Whatcha Readin'? May 2012

Holy Cow! Was May insanely busy for anyone else?  I am actually surprised I got any reading done at all because I can't remember even having a moment to sit down.  Seth did travel one week though so that always gives me some late night bored at home by myself with sleeping kids, reading time.  Still, I mostly stuck to quick easy reads this month.  Starting with....

A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz
This one came as a recommendation from Aunt Julie (Seth's Aunt Julie technically, but whatever) in the comments from previous months book reviews.  It is about a little orphan girl and at the start it was highly reminiscent of The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, but then it started to take on its own identity.  The characters were never entirely tangible for me so it kept me from fully connecting with the story, but it was alright and overall, I liked it.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Since I liked The Hunger Games I figured, why not?  This one didn't really work for me though.  As soon as talking rats and roaches entered the scene, I checked out.  I remember reading James and the Giant Peach as a kid and thinking that I didn't get it because surely he wasn't actually rolling around in a half eaten peach with talking bugs???  I guess that was my first clue that Fantasy, or anything resembling it was just never going to be my genre so it is pretty rare for a Fantasy/talking animals novel to resonate with me.  She did a decent job humanizing the characters so it did become less annoying as the story went on but I am still not interested in reading any further in the series.  I tried to pass it on to Alyssa because I thought she might like it and she was looking for something to fill the Hunger Games void, but the synopsis I gave her did little to entice her to give it a look.


Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery
I love LM Montgomery's writing and sometimes she words things in a way that I think perfectly captures human emotion.  But, I am staying with my original opinion that the first 3 Anne books are really all I need.  This book is good, and even really good in parts, but it just doesn't hold up next to those first 3.  Her character development is so thorough in the first books and I felt less connected to the characters in the latter part of the series.  I still liked them and their story but since I feel like I have seen better from her, I guess I expect too much.  Still a good look at family relationships in time of war.


Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
A few years ago my cousins mentioned that Anne Tyler was their favorite author and I had read nothing by her.   Since I trust their opinions and consider all of them to be fantastic writers I decided that I better see what I was missing.  I started by reading Breathing Lessons and I thought the writing was good but was still left underwhelmed and unattached.  So I asked my cousins for their favorite Anne Tyler novels and this one topped the list.  I have actually checked it out from the library before and then failed to get to it before it was due back so I finally jumped in, and this one, I really liked.  It is a simple story about one man's guilt and how our decisions can shape our lives, but it felt very real to me.  I felt his pain and related.  I liked the first half of the book best, which is weird because it is the sadder half, so maybe I am morbid, but I just felt it more.

Unplanned by Abby Johnson and Cindy Lambert
My friend, Kennon told me about this one.  I am not sure whether or not she was recommending it since she told me it made her sick, but she left me curious.  This is written by a woman who was a director at Planned Parenthood and was very actively Pro Choice and then joined a Pro Life Coalition after assisting with an abortion.  It was definitely interesting to read her views since she has been on both sides, but she did retell her whole story in every new chapter and that got old quick.  She did a really good job not making anyone out to be the "bad guy".  You can believe one thing and still show respect for those who disagree.  Much of what is written on these hot button topics sounds very hateful and this does not, no matter which side of the debate she is representing. I typed my own opinion on this issue, but then deleted it because it was quite lengthy so maybe another time.

Matched by Ally Condie
Okay, it seems that trilogies and books about dystopian societies are all the rage in YA lit right now, and since I like both I thought I might enjoy this one.  When it starts out it reminded me a little of The Giver and a little of The Hunger Games but I was okay with that and I was willing to wait and see where it went.  Then the second chunk of the book was Twilight annoying.  Of course there is a love triangle and Cassia just repeated her lame feelings over and over again.  I was also pretty annoyed by the writing style.  At the end of dang near every paragraph the same sentence would be repeated 3 times, maybe with a slight variation the 3rd time, for impact.  The writing got too predictable and the story became too much about a cheesy love triangle (which I am all for if the rest of the story stays intact). The last third of the book picks up some but if you are going to do something that has already been done you have to do it really well, or make it different enough to stand out.  For me, this type of story has just been done better.  I did pass this one on to Alyssa though and she wolfed it down and then immediately begged for the second book which she is now immersed in and since she is more in the target audience for this one than I am, I will give it credit for hitting the mark it was aiming for.  Will I read the next book when Alyssa is done with it?  Eh, probably not.

How about you?  Read anything good, or bad in May?