Review of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Book:  Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Author:  Helen Simonson
Published by:  Random House
Pages:  355

From Goodreads:  Major Ernest Pettigrew, retired, of Edgecombe St. Mary, England, is more than a little dismayed by the sloppy manners, narcissism, and materialism of modern society. The decline of gentility is evident everywhere, from tea bags, to designer sweaters, to racism masquerading as tolerance. Mutual grief allies him with Mrs. Ali, a widowed local shopkeeper of Pakistani descent who has also resigned herself to dignified, if solitary, last years. The carefully suppressed passion between these two spawns twitters of disapproval in their provincial village, but Pettigrew hasn't time for such silliness: real estate developers are plotting to carpet the fields outside his back door with mansionettes and his sister-in-law plans to auction off a prized family firearm. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ali's late husband's Muslim family expects her to hand over her hard-won business to her sullen, fundamentalist nephew, a notion she finds repellant and chauvinistic.

Just to warn everyone this is an Adult Fiction novel, not a YA novel like I usually review.  That being said, I think anyone would enjoy this novel, but it is set for an older audience.

I absolutely adored Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.   It was a charming read that left you light-hearted and happy.

Simonson had such deep characterization.  You grew to really know and understand the Major.  He is proper and abides by a strict moral code.  He's opinionated and thinks the simple way of living is the best.  He's a regular guy who tries to do what is right instead of taking the popular choice.  He's kind of old school and yet he falls for not a proper English widow...instead a Pakistani shopkeeper.

This is definitely a forbidden romance on both sides, at least that's what their family members and the town think. You will grow to love the Major and Mrs. Ali by the time you set this book down.  You will strive to be like them in hopes that you have the honor and integrity they have.     

Simonson is an amazing writer with a flowing, lyrical style.  You will get lost in the scenic countryside of England and swept away with the vivid descriptions.

This is definitely a book worth reading.  I give it ★★★★ and 1/2

  

Review of Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Book:  Front and Center
Author:  Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Published by:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages:  254

From Goodreads:  After five months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I’m always in the background . . .
But it turns out other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend High School junior who’s keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, who she should not be thinking about! Who she is done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway . . . 

Front and Center is the last book in the Dairy Queen trilogy.  I loved Dairy Queen and really like The Off Season so I had high hopes for Front and Center, and it didn't let me down.

What really makes this series is the main character, D.J. Schwenk.  She is so normal.  She's not rich and famous, but she is completely fabulous.  She's a sports-star (and she even played on the boys football team, which I guess is not so normal) yet is scared to be noticed and take charge of her life, on and off the court.  D.J. is such a realistic and relate-able character that she could be any one of us.  We've all been in the situation of having to make tough decisions and trying to find our own way.

That's what this book is really about...all the pressures associated with life and trying to find your path.  D.J. stumbles like all of us do.  She is scared and nervous and doesn't want to let anyone down...especially herself.

I think this is a great series and I would recommend it to anyone.  Plus, it's set in Wisconsin!! 

Overall, I'd give this book  ★★★★

Go Pack Go

So if you all didn't know I'm from Wisconsin...born and bred.  I love cheese, brats, and of course THE GREEN BAY PACKERS!!!!  So for all of you who don't love The Packers I wanted to leave you with some reading choice that might help change your mind....just kidding (well at least about the changing your mind).

 I hope everyone has a great Superbowl weekend and of course, GO PACK GO!

Follow My Blog Friday

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View.

           My answer to this week's Follow Friday question: 

What is the book you are currently 'pushing'? (Pushing mean trying to get people to read it)

 

I guess for a YA book it would be Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.  I think this is an amazingly powerful book that all people should read.  For an adult book I would pick Joshilyn Jackson's book gods in Alabama.  I love all of Jackson's books and I think she is one of the funniest authors and her endings are so twisted you'll never see it coming.  Have you read either of these books?  If so, what did you think of them?    

Thursday's Name Game

Name:  Darlene (D.J.)

Gender:  Female
Character From:  Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Meanings and history of the name Darlene:

• Means "darling one". Darlene is a modern creation from the word "darling".

Personal Experience:

• My mother's best friend is named Darlene.  I also used to babysit her children when I was younger.

Places name Darlene:

•  None that I could find
  

Famous real-life people named Darlene: 

• Darlene Love, American singer and actress
• Darlene Gardner, Harlequin author
• Darlene Gillespie, American child actress, best known for her work on the "Mickey Mouse Club" television show

Darlene in song, story & screen:

• "Darlene", song by Led Zeppelin recorded in 1978
• "Darling Darlene", song by Nirvana

List adapted from www.babynamewizard.com


These are just some I know...what about you?

Review of The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

Book:  The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson Book Five)
Author:  Rick Riordan
Published by:  Hyperion Book
Pages:  381

 From Goodreads:  All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of a victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

The last novel in a series is always a little bittersweet for me.  Of course I want to know how it all ends, but at the same time I don't want it to end.  I feel as if I've come to know these characters as friends and I will miss them dearly. 

The Last Olympian is an epic novel with gods and demi-gods battling titans not only literally but also strategically.  Like all of the previous novels in the series, the fight scenes are original and creative.  They never end how you expect them to end; something always pops up out of left field (or in this case out of the pits of tartarus).  I'm very happy this book wasn't just all battle scenes, instead you got to look into some of the characters' lives to help discover certain reasons they were acting how they did.

The writing in this book is so descriptive and inventive.  I feel this is a truly original series that shows something like Greek Mythology in a whole different light.   There was so much in Greek Mythology that I didn't understand and this novel really got me looking into the Titans and the minor gods.  Riordan's storyline and how he gets everything to connect is pure genius. 

I must say that I wish I was Annabeth and that Percy was my best friend.  These two characters are amazing and I truly am going to miss their herioic nature and their constant love-hate relationship.  This was a great end to an amazing series.

I would recommend this book (and series) to just about anyone.  It's so much fun and it really gets you interested in Greek Mythology.

Overall I'd give this book ★★★★★

Review of Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Book:  Hex Hall
Author:  Rachel Hawkins
Published by:  Hyperion Book
Pages:  323

From Goodreads:  Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. 

This was a surprisingly good novel in YA paranormal genre.  I didn't really know what to think of it going in, but I know that I love stories about witches so I thought I'd give it a try.

I adored the humor in this novel.  I reminded me of the movie The Craft only in a comedic, young adult way.  There are snappy exchanges between all the characters that have you laughing-out-loud and wishing you could think of come-backs that fast.

I loved that these characters were not cut and dry.  They had issues with their families, friends, and each other.  The secrets each of them held not only ruled their lives, but also the lives of the student's around them.  Some of these secrets were your normal teenage secrets while others were dangerous and life-threatening.   

This novel had one of the best surprise endings I've read in a while.  It had twists and turns that made you dizzy and rereading paragraphs just to make sure what you thought happened did actually happen.  I cannot wait to find out where the story goes in it's sequel Demonglass available March 1, 2011. 

This was definitely a fun read that I recommend to any YA reader.

Overall I'd give this book ★★★★