. Growing up is hard! And I don't want her to go through awful things in life. Lauren took a hard road but came out of it a better person. There are some good insights provided in this book if you enjoy coming of age memoirs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)