Book Review – The Beginning of Everything

The Beginning of Everything is the story of Ezra Faulkner’s rise and fall in high school. The tennis team star and anticipated homecoming king sat at THE cafeteria table. He was invited to all of the coolest parties. He dated the coolest girl. He had the coolest friends. And then he didn’t. Then his girlfriend cheated on him, a car accident shattered his leg, and he fell in love with the offbeat new girl, Cassidy Thorpe. Was his life, as he knew it, ending? Or was this the beginning of everything?

Another Amazon Prime Reading freebie, I chose this book because I’ve read the author before, I was in the mood for a young adult read and, well, the cover just looked really cool. I’ve still been plugging along on my big, adult-like book that’s taking me forever to get through, but this Kindle is just pulling me away from that book and putting hundreds of others too easily at my fingertips!

Book 34:
The Beginning of Everything
by Robyn Schneider

Genre:
Young Adult, Contemporary

Published:
August 2013

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, The Beginning of Everything is the story of Ezra Faulkner’s rise and fall in high school. The tennis team star and anticipated homecoming king sat at THE cafeteria table. He was invited to all of the coolest parties. He dated the coolest girl. He had the coolest friends. And then he didn’t. Then his girlfriend cheated on him, a car accident shattered his leg, and he fell in love with the offbeat new girl, Cassidy Thorpe. Was his life, as he knew it, ending? Or was this the beginning of everything?

Favorite Quote(s):

“I still think that everyone’s life, no matter how unremarkable, has a singular tragic encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. That moment is the catalyst—the first step in the equation. But knowing the first step will get you nowhere—it’s what comes after that determines the result.”

– Robyn Schneider, The Beginning of Everything

Awards (based upon my brief research):
Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2014)
Lincoln Award Nominee (2015)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2013)

Pages:
357

My Overall Rating:
3.5 – I genuinely feel bad not giving this book a 4, BUT… I gave another of Robyn Schneider’s books, Extraordinary Means, 4 stars, and I have to say I would recommend that one higher than this one. Both were solid reads – great young adult novels, quick and heartfelt. I cried at least once while reading both.

Now let me talk about high school. It’s that four year span where everything matters but nothing actually matters… unless you make it matter. Ezra does this. Mature for his age, he steps out of his popularity and leans into who he truly wants to be. He was prompted, of course, by his circumstances, but I loved the believability of his journey and how even he questioned himself as antagonist or protagonist.

In many ways, I felt like Robyn was telling the story of my high school days, which made this book so fun to read.

So I guess I will sum up this review with these words: great, quick, heartfelt, believable, relatable. But you will still be pulled in quickly and shocked as events unfold. I should probably just bump this up to a 4…

Book Review – Cozy Minimalist Home

Cozy Minimalist Home is a self-help guide to gaining more style in your home with less stuff. Smith takes the reader, step-by-step, through the process of designing and/or re-designing a room to make it functional, purposeful and cozy.

Friends, I made a real leap into questionable territory – I bought a Kindle. Among the many benefits owning a Kindle boasts, I’ve got some additional reasoning for taking said leap, and I think I’m going to like it. However, I have to note that I will always be a true, hold-it-in-your-hands, turn-your-own-pages book lover. I even like the smell of books. And I hate that my toddler looks at my Kindle and thinks it’s my phone.

So my first Kindle read, and my 33rd book of the year, was one I got for free because of my Amazon Prime membership (something I love about owning a Kindle… eek!).

Book 33:
Cozy Minimalist Home; More Style, Less Stuff
by Myquillyn Smith

Genre:
Nonfiction, Self Help

Published:
October 2018

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, Cozy Minimalist Home is a self-help guide to gaining more style in your home with less stuff. Smith takes the reader, step-by-step, through the process of designing and/or re-designing a room to make it functional, purposeful and cozy.

Favorite Quote(s):

“Many people never know they are allowed to say the have enough. It almost seems un-American.”

– Myquillyn Smith, Cozy Minimalist Home; More Style, Less Stuff

Awards (based upon my brief research):
None noted.

Pages:
220

My Overall Rating:
3 – I really loved the idea of this book. I struggle with home decor – it is not something I would consider myself good at, and my husband often tells me we do not have enough of it because I just haven’t gotten around to decorating in the five years we’ve owned our house. Making my house cozy with a minimalist approach sounded like a great idea!

