'Tis the Season by Lorna Landvick

'Tis the Season

I have been a huge fan of Lorna Landvick's since I first read "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons." She writes in the spirit of Fannie Flagg (author of "Fried Green Tomatoes." So when I saw her new book, I had to pick it up. I have to say, it was a little hard to get into at first. My disclaimer here is that my two kids are home sick today, so I was reading it in between hugs, medicine, doctor's visits and snacks.

Landvick uses a series of e-mails and letters to move the characters along. Caroline, the main character, is an heiress gone wild. Her drunk rampages have become the thing of legends. When an "apology" letter she wrote gets in the hands of a gossip writer, all her friends find out what she really thinks of them. As she starts seeing her friends turn away from her, she starts accepting the role she's played in her crazy life. She starts trying to make amends with people from her past and reaches out to her former nanny and a couple who owned a ranch where she was sent as a child. Surprising to her, she hears back from her nanny and the cowboy who remember her dealing with a difficult period of her life.

Landvick does a great job of inserting the right amount of humor and grace in the story. As we hear more about Caroline and her life, she moves from spoiled heiress to a lost soul. You can't help but root for her and her true friends.

I enjoyed the book and managed to read it in one day despite playing nurse all day. It's a sweet story and would be great for someone looking for a light read.

Book Review: "Grace" by Richard Paul Evans

Grace by Richard Paul Evans

What a wonderful book! I read the entire book in under an hour and a half. The story follows a young man who befriends a runaway during a time when child abuse was ignored. In addition to dealing with his own family's concerns about money and illness, the young man learns about the beauty and cruelty in life as he falls in love with Grace.

Not quite a tearjerker for me, but definitely a book to make you think. There's a realization that none of us do enough to protect the children we briefly come in contact with because we are sometimes too afraid to become involved.

It's a quick read that compares itself to "The Little Match Girl" in terms of theme. The story is well written and the input from Grace's journal at the beginning of each chapter does a great job of setting up the coming action.

If you want a good book that's a quick read, Grace is for you.

Chick Lit Review #2

Just finished reading Susan Kay Law's "The Paper Marriage." I loved it. The story follows a woman whose husband has been in a coma for more than 10 years. While she owns her business, her life revolves around her husband. She has a complicated relationship with her mother-in-law whose entire life is tied to her son's vegetative state.

Law did a great job of not trivializing the topic of how families deal with a family member who has little chance of waking up and the commitment it takes for a young spouse to keep their vows "until death do us part."

Of course there's a romance, and all the self-doubt that goes with it. I really enjoyed reading the book--it was a great distraction and well written. The characters are realistic, the neighbor creates great tension and his relationship with his daughter explores what parents have to do to reconnect with their kids.

I really like characters I can relate to and I related well to the main character and the daughter. I look forward to reading more books by Law.

Some moms don't deserve their kids

I was just reading the news and saw that the popwreck Britney Spears has lost visitation rights to her children. It's so sad to see what a mess she has become. I can't help but think that she just has no idea how to be a normal person. I mean, who the heck smiles when they are being taken away in an ambulance because you in essence had a mental breakdown?

And I can't help but think that the woman is looking for attention, not looking to keep her kids. They are pawns in an unfortunate game. Poor babies--two parents that are wrecks and one is worse than the other, at least publicly. It's very sad.

Chick Lit Review 1--P.S. I love you by Cecilia Ahern

I watched the movie P.S. I Love You, and while I loved it, the general rule is that the book is usually better than the movie. And that's the case with this story. The movie basically rented the characters' names, but the story in the book is much better. I'm not a literary critic--if I like the book, I like it. If I don't, I don't. I'm not looking for subtle inferences and a dramatic denouement--I want a book that will keep me interested, make me cheer for the characters, and leave me wanting more at the end.

This story was Cecilia Ahern's first novel. She was in her early 20s at the time. Considering how young she was when she wrote the book, it's amazing how well she grasped the nuances of a young grieving widow. I also appreciated that she doesn't tie things up with a pretty bow, but addresses issues without preaching.

I'm definitely keeping this book in my library to reread. It's not the best I've read, but it's worth a second look.

My fascination with trainwrecks

So today's news is that Britney Spears' little sister is pregnant. I don't know what is wrong with these prima donnas. Can't they afford birth control?

I'm amazed at how I follow the Spears trainwrecks, Katie Holmes (there's another girl I expect to hear go off the deep end in a few years), Lindsey Lohan and other young women wrecking their lives. Every time there's a story about the disaster of the week, I can't help but read and ponder--money really doesn't make people happy. And fame just freaks out insecure women.

What will the headlines be in ten years--will we remember who these women were? Will they be around and will anyone care? Why do I care now?

I'm curious to find out what Jaime Lynn names her kid. Will we hear a bizarre name--will it be a spice, a color, a made up name or what?

Sigh.