However, a lot of it Smith’s suggestions seemed elementary and would have been more beneficial if I was just moving in as opposed to just dreaming up a re-decorated space. I gleaned a few takeaways that I’ll consider as I look to my yet-to-be-decorated spaces and/or my why-did-I-decorate-like-this spaces, but as a whole, I think this book is actually for someone who’s, well, worse at decorating than I am.

Smith certainly does decorate beautiful spaces, though!

Book Review – At the Water’s Edge

At the Water’s Edge is the story of three high-society Americans in 1942 who bypass involvement in the war, and set out, instead, in search of the Loch Ness Monster. Ellis, Maddie (a husband and wife) and their friend Hank live a frivolous life of fancy clothes, parties, and alcohol. However, when the country faces one of its darkest times and they can’t seem to turn away from their frivolity, Ellis’s free-flow of money stops and he has to prove himself worthy despite his inability to serve his country due to color-blindness.

Tied by marriage, Maddie follows her husband and hank across the ocean to a foreign country where they search, with a child-like vigor, to prove the monster’s existence, hoping this will restore their appearance in their wealthy circle back at home. Meanwhile, Maddie is left each day in their hotel, searching for things of her own – truth, friendship and love amidst the craziness that’s become her life.

Got a rogue post in here, because I think there will be another on Monday as usual – no promises.

Our August Book Club pick did not excite me at all, but I try to be a team player and still read the books when this is the case. I requested it at my library, forgot to pick it up in time, and seriously considered not trying to get it again. But then I snatched it from another local library, and dove in with just enough time before book club rolled around again, but boy, was I surprised by this one…

Book 32:
At the Water’s Edge
by Sara Gruen

Genre:
Historical Fiction

Published:
March 2015

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, At the Water’s Edge is the story of three high-society Americans in 1942 who bypass involvement in the war, and set out, instead, in search of the Loch Ness Monster. Ellis, Maddie (a husband and wife) and their friend Hank live a frivolous life of fancy clothes, parties, and alcohol. However, when the country faces one of its darkest times and they can’t seem to turn away from their frivolity, Ellis’s free-flow of money stops and he has to prove himself worthy despite his inability to serve his country due to color-blindness.

Tied by marriage, Maddie follows her husband and hank across the ocean to a foreign country where they search, with a child-like vigor, to prove the monster’s existence, hoping this will restore their appearance in their wealthy circle back at home. Meanwhile, Maddie is left each day in their hotel, searching for things of her own – truth, friendship and love amidst the craziness that’s become her life.

Favorite Quote(s):

“It seems there’s nothing so good or pure it can’t be taken without a moment’s notice. And then in the end, it all gets taken anyway.”

– Sara Gruen, At the Water’s Edge

Awards (based upon my brief research):
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2015)

Pages:
348

My Overall Rating:
4 – I can’t deny it’s slow start. Based on the synopsis and the first 50 pages or so, I really thought this book was going to be a maximum of 2 stars. However, the farther I got, the more I enjoyed it. Beyond the mythology of sea monsters and the whimsical title, this book spoke to the heart of finding oneself. Ellis and Hank thought they were finding themselves as they set out on their adventure, but Maddie was doing the cold, hard work of seeing her mistakes, learning her truths, and changing herself for the better.

I absolutely loved Maddie’s character. She was vulnerable, yet strong. She made mistakes, yet sought good. She was willing to be lowly, yet previously accustomed to high society. I wanted all fo the best things for her and was happy to see where she ended up.

Genre-wise, the book vaguely reminded me of All the Light We Cannot See, another book I would highly recommend.

Book Review – Motherhood So White

Motherhood so White explores Nefertiti Austin’s journey to parenthood as a single, Black woman. With her race and gender against her, Nefertiti pushes cultural norms aside and adopts a black, “crack baby”. As she shares her process in this heart-felt, honest book, she dips into the history of adoption/parenting in the African American community, including her own family history. The journey has not been easy, but the trials and tribulations have led Nefertiti to where she is today, trying her best to build the kind of family she’s longed for – one raised with love and determination to do good in the world.

A prize from my local library’s Book BINGO event, this next one was right up my alley. With the words “memoir”, “race” and “gender” right on the front cover, I knew it would be interesting to me.

Book 31:
Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America
by Nefertiti Austin

Genre:
Memoir, Nonfiction

Published:
September 2019

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, Motherhood So White explores Nefertiti Austin’s journey to parenthood as a single, Black woman. With her race and gender against her, Nefertiti pushes cultural norms aside and adopts a black, “crack baby”. As she shares her process in this heart-felt, honest book, she dips into the history of adoption/parenting in the African American community, including her own family history.

The journey has not been easy, but the trials and tribulations have led Nefertiti to where she is today, trying her best to build the kind of family she’s longed for – one raised with love and determination to do good in the world.

Favorite Quote(s):

“Women of any race shouldn’t have to be superstars for our status as mothers to be respected, no matter what a woman’s path to motherhood is… we need to support each other. We have the same dream of building better families, and this is possible, as long as we recognize and respect each other.”

– Nefertiti Austin, Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America

Awards (based upon my brief research):
None yet.

Pages:
304

My Overall Rating:
4 – I laughed. I cried. I learned so much.

Before opening this book, it never occurred to me that there would be cultural differences between black and white adoptions. I never thought about the fact that it would be different to see a black family adopt a white child, yet we see white families adopt black children all the time. I never thought about the fact that adoption means getting the law involved in a journey to parenthood, and for blacks, getting the law involved in anything is a risk.

Just a few chapters in, I was already hooked. I realized I had so much to learn.

I love memoirs, because I think common people telling stories about their common life is so powerful. But I don’t think Nefertiti is common at all. After reading her story, I think she is one of the strongest women I’ve ever read about. With a riddled family history herself, she rids her future family of the instability and drama of her past. She rises from the muck and mire of a “black adoption”, intermittently seeing her parents and being raised by other family members, and adopts a black child to create a better life for him.

Nefertiti’s story is beautiful. Her transparency was amazing. This was such a great book.

Book Review – Things you Save in a Fire

Things You Save in a Fire is about the major events of female fire-fighter, Cassie Hanwell’s, life. On the night of her 16th birthday, Cassie’s life is forever changed when not one, but two major events occur. From there, she becomes tough, closed off and, ultimately, always prepared to deal with emergencies. This makes her an ideal firefighter, but her being a woman does not.

Eventually Cassie’s life calls her to a Boston firehouse where her femininity is challenged even deeper by their old-school ways and the attractive, new rookie. Can Cassie remain calm? Will she put her career on the line amongst trying to prove herself as a woman in a man’s world? And what exactly is the courageous thing to do in a situation like hers?

I’ve been working on a big book that is taking me forever to get through, so I had to take a break and throw in my July Book of the Month selection just to mix it up. A quick read, this one has finally been crossed off my to-read list, only slightly into August.

Book 30:
Things You Save in a Fire
by Katherine Center

Genre:
Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction

Published:
August 2019

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, Things You Save in a Fire is about the major events of female fire-fighter, Cassie Hanwell’s, life. On the night of her 16th birthday, Cassie’s life is forever changed when not one, but two major events occur. From there, she becomes tough, closed off and, ultimately, always prepared to deal with emergencies. This makes her an ideal firefighter, but her being a woman does not.

Eventually Cassie’s life calls her to a Boston firehouse where her femininity is challenged even deeper by their old-school ways and the attractive, new rookie. Can Cassie remain calm? Will she put her career on the line amongst trying to prove herself as a woman in a man’s world? And what exactly is the courageous thing to do in a situation like hers?

Favorite Quote(s):

“It’s pure fiction. Of course. I’m just telling myself stories.

“But that’s the life changing thing about stories.

“We believe them anyway.”

– Katherine Center, Things You Save in a Fire

Awards (based upon my brief research):
None yet.

Pages:
320

My Overall Rating:
3.5 – This story was so cute. It was such a quick read. It was fun. It was heart-felt. It was… nice.

But it lacked a depth I still hope to see in chick lit despite chick lit being… chick lit. Halfway into the book, I could have told you how it would end – it’s that predictable. So for the person looking for a beach read, an escape, a quick vacation, this would be a great book. So despite my only giving it 3.5 stars out of 5, I would actually still recommend this book because it’s quick and easy.